Zhou Qingfeng waited for a long time at the wooden station, but the Ming Army from Jinzhou did not come. Instead, Xu Bing sent him the third batch of people to land. Two thousand refugees joined as ordinary labor, giving him enough manpower to make arrangements. At the same time, there was a letter from the commander of Gaizhou. It reported the situation in Jinzhou and also conveyed Li Rubai's orders.
"The commander of Gaizhou said that he used the excuse that the 'Revolutionary Army' invaded Gaizhou and was unable to support Jinzhou. Right now, only Fuzhou has sent a few hundred people to Jinzhou, and most of them are old and weak. He said that Jinzhou's military strength is empty, but Li Rubai has a few hundred capable retainers under his command, which cannot be underestimated. He also said that as long as Young Marshal moves Jinzhou, he will not make things difficult for Young Marshal, and they can even help each other. "
Qiao Xuenan, who returned with the ship, also conveyed Xu Bing's words. "Sister Xu said that more and more refugees are coming from the north, and Yingkou Base is under great pressure. Although shipping is convenient, the capacity has reached its limit. She wants Young Marshal to take Jinzhou as soon as possible and transport people by land, even if a lot of them die. Otherwise, we can't manage at all. "
Zhou Qingfeng could imagine the situation of Yingkou Base in the north crowded with refugees. He nodded and said, "If Li Rubai hides in the city and refuses to come out, then I can only take the initiative to attack him."
However, just as this thought arose, Gao Daniu rushed over with the news from the scouts. "Young Marshal, the people of Jinzhou have moved out."
"Oh … How many people?"
"The scouts reported that there are about 2,500 people, with more than a dozen flags. Most of them are infantry, and only a few are cavalry. The commander's flag has the word 'Li' written on it, so it should be Liaodong's Commander in Chief, Li Rubai. "
The scouts were from the cavalry company, supplemented by many educated veterans of the Imperial Guard. Zhou Qingfeng provided these veterans with toy binoculars from the Time Oasis. Although the binoculars' performance was limited, they greatly improved the veterans' safety and detection abilities.
"Two thousand five hundred people. That's quite a lot." Zhou Qingfeng scratched his head. "When will the Great Ming Dynasty's official army gather so many people? Didn't they say that Liaodong was so short of troops that they had to transfer troops from all over the country? "
Gao Daniu said, "The scouts said that it would be amazing if there were five hundred fighters among these two thousand five hundred people. The rest were child beggars and farmers who were temporarily pulled over to put on a show. These soldiers are worse than the refugees under our command. At least the refugees we brought over know how to obey orders and eat their fill. "
Zhou Qingfeng had two fully staffed infantry companies, a total of 360 men. A full company of cavalry, one hundred and twenty men. One combat engineer company, two hundred people. They even had the advantage in terms of the number of soldiers. Xu Bing was worried about his safety and specially sent a firearm platoon from Chai Jie's female troops to act as his personal guards. There were only about ten people in the platoon, and all of them were armed with captured muskets.
"When will Li Rubai's men arrive?"
"The scouts said that they set off early in the morning. They should arrive tomorrow."
Gao Daniu estimated that the distance between Jinzhou and the Wood Field Relay Station was about thirty kilometers. Although the movement of more than two thousand people was certainly not fast, they should arrive in two days. Zhou Qingfeng also felt that he should anticipate the enemy broadly. No matter when the enemy came, he had to be prepared. Thus, everyone was mobilized and prepared for battle.
Then … from noon until the next afternoon, not a single person was seen on the official road.
Zhou Qingfeng waited in the Wood Field Relay Station. If it wasn't for the reports from the scouts every hour, he would have long been unable to sit still. But in fact, the scouts had told him yesterday that Li Rubai had brought 2,500 men and horses five kilometers out of the city and were camping at the Jinzhou Relay Station.
Camping five kilometers out of the city? They ran slower than a snail.
Why didn't Li Rubai carry a snail's shell on his back?
