Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 242 We Are the Stars of the Village (Two Chapters in One)

Even if the flag soldiers still had fighting spirit and rushed out of the crowd, they would be shot to death by rows of crossbows and bird guns.

Those dying flag soldiers raised their bloody fists and roared before they died, saying that they had not brought shame to the Emperor.

Seeing the brave men die in battle, and the rest were dejected "losers" who had abandoned their swords and shields, Turge could not help but close his eyes in despair, and the blood-stained steel knife slipped from his palm.

Fifteen thousand auxiliary troops fought against the seven thousand Beiwei troops, whose strengths were clearly divided.

It was he, Turge, who lost.

He and the remaining thousands of auxiliary soldiers became fish on the chopping board, ready to be slaughtered, just like those Han slaves who fell into their hands.

The Beiwei Army's "shrinking circle" killing stopped, and a thousand Ming soldiers cautiously walked out of the formation and "greeted" this army that had lost its fighting spirit with fists and hemp ropes.

Stopping the killing did not mean sparing the lives of the Eight Banner soldiers. It only meant giving them a little "feast of fists and feet" as a last meal before execution. Some prisoners were even beaten to death by mistake.

Turge was put a rope around his neck by a fierce soldier of the Beiwei Army. The other party didn't care whether he was willing or not, and dragged him for hundreds of steps like a dog that didn't want to go home.

He was then tied with his hands behind his back and made to kneel in the open space where the slaves were originally placed.

The Beiwei Army was dispersed to various places to maintain order among the "former slaves", and thousands of bannermen and bondservants who were physically and mentally broken knelt obediently.

Because Turge was the defender of Liaoyang and held a high position, he was singled out and placed at the front of the execution ground, and was even personally guarded by "Prince" Ajige.

He turned his head to look at the battlefield. The bodies of both enemies and friends were scattered all over the ground. The hayfields covered with corpses looked like they had been burned by flames, and were covered with a layer of dark shadows.

At this moment, Turge suddenly saw hundreds of armed men walking out of the woods.

As soon as those people met the Beiwei Army, they started talking and laughing, and casually lamented that the corpses on the ground, the sunlight in the sky, the smell of blood in the air... were all too real.

reality?

If this mortal world where you feel itchy, painful, and can die is not real, then what is it?
Turge discovered that the weapons and equipment of these "newcomers" were quite simple, very similar to the "auxiliary troops" who had previously lured the enemy deep into their territory. Even their innocent temperament seemed like they were new arrivals.

The Beiwei army actually ambushed hundreds of soldiers in the woods, who did not participate in the battle from beginning to end. They were only called out after the battle was over and the battlefield was almost cleaned up?

Turge smiled helplessly. He really couldn't figure out the Beiwei Army.

The "former slaves" who regained their freedom gradually gathered around, holding simple weapons in their hands.

Some people had dull eyes, unable to express their emotions, while others screamed excitedly, picking up gravel and mud on the ground and throwing them at the Eight Banners prisoners.

Some people saw that the murderer of their relatives was about to receive retribution, and they kept shouting the name of a certain bannerman or bondservant, angrily scolding him, saying that this was his day, and then there was a burst of shrill and sharp cries and screams.

Other slaves rushed to the bloody battlefield upon hearing the news, and like carnivorous animals that feed on carrion, they lay on the corpses and stripped off the dead's weapons and equipment, silver and grain bags, and even clothes and shoes. They "ate" the corpses clean, leaving only bare naked bodies.

Then they dug large pits and filled them with the bodies of the Qing soldiers.

"Go pick out the flag bearers of the Soran tribe!"

When the Beiwei Army's order was issued, Ajige hurriedly passed by the bannermen and bondservants one by one.

The bound Qing soldiers had different expressions. Some of them collapsed to the ground in fear and were forcibly helped up by the Ming soldiers. Some bent over desperately and begged for mercy, begging the prince in Manchu and Mongolian to count them as members of the Solon tribe. Some closed their eyes and said nothing, as if they had accepted their fate.

