Shangqiu and Xuzhou were besieged, and Gao Mingheng, the governor of Jiangbei, did not want to rescue, in fact, he had already ordered Xu Dingguo and Liu Zeqing to reinforce the front line of Xuzhou and contain the Qing army from attacking the city, but the warlords of the two towns used various excuses to shirk and refused, but instead burned the ships and retreated the soldiers and horses north of the Huai River to the south of the Huai River.

Although Gao Mingheng is the superintendent, he can't command these warlords, and there are not many soldiers and horses that can be mobilized, except for Gao Jiejun in Xuzhou, there is only a descendant of more than 10,000 people around him.

Now that Xuzhou and Shangqiu are besieged, the people and horses of the two towns on the Huaihe River are not very obedient, and Gao Yihuan also sent him a message to guard against the defection of the two towns, which made Gao Mingheng even more afraid to increase troops in Xuzhou.

This Gao Yihuan didn't know what he was thinking, he had hundreds of thousands of chest soldiers in his hands, but he didn't move, reminding himself to guard against the defections of Xu Dingguo and Liu Zeqing, and he didn't give substantial evidence, which was simply a psychopathy.

If Gao Yihuan hadn't sent him a lot of firearms, Gao Mingheng would have suspected that this family had ulterior motives.

Gao Yihuan's words made Gao Mingheng have doubts about the defense of the Huai River line, so he did not dare to transfer his subordinates and Huang Degong, who was relatively obedient, to move forward, for fear that if there was a problem on the Huai River line, Yangzhou would have no soldiers, and there would be a big problem.

Gao Mingheng wanted to go to Xuzhou, but he also knew that the Ming army was not the opponent of the Qing army in the field, and the troops sent in the past may also be surrounded by the Qing army to help, so he could only give up reinforcements, focus on the front line of Yangzhou, and leave a few hole cards for himself.

He believed that as long as the last defense line in Jiangbei was strong enough, it would be able to block the Qing army, which was exhausted.

Therefore, Gao Mingheng strengthened the defense of Yangzhou on the one hand, mobilized sailors on the one hand, and played the imperial court on the other hand, urging Gao Yihuan to march into the army to ensure that the Qing army could be blocked.

This battle was extremely important for the Nanjing court, as long as the Qing army was blocked, the Nanjing court could be considered to have stabilized its position.

Gao Mingheng went all out for this, but while resisting the Qing army, he did not forget to remind Zhu Cihong that at all costs, he should also let Gao Jingzhong send troops and participate in the war as soon as possible, and he could not let Gao Jingzhong sit back and reap the benefits.

On 30 October, the wind on the Huai River was cold, the sky was overcast, and snowflakes began to fall.

At the end of October and the beginning of November, the weather on both sides of the Huai River was already cold, and it began to fall for the first time since the beginning of winter.

It is said that people should be happy in the year of Ruixue Zhaofeng, but the Ming army on the south bank of the Huaijiang River is like a mourner.

It has been two months since the Qing army invaded the south, and during this time, north of the Huaijiang River, except for the two isolated cities of Xuzhou and Shangqiu, which are still holding on, all other states and counties have fallen, which can be said to be a raging war.

At this time, in the south of the Huai River, it was a different world, and the atmosphere in each province was tense and depressing, but it was still peaceful.

There is such a difference, that is, because the Huai River blocked the Qing army on the north bank, so that the Qing army could not cross and could not go to the south bank to plunder.

Now that the weather has become cold, the Huai River may freeze at any time, and once the Huai River is frozen, the Huai River can be crossed everywhere for thousands of miles, and if the Qing army wants to go south, it will not be able to prevent it at all.

On the third day of November, the snow has been falling for four consecutive days, and the Huai River is beginning to show signs of freezing.

At this time, beside the wharf of Huai'an City, there was heavy snow in the sky, and the officers and soldiers of the Jiang Waterproof Division jumped on the warships docked on the shore one after another, and began to pull up the anchor and prepare to raise the sails.

