Ancestors, please don't crawl out again.

Chapter 17: Kill all the men and abduct all the women
This time the collapse of the Qing army was a complete collapse.

The 30,000 Qing army cannon fodders all fled backwards like crazy, even abandoning their armor and weapons to run faster, and then pushed each other, trampled on each other, and even killed each other...

After all, when faced with a companion who asks for help, the best way is not to carry him on your back, but to chop off his hand with a knife.

Behind them was the Ming army, crushing forward.

Boundless and unstoppable, like a sandstorm rolling forward.

Han Xin certainly couldn't train a competent army in three days, but thanks to the military households in Nanjing's pre-existing military structure, with nearly three hundred years of intermarriage within each guard, each thousand-household, and hundred-household unit, it was easy to find a leader and have them follow him to ensure internal command. They might not understand or even effectively convey the orders of an airborne general, but this wouldn't be a problem if it came from the second uncle of the third branch of the family or a child's seventh uncle.

So there are clusters of them.

The command within each cluster is absolutely effective, after all, they are all related.

Then there is the entire formation. Those things in the Ming Dynasty's military tactics could not be completed in three days, and it was even more impossible to establish a military command system of 100,000 levels in three days.

But fortunately, it can be simplified. It is impossible to make those officers understand the complex changes in the battle formation, but as long as Yang Feng's order is given, they will keep moving forward. It will not take three days, they will understand it in three seconds.

The new tactics could not be completed in three days, but all the firearms could be piled up in the front, and then the soldiers would walk towards the enemy to a distance where they could recognize their faces, shoot in the shortest possible time, throw away the firearms, pull out the various short weapons they were accustomed to and charge forward, followed by spears and hoes. These did not require three days of training.

Everything is the simplest, but as long as you are not afraid of death, as long as you dare to move forward towards the enemy's firepower, the simplest thing is the most terrifying.

The complex battle formations of the Cold Weapon Age weren't created because they were so powerful, but because generals couldn't get their soldiers to truly sacrifice their lives, so they could only use this method to ensure they wouldn't flee...

Really, most of the time the real purpose of a formation is to prevent soldiers from escaping.

At the same time as the cannon fodder were defeated, the Eight Banners Han Army on the flanks, which was actually mainly intended to prevent them from escaping, also failed to withstand the attack of the Ming army. Although they held on for a little longer, it was only a little longer. Less than three minutes after the cannon fodder fled, the Eight Banners Han Army also began to flee.

As for the Eight Banners Mongols...

They are on the run.

They are cavalry, so it is easy for them to escape.

And it wasn't just them running, the Eight Banners Manchus who were acting as supervisors behind them were also running.

"So, they're just sending these cannon fodder to their deaths?"

On the roof of the Exiled Immortal Tower, Yang Feng looked with interest at the Eight Banners Manchus who were actually the first to retreat.

These supervisory teams, who had previously used direct shooting to force the cannon fodder to fight, actually retreated without hesitation the moment the cannon fodder collapsed.

The two thousand Eight Banners Manchus even retreated in a scattered manner, without even maintaining the Niulu organization. They were simply divided into small teams of dozens of people. There was also no unified route. Each team was completely separated and simply found their own way to escape to the south.

Yang Feng smiled speechlessly.

So Nikan is indeed worthy of his status as a famous general. This was completely targeted at him, or the fundamental purpose of this battle was actually to cover the escape of the Eight Banner Manchus. First, he put on a decisive battle posture, forcing the cannon fodder to fight on the battlefield, and then used the cannon fodder to block the Ming army. After all, 30,000 cannon fodder is like 30,000 pigs. The Ming army can't catch them all in a short time, and then the Qing cavalry will quickly escape. Not fighting is definitely not an option. If he doesn't let the cannon fodder fight the Ming army and retreat, then he may not be able to run as fast as the cannon fodder. When it comes to escaping, they are professionals. Then the Ming army only needs to stare at them and hunt them down.

But it’s different when fighting.

It was impossible for the Ming army to abandon the cannon fodder that had already started the fight and go after the Eight Banners Manchus.

But Yang Feng will.

So Nikam fled in different directions.

The two thousand Eight Banners Manchus were divided into more than one hundred teams, scattered on roads, woods and even in ravines, fleeing south at full speed. As long as they could meet up with Ajige who was going down the river, they would win. With so many teams, it depended on which one Yang Feng would chase.

And Nikan was in one of the more than one hundred teams.

You look for it!
If you can find it out, it will be bad luck for me, the Prince of the Qing Dynasty.

but……

He ignored a question.

There are people in the south too, and there are a lot of them.

Yang Feng decisively threw his Fang Tian Hua Ji, which then transformed into a golden light that flew southward, sweeping across the chaotic battlefield. It also flew over the heads of a group of Qing soldiers, then pierced a Qing soldier and continued forward, quickly flying over twenty miles before landing on the Qingyuan Gate Tower in the north of Dangtu City. The Qing soldier wasn't dead yet, still struggling and screaming on the Fang Tian Hua Ji like a pierced fish. On the streets of Dangtu City, and even in the nearby houses, everyone stared at Yang Feng, the golden-armored god of war, in amazement.

Suddenly someone woke up.

"This humble servant pays homage to the Great Emperor Taizu Gao. Long live the Great Emperor Taizu Gao!"

