Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

September 14, the 11th year of Chongzhen, outside Gu'an City.

The Ming army and the Jianzhou Jurchens' right-wing army were fighting each other. Corpses were lying everywhere, and the blood mixed with the dry soil made the ground slippery.

The shouts of killing were deafening, and several generals of the Ming army were fighting in the battle formation.

Hu Dawei, the general of Shanxi, killed a Tartar with a steel knife in his hand. Another Tartar attacked him, and Hu Dawei blocked it with the back of his knife. Then he kicked the Tartar two or three meters away, ran over and stabbed the Tartar in the chest.

A few hundred meters away, Yang Guozhu, the general of Xuanfu, was commanding 3,000 cavalrymen and was also fighting with the Jiannu cavalry. His sword had been bent and had several wounds on his body.

Even though the Ming army fought so hard, they were still no match for the Jiannu. They had too many cavalrymen and were skilled in archery. They could turn back and shoot arrows while galloping on horseback. Many soldiers died from their hidden arrows.

"Chen Baolong, where is Governor Lu?" Yang Guozhu asked loudly to one of his subordinates while hacking and killing.

"Your Excellency, Governor Lu has led the Tianxiong Army to attack the Jiannu commander."

Yang Guozhu frowned when he heard this.

"You all follow me to meet the Governor." As he said this, he ran towards the west.

Less than a mile to the west, Lu Xiangsheng, wearing armor, was fighting a bloody battle with the Jiannu. There were two arrows stuck in his back, but he still waved the sword in his hand and chopped the Jiannu in front of him to the ground.

The Jiannu were not stupid either. They judged that Lu Xiangsheng was a general of the Ming army just by looking at his clothes. A large number of Jiannu were gathering here, and the number of personal soldiers around Lu Xiangsheng was decreasing.

He was fighting with the Jiannu in front of him, but because the personal soldier behind him fell down, he was chopped down on the saddle by a Jiannu behind him.

The saddle was cut by the sword, leaving a cut several inches long on the horse's back. An Eight Banners infantryman on the right rear side pierced the horse's abdomen with a spear, and the horse fell to the ground.

In order to avoid being crushed by the fallen warhorse, Lu Xiangsheng rolled on the ground and knelt on one knee. He was covered in blood and gasping for breath, but his eyes were still cold and fierce. He shouted and chopped down the attacker.

A dozen steps away, three Jiannu archers drew their bows and shot arrows. With a whooshing sound, one arrow was blocked by Lu Xiangsheng, and the other arrow knocked down one of his bodyguards behind him.

The last arrow hit Lu Xiangsheng's left shoulder, but fortunately he was protected by armor and the arrow only penetrated half an inch before getting stuck.

Lu Xiangsheng shouted loudly, and with the steel knife in his right hand, he cut off the arrow feathers on his left shoulder, and then rushed towards the three archers ferociously.

He was still able to walk briskly even after being hit by three arrows. The three archers were dumbfounded. They did not draw the scimitars at their waists until Lu Xiangsheng was only three or four steps away from them. However, they were all killed by Lu Xiangsheng in just a few encounters.

A quarter of an hour later, Yang Guozhu finally found Lu Xiangsheng, and together they rushed towards the Jiannu commander.

Another half a quarter of an hour later, the Jiannu retreated.

Even when they were clearly in an advantageous position, they retreated without any warning.

Lu Xiangsheng wisely did not choose to pursue. The Jiannu retreated in an orderly manner, and it was unrealistic for infantry to pursue cavalry.

He lifted up his battle robe and wiped the blood that had flowed into his eyes, but because the battle robe had already been soaked with blood, his entire face was washed with blood.

"Governor, why did the Jiannu retreat so decisively? They clearly had the advantage." Yang Guozhu asked puzzledly while standing behind Lu Xiangsheng.

"Humph, the Jiannu are not here for a decisive battle, they just want to grab more food and take it back."

After that, Lu Xiangsheng ordered his soldiers to clean up the battlefield and gather their own dead soldiers. He also ordered his subordinates to cut off the pigtails on the top of the Jiannu's head together with his scalp. All the armor on the Jiannu and the weapons on the ground were also confiscated.

