Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

After Wang Tizhong was murdered by Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren, Wang Tizhong's former subordinates were also indignant and fought with Jin Shenghuan's troops for nearly ten days, causing bloodshed in Nanchang City and countless casualties on both sides.

Wang Tizhong's troops outnumbered Jin Shenghuan's, but due to a lack of unified command and Wang Deren's covert attempts to win them over, Wang Tizhong's troops gradually fell behind. In the end, the die-hards were killed, and the remaining troops were forced to surrender and were incorporated into Jin Shenghuan's forces one by one.

Although Wang Tizhong was forced to surrender to Jin Shenghuan, many of his former subordinates were still dissatisfied with Jin Shenghuan. When Jin Shenghuan was in high spirits, no one dared to openly express their dissatisfaction with him.

In this siege, Jin Shenghuan used Wang Tizhong's former troops as cannon fodder, placing them at the forefront of the charge and at the rear of the retreat. As a result, Wang Tizhong's former troops suffered the greatest casualties in the first two sieges.

Wang Tizhong's former subordinates, who were already dissatisfied with Jin Shenghuan, no longer wanted to be used as cannon fodder. So, the middle and lower-ranking officers who had not received any benefits when they surrendered to Jin Shenghuan secretly contacted each other, intending to find an opportunity to break away from Jin Shenghuan's forces.

Yuan Daguang, a Jin army commander who came down to Qianshan City in the middle of the night, was selected from among Wang Tizhong's former subordinates to represent a group of middle and lower-ranking officers in negotiations with the Xingfu Army.

Zhou Lei had just returned from inspecting the camp and fallen asleep when his guard woke him up. Zhou Lei thought there was some urgent military situation, but when he found out there was nothing, he was so angry he almost cursed.

The guard reported, "Commander Zhou, please calm down. Company Commander Zhang is waiting outside, and he's brought over a Jin army centurion, saying he wants to discuss something with you."

Zhou Lei got up and dressed, then asked in surprise, "Jin Army Commander? What do you want to discuss?"

Then he instructed the guard, "Go and call Commander Yan over here too!"

Although Zhou Lei was in charge of Qianshan City, he had never negotiated with anyone before. He also called Yan Huidong over so that they could come up with ideas together if anything happened.

After waiting for half an hour, Yan Huidong arrived, and Zhou Lei leisurely walked out.

Zhou Lei glanced at the Jin army commander with feigned nonchalance and said indifferently, "Company Commander Zhang, untie this Jin army commander. He's a guest; what's the point of keeping him like a prisoner?"

"Yes!" Company Commander Zhang silently untied the rope binding Yuan Daguang, the commander of the Jin army, and then stepped aside.

Yuan Daguang didn't complain. As soon as he was untied, he bowed deeply to Zhou Lei: "I've long admired General Zhou!"

Zhou Lei waved his hand at Yuan Daguang and said succinctly, "Sit!"

Zhou Lei, Yan Huidong, and Yuan Daguang sat down according to their positions of importance.

Yuan Daguang's expression remained neither humble nor arrogant throughout, extremely calm, making him a rare talent, which made Zhou Lei look at him with new respect.

As for giving him a hard time or something, Zhou Lei disdained to do that. No matter what is discussed or negotiated, in the end, it is strength that matters.

Yuan Daguang looked at Yan Huidong. Yan Huidong was not the garrison commander of Qianshan City, nor did he intend to promote his reputation, so it was normal that Yuan Daguang did not recognize him.

Yan Huidong said nonchalantly, "You guys talk, I'm just here to observe."

Under Yuan Daguang's puzzled gaze, Zhou Lei didn't explain anything, but instead asked directly, "You said you came to see me about something important. What is it?"

Yuan Daguang, who also came from humble origins, disliked speaking in roundabout ways like a scholar. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "I come on behalf of the former troops of General Wang Tizhong, and I wish to make a deal with your army."

Zhou Lei became interested and asked curiously, "Tell me about the deal?"

As Yuan Daguang organized his thoughts, he said, "Many of General Wang's former subordinates are dissatisfied with Jin Shenghuan. Jin Shenghuan treats us like pigs and dogs, making us charge to the front lines in battle. As a result, we suffer huge losses without receiving replenishment, and the wounded do not receive medical treatment. He even withholds our military pay and rations under the pretext of defeat..."

Zhou Lei interrupted, "So what does all this have to do with our Restoration Army? You didn't come here in the middle of the night just to complain about this, did you?"

