Worried, Zhang Kuang hasn't felt this way for many years, even on the eve of the trial release of the list, he was as determined as a cloud and a breeze, and he drank a night of flower wine with a few friends from the same year in the most famous brothel in Beijing, and he was extremely chic.

After Niu Zhongxiao led the troops away, he was like an ant on a hot pot and turned around in the big tent, and he couldn't sit still for a moment, so he had to go out and climb the wall to look into the distance.

In the distance is the Qing army camp, and the various flags have become more sparse, and it looks a lot deserted.

The Qing army left here originally had more than 10,000 people, and after fighting a battle with the Puqi battalion, the two sides almost simultaneously withdrew their troops and ceased to fight, as agreed in advance, and a fierce battle ended inexplicably. The main force of the Puqi battalion retreated back to the camp, and the people in the stockade kept shouting and neighing, and also sent several small units to search in different directions, I don't know what they were busy with, and the Qing army divided more than 5,000 people to rush to the direction of Zhaojiawan, apparently to support Luckedhun.

Zhang Kuang could guess that the appearance of the Puqi battalion and the Qing army must be related to the war in Zhaojiawan, but he didn't understand military affairs, and seeing the deployment and transfer of the two armies of the Ming and Qing dynasties back and forth, he couldn't understand the meaning behind it, let alone calculate the course of the battle in Zhaojiawan.

"Did you win or lose? Or are you still fighting? Will the Chu army be able to withstand the onslaught of Luckedhun? Where is Niu Zhongxiao now? ”

A series of question marks stalked in his heart, like fifteen buckets of water, seven up and eight down, just now many defeated soldiers have fled back to the camp, listen to them. The Qing army was still as brave as ever, and the Ming army of its own country was also stable, and fled before the troops were engaged.

"Alas! Just leave him strong. At least they can hold the camp steadily. Zhang Kuang regretted for a while, there were still thousands of Qing troops on the opposite side, if he couldn't resist it, the only thing that made him feel a little relied on was that the Puqi camp was still nearby, and when it came to a critical moment, he would always reach out and pull himself.

At this time. A fire suddenly rose in the direction of the Puqi camp!

Zhang Kuang has many defeated soldiers who have just escaped, and he doesn't know how to restrain and manage, so he lets them spread all kinds of gossip. Under the rendering of these frightened birds, the military spirit of the remaining troops was also shaken, and at this moment, seeing the fire in the friendly camp, Zhang Kuang's camp immediately broke out in chaos.

Running and shouting. Rumors abound. Trampling and fighting, the white blades were added, fortunately, Niu Zhongxiao left 200 elite soldiers to Zhang Kuang, and Jiang Wu, the general who led the troops, carried out iron-blooded bullets in time, and cut dozens of chaotic soldiers in a row, and finally stopped the riot.

"Opening the military gate, the fire in the Puqi camp has not stopped, and it doesn't look like a fire. Now our army is unstable, and this battalion can no longer be defended. We should abandon the camp and retire as much as possible to avoid any more trouble. "Niu Zhongxiao's subordinates are all short generals, Jiang Wu is not a good general, he is okay with the charge, but the command and planning are not what he is good at, and the idea is faintly rancid.

"I'm afraid this is inappropriate, if we abandon the camp at this moment, I'm afraid our army will collapse without a fight." Fortunately, Zhang Kuang still maintained a little calm, thought about it and said: "You first restrain the soldiers, don't let them make trouble again, and wait for the situation in the Puqi camp to be clear, and then make a decision." ”

Zhang Kuang was also planning to withdraw his troops, but he kept an eye on it and didn't dare to spit on Jiang Wu, otherwise if it was spread out, the army's morale would be even more uncontrollable...... In any case, the Puqi battalion is still there, and it is better to try to survive tonight, and then withdraw tomorrow morning, or to retreat with the whole division.

Seeing the strict Qing army camp opposite, Zhang Kuang felt more and more that the future was bleak, and he blamed himself for being impulsive, and Niu Zhongxiao came to Hengyang to take this trip to the troubled waters, and now that he has lost his division and defeated the army, he doesn't know how to face He Tengjiao's anger.

"Stride, stomp!"

There was a rapid sound of horses' hooves in the distance, Zhang Kuang looked up, and three or four fast horses were running from the direction of the Puqi camp, and the leader looked like a Chinese officer who reported the military situation.

"I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse!" Zhang Kuang's heart jumped wildly, and he hurriedly went down the wall to the camp gate, but he didn't expect the dignified Zhang Junmen to come to greet him in person.

"My General Lu received an urgent order to abandon the village and leave here and enter the battle, so I have come to ask Zhang Junmen, are you willing to go with our army?"

"What? Don't you want this camp? Zhang Kuang was taken aback, and his face was as earthy as he was.

The Puqi camp was originally going to abandon the camp and flee, no wonder it would set fire to the village! Defeated, Zhaojiawan must have lost the battle, the Chu army has collapsed on all fronts, and now that his father is dead and his mother is married, he has to flee for his life.

