Chapter 6 Duduo

The night of December 29th.

In the north, tonight is supposed to be a time for family reunion. At this time, the usual places inside and outside Tongguan are already decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations to welcome the arrival of the New Year.

But now, soldiers gathered inside and outside Tongguan, and the battle clouds were thick. The armies of both sides fought for a whole day, and the bones piled up like mountains.

After the Qing army arrived at Tongguan, they camped at a place called Northwest Village under Niutouyuan. This area was the only plain in front of Tongguan where the army could camp.

Before Duduo himself arrived at Tongguan, he frequently dispatched forward cavalry to explore the terrain near Tongguan and search for and occupy the water sources under Niutou Plateau.

After the army arrived at Tongguan, they immediately sent people to control the water sources to ensure drinking water for the troops and horses.

There used to be a lot of villages in these places, but after hearing that the Qing army was coming, they have all disappeared.

When the forward troops of the Qing army arrived, they saw only empty houses standing on the loess. They didn't see a single living person, and they were somewhat disappointed.

On the white tent in the middle of the Qing army's camp, a yellow dragon banner stood high. Duduo sat in it with a deep gaze.

A guard was standing in front of him reporting the battle report.

"The puppet tycoon Li Guo of the bandits stationed more than 100,000 people in Yan'an and confronted me and Prince Shuoying. Starting from the 25th, Prince Ying sent Wu Sangui's troops to attack several times and suffered a lot of losses!"

"The bandits led by Gao Yigong, Zhao Guangyuan and others are tens of thousands of thieves. They are heading towards Pingyang in two directions from Xi'an, Huaiqing!"

Duduo sneered and raised his hand to signal him to shut up.

"As soon as our army arrived in Huaiqing at the beginning of this month, Azig had already arrived in Mizhi and slaughtered Li Zicheng's hometown completely."

Speaking of this matter, Duduo was still filled with jealousy. Such a great contribution was only given to him, but he was desperately trying to chew on the hard nut of Tongguan.

In today's battle at Jindou Pass, Duduo knew that Li Zicheng's main force was not easy to fight. At least the tens of thousands of elites under his command were not comparable to the pigs of the Ming army.

Without the Hongyi cannon, whether crossing Yuanwang Valley or storming Jindou Pass, human lives would have to be used to fill the gap.

Duduo was ordered to rescue Huaiqing first and then attack Tongguan. Due to the sudden arrival, most of the Han troops were still on their way, and the majority of them were Manchurian soldiers.

If we really attack Tongguan, the tens of thousands of cannon fodder under Geng Zhongming are not enough.

"It's been a month, why haven't you even conquered Yan'an?"

"What is Azig doing? Is he just massacring cities and robbing women?"

When the master looks angry, a slave will naturally want to show his loyalty quickly.

Huaishun King Geng Zhongming, who served as the assistant leader of the Zhenghuang Banner of the Han Army, rolled his eyes and hurriedly stepped forward to comfort him like a pug.

"Prince Yu, please calm down. Li Guo, the fake nobleman, has a reputation as a tiger when he breaks into the camp. Prince Ying must be afraid that the Manchu soldiers will cause too much damage, so he dare not rush in."

"Our army only needs to sit in the main camp and wait for the Hongyi artillery to be sent. Then we can hit the east gate of Tongguan at Yuanwanggou. We will be in an invincible position and the rebel army will be in chaos."

Duduo glanced at him, half-smiling but not smiling, with a cold light in his eyes.

"What a slave like you understands, will this king not understand?"

The flattery hit the horse's hoof, and Geng Zhongming immediately knelt on his knees, his face turning red.

Just then, a Zhengbai Banner guard arrived and solved his dilemma.

"Report——"

"Prince Ying, the position of my ambush has been exposed. Beizi Shangshan, who is wearing a red flag and is in a gully three miles away, is being attacked by the vanguard of the bandits. Liu Fangliang, the pseudo-cihou, is besieging him. He is fighting hard and waiting for reinforcements!"

Duduo stood up immediately, furious.

"What?"

"What does Shang Shan do for food?"

After many years of being a slave, Geng Zhongming had no feeling at all about the insults from talents. His dignity had already been trampled under his feet when he was surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

Geng Zhongming immediately stood up and said with lowered eyebrows.

"Shangshan has been following Prince Yu for a long time and will not make mistakes easily. It must not be that simple."

"Prince Yu knew that the enemy was ahead of him. Now the rogue bandits are hijacking the camp. Our army has already made preparations. I am willing to lead the Zhenghuang Banner Han cavalry to rush to the rescue and annihilate these rogue bandits at the foot of the plateau!"

Duduo stared at him coldly for a while, then stood up and walked to the map to examine it.

"You are right. The place to set up an ambush was chosen by me personally. There will be no mistakes."

"What exactly happened, we have to wait until Shang Shan is rescued."

The military situation was urgent, and Duduo's rage did not last long, and he quickly calmed down.

Since entering the customs, the forces of the Eight Banners in Manchuria have been dispersed and suffered serious losses. The speed of catching the savage Jurchens in Laozhai to replenish them cannot keep up with the losses. Now, in tough battles, people from the Green Camp need to be used as cannon fodder.

