At this time, on the ice a hundred miles away from the mouth of Dagu, more than a hundred warships and more than two hundred merchant ships of the Ming Navy were forced to stop and could not move forward.
"Yan Jiejian, my father-in-law can only send you here."
Zheng Zhilong called Yan Yingyuan into the official hall of his flagship and said with some embarrassment: "The ice in front is too thick and will cause damage to the bow of the naval warship. We can only stop here."
"But you don't have to worry, this place is only over a hundred miles away from Dagukou."
"You have prepared so many ice sledges. No matter how slow you are, you will definitely be able to reach the outside of Dagukou before midnight tonight, just in time to kill the Dagukou defenders and catch them off guard."
Yan Yingyuan quickly thanked him and said, "I really appreciate the help of the Duke of Fujian and the navy officers along the way."
"What the hell." Zheng Zhilong waved his hand and said, "You and I are both ministers of the Ming Dynasty. Isn't it the right thing to help each other? Then you should quickly unload the supplies and prepare to attack on the ice."
"I will accept my order." Yan Yingyuan happily agreed.
Soon, ice sledges were lowered from the deck of the naval warship.
Immediately, groups of fully armed New Army soldiers descended from the side of the warship to the ice along the rope ladder, followed by bags of food, barrels of gunpowder, and red cannons.
A large number of other combat supplies were hoisted from the sides of naval warships and merchant ships one by one.
In order to defend Dagukou, Yan Yingyuan prepared tens of thousands of tons of defense materials.
There were more than two hundred merchant ships accompanying him, each with a displacement of more than one hundred tons.
The two hundred or so merchant ships carried almost all the city defense materials prepared by Yan Yingyuan.
Chongzhen's decision to use the development of military industry to promote the development of Jiangnan industry and commerce was serious.
In addition to the orders from the arsenal, Chongzhen also placed a large number of military orders in other industries. For example, he ordered a large number of quilts from the textile industry. These quilts were not only used to keep the New Army soldiers warm, but also used to make tens of thousands of enemies, such as
For example, we ordered a large number of sidecars from the wood furniture processing industry, and also ordered lime calcining and porcelain bottles.
Anyway, Chongzhen would send out a lot of orders for anything he could think of.
Therefore, Yan Yingyuan and Xu Yingwei both brought tens of thousands of tons of combat supplies this time.
In other words, ice sledges can be used to transport supplies. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Yan Yingyuan's 5,000 new troops to bring so much supplies to Dagokou alone.
However, Chongzhen still prepared two thousand mules and horses for Yan Yingyuan and the others.
These two thousand mules and horses can not only be used to pull carts, but also to satisfy hunger when food is running out.
After being given an initial speed, the ice sledges loaded with supplies and ordnance slid forward under the pull of mules and horses. The hooves of the mules and horses were wrapped in thick cotton cloth to prevent slipping.
The new army also began to line up and march forward.
Zheng Zhilong also went down to the ice to see Yan Yingyuan off: "Yan gave me advice, as soon as the ice thaws, my prince will lead the navy to Dagukou to help you defend the city and also deal with the navy of Jiannu."
"Our navy comes from Dengzhou, and it only takes a day and a half with smooth winds and smooth currents."
"Mr. Min, I'd like to say goodbye to you." Yan Yingyuan bowed his head and stood up to follow the troops.
Watching Yan Yingyuan lead the new army away, Zheng Zhilong said to Zheng Cai beside him: "This man really has the style of a national scholar. A mere five thousand lone army dares to hold on to a key point like Dagukou."
Zheng Cai said: "This man is just the abandoned son of the Holy One."
"Shut up." Zheng Zhilong's face darkened and he scolded, "Don't criticize me behind your back."
"Yes." Zheng Cai quickly bent down and bowed, and said respectfully, "Remember your adoptive father's instructions."
But from Zheng Cai's expression, he clearly disagreed. He obviously believed that Yan Yingyuan and the five thousand new troops were used by Chongzhen to consume the slaves, and they were obviously abandoned sons.
…
Zhou Peigong wrapped his tattered cotton-padded jacket tightly and curled up into a ball as much as possible. This could make him feel a little warmer, otherwise his whole body would really freeze to death.
The weather in March is already warmer than in February
too much.
But it was still freezing cold on the sea dozens of miles away.
Zhou Peigong stared at the ice cave about a foot in front of him for a moment.
There is a buoy made of wheat straw in the ice cave. Yes, he is fishing.
Zhou Peigong is only sixteen years old this year. He was originally from Jingmen, Hubei. When Li Zicheng invaded Hubei in the 15th year of Chongzhen, he fled to the capital with his fellow villagers. After the slaves entered the customs, they killed many men from the capital. Zhou Peigong was lucky to escape.
