Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 278 You Drop Salt, I Drop Vinegar
The Tartars and the traitors fled all the way, sometimes running as fast as they could, sometimes hiding in the woods to avoid their pursuers. They were so nervous that they almost collapsed.

Seeing that the figure they suddenly encountered was not an enemy, both sides relaxed their vigilance and fled.

Zhao Silang came to the prince with red eyes, as if he had reunited with his family after a long separation, and was about to hug him and cry out his sorrow.

The two sides had an in-depth discussion on the disastrous defeat suffered last night, and both agreed that the Beiwei Army was indeed assisted by an expert.

The master cast some kind of magic to make them bewildered. They neither defeated the Beiwei army in one fell swoop after the great victory that day, nor strengthened their night defenses tonight.

Dorgon was very desperate and regretful, regretting that he had sacrificed tens of thousands of troops.

The prestige and opportunity to assemble a large army often only come once. Unless the gods themselves come down to earth to annihilate the entire Beiwei army in the future, it will be difficult for Dorgon to gather the troops he has today.

If God gave him another chance for a decisive battle, he would definitely not even spare the defenders of Hanyang, but would gather his entire army to fight the Beiwei Army head-on.

It’s a pity that there is no medicine for regret in the world.

Dorgon and Zhao Silang found an open space and sat down, and the two tried to review the core reasons for the defeat.

Sometimes they blame the soldiers on guard for not doing their duty, sometimes they blame the greedy villains who argued endlessly at the "spoils division meeting", but in short, neither of them is wrong...

Just when everyone was worried about what to do, Zhao Silang woke them up with a word -

There are still 5,000 Eight Banners soldiers in Hanyang. Even if they cannot defeat the Beiwei Army, they can escort the prince to escape from Korea, and may even be able to take in some defeated soldiers along the way.

Losing a battle is not scary, but losing confidence is the real end.

These days, as long as you have soldiers, you can achieve something wherever you go.

These well-reasoned words pointed out a clear path forward, and Dorgon suddenly felt that there was still a glimmer of hope in the bleak future.

"Return to Hanyang!" Dorgon raised his sword high, like a high-spirited commander before a battle.

"kill!"

However, a group of Korean volunteers suddenly appeared along the way and caught Dorgon and his entourage off guard. They shouted rewards of fifty and five thousand taels and fought fiercely with the defeated soldiers.

Offering a reward of fifty taels to a general is only considered a medium to high reward on ordinary days, but in times of war, famine and hunger, it is several years' worth of food. Any poor person who is extremely hungry wants to taste the taste of a full meal.

Whether killing or capturing Dorgon alive, the reward exceeded a thousand taels, which could directly make a poor ordinary person leap into a rich man!
It is like a modern person who captures a bounty target and is rewarded with a property in a big city and a luxury car. Any young man from an ordinary family who hesitates is considered to be slow to react.

"The Tartar general is here!"

The strategy of "generous rewards" was a fatal blow to the defeated Qing soldiers. Princes and nobles were killed one after another, and the number of guards around Dorgon became fewer and fewer. The hundred people from the two sides were gradually reduced to more than ten people.

Dorgon himself had to take off his cloth armor and leave only a chain mail vest to speed up his escape, while the loyal Bayala continued to stay behind to delay time.

The Han army flag dropped their weapons and surrendered to the Beiwei army. They also loudly reported to the Beiwei army the direction of Dorgon's escape, causing Dorgon to run around in panic, almost like a frightened bird. When he heard the sound of stepping on branches, his heart felt like it was being pierced by sharp needles.

How can we escape back to Hanyang successfully in such a dangerous environment?

Dorgon suddenly felt that the surrounding environment became cold, and the place beside him felt like winter.

He just realized something was wrong and dodged to the side, but it was too late. A dagger was pressed against his lower back.

What saved his life at the critical moment was not the cotton-padded jacket, but the intuition formed by his years of fighting.

He fell sideways on the ground in an awkward posture, but he was still slightly injured. The dagger tore open his cotton coat, leaving a short wound on his waist that was not covered by the chain mail, and blood quickly seeped out.

