Xie Ming

Chapter 116: Withdrawal from the City
Hearing Xiao Jingchuan bringing the conversation to himself, Xu Jizu knew very well that General Xiao was intending to promote him.

I was thinking about creating opportunities so that I could integrate into the group of talented generals as soon as possible.

He was very impressed and clasped his fists in greeting.

"Yes! General!"

Having said that, Ji Zu turned around and faced the generals.

"Everyone, this morning, after General Xiao received the detailed information about the shallow river, he came to me and discussed and instructed me on the specific response methods."

"Our entire army will evacuate from the east gate of Yi County this time, and we will all go up the river to the north. To avoid being noticed by the enemy, the general told me to pick a few good horsemen from the local militia, and have them herd the 500 war horses seized from Yi County, cross the river and head southeast, heading east of Baoding, towards Ancheng!"

"Wait until we are a hundred miles away, then take the opportunity to abandon the horse and hide, and wait for the storm to pass and find an opportunity to escape back to Jiulong Town!"

As soon as Xu Jizu said this, all the generals understood his meaning and nodded frequently.

Seeing the situation, Xiao Jingchuan took over the conversation.

"That's right. With these five hundred war horses as a maze, the concerns about the traces will be solved!"

"All the remaining people, after abandoning their horses at the shallow river, marched quickly to the northeast."

"It is now 10 o'clock in the morning on April th."

"Let's go north along the river. The source of the swamp is 20 to 30 miles away. I think we can get there within an hour!"

"Everyone, do you still have any doubts about acting according to this plan?!" Xiao Jingchuan paused and asked again.

"This method is feasible!" Li Huchen was the first to answer.

"Yes, there is no doubt about it."

Peizhong, Liu Wenbing and Gong Yonggu also shook their heads and expressed their doubts no longer.

"it is good!"

"Since all the generals have understood the specific deployment, we should mobilize the army immediately without delay."

"Sun Peizhong, Li Huchen, Liu Wenbing, Gong Yonggu, and Xu Jizu!" Xiao Lang named the generals.

"exist!"

"I am here," the generals continued.

"Everyone rush back to your units and get all the soldiers in formation. Gather at the east gate of the city in a quarter of an hour!"

"Yes!"

"Yes Yes"

After receiving the order, all the generals and officers in command did not delay and hurried back to lead the troops.

10:15 am.

In the east of Yi County, Xiao Jingchuan’s troops have assembled!
"Report——"

"Report!"

Suddenly, a rider came hurriedly from behind me, heading west and heading straight for the east gate.

When they got close, the soldiers parted ways and the scout sentry ran straight to Xiao Jingchuan without slowing down, dismounted and reported.

"Report!"

"General, the enemy troops from the west of the city are approaching rapidly and are less than five miles away from Yi County!"

"Okay! Quickly gather the sentinels and scouts, disperse and hide according to the predetermined plan, and do not expose the whereabouts of the troops. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed immediately!" Xiao Jingchuan ordered.

"Yes!"

After saying this, the sentry rode his horse back westward again.

After he left, Xiao Jingchuan mounted his horse, held his sword in his hand, and gave orders loudly.

"All soldiers! Move forward!" As Xiao Lang spoke, the blade of his sword slid eastward. The entire army received the order and began to march out of the city in batches.

Xiao Lang rode his horse and stood beside the city gate, watching the soldiers galloping out. He then turned his head to look at Gu Changting who was following beside him.

"I asked you to dispatch 100 soldiers from Peizhong's camp to help Ma Minglu transport the money. Have you arranged everything?!"

Xiao Jingchuan whispered.

Gu Changting, who had leaned over to listen, reported: "Don't worry, General, everything has been arranged!"

"The one who escorts the silver is at the end of the team. After Ma Minglu handed over the thousand newly recruited soldiers to Xu Jizu, he freed up his hands to be responsible for the transportation of the silver. In order to support the troops' march across the river, the silver has now been divided into small portions, and the veterans we brought out will carry it and escort it."

