weaving

Chapter 1535 Reinforcements Have Arrived
The situation in the northeast corner of the northern city of Hejian Prefecture was extremely critical. Even Zhou Erchun, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of War, was bidding farewell to the emperor in the capital, which showed how desperate the situation had become.

At this moment, more than twenty Tartar soldiers had climbed the northeast corner of the city wall, while the defending soldiers and civilians numbered less than two hundred. Although they had also gone mad with killing, they were no match for the Tartar soldiers who were like murderous demons.

Even though their numbers were ten times that of the Tartar soldiers, the disadvantage was even greater when the unarmored fought against the armored!

For the soldiers and civilians of Hejian Prefecture defending the city, as long as more than ten Tartar soldiers climbed the city walls, it was only a matter of time before the city fell.

Zhou Erchun saw through all of this, which is why he felt despair and bid farewell to Emperor Chongzhen in the capital palace at the last moment!

In just a moment, nearly thirty soldiers and civilians defending the city had been cut down and smashed. Although the remaining soldiers and civilians were still surrounding the Tartar soldiers, their hands began to tremble as the Tartar soldiers continued to climb the city walls, as if they were about to turn around and run away.

Zhou Erchun was unwilling to give up and wanted to make one last desperate attempt, but he was too weak and exhausted to stand up no matter how hard he struggled. In desperation, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Kill...kill!"

At this final moment, the soldiers and civilians defending the city seemed to be inspired by his shout, and they all let out a final roar and charged towards the Tartar soldiers.

A miracle happened at that moment.

Just as the defending soldiers and civilians charged forward, a series of urgent bugle calls sounded from below the city walls, along with the faint sound of gongs...

The Tartar soldiers who had already climbed the city wall seemed to have received a call to action. They killed the defending soldiers and civilians who rushed up while retreating down the long ladders in an orderly manner.

A moment later, the Tartar soldiers retreated from the city wall. Even the body of the Tartar soldier who had been killed by Zhou Erchun was carried down the wall by them. The soldiers and civilians guarding the city were stunned – they did not know why the Tartar soldiers had retreated!

A soldier ran over and hurriedly helped Zhou Erchun up: "Master, they've retreated... the Tartars have retreated!"

"Refunded?"

Zhou Erchun was momentarily dazed. Why had the Tartar soldiers, who had been shouting and fighting just moments before, suddenly retreated?
"Re...really retired?"

"You've really retired, sir."

"Quickly...help me up..."

The garrison soldier quickly helped Zhou Erchun up and led him to the top of the wall to look outside...

The Jurchen Tartars outside the city were slowly retreating northward. Although they were withdrawing their troops, they showed no signs of panic and did not appear to have suffered a defeat.

Unable to discern anything amiss, Zhou Erchun rested his hands on the crenellations of the city wall, muttering to himself, "Why did they retreat?"

Indeed, it's no wonder Zhou Erchun was filled with doubt...

At this moment, the city tower in the northeast corner was completely destroyed, and even a large section of the city wall collapsed. There were no fewer than thirty Tartar soldiers who had just climbed the city wall, and it was entirely possible for them to defeat the defenders, rush down, and open the city gate.

Suddenly, a strong man guarding the city raised his arm and pointed to the open field to the east, shouting loudly, "Look... government troops... it's government troops!"

Everyone hurriedly looked in the direction of the sound and saw dust rising in the vast wilderness to the east. They could vaguely see hundreds of Tartar cavalrymen galloping northwards, and less than a hundred paces behind them, another group of cavalrymen were chasing after them.

They were in groups of twenty or thirty, forty or fifty, or even a hundred or so riders per group; their red cloaks fluttered like red clouds drifting across the vast wilderness. Nearly a thousand government cavalrymen were pursuing fewer than three hundred Tatar cavalrymen…

Zhou Erchun saw it clearly at this moment, and he involuntarily raised his arm and pointed to the east: "Government troops, it's government troops... reinforcements, our reinforcements have arrived!"

As he spoke, he knelt down on the city wall with a "plop," kowtowed towards the direction of the capital, and shouted loudly, "Your Majesty, your subject... Hejian, your subject has defended it for Your Majesty!"

…………

Ye Chen, clad in armor bearing the bordered yellow banner, sat on his warhorse, watching the retreating Tartar soldiers ahead. His face was full of anger as he asked in a deep voice, "Where did these Ming dogs come from? Can any of you tell me?"

Ibai, Suna, and Wu Lai all kept their heads down, remaining silent. They dared not refute Ye Chen, nor were they willing to offer any further explanation. If one were to observe them closely, one could even see a hint of resentment in their expressions.

Indeed, it is understandable that Ibai, Suna, and Wulai, who are the legitimate Gushan Ejen of the Eight Banners of Mongolia, are now under the command of Yechen, a Meile Ejen of the Bordered Yellow Banner, and are dissatisfied with this situation.

Although they were a rank higher than Ye Chen, their status was incomparable. After all, Ye Chen was a genuine Manchu Eight Banners Meile Ejen, and the Bordered Yellow Banner was the personal army of the puppet Qing emperor.

Seeing that the others remained silent, Ye Chen felt even more frustrated, so he called out to them, "Suna, the Bordered White Banner is in charge of the north. Tell me, where did the dog come from?"

Suna originally wanted to pretend to be deaf, but since he had been called out, he couldn't keep up the act any longer: "The scouts captured prisoners. To the north are the troops of Jiang Xiang, the general of Shanxi, with only about a thousand cavalrymen, nothing to fear. I sent two hundred brave warriors over, and they drove the Ming dogs to the north away."

Ye Chen asked him if it was just an appetizer, so he didn't take it too seriously.

"Ibai, and you?"

Ibai was taken aback. He raised his big, bearded face and looked at Ye Chen, saying, "The border troops from Xuanfu are pretty damn good at fighting. More than thirty of my Plain White Banner warriors were killed."

Ye Chen had no intention of listening to him. He glared at him and asked angrily, "How many men does the Ming Dog have? Who is leading them?"

"Well... there should be less than two thousand cavalry, and we haven't seen any infantry yet. As for who's leading them, I haven't found out yet."

"Hmph." Ye Chen was furious when he heard this: "Three hundred warriors, being chased by Ming dogs like rabbits, is a disgrace to the Eight Banners Mongols."

Ibai was indignant upon hearing this and was about to stand up and refute it, but fortunately, Suna, the chief of the Bordered White Banner, held him down and secretly resolved an unnecessary dispute.

Meanwhile, Wu Lai, the Gushan Ejen of the Plain Blue Banner of Mongolia, also spoke up, saying, "Today's battle was indeed a disgrace. The warriors of the Bordered Yellow Banner had already climbed the city walls, but the Ming dogs had to appear at this crucial moment. What a pity."

Ye Chen looked at Wu Lai and asked, "Have Ming dogs appeared in the south as well?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Wu Lai replied, “As instructed by Mele Ezhen, I led the warriors of the Plain Blue Banner to ambush five miles south of the city. But around noon, we discovered a large number of Ming cavalry, numbering over a thousand, appearing in the Shangjialin area to the south.”

I sent out 500 brave warriors to try and charge, but found that this Ming dog force was quite ferocious. Their hand cannons were very similar to those used by the Ming dogs I encountered in Jinzhou and Xuanfu last year. I promptly withdrew and returned to report to Meile'ezhen. Further details have not yet been investigated.”

Ye Chen was also very dissatisfied. He gritted his teeth and said, "Then let's wipe out these Ming dogs first, and then take Hejian City."