When he entered Yaozhou City, Niu Ben's brows furrowed. He never expected that the attack had just begun and the 10,000 Han and Eight Banners soldiers stationed in Yaozhou City gave up resistance, opened the city gate and surrendered.

Niu Ben has never encountered such a situation. It is said that the Eight Banners Army's combat effectiveness is good, and the walls of Yaozhou City are also quite strong. This is the first battle after Denglai's new army marches north. Niu Ben also plans to use fierce force Artillery fire blasted open the city gate of Yaozhou and got a good start. Who knew that the attack had not officially started at all.

An Eight Banners Army officer wearing a military uniform and pigtails hanging on the back of his head trotted over.

"Report to the general, the first-class La Zhangjing of the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty who belongs to the slave Zhenghong Banner..."

Niu Ben was stunned for a moment and looked at the rather burly Wu Shojin.

The Intelligence Department has long issued a document, and senior officers of the Denglai New Army have a copy, which contains the names of the flag masters of the Houjin Eight Banners, as well as the 24th Banner Gushan Ezhen and the first-class La Zhangjing. These people are The Denglai New Army is paying special attention to these people. To put it bluntly, when encountering these people in battle, regardless of whether the opponent resists desperately or surrenders, the basic principle is to kill them without mercy.

Wu Shojin is on the list.

Wu Shojin, who took the initiative to surrender, had a calm face and seemed unfazed, which surprised Niu Ben even more.

"Oh, you are Wu Shojin, please take him aside..."

Niu Ben waved his hand, and four Denglai New Army soldiers stepped forward and took Wu Shojin to the temporary military camp outside the city.

"Go and ask General Li Guohan, I have something to ask..."

While talking, Niu ran towards the top of the city wall. He had no intention of entering the center of the city immediately.

Both Li Guohan and Jin Li participated in the battle this time. Li Guohan had long been sent to Fuzhou to wait for the navy, while Jin Li followed Liao Wenru to fight in the direction of Liaoyang. This was an arrangement specially made by Liao Wenru.

When Li Guohan walked up to the city wall, Niu Ben was looking at the rather quiet Yaozhou City.

"General Li, you are here. Look, the smoke is curling up. This Yaozhou City looks like it has experienced fighting..."

The lieutenant on the side couldn't help but speak.

"General Niu, we have captured Yaozhou City, and the Han Eight Banners soldiers stationed in the city have surrendered. This is a good thing..."

The deputy general's words represented the understanding of many soldiers of the Denglai New Army. Niu Ben shook his head slightly and looked at Li Guohan.

"General Li, can you help me analyze it? Let's talk about Wu Shoujin..."

Li Guohan had been frowning, but just after Niu Ben finished speaking, he spoke.

"General Niu, my subordinates feel that something is not normal. This Wu Shoujin is not very familiar to my subordinates, but I have heard that he was somewhat famous among the Han army back then, and he was quite brave in combat. He once offended many people. He was an aristocrat and was almost killed, but later he attached himself to Dorgon. He was originally from the Zhenghong Banner, but he attached himself to Dorgon from the Zhengbai Banner. This incident also caused some minor sensations. Later, Dorgon became the regent. This Wu Shojin should be following Zhan Guang..."

Niu Ben had a look of surprise on his face.

"What, this Wu Shoujin is actually Dorgon's man, that's even more abnormal. Ordinarily he should fight to the death. If he can make military exploits, wouldn't he be favored by Dorgon, and his position in Houjin will be more stable? Well, how could it be possible that Yaozhou City was abandoned and surrendered before the fighting started..."

Li Guohan nodded and agreed with Niu Ben's analysis.

"General Niu, although Wu Shoujin is the first-class La Zhangjing of the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty, the real commander of the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty is still the banner leader of the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty. Daishan, the leader of the Zhenghong Banner, did not go to Liaoyang to fight this time. It should be Jier Hardy Weilang directly commanded, and the Manchu nobles would not really trust the Han people. Therefore, his subordinates felt that Wu Shoujin must have obeyed some order that made it possible for him to abandon the city of Yaozhou and surrender..."

Niu Ben looked at Li Guohan and nodded.

"General Li, your analysis is good. I've thought of this too. Let's not talk about anything else. All of Wu Shoujin's family members are still in Shenyang. Wu Shoujin is a Han and has a strong sense of family. It's impossible to give up on his family members in Shenyang. , surrendering to our Denglai New Army without any resistance. If such news reaches Shenyang, Wu Shojin’s family will not be able to survive..."

Li Guohan clasped his fists at Niu Ben.

"General Niu asked his subordinates to come here. It must be some kind of combat mission. My subordinates are always at your disposal..."

Niu Ben nodded.

"Okay, I'll give you half a day. You can study Wu Shoujin for a while and try your best to get words out of him. Last night I sent scouts to Liaoyang to report the situation here to the commander-in-chief. The commander will have an order soon. Before the commander's order arrives, we need to clarify some situations."

Li Guohan nodded, clasped his fists again, turned around and left.

