The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 119 Yu Xi Yu Xi burst into tears

Huang Taiji looked at the ranger who had fallen down beside the floating bridge, and a complicated look appeared in his left eye.

These Ming people were all brave and good at fighting. They were as good at close combat as the most elite Bayara.

The chivalry they displayed was something Huang Taiji could not understand.

Huang Taiji had seen Ming troops who were not afraid of death and Ming people who refused to surrender.

However, most of those people were forced into the war and had no choice but to do so.

But this group of people in front of him clearly had nothing to do with Hunhe River.

Cao Zhongqing said that they were from good families in Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang and other places.

It's obviously not for money that he came all the way to Liaodong.

The Eighth Prince read a lot of books, but he mostly focused on Confucian classics and disdained unorthodox teachings such as the Mohist school of chivalry.

The Jianzhou Jurchens revered the strong and believed in the law of the jungle. They had no mercy on the weak and would only ruthlessly trample on them.

In fact, this cruel culture has a long history among the top leaders of the Eight Banners.

Until the Kangxi Dynasty, when there was a fierce struggle for the throne, such fratricide between fathers and sons and estrangement between brothers were a regular feature of the Jianzhou Jurchen high-ranking officials.

Huang Taiji couldn't understand why these knights were willing to die for Liu Zhaosun.

This is Huang Taiji's tragedy.

They guarded the pontoon bridge on the north bank, blocked the army, and killed and wounded hundreds of brave warriors of the Zhengbai Banner.

It was not until the archers fired a volley that most of the rangers were killed.

The leader, whose surname was Wu, witnessed his brothers being killed by the Later Jin soldiers. With nowhere else to go, he jumped into the Hun River.

Cao Zhongqing led the archers to shoot arrows until he saw Wu Xiao sink to the bottom of the river and disappear under the vast blue waves. Then he nodded with satisfaction and said:
"I've never failed to kill Nikan!"

Cao Zhongqing estimated that Brother Wu was doomed to die.

He was satisfied in his heart. The spear just now almost stabbed him to death. If his master had not arrived in time, he would not be able to serve the Great Jin anymore.

It’s a pity that Old Song and that Korean beauty escaped.

Cao Zhongqing did not dare tell Huang Taiji about this, as he was worried that his master would blame him for being incompetent.

He was indeed incompetent. As a Niulu Ezhen of the Zhengbai Banner, he couldn't even kill a wounded woman.

Huang Taiji moved his eyes away from the corpse and looked up at the opposite bank. He wanted to see clearly which Ming army was guarding the pontoon bridge.

However, the sparkling river surface stung the Eighth Prince's eyes.

The Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty could live a peaceful life in the city of Shenyang because the Eighth Prince was always advancing despite being injured.

In order to catch up with Liu Zhaosun as soon as possible, the Eighth Prince hurriedly set off for Shenyang on the third day after receiving Liu Zhaosun's surprise.

Huang Taiji risked his life for the Jin Dynasty's cause in Liaodong.

Unfortunately, not everyone can fight as hard as the master.

Most of the soldiers of the Plain White Banner were unable to sustain this long-distance raid, either physically or mentally.

When the Zhengbai Banner attacked Kaiyuan, it had a total of 13,000 troops.

He left two thousand armored soldiers to contain Kaiyuan, and the remaining ten thousand soldiers went south to assassinate Liu Zhaosun.

After a long journey, only about 3,000 people were able to keep up with him.

However, three thousand people are enough to deal with Liu Zhaosun.

Huang Taiji judged that Liu Zhaosun had no chance of winning at all.

Even if he was lucky enough to win, he would be at the end of his strength.

As long as he arrived at the battlefield, Liu Zhaosun would be defeated without having to fight.

Of course, Huang Taiji is no longer worried about Liu Zhaosun's life or death.

It is an inevitable trend for the Eight Banners to occupy Liaodong. What Huang Taiji is considering now is the division of power among the Eight Banners over the new territory after occupying Shenyang.

