The Red Mansions

Chapter 954 Xie Zaiyi: Hit more with less, wait for work with leisure, how can you be invincible?

Leaving aside for the time being how Concubine Nan'an came to the Rongqing Hall of Jia Mansion to sow discord, but Xuanfu Town, Xuanhua City——

Since the day before yesterday, Hauge and Yue Tuo continued to attack for several days, and then suddenly withdrew their troops and stormed at Dushikou. It can be said that the entire tactic of attacking east and west was used to the extreme.

Afterwards, Hauge and Yue Tuo left the Han Army Banner led by Li Guohan and Tong Tulai, and the Ten Thousand Cavalry Army under Mongolian Bahrain, and went straight to Juyongguan.

It didn't take long for Xie Zaiyi of Xuanhua City to discover that after temporarily handing over the soldiers and horses in the city to a general, he was about to increase troops at Dushikou. Li Guohan and Tong Tulai followed the strategy left by Yue Tuo and came to Xuanhua again. Under the city, make a big attack on Xuanhua City.

"The Jurchen elite went straight to Juyongguan, and they are still besieging our army here." Standing on the gate tower, Xie Zaiyi said in a cold voice, "It is decided that our Han army will not dare to go out and besiege."

In the past few days, Xuanhua City has also known the tricks played by Jurchen.

Wang Ziteng, who came to Xuanhua City from Dushikou, said solemnly, "General Xie, these Qing soldiers are just as difficult to deal with as the Jurchen Eight Banners elite, and even more vicious than the Jurchens."

Xie Zaiyi said: "They are not the elite of the Jurchen headquarters, they are just the Han army from Liaodong Town who surrendered to the Jurchen as dogs. They came to gather the cavalry troops in the city. They were about to go out of the city and defeat them."

As soon as this remark came out, Wang Ziteng's face changed slightly, and he said: "General Xie, absolutely not, the cavalry in the city is only [-], even if you add the soldiers and horses from Datong, it is only [-] in total, there is a real chance of winning slim."

The military force in Xuanhua City was mainly composed of Jiang Guan's headquarters troops and [-] fine cavalry from the Beijing camp. Later, Jia Heng dispatched Jiang Zining to lead cavalry to support him.

Later, Xie Zaiyi instructed Ding Xiang to support Wang Ziteng's troops, which were also mainly composed of Jiang Guan's soldiers and horses and some cavalry from the Beijing camp, and the cavalry under him could only integrate about [-].

From Wang Ziteng's point of view, this force is not several times that of the Jurchen cavalry outside the city, so it is obvious that they cannot venture out of the city to invite battle.

Xie Zaiyi said: "After defeating them, our army will be able to increase our troops at Juyongguan, besiege the main force of Jurchen, and then join General Xie Can to stop Jurchen's return. Otherwise, all the soldiers and horses will gather here, and they will not fight or withdraw. It will not last long. plan!"

"They have more than [-] riders in total. The Jurchens are invincible. Their combat power cannot be underestimated. It is better to guard the city." Wang Ziteng persuaded.

To put it bluntly, he still has no confidence in the combat power of the Han army, and Wang Ziteng is not seeking merit, but seeking no fault.

The reason why Haoge and Yue Tuo left the Han army flag to attract attention was that they were not worried about being annihilated by the soldiers and horses of Xuanhua City.

Xie Zaiyi said coldly: "If there is no more troops at this time, these Qing troops will contain a large number of our troops, and our army can only sit back and watch the Jurchen soldiers and horses wreak havoc in the land of Yanzhao."

He wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to defeat the soldiers and horses left by the Jurchen, but judging from the previous battle with the Xianglan Banner, the strength of his troops seemed to be somewhat insufficient.

In terms of numbers alone, the number of the Han army in the city is far higher than that of the Jurchen outside the city, but the combat power is indeed somewhat inferior.

In fact, the previous Xie Jing led Jia Heng's general order and led a mixed cavalry army of [-] cavalry from Taiyuan Town and the Jingying cavalry to go to Juyongguan on a starry night, preparing to recapture Juyongguan.

