After three days of siege by the Qing army, the situation took a turn for the worse. On the same day, the wind howled and sleet, the momentum was extraordinary, and the foundation of the corner tower in front of Chaigou Fort was in disrepair for a long time, and the rammed earth was cracked. The corner tower and the main gate suddenly collapsed, and many soldiers avoided it, and the bricks and soil were smashed and buried, the mud flow was raging, and a huge gap appeared in the fort wall.

The loud sound of the collapse of the corner tower attracted the attention of the Qing army, and the chief general of the Qing army, the red flag Manchuria Gushan Ezhen Yechen, asked the Han army with the red flag to lead the troops to attack in the rain, and asked the blue flag Manchuria Gushan Ezhen Bahana to respond.

There were two deep trenches dug around the perimeter of Chaigou Fort, but after days of heavy rain, the rainwater carried soil into the trench, filling most of the originally narrow and dangerous deep trenches. The reason why Sun Chuanting led the army to sit in Chaigou Fort was not what he wanted, but because of this, he had to retreat and wait for reinforcements because he had repeatedly defeated the Qing army in several field battles before. The Ming army guarding the fort was frightened, and saw that most of the Qing troops lacked the strength to fight. The Qing army advanced swiftly, either erecting bamboo ladders or crawling and climbing, and passed through the two deep trenches with almost no effort.

At that time, Sun Chuanting learned of the change at the main gate, and ordered He Zhen, the chief soldier of the standard battalion, to make every effort to clean up the rubble and redundant soil and repair the wall of the main gate. The Qing army was approaching suddenly, the Ming army was afraid, and there was chaos when marching on the army. He Zhen tried his best to suppress it, picked up his bow and crossbows, and shot thousands of people indiscriminately to block the Qing army's offensive. Shi Tingzhu ordered hundreds of rattan players to advance with arrows in front of the vanguard, these rattan players not only had a pair of rattan cards with unusual tenacity, but also had fine armor and body protection, and they did not suffer much damage in the face of the Ming army who panicked and hastily released arrows in the center of the heavy rain, and they did not stop moving. Seeing that the Qing army was about to take Bobao City, Hao Mingluan was ordered to lead 500 horse troops from the side gate to go out, and rushed straight to the flank of the Qing army regardless of his body, and cut off the front and rear lines of the Qing army that had stretched a long time on the spot.

Seeing the situation, Shi Tingzhu was afraid that the lone army of the forward would be outnumbered, so he hurriedly reduced his forces and waved his flag to ask for support. Bahana, who was in the back row, quickly divided into two lines and outflanked Hao Mingluan's headquarters from the left and right flanks. Hao Mingluan took the lead, led the heavy cavalry around, and saw that the Qing army was well-armed, and did not dare to fight in battle as in the past, but kept interspersing and repeatedly pulling the Qing army's formation. If it is from noon to sunset, although Hao Mingluan and hundreds of horsemen tried their best to move, but they were besieged by the Qing army on all sides, they still inevitably suffered heavy damage, the horse army was not more than 400, and Hao Mingluan himself was also wounded by more than 10 wounds.

Fortunately, the Ming army in the fort took advantage of this time to use the various chariots and wagons of the army as a temporary fence to fill the gap in the fort wall, and Sun Chuanting also concentrated Bai Guangen, Sun Shoufa and other main forces to hold on to the weak points, Hao Mingluan saw the fort in the superintendent Daxu wavering, only to clash with the remaining more than 300 horsemen, to return to the fort to count, the survivors are only in their early 300s.

"Overseer!" Hao Mingluan was covered in blood and cement water, his face was dirty like mud, and he knelt down on one knee, "Chaigou Fort is in danger, and it is not a long-term plan to sit and defend it, or quickly ask for reinforcements, or quickly fight for your life to break through, you must choose one of the two!" ”

Niu Chenghu, the chief soldier of Lintao, said with a worried face: "The previous battles were unfavorable, and it was really a good idea to take the initiative to go out of the city to fight with tired soldiers." ”

Qiao Yuanzhu, the supervising army, said: "What General Hao said is that our army cannot sit still. The trenches outside the city have been filled in by the Tartars, and the main gate is also damaged, even if the ground is wet and the road is slippery, the Tartars attack the fort is also on the ground, and our army's defensive position does not exist. And the fort is ugly, and the grain and grass are invaded by wind and rain, and there are many damp rots. ”

Sun Chuanting was very haggard, his two black bags were so big that they seemed to be hanging on his cheeks, and he said slowly: "Didn't General Hao say that Hou Dagui's army was already on the way, where is it now?" ”

