At this time, in Tan Hong's camp, Qin Xiucai had already learned that the army was ambushed and the Ming army was driving over.

The hundreds of soldiers who escaped were all bare-handed. After returning to the camp, many people did not stop at all. They passed through the camp and continued to flee eastward. They had completely lost their fighting spirit and just wanted to stay away from the pursuers who could arrive at any time as soon as possible.

The main forces in the camp have been taken away by Tan Hong, and the remaining more than 100 people are kids, old, weak, sick and disabled. After hearing that there are so many soldiers that they can't count them, these people also followed them to join in.

After the initial panic, Qin Xiucai recovered. He ran to the camp, stretched out his arms to stop several deserters, and shouted to them: "The Ming army cannot have tens of thousands. They are all defeated soldiers, and they are hungry and cold, and there is neither camp nor food!"

"Immediately fight the banner and go to the mountain to inform our brothers." Qin Xiucai remembered the military situation that Tan Hong had talked to him. Wen Anzhi's army had retreated and returned to Fengjie. There were no threatening main forces of the Ming army nearby. Although Tan Hong underestimated the enemy and was ambushed, the situation was not irreversible. Qin Xiucai tried to persuade and stopped some defeated soldiers to defend the camp. At the same time, he sent people to withdraw all the posts on the blockade line back to the camp.

"Although it's bad, the situation is definitely not irreversible. We still have 500 people on the mountain, so it's okay to transfer back to defend the camp. The Ming army was starving and cold in the wild. Even if the blockade on the mountain was removed, we still had many more people than them. Tomorrow we will go to the downstream to meet with the North Bank camp and immediately pursue them. They have no ships or food, so they can't run far." Qin Xiucai weighed the situation in his heart, while explaining what he thought of and the defeated soldiers in front of him as soon as possible, and trying to arouse their fighting spirit to continue fighting: "...Isn't it safer to stick to the camp than to escape?"

He must bring Tan Hong back. Qin Xiucai knew that Tan Hong was the backbone of the army. He estimated that Tan Hong was unlikely to leave the army and go to the valley. He left the army and Tan Hong was just an ordinary man. Only by controlling the army could he have vitality. Qin Xiucai knew such a simple truth, but Tan Hong would definitely not understand it. When Qin Xiucai thought of this, he hurried to the riverside beside the camp. There were five river boats there, and he wanted to set off to pick up Tan Hong from the danger immediately.

"Don't move this boat!" Qin Xiucai pulled a few soldiers who had been convinced to the river and found that he was at the right time. Three people were untiing a rope of a river boat. It seemed that they wanted to escape from the river by boat. Qin Xiucai hurried forward to stop him.

One of the three was an officer. He looked up and saw that the person was Qin Xiucai, and shouted: "Sir, the big thing is over, hurry up and run away, otherwise it will be too late."

"Nonsense!" Qin Xiucai hurriedly told the officer what he had just thought about. He felt that it was a blessing from heaven to find an officer, so that more soldiers could be called on to stand by the camp and cooperate with the soldiers recalled from the mountain. He gestured desperately with both hands and told the officer about the current military situation, pointing out that as long as we stick to the camp and take back Tan Hong, the Ming army would still be waiting for death. Finally, Qin Xiucai also emphasized and said: "...There are not many thieves, at most, at most, only one or two thousand, we are not weaker than them, let alone the North Bank camp..."

"Dong!"

"Ah~~~~"

A dull sound followed by a scream from Qin Xiucai. The officer opposite him was calm and swung Qin Xiucai hard on the head, knocking him unconscious on the spot. Then he kicked Qin Xiucai out and continued to untie the cables. He also spat at Qin Xiucai who was unconscious, "Poor guy, who will listen to you!"

The soldier has no desire to fight and the enemy is unknown. The officer finally escaped from the Ming army's interception. He refused to take the risk of staying here - what if the camp did not defend it? Wouldn't he have to be buried with Qin Xiucai!

Seeing several soldiers behind Qin Xiucai staring blankly, the officer cursed again: "If you want to survive, come and help!"

