In Xiangyang City, the three brothers finally parted ways. No one could convince the other. Ai Nengqi hesitated and finally chose to follow his eldest brother Sun Kewang.
And among the more than 60,000 people, 40,000 actually chose to follow Sun Kewang, which shows that Sun Kewang was able to win people's hearts.
Sun Kewang did not dare to delay at all, and before dawn the next day, he hurriedly boarded hundreds of ships of various sizes with 40,000 troops, and also replenished a large amount of food and grass.
"Brother, fourth brother, the river in the Yicheng section downstream has been blocked by Wu Sangui. You can find a dock between Xiangyang and Yicheng to dock. Take care along the way."
Although Sun Kewang had expected it, he was still very disappointed when he heard that the river was really blocked and he could not go directly to Wuchang. After thinking about it, he still didn't give up and asked: "Lao San, are you really not thinking about it anymore?"
Liu Wenxiu did not answer, but shook his head, obviously determined to defend Xiangyang and negotiate with the Ming Dynasty.
"Then third brother, take care of yourself too!"
"Third brother, take care!"
After the three brothers said goodbye to each other, it was already dark. After Sun Kewang and Ai Nengqi boarded the boat, hundreds of boats, large and small, set sail and headed downstream.
This scene was almost immediately reported to Zuo Mengeng on the north bank and Wu Sangui on the south bank by the Ming army spies who were monitoring the situation on the shore.
Sun Kewang was also quite surprised that the Daxi Army would continue to escape. After all, this was the situation, and there was no point in escaping anymore.
This is also the reason why he did not directly attack Xiangyang City, but deliberately let the enemy enter the city, because he wanted to trap them all in Xiangyang City and solve them in one fell swoop.
Who would have thought that the other party would not die until they saw the Yellow River, and would not shed tears until they saw the coffin. Wu Sangui also admired the resilience of these bandits.
After Wu Sangui arrived at Nanzhang, he not only blocked the river, but also sent 20,000 troops to the east bank of Xiangyang, so he was not worried at all that the opponent could escape. Even if he could escape, he would be like a lost dog and not many people would be left.
"Report to the general, not all of the bandits have gone away. Some of the troops are still standing guard in Xiangyang City to provide stubborn resistance!"
"Oh? This is strange. Why would you choose to divide your troops at this time?"
Wu Sangui was shocked. He was originally worried that the rebels would set fire to Xiangyang City when they left. Who would have thought that in such a desperate situation, the rebels would split into two groups and disperse their strength. Could it be that Sun Kewang still wanted to defend Xiangyang and defeat his own army?
?
"Send someone first to persuade you to surrender!"
Wu Sangui thought for a while and said, obviously he had guessed the intention of the bandits staying in Xiangyang.
There was a large population in Xiangyang City. Although Wu Sangui wanted to kill all the rebels in the city, he also knew that in this case, the court would probably accept the surrender of the rebels to reduce unnecessary losses.
at the same time.
Sun Kewang led his army down the river, but only traveled about thirty miles before they had to dock.
The Ming troops on the east coast, who were always paying attention to the movements of the fleet, immediately pounced on them from the south and the north.
As soon as almost 40,000 troops disembarked and reorganized, 20,000 Ming troops arrived. Sun Kewang had anticipated this situation and immediately drew his sword and roared: "Brothers, kill me!"
"kill!"
"Kill the rebels. Today is the day. It's time for our brothers to make great contributions. Come and fight with me!"
Although the Ming army only had 20,000 troops, its morale was like a rainbow. Inspired by the charge led by the students from the Jiangwu Hall, every one of them was filled with enthusiasm and fighting spirit.
It seemed that what was on the shore was not an army of thieves, but individual military exploits, waiting for them to get them.
Both sides were very hasty and without any bells and whistles. As soon as they started fighting, they fell into a melee.
Although the Ming army was also in chaos, due to daily rigorous training, they still maintained units of ten, with ten people fighting in coordination with each other.
The organization of the Daxi Army was already in chaos, and it lacked the rigorous training of the Ming Army, so it fell into a complete melee.
Therefore, even if the military strength was twice that of the Ming army, the two sides only fought for a quarter of an hour before they began to suffer defeat.
"Brother, the Ming army is too strong. We are defeated. Let's leave quickly!"
Ai Nengqi said anxiously, if we continue to fight, let alone defeat the opponent, I'm afraid no one will be able to leave.
At this time, Sun Kewang had blood on his face and looked at the army that had begun to collapse, still in disbelief.
Although they traveled a long distance, lost troops and generals, and the morale of the army had dropped seriously, these 40,000 people were almost all old brothers who had been fighting for a long time. The opponent could only survive 20,000 people. In a head-on fight, they were defeated.
If the Ming army had such fighting power, it would be a ridiculous rebellion.
"Walk!"
His life was at stake. After regaining his composure, Sun Kewang had no choice but to wave his hand and escape towards the east with his bodyguard and Aiqi Neng.
This caused a partial collapse, which instantly turned into a complete army rout. Countless Daxi troops spread their wings and fled towards the east. Some even dropped their weapons and ran wildly.
But more often than not, the moment they turned around due to mental collapse, they were killed by the Ming army from behind.
There was no need to give orders at all. The Ming army naturally chased them all the way. All Daxi troops who were overtaken along the way were hacked to death, leaving corpses everywhere.
In this case, the Ming army had already become red-blooded, and there was no question of surrendering prisoners.
While running and pursuing, even if the Great Western Army reacted and knelt down to surrender, the Ming Army would subconsciously strike with a knife and would not stop.
Fortunately, the cavalry battalion of the former army stayed in Nanyang, and Huguang was mostly covered with paddy fields. In the end, the pursuit lasted until dark before the Ming army stopped and began to gather their troops.
After running for more than fifty miles in a panic, Ai Qineng and Sun Kewang collapsed on the ground with lingering fear when they saw that the Ming army finally stopped pursuing them.
At this moment, there were only about 2,000 people left around the two of them. The 40,000-strong army was either killed during the pursuit or dispersed.
"Mother, if I had known that the Ming army was so powerful, I might as well have stayed in Xiangyang City with my third brother."
Seeing that only about 2,000 people escaped with him, Ai Nengqi felt regretful. With such a small number of people, it would be difficult to make a comeback no matter where he went.
"It's not advisable to stay here for a long time. Let the brothers rest for an hour before we go to Dahongshan!"
Sun Kewang waved his hands and gasped.
"Brother, how about we disguise ourselves and sneak back to Sichuan." Ai Nengqi came to him and whispered, obviously wanting to escape alone.
Sun Kewang glanced at his brothers who were lying on the ground. Most of their knives and armors were not lost. He also whispered: "We haven't reached that point yet. I heard that the little emperor implemented the New Deal in Jiangnan and made people angry. As long as we can wear it
After crossing the Dabie Mountains and reaching the south of the Yangtze River, it is not impossible to make a comeback."
Obviously, at this point, Sun Kewang still had not given up, and still dreamed of going to Jiangnan and making a comeback.
After resting for an hour, under Sun Kewang's instigation, the two thousand old thieves finally cheered up again and headed towards the mountainous area to the east.