Almost at the same time, Dorgon swung his sword in an arc in front of him.

There was a flash of a knife, and the muffled sound of a sharp weapon cutting through flesh mixed with the sound of blood spurting echoed in his ears. Dorgon then realized that the person who was stabbed was Zhao Silang's guard.

This traitor actually wanted to injure him or capture him alive so that he could ask for a reward from the Beiwei Army!
The smile on Zhao Silang's face was replaced by greed. There was no possibility of escaping back to Hanyang now, and there were only a few guards left by Prince Rui. If he didn't kill the captives and collect the reward now, when would he?

Zhao Silang sternly ordered the Korean guards around him, "Catch him!"

"Go to hell!"

Dorgon was extremely brave. He stepped forward and slashed the attacker with a sharp knife, completely finishing off the attacker. He then called on the remaining Bayara and Baoyi around him to kill all the Koreans.

Unexpectedly, several other bondservants around them had the same idea and immediately jumped up to fight with the two Bayalas.

"We want the reward for his capture too!" The bannermen and Koreans, who had their hands free, rushed towards Dorgon, each waving their swords.

"Okay!" Zhao Silang held a long sword in his hand, retreated far behind the crowd, and waited quietly for the outcome.

"You ungrateful dogs!"

Dorgon was indeed a veteran of many battles, and with the protection of a chainmail vest, he could barely hold out for a while.
Just as Bayara sacrificed his life to kill several enemies and Dorgon was also fighting hard, the two brothers Jin Wu and Jin Liu, who had been separated from the main force, accidentally came across the fighting scene.

As required, both of them tied white cloth strips on their left and right arms and collars for "friend or foe identification". The Beiwei Army general said that they were afraid that the light was dim in the early morning and they would accidentally hurt their own people.

As soon as they received the military order, they set out from Huangzhou. When they arrived at the Tartar camp, they began to use the Koreans' running skills to leave the Beiwei soldiers far behind.

I just didn't expect to bump into a battlefield all of a sudden.

When Jin Wu heard a nobleman from the Yangban class shouting that he would capture Dorgon alive and share the reward, he realized that the "beast" in front of him who was being besieged by many people was none other than the slave chief Dorgon who was being hunted by the Beiwei Army!

The sudden attack made Dorgon exhausted. He would run more than ten steps from time to time, then suddenly turn around and swing his sword to chop the enemy, and jump left and right around the nearby tree trunks from time to time to avoid being hacked.

Even though swords and knives came at him a few times, they were blocked by the chainmail vest.

Zhao Silang saw that his own troops had been almost wiped out by Dorgon and Bayala, and he was about to go to the battlefield himself, so he hurriedly urged: "Kill him quickly!"

However, the reward of 5,000 taels for capturing the enemy alive was too generous, so the remaining guards and eunuchs were unwilling to kill him.

As if sensing the other party's hesitation, Dorgon quickly seized a glimmer of hope.

Others captured people to collect the reward, but Dorgon fought hard to fight for his life. It was a desperate struggle of a desperate beast!
His strong desire to survive erupted into amazing fighting power in an instant. He waved his sword to block the sharp weapon that was coming at him, and a strong shock made his right hand numb.

He drew out the short knife from his waist with his left hand and stabbed the Korean who was attacking from the side. When he pulled it out, bright red blood splattered out.

"Ah..." The injured Baoyi groaned. He breathed in the air rapidly, covering his wound and staggering backward. After three steps, he was tripped by a broken branch.

He fell to the ground in despair, like a stranded fish, trying hard to breathe fresh air. Not long after, he lost consciousness and was probably dead.

Dorgon then turned and locked onto Zhao Silang, who had surrendered and then rebelled again, "Damn you bastard!"

Zhao Silang immediately took off running. Seeing that his life was in danger, he quickly called out to the Jin brothers who had been watching from the sidelines, "Help me capture the slave chief! I'll give you half of the reward from the Beiwei Army! When I see His Majesty the King in the future, I'll commend you for your achievements!"

Dorgon didn't know what the other party said in Korean, he just kept chasing after him.

