"The best thing is to catch a few of them alive, or ask the Tatars what their tricks are!"
Shi Meng thought this in his heart, but compared to some time ago, it is getting harder and harder to catch the Tatars.
After all, it was a battle between two armies. Hundreds of thousands of people and horses were intertwined in such a narrow area. When the Tatar sentries came out of the camp to investigate, they were all in groups. They galloped on the north side of Rufeng Mountain and Shimen Mountain, intending to cover the The area around Jinzhou City.
In this way, it is almost impossible to see lone Tatar soldiers anymore. This makes it impossible for the Xuanbei Army to keep sentries at night to catch the survivors. The information obtained has to rely on sentry observations, which is relatively difficult.
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"This time we must detect the specific information of Baimiao Fort!" Li Changsheng, who was riding on a war horse, thought this way.
At this time, he took Ye Bushou from the left sentry of the Tiger Guard camp out to investigate, and they were running on the field leading from Daxing Fort to Nunu River.
The sound of hoofbeats rumbled. Although there were only about a hundred people in his group, each of them only had three horses, and most of them were fat and strong war horses. The sound of hoofbeats hit the loess ground that was baked hard by the harsh sun, creating a huge momentum. Not small indeed.
The terrain in this area is relatively flat, with occasional undulating hills, mostly not steep. Along the way, you can see some small rivers from time to time, but most of them are dry. The iron hooves rush past, making a splash on the shallow water.
At this time, the sky was getting close to midnight, and there was still a long period of time before dark. But for Li Changsheng, it was just right. When he rode to the edge of the Nuer River, it happened to be dark, so he could cross the river in the dark. .
There was no way. The Tatar soldiers had been too active on both sides of the Nuer River in recent times. After Zhang Cheng believed it, he combined his slightly vague memories and then sent Li Changsheng to lead the left wing of the Tiger Guard to the area around the Nuer River. Exploring the movements of the Qing army.
Starting from Jinzhou, the south bank of the Erhe River was heavily guarded. From time to time, groups of captives would gallop past. They were trying their best to cover the battlefield in this area, and they must have some conspiracy.
Therefore, for the sake of safety and concealment, Li Changsheng took the left troops to Daxing Fort in the northwest of Xingshan, and took a long way from there to sneak to the Nerv River to explore.
They calculated the distance and set off, intending to reach the Daughter River when it got dark. Not far ahead was Dafu Fort. The defenders there had all fled before the Tartars could attack, and were nowhere to be found.
Now, Li Changsheng was heading towards Dafu Fort. If that place was indeed not occupied by the Qing army, they planned to use it as a transit station.
Nowadays, captives and cavalry are crisscrossing the banks of the Nerv River. It is impossible to hide in broad daylight. Not only can they not cross the Nerv River, but it is also inconvenient to move on the south bank of the river.
The Qing army has always focused on fishing and hunting. When they are not fighting, they often organize soldiers from various groups and even banners to hunt, so there are many hunting dogs in their ranks.
For dozens of miles to the west along the Nvnu River, they were all under the alert of the Tatar cavalry. They even released a large number of hounds, making it difficult for the Ming army's sentry cavalry to outflank and explore from upstream.
Of course, it is not impossible for the Ming army's sentries to go around further upstream, but it would be too far.
Because the Qing troops were heavily guarded, in order to detect the intelligence of the Qing troops stationed around Baimiao Fort, the Tiger Guards had already lost many men. Every time Li Changsheng thought about it, he felt great hatred, so this time he Decided to take action personally.
Two days ago, he led his left troops to the Daxing Fort. In addition to the local soldiers and horses in Liaodong, the Daxing Fort also had more than a thousand soldiers and horses under the command of Zuo Guangxian, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Association's training. The Daxing Fort was not far to the southeast. In the distance is the Wudaoling Mountain Defense Line.
Like the Xuanbei Army's defense line on Changling Mountain, Wudaoling also set up layers of trench and low wall defense lines, forming three upper and lower lines of defense for firepower. However, the configuration of muskets and artillery was larger than that of Chen Zheng's position on Changling Mountain. Much less.
Li Changsheng has a lively temperament and likes to make friends. Although he has only been in Daxing Fort for a day, he has already become one with the local Liao generals who guard the fort. He has inquired about the mountains, rivers and outposts in the north of the fort.
After he led everyone out of Daxing Fort, he walked all the way north. Everywhere he looked was desolate. There were very few people in the wilderness, and a faint desolation came to him.
In fact, before the Battle of Jinzhou started, the Dafu Fort area from Daxing Fort to the Nuer River was considered to be densely populated with forts. After all, the soil in this area was excellent and there were many rivers passing through it, making drinking water and irrigation very convenient.