The loud curse woke the soldiers up. They rushed over and helped push the unzipped ship off the shore, then jumped onto the ship, swung together in the officer's horn, drove the ship into the river, and left the unguarded military camp in the direction downstream.

When Zhou Kaihuang brought 200 people to Tan Hong's camp, it was already dark, and the camp gate was wide open, looking at the empty people. After Zhou Kaihuang entered the camp, he immediately ordered to pull off the green flag that Tan Hong had raised not long ago and replace it with the red flag of the Ming Dynasty again.

On the mountains south of this camp, several red flames became brighter. Zhou Kaihuang looked at the places for a while. The prisoners I just caught confessed that Tan Hong had set up many posts and camps on this mountain, which seemed to be a few of them. After Zhou Kaihuang learned that there were hundreds of soldiers on the mountain, he was mentally prepared to fight with them, but now it seems that there is no need. These are probably the posts and camps that the defenders ignite and burn themselves, and most of the rest of the defenders also escaped.

"Report to President Qian, we caught another living person."

Several soldiers dragged the unconscious Qin Xiucai to Zhou Kaihuang. They had just discovered this unconscious guy by the river and seized four boats.

"Populate him with water!" Zhou Kaihuang looked at it and guessed that this guy might be a master and might be able to ask for some important information.

...

It has been a long time since nightfall. The Ming army and the Qing army on the shore dared not raise torches to light the light, so they could only continue to confront each other in the dark. The Ming army in the woods was more bold, because there were no Qing army in the woods, so they had no scruples and could set up a torch. At this time, there were nearly 300 soldiers around Tan Hong. He used these soldiers to form a defensive formation and lined up with the water to guard a section of the river bank several hundred meters long. The core position was guarded by Tan Hong's personal soldiers and servants. These people were not only brave and agile, but also well-equipped. In addition to these guards, although the others were battalions, they were also a better group of soldiers in Tan Hong's hands. Many of them had armor. The Ming army's bows and arrows did not pose much threat to these soldiers. They also had long-range weapons such as bows and arrows and muskets, and their defense ability was no worse than those led by Li Xinghan.

"The ships of the camp will come to pick us up soon," this was the last section of the river bank that was still under the control of the Qing army. Several Tan Hong's personal soldiers shouted to boost morale and allow the soldiers to hold on firmly: "If we hold on for another hour, we will be able to escape and return to the camp, and no brother will be left behind!"

Several Ming army officers gathered together to discuss the next action plan. The Qing army's hoarse encouragement from the distance kept coming to their ears. The Ming army was helpless in the enemy soldiers who were still fighting with hundreds of trapped beasts. Like the Ming army who had just blocked, Tan Hong now sent about a hundred or ten people to block the two ends, so the Ming army could not attack through the narrow shore path and could only consume the enemy.

This war of attrition is absolutely not beneficial to the Ming army. When the Ming army was in a defensive position, it killed more than 60 Qing troops, and only one of them was seriously injured. As Li Xinghan turned to a counterattack, he needed to bypass the mountain rock to attack the Qing army. The Ming army quickly lost more than a dozen soldiers, and at most one was killed and injured, two Qing troops. Seeing this, the Ming army immediately stopped the attack and tried to detour and encircle the Qing army like Tan Hong.

But now it is already night, and the roads in the forest are not suitable for marching. In order to avoid becoming a target, you cannot hold a torch and walk to the Qing army.

"The brothers have not eaten anything in a day. They can persist until now with a desperate spirit. But if they drink the cold wind for a night like this, even the iron-killed person will fall down." Li Xinghan said worriedly. After surrounding the river bank, the Ming soldiers knew that victory was near, but it was difficult to hold it in the end. Now most of the soldiers are exhausted and need rest and diet.

Although the Ming army was angry when they heard Tan Hong's morale shouts, they had to admit that Tan Hong's judgment of the situation was very accurate. If Tan Hong sent a ship to pick him up, the remaining Qing army would have the ability to counterattack, then the situation of the Ming army would not improve much more than this morning, and it could even be said to be worse - because everyone was hungry.

"At least we killed hundreds of scum who surrendered to the Tartars." An officer saw that everyone was frowning, and patted his thighs and shouted: "I killed two of them and got the money back!"

