The guard of Xiuyan City was called Duo Poluo, the grandson of Fei Yingdong, the fifth minister of the Later Jin Dynasty.

It stands to reason that with his identity, he should have been in a high position a long time ago. However, although his grandfather is awesome, his grandfather has ten sons, and there are nephews like Ao Bai, who can quickly climb up anywhere?

What's more, Duo Poluo's father, Suo Hai, is still an out-and-out pit goods.

When Hai Lanzhu died of illness, Huang Taiji was grief-stricken, and Suo Hai actually invited Zu Dale to quietly drink and watch plays at home.

Huang Taiji was furious because of this, and asked the Criminal Department to discuss Suo Hai's capital crime, and then he was exempted from death, and Niu Lu was also divided in half.

Suo Hai not only offended Huang Taiji, but also offended Dorgon. He followed Dolgon on the expedition, ran to surround Jinzhou, withdrew his troops privately before the battle began, and camped far away from Jinzhou City, almost killing Dolgon there.

What's more, Suohai's cousin, Aobai, is a staunch opponent of Dolgon.

When encountering such a pit father, although Duo Poluo was the deputy commander, he was transferred to the mountains to guard the city, and it was normal for him to have only 800 soldiers under his command.

"What? In the mountains south of Xiuyan City, there is an army of large southern barbarians? Dopola was shocked.

The officer of the Eight Banners who fled back said: "The Jurchen hunters in the mountains, in collusion with those southern barbarians, they deliberately led the way indiscriminately!" ”

Dopolo said angrily: "Eating things inside and outside, as a member of the Jurchen tribe, I actually hooked up with the Nanban." How many Southern Barbarians were there? ”

The officer of the Eight Banners said: "I don't know, the Southern Barbarians set up an ambush in the mountains, and for a while, they fired all the guns, and they couldn't see how much ambush there was at all. But listening to that formation, I'm afraid there are as many as two or three thousand! ”

Two or three thousand Datong troops?

Duopolo was a little frightened, and the Manchurian nobles at this time had been psychologically shadowed by the Datong army.

What's more, Dopola, like his father, is not a good fighter. This product likes to enjoy, has learned Chinese since childhood, and has a Han opera troupe at home.

Doporo pondered for a long time and ordered: "The whole army must not leave the city again, and quickly collect the materials for defending the city." All the bannermen outside the city were recruited into the city and their families were brought into the city. Also, when I went to Shengjing to ask for help, I said that there was a Southern Barbarian army attacking Xiuyan City! ”

Xiuyan City was also surrounded by a full number of people, all of whom were the families of the original 202 Eight Banner defenders. As for the military households of the Ming Dynasty, some of them were taken to Shenyang, and some of them were used to make coats and serfs for the local bannermen. They planted the land outside the city, and the food they grew was used to feed the garrison.

After receiving Dopolo's mobilization order, the people outside the city quickly set off, dragging all their families and families to the city. They took most of their minions, but left a small amount of clothing to manage their serfs.

Yang Zhenqing waited left and right, but he didn't wait for the Eight Banners soldiers to kill.

He sent some Jurchen mountain people to inquire around Xiuyan City. Only then did I know that the Manchurians had entered the city, and only Baoyi and serfs were left outside the city. Only in the important mountain road sections, there are some sentries of the Eight Banners, and the other Eight Banners are defending the city.

"Kill me and go to Xiuyan City!" Yang Zhenqing immediately ordered.

The soldiers of the 500 Datong Independent Battalion, carrying grain and grass with captured war horses, swaggered towards the enemy city.

The Eight Banners of Xiuyan City, plus the temporarily recruited bannermen, have at least 1,200 troops.

Dopoleo soon received the news, and he said to his generals: "There are thousands of Nanban Datong troops, and these 500 enemy troops are not hiding it, and they are rushing straight towards our army, there must be some conspiracy!" Pontus studied "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" at the age of fifteen and knew the strategies of the Han people well. The 500 enemy troops in front of us must have come to lure our army to attack. Once my Eight Banners warriors chase and kill, there will be ambushes in the mountains. I have seen through the enemy's scheme, and none of you are allowed to leave the city, and defending Xiuyan City will be regarded as meritorious service. Over there in Shengjing, I've sent someone to ask for reinforcements! ”

"Dutong is really smart, and the Han people's schemes are useless."

"The Han people are used to tricks, but they certainly can't fool the capital."

"Don't worry, we promise not to leave the city!"

“……”

Dopola looked smug and seemed to be really confident.

In fact, he was just afraid of death, and felt that it was more stable to defend the city, and there was no need to go out and take risks.

This cargo has been fighting with the army since he was a child, but he has fought some good battles. He was able to make meritorious service and be promoted to deputy commander, and he was the remnant of the soldiers who entered the customs to chase and kill Li Zicheng, with more than 1,000 Eight Banner Army, and inexplicably surrendered tens of thousands of enemies.

At that time, Dopola was preparing to evacuate, but the other party surrendered too quickly, and it was difficult not to make a big contribution.

Under Dopolo's defensive orders, Yang Zhenqing's independent battalion went unhindered all the way and soon came to a village twenty miles southwest of Xiuyan City.

The village is surrounded by mountains on all sides, where three mountain passages meet, forming a relatively flat mountain valley. There are also small rivers running through it, which is very suitable for farming.

It is a pity that the cultivated land is very small, and the total number of bannermen, baoyi and serfs living here is less than 1,000.

Now, all the flags are gone.

A few people who resemble the manor housekeepers are urging the serfs to work, while subconsciously looking towards the entrance of the village.

"The Han army is coming!" One exclaimed, and then ran away.

