Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 314 Escape
Baoqing, Chen Youlong's clothes and armor were covered in blood. The top of the city was filled with the shouts of soldiers. The originally black brick walls had long been stained dark red by the blood.
Half a month ago, Geng Zhongming led 15,000 troops to the city. After Geng Zhongming failed to persuade the city to surrender, he immediately surrounded the city on all sides.
Geng Zhongming kept capturing civilians from outside the city to attack the city. After consuming most of the arrows and other city defense supplies in the city, he began to formally attack the city.

The Qing army used civilians as cannon fodder to consume arrows in the city, but they did not expect that when they officially attacked the city, they also used regular soldiers as cannon fodder.

A group of Liaodong soldiers forced the Green Camp soldiers to attack the city desperately, and these Green Camp soldiers did not resist at all. Even though they suffered heavy casualties under the city, they rushed to the city again and again in vain.

Most of these Green Camp soldiers were Huguang soldiers that Geng Zhongming and his team had recently recruited over the past few months. To Geng Zhongming, these Green Camp soldiers were no different from the civilians who had been driven out and captured before.

The Green Camp soldiers under the city had not even changed their clothes and were still wearing the ragged uniforms of the Ming army. If all the Green Camp soldiers had not shaved their heads at this time, the soldiers on both sides would not even be able to distinguish between the enemy and us.

On the top of the city wall, soldiers on both sides, wearing the same military uniforms and speaking the same Chinese language, were fighting each other like mortal enemies. It was a ridiculous scene.

Chen Youlong chopped down a soldier wearing leather armor with one sword, and the Qing army on the top of the city also retreated from the city again.

The Qing army attacking the city was repelled again, but Chen Youlong did not relax at all.

Chen Youlong glanced outside the city and saw that a new batch of Qing troops had gathered not far from the city wall.
The Qing troops attacking the city were several times larger than those in the city. After the people in the city repelled one wave, the Qing troops would immediately organize another wave to launch an attack.
The city had to hold off two rounds of Qing attacks before it could get some time to rest.

Chen Youlong called his personal soldiers and ordered the civilians in the city to quickly replenish logs, stones and other supplies for defending the city. After the personal soldiers left, the deputy general Zhang Hu suddenly came with a few people.
Zhang Hu was also covered in blood at this time. He looked at Chen Youlong at the battlement of the city wall and said in a deep voice:
"General, there are less than 700 people left in West City. Other cities have also suffered heavy casualties. We can no longer defend it."

Chen Youlong's expression suddenly turned stern when he heard this. He stared at Zhang Hu behind him and said in a cold voice:

"You want to surrender?"

"We are also upright Han people. How can we serve the Tartars as dogs? Although we cannot surrender, we can still leave."

When Geng Zhongming first arrived, he surrounded the city from all sides. But after attacking fiercely for half a month and seeing that it was difficult to break into the city, he suddenly opened up one side a few days ago.

After the soldiers in the city saw a way out, they were also in a state of panic.

After Zhang Hu finished speaking, there was no hesitation on his face and he spoke directly

"General, we are all stepmothers. Not to mention armor, we don't even have enough arrows in the city. They have already been used up."

"Now we have to demolish the houses in the city to get some stones and wood to defend the city. How can we defend it?"

"General, the Tartars outside the city are attacking the city without regard for casualties. If we continue to defend like this, all of our old brothers will be killed."

Chen Youlong was silent after hearing this. After a while, he said in a deep voice:

"If we abandon the city and leave now, we will certainly be punished in the court. We can leave now, but what should we do in the future? Should we return to the court to wait for punishment, or should we all leave the court and go into the mountains to become mountain kings?"

Chen Youlong saw that Zhang Hu wanted to say something else, so he waved his hand to interrupt him and said

"General Bai said that we should find a way to hold out for a month. Go tell the brothers in the army that we will hold out for another ten days. If General Bai doesn't come to help us after ten days, we will leave."

After Chen Youlong finished speaking, he no longer cared about Zhang Hu and turned to look at the Qing army that was gathering outside the city again.

Zhang Hu saw Chen Youlong's expression and knew that Chen Youlong had made up his mind. He stomped his feet and left with his men.

Under the city wall, the Qing army had assembled, and a group of Green Camp soldiers holding long signs came down to the city again.
Chen Youlong was about to order his soldiers to defend the city, but at this moment there was a sudden commotion from behind the Qing army.