Some people looked at Ajige with contempt and hatred, cursing him non-stop. Others came to their senses, unwilling to die, and desperately twisted their bodies in an attempt to escape...

A total of three hundred Sauron soldiers were selected to cut off the tails of the golden rats, and were later incorporated into the "Sauron Camp" to fight for the Beiwei Army.

A large number of "former slaves" with captured weapons arrived at the Beiwei Army, and Turg alone saw tens of thousands of them with his own eyes.

This does not include the slaves stationed in the garrisons and manors around Liaoyang.

Even if there were not many slaves who dared to take the risk of resistance, they would still provide a large amount of manpower to the Beiwei Army.

Regardless of whether these anti-Qing Han people could fight or whether they would flee in panic when encountering the main force of the Qing Dynasty, at least their numbers were very intimidating.

Moreover, many Eight Banners auxiliary soldiers died in this battle. The leather armor, chain mail, and cloth armor dropped alone totaled nearly 10,000 pieces, enough to arm a 10,000-man force of the Beiwei Army.

The Beiwei Army will grow stronger again.

Turge thought, this is like a snowball, a piece of debris rolling down from a snowy mountain, carrying snowflakes, and it keeps getting bigger and bigger...

The afternoon sunlight is getting weaker, but it is still very dazzling when facing the sunlight.

Turge, kneeling on the ground, looked around and saw that the Beiwei Army was escorting flagmen with their hands tied behind their backs to the open space one after another. Among them were many military academy students and officers he knew.

It seems that the Beiwei Army captured the fleeing and defeated soldiers from all around with their horses captured.

Knowing that his death was near, Turge felt much more relieved.

Memories of his past life flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern. From the time he followed Huang Taiji in battle, he had made countless contributions, and was promoted from Niulu Zhangjing to Gushan Ezhen, to now he was guarding Liaoyang...

He felt he had done his best.

Perhaps after a while, His Majesty the Emperor will be able to lead the main force back north, but by then the Beiwei Army will have grown into a behemoth by relying on the rescued slaves, and the morale of all the bondservants will be unsettled.

If His Majesty the Emperor wants to defeat the Beiwei Army and rebuild the morale of the people in Liaodong, it will take some effort.

Once the Beiwei Army brought a large number of armed "slaves" and blocked the road between Haizhou and Liaoze, northwestern Liaoning would be recovered by the Southern Dynasty in an instant.

When the Southern Dynasty sees that the Qing Dynasty is in decline, it will definitely gather heavy troops to besiege Liaodong!

It can be said that one move affects the whole body.

The Beiwei Army's march north to the Liaohe Plain was both a risky move and a divine move that interrupted the destiny of the Qing Dynasty.

Taking advantage of the Emperor's southern expedition, they detoured into the Liaozhong Plain... They scattered propaganda to shake the morale of Liaodong... They maneuvered through Liaozhong on ships, killing and wounding large numbers of Qing troops... They used the lives of their allies as bait to lure the enemy into their trap at the Battle of Liaoyang...

Turge sighed that the commander of the Beiwei Army was truly a "god-man". Every step he took was just kneeling on the neck of the Qing Dynasty, pressing it so hard that it could not breathe.

Could it be that Prince Ajige saw that the Qing Dynasty was doomed, so he chose to be loyal to the Southern Dynasty?
Turge looked at the prince who was watching him, and the two looked at each other.

Ajige did not say anything, he only saw a large number of executioners being replaced by "former slaves".

Thousands of swords were raised high and hung on the sides of the captives' heads. Some of the captives had fainted from crying and were only awakened by a few punches.

"Now, I, the Beiwei Army, leave you the chance for revenge. Raise your weapons high and choose whether to spare the lives of the captives before you!"

"Brothers, kill or not!"

"Kill!" Zhang Xianzhong shouted.

"Kill!" He Lusi also raised his sword and pointed it to the sky.

