the world is at stake

If the whereabouts of these slaves are exposed, half of the loss will be lost.We don't need to fight idiots in the field, just stay at the military depot and wait for them to come to our door.They won't be near us until tomorrow at the earliest. "

'Wild Boar Skin' is extremely gambler, starting from his battle to unify Jurchen's various ministries, because his capital is small, he likes to play all-or-nothing games.

But when he met Ming Jun, a 'good opponent', he could win every time.Every time you win more with less, you can grab more people and supplies when you win, so the more you fight, the stronger you will be.

Zhou Qingfeng came quietly, and returned to the military station quietly.From his stern expression, the commanders at all levels in the depot couldn't figure out the situation.

"Tonight, the number of fixed posts will be doubled, and hidden posts will be added. At night, bonfires will be lit to prevent people from entering the military depot. All units must keep people on duty, strictly enforce discipline, and do not move around without reason.

The food should be of the highest standard. If you are not on duty, you should sleep. Don't waste your energy and save it for tomorrow's war. "

Hearing the word 'war', Wang Xin said excitedly, "Jianu is here?"

Zhou Qingfeng nodded, "Here we are."

The two-meter-tall man jumped up and cheered happily: "Good! I finally waited until this day."

Chapter 34

The heavy rain stopped for a while, and the clouds dispersed.

After dark, the starry sky appeared. Tong Yangxing, the commander of the Han Army of the Jianzhou Department stationed at Zhenjiang Fort, stood outside the earthen hut at the fort station in a coir raincoat, looking up and cursing.

The area around Eastern Liaodong is mountainous. The so-called 'the dangerous mountain roads are narrow, the trees cover the sky, the thorns are overgrown, and the horses cannot be lined up' refers to the extremely poor traffic conditions in this area.

The best way of transportation here is by boat, but most of the tributaries of the Yalu River are very shallow, and rowing against the current is not easy, so we can only take the mountain road.

In the historical battle of Saerhu, Liu Ting’s men and horses on the east road walked along the front line of Kuandian. They were exhausted and failed to reach the battlefield in time. Instead, they were wiped out by the "wild boar skin" waiting for work. The biggest difficulty was because the mountain road was too difficult. gone.

Half a year ago, Guo Hai and his gang from the "Federation" brought a large amount of goods across the Fushun side wall, and hooked up with Ma Chengta, a slave merchant.

By bribing Li Yongfang, the guard of Fushun, Guo Hai not only gave ironware, cloth, grain and grass and other military resources to 'Wild Boar Skin', but also contacted Tong Yangxing, who had already taken refuge in Jiannu and was trusted by 'Wild Boar Skin'. Han people.

Guo Hai used various direct or indirect means to not only increase Nurhachi's power, but also introduced to the opponent the current deployment of the Ming army in Liaodong.

Nurhachi was preparing to attack Fushun, and he readily accepted Guo Hai's many suggestions - forming the Han army, using firearms, and reusing Hanchen was one of them; going south to Kuandian and controlling the mouth of the Yalu River was also one.

According to Guo Hai's plan, as long as Nurhachi moves quickly enough to control the area from Kuandian to the mouth of the Yalu River first, relying on layers of fortresses and dangerous mountains to build a defense line, it will not be a problem to delay the 'Holy Light' for half a year or a year.

But Guo Hai didn't expect that 'Holy Light' would move faster. Zhou Qingfeng came to Dandong on a steamship in March 1617, and recruited the local mountain people to build a strong military station.

Although the two armies have not yet met, the anomaly in the direction of Kuandian cannot be concealed.

Guo Hai is now close to the periphery of Nurhachi's decision-makers, suggesting to quickly go south from Kuandian, seize the Ming army fort along the way, and drive out the main force of the "Ming army" who is recruiting mountain people.

Nurhachi was very wary of the enemy coming from the south, so he sent Tong Yangxing and hundreds of troops southward from Kuandian, continued to capture Tangshan, Xianshan and other Ming army forts, and all the way to Zhenjiang Fort, which is the Jiulian City of Dandong in later generations.