On the official road, a group of cavalrymen were chasing and fighting as they quickly approached the city. Dozens of red-armored cavalrymen in the back were shooting arrows like rain. More than a dozen cavalrymen in yellow cloth armor in the front were falling off their horses from time to time.
The dozen cavalrymen in the front were constantly being sniped, but they did not dare to turn back to fight back. They just rushed towards the army formation under the city. The red-armored cavalrymen behind them chased them relentlessly, but were finally intercepted by the cavalrymen sent by the Qing army under the city.
After the dozen cavalrymen fled into the city, the Qing army, which was about to attack the city, suddenly stopped and retreated together. Soon they were two miles away from the city wall, and then they quickly formed a battle array with their backs to the city wall.

Just as the Qing army was in formation, there was a rumbling sound of horse hooves on the official road outside the city. Then more than 3,000 cavalrymen in red armor rushed out of the official road and ran straight towards the city.
Under Baoqing City, the Qing army formed two huge square formations. The Qing army had been attacking the city for more than half a month. At this time, all siege equipment was fully prepared.

The Qing army was surrounded by soldiers on the outside who were either pushing shield carts or holding long signs, guarding the two army formations tightly.

Opposite the Qing army, there were more than 3,000 cavalrymen, all wearing red cloth armor and sitting on Liao horses.

In the Battle of Loushan Pass, the Ming army killed 4,000 Manchu soldiers and also seized more than 5,000 war horses from Nikan.

After the Longxiang and Tengxiang armies filled up the previously reduced cavalry, the cavalry of the two armies also increased from the original 2,000 to 3,000 each. The remaining 1,000 war horses were allocated by Zhu Lang to Li Dingguo who had just returned from Yunnan Province.
Although Geng Zhongming expanded his army to 15,000 men, these troops were almost all infantrymen. The cavalry consisted of only the 1,000 cavalrymen from the old camp that Geng Zhongming brought with him from Liaodong.
Although the Qing army outnumbered the Ming army, Geng Zhongming could not use infantry to charge the Ming cavalry.
The Tengxiang Cavalry led by Hao Shangjiu also did not dare to charge the tightly guarded Qing infantry formation, and the two sides were in a stalemate.

The two sides confronted each other for two quarters of an hour, and finally the Ming army could no longer bear it. They suddenly sent out 500 cavalrymen and marched towards the Qing army on the opposite side.

These 500 Ming cavalrymen, wearing iron helmets and half armor, were the newly formed flint-haired light cavalry of the Ming army.
Bai Yu, the lieutenant general of the Longxiang Army, led 500 flint-haired cavalrymen to bypass the front of the Qing army and attack the side of the army.
The Qing army on the other side saw that the Ming army had only sent 500 cavalrymen, and they were unwilling to be outdone. They also sent out 500 to 600 cavalrymen to intercept the Ming army.
Bai Yu saw a group of fully armed Qing cavalry rushing towards him, but he did not dodge or avoid them. He just slightly dispersed his formation and went to meet the Qing cavalry on the opposite side.
The cavalry on both sides were getting closer and closer. When they were about a hundred steps apart, the Ming army suddenly raised their guns and fired.

There was a burst of gunfire in the Ming army. In a short time, three rounds of gunfire were fired, and dozens of Qing soldiers fell down immediately.

Geng Jimao stared at the Ming cavalry on the opposite side and was about to order his men to blow the horn to charge, but at this moment the Ming army that was originally charging towards them suddenly collapsed and directly broke into three or four teams and fled to the rear.
Geng Zhongming looked at the Ming cavalry that suddenly collapsed before the battle even started, and his face was also confused.

Geng Jimao led a group of cavalrymen and instinctively continued to chase forward, but there was no way they could catch up with the Ming army light cavalry who were only wearing half armor. They could only watch the various Ming army squads fleeing further and further away.

Geng Jimao looked at the Ming army squad that had fled back to the rear of the cavalry. Although he had a look of hatred on his face, he could only stop the pursuit. With only 500 men charging at 3,000 well-prepared armored cavalry, Geng Jimao had not lost his mind.

