Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 298: Battle of Huai'an (Part )

Military strategy is like chess. One wrong move can lead to a complete loss.

Ma Sangge in Huai'an City was certainly not unaware of Ke Yongsheng's selection of warriors. Ma Sangge immediately went to look for Wang Wenkui, but Wang Wenkui seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth, and Ma Sangge could not find Wang Wenkui no matter how hard he looked.

In desperation, Ma Sangge went to look for Ke Yongsheng again. Naturally, Ke Yongsheng was easily found by Ma Sangge. Ma Sangge advised Ke Yongsheng earnestly: "In the battle, the key is to play to one's strengths and avoid one's weaknesses. Now that Zhao Yongping has led his troops to Huai'an City, he must be eager to fight quickly. No matter whether his camp is well-prepared or not, as long as we hold on to Huai'an, Zhao Yongping will be unable to advance or retreat if he stays under the city for too long. Why risk attacking the camp!"

Upon hearing this, Ke Yongsheng nodded quickly, and then said with a serious face: "Master Ma is indeed mature and prudent. Master Ma, rest assured, I am just selecting strong men to form a reserve team in case of emergency."

Ma Sangge was very pleased. Before leaving, he patted Ke Yongsheng's shoulder encouragingly and said, "Don't worry, General Ke. I will definitely guarantee you that nothing will happen to the Jiangbei camp."

Then Ma Sangge turned around and left with a relaxed look on his face. After Ma Sangge left, Ke Yongsheng secretly sighed. How could Ma Sangge have the ability to guarantee him? He lost the camp. If he did nothing, not to mention the revenge later, his future would come to an abrupt end.

That night, the moon was dark, the wind was high, the stars were dim, and outside the city of Huai'an, there was a dead silence. Ke Yongsheng led two thousand carefully selected elites and quietly approached Zhao Yongping's camp. His goal was clear, and he intended to attack the camp in one fell swoop, capture Zhao Yongping, and turn the tide of the war in one fell swoop, making an unprecedented contribution.

As soon as Ke Yongsheng left the city, Ma Sangge got the news. Ma Sangge was shocked and angry, and hurried to the city gate. However, when Ma Sangge arrived, Ke Yongsheng and his entire army had already left the city.

Regardless of the lateness of the night, Ma Sangge urgently knocked on the door of the residence of Huai'an Governor Wang Wenkui. Ma Sangge pushed aside the gateman who was blocking his way and rushed straight to the backyard. For a moment, there was a quarrel in the Governor's Mansion.

At this moment, Wang Wenkui, wearing a thick coat, stopped the quarrel with an unhappy look on his face.

Ma Sangge kicked the doorman away and asked with a distorted expression, "Governor Wang, was it you who ordered Ke Yongsheng to go out of the city to attack the camp?"

Wang Wenkui was a little annoyed. This guy was really clueless. If Ke Yongsheng went out of the city to attack the camp and won, you would just sit back and reap the benefits. If he lost, it would be Ke Yongsheng's private decision. What does it have to do with you?

But Ma Sangge pressed the issue in front of everyone. Wang Wenkui said impatiently, "General Ke has been in the army for a long time. He said that we can take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and attack the camp. Why is Lord Ma digging into the matter?"

Ma Sangge said anxiously: "If it is a plan to lure troops outside the city, then Ke Yongsheng's troops are in danger. If Ke Yongsheng is defeated, Ye Huaian will be in danger!"

Wang Wenkui hugged his coat tighter, and said in an increasingly impatient tone, "There are still 8,000 defenders in the city, enough to resist the enemy. Sir Ma, go back and rest, and wait for good news."

Then, regardless of Ma Sangge's ugly look, he flicked his sleeves, turned around and went back to his room to rest.

Ma Sangge stood there for a long time, then he sighed and turned away. Now he could only pray that Zhao Yongping's troops had poor military discipline and that Ke Yongsheng could defeat the enemy camp in one battle, and then all the problems would be solved.

As night fell and the moonlight was as bright as water, Ke Yongsheng led two thousand elite soldiers and, like a ghost in the night, began to approach Zhao Yongping's camp.

