Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 142 Zhoushan Battalion goes to battle

"Six elders and seven elders are back? I'll take them into the city." Xu Letian stood up and said immediately after hearing the news that Yang Lu and Yang Ce were back.

"No." Xu Yilong quickly stopped him, "Chen Guoji is dead, but the Yang brothers are safe and sound. Who knows that they haven't surrendered to Zheng Zhilong and are back to make money this time?"

"These... the six and seven elders should not be such capricious people?" Xu Letian also hesitated for a moment.

"Yilong's words make sense. We can't take this risk. If we lead a wolf into the house, we will be in trouble." Xu Xinsu said, twitching his beard. He has never been so reassured about brothers Yang Lu and Yang Ce.

Not long ago, Zheng Zhilong wrote a letter to Yang Lu, asking him to help convey his intention to recruit people to the court officials.Although Yang Lu rejected Zheng Zhilong, he did not take the initiative to mention it to Xu Xinsu. Later, when Xu Letian and Yang Ce were chatting, the latter accidentally said it.

"But if the six elders and the seven elders didn't rebel, it would be too chilling for us to do this." Xu Letian added, "I'm afraid that they didn't rebel in the first place, but if they were provoked by this, they would I’m going to surrender to that thief Zheng.”

"What Lotte said makes sense..." Xu Xinsu was a little undecided after hearing this.

Zheng Zhilong said in his letter to Yang Lu that he understood that the Yang brothers had defected from the gang, and attributed this to Xu Xinsu for framing him for murdering the old ship owner.At the same time, Zheng Zhilong also said that if one day the Yang brothers suddenly wake up and want to return to Jingang, he, Zheng, will welcome them at any time.

Lin Hai also heard Xu Xinsu talk about this matter. Seeing that the Xu family and his son were in a dilemma, he said to Xu Xinsu from the side: "Brother Lotte is right, we can't push our own people to the side of the Zheng thief, but Brother Yilong is worried about it." Not unreasonable. I think what about this? I will go out of the city to meet the six elders and the seven elders..."

Before Lin Hai finished speaking, he was interrupted by Wu Guoyi: "No, this is too dangerous."

"It doesn't matter, the six elders, the seventh elders, and their brothers' families are all still in the city. I think it is unlikely that the two of them will rebel. This risk is worth taking." Lin Hai actually knew Yang Lu and Yang Ce in history. He never failed Xu Xinsu from beginning to end.

Seeing that Wu Guoyi wanted to persuade him again, but there was no suitable reason to persuade him, he could only say with a straight face, "I have made up my mind, you don't need to say anything, this is a military order."

Seeing this, Wu Guoyi had no choice but to shut up. At this time, Xu Letian said from the side: "Brother Lin, it's better for me to go. The city of Xiamen can be without me, Xu Letian, but it must not be without you, Brother Lin."

"What did Brother Letian say?" Lin Hai smiled and said to Xu Letian, "If you fall into the enemy's hands, how can Uncle Xu still defend the city with peace of mind."

"My dear nephew, I think it's best to be cautious about this matter. Even if you go to the Yang brothers, how can you tell whether they are betraying each other?" Xu Xinsu did not agree with Lin Hai to take risks.

"Don't worry, Third Uncle Xu. I'm going to ask them about their fight with Thief Zheng and see if there are any flaws in their words. No matter what they say, I will pretend to believe it, and then I will come back and persuade Third Uncle Xu to open the city gate. That's it." Once this happens, even if they really betray me, they will probably let me back."

In the afternoon of that day, Lin Hai came to Yang Lu and Yang Ce's army alone. Yang Ce pointed a knife at Lin Hai and said angrily: "Brothers named Lin, we fought bloody battles with the Zheng thief at the front, and finally managed to save our lives. Now that I'm back in Xiamen and I'm not allowed to enter the city, what the hell does that mean?"

"Seventh Elder, am I not coming to the city? Listen to me..."

When Lin Hai was talking, Yang Lu held Yang Ce aside and said, "Old Qi, don't be stupid. If Brother Lin can come to see us alone, that means he trusts us brothers."

He continued: "This matter must be caused by the old man Xu. The old captain saved the lives of my two brothers. The two of us came to Xiamen just to avenge his old man. Otherwise, who would be willing to recruit this bird? It's all for nothing. Being subject to many restrictions is nothing compared to being free and at ease on the sea."

"It's just because he, Xu Laosan, was the most trusted person of the old captain during his lifetime, and there was also a letter sent by Brother Guozhu. So if we believe him, Xu Laosan, but not Zheng Zhilong, the two of us will come with our brothers. Xiamen surrendered, and the whole family stayed in the city during the expedition. Unexpectedly, he would still be suspicious of him in the end..."

