Dividing troops is a taboo for military strategists, especially behind enemy lines. If you can't do it, don't do it unless you have no choice but to do so.

The situation Yang Zhen is facing now is such a last resort.

Fuzhou City was captured successfully, but when he went south to capture Jinzhou City and Lushunkou, he had to send people to stay in Fuzhou.

At the same time, the terrain of Lushunkou is difficult and easy to defend but difficult to attack, so we cannot just attack by force, but must find a way to outwit it.

The best way to outsmart the enemy is to first send naval forces to bombard them from the sea and feign an attack, and then let the Manchu Tatars stationed at Lushunkou take the initiative to send people north to Jinzhou City for help.

In this way, as long as Yang Zhen can successfully capture Jinzhou City, Lushunkou will be within easy reach.

After thinking about these things, Yang Zhen quickly made arrangements in the early morning of that day. On one side, he arranged for Li Lu, whom he absolutely trusted, to lead three grenadier sentries to guard Yufuzhou City. On the other side, he arranged for Yuan Jin

As the main force, he led the main force of the fleet and the main force of the artillery team, took the sea route by boat, and went to besiege Lushunkou.

And he himself, together with Xu Tianchong and some of his troops, took Zhang Chen, Zhang Guogan, and Li Shouzhong three sentry musketeers, a total of more than a thousand people, disguised as the Manchu Tatar Two White Banner Han troops stationed in Fuzhou City.

Go and defraud Jinzhou City.

Yang Zhen originally planned to capture Jinzhou City by persuading Shen Zhixiang to surrender, but now that Shen Zhixiang's general Xu Tianchong has surrendered, things will become much simpler.

In the morning of that day, the various troops were properly assigned, had a hearty meal in Fuzhou City, replenished some water, and then started to separate.

Yang Zhen collected all the war horses in Fuzhou City, selected more than a thousand of them, and distributed them to the accompanying troops, and hastily formed a cavalry force.

Xu Tianchong roughly calculated the time. At noon, he led Yang Zhen and his party out of the south gate of Fuzhou City and headed for Jinzhou City.

Jinzhou City is the acropolis of the former Jinzhou Guard of the Ming Dynasty. It is located 150 miles south of Fuzhou City at the narrowest point in the entire southern section of the Liaodong Peninsula. It is the key point of the southern end of the Liaodong Peninsula.

Yang Zhen and his party rode south along the post road, and by the evening of that day, they finally arrived at Thirty Mile Fort, an important outpost north of Jinzhou City.

Due to the fact that Duduo and Dorgon had twice ordered troops from southern Liaoning to go north, there were not many troops stationed in Thirty Mile Fort.

A group of troops stationed here certainly recognized Shen Zhixiang's general Xu Tianchong and the banners of his troops. Seeing that Xu Tianchong's face was covered in blood, he arrived with his army exhausted, and they hurriedly came to ask about the reason for going south.

As soon as they heard that the pirate gang in Fuzhou Bay had colluded with a large number of Ming troops to land ashore and had already destroyed Fuzhou City, they abandoned Thirty Mile Fort without saying a word and rushed to Jinzhou City to report the news.

.

This is the benefit of Yang Zhen recruiting Xu Tianchong.

How could the people stationed outside Jinzhou City who were responsible for spying on the news become suspicious of Xu Tianchong, Shen Zhixiang's right-hand man? Shen Zhixiang's children and relatives?

Give them a hundred courages, and they would not dare to question what Xu Tianchong said.

Besides, Xu Tianchong and his accompanying men and horses were wearing the uniforms and armor of the Han army under the Zhengbai Banner of the Manchu Tatars. They were carrying the banner of the Zhengbai Banner and continued to follow the public soldiers. They all looked like they had just come off the battlefield. Their bodies were stained with blood and their expressions were all stained with blood.

Exhausted, how can they distinguish between true and false?

After passing Thirty Mile Fort, Yang Zhen and his party entered the outskirts of Jinzhou City.

Yang Zhen led his men and horses boldly to advance southward, and carefully observed along the way. He found that from Sanshili Fort to the south, there were many piers and platforms on the hills along the way, and there were many lookout posts, so the precautions were very tight.

However, the men and horses at the lookout posts on these piers seemed to have known about the arrival of more than a thousand of them, and did not come out to stop them. They were allowed to go wherever they went.

In this way, under the banner of Xu Tianchong and following Xu Tianchong himself, Yang Zhen and the others successfully led their troops to the north gate of Jinzhou City.

Jinzhou City is also an acropolis. Different from Fuzhou City, Jinzhou City has four gates, southeast, northwest and east. The east and west gates are both convenience gates. There is no urn city. Only the strong and majestic urn city is built outside the north and south gates.

When Yang Zhen followed Xu Tianchong and his troops to the city gate, the sky had completely darkened, and the top of Jinzhou City was lined with torches and crowded with people.

Apparently, the news that "they" had lost Fuzhou City had spread throughout Jinzhou City.

"Where is Xu Tianchong?!"

"The end is here!"

Xu Tianchong, who was walking at the front, heard the shouts from the top of the city. He immediately got off his horse and knelt on the ground outside the city gate. He raised his face and said to the people on the top of the city:

"I have lost my care in Jingzhou and the city of Fuzhou. I am worthy of death. Please punish Duke Shun. I will allow you to do whatever you want!"

When Yang Zhen heard what Xu Tianchong said, he immediately understood and learned that Shen Zhixiang was at the top of the city. He immediately got off his horse and knelt down behind Xu Tianchong.

As for the others, seeing Yang Zhen like this, they could no longer ride on their horses so carelessly. At that moment, thousands of people dismounted their horses and knelt on the ground towards the city.

