The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 122 I'd rather be robbed by bandits than let Cao Cao's soldiers stop me.

The two pieces of news that came in succession were like two heavy hammer blows, hitting Wang Jiayin, Jiang Han and other leaders of the rebel army hard.

Are You Shilu and Cao Wenzhao born in the Year of the Dog? They caught up so quickly?

Their actions were swift enough, capturing both Kelan and Jingle counties within three days.

Unexpectedly, the soldiers also ran very fast. Before they could even sit down, the soldiers followed them by smell.

This was the most desperate predicament of the peasant uprisings at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

The rebel army had finally captured a city, but before they could even catch their breath, government troops from all directions surrounded them again.

Although the Ming Dynasty was a dilapidated ship, it still had its foundation.

If Emperor Chongzhen couldn't deal with the Eastern barbarians, surely he could deal with these unruly people?

Once the generals and lieutenant generals receive orders, they will launch a siege from all directions, giving you no chance to rest, recuperate, or consolidate your territory.

The rebels were always on the move and fighting, let alone establishing a base.

Inside the county government office, a group of leaders frowned, fidgeting and uneasy, unsure of what to do.

Wang Jiayin took a deep breath, suppressing his agitation, and turned to look at Jiang Han:
"Brother Shangshanhu, you have a lot of ideas. Tell me, what should we do now?"

"To stay or to leave?"

Jiang Han's expression was also unusually solemn at this moment, feeling deeply troubled.

You Shilu, needless to say, held the rank of General and commanded over ten thousand soldiers; he was no easy opponent.

Cao Wenzhao, who commanded the Guan Ning cavalry, had many fierce and elite generals under his command, causing the rebel army to suffer greatly.

Neither of these two guys is easy to deal with.

Now they are attacked from two sides, and if they are not careful, they may be wiped out!
But if they just slink away like that, then the operation would be considered half a failure.

Even if they fled into the Fenhe Plain, You Shilu and Cao Wenzhao's two armies would still chase after them.

The so-called recuperation, development, and expansion are simply out of the question.

After a brief silence, Jiang Han suddenly raised his head and said in a deep voice:

"beat!"

"We can't just run away like this!"

He stood up, walked to the map in the hall, and pointed to the location of Kelan County:

“Zijinliang still occupies Kelan. Kelan City has high walls and thick walls, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as the command is proper, You Shilu will not be able to take it easily.”

"We can rely on the city walls to deplete the officers' and soldiers' manpower as much as possible."

He turned to look at Wang Jiayin and continued his analysis:

“You Shilu can’t break through the city in a short time. As long as Hengtian King leads the main force there immediately, he will definitely be able to hold it.”

"In short, we must not allow You Shilu to take back the city unscathed."

"Isn't You Shilu supposed to have a large army and many generals? This time, we'll make sure he leaves behind thousands of corpses of government soldiers under the city walls."

"If we cripple You Shilu, the pressure on us will naturally be much less."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jiayin nodded emphatically.

"On this point, we're on the same page."

"But if I go to Kelan, what will happen to Cao Wenzhao in the north?"

Wang Jiayin's tone was filled with deep apprehension.
"As far as I know, Cao Wenzhao has two forces under his command."

"One was the Guan Ning Army, which he personally commanded, consisting of about 1,500 cavalrymen, all of whom were battle-hardened elites; the other was the border troops transferred from Shaanxi, consisting of about 1,500 infantrymen, whose combat strength was equally impressive."

"Especially the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry, they come and go like the wind, their combat power is astonishing, and they are really not easy to deal with."

"We've all suffered at Cao Wenzhao's hands before, so it won't be easy for any of us to fight!"

Silence fell again in the hall. Cao Wenzhao and his Guan Ning cavalry weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like a mountain.

Seeing this, Jiang Han realized it was time for him to step forward.

He took a deep breath and said in a low voice:

"I'll go."

"I'm going to meet this Cao Wenzhao. We can't let him cover for us."

Wang Jiayin hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said:
"Both of us came from the border army, so we should know how formidable the Guan Ning Army is."

"These thousand-plus cavalrymen are no joke. What are your plans?"

Jiang Han did not answer immediately, but slowly walked out of the lobby, looking at the drizzling rain outside and feeling the damp and cold air.

After a moment, he slowly spoke:
"In terms of mounted archery and charging, my two thousand infantrymen are naturally inferior to his Guan Ning cavalry."

"But this is not the flat plain of Liaodong, but the rugged and difficult-to-traverse Lüliang Mountains."

"No matter how powerful Cao Wenzhao's cavalry is, they can't operate effectively."

"Besides, it's raining now, I don't believe he would dare to send all his cavalry in!"

Li Zicheng, who had remained silent until now, couldn't help but speak up, his voice tinged with worry:

"But the roads are slippery in the rain, making it difficult for infantry to march and fight."

Jiang Han nodded and asked in return:

"That's still better than the cavalry in the mountains, right?" "In this kind of terrain and weather, the cavalry's mobility and impact will be greatly reduced, and he can only fight on foot after dismounting."

Jiang Han clenched his fist suddenly, his eyes sharpening.
"With the right timing and favorable location, I refuse to believe we can't stop him!"

Jiang Han's words were powerful and confident, which revitalized the previously oppressive atmosphere in the lobby.

Despite this, Jiang Han's heart was far from as relaxed as it appeared on the surface.

