Zhang Cheng retreated immediately after receiving the order. Before he strode back to his headquarters, Zhang Guangda and other generals were already ready to attack and gathered in front of the formation to wait.
"Commander, what did the governor say? Do you have an order for us to attack?" Zhang Guangda asked eagerly as soon as he saw Zhang Cheng returning.
Zhang Cheng, however, did not say a word. He looked at the generals with a solemn expression. After a long time, he said in a deep voice: "The governor has an order, and ordered me to attack the West Shimen with the Xuanbei Army to rescue Yang Zhenshuai who was besieged by the Tatars. If there is anything we can do, we should break through the West Stone Gate in one fell swoop and march straight to the gates of Jinzhou City."
When he said this, he suddenly stopped, looked at the generals solemnly, and said: "You must know that although our army is more powerful than the Tartars, its combat power may not be stronger than that of the Tartars." Tartar thieves.
If the battle goes well like this, all the armies will be brave. However, if the battle encounters obstacles, or sudden changes occur, and the army shows a slight decline, it is feared that the morale of the army will be lost. The morale of the troops and horses under each general will no longer be interested in fighting, and they will have to find a way to survive.
Therefore, in this battle, our army can only rely on its own strength to fight the slaves, and cannot rely on reinforcements. All departments must strictly abide by military orders, and must not underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, so that the Tatar thieves can take advantage of it and disrupt our army's position. "
"Here!" All the generals sang in unison with solemn expressions.
"Everyone will obey the order." Zhang Cheng shouted.
When all the generals heard the words, they all stood upright and listened carefully, for fear of missing something.
Zhang Cheng glanced at the generals with a serious expression, and then said: "The Tiger Guards and the Cavalry Camp will follow me to fight. They will rush through the Tatar defense line along the mountains on the left to search for Yang Zhenshuai's location."
Zhang Guangda and Lin Fangping sang in unison to receive orders.
Zhang Cheng added: "Wei Zhice, two troops of chariots and chariots stayed behind in the main camp, and only two troops of chariots went out to fight. We camped step by step along the mountain road and marched towards the West Shimen."
Wei Zhice also promised loudly.
Li Jiyu, the commander of the Dengfeng camp, looked anxious. Seeing that Zhang Cheng had ordered the commanders of the third camp to fight, he was afraid that he would be forgotten and stay in the camp. However, he did not dare to take the initiative to ask for help, and only looked at Zhang Cheng longingly.
Since he was adopted, he was still a little unwilling at first, but after he moved to Xuanfu East Road and settled down, he became the commander of a battalion and realized the real life.
Just think about it, who is born as a human being and is willing to be a thief?
If Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and others could still make a living by their original means of livelihood, or even see hope for the future, who would be willing to risk beheading to become a thief?
Li Jiyu was just a righteous man who wanted to get ahead. He was also forced by exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes and was no longer able to make a living, so he gathered a crowd to rise up. What's more, he had only been a thief for a short time, his hands were not stained with blood, and he was far from cultivating a thief. A murderous temper.
Zhang Cheng also took a fancy to his strong loyalty and the fact that he had only been a thief for a long time and his thief nature had not yet taken root, so he made the effort to take him under his command.
"Where is Li Jiyu!"
Just when Li Jiyu was praying, a loud shout came. He hurriedly straightened his body and loudly answered: "The general will be here."
Zhang Cheng nodded with satisfaction and said to him: "Although your Dengfeng battalion has already formed an army, it has never experienced a war of such a scale, and has never fought against the Tatars before. This time, we will accompany the Wei guerrilla battalion." Go out and fight.”
When Li Jiyu learned that he was ordered to fight, he couldn't hide his excitement. He cupped his fists and accepted the order: "Here!"
"Where are Du Youwei and He Kuan?"
"The general is here!"
"You two will lead the left and right armies of the Chinese army and follow the Wei guerrillas to fight against the Tartars."
