Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 388 The Brave Wins
Hu Sheli held a flail weighing five or six catties in his hand, and under the cover of trees, he rushed towards the Ming army team not far away.

The so-called dense forests in Northeast China are only relatively speaking. In fact, the distance between trees is quite wide, not airtight.

Hu Sheli is a white-armored soldier in the Xiangbai Banner. Although he is not yet [-] years old, he has already participated in dozens of battles with the Ming army. Nearly a hundred Ming army officers and soldiers died under him. up.

The flail in his hand was captured from Ye Bushou, a Ming soldier who was killed by him.

This time, Hu Sheli was ordered to take ten soldiers of the Eight Banners out of the sentry, intending to bypass the Ming army's fortress from the mountains and dense forests on both sides of the official road, and then go all the way south to find out where the Ming army's food, grass and supplies are. Eight Banners elite raids provide precise intelligence and location.

In Hu Sheli's mind, the Ming army is a group of cowards who are greedy for life and afraid of death.

Although the firecrackers of the Ming army were scary when they were fired, and if they survived being hit by the blunderbuss, they would be seriously injured or disabled, but this group of Ming soldiers who were as timid as women did not have the courage to confront the Eight Banners soldiers head-on.

Every time when going into battle, the panic-stricken Ming army fired their firecrackers one after another before their clansmen came within range, and then threw away the firecrackers, turned around and fled.

Occasionally, a few brave Ming soldiers would stand up and fight, but in the end they could not stand alone, and they would die on the spot in an instant when they were besieged by the brave Eight Banners soldiers.

After receiving the sentry order from his master, Hu Sheli didn't take it seriously at all. He had fought with the brigade to Ningyuan back then, and he was no stranger to the roads in this area.

Growing up in deep mountains and old forests, he is used to climbing mountains and ridges, and he is born with the ability to distinguish directions in the forest. Coupled with his psychological contempt for the Ming army, Hu Sheli is full of confidence in this sentry mission.

After circumventing Songshan City from the forest on the west side, he led the small team to the south.

Hu Sheli judged that the place where the Ming army stored food and supplies should be near Ningyuan City, where there are more than two hundred miles of pine brocade, and the location is safe enough, and the distance to transport food and grass ahead is also very suitable.

Judging from his past experience, it is impossible for the Ming army to set up sentries on both sides of the official road.

First, the Ming army would not think that the Qing army dared to send people to infiltrate south.

Second, according to the advice of those generals of the Ming army, knowing that when the battle is approaching, the whole army will only retreat into the city, and they dare not go out of the city to spy.

However, what surprised him was that he only bypassed two castles of the Ming army. He did not expect to encounter a group of Ming troops in the deep mountains and dense forests.

Although Cui Xingyun is also from the old army, but in terms of experience in the dense forest, he is still a little worse than Hu Sheli.

When Cui Xingyun and the others were still a mile away, Hu Sheli, who had been hunting with his tribe since he was a child, keenly caught the occasional snorting of a Ming army horse.

After Hu Sheli judged the direction Cui Xingyun and the others were heading, he immediately decided to ambush this small group of Ming troops.

Although he didn't know the exact number of the Ming army, it didn't prevent him from coming to the conclusion that it was a sentry of the Ming army.

It is impossible for the Ming army to appear in the complex and difficult mountain forest, and there is no need to do so.

Three of the ten men he brought with him carried powerful step bows and heavy arrows. These three men were looking for a favorable position to shoot and kill the Ming army.

No matter how many people there are in the Ming army on the opposite side, after being killed by bows and arrows, no one can escape by leading the team.

However, what surprised him was that this small group of Ming soldiers turned out to be extremely elite. Only one of the three archers shot two arrows in a row, and the other two only had time to shoot one arrow. After the four Ming soldiers in front were either injured or Falling to the ground or dodging, actually made the most timely response in an instant.

After ordering the archers to shoot down the Ming army's horses and then outflank them from both sides, Hu Sheli took the lead and rushed over without making a sound.

The remaining seven people dispersed, preparing to encircle this small Ming army and kill them all.