However, they did not know that the seemingly relaxed camp was actually full of ambushes. Zhao Yongping deliberately showed the enemy weakness by being relaxed on the outside and tight on the inside, luring Ke Yongsheng's troops to go deeper.

In fact, Zhao Yongping was under a lot of pressure these days. Not to mention anything else, just arranging the ambush after nightfall was a matter of one thing. On the one hand, the soldiers were tired after staying up all night. On the other hand, the Qing army was not fooled after a hard night, which was a huge blow to morale.

It was late at night and Ke Yongsheng thought it was the best time to act. With a command, two thousand elite soldiers rushed to Zhao Yongping's camp like arrows. However, the moment they rushed into the camp, the guards at the camp gate fled in all directions. Ke Yongsheng was overjoyed.

Ke Yongsheng urgently ordered the attackers to rush into Zhao Yongping's central army camp as quickly as possible and start setting fire.

The sky was dark and Ke Yongsheng was so excited, but what he didn't realize was that there were very few Zhou soldiers sleeping in the tent. As Ke Yongsheng went deeper and deeper, he was already close to the central army camp. All of a sudden, Zhao Yongping's ambush troops emerged everywhere, like a tide, and quickly surrounded Ke Yongsheng's troops.

For a moment, the camp was filled with flames and shouts of killing. Zhao Yongping's ambush troops were like a tiger descending from the mountain, catching Ke Yongsheng's troops off guard. The two thousand elite troops who had left the city to attack the camp were surrounded on all sides. Everyone knew that they were doomed.

The extreme joy and sorrow came too quickly. Ke Yongsheng was so excited that a mouthful of blood oozed out from the corner of his mouth. He shouted in a somewhat shrill voice: "Retreat!"

However, Ke Yongsheng went too deep into the camp, and the two thousand elite soldiers who went out of the city to attack the camp were either killed or surrendered, and Ke Yongsheng was also captured by Zhao Yongping's ambush. He looked at Zhao Yongping's soldiers around him, feeling unwilling.

Ke Yongsheng was brought in front of Zhao Yongping, and two soldiers beside him hit his calves with the butt of their guns and forced him to kneel down.

"General Ke, are you willing to surrender?" Before Zhao Yongping could speak, Gao Jinku, who was standing beside him, asked in a frivolous tone.

Ke Yongsheng turned his head away with courage and snorted loudly.

"If you surrender, you will live; if you don't surrender, you will die!" Zhao Yongping said impatiently.

Ke Yongsheng remained silent for a while. Zhao Yongping said impatiently, "Since you are unwilling to surrender and are determined to serve the imperial court, then you should die."

Just as the two soldiers were about to drag Ke Yongsheng down and chop him up, Ke Yongsheng shouted, "I surrender! Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Zhao Yongping smiled gently after hearing this, waved his hand, and said, "It has been said since ancient times that a man who knows the current situation is a hero. The general's defeat is indeed the will of heaven. I am willing to surrender now. It will not be long before he is made a marquis and appointed as a prime minister."

Ke Yongsheng felt sad when he heard this. After forcing Ke Yongsheng to surrender, Zhao Yongping ordered his men to set fire to all the tents in the camp. For a moment, flames shot up into the sky, thick smoke billowed, and heat waves came over the ground. The whole camp seemed to be engulfed in a sea of fire. Zhao Yongping's move was intended to create the illusion that Ke Yongsheng had successfully broken into the camp in order to confuse the defenders in Huai'an City.

Under the cover of fire, Zhao Yongping held Ke Yongsheng hostage and led a team of elite soldiers, rushing towards Huai'an City.

The defenders on the city looked at the soldiers blocking the city gate with a look of doubt, not sure whether it was the soldiers of Ke Yongsheng's army who had just left the city. Then the defenders asked loudly, "Who is it?"

"it's me!"

As the torches shone next to Ke Yongsheng, his face became familiar to the defenders on the city wall.

Zhao Yongping looked at the tower and shouted, "This attack on the camp was a complete victory. The enemy camp is in chaos. Quickly open the city gate. The general must mobilize the troops and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop."

The defenders hesitated for a moment, but looking at the blazing camp in the distance, and then looking at Ke Yongsheng's face, they waved their hands and said, "Open the city gate and welcome the general into the city."