I

In the valley.

Sentinels and cavalry were scattered for several miles, and mountain search teams were also sent to the mountains along the way to search for enemy traces.

Suddenly I saw thousands of enemy infantry, laying down their weapons and sitting in front. An enemy general was kneeling in the road with tied thorn sticks.

A sentinel rider ran forward tentatively and asked, "Who's in front of you?"

The general stood up on his knees and replied loudly: "The guilty general He Jiuyi led his troops to kneel down to welcome His Highness the King of Wu!"

"You follow me, and no one else is allowed to move where they are!" the sentry rider said.

In the past two days, the enemy's food transporters have fled at large. Since they could not take away all the food and grass, some of them were burned by Zhang Xianzhong's generals.

Regardless of whether Zhang Xianzhong left with the cavalry or not, the battle was already unwinnable.

It is said that there are tens of thousands of elite infantry, but only 10,000 or 20,000 can actually fight. The main reason is that Zhang Xianzhong's various troops have expanded their troops too much. Moreover, most of the new armies that have been organized and trained in the past year have not been assigned any land. They are more like soldiers in the field. When they are not fighting, they have to farm the land and pay rent.

With such an army, it is okay to fight against the wind, but it may collapse at any time when fighting against the wind.

After more than half a month of continuous siege, the troops were lost and morale plummeted.

Zhao Han led his troops to pursue them all the way. Not only the civilians fled in large numbers, but Zhang Xianzhong's infantry also fled one after another.

At this moment, a large-scale surrender team finally appeared.

He Jiuyi was led in front of Zhao Han, and he knelt down and said: "He Jiuyi, the guilty general, pays homage to His Highness King Wu!"

Zhao Han asked: "Where are you from?"

"The guilty general's ancestral home is Yunyang." He Jiuyi replied.

"Isn't Zhang Xianzhong from the old camp?" Zhao Han asked again.

He Jiuyi replied: "To report to the King of Wu, the guilty general was originally a good citizen of Yunyang. He had read a few books and knew a few words. Because he could not bear the government's exploitation and Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to kill him, the guilty general took the initiative to join the army. After Zhang Xianzhong took control of Hubei, in order to win over the locals and to check and balance the old camp generals, he continued to promote criminal generals."

"I see." Zhao Han understood Zhang Xianzhong's approach very well, because Zhao Han himself was also promoting officers who were not from Jiangxi.

He Jiuyi said: "The 6,000 infantry soldiers under General Gui's command are mostly field sergeants. There are only more than a thousand soldiers. They have not done many evil deeds. I beg the King of Wu to be magnanimous. General Gui is asking for nothing else. He only wants to be relieved of his armor and return to the fields to become a farmer." "

"Who is the infantry coach Zhang Xianzhong left behind?" Zhao Han asked.

He Jiuyi said: "The commander's name is Wang Fuchen. He is from Shaanxi and has been fighting with Zhang Xianzhong for ten years. King Wu reported that according to the general's guess, those who came out of the valley in front were all suspects. The real elite infantrymen have been led across the north by Wang Fuchen Mountains, most of them are trying to cross the Qishui River in the direction of Liuhe Town at this time."

"I'm afraid they won't go there." Zhao Han said with a smile.

Three thousand peasant soldiers in Taihu County entered the mountains from Huating Lake and followed the mountain valley road, blocking the narrow valley formed by the Qishui River.

It is best if Zhang Xianzhong's cavalry can go there to meet the elite infantry. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the northern passage is blocked, leaving only a gap in the west. Lu Xiangsheng's cavalry has already rushed over, and Zhao Han's army can encircle it as soon as it arrives.

Zhao Han ordered: "Give you a chance to make a difference."

He Jiuyi was overjoyed: "Please tell me from King Wu, the guilty general will definitely die without hesitation!"

Zhao Han said: "You still bring your soldiers, and the weapons will not be confiscated from you. Display the Datong Army flag, no looting is allowed, gather the defeated troops along the way, and persuade the enemy troops that have not yet fled to surrender!"

"yes!"

He Jiuyi kowtowed repeatedly.

