When the Jin Army's war drums sounded, the white-haired Zhang Chun sat on the chariot and shouted three times towards the other side of the river: "Cross the river! Cross the river! Cross the river!" Regardless of the obstruction of his own soldiers, he resolutely grabbed the whip from the driver's hand.
, drove the chariot towards Xiaoling River without hesitation.
One of the commanders of both sides led the chariot to supervise the formation regardless of the danger, while the other personally beat the war drum for his subordinates.
Both Huang Taiji and Zhang Chun knew that this battle had reached its most critical moment, and whoever could not hold on would lose.
Although there were heavy casualties, the Ming army basically maintained its organizational structure. There were still more than a thousand tanks still in existence. The vitality of the army was not damaged. There were still more than 30,000 troops. However, the Jin army's ferocious artillery was silenced.
, the Ming army’s chariot array will continue to play a role, so if you persist, you may not lose.[
Under the supervision of generals at all levels, various units of the Ming Army crossed the river one after another. On the other side of the river, the cavalry of the Jin Army roared in.
One wanted to cross, but the other refused, and a fierce battle broke out in the river.
"Fire!"
The sound of "bang bang" muskets sounded, and dense crossbow arrows were fired at the Jin army. After paying an incredible amount of damage, Xianghongqi once again hit the Ming army's vehicle array.
After destroying dozens of tanks in front of him, Azig led his red-armored Piyala soldiers and rushed into the Ming army's formation. Suddenly, flesh and blood were shed, and the Ming and Jin sides fought fiercely in the tank formation.
stand up.
…………
At this time, Liaodong generals were already standing on top of Dalinghe City. When the Tong Yangxing Artillery Battalion fired, the Ming army on the city heard it and hurriedly ran down to report it to Zu Dashou.
When Zu Dashou heard the news, he couldn't tell the truth from the lies, because he had already been fooled by Hong Tai once, and he was really not sure whether the sound of the cannons meant that reinforcements were really coming.
Just in case, he climbed to the top of the city with He Kegang, Zhang Cunren, Liu Tianlu and others. After listening for a while, he felt that the intensity of the gunfire this time was different from the past. Looking under the city gate, the Jin army also deployed heavy troops.
It seems that it is true that this reinforcement cannot be prepared, otherwise the Jin army would not have to deploy heavy troops under the city.
"Commander Zu, it looks like the reinforcements are really coming. Let's get out of the city quickly to meet them!"
He Kegang, whose face was swollen with hunger, could not restrain his excitement. The wait was finally here, the wait was finally here! The emperor and the governor did not abandon them!
In excitement, the first thought was to immediately organize troops to go out of the city to receive reinforcements, attack from both inside and outside, and catch Jiannu off guard!
Zu Dashou said hesitantly: "If this reinforcement is still fake, we are afraid that we will not even have the troops to defend the city. It is better to wait until the reinforcements arrive and see clearly."
Seeing that Zu Dashou was unwilling to leave the city to meet the reinforcements, He Kegang said anxiously: "Commander Zu, how could there be so many red barbarian cannons in Jiannu? This reinforcement must be real! We should rush out of the city immediately to meet the reinforcements, otherwise, it will really happen."
It’s all over!”
The reinforcements were real, He Kegang had expected it, but he didn't expect that the red barbarian cannon was not his own, but was imitated by Jiannu. But at the moment, no one knew that the Jin army could make artillery, so He Kegang's statement
They were echoed by Liu Tianlu, Gao Guanghui and other generals, and they all said that the reinforcements must be real.
Zu Dashou was still a little hesitant. After thinking for a moment, he finally shook his head and said to the generals: "I don't want to rush out, but can we rush out? It doesn't take much. The slaves only need a thousand men to go there."
If it's horizontal, we can't even think of rushing over, not to mention there are four trenches."
"Commander Zu, you can't miss this opportunity. Let's fight with our last breath. If we win, the siege will be solved; if we lose, we will die at most. It is better to die in battle than to starve to death!"
