Zhang Ruoqi, the commander-in-chief of the King's Division to aid the Liao Dynasty, and Zhang Dou, the commander of Ning Qian's troops on the road, rode on their horses and watched Zhang Cheng's figure gradually disappearing under the protection of the Tiger Guard Camp and the Jia Ding Team. They also rode back together.
.
Zhang Ruoqi said to Zhang Dou: "General Zhenshuo is going north this time, and the heavy responsibility of defending Huangtu Ridge falls entirely on Zhang Bingxian's shoulders."
Zhang Douqi smiled on his horse and replied: "I am worried, Director-general. Zhang Zhenshuo still has four battalions of soldiers and horses stationed in Huangtuling, and more than a hundred tanks. How can we fear the invasion of the Tartars?"
He shook his head, frowned and said: "I really don't understand. How can General Zhenshuo cultivate more than 10,000 elite soldiers in the barren and desolate borderland of Xuanbei?"
"hehe……"
Zhang Ruoqi chuckled meaningfully a few times and said: "General Zhenshuo is an unparalleled hero. What he did is beyond imagination. How can mediocre people like us get a glimpse of its true meaning?
To have him as a general is truly a blessing to the imperial court and a blessing to the Ming Dynasty!"
After saying these words, he rode away quickly. Bing Xian Zhang Dou looked at Zhang Ruoqi's back, thinking deeply in his heart: "When the director first came to Liaodong, he was so high-spirited and arrogant. How come he is like this now...
"
Zhang Dou didn't dare to think about it further, but his curiosity about Zhang Cheng became more and more intense, and he couldn't help but blurt out: "If I get the chance, I really want to go to Xuan Town to see what the scene is like there?"
Wei Zhice happened to be following behind him. He and He Biao looked at each other, then smiled and said: "If Zhang Bingxian is to go to Xuanfu to serve, my general will be extremely happy, and the soldiers and civilians on the north road will definitely come to greet him.
"
Zhang Dou was also happy when he heard this. At this moment, he was full of curiosity about Xuanfu North Road. He couldn't understand what Zhang Cheng was capable of. He could use such a barren land to raise thousands of people.
Yu Qiang's powerful army.
He couldn't help but talk to him: "The Liaodong War lasted for more than two years and is now coming to an end. Regardless of the outcome of this war, at most we will have to wait until the end of the year, when the cold winter comes, even if the winner has not yet been decided, the troops will definitely stop.
truce."
Zhang Dou slowed down his horse and waited for Wei Zhice to catch up. He rode alongside him and said, "If that happens, I will ask Governor Hong and the court for a leave and go to Xuan Mansion."
.”
Wei Zhice hurriedly responded: "That's very good. I'd like to ask Zhang Bingxian to send a message in advance so that the general can report to my commander and go to Juyongguan to greet him."
"Okay, okay, okay."
Zhang Dou smiled and said three good words in a row, but he didn't take it seriously in his heart. He secretly thought that it would be better not to tell him in advance, so that he could get a glimpse of the real situation in Xuan Mansion.
…………
In less than three quarters, Xuanfu veteran Guo Yingxian led the Zhenbiao Battalion cavalry to the bend of the Xiaoling River, but Wang Pu's Datong Town Army horses had not completely crossed the Xiaoling River until this moment.
Although Wang Pu received the military order to cross the river last, he had already prepared the boats and rafts needed to cross the river, and even prepared many wooden piles and planks for building the pontoon bridge.
At the same time, Zhang Cheng had already anticipated that such a move might be possible, so he took advantage of the fact that he had cooperated with the Longwu Navy when the Tiger Guard Battalion attacked the east bank of the Xiaoling River.
Although the reason why Longwu Navy was able to be mobilized in the first place was due to the weak support of General Commander Zhang Ruoqi and Bing Xian Zhang Dou, in the final analysis, Yinzi's power was the most powerful.
But this time, when Zhang Cheng learned that Hong Chengchou had used the Longwu Navy to enter the Xiaoling River to support Ningyuan Commander-in-Chief Wu Sangui in crossing the river, he stopped the Longwu Navy halfway and spent a lot of money to intercept several ships.
Warship.
Perhaps this is the benefit of foresight. Of course, the most important thing is to be willing to use money when encountering difficulties. Just like Zhang Cheng, he now has a very good relationship with Yao Tailiang, the deputy general of Longwu Water Camp.
Silver is a good thing, it can really make a difference!
Although the Longwu Water Camp is now not as good as it used to be and cannot be compared with when Sun Chengzong, the governor of Jiliao, was established, it is still an unusual existence in Liaodong.
The annual grain and grain military supplies required by the towns in Liaodong are not calculated. Although there are land routes, land transportation is too labor-intensive, so sea transportation is often used along the way, and most of them are operated by the Longwu Water Camp.
Moreover, after the Qing Dynasty conquered Korea and exterminated Dongjiang Town, it often sent fleets to harass the Ming Dynasty and Liaodong coast, and even forced the Korean navy to go to war.
