Dorgonce looked at the cavalry formation of the Ming Army slowly approaching from the front. Although the flags were clear, they looked like they were local soldiers and horses from Xuanfu of the Ming Dynasty, but he couldn't remember who the general was at the moment.
According to the intelligence they found out, the soldiers and horses of Xuanfu Town came with General Yang Guozhu to aid Liaodong. They should be under the command of General Yang. Why did they attack from behind now?
In the Qing Dynasty, from the slave chieftain Huang Taiji to the flag masters, officials and generals, they still couldn't understand the subordinate relationship between the armies and generals of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, not to mention them, even the governors of various places in the Ming Dynasty had some problems. Confused.
Today's Ming Dynasty has shown signs of the end of the dynasty. Not only are there more and more generals and commanders in various places, but the number of soldiers and horses under their respective command is also unknown.
Under the general army, there are also deputy generals, staff generals, guerrillas, commanders, etc. Some of them are also under the command of the general soldiers, while some are independent in one area and are not under anyone's control.
In addition, in recent years, the Ming Dynasty has used troops everywhere. Generals in various towns have been dispatched frequently, and many generals have been temporarily granted titles. Many generals have also been ordered to temporarily station in various places, so they are on call at any time.
For example, Zhang Cheng's Henan Suppression and Relief Commander-in-Chief had a temporary title, but his actual position was still Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Xuanzhen Detachment, and he was stationed in Yongning City on Xuanfu East Road.
Although he has now left Henan and joined Liaodong to aid, his title of Chief Officer of the Henan Aid and Suppression Campaign has not been removed, so it is not an exaggeration to call him Commander Zhang.
Even if one of the Ming generals was confused about these twists and turns, how could Huang Taiji, Dorgon and others know so much if they were in Liaodong?
As the Ming cavalry on the opposite side got closer and closer, a strong sense of oppression arose spontaneously, and Dorgon's face became very bad, because this was supposed to be a sense of oppression that only the Qing cavalry had. How could it happen? Appeared on the cavalry of the Ming Dynasty?
I saw that the cavalry of the Ming army on the opposite side was not marching very fast, but the rhythm was very regular, and the cavalry formation was tight and strict. It was obvious that they had such a military appearance after rigorous training.
At this time, it was also clear that there were about six to seven hundred knights in the middle cavalry formation. They were all equipped with armor. Most of them used long soldiers in the military formation. It could be seen that about two hundred people were holding three-eyed blunderbuss, and there were More than two hundred knights were holding bows and arrows.
"Hmph, how dare you compare your riding and archery skills with my Qing warriors?"
The full contempt was reflected in Dorgon's eyes. Although the words were not spoken, the eyes revealed everything.
At this time, several Qing cavalrymen rushed over on horseback. They stopped outside the formation and seemed to report something.
Sure enough, after a while, E Keqin rode his horse to Dorgon's side and reported: "Uncle King, Zhun Pagoda was killed by Ming Gou, and his troops were also defeated. The Baya La warriors under Zhang Jing's command at the Pagoda also The casualties are quite heavy, they are fighting and retreating, slowly approaching our army."
Dorgon was stunned when he heard this. He had learned that the Ming army on the opposite side had rushed in from the south, so he guessed that Tazhan and Zhunta might not be able to defend it, but he never expected that the mighty Qing Dynasty would The warriors of Batulu were actually killed in front of the battle by the Ming army.
He looked fiercely and said bitterly: "Tell me again, what about the accurate tower? What about the tower?"
Eke hurriedly replied: "Uncle, just now there were more than 2,000 Ming army cavalry. They wanted to break through the mountain road to aid General Yang. They led thousands of cavalry warriors to Tagu Mountain to intercept them. How could they expect that this Ming cavalry was so fierce? In one battle, Zhun Tower was killed and our army was defeated.”
"You bastard, the leader of the trap will be in the enemy's formation, and he will be defeated and flee in front of the formation. All the generals above Bashiku will be beheaded."
Dorgon was very angry and asked again: "How come Tazhan was also defeated?"
