Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 237 Escape
Xu Xinsu, He Ying and his party did not have to wait too long, as Xu Letian and the families of the Yang brothers lived closer to Huangshu Gate.

After a cup of tea, Yang Ce arrived with his troops and their families. The morale of the troops on and off the city was immediately high, and they held the north gate tightly, just to wait for this moment.

The total strength of the enemy and our side in the Huangshu Gate area is similar. Ye Dajing's troops have better weapons and armor, but their fighting spirit is not as strong as that of their opponents.

Seeing the Ming army was killing madly, Ye Dajing ordered to temporarily withdraw from the battle. He received an order to occupy the four city gates, and it was unwise to forcibly stop Yang Ce's troops from leaving the city at this time.

After the pirates who attacked Huangshu Gate retreated, Yang Ce protected the families of the soldiers and left the city. At this time, Zheng Zhipeng finally arrived. He thought Xu Xinsu was in Yang Ce's army, so he immediately asked Ye Dajing to stop the army from leaving the city.

However, the 2,000 elite marines of the Zheng army were in a superior position and usually only obeyed orders from Zheng Zhilong himself. The specific commanders were Wang Mengxiong and Ye Dajing. These two were outsiders who were airborne, and the other leaders of the gang were very jealous of them. Zheng Zhilong himself stayed with this elite force all day long, so he was not afraid of being sidelined by them.

Ye Dajing flatly rejected Zheng Zhipeng. He knew that this army was the lifeblood of Zheng Zhilong and the capital for him and Wang Mengxiong to survive in the gang. If too many were lost, he, Ye, would no longer have a foothold in Wanggang.

Zheng Zhipeng had no choice but to send people to ask Zheng Zhilong for orders while he personally led his men to stop Yang Ce's troops. However, he only had more than 200 people under his command and they were quickly killed and repelled.

The Yang brothers were not interested in fighting, and after their families left the city, they quickly organized their troops to leave the city. At this time, Ye Dajing suddenly gave orders to attack Xu Letian's troops on the city wall again.

Like other Ming Dynasty cities, Xiamen’s four city gates are all sluice gates. The winch that controls the sluice gate is located in the sluice tower on the city wall. Only by controlling this place can the city gate be truly controlled.

Xu Letian had only about 200 men under his command, and more than 30 bodies had been left behind. However, Ye Dajing was unwilling to attack from below the city, so he only attacked from both sides. The narrow city wall was not suitable for maneuvering troops, so only a few dozen men from Xu's army actually engaged in the battle.

No one was wearing armor. Xu Letian tore off his shirt, revealing his muscular body. "Brothers, your families have all left the city. You only need to hold out for another stick of incense. There is no need for so many brothers. I am determined to be the last one to leave. Those who are willing to stay with me, show your strength."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud hissing sound on the city wall. Except for the dozens of people who were fighting, the rest of the people followed Xu Letian's example and tore off their shirts. The firelight illuminated hundreds of bare-shirted men.

"I am willing to die with the eldest master!" The impassioned roar echoed through the city wall.

Xu Letian's eyes were filled with tears. He was about to persuade some of his men to leave the city first, but in the end he just laughed up to the sky: "Okay! Let's fight the enemy side by side with all the brothers!"

He came to the battlements holding a torch, and saw Yang Lu standing outside the city gate on horseback urging his men to speed up. He shouted at the people below the city: "Sixth Elder, you take my father and the brothers and leave first. I will stay here to cover your retreat."

At this time, about half of the troops under the Yang brothers had left the city, and Ye Dajing's troops under the city had not yet launched an attack. They did not dare to expose themselves to the firepower of the city tower, and naturally could not shoot and kill the Ming troops who were leaving the city.

Yang Lu silently bowed to Xu Letian. It was superfluous to say anything at this time. Everything was self-evident. Without waiting for the whole army to leave the city, Yang Lu ordered the army to go ahead and the families to follow, and began to march north.

He Ying rode his horse to Yang Lu and said, "General Yang, there are not many bandits entering the city. Most of them should be outside the city. We need to send out scouts first."

Yang Lu had been recruited for two years and was nominally a middle officer in Xu Xinsu's army. Not only had he learned to ride a horse himself, he also had a dozen horsemen under his command. Hearing this, he immediately sent out scouts. It turned out that what He Ying had expected was correct. After Yang Lu's army had advanced less than ten miles, the scouts reported that they had engaged in a battle with the pirates' ambush troops. Yang Lu then ordered the entire army to slow down and personally led 300 people to clear the way.

The troops stationed here were Li Kuiqi's subordinates. Although they were numerous and occupied an advantageous position, they had no intention of fighting. Since Zheng Zhilong cut off the salaries of the non-direct troops, these ragtag troops had to rely on robbery to survive. Seeing the superior Marines marching into the prosperous city of Xiamen, they were ordered to stay in this desolate wilderness, and no one was willing to work for him.

The defenders put up a symbolic resistance for a cup of tea and then dispersed. Yang Lu's troops occupied this dangerous terrain without much effort, and the entire army was able to continue moving forward.

Afterwards, Yang Lu secretly broke out in a cold sweat. If it weren't for He Ying's foresight, he might have been caught off guard. In addition, there were many family members accompanying him, so it was not impossible that the entire army would be in chaos and wiped out.

At this time, Xu Letian and Yang Ce's troops, who were responsible for the rear guard, also caught up.

After the rear guard led by Yang Ce had all left the city, Xu Letian ordered the city gates to be closed, so the loss was not great. However, Xu Letian's 200 men were almost wiped out, mainly because they were attacked by concentrated fire when they evacuated from the top of the city, and hundreds of people died in that wave.

Xu Letian was lucky enough not to be shot to death, but his entire body looked like he had been fished out of water of blood. It was obvious that he had personally participated in the hand-to-hand combat when he was on the city wall.

The troops rested for a while behind the mountain where the pirates set up an ambush. The leaders gathered together to discuss their actions. He Ying said, "The pursuers may come at any time, so we need to set off as soon as possible. The terrain here is dangerous, so we need to leave some soldiers to guard it after the main force sets off."

Yang Lu already admired He Ying very much at this time, and asked quickly: "How many soldiers should be left?"

"Our army is small in number, and they have family members accompanying them, so we will only leave two hundred people at most." He Ying replied without hesitation.

"Then two hundred will do." Yang Lu nodded repeatedly.

Xu Letian and Yang Ce also expressed their agreement. They were also convinced of He Ying. After all, the latter was a general under Lin Hai and had led troops to garrison in Xiamen for a long time.

However, Xu and Yang had a dispute over who should stay behind to cover the retreat. Xu Letian said, "Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder, you two were both recruited by my father. I will not leave you behind and go first. So let me lead the army here to cover the retreat?"

"No, you were the one who covered the rear just now, now it's my turn." Yang Ce shouted loudly, "Besides, you don't have many men left, you can't command our brothers' soldiers."

Yang Ce's latter words obviously made sense, but Xu Letian still insisted. At this time, He Ying said again: "Brother Letian, you can't stay here."

Xu Letian was dissatisfied and asked, "Why?"

"Because we don't have a boat." He Ying continued, "But Jiahe Island is an island."

(End of this chapter)