Originally, the number of people killed was counted by cutting off the enemy's left ear, but the Jiannu found it much easier. The Jianzhou Jurchens' pigtails were easier to identify than their ears, and it could also prevent some people in the court from saying that he was killing innocent people to gain credit.

As for the weapons of the Jiannu, there were special military craftsmen in Lu Xiangsheng's military camp. The weapons and swords of the Jiannu were of good quality and could become their weapons as long as they were recast.

Lu Xiangsheng has been doing this all along. Although it is time-consuming and laborious, the imperial court is in trouble. If he doesn't do this, his soldiers won't even be equipped with complete weapons.

Then he sent someone to notify the magistrate of Gu'an County and asked him to gather the people to deal with the corpses of the Jiannu.

By the evening, according to statistics, the battle lasted for one hour, and more than 930 Jiannu were killed, while the Ming army suffered more than 3,000 casualties. Although the casualty ratio was not good, it was rare in all the previous wars with Jiannu.

There was definitely a price to pay, but at least the people of Gu'an City were saved. If he had not gone into battle, most of the more than 30,000 people in Gu'an City would not see the sun tomorrow.

"Governor, the Jiannu are heading southeast. I think they are heading to either Bazhou or Yongqing. Should we continue to follow them?"

Inside the military tent, the military doctor was treating the wounds of three people. Hu Dawei, the general of Shanxi Town, said as he gnawed on a large piece of horse meat.

Meat is a rare commodity in the army and can only be eaten after a war. A war horse weighs hundreds of pounds, so the war horses that die in a battle are enough meat for all the soldiers in the army to eat their fill.

Morale is high when there is meat to eat, no wonder Hu Dawei asked this.

In fact, they had been following the Jiannu army for seven or eight days, and had fought four or five battles, large and small, with casualties in each battle, but generally all were within controllable range.

These were actually all Lu Xiangsheng's tactics. Lu Xiangsheng knew very well that the purpose of the Jiannu entering the pass was to steal food and slaves.

But as long as he followed behind, even if there were not many defenders in the city, the Jian Nu would not dare to attack the city at will.

If the Jiannu attacked, Lu Xiangsheng would retreat to a favorable terrain to meet the enemy. If he could not find a favorable terrain, Lu Xiangsheng would personally lead the charge to boost the morale of the Ming army.

In short, if the enemy advances, we retreat; if the enemy stays, we harass; if the enemy is tired, we attack; if the enemy retreats, we pursue. As long as we keep sticking to the Jiannu and prevent them from plundering small counties in various places, our strategic goal will be achieved.

After all, this is inside the Great Wall, and the Jiannu cannot stay here for long.

Lu Xiangsheng originally thought so, but when Hu Dawei asked him this, he frowned.

"No need. Yang Gebu has sent a message to me, asking us to meet up in Zhuozhou. Sigh."

Lu Xiangsheng sighed. Military orders were as heavy as a mountain. He could only pray that the people in Bazhou and other places could escape this disaster.

Upon hearing this, Hu Dawei threw the horse meat in his hand onto the table and said angrily:

"The court is unfair. My lord, you have always been at the forefront of every battle, have made countless contributions, and have never harassed the people. The farming has made us almost self-sufficient in food and grass.

Yang Sichang exhausted the national strength and demanded millions of taels of silver from the court at every turn, but it took him several years to wipe out the bandits.

If you, sir, had come, why would the court be in such a predicament?

What ability does Yang Sichang have to make us all obey him?"

Hu Dawei, as his name suggests, looks very unkempt, and his messy beard is even mixed with blood and flesh from the battle, but he doesn't care at all, he just feels it is very unfair.

"After all, Minister Yang has made great contributions. You can't say these things carelessly. If Gao Jianjun hears them, I'm afraid it will ruin your future."

Lu Xiangsheng sighed. He often felt tired, not only from fighting the bandits, but more from the constraints from the rear and from himself.

"I just feel aggrieved. What are we fighting for?"

……