Xie Ming

Chapter 11 Heading to Xiangshan
When Liu Zongmin learned that the prince had escaped, he did not take it to heart.

When he heard the name Xiao Jingchuan, he felt that he was an unknown person and looked down on him.

But Song Xiance, who was beside him, disagreed.

"Lord Ru, now that the prince has escaped, what are you going to do?" When Song Xiance saw the messenger leaving, he came over and gave some advice.

"Oh? Hi! What should we do? You said that the entire area north of the Yellow River and Huai River is our territory. If he breaks out from the west, how far can he run? Don't bother with him. I don't think he will be captured by our troops around the capital before he can get out of Northern Zhili!"

Liu Zongmin was carefree because he knew that he could march directly into the capital tomorrow, so he didn't care at all about the prince of a fallen country!
"Haha, Ru Hou, oh Ru Hou, you are smart all your life, but you are foolish for a moment!"

"In my opinion, Emperor Chongzhen is stubborn and stubborn. I declare that when the city falls tomorrow, Chongzhen will not survive but will die!"

"Oh?" Hearing this, Liu Zongmin seemed to be thinking about something.

"So, the emperor is dead, then who will be the next one?" Song Xiance continued to guide and ask questions.

"Prince!" Liu Zongmin replied.

"That's right! As long as the emperor is alive, the prince is worthless. But once the emperor dies, the prince's value will immediately rise!"

"As for why the 15-year-old prince wanted to break out from Xizhimen, I, Song Xiance, have not figured it out for the time being."

"But, if he really has the ability to secretly go south and escape to Nanjing, then by then he can mobilize hundreds of people to respond, win over the four towns in northern Jiangsu, and defend the river, hehe."

"My Lord, by that time, when you think about letting the tiger go back to the mountains today, I'm afraid you won't even be able to cry!"

After hearing Song Xiance's reasoning, Liu Zongmin was shocked and felt that he had almost made a big mistake, so he slammed the wooden fence hard and shouted loudly.

"Somebody come!"

"Quickly pass on this commander-in-chief's military order!"

"Order Liu Heita to lead his two thousand elite cavalry to quickly pursue and destroy the Ming troops who have just fled!"

"I must capture Crown Prince Zhu Cilang himself and bring him back to me!"

"Damn it! If he lets the prince escape again, tell Liu Heita to bring his head to me!"

"Yes!"

Seeing that Liu Zongmin suddenly became furious without any warning, the messenger of the central army dared not be vague. After hearing the military order, he hurriedly jumped on his horse and rushed towards Liu Heita's troops on the right wing.

On the 23th, at 45: p.m., northwest of Beijing.

Xiao Jingchuan's troops fled non-stop and arrived at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain, where they began to wind their way up the mountain.

"Fei Yu (Qiu Zhizhong), how long have we been walking?" Xiao Jingchuan asked without stopping.

"Probably... almost an hour!" answered Qiu Zhizhong from the side.

While the two were talking, Li Huchen also rode up on horseback from behind their team.

"General Xiao! General Xiao!"

"Oh? Brother Huchen, is there any situation back there?" Xiao Jingchuan asked hurriedly when he saw Li Huchen rushing over.

"No, nothing at the moment."

"But the brothers have already marched nearly 40 miles. If they continue to march like this, the horses will not be able to bear it!"

"Why don't you stop for a moment and let the horses slow down?"

What Li Huchen said makes sense. In ancient times, whether it was cavalry or infantry, a forced march of 120 to 140 kilometers in a day and a night was already the limit. If they only marched during the day, with people and horses marching non-stop for 12 hours, running 60-70 kilometers was considered a forced march!
During the Three Kingdoms period, during the Battle of Changbanpo, Cao Cao led his army day and night, covering 300 miles in one day and one night. Zhuge Liang then said that his army was at the end of its strength and could not even pierce the silk cloth of Lu. This is a good example of his ability.

After all, there is an upper limit to the running speed of war horses. Moreover, during wartime, they have to carry heavy loads, such as people and equipment. After running 40 miles in an hour, they must stop and rest. If they are not allowed to rest, it will cause irreversible damage to the war horses, and in serious cases, they will directly die from running!

