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

Chapter 169 Crossing the River Again

The government troops' lines dispersed like the receding tide, leaving only a scene of devastation and corpses on the gentle slope.

Without the supervision of the overseers, the surviving starving people scattered and fled, tumbling and crawling away from the battlefield.

Upon seeing the arrival of the bandit reinforcements, Shi Jiyan, who was making a ruckus in the rear, dared not linger and hastily led his local militia and guards back to Shanzhou City, where they remained behind closed doors.

After forcing Zuo Liangyu's troops to retreat, Shao Yong hurriedly returned to Jiang Han, dismounted, and spoke in a hoarse voice:
"My lord, please forgive me for being late."

Jiang Han nodded, then looked past Shao Yong and at the hundreds of cavalrymen behind him.

Looking at the exhausted faces of the cavalry, Jiang Han felt increasingly uneasy, and his brows furrowed.

"Why are there only a few hundred of you? Where is the main force?"

When this was mentioned, Shao Yong's face was full of shame. He dared not hide it and immediately recounted the whole story of the night attack on Songjialing.

As Jiang Han listened to Shao Yong's account, his expression gradually darkened.

By the end, his face was as black as charcoal, his fists were clenched so tightly they cracked, and his knuckles turned white from the force.

But what's done is done, and no amount of anger can change anything.

Jiang Han took a deep breath, suppressing his turbulent emotions, and then ordered Shao Yong to send two more light cavalry units back to support the main force in crossing the river.

Meanwhile, Zuo Liangyu was chased by Shao Yong all the way, and fled for more than ten miles while tumbling and crawling.

Only when he could no longer hear the shouts of battle behind him did he stop, still shaken, and gather his remaining troops.

Zuo Liangyu, clutching his aching back, gasped for breath, his face turning a deep purplish-red, and he burst into a tirade of curses:
"That damned Cao Wenzhao! The enemy reinforcements have all arrived, where is that bastard?!"

"He spread false intelligence and missed a crucial opportunity in the battle. I'll definitely impeach him severely!"

His son, Zuo Menggeng, who was standing beside him, remained calm and quickly advised him:
"Father, now is not the time to assign blame. The most urgent thing is to send someone to seek help from Cao Wenzhao."

A hint of worry appeared in Zuo Menggeng's eyes.
"That bandit cavalry seems to be just the vanguard, numbering no more than a thousand."

"But once the entire rebel army has crossed the river and established a foothold, driving them back will be as difficult as climbing to heaven."

"If the Emperor blames us, we won't be able to bear the consequences!"

Zuo Liangyu felt a chill run down his spine. Zuo Menggeng's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing most of his anger.

He paced back and forth in frustration. Now that the ferry crossing was occupied by bandits, even if he wanted to send someone for help, he would have to take a detour.

"Damn it, what a bad year!"

Zuo Liangyu spat, then gave instructions to Zuo Menggeng.
"Quickly pick a few of the smarter brothers and send them downstream to find a secluded place."

"Have them build some rafts and sneak across at night."

"No matter what, we must make contact with Cao Wenzhao's main force as soon as possible!"

It was nearly noon the next day when Jiang Han finally saw his main force on the opposite bank of the Yellow River.

With banners waving, the army marched for most of the day before finally crossing the Yellow River via a makeshift pontoon bridge.

Once everyone returned to their posts, Jiang Han took over command and ordered the entire army to set up camp near the ferry crossing for rest and recuperation.

He then summoned all the officers in charge of the troops to the central command tent for a meeting.

Inside the large tent, the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Jiang Han paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, finally stopping in front of Dong Erzhu, Shao Yong, Li Laowai, and other generals, his face grim.

"What's going on? Have you all lost your minds?!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it lashed at everyone's heart like a whip.

"How did I teach you to set up camp?"

"Where are the sentries? Where are the visible and hidden sentries deployed?"

"Didn't you see that I even had to tether the livestock near the camp as a warning in order to guard against Cao Wenzhao's night attack?"

"You've all learned all this stuff, but you've all forgotten it?!"

Jiang Han became increasingly angry as he spoke, his finger almost poking the noses of Shao Yong and the others.

He pointed at the group of people in front of him, his face full of disappointment:

"It's one thing that no one is sent to keep watch on the high ground, but when the army leaves the valley, they don't even send out scouts?"

"Where are your brains? Were they kicked by a donkey?"

Jiang Han's chest heaved violently, a mixture of disappointment and anger.

“Each of you has climbed up from the very bottom.”

“I can understand that you haven’t read military books and lack the awareness of commanding the overall situation.”

"But you've followed me through dozens of battles, big and small, and yet you haven't improved at all!!"

