On the northern city wall, there are not only Chinese Jurchens, but also Jianzhou Jurchens transferred from other places.
After Naudai fell off the city wall, more than a dozen of his accompanying soldiers were killed, and only two or three were left. It was only then that the Eight Banners Army on the nearby city wall finally realized that something was wrong, and under the leadership of their officers, they rushed over to fight.
.
To the east of the city, there was a lot of excitement. The Datong Army pushed ladders and advanced slowly under the cover of artillery fire.
To the north of the city, there was no sound. Datong troops carried ordinary wooden ladders, but they rushed towards the city wall quickly in the darkness.
"If you hold half a stick of incense, the reinforcements will be on the city!"
Zhang Fengyan roared.
No matter how fast the young man recovers, the fracture cannot be healed in more than a month. He is still dragging a wooden frame on his leg, fighting in formation with his soldiers, and being flanked by enemies on both sides...
When the first Datong soldiers scaled the city wall, hundreds of Chinese Jurchens had already suffered hundreds of casualties.
If it weren't for the close reinforcements and nearly 20% casualties, these Chinese Jurchens would have collapsed long ago.
“Kill all the Tatars!”
Zhang Mingzhen led his troops to climb up the city wall. The Sinicized Jurchens' morale was greatly boosted, while the Eight Banners troops on both sides were heartbroken.
For these Eight Banners soldiers, they are already in a desperate situation. The general is not sure whether he is alive or dead at this moment, and there are many places in the city. Their families and property are also in danger. If they continue to fight, the whole family may die.
The formation of the Chinese Jurchens had been killed and a gap had been created, and Zhang Mingzhen personally filled it.
This person's weapon is not a spear or a waist knife, but a two-handed sword. The sword is narrow in front and wide in back. It can chop and kill enemies, and it can also stab and break armor.
One sword actually penetrated the cotton armor and stabbed directly into the Tatar soldier's abdomen.
He drew his sword and came out with a string of blood beads.
Due to the crowded terrain, there was no time to change his moves. Zhang Mingzhen turned sideways and hit the Tatar's spear tip. The angle was so skewed that the attack distance was shortened, greatly reducing the opponent's long gun damage. After bullying him, Zhang Mingzhen stabbed the opponent's throat with his sword, and he was immediately killed.
Kill another enemy.
In the darkness, Zhang Mingzhen was invincible and actually killed and wounded six Tatars one after another.
The Datong Army and the Chinese Jurchens behind him became more and more courageous under his leadership. However, the Tatars' morale was already low, and when they encountered a fierce man like Zhang Mingzhen, their side quickly collapsed and fled.
The Tatar soldiers fled into the city and went straight to their homes, hoping to take their families and leave during the chaos.
"Don't chase the enemy, capture the east wall first!" Zhang Mingzhen shouted.
Zhang Mingzhen was born in the Jinyiwei family in Nanjing. He was a young knight-errant and famous in the capital. He was invited as a distinguished guest by the eunuch Cao Huachun. At the same time, he had a close relationship with the Donglin Party.
Historically, it was not until the last years of Chongzhen that he obtained an official position and served as a guerrilla general in Zhejiang. After King Lu's defeat, Zhang Mingzhen trained troops in Zhoushan, and then welcomed King Lu back to eastern Zhejiang. Later, he joined forces with Zhang Huangyan and sent troops to the Yangtze River three times.
The Qing troops in Chongming City were besieged for eight months.
After the third capture of Zhoushan, Zhang Mingzhen unfortunately died of illness, and the remaining troops were led by Zhang Huangyan.
In this time and space, Zhang Mingzhen learned that the prince and his daughter were going south. He immediately bid farewell to Cao Huachun and ran to Nanjing to try to join the army. But there was no way to join the army. Because the Datong Army was expanding, they were first selected from peasant soldiers.
After waiting for a full year and a half, the Datong Army recruited troops from outside the country, and they only recruited people who were skilled in bows and horses - to expand the cavalry unit.
But Zhang Mingzhen said that he killed the Tatars who defeated the North City and immediately led his troops to the East City.