Jie however became the underling of a bannerman named Tu Hai of Zhenghuang Banner.
Tuhai did not sympathize with Zhou Peigong just because he was young.
Zhou Peigong had to do heavy manual labor when he was busy farming, and he had to fish when he was slack.
Because there were too many coatings for offshore fishing, Zhou Peigong could only go fifty miles away to break the ice and fish in the depths of the North Sea.
But today's luck was really bad. After fishing for more than four hours, it was almost dark, but I didn't catch even a big fish. As expected, I had to go back empty-handed.
Thinking that he would definitely be beaten severely when he returned, Zhou Peigong suddenly felt inexplicably flustered.
Because Tuhai had a very bad temper and his attack was careless, it was really possible to beat him to death.
But he didn't dare to run away, because once the escaped slave was caught by the patrol, he would be executed immediately without any explanation. How far could he escape with his current physical condition?
The straw buoy in the ice cave suddenly sank violently.
"A fish is biting the hook!" Zhou Peigong was overjoyed and swung the rod fiercely.
He felt it was extremely heavy, heavier than the biggest fish he had ever caught before.
If you can catch a big fish weighing more than ten kilograms, you may not need to be beaten.
The big fish began to scurry back and forth crazily under the ice. The thin hemp rope was stretched straight and the fishing rod was bent to the limit. Then before Zhou Peigong could react, the fishing rod snapped.
The broken half of the fishing rod was pulled into the ice cave and disappeared.
Looking at the small half of the fishing rod left in his hand, Zhou Peigong wanted to cry but had no tears.
At this moment, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared on the ice ahead.
This is a deep sea, how could there be anyone on the ice? Zhou Peigong rubbed his eyes vigorously and then looked forward.
Now I can see it more clearly. There are really people, and there are many, many people, and there are countless ice sledges. They look like an army? Is this the Ming army? The Qing army?
Out of instinctive fear of the army, Zhou Peigong jumped up and ran away.
However, the next moment, Zhou Peigong fell heavily on the ice again.
Because he had been sitting on the ice for too long, his legs were numb from the cold.
The movement here quickly attracted the attention of the "army" in front, and soon a group of "soldiers" quickly slid over on ice and surrounded Zhou Peigong.
I saw that all the soldiers in this group were wearing red cloth armor.
What he held in his hands were blunderbuss with bayonets attached.
Looking at the black hole pointing at him, Zhou Peigong thought that he was dead this time.
Sun Fanzhi frowned and looked at this ragged young man, feeling vaguely familiar.
At that moment, Sun Fanzhi asked Zhou Peigong: "Boy, what is your name? Have you ever been to Changping Prefecture?"
"Returning to the military master, my name is Zhou Peigong." Zhou Peigong said hurriedly, "I went to Changping Prefecture to beg for food three years ago."
"I remember." Sun Fanzhi patted his thigh and said, "You are that little beggar, the little beggar from Jingmen who can recite poetry."
"Are you your benefactor?" Zhou Peigong's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he added, "Are you the second son of the Sun family who rewarded me with a meal and a quilt in the winter of the 16th year of Chongzhen?"
"What second son?" Sun Fanzhi sighed and shook his head. "It's all in the past."
Speaking of the past, Sun Fanzhi thought again of the fifteen members of his family who were killed, and couldn't help but feel a little sad.
But soon, Sun Fanzhi adjusted his mood again and asked Zhou Peigong: "What are you doing here?"
"It's not because I was forced to do so by the slaves." Zhou Peigong sighed, "If you don't catch three big fish every day, you won't be able to do anything."
Give me something to eat."
"So, you have now become a slave?" Sun Fanzhi asked.
Zhou Peigong said: "Not only me, but all the Han people in Gyeonggi have been reduced to coats."
Sun Fanzhi asked again: "What is your master's family name and where do they live?"
Zhou Peigong replied: "My name is Tuhai. I don't know what my surname is. I live in Dagokou in front of me."
"Live in Dagukou? That's great. It's really hard to find a place without going through iron shoes. It doesn't take any effort to get there." Sun Fanzhi then brought Zhou Peigong to Yan Yingyuan.
"Brother Jianheng, it seems that there is no need to send people to reconnoiter Dakukou." Sun Fanzhi pointed at Zhou Peigong and said, "This man is called Zhou Peigong. He is an old acquaintance of mine. He worked as a coater for the slaves at Dakukou."
"Is there such a thing?" Yan Yingyuan asked, "How many real slaves are there in Dagukou?"
"There are only a dozen." Zhou Peiqing said, "In addition to the real slaves, there are more than a hundred green soldiers."
Yan Yingyuan couldn't help but look at Sun Fanzhi. The situation was almost as they expected.
Sun Fanzhi then asked: "Aren't there any Han troops stationed under the Eight Banners? And the navy of the slaves is not at Dagokou either?"