"When the army grows stronger and you are given the authority to lead your own troops, are you planning to lead your brothers to their deaths?!"

"If everyone is like this, I think we shouldn't even bother with this rebellion. We should just break up, go home, get married, have kids, and become obedient subjects of the government!"

Jiang Han's words were very harsh; this time, he was truly enraged.

He has always been grooming Shao Yong and others to be future leaders and commanders.

However, the Battle of Songjialing exposed their shortcomings as commanders.

Lacking a strategic vision, they even messed up the most basic task of setting up camp.

To be fair, Shao Yong, Li Laowai, and others are all excellent fighters when it comes to leading the charge.

However, as a commander-in-chief of an army, he is far from qualified to oversee the overall situation!

Of course, Jiang Han also knew that not many people were born to be commanders like Han Xin.

Every aspect of an army, from eating and drinking to marching and deploying troops, and the morale and spirit of its soldiers, is a subject of study.
These things can only be truly mastered through countless bloody battles and repeated trials.

The officers were thoroughly berated by Jiang Han, and they all lowered their heads, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Just then, Dong Erzhu, standing in the middle, stepped forward from the crowd and knelt on one knee:
"General, the fault of this battle lies entirely with me!"

"It was my negligence; please punish me, Commander!"

Jiang Han looked at him, waved his hand, and said with a hint of weariness in his voice:
"Get up."

"You were all involved in this battle. Remember that, and you'll redeem yourselves through meritorious service."

"I'll settle things with you after the fighting has subsided."

Right now, when manpower is in high demand, Jiang Han can't possibly give each of these officers a beating with a military rod, can he?

If everyone is out of commission, who will lead the troops?

Seeing that Jiang Han's anger had subsided, Shao Yong cautiously spoke up, trying to change the subject.

"Then, General, what should we do next?"

"Now that the entire army has crossed the Yellow River, shall we continue our advance into the heart of the Central Plains?"

Jiang Han was even more worried when this matter was mentioned.

The ambush left the army with nearly a thousand wounded, drastically reducing their mobility. Now, even if they wanted to run, they couldn't get far.

He stood in front of the map and stared at it for a long time, his mind racing as he calculated the enemy's and his own situation.

Although Ai Wannian's troops were decimated, Zuo Guangxian still had three thousand Qin soldiers under his command, and the unit was intact.

Cao Wenzhao has also disappeared without a trace, along with a group of surrendered soldiers under Bai Guang'en, as if they have vanished.

Although Zuo Liangyu, who was beside him, was an easy target, he still had nearly a thousand Changping soldiers under his command.

The most troublesome of them all is the 1,500 Guan Ning cavalrymen under Cao Wenzhao's command.

In the flat plains of Henan, this elite cavalry would be unhindered and could strike at any time. After much deliberation, Jiang Han's gaze finally settled on the winding Yellow River.

A bold idea began to take shape in his mind.

He wanted to cross the river back and ambush the government troops.

"Come here, all of you."

Jiang Han beckoned everyone to the map.

"The current situation of our army is roughly like this..."

"I'd like to hear what you plan to do if you were to become the head coach."

This means that you've saved up some points for the exam.

Several people gathered around, staring at the map for a long time. They all frowned, looked at each other, and dared not speak first.

"Don't all be so tight-lipped, just say what you're told!"

Jiang Han glanced at everyone.
"It's all about brainstorming, right? Even if we're wrong, am I going to chop your heads off?"

Old Li was the most straightforward; he pointed to the east side of the map and said bluntly:
"General, I think we should grit our teeth and head straight for Mianchi County!"

"Once we break out of this mountainous area, the land ahead will be flat and open. Then we'll be like dragons entering the sea, and no one will be able to surround us anymore!"

Jiang Han rolled his eyes at him and said irritably:

"A dragon entering the sea?"

"The entire army only had a little over two thousand horses that could be ridden, plus mules for pulling supplies."

"What kind of dragon are we going to use to enter the sea? Are we going to walk?"

"I'm afraid that before we even reach the sea, Cao Wenzhao's cavalry will catch up with us and chop us into mincemeat!"

Li Laowai was so choked up that he kept scratching his head:

"Then, General, what do you mean?"

Jiang Han didn't reply, but turned to look at Shao Yong and Dong Erzhu beside him.

Dong Erzhu glanced at Jiang Han and tentatively asked:
"How about we don't head towards the Central Plains, but instead head south and go into the mountains to wage guerrilla warfare against them?"

Jiang Han nodded after hearing this, but then asked in return:
"It's a good idea, but have you considered that with so many wounded soldiers, are you really going to have them come with us over the mountains?"

