Chapter 58 Dongjiang
Outside the Eight Banners Central Army Tent.

In the evening, hundreds of Niulu Ezhen gathered together according to their banners, breathing out with their sleeves, stamping their feet, and exchanging the information they knew with each other.

"Gaizhou City was massacred, and the Fourth Prince fainted several times. I don't know if he has woken up yet."

"I heard that Li Hao's methods of extorting money from the land were extraordinary. No one in the village could breathe, and there was not much fodder left for the horses. The Bordered White Banner was in great trouble, and at least a thousand people from the Ordinary Banner died."

"If you ask me, the Zhengbai Banner is in a worse situation. All the people in Gaizhou City died. The Niulu'e over there are really worried and crazy. We don't even know what will happen to their families. All the craftsmen followed Li Hao to Dongjiang Town. Life will be difficult for this banner in the future."

"The two blue flags are not much better. According to the marching route of the Ming general, they must be heading for Pi Island. The Bordered Blue Flag has more people and can still hold on. The Plain Blue Flag was bullied by the Ming general, and it is estimated that they will not be able to plant much land this spring."

The Niulu'ezhen were talking about it. Those in blue and white armor were particularly angry. Although those in red and yellow armor had not suffered any disaster in their hometown, they were still a little worried. What if the Ming general went crazy and came to their hometown to rob them?

The door curtain of the big tent was suddenly lifted, and the light from inside shone through the gap, and then a strong and mighty middle-aged general in yellow armor walked out of the tent. He was the old Khan's son-in-law, Shumulu Yangguli.

The Niulu Ezhen gathered around. The Ezhen of the two yellow flags mainly asked about military intelligence and military deployment, while the Ezhen of the other three-color armors either focused on asking about the situation in their own territories or asked about what happened to the Fourth Beile.

Yangguli, who was over 50 years old, could not stand the harassment from so many people and shouted, "Be quiet, I will tell you one thing at a time."

He himself had eight Niulu under his command, and his status in the Later Jin Dynasty was second only to the old Khan, the leaders of various flags, and the leaders of small flags. His qualifications and military achievements were much higher than many young Beile. Therefore, the people did not dare to act rashly and stood obediently and obeyed his orders.

"The Khan ordered me to lead my Niulu to the Bordered Blue Banner to supervise the battle. It has nothing to do with your other banners. Those who want to hear about the military situation can leave now."

"I have only heard about the two white flags and the two blue flags, so I won't say more. You will know it later."

"The Fourth Prince has woken up and looks good. You all know his condition. He was just angry and had a nosebleed. He is still in his prime. You don't need to worry about his health. He is just too sad."

Except for the two yellow flags, there were many supporters of the Fourth Beile, Ezhen, in the other six flags. Yangguli himself was also optimistic about the succession of this Beile, who had a very good relationship with others, so he said a few more words.

I didn't expect that some people would be so persistent.

"My dear, please ask the Khan for mercy and let us go with you to fight that Ming general."

"The Fourth Prince's matter is our collective matter. I will also contribute to the siege and killing of Li Hao."

Yangguli glared and shouted, "I'm asking you to go in and beg! You don't even have a mouth, and you want me to show off in front of the Khan and the princes?"

As soon as the Khan's son-in-law got angry, these Niulu Ezhen immediately shut up.

Only then did Yangguli have time to walk towards his own Niulu camp.

As he walked, he ordered the Zhenghuangqi Ezhen who had gathered around him: "Bring over all your dead soldiers and black camp soldiers, and as many fish-skin soldiers as you can. Bring over all of them with fishing nets and hooks. Also bring over those two lousy guys, Topo and Alinbao. If they don't fight hard this time, I won't be able to save them."

Even with more than twenty years of experience in battles, he still could not understand how that Ming general could fight against a hundred enemies alone every time and charge into battle even after being shot by dozens of arrows.

If you can’t understand it, then don’t understand it. The battle still has to be fought.

His idea was to bring more dead soldiers and black camp soldiers to grind down the Ming soldiers little by little, just like grinding tofu, even the hardest beans could not withstand the grinding back and forth.

……

Outside Fuzhou City, near a village fortress.

It was just getting dark when a team of fully armed Ming troops were riding their horses at full speed. The leading Ming general had plump features and a very dark complexion. He had a long beard that reached the collarbone on his chin, and occasionally showed his very white teeth when he spoke.

"Brother Wenzhao, did you really capture a large fortress?"

The person accompanying him was Cao Wenzhao. When Gou Quanzhong led his men for reconnaissance during the day, they encountered this cavalry group from Dongjiang Town at night. After the two sides confronted each other's territory, they informed each other of their situations.

At that time, General Li had just led his troops to capture a settlement of the Bordered Blue Banner, so he sent Cao Wenzhao to invite the Ming army stationed in the wild to join forces.

