How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 127 Who Told You to Imitate Liu Bei? (Second Update)

The weather in early May was already quite hot. On the official road northeast of Seoul, the noise of people and horses filled the air, and the dust they kicked up covered half the sky.

The procession stretched for several miles. At the head of the procession were Ming cavalry, followed by the royal guards and the carriages of the Joseon King, Injo, and his officials, tightly surrounded by the main force of the royal guards. Behind them stretched an endless sea of ​​Joseon civilians. Families and children, pushing carts and carrying bundles, their faces etched with fear, followed along with faltering steps.

They're walking way too slowly.

Yang Hao, mounted on his horse, his gray brows furrowed in worry. He spurred his horse to Yang Sichang's side for the third time: "Wenruo! We can't keep going like this! We can't even move twenty li a day. It will take at least two days to reach Nanyang Bay. Do you think the Jurchen cavalry are made of paper? Are you waiting for them to catch up and wipe us out?"

Yang Sichang's expression was also grim, and he tightened his grip on the riding whip. "Mr. Jingfu, I understand what you mean. But look..." He pointed with the tip of his whip to the mournful crowd behind them. "His Majesty and his ministers are watching. These people are all family members of the Joseon monarch and his officials. If we forcibly drive them away now, it will only chill the hearts of the Joseon people. How will we command the resistance against the invaders in the future? Besides, there are many strong and capable men among these people. Once we get to Ganghwa Island, we can have them help us build fortresses and military camps, and we can also select warriors from them to form a new Joseon army."

"Woman's compassion!" Yang Hao said in a low voice, almost squeezing out the words from between his teeth. "Is the people's hearts more important, or the safety of the King? Are the lives of these burdensome people more important, or our few thousand soldiers who can fight? When the enemy cavalry arrives, these people will be the first to panic! They will be like ants breaking through a dam, capable of destroying everything!"

"Womanly compassion?" Yang Sichang sneered, his voice already at its lowest. "I am imitating Liu Bei, leading the people in their escape to buy the hearts of the Korean people for His Majesty!" He lowered his voice even further. "If the Jurchen cavalry really catch up, these Korean civilians will be our human shields. We'll abandon them and leave!"

Yang Hao shook his head: "Where can we escape when the Jurchens come?" He raised his whip and pointed to the Han River in the south. "When the time comes, we'll run to the Han River, set up a defensive formation with our backs to the water, and ask General Huang of Dengzhou and Laizhou to send ships upstream to pick us up. Maybe we can escape a few more."

Yang Sichang nodded and smiled, "That's excellent."

As they were talking, Chief Councilor Li Yuanyi trotted over, bowed deeply to Yang Sichang on horseback, and said in a tearful voice, "Your Excellency... the people... the people really can't keep up, could... could we rest for a moment?"

Yang Hao snorted angrily and turned his face away.

Yang Sichang sighed, looked up at the sky, and said with a compassionate expression, "Order that we rest here for two quarters of an hour. Let the people catch their breath."

The order was passed down, and a brief sigh of relief rang out in the ranks, only to be quickly overwhelmed by more exhaustion and fear.

Zhao Sheng planted his spear on the ground to support himself. He was a squad leader in the rear camp of the Imperial Guard, in charge of about fifty spearmen.

"Boss, how long will it take to get there?" A younger soldier next to him, named Li Gou'er, was his fellow villager. This was the first time he had traveled such a long distance, and it was also the first time he might actually have to fight the Tartars with real swords and spears. His face was a little pale.

"Just get going, stop with the nonsense." Zhao Sheng glared at him, took a leather water pouch from his waist, and took a swig. The water was warm, with a leathery taste. He glanced at the North Korean trainees slumped on the ground around him, each one listless, barely able to hold their broken guns. "See? If we're counting on them, we'll all be dead here."

Li Gou'er shrank back, not daring to ask any more questions.

On the other side, Park Soon-chang, a veteran of the Korean training army, sat down against a crooked tree, silently pulling out a hard, sturdy flatbread from his pocket and gnawing on it. Looking at the gleaming, armored Ming soldiers, he felt a pang of unease. They were indeed heavenly soldiers, but this...it looked more like they were being escorted away.
Shouldn't the heavenly soldier be leading everyone in a good beating against the barbarians? This heavenly soldier seems terrified of the barbarians!

Kim Seong-hwan, the king's personal guard and attendant, stood vigilantly not far from the king's carriage, his hand always on the hilt of his sword. He was a loyal subject; as long as the king was safe, he couldn't care less about anything else.

After resting for less than fifteen minutes, a commotion suddenly came from the rear of the army, followed by the faint sound of horses' hooves, like muffled thunder!

Almost simultaneously, all the veterans, whether from the Ming or Korean armies, changed their expressions and stood up abruptly.

"Tartars!" someone cried out in a mournful voice.

Panic exploded like a plague!

“Report——!!!”

A madman on horseback charged from behind, an arrow lodged in his shoulder, blood staining half his body. His voice was distorted: "Your Excellency! The Jurchen cavalry! Judging by their uniforms, they're from the Plain Blue Banner! They're less than ten li away!"

The core of the entire team fell silent instantly.