"Winter is just around the corner, and people can freeze to death in the mountains."

"Besides, with nearly 10,000 people, is there enough food in the mountains?"

"Or are you planning to use our grain to feed someone else's army?"

After he finished speaking, silence fell over the tent.

Seeing that no one had any better ideas, Jiang Han took a deep breath and tapped his finger heavily on the map.

"Now I have an idea, you should all listen to it."

"I was thinking, could we take advantage of the fact that the Yellow River hasn't frozen over yet and make some use of this pontoon bridge?"

"Under the cover of night, we'll sneak back to the north bank of the Yellow River via the pontoon bridge, find a place to ambush him, and launch a surprise attack!"

Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but Shao Yong looked troubled:

"But, General, I'm afraid our forces are insufficient."

"According to Zhao, excluding other leaders, the entire army now has just over two thousand brothers who can still take up arms and fight."

Jiang Han's army came out of the Fenhe Plain in a grand procession, totaling more than 4,500 men.

Subsequently, Hei Zi and Deng Yang took eight hundred elite troops and infiltrated the government army camp.

Since entering Pingyang Prefecture, the army has fought several battles, large and small. Although they have not suffered a major defeat, they have lost three or four hundred men.

A night raid a few days ago resulted in the deaths of more than 600 people and nearly 100 more wounded, some seriously and some lightly.

All things considered, the counter-encirclement campaign resulted in the loss of nearly half of the troops.

No wonder Jiang Han was so angry; these were all battle-hardened elites, not those starving peasants and bandits.

Jiang Han glanced at Shao Yong and said decisively:

"It's precisely because we don't have enough troops that we have to find a way to capture some supplies!"

"Besides, aren't there other leaders? They also have soldiers."

Shao Yong was stunned:
"But...how strong is this group's fighting ability?"

Jiang Han waved his hand, his tone firm:
"Since this group has low combat effectiveness, let's send more people to them."

"Didn't we train 800 soldiers for Li Zicheng and his men in Shanxi earlier?"

"I reckon there are still quite a few of these eight hundred men left. Add a few thousand miscellaneous soldiers, and that should be enough to hold off Zuo Liangyu's thousand-plus men, right?"

Shao Yong wanted to say something more, but Jiang Han interrupted him:
"I know what you're worried about."

"We can't always rely on our own people to fight on the front lines, can we? Zuo Liangyu's thousand-plus men are just the right amount; they're perfect for training."

Since the government troops intensified their crackdown on the bandits, many rebel leaders have defected to Jiang Han.

But the fighting ability of this group is truly hard to describe.

In almost every tough battle, Jiang Han leads his elite troops into battle.

Out of caution, he never, and dared not, entrust his back to anyone else.

But after the recent battles, Jiang Han realized that he could no longer let these rebel leaders hide behind him.

Without several fierce battles, they would forever remain starving bandits and vagrants, never able to develop into a fighting force.

Jiang Han is also going to Sichuan to establish a base.

What if, just as he enters Sichuan, this group of rebels is wiped out by the government forces? Wouldn't he be trapped and die in the Sichuan Basin?

For both public and private reasons, Jiang Han had to get them to fight.

Jiang Han's voice deepened, and he said decisively,

“If we turn around and run, do you believe me? Cao Wenzhao’s Guan Ning cavalry will catch up with us in less than three days.”

"Let me tell you, this is Henan Prefecture. Once you leave the Funiu Mountains, all you can see is flat land. There's nowhere to hide even if you want to find a mountain to crawl on."

"We only have these mules and horses. When the government troops' cavalry catch up, we won't be able to escape."

After listening, Shao Yong nodded:
"So, General, what do you plan to do?"

Jiang Han pointed to the map and analyzed it word by word:
"I plan to take advantage of the darkness to sneak back to the north bank of the Yellow River via the pontoon bridge, find a place to ambush them, and launch a surprise attack while the government troops are crossing the river."

"Whether it's Cao Wenzhao or Zuo Guangxian, whoever comes first, we'll fight them!"

"We don't need to annihilate them all in this battle. As long as we can take away half of the government troops' manpower, they won't dare to chase after us anymore."

"When that time comes, we can either find a county town to rest and spend the winter there, or continue east to meet up with Wang Jiayin and the others."

After staring at the map for a long time, everyone agreed that the plan was feasible and nodded in approval.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Jiang Han didn't waste any more words and immediately stood up:

"Go! Gather the generals and beat the drums to convene a meeting of all leaders!"

　Sorry, I was dragged to the company to work overtime again yesterday, so I'll just add one chapter now.

　　I think I'll add another chapter tonight or tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)