After the soldiers and horses of Wang Tingchen, the former garrison commander of the Ming Dynasty, joined forces with Hu Xinshui and Ningyuan's left and right camps in Xia Longshan, their military strength immediately surged. They attacked fiercely all the way to the north, killing Bayan's Qingqi Han army and other two Tatars.
He stepped back continuously.
However, as the Zhengbai Banner Baya Lajiala led by Bilu Zhumala came to reinforce, Wang Tingchen's troops had been fighting for a long time. How could they withstand Zhumala's attack of more than a thousand troops? They had to lead the army to retreat.
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They fought and retreated, and just after they had stabilized their position, they were ready to launch another counterattack in order to attack the pontoon bridge on the Xiaoling River and reduce the pressure on the troops of Wu Sangui and Cao Bianjiao to the east.
At this time, Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief Ma Ke led thousands of soldiers and horses under his command to retreat. Although their arrival increased Wang Tingchen's troops.
However, Ma Ke's troops had been fighting fiercely for more than half a day, and they had been running all the way. Most of their physical strength was exhausted and they were no longer able to fight anymore. What's more, there were more than 2,000 Mongolian Zhenglan Banner Tatars chasing behind them.
In desperation, Wang Tingchen continued to retreat south for more than a mile, and finally stabilized his position and avoided the collapse of the entire army.
It was already late in the evening, the sky was dark, and the soldiers on both sides were hungry and tired, and their physical strength was severely exhausted. Naturally they could no longer fight, so they each made a truce and returned to camp.
However, Wang Tingchen had just returned to camp, and before dinner was ready, another group of cavalry came running along the north bank of the Nuerhe River. He hurriedly ordered Wang Tingchen to intercept it.
Not a moment later, Wang Guochen, the former garrison commander, came to report that it was Bai Guangen, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, who was on horseback with hundreds of servants fleeing along the north bank of the Nuerhe River.
Fortunately, no chasing Tatar cavalry were found behind them, but even so, the hundreds of cavalry who had escaped were as frightened as birds with a bow, and they were all uneasy and panic-stricken.
After Ma Ke, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan Pass, heard the report, he said: "Hey, did Bai Guangen, the commander-in-chief of Ji Town, escape?"
Wang Guochen first glanced at his own commander, Wang Tingchen, and then replied: "Go back to Marshal Ma. There are about five hundred cavalry who have escaped. The leader is Ma Funing, the commander of Ji Zhen's main camp.
The last general had met him several times and would not admit his mistake, but he did not see General Bai of Ji Zhen there. When he asked Ma Fu his name, he only said he had run away."
"It is a serious crime to abandon the coach before the battle!"
Wang Tingchen continued in a cold tone: "Minister, bring Ma Fuming to see me."
"Here." Wang Guochen responded loudly and ordered to retreat.
After a while, he brought a strong general back to the military tent. As soon as the man stepped into the military tent, he knelt down and said: "General Ma Fuming of Jizhen, pay your respects to Commander Wang.
handsome."
He did not get up after paying homage, but still knelt in the tent and kowtowed again and said: "Our soldiers and horses in Ji Town were attacked by slaves and bandits with blue flags and red flags. We were temporarily defeated and broke through the army formation, causing the whole town to be defeated.
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The general guarded my Bai Shuai and ran westward. He originally wanted to join Ma Shuai's army in Shanhaiguan and join forces to fight against the slaves. Unexpectedly, at the ferry crossing, he only saw fire rising from the pontoon, and Ma Shuai's camp was also full of fire.
Mongolian Zhenglan Banner Tatar.
My army was galloping all the way, but it was already exhausted, and it suddenly encountered slaves and bandits. It was completely unprepared, and was immediately scattered by them. At the end of the day, the general commanded 200 servants, and they rushed into the enemy's formation several times to kill them, but they couldn't find the white commander.
However, the force of the slave thieves was so strong that the general gradually felt overwhelmed, so he had no choice but to lead hundreds of servants to break out of the formation, but only managed to save more than 520 cavalrymen, who fled all the way along the north bank of the Nuerhe River."
The more Ma Fuming spoke, the more excited he became. Finally, he kowtowed to the ground and said with tears in his eyes: "The general knew that he had sinned a lot by abandoning his commander before the battle. However, he left this broken body in order to kill the slaves and avenge our soldiers in Jizhen.
I am willing to follow the two generals, go into battle to kill slaves, fight to the death in front of the battle, and wrap my body in horse leather to atone for my previous sins!"
Wang Tingchen and Ma Ke were not surprised at all by his naked words of surrender. Regardless of whether Bai Guangen died or lived this time, Ma Funing was still guilty of betraying the coach before the game.
In addition, in various towns of the Ming Dynasty, if generals like Ma Funing were killed in battle, their fates would also be different, but many of them would be divided up by other generals.
In Ma Funing's view, instead of doing this, it would be better for him to take refuge, so he made the bold statement just now.
After all, he still has 500 capable cavalry at this moment. They have been able to escape from the Tatar horsemen twice. They have their own abilities and are by no means ordinary people. These are also Ma Fuming's strengths.
