The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

120 Jin Yuji beats the drum to fight at Hunhe River, Liu Zhaosun draws the sword to pacify the Eastern Tartars!
A drop of blood splashed on Jiang Liuer's tender face.

The wolf soldiers and white-spear soldiers who were injured in the alley and unable to go out to fight fired the last wave of crossbow arrows, and were immediately hacked to death by the servants who rushed over.

The heavy sword chopped down the wolf soldier closest to Jiang Liuer, and blood splattered like raindrops.

The wolf soldier fell limply to the ground, his head tilted to the side of the alley, his eyes staring blankly at the child in the shadows.

Jiang Liuer saw his father's dying appearance in the wolf soldier's eyes.

"run."

When Dad picked up Jiang Liuer, he kept running south.

In those years, the wise and powerful Later Jin Khan expanded all the way to northern Liaoning, killing those Han people who were unwilling to serve as baoyi.

My father fled from Hunjiang River to Shenyang and found an abandoned child by the river.

The child's name became Jiang Liuer.

Jiang Liuer stayed for a moment, then ran away.

The servants were busy killing Kaiyuan spies, and no one noticed the child who was as thin as a kitten.

Jiang Liuer rushed out of the alley, where there were corpses lying on the ground.

The wolf soldier leader who was touching his head just now was now standing motionless at the entrance of the alley, leaning on a hook, and several servants were pointing at him.

The blood on his body had dried, and he looked as majestic as the statues in Guandi Temple.

A woman's screams were heard in the distance.

A servant wiped the blood off the blade with the dead man's clothes and looked at the running child with ill intention.

Jiang Liuer dodged the murderous servants and ran towards the street.

A group of adults were standing on the street opposite the alley. Jiang Liuer knew many of them; they were his and his father's neighbors.

Oh, Dad is dead, hacked to death by the mob.

The adults stretched their necks to look ahead. Jiang Liuer also ran over there. A fierce voice came from the street:
"The White Banner has crossed the river! Did you hear that? Liu Zhaosun's war drums have stopped! They've been slaughtered by their masters! The Ming army will all die, Liaodong belongs to the masters! You must be good servants from now on. If you dare to collude with the Kaiyuan spies again, this will be your fate!"

Jiang Liuer squeezed to the front and finally saw the scene on the street.

Near the north gate, an adult was sitting in the middle of the street, facing the crowd. His body and the ground were covered in blood, his head tilted to one side, and his neck was still shaking slightly.

There was a short crossbow beside him, and a mace longer than Jiang Liuer was on the ground.

A bear-like general turned his head, his face covered in blood and one of his eyes a bloody hole, and roared loudly at the crowd.

"Whoever dares to harbor Kaiyuan spies again will suffer the same fate!"

After General Bear said this, he turned the man's head up and gestured at his neck with a knife.

The man's neck was soft and weak, blood was flowing from the corners of his mouth like a spring, his head was drooping, and the bear-like general turned his head towards the onlookers from Liao.

Suddenly, the dying man's scattered eyes gathered together and looked at Jiang Liuer who was standing in front of him.

Jiang Liuer and his savior looked into each other's eyes. From the dying soldier's eyes, the child once again heard that familiar voice:
"run!"

"Run, don't look back!"

Jiang Liuer immediately turned around, squeezed out of the crowd, and ran south.

"Jiang Liuer, where is your father?"

The neighbors saw this poor child.

"died."

He didn't run anymore, but turned back to search on the street.

Every time he went fishing with his father, he would look for shells and crabs on the banks of the Hunhe River.

His father often said that some things have to be found by oneself...

The White-Pole Soldiers helped him find those things that he was losing.

Jiang Liuer picked up a broken spear from the ground.