It is precisely because of the influence of these many factors that Longwu Water Camp has received increasing attention in Liaodong, and they are usually stationed on Juehua Island and other islands, and do not participate in various affairs in the interior of Liaodong.
Therefore, there is no conflict with the local generals in Liaodong. On the contrary, because each has their own needs and uses each other, their relationship is very harmonious.
This was one of the reasons why they were willing to mobilize small ships in the camp to go inland to support Wu Sangui in crossing the river. Because of this, some warships were intercepted by Zhang Cheng, which made it much easier for Wang Pu's troops in Datong Town to cross the river.
Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, who was originally very inactive about crossing the river, was forced by Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, to order Datong troops to cross the river to fight.
After all, Zhang Zhongping led the thousand soldiers of the Dubiao Battalion here. In any case, Wang Pu did not dare not to immediately cross the river to capture the north bank and start building a pontoon bridge.
In fact, when Wang Pu came here with Wang Pu, in addition to Zhang Guangda's cavalry camp of Xuanfu guerrillas and the chariot camp of General Qian Yujin, there were more than 10,000 civilian men.
Under the cover of artillery fire from the Chariot Battalion and the Longwu Water Battalion, they bravely jumped into the cold river water and began to quickly build a pontoon bridge.
I saw small boats parked sideways in the river. Long logs were thrown into the river by the people to connect the boats together. Then there were wooden planks, which were quickly laid on top to form a simple pontoon bridge.
.
"Forewarned is forearmed, without prejudging the waste!"
As early as when he was stationed in Huangtuling, Zhang Cheng organized many civilian men to practice building pontoon bridges, so his army had no shortage of these equipment, wooden boards and other materials.
This time, he sent Zhang Guangda and Yu Jin to go north with the Datong Army, and also sent five to six thousand soldiers and civilians from Xuanfu Town to follow them, bringing equipment for building bridges.
It was precisely with their participation that the Datong Army was able to quickly build three pontoon bridges in a very short period of time.
Of course, it has been more than two days since Wang Pu's Datong Army arrived and stationed here. During these two days, the soldiers and civilians in each battalion have not been idle. They have been working hard to make wooden platoons and other equipment needed to build the bridge.
However, the most effective thing was that they had not shown a strong willingness to cross the river before, which also greatly confused the Qing army on the other side.
Although they did not withdraw their defenses because of this, Wu Sangui's Ningyuan Army crossed the river with too much momentum and some Han troops were mobilized to support them. As a result, the artillery here was insufficient and was actually defeated by the warships of the Xuanfu Chariot Battalion and Longwu Water Camp.
Completely suppressed.
Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, who was urging his soldiers to cross the river, felt as if he had seen a savior when he saw the Xuanfu army and horses arriving. He hurried forward and chatted enthusiastically with Guo Yingxian.
Guo Yingxian did not care about Wang Pu's status as commander-in-chief. As soon as they met, he bluntly reprimanded his troops for being slow to cross the river and blocking the pontoon bridge, which had affected his cavalry's ability to cross the river and head north.
Although Wang Pu was the commander-in-chief, he could do nothing about it. Firstly, he gave Zhang Cheng face, and secondly, he respected Guo Yingxian as a veteran who had the courage to kill slaves.
Moreover, now that he has witnessed the Xuanfu army being dispatched, and he is feeling happy in his heart, he will naturally not care too much about these trivial matters of appearance.
Immediately, he hurriedly ordered his general Wang Zheng to quickly give up the two pontoon bridges to allow the Xuanfu army to pass, while he asked Guo Yingxian when Zhang Cheng would arrive.
In this way, less than half an hour later, Zhang Chengcai, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, came galloping over on horseback, escorted by the Tiger Guard Camp and the Jia Ding Team.
On a slightly higher hill, Zhang Cheng raised his eyes and saw three pontoon bridges on the Xiaoling River in the north. On these three pontoon bridges were chariots, cautiously heading toward the north bank. Implement.
"Brother Wang, the crossing of the river in Datong Town is much slower. How long has it been? Why hasn't the entire chariot battalion of Yu Jin crossed the river yet?"
Although Zhang Cheng called him "brother," his face was already very ugly. Wang Pu didn't know why, but he was panicked when he saw this.
He hurriedly said with a smile on his face: "The men in the town are accustomed to being undisciplined. Under this urgent order, the various battalions competed with each other, but the progress was slow and affected the army's crossing of the river."
"hey-hey……"
Zhang Cheng had a scornful smile on his face and suddenly said: "Brother Wang, after the war in Liaodong stops and we return to Datong Town, I will send a group of soldiers and horses to help my brother share his worries and train the Datong boys well so that these guys know what it means. 'Forbidden'!"
"So good, so best."
Although Wang Pu knew in his heart that if Zhang Cheng really asked Zhang Cheng to send people to train his soldiers and horses in Datong Town, I am afraid that when the training is completed, Datong Town would become Zhang Cheng's back garden.
But he had already stated his position before. Everything in Datong Town was based on Xuanzang's leadership, and he decided everything based on Zhang Cheng's words. How could he go back on his words now?
