After receiving an affirmative answer from Mu Tan's mouth, Zhou Kaihuang and Zhao Tianba were taken aback.

Zheng Chenggong's army has stopped fighting many times because the soldiers want to return, and once Geng Jimao attacked the base, so Zheng Chenggong had already decided to take his family away before this expedition, and Mu Tan was also very clear about this.

After a while, Zhou Kaihuang comforted Mu Tan, saying that what he said was heard from the seniors who broke into the camp, and it was not necessarily that bad for him, but Zhou Kaihuang was obviously not confident when he said these words.

And Zhao Tianba privately said that Deng Mingjian would return to Huguang, and he didn't have much hope for Zheng Chenggong's victory: "Even Zhang Shangshu's family has arrived, and of course the family members of the Yanping Domain have arrived in the army earlier, and once the morale of the hundreds of thousands of troops is slack, it is not easy to clean it up." Let's go back to Huguang first, so as not to fall into a crisis; If the king of Yanping County is more cautious than Zhang Shangshu, it will not be too late for us to go to Nanjing after he wins. ”

Deng Ming shook his head and said, "I'm afraid I won't be able to win." If the king of Yanping thought of this, how could he not remind Zhang Shangshu? Zheng Chenggong had never had the experience of mobile combat, Deng Ming estimated that he did not know the trick inside, he said to Zhao Tianba: "Hundreds of thousands of Fujian troops and tens of thousands of Zhejiang troops are already in danger at the moment, although we may not be able to play a big role in Nanjing, but we can't watch so many good men in distress and do nothing." ”

Since Deng Ming was determined to move forward, the guards naturally did not object, and everyone discussed how to help Zheng Chenggong win the army's morale that night, but after discussing for a long time, they did not come up with a feasible countermeasure. Zhao Tianba even asserted that even if the king of Yanping obeyed Deng Mingyan, the matter would be irreparable, and I am afraid that the best way was to temporarily evacuate from the city of Nanjing, at least return to Zhenjiang. After getting rid of the enemy army, mobilize the separation of military dependents, and then make a comeback after these dependents are properly settled. However, not only does this take a lot of time, but it is not easy to get the family members safe from the enemy forces.

This conclusion made Deng Ming feel a little hopeless.

Zheng Chenggong has been invincible since entering the Yangtze River, the Qing army is not the opponent of the Fujian army at all, and Nanjing is Zheng Chenggong's inevitable goal, how can he persuade him to withdraw for the time being when victory is in sight? But now what is more worrying is time, Zhou Kaihuang said that after the family arrives, the Min army will become a plate of scattered sand within ten rì, I don't know if the family has arrived a few times now, whether the Qing army has begun to notice the chaos of the Ming army.

……

Nanjing, August 5, today is the thirteenth day after Zheng Jun's arrival in the city of Nanjing, and the eleventh day after the arrival of his family.

The recent movements of the Ming army outside the city made the Qing army very puzzled, as the closest to Nanjing, their camp now seems to have become a town, the Ming army built a large number of simple houses, these chaotic buildings not only have no defense ability, but also hinder the Ming army's own reconnaissance and contact ability.

Looking at the large campsite outside the city, Guan Xiaozhong, Liang Huafeng and other Qing army generals looked at each other, and the Ming army on the opposite side was still like an army, more like a group of refugees who had fled.

Yu Xin's troops were even more exposed to the eyes of the Qing army in the city. The soldiers went to the river to fish in groups of three or five every year, and after a few soldiers caught river fish from the Yangtze River for their families, the neighbors' children were greedy and shouted for food, so the fathers in the camp went to fish in groups. Guan allegiance to them could see that the Yangtze River was densely packed with soldiers from Yu Xin's department, and the Ming troops who traveled back and forth between the river and the camp road carried fishing gear instead of weapons and armor.

When I saw that there were few people with weapons in these Ming troops, and many people with children, some Qing army generals tried to attack these Ming troops. However, a few days ago, the sound of this sortie was still very weak, and everyone thought that Zheng Chenggong deliberately lured the Qing army to attack. Once the Qing army launched an attack, it would be ambushed by Zheng Chenggong, who deliberately showed weakness. Moreover, now that it has been delayed for a period of time by deception, the city of Nanjing is looking forward to the reinforcements from the north at night, and originally planned to continue to delay after the expiration of the thirty-day period under the pretext of uncertainty, but now if it is dispatched to attack, won't there even be a chance to delay time?

As time passed, the call for the initiative became louder, as the movement of the Ming army outside the city became less and less like a ploy to lure the enemy. Now not only is Yu Xin's camp scattered, but even the other Zheng troops behind him have no appearance of an army at all. Including Zheng Chenggong's Chinese army, the Ming army not only expanded its camps like Yu Xin's subordinates, cast nets and fish along the river, but also no longer strictly inspected the vendors.

