The guard general of Lianshanguan is called A Lin, whose name literally means "mountain". He is an inconspicuous Eight Banners general.
But this general was very cautious. When he heard that "Naudai" was back, he came to the shore in person and sent only a small boat across the river. He ordered: "Only Naudai Beizi is allowed to cross the river. At most, take him with you."
I have two personal followers, and the rest of the soldiers must come after I confirm Beizi’s identity!”
The boat rowed to the other side. Lin Zhidong heard this and understood that it was no longer possible to cheat.
Even if they don't pretend to be Naodai, the Manchu enemy generals guarding the border will find other ways to verify it.
"Come here to carry the shellfish, and the rowers will also come to help." Lin Zhidong said.
When all three Tatars came ashore, Lin Zhidong unsheathed his sword and hacked the person in front of him to death. The other two Tatars were also hacked to death by the dragoons...
A-Lin could see clearly from across the river and sneered: "Strictly guard the city and you are not allowed to go out!"
Lin Zhidong sighed: "Tatar slaves are not all fools. I'm afraid this trip will be in vain. Go back!"
The withdrawal was also very particular. Lin Zhidong deliberately followed the river bank and withdrew all the way south. This gave the enemy the illusion that they were coming from Tongyuan Fort, not from Caohe Fort.
The Manchu general A Lin, although he seemed calm, was already turbulent in his heart: Tongyuan Fort was actually lost!
Not only Alin, but also the ordinary Tatar soldiers all looked fearful.
Lianshan Pass and Caohe Fort are all small passes and small fortresses.
Facing the incoming army, only Phoenix City and Tongyuan Fort can withstand it. Both Phoenix City and Tongyuan Fort have been lost, and Lianshan Pass is the next target. How can they hold it?
However, it was said that Lin Zhidong led his troops to withdraw south. After withdrawing several miles, he once again went into the mountains and forests. It took a full day to go to the northeast to join the main force of the dragoons.
"Old Lin, we met some Han people in the ravine," said Bian Hui, the missionary who was hiding in the mountains.
Lin Zhidong asked: "Are there still Han slaves in the mountains?"
Bian Hui shook his head and said: "They are not Han slaves, they are Han people under the rule of the Tatars. You can go out of the mountains sixty miles north of Lianshanguan, close to Liaoyang and Shenyang. I heard from those Han people that they were kidnapped from Beizhili
, were placed in the valleys to open up wasteland, and the Tatars did not turn them into serfs. There are more such Han people in Weining and Qinghe. They mainly cultivate the barren land in the mountains and can turn in a lot of money to the Tatars every year.
food."
"Have the lives of the Han people been very difficult in the past two years?" Lin Zhidong asked.
Bian Hui said: "Many people died of starvation. Dorgon was short of military rations, so he followed the old slave's method and stipulated how much food each Han citizen should pay. If he couldn't pay it in one year, one person from each family would be killed. If he couldn't pay it in two years, the whole family would be killed.
Light!"
Lin Zhidong gritted his teeth and said, "The Tatars are hateful!"
Bian Hui put a saddle on the war horse and said: "Bring all these Han people back, it will be considered that the trip was not in vain."
"Who said we were going to withdraw?" Lin Zhidong said with a smile.
Bian Hui said: "The military rations we brought have been exhausted. If we don't leave, we will starve. Do you still want to stay and look for opportunities?"
Lin Zhidong said: "We each have an axe, what are we doing with it? Go into the mountains and chop down trees to make ladders! The wall of Lianshan Pass is not high, and there are not many defenders. They climbed up unexpectedly at night."
"Where's the food?" Bian Hui asked.
"Kill the horse!" Lin Zhidong said firmly.
More than two thousand dragon cavalry led the Han people encountered in the mountains and plunged deeper into the mountains in the northeast.
These Han people are familiar with the terrain and know how to go around the northern part of Lianshanguan. Even if there are no Han people to guide the way, they can still go around it. There are three valley passages, which can be easily found if you look carefully.