Although Cao Wenzhao's military achievements were all obtained by pursuing and suppressing peasant armies, his reputation still speaks for itself, and his strength should not be underestimated.

Cao Wenzhao, hailed as the foremost general of the late Ming Dynasty, commanded a highly disciplined army whose orders were strictly obeyed.

Judging solely from the ferocity of his generals and the elite status of his soldiers, they were undoubtedly among the best of their time.

Faced with such a formidable opponent, even with the advantage of timing and location, Jiang Han couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy.

At this very moment, Cao Wenzhao, whom Jiang Han and Wang Jiayin considered a major threat and was known as "the best general of the late Ming Dynasty," was killing surrendered soldiers.

Not long ago, Cao Wenzhao joined forces with Commander Wang Shih-hu, leading three thousand elite troops to set up an ambush outside Yanmen Pass, successfully blocking Wu Sanjing, a general under Wang Jiayin.

Cao Wenzhao took the lead, leading the Guan Ning cavalry into Wu Sanjing's formation and beheading him in one fell swoop.

Wu Sanjing's troops suffered heavy losses. Originally more than 4,000 men were wiped out in just a few rounds, leaving only more than 2,000.

Cao Wenzhao, covered in blood, stood amidst the corpses, holding Wu Sanjing's head in one hand, a cold smile on his face.

"A clown, utterly pathetic!"

He casually tossed the severed head to his nephew, Cao Bianjiao, who was also covered in blood but had an unusually excited look in his eyes.

"Transform into a dragon, go! Take the bandit leader's head and shout it to those remaining bandits."

"Tell them to lay down their weapons and surrender immediately, and I will spare their lives!"

Cao Bianjiao responded excitedly, took the head, and then, with a few personal guards, spurred his horse and charged to the front of the enemy ranks.

He held Wu Sanjing's head high and shouted:
"Your commander is dead, why don't you immediately surrender?"

"The General has ordered that those who surrender will not be killed!"

Seeing their commander die, the remaining two thousand-plus bandits lost their will to fight.

Upon hearing Cao Bianjiao's promise that "those who surrender will not be killed," they all laid down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.

Soon, more than two thousand bandits knelt on the ground like felled wheat, awaiting the government troops' judgment.

But when Cao Wenzhao looked at the surrendered soldiers kneeling before him, there was no pity in his eyes, but instead a cold killing intent flashed across them!
He snorted coldly and gave an order to Sun Shoufa, the guerrilla fighter beside him:
"A bunch of traitors, keeping them around is just asking for trouble."

"Pass down the order: kill them!"

Upon hearing this, Commander Wang Shih-hu was stunned. Wasn't it agreed that "those who surrender will not be killed"?

However, the Guan Ning soldiers under Cao Wenzhao seemed to take this for granted.

Upon receiving the order, they let out a burst of excited shouts, brandished their butcher knives, and charged towards the unarmed and bewildered surrendered soldiers.

The surrendered soldiers never expected Cao Wenzhao to go back on his word, and so quickly at that!

In the chaos, they didn't even have time to pick up their weapons again before they were hacked to death by the swarming Guan Ning soldiers.

Cries, screams, and pleas for mercy echoed across the wilderness.

The massacre of surrendered soldiers lasted for almost half an hour, and in the end, more than two thousand surrendered soldiers were slaughtered until only five hundred remained.

Only when the battlefield was littered with corpses and rivers of blood did Cao Wenzhao, still not satisfied, order the massacre to stop.

He casually waved his hand, handing the remaining five hundred surrendered soldiers over to Meng Hong, the garrison commander of Yanmen Pass who had rushed over upon hearing the news, and told him to take them back and deal with them as he saw fit.

After doing all this, Cao Wenzhao acted as if nothing had happened and ordered the army to immediately assemble and head towards Ningwu Pass.

The army marched south along the official road and arrived at Sanchamao, where the terrain was gentler and a small stream flowed nearby.

Seeing that the soldiers and horses were somewhat tired, Cao Wenzhao ordered them to rest briefly, drink water, and wash their horses.

Not far away, on a hilltop, lies a small village called Lijia Village.

Looking into the distance, one can still see wisps of smoke rising from chimneys, and faintly hear the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs, making it seem quite peaceful and serene in this chaotic world.

Cao Wenzhao reined in his horse, squinted at the village, and a strange smile appeared on his lips.

He turned and winked at Sun Shoufa, then casually said:

“Guerrilla General Sun, look at that village up there. It seems to be quite prosperous.”

"The soldiers have been pursuing us for days on end, without removing their armor or saddles. They have worked very hard."

"Take some men with you and borrow some grain from the villagers."

Sun Shoufa understood immediately and led three hundred Guan Ning soldiers towards Li Family Village.

Wang Shih-hu, who was bringing up the rear, was also taken aback when he saw this situation.

He hurriedly rode to the central army camp and found Cao Wenzhao to inquire:
"General Cao, what has happened?"

Cao Wenzhao remained as calm and collected as ever, waving his hand dismissively:

"It's alright, let's rest for a bit and borrow some more grain from the villagers."

Wang Shih-hu nodded, thinking that it was nothing unusual to simply gather food locally.

After all, the large-scale suppression of bandits consumed a huge amount of food and supplies, and the imperial court's supplies were often insufficient.

"Relying on the people for food" was also an unspoken rule among the government and the army.

(End of this chapter)