Geng Zhongming, who was on the top of the city, looked at the Ming army outside the city, galloping unscrupulously, chasing the Qing soldiers and the old men who were fleeing in all directions. In just a short time, they had already killed many people, and they couldn't help but turn pale.
One of his men saw it and reminded him with a bit of panic: "Your Majesty, you can't watch the Manchus being killed! If you turn around, you will be punished by the emperor!"
In the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu people were the first, there is no doubt about this. There must be at least several hundred people going out to supervise the work outside the city, and they are all powerful people in Jinzhou City. If they were killed by the Ming army like this, their families would definitely complain to the court and the emperor.
However, Geng Zhongming raised his head and looked into the distance. Groups of Ming army infantry were already approaching in small groups. Just by visual inspection, there were at least a thousand people. Even further away, it was impossible to estimate. Maybe there were even three thousand. of. There are so many Ming troops outside the city. If you send troops out of the city to rescue them, you will definitely be held accountable if the Ming troops rush into the city and fall into Jinzhou.
With this thought in mind, Geng Zhongming shook his head resolutely after weighing it in his mind.
"Geng Zhongming, open the door quickly and let us in!"
"King Zhishun, please open the door quickly, just open it a crack!"
"Hurry up and open the door. Do you know who I am? If I die here, you will have to pay with your life!"
"..."
Suddenly, the lucky ones who were clinging to the city wall and walking around the city saw that the Ming army was chasing them everywhere, and some even pushed towards the city. They were so frightened that they immediately shouted.
Some of these people begged, some threatened, whatever, so they wanted to ask Geng Zhongming to open the city gate quickly and let them into the city.
One of Geng Zhongming's personal guards looked down and quickly reminded him: "Your Majesty, there is one below who is a family member of Prince Zhishun, and another who seems to be a real slave with a white flag on his forehead..."
After hearing this, Geng Zhongming looked down and realized that the people who threatened him had a background. However, he looked up again and found that although the dozens of Ming soldiers were chasing him, they were not far from the city gate. Experience told him that these Ming troops were still thinking of taking the opportunity to attack the city gate.
With this thought in mind, he sternly ordered: "No one is allowed to open the door without my military order. Everyone is on guard to prevent the Ming army from attacking the city!"
After finishing speaking, he turned around and left the battlements, heading towards the arrow tower.
On the surface, he seems to be cold and unmoved by the outside world.
However, at this time, Geng Zhongming actually sighed in his heart. This scene in front of me is so familiar!
A few years ago, he was still part of the Ming army. At that time, Jianlu was also arrogant outside the city, but he was powerless;
Only a few years had passed, and the completely opposite scene would appear. It was the Ming army's turn to be arrogant outside the city, but he was unable to do anything.
Could it be... Could it be that I am the reincarnation of a broom star, and whichever side a person is on, that side will be unlucky?
Thinking of this, he laughed to himself, stepped onto the arrow tower, and when he looked outside the city again, there were already more Ming infantry. However, it was the Han slaves that caught his eye. Some of them knelt down to greet the Ming army and cried loudly; some waved hoes and other tools in their hands to intercept the overseers who wanted to escape, or simply joined in the pursuit of the overseers. middle.
Looking at this scene, Geng Zhongming didn't feel much sadness or anger in his heart. Is it because I'm not from my species, or have I become numb after seeing it too much?
Geng Zhongming, who was deep in thought, didn't come back to his senses until a closer scream sounded. When he looked closer, he saw that the Ming army was attacking the supervisors under the city wall with firecrackers or bows and arrows.
However, Geng Zhongming does not pay attention to this. From the moment he ordered the city gates to be closed tightly, he knew that the overseers outside the city would definitely die. It is a rare opportunity for the Ming army to take revenge and they will never let it go.
At this time, what he was concerned about was that there were really more than two thousand Ming troops outside the city, and they were now gathering outside the city. From the looks of them, they seemed to be thinking of attacking the city.
After understanding this, he immediately became nervous and issued military orders to his men to prepare for the attack.
In fact, he doesn't have many troops in his hands. Although the wall of Jinzhou is high, it is still big. His men are all on the top of the city. They appear sparse and the defensive force is not strong. This point seemed to have been discovered by the Ming army outside the city. Those leading the army were discussing something. He was even asking the Han people what they were talking about, obviously asking about the situation in the city.