Geng Jimao led the cavalry back to the formation, and the two sides began to confront each other again. After two quarters of an hour, Bai Yu led the 500 flintlock cavalry in the formation and rushed out again, harassing the Qing army from the side.
Geng Jimao was furious when he saw that the light cavalry dared to come again. This time he led 800 cavalrymen to intercept and kill the Ming army.
The number of Qing cavalry increased again, but the Ming army seemed unaware and also went straight to meet them.
Five hundred meters, three hundred meters, two hundred meters, the two armies approached each other again. The Ming army fired three shots, and this time nearly a hundred people of the Qing army were shot dead. Then, before the battle, the Ming army collapsed into three teams again and fled to the rear.
Geng Zhongming saw that the Ming army began to flee again, and finally became furious. The 800 Qing soldiers suddenly split into two groups and intercepted one of the fleeing Ming army squads.
Geng Jimao led the cavalry in pursuit at full speed. Under the siege of another Qing army, they were about to block a Ming army squad. However, Geng Zhongming was so focused on chasing and intercepting that he did not realize that he and his men had already approached the main formation of the Ming cavalry.
The Ming army, which had been standing still, suddenly moved. Two thousand fully armored cavalrymen rushed out and charged directly towards the Qing army not far away.
Geng Jimao suddenly came to his senses when he saw the Ming cavalry coming towards him.
A drop of cold sweat ran down Geng Jimao's forehead, but he no longer cared about the Ming army squad that was about to be caught up, and without saying a word, he rode his horse and fled to the rear.
Two thousand Ming soldiers were in hot pursuit, while eight hundred Qing soldiers in front of them fled in panic, with many being shot down by the rain of arrows.

The Ming cavalry was about to catch up with the troops, but at this moment a roar was heard in front of the Qing army. More than ten artillery pieces suddenly opened fire, and shells whizzed past the front.
The two thousand Ming cavalrymen stopped when they heard the cannon fire and looked coldly at Geng Jimao and others who were fleeing back to their formation.
The two thousand Ming troops retreated to the rear, and the two sides began to confront each other again. After two quarters of an hour, the five hundred flintlock cavalrymen in the Ming army went out again and marched slowly towards the flank of the Qing army.

Under the flag of the Qing army, Geng Jimao's clothes and armor were in disarray. He looked at the strange cavalry that was running towards him again, but his face was irritable. He said to Geng Zhongming beside him:

"Father, let me charge again. This time I will definitely capture and kill all of this damned Ming army."

Geng Zhongming looked at the cavalry on the opposite side, whose formation was loose and approaching again, with a serious expression on his face. He waited until Geng Jimao asked for a fight again, then he withdrew his gaze and said in a cold voice:

"You think that the Ming army collapsed on its own?"

"The distance at which the Ming army fired and the route of their retreat were extremely precise. This must be a tactic they had practiced long ago. Charge again. Even if you charge ten times, you won't be able to catch sight of that light cavalry."

Geng Jimao was also stunned when he heard Geng Zhongming's scolding, and then he recalled the two attacks, and his face became gloomy. In these two battles, the Ming army killed more than 100 Qing cavalrymen, while the Qing army did not fire a single arrow.

Why didn't Geng Jimao order his troops to fire arrows in response? Because at that time, the distance between the two armies was such that, in Geng Jimao's experience, they shouldn't have fired arrows at all. By the time the distance was almost right, the Ming cavalry had already retreated.

Geng Jimao had not noticed it before, but after hearing what Geng Zhongming said, he immediately realized that this light cavalry was clearly specially trained to target the cavalry.
Geng Jimao looked at the strange Ming army approaching not far away, with an unpleasant look on his face, and said

"What should we do now? Should we just watch this cavalry roam around freely in front of our formation?"

Although Geng Zhongming saw the peculiarity of this cavalry, he could not think of a good way to crack it for a while. Geng Zhongming frowned and thought for a moment, then he said, "Withdraw the troops. The Ming army reinforcements are coming. Baoqing cannot be captured. Inform King Gongshun of the news of the Ming army's reinforcements as soon as possible."

The Qing army's flags waved in the battle formation, and soon the two Qing army infantry formations took turns to provide cover and retreated to the camp not far from Baoqing City.
The Ming cavalry followed along the way, but never found a suitable opportunity to attack. After the Qing army withdrew to the camp, the Ming cavalry also rushed to Baoqing City.

Geng Zhongming led his troops back to the camp and wanted to withdraw the entire army that afternoon, but the Ming army under the city did not give the Qing army any chance.
The Ming cavalry roamed outside the Qing camp day and night. Geng Zhongming's cavalry had less than 800 cavalry left, and they were unable to suppress the Ming cavalry sentries. Surrounded by the Ming cavalry, the Qing army had no chance to withdraw.

