Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

Li Chengming didn't pay much attention to the affairs of Wang Tizhong's former subordinates. Choosing to surrender was the best option, but he wouldn't stop them from leaving if they wanted to.

If Wang Tizhong's former troops could march over a hundred kilometers away from Xinzhou Prefecture on an empty stomach, then Li Chengming would admire them as true men, and from then on, he would let them go wherever they pleased.

If they cannot resist plundering civilians within a 100-kilometer radius, then the Restoration Army will have no choice but to act on behalf of Heaven, defeat them first, and then capture them all.

After a fierce battle that afternoon, the number of dead in the Restoration Army was not high, but there were quite a few wounded, both light and serious, and the entire army was exhausted and in dire need of rest.

Li Chengming led his 3,000-strong restoration army to camp in Ehu Town, intending to rest for one night and then rush to the walls of Qianshan City at dawn the next day to launch an attack on the Jin army, striving to annihilate Jin Shenghuan's remaining 20,000 troops in one battle, and ideally capture Jin Shenghuan alive.

That evening, Li Chengming, He Mingqiu, Zhou Lei, and Yan Huidong discussed a series of tactical details for the next day, and finally finalized the plan after a long time.

With a strong army at his disposal, Li Chengming was very confident in his plan. He was just waiting to launch an attack on the Jin army early the next morning, then divide, encircle, and completely annihilate them.

But plans often go against reality. At midnight that night, a fire suddenly broke out in the Jin army camp outside Qianshan City, waking Zhou Lei and Yan Huidong inside the city.

Yan Huidong quickly deployed his drone and witnessed a spectacular scene: countless Jin soldiers, carrying torches, were scrambling to cross the Xinjiang River in large boats, small boats, sampans, and even planks, regardless of the danger, before fleeing north.

Those supplies that were difficult to carry away were burned to ashes; this is the fire that broke out outside Qianshan City.

When the Xingfu Army on duty at Xinzhou City saw the fire, most of the Jin army had already crossed the river and fled.

Yan Huidong asked in surprise, "This... Jin Shenghuan just escaped like that?"

Zhou Lei, his expression also complex, said, "We discussed this for so long last night, how come we never expected him to run away?"

Yan Huidong shook his head and sighed, "Even the captain didn't expect this, so it's normal that we didn't expect it either. But to be honest, what could we do even if we did expect it? The captain and Mingqiu didn't come, so we couldn't do anything to Jin Shenghuan."

Zhou Lei said in a deep voice, "Aside from the wounded, we still have more than three thousand soldiers. If we go all in, we should still be able to defeat Jin Shenghuan..."

Yan Huidong said with a wry smile, "There's no point in saying all this. Let's report the situation to the captain and let him make the decision!"

Having been besieged for half a month, Zhou Lei and Yan Huidong were both holding their breath, waiting for the opportunity to launch a counterattack and fight back to avenge the besieged period.

No one expected that Jin Shenghuan would flee overnight.

In Ehu Town, Li Chengming received Zhou Lei's call. After listening quietly, he said calmly, "I understand. It's good that they've retreated. Even if we completely annihilate Jin Shenghuan's 20,000 troops, he still has 100,000 troops in Nanchang. Let him go."

Li Chengming had considered that Jin Shenghuan would escape, but he did not expect him to be so decisive, crossing the river and fleeing overnight without any hesitation.

In fact, Li Chengming was unaware of the extent of the impact the battle at Ehu Town had on Jin Shenghuan.

No matter how many times the Jin army had been defeated by the Xingfu Army, the Jin army had always been the attackers and the Xingfu Army had always been the defenders. The thick walls of Xinzhou City and the well-preserved layout of Ehu Town would naturally put the attackers at a disadvantage!

But this time was different. The attack launched by Li Chengming and He Mingqiu was the first time the Restoration Army had taken the initiative. There were no fortifications to rely on, no surprise attacks, but open and fair soldier against soldier, general against general, head-on collision!

Previously, Jin Shenghuan refused to acknowledge the strength of the Restoration Army, or rather, refused to acknowledge that the Restoration Army was so strong. However, this defeat at Ehu Town greatly shocked Jin Shenghuan, making him unable to make excuses for his failure.

After much painful reflection, Jin Shenghuan finally made the wisest decision since the start of the war: to withdraw his troops!

