The rumble of footsteps seemed to never slow down. The four model divisions of the new army that overcame the difficulties, except for the cavalry in charge of the sentries, everyone else put on leggings and marched on foot... Among them was Zhu Cixiang, the prince of Fujun in the Ming Dynasty!
The troops of fifty thousand people were rolling forward like an iron stream. After leaving Dingyuan County, their marching speed was like flying.
A year or so of hard training, coupled with a pretty good diet, coupled with the "unreasonable" elimination of the last place, and the benefits of dividing the land and money, have given today's new army to overcome difficulties a little bit. It looks like an elite iron army.
The 200 miles from Jiangbei Daying to Dingyuan via Chuzhou, and then the sixty or seventy miles from Dingyuan County back to Chuzhou near Shigu Mountain, is really nothing to them.
When Zhu Cixi was really young and strong, he also paid attention to exercise on weekdays. He would run around the Wenhua Hall when he had nothing to do, so he was quite able to walk, but he did not carry the same weight as ordinary officers and soldiers.
But leading by example to this extent is enough to motivate officers and soldiers to speed up their pace.
After crossing the pond, the troops marching in the night could see the flickering firelight above Daqian Ridge from a distance.
Hauge's army set up camp at Daqianling. The lights were brightly lit and several bonfires were lit, illuminating the surroundings of the camp. It also let the Ming army, which was approaching quickly, know their specific location.
In the early morning of the 22nd, while the army was resting for breakfast, Zhu Cixiang convened another military meeting.
He called Wu Sanfu, Li Yan, and Shi Ruien to him. The four of them sat in a circle while chewing on hard naan cakes (this kind of naan cake was Zhu Cihong's choice for the new army's marching rations, with just a little salted fish and bacon on it. , it was a very good meal), while discussing what to do next.
"Your Highness, look here..." Li Yan laid out the general terrain of northern Chuzhou with a few small stones on the ground, "This is Daqunling, this is Shigu Mountain, this is Qingliuguan, this is It's Chuzhou City... Now the Tartars have set up a formation at Daqianling. We have come all the way and are very tired, so we can't go directly from Daqianling to Qingliu Pass immediately. So we can only set up at Shigu Mountain first. Get out of the big formation, set up a defensive position first, and confront the enemy. Then look for opportunities to move to Qingliu Pass. As long as the main force reaches Qingliu Pass, the Tartars will not be able to continue southward."
"Your Highness," Shi Ruien suggested at this time, "the area around Daqianling is not considered dangerous. The former military advisor can attack the Qing army there! As long as we launch a surprise attack at night, we will be sure to drive the Tartars off the mountain."
This foreign devil is really brave! Zhu Cixiang nodded and thought: There are at least 15,000 Tartars on Daqian Ridge, right? Is it really possible to use 14,000 people to drive them down?
"It's too risky!" Wu Sanfu immediately put forward a different opinion, "It's better to go to Shigu Mountain first, and then look for opportunities to move camp."
Shi Ruien shook his head, "What should we do about Fengyang City? It is under siege... If it is lost, the Tartars will be able to gain a large stronghold south of Huaihai."
"Don't worry," Zhu Cixiang smiled, "Zhu Chunchen is not that easy to fight... We can calmly deal with the Tatars on Daqian Ridge!" He paused, "Let's go to Shigu Mountain to set up a formation first. Let’s wait a few days before confronting the Tartars.”
...
Shang Kexi stood at the edge of the fort with his helmet on and his arms folded. Three miles in front of him was the city wall at the northwest corner of Fengyang Mansion.
Although Fengyang City is the residence of the Ming Dynasty's Remaining Department, for some reason, no reinforcement projects have been carried out. The city wall is still made of rammed earth, because the parts that were damaged in the Fengyang Battle in the eighth year of Chongzhen were only repaired, and the project was carried out sloppily. So after just a few years, there were cracks everywhere, and even a small section collapsed when it was windy or rainy. Now that I have been bombarded by twenty Hongyi artillery pieces for two whole days, can I still be okay?
Right in front of Shang Kexi's position, a large section of the city wall collapsed from the waist up, revealing seven or eight gaping holes. It was only three feet above the ground, and the collapsed rammed earth was also piled up. A gentle slope that can be climbed up without a ladder.
