If there is anything wrong with Fei Yangwu's handling, there is actually not much wrong with it.

Under normal circumstances, on the one hand, when defending a city, it faces the siege of others, either by going out to attack the intruders, or by gathering troops from outside the city into the city in order to make plans to defend the city head.

What's more, Fei Yangwu didn't have many soldiers and horses to defend the city. After he asked Erosaichen to lead two Niulu's Lao Michou horse soldiers to coordinate with Engetu's Mongolian Jia La to leave the city, the city's defense force would be seriously insufficient.

.

At this time, it is human nature to transfer Tong Shounian's troops stationed at the Hushan Fort Camp on the other side of the Koha River mouth outside the city into the city to make up for the lack of troops in the city after Erosechen and Engetu led their troops out of the city.

Because of this, two experienced veterans, Eroseichen and Engetu, did not raise any different opinions on this matter.

However, what Fei Yangwu, Eluo Saichen and Engetu didn't know was that the Yang Zhen troops they were about to face were not the Ming Dynasty troops they were used to seeing in the past.

If there was anything wrong with Fei Yangwu's response to Yang Zhen's troops who were camped across the river from them, then this might be their biggest mistake.

But this mistake is destined to be impossible for them to correct.

Late at night on April 13, the 15th year of Chongzhen, Fei Yangwu, together with Mele Zhangjing's Luo Saichen, Jia La Zhangjing Enge Tu, and the Han army Jia La Zhangjing Tong Shounian, made up their mind to leave the city and cross the river to attack the Ming army camp.

The deployment was quickly launched that night.

Eroseichen and Engetu, in the second half of the night, ordered together 2,100 horse-armed soldiers, and quietly left the north of the city under the cover of the dark night and river fog.

As for Tong Shounian, although he was unwilling to give up the Hushan camp and fort that he had operated for a long time, he did not dare to disobey Fei Yangwu's order.

Finally, slowly and thoroughly, all the Han army's cannons and cannons stationed in the Hushan camp and fort were withdrawn into the city.

Because he was unwilling and slow to act, Tong Shounian did not dismantle all the guns and cannons of the Hushan Fort until the east turned white and the sky gradually became brighter.

Then a fire was set off, intending to burn down all the Hushan Fort and nearby camps.

Yang Zhen's soldiers and horses found nothing about Fei Yangwu's other actions, but the billowing smoke in the direction of the Hushan Fort soon after dawn on April 14 aroused the attention of Zhang Chen's sentry soldiers.

Notice.

There was unusual news in the direction of Hushan Fort, and it was quickly reported to Zhang Chen.

Less than half an hour later, Zhang Chen rushed to Yang Zhen's tent, who had already stood up after hearing the news, with the results of his personal observation.

"Commander, there is thick smoke and fire in the direction of the Hushan Fort. I have just gone to the high place on the river bank and looked with a telescope. I can judge that it was not a fire in the Hushan camp of the Qing Dynasty, but a deliberate act by the Qing Tatar!"

When Zhang Chen arrived, not only Yang Zhen was already neatly dressed, but also Li Lu, Yang Shen and others had also heard the news and arrived.

Zhang Chen was the last to arrive because he rushed to a highland on the bank of the river to observe the situation in person as soon as he received the report.

However, his judgment on the situation across the river in the direction of Qingta's Hushan Fort was the clearest and firmest.

"How can I see it?"

Yang Zhen tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, and it wasn't until almost dawn that he finally fell asleep due to drowsiness.

After all, the construction of Xinyi Fort has just begun, and not even an earthen fence has been built yet. With so many soldiers, horses, food and equipment camping in the wild with him, and only hastily dug trenches and fences built with wood as protection, he actually felt a little worried.

Uneasy.

What if the Qing soldiers and horses cross the river in large numbers to attack our army’s camp at night?

Although this kind of camping overnight was not the first time for Yang Zhen and his troops.

But in the past, almost this time the enemy was in the open and our own troops were in the dark, so we didn't worry much about being discovered by the enemy or being attacked by the enemy.

However, this time, the Zijun army was in the open.

Although Qingta in Jiulian City on the other side of the river had no navy or decent ships, Yang Zhen still couldn't sleep well.

It wasn't until dawn, when the best opportunity for Qinglu's night attack had been lost, that Yang Zhenfang couldn't resist his sleepiness and finally fell asleep.

Unexpectedly, not long after he fell asleep, waves of night watchmen and generals on patrol rushed over to him to report the unusual scene in the direction of Hushan Fort, which made him confused for a while.

"If there is a flood or fire, it is only appropriate to direct the rescue when there are people running to put out the fire. However, according to my humble observation, there are not a large number of people running to put out the fire in the direction of Hushan Fort. Apart from the thick smoke and fire, it is quiet and nothing can be seen.

Figure!"

Facing Yang Zhen's inquiry, Zhang Chen was very confident.

As a former Ye Bushou in the border army of Liaodong Town, Zhang Chen has always been one of the best in his ability to know the smallest details.

"So, what you are saying is that the Qinglu chief general in Jiulian City, the Qinglu Town Duke Fei Yangwu, just like he abandoned Yizhou Fucheng after hearing the news last time, simply abandoned the Hushan Fort and reduced all his troops to the city to defend it.

Already?"

"I'm not sure whether all the troops were withdrawn and entrenched in the city. However, the Qing garrison at Hushan Fort should have withdrawn into Jiulian City! This approach is indeed exactly the same as when the Qing invaders destroyed Yizhou Prefecture, a city that abandoned the imperial court."

"Yes. You are right. When the two armies are confronting each other, any judgment must be made with caution."

