The mountain search team responsible for exploring the road suddenly came back with two wooden signs: "Supervisor, we found this by the river ahead."
Shen Youlong glanced at it and quickly scolded: "This is a treacherous plot by bandits. Take it away and burn it quickly. Don't damage the morale of our army!"
"What is this?" Deputy Commander-in-Chief Shi Wangzheng came over curiously.
"Ignore the lies."
Shen Youlong didn't want others to see it, so he used his sleeves to block the writing on the board.
The two wooden signs are indeed full of false news.
A wooden sign read: Guangdong Commander-in-Chief Lu Qian was wiped out in Yingde County.
A wooden sign reads: General Lin Junen surrendered at Xiancheng, Heyuan County.
At this time, Fei Ruhe sent many small boats to cruise on the Dongjiang River, but no news could be conveyed.
All that could be transmitted were deliberately released by Fei Ruhe, and Shen Youlong could only choose to believe it or not.
These Sou-Shan team members were all the governor's pacesetters. They left with wooden signs in their hands. Commander-in-Chief Shi Wangzheng became more and more curious and guessed that it must be some very bad information.
Shi Wangzheng returned to his team and warned his close servants to leave immediately if the situation went wrong.
In troubled times, everything is empty and only the army can be relied upon.
A general without an army is worse than a wild dog!
However, it was said that the mountain searchers did not immediately chop up the wooden signs and burn them after re-entering the mountain, but gathered around and started discussing.
"How about we run? The Heyuan County ahead will definitely be gone, and getting there will be a dead end."
"Yes, the governor is kind to us, but we risked exploring the road for several days and more than twenty people died. We are worthy of the governor."
"Let's go, go, go home."
"..."
The mountain search team responsible for exploring the road all fled away, and Shen Youlong had no idea about it.
The whole army continued to advance. After losing the mountain search team, they came to the ambush point unknowingly.
"Fourth brother, the officers and soldiers are here."
"Let the one in front pass over, block the middle and rush out!"
The man who led these five hundred people was called Xiao Shan, and he was a slave of the Xiao family in Yongyang Town.
Xiao Shan was quickly promoted during the suppression of bandits in southern Jiangxi. The mountains were full of bandits. Xiao Shan exterminated countless bandits and developed the skills to fight in the mountains.
The five hundred soldiers under his command are also proficient in mountain warfare, and they can climb over mountains and ridges as if they were walking on flat ground.
The officers and soldiers marched very slowly, dragging a long snake along the river bank.
"kill!"
“Dudududududu~~~~~~”
Five hundred Datong troops rushed out of the mountain, and the loud charge horns shook the sky, and they quickly rushed towards the waist of the long snake.
Deputy Commander-in-Chief Shi Wangzheng originally wanted to lead his troops to escape, but his troops were relatively far forward. If they escaped, they would have to run forward and might run into Fei Ruhe's main force.
This guy was forced to fight to the death and shouted: "Form up, form up!"
Shi Wangzheng's hundreds of confidants formed an formation very quickly, not inferior to the ordinary Datong army.
However, except for the governor's pacesetters and the general's servants, the rest of the soldiers and civilians were frightened to death. Seeing the rebels approaching closer and closer, the soldiers and civilians collapsed instantly, and many simply jumped into the river and swam to the other side.
In the blink of an eye, only more than 3,000 pacesetters and servants were left, still trying to form defensive formations by the river.
But along with the soldiers and civilians, they fled in all directions, and the servants at the back were also rushed to pieces. The general was so unlucky that he even took the servants with him and started to flee.
Shen Youlong's model soldiers and Shi Wangzheng's servants are indeed elites. They usually have enough food and pay, and they are willing to sacrifice their lives in battle.
Under the impact of the rout, these people were able to maintain their formation.
They moved closer to each other and gradually formed a large formation of more than 2,000 people by the river, just waiting for Zuo Shan's 500 soldiers to come and die.
Then, there were so many defeated troops to chase and kill, why did Zuo Shan want to attack the formation?
Whichever side has the largest number of defeated troops, Zuo Shan should pursue that direction and completely disperse the defeated troops. Once the troops are completely routed, there is no need to gather them again. By then, the officers and soldiers will not have enough manpower to transport food.
"There are only a few hundred thieves, kill them!" Shi Wangzheng gritted his teeth.
"kill!"
Shen Youlong also took the risk.
These two thousand people were indeed elite soldiers, and they were actually able to form a formation and pursue Zuo Shan under the interference of the defeated troops.
It is not difficult to train this kind of elite soldiers. The rewards and punishments are clearly defined and the food and salary are sufficient. Shen Youlong even has five hundred fire gun soldiers.
