The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang bang bang!"

The sound of gunfire, like popping beans, rang out continuously on both flanks of the Jingnan army's formation, and white smoke almost enveloped the entire square formation.

Yang Chengjin stood in the third row outside the hollow square formation and pulled the trigger again.

The familiar explosion rang out again, making Yang Chengjin's ears ring. Thick smoke suddenly rose up, once again obscuring most of Yang Chengjin's vision.

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves echoed in his ears, and the ground beneath his feet trembled slightly under the stampede of thousands of horses.

The sound of arrows piercing the air was like the hiss of a venomous snake, constantly ringing in his ears.

The sounds of painful cries and heavy objects falling to the ground constantly echoed in his ears.

The air was thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder and blood, and the cries of the wounded and the officers’ desperate commands filled his mind.

Suppressing his fear, Yang Chengjin placed the empty gun on the ground and steadily supported the now-scorching barrel with his left hand.

Then, his right hand quickly reached into the ammunition pouch at his waist, which was yellowed from oil and gunpowder stains, and pulled out a package of fixed ammunition wrapped in oil paper.

Despite the deafening noise and the threat of death, the entire process remained remarkably calm and smooth.

His movements were completely fluid, like a mechanical routine that had been practiced a thousand times, and in fact, that was exactly the case.

With practiced skill, he tore open a corner of the oil paper package, poured the precise amount of gunpowder into the muzzle, and then loaded the bullet into the breech.

After the last round of ammunition was loaded, Yang Chengjin pulled out the cleaning rod and quickly and forcefully compacted the ammunition in the gun barrel.

"Whoosh-"

A whooshing sound suddenly rang out, this time even closer than the previous sounds.

Yang Chengjin froze. He looked up abruptly and saw a cluster of tiny black dots rapidly approaching his location.

Yang Chengjin wanted to hide, but he was surrounded by soldiers of the same command, and there was nowhere for him to move.

Everything happened so fast that Yang Chengjin had little time to think or hesitate.

"Ding!"

A sudden clang of metal rang out, and Yang Chengjin felt as if something had hit his abdomen. He instinctively took a small step back.

Yang Chengjin subconsciously looked down and saw that an arrow, its tail still trembling slightly, had pierced the cloth armor on his abdomen.

Yang Chengjin was jolted awake; his heart pounded wildly, but he felt no sharp pain in his abdomen.

He knew that the sharp arrowhead had definitely pierced through the outermost layer of cloth armor, and was perhaps embedded in the iron plate inside the cloth armor.

However, he couldn't help but have doubts.

He fought for too long. Back when he was still in the Western Army, they were chased by the Ming army all the way and fled for who knows how long before finally reaching a safe place.

Everyone collapsed to the ground, relieved to have escaped death once again.

However, one of his fellow villagers, the one who was usually the loudest and strongest, frowned and muttered in a low voice that he felt a little cold, his back felt sticky, and he was sweating a lot, which made him very uncomfortable.

Everyone was exhausted at the time, and no one paid much attention. They just assumed he was exhausted from running, and some even laughed and scolded him for being delicate, saying that it was no wonder he was sweating after running for so long.
The fellow villager chuckled and sat down against a broken clay Buddha statue in the abandoned temple, wanting to catch his breath.

However, before long, the laughter of his fellow villager gradually subsided, his face grew paler and paler, his lips began to turn purple, and he started to cry out in pain.

Yang Chengjin sensed something was wrong and rushed over to check, only to discover that what was flowing from his fellow villager's back wasn't sweat at all, but blood...

The fear of death overwhelmed Yang Chengjin instantly, like a cold tide.

His teeth began to chatter uncontrollably, and almost simultaneously, he began to feel waves of indescribable discomfort in his abdomen.

"Has it already penetrated... but I just didn't feel it?"

Yang Chengjin couldn't control his thoughts. He wanted to shout out and ask the medics in the formation to check on his condition.

Once this terrible thought took root, it clung to his heart like a poisonous vine.

He had heard of similar things too many times and had seen them before.

When a person is under extreme tension or excitement, the body will temporarily ignore serious trauma until it suddenly erupts just before death.

But he dared not.

If he were dragged into the formation by the medics, he would find that the arrows had not pierced his armor at all.