"Here!"
Zhang Cheng's eyes turned to the Chief Superintendent He Biao. This person was a ruthless person who didn't speak much. Although he had always been a low-key presence in the Xuanbei Army, he was still indispensable.
"He Zhenfu, I'll leave the camp to you."
Zhang Cheng looked at He Biao and nodded heavily to him, and then continued: "The army is in danger and the war is fierce, not to mention the Tatar thieves have a reputation for being vicious. We, the Xuanbei Army, can only go all out and not leave any strength to spare.
And you are responsible for commanding the chariot and two troops. Not only do you stay at the camp, but you also have to be on standby at all times. If the front line is critical, He Zhenfu must lead his troops to respond! "
"Here. Don't worry, Commander, He Biao will never disgrace his orders."
When Zhang Cheng saw that everything had been arranged, his phoenix eyes widened, and he said loudly and resolutely: "Everyone, Marshal Yang is currently fighting with the Tatars outside the West Stone Gate. According to the military reports coming in one after another, Marshal Yang's troops have already Being divided and besieged by the Tatar thieves, the situation was critical.
Our Xuanbei Army and the Zhenbiao Camp are both soldiers and horses of Xuanzhen, and they are one body of Xuanzhen. Naturally, they share dangers and blessings. You all will go to war with me, and you must move forward bravely and fight the Tatar thieves with all your strength.
Anyone who is timid and refuses to move forward and disturbs our military morale will be dealt with immediately by military law! "
"Here!"
"Okay, let's all go back and prepare. In a moment, the whole army will go out to fight!"
"Here!"
After receiving the order loudly, the generals retreated one after another, gathering their troops and horses to prepare for the battle.
…………
"My brothers, my brothers from the Biao Camp of Xuanfu are fighting bloody battles with the Tatars at the West Stone Gate. It has been half a day now. It is the time when we are getting ridiculed and exhausted. As Xuanfu soldiers, can you just sit back and watch!"
As soon as Zhang Cheng finished speaking, Zhang Guangda was the first to raise his arms and shout: "No!"
"Can't! Can't! Can't..."
Under the leadership of Zhang Guangda, the crowd became furious and roared in unison.
Zhang Chengce was riding on his war horse "Hei Yunliu", wearing a golden imperial armor shining brightly in the sunlight. He held the reins in his left hand and raised his duck-billed knife stick high in the air with his right hand.
There was an instant silence in the military formation. Zhang Cheng rode his horse in front of the formation and shouted loudly: "In the ninth year of Chongzhen, the Tatars invaded our Xuanfu, took away my wealth, silk, grain, and plundered my wife and children. Do you hate it or not!"
"Hate...hate...hate..."
At this moment, the generals were so excited that no one needed to take the lead, and everyone shouted in unison.
Zhang Cheng waved his knife-clamping stick to stop the shouting. He galloped his horse in front of the formation, and then shouted loudly: "Liaodong is our territory of the Ming Dynasty, but it has been ravaged by Tatar thieves for a long time.
Today, we are besieging our brothers in Xuanzhen from the front. You are willing to follow my commander to rescue them, fight a bloody battle with the Tatar thieves, show off the power of our Xuanbei army, and avenge the deaths of our brothers and sisters! "
"Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!"
The soldiers no longer needed Zhang Cheng to raise his stick and wave it around. They all shouted three times and then stopped.
Zhang Cheng looked at the Xuanbei army formation in front of him, and his heart was filled with excitement. He secretly warned himself: He must protect these loyal and brave soldiers who follow him!
The nearly 10,000 officers and soldiers of the Northern Army are all high-spirited, and their roars will eventually be transformed into bloodthirsty and life-threatening bullets, harvesting the lives of the Tatar thieves on the battlefield.
Zhang Cheng rode his horse towards the Ten Thousand Army Formation, waving his knife and stick in the air, and shouted loudly:
“The Ming Dynasty…mighty!
