Go back to the end of the Ming Dynasty to be a soldier

Chapter 83 Bloody Battle in Zunhua ([-])
2000 Guanning iron cavalry, plus more than 200 guards of Lin Yi, a total of more than 2200 people came to a few miles outside Zunhua City. It was already dark, and they ran for more than 120 miles in more than three hours at a stretch. The team is indeed exhausted.

Lin Yi decided to rest his army and horses on the spot, and rushed into the camp in the middle of the night to rescue the governor, Lu Xiangsheng. Now there are still two hours before the time for action.

These two hours are very important and critical. They are just used to rest and reorganize the troops. Now they are already a tired army and must recover their combat power as soon as possible.

But the more than 2000 people had to take turns to rest, and some of them were kept on guard, and they also fed the horses to feed the fodder and drink the animals, so that the animals could quickly recover and charge in the middle of the night.

Although Guan Ning's iron cavalry is powerful, their horses are indispensable. These are their legs.

The soldiers under his command set up a simple tent for Lin Yi. Lin Yi and Xiaoying ate a few mouthfuls of dry food and drank a few mouthfuls of water. This was considered dinner, and the two of them rested in the tent.

Wang Qi, Erhu, He Tao, Dongsheng, Gan Bao, Jiang Xingyuan and other personal guards took turns patrolling outside the tent. Except for a few hundred patrolling the rest of the more than 2000 people, most of the rest lay on the ground, with some relying on trees. Some were leaning on the slope, some simply lay down on the spot, lying horizontally and vertically, some were holding knives and guns, and some were pillowing knives and guns.

These soldiers were indeed exhausted, they ate dry food and drank water, and then fell asleep as long as they could grab a place without picking and choosing.

Before resting, Ji Dong took Xiaoying and others like a camp tour, and walked around in a circle, looked at the terrain in this area, and then looked up at the sky.

It was already cold at night, but fortunately there was not much wind tonight, and the night wind swept across the treetops, making a rustling sound.

The weather was clear, and the stars were shining like gems on the black sky.

Find a high place and look into the distance.In the dark distance, lying like a big monster, it should be the city of Zunhua, and it can be imagined that it should be the barracks of the Tartars besieging the city.

Because the distance was relatively short and it was dark, they did not dare to get angry, for fear of being discovered by Tartar spies.

After the inspection, Lin Yi and Xiaoying returned to the tent, and the two of them slept together, leaning against each other, and fell into a deep sleep...

At this time, in Zunhua City, on the broad city road, a thousand generals and soldiers did not remove their armor and horses without saddles. Lu Xiangsheng, who was fully armed, was swearing to the master on a high place.

The deputy commander, Luo Dai, had several wounds on his body, the most obvious one being that one arm was hanging, but he was still covered in armor, and stood beside Lu Xiangsheng solemnly.

Lu Xiangsheng is tall and tall, and his face is like the ancient moon in three autumns. He is only in his 30s, and he has been weather-beaten, especially in the past few days. Already very tired.

But his face was still as majestic as iron, and there were soldiers holding lanterns for him. At this time, there were three special people among his thousand Tianxiong troops, namely Lin Yi's personal soldier Zhang Hua and two followers.

This battle has been fought until now, and they know what is waiting for them next?How can 1000 people guard such a large city?What's more, now that the ammunition is exhausted and the firearms are useless, they can only rely on a few bows and arrows to roll wood, bricks and tiles. Apart from these, they are their flesh and blood.

But these thousand generals are worthy of the Tianxiong Army, there is not a single coward, and there is not a single deserter, and the promises are still raging, which shows that their military spirit is still alive.

After the swearing-in, Lu Xiangsheng found a general and ordered him to bring 200 generals to escort Zhang Hua and three others out of the city at midnight.

At the scene of swearing-in, Zhang Hua's blood boiled with enthusiasm, and now Zhang Hua knelt down to Lu Xiangsheng with a plop.

"My lord, a villain can fight to the death with an adult to defend the city..."

Lu Xiangsheng waved his hand, interrupted him, and asked him to get up, "You don't have to feel guilty, you are definitely not running away from the battle, you are following the order of the governor, send this letter quickly, and see After Ji Dong, don't let him send troops to rescue. Remember. It's getting late, go down and rest quickly, and prepare to break into the camp after more than an hour."

"The villain respectfully obeys my lord's orders, and my lord governor takes care." Zhang Hua wiped away his tears, touched the letter in his chest, and left Lu Xiangsheng's camp with two followers.

Lu Xiangsheng still inspected the city defense, he had a hunch that this might be the last time he inspected the barracks.A thousand soldiers and horses are not enough to defend the four city gates, let alone other places. As long as this kind of city defense Tartars sincerely attack, they will definitely break the city.