Zhenjiang Fort is only twenty kilometers away from the Dandong Revitalization District where Zhou Qingfeng stayed.But the mountain road is rugged and the river is sheltered, so neither side knows the other side's situation.

Tong Yangxing dispatched troops from Kuandian, set off from the Ai River by boat, and gathered in Zhenjiang Fort, which was actually quite smooth.

The leader of the Han army who built slaves was not what Zhou Qingfeng thought he wanted to attack. He didn't take the 'Ming army' downstream at all seriously.

It's just that the soaring river caused him to lose a lot of personnel and ships, so he was very annoyed by the sudden change in the weather.

"The weather is getting better, and it should be sunny tomorrow." Tong Yangxing pointed to the sky, and ordered to his cousin Tong Yangzhen behind him, "Rest tonight, set off tomorrow morning, and destroy the Ming army downstream."

The entire Tong family has taken refuge in Nurhachi, and they have won their trust.

Tong Yangzhen led dozens of family members, and hundreds of soldiers mixed with Manchu and Han, and said heavily, "Ming army is not as powerful as this sudden mountain torrent without fighting."

Looking back, Tong Yangzhen found his son Tong Fengnian and nephew Tong Hengnian, and asked if the soldiers and ships were all settled.

Tong Fengnian revealed a hidden worry, "Today's heavy rain, two or three boats capsized, and seven or eight people were damaged. A white-armored sentry was also missing, and he must have drowned. The body rushed down, and I don't know Did the Ming army in Jiangkou see it?"

Raising soldiers is not easy, and it is even more difficult to raise elite white-armored scouts.If one dies, it means that a large sum of money and food spent in a few years will be wiped out.

Tong Yang was heartbroken and didn't care, "The river is turbid, who has the time to deal with the floating corpses that rushed down. If the Ming army had this vigilance, they wouldn't be attacked by our Jianzhou army all the way, and they would be powerless to fight back.

Go to the castle to find some dry firewood to keep warm, dry clothes and hot food, so that the soldiers can eat and sleep well.Everyone is tired today, and they will have to work hard tomorrow, so we have to be considerate. "

Tong Fengnian also felt that his father was right and he was too careful.He and Tong Hengnian ordered to collect all the grain and grass in the fort to supply the Jianzhou army.

There are still many mountain people living in the fort, including the Ming army who surrendered.The Tong family led troops to kill them, and they became other people's coated slaves. At this moment, they had to swallow their breath and watch Jiannu tear down their house and use it as fuel.

At this moment, the Dandong military depot is also burning fire and cooking, but there is no need to demolish houses for fuel.The mountains are lush and green, and there are many dead trees and rotten trees, depending on whether you have the strength to chop them.

The steamships brought enough food, labor and tools.The military depot has a solid building and complete facilities, enough to shelter from wind and rain.It is also unprecedentedly easy for the mountain people to cut trees and log, with less physical exertion.

Zhou Qingfeng ordered a first-level combat readiness, and the personnel of the entire military depot could not move around at will.Meals are provided collectively by the cafeteria, and all staff only need to wait to eat.

This alone surprised many mountain people, if they had no other thoughts.A few of them were spies sent by the Tong family half a month ago, and they seemed panicked.

After entering the military depot, Tong's spies opened their eyes.

This group of "Ming Army" has sharp armor and sufficient reserves; it is understandable that the walls are strong and the trenches are wide and deep; the most terrible thing is strict discipline.

When the mountain people come in, they have to learn the rules, work in groups, supervise each other, have a fixed amount of work, and pay more for more work.Even the spies have to follow this set, and die if they refuse to obey.

The earliest members of the mountain people who joined the group were complicated, but most of them were simple and not mixed with sand.They ate and drank well, enjoyed the treatment that Jiannu could not provide, and they were trusted by Zhou Qingfeng, who in turn monitored the mountain people who joined the group later.

After the first level of combat preparation, Tong's spies couldn't leave even if they wanted to, and they were stared at if they wanted to make trouble.Although the few people were still together, they were dull and silent, unable to do anything.

