I

Lu Xiangsheng looked at the earthen fortress in front and said with emotion: "The enemy general is well guarded, so we should not take it lightly."

Northeast of Phoenix City, the 600-meter-wide passage has been blocked by an earthen fortress built by Naodai. Moreover, it doesn't look very new, it was built at least a year ago.

This earthen fortress is actually a fucking bastion, completely imitating the Datong Army bastion in Gaizhou!

Therefore, digging trenches and attacking Phoenix City turned into digging trenches and attacking bastions, which could delay Lu Xiangsheng for at least a month.

One month, plus the previous consumption, was enough for Dorgon to send reinforcements.

The problem is, Dorgon also has the Datong Army, and the Tatars in Phoenix City are destined to be unable to wait for reinforcements.

After camping and digging for a day on the shore, five hundred warriors selected by Naodai also went into the mountains to the north to attack at night.

The officer who led the night attack was named Zhang Fengyan. He spoke Chinese and had a Han name. He was a man farming and a woman weaving, just like the Han people. But his ancestors were from the Jurchen tribe, but they were just Chineseized.

If Nurhaci hadn't raised an army, these Liaodong Chinese Jurchens would have become real Han people in another hundred or two hundred years.

Naodai was very afraid of the Datong Army's hot air balloons, so he only let Zhang Fengyan set off after dark.

When these Tatars climbed over the mountains and reached the side and rear of Lu Xiangsheng's branch camp, it was almost dawn, which happened to be the time when the soldiers were sleeping the most.

Zhang Fengyan squatted in the thorn bushes, quickly saw the direction, and moved forward with his belt.

But not far down the mountain, Zhang Fengyan secretly thought something was wrong.

In order to prevent night attacks, Lu Xiangsheng actually burned the weeds and trees within a mile of the camp, burning those that could be burned and cutting down all those that could not be burned.

Zhang Fengyan could not hide, so he could only keep his body low and lead his troops to trot towards the camp.

About ten meters away from the camp, Zhang Fengyan felt like he had touched something.

"Ding-dang-dang-dang..."

In the silent dawn, a clear bell suddenly rang.

Zhang Fengyan immersed himself in checking and found a hemp rope dyed black at his calf. Moreover, there is more than one such hemp rope, which is circled around the camp, and there are small bells scattered on the hemp rope.

The Datong sentry who couldn't help but fight with his eyelids was instantly awakened by the ringing of the bell. He vaguely saw someone outside the camp, and he immediately blew the copper whistle hanging on his chest.

"Quickly retreat!"

Zhang Fengyan turned around and ran away. If it were later, it would be too late.

Half of the dragoons of the Fourteenth Division are camped here, and the cavalry commander Lin Zhidong is also there.

Lin Zhidong is from Huating County, Jiangsu Province. He was supposed to be admitted to the Wu Jinshi in the 16th year of Chongzhen, but he was the only Wu Jinshi in that class who had civil status - other Wu Jinshi had either honorary status, military status, or Jinyiwei status, and A craftsman from a livestock farm.

But in this time and space, there is no sixteen years of Chongzhen.

Lin Zhidong was born into a wealthy family in Huating. His grandfather was a Imperial College student and his father was admitted as a scholar. When the new dynasty of Datong was established and his family asked him to be a civil servant, Lin Zhidong could only obey his father's orders and even rose to the position of chief of the civil service department of Huating County.

Hearing that the Datong Army was expanding and recruiting people skilled in bow and horse, Lin Zhidong secretly signed up to join the army.

The chief of the county government department came to be a recruit, the only one in the entire army. Moreover, he is extremely powerful, skilled in bow and horse, and well versed in military literature. Lin Zhidong certainly gained attention, and in just two years, he was promoted to the cavalry commander of the 14th Division.

"The whole army mounts up!"

The newly built camp did not have a special stable for horses, and all the cavalry slept with their horses.

Upon hearing the warning, Lin Zhidong quickly led the cavalry out. The infantry had already removed the hemp rope outside the camp.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

The sound of horse hooves behind him made Zhang Fengyan feel desperate. There was no way two legs could outrun four legs.