Yang Lu couldn't speak anymore. Lin Hai said at the side: "Six elders and seven elders, Lin really admires your brother's loyalty. Please don't be impatient. As the saying goes, the pure will self-purify, and the filthy will become pure." The truth will eventually come to light one day."

"Damn it! I have never looked down on him, Xu Laosan. He has too many evil thoughts. If it weren't for avenging the old captain, why would I have to suffer such cowardice?" Yang Ce stabbed the knife on the ground with hatred, and said Sitting on the chair.

"It's not to blame Third Uncle Xu. There are actually several nobles in the city who can't trust you two, and Third Uncle Xu is helpless." Lin Hai continued, "But Lin can trust you two, so I asked you to come out of the city to see what's going on. Please also invite six Lao Qi Lao will tell you about the battle with the Zheng thief, and I will persuade you to open the city gate after I return."

"Stop talking, Lao Liu, I'm too lazy to say anything." Yang Ce still looked aggrieved.

"It's like this. We followed Chen Guerrilla to Zhangpu to suppress the bandits, but we met Zheng's bandits in Haicheng. After looting in Zhangpu for a few days, they went to Haicheng County..." Yang Lu then spoke from the side.

Only then did Lin Hai know that Chen Qiwei had failed in the battle in Haicheng. No wonder Yang Lu and Yang Ce were defeated back to Xiamen so quickly, and they didn't go far.

Ancient battlefields are always shrouded in mystery, especially for the losing side. Regarding the battle between Chen Qiwei and Zheng Zhilong, there are currently various opinions in Xiamen City. Rumors are flying all over the sky, and there are also rumors on the Haiphong Road in Zhangzhou. I don't know for certain, I just know that Chen Qiwei is indeed defeated.

To truly understand the enemy's movements, the only reliable channel is those who have personally fought with them. Therefore, the sentinels in ancient times were all elites. The battle between sentinels and cavalry determines the smoothness of information between the generals on both sides. This is the most important thing for light cavalry. One of the important roles.

I only heard Yang Lu continue to say: "At that time, Zheng Zhilong's troops were looting in Haicheng and had not gathered together. After the sentry sent the news, Chen Youyi immediately ordered all the troops to kill him, hoping to kill the Zheng thief. Caught off guard..."

"The fight went smoothly at first. All of Chen Youba's mounted servants were skilled with bows and horses, and they were willing to risk their lives. Zheng thief hurriedly gathered hundreds of people, and first shot with blunderbuss, but nothing happened. He shot several people to death, but the servants rushed forward..."

"Zheng Thief's hundreds of men were instantly defeated. Chen Youyi personally led his servants in pursuit, and the rest of the army followed..."

"The 800 of us brothers were at the end. We originally thought that this battle was going to end like this, and the old captain's great revenge could finally be avenged. At that time, Lao Qi also told me that the imperial army was really different. Fortunately, our brothers were recruited. …”

"I don't know the result. Suddenly the situation was reversed. The troops in front retreated one after another. Seeing that the situation was not good, I quickly ordered the conch blowing to let the brothers escape for their lives..."

"Later, we gathered some remnants of Chen Youyi's men, and then we found out that it was Zheng thief who threw gold, silver and jewelry on the ground while retreating. When the soldiers saw these properties, they all scrambled for them. Chen Youyi couldn't stop him, and Zheng The thieves turned around and fired randomly with blunderbuss, and at the same time, ambushes came out from both sides..." "Just like that, the officers and soldiers were suddenly defeated. Even Chen Youyi was killed by the blunderbuss, and was killed by the thief Zheng. Cut off the head..."

"So that's it." Lin Hai finally knew the general story of this battle, and it was indeed much more reliable than the various gossips he heard.

I have to say that Chen Qiwei's death was truly unjust.When retreating, abandoning property for the enemy to fight for and then taking the opportunity to fight back may sound a bit childish, but it was indeed very effective on ancient battlefields.

The peasant army during the Chongzhen period often used this trick, and even the so-called nine-sided elites often lost because of this. Sometimes they didn't even need the opponent to discard gold and silver. Just grabbing heads could turn a victory into a defeat.

Marshal Qi also attaches great importance to this. In the "Military Law of the Army on the Front of Battle", a pamphlet issued to each team by the Qi family army, the first article is not to fight for heads, the second is not to fight for property abandoned by the enemy, and the third is not to fight for the enemy's abandoned property. The three rules are that you are not allowed to retreat from the battlefield.

Military law alone is not enough. For this reason, Marshal Qi also specifically stipulated how to divide the head reward and how to divide the property obtained on the battlefield. Generally speaking, the rewards are collected collectively in small teams, which at least avoids the possibility that people in the same team will not go there. Fighting for heads or property.

At the same time, Marshal Qi stipulated that sword players, wolf spearmen, and spearmen were not allowed to carry the first sword, and only the boring palladium hand and fire soldiers of each team were allowed to behead on the battlefield.If the enemy abandons property on the battlefield, the Qi Army also allows one person from each team to take care of it.