Perhaps because there is Yu Xin in the front of the block, the Ming army on the second line seems to be more scattered than the front army, in the last three days the camp has been lively like a market, and the traders and peasants around the city of Nanjing have gone to the Ming army camp every rì to catch the market, selling poultry eggs, cloth, rice wine and other things to the Ming army.

At first, the Qing army in Nanjing did not believe it, but later they sent soldiers to reconnoiter the Ming army camp disguised as vendors. A team of Qing army spies dressed as vegetable sellers even came to the side of the Ming army's sailors, and were also greeted by the Ming army on the ship. As soon as they got on board with their goods, many women gathered around them to select and buy their various vegetables.

In just a few days, the Qing army had already marked the locations of the various units of the Zheng army on the map, and also learned the general situation of the Zheng army's troops and equipment.

Despite the absurdity of the Ming army, there is still a debate about whether or not to take the initiative to attack the Qing army in the city. Governor Jiang Guozhu resolutely opposed the war, he had witnessed the strong combat effectiveness of the Fujian army, and in the battle of Zhenjiang, Zheng Chenggong showed superb command ability and ability to control the army, and the Ming army outside the city was now in chaos, no matter how you look at it, it is weird. Other generals who participated in the Battle of Zhenjiang were also the main defenders, and those generals who broke through from Guazhou and fled back to Nanjing were also supporters of this faction.

But many of the other generals who have not yet fought against Zheng Chenggong think that they can give it a try, and the most determined of them is Liang Huafeng, who rushed from Chongming Island to support.

Previously, because Su Songshui's division did not dare to intercept the Ming army, Zheng Chenggong was able to quickly break through to the Yangtze River. First of all, Liang Huafeng has been impeached in large numbers, and the civil and military officials in Nanjing want to use him as a scapegoat in order to shirk their responsibility for the disadvantage of the war; Secondly, Ma Fengzhi and Liang Huafeng's war avoidance was also suspected by many people of having a secret agreement with Zheng Chenggong, when Liang Huafeng rushed to reinforce Nanjing, some people in the city were worried that he came to earn the city for Zheng Chenggong, and almost didn't let him in.

In order to clear his previous charge of avoiding the enemy and the suspicion of collaborating with the enemy, Liang Huafeng went out of the city to counterattack and hit Zheng Chenggong by surprise.

The 500 Hangzhou garrison Eight Banners, which had just arrived in Nanjing, was the largest assault force in Nanjing, and the main battle faction felt that if they used this cavalry to launch the first attack, they would achieve great results. However, Jing Zhang, who commanded the Eight Banners, disagreed, and after talking with those Eight Banners soldiers who had fled back, he believed that the combat effectiveness of the Zheng army could not be underestimated, and that the original Nanjing Garrison Eight Banners were higher than the Hangzhou Garrison Eight Banners in terms of strength and Su zhì. Moreover, after the destruction of the Eight Banners of the Nanjing Garrison, these five hundred and eight banners were the most reliable force in the city of Nanjing, and if there was any accident, it was difficult to predict what the mixed defenders in the city would do.

Although most of the Qing generals who had fought with Zheng Chenggong were apprehensive, Guan Xiaozhong, the commander of the First Battle of Zhenjiang, agreed with Liang Huafeng's opinion and assured Lang Tingzuo, the Manchu governor of Liangjiang, who was presiding over today's meeting, that the Ming army was by no means a ploy to lure the enemy, but that for some reason the morale of the army had suddenly collapsed.

The generals quarreled together, and Lang Tingzuo looked at Guan Xiaozhong and Liang Huafeng, who were fighting hard, and knew the thoughts of these two people. If Liang Huafeng can't make meritorious contributions, then in the future, he will not be able to run away with the crime of "fighting without fighting and leading the southeast erosion"; And Guan allegiance is even worse, the number of the country's full eight banners is only 20,000 or 30,000, and Zhenjiang lost 4,000 in the first battle, Guan allegiance is the commander of this battle, and the Qing court will not spare him lightly in the future. If you can't redeem yourself for your loyalty, then it is very possible to exterminate the family and the clan in the future.

"It's better to make a mistake than to make a mistake, so let Guan Xiaozhong and Liang Huafeng go out of the city and go desperately, but the Manchurian soldiers can't act rashly." Lang Tingzuo pondered in his heart. He was not very sure about holding Nanjing, but for more than ten years, the Manchus had been firmly in the upper hand, and it seemed that the Southern Ming were only struggling to survive, and Lang Tingzuo was determined to side with the victors. Lang Tingzuo, the governor of Liangjiang, was in charge of the southeastern land, and even if he surrendered to Zheng Chenggong, it was impossible to get a better position than he was at present, and it was impossible for the Ming court to hand over the power of the vital areas to a demoted official.

