Chapter 283: Break out in the middle of the night

Style: Historical Author: Niu Bi Lao DaoWords: 4401Update Time: 24/01/12 10:25:35
"How dare you bully Sun An to bully us without a bow? Guys, shoot these thieves to death for me!"

After suffering a secret loss, Li Chengdong saw the thieves lined up in a row and fired at him. He no longer took the risk and charged directly. Instead, he ordered his men to slow down and shoot while charging.

Even if he was a bandit before, he was so poor that he was almost crumbling, he didn't have enough food to eat, and his treatment after being recruited by the court was not very good, but he always kept the guy with him and never threw it away.

Due to their meritorious service in escorting, Gao Jie and his subordinates were not only promoted and received a large sum of silver reward, but were also fortunate enough to replenish a lot of ordnance supplies, receiving no less than a thousand artillery pieces and muskets, not to mention bows and arrows.

Following Yang Wenyue's conquest of Wang Pu, Gao Jie's troops came to fight. Whether it was a smooth battle or a tough battle, the guys at hand were needed.

The people guarding Li Chengdong were all soldiers and elite cavalry. Everyone was wearing a helmet and armor, and they were equipped with swords and bows. Their equipment was not inferior to that of the famous Guan Ning cavalry.

Due to the continuous battles, the individual combat power and battlefield experience far exceeded that of the men led by Wang Qi, and they did not fall behind in the exchange of fire.

The dozens of people led by He Zan were also members of the clan. Although they belonged to the Shenshu camp before, under the supervision of He Zan, the martial arts they learned were never wasted.

A small number of people can win because they work together and obey orders. They are much faster than an army of ruffians composed of rabble, and it is easier for He Zan to command the battle.

Most of the chasing cavalrymen crouched on their horses and charged desperately, quickly approaching Wang Qi's line, and it only took two yawns to cover a hundred steps.

Although Wang Qi's "Qian Jin" elite cavalry made some gains and shot down no fewer than forty or fifty of the opponent's cavalry, their own side also suffered considerable casualties, losing more men and horses than the opponent.

In terms of archery skills, the soldiers of the "Former Jin Dynasty" were far from the opponents of Li Chengdong's troops. The opponent had been shooting at living people for many years. Regardless of whether they were officers, soldiers or bandits, as long as they blocked the way, they would hit them without fail.

Numerous arrows shuttled back and forth between the two groups of men and horses at lightning speed. Many cavalrymen were hit by arrows and fell off their horses before they had time to react.

Seeing that the enemy army is getting closer and closer, it has an irresistible momentum and is about to penetrate directly into our own battle line like a sharp steel knife.

The soldiers of the "Former Jin" realized that bows and arrows alone could no longer stop the opponent's strong advance. Under heavy pressure, they chose to turn their horses and run away.

"Damn! Don't let me escape! Give me...ah~!"

When Wang Qi saw that his soldiers were timid in battle and did not listen to his orders, they fled the battlefield and immediately began to loudly reprimand these cowards who took their own money and did not work.

Just after saying a few words, a sharp arrow shot out of the air and hit Wang Qi in the shoulder. He couldn't help but scream, and had to cover the arrow with his hand. He was also forced to decide to run away first, and then follow up. count.

However, because escaping meant leaving one's back to the enemy's attack at will, after all the killings, the "Former Jin"'s 400 elite cavalry were left with less than 100 cavalry after the first battle.

The rest were either shot dead on the spot or fell half dead from their horses. Many people chose to stay away from Wang Qi and fled in all directions to avoid being targeted by the enemy and then they would never be able to escape again.

Moreover, these ruffians thought very correctly. Li Chengdong, He Zan and others clung to Wang Qi, while the others could run away at will.

Li Chengdong vowed to avenge himself for being attacked by an arrow. He had been on the battlefield for many years but was assassinated by an idiot. This was simply a big joke.

If this bastard object is not killed and the matter spreads, it will be the talk of others after dinner. For the sake of his own face, Li Chengdong has to get his money back with interest.

He Zan didn't seem to find Wang Pu in the opponent's team. It is very likely that the father and son of the thieves made a secret agreement, and Wang Qi would stop the pursuers and then join up with his father after he succeeded.

Now that the blockade failed, Wang Qi still had to go to Wang Pu as originally agreed, otherwise he would have to be surrounded and annihilated in the pass by a group of pursuers behind him.

Judging from the direction in which the thieves fled, He Zan did not believe that Wang Qi could calmly get out of Zhenqiang Fort with only the few remaining troops.

"Brother Li! This pair of thieves and their son are at the end of their rope. Don't let them escape!"

Now that Li Chengdong has the majority of the troops, He Zan also has to take into account the other party's opinions and communicate any ideas he has in advance to avoid misunderstandings.

"Brother He is absolutely right! It is a heinous crime for these thieves to cause trouble and openly stand on their own. If they escape from the customs, how can it be justified?"

There is no need for He Zan to remind Li Chengdong that he will not let Wang Pu and his son go. Capturing Wang Pu is a public matter, and killing Wang Qi is a personal vendetta. However, this is not a contradiction and can be achieved at the same time.

