"Tenth Prince, hundreds of people ran out of Xuanfu Town. The people in front were wearing armor, they should be Ming soldiers. The people behind were carrying luggage and their families, they seemed to be civilians."
As soon as the army set up camp, Duoduo received the news from the herald.
Without even looking up, he asked, "Didn't you receive the order from Tulai?"
The herald officer was stunned. "We did receive it. We thought that if we shoot them now, the Ming army on the city would fight to the death. Why not..."
Duoduo sneered, "He is being clever and acting on his own initiative. Come, take him out and give him twenty military sticks. Tulai is the vanguard in front of my tent. The words I asked him to convey are military orders. You must obey my orders."
The messenger wanted to say something but was pulled out by the Eight Banners soldiers outside the tent. A moment later, screams were heard.
After receiving Duoduo's signal, Tulai led his men out of the tent and rushed towards the soldiers and civilians who had fled from Xuanfu Town.
On the city wall of Xuanfu Town, Yan Yingyuan and everyone else watched hundreds of soldiers and civilians leave the city.
Although the vast majority of people recognized Yan Yingyuan, there were still a very small number of people who did not trust him.
Among these people were some former military commanders and some businessmen. They were not the beneficiaries of Yan Yingyuan's reforms, but the ones whose interests were lost.
No matter what Yan Yingyuan said, they would not believe it.
So he just joined the Jiannu.
After leaving the city, these people ran towards the outside of the city while looking back at the top of the city wall vigilantly.
The Ming soldiers on the city wall taunted: "You bastard, you who deserted the battlefield, shall not die a good death."
"Why didn't you run away earlier or later? Why did you wait until the Jiannu surrounded the city before running away? This is disturbing the morale of the army. If I were Lord Yan, I would definitely behead you and let everyone know to stabilize the morale of the army!"
"Run faster, you bastards. If you run too slowly, I'll fire at you!"
Just as the Ming army on the city wall was mocking, a cavalry rushed out of the Jiannu camp.
Behind the flag-bearing soldier in the front were three yellow military flags embroidered with white cloud patterns, red flame patterns and black dragon patterns.
Flag bearers are not exclusive to infantry, cavalry also have flag bearers. The difference is that the flags used by cavalry are not as big as those used by infantry. Most cavalry will tie three flags on their backs or horses to guide the cavalry to attack.
Since the flag-bearing soldiers are the most eye-catching among the chaotic army, they are also responsible for leading the charge.
Therefore, the flag bearer has a very high status in the army. Not only is he in the same position as the commander-in-chief, but he also has the best food, equipment, etc.
"Jian...Jiannu Zhenghuang Banner!" a Ming army soldier blurted out.
Yan Yingyuan took the clairvoyance and looked at the group of cavalrymen seriously.
This was the first time he saw the Jiannu and also the first time he saw the Eight Banners soldiers.
The horses of these Zhenghuang Banner soldiers were very good, and they crossed the trenches as if walking on flat ground. The armor they wore was basically the same as that of the Ming army, except for the color.
The cotton armor consists of eight parts: upper garment, lower garment, left and right shoulder guards, left and right armpit guards, front seam cover, and left seam cover.
The whole body of the armor is yellow, and the blue part is made of cowhide.
The outside of the helmet is painted black, decorated with a copper-gilt hoop, a copper-gilt necklace tube, a gourd-shaped necklace, and black necklaces hanging around it.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, these Zhenghuangqi cavalrymen rushed towards the group of fleeing soldiers and civilians at the fastest speed.
Seeing that the distance between the two sides was within the range of an arrow, under the leadership of the flag-bearing soldiers, they drew their bows and arrows, and the arrows poured out like rain, drowning the fleeing soldiers and civilians in a moment.
Then, these people drew their bows again and aimed at the fish that had escaped the net.
After two waves of arrows, there were only a few people left standing on the ground.
Seeing this, seven or eight cavalrymen drew their swords and rushed towards those people on horseback.
The knife flashed and blood spurted out.
More than four hundred people were slaughtered.
Everyone was silent.
Yan Yingyuan slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, with a look of determination and viciousness in his eyes.
The rest of the soldiers stood there speechless, unable to recover for a long time.
"Jian...Jian slaves didn't even ask any questions and just went straight to killing people?" a soldier asked in disbelief.
"What else? Do you expect them to kowtow to you and then stand up and kill you?"
"It's a good thing I didn't run away. The Jiannu are too scary. No, they are cruel! They are more vicious than wolves, tigers and leopards!"
"So..." Yan Yingyuan took over the conversation, "Only by being more ruthless than them can we defend this city and protect the people in it."
"Is there anyone else who wants to surrender?" Yan Yingyuan turned around, stood in front of the city gate tower, and asked loudly.
In the distance behind him were the densely packed Eight Banners soldiers, and in front of him were the Ming soldiers with firm gazes and resolute attitudes.
"No!"
"No!"
The soldiers raised their weapons and responded loudly.
"Okay, from now on, I will live and eat on the city wall, and I swear to live and die with Xuanfu Town!"
Inspired by Yan Yingyuan, the Ming soldiers shouted: "We swear to live and die with Xuanfu Town!"
"We swear to live and die together with Xuanfu Town!"
The shouting was earth-shaking and was heard by the messenger who relayed it to Dodo's ears.
Duoduo showed disdain on his face, but he clenched his fists again and again: "Tell the Eight Banners of Han to build siege equipment overnight. I will attack the city tomorrow morning!"
"Also, have all the troops guard the city tonight to prevent a night attack from the Ming army! Especially the cavalry. Cavalry won't participate in sieges anyway, so have them guard the city!"
“Yeah.”
While Duoduo was arranging his troops, Yan Yingyuan was sitting in the city gate tower, discussing countermeasures with the guards at each gate.
"Lord Yan, the Jiannu have come from afar and are exhausted. It would be better to send a few hundred assassins out of the city for a night attack. Even if they can't kill many people, it will at least make them afraid of our army."
"Yes, Lord Yan, please give the order! There are more than a hundred death warriors in our army, and we have an irreconcilable feud with the Jian Nu!"
Yan Yingyuan looked at these excited generals and hesitated for a moment: "A night attack... the Jiannu will definitely be prepared."
"It is better to disturb the enemy rather than attack at night."
"General Ding, I'll have to trouble you tonight to let the Jiannu have a taste of the Ming Dynasty's sharp weapons!"
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