The other coats in the village also fled when they heard the news. From the day their master left, they were nervous and guessed that the Datong army would kill them.

However, the area of Xiuyan City was too small, and there were civilians in the city, as well as hundreds of garrisons, and many bannermen withdrew into the city with livestock. Where is there room for coats and serfs? Even if you want to bring minions, you only bring one or two close to your body and soul.

"Chase!"

Yang Zhenqing gave an order, and several soldiers who could ride horses, riding captured war horses, chased after those coats.

To the north of the river valley, take a road.

Two legs can't run on four legs, and the wrappers were soon caught up, and they knelt on the ground and kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Master Jun, I am a Han, not a Tartar!" ”

The soldiers of the independent battalion searched the whole village and came back to report: "Yingzheng, there are no tartars here, not even livestock, everything of value has been moved, and there is only a small amount of grain left in each family. ”

"Take everyone back to the Jurchen brothers' stockade and wait there first," Yang Zhenqing said, "Tell the Jurchen brothers to borrow them some food, and I will give them military tickets when I go back." These military tickets can give priority to the purchase of grain and salt in Jinzhou, Fuzhou, and Gaizhou. ”

A total of four coats were captured and more than 400 Han serfs were rescued.

There are also some serfs, who were forced to carry money and grain for the bannermen, and are now outside Xiuyan City. They could not enter the city, but they all shrank at the gates of the city as beggars.

Sending a few soldiers to lead these serfs back, Yang Zhenqing ordered again: "All the houses in the village are burned!" ”

The valley became wider and wider to the north, and there were more and more places to cultivate, which is why a city appeared in the mountains. Xiuyan City not only has an open terrain, but also has two rivers at the confluence, and the soil is relatively fertile.

You can meet Han serfs along the way, some of them are ruthless, they don't leave food at all, and take away all the food they can eat, and some of the serfs have been hungry for two or three days.

It wasn't until he approached Xiuyan City that Yang Zhenqing finally stopped advancing.

It's not that I'm afraid, but there are too many serfs rescued, and if I continue to move forward, I'm afraid I'll starve to death on the way back.

Returning to the village of the Jurchen mountain people, he counted the number of people, grabbed a total of 9 coats, and rescued more than 1,500 Han serfs. In addition, there was nothing to be gained, not a single donkey was snatched, and not half of the Tartar was killed.

Yang Zhenqing sent people to send the serfs down the mountain, and by the way, he took the Jurchen mountain people to Jinzhou to carry grain. The Jurchen people in the mountains had a very hard life, there was not so much food to supply to the independent battalion, and they had to be replenished once every three months, and the Jurchen people could also take the opportunity to go down the mountain to buy grain and salt.

Upon learning of the withdrawal of the Datong army, Dopola was very complacent and said to the generals on the left and right: "The enemy army retreated without merit, and the army was only a waste of military rations, and our army can be said to have won without a fight." ”

The Eight Banners generals slandered the official, but they didn't dare to refute it, because this was Fei Yingdong's grandson.

Only the bannermen who had withdrawn into the city hated Dopola to the bitter end. More than 1,000 serfs were snatched away, and they were all talking cattle, so should they let the bannermen go to the fields and plough the land by themselves in the future?

After more than a month, it is almost winter.

Yang Zhenqing, who had finished supplying grain and grass, marched towards Xiuyan City again.

Duopolo still couldn't hold out, and the bannermen were smarter this time, taking all the serfs out of the city, so that the Datong army would not be easily robbed. It was impossible to enter the city, it would be too crowded, and for fear of a serf riot, he would be left to fend for himself outside the city gates.

There are bannermen who feel sorry for the serfs, and they will regularly go out of the city to feed, fearing that their talking cattle will starve to death.

When Yang Zhenqing came to the outside of the moat, more than 3,000 serfs had gathered under the city walls. The cold wind was blowing fiercely, and they were dressed in tattered cotton clothes, squatting under the wall like beggars, cold and hungry, and many of them were sick.

"Don't go out of the city to fight, the enemy will retreat, they don't have siege equipment." Dopola is confident.

At this moment, the missionary officer of the army stood by the moat and shouted to those Han serfs: "Brothers and sisters of the Han family, we are sent by the Han emperor to save you. Hurry up and cross the river and take you down the mountain, with food to eat, clothes to wear, and a doctor if you are sick! ”

The serfs watched blankly, and after several consecutive Chinese words, someone finally stood up.

The drawbridge over the moat was not destroyed, and the serfs worked together to lower the drawbridge. Immediately, more than 3,000 serfs stood up, hesitated for a few seconds, and then rushed towards the drawbridge.

When crossing the bridge, it was very chaotic, and even serfs were squeezed into the river. If it's cold, even if you don't drown, you're sure to catch a cold and fever.

"All the capitals, the Han slaves have all run away, Xiuyan City is over!" An officer of the Eight Banners said anxiously.

The main cultivated land in Xiuyan City is in the south, and although there are some in the north, it is not so fertile and the cultivated area is not that large. When all the serfs in the south have run away, they will not be able to grow food, and they will not be able to supply the city, and in time, the garrisons in the city will starve.

There are mountains nearby, and it is impossible for the Manchus to transport grain to this place.

Another officer of the Eight Banners said: "Dutong, take the opportunity to go out of the city to cover up." Those Hannu are very chaotic, let's kill them, and the Hannu will be even more panicked. There are only a few hundred enemy troops outside the city, and after being disrupted by the Han Nu, we will inevitably lead troops to cover up and kill, and they will inevitably be defeated! ”

Dopoleo took a closer look and saw that this was indeed the case, and he immediately ordered: "Follow me out of the city!" ”