"General Xie, General Pang led people to come to help, and said that he brought the general's order." At this moment, a small school came quickly and told Xie Zaiyi with his fists clasped.

Xie Zaiyi heard the words, his heart was overjoyed, and he said anxiously: "Where is the person? I'll go and see."

When Pang Shili came this time, he did bring Jia Heng's order, that is to order Xie Zaiyi to increase his troops to Peiping as appropriate.

Because Haoge and Yue Tuo originally dispatched troops from Xuanhua to attack Juyongguan, after the defensive pressure on the Xuanfu was relieved, of course they could increase their troops to Beiping and Jizhen.

At this moment, Pang Shili had already arrived in Xuanhua City, while ordering the lieutenant general to replenish military supplies and drink water, he himself came to the General Army Yamen, waiting for Xie Zaiyi.

Pang Shili just sat down on a chair, sipping tea, and was talking with Jiang Zining, the former general of Datong, who was beside him.

Jiang Zining asked: "Jurchen Prince Hauge and Yue Tuo led the Jurchens to leave Xuanhua the day before yesterday and went straight to Peiping. I wonder what orders the General has?"

Previously, when Jia Heng saw that there were few soldiers in Xuanfu, he sent Jiang Zining to lead the [-] troops from the original Datong Town to Xuanfu Town for support. Then, when the Jurchen offensive was fierce, he was assigned by Xie Zaiyi to Xuanhua City, west of Dushikou. Lubaozhai was stationed.

Pang Shili said: "The general's intention is to gather superior forces, surround and chase the Jurchen soldiers and horses who have invaded, and expel them from the Han territory."

Jiang Zining said: "The Jurchen broke through Juyong Pass and ravaged Hebei and other places. I am waiting in the Xuan Mansion, and we are about to divide our troops to rescue them."

However, the Jurchen Three Banners elite, more than 2 elite soldiers, the current Xuanfu's pursuit is not good, and it is easy to be surrounded by people for reinforcements.

While the two were talking, they suddenly heard the sound of chaotic footsteps from the corridor eaves, followed by hearty laughter.

"General Pang's arrival is really timely." Xie Zaiyi's voice was thick and loud like a bell.

Master Pang stood up straight, looked up at the tall young general with cold eyes, cupped his fists in salute and said, "Thank you, General."

Xie Zaiyi said: "General Pang came just in time, I was worrying that I would have no soldiers to use, and you and my brother happened to wipe out the captives outside the city with one blow!"

Wang Ziteng on the side also looked at the old department in front of him, his mind was a little complicated.

If it hadn't been for the chaos in the Beijing camp, he might still be the leader of the Beijing camp?Maybe he is the one leading the army to defend against the enemy at this moment?
Pang Shili and Xie Zaiyi exchanged a few words, without talking nonsense, but simply explained Jia Heng's order, saying: "The situation in Beiping is critical, if General Xie has spare troops, he should quickly lead the troops to help Beiping."

Xie Zaiyi smiled and said: "There is no rush to help Beiping. Now we will send troops to defeat the Jurchens who are wandering outside the city. General Pang will lead the troops. After a short rest, we will join forces and raise troops in the afternoon." Attack, don't let the Donglu outside the city hear the wind and run away."

Hearing this, Pang Shili's complexion changed slightly, he hesitated, and said: "General Xie's military order is to lead the troops to support Beiping and take back Juyongguan."

"The General's order is that the Xuanfu will increase troops to the Beiping capital as appropriate. Now that the enemy is still stalking Xuanhua outside the city, and the troops have been fortified for a long time, they have lost all vigor. It is time to attack directly. What doubts does General Pang have?" Xie Zaiyi said loudly.

The way to use troops is to adapt to the situation. At this moment, together with the 2 Jingying cavalry led by Pang Shili, there are [-] horses in total, which is enough to wipe out the Jurchens outside the city.

When Pang Shili heard this, he hesitated for a moment.

Xie Zaiyi said: "General Pang, have you been with the general for a long time, or Xie has been with the general for a long time? Even if the general is here, he will probably lead his troops to defeat the small Qing army outside the city, instead of rushing for a long distance, If you are ambushed by the Jurchen cavalry again, then the gain outweighs the loss.”