As for the combat power of Zheng Zhilong's troops reflected in this battle, Lin Hai felt that it was not easy to judge yet.

It would be a bit scary if this battle was planned by Zheng Zhilong in advance. He was not trying to disperse the plunder but deliberately lured the enemy.

Laying an ambush in advance, then deliberately feigning defeat with some elite troops, and then abandoning property in a planned manner is not an easy tactic to execute - feigning defeat has always been the most difficult tactic on the battlefield, and it can be fatal if you are not careful. Played off.

Lin Hai believed that this possibility was unlikely. The so-called eight achievements of the ambush mentioned by Yang Lu happened to be assembled and came to support.

"Sixth Elder, where is Thief Zheng now?" Lin Hai asked after listening to Yang Lu's words.

"They should still be in Haicheng. The Zheng thieves did not pursue him in that battle. Later, my two brothers gathered up the remaining troops and heard that the guy was still looting around, so they quickly retreated."

"Do you know that a group of people has come to Jiahe Island now, claiming to be Zheng Zhilong's subordinates, and is raising a banner to recruit troops."

"I heard." Yang Lu nodded and said, "We just heard that if Zheng's men came by sea, they would not come so quickly. After all, the wind is blowing this season."

"That's it. I guess Thief Zheng is not at Jiahe Island at this time." Lin Hai added, "The group that came here only has four boats, and the boats are not very big. It is expected that there will be at most 1000 people."

Yang Lu heard this and said again: "I heard that Zheng had [-] or [-] ships when he landed at Zhangpu. I guess these people came directly from Zhangpu, probably to serve as a vanguard for Zheng's main force, but Zheng himself They took the land route, plundering and marching towards the center and left."

Lin Hai nodded. What Yang Lu said was more logical. It was very difficult for a fleet of twenty or thirty large ships to sail against the wind. It was a more reasonable choice for Zheng Zhilong to march north by land.

He then asked: "Six Elders, how many people are there on your side?"

Yang Lu said: "Including the remnants of Chen Guerrilla's troops, there are about 600 people left."

"600 people is quite a lot. Now that the city of Xiamen has some doubts about the two of them, I wonder if the two of them dare to fight against the vanguard sent by the Zheng thief to the Zhongzuo Institute..."

"Don't go!" Before Lin Hai finished speaking, Yang Ce, who had been silent, suddenly interrupted him, "You let Xu Laosan go by himself. Why are our brothers rushing to the front, while the one named Xu is sitting there?" Enjoy the city."

"Seven elders, listen to me. Brothers, this is for your sake. I have just said that it is not that Uncle Xu can't trust you two. It's actually that there are a few nobles in the city who refuse to open the door. To be honest, I won't be able to open the door after I go back. If you can persuade the city gate to be opened, if the main force of the Zheng thieves comes and kills you, you two will still be outside the city. What will happen?"

"I voted for that thief Zheng to settle the matter." Yang Ce said angrily.

"The Seventh Elder is speaking angrily. Not to mention that your two children are still in the city. Just based on your brother's loyalty, which is comparable to the second master Guan, Lin doesn't believe that you two will betray the old captain." .”

"If the old captain was here, how could he let me be so cowardly..."

Yang Ce was still indignant, but Yang Lu interrupted him: "Old Qi, don't say such useless words. Brother Lin is also giving us advice."

As he spoke, he said to Lin Hai: "I, Yang Liu, can listen to Brother Lin's words. But you have also seen my brother's attitude. We are fighting at the front, and now we are not even allowed to enter the city. How do you want me to follow you?" My brothers opened my mouth and asked them to kill thieves again?"

"It's 30 taels per person. I make the decision for Uncle Xu. If he doesn't accept the bill then, I, Lin, will pay for it." Lin Hai said and added, "In addition, Xu Letian has 200 people there. I will let him leave the city. How about coming to spearhead the two of you?"

Yang Lu also knew that there was no other way at the moment, so he immediately agreed: "Sure! Instead of steaming steamed buns to fight for reputation, we can just let Mr. Xu see the loyalty of our brothers."

"The six elders are so righteous, Mr. Lin admires him." Lin Hai bowed deeply to Yang Lu. He really needed someone to fight with the group of people outside the city in order to get first-hand accurate information and decide whether to send The Zhoushan camp went out of the city to see the blood.

That night, Xu Letian led two hundred sailors out of the city, and with Yang Lu and Yang Ce's troops, they attacked the group of thieves who invaded Zhongzuo Station. After a night of fierce fighting, they withdrew their troops and returned to camp.

After listening to what Xu Letian and others said about the battle situation, Lin Hai stood up and said to Xu Xinsu in a deep voice: "The Zhoushan Camp requests to go to war!"

(End of this chapter)