Early the next morning, there was no slack in the military preparations in the depot.Even if you piss, you have to report to your 'superior'.Zhou Qingfeng led the team to go out to investigate again, and returned two or three hours later. He confirmed that more than 500 infantrymen of the opponent had set off and were marching along the mountain road to the Dandong Military Station.

Its team is fairly well-organized, but its equipment is poor.No matter how you look at it, they don't look like elites who can run for hundreds of miles, but they can come in the rain, but they can't be underestimated.

Due to the dampness of the ground after the heavy rain, the expedition did not place mines around the depot.

Around three o'clock in the afternoon, gunshots rang out in the woods.After a while, the patrolling sentries withdrew, indicating that they had collided head-on with the enemy's sentries, and there was an exchange of fire with each other, and each retreated.

The squad leader of the sentinel reported: "Chief, we found the enemy's leading personnel one kilometer to the east of the military station. The enemy tried to use the terrain and trees as cover, and divided into two groups to outflank our side.

The bulk of its troops are resting.

As the surrounding environment has been cleared, the enemy's plot failed.Our side retreated while fighting, and used flintlocks to shoot at the enemy.There were no casualties on our side, but the other side...may have three or four casualties. "

The sentinel was not very sure about his results, but he was only sure that the opponent had a bow and arrows and firecrackers. "Looking from a distance, it should be a birdcrack using a matchlock. One shot from the opponent is enough for us to return three shots."

Zhou Qingfeng and Wang Xin looked at each other, and continued to send scouts to maintain contact with their opponents.At this moment, Tong Yangxing and Tong Yangzhen were staring at the corpses on the ground at the edge of the forest one kilometer away from them.

"The firearms of the Ming army are very powerful. They can shoot extremely accurately from a hundred paces away, and they are also very fast." Tong Fengnian, who was his son, led the vanguard and led a dozen or so white armored soldiers as sentries to serve as the vanguard for the follow-up army.

White armored soldiers don't wear white armor, they just wear a few more armors.With good physical strength, he wears chain armor on the outside and cotton armor on the inside, and is skilled in bowing and horse riding.

But no matter what kind of armor you wear, you can't resist the firecracker bullets of the "Ming Army" on the opposite side.

Tong Hengnian, who was a nephew, also stood up and scolded viciously:

"This must be the son of a bitch, the Ming army's 'night does not accept', the leader of the family who was fed with money by the generals. Seeing our brigade attacking, not only did they not flee, they dared to fight back. It was really ruthless."

Tong Yangxing knew about the 'no charge at night'.

If the generals of the Ming Frontier Army want to stabilize their positions, they always have to raise a group of elites. 'Night not accepting' is the same as Baijia Sentinel, they are not many in number, but their combat power is extremely strong.

But the strike from a hundred steps away was accurate and ruthless, which was too strong.

"How many Ming soldiers have you encountered that 'do not accept them at night'?" Tong Yangzhen asked his son.

Tong Fengnian also hated it, but he wasn't too sure, "The Ming army's scouts opened fire from a distance, and the firecrackers were very fast. They were also hiding, I guess there would be no less than ten of them."

Brothers Tong Yang and Tong Yangzhen looked ugly.

The spies sent never returned, and no news came out after half a month.The Tong family only knew that there was an additional Ming army fortress at the mouth of the Yalu River, and the exact number of manpower, but who led them was blind.

"If you can dispatch more than a dozen 'Night Not Accepted', is it possible that the Ming army will come to a general of the frontier army?" Tong Yangxing was taken aback by his own thoughts.

Now is not the Chongzhen period when officials and titles were issued indiscriminately, and the number of general soldiers is very small.Each general is a general in command of one side, with tens of thousands of troops under his command, who can afford to support two or three thousand families.

Even if this kind of opponent comes, Nurhachi has to do his best to deal with it.

"Spread out the team, don't squeeze together. You and my brothers each bring a group of people and press them from the east and north." Tong Yangxing couldn't back down just because seven or eight elites died.