Zhao Han is not afraid of He Jiuyi's betrayal. The more soldiers he recruits, the less effective he will be in commanding them.

It would be difficult for He Jiuyi to command the march if his troops really increased to 20,000 or 30,000. It would be a fantasy to defect with a bunch of surrendered soldiers.

When Han Xin orders troops, the more the better. Not everyone can be Han Xin.

Immediately, Zhao Han accelerated out of the mountain with his army, and He Jiuyi ran forward to recruit the soldiers.

After leaving the mountainous area, He Jiuyi had 30,000 soldiers under his command, including a large number of civilians. Not to mention commanding the battle, the march was in a mess, divided into more than a dozen small groups, just walking with He Jiuyi, just hoping that the logistics of the Datong Army would send food for meals.

Arriving on the plains, He Jiuyi separated his own generals and temporarily served as officers of the surrender team. At least he was able to command more than 10,000 people.

"Report!"

"Your Highness, Zhang Xianzhong's cavalry tried to sneak attack our troops besieging Qishui City. After being discovered by our army's sentry ship, the sneak attack was fruitless and the strong attack was ineffective. Now they have disappeared without a trace. The defenders of Qishui County surrendered and our army has occupied Qishui County."

This is good news. After taking Qishui County, the number of troops Zhao Hanneng used for encirclement and suppression increased to more than 70,000 people in an instant.

Zhang Xianzhong was really good at running. He first attacked the Datong Army besieging Qizhou, and then attacked the Datong Army besieging Qishui.

Unexpectedly, the Datong peasants and soldiers were really powerful. With the excellent quality of the soldiers, Zhang Xianzhong's two attacks failed. If it were the officers and soldiers who were treated like this, and they would rush forward with perfect accuracy and flee, Zhang Xianzhong would have been able to make a comeback long ago.

Zhang Xianzhong's mobile combat capabilities gave Zhao Han a huge headache.

The super morale and discipline of the Datong Army also made Zhang Xianzhong blind.

A sense of powerlessness emerged in each other's hearts.

In this regard, Zhao Han has only one strong idea: buy more horses and expand the cavalry force quickly, otherwise the enemy will lead you by the nose in the future!

…

Xishui River Bank.

Zhang Xianzhong's face was gloomy, he felt that he could not go back this time.

The Xishui River, which is nearly a hundred miles long, has several small fishing boats cruising every two miles. Every five miles, there are several small warships.

As soon as Zhang Xianzhong's cavalry appeared, the small fishing boats in the river began to blow their trumpets, blowing orders one after another, and the nearby small warships immediately started to move.

He succeeded in smuggling across the Qishui River, but it was difficult for him to smuggle across the Xishui River.

And further to the west, there is a Ba River.

All three rivers originate from the Dabie Mountains and flow into the Yangtze River from north to south. If Zhang Xianzhong wants to lead his troops back to the hinterland, he must cross these three rivers, otherwise he can only plunge into the Dabie Mountains.

Zhang Xianzhong really went to the Dabie Mountains!

What else can we do if we don’t dig into the mountain?

Not only did he get into the Dabie Mountains himself, he also sent someone back to pass the order, asking Wang Fuchen to bring the real elite into the Dabie Mountains.

Zhang Xianzhong's southern army had 100,000 soldiers, 200,000 civilians, and countless food and baggage when it went out. Now, only 7,000 cavalry, 5,000 cavalry, and 12,000 infantry are left who can escape into the Dabie Mountains. The rest of the population and food have been lost.

The cavalry and cavalry were okay, the infantry had been fleeing along the way, and only 12,000 people were left to enter the mountain. Wang Fuchen was considered to be very capable of commanding troops.

…

At the intersection of Qishui River and its tributaries, three thousand peasant soldiers from Taihu County have built simple camps with earth, wood and stones.

Wang Fuchen came here with 12,000 infantry. He had already run out of food and could only rob the poor people in the mountains along the way. This is the people under Sun Kewang's rule. There is not much rations left. How many kilograms of miscellaneous grains can be eaten by tens of thousands of people?

