Xie Ming

Chapter 10 Breaking out of the siege

Xiao Jingchuan rode ahead, charging out as the city gate opened again. Behind him, eight hundred soldiers were also unstoppable, and like a swift arrow, they rushed straight towards the enemy's empty right wing.

On the high platform of the central army opposite, Liu Zongmin suddenly saw the troops rushing out of the city in the light of the fire, and he gasped.

"Brother, it is just as you said. There are really troops trying to break out of the chaos!" Liu Zongmin said in surprise.

"Well, but... after breaking out from this gate, where are they going?"

"You should know that the entire area north of the Yellow River and the Huai River has fallen into the hands of our Dashun Army. They are going to... Look at the direction they are heading to, is it Xiangshan?"

Song Xiance waved his whisk lightly and frowned, thinking deeply.

"Oh, no matter what he's doing, even if he's going to celebrate my birthday, I can't let him go like this!"

"Pass on my military order, Liu Heita's troops on the right wing, quickly fight back and block their path!"

"quick!"

After he finished speaking, it was difficult to send signals via flags at night, so the messenger officer rode his horse quickly to the front of the battle to communicate.

At this time, the two tactics of breaking out late at night and Wu Linzheng's direct attack on the center of the army to attract the enemy to surround it were fully effective.

In order to launch a quick attack, Liu Heita's troops on the right wing had mobilized almost all of their men to surround the central army. Now, they had left a large gap after leaving their original position. It would not be easy for them to quickly maneuver back along the same route.

Xiao Jingchuan's troops used unexpected tactics and attacked at an incredibly fast speed. They rushed and attacked fiercely towards the gap in the encirclement. It didn't take long for them to break through the enemy's siege and show signs of a successful breakthrough.

"kill!"

"Pei Zhong, go and support Chuan Wu and the others in the back. If anything happens to the Crown Prince, I will hold you responsible!"

After swinging his sword to knock down several enemy soldiers who were besieging him, Xiao Jingchuan glanced at the back and saw that the pressure in the middle of the team where Wang Chuanwu and Ma Minglu were located was increasing. In order to prevent those royal ministers from encountering accidents, Xiao Jingchuan hurriedly sent Sun Peizhong to his side to fight back and provide support.

boom!
There was a sound of a musket exploding, and the bullet flew past Wang Chuanwu's head and hit the head of the bandit soldier who was trying to launch a sneak attack behind him!

The person who made the move was Qi Dayong, the fat man under Li Huchen's command not far away.

Wang Chuanwu looked at him across several people in the battle formation. The so-called brotherhood between comrades-in-arms often arises suddenly in this life-and-death battle!
Li Huchen led his team to charge forward from both sides, and he himself was holding a big knife and killing towards Xiao Jingchuan like chopping melons and vegetables.

"General Xiao, lead the team and leave quickly!"

"I see a lot of new servants have fallen behind. I'll go to meet them and cover them for you!" Hu Chen shouted bravely and righteously.

"After you break off the siege, you will break out with me!"

"Liu Heita's right wing troops are chasing us. If we don't run now, when will we run?!"

"There's no time! Go!"

Xiao Jingchuan also remained absolutely calm during the fight. The purpose of this breakout was to gain a time difference. Now Liu Heita and the cavalry had begun to return to their original positions. The miscellaneous servants at the end of the team were trapped too deep in the enemy's formation and could not be rescued. If Li Huchen went again, it would only be a waste of military strength. So he immediately rejected Huchen's request and pulled the other party to continue breaking out to the front.

On the evening of March 22, the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, at 45: p.m.

Xiao Jingchuan's troops went out of Xizhimen and successfully broke through the chaos. They headed westward without stopping and headed straight towards Xiangshan!

As Liu Zongmin changed the original encirclement tactics and Liu Heita's troops turned back to pursue Xiao Jingchuan, Wu Linzheng and more than a thousand cavalrymen also saw a turning point.