Niu Chenghu said unhappily: "I'm just afraid of blowing nonsense, exaggerating!" ”

As soon as Hao Mingluan moved, the sewage seeped into the armor, and the pain was abnormal at the end of the wound, but he secretly endured it, and instead said: "Supervisor, it's better to let your subordinates go out of the city again and ask for reinforcements!" ”

Sun Chuanting was stunned for a moment and said, "You are only fighting fiercely, how can you move again." ”

Hao Mingluan said: "It's about the safety of our army, and I don't hesitate!" ”

Niu Chenghu blew his beard, squinted at him and said: "Your horse army is the most elite in the army, and it can penetrate the Tartar defense line, you shouldn't see the situation badly, and you want to leave us behind, right?" ”

Hao Mingluan was furious when he heard this, Huo Ran got up, clenched his fists and glared: "If I have the slightest intention of stealing my life, I will be told to die in the hands of the Tartars!" ”

Sun Chuanting said to persuade: "There is no need to argue, General Hao's loyalty can be seen every day, and the enemy is present, so don't be suspicious of each other." He also said, "General Hao Shen has not stopped saddle his horse and has to go out of the fort again, and the official can't bear it, but in the current army, there is only one person who can go out and communicate with the outside world, and this great task has to fall on General Hao. After speaking, he sighed again and again.

Hao Mingluan heard Sun Chuanting's promise, and said resolutely: "My subordinates will not fail in their mission when they go." Whether you want to get reinforcements or not, you will definitely come back and live and die with the overseer and all the soldiers! ”

Qiao Yuanzhu said: "General Hao is injured, it is better for the doctor to give some knives and guns first." ”

Hao Mingluan waved his hand and said loudly: "No need, the wound is painful, just to clear your mind!" When the words fell, he lifted his armor pendulum, did not look back, and strode away.

When they got outside, all the more than 300 horsemen in the department stood and waited silently in the rain. After nine deaths and deaths, although they were extremely tired physically and mentally, and many were wounded, none of them rested without permission.

Hao Mingluan looked at the brothers with resolute faces, and suddenly released all of them at this moment. His eyes were wet and red, hot tears rolled down with mixed rain, and he tried his best to shout: "Brothers, go with Hao again!" ”

No one responded, and there was no other sound in the courtyard full of people except the sound of wind and rain.

"Brothers, go with Hao again!"

Hao Mingluan raised his arms and shouted again, and his loud voice echoed in the courtyard, but still no one answered.

"Brothers, go with Hao again!"

Hao Mingluan burst into tears like rain, regardless of his identity and status, he knelt in the water, the water splashed everywhere, and the rain fell.

The rain continued to rain and the rain did not stop. Hao Mingluan knelt for a moment, then suddenly got up from the bath, stopped talking, turned around and walked out of the courtyard. As soon as he took a few steps, he could only hear the clanging of the armor behind him, like a surge, and the silent warriors all followed, without hesitation.

Hao Mingluan went out from the side door, and at this time, outside the main gate, Shi Tingzhu was commanding the Qing army to attack the main gate of Chaigou Fort again. Holding the forehead and looking at it from afar, the Ming and Qing sides inside and outside the main gate are in a scuffle, and it is difficult to distinguish the battle situation, only the shouting and killing that rushes to the sky, which is more shocking than the storm and the rumbling thunder in the sky.

"Hold on!"

Hao Mingluan prayed secretly, carried a tiger-headed gun, and led the crowd to gallop.

Outside the fort, the Qing army found that Hao Mingluan's troops were prominent, and hurriedly divided hundreds of horsemen to chase him. Hao Mingluan ran for more than ten miles, and when he saw that the pursuers were still reluctant, he said in his heart: "I am tired of the enemy, if I don't break my wrist, I'm afraid that it will be difficult to get out in the end." ”

Thinking of this, without hesitation, he ordered his followers to summon the flag in the turbulence.

There were no superfluous orders, and among the more than 300 horsemen who ran with them, dozens of horsemen immediately spontaneously broke away from various positions of the large army, stopped their horses, and gathered in the rear. Hao Mingluan looked back through the wind and rain, they temporarily formed a small formation, and began to gallop in the opposite direction, and met the Qing army and horse army that were chasing after without hesitation.

After more than ten miles, the Qing army in the rear reappeared. Hao Mingluan ordered the flag to be raised again, and dozens of riders came out and broke off in reverse.

