The next morning, the cold wind blew by under the bright sunshine, and the late autumn sky was particularly clear and lofty.

Outside Dantu Town in the northern suburbs of Zhenjiang Prefecture, 100,000 people gathered, with warships on the riverside like clouds and siege equipment like rain.

The blue edges of the water character camp are embroidered with gold embroidered dragon flags covering the sky and the sun. On the big ship where Hou Xuanyan is located, a big flag is facing the wind and fiercely, with eight big words written by "Creating the army to the north, invincible wherever they are."

Hou Xuanyan looked out at the railing. He had been wearing a military uniform for a long time, and his face was a little tired, but he couldn't hide his excitement.

Zhu Dadian said from the side: "Master General, cross the river!"

Hou Xuanyan nodded, and the sound of the ancient and desolate horn sounded, and it was particularly far away on the clear and cool riverside in autumn.

This is the first battle between the southerners and the north, and the significance is far greater than siegeing cities and territories. Therefore, Hou Xuanyan ordered a big fanfare to announce the beginning of the counterattack with a glorious army.

With the sound of the horn, hundreds of thousands of soldiers boarded the ship, and tens of thousands of people were responsible for transporting supplies by the river. It is not an exaggeration to describe the entire riverside as crowded.

In Yangzhou City, Meilezhangjing, Li Rutai's face turned pale and his hands trembled slightly. He was not a coward, but the garrison of Yangzhou City really made people desperate. After killing 800,000 people, how could the people have no hatred? He always worried about the people in the city, and even felt that it was even more terrible than the Ming army outside the city. The Ming army on these days on the south bank was ready to move, and all kinds of manifesto flew all over the sky, and the land was unpredictable to the world that they were about to fight north.

Beside him, a middle-aged man with a goatee was standing. His name was Zhang Tianlu. Duoduo led his army south. Zhang Tianlu and his younger brother Zhang Tianfu led 3,000 troops to surrender. Duoduo incorporated them into the Han army's yellow flag. The younger brother Zhang Tianfu followed Duoduo to attack Changzhou, but was burned to charcoal by a fire. Zhang Tianfu stayed in Yangzhou and always wanted to avenge his younger brother.

He pinched his beard and looked at Li Shutai in front of him and said, "Sir, Hou Xuan has always been tricky in acting as a thief. He is sneaky and injustice every time he fights. This time, he made a big fuss and made everyone in the world know it. I think there is a fraud in it."

Although Li Lutai was a Han Chinese, he was the most favored Han Chinese in the Qing Dynasty. His real name was Li Yanling. He was born in Tieling, Liaodong. He began to serve Nurhaci at the age of twelve.

Nurhaci killed all the Han people in Liaodong, but liked Li Yanling very much and gave him the name Li Sutai. In the eyes of the old chief, the name Li Yanling was still too Han. Li Sutai was much more pleasant to hear. After changing his name, Nurhaci even married his granddaughter to him.

Li Lutai did not have the kindness of the old chief, and followed Huang Taiji to fight in the east, his hands were stained with blood from his compatriots, and he was given a flower feather.

When he heard Zhang Tianlu's words, he sneered and turned his head and asked, "What tricks do you think he has? After passing through the three prefectures and seven counties of Yangzhou Prefecture in Jiangbei, there is no danger to defend. He has 100,000 people under him, so what else does he need to conspire and tricks."

At this moment, a soldier looked panicked and rolled into the room and half-kneeled on the ground, saying, "Terminal, the Ming army has crossed the river."

Li Rutai stood up, slapped the table, and said, "Get my armor and go up to the city to defend the enemy!"

He had no intention of guarding the river. His subordinates were all northerners and were not used to taking boats. These people were dizzy on the boats and were eliminated by Duoduo, and there were no people who crossed the river to Jinling.

Zhang Tianlu was dressed neatly in military uniform, and followed Li Shutai, who had changed his clothes, and hurried to the city tower. When they climbed to the city tower, they could already look at the big flag of Jiangshuiying.

Li Lutai looked at it and immediately sighed, saying to Zhang Tianlu: "It seems that you have made a mistake in your estimation. He has no tricks. He thinks he will definitely take us. Why are there no reinforcements coming to support?

Zhang Tianlu spat and cursed angrily: "These fence-bearers, seeing that the Ming army is powerful, ignore the messengers we sent at all. Several of them have already packed up their troops and are preparing to escape to Shandong."

Li Rutai had already seen the figure of the vanguard Northern Expedition Army, followed by the black cannon. He looked solemn and said loudly: "I heard that Hou Xuan was the most cruel and vicious person. None of the people he caught or surrendered had a good end. Now that we are in a predicament, Yangzhou City cannot be defended. Since this is the case, it is better to take advantage of their situation and rush out with me. Perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope."

His subordinates were all Han army of Zhenglan Banner, and Li Shutai was very high in status and was the deputy commander of Zhenglan Banner. This was unique among the Eight Banners of Manchuria. This position of Meilezhangjing was the deputy commander of the Eight Banners of Han Dynasty. However, it was not the deputy commander of the Eight Banners of Han Dynasty, but the deputy commander of the entire Zhenglan Banner. After Li Shutai shouted out, the soldiers standing on the city tower agreed with a sigh that Li Shutai could see that people could be used, and might not be able to fight. He knew very well that if he defended the city, he would inevitably be bombarded by artillery. It would be better to use his own strengths to attack his weaknesses. He still trusted his subordinates' field capabilities. It was only 100,000 southern soldiers, which was not afraid of him. At that time, with Huang Taiji, there were countless examples of them winning with fewer.

He walked down the city, and all the defenders on the city tower followed him down the city, and no one guarded the city. After a while, the city gate opened wide, and 30,000 people rushed out of Yangzhou City and headed straight for the Northern Expedition Army.

Hou Xuanyan did not expect that they would give up Yangzhou City and would have the courage to go out of the city to fight. Thinking of Shi Kefa in Turtle City, Hou Xuanyan sighed and said, "There is no reason why the Tartars can fight to Jiangnan. Even though there are many sheep, they are not the opponent of dogs and wolves. With Shi Kefa, a chief supervisor of the Pavilion Division like He Tengjiao, and a good Han family, they were led into a group of two-legged sheep by them."

Zhu Dadian smiled and said, "Li Lutai is very brave, but unfortunately they met the wrong opponent. Our Northern Expedition Army is not a two-legged sheep at the slaughter of others."
Chapter completed!