Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

After entering the city, Yan Huidong went straight to the city's granary.

For the Restoration Army, cities were not important; seizing granaries was the most important thing.

Soon, Yan Huidong led a battalion to eliminate the guards patrolling around the granary and took control of the granary and warehouse.

The other two battalions also dispersed, taking control of the various intersections by platoon.

Taking the granary was only the first step. Although the Restoration Army created a spectacular explosion, catching the Qing army off guard, and quickly stormed into the city to capture the granary and warehouses.

However, the Qing army had not yet suffered heavy losses, and the strength of the more than 3,000 Qing soldiers should not be underestimated.

Seeing the flickering torches near the granary, Zhang Tianlu realized that the massive explosion was very likely caused by the Restoration Army.

The Restoration Army also hides an army!

Sure enough, not long after, a subordinate came to report that an extremely powerful restoration army had stormed into the city and captured the granaries and warehouses.

The granaries and warehouses were the lifeblood of the Qing army. Zhang Tianlu was so angry that he almost vomited blood. He hurriedly ordered his men to organize troops to recapture the granaries and warehouses.

This batch of money and grain was Zhang Tianlu's only means of supporting his army. Without it, he would have no choice but to resort to plundering grain, which would leave no one in Huizhou to support him and would have dire consequences.

As for asking the Qing court for money and provisions, the Qing court would say that they have already given you an official position, power and status, and it is already good enough that they do not ask you for money and provisions. How dare you still think that they should give you money and provisions?

Therefore, whether driven by rage or by rational analysis, Zhang Tianlu would prioritize gathering troops to reclaim the money and supplies.

Before occupying the granaries and warehouses, the Restoration Army feared that the Qing army would set fire to the grain. After occupying the granaries and warehouses, the Qing army feared that the Restoration Army would set fire to the grain.

Yan Huidong used drones to clearly see the distribution of troops in the city. The Qing army launched several counterattacks, but they were all easily repelled by the Restoration Army.

The Restoration Army had also gradually climbed the city wall at the south gate. The Restoration Army's spearmen and musketeers took turns in formation, firing back enemy archers with muskets and spearmen with spears.

The first troops of the Restoration Army cleared a safe area on the city wall, and the troops behind them followed one after another. Soon, the entire southern wall was occupied by the Restoration Army.

There were more than 3,000 Qing troops in the city. Facing two regiments of the Restoration Army, they were overwhelmed and suffered repeated defeats. Soon, Zhang Tianlu found that he had no more troops to send!

Although unwilling to believe it, the troops sent out have been defeated, and the capture of Huizhou City by the Restoration Army is a fact!

Zhang Tianlu slumped to the ground in despair. Zhang Tianfu rode up on horseback, urgently saying, "Brother, let's escape quickly! If we wait any longer, we won't be able to get away!"

Zhang Tianlu was dragged and pulled onto his horse by Zhang Tianfu, and the two brothers fled straight towards the east gate.

Of the more than 3,000 Qing troops defending Huizhou, some died, some surrendered, and only about one-tenth escaped the city with the Zhang Tianlu brothers!

Soon, before dawn, the Restoration Army had taken control of the entire city of Huizhou and was searching street by street for the fleeing soldiers who had taken refuge in civilian houses.

When Chen Shaoping found Yan Huidong, Yan Huidong was warming himself by a fire.

Not only Yan Huidong, but the entire regiment he led also took firewood from the woodshed next to the granary and lit fires everywhere to keep warm.

Chen Shaoping joked, "Oh, you're not wearing pants?"

Yan Huidong picked up a burning stick and pretended to throw it, saying irritably, "You're also crossing the river, how come you're not wet?"

Chen Shaoping also sat down to warm himself by the fire, saying, "We're not too wet. Before crossing the river, I told everyone to take off their cotton-padded clothes and trousers first. As for the clothes underneath that got wet, we can dry them by making a fire after we cross the river."

Yan Huidong said, "I envy you guys, you can cross the river so calmly. We can't do it. It's dark, and we're in a hurry. Our pants are all wet."