It's just that during the Jinzhou War, tens of thousands of Qing soldiers were riding around to cause nuisance. Military households in various forts fled one after another. They had to take refuge in various castles or in hidden places in the surrounding mountains and forests. These forts It has been temporarily abandoned.
Everyone passed through these deserted villages. In many places there were only broken houses and broken walls. The surroundings were silent and deserted. It seemed that Li Changsheng and the others were the only living creatures left in this wilderness.
However, Li Changsheng didn't have so many emotions now. When the horse galloped, he was also very nervous. Although it was far away from Jinzhou, small groups of horsemen occasionally appeared, so he had to be on guard.
At this time, he was accompanied by about a hundred people from the left post, and about a hundred people from the right post. They would only set off from Daxing Fort tomorrow. Each of their posts was equipped with four Mongolian cavalry. It was borrowed from Su Laohu's command on the right side of the Huwei Camp.
The entire Huwei camp under Lin Fangping's command only has more than 600 people, and it is divided into three divisions. Li Changsheng is the commander-in-chief of the left division, and he only manages about 200 people.
After all, the Tiger Guard Camp is Zhang Cheng's personal guard, and those who join the Tiger Guard Camp are the most loyal and skilled cavalry, so the treatment is naturally higher than that of other battalions.
At this time, in addition to Li Changsheng, the commander-in-chief Qian, who personally led the team, there was also the sentry officer Wan Guangjin of the left sentry and three team commanders under his command. In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Wan Guangjin was the commander-in-chief of the cavalry under Chen Zheng.
Later, he was incorporated into the Ranger Department of the Cavalry Battalion and became the sentry officer of the right outpost of the Rangers. He followed the army all the way to Henan. Later, the middle post of the Ranger Department was stationed in Mihe River with Chen Zheng.
As a secret move by Zhang Cheng, Tong Shoushan, the left sentry of the Rangers, was buried in the ranks of the rogue Li Zicheng. Now the Rangers of the Cavalry Camp only have more than 100 night-time rangers under the command of the original outpost Ma Sanzhuang.
Because, after Zhang Cheng led the army back to Xuanbei, he integrated the right and rear posts of the Ranger Department into the Tiger Guard Camp, and used them as the main body to form the left part of the Tiger Guard Camp.
It is precisely because the left part of the Tiger Guard was born out of the previous Rangers, and most of them are warriors who do not accept the enemy, so they have to go into battle whenever sentinels are needed.
Sometimes I think about it, destiny is really strange. Back then, Li Changsheng was just a personal guard under Zhang Cheng, and Wan Guangjin was already a sentry officer at Chen Zhengqian's headquarters.
But now Li Changsheng has become Commander Qian, and Wan Guangjin has become his sentry officer. Although the status and treatment of the Tiger Guard Battalion are not comparable to those of other battalion officers, a guard in the past has become his immediate superior. , I still feel awkward thinking about it.
This is actually the biggest benefit of being around leaders. In addition to having many opportunities to contact leaders and being easily discovered and promoted, you will often receive reminders from leaders and your progress will be very fast.
The old people who followed Zhang Cheng to serve as kings in Beijing had very different official careers and destinies!
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Nvnu River, also known as Niaoxin River or Eqin River, is not deep, but it is covered with luxuriant vegetation, like brocade. There are especially many fish in the river. When horses step in the river, silver carps and carp will hit them from time to time.
The moon is crescent in the sky and the stars are bright. Li Changsheng leads the war horse, bends his body, and wades cautiously in the river. The river water seeps into the iron mesh boots and soaks the lining of the inner socks. It is a kind of discomfort when taking a bath with clothes on. Feelings came to my heart immediately.
There was a cool breeze at night, blowing from time to time, and there was a constant slight gurgling sound when wading in the water, and some gurgling sounds of running water reached everyone's ears.
The feet were also loose and unstable, sometimes stepping on sand and gravel, sometimes stepping on mud, and some damn fish bumped into me.
None of this affected Li Changsheng. He moved forward cautiously and without hesitation, his agile eyes scanning some suspicious places on the opposite river bank from time to time.
His ears were also raised high, and any slight abnormal movement in the surrounding area would not escape his ears.
Behind Li Changsheng were many war horses and night warriors. The strong horses all had bits on their mouths to prevent them from neighing and startling the Tatar soldiers who might be hiding somewhere around.
And those Ye Bushou were all silent, just following one after the other, and always paying attention not to make their movements too big, so as not to make the sound of the water too loud.
Like Li Changsheng, they also scanned the surrounding areas with vigilant eyes as they moved forward, and their ears were also erect.
Their movements were full of fierceness, like agile leopards, but many of these leopards were injured.
