Gao Wencai suddenly felt a headache. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
He caught the second Jinyiwei who came in and asked, "Are the two thousand cavalrymen enemies or friends? Tell me clearly."
"They are wearing border army armor, so they seem to be friendly troops."
"Friendly troops!" Gao Wencai pointed at the Jinyiwei's head and cursed, "Are you fucking brainless? The cavalry are all elite troops. Even if there are elite troops nearby, His Majesty has transferred them to the capital for garrison. These people must be enemies wearing border troops' armor, trying to use this method to make them look real."
"Order everyone to prepare to meet the enemy!"
"Captain Gao, how should we deal with Deng Hun?" asked the eunuch Zhang Rong.
Gao Wencai looked at Deng Hun with a determined look on his face, and his heart was in turmoil.
The prince's chariot was less than ten miles away, and the enemy's cavalry was twenty miles away. If the two sides encountered each other, the consequences would be disastrous.
In the eyes of the cavalry, those carriages were like fish on a chopping board, and they could kill them with just a flick of the knife.
He must immediately deploy defenses to stop the enemy.
However, Deng Hun and his 1,000 men wanted to desert.
what to do?
"Captain Deng, Commander-in-Chief Liu is less than ten miles away from here. We can get the money when he arrives. Why rush?" Gao Wencai tried to persuade Deng Hun.
Deng Hun smiled disdainfully: "We can get the money but not spend it. Do you think Liu Wenyao will cause trouble after we get to Nanjing?"
Gao Wencai had nothing to say.
Indeed, even if Liu Wenyao gave money, it was only a temporary compromise. He would definitely settle the accounts when he arrived in Nanjing.
Deng Hun continued, "I, Deng, only believe in one principle: I eat the court's food and work for the court. If the court doesn't give me food, I won't work. You and I are both military men. If you let me go now, my brothers and I will turn around and leave immediately and will never cause any trouble for you."
"Otherwise, if we delay here for another quarter of an hour, the prince will be in danger for another quarter of an hour."
Gao Wencai stared at Deng Hui intently, and after a moment he slowly said, "Let him go."
Eunuch Zhang Rong tried to stop him: "Captain Gao, anyone who escapes from the battlefield must be put to death. Behead him to set the military in order."
Gao Wencai shook his head and ordered, "Let him go."
Deng Hui nodded to Gao Wencai and said, "Captain Gao, we'll see you later."
He turned around, gave Zhang Rong a meaningful smile, and then hurried away.
After Deng Hun left the military tent, Gao Wencai said helplessly: "Since he dared to come, he must have already made a countermeasure. One thousand against one thousand, what are our chances of winning?"
"Besides, whether he is a deserter or not is not up to you or me. He is a fifth-rank official, and so am I. The one with the higher rank has the final say."
"Forget it, there is no point in talking any more. Set off now to meet up with the governor and protect the prince."
When we arrived outside the tent, the defenders of Tianjin had already begun to evacuate.
These people were very efficient and in a short time they cleaned up everything and left quickly.
Gao Wencai and his men were even faster. They simply abandoned their tents and rode their horses as fast as they could.
On the way to meet Liu Wenyao, Gao Wencai kept sighing.
Is Deng Hun a cowardly person who is afraid of death?
Not really.
Did they do something wrong?
It seems wrong, but also seems right.
In terms of national law and military discipline, they were wrong. In terms of emotion and reason, they were right.
We can't let them defend their country while their families are hungry, right?
......
The war horses were very fast, and with the help of the moonlight, the group soon met up with Liu Wenyao.
When the Left General Liu Wenyao learned that Deng Hun had deserted the battlefield, he was furious, but the matter was already done and could not be undone, so he could only let people remember it and settle the score later.
"Report..., Commander-in-Chief, we spotted a cavalry unit about three thousand strong, heading towards us, ten miles to the northwest."
Just as Liu Wenyao was about to inquire about military intelligence, the scout reported the news.
The Jinyiwei in charge of investigation did not stop after reporting the news on horseback, but raised the whip in his hand and galloped away.
Liu Wenyao knew that he could not hesitate any longer. If he hesitated any longer, not only would the crown prince be in danger, but the entire team migrating south would also be wiped out.
"High literary talent!"
"I will be here!"
"I will give you another thousand men, and you will take two thousand men to resist the enemy. No matter what method you use, you must hold the enemy back. Remember?"
"Yes, sir."
He turned around and shouted to the soldiers behind him: "We are facing a powerful enemy, everyone obey my orders."
"The Crown Prince is the heir to the throne and the future of Ming Dynasty."
"If he is here, the future of Ming Dynasty is here."
"We are ordered to escort the prince to migrate south. Now someone wants to kill him. Do you agree?"
"disagree!"
"disagree!"
More than a hundred people nearby shouted in unison.
"Tonight, we will fight the enemy to the death under the bright moonlight!"
"I don't care whether you are afraid or not. As a soldier, you should die on the battlefield and return wrapped in your horse's hide!"
"Your parents are my parents! Your brothers are my brothers! Your wives and children are treated as honored guests by me!"
"In this battle, the prince will be safe and sound, and the future of Ming Dynasty will be in jeopardy!"
"Anyone who bravely kills the enemy will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver."
"Anyone who is injured will be promoted one rank, rewarded with 100 taels of silver, and given a flying fish suit."
"Anyone who dies in battle will be promoted three ranks, awarded 200 taels of silver, and have his name engraved in the Martyrs' Shrine."
The three thousand soldiers stood under the moonlight, feeling their blood rushing up, their heads swelling, and their bodies enveloped by a wave of emotions.
"Raise the troops and meet the enemy!"
Liu Wenyao drew the sword from his waist, cut through the night sky, and pointed to the northwest!
The team was divided into two, and Liu Wenyao led a thousand people, leaving behind their baggage and running towards Zhigu at the fastest speed.
Gao Wencai led another team to change direction and advance towards the enemy.
The moon is dim and the stars are sparse, and the wind is cold.
As the scouts returned more frequently, the enemy was getting closer.
Finally, the two armies met in an open area.
Gao Wencai looked carefully in the moonlight and saw three thousand cavalrymen, covering the entire mountain and field like a dark mass.
"Kill!" The opposing commander charged forward without any hesitation.
The iron hooves hit the ground, thundering like war drums.
The dust that was splashed up was like a dark cloud pressing down on the city, unstoppable.
Gao Wencai looked back and saw fear in the eyes of the soldiers.
With one thousand infantrymen against one thousand cavalrymen and three thousand cavalrymen, without the cover of chevaux de frise and chariots, the chance of winning is almost zero.
He drew his sword and raised it high above his head: "Everyone, be ready. When the enemy advances a hundred steps, the musketeers will fire their muskets in front. When the enemy advances fifty steps, the archers will release their arrows, crossbows, and fire arrows."
"The enemy is fifty steps away, cavalry in front, infantry behind, charge!"
The cavalry charged very quickly and reached the range in the blink of an eye.
Bang bang bang, the musketeer fired bullets.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, the archers shot arrows at the fastest speed.
Gao Wencai waved the saber in his hand and said, "The valiant Ming Dynasty will fight the national crisis together. The valiant Ming Dynasty will restore our land."
"The battle will not end until the blood is shed and the people die!"
"The sun, the moon and the mountains will last forever, and the Ming Dynasty will last forever!"
"Soldiers, follow me to die!"
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