There is one thing to say, Jia Heng is here, and he must lead his troops out of the city to meet the elites of the Jurchen Han Army and the Mongolian Eight Banners. After victory, he will lead the troops to join Xie Jing and pursue the Jurchen headquarters of Hauge and Yue Tuo. elite.

Seeing that Pang Shili still didn't let go, Xie Zaiyi said: "Why is General Pang so suspicious? Now this opportunity to use the strong to defeat the weak is fleeting. When the Jurchen soldiers and horses outside the city are aware of it and abandon the village, our army will try to find the Jurchen again." It won't be easy."

In fact, this is a fighter.

The fighters are often found in the process of deploying troops on both sides to find out the dynamic strength and weakness changes, just like when both sides play chess, there must be no chance at the beginning, but as the two sides move the flag, there will definitely be a window period.

At this moment, Xie Zaiyi was keenly grasping the opportunity outside the city.

Pang Shili paused, staring and asked: "General Xie, how many cavalry troops are there in the city?"

"There are about [-] cavalry troops in the city. The Jingying and Xuanhua cavalry troops, together with General Pang's [-] cavalry troops, are enough to fight against the Jurchen Han army's two banners and Mongolian cavalry outside the city!" Xie Zaiyi said with emotion.

Pang Shili's eyes flickered, his resolute face also showed a resolute color, and he said in a low voice: "Then thank you, General!"

"That's right. Going to rescue Juyongguan to solve Beiping's difficulties is nothing more than a battle with the Jurchens, and a long-distance raid, with no people and no horses, and unpredictable dangers." Xie Zaiyi said.

Wang Ziteng saw the two of them talking, especially when he saw Pang Shili, the former subordinate, and Xie Zaiyi's heroic appearance, his heart was somewhat complicated.

Seeing that the two had finalized their plan to go out of the city to attack the Jurchen, they couldn't say much.

At this moment, Li Guohan and Tong Tulai outside the city, as well as Ming An from Bahrain, Mongolia, are discussing matters in the military tent, discussing the next move of troop deployment.

Because Hauge and Yue Tuo led the army to join Daishan, the prince of the Qing Dynasty, to besiege Beiping, leaving only the two banners of the Han army and the elite of the Mongolian side.

Li Guohan was in his early forties, with short beards under his jaw and nose. He pondered and said: "Our army has been here for too long, and it is easy for the Han army to distinguish the truth from the truth, and take advantage of the opportunity to attack. Why don't we wait until we finish lunch and leave Xuanhua , go to Juyongguan to meet the prince."

Ming An said: "General Li is too worried, when did the Han army dare to take the initiative to attack?"

Li Guohan looked at the Mongolian man and said, "The previous Prince Zheng suffered such a big defeat because he thought that the Han army would not leave the city."

Ming An's expression became a little uneasy, and he said, "Last time, there were [-] cavalry troops from the Han army. Where did Xuanfu get so many cavalry troops?"

Li Guohan did not argue that he and others were not the elite of the Qing Dynasty.

Tong Tulai frowned, thought for a moment, and said: "If our army withdraws, the Xuanfu side will definitely send troops to support it, and now we will persist until the news of victory comes from the Beiping side."

With a look of pride on Ming An's face, he said: "Two generals, don't worry, the Han army will never dare to go out of the city, they only dare to hide in the city like shrinking turtles."

In the past few days, when many Mongolian knights under Ming An attacked Dushikou and Xuanhua City, they injured many soldiers.

In the afternoon, a small school came quickly and reported, "General, the Han army has left the city!"

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of Li and Tong, who were having lunch, changed suddenly. They looked at each other and said, "Meet the enemy!"

At this moment, the gate of Xuanhua City was opened, and the majestic and tall gate of the city was flooded with many elite cavalrymen, with forests of banners and forests of swords and guns. A blazing flame.

Li Guohan was standing on top of the camp that had been set up at the moment, his eyes were darting to the Han army that was coming out of the city in a mighty way, and his heart could not help but be covered with a thick layer of haze.

