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The tartars didn't run very far out of the city. Lin Zhidong led his cavalry and rushed out from the foothills in the northwest.

These Tartars fled while taking off their armor, because they couldn't swim across the river without taking off their armor.When they heard the sound of horseshoes, they panicked even more, and their legs ran faster, but the armor on their bodies could not be taken off no matter what.

Pfft!

Pfft!

Like dumplings, the Tartar soldiers jumped into the river one after another.But if you fall into the water wearing a cotton jacket, there is nothing for a good swimmer, unless you dive all the way from the bottom of the river.

A few Tartars turned around and fought, but how could the scattered infantry be the opponent of the cavalry?

"Extinguish the fire, extinguish the fire!"

In the city, Zhang Fengyan did not fight any more, but took the Sinicized Jurchens to carry water to put out the fire amidst the chaos.Their family property is also in the city. Although they deliberately avoided their own house when they set fire to it, a quarter of the buildings in the city have been burned due to the spread of the fire.

In the early morning, Lu Xiangsheng entered the city with his own soldiers, and half of the buildings in the city were reduced to ashes.

The air was filled with the smell of blood and burnt. In addition to human corpses, there were also horse corpses and the corpses of many livestock.In the middle of the night, livestock and war horses were frightened by the fire, and even the Datong army who put out the fire was killed by a running bull.

"General, the city is under control!" Zhang Mingzhen came to see him.

Lu Xiangsheng saw that his body was covered in blood and his cotton jacket had been punctured, and asked, "Are you injured?"

Zhang Mingzhen replied, "It's all flesh wounds."

Lu Xiangsheng said: "Go and bandage it, there is still a battle to be fought."

Further north of Phoenix City is Tongyuan Fort.

Tongyuan Castle is composed of three small cities, each of which is so small that it has only one gate. In fact, it is a group of fortresses composed of three castles.

After taking Tongyuan Fort and Lianshan Pass further north, Lu Xiangsheng's troops can go straight to Shenyang.You can also choose to go out of Shanxi and attack Liaoyang behind Haizhou.

Lu Xiangsheng called Lin Zhidong over: "The cavalry rested for half a day and put on Tartar armor. They all shaved their hair and left their braids. Take a few Sinicized Jurchens who surrendered, and set off immediately with five days of dry food. Instead of going to Tongyuan Fort, follow the Caohe River Valley. Go to Caohe Fort in the northeast. We must march at full speed, cut off the valley west of Caohe Fort, and not allow a single Tartar to pass through the valley. Then, surprise Lianshan Pass!"

"Yes!" Lin Zhidong took the order to retreat.

Lu Xiangsheng's journey is just to clear the game.

It is all mountainous, and the route of attacking troops is fixed, and they will fight one by one from city to city.

Tongyuan Fort is too difficult to fight, and it will definitely take time.Then ignore Tongyuan Fort, go in the direction of Caohe Fort, cut off the enemy's communication, and directly attack Lianshan Pass.

If the Datong army wanted to go to Lianshan Pass, they had to pass through Tongyuan Fort or Caohe Fort, and there was still a Phoenix City stuck in front of them.The Manchu Qing defenders at Lianshan Pass only knew that the Datong Army was attacking Phoenix City. How could they have expected that the Datong Army would suddenly kill them in front of them?

In the previous two months, Lu Xiangsheng fought the battle with a strict eye, strengthening the camp and digging tunnels all day long, so steady and dull to the point of heinous.

At this time, the style of the military order has changed drastically, and it is actually a risky surprise attack.

Once the news came out, Lin Zhidong's dragoons might be ambushed by the Tartars, cut off their retreat and blocked in the valley.

Even if they were not ambushed, if the surprise attack failed, they would not have enough food, and the whole army would have to return hungry.If there is a slight accident and they cannot return, they will all starve to death.

Just as Lin Zhidong retreated, Lu Xiangsheng suddenly said, "Leave a hundred cavalry and go to Tongyuan Fort."