Deng Ming felt that the most urgent task was to capture Tan Hong's camp, and the others agreed. However, the journey was long and it was too late to transfer troops from here. He could only hope that his people in the east had already advanced to Tan Hong's camp. Everyone estimated that there would be more than a hundred soldiers guarding the camp. In addition, the fleeing defeated soldiers, even if Zhou Kaihuang brought his team of more than 400 soldiers with him, it might not be possible to capture it in one go. Of course, it would not be impossible to capture it, between Cheng and Unsuccess.

"Oh, I thought we would fight a battle on the river bank, kill Tan Hong, and then the entire army attacked the enemy camp. Why did it make such a fuss? Is it impossible to advance and retreat here if I was blocked?"

Tan Hong is not dead now, and the entire plan has been disrupted. Most of the Ming army is guarding here. If he escapes danger, all his efforts will be wasted. However, this cunning guy refused to break through and just kept his guard to the death. Not only did he restrain the main force of the Ming army and also blocked the traffic line on the shore.

No matter how much you complain, you still have to think about it. In the end, everyone agreed to launch an attack on the lonely army from both wings and at the same time. The contact method was still a sound. Anyway, the opponent occupied a front line, and it should not be a big problem to launch an attack at the same time. However, it is difficult to communicate with each other in the dark. Tan Hong, who blocked the traffic line, also cut off the Ming army's contact channels. Now the Ming army surrounding Tan Hong can only cross mountains and ridges to exchange opinions. Although the straight line distance between the two ends of the encirclement is only two miles away, it takes a long time to walk in the dark, and it takes half an hour to go back and forth.

Considering that the officers of other teams also need to communicate, they can only rely on the communications soldiers to run around and contact each other. After the consensus is agreed, each team must make arrangements. After the deployment is done, it must also be reported for unified action.

"Before midnight, I'm afraid I can't deal with this thief Tan Hong." This is the conclusion drawn by a group of people.

"We must defeat the enemy in one fell swoop and take down Tan Hong's head. In this way, even if President Zhou Qian failed to capture the enemy camp, we can rely on this to shock the enemy and escape calmly." The officers who woke up from the great joy of winning easily at the beginning seriously explained to the commanders that the Ming army now needs to realize that the situation is still dangerous, and everyone must maintain the momentum of fighting to the death to win the road of life.

Just as the Ming army was preparing for the last fierce attack, the ship that Tan Hong had been looking forward to finally arrived. When Deng Ming saw the tiny light on the river, the Ming army's general attack was not ready, and Li Xinghan had to go up and do whatever he wanted to do when he saw this. Deng Ming and Zhao Tianba finally persuaded him. Li Xinghan also knew that under the current circumstances, there was no benefit in launching an attack except for more casualties. If the ship was Tan Hong's subordinate, it meant that today's operation would eventually fail. Once Tan Hong fled, the Ming army officers and soldiers were still in desperate situations.

"Let's see clearly before you can tell me clearly. Maybe it's not Tan Zhe's ship." Deng Ming could only comfort Li Xinghan in such a way, but he also knew that this hope was slim. Wen Anzhi and Yuan Zongdi had probably retreated far away, and it was impossible for him to appear at this time. Hearing Deng Ming's obvious comfort words, the Ming army officers around Li Xinghan could only smile bitterly.

On the contrary, seeing the fire on the river approaching, a cheer erupted from Tan Hong's position. Although Tan Hong cautiously stopped it immediately, he was also encouraged like his subordinates.

Tan Hong realized that the appearance of the ship might lead to a strong attack from the Invention Army, and quickly ordered everyone to be on guard. Tan Hong remembered that there were only a few ships in the camp. If he saw insufficient ships, it would shake the morale of the army. So he asked his personal soldiers to shout and told everyone that these ships would transport everyone to the other side of the river in batches. As long as everyone obeyed the orders and obeyed the commands, they could cross the river safely.

Tan Hong hoped to arouse the courage of the soldiers to resist, so as to win time for safe boarding for himself. If the operation is done properly, the personal soldiers and servants who followed him could also rescue them - these are the forces he attached the most and relyed on. Under Tan Hong's instruction, the officers who were originally supervising the battle in the front position moved secretly to the inside. These officers were Tan Hong's subordinates for many years, and were tools that he could master the troops with ease. Tan Hong must leave a seat for them on the ship.