The lieutenant officer didn't pay attention to his expression, but still said to himself: "What the military gate said is very true, of course this camp is going to be abandoned, and my general Lu specially instructed that all the heavy grain and grass should be taken away, and not a single trace can be left for the tartars, and it is best to put a fire to burn the camp, so as not to be used by the enemy." ”

Jiang Wu stood beside him, unable to bear it any longer, and interjected and reprimanded: "Ridiculous! Since he was defeated and fled, where can he take care of so much? Bring all the heavy grain and grass, and the Tartars will catch up from behind, and they won't even be able to run! ”

"Defeated? No, our army won a big victory, don't the military gate and this general know? The Chinese officer suddenly laughed, with a smile that could not hide his pride and confidence, and pointed to the Qing army camp in the distance and said: "I just said, we are not running away, but turning into battle, it is the Tartars who lost the battle, Zhang Junmen just swaggered away with the soldiers and horses, and see if the Tartars dare to chase!" ”

"A great victory for our army?" Zhang Kuang and Jiang Wu spoke in unison, dumbfounded.

"Our army has won a great victory!" The Chinese officer waved his hand vigorously, obviously a small general, but like a superior leader preaching a good shape, he said to Zhang Kuang and Jiang Wu: "Our army has captured the Zhaojiawan wharf, the 4,000 people under the guard Hutabu have been completely annihilated, and Lekedehun is blocked ten miles away from the steaming river...... By the way, General Niu of your department also made great contributions, capturing Zhang Yingxiang, the general soldier of Henan, and taking the lead in attacking Zhaojiawan, and was the number one hero in this battle! ”

"Ho-ho-ho!" Zhang Kuang suddenly panted rapidly, and wanted to cough twice to cover it up, but he couldn't control his throat, and the sourness went straight to his nose and eye sockets, and his worries turned into ecstasy, and he almost burst into tears on the spot.

Jiang Wu had already shouted loudly, and the soldiers erupted in enthusiastic cheers for a long time.

"It's out of shape, it's out of shape, Ben Fu suddenly heard the good news, and I couldn't help but be overjoyed, which made you laugh." Zhang Kuang wiped the corners of his eyes, and sighed with anticipation: "If you can exterminate Luck Dehun in one fell swoop, then Hunan can be determined, the recovery of Jiangnan is in sight, and the Ming Dynasty can be expected to prosper. ”

More enthusiastic cheers followed, but in the distance, there was a dead silence in the Qing army camp.

……

After a day of fierce fighting, the Qing army collected its troops and returned to the camp, the soldiers ate and slept, and seized the time to rest, but the generals were summoned to the central military tent for military discussions.

The Qing army was originally an attacking party and held the initiative on the battlefield, but after the loss of Zhaojiawan, the shape took a sharp turn, and more than 20,000 soldiers and horses were trapped on the north bank of the steaming river, losing their ground.

If the attack continued, there was really a lack of spare strength, the Qing army's food routes were cut off, and all kinds of supplies could not be transported, artillery needed gunpowder, bows and arrows needed arrows, soldiers needed military rations, and war horses needed forage...... There were not enough logistical supplies, the wounded soldiers could not be withdrawn, morale was declining, and the offensive plan drawn up before the war had become a piece of waste paper.

wanted to turn around and retreat, but there was no way to retreat, the Zhaojiawan pontoon bridge was demolished by the Ming army, and the main force of the Chu army was even more desperately blocked in front, preventing the Qing army from approaching the bank of the steaming river.

After two consecutive days of fighting, both sides suffered heavy casualties, the Qing army easily broke through the opponent's camp, but the Chu army built a stronger camp in the back, according to the intelligence of Tanma, the Chu army has at least three lines of defense before and after, and if the battle is unfavorable, a new line of defense may be built at any time.

Speaking of this, the generals who had suffered a lot talked about it and complained.

"These Nanban are all rats, they will dig ditches and dig holes, dig holes and dig ditches, what the fucking hell!"

"Yes, I lost more than 300 erlangs, and it was easy to take down a trench, but I didn't expect there to be two more behind, look at the appearance of Nanban, and I will dig another one out tonight."

"The trench is okay, the camp is troublesome, and it can't be attacked without adjusting the artillery, but it will take at least two or three hours to build a new camp, and Nanban has built a new camp......"

After complaining about the lack of nutrition, a yellow-faced Qing general finally proposed a substantive construction: "According to the opinion of the last general, the Zhaojiawan pontoon bridge has been destroyed, why should we rush there, it is better to build a village and wait for reinforcements, Geng Zhongming has the help of a sailor, he can always find a place to cross the river, please make a decision!" ”

The Qing army has the advantage of strength, and its combat effectiveness is relatively strong on the whole, if it is really shrunk into a ball, it will be difficult for the Chu army to eat them in one bite.

But Lekdehun waved his hand impatiently: "Waiting for reinforcements? I'm afraid that Geng Zhongming didn't wait, and waited for He Tengjiao and a tiger first. ”

The longer it dragged on, the more unfavorable it would be for the Qing army.

Other generals also chimed in, pointing out the mistake of the yellow-faced general.

"Our army is short of food and grass, so we can only fight quickly, and it is not self-defeating to hold on to waiting for reinforcements?"

"Yes, the food shortage is not a joke, we have an army of 20,000, we should continue to launch an onslaught, and we will use up the southern thieves one by one......"

In addition to time, food is a big issue.

The Qing army crossed the river in a hurry, in order to transport more weapons and equipment, carried very little grain and grass, after all, the battle in the early stage of the offensive was the most intense, and artillery was the most needed thing, but what I didn't expect was that as soon as Zhaojiawan was lost, the food of the Qing army immediately appeared to be insufficient, and if it was entangled by the Ming army, it would not last for a few days. (To be continued......)