Has arrived near the fortress of the 'Ming Army', and will rush up to fight no matter what.After all, the other party's 'Night Not Accepting' fired the firecracker for a while and then retreated.

The soldiers of the Tong family rested for half an hour to recover their strength, and then divided into two parts to continue forward.When they got closer to the Dandong military depot to a distance of 400 meters, they all shouted and cursed when they saw the walls and buildings of the military depot with their naked eyes.

"What kind of bird castle is built by a dog thief? Why is it so weird?" Tong Yangxing looked at it from a distance, and felt that the person who built the castle had a brain problem.

Ordinary fortified cities are either round or square.But a triangle was repaired on the opposite side, and it was still a concave triangle.Watchtowers are placed at each sharp corner, and they are extra strengthened, with higher walls and deeper ravines.

This is too uncomfortable to fight.

If you attack its 'corner', attack from both sides; if you attack its 'side', attack from both corners.No matter how you play, the attacker's side and rear are completely exposed.

The brothers of the Tong family are not stupid, and Jianu is not stupid even if he is a barbarian. After watching for a long time, he will understand that there is a knack for building this fortress.

"Father, shall we fight?" Tong Fengnian followed Tong Yangzhen and led more than 200 troops to attack from the north.They were facing a sharp corner of a military station, and hesitated a bit.

"Fight, of course we have to fight." Tong Yangzhen shouted viciously: "The Ming army has always been greedy for life and afraid of death. Look at the opposite fortress and there is no sound at all. Maybe the people inside saw us coming and peed their pants in fright."

There are mules and horses in Tong's team carrying heavy shields.Since Tong Yangzhen said to fight, Tong Fengnian ordered his servant to take off the heavy shield, and stood in front of him, ready to charge forward.

Behind the heavy shield, there are firearms, bows and arrows as cover.If the Ming army counterattacked, they would immediately fire arrows and blunderbusses, and shoot them over.

The Ming army has always been "the generals have no fighting spirit, and the soldiers have no morale". They can fire guns from a distance, but they don't have the courage to fight hand-to-hand when the guns are close.

When Tong Yangzhen moved, Tong Yangxing from the east also ordered Tong Hengnian to lead the charge.There were more than 200 people in the first wave of shock, slowly advancing from [-] steps away.

The Tong family brothers watched from a distance and found a figure shaking on the opposite side of the 'Ming Army' fortress, but they didn't react much - usually the Ming army would have been blown away when they saw such an offensive.

When Kuandian was captured, Tong Yangxing followed Fei Yingdong, the "five ministers" of the Jianzhou Department, and saw with his own eyes that the Ming army was far away and began to make trouble.But now...

The soldiers of the Tong family, led by Tong Fengnian and Tong Hengnian, approached from both sides of the northeast, three hundred steps, two hundred steps, one hundred steps, and the distance was getting closer and closer.

The heavy shield is very heavy, and it takes a while to lift it a certain distance.

When Tong Fengnian was a hundred steps away from the fence of the military station, he looked forward through the gap in the heavy shield, and saw that the fence on the opposite side was quiet.There seemed to be people behind a few observation holes, and there was nothing in other directions.

"Calm down, the Ming army in this ghost village might be scared out of their wits, and they don't even have the intention to meet us face to face. They're probably in a mess."

Tong Fengnian waved the machete in his hand, and continued to lift the shield forward.The men and horses he led drew closer from a hundred paces to eighty paces, and from eighty paces to thirty paces...

Behind the wooden fence on the opposite side is a two-storey house.I heard an order from inside, "Everyone has it, open the shooting window."

On the five or six meter high house, the wooden windows were propped up clattering and rattling.The window is not big, only about the height of a person's head, four or five meters long.Standing behind the window at most shows the head, the whole body is covered by the wall.

The distance of thirty steps was eye to eye, Tong Fengnian heard the movement on the opposite side, and looked again, only to see dozens of black gun barrels protruding from the rows of windows.He immediately yelled 'No...'.

The order behind the wall continued: "Aim at the enemy's rear row gunners and fire!"