Zhang Chen's answer did not cater to Yang Zhen's rhetorical question and seemed very cautious.

This just reminded Yang Zhen, who couldn't help but start to think about why the Qinglu chief general of Jiulian City, that is, Qinglu Town Duke Fei Yangwu, wanted to withdraw the garrison of Hushan Fort and its nearby camps into the city.

In fact, judging from the news that Yang Zhen had received before, the Qing captives had already sent more troops to Jiulian City. There were at least six to seven thousand people in the city, and Jiulian City was not big and could not accommodate many troops.

At the same time, the strategic position of Hushan Fort is also very important, and the Qing Dynasty Lord will not abandon this important place that has been operated for a long time without any reason.

Yang Zhen thought about it again and again. He couldn't figure out his thoughts for a while, so he turned to other people present and asked:

"You all think about it, why did the Qinglu suddenly abandon the Hushan Fort?"

"Captain, I have an idea!"

After Yang Zhen's question was raised, Yang Shen, who was in charge of the artillery regiment, immediately took over the conversation thoughtfully.

"you say!"

"I'm thinking, if the Qing rebels have heavy artillery on the Hushan fort and can block the Yajiang waterway, then the Qing rebels will definitely not abandon the fort easily."

Yang Shen has been in charge of the artillery regiment of the Eastern Expeditionary Army for a long time. He has gradually grown from a low-level rookie who knows little about artillery and bombardment tactics to an expert who knows the way and even the elegant meanings of string songs.

And from the very beginning, he analyzed the problem from the perspective of whether the Qing captives had heavy artillery at Hushan Fort.

This angle not only made Yang Zhen's eyes light up, but also made him realize something instantly.

"Hmm. So what's your judgment?"

"My humble opinion is that the Qinglu fort definitely does not have heavy artillery at the Hushan Fort, and the range of the other artillery in the Hushan Fort is not enough to block the river, so the Hushan Fort is useless to the general of the Qinglu Jiulian City."

"Weak ribs? Well, if there are no heavy artillery on the Hushan fort, it is indeed like useless. But even if it is tasteless, it is tasteless to eat, but it is a pity to abandon it. After our armies arrived, we had not fought with each other, so the Qing Dynasty general destroyed it like this

Don’t you think it’s a pity if you lose it?”

"This——,maybe——"

Yang Zhen's rhetorical question made Yang Shen, who had originally vowed to do so, speechless for a moment.

"Maybe what?"

Seeing that Yang Shen was about to speak but stopped, Yang Zhen continued to ask.

"Beizi originally wanted to say that perhaps the Qinglu general was worried about the lack of troops in Jiulian City. But Beizi also thought about the fact that Qinglu had sent troops to Jiulian City before and there was no shortage of troops in Jiulian City, so it was difficult to figure it out for a while."

Yang Shen answered Yang Zhen's question with a tangled expression.

Yang Zhen nodded after hearing this and did not ask him any more questions.

But even so, Yang Shen's judgment that Hushan Fort had no heavy artillery has given Yang Zhen great inspiration.

What Yang Zhen was most worried about in this battle was that once the Qing captives had multiple heavy artillery, they would cause a lot of casualties to his men.

But looking at it now, not only did the Qing Dynasty not have many heavy cannons, they probably didn't even have one heavy cannon.

Because if they were to relocate to each other, if Yang Zhen had a heavy artillery, it would have to be deployed first on the strategically important Hushan Fort.

Such an important position was simply abandoned and destroyed, which means that the Qingqi garrison in Jiulian City probably did not even have a single heavy artillery.

After coming to this conclusion, Yang Zhen felt much more relieved.

However, this conclusion was an unexpected discovery, and Yang Zhen's question about why the Qing captives withdrew their troops into the city was not resolved.

Because even if Hushan Fort does not have heavy artillery, there are always other small and medium-sized artillery. If there is no shortage of troops in the city, there is no need to abandon the defense or even destroy it.

"That means Jiulian City has insufficient troops. Only in this way can it be explained."

Yang Zhen was just thinking when Li Lu next to him suddenly spoke.

"Ever since we learned that the Qing rebels have been increasing their troops in Jiuliancheng, we have always felt that the troops in Jiuliancheng are sufficient, but the number of Qing captives in Jiuliancheng will not only increase but not decrease.

"General Qiu sent the patrol team to the north first. For safety reasons, they always went to the east of the Yangtze River. They only saw the Qing captives from the north going south along the river to Jiulian City, but they didn't know that after arriving at Jiulian City, they might turn west and go to the dangerous mountains.

Fort and even Phoenix.

"After all, the flag owner of the Qinglu Zhenglan Banner is Prince Zheng Jierhalang himself, and he has been stationed in Phoenix City for a long time. After the governor took us to swear to the Northern Expedition, the Zhuanghe Fort Zu Commander and the others led an additional army to Xiuyan City. Phoenix City may

Got the news.

"Not long ago, the governor took us to Tangzhan Fort, and then sent a large number of troops to Tangzhan Fort. It is impossible that the sentinels sent by the Qing Dynasty would not notice such a movement. Once they realize that we are attacking Phoenix

If there is a possibility that the city will be conquered, perhaps troops will be dispatched from Jiulian City!"

Li Lu didn't speak a word, but when he spoke, he made it clear, and he spoke clearly and logically, making Yang Zhen couldn't help but nod.

However, before Yang Zhen had time to express his appreciation for Li Lu's words, Li Lu's judgment was immediately rejected by Zhang Chen.

"cannot!"

"Oh? Why can't you see it?"
To be continued...