Of course, if the chariots, horses and camel teams that once belonged to the Fan family were not at the forefront, the progress of the entire team would not be so slow.

At the very least, two or three hours have passed since the time of Yinmao in the early morning to the midday with the scorching sun in the sky. Under normal circumstances, not to mention a few miles, it would be dozens of miles.

It's time to finish walking.

Even if the winding mountain road is difficult to walk, it will take a little time, but no matter how difficult it is to walk, it will not take several hours to cover a few miles.

The reason for this is that most of the commercial carts carried by the Fan family's caravan carry a large amount of heavy objects, especially the nitrate and sulfur products. They cannot withstand too much bumps and must move forward cautiously.

OK.

As for the other teams behind them, because the mountain road is sometimes wide and narrow, sometimes even if they want to surpass the team in front, it is difficult to take a step forward, so they can only meander behind them.

But it's all worth it.

The chariots, horses and camel teams that once belonged to the Fan family are really important to the Songshan army under Yang Zhen. No matter how high the price is, they should all be brought back.

Logically speaking, those things should be military supplies provided by the Ming court to the Songshan officers and soldiers, and they should not be obtained by the Songshan officers and soldiers themselves.

However, by the summer of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, the entire military logistics supply system of the Ming Dynasty had basically completely collapsed.

Of course, the Arsenal Department of the Ministry of War still exists, and even the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion also exists in a decent manner, but they exist, but they have no effect at all.

Nowadays, the shortage of military supplies and materials has long been known to everyone in the government and the public. The imperial court itself cannot collect so many military supplies, so how can it be sent to the hands of the border troops?

The most fundamental thing is that by the twelfth year of Chongzhen, the entire military, political and military order system of the Ming Dynasty was not just a little bit bad, but completely rotten.

The entire imperial court was full of fraud and corruption. Even if Emperor Chongzhen and his few useful ministers were covered in iron, how many nails would they be able to hammer out in the end?

For the current Emperor Chongzhen, Yang Zhen was full of sympathy as he was reincarnated. Of course he had to take the initiative to ask for military supplies from the court, but he had no confidence at all as to whether he could get them.

Don't dare to hold out any hope.

To this day, he does not place his hopes on the support of the imperial court, but only waits for Emperor Chongzhen or a certain imperial minister to show his kindness and allocate funds to him.

Because he knew very well that Emperor Chongzhen was completely powerless in these matters. If the advance battalion of the Eastern Expedition and the Songshan army wanted to survive and develop, they had to rely on themselves.

Yang Zhen stood at the mountain pass with a wide view, looking at the Haraqin cavalry team clearing roadblocks on the mountain road below, and thought a lot for a moment.

Since they have been determined by the weight and never give up, let's give them another more unforgettable lesson.

Anyway, after Dunn and the others led the small artillery team and the baggage horse team to the mountain pass, they had already set up a simple artillery formation here.

Although the terrain here is much wider than the previous mountain roads, which is relatively conducive to the opponent's cavalry attack, there are always advantages and disadvantages to everything.

The mountain pass is relatively open, which is not only conducive to the opponent's massive attack, but it is also conducive to one's own efforts to annihilate them.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhen looked at the Haraqin cavalry in the distance who were still clearing the roadblocks in an attempt to continue the attack, and said without looking back:

"These Karaqin cavalry are a bit stubborn. They really won't shed tears until they see their coffin. They also risked their lives to get the caravan supplies we intercepted! Haha!"

Having said this, Yang Zhen sighed with a smile, turned to look at the people behind him, and then said: "In that case, let's help them for once - Zhang Chen, Li Lu, Yang Shen, Deng En, you four,

Lead your troops and stay with me to stop the enemy!

"Lieutenant General Zu, Brother Xu, Brother Liu, and good brother Qingshan, you go ahead and join the Hutuge brothers at the front, take the caravan supplies, carriages, horses, camels, prisoners, etc. we intercepted, and continue to evacuate eastward! Wait!

We'll take care of these desperate followers, and then we'll catch up with you!"

Yang Zhen compared the Karaqin cavalry who were pursuing them with persistence to followers, which actually made the generals smile.

If they encountered such Haraqin cavalry in the open and flat grassland, Yang Zhen and the others would probably have to flee immediately.

But under the current terrain conditions, Yang Zhen led the musketeers, grenadiers and small artillery teams in a trumpet-shaped mountain pass that is wide in front and narrow in the back. No attacking party can take advantage.

If the cavalry like veteran cannon leader Liu Wanzhong or Qingshan Hao needs to rely on bows and arrows to fight with the opponent, then the Haraqin cavalry will have a greater number of people and a chance to win.

But right now, on Yang Zhen's side, in addition to a large number of muskets and flying generals, there are also several cannons, as well as a large amount of gunpowder and shotguns. These are all weapons for killing people. It would be a pity not to use them.