Yang Sichang's face drained of color instantly. He had just been talking about learning from "Liu Bei," and now look what happened—the Cao army, no, the Jurchen army, really were coming after them!

Isn’t this too fast?

Yang Hao suddenly looked at him, his eyes like knives: "Weakling!"

Almost simultaneously, the clear thunder of hooves and piercing cries and screams came from the rear of the column! The civilians' ranks were completely thrown into chaos, and countless people ran forward like headless flies, instantly overwhelming the North Korean military forces that had been maintaining order!
"It's over!" Yang Hao slapped his thigh. The old man was frantic. "I told you so! I told you so!" Yang Sichang watched helplessly as chaos spread like a tide behind him. People were jostling and trampling each other, carriages overturned, and the cries of children, screams of women, roars of men, and the approaching sounds of cavalry charging all blended together.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only a cold, resolute look remained.

"Issue the order!" His voice was hoarse, yet it carried a resolute and ruthless air. "All troops of the vanguard and central army! Protect only the King and the important officials of Joseon! Abandon all unnecessary baggage! The entire army must accelerate! Advance southeast towards the Han River. Once you reach the north bank of the Han River, form a crescent formation with your backs to the river! The rear guard and the civilians... do not worry about them! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

"Quickly, quickly send an order to General Huang of Nanyang Bay, instructing him to immediately dispatch ships upstream to join us!"

Xu Qinian responded in a sharp voice, "Yes, sir!" and immediately ordered a messenger to deliver the order.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding Korean ministers, including Lee Won-ik, were struck dumb. Some collapsed on the spot, while others burst into tears.

Upon hearing the order in the carriage, Li Zong's body went limp, and he slumped onto the cushion, tears streaming silently down his face. Then, he heard the commotion and heart-wrenching cries behind him.

But he was powerless to do anything. At that moment, he began to have deep doubts about his own advocacy of "rejection and compromise".

Perhaps, Gwanghae-kun was right!

No! He instantly extinguished that terrible thought.

Prince Gwanghaegun was a traitor who betrayed his father, while Yi Jong was the true loyal subject of the King of the Great Ming Dynasty.
At Yang Sichang's command, the Ming army immediately sprang into action.

The elite troops' quality was on full display at this moment. The officers' shouts and the soldiers' hurried yet orderly footsteps as they assembled were rapid. The guards protecting the Korean king and his officials suddenly accelerated, leaving the screams and chaos behind them far behind.

Zhao Sheng grabbed the still-dazed Li Gou'er and said, "Come on! If you want to live, stick close to me!"

Zhao Sheng's long-spear sentries were assigned to cover the rear. They quickly formed a sparse formation—not to fight off the pursuers, but to stop the Korean refugees who were fleeing frantically and might disrupt the main formation!

Li Gou'er was swept along by the crowd, his face pale, and he couldn't help but look back.

From the billowing dust at the rear of the column, the Later Jin cavalry appeared like phantoms. Their sabers flashed as they charged into the chaotic crowd of refugees, hacking and slashing indiscriminately. Blood splattered as fleeing civilians were trampled by their horses, their cries mingling with the howls of wild beasts.

A true hell on earth.

Several Later Jin cavalrymen charged forward first, their sabers flashing, and Korean civilians who had no time to dodge fell in droves. A group of panicked refugees rushed towards Zhao Sheng and his gun emplacements like madmen.

"Hold on! No retreating!" Zhao Sheng roared.

Driven by their survival instincts, the crowd simply couldn't stop. Those in the front rows couldn't stop themselves and crashed straight into the menacingly upright spears of the Ming soldiers—

With a few soft thuds, the spearhead pierced flesh. Amid screams, the terrified crowd finally regained their senses and scattered to both sides like a receding tide.

Just then, a whooshing sound came from the air!

More than ten Later Jin cavalrymen galloped to within an arrow's reach and drew their bows to fire. The arrows flew in swift motion, but due to the distance, most of them sank softly into the ground or were blocked by shields.

Li Gou'er felt a tightness in his chest. Looking down, he saw an arrow embedded in his chest—luckily, his thick cloth armor protected him, and the arrowhead hadn't penetrated deeply. Before he could even feel the shock, he caught a glimpse of a running Korean girl to his side. She jolted violently; an arrow had pierced her slender neck. She fell to the ground without a sound, her coarse cloth clothes instantly soaked in blood.

……

On the other side, Park Soon-chang was also running for his life. His North Korean rear guard had already scattered. Just moments before, a Jurchen cavalryman had swung his sword at a woman carrying a child, and he instinctively tried to rush forward, but the crowd pushed him along against his will. Another rider swung his sword at him, and he frantically raised his spear to parry. With a clang, his hand was split open, and the spear flew from his grasp. Terrified, he no longer cared about anything else and scrambled towards the Han River.

The carnage along the way was horrific. Corpses lay scattered on the ground, many civilians had died from arrow wounds, and others had been overtaken and hacked to death by cavalry. Desperate cries and the arrogant laughter of the Tartars filled the air. Park Soon-chang's heart was filled with humiliation, despair, and resentment towards the Ming army for "failing to come to his aid," and he could only run frantically with his head down.

The Ming army ignored these horrific scenes, focusing only on protecting their core troops and desperately fleeing forward.

(End of this chapter)