After making up his mind, Lang Tingzuo ordered all the armies in Nanjing to be on guard, and sent Guan Allegiance and Liang Huafeng to attack Yu Xin's headquarters at night to test the reality of the Ming army. Hangzhou Eight Banners did not participate in this attack, but remained in the city, monitoring the various green camps in the city.

"If you don't win this battle, when Guan Xiaozhong and Liang Huafeng come back from defeat, they will kill the two of them, and send the head to Zheng Chenggong to ask for guilt, and insist that these two people are making their own claims." When the two went to reorganize their soldiers and horses, Lang Tingzuo had already thought of a way out. Both of them had communicated with Zheng Chenggong, and seeing them deceive and repeat, Zheng Chenggong must have been angry, as long as their heads were sent, Lang Tingzuo felt that it was still possible to continue to delay time. Moreover, these two people are criminal generals in the eyes of the Qing court, even if they are killed, the court will not be greatly dissatisfied, after all, Lang Tingzuo's purpose is to delay time and wait for reinforcements from the north to go south.

Although they tried their best to fight the main battle, Guan Xiaozhong and Liang Huafeng didn't expect to send only the two of them to fight the Zheng army, and Governor Lang also ordered them to only bring cavalry, obviously preparing to run away if they couldn't fight. The military order was like a mountain, and the two of them shouted so loudly just now that they couldn't retreat when the matter came, so they had to make their own preparations.

"Although Zheng Zheng looks like he is careless, this battle is still not to be taken lightly," Guan Xiaozhong said to Liang Huafeng: "If the shape is unfavorable, you might as well ......"

"Even if the shape is unfavorable, can we still return to Jiangning?" Liang Huafeng asked rhetorically.

The dignified commander Guan was loyal, and now he could only take a few hundred green battalion cavalry out of the city to rob the camp in person, and Liang Huafeng was obviously the commander of the Su Song Water Division, and he was also ordered to take five hundred officers and soldiers of the sailor division on horseback to fight against the tens of thousands of Ming troops...... In the heart of Lang Tingzuo, the governor of Liangjiang, it is unknown how big the sin of Guan Allegiance and Liang Huafeng is.

Guan Xiaozhong was speechless, so he hurriedly surrendered his hand to Liang Huafeng and went to rectify the soldiers and horses to prepare for the city robbery. Many of the cavalry of the Green Battalion who followed Guan Zhongzhong out of the city fled back from Zhenjiang and Guazhou, and when they heard that they were going to use such a small number of soldiers and horses to fight the Ming army, many of them were afraid on their faces.

"Zheng Wei is indeed already a disillusionment of the army and a demoralization of the army, this matter is by no means false." Guan Xiaozhong tried his best to boost the morale of his subordinates: "If you can give Zheng Cheng a head-on blow tonight, Zheng Cheng will definitely be shocked, and I will no longer dare to underestimate Jiangning's officers and soldiers......" Guan Xiaozhong told his subordinates that as long as this battle can hurt Yu Xin and make Zheng Chenggong hesitate, he will buy more time for Nanjing, and maybe wait for more reinforcements to arrive.

After the preparations were made before the battle, Guan Xiaozhong ordered the horse's hooves to be wrapped in cloth, tied to the horse's mouth, and then took advantage of the night to open the city gate and quietly walk out of the city.

Although Liang Huafeng and Liang Huafeng each used a city gate, it still took a long time for hundreds of cavalry to get out of the city. In particular, in order to conceal their whereabouts, the Qing army could neither raise torches for illumination, nor dare to gallop on horseback, but everyone led their mounts and tiptoed out from under the city gate in the dark.

Seeing that the soldiers and horses could not get out of the city for a long time, Guan was anxious to be loyal, and although all the concealment methods were used, the movement of so many men and horses was still not small. According to Guan Allegiance's experience, during the siege of a city, the attacking side must have set up secret posts outside each gate, and there are more than one of them. Several times when the Qing soldiers accidentally made a loud noise, Guan Xiaozhong felt a cardiac arrest, thinking that there would be an arrow rising into the sky soon.

But the surroundings were still quiet, and nothing happened, and Guan Allegiance finally led all the men out of the city. The Qing army still did not dare to be careless, and the cotton cloth wrapped around the horse's hooves was not removed, and Guan Xiaozhong personally led the team, slowly sneaking in the direction of Yuxin's camp in the dark.