He carried the broken gun on his thin and short body, stepped over the dense corpses of Liao people on the North and South Streets, passed through the adults who were still watching, and rushed towards the murderous bear.

~~~~~~
On the wall of the East Gate City Wall, Nurhaci, with white hair and beard, looked towards the East Gate battlefield with worry.

The golden dragon banner behind him, which symbolized royal power, had disappeared.

The piece of rag was burned into pieces by the divine fire crow on the north gate city wall.

On a towering earthen slope a few hundred steps away from the city wall, the Kaiyuan army's war drums were beating loudly, and the rumbling sound of the drums was like that of thousands of troops, creating a strong sense of oppression for Nurhaci who was standing opposite them.

There were only five or six Goshihas left guarding the surrounding area. The rest of the Goshihas were sent by the Khan to search for Dudu, the leader of the Bordered White Banner in the city. Only one Han minister was left by the Khan's side.

Before the Zhenglan Banner was defeated, the young prince killed the Ningguta witch who was helping the Khan to calm his soul, and then rushed to kill Tong Yangxing without stopping.

Dudu did not enter the city alone. He also brought nearly half of the Niulu Ezhen of the Bordered White Banner and a group of Goshiha.

No matter what the young prince wanted to do, in Nurhaci's view, Dudu's desertion in the face of the enemy was treason, and the fifteen-year-old leader of the Bordered White Banner could not be kept.

Half an hour ago, the Khan sent twenty Goshaha into the city to capture Dudu. Now none of them has returned, and it seems that he is in great danger.

After the massacre began, the Liao people began to show sporadic resistance. Lieutenant General Ding led the Yehe people to kill the Kaiyuan spies everywhere, but found that the more spies they killed, the more they found. Now they were unable to take care of themselves and had no intention or ability to go out of the city to help the Khan.

The order to massacre the city was originally given to stabilize the rear of the army, but unexpectedly it would backfire now.

The Bordered White Banner, which the Khan had originally placed high hopes on, collapsed at the first contact with the Kaiyuan troops.

The defeated baoyi and Zhenyi armored soldiers swept across the south bank of the Hun River like a tide, trampling on each other and even involving the two red flags who were engaged in a bloody battle in the east.

The soldiers under Liu Zhaosun's command pierced through the white-bordered flag line like a sharp sword, and their sharp edge approached the rear formation of the two red flags.

A major defeat was inevitable.

"Great Khan, Master Daishan has sent me here to request assistance. Over half of the two Red Banners have been killed or wounded, leaving only nine thousand men! If we don't send troops to stop Liu Zhaosun, the armored troops will flee!"

A Zhenghongqi Goshiha hurried to the top of the city wall, with two light arrows hanging on his chain mail.

Nurhaci looked up at the man and said angrily:

"I told you this morning that if he can't break through the chariot camp, he'll die at the east gate!"

Nagoshiha's eyes were filled with fear. He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said:

"Master Daishan has sent me to ask the Khan to mobilize the two Yellow Banner Bayalas for assistance. This time he will definitely defeat Che in one fell swoop..."

Nurhaci suddenly drew his sword, and before Goshiha could react, the sword had already cut through his neck guard, and a stream of blood gushed out from his neck.

"big····"

Goshiha covered his neck and fell in a pool of blood. His body twitched a few times and then he died in front of the Khan. There was a look of hatred and fear in his eyes before he died.

Several two-yellow flag Goshas nearby took two steps back and looked coldly at the scene happening in front of them.

On the north gate city wall, the Khan also killed a Niulu Ezhen of the Bordered White Banner who came to seek help.

This loyal Niulu Ezhen found that the Bayara of the Bordered White Banner was short of manpower and was worried that he would not be able to suppress the defeated baoyi in front when facing the Kaiyuan soldiers, so he begged the Khan to send the Bayara of the Two Yellow Banners to support the Bordered White Banner.

As a result, this Niulu Ezhen of the Bordered White Banner was stabbed to death by the furious Nurhaci.

"Give them 60,000 troops to attack 20,000 Nikans. After three days of fighting, they made no progress! In the end, I had to use my most elite Bayala!"

"When I was at Sarhu, I wiped out 470,000 Ming troops from four directions within three days! Since I started my army, I have fought over 70 battles, big and small, and have never been defeated!"

"Tell Daishan that if he can't break through the chariot camp again, there's no need for Liu Zhaosun to kill him. I'll go to the two red flags and behead him myself!"

"Somebody come!"

Nurhaci took a breath and said to a group of Goshi standing in the distance,
"Khan, your servant is here."

Chief Goshiha took two cautious steps forward and stood beside Nurhaci.

"Let the two yellow flags replace the white flag to block the Kaiyuan soldiers. Then send my elite Bayala to gather the defeated soldiers of the white flag and the blue flag and organize a counterattack against Liu Zhaosun!"

Just as Goshiha was about to take the order and leave, a conch shell sounded suddenly from the north bank of the Hun River.

Nurhaci was still confused when the Geshiha on the city wall cried out in unison:

"The Eighth Prince is back! The Plain White Banner bannermen are crossing the river!"

"Nikan's lieutenant general's flag, the one guarding the bridge is Mao Wenlong."

At this time, a rain of arrows rose from the opposite slope, and the Kaiyuan drummer on the slope was shot into a hedgehog by the arrows, and the rumbling drum sound stopped abruptly.

"Nikan lost! Lost!"

The dense black dots on the north bank floating bridge quickly swallowed up the scattered red mandarin duck battle jackets in front, and Mao Wenlong's 300 Liao soldiers disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Nurhaci stroked the soul-calming bottle in his sleeve and laughed wildly:
"Hahaha! Destiny is with me! I will chop off Liu Zhaosun's head today!"