The Zhengbai Banner was the strongest of the Eight Banners, but it had always been deliberately suppressed by the Khan.

Huang Taiji knew that his position as the leader of the banner was not very secure to begin with. Now that he was suddenly injured, he wondered if the Khan would take the opportunity to target him and replace him with one of his favorite younger sons.

You must know that the Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty was a man who could even kill his own son. What else could he not do?

After a few days of bumpy ride, Huang Taiji felt a dull pain in his blind right eye, which made him upset.

When my father sees me, he might ask:

"Eighth Prince, in your current state, can you still control the Zhengbai Banner?"

Last night, Huang Taiji dreamed that the deer antlers were flying towards him with a roar. He woke up from his dream with a piercing pain in his right eye.

Cao Zhongqing, with a loyal face, came back from the east. He had just been stabbed in the lower abdomen by a ranger, but fortunately he was protected by armor and was not seriously injured.

He ran to a nearby village to look for a fishing boat. Huang Taiji thought that Liu Zhaosun might be cheating, otherwise he would have destroyed the bridge long ago.

Huang Taiji's thoughts returned to the present and he looked at this loyal Han slave.

"Master, all the boats have been seized by Liu Zhaosun. I asked around and found out there's only one bridge nearby. If we don't go through here, we'll have to go around thirty miles to get to the other side."

If he crossed the river too late, his father Khan would definitely blame him.

The brave warriors of the flag had made the trip to Shenyang with great difficulty, but many of them were exhausted to death on the way. It would be unjustifiable to let them return empty-handed.

If they crossed the river too late, Liu Zhaosun would be killed by others first, and the good things in the city would be snatched away by other flags first.

The Zhengbai Banner's raid was a joke.

"No need to take a detour, cross this bridge and send someone to check the situation on the other side!"

A Baoyi walked cautiously onto the floating bridge, walked forward for a while, and then hurriedly retreated.

"Master, there are many Ming soldiers on the south bank, thousands of them! All holding knives! And there's a woman in a red robe!"

When Cao Zhongqing heard the woman in red robe, he knew it was Liu Zhaosun Meiji.

Huang Taiji frowned slightly:
"It's impossible that Liu Zhaosun still has thousands of men guarding the bridge. Cross the river immediately."

He looked at the panicked Baoyi and smiled coldly:
"Let this slave go first!"

Huang Taiji said coldly:

"Cao Zhongqing, you take the bannermen across the river first. Tell them that all those crossing the river should raise their flags."

Cao Zhongqing was overjoyed and fell to his knees.

"I, the servant, thank you on behalf of the bondservants."

After Cao Zhongqing left, Huang Taiji looked at Jiala Ezhen Dahambulu and Sun Zhaqin and instructed them:

"Liu Zhaosun is full of tricks. I'm afraid this bridge will be difficult to capture. You lead your troops and follow him. If any of the bannermen flee, kill them from behind!"

"twitter!"

The two Jiala Ezhen immediately shouted and turned around to command the bannermen to cross the river.

From the other side came the dense sound of war drums, like thousands of horses galloping.

Huang Taiji was shocked, and the tragic scene of the bloody battle in Kaiyuan appeared before his eyes again.

Dozens of Bayala were blocked in the corridor by spearmen and were stabbed to death one after another without any ability to fight back.