"Quickly, notify all the families in the city and all the men to go to the city to defend. Once the city is breached, the Ming army will definitely retaliate. No one of them can escape!" Geng Zhongming lost his composure and immediately turned around and ordered to his bodyguards.
As soon as his bodyguard heard this, he immediately rushed forward to deliver the order. The city of Jinzhou was inevitably in chaos.
Okay, why did the Ming army suddenly attack?
The Ming army outside the city was led by Li Guo. Geng Zhongming was right. After Li Guo arrived, he was thinking about whether he could capture Jinzhou. While observing the formation, they discussed with Li Dingguo, who arrived first, and even called in the rescued people to inquire about the situation in the city.
"Sir, the man in Jinzhou City is Geng Zhongming, King Zhishun of Jianlu!" A slightly older Qingzhuang who knew better was answering Li Guo's words, "He doesn't have many troops, only about a thousand. There are many people, up to 3,000 people. They are all fake Tatars. They were also officers and soldiers of the imperial court and surrendered to the rebels."
After all, outsiders do not know the true strength of the Tatars in the city. From more than 1,000 to 3,000 people, this range is really big.
"Sir, there is a lot of food and grass in the city, which was brought by this Tatar army."
"Sir, please do well. My father is still in the city, and many of our family members are in the city. Please save them, please?"
"Sir, give me a knife. If I have the strength, I will cut down the Tartars too!"
"..."
Li Guo's questions eventually became the demands of these people.
Listening to their words, Li Laiheng suddenly interrupted and said loudly: "Father, let's do it. Go in and bring all the traitorous generals back to the governor. It will be a great achievement!"
"Well, there is no adoptive father here!" Li Guo heard this and scolded him angrily.
Emperor Chongzhen had decreed that there should be no servants or private soldiers in the army. Any foster father, master, etc. must never appear in the military. This point was implemented most thoroughly among the three battalions of Yumajian and the troops under Lu Xiangsheng.
Li Laiheng was used to it, and he was scolded by Li Guo just by saying this. Then, he pointed at the city wall and said: "We don't have siege equipment. The city wall is so high, how can we attack it? Are we going to take human lives to fill it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the commoner who had just taken the lead in begging for mercy fell to his knees and said to Li Guo: "Sir, I used to be a carpenter. I can build ladders and catapults. Sir, Give the villain some time..."
Li Guo shook his head when he heard this. Building ladders and catapults would take a lot of time, and he didn't have that much time.
Seeing that he disagreed, the man kowtowed and said, "Sir, my father is still in the city. Please save me!"
Immediately, another group of Han people knelt down to Li Guo. They all had family members in the city and begged Li Guo to attack the city and save people. There were at least five hundred people kneeling there.
Li Guo frowned as he saw more and more people kneeling down. It's not that he doesn't want to attack the city, but it's just that it's impossible to attack Jinzhou at the moment. And he has to be responsible for his men, how can he easily lose his troops. You know, most of these troops are from his old brothers.
Before he could speak, suddenly, the sound of horse hooves came quickly. Before the people arrived, a voice came back: "Sir, from the direction of Port Arthur, we found a Tatar army coming. The number is unknown, but judging from the signs, there are at least two to three thousand people."
Upon hearing this, Li Guo immediately turned his head and looked in the direction of Lushun. This is a hilly area, and the weather is clear, so you can see far away.
Sure enough, far away, there was dust flying. Based on many years of experience, I can estimate that there will definitely be a lot of Tatars returning to Jinzhou!
After reaching this conclusion, Li Guo made a decisive decision and immediately issued an order: "Retract the troops and withdraw with them!"
Without any hesitation, the Ming army immediately began to organize their troops and then prepared to retreat.
At this time, Li Guo said to the kneeling people: "The Tatar reinforcements are back, we must retreat immediately. The governor has an order to take you back, so you no longer have to suffer here and be bullied by the Tatars!" "
After hearing this and seeing that the Ming army was really preparing to retreat, some people stood up, but most of them were still kneeling there and did not move. The leading person said: "The villain's father is still in the city. If the villain leaves, the villain's father will definitely die. I thank you for saving me, I won't leave!"
Others who were still kneeling were also worried about their relatives in the city, and finally chose not to leave.