~~~~~~~~
"Madam Jin, you can't go. The Tartars are very accurate in archery." The three of them walked down the pontoon bridge. Two guards walked in front of Jin Yuji holding long signs, turning back as they walked to persuade the stubborn Korean woman.

"We have few cavalry and cannot defend ourselves against the Tartars' arrows."

Jin Yuji tied the shoulder straps (Note 1) around her arms, and the red Qilin robe no longer looked bulky, and the pain in her arms was also relieved a little.

"What did General Liu ask you to do?"

She stepped over the body of a Later Jin soldier, endured the severe pain, and quickly walked in front of the guards to block their way.

The guards looked at each other and stared at Jin Yu Ji blankly, not knowing how to answer.

"General Liu sent you two to protect me now."

Jin Yuji suddenly stopped and pointed at the golden drum more than two hundred steps away, panting a little:
"Now, I will go up and beat the drum, and you will guard the slope below. Don't let the Tartars get close. This is also a form of protection."

The two guards were about to speak when a shrill conch shell sounded from the east, followed by earth-shaking shouts of killing from two red flags.

"I can play the drums, can you?"

The two guards were not good at speaking, and they stammered and could not make any sense. Jin Yuji did not waste any more words and said loudly:

"If the drums and gongs don't sound, the army will be defeated! If I weren't injured, I could beat both of you alone. I used to be the one guarding General Liu. Now, stop talking nonsense and let's go!"

The two guards exchanged a glance, both intimidated by the woman's aura. Then, looking at the low morale of the Zhejiang Army Chariot Battalion in the distance, they gritted their teeth and stopped trying to persuade her. They guarded Jin Yuji on both sides and quickly headed east.

All she saw were fallen corpses, and Jin Yuji's combat boots were quickly stained red with blood.

The sound of the conch shells of the two red flags in the distance buzzed in her ears like a mosquito.

She was wearing that bright red long-sleeved Qilin robe and walked past hundreds of corpses of the Zhenglan Banner soldiers. The bright red color looked particularly bright among the endless blue armor.

Several light arrows flew in from the Shenyang city wall. The fluttering arrow feathers were as soft and weak as dandelions, and were easily blocked by the long shields in the hands of the guards.

"The Tartars are really good archers. They can even hit the target from such a distance!"

The guard spat at the wall and cursed under his breath.

The three continued to walk eastward. Behind the Zhenglan Banner formation, corpses of the Zhenyi armored soldiers of the Xiangbai Banner began to appear on the ground. Broken armor and broken spears were scattered among the corpses, and the corpses of the Kaiyuan soldiers also increased.

The guards threw a stone to drive away a crow that had landed on the body of a soldier. The stone startled thousands of crows and they flew up from the south bank of the Hun River.

The crows that covered the sky were circling over the Hunhe River. Just as the three of them took a few steps away, they landed on the corpse, cawing.

Jin Yuji finally reached the slope.

The golden drum was placed on the top of the slope, about eight or nine feet above the ground.

A path was trampled out of the mud leading to the top of the slope, and the path was dyed dark red. The hot blood shed by the golden drummer had not yet dried.

The guards, holding long signs, escorted Jin Yuji to the foot of the slope. The two men looked at the military drums above their heads, then looked at Jin Yuji's weak body, shaking their heads and clicking their tongues.

Suddenly, a heavy arrow whizzed past the long shield.

The guards immediately turned around and rushed to the east side of the slope. More than thirty steps away, two Zhenghong Banner archers stood there, still taking arrows out of the quiver.

The two men roared, threw down the long cards in their hands, and rushed towards the Later Jin archers, dragging two goose-feather swords.

After rushing ten steps, the two men took out their throwing axes from their waists and swung them forward fiercely.

The two archers on the opposite side were frightened by the momentum and quickly released their bowstrings.

The guard did not dodge at all. He raised his sword to chop the flying heavy arrow. Before the opponent could shoot the second arrow, he had already reached the front.

With two "puffing" sounds, the goose-feather knife pierced into the archer's lower abdomen. With a wave of his hand and a drop of the knife, two bald heads flew high into the air.

These two guards are both good fighters in the central army guard, and are also elite servants who have followed Liu Zhaosun for many years.

"Take down your bows and arrows, and be careful on defense!"

Just as the two men turned around to go back, they saw a group of Later Jin soldiers holding large bows, about a dozen of them, appearing more than fifty steps to the east.

"Fight them! Spread out! Go south!"

The two were about to fight to the death when suddenly the sound of galloping horses came from the other side of the battle formation.