All the dragoons shaved their hair, Lin Zhidong rested for a long time, the soldiers and horses recovered their energy, and set off along the river valley in the afternoon.

At dawn the next day, a few miles away from Caohe Fort, people and horses hid in the mountains to recharge their batteries.Rest for a day, continue to advance along the river valley at night, until approaching Caohe Fort, then lead the horses up the hill, and bypass the Caohe Fort from the forest.

This kind of marching route can only be used for small-scale surprise attacks, and it is impossible for a large army to cross mountains and mountains.

After traveling day and night for four days, they are about to reach their destination, but the food they brought is almost exhausted.

Lin Zhidong's task was to pretend to be a defeated soldier and escape from Tongyuan Fort to Lianshan Pass.That route was to escape to the other side of the river at Lianshan Pass.From Caohebao, it is directly along the river to Lianshan Pass.

In order to act forcefully, Lin Zhidong personally led dozens of cavalry, and a few Sinicized Jurchens, crossed the river in advance and marched to the opposite bank.

The rest of the cavalry hid along the river in a ravine three miles away from Lianshan Pass.

The scale of Lianshan Pass is very small, it is just a fortress.

There are only a hundred troops in the garrison, but there are many bannermen and family members nearby, and there are hundreds of nearly a thousand soldiers when they are mobilized.

The chief general who guards the pass is just a mid-level officer.

Lu Xiangsheng sent a hundred cavalry to take a walk in Tongyuan Fort. The defenders of Tongyuan Fort were horrified and sent people to Shenyang for help.When passing through Lianshan Pass, the defenders of Lianshan Pass also knew that the Phoenix City was gone and that the Datong Army was attacking Lianshan Pass.

This is a plan to kill birds with one stone, because the Tartars of Caohe Fort also got the news.He thought that the Datong Army had gone to Tongyuan Fort, but Lu Xiangsheng's main force was actually heading towards Caohe Fort at this time.

The two forts and one pass were all deceived by Lu Xiangsheng.

Lin Zhidong fled to the other side of the river at Lianshan Pass in embarrassment with his cavalry.The accompanying Sinicized Jurchen yelled towards Guancheng: "Send a boat over here and take Naodai Beizi across the river!"

The defenders didn't hear clearly, but they also saw that the clothes on the other side belonged to "our own people".

A defender came to the shore, finally heard what he was shouting, and hurried back to report: "Naodai beizi is not dead, Naodai beizi is back!"

Chapter 556 [Psychological Warfare]

The guard of Lianshan Pass is called A Lin, whose name translates to "mountain", an inconspicuous general of the Eight Banners.

But it was this general who was extremely cautious.When he heard that "Nao Dai" had returned, he came to the bank in person and only sent a small boat to cross the river. He ordered: "Only Nao Dai Beizi is allowed to cross the river, and he can take at most two of his relatives. The rest of the soldiers must be confirmed by me." Come back after you become a Beizi!"

The boat rowed to the other side, Lin Zhidong heard this and understood that it was impossible to cheat.

Even if he didn't pretend to be Nao Dai, the enemy guards of the Qing Dynasty would find other ways to verify.

"Come here to carry the shellfish, and the rowers will help too," Lin Zhidong said.

When the three Tartars had all landed, Lin Zhidong drew his sword out of its sheath and hacked to death the one in front of him.The other two Tartars were also hacked to death by the dragoons. .

Alin could see clearly across the river, and said with a sneer, "Strictly guard the closed city, don't go out!"

Lin Zhidong sighed: "Tan slaves are not all fools, I'm afraid this trip will be in vain. Go back!"

Withdrawing troops is also particular. Lin Zhidong deliberately followed the river bank and withdrew all the way south.This gave the enemy the illusion that they came from Tongyuan Fort, not Caohe Fort.

That Manchu Qing general, A Lin, seemed calm, but his heart was turbulent: Tongyuan Fort was lost!