"Kill!" Lindy swung a machete.

"Kill!" Ajige also raised a bloody steel knife and hung it above Turg's neck.

More players and Han people who were ready to execute the prisoners raised their weapons.

Their loud shouts echoed one after another, and the exciting scene infected the surrounding Han people.

The numb and sluggish Han people were like ice melting under high temperature. A few of them raised their arms and waved together. Gradually, more and more Liao people raised their arms and shouted, and their uniform shouts gradually merged into a stream.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The shouts of killing shook the sky in the open space, and the roars of more than ten thousand people were deafening.

"Prepare for execution!"

As the legion commander finished speaking, the suona and war drums sounded, causing thousands of captives to wail in pain. The firing squad composed of civilians and players took their positions.

The executioner raised his sharp sword high in the air. Turge, already prepared for death, looked up at the prince beside him and asked, "Does your Majesty regret this?"

Regret?

Ajige may have had regrets.

I regret not persuading Your Majesty to lead the army in person to attack southern Liaoning and destroy all the effective forces of the Beiwei Army. Instead, I only sent 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers to die under the city of Fuzhou.

The Beiwei Army is a group of "ghost soldiers" that have returned from the dead, but as long as the "evil Taoist" is killed or the magic weapon that summons the ghost soldiers is destroyed, this group of undead spirits can be completely eliminated.

It’s a pity that the villain will not kill the protagonist who is practicing in a small village at the beginning. No one will directly kill a postman named Li, or a monk named Zhu.

No one can predict what the future holds.

If Wang Mang had not usurped the throne, if Cao Cao had returned power to the Han Dynasty, if Prime Minister Zhuge Liang had rebuilt the Han Dynasty, if Gao Huan had broken the jade disk, if the Battle of Tumu had not happened in the Ming Dynasty, if the Ming Dynasty had won the Battle of Sarhu... but there is no if in everything.

The fact is that the Beiwei Army, a group of evil soldiers, is like a black torrent sweeping in. Even if Your Majesty takes a detour back to the Liaozhong Plain, he cannot stop the tremendous momentum pushed by this rolling torrent.

The ghost soldiers will drag everyone forward and no one will be able to stop.

"kill!"

At a single command, all the firing squads lowered their swords, and thousands of prisoners' heads tumbled to the ground.

Nearly a thousand surrendered prisoners were spared.

These bondservants usually had some moral integrity in their daily actions, and the "good karma" they had accumulated prompted the executioner to spare their lives at this moment.

The Beiwei Army, which had just been supplemented with 500 new players and 10,000 armed Han people, immediately rushed towards Liaoyang with the power of a great victory.

The remaining Liaoyang defenders were no match for the victorious army, and the guards on the city walls were defeated in less than three rounds.

Since Nurhaci took control of Liaodong, he drove all the Liao people out of the city to farm, and Han people were generally not allowed to live in the city.

The living people in the city were either bannermen or bannermen of higher status. They were all slaughtered without any hesitation. There might be some innocent people, but if they were killed at intervals, there would definitely be some who slipped through the net.

The expected street fighting did not happen——

The news of Turge's defeat had already been conveyed back by the fleeing bannermen. Even the main force of Liaoyang could not defeat the Beiwei Army. How could these remnants of the defeated army resist?
As a result, a large number of bannermen and bondservants fled to Shenyang with their property. Unfortunately, they were reluctant to leave behind the cartloads of money, food, and supplies, and delayed their steps.

When the Beiwei Army arrived riding on captured war horses and mules, they just happened to intercept the Tatar troops fleeing from the north of the city.

The official road for more than ten miles outside the city was littered with the corpses of the Eight Banners. Some were stabbed to death by swords and spears, some had their chests and abdomens slashed by sharp weapons, and some were killed by musket balls.

It only took the Beiwei Army one day to wipe out the remaining forces within Liaoyang. All men, women, and children in the city were killed, and many pots, jars, and wooden boxes were almost smashed and broken by the players.