Zhou Qingfeng really couldn't figure out what the enemy was trying to do. He even suspected that the enemy from Jinzhou was just a feint to attract his attention and that the real killer move would come from another direction. Thus, he sent people to patrol the entire Lushun.
Since there were enough refugees to serve as ordinary labor, Zhou Qingfeng set up sentries everywhere in Lushun. He stationed people at the beacon towers that hadn't been used for decades, set up observation posts all along the coast, and even sent out small boats seized from the Lushun Navy to investigate in the direction of Dengzhou and Tianjin. This was the battle that laid the foundation for the Revolutionary Army, so there was no room for carelessness.
Usually, Zhou Qingfeng didn't care if he didn't sleep for a few days. But this time, he stayed up all night. He repeatedly wondered if he had fallen into a trap. The next day, his eyes were red and swollen. But nothing happened that night. All the sentries reported that they didn't find any enemy.
Waiting for dawn the next day, Zhou Qingfeng climbed to the top of the wall of the Wood Field Relay Station and looked at the official road in the east. He looked forward to the wave of sentries that came every hour to bring him good news. The commander of the cavalry company, Han Shi, rode his demon pig to personally investigate. He went out early in the morning and came back at noon with a dejected expression. "Young Marshal, Li Rubai is really a tortoise. He walked another ten kilometers and stopped. He's setting up camp right now. "
Zhou Qingfeng raised his head to look at the sky and thought to himself, "It's noon now! The sun is hanging high. Why is he setting up camp? If he walked ten kilometers a day, wouldn't it take a week to travel from Jinzhou to the Wood Field Relay Station?
If he sat on a 'triplane,' a week would be enough to go around the world once. "
Zhou Qingfeng began to be paranoid again. He felt that the enemy's speed was too slow. Had he fallen into some kind of trap? He even suspected that the Ming Army was making a feint to send people to attack the Yingkou Base. The Yingkou Base didn't have many soldiers at the moment and its defenses were empty.
"Human-faced Demon, quickly go to the Yingkou Base and see how our old nest is doing." Zhou Qingfeng sent out the super soldier that was guarding him. After the Human-faced Demon evolved, its speed was much faster. It could reach 50 kilometers per hour. It could run back and forth in one day.
After sending out the Human-faced Demon, Zhou Qingfeng sat in the Wood Field Relay Station.
When the sky turned dark, Li Rubai didn't come. Instead, the Human-faced Demon came back to report that the Yingkou Base was safe and sound. However, Xu Bing had already listened to Zhou Qingfeng's suggestion and expanded the investigation range to 30 kilometers around the Yingkou Base. Everyone became extremely nervous and worried about their gains and losses.
On the third day, it was another night of fear. Zhou Qingfeng couldn't stand it anymore. He was under a lot of psychological pressure. He took the Martial Arts Chessboard and simulated the battle for the whole night. He found that he always won on the chessboard. However, the more he won, the less confident he was. He always felt that the enemy must have some hidden tricks that they hadn't used yet.
Li Rubai, who was as slow as a snail, continued to walk steadily for only ten kilometers. He set up camp at noon.
Zhou Qingfeng was so sleepy that he dozed off in the Wood Field Relay Station. He really wanted to directly lead the troops to kill their way out. However, looking at the fortifications that they had built with great difficulty, it would be a waste not to make use of them. He repeatedly comforted himself … Steady, steady. You're just too nervous. This was the first battle after the establishment of the Revolutionary Army. You mustn't be reckless or underestimate the enemy.
You're carrying the hope of the rise of the nation on your shoulders. You mustn't act recklessly.
Another night passed. On the fourth day.
Li Rubai didn't come, but he was at least halfway there.
Another batch of reinforcements from Xu Bing docked at Yellow Mud Bay. Even Li Shuwei brought a large number of technical personnel from the Engineering Department to support them. When he arrived at the Wood Field Relay Station, he was shocked to see Zhou Qingfeng with red eyes. He asked with concern, "How is it? Is the battle very difficult? Don't worry. No matter how the battle turns out, it doesn't matter. We support you.