When the Tatars stationed in the East City heard the fighting in the North City, they didn't take it seriously at first, thinking that the North City was under attack. This was normal, because there were also Datong troops in the East City, and they were also waiting to fight.
It wasn't until Beicheng sent someone to ask for help, saying that the general had an accident, that the Tatars from East City came with their troops to kill him.
The two sides collided in the northeast corner of Phoenix City. Zhang Mingzhen held swords in both hands and rushed to the front. After engaging the enemy, two spears stabbed him at the same time. Zhang Mingzhen avoided the vital point, used his armor to withstand the enemy's attack, and rushed in with his sword alone.
, both of these enemies were stabbed over.
This man is like a meat-suited assassin who wears armor and lets the enemy attack, and then kills him with a single blow of his sword.
Under the leadership of Zhang Mingzhen, the Datong Army turned into an awl, and Zhang Mingzhen was the tip of the awl, ruthlessly cutting open the Tatar army formation.
"kill!"
The Datong Army in the east of the city, which had been dilly-dallying, finally sped up and faced the artillery fire, pushing the ladder and approaching the east city wall.
There were enemies outside the city, and there were enemies on the sides. The fire inside the city became more intense. The Tatars who were left guarding the east wall finally couldn't hold it anymore. Before the Datong Army could use the ladder to attach the city, these Tatars fled one after another, and then formed a whole
The army fled and fled to the city in search of their families.
Some Tatars did not care about their families and ran all the way to the west, hoping to open the west gate and jump into the river to escape.
The west gate opened, and hundreds of Tatars rushed out. There was still some distance from the river bank.
"Da da da da!"
The Tatars had not gone far out of the city when Lin Zhidong led his cavalry and fought out from the foothills of the northwest.
These Tatars took off their armor while running away, because they could not swim across the river without taking off their armor. When they heard the sound of horse hooves, they panicked even more. They ran faster with their legs, but they could not take off their armor.
.
Plop!
Plop!
Like dumplings, the Tatar soldiers jumped into the river one after another. But if they fell into the water wearing cotton armor, even good swimmers would not be able to do it unless they dived all the way to the bottom of the river.
A few Tatars turned around and fought, but the scattered infantry were no match for the cavalry.
"Put out the fire, put out the fire!"
In the city, Zhang Fengyan did not fight anymore, but took the Chinese Jurchens to carry water and put out the fire in the chaos. Their family property was also in the city. Although they deliberately avoided their own home when they set the fire, the fire spread and the whole city was
A quarter of the building has been burned.
In the early morning, Lu Xiangsheng led his troops into the city, and half of the buildings in the city were reduced to ashes.
The air was filled with the smell of blood and burning. In addition to human corpses, there were also horse corpses and the corpses of many livestock. In the second half of the night, the livestock and war horses were frightened by the fire and ran around. Even the Datong army who put out the fire was beaten by bulls.
Kill one.
"General, the city is under control!" Zhang Minzhen came over to pay his respects.
Lu Xiangsheng saw that he was covered in blood and his cotton armor was punctured, and asked, "Are you injured?"
Zhang Mingzhen replied: "They are all flesh wounds."
Lu Xiangsheng said: "Go and bandage it, we still have to fight."
Further north of Phoenix City is Tongyuan Fort.
Tongyuan Fort is composed of three small cities. Each city is as small as only one gate. It is actually a fortress group composed of three castles.
By capturing Tongyuan Fort and Lianshanguan further north, Lu Xiangsheng's troops can penetrate directly into Shenyang. They can also choose to advance out of Shanxi and attack Liaoyang behind Haizhou.
Lu Xiangsheng called Lin Zhidong: "The cavalry rested for half a day, put on Tatar armor, all shaved their heads and left braids. They took a few surrendered Chinese Jurchens and set off immediately with five days of dry food. Instead of going to Tongyuan Fort, we followed the Caohe River Valley.