After walking around for a day and night, Lin Zhidong asked the soldiers to cut down trees and kill the relatively thin horses when they were hungry.
A Lin was nervous at Lianshan Pass for three days. Suddenly, a Tatar soldier rushed to report: "The southern barbarian army is besieging Caohe Fort!"
This news frightened Arin, but at the same time he felt a little lucky.
To their horror, after the Datong Army captured Caohe Fort, their next target must be Lianshan Pass. Fortunately, the Datong Army did not attack Lianshan Pass directly.
The Tatar soldiers at Lianshanguan actually relaxed collectively when they learned that the Datong Army was in Caohe Fort.
They knew that they were bound to die, and it was better to die later than to die early. Moreover, after confirming the location of the Datong Army, they could sleep peacefully in the past few days without having to worry about it all day long.
Even the cautious Arin began to relax and brought out wine and meat for his family to eat.
Eat and drink enough, wait for the Datong army to come, and then the whole family will fight to the death to defend the pass. They have no way to escape. If they escape again, they will be in Shenyang and Liaoyang. If they escape back, they will definitely be beheaded. If they abandon the pass without fighting, it will be A great sin.
In the entire Lianshanguan, both the Eight Banners soldiers, the bannermen and their families were all in a state of starvation and waiting to die.
Anyone who has wine hidden in his home must take it out and drink it all.
Many Tatar soldiers were drunk all day long, and Alin did not stop them from punishing them. He just sent people to stand guard a few miles southeast. Once they encountered any trace of the Datong Army, the entire army would defend the border to the death. Enjoy it until then.
A Lin never expected that Lin Zhidong would come out of the mountains to the north!
At night, Guancheng was completely silent.
Arin stipulated that drinking was only allowed before dark, and no one was allowed to drink after dark.
As a result, many Tatars got drunk in the evening.
The wooden ladders made by cutting down trees were very heavy and had not yet dried. The Datong Army carried dozens of wooden ladders and quietly climbed down from the mountain, approaching the northeastern wall step by step.
Lianshanguan is a small fortress, so small that it only has one gate.
There was not even a city gate in the direction of Lin Zhidong's night attack. There were defenders on guard, but they were all facing the southeast. The sentries here were all napping, and some even drank secretly.
The wooden ladder was erected on the city wall, only more than four meters high. Lin Zhidong easily climbed up with his troops.
The nearest sentry was warming himself by the fire on the tower, leaning against the wall and chopping, with a wine jar beside his legs.
Moreover, he was snoring and had obviously fallen asleep.
The Datong army cautiously touched it. The Tatar sentry opened his eyes in confusion, looked at Lin Zhidong drunkenly, and raised his finger to point at him: "You..."
Lin Zhidong squatted down, covered the sentry's mouth, and wiped his neck with the knife.
After walking on the city wall for a while, a Tatar sentry finally spotted them: "Enemy attack, enemy attack!"
"kill!"
The Datong army immediately launched an attack and rushed into the city from the northeast and northwest along the stone stairs.
In groups of ten, they kill everyone they see.
In the darkness, the Tatars had no idea how many people were coming. The Eight Banners soldiers, the bannermen who had retreated into Guancheng, and their families ran out of the house in panic. Some were so drunk that they didn't even know how to run.
Lin Zhidong shouted a reminder: "Catch a few more alive, don't kill them all!"
The entire Lianshanguan, including the bannermen and their families, had less than 2,000 people. However, the number of dragon cavalry that attacked at night was more than 2,000, which was a complete one-sided massacre.
Some Tatars also escaped, but it didn't matter.
The next morning, the dragoons, who had eaten horse meat for several days, happily ate to their full stomachs.
After resting for half a day, the cavalry without horses stayed to guard the pass. The cavalry with horses divided into two and escorted the prisoners to Tongyuan Fort and Caohe Fort.