Daming... Wan Sheng! …”
From the entire Xuanbei Army array, roars of "Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng..." resounded through the sky.
Zhang Guangda and Lin Fangping led the soldiers from the Cavalry Camp and the Tiger Guard Camp to gallop out. Following Zhang Cheng, they galloped out of the camp and headed toward the west stone gate in the northeast.
Behind them were generals Wei Zhice, Li Jiyu, Du Youwei, and He Kuan, leading the Che Ying, Deng Feng Ying, and Chinese Infantry Ying in a hurry.
…………
"With such a military spirit, why worry about Jin Wei?"
Commander-in-chief Zhang Ruoqi stood on the high platform of the Central Army, with his right hand behind his back and his left hand stroking the beard on his chin. He looked in the direction of the Xuanbei Army's formation and sighed like this.
Ji Liao Governor Hong Chengchou stood in front of Zhang Ruoqi, and he was also greatly shocked. His usually calm expression showed a little excitement.
Hong Chengchou smiled elegantly, raised his hand and stroked his beard, and said: "Zhang Cheng is indeed different. The Xuanbei Army has a lot to do!"
"The army is so powerful and the lineup is so rigorous. In Liaodong, only General Chang Bo can compare with it." Qiu Minyang, the governor of Liaodong, was also full of praise for the Xuanbei Army.
After listening to his words, Hong Chengchou was thoughtful and seemed to want to say something, but he didn't say it after all.
"Since Yu is born, how can Liang be born!"
In the eyes of Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, Cao Bianjiao was already a rare warrior, but if measured from many aspects such as background, life experience, knowledge, ability, communication, etc., compared with Wu Sangui, he was still a few steps behind!
Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of the Ningyuan regiment training, is the leader of the young generation in Liaodong. It is precisely because of this that he accepted him as a student and wanted to train him personally so that he can be used for his own purposes and help him integrate the power of Liaodong's military families and fight against Dongdong. prisoner.
Nowadays, Wu Sangui has gained a lot of reputation in Liaodong or in the imperial court. Especially in Liaodong, he has become one of the powerful commanders.
But if compared with Zhang Cheng, it seems to have many shortcomings, how could he not feel so emotional!
Hong Chengchou still can't understand how Zhang Cheng, who was originally just a little-known little-known general, rose to become the deputy commander-in-chief second only to the commander-in-chief in two or three years.
Moreover, the military strength of his subordinates was actually stronger than that of Yang Guozhu, the commander-in-chief of the first town. Wu Sangui, whom he strongly supported, was somewhat inferior. How could he, Zhang Cheng, do it at such a young age in just a few years?
Although he was full of doubts, he had no time to think about it carefully at the moment. After all, the crisis in front of him was the most pressing matter in reality.
The Songjin War was not only a life and death battle between the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, but also a life and death battle for Hong Chengchou?
No matter what great deeds he had done before, or what shocking achievements he had made, now, his posthumous reputation is indeed only based on today's Liaodong battle!
If he could win this battle by luck, it would not be impossible for him, Hong Chengchou, to be granted the title of marquis and count as a civil servant, instead of becoming a prime minister.
But if the Battle of Songjin is defeated and the military in Liaodong collapses, Mo will no longer talk about worshiping the prime minister and becoming a marquis. Even if his previous fame, his life, his family, etc. can be saved, it is unknown.
…………
Although Li Fuming was also the chief military officer of a town, because he was in the process of atoning for his sins, he only had five thousand soldiers and horses under his command. Among them, there were only two thousand cavalry who could be called strong soldiers, and the rest were all infantry. , and the equipment is not sophisticated enough.
What he faced was the elite of the Qing army, a group of more than a thousand Bagalas, whose commander was the second son of Yangguli, the martial hero king of the Qing Dynasty, the first-class super duke of the Qing Dynasty, and the internal minister Shumulu Tazhan.