Fortunately, a thousand soldiers are all wearing strong and persistent, standing on standby.The first watch has passed, except for those who patrol the city, those who should rest have already rested. They must preserve their strength before the Tartars attack the city.

After inspecting the city defense, Lu Xiangsheng returned to his big tent, and it was already the second watch.The night bugs were tired and stopped screaming.

Lu Xiangsheng didn't feel sleepy at all, walking back and forth in the tent.He wanted to write the last memorial to Emperor Chongzhen, opened the scroll, and after lying down on the desk, he put down the pen and ink again.

He walked back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back, and the dim oil lamp gave off a faint light, reflecting Lu Xianggao's tall body on the tent.

He has long ignored the success or failure of this battle. As for the family, he no longer cares about it, but now he has Ji Dong in his mind. He thinks this young man in his 20s is amazing!
Lu Xiangsheng has not been in contact with Lin Yi for a long time, but he has a deep impression on Lin Yi. First, he learned about Lin Yi from the messenger of the Yongping prefect. Amin and Yuetuo.

What impressed me the most was the battle outside Yuyang City, when his troops were ambushed by the Tartars headed by Abate.If Lin Yi hadn't sent Zu Keyong to gallop more than 200 miles to deliver the letter, and attacked the Tazi's artillery camp at a critical moment, he might have been wiped out in that battle.

Lin Yi angrily killed Lu Ming, the running dog of the factory guard, which left the deepest impression on Lu Xiangsheng. It seems that although Lin Yi came from a humble background and a small official position, he was upright and awe-inspiring, jealous of evil, bold and careful, and resourceful. As the pillar of the country, even Liu Zhaoji, the commander-in-chief under him, cannot be compared.

It's a pity that this son was born in troubled times and met such an imperial court again, I hope he can escape this calamity...

Lu Xiangsheng thought about it, he felt really sleepy, lying on this bed with his clothes on, his head quickly became confused...

In the barracks of the Tartars outside Zunhua City, 2 troops surrounded Zunhua City, and when it was just dark, Tan Tai called all the Ezhens under his command together and made an oath.

Now his preparations for retreat are almost done. Food, grass, tents, military supplies, ammunition, and supplies have all been moved to the car, and some have been dragged on the horse. The remaining heavy artillery is left behind. It is used to blast open the city gate tonight.

The heads of the Tartars are all shiny, and they all have money rattails. If it makes the Han people feel a little disgusting, but they take it as a beauty, and they deliberately don't wear hats, and stand solemnly facing Tan Tai.

Tan Tai's current official position is no longer a Gushan Ezhen, but Zhang Jing, who was promoted to Baya Latiaoying, was an official position in the former Qing Dynasty, which is equivalent to the commander of the Han army's guards, or the deputy commander-in-chief. The post of general soldier.

"All of you, success or failure depends on one action tonight. Lu Xiangsheng has run out of ammunition and food, and there are not many bird soldiers under his command. If he goes into the city, he will never seal his sword. If anyone captures or kills Lu Xiangsheng alive, please take orders from this chapter. , reward Baturu, and at least three soldiers from Niulu. Remember, this is our last chance."

"We must win, we must win..." the Tartars also shouted in anticipation, and the sound shook the sky.

Tan Tai waved his big hand, and the scene fell silent again: "Rest early tonight, make food in the second watch, and attack the city in the third watch. You must use your life to take Zunhua in one fell swoop. Those who retreat or those who fail to attack the city will be killed without mercy. !"

"promise."

These big and small foreheads really agreed, and dispersed separately.

By the time of the second watch, all the Tartars of each battalion got up. Those who lit the fire, those who cooked, and those who prepared bows, arrows, knives, horses, and cannons were all very busy.

Then they ate a full meal, and when the third watch was approaching, 2 Tartars were ready to go, and several red cannons had already aimed at a city gate.

Countless torches were suddenly lit, illuminating those dark cannons.

"The third watch is here, fire the gun!" A Niu Lu Ezhen decisively issued an order.

The tartar with the torch lit the fuse, "Boom, boom, boom, chatter..."

The continuous sound of cannons was earth-shattering, breaking the silence of the night, and shells flew down to the city gate and exploded.In the bright and dark flames, thick smoke and flames rose into the sky, the city gate was blown up and sand and stones were splashed, and several Ming soldiers on the top of the city were shaken off the top of the city.

But the gate of the city is still standing still. It turns out that the Ming army has already used sandbags, earth and stones to kill the inside.

Lu Xiangsheng was alarmed. He woke up from the dream, collapsed from the bed, put on the helmet, held the sword, and strode out of the tent. The guards were already waiting outside, with several torches Brightly lit.

