Early the next morning, Jiang Chuan left Liaoyang City with his men and horses, escorting more than 5,000 people who were willing to follow him back.

There are forty or fifty thousand people in Liaoyang City, Jiang Chuan thought that at least 10,000 people would be willing to go with him, but he didn't expect that the night passed, but only half of the expected number of people, which made him a little disappointed, it seems that people can't think about it, and after a night, many people's impulses retreated.

However, it is not bad to have these more than 5,000 people, and contentment is the right way. At this time, it is no longer possible to forcibly escort by force, after all, he only established a lofty image in front of the people of the city yesterday.

Just in case, Jiang Chuan sent someone back to Erlong Valley early to inform Ran Wu and asked him to send someone to respond, after all, there were still so many people.

Of course, the daughter born to Huang Taiji and Concubine Zhuang of Yongfu Palace, that is, Princess Gulun Yongmu of the Qing Kingdom, was also packed and brought back by him.

As for how to deal with her, there is no good way to do it for the time being, so let's bring it back first.

Fortunately, a lot of horses were seized from the Qing barracks this time, whether they were used for riding or pulling carts, which made the people much faster, so they rushed back to Erlong Valley from Liaoyang, and if they were fast, they could also rush back when the moon was in the sky.

……………………

It is said that Dolgon did not see Tong Yangxing escorting grain and grass and red-coated cannons for a long time, and the men and horses sent to meet the investigation also came to report that they had not seen the baggage army, which made Dolgon already suspicious.

"If you look again, you can't find the baggage team, and you won't be allowed to come back." Dorgon frowned and gave the order to die.

This is the first time he has led the troops as the commander, and he was originally full of ambition and interest, thinking that he could take Datong City in one fell swoop, add a strong stroke to his meritorious book, and let those guys in the government and the opposition who have a lot of whispers about their own troops shut up one by one, and let their emperor brother see his true ability.

But he didn't expect that in his eyes, Datong City, which was already precarious and vulnerable, was so tricky, and five or six thousand people had died but still didn't move, which made him very annoyed. Coupled with the fact that Hauge's annoying guy was blocking himself next to him, this was even more annoying.

At this time, Tong Yangxing, who led the rear team to escort the red-clothed cannon and the heavy food and grass, was delayed, which made the anger in his heart even more on the verge of exploding.

He knew that Tong Yangxing had always been close to Haoge, and he also knew that his emperor's elder brother Huang Taiji was going to marry the fourth daughter of the emperor, Princess Gulun Yongmu, to Tong Yangxing's son, and wanted to entrap this Han general who had always done his best.

So he instinctively had some disgust with Tong Yang's sexuality, so this time he deliberately asked his Royal Highness to escort the grain and grass baggage, but he didn't expect this guy to be angry and delayed, just giving himself a good opportunity to punish the crime.

"Hmph, the Han people have a saying, it doesn't take much effort to step on the iron shoes and find nowhere to get it, since you take the initiative to send it to death, then this king will fulfill you, the Han slave, and it is a capital crime to delay the military aircraft, I see what Haoge will give you to exonerate when the time comes." Thinking of this, a grim smile appeared on Dolgon's lips.

Dolgon, who was bent on punishing the crime, also ordered the siege to be suspended, so that the Han Eight Banner soldiers in charge of the siege also breathed a sigh of relief, and more than 10,000 people had already lost more than half, and if they continued to attack, then the 10,000 people would be over.

At this time, the Ming army on the head of the city was also relieved, and the busy figures on the city gathered the corpses of the soldiers who died in the battle and carried them down the city, and replenished various equipment and materials to defend the city, and batches of new soldiers were replenished to the city.

A tall general, with a long slanted scar on his face, a leopard's head with ringed eyes, and a thick beard on his chin, was wearing a military uniform and patrolling the city with several subordinates, several of whom were stained with blood, obviously all of whom belonged to the enemy.

"The Tartar has finally retreated, and it seems that he has suffered a lot." Behind the general, an adjutant general looked at the Qing soldiers in the distance, and said with a little joy.

"Don't rejoice too soon, this is just a tentative attack by the Tartars. Dolgon, though a man of self-conceit, was not incompetent. In the early years, he followed the old wild boar Popi to fight everywhere, and he was not a reckless person. ”

The general who walked in the front shook his head and said in a solemn tone.

He is Li Yongnian, the general soldier of Datong who guards Datong, and he is one of the few generals in the Ming Dynasty who dares to fight.

It's a pity that for so many years, subject to the limitations of national strength, he can only maintain Datong without losing enough troops, and he no longer has the confidence to dare to go out of the city to fight.

If nothing else, let's talk about field battles, the Tartars are often cavalry who come and go like the wind, and if you want to deal with the Tartars, you must also be cavalry against cavalry.

But now that the Ming Dynasty has been weakened for a long time, and Mongolia has returned to the Qing Dynasty, the source of this war horse has been cut off, so the original little cavalry has also died of aging and injury due to the war horse, and finally withered, basically reduced to infantry.

The remaining horses were only for high-ranking generals and scouts.

So it's good to be able to barely maintain Datong.

"Lord Commander, are you saying that this is not the real attack of the Tartars? In the past two days, the Tartars have attacked the city like crazy, and they have been flooded into the city by the Tartar soldiers several times. Do the Tartars have the strength to launch a more fierce offensive than this? ”

The lieutenant behind him said puzzled.

"That's right, you forgot that the Tartars have rarely attacked a city as mighty as this one before. They often use the advantage of field warfare to defeat our Ming army, and then take advantage of the situation to raid or persuade them to surrender. But this time, the Tartars attacked the city at any cost, and the so-called abnormal things must be demons, so you can't be careless. Or rather, the information that the white girl brought was indeed true. ”

Li Yongnian's voice was very solemn, looking at the Qing soldiers who were carrying his corpse under the city, his brows were tightly wrinkled together.