Geng Zhongming had tried to evacuate at night, but the Ming army would constantly send small groups of cavalry to harass the camp at night. This harassment happened several times a night, and the Qing army could not even sleep peacefully at night, let alone evacuate.

In fact, if Geng Zhongming could be ruthless at this time and use the nearly 10,000 Green Camp soldiers as a cover, then Geng Zhongming's 3,000 Liaodong Old Camp would still have a chance to escape unscathed. However, Geng Zhongming was unwilling to abandon nearly 10,000 soldiers without even fighting a battle.

Geng Zhongming hesitated for three days. After three days, the main force of the 20,000 imperial guards led by Ma Bao finally arrived at Baoqing City. At this time, Geng Zhongming had no chance to escape.

After the main force of the Ming army arrived in Baoqing, they no longer harassed the Qing army with cavalry.
The 20,000-strong Ming army was divided into two groups, and they set up camp on the east and west sides of the Qing army camp, blocking the Qing army directly in the camp.
On the third day after the main force of the Ming army arrived, more than 10,000 soldiers from the Qing army camp filed out, and the Ming army also gathered troops out of the camp, and both sides formed their own battle arrays.
The army gathered outside Baoqing City, with flags flying, and a war was about to break out.

After the main force of the Ming army arrived, the Qing army was actually at a disadvantage. At this time, the Ming army had almost twice the number of the Qing army, but Geng Zhongming had to fight.

The Ming army blocked the camp gates, and the food and money in the camp became less and less. The army outside the camp surrounded the camp. Once the camp began to be short of food, there would be chaos in the army. At that time, they would have no chance to fight even if they wanted to.
Outside Baoqing City, the Qing army formed a horizontal formation. Geng Zhongming used 3,000 soldiers from the Liaodong Old Camp as the center, and the remaining 9,000 soldiers from the Green Camp were divided into two formations as the left and right wings.

The Ming army also deployed in a horizontal formation, with Ma Bao leading the Tengxiang Army with 5,000 men in the center, Liu Qijiao leading the Longxiang Army with 5,000 men on the left, and Li Dingguo leading the Zhongyi Camp with 5,000 men on the right.

The remaining 3,000 men of the Loyalty Camp and the Tengxiang Cavalry were stationed behind the central army, ready to support at any time.

Under the Qing army flag, Geng Zhongming was wearing a black iron armor, surrounded by Xu Degong, Chen Shaozong and other generals.
Geng Zhongming looked at the silent generals and suddenly spoke

"What, are you scared?"

The Qing army generals looked at the Ming army with flags flying in the distance, and a trace of fear flashed in their eyes.

They have been generals in the army for a long time. They can roughly tell whether a soldier is strong or not just by looking at him. The Ming army on the opposite side has a strict formation and all the flags are ready. It is completely different from the Ming army they encountered before.
Chen Shaozong and others even felt that the Ming army on the other side was not weaker than the Liaodong old camp in their own army. However, there were only 3,000 Liaodong old soldiers in their army, while the Ming army on the other side had 20,000.

Geng Zhongming saw that no one was talking, but he didn't care. He just said loudly:
"Although the Ming army is larger than ours, so what? The 60,000 Ming troops under Changsha City were also defeated by us in one blow. What is there to be afraid of?"

"The Ming army has always been weak. If these Ming troops were determined to blockade and cut off our food supply, I would still have some concerns. But now these Ming troops dare to fight us in battle formation, then they are courting death."

"We have many artillery in our army. How can the Ming army compare with us? What's the use of having a large number of Ming troops? When the battle starts, we will fire all the artillery in our formation and the Ming army will surely be defeated."

"I will personally lead the cavalry this time. When the Ming army's formation is broken, I will personally lead the troops to attack and completely defeat these bandits."

Geng Zhongming looked at the generals who were slightly relaxed and spoke loudly again.

"Whoever wins the first victory in this battle against the Ming army will be recommended to the court for a title of nobility."

"Even if I don't want this prince anymore, I will definitely clear the next marquisate for you. Who do you want to be a marquis?"

Upon hearing this, all the generals, no matter what they thought in their hearts, shouted to kill the enemy.