In his heart, Yang Zhenben actually did not want to massacre the Mongolian tribes outside the Great Wall. He still held a trace of fantasy, dreaming that one day in the future, after he severely defeated the Tatar army in western Liaoning, he would have the opportunity to mobilize the Mongolian tribes outside the Great Wall.

, out of the control of the Manchu Tatars.

Therefore, in his heart, he was not willing to form a mortal feud with any Mongolian tribe outside the Great Wall.

But now it seems that these things can only be left to the future. If the other party insists on insisting on persisting, then there is no way.

After Yang Zhen finished talking about his arrangements, the generals were silent for a while, and then the old cannon leader Liu Wanzhong suddenly said: "General Yang, are you planning to use artillery to repel the enemy? I have some brothers who are good at using artillery, and you can keep them.

Please help!"

After the old cannon leader said this, seeing that Yang Zhen didn't speak for a moment, he immediately followed up and said: "We brothers from Qifeng Mountain have been fighting life and death with the Karaqin cavalry for several years, and this time we finally have a chance to take revenge.

, how can we not participate in this grand event?! Even if we can’t all stay to help in the battle, we should at least leave some who can shoot off cannons!”

"Okay! If that's the case, then you can choose a group of gunners to stay, give them to Dunn for allocation and use, and obey Dunn's unified command!"

When the old gunner heard Yang Zhen's words, he hurriedly agreed with a smile, then turned around and went to choose a gunner for his team.

With the precedent of the old cannon head speaking, Li Lu, who was waiting aside, thought for a moment and said: "Sir, Yang Shen's subordinates have recently returned with brave men. Your Majesty keeps them here to temporarily join the grenadiers."

Team, or do you have other arrangements?"

When Li Lu asked, Yang Shen standing aside immediately raised his ears.

The men under him now are all newly recruited members of good families. Although those who are able to come here now have gone through countless hardships and been tempered, but after all, they have never really been on the battlefield.

Even when we intercepted and pursued the fleeing caravans of people, horses and livestock west of Tuchengzi, that was not a real battle.

This first real battle will determine what kind of soldiers they will become next, what status they will occupy and what role they will play in the Zhengdong advance battalion and the Songshan army in the future.

"Let's do this. Yang Shen's strong warriors will be divided into three parts for the time being based on four hundred people. One group will be equipped with matchlock guns for capturing the caravan, and will still be led by Yang Shen! One group will first learn to use flying

General, temporarily return to Li Lu to mobilize and command!

"As for choosing the remaining ones, form your own group. Yang Shen, you find a suitable person to lead the team, still use the previous weapons, follow the orders of Lieutenant General Zu, escort the captured livestock and supplies you intercepted, and leave first with the large group of people!"

Yang Zhen's side was quickly dispatched, and everyone knew that the situation was tense at this moment. They didn't say anything at all. They all clasped their fists to accept the order and went to separate operations.

Zu Keyong and others loudly conveyed Yang Zhen's order and directed the carriage, horse and camel team that had crossed the mountain pass to start again eastward and head down the mountain.

The old cannon leader selected thirty gunners who had fired cannons from his own team and temporarily joined Dunn's small artillery team to serve as their assistants.

Yang Shen also quickly distributed the troops he brought back from Xuanfu. One group was called Ma Zhuang and temporarily transferred to the grenadiers for deployment. The other group was called Yang Dagui to take the captured supplies and troops and follow them.

The team set off.

He himself led a team of 400 people and followed Zhang Chen to select a group from the large number of captured matchlocks and temporarily armed them as musketeers.

By the time Yang Zhen was almost done with his work, the roadblocks on the mountain road in the distance had almost been cleared, and small groups of Karaqin cavalry had begun to tentatively move towards the mountain pass.

This time, the Karaqin cavalry were much more cautious. Not only were there small groups of cavalry moving forward on the mountain road, but there were also Karaqin people who were cautiously and tentatively moving forward on the rolling hills on one side of the mountain road.

Seeing this situation, Yang Zhen quickly called for orders, asking Zhang Chen and Li Lu to separate a group of troops and quickly occupy the high ground on both sides of the mountain pass.

Although the terrain on the mountain pass where this mountain pass is located is relatively flat and not very undulating, the terrain of the mountain pass is still the same as that of all other mountain passes. The mountain pass is like a saddle, with high sides and low in the middle.

The front of the mountain pass looks like a big dustpan, with rolling mountains on both sides and a huge mountain col in the middle.

Standing at the mountain pass and looking to the west, the left side of the huge mountain col was the winding mountain road that Yang Zhen and his party had walked before. At the moment, one after another Karaqin soldiers were galloping and gathering on the mountain road.

The Karaqin people also appeared on the ridge on the left side of the mountain road. These people abandoned their horses and climbed on hands and feet, seemingly exploring for other ambushes.
Chapter completed!