It should be inevitable to be discovered by the secret sentinels, but the later it is discovered, the greater the results of the camp. Guan Xiaozhong had already explained in advance, everyone put the bamboo tube of the fire fold on their waists, and once they were discovered by the Ming army's secret sentinel, they immediately lit the fire, and then rushed to the Ming army's camp at full speed, striving to kill and injure as many enemies as possible before the Ming army reacted.

But there was never any sound around, and the signal of the Ming army's secret sentry made Guan Zhongzhong anxious. And the more he couldn't wait, the more worried he became, wondering if the Ming army had some more covert means of retribution, maybe the other party had already laid a trap, and waited for himself to go and throw himself into the net.

Suddenly, a flash of fire appeared on his side, and Guan Xiaozhong was stunned to watch the fire dragon galloping towards the Ming army camp, judging from the direction and scale, Guan Xiaozhong concluded that this was the Lianghua Fengbu who went out of the city from the Yifeng Gate. Although the latter obeyed the construction of Guan Allegiance, and when he went out of the city, he was also a man with a title and a horse wrapped in hooves, but it took longer to go out of the city than Guan Allegiance. After Liang Huafeng and the other five hundred men all left the city, they couldn't wait to untie the package on the horse's hooves, and lit torches and rushed straight to Yu Xin's camp.

"Raising a fire so far away, is this a robbery of the camp or a death sentence?" Guan Xiaozhong scolded in his heart. He knew that Liang Huafeng's subordinates were all officers and soldiers of Su Songshui's division, and even most of their horses were stagecoaches collected along the way: "Lao Tzu was killed by you tonight." ”

Since it had been exposed, Guan Xiaozhong hurriedly gave the order, and the officers and soldiers started together, removing the cloth pieces on the horses' hooves, taking out the fire folds and lighting the torches, and then all of them got on their horses and charged the Ming army camp.

When rushing into the camp of the Ming army, the rain of arrows and the swords and guns of Rulin did not appear in Guan Zhongzhong's imagination, and the iron cavalry of the Qing soldiers roared past the camp room of the Ming army. The houses along the road were lit with torches, but Guan Xiaozhong still did not see columns of Ming infantry in armor in front of him, and there were no cries of killing behind him, but the panicked cries of women and children everywhere.

Rushed all the way to the vicinity of the Ming army's central military tent, that is, in front of the camp wall where Yu Xin first started, Guan Xiaozhong did not see any enemy soldiers in a defensive posture on the camp wall, and there was still no shouting and fighting, only earth-shattering cries. Now it feels as if he is not robbing a camp, but a ransacking of an undefended town. After rushing into the wall of the Ming military camp, there was finally a group of cavalry blocking the way, but by the light of the fire, Guan Xiaozhong could clearly see the Qing military uniforms on these people, as well as the green flags they were carrying.

This group of cavalry was under Liang Huafeng, and they happily pledged allegiance to the Ming army, and Yu Xin, the vanguard officer of the Ming army, had been captured alive.

"Caught Yu Xin?" Guan Xiaozhong reconfirmed, he felt like he was dreaming.

"Hand to hand." The officers and soldiers of the Liang Department were full of joy. Before leaving the city, their commander also spoke, saying that the Ming army was paralyzed and careless, but the soldiers' hearts were still uneasy, after all, the enemy they faced was very strong, and in just two days, the Qing army in Nanjing was wiped out, and he was a sailor on Chongming Island not long ago. But the victory came so easily, Liang Huafeng rushed all the way from outside the camp to Yu Xin's camp, and did not encounter any resistance at all, and Zheng Chenggong's vanguard general was tied up by the Qing soldiers before he woke up.

Guan Xiaozhong felt that this was a dream. He had seen the bravery of this Zheng army general on the battlefield of Zhenjiang. At that time, Yu Xin was holding a long sword and rushing to the forefront of the Fujian army, Guan Xiaozhong saw Yu Xin wave two sections of a Eight Banner soldier in front of him. As for Yu Xin's personal guards, they were also unstoppable, following behind the main general to quickly cut the Qing army's battle line and encircle and annihilate the former army that Guan was loyal to Jīng Rui.

"What about this man's own soldiers?" Guan Xiaozhong asked again. No matter how bad the army is, the commander's personal soldiers will always have a certain combat effectiveness, and they can't figure out where the remaining new personal soldiers have gone.

"None of them ran away." Liang Huafeng's subordinates proudly reported: "When my general's general stormed into the big tent, none of them had time to put on their armor. ”

"Isn't there a single one in armor?" Guan Allegiance repeated softly. The facts are in front of us, and the strong army that once defeated the Eight Banners of Manchuria and the Green Battalion in Nanjing was wiped out effortlessly by the five hundred Su Song Naval Divisions.