He took the sword, grabbed the reins and flew onto the horse.

"My lord, the Tartars are attacking the city on a large scale, so what about breaking into the camp?" The general who was ordered to escort Zhang Hua into the camp hadn't left yet, because it was only after midnight.

"Let's kill the Tartars together, Zhang Hua can wait for the opportunity to leave."

As Lu Xiangsheng said, he came galloping towards the city gate with his personal guards.

The Tazi's cannons continued to aim at one place and bombarded fiercely, and finally the city gate was blown down, and a gap several meters wide appeared in the flames.

"Come on!" Tan Tai looked at it, waved the sword in his hand, and shouted an order, and thousands of Tartars rushed over like a flood that opened the gate.

As soon as the Tartars arrived at the moat, arrows were fired at the city wall. Countless Tartars fell from their horses and fell into the water, and their bodies rolled into the moat.

But the Tartars in the front fell down, and the people behind rushed over, the horses and human corpses, as well as the swords and chariots filled the moat hole, this time the bridge was saved, and the wolf-like Tartars blinked. Suddenly, he rushed across the moat and rushed towards the city gate.

Lu Xiangsheng had already rushed to the gate of the city. He straddled the Malun knife and charged into the battle himself: "Brothers in the army, it is time to be loyal to the country and serve the court. Kill—"

As soon as Lu Xiangsheng uttered the word, he stretched his legs, sat down on the horse and understood the meaning of the master, and jumped out with his hooves neighing to the sky.

Where the light of the saber flickered, a tartar who rushed in the front had already been split in two, and his corpse fell under the horse.

Several Tatars rushed over, with big swords and spears in their hands, and greeted Lu Xiangsheng's men and horses together. Lu Xiangsheng's sword flew up and down as if it had grown wings.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen generals of the Tartars had already become ghosts under Lu Xiangsheng's knife.

The Tianxiong Army around him and Lu Xiangsheng's personal guards were all at their wits' end at this time, rushing desperately around Lu Xiangsheng.They firmly held the gate of the city.

All the Tartars who rushed into the city turned into corpses.The Tartars in the back kept rushing in, and they kept hacking and killing.

"Fire the arrows!" The Tartars suffered heavy casualties, staring at being unable to attack, they began to draw their bows and shoot arrows. The arrows flew towards the gate of the city like rain, and a row of Ming soldiers in front fell to the ground.

Lu Xiangsheng waved the big knife in his hand, and the arrows flying towards him fell to the ground one after another.

But there are fewer and fewer soldiers around him.

At this moment, a shell flew over whistling, and then exploded with a loud bang. The two soldiers around Lu Xiangsheng were blown away, and there was a hole in front of the horse. , With a neigh, the front hoof stood up as high as a person, and then the back hoof gave way, and fell down in a pool of blood.

Throwing Lu Xiangsheng down from where, Lu Xiangsheng rolled on the ground, knelt on one leg and stabilized his body. The big knife in his hand has not been let go, but the helmet has been lost.

Lu Xiangsheng didn't care about it at all, he stood up and charged at the Tartars with his broadswords, because at this time the Tartars outside the city took the opportunity to rush into the gate of the city again like a tide.

Without the war horse, Lu Xiangsheng was still as fierce as a tiger, and his big knife danced like flying. The Tartars still couldn't stand it, and in the blink of an eye, they were killed and wounded all over the place.

There were more than a dozen people around Lu Xiangsheng, but these dozens of people were like a human wall, and the thousands of horses and horses of the Tartars still couldn't break through.

In desperation, the Tartars had no choice but to continue shooting arrows.

After this rain of arrows, there was no one around Lu Xiangsheng, and Lu Xiangsheng was hit by three arrows, so he could no longer wield a sword.

He had no choice but to pull out the sword on his body with one hand, and slashed and stabbed at the Tartars who were rushing towards him.

"Stop shooting arrows! Don't fire any more guns, catch me alive!"

A man with a sharp forehead and sharp eyes looked at him by the light of the fire. Lu Xiangsheng was the only one left at the gate of the city. He was covered in blood and had many scars, but he could be identified by his armor clothes.

The sound of cannons, bows and arrows stopped, and the wolf-like Tartars rushed towards Lu Xiangsheng again. Lu Xiangsheng stood against the wall, his blood had already stained the wall bricks. He stared at the Tartars with both eyes, and held a scroll in one hand bladed sword.

He gathered his last strength and was ready to give it a go. He could cut down as many as he could, but he must keep the last sword for himself.

At this moment, a fire broke out in the back of the Tartar team...

(End of this chapter)