Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 466

Tian Xiong withdrew back, thinking that Ma Degong had built the pontoon bridge and could cross the river, but in the end, as long as there was Gan Hui's warship, there was no hope of building the bridge at all. His expression sank, and he turned around and urged The men and horses hurriedly prepared for battle.

On the river beach, Tan Tai, A Shan, Zhang Cunren, Tian Xiong, and Ma Degong were trapped. None of these people could surrender. When the Ming army approached, these people also understood their situation and wanted to make a desperate struggle.

Although Tan Tai is brave and resourceful, he is a genuine Jurchen man. He sees the situation clearly and can only die rather than surrender.

Through the binoculars, Wang Yan discovered that the Qing army on the river beach was waving banners, mobilizing various ministries, and the defeated army also took up weapons and stood up. There was a tragic air of knowing that they were about to die, but they wanted to eat a piece of the Ming army's flesh, so he waved his hand Said: "The army will build fortifications on the spot, and we will surround him for a few days first."

"Duke, don't you want to fight?" Liu Shun asked suspiciously.

"What kind of fight?" Wang Yan glared at him, "Didn't see them put on a stance, are you waiting to trade your life with us?"

"But the fight has reached here, and the brothers are all excited, ready to go all out and drive this group of birds into the river. I always feel that I haven't had the most fun by surrounding them like this."

Wang Yan glanced at Liu Shun, "After this Eastern Expedition, you go directly to Mr. Kuang Lu, learn the art of war, sharpen your temper, and then come back to take charge of the army!"

Hearing the words, Liu Shun's face suddenly changed, and he lowered his head and dared not speak.

Wang Yan glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, handed him the binoculars, and said, "There are still more than 5000 Qing soldiers on the river beach, but there are no large carts on the entire river beach, presumably food The supplies are still on the other side, and the pontoon bridge was destroyed by Gan Hui before they could be sent across the river. I have been besieging him for a few days, and he still has the strength to fight with my back?"

After hearing this, Liu Shun quickly picked up the binoculars to watch. Sure enough, as Wang Yan said, the narrow river beach was crowded with Qing soldiers, but no vehicles loaded with supplies were seen.

The Qing army had lined up and waited for the Ming army to attack. They had to fight to the death, but the Ming army two miles away stopped on the spot and had no intention of attacking.

"General, you see that the Ming army seems to be building a camp!" A Qing general said suddenly.

Tan Tai looked in the direction he pointed, and sure enough, the Ming army divided into three groups, and set up a village in the west, south, and north of the river beach, trapping the Qing army to death on the river beach.

Zhang Cunren also noticed this problem, and immediately understood Wang Yan's intentions, and hurriedly responded to Tan Tai, "The army's food and grass are all on the east bank, Wang Yan is going to trap us to death, and now there is a desperate blow, and there is still a chance of survival. After a long time, it will definitely collapse without a fight."

Tan Tai didn't listen to Zhang Cunren's words before, and was ambushed in the end. Now he naturally attaches great importance to Zhang Cunren's opinion, and quickly ordered Tian Xiong's troops to rush towards the Ming army, but the Qing soldiers were beaten back by bird guns, bows and arrows .

The Qing army was trapped on the river beach. If the Ming army attacked, they would have no way to retreat, so they would fight desperately. However, the Ming army surrounded them and did not attack, so the Qing soldiers' will to die was naturally not firm.

Tan Tai urged several Green Battalions to attack in succession, but they were already defeated. The [-] Ming army was twice as many as them, and instead they defended. Where did they fight before, leaving hundreds of corpses behind, they retreated obediently to the river beach.

At night, the Qing soldiers took advantage of the darkness to rush to repair the floating bridge again, but they were still burned by the warships commanded by Gan Hui. The Qing soldiers organized several breakouts, but all ended in failure.

The Qing army was trapped on the river bank, unable to defeat the Ming army and unable to cross the river. When the big trees on the river bank that could be used to make rafts were almost cut down, but the pontoon bridge still could not be erected, they gradually fell into despair.

On the fourth day and night, on the river beach, several marching cauldrons were set up on top of a raging fire. In the cauldrons, boiling water surged, and steam came out. Some people who did not have pans used iron helmets to boil water.

Fortunately, the Qing soldiers were on the river beach, so they didn't have to worry about the water source. Otherwise, if there was no water, they might have collapsed long ago.

The water in the pot was boiling, but there was nothing in it. More than 5000 people could eat a small mountain every day. The horses were eaten clean on the second day after being trapped. The bones in the pot had long been stewed. Gone.

At this time, countless Qing soldiers crowded on the river beach, their eyes were dull, their expressions were sluggish, and they gradually lost hope. Several Eight Banners soldiers poured all the leather boots, leather belts, whips, and bow bags they had collected into the pot. Then the wild vegetables and weeds collected from the river beach are also poured into it.

The Qing army was really at the end of the road. Under the burning fire, greedy eyes stared at the steaming cauldron. If it weren't for military discipline, they would have rushed forward.

On a bluestone on the river beach, Tan Tai and Zhang Cunren sat together.

"General, procrastination like this is not an option. Today, some soldiers from the Green Camp have fled to the Ming Camp to surrender. There is no food. There may be more people fleeing tomorrow. In a few days, without Wang Ni's attack, the army will have to disperse like birds and beasts. "

"Is there no way to find something to eat?"

"After this meal, I'm afraid the only thing left is cannibalism."

Tan Tai shuddered. If he really wanted to eat people, the Green Battalion soldiers would definitely mutiny immediately, "What's Governor Zhang thinking?"

"General, the tens of thousands of green battalions now cannot be taken away. Fujian has no troops who can save us. Instead of spending here and being destroyed together with the army, it is better to break through tonight."

"Without a pontoon, I can't even fly over the river with my wings~"

Zhang Cunren said in a low voice: "These days to build a pontoon bridge, although it has not been successful, there are still a lot of rafts left. The general and the soldiers of the Eight Banners can use the rafts to break through."

"How many people can the raft carry across the river?" Tan Tai asked with a frown.

If he could bring thousands of people, Zhang Cunren wouldn't whisper it. Sure enough, he looked around, and then leaned into Tan Tai's ear and said, "200 people, there should be no problem."

"Then you can bring the yellow-armored Manchuria, and you can't even bring the red-armored Mongols."

"There's no way around this. The raft can only carry so many people. If the Red Armored Mongolia and the Green Camp know, no one will be able to leave."

"Aren't Tian Xiong and Ma Degong notified?"

"It's impossible for these two men to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, but the soldiers and horses are all thrown to the west bank, and it's useless to bring them back. Leaving them can instead consume the Ming army and delay us for a while."

There are at most two days left to guard the river beach. The army will inevitably flee because of lack of food. If they stay, they will be wiped out by the Ming army together with more than ten thousand Qing soldiers. Tan Tai knows the choice and nods. Shuai broke through tonight."

On the fourth watch of the night, Tan Tai, Ashan, Zhang Cunren and Huang Jia Manchu, nearly 200 people, quietly entered the Mulan River on [-] wooden rafts.

A group of people paddled cautiously, and the ripples of the wooden oars were shimmering and silvery under the moonlight. They rowed from the riverside to the center of the river, but they were not spotted by the sentry ships of the Ming army. Tan Tai and the others secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But just as they continued to paddle towards the east bank, a large pitch-black boat suddenly stood in front of them.

(End of this chapter)