This midnight retreat was also the most successful military operation Jin Sheng had undertaken since his campaign against the Xingfu Army.

Judging from this retreat, Jin Shenghuan also seems to have inherited the spirit of his former superior, Zuo Liangyu: not discouraged by defeat, and retreat is the best option!

Jin Shenghuan's successful retreat highlighted the failure of the restoration army's plan. Li Chengming and others, especially Zhou Lei and Yan Huidong, felt a sense of frustration, like a punch that missed its mark, but there was nothing they could do!

There are people more pragmatic than Jin Shenghuan...

The next day, Yuan Daguang and three other captains took the initiative to approach Li Chengming, expressing their willingness to submit to the Xingfu Army and accept reorganization.

Li Chengming was secretly pleased, thinking to himself that this would save him a lot of trouble. So he first praised them a few times, and then told them his arrangements for them:

In Ehu Town, Wang Tizhong's former troops were reorganized, with half of their forces retained. They were first given half a month of training before being reorganized into the Restoration Army.

The other elderly, weak, sick, and disabled were each given two taels of silver and then sent home.

The four officers, including Yuan Daguang, were to first study at the Xingfu Army Military Academy for a period of time before further arrangements were made.

This battle has finally come to an end, ending with the annihilation of more than half of the Jin army's forces and Jin Shenghuan's defeat and escape in the middle of the night!

Although the Jin army was defeated and fled, there were still many things to deal with after the war. Li Chengming stayed in Ehu Town to handle the post-war matters.

This battle consumed a large amount of food and supplies for the Restoration Army, but apart from the money and valuables seized from the Jin soldiers who were killed or captured, there were no other spoils.

Of the Jin army prisoners, Li Chengming selected 1,500 to be incorporated into the Xingfu Army.

The other prisoners were also gradually sent away; the Restoration Army does not keep idle people!

The prisoners, along with the surrendered former troops of Wang Tizhong, were reorganized into a total of four thousand soldiers to be incorporated into the Restoration Army.

Xinzhou Prefecture alone could not support so many troops and prisoners, and Li Chengming also had to make plans for survival and development in the future.

Of these four thousand men, Li Chengming planned to take a portion of the troops to replenish the losses in Ehu Town and Qianshan City, and then add one thousand troops to each of Ehu Town and Qianshan City. The remaining troops would be taken back to Xinzhou Prefecture.

After dealing with matters in Ehu Town, Li Chengming arrived in Qianshan City. As soon as Zhou Lei saw Li Chengming, he excitedly said, "Captain! I've been waiting for you like the stars and the moon!"

Li Chengming laughed and scolded, "No, I just came to take a look."

Zhou Lei said, "Captain, look at my hair. I don't know how much hair I've lost or how much of it has turned white after this big battle. Anyway, can we find someone else to guard Qianshan City? I think Hui Dong would be quite suitable."

Yan Huidong, who was standing to the side, was startled and quickly waved his hand, saying, "No, Zhou Lei is still the most suitable to be the 'City Lord'. Captain, look how well he manages Qianshan City. This 'City Lord' cannot be changed easily."

Looking at Zhou Lei's half-gray hair, Li Chengming knew that his claim of being under a lot of pressure was true.

The assault team members were mentally strong; each of them could remain calm and composed when facing a life-or-death crisis.

However, personal safety and collective safety are two different things. Some people can become "kings of soldiers" but may not be suitable for positions above company commander.

Zhou Lei is such a person. Perhaps due to a lack of experience, or perhaps due to overthinking, Li Chengming did not readily agree with his self-denial.

After a long talk with Zhou Lei, Li Chengming finally agreed, "Then I'll stay in Qianshan City. If it really doesn't suit me, Captain, you can find someone else!"

Li Chengming patted Zhou Lei on the shoulder and said, "Eat and drink when you're supposed to, relax when you're supposed to. Although Qianshan City is important, even if we lose it, I can take it back. Don't think too much about it."

Li Chengming hoped that persuading Zhou Lei would work, and if he really didn't want to guard Qianshan City, he would consider replacing him.

The original strength of Qianshan City was 4,000 men. With the addition of 1,000 men from three battalions of surrendered troops brought by Li Chengming, the strength of Qianshan City reached 5,000 men.

Li Chengming stayed in Qianshan City for two days, offering some suggestions on city defense and personnel before leaving.