What awaits him is the brutal military law of the army.

He will be executed on the spot for desertion.

In combat, military law is ruthless and efficient.

There's no need for a trial. As long as the commanding officer or the supervising military judge determines that you're trying to escape under false pretenses, the gleaming blade will fall at any moment.

No one will listen to your explanations, especially at this critical juncture of life and death.

Any unusual action could be directly seen as an attempt to undermine morale, or as an excuse for desertion due to cowardice.

Yang Chengjin's body trembled; the strict military law and long-term training had firmly pinned him to the spot.

The officer's roar echoed in his ears, and short, urgent Mongolian words reverberated in front of him.

Yang Chengjin clenched his teeth, using all his willpower to try to dispel the terrifying thoughts in his mind, as well as the increasingly real cold discomfort in his abdomen.

He had to do something, he had to keep himself busy, in order to fight the fear that was driving him almost insane.

With trembling hands, Yang Chengjin tried to pull out the syringe, but due to fear and tension, he was unable to do so even after several attempts.

Just as he pulled out the slingshot, an arrow grazed past his helmet.

The fear reached its peak at this moment. Yang Chengjin trembled all over, and he could no longer suppress the fear in his heart.

But at that very moment, the flag officer's angry voice suddenly rang in his ears!

"Fellow soldiers!"

The flag officer's voice was hoarse; his throat was already hoarse from shouting.

"The people of the world are watching us from behind!"

"The people of the world are waiting for us to bring back news of victory!"

Yang Chengjin's trembling body froze on the spot in that instant.

"We must not back down!"

We must not fail!

"So, grip your guns tightly, hold your weapons firmly, think about the names of your guns, and think about the oath you made when you crossed the river!"

Yang Chengjin's thoughts were churning, and he subconsciously gripped the gun in his hand tighter.

Fear still filled his heart; the voice was like an invisible wedge, smashing into his mind, which was almost swallowed by fear.

His muscle memory, honed through long-term training, enabled him to raise the gun in his hand.

He remembers.

He remembered the name of the musket in his hand: Sea Oath.

Autumn sends the new emperor to mourn and destroy the country, and hungry tigers gnaw at the empty forest during the day.

My heart is filled with a vow deeper than the sea; how could I allow the land of China to sink?
He remembered it too.

As they crossed the river, the banks were lined with people who stretched as far as the eye could see. They were dressed in rags, their faces pale and thin, and they looked at them with expectation.

They all swore an oath by pointing to the Yellow River to recover the lost lands and avenge the nation's century-long grievances!

Fear had carved an invisible hole in Yang Chengjin's body, slowly draining his strength and focus.

However, another new force was injected into Yang Chengjin's body, filling the gaps in his strength that had been lost.

Yang Chengjin took a deep breath, and the strong smell of gunpowder in the air was no longer pungent to him; instead, it carried a sobering power.

Yang Chengjin no longer wavered; he firmly gripped the Hai Shi gun in his hand.

The butt of the rifle was pressed tightly against his shoulder again, and his gaze was fixed on the front through the sight.

The north wind howled, and the smoke billowed, filtering through the gaps in the shoulders of my comrades ahead and the gradually thinning smoke.

Yang Chengjin could see the figures of the Mongol light cavalry rushing past like ghosts at high speed, as well as the arrows that kept flying towards him.

"boom!"

Yang Chengjin aimed at a Mongol cavalryman who had just nocked an arrow and pulled the trigger abruptly.

The sound of gunfire exploded in his ears. He clearly saw the figure of the Mongol light cavalryman sway, the bow he had just drawn flew out of his hand, and then he fell forward from his horse, his figure quickly being swallowed up by more Mongol light cavalry rushing in from behind.

Yang Chengjin lowered his head again, no longer thinking about the arrow at his waist. He skillfully put down the musket, the butt of the musket hitting the ground, and began a new round of loading.

However, what he didn't notice was that the sound of horses' hooves in front of him was gradually fading.

The captains, positioned in the central area, were also obscured by the thick smoke and failed to see the danger signals coming from the rear formation.

When Yang Chengjin looked up, he saw that the number of Mongol cavalry that had been surging forward was decreasing, and not far away, about seventy or eighty paces away, a dark wall of people was slowly pressing down on them.