Although he was a dragoon general, Lin Zhidong brought a bow.

When the soldiers under his command were riding and firing guns, Lin Zhidong drew his bow and shot an arrow, accurately hitting a Tatar in the back.

After the other dragoons fired, they immediately withdrew their blazing guns and drew their sabers to pursue them.

Lin Zhidong drew his bow and nocked an arrow again, and shot a second arrow, knocking down another Tatar again.

It can only be said that the archery skills are amazing. On the bumpy horseback at high speed, two consecutive arrows hit the running enemy, and the moonlight at dawn was very dark. He is worthy of being the only Wu Jinshi with ethnic origin in the 16th year of Chongzhen.

Seeing that he could not escape, Zhang Fengyan planned to fight stubbornly, but he could not gather his troops at all.

Although these Jurchen soldiers who were incorporated into the Han army banner fought bravely, they would definitely run away if they were destined to die, because there was still a chance of survival if they ran away.

Zhang Fengyan picked up his bow and arrow, then put it down, and actually knelt down and surrendered. He was the only one among the five hundred soldiers who attacked at night to surrender.

From his grandfather's generation, he had farmed land for the Ming Dynasty border troops in Phoenix City. His father also became the servant of the Phoenix City Guards. In the face of the Manchu attack, it was the Ming Dynasty general who surrendered. Zhang Fengyan's father still wanted to resist the Tatars.

Later, Mao Wenlong sent an envoy over to incite the defenders of Phoenix City to rebel against the Qing Dynasty. Zhang Fengyan's father was actually killed by Han soldiers as a rebel.

Although Zhang Fengyan also fought with the army, he always invaded North Korea and then returned to Phoenix City to station.

This was his first time fighting with the Han army.

As a Chinese Jurchen, to be honest, he has a greater sense of belonging to the Han people. Before the Manchus came to power, he, a Chinese Jurchen, despised the Jianzhou Jurchens very much, thinking that they were just a bunch of disgusting barbarians.

Hundreds of Tatars were fleeing, and no one paid attention to Zhang Fengyan who was kneeling on the ground.

After shooting the third Tatar to death, Lin Zhidong drew his sword and slashed, knocking down several Tatars in front of him one after another.

This was a battle without any suspense. Five hundred Tatars came to attack at night, but only about 20 of them escaped into the mountains. The rest were all captured or killed.

As the commander of the night attack, Zhang Fengyan was taken to see Lu Xiangsheng.

Before Lu Xiangsheng could ask questions, Zhang Fengyan kowtowed and said, "General, I have never killed a Han, not even a single Han."

"Oh?" Lu Xiangsheng was a little interested.

Zhang Fengyan said: "General Qizhen, the villain's grandfather, worked as a tenant for hundreds of Han army households in Phoenix City. The villain's father worked as a personal soldier for the Han army general in Phoenix City. When the Tatars came to kill, the general surrendered, but he did not After fighting in battles. Later, the general rebelled against the Qing Dynasty and defected to the Ming Dynasty. The villain's father was also killed by the Tatars. It was later found to be a manslaughter because the villain's father was a Jurchen, so the villain was incorporated into the Han army banner."

Lu Xiangsheng asked: "Since he was incorporated into the Han army flag, why do you say you have never killed Han people?"

Zhang Fengyan replied: "The villain's army has always been stationed in Phoenix City and only accompanied the army when it attacked North Korea. The villain... the villain..."

Lu Xiangsheng scolded: "If you have something to say, just say it, don't hesitate!"

"The villain has important military information to tell you!" Zhang Fengyan said.

"Speak." Lu Xiangsheng said.

Zhang Fengyan said: "The defenders in Phoenix City are divided into Han Army Banners and Manchurian Banners. Most of the Han Army Banners are locals, while the Manchurian Banners are outsiders who have been transferred to garrison in recent years."

Lu Xiangsheng felt that this information was useful and asked: "Is there a conflict between the Han military flag and the Manchurian flag?"