Even if Wang Qi, that bastard, chased him to the ends of the earth, Li Chengdong would chop him into pieces and feed them to the dogs.

No wonder Li Chengdong was so angry that he chased his prey for twenty miles and was bitten by the prey without paying attention.

He failed to catch the prey and let the prey escape again.

Then the two sides return to the stage of running and chasing each other. How angry is this?

Fortunately, there is Qiang Fort in front of them. As long as the defenders in the fort do not accept them, these bandits will not be able to cross the Great Wall and escape.

Neither the prince nor the governor specifically told him to capture the thieves and his son alive, which was easy to handle.

Li Chengdong thought of killing Wang Qi in several ways. He couldn't kill him with one knife first, as it would be too easy for him.

Wang Qi was just a hundred steps ahead, trying his best to escape, but the distance was too close and there were no nearby hills where he could hide.

Before the sun sets, it is already very difficult to get rid of the large group of pursuers behind you.

The military strength of both sides has undergone fundamental changes. Li and He still have no less than 300 cavalry, while Wang Qi only has 80 cavalry at most.

The morale of the counter-rebellion army was also significantly higher, and they had a terrifying momentum of destroying the rebels in one fell swoop.

However, when they arrived at Zhenqiang Fort, the pursuers discovered that the situation had changed.

There was a reconnaissance cavalry sent by Wang Pu ahead to lead the way, leading Wang Qi's remaining soldiers into the fort.

This shows that the rebels led by Wang Pu had already entered the fort, and they should have succeeded by deceiving the defenders.

The thieves and soldiers merged into one, abandoned their horses and boarded the city, using muskets, cannons and bows and arrows to block the pursuing army in front of them.

"The death of the dog thief Wang Pu has come! He hasn't left the city yet to surrender! Don't let the defenders be deceived by him. This man has betrayed the Ming Dynasty and is about to leave the city and surrender to the enemy!"

Seeing that the prey was about to be captured and killed in the pass, Li Chengdong was so angry that Wang Pu was allowed to enter the fort easily.

This is no wonder the defenders, because a small fort simply cannot resist the demands of the general soldiers of Datong.

Wang Pu finally found a place to stay, so he no longer panicked and said directly at the top of the city: "I am the general of Datong. I have always been loyal to the imperial court, but I have been chased all the way by you and other rebels! You can't wait." In order to serve the imperial court and dare to lead the people to rebel, he is really a person worthy of death. Anyone who meets him will kill him! If you are stubborn and give up your determination to fight, I will definitely not join in with you and will definitely serve the country with your life. !”

Anyway, now that the other party has no evidence, Wang Pu can confuse right and wrong and slander as he likes. He can say whatever he wants in front of everyone. His soldiers will not report his master.

The defenders in the fort were also confused. Both sides said that the other side was launching a rebellion and wanted to kill everyone, but they couldn't produce any decent physical evidence. It was really difficult for them to distinguish the truth from the false, and they were all said to be confused.

The highest officer of Zhenqiang Fort is the commander-in-chief, with only about fifty people under his command. There are also more than 200 people in the fort, who all make a living by farming nearby.

Just then, I saw Datong General Soldier leading his troops, and he hurriedly led everyone to greet him. As a result, not long after entering the fort, two groups of people came outside, one behind the other.

The one in front was the son of the commander-in-chief, and those behind him were a group of pursuing soldiers. Then the two sides continued to accuse and yell at each other, which made the commander-in-chief and his group of illiterate men a little stunned.

Each of us received less than two coins and three measures of rice a month. We were so poor that it was very difficult to feed these nearly two hundred people.

Since it never rains, there is a long-term drought here, and the people's lives are also very miserable, which is almost the same as theirs, or even more miserable.

Although Mr. Ba has a suit of armor, it has been in disrepair for a long time. There are many cracks and cracks in the threads. He makes a "fanning" sound when he walks, like a pile of scrap metal pieces put together. Similar.

Some of the soldiers under his command didn't even have armor, and the color faded was second to none. The collars and cuffs had long been frayed, and the hems were torn into strips of cloth.

A group of soldiers rarely washed themselves. They were all unkempt and had no meat or vegetables to eat. They looked like beggars, but they all stood aside with curious faces to watch the fun.

At first, Wang Pu wanted these idiots to go to the city to guard the city, but when he saw how badly they behaved, he immediately gave up the idea. This group of border troops had no fighting power at all.

Wang Pu would not rest assured if they were allowed to defend the fort. The enemy outside might be able to enter the fort in one attack, and he would be caught off guard.

This group of lazy frontier troops is just a decoration like the Zhenqiang Fort. No matter it is foreign enemies or internal thieves, this fort has no way of guarding against it.

According to the general's explanation, there were hundreds of border troops here, but half of them chose to run away privately because they could not receive their pay and rice stipends.

Mr. Jiang didn't want to embarrass everyone. I heard that Shaanxi had been without food and salary for several years. Xuanda was located in a strategic location, and the court could still squeeze some out of their teeth.

