Xie Ming

The crisis in Henan rests on your shoulders.

At the end of August, Sun Peizhong cleverly crossed the river and secretly returned, abandoning Xuzhou and then attacking and capturing Guide City.

While stationed in the southeast corner, he not only dispatched generals Niu Kuisheng and Li Hongsheng to pursue and defeat Lege at Chenliu, leaving the enemy soldiers and cavalry with no survivors.

Moreover, he devised a clever plan to change the route, and then used his troops to decisively defeat a portion of the rebel army led by Xu Dingguo.

By this time, most of southeastern Henan had been cleaned up.

Of course, such a great victory should not have clouded Pei-chung's judgment in a short time.

He was a cautious and prudent person by nature.

After achieving victory, he did not take any risks by trying to cross the border of Kaifeng.

Instead, they took what they could and hastily retreated to Guide Prefecture with their troops.

They seized the opportunity to expedite construction, extensively repaired city defenses, and transported and stockpiled grain and fodder towards Runing, in order to prepare for future battles as much as possible.

Time flies, and September arrives. Sure enough, when the soldiers in Kaifeng were finally regrouping after much painful reflection, Lege could no longer contain his anger.

With a mighty force, he led another 10,000 troops south, heading straight for Guide.

Of course, the reason why he dared to act recklessly again with only 18,000 troops was that he had his own reliance.

At that time, when Ajige found the clean Xuzhou, he learned that Peizhong had fled west and gone into hiding. He also learned of Lege's defeat. He was furious and wished he could tear Sun Peizhong to pieces.

In order to strike at the Ming army in Guide, a place where their foothold was not yet secure.

Ajige fled west, and Tongpin ordered Lege to launch a feigned attack from the north and south.

Thus, the Jurchen cavalry of Kaifeng, disregarding the vast disparity in troop numbers, charged into Guide City's defenses with an air of fighting to the death and seeking revenge.

That was actually a ploy to trick Sun Peizhong into underestimating the enemy, so that he could lead his troops out to attack.

Ajige was unaware of the oriole behind him.

However, to the enemy's surprise, Pei Zhong turned out to be a coward this time.

No matter how much Lego teases him, hey, he just won't leave the city.

Time slipped by, hour by hour.

By the third day of the ninth month, Ajige had already led his entire force out of Xuzhou and set up camp after crossing Dangshan.

They're just waiting to pick up the scraps from behind.

But after two days, it became clear that Pei Zhong was staying in the city and not coming out, which made Ajige extremely angry.

But there was absolutely nothing they could do.

Finally, despite his desperate attempt to thwart the plan, the old man had no choice but to order his 20,000 troops to return to the east of Guide City under cover of night.

He is cunning and calculating. Even if we launch a direct assault, we will surely be able to break through the defenses of Guide City, which has already been ravaged by war, and take it in one fell swoop, annihilating Pei Zhong's forces and eliminating future troubles.

Therefore, based on this calculation, Ajige immediately ordered Lege to form a pincer movement from the east and west, launch a fierce night attack, besiege Guide, and begin the siege.

Meanwhile, in the same place, a fierce battle is raging in eastern Henan.

In the direction of Luoyang in the west, Liu Hongqi and Li Ji encountered these two powerful bandits, but they also had some restless thoughts.

In a short period of time, relying on the weakened military strength of the north and south, the two sides plundered gold, silver and other valuables in Luoyang, Yongning and Dengfeng.

Later, he forcibly recruited more than 8,000 local militiamen, a motley crew whose audacity was boundless.

Jian Huaiqing was threatened by Wu Sangui's army.

These two dared not openly commit violence, so they headed north.

The rebel army led by Gao Hu in Nanyang also fled, and the route down south was cut off once again.

Therefore, after assessing the situation in the east, these two thieves, who knows where they got the information from, or who gave them the audacity to act so recklessly.

Because the battle in Guide was fierce, the garrison in Kaifeng was less than a thousand strong.

This band of bandits immediately set their sights on Kaifeng.

He truly dares to think and act, which is quite unexpected.

Sure enough, at the end of August and the beginning of September, this bandit gang joined forces and secretly made their way to Kaifeng Prefecture.

On the third day of the ninth month, this army, a motley crew, managed to avoid the main road and sneak through the fields, advancing eastward and reaching the walls of Kaifeng.

Taking advantage of the city's weakened and lax defenses, they launched a night attack, and with the help of those inside and outside, they actually broke through the city walls.

This news of the country bumpkins entering the city greatly excited Liu Hongqi, Li Jiyu, and others.

His soldiers were lazy and unruly, and that very night, they burned, killed, and looted in Kaifeng, committing all sorts of atrocities.

Unbeknownst to the two thieves in this critical moment, an urgent report and several fast horses had already delivered the news to Ajige outside Guide City.

When Ajige received the news, how could he let it go?

