I was living at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and I dealt a brutal blow to the Eight Banners!

According to the plan, Zhang Jingchuan was supposed to launch a surprise attack on the Qing army's main camp today.

In order to find out the defense situation of the Qing army's main camp in advance, he led his elite cavalry to break away from the main force and go to the vicinity of the Qing army's main camp to investigate.

To his dismay, the Qing army seemed to have anticipated the Ming army's surprise attack, and their main camp was heavily fortified. Even if Zhang Jingchuan had another 5,000 troops, let alone 5,000, they would probably still have difficulty launching a successful surprise attack.

therefore,

Zhang Jingchuan had no choice but to temporarily abandon his plan to launch a surprise attack on the Qing army's main camp. Instead, he headed towards Jinzhou, hoping to assess the situation there. If the opportunity arose, assisting the Ming army in Jinzhou in attacking the Qing army would be a viable option.

But when Zhang Jingchuan arrived near Jinzhou, he was dumbfounded, because he encountered Ming soldiers who had broken out of Jinzhou. The number ranged from thirty to fifty men to a hundred or eighty men, and almost none of them were well-organized.

Then,

Zhang Jingchuan took on the role of rallying the fleeing soldiers on the battlefield. From morning to afternoon, he rallied a total of seven or eight groups of fleeing soldiers.

These routed soldiers, as if they had found their leader, accepted Zhang Jingchuan's arrangements and, led by two or three of his cavalrymen, headed towards the Jing Battalion.

"General, there's a fleeing army of over a thousand men to the southwest!" The scout returned and reported, "They're Song Youji's men!"

“Song Ben!?” Zhang Jingchuan frowned.

He learned about the battle situation in Jinzhou from the previous groups of defeated soldiers, and figured that Song Ben must have broken out from Jinzhou.

Zhang Jingchuan loathed Song Ben, but since they were both Ming soldiers, it seemed unreasonable not to offer assistance.

"Sigh!" Zhang Jingchuan couldn't help but sigh with regret.

at this time,

"Whoosh!" A sharp whistling arrow was shot into the air.

The scouts to the north are warning them!

"Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!"

next moment,

A sound of horses' hooves came from behind a hillside on the north side.

The blue and red-trimmed armor belongs to the cavalry with the blue-bordered flag!

Zhang Jingchuan looked at the three hundred Bordered Blue Banner cavalrymen surging towards him, his expression changed, and he shouted loudly, "Prepare to meet the enemy!"

He only had sixty or seventy riders behind him, and they had just run over and their horses had not yet recovered their strength. If he turned around and ran away, he would probably be caught up by the enemy in no time.

Rather than be shot one by one by the Qing army from behind while fleeing, it's better to fight to the death.

At Zhang Jingchuan's command, the more than sixty riders of the elite cavalry lined up, took out the muskets on their backs, loaded them with ammunition, and then aimed their guns at the Qing cavalry rushing towards them from afar.

The cavalry of the Vanguard Cavalry were personally trained by Zhang Jingchuan. They were not only well-trained but also extremely brave, and were all veterans of the Vanguard Battalion.

Nabul was ordered to pursue a Ming army unit to this location, but unexpectedly encountered a group of Ming cavalrymen numbering several dozen.

For Nabul, wiping out this Ming army force of only a few dozen riders with three hundred elite cavalry would have been a piece of cake. However, when he saw that these Ming cavalrymen not only did not flee, but instead lined up and pointed their muskets at him, he was shocked.

Nabul was shocked!

Given such a disadvantageous situation, the fact that the Ming army did not flee must be suspicious.

Upon seeing the familiar face of the leader of the Ming army, Nabul's heart skipped a beat. A strong sense of crisis swept through his body, causing him to instinctively tighten the reins.

A few months ago, it was this man who turned the tide of the battle and killed his friend Onahai in the midst of battle.

After making inquiries, Jirhalang learned that the man's name was Zhang Jingchuan, and that he was a subordinate of Wu Sangui, the general of Ningyuan.

Seven hundred paces away, Nabul stared at Zhang Jingchuan with a cold gaze.

He reined in his warhorse not because he was afraid of the enemy, but because with this man around, his side would inevitably suffer heavy losses, which would make it impossible to complete the task assigned to him by Jirgalang.

It's stopped?

Zhang Jingchuan had some doubts.

But when the leader on the other side rode out and spoke,

Zhang Jingchuan then understood.

It seemed that the other party wasn't even after him.

"I ask you, are you someone who would rather be General Wu Sangui?"

Nabul's Chinese was a bit broken, but that didn't stop Zhang Jingchuan from understanding it.

“Yes,” Zhang Jingchuan said, frowning.

“Do you know Song Ben, one of Wu Sangui’s guerrilla commanders?” Nabul asked again.

“Yes, of course I know him!” Zhang Jingchuan raised an eyebrow.

"Where is he now? Answer honestly, and I may spare your lives!"

Zhang Jingchuan frowned, puzzled.

But since the other party specifically asked for Song Ben by name, he naturally couldn't refuse to help, just in case the other party really needed something.

"Southwest."

Zhang Jingchuan pointed to the very back of his head and replied.

Nabul nodded and waved, saying, "Thanks."

After saying this, Nabul spurred his horse forward, waved his hand casually, and led his three hundred elite cavalrymen galloping southwest.

Watching the Qing soldiers walk away, the elite cavalry finally put down their muskets.

Zhang Jingchuan couldn't help but complain:

"Thanks? This Qing army officer is quite polite!"

Afterwards, Zhang Jingchuan led his elite cavalry towards the Jing Battalion, not for any other reason than the strange look the Qing general had given him earlier!

……

Song Ben, riding his warhorse, was covered in dust and dirt.

Looking at the more than a thousand soldiers behind him, their faces all showed a kind of dejected look, like eggplants that had been hit by frost.

Of his battalion of three thousand men, only forty percent managed to break through. It was impossible not to feel heartbroken, but thankfully they survived. He would make a decision once he returned to Songshan.

In any case, the Ming army was used to defeat and had no mental burden.

At this time,

The camp commander, Hu Lie, rode up from behind, looking worried:

"General, with over a thousand of us, we're too conspicuous. Perhaps we should split into three groups, and if one of them..."

Before Hu Lie could finish speaking, Song Ben interrupted him, saying, "Commander Hu, do not worry. The main force of the Qing army is still fighting a bloody battle with the Governor near Jinzhou City. Even if a small group of Qing troops comes after us, with so many of us, what is there to fear!"

“But I still feel uneasy…” Hu Lie said, frowning.

Hu Lie's words made Song Ben frown, and he pondered for a moment before saying, "I had the same feeling. When we were breaking out, those Qing soldiers from the Bordered Blue Banner went crazy when they saw us. They dared to charge at one of our battalions with just two Niru troops!"

“That’s right,” Hu Lie nodded. “And there’s Shang Kexi, who was given the title of Prince Zhishun by Huang Taiji. He led a bunch of Han traitors, shouting your name as they attacked.”

At this point, Hu Lie couldn't help but ask, "Do you have a grudge against Shang Kexi?"

"A holiday?!" Song Ben said angrily, "I don't even know him, how could there be a holiday?"

Hu Lie frowned, puzzled, and said, "Then why was he angrily calling your name? He was obviously coming for you!"

at this time,

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves echoed from the north.

……