It is said to be a camp, but in fact there is no earth and wood that can be harvested on the grassland, especially outside the city of Xuanhua, even if there are scattered trees in the city, they are cut down by the Han army in the city to prevent them from being harvested by the enemy and used as a car.

Tong Tulai's expression on the side was also a little dignified. Compared with the frontier troops in the past, the Han army in front of him was more orderly and more silent in terms of military appearance and flags.

Without thinking too much, Li Guohan said anxiously: "Arrange to meet the enemy!"

Following the order of the Qing army, the cavalry of the Qing army who had been stringing their bows and crossbows in the camp began to get on their horses and charged towards the Han army who was coming in line.

A cavalry battle broke out at Shen time in the afternoon, and the entire grassland entered March, and the green land was full of greenery.

But after the rumbling sound of the horseshoes, the grass clippings and soil were trampled, and looking down from the sky, it was like a torrent of iron riding towards the grassland where the camp was set up.

The Qing army camps outside Xuanhua City originally did not have deep ditches and high walls. Most of them were built with mules and horses that came with the army. The fortifications are actually simpler.

It can even be said that the Qing army never thought that the weak Han army would go out of the city to attack.

But after all, they were the elites. Under the orders of Li Guohan and Tong Tulai, the elites of the Eight Banners of the Han Army and the Mongolians got on their horses, armed with sabers, and lined up to charge without fear.

"kill!"

The Han army was divided into left, right, and middle groups. The center was led by Xie Zaiyi himself, the left wing was led by Pang Shili, and the right wing was led by Jiang Zining.

The soldiers and horses of the three routes were shaped like pins, like three arrows, attacking the Jurchen camp and the cavalry.

There is no skill in everything, only the charge and piercing of the army in the era of cold weapons. At this moment, the Han army relies on the fortified city behind, and at this moment, an overwhelming formation erupts, which is the confrontation and charge of the cavalry.

At this moment, the Han army was facing north from the south, and the sun at noon was coming from the south, so the raised swords and guns were showing off immediately.

Pang Shili waved a big knife in his hand like the wind, and he led his soldiers like a sharp sword to charge towards the Qing army. Where the blade passed, blood mixed with stumps and broken arms scattered everywhere.

As soon as the Eight Banners of the Han Army under Li Guohan fought against the Jingying Cavalry, they felt the pressure suddenly increase.

Because the entire Jingying cavalry had been recharging their batteries in Xuanhua City for more than half a month. When they were waiting for work and their morale was high, they suddenly attacked at this moment, like a tiger coming out of the gate.

And no matter how timid a person is in a large-scale charge, hiding among the soldiers and horses that are charging, they will also gain some kind of courage bonus.

It didn't take long for Li Guohan to discover that the soldiers on the left wing were sluggish. They were struggling to support under the offensive of the Han army. The battle is still somewhat unstoppable.

At this moment, the Han army's fine cavalry came out in all directions, divided into three groups, and pierced the two banners of the Jurchen Han army and the Mongolian cavalry.

However, the two banners of the Jurchen Han army and the Mongolian cavalry almost never retreated, so once they collapsed, they would become prey for the opponent to slaughter at will on the entire grassland.

In fact, the reason why the collapse is terrible is that apart from the fact that the defeated soldiers fled and scattered and had no desire to resist, the troops after the collapse were divided into hundreds of units, not forming an army formation, and the organization was scattered. strangle.

If the cavalry of the brigade can leave the battlefield, it will be an orderly retreat.

After the collapse, the soldiers and horses were gathered, and there were still thousands of people. In fact, not so many soldiers died in the battle.

Until the night fell, the shouts of killing on the entire battlefield gradually subsided, and as far as the eye could see, blood-stained corpses and broken flags fell to the ground in disorder.

The war horses groaned a few times around the corpse, creating a desolate scene.

Li Guohan died in battle, while Tong Tulai and the second general of Ming An led three or four thousand remnants of the defeated generals and divided them into two groups to flee to the northeast, while Xie Zaiyi ordered his generals to pursue them tail-to-tail under the bright moonlight.