As for other soldiers, they are all consumables and can be recruited again after the battle.
Zuo Shan led his troops to pursue him for two miles. When he saw that a large number of defeated troops were scattered, he immediately ordered to enter the mountain and ignored the more than 2,000 elite officers and soldiers who were chasing him.
Shen Youlong and Shi Wangzheng chased Lonely, but they did not dare to follow into the mountains, so they could only stay in place to guard and rest, and at the same time sent people to collect the broken troops nearby.
After working for a long time, he finally collected more than a thousand defeated troops, and Shen Youlong's total strength was only four thousand.
Among these four thousand people, more than two thousand are elite, and the overall combat effectiveness does not seem to have dropped much.
However, all the civilians ran away, and several grain transport ships also ran away!
Shi Wangzheng looked ugly and said to Shen Youlong: "Superintendent, we can't advance any further. There must be the main force of the rebel army. It's not possible to retreat. We are marching too slowly. The rebel soldiers from Longchuan County have already occupied the county seat and are chasing us." We can only abandon our luggage, choose a place to enter the mountains, and go straight over the mountains to Yong'an County (Zijin County). There is a small road in the southwest of Yong'an County that can go through the mountains to the southwest of Heyuan County, and then we can safely retreat to Huizhou Prefecture. "
"Retreat immediately!"
Shen Youlong was very decisive this time and took the initiative to abandon a large amount of baggage and left with only a small amount of food and ammunition.
A few miles away, Fei Ruhe got the news and sneered: "He ran pretty fast!"
Zuo Shan's five hundred soldiers had been struggling in the mountains for several days. Not only were the soldiers tired, but they also ran out of dry food. They returned to the ambush point, picked up some food, and then pursued into the mountains with all their strength.
Fei Ruhe, with only 1,500 elite troops and no logistical supplies, sped up to pursue him from several miles away.
At the beginning, the mountain was not steep.
But the officers and soldiers carrying a small amount of food and ammunition must be relatively slow.
Shi Wangzheng suggested: "Supervisor, give up all the food. Just bring a few kilograms of food with each person. As long as you pass through this mountain, you will have food in Yong'an County."
Zuo Shan's 500 pursuing troops could be seen in the distance behind him. Shen Youlong said, "Why don't we fight a battle first and wipe out these hundreds of thief soldiers?"
"We can set up an ambush." Shi Wangzheng nodded.
Immediately, the officers and soldiers each carried several kilograms of grain, and the gunmen carried a small amount of ammunition, and immediately moved forward lightly. The discarded supplies were thrown on the hillside, slowing down Zuo Shan's pursuit.
The officers and soldiers climbed over a mountain col and immediately hid and set up an ambush.
In order to catch the officers and soldiers, it was impossible for Zuo Shan to search along the way. After he climbed the mountain col, he suddenly frowned and lost track of the officers and soldiers.
Under the mountain col, there are dense forests everywhere. Who knows where the officers and soldiers went.
To pursue or not to pursue?
At this moment, there was a sudden noise in the woods ahead.
"Asshole!"
Shen Youlong cursed angrily.
However, the defeated troops who had been gathered up had been frightened for a long time. After entering the mountain, they were still responsible for transporting grain and grass, and were watched by the elite. They were tired and afraid and did not dare to escape.
Now, Shen Youlong plans to ambush the Datong Army. The elites have all hidden themselves, and the ordinary officers and soldiers finally have a chance to escape.
The civilians who transport food are expendable, and these ordinary officers and soldiers are not much better.
How could they be willing to fight in such a predicament?
More than a thousand defeated troops gathered back and took advantage of Shen Youlong and Shi Wangzheng to set up an ambush. They immediately ran away and exposed the ambush point of the officers and soldiers.
"hey-hey!"
Zuo Shan grinned. He stopped chasing and just stood guard on the mountain col.
"ignition!"
Seeing that there was no way to ambush, Shen Youlong simply ordered a strong attack. They had more than 2,000 elite soldiers, and they would definitely have no problem defeating 500 thieves.
The hundreds of firecrackers under his command first hid and lit the match ropes.
The matchlock of the matchlock can burn for half an hour to an hour, depending on the specific quality.
The melee infantry under Shi Wangzheng's command took the lead, covering the archers and musketeers in the rear. After a simple formation, they planned to storm the col.
Zuo Shan saw the firecrackers from afar. He was not a fool, so he immediately ordered a retreat.
Even if the officers and soldiers did not have blunderbuss, Zuo Shan would not be able to fight head-on. There were more than two thousand elite officers and soldiers who ran into the mountains without defeat. They were obviously strong soldiers raised with money.
