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Qin Mu led 2,300 soldiers and horses, with each man having three horses. They rushed 400 miles in two days and two nights. On the way, they ignored Shangsu and Liuyang counties and just passed by them. At four o'clock in the morning of the second day, they were less than 20 miles away from Changsha city.
If they were real cavalry, and one person was equipped with three horses, it would not be surprising for them to gallop four hundred miles in a day in the plains.
However, Qin Mu's troops were not real cavalry, but a group of "cowherds". Moreover, the road from Wanzai to Changsha was mostly sparsely populated, poor and mountainous, with bad roads and difficult roads. Under such circumstances, they were able to rush to the outskirts of Changsha in two days and two nights, which was definitely an amazing miracle.
Qin Mu also paid a heavy price for this. Many war horses died of exhaustion, and the inner thighs of the soldiers who gritted their teeth and persevered were all worn out. More than 400 of the 1,000 newly recruited young and strong men fell behind, so Qin Mu had no choice but to leave Li Shi behind to gather these stragglers.
Things in the world have a bad side and often a good side. The sparsely populated poor mountains and bad waters made Qin Mu pay a heavy price, but it also provided the best cover for his assault.
In addition, with Su Jin hunting down the enemy's messengers in the front, the rebels in Changsha were still unaware when the Qin army advanced to twenty miles outside Changsha City in the cover of night.
There was no light in the Rentong branch on the East Street of Prince Ji's Mansion, but under the dim moonlight, there were shadowy figures. This time, Ling Zhan brought fifty people and gathered in the backyard. Their mission was to capture the East Gate.
Ling Zhan and Huang Lianshan strode out of the room, accompanied by a man in his forties with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a square face, a burly figure and a steady gait. He was the second oldest of the Niu brothers, Niu Wanchuan. The three of them walked and talked in low voices.
"Is everything ready at Xiangzhong Martial Arts School?"
"General Ling, rest assured. Two hundred disciples and fellow practitioners of our Xiangzhong Martial Arts School will be led by my eldest brother to rush to the East Gate through Mumian Alley. Another hundred people will be divided into ten teams, each carrying kerosene, explosives and other items to set fire near the two military camps in the city to delay the time for the rebels to reinforce the East Gate."
Niu Wanchuan pondered for a moment and continued, "General Ling, although the Prince Ji's Mansion is well guarded, we can still sneak in and set it on fire. The rebels looted Huguang, and most of the gold, silver, treasures, and grain and supplies looted from nearby counties and cities were concentrated in Changsha and stored in Prince Ji's Mansion. If we set a fire in Prince Ji's Mansion, Zhang Wenxiu will definitely dispatch a large army to put it out with all his strength, so that we can tie down a large number of Zhang Wenxiu's troops."
It would have been fine if Niu Wanchuan hadn't mentioned the gold and silver treasures, but when it came to this, Ling Zhan was not willing to do so. He sneered and said, "It's right to be cautious, but don't overestimate Zhang Wenxiu's 30,000 troops. They are just a mob that has been mobilized for less than a month. Once the city is in chaos, if we successfully seize the east gate to welcome the army into the city, Liu Wenxiu's mob will be useless even if he has twice as many troops. It's just a few more sheep to drive, and Prince Ji's mansion won't have to be burned down."
Although Niu Wanchuan is a martial artist, he also knows that if a large army encounters a night attack, once it collapses, it means that the soldiers cannot find the general. If the general cannot find the soldiers, no matter how many people there are, they cannot unite;
Moreover, although Zhang Wenxiu's 30,000 troops were no less than the Changsha defenders who surrendered, most of them were newly recruited young and strong men. Even the army formation was not neat, and it would be difficult to form an effective resistance if they encountered a night attack. So Niu Wanchuan didn't say anything else.
Ling Zhan continued, "As for the East Gate, the key is whether we can kill the sentries on the tower. If the rebels find out in advance, things will be troublesome."
Niu Wanchuan clasped his fists and said, "General Ling, don't worry. Now the entire Huguang region is in the hands of the rebels. No government troops can threaten Changsha anymore. The defenders on the city walls have always been lax in their daily defense. My disciple is quite skilled and alert, so it won't be a problem for him to kill a few sentries."
"That's good, I hope everything goes well."
Everyone waited for a while and was getting a little anxious when a rustling sound came from the century-old pine tree in the courtyard. A figure slid down from the tree quickly and said to Ling Zhan in an excited but suppressed voice, "General Ling, fireworks, I see the fireworks."
Ling Zhan stepped forward, grabbed the man by the collar and asked anxiously, "Did you see it clearly? But there are three in front and three in the back, a total of six fireworks?"
"General Ling, there are exactly three in front and two in the back, a total of six red fireworks. I am definitely not mistaken."
"Okay, the lord's men have finally arrived. Everyone, act according to the original plan immediately. Quickly, be careful not to expose the action in advance."
On the east gate tower, Yu Laosi got some wine and meat from somewhere tonight, and called the two teams of twenty sentries who were responsible for night patrol. They were afraid of being discovered by their superiors, so they did not dare to light torches, and squatted under the battlements to eat and drink in the dim moonlight.
Yu Laosi has been learning martial arts from Niu Wanchuan since he was a child and has good skills. After Zhang Xianzhong entered the city, he opened the granaries to release grain and recruited soldiers on a large scale. Among Niu Wanchuan's disciples, three including Yu Laosi became the glorious Dashi Army. Unfortunately, only Yu Laosi can be used tonight because he is the only one responsible for guarding the city gate.
