Thump…thump…
A melodious bell rang from the bell tower of Zunhua City, which was very abrupt on the battlefield of fierce fighting.
Boom...boom...
After the bell sounded, Zhao Ming quickly lit the thunder fuse, and with the roar, the north city gate exploded into pieces.
Listening to the roar, Sun Zushou whispered: "Light the smoke!"
After a few breaths, a straight line of smoke half a foot thick shot straight into the sky a hundred feet high in the center of the city.
A moment later, a line of smoke also ignited simultaneously several miles away from the east and west of Zunhua City.
Seeing the smoke rising in the distance, Sun Zushou breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled: "It's done!"
This was an agreement he made with the hidden Tengxiang left guards and white pole soldiers. As long as Jiannu attacked the city, he would light up the smoke in Zunhua City.
At the speed of the smoke, it takes a quarter of an hour to travel from Zunhua to Xinglong Cave and Hongyu Cave.
Seeing the smoke, the two troops immediately set off to Da'ankou and Xifengkou to cut off Jiannu's retreat.
It is more than fifty miles from Xinglong to Da'ankou, more than eighty miles from Hongyu to Xifengkou, and nearly a hundred miles from Zunhua to several passes.
Don't say that Jiannu didn't know their plan. Even if he knew, he had already attacked the city.
If we want the whole army to retreat, assemble, and then return to Longjing Pass, it will take at least one day, enough for Tengxiang Zuowei and Baigan soldiers to arrive at the predetermined location.
With the speed at which the smoke was transmitted, Santun Camp, thirty miles away, was notified in just a quarter of an hour, and reported to Yuan Keli immediately.
At this moment, Yuan Keli was wearing soft armor, with royal guards, imperial edicts, and personal guards around. It was not difficult to control Santun Camp.
Yuan Keli, who had been standing in the center of Santun Camp City since Yinshi, was immediately shaken when he heard the news. The secret passage was finally waiting for him.
The expressions of the generals behind him changed dramatically. Zhu Guoyan, the former commander of the Third Tun Battalion, immediately said urgently: "Mr. Yuan Ge, there is smoke coming from Zunhua City, which means that Jiannu is already attacking the city. We need to send troops to reinforce.
Otherwise, with the strength of the Jiannu army, Zunhua City will definitely not be able to stop it, and then we will be in trouble! "
Yuan Keli glanced at Zhu Guoyan and cursed a fool in his heart.
Sure enough, as the emperor said, this person is not very capable and cannot be used for much purpose.
If he hadn't come by himself, I'm afraid Zhu Guoyan would really send troops, and the sergeants who left the city would be completely ruined.
Even the Santun camp was captured, and Huang Taiji's strategy was really going to come true.
"What do you think? Who can lead the troops there?"
Yuan Keli asked softly, and all the generals lowered their heads when they saw it, and did not dare to confront Yuan Keli's patrolling eyes.
Seeing the generals' attitude and fear of fighting, although Yuan Keli's face was dull, his heart was filled with sadness.
Jizhen guards the Twelve Routes, with twelve generals, six guerrilla generals, ten guerrillas, eight garrison officers, and eight camp officers each.
Although most of them have been separated, there are still nearly 30% of the generals in the Santun camp, but no one dares to fight.
Decades ago, when he was not yet a Jinshi, he passed by Santunying and Zunhua.
I saw Qi Jiguang, who was the commander-in-chief of Jizhen at that time, and was in charge of the Santun camp. I was so inspired by the sergeant back then.
The soldiers are elite, the generals dare to fight, and they are as fierce as tigers. They fight so hard that the northern barbarians dare not invade.
Dong Fox and Dong Changang of the Northern Barbarians led three hundred members of their clan to Ji Town to plead guilty. What an honor.
It had only been more than 40 years since Qi Jiguang's death, and Jizhen had almost been abandoned. This shows that the death of Qi Jiguang and Qi Jiajun had a great impact on the Ming army.