However, it was said that after Xu Tianchong answered the questions on the top of the city, after a while, the voice that had previously called out where Xu Tianchong was on the top of the city rang again:

"We will talk about what is not sinful in the future. Now tell me, how did you lose Fuzhou City? Who are the people who destroyed your Fuzhou City? How could they suddenly attack you in Fuzhou?

Appear outside the city?

"And you, Xu Tianchong, are also a veteran who is used to fighting. Considering how strong Fuzhou City is, how come you can't hold it for even a day?! If you hadn't escaped to see me in person today, whoever said that, I wouldn't have

Can’t believe it!”

The person who spoke on the top of the city seemed to have clearly seen that the person kneeling and answering below the city was Xu Tianchong himself, so he walked out from the crowd, looked down at the crenel, and spoke with great enthusiasm.

Such words.

Yang Zhen lowered his head and lay on the ground. Although he couldn't see what was happening at the top of the city, he heard this voice, especially speaking to Xu Tianchong, and immediately judged that the person speaking must be Xushun Gong Shen Zhixiang.

Sure enough, just as Yang Zhen was thinking about it, he heard Xu Tianchong, who was kneeling in front of him to apologize to the man at the top of the city, replied: "Master Shen, please open the city gate. I have something to say that I can't say in public, so I'd better let the general enter the city and face the Duke in person."

It’s better to report!”

"Listening to what you said, do you have any hidden secrets about losing Fuzhou City? And what can't be told in public? You are afraid of embarrassment, but I, Shen Zhixiang, am not afraid of embarrassment! No matter what secrets you have, tell me and I will listen!

Get up and speak!"

Shen Zhixiang, who was on top of the city, heard Xu Tianchong speak like this, as if he wanted to defend himself. He felt dissatisfied and ordered him to speak clearly in public.

In Shen Zhixiang's opinion, if you lose Fuzhou City, your masters will definitely hold you accountable in the future. Although you, Xu Tianchong, are my subordinates, I, Shen Zhixiang, will not take the blame for you. Don't try to shift the blame for losing the city and the land to others.

However, when Shen Zhixiang said this, he heard Xu Tianchong, who was kneeling under the city gate, raised his bloody face and said to Shen Zhixiang on the top of the city:

"Since Duke Xushun said so, then the general will tell the truth!"

After Xu Tianchong said this, he got up from the ground, patted the dust on his knees, then stood up straight and said to the city head:

"Last night, we defeated the enemies in Fuzhou City. In addition to the pirates in Fuzhou Bay, there was also a Ming army that came with the pirates!

"This Ming army is none other than Yang Zhenqi, the commander-in-chief of Songshan who last crossed the sea to attack southern Liaoning. There are about five to six thousand people in number, and their firearms and heavy artillery are particularly sharp!"

"Firearms and heavy artillery are particularly sharp?! No matter how sharp the firearms and heavy artillery of Yang Zhen's army are, how come your Fuzhou City can't withstand it for even one night if it's so strong? Is there any hidden secret in this? But it's caused by the negligence of your subordinates?

!”

Of course, Shen Zhixiang had heard of Yang Zhen. The reason why he and his Xushun soldiers turned around and were reused, and were able to move from Tieling and Fushun to Jinzhou City to build naval warships was precisely

Thanks to the impact Yang Zhen's raid in southern Liaoning had on Huang Taiji.

Therefore, of course he knew Yang Zhen's name and also knew that Yang Zhen's troops had sharp firearms. After all, Yang Zhen's men had used sharp firearms to break Xiongyue City and Gaizhou City.

However, no matter how sharp the firearms of Yang Zhen's troops are, your Fuzhou City will not be able to withstand it for even one night!

The news of the destruction of Fuzhou City reached Jinzhou City, and his troops were panicked. He had to get a reasonable explanation from Xu Tianchong in order to appease the soldiers and give an explanation to his superiors.

Faced with Shen Zhixiang's persistent questioning, Xu Tianchong had already thought of his words, and then he looked up at Shen Zhixiang in the crowd at the head of the city and said:

"Since the Lord wants to tell the general in public, let me tell you straight! The city of Fuzhou is high and solid, and although there are not many soldiers and horses, they are all capable soldiers who have followed the general for many years. The reason why he lost the city in a confused manner

, It’s really because, really it’s because, the father-in-law’s heir and final son-in-law is Yongzhong, the son-in-law!”

"Ah?! Where do you start talking about this?!"

When Xu Tianchong said this, Shen Zhixiang's face changed, he was worried and confused, and he immediately asked further questions.

"Late yesterday night, Young Master Yongzhong suddenly led a crowd from the north, claiming that his masters had withdrawn their troops from western Liaoning and asked to enter the city. The person guarding the Zhenhai Gate at the north gate of Fuzhou at that time was Xu Zhankui, the adopted son of the last general. Xu Zhankui had always been on good terms with Young Master Yongzhong.

When he saw Young Master Yongzhong coming, he opened the city gate without doubting his presence.

"As a result, it turned out afterwards that Prince Yongzhong was coerced by others and had no choice but to do it. However, when the general learned about this, it was too late, and the enemy troops had already entered the city. It was late at night, and the city was in chaos.

, the battle raged for half the night, and at dawn, the general had no choice but to gather his men and abandon the city and come south!"

"Where is my son Yongzhong now?! How did my son Yongzhong fall into the hands of the enemy?!"

Shen Zhixiang, who was on the top of the city, heard what Xu Tianchong said, and suddenly asked loudly about the whereabouts of Shen Yongzhong, and no longer bothered to let go of the question of how Fuzhou City was lost.
Chapter completed!