What's more, no matter which one of Wang Tingchen and Ma Ke took him in, there was always a way to avoid being punished for abandoning the commander in battle. As the saying goes, killing two birds with one stone, he not only found a new supporter, but also avoided the crime.
Punishment, why not do it?
However, Wang Tingchen did not attach too much importance to Ma Fuming's mere five hundred men. He always believed that most of these half-way throws were not reliable enough and were far less good than what he had practiced from scratch.
In his opinion, it would be better to go through all the trouble to recruit brave men and train from scratch, or to form an army in two or even three years, than these veteran veterans who have breasts and are mothers.
But Ma Ke didn't see it that way. After listening to Ma Fuming's words, his eyes immediately shone with light and he said with a smile: "Ma Junjun has the heart to kill slaves and serve the country. I and Wang Shuai have since
I will protect you."
As he spoke, he turned to Wang Tingchen and asked with a smile: "Wang Shuai, do you think so?"
"oh."
Wang Tingchen replied with a slight embarrassment: "Now that we have joined the army, we should put military orders first, fight bravely in front of the battle line, and kill the enemy for the country."
As he spoke, he looked at Ma Fuming, who was kneeling under the tent, and continued: "No matter who has the intention to kill slaves, he should be given the opportunity to make meritorious deeds and redeem himself.
What's more, this is a critical period in the war to aid the Liao Dynasty. When the imperial court and Governor Hong are hiring people, it will be fine if Marshal Ma guarantees them."
When Wang Tingchen said this, he had naturally expressed his attitude. He would not compete with Ma Ke for Ma Fuming's more than 500 defeated soldiers in Jizhen, but he had to rely on Ma Ke himself to exonerate Ma Fuming.
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However, Ma Ke doesn't care about these things. It's not his first day as the commander-in-chief, and he knows the twists and turns here better than anyone else.
Since I dare to express my attitude of taking Ma Funing in today, I will naturally have a way to save his life!
He immediately added: "The soldiers must be extremely tired after running all the way."
Ma Ke turned to his general Ma Zhiyong and said: "Zhiyong, take Ma Fu's name and settle down all the brothers from Ji Town. Let everyone be fed first, and then make some military tents for them to rest.
"
"Yes, Commander." Ma Zhiyong answered the order loudly.
At this time, Ma Ke showed his kindness to Ma Fuming again and said: "Ma Fuming, you go down and have a rest first. My commander will take care of all other matters for you."
When Ma Fuming saw this, how could he not understand the meaning of these words? He immediately bowed down again and said: "Meng Ma will not give up, and the kindness of taking him in is profound. Even if he is a mess, it is hard to repay him."
Marco smiled lightly and said: "I don't need you to repay your kindness, commander. As long as I can kill a few more slaves and thieves in front of the battle, be loyal to the emperor and serve the governor, that's all."
Ma Fuming said no more, thanked him for his kindness, and then retreated with Ma Zhiyong.
Here, Wang Tingchen and Ma Ke discussed it and decided to report the news they knew about Ji Town to the governor's palace in order to obtain further military orders.
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After discussing with his staff and communicating with Governor Qiu Minyang, Governor Hong Chengchou of Jiliao finally decided that Wang Tingchen and Ma Ke would attack hard to the north.
After all, they have nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses from the three towns of Qiantunwei, Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan, and they are all elite soldiers. Most of the old and weak from each town stay in the old camp on the south bank.
The Qing army opposite them only numbered over 10,000 at full strength, including more than 2,000 men and horses of Bayan's Han army with blue flags. Compared with the other two places, the Ming army here had the largest strength.
excellent.
At the same time, Hong Chengchou also ordered Wu Sangui and Cao Bianjiao to defend first and then attack.
They strictly guarded the camp on the north bank of the Xiaoling River, and made plans to march eastward and join Zhang Cheng's Xuan army in order to lure the Qing army to mobilize troops to intercept them. After the Qing army's energy was exhausted, they would wait for an opportunity to counterattack.
However, Hong Chengchou's command to Xuan's army was to ask them to attack north as much as possible. Once they could break through the Qing army led by Dai Shansuo, they could advance to the three trench defense lines surrounding Jinzhou.
Zu Dashou, who was in the city, would definitely lead his troops out of the city to respond. If they could successfully unite the forces together, they would not only be able to break the siege of Jinzhou, but would also be able to trap most of the Qing army in Pingchuan, a wilderness to the west of Jinzhou City.
As a result, the situation on the battlefield in Jinzhou will once again turn in the direction favorable to the Ming Dynasty, and there is a strong tendency to form an encirclement of the Qing army in the west of Jinzhou City.
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At noon, in front of the Xuan army station on the north bank of the Xiaoling River, rows of large and small square military formations were lined up, with flags of various colors fluttering in the wind, looking mighty and majestic.
To the north and east and west wings of these military formations, there were more than ten or twenty horse teams, galloping back and forth, constantly clashing with the Qing army's sentry cavalry on the opposite side.
Looking further north, less than two miles away, there are also military formations lined up. Although their flags are of different colors, most of them are still yellow and red.