He Kegang no longer had the strength to speak. Hungry made it difficult for him to stand. If he hadn't been holding on to the wall, he would have fallen to the ground.
Most of the generals did not want to starve to death in the city. He Kegang's request for war was supported by most of the generals. Even Zu Dashou's two younger brothers agreed to leave the city. The eldest son Zu Zerun also advised Zu Dashou to fight regardless of whether it was true or not.
Send a team of troops out of the city to explore. If it's true, it's easy to respond. If it's false, the worst is to lose some troops. Everyone knows what's going on in the city. If there's a chance to survive, you'll have to try it.
, everyone is really unwilling to miss the opportunity to survive like this.[
Zu Dashou did not nod for a long time.
"Commander Zu, send out troops without further delay. If you hesitate, the opportunity will be missed!"
He Kegang gritted his teeth and held on to say the last sentence. His legs and feet went weak and he collapsed to the ground. Seeing this, Liu Tianlu and others quickly went to help him, but he waved his hand to stop him and looked at Zu Dashou motionlessly, with an indescribable expression in his eyes.
Determined.
"this…"
Zu Dashou was distressed. He was afraid that the reinforcements were real, but also that they were fake. The last time he left the city, he lost more than 3,000 elite soldiers. These were all direct descendants of his ancestral family, and they were also some of his own.
It really hurts his heart to see a veteran of hundreds of battles just lying outside the city. At present, there are less than 4,000 of his direct descendants in the city, and the rest are the subordinates of He Kegang, Zhang Cunren and others. If it is still Hong Taishi this time
As a trick, the soldiers and horses who left the city must have been beaten by meat buns and never came back.
If there are no soldiers under his command, will the generals still listen to me? Even if I really can't hold on in the future and want to take that path, will He Kegang and the others listen to me? If they don't listen, won't I be killed by them?
I am so tired, can I really die here and serve my country loyally?
No, we cannot send troops, we must not send troops!
If there are really reinforcements, the governor will definitely mobilize heavy troops to come. It does not necessarily have to be the few people in the city to respond. It will not be too late to leave the city after the reinforcements reach the city.
Having made up his mind, Zu Dashou was about to completely reject the suggestion of leaving the city to receive reinforcements, but after seeing the look in He Kegang's eyes, he couldn't help but hesitate again.
He Kegang, like his ancestor Dashou, was a general promoted by the capital Yuan Chonghuan after he arrived in Liaodong. He participated in both the Ningyuan city defense battle and the Ningjin battle. In the first year of Chongzhen, after Yuan Chonghuan became the governor of Jiliao, he promoted himself to the commander-in-chief.
, and also promoted He Kegang to deputy general. It can be said that in the hearts of the generals in Dalinghe City, his ancestor Dashou and He Kegang actually respected each other. In name, one was the chief soldier and the other was the deputy general, but in fact the relationship between the two
The status is equal. Therefore, he could not but value He Kegang's opinion. What's more, his brother and son were also in favor of leaving the city, so he could not but consider it carefully.
…………
In the early years, Yuan Chonghuan eliminated all the general soldiers outside the pass, leaving only three people, namely He Kegang, Zu Dashou and Zhao Lijiao. He Kegang was given the title of deputy general to defend Ningyuan, which shows Yuan Chonghuan's trust in him. Yuan Chonghuan even said in Chongzhen's memorial above.
He Kegang is "benevolent and courageous, honest and diligent, and good at making plans, but his talent is not in my subordinates. I am really capable of building a stronghold."
However, since Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned and killed, He Kegang's situation has gradually become difficult. He made great contributions in the battle to recover the four cities of Yongping and the battle to aid Jinzhou, but he has never been promoted. With his ability, it is obvious that he can
He was on his own, but could only serve as Zu Dashou's deputy for a long time, taking charge of Yuan Chonghuan's old department. However, Wu Xiang, Huang Long and others who were below him were promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief.