They rushed out from the sea of ​​blood and corpses of the Battle of Xiongyue Station, and captured Gaizhou, Haizhou, and even many garrisons and watchtowers along the way.

If the Liaozhong Plain is an ice sea from a bird's-eye view, then the Beiwei Army is like a series of sturdy icebreakers carving out a path.

They had already forgotten how many Tatars they had killed with their own hands, and the heads piled up around the Acropolis were like small mountains.

The players who stayed behind would meet the Liaonan government troops heading north in each city. They would also bring the heads of the Tatars with them. Once the two sides joined together, they could attack the important city of Shenyang.

Afterwards, the Beiwei Army was stationed in Liaoyang, and according to the organization of fifty to one hundred players and one to two thousand Han people, more than ten mixed troops were sent out to seize the surrounding garrisons and watchtowers, kill the Eight Banners population, kill the bondservants, and liberate more Han slaves.

They will seize the fortress's arsenal and money and food, and re-arm these enslaved Han people.

At the same time, the Beiwei Army, carrying the battle flag, welcomed another 500 players. Excluding the brothers left behind, the combat team fighting on the front line had reached 8,000 people.

The Beiwei Army launched observation balloons, which surprised the Han people, to monitor the enemy's movements on the official road to the east, dozens of miles away.

Once Huang Taiji leads the main force to the Liaozhong Plain, the observation balloon can report the news in the first time.

……

Huang Taiji, who was forced to take a long detour, is still on his way back to the Liaozhong Plain.

He was delayed for several days at Xiaojia Pass, and a thousand Beiwei soldiers sacrificed their lives in exchange for his three thousand Qing warriors.

The Outer Mongolian beiles complained bitterly, and even Koreans frequently fled. The once mighty army of 130,000 was now reduced to just 80,000 soldiers.

As soon as he arrived at Zhenjiang Fort, Huang Taiji received news from North Korea:

Perhaps it was the escaped Korean soldiers who brought back the news of the Qing emperor's defeat, and the Koreans gradually cheered up, claiming that the recent harvest was poor and it was difficult to provide food and fodder for the emperor's army.

This gave Huang Taiji an excuse to send troops to teach North Korea a lesson.

After all, the King of Joseon was a vassal who kowtowed three times and nine times before him. How could a vassal disobey the orders of a monarch?

He sent Dorgon and Jirgalang to lead the remaining Outer Mongolian soldiers to attack the rebellious Korea.

On the surface, it was to give the Outer Mongols an opportunity to rob and vent their grievances, but in reality it was to prevent them from entering the Liaozhong Plain and running back to the grassland, or even destroying the mentality of the Eight Banners of Mongolia.

The vitality of the Qing Dynasty cannot be dispersed any further.

The core strength of the Qing Dynasty consisted of the Manchu, Mongolian and Han bannermen. The Mongolian and Han armies were suppressed by the Manchu population in order to maintain the current situation of the Qing Dynasty.

The population of the Eight Banners of Manchuria was originally small, and they had suffered several devastating defeats. Even if the Manchu soldiers left behind in Liaodong were included, the number was estimated to be less than 65,000, and it seemed that they were on the verge of being unable to suppress the Mongolian and Han collateral forces.

Once the humiliating news of the Qing emperor's defeat and detour reached Liaodong, and he saw with his own eyes the tens of thousands of dejected Eight Banner soldiers, all his subjects would be shocked. Even if he wanted to accumulate manpower and materials to evacuate to the grassland, he would probably not be able to do so.

Therefore, from the day Huang Taiji broke through Xiaojiaguan, he sent out a hundred experienced riders, each with five horses, to rush to Shenyang as fast as possible to report the news.

It does not mention that the emperor was defeated and took a detour, but only says that the Qing army expelled the Southern Dynasty troops and recovered the land in southern Liaoning.

Unfortunately, the Ming army was good at sailing, and even if they were defeated they could quickly retreat to a safe island.

