When the main force of the Qing army advanced to the Puqi camp, the Ming army sent hundreds of cavalry to detour back to their rear, harassing the slow movement of the baggage troops, the Eight Banners cavalry prides itself on being unparalleled in cavalry and archery, and when they saw that the Ming army dared to get the axe, the rangers immediately rushed over from all directions to intercept them, and after a chaotic battle in which you chased me, they were driven back to the rear of the Ming army's camp.

Unconsciously, most of the Qing army rangers on the battlefield were gathered together, and there were only a few scouts by the steaming river.

They still stay here to keep guard, just a good habit developed after years of fighting, although the front line has advanced more than ten miles away, but anything can happen on the battlefield, and if you are not careful, you will pay the price of blood.

There was a sudden movement behind the woods, at first only the leaves were trembling slightly, and then a puff of dust was raised, and it was getting bigger and bigger, not far away on the steaming river, a Qing army transport ship was passing nearby, and someone on the bow was shouting to this side, but he couldn't hear what he was shouting.

The scouts of the Qing army urged their horses to go around to the front of the woods, and were stunned to see a large army walking briskly along the bank of the steaming river, with no head or tail in sight in the long procession, and the leader of the team waved the red flag of the Ming army.

The scout's face changed, and he was about to turn his horse around, but suddenly a cold arrow shot from the woods, which hit him in the heart, and he carried the horse down as soon as he leaned back.

"Enemy attack!"

Before he lost consciousness, he was still trying to call the police to his companions, but the words he shouted with all his strength turned into a muttered mutter, and his head tilted to death.

Wang Meng rushed out of the woods and ran a few steps to catch up with the war horse that had lost its owner. Before it ran away, he jumped on horseback, put his arms around its neck and leaned over his ears, muttering a few words. The frightened horse was quickly pacified.

Since the Qing army's reinforcements arrived in Hengyang, it was meaningless for the Chu army's cavalry to continue to stay in Hengshan County, and Wang Meng and Ti Zhaorong rushed back in time to help in the battle.

With the sound of hooves, a group of Chu cavalry cautiously turned out from behind the woods, and Wang Meng pointed forward: "There are two Tartars over there, go and kill them!" ”

"Bang! Bang! ”

Two warships of the Qing army's naval division rushed over and opened fire on the Ming army. and warned the Qing army scouts on the shore, Wang Meng and the others no longer hid their tracks, let go of their horses and rushed forward. The two Qing scouts found out that something was wrong, and they were about to flee with their horses, but dozens of Chu cavalry surrounded them from all directions.

"Quick, faster!"

The officers kept urging the soldiers. Rush to Zhaojiawan.

Close the door and beat the dog. Zhaojiawan is this gate.

Wang Kefan put down the binoculars and said to Wang Sheng and Tan Xiao: "It's almost, you guys go, no matter what, you have to delay Luckedhun for two hours." ”

"Rest assured, the last general will not be dishonored!" Wang Sheng and Tan Xiao agreed, and led their troops to the northwest.

The long Chu army was divided into two routes, Wang Kefan led three battalions to attack Zhaojiawan, and Wang Sheng and Tan Xiao led two battalions to intercept Luckdhun's rescuers.

The culling of Wang Meng and others slowed down the reaction speed of the Qing army as much as possible. But before the Chu army arrived at Zhaojiawan, Luckedhun still received the report.

He had just unfolded his troops. He was about to launch an attack on the Puqi battalion, when he suddenly heard that the Chu army was behind his buttocks, he was more surprised than panicked, more excited than angry, and after confirming the size and banner of the Chu army, Luck Dehun became more combative.

"Wang Kefan is really a good opponent, but this time you are looking for your own death!" The battle was inevitably full of casualties, and the Chu army left the strong camp for field battles, which was in the hands of Luckedhun, and he was not worried about the possibility of defeat at all.

The Zhaojiawan ferry is too far away from Hengyang City to count on Geng Zhongming's reinforcements, but Lucked has been through a hundred battles, of course, he will not ignore this kind of defense of the choke point, leaving three hundred and eight banner soldiers, two thousand Tianyou soldiers, and more than a thousand green battalion soldiers in the small Zhaojiawan.

The more than 1,000 green battalion soldiers were Zhang Yingxiang's men, and they had just lost the battle, so they retreated to Zhaojiawan to rest, which just strengthened the defense there. The Eight Banners and the Heavenly Blessing Soldiers there are even more elite soldiers who can attack and defend well, as long as they hold on for two or three hours, Luck Dehun can lead the army back and wipe out Wang Kefan with a combination of inside and outside.

He immediately ordered the suspension of the attack on the Puqi battalion and gathered troops to prepare to turn back, this kind of mobile combat interspersed with back and forth was more in line with the appetite of the Eight Banners, and Luck Dehun left most of the Tianyou soldiers and the Green Battalion soldiers in place, on the one hand, to protect the artillery baggage, and on the other hand, to monitor the movements of other Ming troops.

All the people who supported Zhaojiawan were full of Mongolian and Mongolian Eight Banners, and hundreds of lightly armed rangers took the first step, not seeking to defeat the main force of the Chu army, as long as they played the role of harassment and delay.

Two thousand elite horsemen followed, doing their best to provide support to Zhaojiawan.

The main force of the Qing army was composed of a mixture of cavalry and infantry, and the speed was definitely slower, and Luckedhun personally commanded them, blocking the retreat of the Chu army while supporting Zhaojiawan, and driving them into the steaming river to feed the fish......

Seeing the Qing army leaving in a hurry, Zhang Kuang and Niu Zhongxiao hesitated and discussed repeatedly.