But at this moment, for Xiao Jingchuan's troops, the situation is far more complicated than military theory.

"Brother Huchen, you can't rest!"

"We have elite enemy cavalry chasing us from behind, and we have managed to gain some distance."

"We are suffering from the loss of time, and the enemy cavalry behind us are suffering even more!"

"It all depends on who can outlast the other!"

Xiao Jingchuan gave earnest advice, and Li Huchen took it to heart.

"Report——"

"Report!"

"General, we enter the valley ahead. The path is narrow and there are several sections where only three horses can travel side by side!" "Oh?" The sentry Xiao Jingchuan had just sent to the front reported the information. Hearing that there was a canyon, Xiao Jingchuan reached out and took out the map in his arms.

"Pei Zhong! Pei Zhong!"

"Bring me a torch!"

As he spoke, Sun Peizhong came up to him, and Xiao Jingchuan looked at the map carefully under the firelight.

"One line of sky!"

"There is a narrow strip of sky three miles ahead." Xiao Jingchuan murmured to himself.

Li Huchen and Qiu Zhizhong, who were standing by, heard this and suddenly spoke out in unison.

"ambush!"

"Hahaha, great minds think alike!" Xiao Jingchuan laughed loudly.

"Pei Zhong, have the troops brought by the left camp of the Shenji Camp been counted after the breakout?" Xiao Jingchuan asked.

"General, the Shenji Battalion led out 500 soldiers and horses, 50 of whom were killed when breaking out of the encirclement. Now there are more than 450 soldiers left." Sun Peizhong replied with a fist salute.

"Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong), have you ever counted the servants brought by the ministers?"

"Before charging, there were probably more than a hundred people. It was too disorganized and we didn't count them all. After breaking out, I ordered people to count them, and there were about 50 people left." Qiu Zhizhong replied.

"it is good!"

"Hey, Brother Huchen, where are your cavalry? What's the battle damage?" Xiao Jingchuan asked again.

"General Xiao, I led 200 men out here, and after this battle, we still have 150 heads left!"

[Xiao Jingchuan's Shenjiying headquarters troops: 500-50-450 people]

[Li Huchen's Cavalry: 200-50=150 people]

[Ministers and retainers: 150? -50=50 people]

[Total number of troops: 650]

"Well, okay." After Xiao Jingchuan sorted out the situation of the troops in his hands, he breathed a sigh of relief. Although there were losses in various parts, the overall casualties were not large, which was better than he had expected.

Thinking about this, he looked up at the mountains ahead.

"It's a dark moon, the wind is high, the snow is flying, and there's a ray of sky. What a great place!"

"What a heaven-sent ambush and burial place!"

"Sun Peizhong!" Xiao Jingchuan began to shout orders.

"Here!" Sun Peizhong responded with a bow.

"Quickly lead the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion to the narrow gap three miles ahead. After passing the narrowest area, the terrain will become flat 300 steps ahead. Order the soldiers to lead the horses to find a way to ambush on the steep cliffs on both sides of the narrow gap. Collect boulders nearby to prepare for an ambush to block the road!"

"Order!"

"Qiu Zhizhong!" Xiao Jingchuan ordered again.

"exist!"

"You lead Gu Changting, Ma Minglu, Wang Chuanwu, the Crown Prince's ministers and a group of servants, and follow the Shenji Camp to advance quickly. The important figures hide behind the narrow gap, and the servants go up the steep wall, and Tong Peizhong will command!"

"Order!"

"Li Huchen!"

"The general is here!"

"You lead your cavalry to rest on the spot. When the pursuers arrive, lead your troops to meet the enemy. You can only fight and retreat to lure the enemy into the ambush area of ​​Yixiantian. After the ambush of the Shenji Camp begins, you will take advantage of the situation to strike back and block the enemy's advance!"

"The last general takes command!"

"There is no time to lose, everyone please follow my orders immediately!"

After saying this, Xiao Jingchuan bowed.

Li Huchen, Qiu Zhizhong and Sun Peizhong, having received the order, did not rest but rode their horses to start action, mobilizing their troops!

(End of this chapter)