"My lord, is it true that the white girl said that the news that the Tartar came with the red-clothed cannon this time?" A general behind him asked in surprise.

"Quite possibly. The disciples of the White Cloud Sect are highly skilled and have always had a high reputation, so the news they heard should be credible. And I've also heard that the Tartar Emperor Huang Taiji has been ordering the imitation of our dynasty's Hongyi cannon for the past few years. They had suffered a lot of losses under the Hongyi cannon before, and even the old wild boar skin was injured and killed by our cannon, so it was normal for the Tartars to worry about this. In the past few years, although the Tartars have often gone south to harass Datong City, they have never gathered so many troops to attack the city head-on, obviously because of their dependence. This dependence is certain that they succeeded in imitating the Hongyi cannon. ”

Li Yongnian's deep voice made the faces of several generals behind him solemn. As a weapon of the country, they naturally know the horror of artillery when they have been in the army for a long time.

If the Tartars are given cannons, then this Datong is really dangerous.

There was silence for a moment, and no one spoke.

"My lord, since the Tartars have cannons, why don't they use artillery to attack the city in the past two days, but instead fill it with human lives?" The adjutant general said suspiciously.

"I don't understand this, it's very likely that their cannons haven't arrived yet. But as for why it didn't come to this point, it is not yet known. However, I always feel that the people of the White Cloud Sect came to report the news, not out of their original intention, and there must be a master behind to guide them. Moreover, during this time, many people in the surrounding villages have disappeared collectively, and there are also Tartar corpses that have been killed in the wilderness, these abnormal phenomena are worthy of our vigilance. Although the border has always been unstable, it seems that this time there will be a big storm. “

Li Yongnian's deep voice slowly drifted in the wind, as if he was speaking to the generals behind him, and as if he was speaking to himself.

"My lord, I heard that the imperial court will soon transfer the military department Shangshu Yuan, to Datong to supervise the town. Lord Yuan is the secretary of the military department, and he is also an important minister relied on by the emperor, and it seems that the imperial court is preparing to re-pass the north when he can come to Datong, which is good news for us. The lieutenant behind him changed the subject.

"I have also heard that now Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, the main rogues within my Ming Dynasty, have been surrounded by Sun Chengzong, the envoy of the Trilateral Economy, in the Qinling Mountains, and all of them are just around the corner. In the past, the imperial court couldn't take care of the northern border, but now that it has free up its hands, it is natural to re-enter the strategy. I have heard that this Lord Yuan has always been strategic, and he is a real pragmatic person, so I hope his situation will improve after he comes. Li Yongnian nodded in response.

Hearing the confirmation of the chief soldier, the expressions of several generals behind him were a little ugly. What they are most afraid of is that those civilian officials who do not know the soldiers come to command blindly, and there were many such examples before.

Although Yuan Chonghuan is quite famous and prestigious among the government and the opposition, he has never led troops after all, so these front-line generals are obviously suspicious of him coming to supervise the division.

They followed Li Yongnian, although they could not expand their territory and reverse the offensive of the Tartars, but they also kept the same all these years. If a civil servant who doesn't understand anything comes, then I don't know what will happen.

Li Yongnian naturally understood the concerns of his subordinates, but these things were not something he could control. Don't talk about them, if that Lord Yuan comes, he, the number one, will have to obey his orders.

"Okay, let the soldiers hurry up and eat, keep their spirits up, and be ready for the next wave of Tartar attacks at any time." Li Yongnian knew that it was not appropriate to discuss these issues anymore, so he turned around and ordered in a deep voice.

"Yes!" The subordinates clenched their fists one after another.

…………………………

On the eve of dawn, in addition to the lights and the sound of fighting that sounded on time, all that remained in the entire Qing army camp was the rustling footsteps of the soldiers patrolling at night and the snoring from the various tents.

Suddenly, the silence of the dark night was broken by the sound of horses' hooves, and they galloped from the dark night in the north towards the Qing army camp.

"Stop!" Suddenly, a group of soldiers poured out of the darkness and shouted at the riders.

"Scout team sentry, there is an urgent military intelligence report to Prince Rui." Come and ride shouting, the speed of the horse still did not slow down.

In the midst of the torches of the patrol soldiers, a Qing cavalryman who was soaked and sweating from his head rushed to him and took out a black token from his arms.

The patrol leader fixed his eyes on the token of the scout team and hurriedly got out of the way.

The Qing army sentry scouts shouted all the way, holding the token and rushing into the Qing army camp non-stop.

In a moment, the lights came on in Dolgon's tent, which was in the middle of the barracks.

Soon, Dolgon ordered all the generals to settle into the accounts, and the whole camp was filled with the sound of hurried footsteps.

……………………

And almost at the same time, a dusty knight also galloped to the south gate of the Qing Kingdom's Shangjing, and shouted to the city: "There is a major military situation to inform the emperor." ”

Instantly, the lights came on on the city, and then hurried footsteps sounded, and a large basket hung down from the city.

Immediately the knight rolled over and dismounted, his legs weakened, and he fell to the ground, and with great difficulty climbed into the big basket.

Half an hour later, the lights were lit up everywhere in the whole palace, the palace maids and eunuchs were in a hurry, everyone was cautious, and the atmosphere of the whole palace was solemn as if it had been covered with a cover.

An hour later, just after dawn, all the qualified military ministers were urgently summoned to the palace by the emperor to discuss matters.

Jiang Chuan didn't know about the above things, he had already brought 3,000 cavalry and 5,000 people to join the men and horses sent by Ran Wu to meet him, and was rushing back to Erlong Valley, which was already less than fifty miles at this time.