Not only Alin, but ordinary Tartar soldiers also looked terrified.

What Lianshan Pass and Caohe Fort are all small checkpoints and small fortresses.

Facing the incoming army, only Phoenix City and Tongyuan Fort can withstand it.Both Phoenix City and Tongyuan Fort were lost, and Lianshan Pass was the next target. How could they hold it?

However, it was said that Lin Zhidong led his troops to withdraw to the south. After withdrawing for several miles, he went into the forest again. It took him a full day to go to the northeast to join the main force of the dragoons.

"Old Lin, we met some Han people in the ravine," said Bian Hui, a mission officer hiding in the mountains.

Lin Zhidong asked: "There are still Han slaves in the mountains?"

Bian Hui shook his head and said, "It's not Han slaves, but Han people under the rule of the Tartars. You can go out of the mountains sixty miles north of Lianshan Pass, which is close to Liaoyang and Shenyang. According to those Han people, they were captured from Beizhili , were placed in the ravines to open up wasteland, and the Tatars did not turn them into serfs. There are more such Han people in Weining and Qinghe, who mainly cultivate the barren land in the mountains, and they can pay a lot for the Tatars every year. food."

"In the past two years, the Han people have had a hard time, right?" Lin Zhidong asked.

Bian Hui said: "Many died of starvation. Dorgon lacked military rations, so he followed the example of the old slaves and stipulated how much rations each Han people should pay. If they fail to pay in one year, each family will kill one. If they fail to pay in two years, the whole family will be killed." Light!"

Lin Zhidong gritted his teeth and said, "Tartars are hateful!"

Bian Hui put the saddle on the horse and said, "Bring all these Han people back, it's not a waste of time."

"Who said it was going to be withdrawn?" Lin Zhidong said with a smile.

Bian Hui said: "The military rations I brought are exhausted, if I don't leave, I will be hungry. Do you still want to stay and look for opportunities?"

Lin Zhidong said: "Each of us has an axe. What did we bring it for? Go into the mountains and cut down trees to make ladders! The city wall of Lianshan Pass is not high, and there are not many guards, so we climbed up by surprise at night."

"What about food?" Bian Hui asked.

"Kill the horse!" Lin Zhidong said decisively.

More than 2000 dragoons, leading the Han people encountered in the mountains, plunged deeper into the mountains in the northeast.

These Han people are familiar with the terrain and know how to get around to the north of Lianshan Pass.Even if there are no Han people to guide the way, it is still possible to go around. There are three valley passages, and it is easy to find if you look carefully.

After walking around for a day and a night, Lin Zhidong asked his soldiers to cut down trees and kill relatively thin horses when they were hungry.

Alin was tense at Lianshan Pass for three days, when suddenly a Tartar soldier rushed to report: "The Nanman army is besieging Caohebao!"

This news made Alin feel terrified, but at the same time feel a little fortunate.

To their horror, the Datong army captured Caohe Fort, and the next target must be Lianshan Pass.Fortunately, the Datong Army did not directly attack Lianshan Pass.

The Tazi soldiers at Lianshanguan relaxed collectively when they learned that the Datong Army was in Caohebao.

They know they must die, and that it is better to die late than early.And after confirming the location of the Datong Army, I can sleep peacefully in the past few days, and I don't have to worry about it all day long.

Even the cautious Alin began to relax, and took out wine and meat for his family to eat openly.

Eat and drink enough, wait for the Datong army to kill, and then the whole family will desperately defend the pass.They have no escape, and if they escape, they will be in Shenyang and Liaoyang. If they escape back, they will be beheaded 100% of the time. Abandoning the customs before a battle is a serious crime.

The entire Lianshanguan, whether it is the soldiers of the Eight Banners, or the bannermen and their family members, is in a state of being full and waiting to die.

Anyone who has wine hidden at home must take it out and drink it up.