Geng Zhongming saw that morale had recovered slightly, so he did not delay any longer and ordered all the generals to return to the army for command, leaving only a few trusted men such as Xu Degong in the rear of the central army.
After both sides had formed their battle array, the Ming army did not hesitate and took the initiative to press towards the Qing army on the opposite side. The 20,000 Ming soldiers pushed the shield carts and moved slowly to the sound of drums, while the Qing army remained motionless.

When the two armies were 300 meters apart, the Ming army suddenly stopped and set up a battle formation. The Ming army quickly launched a series of artillery pieces.
When the Qing army saw the Ming army's artillery coming out, the flags of the rear formation also waved rapidly. The Qing army's artillery fired first, and more than 60 iron bullets were first fired at the front of the Ming army.

Most of the Qing army's artillery shells were blocked by the Ming army's shield carts, but there were still seven or eight artillery shells that smashed the shield carts and smashed directly into the Ming army's formation. There were screams from the Ming army, and nearly a hundred spearmen in the front row fell down in an instant.

But the Ming army's counterattack soon began, and the Ming army's counterattack was far more intense than the Qing army had expected. Geng Zhongming and his army were the most advanced troops in the Qing court, but the Ming army was carrying more firearms than Geng Zhongming's army.

In the three Ming army formations, more than 200 artillery pieces roared in unison, and hundreds of iron bullets instantly fired at the Qing army formation, immediately stunning the opposing Qing army.
Although Geng Zhongming's army also had more than 60 artillery pieces, most of the Qing army's artillery pieces were front-loading cannons, while the Ming army's artillery pieces were all rear-firing Portuguese cannons. In the time it took the Qing army to fire one shot, the Ming army could fire two or three.

On the battlefield, soldiers on both sides hid behind shield carts. Cannons on both sides kept roaring, but under the firepower advantage, the Qing army was quickly suppressed.
Iron bullets destroyed the shield carts in front of the Qing army and continued to penetrate into the Qing army. The Liaodong old camp in the middle of the Qing army could still fight back, but the Green Camp soldiers on the left and right wings began to disintegrate.

Under the general's flag, Geng Jimao looked at the Qing army that had already collapsed in front of him, his face was also anxious, his face darkened, and he said

"Father, you can't let this go on. I am willing to lead the cavalry to rescue and defeat the Ming army's infantry."

Geng Zhongming looked at the Liaodong old soldiers who kept falling in the middle army in the distance, but his face was gloomy, and he shouted coldly
"Rescue, who can you save?"

"Do you know the origins of the two Ming armies on the opposite side? Not to mention you, even if Lu Bu was resurrected, he would have no way out if he stood in front of the battle."

"What should we do now? The Ming army's firepower is too strong. If this continues, our army will collapse."

Geng Jimao looked anxious, but Geng Zhongming ignored him and looked at Xu Degong who was standing beside him. He said in a cold voice:
"Are you ready?"

"Everything is ready. The old brothers from Liaodong Camp have been called back in advance."

Geng Zhongming nodded, and then spoke directly

"Give the order to let the front troops charge"

At the rear of the Qing army, the command flags were waving rapidly. The soldiers in the front heard the charge horn and were all a little at a loss. Some soldiers hid in the formation and dared not move, while some soldiers subconsciously followed the horn and began to charge.

The Qing army's rear line kept calling for a charge, and the generals in the front line heard the order and began to drive their soldiers to charge.

Geng Zhongming, who was in the rear, saw the soldiers in the front rushing towards the Ming army, but he did not hesitate at all, jumped on his horse, and then quickly left to the rear.

Geng Zhongming was also stunned when he saw Geng Zhongming suddenly running to the back.

Geng Jimao looked at the soldiers who were being killed by artillery fire in front of him, gritted his teeth, and jumped on his horse to chase Geng Zhongming in front of him.

The Qing army in the front was charging under the fire, but Geng Zhongming had already fled to the rear with 800 cavalrymen. The Qing army in the front saw the general's flag suddenly fall down, and they were instantly in chaos.

Seeing the Qing army's flag fall, the Ming army immediately seized the opportunity to attack.

Hao Shangjiu led 3,000 cavalrymen to charge into the Qing army from the side. The Ming army also sounded the attack horn. The 20,000 Ming soldiers killed the Qing army wantonly. The more than 10,000 Qing soldiers in the front finally collapsed completely.

(End of this chapter)