However, after many layers of deductions, the food and wages received at the border forts were barely enough to keep the soldiers from starving to death, and that was all.

The frontier troops guarding the fort were less willing to fight than the soldiers and horses brought by Wang Pu. As long as they were ordered to fight, Wang Pu could use the fort at will.

The situation of Zhenqiang Fort is similar to that of the frontier fortresses. It is just a giant adobe. It can defend against cannons and bows and arrows. It can blast a gap with continuous firing of the Fo Lang machine.

Wang Pu simply has no confidence to stay here for a long time, but the current situation is quite critical and he must stay here in the short term. If he attacks rashly, his entire army may be annihilated.

Fortunately, the pursuers were all cavalry and did not carry any siege equipment at all. No matter how difficult it was to suppress Qiang Fort, they had no choice but to stare and curse outside.

Wang Pu was the commander-in-chief of Datong, and he knew that Wang Pu was the commander-in-chief of Datong, but he had never heard of the new soldiers outside.

As for who is rebelling, it is impossible to make a correct judgment now, because both sides think that the other is a rebel...

"Damnable dog thieves! Brother He, in Li's opinion, it's better for us to surround the fort first and guard it in all directions. Don't let the dog thieves escape, and then ask the governor to bring in fire guns to attack the city!"

Although Li Chengdong was extremely angry, he did not order an siege. All he brought were elite cavalry. It would be a pity to use them to attack the city. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to wait for backup.

"What Brother Li said is very consistent with a certain idea. Now that the dog thief is surrounded, he has become a turtle in the urn. If he brings a large army, he will be defeated and killed!"

He Zan also agreed with Li Chengdong's suggestion. Seeing that the sun was setting in the west and Wang Pu showed no signs of escaping, it was better to stand still and strike later.

When Liu Guangzuo, He Cheng and Li Chengdong's subordinates arrived at the scene of the incident, more than two thousand cavalry surrounded Zhenqiang Fort on all sides.

Everyone was not afraid that Wang Pu would lead his troops to suddenly rush out from the fort, which would play into their own hands, so they simply started to light a fire to keep warm, and roasted the dead horses to satisfy their hunger.

This can be regarded as making the best use of all the good parts, so that the good parts will not be eaten by wild wolves, otherwise everyone will have to eat dry bread, even if it is soaked in water, it will be difficult to swallow.

"Father!"

"..."

Wang Qi still called Wang Pu his father in the fort, which made Wang Pu very unhappy. If the defenders heard it, it would be a flaw, and he would have to kill all the defenders in the fort to be safe.

"Father! I just have a long night and a lot of dreams. I'm afraid the enemy's reinforcements will arrive tomorrow. What should we do?"

Seeing Wang Pu frowning, Wang Qi also realized that he had made a mistake and hurriedly changed it.

"The enemy army has been fighting with our army for a long time. It is when the men and horses are exhausted. As soon as the day is over tomorrow, my father will lead the army to fight out and let the soldiers have a good rest!"

Wang Pu also believed that it was not advisable to stay here for a long time. If he did not leave tonight, Yang Wenyue would send a large army tomorrow, and they and his son would definitely not be able to escape by then.

Not only are the two hundred remaining cavalry around them going up against tens of thousands of troops, but the few cavalrymen outside the fort are extremely difficult to deal with, and they must break through the encirclement overnight.

The counter-rebellion army had long been too lazy to deal with the rebels in the fort. After nightfall, snoring could be heard in all directions, and only the bonfires were still swaying in the wind.

The cavalry responsible for guarding the Qiang Fort rested two hundred steps away, otherwise they would be killed or wounded by the ordnance in the fort.

In the night, there were only a few dozen sentries patrolling back and forth, and everything fell silent.

At the appointed time, Wang Qi ordered his soldiers to quietly open the north gate of the fort. In order to avoid disturbing the enemy, he ordered everyone to lead their horses out.

After nightfall, the clouds were dense, the moonlight was gone, and the visual distance was very short. Wang Qi felt relieved when he saw that there was still no reaction from the other side.

Wang Pu learned from the general inquiry that there were only dozens of border troops stationed on a nearby section of the Great Wall, and the security was loose, making it extremely convenient to exit the border.

It only takes everyone two or three miles to show up in Monan. After arriving at Mao'er Village, they have already escaped and ascended to heaven.

The key lies in how to slip away from the enemy outside the fort.

For this reason, Wang Pu deliberately extinguished all the fires in the castle to avoid exposing his own image.

Wait until you are about a hundred steps away from the enemy, then order everyone to mount their horses and run wildly, catching the enemy by surprise.

"Enemy attack! Get up! Enemy attack!"

Due to the pain from the wound, Li Chengdong never slept well and could only close his eyes.

Wang Qi was not captured, his revenge was not avenged, and Li Chengdong had no intention of sleeping.

This gave Li Chengdong an opportunity to give an early warning. After noticing the sound of horse hooves, he immediately called on everyone to rise up and fight.