He felt a little scared, so he stopped thinking about it and said loudly:
"Cross the river!"

~~~~~~
On the south bank of the Hun River, the sound of war drums was as dense as a sudden rain. Liu Zhaosun rode his horse behind the formation, and the horse's hooves raised a cloud of dust.

He tried hard to avoid the corpses of the Later Jin soldiers on the ground. The piled-up corpses with blue flags became natural tripwires, which could easily trip his horse.

Liu Zhaosun reined in his horse and stood, observing the battle line ahead. The 1,000th headquarters soldiers had killed all the Zhenglan Banner soldiers in their positions, and the more than 800 surviving soldiers were rapidly advancing towards the Zhejiang chariot camp.

The Second Thousand Headquarters suffered relatively few casualties, and still had a thousand combat soldiers. They were now the main force fighting against the Plain White Banner Armored Soldiers.

The 3000th headquarters suffered the heaviest casualties, with only 700 left out of 1,200 men. Their casualties were mainly caused by Bayara of the Zhenglan Banner.

A rain of arrows fell where Liu Zhaosun had just stood.

The archers of the Bordered White Banner seemed to have set their sights on this flamboyant enemy general, and kept chasing Liu Zhaosun and shooting arrows at him.

He had already changed two warhorses, both of which were shot by light arrows and fell to the ground.

Liu Zhaosun wore an iron helmet, a short fish-scale armor, a shoulder pad and iron arm guards, and a fish-scale leg skirt, covering his entire body tightly.

Only the sleeves of the scarlet third-rank Tongzhi official robe with a cloud-goose patch, a symbol of civil service, were exposed.

The mix of civil and military is neither fish nor fowl.

However, it is in line with Liu Zhaosun's aesthetic taste, and it stands out among the red mandarin duck battle jackets.

Captain Deng Qian, who was directing the soldiers to charge, saw Captain Liu coming to the south bank to charge and saw the rain of arrows following him like a shadow. He finally couldn't help but say:

"Sir, you'd better change into your mandarin duck jacket. The Jiannu love to shoot their generals. What if something happens to you, sir? What will we do?"

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand to interrupt Deng Changxiong and said loudly:

"General Deng, go do your job! I want to be with the soldiers. I want the enemy to see and know that General Xuanwu is here!"

Deng Changxiong knew that he could not persuade General Liu, so he had to ride forward and command the 1,000th headquarters to continue advancing.

The soldiers attacked eastwards, and many of the armored soldiers and baoyi of the Zhenglan Banner were killed, and most of the Bayara were killed in the battle.

The remaining Bayala were led by white-bordered flags and charged towards the soldiers.

They had no firearms, their bows and arrows were all used up, and they lacked coordination with each other.

Bayala's one-on-one fight had no advantage in front of the closely coordinated spears, halberds and maces of the Kaiyuan soldiers. The heavy swords and long axes in Bayala's hands were extremely heavy and could not sustain a sustained attack.

The soldiers took turns to attack forward. The spearmen and halberdmen were divided into three rows. When the soldiers in the front row were exhausted, they would be replaced by those behind them.

After several rounds, Bayara of the Zhenglan Banner was killed and the Zhenglan Banner was completely annihilated.

The White Banner in front suddenly began to retreat eastward.

There were nearly 4,000 combat soldiers in the three thousand headquarters, but only more than 2,500 were still able to fight.

From crossing the Hun River to annihilating the Zhenglan Banner, the Kaiyuan soldiers suffered about a thousand casualties.

There were also two yellow flags, two red flags, and a white-bordered flag of the Zhenyi on the south bank. Liu Zhaosun estimated that they had a total of 30,000 troops.

If we fight to the death with Jiannu using this exchange ratio, the final outcome will be mutual destruction.
After the soldiers killed all the Bayalas of the Zhenglan Banner, they began to attack the Xiangbai Banner.

At the front of the Bordered White Banner were the bondservants and armored soldiers, who looked in horror at the Kaiyuan soldiers rushing towards them.

The front row of baoyi and armored soldiers were all wearing armor and holding heavy swords. They were obviously not yet accustomed to the rhythm of the Kaiyuan army's battlefield.

It wasn't until a row of long spears and halberds came stabbing at them from the opposite side that the baoyi reacted. Some of the brave ones shouted and rushed towards the soldiers, brandishing their heavy swords. Most of the armored baoyi stood still and waved their weapons, trying to scare away the original soldiers, while some armed themselves with bows and shot arrows.

Two spearmen fell in the front row, and the spearmen in the back row immediately took their place. Before Baoyi could react, the spears came at him again.

Looking at the spearmen approaching like a forest, the front row of guards could not bear it anymore and began to retreat.

"kill!"

The soldier thrust his spear forward once more, and another row of Zhenyi armored soldiers fell on the opposite side. The Houjin archers behind him unleashed another volley of arrows, hitting several more Kaiyuan soldiers.

The two sides exchanged deaths in an endless battle in the crowded front.

Until the first package turned around and ran back.

Liu Zhaosun was not surprised. He had fought many battles with the Jiannu, and the Baoyi were usually the weakest in combat. This group of Baoyi would definitely be beheaded by Bayala who was supervising the battle from behind.