Although they were both Yuan Chonghuan's favorite generals, the relationship between Zu Dashou and He Kegang was actually very ordinary. From the incident of Wu Xiang being promoted to the commander-in-chief of Jinzhou, it can be seen that Zu Dashou did not believe in any Kegang and wanted to exclude him.
Wu Xiang was Zu Dashou's brother-in-law. He did not have any outstanding military exploits, but under Zu Dashou he jumped over He Kegang and became the commander-in-chief of Liaodong. This shows that Zu Dashou could not accommodate He Kegang.
One of the consequences of He Kegang's long-term position as lieutenant general was that after the construction of Daling River began, he and his ancestor Dashou were sent to guard the city together. After the Jin army besieged the city, the two good generals were trapped in the city together, so Sun Chengzong and Qiu Hejia had no choice but to recruit Wu Xiang.
A mediocre man came to command the Ming army that rescued Dalinghe.
If He Kegang and Zu Dashou could coordinate with each other from a distance away, with one defending the city and the other supporting, then the Battle of Daling River might not be impossible to win.
But the fact is that both Zu and He are now trapped in Dalinghe City. Jinzhou really has no good generals available. Although Song Wei is also capable, after all, he doesn't have many troops under his command, so he can't command Wu Xiang, who is also the commander-in-chief.
.And he had a bad relationship with Wu Xiang. He had repeatedly scolded Wu Xiang in public that he was a villain and a person who was greedy for life and afraid of death. This was destined that Wu Xiang would not fully support him. Sure enough, on a foggy day, Wu Xiang even built
There was no trace of the slave, so he abandoned Song Wei and fled back to Jinzhou in embarrassment. Song Wei was so angry that he complained to Qiu Hejia and Sun Chengzong after he returned. Unfortunately, the former could not cure Wu Xiang, but the latter wanted to save his ancestor's longevity.
Wu Xiang was forcibly protected. Otherwise, Wu Xiang would have been in a prison car going south this time, and he would not have been sent out with the army.
……………
The concerns in his heart could not be put on the table, and it was not easy to have a heart-to-heart relationship with his brother and son in front of so many people. Zu Dashou weighed it for a long time, and finally made up his mind and said to He Kegang: "Since everyone wants to go out of the city to have a look, then
You will lead three thousand troops out of the city. If it is really a reinforcement, you will lead your army to join them and lead them to the city gate so that I can respond. If it is not a reinforcement, you will return quickly and must not fight with Jiannu."
Hearing this, He Kegang didn't know where he got the strength, he stood up immediately, nodded resolutely and said: "Don't worry, Commander Zu, the final general will definitely fight his way out!"
"Brother, can General He lead the army like this? Why don't we go?" Zu Dacheng saw that He Kegang was so hungry that he couldn't even stand, but his eldest brother asked him to lead the army out of the city. He was very surprised, thinking that his eldest brother didn't notice He Kegang's hungry appearance.
, hurriedly proposed that he should lead the army out of the city.[
Unexpectedly, Zu Dashou glanced at him and said: "You have always been reckless, how can you lead the army?" After saying that, he glanced at He Kegang with concern, "Ke Gang, your body can bear it. If you can't bear it, I will order
Let others go."
"No need, my body can still bear it." Finally, he persuaded Zu Dashou to send troops out of the city to meet the reinforcements. Coupled with the excitement of the arrival of the reinforcements, He Kegang regained consciousness like a dying man, forgetting the hunger in his stomach and forgetting
I have no strength at all.
On the side, deputy generals Liu Yuying, Dou Mingde, staff generals Hu Hongxian, Xiao Yongzuo and other generals all looked at Zu Dashou strangely. Even Zhang Cunren, Liu Tianlu and others also felt that Zu Shuai's arrangement was inappropriate. But He Kegang himself said that he could leave the city.
It was not easy for them to object, otherwise General He would have thought they looked down on him.
After He Kegang agreed, Zu Dashou secretly breathed a sigh of relief. For fear of being persuaded again, he hurriedly ordered his confidant Han Daxun: "Immediately gather three thousand elite soldiers at the city gate and let General He lead them out of the city to receive reinforcements."