A Lin was also captured and was tied up and taken to Tongyuan Fort.
It wasn't until he saw the flag on the tower that Alin exclaimed: "Is Tongyuan Fort still there?"
Lin Zhidong laughed loudly: "Untie the prisoners and let them go over and report the news!"
Including A Lin, more than a dozen prisoners were let go and fled frantically towards the three cities of Tongyuan Fort.
The three cities of Tongyuanbao are built on three tripods, leaning against each other as horns.
The general's name is Fulehun. He is from the Shumulu family. Calculated strictly according to his seniority, he is also the nephew of Yangguli, the fierce general of the Later Jin Dynasty.
When the Manchu and Qing dynasties captured Tongyuan Fort, Shu Wangshan and Alai led 800 troops to garrison it. Later, Mina led 400 troops to strengthen the defense. It was not until the Manchu and Qing dynasties captured Phoenix City that the garrison here was reduced to 300, making the defense the center of gravity.
Transfer south to Phoenix.
Today, most of the Tatar garrison in Tongyuan Fort are descendants of the soldiers under Shu Wangshan, Alai, and Mina.
Shu Wangshan was Yangu Li's uncle, and Fulehui is now Shu Wangshan's grandson.
"Hang them up!"
As soon as A Lin was hoisted to the city, Fulehun asked: "Why are there enemies in the north?"
A Lin cried: "The mountain passes are gone, and Caohe Fort has been besieged for many days."
Fulehun was speechless for a moment, his legs were weak and he couldn't stand.
Lianshan Pass is gone, Caohe Fort is surrounded, and Phoenix City has fallen, which means that the three cities of Tongyuan Fort have become a dead place!
After repeated inquiries, Fulehun learned the specific situation. There were not many Datong troops at Lianshanguan, and only a few hundred cavalry came to Tongyuan Fort.
Without enough time to discuss with the other two guard generals, Fuller Hui directly ordered: "The warriors of the Eight Banners, as well as the banner men, immediately took their families and retreated north. They only took a few rations and livestock, and gave up all other belongings, taking advantage of the Nanmanzi encirclement."
Rush out before that!"
This does not mean abandoning the city, but breaking out with the Eight Banners soldiers and Eight Banners civilians.
Counting the Tatars who escaped from Phoenix City, including the old, weak, women and children, there were more than 4,000 Tatars in Tongyuan Fort.
The three castles were filled with loud cries, and many Tatar civilians were unwilling to abandon their belongings.
Fulehun personally led his troops into battle, hoping to drive away the hundreds of enemy cavalry and create a passage for the Tatars in Tongyuan Fort.
Seeing the Tatars coming out of the castle, Lin Zhidong showed a smile on his face and said to his subordinates: "Back away further and then fight. Don't fight the Tatars back to Tongyuan Fort."
The real effect of the surprise attack on Lianshanguan was to panic Tongyuan Fort. The Tatars in Tongyuan Fort were either waiting to be surrounded or killed, or they immediately chose to break out.
As long as there is a glimmer of hope, the Tatars will definitely break through. Who wants to be trapped in the castle and wait for death?
After Lianshan Pass was opened, Tongyuan Fort's strategic significance was immediately lost by half. Even if the Tatars chose to hold on, the Datong Army could advance from Caohe Fort and Lianshan Pass, but the rear could be attacked at any time.
Several hundred dragoons retreated more than ten miles north.
Fullerhun asked all Tatars over the age of twelve to take up arms and fight, and even Tatar women formed an army. If they wanted to survive, they had to rush over with all their strength.
Lin Zhidong took out his telescope and looked at the chaotic Tatar marching formation. He couldn't help laughing and said: "The Tatar general is crazy. Please retreat further. The longer we march, the more chaotic the enemy will be. It is best to wait until near Lianshan Pass."
beat."
From the raid on Lianshanguan to the deliberate release of the Tatars back to Tongyuanbao, Lin Zhidong has been playing psychological tactics.