Seeing the Datong Army camp ahead, Wang Fuchen was frightened and immediately led his troops to run northwest along the tributary valley.

There is a small town in that direction called Datong Town.

In a few hundred years, there will be a Datong Reservoir, but currently it is just a small lake in the mountains.

Li Zheng led his troops to pursue him from the south, one person and two mules, full of trench style.

Along the way, we saw some mountain dwellings. Not only were their food robbed, but their entire families often died tragically. The enemy chose to massacre the village in order to hide their whereabouts.

This is Zhang Xianzhong's territory, and they are slaughtering his own village!

Seeing the miserable conditions of the people along the way, with three villages being massacred, the officers and soldiers of the Datong Army were filled with anger.

The people who were lucky enough to escape saw the Datong soldiers rescuing the villagers, and immediately ran out of their hiding places and took the initiative to serve as guides for the Datong troops in the mountains.

"The enemy is fleeing to the northwest!" Friendly troops in the simple camp reminded.

The guide in the mountain quickly said: "General, we have to chase quickly. After passing Datong Town, there are four passages ahead. It will be difficult to chase!"

"Datong Town?" Li Zheng liked this name.

The mountain guide said: "It is Datong Town, and there is also Datong Lake."

Li Zheng laughed loudly: "This name is auspicious. It should be used by the Datong army to kill the enemy and thieves in Datong Town. The whole army speeds up to catch up!"

The sound of running mules echoed in the valley.

After about two miles of pursuit, two sentinel riders rushed back: "Captain Li, the enemy troops are arrayed in front of us. I guess there are also ambushes in the mountains to the south."

"Slow down and march!" Li Zheng immediately ordered.

Wang Fuchen had no choice, so Li Zheng led his army to chase after him on mules. Unless he goes over the mountain again, there is no chance of getting rid of him.

Before crossing the mountains and ridges, Datong Town must be robbed to supply military supplies!

The place where Wang Fuchen formed his formation was the narrowest part of the valley.

It is bounded by a river to the north and mountains to the south, and the valley in the middle is about 250 meters wide.

Li Zheng brought over 8,000 people, half of whom were firecrackers.

After getting off the mule, take out the cotton armor from the back of the other mule and let the whole army wear it.

Then, they marched forward in orderly steps, and divided two thousand melee soldiers to line up facing south to deal with possible enemy troops in the mountains.

Wang Fuchen also ranked the firecrackers at the front. Their firecrackers were of various types, including firecrackers made by Zhang Xianzhong himself, firecrackers snatched from the hands of officers and soldiers, and the three-eyed blunderbuss used in the early Ming Dynasty.

5,000 miscellaneous fire gun soldiers faced off against 4,000 Datong fire gun soldiers.

The two sides lit the match rope and got closer little by little. The three-eyed blunderbuss had no match rope and had to hold the match stick in hand to move forward.

With a width of 250 meters, it is impossible to row.

The Datong soldiers walked for a while, then stopped moving forward and stayed in a relatively wide area, which was more than a mile wide.

Both sides are facing each other, and neither side is moving forward.

Wang Fuchen was a little anxious. If the Datong army advanced one mile, the ambush troops in the mountains would be able to kill them and surround them. The place where Li Zheng stopped his march was just outside the narrow place. Although he could attack from both sides, the encirclement was impossible.

Moreover, the Datong army has one man and two mules, and the other mule is holding grain. They can stand here for a whole day.

However, Wang Fuchen's subordinates were all hungry. They only had one meal yesterday and only one meal today. The battle must be resolved as soon as possible before you can go to Datong Town ahead to grab food!

In desperation, Wang Fuchen could only take the initiative to advance to a wider area of ​​​​the river valley, where both sides' military formations could be deployed smoothly.

"Raise the gun!"

At about fifty paces, Wang Fuchen ordered three shots.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Zhang Xianzhong's elite firecrackers, nearly 5,000 strong, began shooting.

No one fell.

At such a long distance, let alone being unable to aim, even if it does hit, it is impossible to penetrate the cotton armor defense.