What Shang Shan brought with him was only 500 Manchurian guards, the elite of the Eight Banners of Manchuria. The lives of the 100,000 Han soldiers in the Green Battalion were not even comparable.

Duduo's eyes were sunken and he glanced back and forth at the Tongguan map hanging in front of him.

The previously selected ambush site was in a ravine under the Niutou Plateau, making it easy to attack and difficult to defend. It was a dangerous move for the army.

"It seems that Liu Fangliang is quite capable, he was able to detect my ambush!"

Duduo's eyes moved slightly and his breath was steady.

Shang Shan is in a very dangerous situation. He is a descendant of the clan with a red flag. Although his title is not high, his status is high. Someone must be sent to rescue him immediately.

Duduo didn't care about his life or death. He was mainly worried that Shangshan was a junior with a red flag after all. Once he died in battle, it would affect Daishan's position and be detrimental to Dorgon!

Now the Qing Dynasty seems to be working together as one, but in fact there are undercurrents.

Thinking that the Dashun Army had not used firearms on the battlefield all the way from Shanhaiguan, Duduo was not too worried.

The Manchurian Guards were more powerful than Dashun's old camp. If they wanted to kill these 500 people, they would have to send 10,000 people if they didn't have suitable firearms.

If there was such a big movement of ten thousand people, the sentry riding outside Jindou Pass would have discovered it long ago.

"I will give you a thousand Han troops with yellow flags and light cavalry to help Shang Shan."

Geng Zhongming knew that the opportunity to make meritorious deeds had arrived, so he was eager to perform.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty! I will capture Liu Fangliang, the pseudo-civilian, alive and sacrifice him to his horse!"

When Geng Zhongming walked out of the camp, people in the Qing army's camp soon started shouting. Since they had prepared to rob the camp in advance, most of the Qing troops were already dressed and were just waiting for the order.

More than a thousand cavalry rumbled out, and the sky was filled with loess.

Geng Zhongming was one of the first traitors to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. He was crowned king earlier than Wu Sangui. His original subordinates had long been exhausted in successive years of fighting.

Most of the more than a thousand Han army Zhenghuang Qingqi brought out this time were formed by the former Ming army after entering the pass.

The performance of these people as Ming troops was not very good, but after joining the Green Camp, due to sufficient pay and well-equipped equipment, their combat effectiveness was stronger than that of the ordinary Dashun army and cavalry.

The distance of three miles can't be said to be very far. The Qing army's mobilization force was good, with light and fast horses. Geng Zhongming quickly arrived not far from the left side of the gully where Shang Shan was ambushed and surrounded.

Geng Zhongming rode uphill to observe the battlefield, intending to find the best position to rush in and resolve the battle once and for all.

For the Dashun army currently fighting, his cavalry was a surprise force.

But the next moment, Geng Zhongming's face was full of disbelief.

Outside the gully in Niutouyuan, a group of Dashun cavalry was roaming, throwing paper balls as big as bowls into the gully. Soon after they passed by, thick smoke would rise.

Geng Zhongming was once a member of the Ming army. He could see clearly that the firearms being thrown by the Dashun army were clearly the sky-burning and unstoppable cannons recorded in the Fire Dragon Book!

This kind of unstoppable cannon explodes when it hits the ground, burning everything it passes through. The smoke miasma formed is highly toxic. It is called a divine weapon by the Qi Jiajun who have used it!

The Fire Dragon Divine Book is a confidential military book that even many Ming army generals do not know about. Geng Zhongming only heard that Sun Chuanting had a copy, but he was not qualified to read it.

The Dashun Army was just a group of rogue bandits. How did they know this?

At this moment, Dashun's army had been divided into two battalions, cavalry and infantry, and surrounded the 500 Manchu garrison troops who had set up an ambush under the gully near the gully.

Shangshan's Manchurian guards were outnumbered, and they were all infantry. They were distracted by the sudden fire in the gully, and fell into chaos, and the casualties began to increase.

Geng Zhongming knew the intentions of the Dashun Army very well.

There was a raging fire under the gully. They clearly wanted to force the good Manchurian guards down the gully!

The number of Dashun troops who came to rob the camp was at least twice that of Shang Shan, and there was still a reserve team in the rear. Geng Zhongming looked back at the more than a thousand Qingqi brought behind him, his eyes changing.

He knew very well that the Manchurian guards in the gully could no longer be saved. Even if they were not burned to death, they would be poisoned. They were all dead anyway.

The Dashun Army that could fight head-on with the Manchurian Guards was probably not an ordinary cavalry team. It was probably Li Zicheng's elite old battalion.

In the battle of Shanhaiguan, the elite cavalry of the Dashun Army's old battalion could even fight against the Eight Banners cavalry. They were not good at it. I am afraid that my thousand green battalions are not enough.

But if he just withdraws, judging from Duduo's cruel character, it will be difficult for him to survive.

Every follow-up reading of the new book issue is extremely precious. I ask everyone to help you follow up. At least you have to turn to the last page and see "To be continued" to be considered a follow-up read! Thank you everyone!!
Chapter completed!