Just listen to him continue to say: "Brother has always doted on them, and that's why he got into these bad habits. As my brother said, these boys should be rectified and disciplined, so that they can learn to be reverent and know the military rules and regulations. law."
"Hahaha."
Zhang Cheng laughed and said: "Okay. Even so, then this matter is settled!"
Before Wang Pu could reply, he saw Lin Fangping, the leader of the Huwei camp, riding towards him and loudly reported: "Commander, the pontoon bridge has been given way. Shall we cross the river immediately?"
After Zhang Cheng heard the report, he raised his eyes and saw that the pontoon bridge on the far left was mostly empty. It seemed that the remaining tanks had switched to the other two pontoon bridges to cross the river, and this one was specially left out.
"Let's go. Let's cross the river and see what Jinzhou City looks like." After Zhang Cheng finished speaking, he rode his horse slowly down the hills.
At this moment, Wang Pu was also determined and courageous. For some reason, as long as Zhang Cheng was by his side, he was fearless. He rode after Zhang Cheng and said loudly: "Yes, teach me too." The Tatars know that our army, Xuan Da, is not easy to bully!"
"Hahaha……"
Accompanied by a burst of wild laughter, Zhang Cheng and Wang Pu rode on to the pontoon, one after the other, and ran north.
…………
At this time, the battlefield situation on both sides of the Nuerhe River changed again. Miyun Commander-in-Chief Tang Tong, like a god of help, actually fought his way to the post road pontoon in the northwest of Shuangzi Mountain.
However, how could the Qing army let him succeed so easily? Du Du led more than 2,000 Qing soldiers on the north bank to contain Tang Tong, but ordered a group of soldiers to destroy the pontoon bridge.
Looking at the soaring fire rising from the Nuer River, Tang Tong knew that he could not extinguish it, so he stopped forcing it. However, after the battle, his Miyun soldiers and horses were exhausted, so they had to retreat to Twin Mountains again, form defensive formations, and never go out to fight again.
As a result, a confrontation formed on this side. Du Du's troops of the Qing army were unable to recapture Twin Mountains, while Tang Tong could only defend himself.
Looking at Bai Guangen, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, although he was supported by the Fubiao Battalion of Liaodong Governor Qiu Minyang, it seemed that he had established a firm foothold on the north bank, but after Jierhalang personally came to the front line, a reversal occurred.
Jierhalang was worthy of being a veteran of the Qing Dynasty. He saw at a glance that Bai Guangen's troops were the weakest, so he mobilized heavy troops and launched a fierce attack when Bai Guangen was unprepared.
For a time, Qing soldiers and cavalry were seen in all directions, as if they were everywhere, being beaten hard by this fierce attack by the Qing army.
Bai Guangen's Jizhen troops were immediately defeated, and they fled all the way south. Although Ma Funing, the general of the Zhenbiao camp, and Zhao Zongwu, the general of the Fubiao camp, tried their best to suppress them, it was to no avail.
However, what is even more tragic is that there were originally three pontoon bridges built here in Ji Town, but one was set on fire by the Tatar cavalry when they first broke out, and then another was destroyed by the artillery of the Han army's two Tatars.
There is no time to repair it yet.
Now a group of broken troops were panicking. Many people ran towards the two destroyed pontoon bridges. Countless people fell off their horses and fell into the river. Many soldiers were not used to water. They either drowned or were chased.
The Tatars shot him in the river.
Even those Jizhen soldiers who fled to the pontoon bridge that had not been destroyed were all crowded on the pontoon bridge because they were scrambling to escape and refused to give way to each other. Then they were hit by the broken soldiers rushing from behind, and they fell into the river countless times.
All the corpses of the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers were floating on the Nv'er River. The cold river water had not been warmed by the blood of the soldiers of Ji Town, but it was indeed dyed red, as if the river was originally bright red.
In this rout, Chen Guitu, the general of the left camp of Ji Town, and Ye Qibang, the guerrilla fighter, both died in the battle, while Bai Guangen, the general of Ji Town, was escorted by Ma Funing, the general of the Zhenbiao camp.
He fled to the direction where Ma Ke was stationed in Shanhai Town and was able to avoid death in front of the battle.
Qiu Minyang, the governor of Liaodong, was lucky. He stayed on the south bank of the Daughter River to take command and escaped from the rout. However, his Fubiao camp was not so lucky.
In this battle, Qiu Minyang's Fubiao Battalion suffered heavy losses, with more than half of its soldiers killed and wounded, and it was unable to return to its pre-war scale for several years.
Although Bai Guangen's Jizhen soldiers and horses were defeated again, Ma Ke's Shanhai navy performed well. Perhaps it was because Jierhalang mobilized the Tatar brigade to attack Bai Guangen, or perhaps because Wang Tingchen's former garrison soldiers and horses suddenly came out.
Not only did Ma Ke's troops hold on to the original mountain range, they even advanced northward for a time, forcing the Tatars to retreat for several miles. However, after Wang Tingchen led his army eastward, he could only hold on to the mountain defense line and was no longer able to attack.