Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 379 Attack on Huai'an

Just when Zhao Yongping blew down the Jining city wall, Hauge, who was far away in Sizhou, had already rushed to Huai'an city.

Ever since Zhao Yongping mobilized all his troops and swore an oath to march north from Huai'an, there have been no other garrison troops in Huai'an City except for the soldiers who were recruited locally after Huai'an was conquered.

But Huai'an City is the army's forward base. Although Zhao Yongping does not think that the Qing army will attack here, there are still more than 5,000 grain transport soldiers in Huai'an City. Although they are all new recruits, the grassroots officers are all drawn from the old soldiers of the two towns.

The one stationed in Huai'an City was Zhao Yongping's old subordinate Fang Tai. At this time, Fang Tai was still in the camp, practicing javelin. Fang Tai threw the javelin with force and hit the wooden target right in the middle. The soldiers around him cheered loudly.

Fang Tai had a smug look on his face. Although he had not followed the commander-in-chief to the north and would certainly lack some experience in the future, he was at least the commander-in-chief stationed in the city. Looking back on the past, he was just a nobody, but now he could be considered to have brought honor to his family.

No one in Huai'an would have thought that the army had already captured Xuzhou, and when it was heading north to the Central Plains, the Qing army would bypass Huai'an City.

Hauge killed all the living people he saw along the way and rushed to Huai'an City. At this time, everything was normal in Huai'an City, but Hauge stopped ten miles away from Huai'an City.

Afterwards, Hauge sent a team of about fifty elite cavalry, led by Oboi himself. They wore a black robe over their armor and pretended to be Zhou cavalry. They rushed to the city gate first. With more than ten thousand cavalry, the momentum was too great. They were afraid that the city of Huai'an would notice the abnormality early and cause the city gate to be closed. More than fifty cavalry were just right. If there were fewer, they might not be able to guard the city gate, and if there were more, people in the city might arouse suspicion.

On the top of Huai'an City, the defenders saw from afar a team of cavalry, about fifty riders, galloping towards Huai'an City with no intention of slowing down.

Huang Saner, the defending soldier, asked the squad leader Li Qi with some confusion, "Brother Li, aren't there usually only three or five messengers? Why are there so many this time?"

Li Qi looked outside the city with some doubt. This large group of cavalry was moving so fast. Li Qi had better eyesight, and although he could not see their faces clearly, it seemed a little strange that those cavalrymen were still waving their whips at such a fast speed.

After all, the Zhou army was short of horses, and everyone knew it. I also heard that the king was going to make horse policy in Huai'an Prefecture. The treatment of horses in the army was much better than that of humans. Huai'an was not a battlefield now, so was it necessary for so many cavalrymen to gallop? Could it be the Qing army?

Afterwards, Li Qi hurriedly told the gatekeeper of the city about his doubts. The gatekeeper did not comment, but just evaded the question by saying, "Without military orders, I dare not act on my own."

Li Qi felt more and more uneasy as he watched the cavalry approaching him. He was torn between his own conscience and his own desires. After a moment, he gritted his teeth, shouted at the pedestrians to get out of the way, and then yelled at the soldiers on both sides to close the doors.

The soldiers on both sides looked at each other, and then turned to look at the captain.

The centurion cursed: "Li Qi, you are crazy. The army is marching north. Would the Tartars send these dozens of people to attack Huai'an instead of going to Xuzhou?"

Li Qi said anxiously, "Sir, what if? Even if I am wrong, I am willing to bear the consequences myself, but what if the Tartars are sent to attack the city? What if there is a large group of troops behind?"

Seeing that the gatekeepers had not taken any action yet, Li Qi shouted, "Close the gate quickly, it will be too late if you are any later, hurry up!!" After that, he took action himself and pushed the city gate hard.

Seeing this, the centurion frowned and could only agree to close the city gate first.

When Aobai saw that the city gate was actually starting to close, he was only a hundred meters away from the city gate, and he shouted anxiously: "I am the vanguard messenger, there is urgent military information! Open the city gate quickly!"

The centurion was horrified when he heard this. What kind of accent was this? It was so strange. He shouted urgently, "Quick, close the city gate!"

Oboi didn't expect that although his Chinese was quite good, he couldn't deceive the guards at the city gate. Seeing that the gate was getting smaller and smaller, Oboi drew his bow and arrow and shot with all his might. The arrow hit a soldier next to Li Qi in the face, and the soldier fell to the ground and died on the spot.

The centurion was so frightened that he lost half his soul. These must be Qing soldiers, and elite ones at that. Their archery skills were so accurate. If the Qing army was allowed to enter the city, there would be a great loss of lives. The centurion was so anxious that he jumped up and down, and rushed over to close the door together.

Aobai fired several arrows and hit another gatekeeper. Li Qi shouted, "Push behind the door, quickly!"

Such a sudden change not only attracted the dozens of gatekeepers, but also the passers-by and the defenders on the city wall who all rushed over and closed the city gate before Oboi crossed the moat.

The captain grabbed Li Qi's hand and said with tears in his eyes, "Seventh brother, it's all thanks to you. If it weren't for you, the people in the city would have been in trouble!"

Li Qi was still somewhat frightened. He calmed himself down and said urgently, "We must report this to the general immediately and have the other three city gates closed immediately!"

"I will go and report the news myself right away. Li Qi, you go to the bell and drum tower and keep ringing the bells. The other three city gates will then know to close!" The captain said urgently to Li Qi, and then rushed towards the military camp.

Oboi pulled his horse's buttocks in annoyance. The city was well prepared and Huai'an City could not be captured. On the way back, Oboi met Hauge who was galloping towards him.

Oboi blamed himself and said, "Your Majesty, I failed to seize the city gate, and was discovered by the garrison before I even arrived!"

Haoge was a little displeased. He flicked his whip, looked at Huai'an in the distance, snorted coldly, and rode away.

After the Qing cavalry appeared in Huai'an, the city of Huai'an sent people on small boats all the way north to report to Zhao Yongping, and all the way south to report urgently to Nanjing. At the same time, they sent people to report urgently to various counties, ordering them to close the city gates and not give Hauge any opportunity to take advantage.

After Hauge failed in his attack on Huai'an City, he ran rampant in Huai'an Prefecture and Yangzhou Prefecture. Although they were all cavalry and could not break through the prefectures and counties, the villages and towns everywhere suffered. Until a heavy rain made the roads muddy and the cavalry could not move well, Hauge withdrew from Huai'an Prefecture and retreated to Fuyang, leaving behind only refugees, corpses, and burned homes.