The river boat sailed quietly in the darkness. Apart from the sound of oars ripping the river water, the people on the boat made no other sound. Near the position where the two armies confronted each other on the river bank, the torches on the ship were extinguished, as if to avoid being attacked by the enemy. At this time, Tan Hong clearly heard the neat sound of the slurry hitting the water, and vaguely saw the black shadow of the hull. The sound of the water was getting closer and closer, and Tan Jun held his breath and paid attention to the movement on the river surface, waiting excitedly. The Qing soldiers who were at the front row who could be attacked by the Ming army at any time turned back to look at the water surface from time to time.

Finally, a familiar shout sounded in the darkness, and Tan Hong and many of his subordinates immediately recognized that it was from the master Qin Xiucai.

"Mr. Marquis! Where are you?"

The last stone in his heart fell to the ground, and Tan Hong's nerves, which had been tense for several hours, suddenly relaxed. Although he had been able to maintain his self-control during this period, he broke through, persevered, escaped, died... all kinds of ideological struggles, as well as the fierce conflict between hope and despair, never stopped in Tan Hong's heart, and he was almost overwhelmed.

"I'm here!"

The joyful Tan Hong shouted in person to respond to Qin Xiucai's inquiry, and cheers rang around him at the same time. This was his happy subordinates who were thrilling. Some of them were about to be abandoned but were still kept in the dark, or because of despair, they chose ordinary battalions who firmly believed in Tan Hong's promises.

"Mr. Marquis!" After hearing Tan Hong's response, Qin Xiucai's scream came from the river, but there seemed to be no joy in it, and it sounded like he was about to cry.

With just one sound, Qin Xiucai's voice stopped coming, and the sound of oars stopped. New flames lit up in the shadows of several ships on the river, like many torches. At first glance, there were more than a dozen, but most of them were not bright, and they seemed not as bright as normal torches.

"Rocket!"

One of Tan Hong's guards reacted first and screamed. Almost at the same time as his shout came, Tan Hong saw the row of fire lights coming towards him, and there was also the whistling sound of breaking through the air.

"Be careful, Marquis."

Several loyal guards suddenly stood in front of Tan Hong, and screams and uproars sounded in the army. In fact, there were not many rockets, which was not a big threat to Tan Hong's guards with armor. Most of them fell to the ground and did not meet anyone. The rosin on the arrow continued to burn after it landed, illuminating Tan Hong and the bloodless faces around him.

Zhou Kaihuang was very satisfied with this demonstrative volley, because the twelve shooters deployed on four ships reacted almost the same speed. After the leading arrow left the string, the remaining shooters were shooting at about the same time. Although there were not many rockets, Zhou Kaihuang believed that he had great momentum and deterrence.

Satisfied Zhou Kaihuang pushed Qin Xiucai, who was placed on the bow of the boat by two soldiers, and shouted in a low voice: "Call it!"

Qin Xiucai felt that with this call, the dagger that the soldier on the left side put on his neck tightened again, and was about to get into the flesh, so he shouted loudly again:

"Marty, everything is over. The camp was captured by the Commander Wen. There are tens of thousands of soldiers and horses all over the mountains and fields. The soldiers of the court..."

According to Zhou Kaihuang's order, Qin Xiucai shouted at the dark shore, saying that the Ming army in Kuizhou had killed a retaliation, and Liu Tichun, Hao Yaoqi, and Li Laiheng arrived tonight without falling. Qin Xiucai lost his camp and saw tens of thousands of Ming troops coming over before he was captured.

These shouts spread far in the night sky. The Tan Hong's position, which was excited just now, was as quiet as a cemetery, and cheers burst out on both sides and on the mountains beyond. Soon, the news brought by Qin Xiucai was passed down by word of mouth by word by word of mouth by the Ming army, spread throughout the vast position, and the land around the radius of Tan Hongyu's troops was surrounded by fanatical cheers like thunder everywhere.

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Chapter completed!