Several of the horses carried several corpses of fallen soldiers on their backs, and some of the more seriously injured were also tied tightly to the horses' backs.
Everyone endured their own injuries and tried their best not to moan. Some seriously injured soldiers had thick wooden sticks wrapped in cloth stuffed in their mouths.
Li Changsheng even raised his left hand from time to time to command everyone to stop marching. Even the horses stood in the river very docile and smart, motionless.
After he re-confirmed that there was no danger around him, everyone started to move slowly again. They couldn't help but be cautious. At this time, everyone was in the river section of the Daughter of the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, which was also a place frequented by Tatars.
Most of those Tatar sentry riders are hunters in the white mountains and black waters. They make a living by fishing and hunting all year round, and have long been accustomed to lurking at night. Especially this time they go into battle with hounds, which makes them even more powerful.
Those hateful dead dogs had very sharp noses. Before Li Changsheng and the others got into the river, they smelled their scent, and they immediately began to bark wildly, followed by groups of Tatar elf cavalry who heard the sound and pursued them.
Fortunately, Li Changsheng and the others brought some captured rabbits with them on this trip. After releasing these cute little things, they had to lure the hounds into chasing them in the wrong direction.
Now that they had entered the river again, the smell was first blown away by the wind, and then washed away by the river water, making them no longer afraid of being smelled by the Tatar soldiers' hounds.
However, now is not the time to relax. Once you cross the river, the river bank is still a place where Tatar sentries often hang out, so you need to be more careful.
It wasn't until he crossed the Nuer River and reached the south bank of the river that Li Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the south bank of the Nerv River is the place where the Tatar thieves need the most shelter, it is not like the north bank after all. The activities of the Ming army are also more frequent. Both sides have large teams of hundreds of people sent out on guard.
As a result, small groups of cavalry are less common, so the gaps between the various sentries are wider. The Tartar cavalry's coverage of the battlefield is not as tight as that on the north bank of the Nerv River.
However, Li Changsheng is still very careful. Danger often comes when he is most relaxed. He does not want to cause any accidents due to his negligence, which will lead to sorrow.
At the same time, Li Changsheng was also secretly overjoyed. This time he personally led the team out and gained a lot. He obtained detailed information about the surroundings of Baimiao Fort. He must be very happy when he returns.
However, this time, several of his brothers on the left were killed in the sentry, and six or seven more were seriously injured. Thinking of this, Li Changsheng's joy could not help but dim, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of sadness in his heart. .
This side is not much different from the north bank. The south bank of the Nvren River is also lush with vegetation. There are bushes and weeds of all kinds, which seem to be dense and continuous. Its complexity is like the Bagua array, which is enough to make people dizzy. .
Any map battle or paper strategist will be defeated in this kind of terrain.
This is one of the main reasons why there are so few large-scale night attacks in this era. Except for a small number of elite troops, fighting at night can easily lead to chaos. Most of your own troops will disperse before they even approach the enemy camp. That's why night attacks rarely happen.
Even though he thought he had a good sense of direction, and there were stars and moon in the sky to guide him, Li Changsheng still had to stop and go, stopping from time to time to determine the direction.
The many Ye Bushou who followed him also moved forward cautiously. It was unknown if there were any Tatars riding in ambushes in this area, so everyone was on high alert.
The terrain underfoot is still rising and falling, and everyone must maintain their center of gravity to avoid accidentally falling, breaking their feet, or slipping their waists.
After walking forward for a while, Li Changsheng suddenly raised his left hand again. Immediately everyone stopped and looked around warily, and their hands also touched their weapons.
Li Changsheng's nose twitched and his ears stood up high. Suddenly, he made another move with his left hand. Immediately, the sentry officer Wan Guangjin led Liu Shouzhu, the team leader in the sentry, and quickly came to Li Changsheng's side with his head bent.
Li Changsheng whispered to the two of them and pointed in a direction to the left.
The two of them were immediately refreshed and listened attentively. They couldn't help but admire Li Changsheng's keen sense of smell, especially team leader Liu Shouzhu, who regarded Li Changsheng as his idol.
He thought to himself: "Master Li just thinks differently. I heard that he was the master's personal guard earlier. No wonder he is so outstanding. He is really born to stay at night!"
After returning from the suppression of bandits in Henan, Liu Shouzhu also became a Tiger Guard. He was excited about this for a long time. This time he went out with Li Changsheng, the commander of Qian, and obtained rich spying results, which increased his admiration and admiration for Mr. Li. .
Everyone in the left part of the Huwei camp usually calls Li Changsheng Li Ye. In fact, Li Changsheng also has a nickname "Li Bubai", which is a homophony of his name. Changsheng means undefeated.
However, this nickname used by bosses as a joke is not something a team boss like Liu Shouzhu can call him!