He immediately flew into a rage and flew into a rage.

Legge was incompetent in leading his troops and was severely reprimanded in court, receiving a good beating with a horsewhip.

He was beaten so badly that his skin was torn and he was on the verge of fainting before his subordinates urged him to save his life. In truth, even Gotler was wronged.

After all, who could have predicted something like this?
How dare those petty thieves and scoundrels like Liu and Li suddenly appear, jump around on the table, and hop all the way to Kaifeng?
Just recently, he had been intercepted by the Ming army while trying to break out of Chenliu, and he already had many sword and knife wounds on his body.

Right before their eyes, military affairs were raging, and then this happened in the backyard.

The general was humiliated, and he felt resentful.

After receiving another lash, this young man will lead his remaining five or six thousand cavalry back to Kaifeng to seek reinforcements.

Upon arriving in Zhuxian Town, I heard that the city had been completely lost, with all four gates tightly closed, and I feared that my troops would be unable to retake it.

At that moment, a surge of anger welled up inside me.

He was like a candle flickering in the wind on horseback; he vomited blood and died in court, falling from his horse.

Furthermore, his death left Ajige, who was outside Guide City, completely bewildered.

At this critical moment, having lost such a capable ally, how can the Battle of Guide be fought?

His heart also felt the strain of the city's fall, and that one hand could not clap.

And just like that, another ten days or so passed in the blink of an eye.

September 22nd arrived.

The siege of Guide City dragged on for a long time without success. As the siege dragged on, the Qing army under Ajige was exhausted due to the long march and lack of supplies.

After retaking Kaifeng and publicly executing the two bandit leaders, Liu Hongqi and Li Jiyu, the troops were thoroughly exhausted and at their limit. From generals to soldiers, everyone wanted to head north to rest and regroup.

At this very moment, Sun Peizhong, assessing the enemy's situation, sensed that the time for a counterattack had come.

Taking advantage of the enemy's weakened morale, we should go out of the city to meet them in battle and decide the fate of the world in one fell swoop.

So on the morning of the 22nd, he immediately issued orders, and Ma Jinzhong and his troops were already prepared.

Upon receiving the commander's clear order, and seizing the opportune moment, a massive army of 30,000 men marched north from places like Luyi and Taikang.

Soon, they attacked from both sides, encircling and surrounding Guide City.

Sun Peizhong watched the battle from the city tower. When he saw the reinforcements arrive, he was overjoyed, knowing that victory or defeat was decided today.

Therefore, upon receiving the order, more than 20,000 troops from Pei Zhong's and Li Hongsheng's forces poured out of the city.

Together they led their troops out of the city and fought their way out.

Ajige, seeing this scene, was greatly alarmed before the court tent.

To preserve the strength of the entire army.

His son knew that the situation was hopeless and he could not go against it.

Resentful, he quickly tucked his tail between his legs and fled with his troops.

Relying on the swift speed of the Jurchen warhorses, this routed army headed straight for Beikaocheng and Yifeng, intending to retreat to Kaifeng and Weihui.

Following closely behind, Sun Peizhong had a strong and well-equipped army, and he originally intended to press on all the way and take Kaifeng in one fell swoop.

However, man proposes, God disposes.

At this time, Wu Sangui, who had been resting and recuperating in Huaiqing for a long time, finally couldn't sit still any longer.

The man led his troops in a scheme, and around the 23rd, they arrived from the east, reaching the walls of Kaifeng.

He led his troops, horses, and provisions, and captured a detachment from Ajige's defeated army. The two armies then joined forces and entered the city.

Instantly, Kaifeng's defenses were greatly strengthened.

At this moment, Ajige retreated again and again, leading the majority of his troops north to Weihui to rest and regroup.

In response, Sun Peizhong, who was being pursued and attacked outside Kaifeng, sighed with regret.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

He was unwilling to give up and was unwilling to withdraw his troops, so he led his army to attack Kaifeng again for several days.

However, Kaifeng's city walls were thick and well-defended.

The Ming army had been besieging the city for many days but had made no progress and could not capture it.

Pei Zhong pondered, but worried that once Ajige had rested and regrouped, he might lead his army to attack again, creating a pincer movement.

Having no other choice, and feeling resentful, the only option was to withdraw the troops and return south, with the main force retreating to Guide.

In addition, the two cities of Tuocheng and Ningling were divided into two defensive units, forming a mutually supporting defensive triangle.

At this point, the situation in southeastern Henan has temporarily stabilized.

Furthermore, at the end of September, Li Hongsheng and Niu Kuisheng led troops on another westward expedition.

In the Nanyang and Xinye areas, they decisively defeated Gao Hu's rebel army and regained control of the southwestern region of Nanyang.

After several bloody battles, most of the prefectures and counties in the southern section of the country were brought back under the control of the Ming army. (End of Chapter)