Chapter 24 Harvest (Part 1)

  On the way back to Beijing, Gu Zhenhua helped two guards treat their wounds, and Xiong Hui was one of them. Although this silent man didn't say anything with his mouth, he always remembered this kindness in his heart.

  His body was far from fully recovered and he should have left the city first, but he kept following Gu Zhenhua's side, fighting hard to kill the enemy.

  The Da Shun army is closing in on all sides, the city gate is already packed with people, and with Liu Zongmin and Li Yan added to the mix, the chances of escaping alive are extremely slim, almost zero!

  In the midst of desperation, Xiong Hui suddenly noticed several horse-drawn carriages beside him, and his eyes lit up instantly. These carriages were loaded with gunpowder, totaling over a thousand kilograms!

  Although **'s power is limited, these are already enough. Blast open the city gate and blast out a way to survive!

  Xiong Hui gritted his teeth and went crazy, pulling all the drivers down.

  "Hurry up and tie the cart shafts together!"

  The coachman could only follow his orders, using a rope to tie up the three-horse carriage. At this time, Xiong Hui snatched a piece of fuse from the hand of the fire gunner, which was more than two meters long and still sizzling with flames.

  Xiong Hui unhesitatingly wrapped the fire rope around his neck, then jumped onto the carriage, waving the whip and fiercely lashing the draft animals.

  "Giddy up! Giddy up! Giddy up!"

  The horse carriage rushed forward, charging towards the city gate. At this time, the large Shun army outside happened to rush in, and the horse carriage continuously collided with five or six large Shun armies, unstoppable, getting closer and closer to the city gate.

  At this time, not only Gu Zhenhua but also the Dashun Army noticed Xiong Hui. Gu Zhenhua instantly guessed his intention and hastily shouted loudly: "Brother, come back quickly, there are other ways!"

  Xiong Hui wasn't stupid either, he just shouted: "Master Gu, I'll leave it to you at home!"

  Just as Xiong Hui was shouting, an arrow suddenly shot over and hit Xiong Hui's chest. Xiong Hui's body shook violently, the intense pain distorted his face, and with the flow of fresh blood, his vitality also slipped away.

  Xiong Hui gritted his teeth and propped himself up, suddenly pulling out the waist knife. The blade swept across the buttocks of several horses, and in an instant, they were covered in blood. These panicked horses didn't care about the people in front of them, only running wildly with all their might.

  Facing the crazy people and horses, Dashun Army was also caught off guard and could only dodge. Letting the horse-drawn carriage rush towards the city gate, they all stretched their mouths wide open.

  Those who were slightly smarter had already guessed Xiong Hui's idea, they really couldn't imagine that there was such a crazy person. That would be to smash one's body to pieces!

  "Run!"

  The surrounding Da Shun army was thoroughly frightened and fled in all directions. A few archers were not reconciled, desperately shooting arrows at Xiong Hui, trying to stop this madman!

  His shoulder, thigh and abdomen were hit by arrows one after another. Xiong Hui's body was getting weaker and weaker. He threw away his waist knife, sat paralyzed on the carriage shaft, with one hand tightly grasping the carriage, and blood had been squeezed out from under his fingernails. The other hand, however, held the fire rope tightly, not loosening it at all.

  Death may no longer be scary! Xiong Hui's mind only had one strong thought: when drinking water, think of its source and repay kindness!

  A hundred paces away, in an instant they arrived, the horse carriage crashed into the city gate tunnel, and more than a dozen of the Da Shun army who didn't have time to dodge were knocked down. The three horse carriages also scattered, Xiong Hui heavily fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his eyes dizzy for a moment.

  The barrels on the cart, filled with gunpowder, all fell out. The Da Shun army saw the black powder and were frightened silly. Some ran wildly, while others struggled to hack at Xiong Hui.

  They were frantic and desperate, but Xiong Hui's mouth corners actually revealed a triumphant smile. He did it! Xiong Hui was a real man, a fearless man who defied life and death!

  Death is a terrible thing, but there are things more terrible than death. One man's death is the survival of all!

  Xiong Hui's hand grasped the fuse, firmly inserted into the gunpowder barrel. With a hiss, flames flashed by, and in an instant, sparks burst open, exceptionally dazzling!

  No!

  Accompanied by the crazy shouting of the surrounding Dashun Army, all the gunpowder exploded, flames flashed, bricks and stones flew out of the city gate, dozens of meters around the Dashun Army disappeared, the city gate and the plaque car were completely destroyed!

  In the midst of desperation, a hole was suddenly blasted out, and Gu Zhenhua saw Xiong Hui's plan, so he hastily led his men to hide behind a house. However, even so, when the explosion sounded, everyone felt as if it were thunder.