The reason why Cao Wenzhao went was because the commander of this Ming army was Mao Wenlong, a general of the Liao area who grew up in Zhejiang and whose ancestral home was in Shanxi.

Da Cao was from Datong, Shanxi, and could barely be considered a fellow villager of Marshal Mao.

"Of course it's true. That fortress can easily accommodate a hundred households. Even if our two families camp together, it seems quite empty."

Although his two groups of scout cavalry had verified the situation, Mao Wenlong still found it hard to believe it.

There are two strange things about this matter.

First, how could such a strong Liaoxi cavalry appear outside Fuzhou City? Second, it was difficult for nearly 200 elite soldiers at the level of family servants in Dongjiang Town to attack a small village fortress with dozens of households. Those patrolling flagmen of the Bordered Blue Banner were not vegetarians. How could these Liaoxi cavalrymen capture a large fortress with hundreds of households?

But the fact seems to be so. What the two groups of scouts saw and heard and the captain from Datong sent by the other side can all confirm that this team of Liaoxi cavalry did take the victory.

"I, Mao Wenlong, have been active in southern Liaoning for many years, but this is the first time I have met brothers from western Liaoning in the first month of the year. How strange! When I get here, I will definitely ask your General Li how he fought all the way here."

No matter what, the Liaoxi Army is a friendly force. It is much better to encounter friendly forces in the territory of the Bordered Blue Banner than to encounter Amin's Man'e Niulu.

"Okay, okay. My general has also been fascinated by Marshal Mao for a long time."

Cao Wenzhao spoke politely.

Before it got completely dark, the group finally arrived at their destination.

After lighting himself with a torch, Cao Wenzhao shouted towards the east gate of Dunbao: "It's me, Cao Wenzhao, the leader of the second team. Behind me are General Mao and the Dongjiang brothers."

After gathering a large number of surrendered militiamen, General Li still used the previous four teams of brave generals and soldiers as the framework and filled them with able-bodied men from all walks of life. Da Cao's temporary position was the leader of the second team, in charge of about 150 militiamen.

After the militiamen on duty on the earthen wall of the fort confirmed the identity of Team Leader Cao, they slowly opened the iron-clad wooden door that was propped up by several pillars.

"Mao Shuai, please."

Cao Wenzhao made a gesture of invitation, then led his entourage to enter through the east gate first to indicate that the gate was safe.

The Dongjiang cavalry followed in one after another, and pack horses carrying military supplies were also mixed in with them. Mao Wenlong and his generals maintained order at a distance of thirty steps from the gate.

The Dongjiang general was relieved only after the first few trusted men who had gone in came out to report the situation. He waited until most of the Dongjiang soldiers had entered before he rode into the fort with several generals and trusted servants.

After entering, accompanied by Cao Wenzhao and another Liaoxi officer, they took Mao Wenlong and other Dongjiang generals and some servants to the chief general's residence in the center of the fort, while the rest of the Dongjiang soldiers were arranged with accommodation.

The air was filled with the smell of rust, and it was obvious that a fierce battle had taken place not long ago. In some places illuminated by torches, one could still see frozen black blood and uncleaned pieces of meat. It seemed that these were the forts that had been captured by the Liaoxi Army.

Mao Wenlong slowly calmed down and turned to ask about the newly appeared officers from western Liaoning.

"What is this brother's name? Where is he from?"

"My surname is Huang, my given name is Long, and I am from Nanchang, Jiangxi."

Although Huang Long spoke in a flowery manner all day long, he did not have a courtesy name. There were not many privates and officers who were former privates who had courtesy names these days.

"You are originally from the south, and I am from Zhejiang, so we are fellow countrymen." Mao Wenlong said with a smile.

Although he still didn't understand how this Ming army had managed to reach the Bordered Blue Banner, when facing such a young general, he would not specifically ask about the details of the battle because that would be too cowardly.

After all, he is a first-rank general.

Along the way, both sides only chatted about family matters and did not mention anything else.

After arriving at the commander's residence, Huang Long ran in first to report. Mao Wenlong and his subordinates slowed down their pace and waited for the owner of this place to come out of the gate.

"Oh my, Marshal Mao came at the right time. The meal has just been prepared."

Unexpectedly, there was only a cheerful voice coming out to greet them, and the people inside didn't move at all.

Cao Wenzhao quickly extended his right hand, "General Mao, please."

Mao Wenlong had no choice but to walk into the yard, and under the guidance of the servants in the yard, he led his subordinates into the main hall on the north side.

As soon as he entered the door, he smelled the fragrant aroma of food, but the table full of meat dishes could not attract the attention of the Dongjiang generals, because anyone who came in from outside could not ignore that majestic and strong figure.

"Marshal Mao, this is my General Li."

Cao Wenzhao rushed over and introduced.

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(End of this chapter)