The dumpling filling leaked!
The originally airtight encirclement was broken in an instant due to the withdrawal of Liu Heita's troops. Veteran General Wu Linzheng suffered multiple gunshot wounds and arrows, but after fighting desperately, he finally got a chance to withdraw with more than a hundred remaining soldiers and barely retreated back to the city!
In half a quarter of an hour, Xiao Jingchuan led his troops and galloped all the way to Xiong Mountain west of the city.

On a high point halfway up a slope, Xiao Lang reined in his horse and ordered the soldiers behind him to hurry up and not fall behind!
"Uu——"

"Old Xiao, the ones behind are almost catching up!"

Qiu Zhizhong was not a warrior, and although he knew some boxing and kicking skills, they were mostly just show-offs and useless, so during the breakout, he followed the prince, ministers and others and hid behind the team.

Now, he saw Xiao Jingchuan stopped and looked towards the capital, so he rushed to him, stopped his horse, and went up to talk to him. "Are the prince and ministers all right?" Xiao Jingchuan asked.

"Don't worry, everything is fine. However, most of the servants who came with the ministers were killed!" Qiu Zhizhong replied.

"Alas, there's nothing we can do about it!" Xiao Jingchuan continued.

"Also, before the charge, I placed a scout at the end of the team. He just came back on horseback and said that General Wu Linzheng had also safely retreated back to the city!"

Qiu Zhizhong knew that Xiao Jingchuan would be worried about this matter, so he made arrangements for intelligence gathering early in the morning.

But, after he finished speaking, Xiao Jingchuan still did not move, just stood there in a daze.

"Old Xiao, why don't you hurry up? What are you looking at?"

As he talked, Qiu Zhizhong also turned his horse's head and looked in the direction of the capital behind him, following Xiao Jingchuan's gaze.

"Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong), after this departure, I don't know when I will be able to see Beijing again!"

After saying this, they both fell silent at the same time. The city before them seemed to have taken on a more desolate and tragic tone at this moment!
"The country is destroyed but the mountains and rivers remain! Old Xiao, hurry up and leave, the pursuers will catch up soon!"

After he finished speaking, Qiu Zhizhong patted Xiao Lang on the shoulder, and the two of them started forward, without any hesitation, and continued on their way forward.

At the same time, over there, outside Xizhimen, on the high platform of Liu Zongmin's central army.

"Oh my god, damn it, he actually let that old guy Wu Linzheng run away!"

"I'm so angry!" Liu Zongmin clenched his fists and smashed them on the railing in front of the stage.

"Haha, you don't have to do this, Lord Ru. In my opinion, letting Wu Linzheng return to the city will reduce your potential risk and will not affect the overall situation. It is a good thing, a good thing!"

Next to Liu Zongmin, Song Xiance was chatting and laughing, and didn't care about it at all.

"Report——"

"Report!"

"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, Liu Heita's troops have just captured a few tongues."

"After interrogation by General Liu, we learned the details of the troops that broke through the siege!"

The messenger in charge of communication in front of the battlefield came riding back to report. Upon hearing this, Liu Zongmin's eyes widened.

"What the hell are you talking about? Tell me the details!"

"Yes!"

"The one who escaped is the Crown Prince Zhu Cilang of the Ming Dynasty!"

"There are also several ministers in the court who claimed to be servants in the house of the Minister of Revenue when their tongues were caught!" replied the messenger.

"Prince? Who is leading the troops?" Liu Zongmin asked.

"This tongue that was caught doesn't seem to be confirmed. It seems to belong to a guerrilla general of the Shenji Camp. His surname is Xiao, and his name is Xiao Jingchuan or something!"

"Hmm? Xiao, guerrilla general?"

"Humph! It seems that there is really no one left in the Ming army. How dare such a nameless person dare to show his eyes to this commander-in-chief!"

When Liu Zongmin heard the name Xiao Jingchuan for the first time, he was full of confusion and contempt. He did not hide his disdain for the Ming army. After asking, he waved his hand and sent the messenger away.

"My Lord Ru, what do you think of this prince's escape?"

(End of this chapter)