The enemy slowly advancing before them was no longer the Mongol light cavalry that relied on mobility and mounted archery for their attacks.

Instead, they were heavily armored infantrymen, one after another, wearing pointed iron helmets, clad in heavy armor, wielding long weapons and heavy blades, with heavy steps and a disciplined formation!
Countless white-edged, red-background banners fluttered wildly in the howling north wind, like a moving blood-red forest.

The tips of the gleaming tiger spears with barbs were clearly visible, reflecting the cold sunlight and gleaming with a chilling light.

Yang Chengjin was stunned by the sudden sight and hadn't yet realized what had happened.

The next instant, a distorted horn blared from behind him.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!"

The flag commander's hoarse voice resonated in Yang Chengjin's ears, filled with an unprecedented urgency.

"Stop the fucking mess! Stop it!!!"

Yang Chengjin was slightly taken aback. He stood there, holding the musket, looking somewhat bewildered.

With this urgent military order issued, officers at all levels, including centurions and banner commanders, shouted at the top of their lungs, trying to stop the soldiers from firing freely and ordering them to prepare for a unified volley.

but.

It's too late, and it's too chaotic!

The sounds of people shouting and horses neighing rose and fell all around.

Amidst the continuous gunfire, the cries of the wounded echoed.

Almost all the soldiers were in a state of high tension and chaos.

Many people had just finished loading and didn't have time to listen carefully or understand the commands. They instinctively pulled the trigger in the direction where there seemed to be movement.

"Bang!" "Bang!"

The sporadic sounds of musket fire continued to erupt from time to time across the front lines, and the smoke of battle spread further.

The entire front has fallen into a dangerous state of chaos and disarray.

Some of the soldiers clearly heard the order. Like Yang Chengjin, after completing their loading, they stopped and waited anxiously for the salvo command.

However, another group of people continued to reload and fire as if out of habit.

The officers' shouts were drowned out by various noises and could not be effectively conveyed.

Amidst this chaos, the massive, dark wall of people, representing death, marched with unwavering steps, relentlessly closing in.

Yang Chengjin looked terrified, and his hand gripping the gun began to tremble slightly.

In their field of vision, the Qing army's heavy infantry, clad in red-trimmed iron armor, had closed to within forty paces.

Yang Chengjin could even vaguely see the cold gaze in the other person's eyes through the edge of their helmet and the center of their neck guard.

The Qing archers at the front held their powerful and heavy bows in their left hands, while their right hands were already resting on the quivers at their waists.

At this distance, the heavy arrows from the Qing bow would pose a deadly threat to them!

At this critical moment——

"Raise your guns!!"

A high-pitched swan call suddenly soared into the sky, forcefully drowning out all the noise!

Almost simultaneously, the flag bearer in the formation used all the strength he had ever had, his forehead veins bulging, and he roared out in a hoarse voice.

The muscle memory formed through long-term rigorous training overcame any wavering of will at this moment.

Almost reflexively, Yang Chengjin raised his already loaded musket at the command.

With the butt of the gun pressed firmly against his shoulder and the muzzle slightly lowered, his index finger was already on the trigger, aimed at the clearly visible red-inlaid iron armor in front of him!

Within the military formation, all the soldiers who heard the command and were able to react performed the same action at the same time.

A large number of muskets were raised one after another. Although the order was uneven and chaotic, almost two-thirds of the men obeyed the military order and raised their muskets.

Most of the remaining people were still frantically filling in the containers, either slowing down due to the surrounding chaos and immense psychological pressure, making various mistakes, or even just standing there blankly and helplessly.

The raised muzzles were uneven, lacking the uniformity of the usual volleys.

However, this hastily organized and flawed firepower network was the maximum counterattack they could muster at this moment.

"put!"

Less than half a breath later, the order to fire came, and the sharp sound of horns swept across the entire battle line in an instant.

Large amounts of smoke billowed out from in front of the Jingnan army's formation, instantly engulfing most of the array.

A storm of lead bullets swept fiercely toward the dark mass of heavily armored infantry forty paces away.

but……

Another wave of destruction had already struck first, engulfing the Jingnan Army soldiers… (End of Chapter)