To his surprise, the defeated White Banner bannermen were able to escape unhindered. They fled eastward until they reached the Zhejiang Army Chariot Camp, 500 steps away, where they were discovered by Bayala, who was in charge of the two Red Banners, and beheaded.

"Is there no one left in the rear of the Bordered White Banner?"

This thought flashed through Liu Zhaosun's mind.

Of course, he didn't know that the fifteen-year-old banner leader Du Du was leading a group of Gushan Ezhen and Niulu Ezhen to hunt down Tong Yangxing in Shenyang City.

The Bordered White Banner did not participate in the Battle of Kaiyuan and did not have a clear understanding of Liu Zhaosun's terrifying strength, so it needs to pay some tuition now.

In addition, they had not fought a tough battle in Shenyang this time. When they fought with Mao Wenlong in Wengcheng before, tens of thousands of people bullied more than 2,000 Liao soldiers, and it was easy to win.

Now that they are suddenly under a fierce attack from the Kaiyuan soldiers, it is normal for the vanguard to be defeated.

If it were in other flags, the baoyi's rout would not be a big deal. Bayala, who was in charge of the rear, could hold the line and kill a few more baoyi.

However, due to Du Du's rampage, more than thirty Niulu Ezhen and Bayala were withdrawn, and the middle-level forces organizing the battle were almost all taken away by the young Beile. He did not expect that the Zhenglan Banner was so weak that it could not hold on for half an hour.

In short, the White Banner that appeared before Liu Zhaosun was actually a misnomer.

The charge just now was only due to the psychological advantage they maintained when facing the Ming army.

When the armored soldiers and bannermen were slaughtered by the Kaiyuan soldiers, they began to collapse, and Bayala Niulu Ezhen in the rear was unable to suppress them.

A major defeat is inevitable.

Niulu Ezhen and Bayala, who were in charge of the battle, tried their best to stop the armored soldiers and the baoyi from fleeing. Bayala shot the baoyi who tried to escape with heavy arrows. He shot and killed more than a dozen screaming and running baoyi, but he still couldn't suppress the baoyi's fear of the spearmen.

A wave of thousands of fleeing soldiers could not be stopped by a supervisory team of dozens of people.

The Niulu Ezhens brandished their heavy swords and slashed fiercely at the armored soldiers who were fleeing to the east.

They were soon overwhelmed by the retreating tide of the Bordered White Banner.

Seeing the white-bordered flags fleeing like a swarm of ants, the drummers on the hill beat the war drums even harder to boost the morale of the troops. The sound of the war drums was as powerful and majestic as the shaking of mountains and the collapse of hills.

Liu Zhaosun pointed the flag forward and shouted:

"Swept past the white-bordered flags, and did not pursue them! Attack the two red flags from behind! Join forces with the Zhejiang troops!"

More than 2,600 soldiers roared loudly, making a sound like a tsunami. They ignored the fleeing White Banner bannermen around them and quickly advanced towards the chariot camp.

The roars of the soldiers quickly reached the chariot camp more than 500 steps away. The Zhejiang soldiers saw the Zhenglan Banner and the Xiangbai Banner being defeated one after another, and saw the Kaiyuan Army charging towards them. Their morale suddenly rose, and they also responded with earth-shaking shouts.

The two red flags that were besieging the chariot camp began to show signs of obvious commotion.

Bayala, with a small red flag on his back, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and was pacing around behind the formation.

While driving away the White Banner armored soldiers who had retreated to the east gate, they also suppressed the armored soldiers and baoyi who had retreated from the front line of the chariot camp.

In front of the two red flags' central army tent, Daishan led a team of Goshaha to kill Niulu Ezhen who had just retreated.

Several Niulu Ezhen who failed to attack the formation were made to kneel on the ground in a row and were beheaded one by one by Goshiha.

A group of shaved-headed Niulu Ezhen gathered around the flag leader. Daishan, dressed in iron armor, glared at the Kaiyuan soldiers charging towards him and shouted:

"The Khan shouldn't have given the Bordered White Banner to that kid Dudu! He's just like his father, bringing disaster to our Great Jin!"

"Yasong!"

"The slave is here!"

A burly, sinister-looking general of the Zhenghong Banner knelt in front of Daishan.

"Gather all the Bayalas who can fight, including the ones from the Zhenglan Banner who were just gathered. Change out the armored soldiers, and you go ahead. If you can't break through the chariot camp in half an hour, all those above the rank of Niulu Ezhen will be beheaded!"

"twitter!"

Yasong turned and left.

Amid the sound of conch shells, the two red flags launched their final attack on the Zhejiang chariot camp.

Niulu Ezhen galloped around the chariot camp on his horse, shouting loudly at Bayala and the armored soldiers who were fighting a bloody battle with the Zhejiang soldiers.

"The White Banner has crossed the river. Liu Zhaosun will surely die! Those who retreat will be executed! Kill all these Zhejiang soldiers! Let the two Red Banners seize the entire city of Shenyang!"

The sound of Kaiyuan's golden drums became more frequent, at one point covering up the sound of the conch shells of the two red flags.

Behind him came the overwhelming shouts of the Kaiyuan soldiers, as if the sky was collapsing and the earth was falling. Daishan felt a little guilty.

On the earthen hill more than 500 steps away, the golden drummer was still beating the drum tirelessly.

Daishan turned around and called over a Geshiha and said to him:

"Find a few more archers, get close and shoot arrows, and kill those people beating the mourning drums! They're annoying and disrupting the morale of the army!"