  The ground seemed to be shaking along with it, and in an instant, the ears were filled with a buzzing sound, nothing could be heard, and even some people's ears had already bled.

  Gu Zhenhua was also blown to smithereens, but he knew this wasn't the time for hesitation. The opportunity Xiong Hui had sacrificed his life for absolutely couldn't be missed.

  "Leave the city!"

  At Gu Zhenhua's command, the remaining people, along with the horse carriage, frantically ran towards the city gate. After running dozens of steps, Gu Zhenhua suddenly bent down and picked up a waist knife from among the brick and stone debris on the ground, with a hint of blood still on the blade tip.

  This was exactly the knife that Xiong Hui had just thrown down, and it was the only thing left by this Han man. Gu Zhenhua tightly grasped the hilt of the knife and rushed to the city gate.

  Over a thousand kilograms, the explosive force was quite frightening. The city tower had been blown to pieces, leaving behind a crater of over ten meters in diameter on the ground, still emitting smoke.

  Gu Zhenhua gritted his teeth and rode his horse over the large pit, finally leaving the capital city behind. Like a dragon entering the sea and a tiger returning to the mountains, he felt an instant sense of relief as if every pore on his body had opened up. The soldiers following closely behind him all rushed out of the smoky chaos.

  As they crossed the moat, Sun Cheng and Lu Yong outside the city all cried out in unison. Since the Dashun Army's vanguard charged over, it felt as if their hearts had been ripped out.

  The way out was blocked, how could they get out! They were actually desperate, but still desperately fought with the Dashun Army, wanting to destroy the card car.

  But with one attack after another, and one setback after another, Sun Cheng, Lu Yong, Xue Biao were all injured. The people under him had also lost all confidence. Originally, this was just a temporary makeshift team, and as their confidence disappeared, the entire team was already on the verge of collapse.

  Some timid guys wanted to sneak away, but just at this moment, a shocking explosion sounded, and then Gu Zhenhua and others came out of the smoke.

  To those outside the city, it was a shocking reversal of life and death!

  They all couldn't help but cheer, Gu Zhenhua was still alive, he came out safely! With this mainstay, these exhausted people finally had hope again!

  "Fourth brother, I knew you wouldn't die!" Sun Cheng laughed and came forward to welcome him. Lu Yong, Xue Biao, Gao Hongtu and several others also gathered around.

  Gu Zhenhua's face did not show any joy, but instead handed the waist knife in his hand to Sun Cheng.

  "Big brother, we can get out alive all thanks to Xiong Hui's sacrifice, the explosion just now was him giving his life!"

  Sun Cheng and the others, upon hearing this, also showed a pained expression on their faces. Lu Yong couldn't help but pat Gu Zhenhua's shoulder: "Old Fourth, Xiong Hui is a good guy, his family is still in the village of Xianghe, we should take care of them as if they were our own relatives."

  Gu Zhenhua also nodded: "Brothers, we've all been injured, the Dashun Army will come and kill us at any time, let's hurry up and retreat!"

  "Hmm." Several people nodded together.

  Everyone urged on their war horses and chariots, fleeing quickly.

  The city gate was blown open, not only giving Gu Zhenhua a chance to escape, but also allowing the remaining nobles and bureaucrats to seize the last opportunity to flee from the capital. On the road, there were horse-drawn carriages fleeing in panic everywhere, and crowds of people rushing about in alarm, with chaos reaching its peak.

  "Several brothers, we are injured and have been fighting for so long. If we keep running like this, we won't be able to hold on. Moreover, if we don't think of a good direction, just blindly running around like headless flies, it's definitely a dead end!"

  "That's right, I see that these crowds are all running towards Tongzhou and Tianjin, Li Zicheng will definitely be pursuing from behind." Sun Cheng also said.

  Just as they were talking, a dozen or so knights and a horse-drawn carriage rushed onto the main road. It was Tang Zhanxiong and He Zhonghou who had arrived. They had originally left the city to escort their families, but the old man and Tang Zhanxiong were not at ease. Therefore, they temporarily handed over the team to Luan Hu to take charge, and turned back to welcome Gu Zhenhua and his party.

  "Zhenhua, you've finally come out. In Shunyi, there's Zhu Chunshen's farm, it's quite secluded, do you want to go rest for a bit?"

  "Ah!" Gu Zhenhua hastily nodded, just as he had wished, the convoy immediately changed direction. Gradually, a glimmer of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon, and He Zhonghou also noticed the massive convoy. The old man had been in charge of accounts for many years, and upon seeing these vehicles, he was shocked beyond measure.

  "Zhenhua, what on earth have you gotten yourself into? How did you manage to get so much?"