Eke personally replied: "It was reported that the Ming army did not attack Tazhan's headquarters, but marched straight north. It was probably the Ming cavalry on the opposite side. It was another Ming army infantry camp that defeated Tazhan. They had so many chariots and sharp cannons that they fired in turns, making it impossible for Tazhan's troops to rush into the Ming army's formation."
"Do you know which Ming army it is?"
"Back to my uncle, the colors of the flags are still those of the Ming army soldiers and horses in Xuanfu Town. The general flag of the Ming dog cavalry has the word 'Zhang' on it, and the Ming army infantry flag has the word 'Wei' on it!"
"Zhang? Wei?"
Dorgon was full of doubts. In his memory, there seemed to be no strong generals named Zhang or Wei in the Ming Dynasty. He casually asked: "Is there any general in the Ming Dynasty named Zhang? Or is it someone with the surname Wei? Or is it under the banner of Xuanfu?"
E Keqin seemed to suddenly remember something. His eyes widened, and he turned to look at Dorgon and said, "Uncle, the news came from Shopkeeper Wang of Zhangjiakou last time, saying that there is a deputy general in the Xuan Mansion. The man named Zhang once secretly traded with the Mongolian tribes outside my mouth."
Dorgon seemed to have remembered something at this time, and he suddenly asked: "But your name is Zhang Cheng?"
E Keqin lowered his head and thought for a while before replying: "Uncle Wang, I couldn't remember it at the moment, but the surname of the deputy commander-in-chief of Xuanzhen is indeed Zhang. The shopkeeper Wang also said that this man was in Xuanzhen to suppress thieves and bandits." , the most powerful.”
He continued: "The Zhang Cheng my uncle spoke of was the Ming general who attacked our camp at night in the north of Beijing in the third year of Chongde and stabbed Prince Keqin in the Ming Dynasty?"
A ray of light shot out of Dorgon's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "This is the son. Unexpectedly, in just a few years, he has become the deputy commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, with such a military force!"
He then added: "Huh, this son will definitely become an obstacle to my Qing Dynasty's pursuit of enlightenment in the future. If he can't be used by me, I will get rid of him as soon as possible."
Dorgon was about to reorganize his troops and attack Zhang Cheng's Chinese cavalry with all his strength. He saw dozens more cavalry rushing towards them, and Eke hurriedly went up to them to ask.
After a while, he reported back to Dorgon. It turned out that Tazhan was leading the Bagala warriors to fight and retreat, but the nearly 6,000 Ming army infantry were pursuing them all the way. They were now heading towards Dorgon's location. Tazhan Unable to stop it, Dorgon is asked to take precautions in advance.
After Dorgon heard the news, the expression on his face was distorted. He still had more than 3,500 Zhengbai Banner Qing troops on his side. He could have fought with Zhang Cheng and Guo Yingxian on his side.
But if it is true as Ta Zhan said, more than 6,000 elite infantrymen of the Ming army push forward with chariots, their own troops will be stretched thin and difficult to cope with, not to mention that there are battlefields everywhere outside the West Stone Gate at this time, and it can change at any moment. whole body.
Anyway, a general officer of the Ming army has been killed, so they can take advantage of the fact that they still have the upper hand everywhere to withdraw their troops and return to camp to hold on. As long as the west stone gate is not lost, it will be difficult for the Ming army to break the siege of Jinzhou.
He said bitterly: "E Keqin, you lead a thousand elite warriors to join Ta Zhan. You must try your best to harass the stagnant Ming army infantry and delay their advance. I will go to meet Zhang Cheng of the Xuanfu!"
E Keqin heard this and said hurriedly: "Uncle King, why don't we leave more warriors to you, so as not to suffer the consequences of Ming Gou."
"I am a warrior of the Qing Dynasty. One is worth ten, why should I be afraid of thousands of Mingqi?"
…………
Zhang Cheng, deputy commander-in-chief of Xuanfu Town and commander-in-chief of the Henan Suppression Campaign, led the soldiers of the Tiger Guard Battalion to ride their horses slowly. His adopted sons Zhang Chengfang and Zhang Jintai led the child soldiers to guard him.