"Minglu has always been rigorous and reliable in his work, as you know, General. I think nothing will go wrong!" Gu Changting replied.

"Oh, I see!"

After saying that, Xiao Jingchuan let out a long breath, pulled the reins and turned his horse's head, no longer caring about it, and ran out of the city with the army!
【The final settlement of Yi County! 】

【Troops and horses statistics! 】

[Sun Peizhong's troops: 263 people; Li Huchen's troops: 214 people;]

[Liu Wenbing + Gong Yonggu's combined team: 80 people; Xu Jizu's team: 47 people]

[Total remaining troops: 604]

[Newly recruited soldiers in Yi County: 1100]

【Seized statistics! 】

[Silver: 15 taels - 3300 taels (silver for newly recruited soldiers to settle down) = 14.66 taels]

[Dashun Army uniforms and armor: 500 sets]

[Military equipment: more than 300 bird guns, three-barreled guns, etc. (they were seized from cleaning up the battlefield and are still usable)]

10:30am

Xiao Jingchuan's entire army arrived at Qianshui River and, according to the pre-war deployment, turned north.

The men arranged by Xu Jizu split up here, led 500 war horses, crossed the river, and headed straight towards Ancheng in the southeast.

Not long after, a group of Liu Fangliang, Marquis of Dashun, led by Yu Tanzhi, one of the five deputy generals, also arrived at the city of Yi County!
After another quarter of an hour, this unit of more than 1,500 enemy troops got the news and fell into the trap by mistake.

It was believed that Xiao Jingchuan's troops would head southeast from the east gate and seek to retreat directly to the Xuzhou-Nanjing line.

So after Yu Tanzhi led the team out of the east gate and chased to the shallow river, he lived up to Xiao Lang's arrangement. He followed the trail and ran towards the direction of Southeast Ancheng, but chased in vain!
But what could be done? The people selected by Xu Jizu were all good horse riders.

There were no more than seven or eight people on their left, leading 500 war horses captured from Yi County. Without the need to carry heavy loads, they ran very fast. As they ran, they widened the distance between them and the pursuers behind them, and perfectly led the enemy army all the way to the southeast without any mistakes!
12:15 p.m. (: p.m.)

Xiao Jingchuan's entire army went up the river to the north and arrived at the source of the shallow river, a swampy wetland.

This wetland is three or four miles long and wide. Birds are flying around, but there are few people.

After the soldiers arrived here, Xiao Lang quickly summoned all the generals to discuss the matter.

They all said that along the way, especially towards the end of the march, many people from each unit had mistakenly fallen into the dangerous swamps and marshes and died, and the total number of casualties exceeded fifty.

Moreover, there are a lot of mosquitoes, leeches and the like here. If we don't find a solution in time, and all the soldiers are left soaking in the water, the army will continue to suffer heavy casualties before dark. This may not be a long-term solution.

Seeing what had happened, Xiao Jingchuan had no choice but to lead his troops to find a way out of the swamp and temporarily settle down behind a rocky hill west of the water.

Fortunately, this area was sparsely populated. After eating cold rice at noon, the entire army squatted here for most of the day.

During this period, he only met a dozen villagers passing by, and all of them were temporarily detained in the army by Xiao Jingchuan to avoid any unnecessary trouble and expose his whereabouts.

At night, on the eighth day of the first lunar month, it is 20: p.m.

Xiao Lang thought about it and felt that the time had come, so he ordered Li Huchen, Sun Peizhong, Liu Wenbing and Gong Yonggu, three groups of soldiers, to put on the Dashun Army uniforms seized in Yi County. These three groups of brave soldiers took the lead, went ahead, penetrated the road, and headed straight for Shigui Mountain in the northwest forest at night!

But right now!
But something unexpected happened again!
(End of this chapter)