It can be seen from their faces that they really want to take advantage of such a rare opportunity to escape from the sea of misery. However, with the concern of their relatives, they had no choice but to give up this opportunity.
Li Guo looked at them and couldn't help but frown.
His purpose of leading the army this time was to capture Jinzhou. If he could not capture Jinzhou, he also wanted to let Jianlu know that Ming Dynasty now had the ability to harass various parts of Liaodong. At the same time, rescue the looted Han people, kill the Tatar population, and attack the overall strength of the built captives.
If these Han people do not leave, they will continue to work for the Tatars, which is actually not in the interests of the Ming Dynasty. What to do? Should we kill them? In this way, military orders can be carried out well.
However, if he really wanted to kill these people, not only would he not be able to bear it, but the Governor would not agree if he knew about it.
Thinking like this, he wanted to give up on them.
But at this moment, Li Dingguo suddenly pointed to the city wall and said, "I have an idea. Let the bird king in the city trade them for the Han people in the city!"
When Li Guo heard this, he turned around and saw that under the Jinzhou City Wall, close to the base of the wall, there were thirty or forty people lying there, having escaped the previous Ming army's shooting.
Seeing this, Li Guo suddenly felt happy. He immediately waved his hand and summoned a large group of gunmen and archers, all aiming at those people. Then he shouted loudly to the top of the city: "Geng Zhongming, don't talk nonsense, take the city." The Han people would trade the lives of these people, and if they disagreed, they would shoot these people immediately!"
Geng Zhongming, who was on the arrow tower, naturally saw the dust flying in the distance, and he was relieved in his heart. Jinzhou must be safe. Therefore, he was in the mood to watch what was going on outside the city.
However, when he saw it later, he suddenly sighed. The excitement brought by seeing the reinforcements was gone.
When he heard Li Guo's shout outside the city, he looked at the Han people who were still kneeling there. Although he couldn't hear their conversation, he could guess that those people must be begging for this wise general, which is why they came up with this replacement.
He looked up at the dust in the distance. Before Geng Zhongming could say anything, someone rushed over and shouted loudly: "King Zhishun, didn't you hear that? Change someone quickly, otherwise the people below will die!"
There are not just one, but two such people, and they are all people with backgrounds.
Under the city wall, those lying down naturally did not dare to risk their lives on whether the Ming army dared to enter this place to shoot them, so they all shouted, asking Geng Zhongming to hurry up and agree to Ming Dynasty. military requirements.
Seeing this, Geng Zhongming didn't see any expression on his face. He just turned around and ordered his bodyguards: "Send people immediately to drive out all the Han slaves in the city, no matter which family they belong to."
After hearing this, his bodyguard hesitated slightly and seemed to want to say something.
"Why don't you go quickly?" When Geng Zhongming saw it, he frowned and urged him. Then he turned his head and shouted outside the city: "General Ming, don't mess around. I promise you that I have sent someone to do it." Got it!"
When the people kneeling outside the city heard this, they were immediately overjoyed and thanked Li Guo loudly. Some even thanked Li Dingguo.
Li Guo was actually very anxious, and he turned his head from time to time to see where the dust was in the distance behind him.
The army began to form formations and slowly retreated to the seaside, while most of the people evacuated first. The archers and gunmen who threatened the supervisors under the city had not retreated yet. Of course, those people who had family members in the city did not retreat either. , anxiously waiting for their relatives to leave the city.
During this waiting time, it was painful, whether it was Li Guo, the people waiting for their relatives, or the overseers lying under the city.
Fortunately, Shang Kexi didn't make any mistakes and acted very quickly. He saw a large group of old, weak, women and children being driven out of Jinzhou City. Of course, this was because he saw that most of the Ming army had evacuated, so he dared to open the city gate.
Under Jinzhou City, the old, weak, women and children didn't know what was going on, but the young and strong people waiting outside the city were so overjoyed that they even forgot about the danger on top of the city and rushed into a stone's throw to meet their relatives.
Seeing many people in the city crying with joy, Geng Zhongming had no expression on his face. Only the guards around him who were familiar with him knew that the prince was in a daze again at this time.
When Li Guo saw the people leaving the city, he stopped staying and immediately ordered a retreat.
On the way to the seaside, Li Dingguo looked at the dusty distance and said with some confusion: "It seems that the Jianlu reinforcements are coming too slowly, right?"