Yan Huidong, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh and said, "What's the use of you saying all this? Say something that interests us."

Yuan Daguang looked embarrassed, coughed a few times, and said, "Tomorrow, Jin Shenghuan wants to launch a larger-scale siege, mobilizing more troops than before, and will launch a main attack on at least two city gates."

Zhou Lei pondered for a moment before saying, "If what you say is true, then this intelligence is indeed somewhat valuable to us, but so what? I'm confident I can defeat your Jin army once, and I'm confident I can defeat you a second time, a third time!"

Yuan Daguang nodded: "Your army is valiant, and I naturally believe what General Zhou said, but your army wouldn't want to commit further bloodshed tomorrow, would it?"

Zhou Lei frowned and said in a low voice, "What do you mean by that?"

If it's just about killing the enemy, then in a battle between two armies, killing a lot of people can't be considered "creating too much bloodshed." Zhou Lei understood the deeper meaning in Yuan Daguang's words, which is why he asked this question.

Seeing that the tide had turned in his favor, Yuan Daguang said unhurriedly, "That Jin Shenghuan has abducted a lot of people from the towns and villages under Qianshan County. When we attack the city tomorrow, he will drive those people to lead the charge..."

"Bang!"

Zhou Lei slammed his fist on the table, suppressing his emotions, and said, "Continue!"

Yuan Daguang had no reason to fabricate such a story to amuse himself, so Zhou Lei judged that what he said was very likely true!

It was not uncommon for civilians to be driven into the vanguard during sieges. The Qing army, the rebel army, and Zhang Xianzhong's army all did this. As long as it was beneficial to the siege, many armies would choose to do so. It is not surprising that Jin Shenghuan, as a military leader in a chaotic era, would do such a thing.

As a modern soldier with impeccable revolutionary credentials, Zhou Lei's moral standards were far higher than those of the warlords of this era. Only when he actually encountered such a situation did he realize that his anger was impossible to suppress.

Upon seeing Zhou Lei's reaction, Yuan Daguang thought to himself: Everyone says that the Restoration Army is benevolent and compassionate towards the common people. Seeing General Zhou's reaction today, it is indeed true.

Only a benevolent general would be angered by the suffering of the common people.

Yuan Daguang continued, "Besides driving the people forward to attack the city, Jin Shenghuan also made our General Wang's old troops follow closely behind, using us like cannon fodder. Our dissatisfaction with Jin Shenghuan had been accumulating for a long time, and we were unwilling to be driven around like pigs and dogs by him, so..."

Yuan Daguang paused deliberately at this point.

Yan Huidong suddenly asked, "So you want to cooperate with the Restoration Army and then betray Jin Shenghuan?"

Yuan Daguang cupped his hands to Yan Huidong and said, "General, you are wise. We did indeed intend to do so, but that is not betrayal, but rather a return to the right path!"

Zhou Lei was indignant at Jin Shenghuan's actions, but he also knew that acting impulsively would be useless.

Zhou Lei looked at Yan Huidong, his eyes asking: How come you didn't find out about this?

Yan Huidong seemed to understand Zhou Lei's gaze and asked Yuan Daguang, "Where are those people now? Why haven't we found them? Can we rescue them ahead of schedule?"

Yuan Daguang said, "I came to your army seeking cooperation precisely for this reason. Those people were only abducted today. In order to avoid your army discovering anything, this matter was done with utmost secrecy. Jin Shenghuan sent his own elite troops, and now those tens of thousands of people are imprisoned in a valley quite far from Xinzhou City. They will be driven over early tomorrow morning!"

Zhou Lei and Yan Huidong both understood that Yan Huidong's main focus was on the Jin army's troop deployment and movement. Since there had been no major battles in the past few days, Yan Huidong had not investigated anything other than the main targets.

In addition, Jin Shenghuan acted swiftly and deliberately concealed his activities, which is why Yan Huidong did not discover that Jin Shenghuan was abducting a large number of people.

Yuan Daguang used the lives of these people as bargaining chips to seek cooperation with the Restoration Army.

Yuan Daguang proposed the following conditions for cooperation between the two armies: Wang Tizhong's former troops would help the Xingfu Army rescue the people captured by Jin Shenghuan, and then join forces with the Xingfu Army to resist the Jin army's attack.

The restoration army had to agree to the following: Wang Tizhong's former troops would join the restoration army as an independent force, obeying orders but not proclamations!