Xu Bing and I thought that the battle might not be going well for you, so we specially organized a militia. Although the training and equipment aren't good, there are two thousand people. Xu Bing used her 'Revolutionary Thunder' to mobilize. Their will to fight is not bad. They are all peasants with deep hatred. They can definitely fight the Ming Army to the end. "
Looking at Zhou Qingfeng's dispirited look, Li Shuwei's heart was in his throat. But Zhou Qingfeng responded with a big yawn.
Difficult my ass!
They didn't fight at all.
It was said that speed was important in war, but Li Rubai was really a snail. He was extremely slow.
Zhou Qingfeng patted Li Shuwei's shoulder. "It's good that you're here. Help me keep an eye on them for a while. I'm going to sleep. Call me when the enemy comes up. "
On the fifth day, Li Rubai finally cheered up. He walked ten … five miles in one day. They had already reached the periphery of the Wood Field Relay Station. The city walls of the relay station could be seen from afar. The two thousand five hundred men and horses set up camp again. Li Rubai brought a dozen Jinzhou generals and Borji, who followed in the dark, out to investigate. From afar, they saw the fortifications that Zhou Qingfeng had painstakingly built around the Wood Field Relay Station.
Looking from the slope outside the Wood Field Relay Station, they could see that the opposite relay station was already filled with man-made ditches. Just the work of these ditches wasn't small. Inside the ditches was a combat engineer company. The east and west hills of the Wood Field Relay Station had built circular fortifications, each guarded by an infantry company. Because the width of the battlefield was limited, the east and west hills could cooperate with each other.
In addition, a large number of watchtowers were set up on the fortifications to constantly monitor the movements of the entire battlefield. From time to time, there would be people waving red and yellow flags on the watchtowers to communicate with each other. The transmission of information was very smooth.
Although the group of Jinzhou generals didn't really understand, they immediately felt that the situation in front of them was very complicated. This group of rebels was very powerful. Their previous estimates were probably too conservative. But now the rebels were blocking the gates of Jinzhou. If they didn't get rid of them and restore the sea transportation, everyone in Jinzhou would starve to death.
Li Rubai looked around for a long time on the slope and was also shocked by everything in front of him. The reason why he was marching so slowly was because the soldiers he had brought this time were too bad.
The commander of the Jinzhou Guards had already been arrested and imprisoned by Li Rubai because there weren't many people in the entire guard who could fight. The retainers of the generals only numbered a hundred or so, and they were all lackeys used to suppress the common people. They couldn't really fight in a real battle.
After marching for five days, there were people fleeing every day. The soldiers of the army were waiting to eat two meals a day. If it weren't for these two meals, they would have run long ago. Moreover, the soldiers in the army said that once the battle started, they would immediately flee and wouldn't sell their lives for those generals. How could they fight with this kind of morale?
Li Rubai got up in the middle of the night to patrol and even saw the grain officers openly stealing provisions. There were even some generals who feared the enemy like tigers and directly resigned from their posts and disappeared. The two thousand five hundred people were the people who had just left Jinzhou City. By now, there probably weren't even two thousand people. Every day when they set up camp at noon, there were fewer and fewer soldiers who came to eat.
Other than the three hundred or so retainers under him who could be considered emotionally stable, Li Rubai really couldn't find any other subordinates he could rely on. The morale of the army was terrible, and they could only think that a group of rebels couldn't be that strong. But today, when they saw the camp of the 'Revolutionary Emperor', it was like being struck by lightning. He turned to Borji beside him and asked, "When you fought with that traitor Zhou before, was it also like this?"
Before? This kid wasn't this powerful before.
Borji's face was also twitching, but he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Don't worry, Sir. This time, I also brought a dozen or so Jurchen warriors. When we go on the battlefield, we will definitely fight to the death and not be afraid. When we attacked Shenyang, it was as easy as slaughtering cattle and sheep. No matter how strong this Zhou Qingfeng is, what can he do? We won't be afraid of him. "
Borji was cheering himself on. In the wood field, Li Shuwei ran to Zhou Qingfeng's room in a panic and pushed him with all his might. "Get up, get up, the Kennu are attacking!"
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