The trench in front of this section of the city wall was originally very wide, and water from the Huaihe River was diverted into it, surrounding Fengyang City on all sides. However, no one has cleaned the moat for more than two hundred years, and the silt brought by the Huaihe River has continued to accumulate. When Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng came to attack last time, the moat was almost useless.
After Zhu Chunchen became a guard in the central capital, he didn't bother with the trenches protecting the city. Everything was the same as before. Just when Kong Youde commanded the artillery to bombard the city, Bai Guangen led the green battalion soldiers to block the river connecting the Huaihe River, so now most of the moat outside Fengyang City has dried up, and you can cross it with your feet.
Looking at the city defense in front of him, Shang Kexi couldn't help laughing.
"Fourth, what are you laughing at?"
A middle-aged man who was a few years older than Shang Kexi, a little smaller in stature, with a baby face but a big beard came up to him. This uncle is Shang Kexi's second brother, named Kaifeng... I wonder if he was particularly cute when he was a child? He actually got such a name.
Maybe the name is bad, and the appearance is not intimidating. So this Shang Keai has always been a soy sauce character. First he followed his father Shang Xueli, then after Shang Xueli died in the war, he followed his brother Shang Kejin, and after Shang Kejin died for his country, he followed his brother Shang Kexi. Shang Kexi later fell into the water and became a traitor, and he also followed suit.
"Second brother," Shang Ke said happily, "I'm laughing at the fact that although the young prince of the Zhu family is treacherous, he doesn't know how to use people. He actually allowed a noble disciple like Zhu Chunchen to stay behind... The Ming Dynasty's energy is nothing more than this. "
"Alas," Shang Keai just shook his head, "Why doesn't he know how to use people? Who else can be used in the Southern Dynasty now? All the useful people have been tricked by his father!"
Shang Ke smiled happily: "That's right... Is there any news from King Su?"
"Yes!" Shang Keai nodded, "The order just arrived... King Su's 20,000 troops are confronting the Zhu family's 30,000 to 40,000 troops at Daqunling."
"The soldiers of the young prince of the Zhu family? Did he personally lead them?"
Shang Keai smiled and said: "The decree says that Prince Zhu personally led it... so King Su urges us to capture Fengyang quickly, and then join him to fight to the death with the young prince of the Zhu family!"
Zhu Cihong had his own "Reincarnation of Emperor Taizu Gao" flag and six dragon flags, so after Hauge set up the formation at Shigu Mountain under Zhu Cihong's headquarters, he knew that the prince had personally gone out to the formation.
Now Hauge was extremely happy...Zhu Cixi was now the powerful Prince of Fujun! If he were killed, the Qing Dynasty would probably be able to dominate the world!
What a great achievement!
After such meritorious service, if the little emperor dies early, should Hauge step in?
So Hauge hurriedly sent someone to Fengyang to urge him.
"Haha, it seems that Daqing really has destiny..." Shang Kexi looked back.
The first wave of attacking troops were already carrying bamboo and wooden ladders and were ready. This team is all green soldiers, led by Shang Kexi's little brother Shang Kele - this Shang Kele is Shang Xueli's adopted son. Shang Xueli was only eight years old when he died in battle, and later lived with his older brothers. Now he is a warrior under Shang Kexi!
At this time, the Hongyi cannon that had been roaring for two days had stopped making noise. The entire battlefield suddenly became quiet, and the atmosphere was extremely depressing.
Shang Kexi took a breath of air filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke, then drew out his sword and jerked forward.
Shang Kele's biological father, who was less than 30 years old, was a servant of the Shang family. He saved Lao Shang's life. He inherited his biological father's tall and burly face, and a muscular face. Coupled with a messy beard, he looked particularly ferocious. Seeing Shang Kexi swinging his sword forward, he immediately shouted: "Bang the drum! Advance the troops!"
The sound of drums reminded the 3,000 Green Camp soldiers who had only received two taels of silver reward, and they shouted forward. Their departure point was less than three miles away from Fengyang Fucheng in a straight line. In less than half a stick of incense, they had already crossed the moat and rushed all the way to the city wall that had collapsed with many gaps. They quickly set up bamboo and wooden ladders. .
But on the city wall of Fengyang Mansion, there was no movement at all!
Fengyang Fucheng seems to have been breached just like this!