"No." Zhou Peigong shook his head like a rattle and said repeatedly, "Tianjin Guard has the Eight Banners Han Army, and the navy of Jiannu is also stationed in Tianjin Guard, as well as in Tongzhou."
Yan Yingyuan asked a few more questions, and Zhou Peigong answered them fluently.
Yan Yingyuan was from a criminal background, and he could tell whether Zhou Peigong lied by asking just a few questions. He was sure that what Zhou Peigong said was true and he did not lie.
However, Sun Tzu's Art of War says: Soldiers are important matters of the country, the place of life and death, and the path to survival. They must be carefully observed.
Even though it was obvious that Zhou Peigong was not lying, Yan Yingyuan was still worried and said to Sun Fanzhi: "Brother Wufu, I'd like you to go to Dagokou first, just in case."
"That's fine." Although Sun Fanzhi felt it was not necessary, he should still come down.
At this moment, Sun Fanzhi led a group of new troops and quickly slid forward on the ice.
Yan Yingyuan invited Zhou Peigong to sit on his ice sledge and follow him.
Near midnight, Yan Yingyuan led five thousand new soldiers to the entrance of Dagu.
Sun Fanzhi, who arrived first, immediately came forward and said, "Brother Jianheng, what Zhou Peigong said is true. There are only a dozen real slaves and more than a hundred green soldiers in Dagukou, and there are also hundreds of coats."
.”
"Okay." Yan Yingyuan nodded happily and said, "Then let's attack the city directly."
Dagukou is actually a small market town, not even a county town. Before the Jiannu entered the customs, there were hundreds of households with a population of more than 2,000, but now there are only a few hundred people left.
Because it is not a county town, it does not have a decent city wall.
There is only a circle of earthen walls and no trenches, which can only protect against wild beasts.
You can faintly see the light of fire behind the earthen wall, which is probably the green battalion soldiers keeping vigil at night.
Yan Yingyuan waved his hand, and a new soldier immediately swung out his flying claws to grab the earth wall, and then climbed over in two strokes.
As soon as they climbed over the earthen wall, they saw two green soldiers huddled around the campfire to keep warm, cursing at the same time, probably cursing their superiors.
Further ahead is a dark, ruined house.
Hundreds of rustic houses are immersed in the quiet night, eerily quiet.
Several native dogs in the town seemed to smell something and began to bark wildly.
The wild barking of the native dog alerted the two green soldiers who were keeping watch at night. One of them cursed a few more words and was about to get up and go to the earth wall to take a look. But before he could get up, he suddenly felt that someone was approaching.
"Who?!" The green camp soldier turned around suddenly, but was horrified to find that more than a dozen black figures had surrounded them.
Moreover, these dozen black figures were holding blunderbuss, and the black holes of the blunderbuss were already aimed at them. Seeing this scene, the two green soldiers did not dare to act rashly anymore, it was more important to save their lives.
However, the two Green Camp soldiers were also feeling strange.
This is Dagukou, but there are actually bandits?
Then soon, they discovered this
Not a bandit.
Because these "thieves" actually wear uniform armor.
This is obviously not a bandit, because bandits have very few armors and their styles are various, but the armors of this group of people are exactly the same style, and even the color is a unified bright red.
"It's the Ming army!" The two Green Camp soldiers looked extremely shocked.
This is simply unimaginable. Has the Ming army actually reached Dagokou?
Then, under the shocked eyes of the two green soldiers, the Ming army opened the front gate of the village, and then more Ming troops swarmed in from the gate, and the local dogs in the town also barked more intensely.
Finally, a Jiannu put on his clothes and got up to inspect, and came face to face with the Ming army.
"Ming Gou!" Jiannu's reaction was still quick. He yelled and wanted to run home.
However, it was too late. With two "bang bang" sounds, Jiannu was shot and fell to the ground.
As soon as the gunshots were fired, there was no need to hide. The new army officers who poured into the town violently opened the doors and rushed in with shining bayonets. As long as they met anyone who could not speak the Ming Dynasty Mandarin, they would kill them with their bayonets.
Stab.
In less than a moment, most of the dozen real slaves stationed at Dagukou were stabbed to death.
Only one of the slaves reacted very quickly and ran away on an unsaddled war horse.
More than a hundred green soldiers and dozens of soldiers were captured alive. They were valuable labor force and could not be killed easily.
After taking control of Dagu Pass, Yan Yingyuan immediately assigned a task: "Sun Fanzhi, you are responsible for transporting all the materials into the town and placing them properly. Ji Yunhong and Zhu Yanzuo, you two will lead the troops to build a gun platform outside Dago Pass. Chen Ming
Yu, Feng Dunhou, you two will work with me to build the Hongyi artillery position."