After the three archers shot down the Ming army's horses, they slanted their longbows on their backs, drew their weapons, and detoured from a distance.

Cui Xingyun's front team was attacked only in an instant, and the four members of the rear team quickly drew their weapons and approached the front team, while their mounts walked aside by themselves.

Cui Xingyun tightened the short crossbow he took out from the pocket of the war horse, took out a crossbow bolt from his waist pocket and put it in the groove of the short crossbow, judging by the sound of Jiannu's heavy footsteps.

After silently counting three times in his heart, Cui Xingyun flashed out from behind the big tree where he was hiding. The short crossbow in his hand was at the same level as his eyebrows and eyes. He clasped his teeth with his fingers. Amidst the soft sound of the crossbow string, the short and sharp crossbow arrows shot out like lightning. At that moment, a Jiannu armored soldier holding a tiger-tooth spear fell over ten steps away.

The arrow shot by Cui Xingyun hit his eye socket, and the huge impact made the arrow shoot out directly through his brain, bringing out his red and white brain.

Seeing this, a Qing army rushed towards Cui Xingyun with a few steps, and in an instant he was several steps away from him, and the iron whip in his hand was about to be raised.

Cui Xingyun threw the short crossbow in his hand at the Qing soldier, and while the opponent was slightly stagnant, he immediately took out a flintlock pistol from his arms with his right hand, lifted the dragon head and pulled the trigger.

There was a loud "boom", white gunpowder smoke condensed in the airtight forest, Cui Xingyun threw away the pistol and drew out the long knife at his waist.

A few steps away, the Qing army holding an iron whip was knocked away by the impact generated by the close-range firecrackers, and then fell on his back for a few steps, and the iron whip in his hand fell to the ground.

A big hole was blown out of his chest, blood gushed out like a spring, his mouth was wide open, his wide-open eyes were full of horror, he twisted a few times and went to another world.

In just over ten breaths, Cui Xingyun killed two Qing soldiers in a row.

At this time, the four Ming soldiers who came up from the rear, as well as the soldier who was shot in the breast shield, had already fought fiercely with Hu Sheli and other three Qing soldiers.

Hu Sheli swung the flail across, and a Ming soldier in front of him couldn't dodge, so he could only block with the long knife in his hand. As a result, after the long knife was thrown into the air, the flail also hit his ribs. After a muffled groan, The Ming soldier was knocked to the ground, vomited out a large piece of flesh and blood.

This heavy blow had already shattered his internal organs, and he was no longer alive.

A Ming soldier a few steps away shot a crossbow at Hu Sheli. Because the distance was too close, Hu Sheli couldn't dodge it in time, and the crossbow directly nailed his left shoulder.

Hu Sheli roared in pain, and threw the flail in his hand vigorously, hitting the Ming soldier's head.

With a crackling sound, the Ming soldier's iron helmet was smashed into the dented, half of his head was also smashed to pieces, and his body fell straight to the ground like a tree stump.

A Qing soldier swung the tiger-toothed gun vigorously, blocked the long knife of a Ming soldier opposite him, and then stabbed straight, hitting the Ming soldier's lower abdomen.

The Qing army stirred the tip of the gun vigorously, and the Ming army let out a miserable howl that was not human. He flew out, was hit by a big tree, and fell forward, then rolled on the ground in pain.

"boom"

"boom"

Two loud bangs sounded one after another, and the flintlock pistols in the hands of the remaining two Ming soldiers took the opportunity to fire. The head of the Qing soldier with a tiger-tooth gun was smashed by the blunderbuss, and his body hit the ground hard. He died before he could send it out.

Another Qing soldier was also shot in the chest and abdomen by a pistol and fell to the ground, but he was not dead in a short time. He covered his wound with his hands while throwing away his weapon, howling and rolling.

The two Ming soldiers who had finished firing their hand guns smashed their hand guns at Hu Sheli, which was covered by the two fallen Qing soldiers, and took advantage of the opportunity to draw out their long knives and rushed towards Hu Sheli, one left and one right.

(End of this chapter)