Jin Liu was about to step forward to help, but was stopped by Jin Wu. "I've figured out that these two groups originally joined the Nu Chieftain, but now that the situation is bad, they've betrayed him. If we help him, he'll inevitably betray us..."

Zhao Silang's expression can be called a chameleon. Sometimes he begs Dorgon to spare his life, and sometimes he screams and begs the Jin brothers to save his life.

However, no one could save him. Dorgon stabbed Zhao Silang through the chest and abdomen, ending his life of wandering. Suddenly, a baoyi rushed forward, facing Dorgon's parry, the baoyi suddenly dodged to the side. Another baoyi flew over and raised his right hand to throw a cloud of snow and gravel, which covered Dorgon's face.

Dorgon felt a blackness before his eyes, and the fear of death made him wave his sword wildly. However, two bannermen attacked him from the left and right. One of them squatted down and scratched Dorgon's thigh with a short sword, causing the latter to stagger and half-kneel on the ground.

Just when the two men thought that Dorgon was about to be defeated, the battle-hardened Dorgon relied on his instinct for fighting to swing his sword and accidentally cut through the abdomen of a Baoyi. The dark red blood almost instantly soaked the dirty gray cloth clothes, leaving a large dark red mark.

The last bannerman pounced forward silently and wrestled with his former master. They grabbed each other's knife-wielding hands with their free hands and rolled on the ground. Dorgon's helmet was knocked off by a punch and rolled several meters away.

The strong and powerful Dorgon finally gained the upper hand, and he struggled to press his former servant under him.

The bondservant used his arm to hold Dorgon's right hand holding the knife, pressing the knife in Dorgon's hand under his body.

Dorgon tried to pull it out several times but failed, and the two men fell into a stalemate.

In a rage, Dorgon lowered his head and hit the Baoyi in the face, which stopped the Baoyi's shouting. The Baoyi also rushed forward and hit Dorgon on the forehead. The head collision hurt both of them and caused them great pain.

Bao Yi, who was pressed under him, could barely hold on. Blood slowly flowed from the corner of his mouth. He almost let out a final roar, "Brother, don't hesitate. This is five thousand taels of silver!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Dorgon said angrily.

Perhaps because there were fewer and fewer living people who wanted to take the bounty, Jin Wu realized that the opportunity had come. He told his brother to follow him and slowly approached the slave chief, one step at a time, as if the ferocious slave chief in front of him was not a murderer, but a treasure shining with white light.

Seeing two more enemies coming to test him frantically, Dorgon felt that a disaster was imminent.

He used almost all his strength to break free from the restraints. He bit Baoyi's nose tightly, trying to force the other party to let go by the pain of tearing flesh.

This move was very effective. The intense pain made Baoyi's hand loosen. Dorgon immediately drew out the sword from his waist and stabbed it into Baoyi's side abdomen.

Bao Yi, who was being pressed down, shuddered all over, his face quickly turning red as if he was holding his breath, and soon he was dead...

Just as Dorgon was about to kill the Baoyi, Jin Wu raised his sword and stabbed Dorgon in the side of his waist.

The expected piercing of the waist did not happen. There was only the sound of the tip of the knife hitting the chain mail. The fierce Dorgon stood up quickly. His cotton coat was torn in the fight, and the chain mail was soaked with the blood of the Baoyi and Korean soldiers.

A stream of blood slid down his forehead, and the bloody and ferocious face added a touch of brutality to Dorgon.

"You want to kill me?"

Manchu and Chinese are intertwined, and Dorgon is full of murderous intent, exuding a fierce and murderous aura that oppresses people.

Although they have fought several actual battles since they rose up, they were all small-scale skirmishes. How could they compete with the elite slave chief who had killed countless people?
Most of the courage that had been inspired by the generous reward was gone. Jin Wu held the iron knife tightly, but could only retreat in fear.

"Brother, beat him to death!"

Jin Wu suddenly pointed behind Dorgon and screamed, but Dorgon ignored this little trick to divert attention. He raised his bloody sword and pretended to rush forward...

