There is a space for passenger planes in the late Ming Dynasty

Zhending Mansion, Longquan Pass.

After two days of marching, Zhou Rui and Pan Da led the attacking Zhenming Army back to Longquan Pass.

On the way, they also robbed a group of Tatar troops who came out to plunder. This time, the Tatar troops only had about a hundred people. They were killed by Zhou Rui and Panda's troops in a pincer attack, and they suffered very little loss.

Along the way, they took in another 300 fleeing people and dispersed Ming army soldiers, and seized more than 3,000 taels of silver and hundreds of shi of grain.

After another half day, the cavalry battalion led by Hong Tu also returned. They also rescued three to four hundred people and seized a large amount of property.

Lin Feng summoned the three generals who had gone out to hunt down the Tatars in Longquan Pass, and summoned the accompanying generals to discuss the next steps together.

"Cao Xiong, please tell me the statistical results first." Lin Feng ordered.

"Okay, sir, this time three teams went out to hunt down the Tatars. They annihilated a total of about 2,000 and 600 Tatar troops. They suffered about 500 casualties, of which about 150 were killed.

A total of more than 850 people were rescued and taken in, and more than 850 troops were routed. More than 14,000 taels of silver and about 1,000 shi of grain were seized. In addition, more than 700 war horses and more than 1,000 sets of armor and weapons were seized.

Sir, if in the Ming Dynasty, more than 600 Tatars were beheaded at one time, it would be an amazing victory. There were few such victories in the entire Chongzhen Dynasty. "Cao Xiong said with emotion after finishing the report.

"Although the gains from this battle are not small, our own battle losses are also very large. We suffered 500 casualties and one-tenth of our troops were lost. Although most of the injured officers and soldiers can return to the army, it will take a longer period of time. Time to heal.

Therefore, we must not underestimate the fighting power of the Tatars. We should try to avoid large-scale field battles with the Qing army and preserve our own strength first. " Lin Feng said.

"Yes, after a few battles like this, our troops will be almost exhausted." Wang Qin then interjected.

"You have all fought against Manta. Tell us about your feelings about the battle and your opinions on the next step." Lin Feng ordered.

"Sir, let me start by saying that the 500 officers and soldiers of our Shanxi combat brigade were unable to annihilate the Qing army with less than one Niu Lu despite detecting the enemy's situation in advance and adopting an ambush.

Later, under the interception of 200 Guards Brigade brothers led by Panda, they completely annihilated Manta's 260-man army. They also suffered about 230 casualties. The Qing army's combat effectiveness was indeed very strong. , and the battlefield response is very fast.

If we encounter a large Qing army with more than 1,000 people, we will need at least 2,000 people to fight with it, otherwise we will not be sure of victory. "Zhou Rui first talked about his feelings about fighting Mantar.

"The fighting ability of our Mongolian cavalry is almost the same as that of the Qing army. Their cavalry and archery are slightly better than ours, and our weapons and armor are slightly better than theirs. But if we really fight, we will definitely suffer twice as much damage. I suggest we use an ambush. tactics." Hong Tu also talked about his thoughts.

"In a one-on-one competition, the officers and soldiers of our Guards Brigade can still have a slight upper hand due to their superior weapons. But in a duel with more than a hundred people, Mantar will probably have the upper hand. But we have Bailitong, which can give full play to battlefield coordination. With the advantage, it is still possible to find and annihilate a small group of Qing troops." Panda said.

"Sir, the battle with the Tatars will cause heavy losses, and the duration is expected to be relatively long. I suggest that we should support the war with war.

We rescued and brought back many people this time, including some defeated soldiers of the Ming army. These people have a deep hatred for the Qing army. We must gather them together and train them carefully, which can supplement our shortage of soldiers. Wang Qin then suggested.

"Where are Peng Xing and Zhou Zhiwei?" Lin Feng then asked. "They still have one day to reach the vicinity of Longquan Pass." Guo Zheng replied.

Lin Feng thought about it for a while and said: "In this way, we have gathered nearly 8,000 troops near Longquan Pass. I am considering setting up a Longquan Pass camp.

The camp is divided into two parts: inner and outer. The two cavalry brigades set up two camps two or three miles outside Longquan Pass in the direction of Zhending Mansion. They formed a vertical layout with the pass, forming a situation where they could advance and attack, and retreat and defend.

The interior of Longquan Pass was garrisoned by Peng Xing's Second Shanxi Combat Brigade, and Zhou Zhiwei's Third Shanxi Combat Brigade camped three or four miles west of Longquan Pass.

In this way, a safe area of ​​three to four miles square was encircled near Longquan Pass, which can be used to house the people brought back after rescue, arrange the construction of new barracks, and recruit some people to join the army for training to supplement our lost soldiers. "

"Sir, who is specifically responsible for this matter?" Wang Qin asked for instructions.

Lin Feng glanced at everyone and said, "Let Deputy Chief Cao Xiong take charge of this matter."

"Thank you for your trust, sir. I will live up to your expectations!" Cao Xiong happily accepted the order.

"Zhou Rui and you guys are taking a short break, and then dispatch the elite detachments of the 1st Cavalry Brigade and the 1st Mobile Combat Brigade to continue the mission of finding and annihilating the small group of Mantars. At the same time, we will do more propaganda to guide the fleeing people to the Longquan Pass Camp." Lin Feng then arranged. road.

Lin Feng's Jiazhou area in northern Shaanxi is vast and sparsely populated. He can take this opportunity to attract more people. In the future, he will have greater options whether he brings it back to Jiazhou or builds a city on the spot.

As the Tatar plundering near the capital expanded, a large number of people fled to avoid the war. Many people in Baoding and Zhending prefectures had heard that there was a Longquan Pass at the junction of Shanxi and Beizhili where they could be protected, so they rushed over with their families.

In late October, more than 3,000 refugees gathered in Longquanguan Camp, and refugees came to seek refuge every day.

In accordance with Lin Feng's instructions, Cao Xiong recruited a thousand people from the defected civilians to join the army and organized a new recruit training camp. Led by the lightly injured Zhenming officers and soldiers, Cao Xiong strengthened training day and night.

Most of these new recruits were young men who had their families destroyed by the Tatars and soldiers of the Ming army who had been dispersed. They were all in good physical condition. In addition, the food supply of the Zhenming Army was strong. Everyone was enthusiastic about training and their training level improved quickly. It is estimated that each combat battalion will be replenished in another ten and a half days.

Other people were organized to expand the Longquan Pass in the Shanxi direction. They planned to expand the original small pass with a circumference of less than one mile into a pass with a circumference of three or four miles.

Since there was no shortage of money, food and personnel, Lin Feng was willing to spend money. Not only did he provide meals every day, but he also paid wages at the standard of one tael of silver a month. The people were very enthusiastic about participating in the construction of the city. Many businesses in Shanxi saw business opportunities and also followed the plan. Small stalls were set up around Guancheng, selling various products, turning Longquan Pass into a small town.

The Qing troops crossed Beijing in mid-October and headed toward Zhuozhou from Liangxiang. In early November, the Qing troops crossed Baoding and went south, breaking through Gaoyang.

Sun Chengzong, a great scholar who had made great achievements in defending Qing soldiers outside Shanhaiguan, was seventy-six years old. He retired and lived in Gaoyang City. He led his family to fight with Qing soldiers in the streets, and his whole family died heroically for the country.

(End of this chapter)