"Zhang Shuai, on the other side I saw only the two yellow flags of Mongolia and the red flag of the Tatars, but I did not see the Tatars of Haug and Azig, with their true blue and white flags. They have a back-up plan, so they must have something up their sleeves, but they must be guarded against.
Ah." Wang Pu stood next to Zhang Cheng and said worriedly.
Zhang Cheng didn't take this seriously, and just said lightly: "The intention of the slave thieves is nothing more than to use the hands of the northern captives to drain the energy of our army."
When he said this, his brows suddenly wrinkled, and he said with a slight worry: "On the contrary, Governor Hong's military order asked me to break through Daishan's cavalry formation and march to the three deep trenches surrounding Jin.
It’s a bit difficult!”
When Wang Pu heard this, he also expressed a look on his face. Since even Zhang Cheng found it difficult to deal with it, let alone his Datong Army.
"But Governor Hong's orders are like mountains, and our army must move forward."
Wang Pu's eyes rolled wildly, and he whispered in Zhang Cheng's ear: "However, our army does not have to fight to the death with the slave thieves. When the time comes, we will report to the governor's camp and say that our army fought fiercely with the slaves, but we can't win after a long attack.
The slave thieves are powerful and difficult to break through.
So, just do it for a show, that’s it!”
Zhang Cheng shook his head and said: "Zhang Zhongping is in our Xuan army. If you and I act like this, how can we hide it from Governor Hong."
Wang Pu said bitterly: "Since Governor Hong can't trust us, why would he sell his own life for him?"
Zhang Cheng had an expressionless face, looking at the Qing army array in the north, and said: "Are we working hard for Governor Hong? We serve the country loyally, in order to repay the kindness of the king and bring peace to the people."
He raised his hand and pointed at the Qing military formation in the north, and said: "Last night's night attack on the slave camp, although not much was gained, did not allow them to rest. There has been turmoil since Yin Shi until now, so their combat power must be limited.
Although it is still difficult to defeat the slave thieves, it is not impossible if a surprise force breaks through the slave formation."
Wang Pu did not dare to say another word at this moment, and only said: "The army and horses of Datong are only commanded by Zhang Shuai, and Pu also obeys Zhang Shuai's orders."
Just then, Zhang Cheng summoned the commanders of the various battalions in Xuan Da. They had already made arrangements for today's battle. The Xuanfu Army would be the main attacker, while the Datong Army would be the main defender. Before noon, they would mainly focus on raids and harassment, and did not plan to fight to the death with the slave thieves.
After yesterday's fierce battle, especially after Zhang Cheng killed the Datong left-wing battalion general Ma Baozhong in public, the remaining generals of the Datong army were intimidated by him. Even though they still had some complaints in their hearts, they had to fight to the death with the slave thieves.
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When he said this, his brows suddenly wrinkled, and he said with a slight worry: "On the contrary, Governor Hong's military order asked me to break through Daishan's cavalry formation and march to the three deep trenches surrounding Jin.
It’s a bit difficult!”
When Wang Pu heard this, he also expressed a look on his face. Since even Zhang Cheng found it difficult to deal with it, let alone his Datong Army.
"But Governor Hong's orders are like mountains, and our army must move forward."
Wang Pu's eyes rolled wildly, and he whispered in Zhang Cheng's ear: "However, our army does not have to fight to the death with the slave thieves. When the time comes, we will report to the governor's camp and say that our army fought fiercely with the slaves, but we can't win after a long attack.
The slave thieves are powerful and difficult to break through.
So, just do it for a show, that’s it!”
Zhang Cheng shook his head and said: "Zhang Zhongping is in our Xuan army. If you and I act like this, how can we hide it from Governor Hong."
Wang Pu said bitterly: "Since Governor Hong can't trust us, why would he sell his own life for him?"
Zhang Cheng had an expressionless face, looking at the Qing army array in the north, and said: "Are we working hard for Governor Hong? We serve the country loyally, in order to repay the kindness of the king and bring peace to the people."
He raised his hand and pointed at the Qing military formation in the north, and said: "Last night's night attack on the slave camp, although not much was gained, did not allow them to rest. There has been turmoil since Yin Shi until now, so their combat power must be limited.
Although it is still difficult to defeat the slave thieves, it is not impossible if a surprise force breaks through the slave formation."
Wang Pu did not dare to say another word at this moment, and only said: "The army and horses of Datong are only commanded by Zhang Shuai, and Pu also obeys Zhang Shuai's orders."
Just then, Zhang Cheng summoned the commanders of the various battalions in Xuan Da. They had already made arrangements for today's battle. The Xuanfu Army would be the main attacker, while the Datong Army would be the main defender. Before noon, they would mainly focus on raids and harassment, and did not plan to fight to the death with the slave thieves.
After yesterday's fierce battle, especially after Zhang Cheng killed the Datong left-wing battalion general Ma Baozhong in public, the remaining generals of the Datong army were intimidated by him. Even though they still had some complaints in their hearts, they had to fight to the death with the slave thieves.