Three thousand elite soldiers?
Han Daxun was startled, and when he looked up and saw Zu Dashou's eyes, he immediately understood and hurriedly responded and went to mobilize his troops.
After half a stick of incense, Han Daxun had the people ready. He Kegang went to the bottom of the city to take a look, but he was greatly disappointed. Where were the elite soldiers? They were clearly a group of old, weak, sick and disabled, and half of them were even civilian craftsmen. Every one of them was elite.
They are wandering around, the soldiers are not like soldiers, and the people are not like people.
Looking at these soldiers, Dou Mingde was furious. He glanced at the top of the city and whispered to He Kegang: "General, Commander Zu clearly doesn't want you to leave the city! The soldiers he gave us are not elite soldiers at all. With these people
, we can’t even cross the trench!”
"What does Commander Zu mean? He just won't send his own people, so let's take our own troops to the head office?" Hu Hongxian said angrily and went to mobilize his own troops.
But He Kegang grabbed him and smiled bitterly: "Forget it, help me go back, we can't leave this city." After saying that, his vision went dark and he fainted.
…………
On the city, Zu Dacheng and Zu Daming looked at He Kegang who was being carried away by his subordinates, and looked at his elder brother hesitantly. After a while, Zu Dacheng murmured softly: "Brother, did you go too far?"
"Um?"
Zu Dashou glanced sideways at his younger brother, snorted angrily, and said, "What do you know? If all these soldiers are wiped out, what will happen next?"
The ancestor curled his lips and blurted out: "What should I do? The worst is to die here, the imperial court will not treat our ancestors badly!"
After hearing this, Zu Dashou was so angry that he raised his hand and gave Zu Daming a slap in the face, scolding: "Death, die! You know death! If the eldest brother is like you, how can our ancestors have anything like this?"
Today’s foundation! If you don’t plan for yourself, you have to plan for our family! If everyone were like you, our ancestral family would have fallen long ago!"
"Brother!..." Zu Daming covered his face and looked at Zu Dashou angrily, not understanding why his elder brother wanted to hit him.
Zu Zerun was afraid that his third uncle would jump up with his father, so he hurriedly held him gently and looked at his father in confusion.
Zu Daming seemed to understand something, sighed and said nothing.
"Go back and stay here, and watch your men. No one can leave the city without my order!"
After saying these words, Zu Dashou walked down the city wall without looking back.
"Second uncle, what happened to father?" After Zu Dashou left, Zu Zerun asked Zu Daiming in confusion.
Zu Daming did not answer him, but suddenly asked him: "Zerun, second uncle wants to ask you, is there anyone you know well over there?"
"Over there? Which way?" Zu Zerun was confused.
Zu Daming curled his lips towards the north. When Zu Zerun saw this, he couldn't help being surprised. His face was gloomy and he was speechless. Zu Dacheng also had a look of astonishment upon hearing this.
Upon seeing this, Zu Daming sighed, looked around and saw no one, then whispered to Zu Zerun and Zu Dacheng: "This is also the worst plan. Didn't Fan Wencheng send a letter over there earlier?
, it seems that Jiannu wants us to surrender. So we still need to communicate in advance, otherwise if we really wait for Jiannu to break the city, we will not be welcomed by others if we surrender again."
"Aren't the reinforcements coming? Why are we about to surrender?" Zu Daming was a little puzzled.
"You wait until the reinforcements arrive at the city. Think of the worst in everything, and be prepared for the rainy day. It will be better when things come to an end." If he really wants to surrender and become a slave, the ancestor is not willing, but when it comes to that,
He could only follow this path with his elder brother.
Zu Zerun nodded and said: "If father really plans this, I have some old subordinates over there."
"You find two reliable people. If the reinforcements are fake or can't be fought, you will hang them down from the city that night. You have to be careful about this and don't let He Kegang's people know about it. Do you understand?
"
"Second uncle, don't worry, I know how to do this."
"Well, I'll go find your father. You and your third uncle stay here and listen. If reinforcements really come, call someone to report them right away."