In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, March 24th, Sishi.
Outside the west gate of Weinan City in Tianjin, the tall and tall figure of Yuan Yuzong stood on the suspension bridge of the moat. His large official uniform was blown by the southeast wind blowing from the Wei River.
Hundreds of soldiers, neatly dressed, lined up behind Yuan Yuzong, all of them with their chests and bellies high and full of energy.
These soldiers were all heroes carefully selected from their respective teams by the two deputy generals of Tianjin Town. Each of them was given a tael of silver, and there was also a huge achievement waiting for them. But there was some uneasiness between the brows of these energetic men.
Yuan Yuzong, Jin Bin, and Lou Guangxian have already told the soldiers below all the important things to be done today. So everyone knows that what we have to deal with today is the Ming emperor or the prince, maybe both of them, who have become "red thieves". In short, what they are going to do today is to cause chaos!
Of course, committing rebellion will not make these soldiers uneasy. Now that the city of Beijing has returned to the Dashun Dynasty, the Dashun army is like a raging cloud north of the Yellow River. It is not a matter of time before they sweep the world.
Therefore, it is no longer a treasonous thing to capture Chongzhen and his son and offer them to the new master.
However, the approaching army of soldiers and horses guarding the Holy Driver seemed to be stronger than they imagined!
The sound of horse hooves has been heard in the distance, getting denser and denser, and finally they are all connected together. The sound of hooves is so amazing that the earth seems to be shaking!
Yuan Yuzong, who was waiting there solemnly, changed his expression. How could Chongzhen and his son, who had escaped from Beijing, have so many cavalry? And Ye Bushou, who came back to report before, didn't say that there was a large group of cavalry accompanying him? How did these cavalry appear?
He looked back at the waiting queue. The generals and subordinates of Tianjin Town also showed worried expressions. The deputy commander-in-chief Jin Bin, who was standing side by side with him, had already grasped the handle of the waist knife. He seemed to want to immediately order his troops to withdraw to Tianjin and resist behind closed doors, but he could not make up his mind.
Because the fleeing army of red thieves did not necessarily have to enter the Tianjin Acropolis, they could also bypass the city and go down the Wei River. Shen Tingyang and Su Guansheng's hundreds of sea boats are going up the river. As long as the Red Thieves Brigade joins them, they can safely reach Dagu, Haikou.
There is also a port city over Dagukou, which is under the jurisdiction of the general officer of the Tianjin Guards Navy. It is also a storage place for shipping grain, storing a large amount of grain shipped by sea. Since the Third Kaifeng War in the 15th year of Chongzhen, the situation in the Central Plains has taken a turn for the worse. The transportation of grain to Beijing has become increasingly difficult, and it has to be replaced. Most of them are transported by sea, entering the sea from Huai'an and being transported by sea to Dagukou, Tianjin.
The biggest difference between sea transportation and water transportation is that you need to wait for the wind. There are strong north winds in autumn and winter, so it is very difficult to go north from Huai'an. Therefore, we can only wait until the south wind blows in the second spring before heading north to sea.
Therefore, part of the grain shipment in the 16th year of Chongzhen's reign did not arrive in Dagu until February or March of the 17th year. Later, the transshipment was delayed due to the war, and they are still piled up in Dagu.
In other words, once the Zhu Thieves' troops arrive at Dagokou, they can rely on the city and food there to persist.
In addition, the Tianjin Navy and the brave men who guard the food supply are also quite elite and are not easy to deal with. If the soldiers and horses guarding the Zhu Thieves join forces with the navy and Zhuangyong, they will retreat to Dagukou City. I'm afraid it won't be easy to fight even if King Chuang's army is gone... If that happens, the unparalleled achievements of Yuan Yuzong and others will be ruined!
It was Yuan Yuzong who had quick eyesight and quick hands. He held down Jin Bin's arm and said, "Don't worry, take another look!"
Jin Bin took a breath, cupped his hands to Yuan Yuzong and said, "I obey my orders!"
After a while, the armored cavalry of the brigade had jumped into everyone's sight. Not only the cavalry came, but also all armored cavalry. There were only a few of them, 2,000 of them!
Along with the 2,000 armored cavalry, there was also a set of royal flags and a large banner.
The so-called royal flag is the collective name for imperial flags and tokens. It is a symbol of power. The holder has certain rights to deal with it conveniently within the authority specified in the imperial edict. It is usually granted to officials such as the general, governor, and governor who have the authority to command troops.
The Great Banner is the general's flag, and the official title of the general is usually written on the flag.