Lin Fangping led the elite cavalry from the central part of the Huwei camp to advance in the center, also surrounding Zhang Cheng. Li Changsheng led the left group on the left. They were originally rangers who were transferred to the Huwei camp, so most of them were armed with three-eyed guns.
Su Laohu led more than 200 Mongolian cavalrymen on the right side of the Huwei camp. They mostly held bows and arrows. After all, they were all Mongolian knights, and riding and shooting was their specialty.
It was also because the cavalry formation on his side was not neat enough. From time to time, knights would jump out of the formation and gallop beside the cavalry formation, sometimes hiding in stirrups and sometimes jumping around, showing off their respective riding skills.
Zhang Cheng kept suppressing his speed so that Guo Yingxian and Zhang Guangda on the two wings could protrude forward, forming a crane wing formation, and used the two wings to outflank Dorgon's Qing army on the opposite side.
When they advanced to less than one mile away from the Qing army, the Ming cavalry of Zhang Guangda and Guo Yingxian on the left and right wings were already on a horizontal line with Dorgon's Qing army. They adjusted their defense line so that their front was facing the Qing army. , completing the three-sided encirclement of the Qing army.
Just when Zhang Cheng led his troops to urge the horses to change from slow trot to fast trot, the Qing army on the opposite side also slowly retreated. More than 2,000 Qing cavalry galloped on their horses and quickly escaped from the siege of the Ming army. .
Just when Zhang Cheng thought Dorgon was about to escape, they stopped on a hilly mountain, seemingly waiting for Zhang Cheng.
Suddenly, a cry of killing came from the right wing. It turned out that Guo Yingxian couldn't hold it back, and before Zhang Cheng could take action, he launched a charge first. Their nearly 1,000 elite cavalry from the Zhenbiao Battalion howled "Revenge... revenge... ..." He rushed towards the Qing army.
Seeing this, Zhang Cheng could only cooperate. He took out his gun and shouted: "Kill, kill the slave!"
The Ming armies on three sides launched a cavalry charge at the same time. The "rumbling" of hoofbeats shook the sky and the earth, and the roar of "kill slaves" resounded through the sky. In the smoke and dust rising from three sides, there was a powerful anger hidden in the sky.
Dorgon didn't seem to want to fight the Ming army. When Guo Yingxian launched a charge, he rode his horse and led the army to retreat. The Ming army pursued them quickly, and they retreated quickly. The Ming army pursued them slowly, and they retreated too. slow.
Zhang Cheng and others pursued for more than a mile, then slowed down their horses. After all, the Ming army under Guo Yingxian fought hard with the Tatars for more than half a day, and the physical strength of the soldiers and the legs of the horses were seriously damaged.
At the same time, Dorgon's Qing army had always been at an advantage. When they besieged Yang Guozhu, they did not dispatch the entire army, but took turns to fight. The loss of horse power was not serious.
Seeing that several more groups of cavalry from various banners of the Qing army came to join Dorgon, with nearly 4,000 troops on the opposite side, Zhang Cheng hurriedly sent an order to tell Guo Yingxian to stop the pursuit.
Strangely enough, as soon as the Ming army stopped, the Qing army also stopped. They neither turned back to attack the Ming army nor continued to flee.
Just when Zhang Cheng was confused, a piece of red appeared on the hills to the south, like a red cloud, slowly moving in. In front of the red cloud, more than a hundred cavalry galloped towards them.
Lin Fangping rode up to Zhang Cheng's horse and said, "Commander, General Wei's carriage camp is here."
Zhang Cheng nodded. His eyes were focused on the Qing army on the hill opposite. He saw a group of about fifty horsemen galloping out of the Qing army's formation, with a man in gilt armor protecting him in the middle. Qing army general.
They rushed out of the Qing army's formation and went up to a hill. Looking in the direction of Wei Zhice's chariot camp, they saw rows of chariots approaching from the horizon, and behind the chariots were dense and neat military formations.
Dorgon couldn't help but gasped. He said a few words to the people around him. After a moment, he saw a Qing cavalry rushing out on horseback and galloping straight towards Zhang Cheng.