Ta Zhan was originally leading the Qing Dynasty's Bagala warriors, hiding in a depression in the middle of Shimen Mountain, preparing to wait for an opportunity to support East Shimen or West Shimen. He was an elite hidden by Prince Rui Dorgon.
It was only because the war at West Shimen had started earlier than at East Shimen that Dorgon made the decisive decision to order Ta Zhan to no longer hide in hiding and lead an assault on Li Fuming's troops as the rear army.
Although one thousand men fought against three thousand Ming troops, Ta Zhan showed no fear. He divided his troops into three groups, using only one group to constantly clash with the army of Shanxi general Li Fuming, while leaving two groups as reserves. , to prepare for the surprise attack of the two thousand cavalry under Li Fuming's command.
Although Li Fuming's Shanxi troops numbered as many as five thousand, they could only barely hold on. Because they were afraid of military law and wanted to redeem themselves, they fought hard and refused to retreat, let alone break through the barrier of the tower to rescue Yang Guozhu.
In this case, the Shanxi soldiers and horses under his command were also seriously damaged. After all, they were fighting against the elite Bagala among the Tatar thieves. What's more, his army did not pay much attention to firearms. Although there were some blunderbuss and cannons, they were very old and worn out. Not sharp.
As the most elite among the Tartar thieves, Bagala is brave and good at fighting. He is also good at riding and shooting. Even the elite horsemen in their army are beyond his reach, let alone Li Fuming's subordinates.
What's even more terrible is that Bajala, who faced a pagoda with thousands of horses, was already struggling to hold on. Halfway through the battle, the Qing army's Gushan'e Zhenzhun pagoda led another thousand Tatars with Zhengbai flags to come for reinforcements.
After fighting like this for an hour, Li Fuming's soldiers killed and wounded nearly a thousand people, but only killed and wounded more than a hundred Qing troops. Although most of the casualties in Li Fuming's army were infantry, and there were fewer casualties and more injuries, but this time The casualty ratio of ten to ten is also astonishing!
Just when Li Fuming felt weak and helpless, a plume of smoke rose under the hills on the east side of the mountain road, rolling forward from south to north, like a dry dragon stirring up endless sand, covering the sky and the sun.
…………
Zhang Cheng rode his horse in front, with Zhang Chengfang and Zhang Jintai closely following him. Behind him were two groups of child soldiers, and on the left and right were elite cavalry guards from the Cavalry Battalion and the Tiger Guard Battalion.
Although he was worried about the safety of Yang Guozhu, Guo Yingxian and others, he did not dare to slap the war horse hard on his crotch to make it run wildly. After all, the best state of the war horse only has two uses.
One is fighting on the battlefield, and the other is running away!
Zhang Cheng led the knights at a brisk pace, but his elite cavalry also had one man and two cavalrymen. Although there were less than three thousand knights, there were nearly four thousand horses, so the momentum was huge.
The knights of the Xuanbei Army followed Zhang Cheng all the way, bringing up smoke and dust all over the sky. From a distance, they saw Li Fuming fighting with thousands of Qing troops, but they had no intention of stopping to rescue them.
But Zhang Cheng was worried about the safety of Yang Guozhu and others, and did not want to delay here. Ta Zhan and Zhun Ta were responsible for intercepting the Ming reinforcements, so how could they let him pass smoothly like this.
Like Li Fuming, they saw smoke and dust billowing into the sky from the south early. After the two had a brief discussion in front of the formation, Zhun Ta led the Zhengbai Banner Qing army with less than a thousand riders to rush to intercept them.
Zhang Cheng's cavalry rushed in front of the formation. He looked at the cavalry rushing towards him from a mile away and shouted loudly: "Send the order, the heavy cavalry will attack, the tiger guard will attack with the right wing, the light cavalry will attack with the left wing, break through the enemy's formation, and move forward without hesitation."
"kill!"
"Kill...kill...kill..."