The long-range shooting team providing cover for Tong Fengnian was still fifty steps away, half equipped with iron bows and half equipped with matchlock guns.They also saw movement behind the fence.

Tong Yangzhen, who was commanding from behind, immediately yelled, "Shoot, shoot up, and shoot all the Ming troops who dared to show their heads to death." '

The two sides opened fire almost at the same time, and there was a series of bang bang bang.

The sound of the guns was deafening, and Tong Fengnian, who was holding the shield in front of him, shrank his neck subconsciously.

After a few seconds, he probed again to see the casualties of the 'Ming Army', but found that his firecrackers were firing extremely chaotically, with more than a dozen bullets flying randomly, at most hitting the opponent's wall and breaking a few boards.

The arrows were slightly more accurate, but none of them could have hit the narrow window from fifty paces away.Most are only nailed to the planks of the wall, and the fins shake.A small part is thrown into the military depot.

Tong Fengnian looked back at his long-range troops, and was immediately startled that his hands and feet were cold.

"Fifty steps" is about 70 meters. Rifled flintlock guns use Minie bullets, which can be hit very accurately at this distance.

Seventy percent of those who opened their bows and fired their guns in the thirty or so fell down.Those who were shot either had their skulls shattered or their chests exploded. If they were lucky, they would also lose their limbs.

The remaining [-]% were stunned by a wave of explosions. They watched in a daze that their comrades who fought side by side turned into fallen corpses, as if they had been enchanted by some spell, and they didn't know what it meant.

On the battlefield, a firm order shouted from behind the firing window of the wall of the 'Ming Army', "The first row retreats to load ammunition, the second row goes forward to aim, and wipe out Jiannu's long-range shooting forces. Blow them to pieces!"

Chapter 35 Invincible!

When Jiannu's shooter exploded with a cloud of blood, Zhou Qingfeng, who was standing in the command room of the military station, let go of the last trace of uncertainty—barbarians are also human, so they will die as well.

The flintlock gun is equipped with Minie bullets. During training, it has a hit rate of more than 70% when hitting a humanoid target at a distance of [-] meters.On the battlefield, due to tension-induced movement deformation and other reasons, the hit rate has dropped to [-]%, but the lethal firepower is still overwhelming.

The Jiannu of Zhenjiang Fort purposely chose a sunny day to attack, in order to let their matchlock's blunderbuss play a role.But with a good view on sunny days, it is easier for the Xinhua Expeditionary Force to take advantage of the accuracy of rifled flintlock guns.

In the first round of shooting, the Jiannu shooter standing in a daze in the distance became the best target.

The soldiers of the expeditionary army who finished shooting couldn't help cheering. Seeing the opponent fall down like harvesting wheat, the anxiety of going to battle dissipated.They simply turn around and retreat to the rear of the line to reload.

The second row of shooters stepped forward, with the barrels protruding from the shooting window, the butts of the guns resting on the shoulders, aiming against the cheeks.In his line of sight, there are more than 70 Jiannu melee combat troops holding large wooden shields nearby, and in the distance is...

There were corpses all over the ground in the distance. The surviving Jiannu shooter was stunned for a few seconds before turning around and running away—more than half of them fell down in just one round. The fear of death was like a ghost attacking the heart, swallowing all the courage to shoot.

The remaining targets were not even enough for the second row of shooters to aim at one each. Many soldiers looked further away, aiming their guns at most of the Jiannu troops standing behind and commanding.

It took two or three seconds to aim with bated breath, and the deafening volley of guns rang out behind the shooting window.White smoke came out of the muzzle and was quickly blown away by the wind.Waiting for a clear view, the gun barrels of the soldiers in the third row stretched out again.

Back and forth.

Both Tong Yangzhen and Tong Yangzhen were watching the battle from about two or three hundred steps away.If there is a breakthrough on the front line, they are always ready to use the remaining troops on hand as a reserve team to invest in the gap.

But when the guns fired from the opposite side, all the expectations of the Tong family's troops were shattered - this fort is definitely not the Ming army, and the Ming army did not have such ruthless methods.