The Qing cavalry stopped fifty steps in front of Zhang Cheng's cavalry formation and shouted loudly in fluent Chinese: "Prince He Shuorui of the Qing Dynasty, I would like to inform General Zhang of Xuanzhen of the Ming Dynasty that the two armies have been fighting for a long time today and they are both exhausted. , I would like to call it quits and return to camp, and agree to fight again someday."
Zhang Cheng raised his head and looked at the sun that was already setting slightly in the west. He estimated that it was already dark and the soldiers had been fighting for most of the day, so it was indeed not suitable to fight anymore.
He gave a few instructions to Zhang Chengfang beside him, and saw Zhang Chengfang riding out of the military formation. He walked straight to the distance of thirty steps in front of the Qing cavalry, and said in a slightly immature voice: "Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Xuanfu Town, Ming Dynasty" Zhang Cheng, I would like to inform Dorgon, the rebellious slave, that if the soldiers arrive today, if we can capture them without restraint, we may be able to keep your body intact and survive."
Zhang Cheng saw that the Qing cavalry seemed to be cursing and hurriedly led the troops up. Seeing this, the Qing cavalry turned around and fled towards the formation. Immediately afterwards, the Qing army slowly retreated, and the large banner woven with gold dragon banner also slowly retreated. Move north.
Guo Yingxian rode up to Zhang Cheng and said angrily: "You actually asked this slave leader to run away."
Zhang Cheng comforted him and said: "We have been fighting fiercely for a whole day, and the soldiers are all exhausted. It is really difficult to fight another battle. I will record Yang Shuai's revenge to the Tatars. Sooner or later, they will be avenged."
Guo Yingxian also knew that what Zhang Cheng said was true. He just nodded heavily and said, "That's okay. It seems like this is the only way. Let's go and rescue He Zhenxiong and Tang Xiancheng..."
Zhang Cheng also nodded and said: "Master Guo will send someone to lead the way for me. We will march separately and each of us will rescue one side."
"good!"
…………
After Dorgon led more than 4,000 Qing army bannermen and cavalry to retreat, he did not return to the West Shimen, but went straight to the south of Jinzhou City. It was precisely because he led his troops to arrive in time that Zu Dashou's attack failed to be effective.
In fact, Zu Dashou's soldiers and horses had already broken through the third trench defense line in the south of the city, and reinforcements from the Qing army arrived one after another, and an unprecedented tug-of-war started around the trench.
This trench changed owners several times. Finally, due to the timely arrival of Dorgon, it once again became an important line of defense for the Qing army to besiege Jinzhou. Zu Dashou was also forced to retreat to the inner city of Jinzhou.
At the same time, the fighting on other battlefields was also coming to an end. The two sides fought fiercely, causing heavy casualties in this battle.
The Qing army's Dorgon stationed at West Shimen suffered the most damage, followed by the soldiers and horses of Zhenghongqi Gushan'e Zhenshuo Tuo who were defending Huangtu Ridge. Cao Bianjiao, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Association of the Ming Army, attacked severely and inflicted heavy damage on Shuo Tuo's troops. There were huge casualties.
Zhenman Dahai with a red flag on Gushan'er faced Wang Tingchen, the former Ming Dynasty garrison commander, in Maojiagou, and suffered heavy casualties. Even Hauge's troops guarding the East Shimen, although fighting fiercely with Wu Sangui and Bai Guangen, actually suffered heavy casualties. Not big.
The ones with the fewest casualties were the Qing troops under Baya Lahu Zhangjing Yildeng who were guarding Songshan Ridge. They fought against the Tang Tong troops of the Ming army. The battle between the two sides also revolved around a trench.
Tang Tong led the Ming army to protect the Minfu army from digging trenches, while Ilden commanded the Qing army to prevent Tang Tong from digging trenches. Although they fought fiercely, the actual fighting time was not long, so the casualties on both sides were not very large.
In this battle, the biggest loss of the Qing army was actually due to the Qing army dispatched from Rufeng Mountain to reinforce the south of Jinzhou City. The Ming army's Ma Ke command easily attacked Rufeng Mountain, which was indeed wrong.