~~~~~
Jin Yuji walked onto the floating bridge on the south bank, attracting the attention of the surrounding Liao soldiers.

They all knew that this woman was General Liu's concubine.

Normally, Jin Yu Ji was always dressed in military uniform, no different from men. But today she was wearing this red robe with long sleeves and a unicorn robe, which was the wedding dress for women in the Ming Dynasty. She looked extremely charming and attractive, and the men couldn't help but look at her a few more times.

Mao Wenlong kicked a dazed archer in front of him and shouted to the Liao soldiers:

"Look ahead, everyone! The Tartars are about to cross the river! If Madam Jin wasn't injured, I would have dug your eyes out long ago!"

The Liao soldiers burst into laughter and turned their heads away.

Jin Yuji knew that Mao Wenlong was a generous person who liked to joke, so she didn't bother with him.

"General Mao, we have gathered a hundred or so volunteers on the north bank, all Liao people, who can help you guard the bridge!"

A large group of people were standing on the shore, holding farm tools such as wooden sticks and iron thorns.

A group of people stood up and a strong man who looked like the leader stood up. He was in his thirties and was holding a large iron rod. He looked at Mao Wenlong and said:
"General, the Tartars have robbed all the fishing boats in our villages. They also killed all our family members. The only ones left are here."

"Miss Jin's soldiers said that you didn't rob the civilians, but instead guarded the bridge to prevent the Tartars from crossing. I want to ask, how many Tartars are there on the other side?"

After hearing this, Mao Wenlong looked up and saw that everyone had red eyes and many of them were barefoot.

Mao Wenlong jumped onto the shore and said to the leader:
"What about three or four thousand Tartars? Are you afraid?"

Unexpectedly, the strong man turned around and laughed at everyone after hearing this:
"There are thousands of Tartars, more than enough for us to kill! Let's avenge our fellow villagers! Hahahaha!"

Mao Wenlong nodded slightly. He didn't expect that the Jiannu were so cruel that they would not even spare the common people.