Zheng Hongkui, the chief officer of the Jiang Waterproof Division, stood at the bow of the ship wearing armor, turned his head and said to his nephew Zheng Sen: "Da Mu, in addition to the warships, all the other ships on the dock should also be taken away. ”

Zheng Sen, who was wearing a suit of armor, said: "Don't worry, the last general will do it!" ”

After Qian Qianyi was imprisoned, Zheng Sen ended his studies in Guozijian, but instead of returning to Fujian, he went to Zhenjiang to seek refuge with his fourth uncle, Zheng Hongkui.

Originally, Zheng Hongkui didn't want to keep him, after all, Zheng Sen wanted to inherit the Zheng family's great cause, and this was not what he should learn, but Zheng Sen's attitude was resolute, and Zheng Hongkui used his connections to easily get him a thousand households and let him play in the sailors.

Now the Huai River is about to freeze, and the sailor will continue to stay in Huai'an, and once it is frozen, it can only be slaughtered by others, so Zheng Hongkui obeyed Gao Mingheng's order and prepared to raise anchor and sail back to Zhenjiang to set up defense.

If Jiangbei is completely lost, the Jiangshui Division will be the last line of defense in Nanjing.

At this time, there was a clatter of horses' hooves, and a group of horse soldiers guarding a general was galloping, and there were a large number of soldiers with helmets and spears behind them, running in formation, looking murderous.

The first general was the great warlord Dongpingbo Liu Zeqing stationed in Huai'an, he wore a phoenix-winged iron helmet on his head, a full-body armor that reached his ankles, and a war knife hanging from his waist. ”

Zheng Hongkui frowned slightly, gestured to Zheng Sen, and then stood on the side of the ship, "Liu Dashuai, the Huai River is about to freeze, Zheng was ordered by the senior governor to retreat to Zhenjiang, and then go north to assist in defense after the Huai River thaws." ”

Liu Zeqing held the war knife in one hand and said with a straight face: "No!" The sailor is gone, what should Huai'an City do! You must stay in Huai'an and assist Ben Shuai in defending the city! ”

"This is the military order of the senior governor, besides, this commander is not under your control!" Zheng Hongkui was a little unhappy, what should he do if he stayed in Huai'an and the ship was frozen?

After speaking, Zheng Hongkui turned his head and said, "Start the boat!" ”

Liu Zeqing was furious, "In Ben Shuai's territory, Ben Shuai is qualified to manage it!" ”

With a wave of his hand, the soldiers and horses behind him were about to step forward to grab the boat, but the boat stretched out a long pole and propped it up on the shore, and the ship quickly left the shore.

Zheng Sen saw that there were still many boats on the side of the pier that he didn't have time to take away, so he immediately took matters into his own hands, "Release the rocket and burn the boat!" ”

The sergeant of the warship immediately fired rockets and set fire to the ships docked.

The soldiers of Liu were furious, but the boat went down the river and quickly increased its speed, so the soldiers of Liu could only stand on the shore and curse, and shoot arrows at the boat.

Liu Zeqing watched the soldiers chase the ship, but the boat was as fast as a galloping horse, and he couldn't help but have a gloomy face, originally wanted to keep the sailor and take the opportunity to annex this group of men and horses, but he didn't want people to detain it, and the ships were burned a few times.

"Dashuai, the sailor is gone, what should we do?" Bai Yongfu looked at Liu Zeqing and asked.

Liu Zeqing's cheeks agitated, "The army retreats into the city!" ”

After the Jiangshui division left, the weather along the Huai River became even colder, and the Jianghuai region has entered a severe winter.

On November 6, hundreds of Ming soldiers stood on the frozen Huai River, smashing the ice with hoes and shovels. ”

As he was talking, there was a slight tremor on the ice, and hundreds of soldiers couldn't help but stand up, looking to the north, and suddenly their faces changed greatly, and they threw away the shovel for the first hundred households, and left with their legs~

"Here comes the Tartars, run!" Hundreds of figures on the Huaijiang River ran desperately, letting out bursts of frightened screams~

(End of chapter)