Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 917 Upheaval
The cold wind blowing from the north sliced ​​the walls of Tangshan City, and the snow powder and ice particles hit the face like bullets, which hurt so badly on the face. They had already put on all the clothes they could find, and they looked as bloated as a bear, but they were still so cold that their 24 teeth were fighting each other.Cold, it's really too cold. If you don't wear gloves, it's basically impossible to live peacefully with the weapons in your hands. After being exposed to the cold wind for less than half an hour, the skin on your palms will freeze with the weapons. Together, if you want to get rid of weapons, unless you tear off a layer of flesh and blood!But even if the conditions are so difficult, they still stick to their posts, standing guard, patrolling back and forth, not for anything else, just because they are the Tianxiong Army!

The Tianxiong Army composed of children from the Shaanxi Frontier Army!
The Tianxiong Army organized fierce offensives against Mongolia time and time again in the Nine Borders, defeating the Mongolian Army and the Qing Army time and time again, and expanding the land for thousands of miles. Facing the fertile Hetao Plain and the good news that came flying like snowflakes, green light appeared in their eyes. The 40-year-old frontier soldiers re-sharpened their rusty long knives and gave the spears that had been gnawed into shape by mice. Changed a brand-new spear shaft, found the ancestral strong bow, walked out of the side wall singing folk songs in groups, entered the Hetao Plain, and threw themselves into the fight with the Mongols, while those sixteen or seventeen-year-old children He enthusiastically went to the conscription station of the Tianxiong Army to sign up to join the army, and the frontier army set off a frenzy of joining the army.In view of the shortage of Tianxiong's troops, Lu Xiangsheng recruited 100 recruits from Shaanxi, Shanxi, Ningxia and other places, all of whom were young people aged [-] or [-], and trained them strictly.Most of these children were born in the frontier army or military households. The Ming army was as poor as beggars. They want to get ahead more than anyone else, and they cherish the good life brought to them by Tianxiong Army more than anyone else.Xue Siming, Zhong Ning, Qin Mai, Wang Rui, Qian Yu, etc., who were born in the same frontier army and quickly rose to become the sole generals of the two elites of the Heluo New Army and Tianxiong Army, are the idols of these recruits. They are eager to make great achievements, and one day, like these idols, they will become independent generals, and their names will last forever!Under this fanatical atmosphere, they naturally quickly formed a fighting force.Lu Xiangsheng took three brigades with him during the Eastern Expedition, a total of [-] people, and wanted them to see the blood.Later, he found that the situation was not right and there was a danger of losing control. When he arrived in Tangshan, he suggested to Chongzhen to leave a new army to guard Tangshan, just in case.At that time, Chongzhen was still sober. Considering that he had exhausted all the soldiers capable of fighting in Beizhili, and the Beijing camp was too useless, it was impossible for no troops to guard Tangshan, an important place in the throat of Beijing and Tianjin, so he nodded. agreed.

As a result, this army, mainly composed of recruits, was left behind to guard Tangshan.

When they first received this order, the fearless recruits these days complained for a while, thinking that Lu Xiangsheng was too unfair. Such a war of unprecedented scale actually left them in this small town to drink the northwest wind!But as time went by, the situation became more and more weird, and they also became serious, building fortifications against the biting cold wind, and planning to stick to it for a long time.It doesn't matter where they are placed, this is their first battle, even if they don't make it to the battlefield, they still have to strive for a good performance, so they can't be looked down upon!
Zhou Yuji climbed up the city wall wearing a fiery red cloak, and began to check the sentry.He was originally a member of the General Army Mansion in Datong, Shanxi Province. He was honest and upright. On the contrary, he was lucky enough to transfer to the Tianxiong Army and become the commander of the first battalion. Although it is a new battalion, he thinks that this new battalion is many times stronger than the incompetent guys he was in charge of before. Very satisfied.This time he went east with Lu Xiangsheng and was left to guard Tangshan. He didn't complain, and he did everything by himself. He checked the sentry every morning and evening, and he couldn't be shaken. He was really strict to the extreme.Seeing him coming, those recruits stood at attention reflexively, like a mouse seeing a cat, with their heads held high and their eyes fixed, they were full of energy.The general is too strict in running the army. If anyone makes any mistakes, he will definitely show up at the first time, and then punish him in the fairest and most ruthless way at the first time. There are more than 2000 people in the battalion. How many have not suffered from him?Can you not be afraid!But his precious son Zhou Ruhu was not afraid of him, he went up to meet him and said with a smile, "Father, are you here to check again?"