This was done several times before and after, until the sky was dark, and there were only more than ten riders left by Hao Mingluan's side. After several confirmations, there was no trace of the Qing soldiers behind him. The wind and rain are piercing, Hao Mingluan's eyes are as cold as a knife, all thoughts in his heart are now gone, and there is only one thought left to guide him to continue to move forward like an iron man without a trace of emotion - to see Hou Dagui.

In the evening, Hao Mingluan and others rode to Wanquan Left Guard, where they took advantage of the night to make a while. However, unexpectedly, there was a large number of Qing troops here to clear the road and clear the road, and the vigilance was extremely strict, which was quite abnormal.

Hao Mingluan arrested a petty officer who claimed to be a hundred generals under Tang Tong in Xuanfu Town, and asked why. The general said: "I don't know why, I suddenly received a military order from Xuanfu Town in the evening, and the villain didn't know the inside story, so he just acted according to the order." ”

Hao Mingluan then asked a few more questions, and learned that it was not only Tang Tong who was stationed in Xuanfu Town, but also Wu Sanguijun. You Hu guessed from this: "There will be a large army crossing the Qingdao in advance, could it be that Wu Sangui is going to help the Tartars fight Chaigou Fort?" ”

In order to survive, Mr. Bai shook his head and said: "It shouldn't be, Wu Sangui led the army to and from Chaigou Fort and Xuanfu Town before, and I have never seen Wanquan Zuowei so vigilant." "What's more, "The search around here is very tight, if you don't dodge in time, I'm afraid that it will be difficult to get out of the sentry again." ”

Although Hao Mingluan felt that the situation of Wanquan Zuowei was very strange, because he had important things to do, he remembered the tenacity of the Qing army's long-distance pursuit, and did not want to stay longer and get into trouble, so he went south overnight and went straight to Huai'anwei.

Crossing the boundary river in the south of Wanquan Zuowei, Hao Mingluan and the others rode along the avenue and quickly stopped the patrolling soldiers. Hao Mingluan revealed his identity, and then was taken to Huai'an Acropolis. Zheng Shixin, who was in charge of guarding the city, recognized Hao Mingluan, and hurriedly welcomed him into the city. ”

Hao Mingluan was exhausted, and only shook his head and said, "Take me to see Manager Hou." ”

Zheng Shixin knew that the matter was urgent, so he didn't dare to delay, so he took Hao Mingluan, who was wet all over his body, to see Hou Dagui, and said casually on the road: "There are a lot of people who come to see Mr. Hou today. ”

Hao Mingluan was surprised: "Who else?" ”

"The envoy of the Han system, the envoy of Wu Sangui."

Hao Mingluan was thoughtful, hung his head silently, and when he arrived in the hall, he saw that Hou Dagui was surrounded by many people, and everyone was gossiping, so noisy.

Hou Dagui saw Hao Mingluan, left the others, and walked over and said, "You are here, but Chaigou Fort knows it?" ”

Hao Mingluan let out a long breath and said: "The battle situation is unfavorable, and if you don't rescue it, you will not be able to escape the end of the destruction of the fort." ”

Without waiting for Hou Dagui to speak, Wu Sangui's envoy Wu Guogui said: "Listen to Mr. Hou, it's not like I deliberately bluffed you, right?" The parties in Chaigou Fort are here, and the truth and falsehood are clear at a glance. ”

Hao Mingluan looked up at Wu Guogui suspiciously, and Hou Dagui said in a low voice: "This is Wu Sangui's messenger." Wu Sangui intended to do it anyway, and specially asked me to work together to rescue Chaigou Fort, he said that Chaigou Fort was in critical condition, but is there such a thing? ”

"Yes, the fort wall is broken, the Tartars are fierce, Sun Chuanting's army only relies on a breath to hang, if you don't shoot as soon as possible, you will not escape." Hao Mingluan said truthfully, and asked, "Have the reinforcements from Datong Mansion arrived?" ”

Hou Dagui pointed to a person not far away and said, "This is Han Gon's envoy." The reinforcements of Datong Mansion are divided into two groups, and the front army of 5,000 horsemen is fast, and it has arrived in the west city of Shunshengchuan, but I want to arrive within two days. The rear army has no battalion to be slower, and it is still in Guangling County. ”

Hao Mingluan said: "What did Wu Sangui's envoy say? ”