A team of elite Yehe cavalry arrived in time to reinforce. More than a dozen Yehe riders skillfully controlled their horses, quickly approached the target, and used their swords to chop down the Zhenghongqi archers who turned around and fled.

Jin Yuji leaned on a broken spear, stepped on the blood on the road, and climbed up the slope step by step.

The short hundred-step journey to the Golden Drum was excruciating for Jin Yuji. Every step forward was accompanied by a tearing pain in the wounds on her shoulders and back.

She walked a few dozen steps, stopped and looked back at Shenyang City. The wind was blowing fiercely in her ears. From the Shenyang East Gate opposite the slope, armored soldiers with small yellow flags on their backs were pouring out continuously.

"Two yellow flags have been deployed."

Jin Yuji took a breath, her waist was already covered with sweat. She stroked her shoulder with her fingers, and a piercing pain swept through her body. When she looked again, her palm was covered in blood.

"It's okay. Once the two yellow flags are defeated, the master will destroy the Later Jin! I want to see..."

She took off her bloody armband, tied it up again, and continued walking to the top of the slope, leaning on her broken gun.

A trickle of blood slowly flowed down his shoulder, floated into the air, and merged into a cloud of mist.

She finally reached the top of the hill.

The drummer who was shot to death by an arrow was lying in front of the golden drum, with the bloody drumstick still tightly grasped in his hand.

Jin Yuji pulled the drumstick, but it didn't move at all in the golden drummer's hand.

She turned around and looked around, picked up two drumsticks stained with human blood on the ground, and walked to the golden drum that was taller than herself.

Looking back at the east gate of Shenyang, the Kaiyuan soldiers who had rushed into the vicinity of Cheying were surrounded by the two yellow flag armored troops who surged in like a tide.

The last 2,500 red mandarin duck battle jackets merged into a surging sea of blood, and they charged without hesitation towards the two yellow flag formations that had also suffered heavy casualties.

The red and yellow colors collided into a dizzying color on the south bank of the Hunhe River. The last elite troops of both sides let out shocking shouts of killing, and rushed into the sky like thunder.

The 17-foot-long general's flag stood like a thin red line on the battlefield two miles away.

A few dozen steps away from the general's flag, a general in distinctive armor was galloping tirelessly in front of the formation under a hail of arrows.

"Sir, I am leaving now."

Jin Yuji looked at Liu Zhaosun for the last time.

She had seen the score of "The Qin King's Battle Music" in Seoul.

The slow beat of drums echoed from the south bank.

The desolate melody is low and gentle.

Jin Yuji seemed to see:
Wherever the Later Jin soldiers went, the villages were empty and devastated.

The bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no cock crowing for thousands of miles.

The Liao people, who suffered greatly from the war, left their homes and became displaced.

The drumstick suddenly accelerated and hit the edge of the drum.

The drum beats are urgent and powerful, like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

King Li Shimin of Qin personally braved the enemy's front and went deep into the enemy's camp. The soldiers fought bravely and finally defeated the enemy.

The arrow wound on Jin Yuji's body burst open, and blood soaked the sleeves of her Qilin red robe. Drops of blood fell onto her pretty official green skirt in rhythm with the drum beats.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The powerful and rapid drumbeats resounded on both sides of the Hun River and spread over a radius of ten miles.

Tens of thousands of eyes on both sides of the strait looked at the red figure jumping on the slope at the same time.

Countless Han men's blood boiled!

Nurhaci, Daishan, and Tong Yangxing showed deep hatred in their eyes.

The Zhejiang and Kaiyuan troops launched the most violent charge at the same time.

Mao Wenlong raised his broken heavy sword and looked up at the scarred man opposite him who had killed the most people.

Jiang Liu'er thrust his spear towards Ding Bi to the beat of the drums. Behind him, countless Liao people clenched their fists.

Liu Zhaosun looked back at the slope, his eyes burning with pain. He saw Jin Yuji, whose life was burning.

Liu Zhaosun bit his lower lip hard to prevent tears from flowing out of his eyes.

He raised his hand to press down the brim of his iron helmet, raised his sharp goose-feather knife, and pointed it at the two yellow flags formation on the opposite side that was beginning to fall into panic.

"Kill the Jiannu!"

Notes:

(1) A tool used to hang around the neck in the Song Dynasty to hold up the sleeves for easy operation. Shen Congwen's "Study on Ancient Chinese Costumes: Horsemen in the Song Dynasty Hundred Horse Paintings" states: "The Song people recorded that cooks used silver ropes to hold their sleeves while cooking. This shows that it was a common tool invented by the working people in the Song Dynasty for easy operation.

(End of this chapter)