"At the end of the day, the general thought that reinforcements were not possible."
Just when Yuan Ke was about to issue an order that he would not hold on to, someone suddenly spoke up.
The rest of the generals were confused. If you don't lead troops, why don't you go out? Why do you say you can't reinforce?
But they were also very happy. This was like going to the toilet to light a lantern - courting death, and transferred Yuan Keli's dissatisfaction with them to the person who spoke out.
Yuan Keli glanced at the person who made the noise and found that it was actually the guerrilla general Zhao Guangrui. His eyes suddenly lit up.
Immediately he said calmly: "Then tell me, what should we do?"
"Mr. Ge, it is true that Jiannu attacked Zunhua City, but I am more suspicious. Jiannu has an ambush between Zunhua and Santun Camp. We don't need more, only five thousand elites are needed.
You can stop the sergeants I sent for reinforcements, or even annihilate them all. Considering how terrifying the slave cavalry is, it shouldn't be difficult to do this! "
Zhao Guangrui hesitated for a moment and said in a deep voice: "The general thought he was holding back, or waiting for a suitable opportunity to attack!"
Without waiting for Yuan Keli to continue asking, Zhao Guangrui continued: "The general thinks that although Jiannu is strong in combat, it is just a field battle, and it is inferior to attacking a city.
Zunhua City is high and strong, and there are more than ten thousand soldiers. It is still possible to defend it for a few hours or even a few days.
And if the Jiannu ambush troops cannot wait for us for a long time, they will definitely lose their morale and relax their vigilance.
This is our chance to leave the city and attack from a distance with thousands of enemies, ceramic mines, etc.
As the saying goes, if you make great efforts at one go, you will be exhausted again and again. "
"But Zunhua has already asked for help. If we don't go to reinforce it, then Zunhua will be attacked by Jiannu and the court will blame it. What will we do?"
"Mr. Ge, I think that since the slaves have invaded in this battle, they must be well prepared, so we can't care about the gains and losses of one city or one place.
Santun Camp City is three feet high, with 50,000 soldiers and horses inside, and a moat outside. As long as we hold on, Jiannu will not be able to do anything to us in a short time.
As long as Santun Camp is there, Jiannu will not dare to go west to Beijing City. As long as he dares to go west, we can harass him.
They even killed all the soldiers they had left behind in Da'ankou and other cities, and then trapped them in the pass.
When the imperial court dispatched a large army to surround and kill the slaves, Zunhua generation became the burial ground of the slaves. "
Yuan Keli looked at Zhao Guangrui who made a sound and smiled. He was worthy of being the nephew of the famous general Zhao Shujiao, with his family background.
Just relying on this analysis and decision-making can be regarded as a qualified military commander.
It can be of great use!
"Generals, listen to the order and stand up immediately. No one is allowed to leave the city without my order. Anyone who violates this will be killed!"
"Hu Dawei, lead my bodyguards to patrol the city wall day and night to prevent the transmission of information!"
After the arrangements were made, Yuan Keli looked at Zhao Guangrui: "Zhao Guangrui, starting immediately, I will promote you to the position of deputy commander-in-chief of Jizhen.
I will allocate another 20,000 elite troops to you, immediately organize your troops and horses, wait for my order, and be ready to attack at any time! "
"Mr. Ge, this is inconsistent with..."
"Is the imperial edict not clear enough? Or is what I said no longer effective?"
Yuan Keli stared at the deputy commander-in-chief Zhu Lai who spoke out, his eyes full of majesty: "Your Majesty has given me the power to act expediently. I have the final say in this Ji Town."
"Go and get ready. With my order, all armies will move together. Anyone who delays will be killed!"
"The last general takes command!"
The generals responded and left.
Yuan Keli stood on the Bell and Drum Tower in the city, looking into the distance, as if he wanted to see Zunhua City dozens of meters away through the mountains.