At this moment, Pang Shili looked at Xie Zaiyi who was riding on the horse, his face was startled, and he said pleasantly: "General Xie, we have won!"

Xie Zaiyi's face was bloodstained, he laughed loudly and said: "You hit more with less, and you wait for work with ease, how can you be invincible?"

But this kind of opportunity for decisive victory on the battlefield is only fleeting. It was not uncommon in the past battles between the big Han and the grasslands. It's just that as the Qing Dynasty is strong and the Han is weak, a big victory at this moment seems rare.

Moreover, based on the cowardly mentality of frontier generals in the past, they did not dare to go out of the city to take the initiative to invite battle.

At this moment, holding a binoculars on the city wall and looking at the victorious Han army in the distance, his cheeks were abnormally flushed due to excitement, and his eyes were excited.

Just won a big victory?
Although it was against the Jurchens and the Eight Banners of the Han Army, it was a real victory.

It's time to win, Jurchen soldiers and horses have besieged Xuan Mansion for half a month, now they are waiting for attack, waiting for work, this is the victory!

While Xie Zaiyi ordered his soldiers to clean up the battlefield, he returned to Xuanhua City with Pang Shili, and sent someone to report to Jia Heng, intending to rest overnight and prepare to send troops to Beiping for help.

……

……

Beiping City, Dusi Yamen
This was originally the Beiping Dusi Yamen, which was rebuilt and became the official office of the Beiping Camp. At this moment, the soldiers below are guarding, with vigilant expressions.

At this moment, it has been three or four days since Juyongguan was destroyed. In just a few days, Jurchen went down from the south entrance to Changping. Just yesterday, Changping County was destroyed, and Fu Wenguang, the county magistrate, died for his country.

At this moment, all the generals of the Beiping camp in the official office gathered together in silence, looking at Li Zan, who was sitting at the head of the cabinet.

Sitting behind the commander-in-chief, Li Zan also changed into a military uniform, and asked a general next to him, "Tiger Kang, how many soldiers and horses did you bring this time?"

Kang Hongdao: "Old Huige, all the [-] cavalry troops in Baoding Mansion are here."

Baoding has always been an important town to defend Beiping, and the Dahan set up Hebei admiral and chief military officer in Baoding.

Li Zan looked down at the soldiers and horses that were swarming like ants, and said solemnly, "The two divisions of Jurchen joined forces in Changping and marched together. There are more than [-] soldiers and horses. These are the elite [-] Jurchen troops." , and I originally had [-] soldiers in Beiping, and [-] soldiers from Jizhen should come here, and Admiral Lu's soldiers are still on the way."

At this time, Kang Hong said: "Old Ge, Jurchen soldiers and horses should not attack the city. According to the previous practice, we just need to stick to the city and wait for the enemy to retreat before pursuing."

Li Zan glanced at Kang Hong, and said: "Don't stick to the old ways, they are at a loss in Xuanda, and now they want to attack in the land of Youyan, the offensive should be very fast, and besides, the important town of Beiping, they can enjoy the prosperity of the country."

Like the situation in the Liao and Song Dynasties, Youyun could also fall into the hands of the Hulu and serve as a bridgehead for attacking the Central Plains Dynasty.

In fact, Huang Taiji really planned to go to the important town of Beiping and stick to it.

Li Zan looked at Zou Jing who was on the side, and asked, "Is there an urgent delivery from the Marquis of Yongning?"

Zou Jing said: "Mr. Ge, the urgent delivery just now, the Marquis of Yongning sent a letter."

"Oh?" Li Zan looked slightly surprised, took a letter from Zou Jing, removed the wax, opened it and read it.

All the generals below looked curiously at Li Zan who was opening the letter, and they all wanted to know what the general Pinglu had written.

Kang Hong asked: "Old Li Ge, what did the general say in the letter?"

Li Zan looked much calmer, and said: "The Marquis of Yongning has already sent reinforcements to recover Juyongguan. Our army is standing firm in Beiping. When all the troops arrive, we can encircle and suppress the invaders' Jurchen cavalry."

Li Zan told the little official, "Go and prepare the map."

(End of this chapter)