Wang Fuchen could only let his soldiers reload ammunition on the spot, but the Datong army did not move at all, waiting for the enemy to slowly reload.

After reloading, Wang Fuchen ordered to advance and stopped at about forty steps. At this distance, it could barely penetrate the cotton armor, and Zhang Xianzhong's fire rifle soldiers did not dare to get closer.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Another three shots.

Seventeen Datong Fire Gun soldiers fell, and two more fell to their feet and got up on the spot. The cotton armor saved their lives.

"go ahead!"

Li Zheng drew his sword and the whole army stepped forward slowly.

The enemy firecrackers hurriedly reloaded their ammunition, but most of them were in a hurry. Wang Fuchen used his order flag to direct the ambush troops to attack the flanks.

Thousands of ambush soldiers came out of the mountains, including a thousand Datong Fire Gun soldiers, who all turned to the left and trotted into formation on their flanks.

The three thousand Datong Fire Gun soldiers in front are still advancing slowly.

Thirty steps away, he still didn't stop and actually wanted to move forward to shoot.

On Wang Fuchen's side, someone reloaded their ammunition and could no longer obey military orders and began to shoot sporadically at the Datong Army.

"Bang bang bang!"

Datong fire gun soldiers, another person fell.

Finally, when the two sides were twenty steps away, the Datong fire gun soldiers raised their guns in unison.

"put!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Nearly three thousand people, twenty steps away, quickly completed three shots.

Zhang Xianzhong's elite fire rifle soldiers fell like wheat. Wang Fuchen was so frightened that before he could react, all his firecrackers collapsed.

"Fire the bayonet!"

The Datong fire gunners mounted their bayonets and charged towards the enemy. At this time, not only the enemy's fire rifle soldiers fled, but also the melee infantry collapsed. Wang Fuchen's supervising team also collapsed together.

The flanks also began to engage.

One thousand Datong fire gun soldiers, also at a distance of twenty steps, defeated two groups of enemies in one volley.

The melee infantry immediately stepped forward, and the fire rifle soldiers retreated to fix their bayonets.

The enemy troops on the flanks rushed halfway and found that their frontal battlefield was shattered. They immediately turned around and fled in fright. Thousands of people rushed into the mountains in chaos.

It was very wise for Zhang Xianzhong to give up the infantry. Morale was already low. Who the hell could withstand the Datong fire gun soldiers who only fired after twenty steps?

"Chase the enemy! Blow the charge horn!"

"Dudududududadudududu..."

Chasing them all over the mountains and plains, Zhang Xianzhong's troops were already in disarray, but the Datong soldiers pursued them in groups of five.

There were mountains everywhere, and it was difficult to annihilate them all. In the end, more than 3,000 enemies were lost.

These fleeing enemies have lost their organization and can no longer gather into an army. Most of them will become bandits in dozens or hundreds of people.

After Zhao Han took over the territory, he had to organize farmers and soldiers to suppress the bandits, otherwise the banditry would be very serious.

The enemy commander Wang Fuchen was chased away by Li Zheng. After running for several miles, he collapsed from exhaustion. He was finally captured alive by Datong soldiers by Datong Lake in the west of Datong Town.

At this point, Zhang Xianzhong's Southern Route Army infantry had been wiped out, leaving only the cavalry and cavalry.

Those guys followed the river valley and looted all the way to Yingshan County.

Yingshan County is located in the Dabie Mountains and is also Zhang Xianzhong's territory. The cavalry and horse teams can replenish food and grass here, and then continue to flee along the river valley.

It is difficult for Zhao Han to catch up, and it is difficult for Zhang Xianzhong to get out of the mountain.

Zhao Han simply didn't bother to worry about it anymore. He dispatched civilians to build temporary camps at various major mountain exits to block the roads, and then asked farmers and soldiers to garrison the camps.

As for the main force, fully attack the cities along the way.

When the news of Zhang Xianzhong's defeat came, almost all the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Huangzhou Prefecture turned their backs.

Since you can't catch Zhang Xianzhong, just take over all his territory!

(Please give me a monthly ticket.)