Many Tazi soldiers were drunk all day long, and Alin didn't stop them from punishing them, but sent someone to watch a few miles to the southeast.Once you encounter the traces of the Datong Army, the whole army will swear to guard the pass, so enjoy it until then.

Ah Lin never expected that Lin Zhidong would come out from the mountains in the north!

At night, Guancheng was dead silent.

A Lin stipulated that drinking is only allowed before dark, and no one is allowed to drink after nightfall.

As a result, many Tartars got drunk in the evening.

The wooden ladders made from cut trees are very heavy, and the water is still wet.The Datong army carried dozens of wooden ladders, and quietly came down from the mountain, step by step approaching the northeast wall.

Lianshanguan is a small fortress, so small that it has only one gate.

The direction of Lin Zhidong's night attack didn't even have a city gate.There are also defenders standing guard, but they all face the southeast. The sentries here are all dozing off, and some even drink secretly.

The wooden ladder was placed on the city wall, only more than four meters high, and Lin Zhidong led his troops to climb up with ease.

The nearest sentry was warming up on the tower, leaning against the wall, with a wine jug by his leg.

And, snoring, apparently asleep.

The Datong Army moved over cautiously, the Tartar sentry opened his eyes in a daze, looked at Lin Zhidong drunkenly, and pointed at him: "You..."

Lin Zhidong knelt down and covered the sentry's mouth, and wiped his neck with a knife.

After walking on the city wall for a while, a Tartar sentry finally spotted them: "Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

"kill!"

The Datong army immediately launched an attack, rushing all the way to the city from the northeast and northwest along the stone ladder.

A group of ten people will kill anyone they see.

In the darkness, the Tartars had no idea how many people had come.The soldiers of the Eight Banners, the bannermen and their family members who had retreated into Guancheng, ran out of the house in panic, and some of them were drunk and didn't even know how to run.

Lin Zhidong yelled to remind: "Catch a few more people, don't kill them all!"

In the entire Lianshan Pass, counting Qi Ding and his family members, there are less than 2000 people.The number of dragoons who attacked at night was more than 2000, which was a one-sided massacre.

Some Tartars also escaped, but it didn't matter.

In the early morning of the next day, the dragoons who had eaten horse meat for several days were happily full of food.

After resting for half a day, the cavalry without horses stayed behind to guard the pass, while the cavalry with horses were divided into two, and escorted the prisoners to Tongyuan Fort and Caohe Fort.

Alin was also caught, and was tied up and taken to Tongyuan Fort.

It wasn't until he saw the flag on the tower that Alin exclaimed: "Tongyuan Fort is still there?"

Lin Zhidong laughed loudly: "Untie the ropes of the captives and let them report the news casually!"

Including Alin, more than a dozen captives were released and frantically fled towards the three cities of Tongyuan Fort.

The three cities of Tongyuanbao are built on three legs, leaning on each other as horns.

The main general is called Fu Lehui, who was born in the Shu Mulu family, counted strictly according to his seniority, and is the nephew of Yang Guli, a fierce general of the Later Jin Dynasty.

When the Qing Dynasty captured Tongyuan Fort, Shu Wangshan and Alai led 300 soldiers to garrison, and Mina led [-] soldiers to strengthen the defense.It wasn't until the Manchu Qing captured Phoenix that the garrison here was reduced to [-], and the defense center moved south to Phoenix.

Today, most of the Tartar defenders of Tongyuan Fort are descendants of soldiers under the command of Shu Wangshan, Alai, and Mina.

Shu Wangshan is Yangguli's uncle, and the current Fu Lehun is the grandson of Shu Wangshan.

"Hang them up!"

As soon as Alin was hoisted to the city, Fulehun asked, "Why are there enemies in the north?"

A Lin cried: "Lianshan Pass is gone, Caohe Fort has been besieged for many days."

Fu Lehun was speechless for a moment, his legs were weak and he couldn't stand up.