Yan Huidong wouldn't say that when he crossed the river for the first time, he didn't think to take off his cotton-padded clothes first and rushed into the river. He got wet the first time, but he didn't care the next few times.

Yan Huidong didn't quite catch on for a moment, and his men didn't remind him either. Fortunately, there was little rain in winter, and the upstream was a tributary with shallow water. Most people only got their pants wet, and their upper clothes remained dry.

After taking control of Huizhou City, the auxiliary troops who remained on the other side of the Xin'an River tributary also crossed the river one after another, transporting cannonballs, bullets, and gunpowder in wooden boats they had found.

Yesterday, when the main force of the Restoration Army crossed the river, Huang Daozhou did not cross with them. Instead, he stayed on the west bank with the auxiliary troops. He only crossed the river with the auxiliary troops today.

Seeing Huang Daozhou being supported by two people, his face pale, Chen Shaoping asked, "Scholar Huang, what's wrong? Are you ill?"

Huang Daozhou said weakly, "General Chen, I...I have caught a cold, and I'm afraid I'm not going to make it."

Chen Shaoping was taken aback. He hadn't heard you say you couldn't make it during the forced march of the Xingfu Army a few days ago. How come you suddenly fell ill?

But upon closer reflection, marching dozens of kilometers a day might not be a big deal for the young and strong officers and soldiers of the Restoration Army, but it was indeed difficult for Huang Daozhou, a sixty-year-old man.

Although there were horses for Huang Daozhou to ride, the bumpy ride was more uncomfortable than walking. These four or five days of living in the open and exposed to the elements could easily make an old man catch a cold.

Chen Shaoping quickly instructed people to find a good house for Huang Daozhou to stay in, and called a doctor to treat him.

After his subordinates helped Huang Daozhou leave, Chen Shaoping shook his head and said to Yan Huidong, "It's really kind of him to be so old and still follow us on this expedition."

Yan Huidong said, "Judging from his condition, we have no choice but to let him stay."

Chen Shaoping said with a wry smile, "I also told him to stay, but he said he was the commander-in-chief and that even if he was to die, he would die on the way to war."

When they set off from Xinzhou City, Li Chengming had tried to persuade Huang Daozhou to stay behind, worried that he was too old to keep up with the long march of the Xingfu Army and that something might happen to him on the way. But Huang Daozhou insisted on coming along, saying that he would rather die than not go north with them to fight against the Qing.

Yan Huidong said helplessly, "This is troublesome. We are about to set off after a day of rest. How can he come with us in this condition? Let's find someone to forcibly send him back tomorrow."

Chen Shaoping sighed and said, "That's the only way. Let the captain handle this tricky problem."

Since they had no intention of occupying Huizhou, the Xingfu Army simply posted notices to reassure the people after entering the city and did not intend to deal with the local government affairs.

The prisoners were simply dismissed. Zhang Tianlu still had half of his troops outside the city. Once the Restoration Army left, Zhang Tianlu would definitely return, and the Restoration Army couldn't care less about that.

The capture of Huizhou City was solely for the sake of the food supplies within its walls.

The grain stored in Huizhou City was indeed substantial. According to estimates, this grain was enough to feed 7,000 people until next summer's harvest. It seems that the grain reserves here were precisely calculated by Zhang Tianlu.

Even with the maximum effort the Restoration Army could take, they could only move half of the grain.

Yan Huidong asked, "What should we do with the remaining half of the grain?"

Chen Shaoping sighed, "Let's leave it to Zhang Tianlu. He only has half of his army left, which is just enough for him. He won't have to continue plundering the people's food supplies."

Yan Huidong nodded and said, "That makes sense. If there is no food, he certainly won't disband the army. Instead, he will plunder the people's food rations to feed the army."

Chen Shaoping shook his head and said, "We can't worry about that now. We can't stay here any longer. There are quite a few Qing troops stationed in the nearby prefectural city. Once they gather their forces, they can pose a considerable threat to us. So we need to leave as soon as possible."

Having achieved their strategic objective of attacking Huizhou, Chen Shaoping and Yan Huidong decided to leave Huizhou the next day, head north through Ningguo, and then east out of Zhejiang!