Most of the twenty patrolling sentries were already "drunk" at this time, and the remaining few were also drowsy and could not hold on any longer. Yu Laosi was getting restless. All the sentries had fallen down, and if the army outside the city could not arrive in time, he was afraid that he would not be able to cover up the situation as time went on.
An anxious Yu Laosi looked around from the top of the city wall from time to time. When he saw the six long-awaited red fireworks rising a few miles outside the city, he could not help but clap his hands lightly. He turned around and was about to continue pouring wine to the remaining patrolmen, but saw that they had all fallen to the ground. He had added something to the wine, so these people would not wake up easily.
Ling Zhan and Niu Wanshan led a group of people in the city, and rushed to the east gate through some remote alleys. At the entrance of the alley, they met Yu Laosi who came to meet them, and then they quickly went into the shelter at the city gate.
The hut is also known as the hiding cave. The rebels guarding the east gate all slept in it. It was almost five o'clock in the morning, when they were sleeping soundly and snoring like thunder. Ling Zhan and his men sneaked in like ghosts, and one by one the rebels were sent to heaven in their dreams.
Ling Zhan and Niu Wanshan's nearly 300 men were already prepared to seize the East Gate. Now they were able to successfully seize the East Gate silently, which made everyone very fortunate.
In the east of Changsha City, Qin Mu still had 1,900 people left. After seeing the fireworks at the east gate, Qin Mu suppressed his joy and shouted, "Raise the fire!"
Immediately, a large number of torches formed a fire dragon and rolled towards the east gate of Changsha. The drawbridge had been lowered and the city gate had been opened. The Qin army that rushed to the east gate felt that all the suffering they had endured in the past two days had been compensated at this moment. What are they waiting for? Charge!
Nearly two thousand soldiers rushed into the East Gate like a fire dragon. The doors and windows on both sides of the street opened one by one in the night, and from time to time, a scream was heard and then they were quickly closed.
No wonder the people were so terrified. Qin Mu's nearly two thousand men had their faces painted with oil paint. They looked extremely hideous under the firelight, like a group of demons released from hell.
When Qin Mu led his army to Prince Ji's Mansion, a group of rebels guarding the gate were just awakened from a dream. When they saw the faces of these "devils", they were terrified like the people on the street. They screamed and ran away. Most of Su Jin's cavalry fell down in one charge.
"Explode!" Qin Mu pointed at the gate of Prince Ji's Mansion and shouted urgently.
Boom! A loud noise spread in the night, shaking the earth. The gate of Prince Ji's Mansion was blown away in an instant. This explosion was like a signal. A series of violent explosions were heard from all over the city. Fires followed one after another, illuminating Changsha City and waking up the people who were sleeping in the city.
Qin Mu shouted, "Charge, capture Liu Wenxiu alive!" Nine hundred soldiers shouted and rushed into Prince Ji's Palace, while Su Jin's cavalry galloped on the streets around the palace, hunting down the fish that escaped from the palace.
Liu Meng and Meng Ke each led 500 men to the two military camps in the east and west of the city. Explosions were heard one after another in the city, flames were everywhere, and there were bursts of gongs and drums, firecrackers, as if the army was firing guns. The whole city of Changsha was boiling, and there were screams, cries, and blindly running figures everywhere. The people that Niu Wanshan and his team had arranged long ago kept shouting in the night:
"The soldiers rushed into the city and Liu Wenxiu was killed."
"The soldiers have surrounded Changsha City. The end of Zhang the thief has come."
"Zhang Xianzhong's 200,000-man army was completely wiped out, and the government troops are coming to attack us."
"Run away! The soldiers are coming into the city."
The bursts of shouting made people even more panicked, especially near the two military camps in the city, where explosions continued and flames shot into the sky. The bursts of shouting caused the rebels who had just been awakened in the camp to become chaotic. Before Meng Ke and his men arrived, the rebels in the camp had already been frightened and fled. Many people lived in the city, and after throwing away their weapons and armor, they ran home.
In Prince Ji's mansion, Liu Wenxiu, who was sleeping soundly with several women in his arms, was awakened by a violent explosion. Without even bothering to put on his clothes, he grabbed a knife and rushed out of the room, only to find that the front yard was already ablaze with flames and cries of killing. The men and horses that stayed in the mansion fled inside, and there were cries of crying and shouting everywhere, as well as calls to capture Liu Wenxiu alive.
He hurriedly grabbed a fleeing soldier and asked, "What's going on? What happened? Where did the soldiers come from? Tell me quickly."
"General, I don't know. I don't know. Their faces are as scary as ghosts. They are not soldiers, but ghosts..."
"Fuck you." An enraged Liu Wenxiu pushed the soldier. Seeing that the sounds of killing in the front yard were getting closer and the defenders of the palace had been completely defeated, while outside the city was filled with explosions and shouts of killing, he was at a loss and snatched the clothes of the fallen soldier, put them on carelessly, and rushed towards the small door on the west side.
After finally escaping to the western military camp, Liu Wenxiu was despairing to find that the troops in the western camp had been slaughtered. The defeated soldiers were running around in the night, crying for their parents and in chaos.
Liu Wenxiu couldn't help but cover his head and murmured to himself in pain: "What's going on? Who can tell me what's going on? Where did the Ming army come from... " (To be continued...)
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