He said that in order to storm Chaigou Fort, the Tartar chief Yechen would transfer all the soldiers and horses stationed in the mountains south of Chaigou Fort to the front line in the past two days to strengthen the strength of the siege army. The south is empty, and it is a good time to take advantage of it. Our army attacked, Wu Sangui will also be in Xuanfu town to hold Tang Tong hostage to echo the incident, then the two armies will go to Chaigou Fort, and Sun Chuanting will be able to break the Tartars and restore Xuanfu in one fell swoop. Hou Dagui said solemnly, "Wu Sangui's envoy claimed that Chaigou Fort was about to be defended, and I also said that he told me, you came just in time." ”

At this time, Min Yiqi came up and said: "Even so, Wu Sangui is capricious, and his heart is unpredictable, so he must be guarded against. ”

Hou Dagui nodded and said: "I'm also worried about this matter, but it's better to be in a hurry, Han Gon's 5,000 horse army is about to arrive, but it is a big guarantee." He continued, "Han Gon's soldiers and horses are only two days away from me, even if I am conspired against in front, with him in the back, I will suffer a small loss at most." ”

Hao Mingluan gasped slightly: "What does Manager Hou mean?" ”

Hou Dagui said: "Since the battle situation in Chaigou Fort is urgent, no matter whether Wu Sangui has good intentions or evil thoughts, I have to give it a try." Although Sun Chuanting hates it, it is a great loss to me to sit back and watch his army annihilated. ”

Min Yiqi said: "Why don't you wait for the reinforcements from Datong Mansion to arrive and then save them?" ”

Hou Dagui shook his head and said: "Wu Guogui said, the general attack of the Tartars on Chaigou Fort will be in these two days, two days, don't say that the gang with short legs in the Wuqi camp will not be able to catch up when Han Gon and them arrive." You see that the rain has suddenly become much lighter today, which is conducive to the Tartars attacking the city, and if it is postponed, I am afraid that I will miss the opportunity. ”

Hao Mingluan sighed and said: "What Chief Hou said is right, according to this situation, if there are no troops today and tomorrow, Chaigou Fort will be difficult to save." ”

Min Yiqi said: "For Sun Chuanting, is it worth it to treat our army as a gambling chip?" ”

Hou Dagui snorted coldly: "You know a fart, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." If this battle is to be won, not only can it save Sun Chuanting, but it can also expel the Tartars, killing two birds with one stone, and it is also excellent for the overall situation. ”

Min Yiqi frowned, glanced at Wu Guogui, who was calm and relaxed, and said secretly: "The success or failure this time is with Wu Sangui, if Wu Sangui has a bad stomach......

Hou Dagui interjected: "The lord has said many times that you will not fight a battle that you are not sure of. I dare to take risks, and I have a back hand to keep. Han's command of the 5,000 horse army is not an ornament, with their palace, even if Wu Sangui unites with the Tartars to bait me to earn me, I can get out of the way. Then added, "Besides, I don't think Wu Sangui may be as unbearable as you think, maybe people are enthusiastic, and they are waiting for a shame to serve the country." ”

When Min Yiqi heard this, he pursed his lips and was silent. The Zhao battalion was dominated by infantry, and although the Ma army was small, it was by no means unimportant. On the contrary, Han Gon's 5,000 horse army was the most brave and good at fighting among the tens of thousands of soldiers in the Zhao Battalion, and they were actually the elite of the well-trained elite who were collected from all over the world. Looking at the generals who led the troops, including Han Gon, Zhou Yuji, Ma Guangchun, Lu Yue, He Renji, etc., are also dragons and tigers in individuals, and their wisdom and courage are extraordinary. Zhao Dangshi dared to let Hou Dagui only bring more than 10,000 people to Shanxi, and the confidence given by this horse army was particularly important.

Hao Mingluan has fought many times with the Shun army with the horse army as the priority, according to the facts, Han Gon's combat effectiveness of these five thousand horsemen is comparable to the most peak of the Shun army's old elite cavalry, Hou Dagui used them as a backing, even if there are heavenly soldiers and generals in front of him, it is indeed not an exaggeration to say that he can retreat with his whole body.

Hou Dagui saw that Hao Mingluan and Min Yiqi were no longer talking, his heart was settled, and he turned to Wu Guogui, who was being left out in the cold and was embarrassed, and said, "I think about it." ”

Wu Guogui listened, and said with a relieved face: "Chief Hou, please command." ”

"You hurry back and the king of Hexi and say, tomorrow, your two armies will join hands in Chaigou Fort!" Hou Dagui is full of vigor and momentum, "Restore the Xuanfu and lay my Ming spirit, just tomorrow!" ”