Mao Wenlong said to everyone:

"Okay! Logically speaking, fighting is for us soldiers, not for you common people. But now, even women are going to the battlefield. Damn it, this world is like this."

He didn't pay attention to Jin Yuji's expression and continued:
"Men of Liaodong, it's time to fight for your lives! Throw away all the rags you have on your hands and on your backs! Hurry to the north gate to pick up armor and weapons. Don't take swords, take spears and clubs. Once you've gathered them, come over! The Tartars are shooting arrows from the bridge!"

Everyone immediately ran towards the north gate.

Mao Wenlong looked at Jin Yuji, thought for a moment, and said to her:

"Madam Jin, there are fishing boats under the bridge. No one will help you row the boat, so cross the river by yourself. Avoid the Tartars on the other side and go to the north bank to wait for General Liu. They have already defeated the Bordered White Banner and will soon join forces with the Zhejiang troops. If the two armies join forces, we will win. The bridge is dangerous, the Tartars are shooting arrows..."

Mao Wenlong was still speaking when the passionate sound of war drums in the east suddenly stopped.

From a distance came the deep conch shell sounds of two red flags.

"Golden Drummer!"

Mao Wenlong exclaimed and looked up at the hill at the east gate.

Jin Yuji looked back at the East Gate, which was two miles away, near the East Gate.

On a dirt hill almost as high as the city wall, the bare-chested drummer, his body riddled with arrows, tumbled down from the high drum stand like a boulder, making a dull falling sound.

The remaining two drummers continued to beat the war drums as if nothing had happened, and the golden drumheads were dyed blood red.

At this time, a dense rain of arrows rose from the east side of Tushan.

Both drummers were shot, and one of them fell off the drum stand and rolled down the hill to the edge of the moat.

The last drummer was shot in the back of the shoulder, but he didn't dodge or stop.

He lifted up the bloody drum, lay on it and continued to beat it, his movements becoming slower and slower, as if he were drunk.

The blood of the four golden drummers flowed down the drum stand, dripping into the earthen hill and moistening the land of Liaodong.

The roar of cavalrymen rang out around the earthen hill, and more than a dozen elite cavalrymen under Burhanggu's command immediately set out to chase and kill the group of archers who were approaching and shooting arrows.

"Oh no! All the drummers in the army have died in battle, but the drums can't stop! We need someone to beat the drums!"

Mao Wenlong had been in the army for a long time and knew the importance of drums and gongs to the morale of the army. Without the sound of drums, it meant the cessation of the attack and the annihilation of the entire army!

The war drums stopped, and the shouts of the Kaiyuan soldiers in the distance suddenly weakened.

Mao Wenlong quickly stood up, picked up his heavy sword and walked towards the east gate.

Jin Yuji said calmly:

"General Mao, you still have to guard the bridge and block the Zhengbai Banner! You can't pass!"

Mao Wenlong clenched his fist and pounded it hard on the ground. The bondservants who had crossed the river had already started shooting arrows in their direction.

Two light arrows flew towards Jin Yu Ji, and Mao Wenlong blocked them with his iron arm.

"General Mao, if you can see General Liu again, please tell him that in the next life, I will accompany him to listen to the story of Lady White's Eternal Imprisonment in Leifeng Pagoda!"

Seeing the last golden drummer slowly fall down, Jin Yuji finally remembered the female general who helped her husband fight against the Jin army.

Everyone has his own destiny.

Maybe this is my destiny.

Jin Yuji looked back towards her homeland, Korea, and walked silently towards the battlefield where arrows were raining.

Mr. Meng Wuyue wrote a poem in praise of Jin Yuji, which reads:
She used to be a girl from Hancheng, and now she is a follower of Marquis Pingliao.

The military uniform is like the moon, and the sword is even more charming and delicate.

The brows are locked with hatred for the country and the heart is filled with worries for the patriots.

Hunhe heard the news of victory and won fame!
To know how Jin Yuji beat the drum at Hunhe River and assisted General Xuanwu in pacifying Liaodong, please stay tuned for the next chapter!
(End of this chapter)