Zhou Yuji gave this hippie smiling guy a hard look, and said sullenly, "What was your name just now?"

Zhou Ruhu trembled, quickly put away his smile, and called, "Father handsome!"

Zhou Yuji snorted and said, "Next time, don't blame me for being a military law practitioner. It should be noted that there are no fathers and sons in the army!"

Zhou Ruhu nodded like a chicken pecking rice: "Yes, yes, I won't do it again, I won't do it again!" But he said in his heart: "Wait and see, I won't find my mother to sue you when I get home!" Knowing that his father is majestic and stern on the surface, but in essence he is an out-and-out strict wife like Qi Jiguang, as long as he goes home and complains to his mother, he can't eat and walk around.

Zhou Yuji didn't know that his son was so flamboyant, so he glared at his son again and asked, "How's the situation?"

Zhou Ruhu yawned: "What else can I do? Continue to blow the cold wind and enjoy the snow scenery!"

Indeed, standing on the wall of Tangshan City and looking around, there is no human habitation on the vast snowfield. If you stick to it, you can't do anything except blow the cold wind and enjoy the snow scenery.

Zhou Yuji said in a low voice: "Cheer up! Marquis Su Yi has entrusted me with the Beijing-Tianjin portal, and the safety of the country is tied to him, so don't be sloppy!"

Zhou Ruhu was still listless: "We have counted, we have counted! But Commander-in-Chief, when will our supplies arrive? The soldiers have been eating biscuits for three days! Although the biscuits taste good, it is not a good idea to gnaw on them all the time." "

Zhou Yuji said: "It's good for a soldier to have a bite to eat, and eating biscuits for two more days will not kill you!" Although his tone was stern, his eyes turned to Shanhaiguan involuntarily, and a trace of worry crossed his brows.

This situation... is getting weirder and weirder!
As soon as the army came out of Shanhaiguan, the situation was very wrong!Most obviously, after the army left Shanhaiguan, no food, fodder or military equipment was seen being transported outside the pass. The explanation given by the court was that the reserves of the Guanning Army were sufficient to support the war, and it was a waste to continue transporting supplies outside the pass.For such an explanation, Zhou Yuji scoffed, Guan Ningjun has a fart savings, all sold out, okay?But other people said lightly, he couldn't talk about such a big matter at all, he could only be worried.It was Lu Xiangsheng who worried him even more. At the beginning, Lu Xiangsheng wrote him two letters. It was through these two letters that he learned that the situation outside the pass was completely out of control. In this season of biting cold wind, if you send your army straight to Shenyang, you will most likely fall into the trap of Huang Taiji to lure the enemy deep!Zhou Yuji was terrified by the information revealed in the letter, and then he completely cut off contact with outside the customs. He sent people to Jinzhou to inquire about the news several times, but nothing came to him. There was no news, and he didn't know whether he was dead or alive.He asked Guan Ningjun for information, but Guan Ningjun ignored him. Zhou Ruhu was so angry that he almost drew his knife and stabbed someone with such a blunt attitude!

The situation inside the customs is also very strange.When the army set off, the entire Beijing-Tianjin area was erupting. Countless scholars, officials and gentry cheered and cheered, as if they had returned to the exciting years when the Ming army went to the desert and plowed snow in the Hongwu period. Even Zhou Yuji People who are cold-tempered are also deeply infected.But after the army left the customs, the cheers fell silent at an alarming rate, and the entire Beijing-Tianjin area fell into a strange silence.Along with this strange silence came the undisguised hostility of Beijing and Tianjin officials and gentry towards them. Zhou Yuji sent people out to buy coal, vegetables, and meat, but they returned empty-handed every time. No merchant was willing to buy them. Selling things to them, and laughing at them, these soldiers are whimsical, and don't see if I can eat fresh vegetables, fruits and meat!All this made Zhou Yuji shudder, and he didn't even dare to conduct in-depth analysis and thinking. The information hidden in it was so frightening that even a hard-hearted general like him was terrified!
Zhou Ruhu saw that his father was in a bad mood, so he couldn't help putting away his cynical look, and asked, "What's the matter, father, is there any news from the front line?"

Zhou Yuji sighed: "It's been a month, and there is no news at all!"

Zhou Ruhu stomped his feet angrily: "What the hell is going on, hundreds of thousands of troops went out to fight, but there is no news from them, what a ghost!"

Zhou Yuji said: "I also really want to know what's going on..."