Huang Taiji originally wanted to settle the cities in southern Liaoning, but due to the instability in Korea, he urgently needed to dispatch troops to stabilize the situation to prevent the vassal state of Korea from becoming an enemy.

It would be difficult for him to return to the Liaodong Plain quickly in the short term, so he could only let the defenders in various parts of Liaodong hold their ground safely.

If the Beiwei Army fails in the first battle, it is likely to resort to the same old tactics - going deep into the heart of Liaodong along the river.

He appointed the retired Daishan to take charge of the overall situation, and warned people not to fight rashly but to hold their ground and wait for help.

He estimated that even if the Beiwei Army really had 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers, thousands of them were killed in Xiongyueyi and Xiaojiaguan, and at most 10,000 soldiers would be left. With the help of the defenders in Shenyang, Liaoyang and Haizhou, the Beiwei Army's vitality should be further depleted.

When he returns to the Liaozhong Plain, there will still be enough time to fight a decisive battle with him.

As long as the Beiwei Army is eliminated, Liaodong will still belong to the Qing Dynasty.

……

However, when Daishan received the news, he could only sigh that the emperor's order was a few days late. The defenders of Haizhou, Liaoyang and other forts in the city suffered a crushing defeat because they took the initiative to attack.

The defeated soldiers in Liaoyang and its surrounding areas fled back one after another, and Liaoyang City was probably already in the hands of the enemy.

Many negative news spread to Shenyang like snowflakes——

The Manchu, Mongolian and Han bannermen suffered heavy losses, and the slaves in the forts and manors rioted one after another. Even some loyal bannermen spontaneously cut off their pigtails and joined the Beiwei Army to attack the Qing Dynasty.

The more than 10,000 Beiwei troops estimated by Your Majesty have now swelled to tens of thousands, and Your Majesty's army is still far away in Korea, and it is unknown when it will return.

Before the main army returned, he could only rely on the bannermen in the city.

He ordered all Manchu, Mongolian and Han bannermen aged 12 and over and under 70 inside and outside Shenyang to bring their own weapons and food and station in Shenyang, and women and children in the city were also required to participate in logistics.

This "killing the chicken to get the eggs" approach was enough to barely gather 25,000 bannermen.

The news of many baoyi rebels made Daishan not dare to trust the Han people at all. He only selected the best and 15,000 relatively loyal baoyi to join the armed forces.

The entire city's combat personnel gathered 40,000 auxiliary troops, but more people meant more food was consumed.

Daishan distributed one month's worth of grain to the surrounding garrisons and manors, even if it meant taking away the slaves' winter rations!
The issue at the moment is no longer about worrying about the anger of the slaves, but that the Qing Dynasty has reached a critical moment of life and death.

Shenyang was home to the families of the Eight Banners nobles and generals, and was also the core head of the Qing Dynasty's administrative officials.

Once Shenyang fell, all the families and officials would be killed by the enemy, which would not only be a severe blow to the morale of the Qing soldiers, but would also cause the Qing Dynasty's administrative capacity to regress to a tribal state.

It was impossible for Daishan to abandon Shenyang and withdraw from his hometown east of Fushun without saying a word.

After all, only a city as big as Shenyang can accommodate these dignitaries and provide them with comfortable facilities and houses to spend the winter.

No one knew where the Beiwei Army was going with their "slaves" - almost none of the scouts he sent out to Liaoyang for reconnaissance returned, only a few war horses that knew the way ran back.

If he ordered everyone to retreat back to their hometown, but encountered enemy soldiers on the way, they would lose the advantage of defending the city.

His Majesty the Emperor repeatedly warned against leaving the city to fight recklessly, and the defeat in Haizhou and Liaoyang was a lesson learned from this.

However, Daishan no longer had to worry about whether to defend the city or return to his hometown.

Because tens of thousands of auxiliary troops assembled by the Beiwei Army had crossed the Hunhe River and rushed towards Shenyang City.

(End of this chapter)