Bang! Whoosh!
The fire flickered and the sound of bowstrings was heard.
"Ah!" A dozen Ming soldiers were hit by bullets and arrows and fell to the ground screaming.
Seeing this, the rest of the Ming army sped up their escape.
"Don't attack!" At Bayan's signal, the Jiannu siege troops did not attack.
When these people were about ten steps away, Bayan hid behind the shield car and shouted, "Stop, the most senior officer, come out."
A Ming soldier came out and clasped his hands together and said, "I am Second Brother Yang, the commander of the Fifth Army Battalion."
Xuanfeng is the elite force in the army, and commonly used titles include Xuanfeng, Zhanfeng, etc.
"Why surrender?"
"It would have been fine if Huang Degong had just fled to Juyongguan out of fear of death, but instead he ordered us to defend Huailaiwei to the death. My brothers and I refused to accept this and simply surrendered," said Second Brother Yang.
Bayan's eyes quickly swept from the distant city wall to the nearby Yang Erge.
Surrenders of the Ming army were not uncommon, but at this critical juncture one had to be cautious.
Of course, he could just order his men to shoot and kill these surrendered Ming troops.
But the consequences are serious.
The Eight Banners soldiers very much welcomed the surrender of the Ming army. If they shot and killed the surrendered soldiers on the battlefield, it would be tantamount to slapping themselves in the face.
It is not conducive to the subsequent surrender work.
"If you don't believe me, you can give us a ladder. If we can capture Huailaiwei, I hope you will reward us according to our merits!"
"How many defenders are there in the city? How many artillery pieces are there?" Bayan continued to ask.
"There are 2,000 defenders in the city, and 19 artillery pieces. There are also grenades, small 10,000-man cannons and other firearms for defending the city. Before Huang Degong retreated, he had dug deep trenches and laid traps on the roads outside the city, making it difficult for the army to move forward."
"If you want to pass through here, you need to capture the city!" Brother Yang answered quickly.
"Okay!" Bayan believed what Yang Erge said 50%, "As long as we capture Huailaiwei, I will credit you as the first meritorious service!"
He ordered the Eight Banners soldiers to give a ladder to Yang Erge, and then began to attack the city.
boom!
Cannons fired from the city walls.
More than ten ladders were pushed up under the artillery fire of the Ming army.
There were more than a hundred Eight Banners soldiers following each ladder, especially behind Brother Yang, there were four or five hundred Eight Banners soldiers following him.
In name, they were assisting in the siege, but in reality they were afraid that the Ming troops who had just surrendered would counterattack.
However, the scene of counterattack did not appear. Brother Yang's ladder moved very quickly and was the first to approach the city wall.
"Brothers, kill!" Second Brother Yang shouted and was the first to climb the ladder.
The defenders on the city wall threw down stones without any hesitation, but Brother Yang dodged them.
Immediately following.
Firearms and bows and crossbows were fired continuously on the city wall, and the Eight Banners soldiers below the city wall quickly fought back.
Seeing this, Bayan finally believed what Yang Erge said. He hid behind the shield car and commanded wave after wave of Eight Banners soldiers to attack the city.
At this time, Brother Yang was almost on the top of the city wall. When the Ming soldiers guarding the city saw that it was Brother Yang, they immediately handed him a rope.
Brother Yang smiled knowingly, grabbed the rope with his left hand, leaned on the ladder and quickly descended.
The Ming army that was attacking the city behind him immediately followed suit, grabbing the ropes and descending to the ground.
They and the Ming soldiers waiting to climb the ladder turned back at the same time, raised their weapons and chopped down at the Eight Banners soldiers behind them.
"Kill!" More than 200 Ming soldiers shouted in unison.
Facing these Eight Banners soldiers wearing double armor, the Ming army formed groups of two or three or three at least, and three to five at most. Those in the front were responsible for parrying, while those on the sides were responsible for sneak attacks.
The Eight Banners soldiers were thrown into chaos in an instant.
The defenders on the city wall were greatly encouraged by seeing this, and quickly defeated the first wave of Eight Banners soldiers who climbed the city wall.
However.
Brother Yang had too few soldiers under his command. Although he was able to repel the Eight Banners soldiers during the chaos, a second wave of Eight Banners soldiers soon attacked the city.
Facing the well-equipped Eight Banners soldiers and the enemies that were several times their number, Yang Erge, the commander of the vanguard, clenched the Qi family sword in his hand and said, "I am doing this to protect the Ming Dynasty. If we don't retreat, the Jian slaves will not survive!"
"All officers, listen to my orders. Kill!"
The hundreds of Ming soldiers remaining under the city wall shouted in unison: "Kill!"
boom!
The cannons on the city walls spewed out long flames at the invading enemies.
......
A few miles away.
Huang Degong, who was personally guarding the rear, was startled by the sound of artillery fire coming from afar. He turned around and looked back in surprise.
Ma Dai took a deep breath and said, "Could it be that the Jiannu discovered that we were retreating and started to attack the city?"
Huang Degong said nothing, but just nodded in the light of the torch in his hand.
"So... do we need to go back for support?"
"No, notify the entire army to speed up. We must reach the outside of Juyong Pass before noon, otherwise there is a risk of annihilation."
Huailai Wei is one hundred miles away from Juyongguan, and Huang Degong plans to complete the journey in eight hours.
Although he had never tried to complete the march before, based on the performance of Qiu Luan, the general of Datong in August of the 29th year of Jiajing, he believed that his soldiers could do it.
In the Gengwu Rebellion in the 29th year of the Jiajing reign, Altan Khan, the leader of the Tumed tribe of Mongolia, entered the country from Gubeikou and attacked Beijing.
Qiu Luan set out from Juyongguan on August 17 and arrived at Tongzhou on August 18 to form his battle line. It took only one day and one night, and he traveled 150 miles in a hurry.
"But the baggage..." Ma Dai looked forward.
Dense torches were moving slowly in the night, especially those vehicles transporting food and fodder, which were moving incredibly slowly.
"Except for armor, weapons and gunpowder, everything else was thrown away!" Huang Degong said through gritted teeth, "There are three days of food and fodder at Juyong Pass."
Ma Dai took a deep breath again. He had not expected Huang Degong to be so cruel. In addition to food and fodder, the baggage also contained tents, bedding and other military items, which were worth a lot of money.
However, faced with the risk of total annihilation, these things become worthless.
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