"Luckedhun must have gone to rescue Zhaojiawan, what should I do? Wang Junmen has already had an order, should we follow the order to attack? Niu Zhongxiao pointed to the Qing army left behind in the distance: "Lu Renqing will definitely send troops, this group of Tartars can't take care of us, and they can be inserted from the side." ”

After Zhaojiawan started, Lu Renqing's Puqi battalion would also take advantage of the situation to counterattack, and the remaining troops of the Qing army would intercept them, and it would be too late to make a detour to intercept Zhang Kuang and Niu Zhongxiao.

"I'm afraid our army is not good at running around, so let's cooperate with General Lu and defeat the Tartars in front of us first." The lone army went deep into the field battle with the Eight Banners, Zhang Kuangguang felt flustered and short of breath when he thought about it, and partnered with Lu Renqing to deal with the Tianyou soldiers, which sounded a little more reliable.

"Hey, Zhao Jiawan is the key to this victory, how can you be entangled here!" Niu Zhongxiao is a military general who has fought in the end, and he can distinguish the priorities on the battlefield, and persuades: "Even if one or two thousand men and horses are lost, as long as we can drag Luck Dehun for a while, I will do my best, if you and I don't even dare to chase, no matter whether this battle is won or lost, I am afraid that I will never be able to raise my head in front of people in the future." ”

People with soft personalities are often empathetic, Niu Zhongxiao's ability to lead troops to fight can only be regarded as third-rate at most, but the ability to persuade people is first-class, Zhang Kuang, as a civil official, values the reputation in Shilin officialdom the most, Niu Zhongxiao analyzed the pros and cons from this perspective, and finally persuaded him.

The two immediately divided labor, Zhang Kuang led 1,000 people to guard the village, and Niu Zhongxiao led 3,000 people to pursue Luck Dehun. At this time, the Puqi battalion and the remaining troops of the Qing army had already fought, and Lu Renqing sent a herald to urge Zhang Kuang to pursue Luck Dehun and ignore the Qing army in front of him.

There was nothing to hesitate about, Niu Zhongxiao ordered his troops and horses and chased them in the direction of Zhaojiawan.

After walking out for about ten miles, the scouts came to report that the Qing army was not far ahead, and they were fighting fiercely with Wang Sheng and Tan Xiao, who were in charge of blocking the attack.

"Brothers, as long as this battle is won, you can drive the Tartars out of Hunan, and kill the Tartars with me for the sake of our mother-in-law and children!"

At the instigation of Niu Zhongxiao, this unit, which was mostly composed of Hunan soldiers, mustered up the courage and rushed to the battlefield......

Seeing Niu Zhongxiao's troops enter the battlefield, Lucked frowned in disgust, like a clean-loving man who saw a buzzing fly fly in the house. He was in a hurry to rush back to rescue Zhaojiawan, so it was impossible to maintain a strict formation as usual, and he was fighting fiercely with the Chongyang battalion and the Yuezhou battalion in front, and Niu Zhongxiao's Ming army was very annoying.

In addition to the infantry of the Chongyang battalion and the Yuezhou battalion, there were also 4,000 cavalry such as the West Cavalry Battalion and the Jiang Cavalry Battalion.

However, the Chongyang battalion and the Yuezhou battalion took the opportunity to seize the key pass at the junction and built a simple fortification, and with the cooperation of the Chu cavalry, they blocked the way of the Qing cavalry.

There are a lot of woods and ponds in this vicinity, which are not suitable for the cavalry of the brigade to pass guò, if there is another detour, the delay is too long, and the only choice of the Qing army is to break through head-on and defeat the two battalions of infantry and two battalions of cavalry of the Chu army, so as to rush to Zhaojiawan.

Marching, fighting, time flies, and before you know it, an hour has passed, and Lucketthun is gradually getting a little anxious. The sound of fighting from Zhaojiawan has not stopped, and it can be seen that the Qing army there is under tremendous pressure, and Lucke is eager to put on his wings and fly directly over, but at this juncture, Niu Zhongxiao's garbage army came to make trouble again, making him even more upset.

Dividing the troops to eliminate it will delay the battle in front, and he has the intention to ignore it, and he is worried that this Ming army will really rush up crazy, but it will be more troublesome, he thought about it for a while, and waved his hand to call a cavalry member named Etuhun Zhang Jing: "Go and drive away that group of southern thieves, don't fall in love with war." ”

Etuhun took the order and left, and led the three hundred cavalry of the headquarters to kill Niu Zhongxiao, dealing with this kind of garbage troops, the strength of one to ten is already very worthy of them, not to mention that the Qing army is a cavalry with stronger combat effectiveness.

Sure enough, Etuhun just rushed up, and there were still five or six hundred steps away, and the Ming army dispersed in a hurry, divided into several groups and fled in different directions, Niu Zhongxiao even cut off his own flag with a knife, and let his soldiers flee in his arms, so as not to become the target of the Qing army to capture the thief and capture the king first.

After completing the task of expelling the Ming army, Etuhun did not chase after him, and soon led his troops back to his own position.

The Qing soldiers jumped off their horses, untied their belly belts, and rested the horses that had just passed through the gallop, and Etu Hun was about to give orders to Luckdhun, but found that his gaze crossed his shoulders and stared straight into the distance.

Looking back, Niu Zhongxiao's general flag was fluttering in the distance again, surrounded by more than a thousand Ming soldiers, and several other Ming troops were also approaching him.

Lucked was furious: "This guy is really a fly, he drove away, and in the blink of an eye, he came back again." (To be continued......)