In the whole of Guangdong, there are more than 2,000 elites here, and there are another 1,000 or so 3,500 people with General Lu Qian. The rest are all rabble. Even the veterans who have suppressed bandits for three years are still rabble.
Seeing Zuo Shan leading his troops to escape, Shen Youlong and Shi Wangzheng were all reduced to losing their temper.
They could only continue to cross mountains and ridges, evacuating on the road while choosing a more suitable ambush point.
After walking like this for another day, Fei Ruhe and 1,500 people finally arrived following the mark left by Zuo Shan.
"Where are the enemy troops?" Fei Ruhe asked.
"It's on the mountain col ahead. I've been following you." Zuo Shan said with a smile.
It was impossible to lose them. More than 2,000 officers and soldiers marched, and they would definitely leave traces along the way. Zuo Shan sent 20 people to pursue in the front, and the remaining soldiers chased them half a mile away. Even if they were ambushed, they would only lose 20 people.
Seeing that Fei Ruhe was chasing after him with more than a thousand people, Shen Youlong began to form an array on the mountain col.
He was almost driven crazy. At this moment, he just wanted to have a good fight.
Fei Ruhe was not in a hurry. He was exhausted from chasing him all the way, so he needed to regain his strength first.
As if they had made an agreement, the two sides just waited for each other, waiting for Fei Ruhe's soldiers to recover their strength. Shen Youlong occupied a favorable terrain and could not take the initiative to go down the mountain.
It wasn't until an hour later that the battle was about to break out.
It's very fair. Both sides have 500 firecrackers. This is a battle of hot weapons.
After each lit the match rope, the rest of the troops moved out of the way and let the fire gun soldiers decide the winner first.
The Datong Fire Gun Soldiers were at a disadvantage because they feigned an attack on the mountain.
"Fire the arrow!"
King Shi had no regard for martial ethics and actually ordered the archers to stand on the mountain and shoot down.
Swish, brush, brush!
Many arrows were blocked by the tree crowns, and a few arrows fell. A total of four Datong Fire Gun soldiers were hit by arrows. However, they wore bamboo hats and cotton armor, and were not afraid of bows and arrows.
Shen Youlong shouted: "You are not allowed to fire cannons at will. Listen to my orders and fire them when you get closer!"
The Datong fire gun soldiers continued to walk up the mountain, and the official fire gun soldiers began to become nervous.
Shen Youlong's fire gun soldiers were all trained three years ago, and they were always victorious in every battle. Ordinary bandits would be so frightened that they would collapse and flee as soon as they fired a salvo.
But because of this, they knew the power of fire cannons and were very afraid of shooting at the enemy's fire cannons.
"boom!"
The Datong fire cannon soldiers came closer and closer. Finally, some of the fire cannon soldiers on the government side couldn't help but shoot.
"Bang bang bang!"
When one person fires a gun, the whole army immediately starts shooting.
They still fired three rounds, and except for the third row, the first two rows all fired out their ammunition.
It barely entered the shooting range, and its accuracy and power were greatly reduced.
A Datong fire gun soldier suddenly fell down after being shot. Unfortunately, he was hit in the face. Several other fire gun soldiers were shot, but they were blocked by cotton armor. If they had advanced ten steps further, the cotton armor would have been penetrated. .
"Hurry up and fill up the medicine!"
Shen Youlong didn't bother to scold those who fired early and urged the soldiers to reload their ammunition quickly.
The officers and soldiers suddenly panicked, most of them started to scratch their heads, and some even forgot the correct steps for loading ammunition.
Swish, brush, brush!
Shi Wangzheng's archers fired another volley.
The Datong Fire Gun Soldiers are still advancing.
"Fire the gun!"
Shen Youlong gave an order, and the musketeers in the third row of officers and soldiers immediately fired a decent volley.
In an instant, six Datong soldiers fell to the ground. At such a close distance, even cotton armor could not stop them.
However, the remaining Datong Fire Gun soldiers continued to advance.
"Mother!"
The officers' gun soldiers in the first two rows, after failing to reload their own ammunition, saw the enemy approaching, and finally could not bear the pressure in their hearts, so they dropped their guns and ran away.
"Raise the gun!"
"First row, shoot!"
"boom!"
More than a hundred muskets were fired at close range, instantly blasting the formation of officers and soldiers into the hole.
Even without the second row firing, all the gunmen and soldiers of the army fled.
"Blow the trumpet!"
Fei Ruhe shouted.
"Dudududududududu~~~~~~"
The charge horn sounded, the whole army rushed out, and more than 2,000 elite officers and soldiers finally collapsed.