Just as he was talking, the sound of horse hooves came from a distance, coming from the direction of Shanhaiguan!Both the father and son were stunned, and looked at the same place, and saw more than a dozen scouts wearing snow-white cloaks galloping towards this side on horseback, while dozens of cavalrymen were chasing after them.Most of these scouts were wounded, blood stained their cloaks red, and they did not dare to slow down at all, and the pursuers also used spurs to pierce the horse's belly so bloody, they drew their strong bows and shot at the backs of these white-clothed scouts , There are constantly scouts falling down with arrows!Zhou Ruhu was startled, and shouted: "It's our scout! Our scout is being hunted down!"

The Ming army was astonished.It is very common for scouts to fight on the battlefield, but this is not a battlefield. This is the gate of Beijing and Tianjin, the heart of the empire, guarded by Shanhaiguan, Jizhen, and Xuanda towns. It is said that it is absolutely impossible for the enemy to come over However, their scouts were hunted down outside Tangshan City!

What the hell is going on! ?
Zhou Yuji's face sank like water, and he shouted: "Cavalry squadron comes with me!"

Zhou Ruhu took out the horn and blew it, and in a blink of an eye, more than 100 cavalry roared out from the wide-open city gate.There are only 240 cavalry in Zhou Yuji's battalion, just two squadrons, all of which are composed of experienced frontier knights and even attached Mongolian cavalry. They are very good at riding and archery, and their military discipline is extremely strict. When you come, you can fight.No, they had already rushed out a few minutes after the trumpet sounded.Zhou Yuji put on his helmet, took a horse lance, rode on the horse and galloped out of the city. The horse lance pointed forward, and the 120 cavalry roared in unison. The enemies who came down to Tangshan City and acted wildly swept past!
The enemy did not expect the Ming army to react so fast, nor did they expect their reaction to be so strong. They killed more than 100 people at once, and they couldn't help being a little confused. After reacting, he opened his bow and released his arrows. With a series of whizzing sounds, several Ming army cavalrymen were hit in the face and neck by arrows and fell off their horses upside down.The Mongolian knights among the cavalry of the Ming army responded with much stronger pulley bows. Even if they were fired against the wind, the sound of sharp arrows piercing the air was extremely ear-piercing, making one's heart tremble. eight.Then it was face-to-face. After rushing close to Zhou Yuji, he realized that the armor and weapons of the enemy troops who were chasing and killing him were exactly the same as those of the Guan Ning Army. This discovery shocked him so much that he was almost shot The flying ax cut straight!

Fortunately, the cavalry squadron of the Ming army didn't care what kind of armor the enemy was wearing or what weapons they were using. They lined up in a dense formation and rushed over. These scouts with superb martial arts had no chance to show off their superb weapons. He stumbled here and there, the sound of the horse's armor being pierced, the muffled sound of the miao knife splitting the flesh, the shrill and short screams... There were also the neighing of war horses, and vicious curses, one after another outside Tangshan City. In less than 5 minutes, everything was over. Except for a few who saw the bad situation and escaped in time, nearly thirty scouts basically lay on the ground, and none of them, dead or injured, could stand up.

Zhou Yuji's face was sinking like water, he jumped off the horse, pulled out the horizontal knife, went to a wounded soldier and stabbed it fiercely, a line of blood sprayed straight along the blood groove, the wounded soldier screamed, struggled a few times and then disappeared movement.He walked towards another unlucky guy who was picked off by him with a horse spear, raised the horizontal knife high and stabbed it at the vital points of the heart and lungs.The unlucky guy screamed in horror: "Don't kill me, I'm Wu——" The horizontal knife piercing the heart and lungs along the ribs cut off all his vitality, and blocked his subsequent words in his throat.Zhou Yuji shouted: "These are all spies from Jiannu pretending to be Han people and sneaking into the customs. I will kill them all!"

Zhou Ruhu reminded: "Father, why don't you arrest two of them and go back for interrogation?"

Zhou Yuji yelled: "Kill!!!" His tone was unprecedentedly severe, and Zhou Ruhu shuddered. He didn't dare to say any more. The Ming army cavalry followed suit one after another. In a blink of an eye, these daring enemy soldiers were all killed by them, and then jumped on the horse with the head in their hands, and returned home happily.

After winning the first battle, Zhou Yuji seemed to be preoccupied, without any joy, and walked in the back.Zhou Ruhu saw that something was wrong, so he slowed down and walked with him, and asked cautiously, "Father, what's wrong? Is there anything wrong?"

Seeing that there was no one around, Zhou Yuji slowly said, "Guan Ning Army, you have betrayed!"

Zhou Ruhu was shaken all over and almost fell off his horse!

(End of this chapter)