Suddenly there was a loud bang. Before Dorgon could mock the other party for lying to children, he felt a sharp pain from the back of his head as if hit by a blunt object. He looked back in confusion and saw the panicked Jin Liuzheng swinging down the second round in fear.

Bang, bang, bang!
The six Jin soldiers smashed the slave chief with crazy blows and knocked him unconscious. Dorgon never thought that after his life of martial arts prowess, he would be captured by a poor Korean...

After all, Jin Wu had rich life experience. He quickly stripped Dorgon of his clothes, changed him into the clothes of a nobleman, and then shaved off his iconic rat tail.

In this way, the pretended captured nobles would not be targeted by other friendly forces. Jin Wu knew very well that the closer it was to the moment before the reward was paid, the more he had to be wary of the sinister hearts of people.

Dorgon was quickly dragged before the Beiwei Army by the Jin brothers. The latter knelt respectfully before the generals of the Heavenly Army, waiting for the master's decision.

With the identification of the surrendered bannermen, Dorgon's identity was quickly confirmed.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect that the prince who brought Qing was captured by you two little pawns!"

Every time the general spoke, there was a Korean interpreter translating beside him.

Jin Liu raised his head tremblingly. The majestic figure of the Heavenly Soldier General was like an unshakable mountain, and his two brothers, small soldiers, were just like an inconspicuous piece of hay at the foot of the mountain.

"I, the Beiwei Army, have kept my word. Since you have truthfully captured the chieftain alive, then wait for your reward!" The general clapped his hands and threw out a cloth bag. "It's just that five thousand taels of silver is hard to come by right now. I'll give you fifty taels first. Once we reach Seoul, I'll give you the rest of the reward money one by one..."

"Yes!"

"You two are called Jin Wu and Jin Liu, right? The Beiwei Army will remember you. If you want to return to Liaodong with us in the future, feel free to come find us."

"I am deeply grateful to the Heavenly Army for their kindness!"

The two brothers bowed deeply to the ground, then solemnly took the heavy silver bag.

For militia leaders like them, fifty taels of silver is not a lot, but it is almost impossible to catch the attention of the heavenly soldiers.

After all, being a dog of the Ming Dynasty is the greatest honor!
"Oh right, you two go and help strip these Eight Banners Tartars of their clothes..."

The two brothers didn't know what the heavenly soldiers' intention was, but since it was the general who gave the order, they had to obey.

The sun rises in the east, and the orange sunlight dyes the sky red, but this winter sunlight shines on my body, without any warmth at all.

The cold wind was blowing, and Dorgon, who was stripped down to only a single piece of clothing, was shivering.

Countless Eight Banners captives were stripped down to only a single piece of dispensable clothing, looking like a group of shaved-headed refugees freezing in the wind and snow.

Dorgon didn't know how many Qing warriors were killed, how many were captured, and how many successfully escaped.

However, in this harsh winter season, even if they escaped, it would be difficult to find a place to stay overnight. Once the looting provoked the Korean government to take action, the disorganized Qing soldiers would be defeated one by one.

Dorgon heard the crisp sound of horses pedaling.

Dozens of riders were seen riding their horses to the front of the prisoners.

Dorgon immediately identified these people as the Beiwei Army, as they looked very different from the Ming army.

It's not just that many Beiwei soldiers like to jump around, have messy hairstyles, and wear different armor, but also that they exude a unique temperament.

The Beiwei Army seemed to be born nobles, neither humble nor arrogant, and their every word and action was full of confidence. They did not have the inferiority and meanness of the bondservants, nor the arrogance of the nobles.

It was this group of sometimes crazy, sometimes focused and serious warriors who defeated the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty time and time again.

And now these victors are going to pronounce judgment on the punishment of the Qing losers——

Hundreds of Beiwei soldiers rode on captured war horses and trotted all the way to a distance of two and a half miles.

Then dozens of war horses came in front of the dejected Eight Banners captives.

The leading rider announced loudly, "The snow race is about to begin. As long as you can make it to Seoul alive, we will grant you freedom. Every tenth rider who falls behind will die!"

There was a loud bang of a clay pot thunder, and the referee, Beiwei Jun, shouted sternly, "The game begins!"

(End of this chapter)