Niu Ben looked at Li Guohan's back and sighed slightly. This time the expedition gave him a lot of mysteries, which made him quite annoyed. Fighting means fighting without hesitation. Whoever is stronger will win the battle. Victory, if we still have to find the truth among these mysteries, it would be too nerve-wracking.

...

Li Guohan went to ask Wu Shojin. Niu Ben ordered the Denglai New Army soldiers to strictly guard all the city gates of Yaozhou. The sergeants were not to enter the city for the time being. Then he took the sergeants to inspect the Han Eight Banners sergeants who were temporarily detained.

It doesn't matter if you don't look at them. After looking at these sergeants, Niu Ben was very angry.

With his naked eyes, Niu Ben discovered that most of the Han Eight Banners sergeants in custody were not sergeants at all. These people were disheveled, looked wretched, and had no military temperament. When they met Niu Ben's gaze, Either smiling stupidly or lowering his head, showing an expression of fear or even fear.

If the sergeants who had experienced a life-and-death fight and were forced to surrender would show either numbness or relief, no one would be afraid. They have experienced life and death, and there is nothing to be afraid of. What's more, these sergeants gave up resistance and opened the door. The city gate surrendered, and it was known to everyone that Denglai's new army did not kill prisoners, and they had nothing to fear.

What is even more suspicious is the temperament displayed by these people, which is exactly like the helplessness and fear displayed by ordinary people.

The doubts in Niu Ben's mind are getting bigger and bigger.

When the sound of horse hooves sounded, Niu Ben stood up and quickly walked out of the temporary military tent.

"General Li, is there any news so soon..."

Li Guohan dismounted, handed the reins to the sergeant beside him, clasped his fists at Niu Ben and spoke.

"General Niu, this person is not Wu Shojin..."

Niu Ben sneered and nodded.

"General Li, I also expected it. Tell me what happened."

Li Guohan paused, looked at Niu Ben and spoke.

"General Niu, the Eight Banners Army has a strict hierarchy. Wu Shojin is the first-class La Zhangjing of the Han Eight Banners under the Zhenghong Banner. If he goes one step further, he is the Gushan Ezhen of the Han Eight Banners. He should know a lot about the things in the Eight Banners Army. Many times, my subordinates asked several questions about the so-called Wu Shojin, but they couldn't answer them, so they directly made a judgment that this person is not Wu Shojin..."

"My subordinates then asked further, and the man admitted that he was not Wu Shojin, but a low-level officer in the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty. He did not know about many matters in the army. He did not even know whether Wu Shojin was still in Yaozhou City... "

"Why the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty chose to surrender, this person doesn't know..."

"My subordinate was unwilling to give in and asked about all the circumstances when the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty entered Yaozhou City. This person did not know very well, but one thing is clear. When this person set out from Liaoyang to Yaozhou, he assumed the task of pretending to be Wu Shojin. ..."

Niu Ben was a little confused. If the person pretending to be Wu Shojin had assumed the mission when he set out from Liaoyang, then it is unknown whether the real Wu Shojin came to Yaozhou, and what happened to the Han Eight Banners sergeants who came to Yaozhou? How many there are is also unknown.

"General Li, could it be said that Jierhalang didn't want to stick to Yaozhou City at all..."

Li Guohan nodded, then shook his head.

"General Niu, this subordinate dare not judge arbitrarily. If Jierhalang abandons Yaozhou, it will be equivalent to abandoning Gai and Lianyun Island. Haizhou will also be in great danger. Could it be that Jierhalang Are you just planning to stick to Anshan and Liaoyang..."

After thinking for a moment, Niu Ben spoke to the messenger beside him.

"The task of identifying the Han Eight Banners sergeants must be completed today. General Li, you are directly responsible for this matter. I just went to the camp to see the so-called Han Eight Banners sergeants. Among them, there are not many who are actually sergeants. ..."

An hour passed.

Niu Ben received relatively accurate information. The number of people who opened the city gate and surrendered was only about 5,700 in total. Among them, more than 4,700 were local people, and the remaining 1,000 were soldiers from the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty under the Zhenghong Banner. Among them Many of them were stationed in Yaozhou before. In other words, Jierhalang did not send a large number of sergeants to Yaozhou at all.

A Niu Lu Ezhen was escorted to the temporary central military tent. This person later entered Yaozhou City. He readily admitted that when he came to Yaozhou City, he led only 500 sergeants. In addition, They also coerced a large number of people from Haizhou and marched with them to Yaozhou City, giving the outside world the illusion that a large number of Han Eight Banners soldiers were stationed in Yaozhou City. They claimed to the outside world that 10,000 Han Eight Banners soldiers were stationed in Yaozhou City.

There were only more than a thousand Han Eight Banners soldiers, and they were not prepared to defend the city of Yaozhou at all.

Niu Ben was trapped and immediately ordered the scouts to come. He dictated the situation he had just figured out to the scouts and asked the scouts to report the news to the commander-in-chief Liao Wenru within today.

After doing all this, Niu Ben fell into deep thought.

At Shenshi, the scouts arrived in Yaozhou, and Niu Ben finally received the order from Liao Wenru.
Chapter completed!