The appearance of the King's Order Flag and the Great Banner at the same time meant that a general-in-chief or governor-level official had arrived with his troops. The fact that the command flags of the three armies did not appear at the same time meant that the arriving man was not the commander of the approaching army.
Neither the commander-in-chief nor the governor is the commander-in-chief, which can only mean one thing. Emperor Chongzhen or Prince Zhu Cixiang is in the army!
Yuan Yuzong was already nervous. He took out his monocular telescope, squinted his eyes, and began to examine the large scroll carefully.
"Chief Commander Ping Xibo of Liaodong...how is that possible!?" Yuan Yuzong took a breath, and it turned out to be Wu Sangui!
"Bing Bei, it's Wu Sangui...what should I do?" Jin Bin was also frightened.
If there is one general who is more intimidating in the Ming Dynasty now, it is Wu Sangui!
"Calm down!" Yuan Yuzong took a breath and said, "Just act according to the situation!"
It was with great difficulty that he took back his words about entering the city behind closed doors.
Because Wu Sangui was the general military officer in Liaodong, he had an army of 40,000, including more than 10,000 cavalry. If he personally led his troops to Tianjin, then there would be at least more than 10,000 troops following him, and they would definitely include 3,000 Wu family members!
Even if Yuan Yuzong defends behind closed doors, he still can't withstand the fierce attack of more than 10,000 Guan Ning troops! Moreover, Su Guansheng's Tianjin Navy warships also have many Folang machine guns, which can be used to suppress the firepower of the defenders.
If the two armies join forces to attack, Tianjin Acropolis will fall soon!
Now we can only calm down and see if we can trick Emperor Chongzhen or Wu Sangui into the city... To capture the thief, capture the king first! As long as Chongzhen and Wu Sangui can be killed, a great achievement will be achieved. Even if Tianjin cannot be defended and they run away with the heads of Chongzhen and Wu Sangui, they can still have a future as an earl when they get to Li Zicheng!
But what happened next nearly left Yuan Yuzong, Jin Bin, and Lou Guangxian in shock.
The 2,000 Guan Ning cavalry who came in formation were very vigilant. They did not approach the city wall, but stopped a hundred steps away from the moat, and then changed into a square formation.
The 2,000 cavalry formed two formations. The rear formation could not be seen clearly, but the front formation was neat and tidy, and the soldiers on the horses were so big...it scared people to death!
"Yi...Yi Ding suddenly ride!" Jin Bin's voice sounded like crying.
Wu Sangui's Yiding cavalry are elite soldiers who can fight the Manchus head-on! 1,000 people are enough to defeat the 4,000 people in Tianjin!
Just when Yuan Yuzong, Jin Bin, and Lou Guangxian were so nervous that they almost fainted, a dozen cavalrymen suddenly came galloping from behind the two formations of Guan Ning cavalry. The first rider was Cao Youyi, the commander-in-chief of the Tianjin garrison.
Cao Youyi galloped all the way to the suspension bridge before reining in his horse. The strong horse neighed for a long time, raised its front hooves high, and then fell heavily.
"Yuan Bingbei, Vice General Jin, Vice General Lou, are Tianjin okay? Is there any news about Yang Xunbiao?"
After hearing Cao Youyi's question, Yuan Yuzong, Jin Bin, and Lou Guangxian became angry.
Yuan Yuzong replied: "Everything is safe as usual. Yang Xunbiao sent someone to report that the bandits' cavalry is stationed in Zhangjiabao area and seems to be waiting for the rear team."
"That's good!" Cao Youyi said with a smile, "Let the brothers on the left and the right go out of the city to receive the reward... In addition, the Lord is tired from the journey, so he must go to the city to rest first."
Yuan Yuzong, Jin Bin, and Lou Guangxian were all startled when they heard this, and their expressions became uncertain.
"Is the Holy Emperor here?" Yuan Yuzong asked tentatively.
"Here he comes!" Cao Youyi replied, "Futai is accompanying the Holy One."
Jin Bin asked: "Uncle Ping Xi is here too?"
"No." Cao Youyi shook his head and said with a smile, "Those cavalry are Han generals, led by Ping Xibo's brother Wu Sanfu. They are just bluffing."
I see... No wonder they all look so big, they turn out to be the big Han general showing off his appearance!
Yuan Yuzong, Jin Bin, and Lou Guangxian all secretly said, "Good luck!" and almost got killed. If they guarded the city behind closed doors, wouldn't Emperor Chongzhen escape?