A man who looked like an old country gentleman immediately knelt down on the street.

Then the people around woke up one after another, knelt down hurriedly, and kowtowed to this person who was said to be Emperor Taizu Gao who had descended to the mortal world.

"Take off your handkerchief."

Yang Feng said.

The old squire lay there trembling.

"Shave your head now, and kill this traitor!" Yang Feng pointed his Fang Tian Hua Ji, which was still pierced by the Qing army's halberd, at the farmer next to the old squire.

"Grandpa, I have no weapons."

The farmer said tremblingly.

"Use a hoe. A hoe can kill people. Kill him, and his house, livestock, and women will be yours. If you don't kill him, I will kill you. And you, you are captives. According to the law, you should all be killed. But I will give you a chance today. Go out of the city. If you have weapons, take up weapons. If you don't have weapons, take hoes, harpoons, axes, or even sticks. Go and kill the fleeing Jiannu. If even one Jiannu escapes across the Guxi River, then all the men here will be killed and all the women will be taken captive.

What? You are afraid of the Jiannu, afraid that the Jiannu will kill you, and surrender to the Jiannu. Have you forgotten who I am?

Have you forgotten how many people I have killed?"

Yang Feng shouted.

Then the Fang Tian Hua Ji in his hand spun at high speed, and the body of the unfortunate Qing soldier turned into splattered flesh and blood.

There was panic below.

"Whether he dies or you die, think it through clearly. Whether the Jiannu die or you die, think it through clearly too."

Yang Feng said grimly.

The farmer trembled as he raised his hoe, and the old squire got up without hesitation and tried to escape, but his handkerchief fell off, revealing the rat tail inside.

The farmer's hoe immediately fell down, and the old squire fell down with a scream, then struggled to get up, and the farmer's hoe fell down again...

"What are you looking at? Why don't you go out of the city to fight? Remember, if even one Jiannu escapes across the Guxi River, I will kill every man in your city."

Yang Feng threatened cruelly.

"Quick, follow me and burn the upper and lower bridges!"

A guy who was obviously a local clerk shouted anxiously.

It is very simple to prevent a single Jiannu from escaping across the Guxi River. Just burn the two pontoon bridges on the Guxi River south of the city.

At his shouts, the young and strong followed him in a chaotic rush south of the city, while the farmers continued diligently, digging at the old gentry like a hoe. Soon, he was reduced to convulsions. Meanwhile, members of several prominent local families fled with their servants and began driving out the young and strong within the city, including yamen clerks and even a few local garrison officers who had previously surrendered to the Qing army. It could be said that every prominent person in Dangtu City fled, bringing with them young and strong men from their clans and servants to drive out the remaining young and strong. Those with weapons took up arms, while those without used farm tools. Especially since there were many fishermen in the area, harpoons were plentiful.

In fact, there are quite a few hunters.

All the young and strong men were quickly mobilized and rushed out of the city in chaos.

At this time, the fastest Eight Banners Manchu squads had already reached the Guxi River.

But the upper and lower pontoon bridges had also been set on fire.

The raging fires on the two pontoon bridges cut off their retreat.

Of course, you can also take a boat.

There were still a few ships on the Guxi River that had not received the news.

but……

Amidst the worship of the young and strong men on the shore, Yang Feng swiftly swept across the surface of the Guxi River. Several wooden boats carrying Qing troops that had just left the north bank were immediately overturned. The heavily armored Qing soldiers struggled in the river and quickly sank. Then, the young and strong men gathered on the shore, armed with various weapons, rushed towards the Qing troops in a chaotic manner. The latter's blocking efforts were useless. Even if a small group of a dozen people killed dozens of young and strong men, they would still be overwhelmed by thousands of them.

Especially those who used harpoons, they flew the harpoons over a distance of ten meters and accurately pierced the bodies of the Qing army.

Then pull it out violently.

There's a rope behind this thing.

Then the barbs on the harpoon hooked out the flesh and blood of the Qing army.

The bamboo crossbows and poison arrows in the hands of the hunters, the hoes and even iron rakes of the farmers, all became deadly weapons, and the nine-toothed rake was very ferocious.

Nikan’s plan was indeed good, as it allowed for maximum dispersion and prevented the troops from being wiped out by Yang Feng.

However, maximum dispersion also weakened the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners Manchus to the greatest extent.

Even if there were ten times as many young and strong men as these, they would hardly be able to defeat a single Qing Niulu. The more such a mob there was, the weaker their fighting power would be. However, if a few hundred of these young and strong men surrounded dozens or even a dozen Qing soldiers, they could definitely fight. Moreover, because the Qing army had fled south in different directions, their arrival was sporadic. The 100,000 young and strong men in Dangtu City only had to face a few hundred scattered Qing soldiers.

If you rush up and step on him, he will be crushed to death.

Nikan's plan was good, but he ignored these people who were like little lambs before.

A hundred thousand little sheep could drown him.

"Kill them all, and I will pardon your crime of surrendering. A Jiannu escaped across the Guxi River. Kill all the men here and take all the women captive!"

Yang Feng was flying in the air, just like the prefect of Kaifeng who extorted gold and silver from the Jin army during the Jing Kang period, and he was threatening the young and strong men below cruelly.

(End of this chapter)