Zhang Fengyan said: "The Han Army Banner in Phoenix City has lived around Phoenix City for generations. In the past, I have always looked down on the Jurchens in Jianzhou. They were later classified as Han Army Banners and won the Han people's land in Phoenix City, and then they sincerely joined the Manchu Tatars. But Datong After the army arrived in Liaodong, Dorgon felt that Phoenix City had few soldiers, so he sent hundreds more Manchurian flag soldiers."

Lu Xiangsheng probably understood, and smiled and said: "You continue."

Zhang Fengyan said: "The local Han military banners originally occupied the most fertile land. After the Manchurian banners came over, they also brought their families. Especially the general Naudai, who is Nurhaci's nephew, and his Manchurian soldiers also Take our Han Army Banner seriously. So, the newly arrived Manchurian Banner occupied the fertile land of the local Han Army Banner, forcing the Han Army Banner to reclaim other land. The local Han Army Banner has always been resentful!"

"You Jurchens under the Han Army Banner can all speak Chinese?" Lu Xiangsheng asked.

Zhang Fengyan replied: "Not only can they speak Chinese, but they also have Chinese names and surnames. The Jurchens in Jianzhou are barbarians, but the Jurchens in Phoenix City have long admired Wang Hua. The Jurchens in Jianzhou live outside the Great Wall of Liaodong, and the Jurchens in Phoenix City live in Within the Great Wall of Liaodong. We, the Jurchens of Phoenix City, are also the common people of the Emperor of Heaven, and we must pay food to the Han military officer’s government!"

Cultural communication has such a use.

More than two hundred years of assimilation have given the Phoenix Jurchens a sense of superiority and looked down on the Jianzhou Jurchens who fished and hunted in the mountains.

If the Manchu Qing Dynasty continues to gain power, the Phoenix Jurchens will naturally turn to the Jianzhou Jurchens and be proud of their Jurchen identity. Once the Qing Dynasty showed signs of decline, the Phoenix Jurchens, who were obviously Chinese, would feel that they should actually be Han Chinese.

Zhang Fengyan raised his head and looked at Lu Xiangsheng: "If the general trusts the villain, he can let the villain go back. The villain pretended to have escaped and secretly contacted the Han Army Flag in Phoenix City to rebel!"

"Are they willing?" Lu Xiangsheng asked.

Zhang Fengyan said: "Without reinforcements, Phoenix City will definitely fall. As long as the general promises that after the Han military flags in the city rebel and dedicated to the city, he will not care about the past and leave some land for us to cultivate, and most of the Han military flags will not be given to the Tatars." Work hard. Because we people are not from the same race as the Jianzhou Jurchens!"

Lu Xiangsheng thought for a moment, then nodded and said: "Okay, you can go back."

He was just an officer under the banner of the Tatar Han Army, so it was naturally the best to achieve miraculous results. It didn't matter if he took advantage of the opportunity to escape.

Lu Xiangsheng had already made plans for a long-term siege. He would first dig trenches and attack the bastion, and then dig trenches and attack Phoenix City. The shortest time is three months, and if something goes wrong, it will take at least half a year.

But it was said that Zhang Fengyan was let go in the evening and he ran all the way into the mountains. After crossing the mountain, he picked up a stone and threw it at his calf.

He didn't break the bone once, but he endured the pain and smashed it a second time, breaking the calf bone before stopping.

He slid down the hillside, getting very embarrassed along the way and all his clothes were scratched. Arriving at the foot of the mountain, he climbed hard toward Phoenix City, only to be discovered by the defenders the next morning.

While the doctor was setting Zhang Fengyan's bones, General Naodai came over to ask questions in person.

Zhang Fengyan struggled to get up, but lay down in pain and said: "The Nanmanzi are cunning and have set up many ropes with bells outside the camp. If they accidentally touch the ropes, the bells will ring. Our Eight Banners warriors who attacked at night touched the enemy camp. He was discovered on the outskirts, and then he was chased by the cavalry. I finally escaped back to the mountains, but accidentally broke my leg, so I just escaped now."

Naodai asked some more details and then said: "You are recovering from your injuries. You will be of great use when your injuries are healed."