Go to Caohe Fort in the northeast. We must march at full speed and cut off the valley to the west of Caohe Fort. No Tatar is allowed to pass through the valley. Then, make a surprise attack on Lianshan Pass!"
"Yes!" Lin Zhidong took the order and stepped back.
Lu Xiangsheng's journey is just to clear the game.
It's all mountainous, and the marching route is fixed, and we have to fight through one city after another.
Tongyuan Fort is too difficult to defeat, and it will definitely take time. Then ignore Tongyuan Fort, go in the direction of Caohe Fort, cut off the enemy's communications, and attack Lianshan Pass directly.
If the Datong Army wants to go to Lianshanguan, they must either pass through Tongyuan Fort or Caohe Fort, and there is a Phoenix City stuck in front of them. The Manchu and Qing defenders of Lianshanguan only know that the Datong Army is attacking Phoenix City, so how could they have expected it?
Did the Datong Army suddenly attack him?
In the past two months, Lu Xiangsheng had been meticulous in his approach to the war, strengthening the camp and digging tunnels all day long. He was so steady and rigid that it was outrageous.
At this time, the military order's style changed drastically, and they actually took risks and carried out surprise attacks.
Once there is news that they are walking, Lin Zhidong's dragoons may be ambushed by the Tatars, their retreat route will be cut off, and they will be blocked in the valley and annihilated.
Even if they are not ambushed, if the surprise attack fails, they will not have enough food, and the entire army will have to come back hungry. If there is a slight accident and they are unable to return, they will all starve to death.
Just as Lin Zhidong retreated, Lu Xiangsheng suddenly said: "Leave a hundred cavalry and go to Tongyuan Fort."
All the dragoons had their heads shaved, Lin Zhidong rested for half a day, the soldiers and horses regained their energy, and set off along the river valley in the afternoon.
At dawn the next day, we were still several miles away from Caohe Fort. We hid in the mountains with people and horses to recharge our batteries. We rested for a day and continued to advance along the river valley at night. We didn't lead the troops until we approached Caohe Fort.
The war horses climbed up the hill and bypassed Caohe Fort through the forest.
This kind of marching route can only be used for small-scale surprise attacks, and it is impossible for large armies to cross mountains and ridges.
After traveling day and night for four days, they were about to reach their destination, but the food they brought was almost gone.
Lin Zhidong's mission was to disguise himself as a defeated soldier and escape from Tongyuan Fort to Lianshanguan. The route was to escape to the other side of the river from Lianshanguan. From Caohe Fort, he followed the river directly to Lianshanguan.
.
In order to perform well, Lin Zhidong personally led dozens of cavalry, as well as several Chinese Jurchens, and crossed the river in advance to march around the other side.
The remaining cavalry were hiding in a ravine three miles away from Lianshan Pass along the river.
Lianshanguan is very small, just a fortress.
There are only a hundred troops in the garrison, but there are many bannermen and their families nearby, and there are hundreds and nearly a thousand soldiers gathered together.
The guard general is just a mid-level officer.
Lu Xiangsheng sent a hundred cavalry to Tongyuan Fort for a stroll. The defenders of Tongyuan Fort were horrified and had already sent people to Shenyang for help. When they passed by Lianshanguan, the defenders of Lianshanguan also knew that Phoenix City was gone and the Datong Army was fighting.
Lianshan Pass.
This was a plan to kill two birds with one stone, because the Tatars in Caohe Fort also received this news. They thought that the Datong Army had gone to Tongyuan Fort, but Lu Xiangsheng's main force was actually heading towards Caohe Fort at this time.
After two forts and one pass, they were all deceived by Lu Xiangsheng.
Lin Zhidong led the cavalry and fled in embarrassment to the other side of the river in Lianshanguan. The Chinese Jurchen accompanying him shouted towards Guancheng: "Send a boat over quickly to take Nao Dai Beizi across the river!"
The defenders didn't hear clearly, but they also saw that the clothes on the other side belonged to "one of their own".
A defender came to the shore, finally heard what was being shouted, and quickly went back to report: "Naudai Beizi is not dead, Naodai Beizi is back!"
