Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Wind Rises

  Achang Ah swung the wolf-toothed club, smashing a big Shun army's head, and the red brain splattered all over his body. This barbarian not only didn't care but also licked the fresh blood on his lips, becoming even more frenzied.

  "Charge! Follow me!"

  There were no longer any large Shun troops that could stand up in front, Ah Chang continued to charge fiercely, and the Qing soldiers behind him became more and more numerous, they were like an arrowhead, killing towards the foot of the Shun army's formation.

  "Chōkyō-sama, look, what's that?"

  Along the direction of the pointing fingers, Achang saw a group of very strange people rushing out from the Da Shun army's formation. They were holding a 7-foot square object and blocking the front, quickly charging towards the Qing army.

  Achang Ah was slightly stunned, but immediately burst out laughing: "Don't be afraid, little ones! The Qing Empire's iron cavalry is invincible!"

  "Invincible!"

  Others also shouted and approached quickly, both sides rapidly closing in. Ah Chang was not a reckless person, just as he charged forward, he drew his bow and shot arrows at these people.

  The heavy arrow flew over the beautiful arc and hit the shield in front of Dashun Army. This shield was made according to Gu Zhenhua's suggestion, using a quilted blanket. First, use wood to bind a frame, then fix two layers of quilts on it, and add hemp pieces and cowhide to weak places.

  When the impact came, the quilt was splashed with water and held up by two soldiers, becoming the simplest and most effective shield. Achang's heavy arrow landed on the shield, only piercing the quilt and revealing an arrowhead, without hurting the soldier hiding behind the quilt at all.

  Having seen this scene, the soldiers felt more at ease and jogged quickly towards the Tartar cavalry, some of whom had already quietly grasped their flintlocks in their hands.

  Gu Zhenhua was gazing at these brave soldiers, the veins on his temples bulging, his dark eyes seeming to pierce through history. This scene was not unfamiliar. In the past, in order to defend the capital and resist Japanese tanks, Chinese soldiers had also wrapped themselves in wet quilts, their bodies loaded with hand grenades, as they charged towards the enemy.

  Cotton quilts blocked bullets like a violent rain, when steel rolled over the bodies of these soldiers, hand grenades exploded, it was just this way that iron tanks were destroyed!

  Build our flesh and blood into our new Great Wall! It is not just a song lyric, but the ultimate counterattack of national crisis.

  Time seems to be infinitely stretched out, a moment feels as long as a century!

  The two sides finally collided, the Qing soldiers wielding their weapons, chopping up the cotton-padded shields and cutting down the dead warriors behind. But what awaited them was not fear and cowardice, but rather a series of calm and relieved faces.

  "Kill the Tartar!"

  The fuse touched the powder keg, and in an instant a dazzling flame shot up to the sky. One powder keg contained twenty kilograms of explosives, and one squad had four powder kegs.

  A full eighty kilograms of gunpowder!

  After the explosion, the shockwave swept away the neat rows of cavalrymen, leaving no survivors in the center. These arrogant and domineering Tartars could never have imagined that the Great Shun Army would launch an attack in this way.

  One explosion, two explosions, more than a hundred small groups, the sound of explosions rose and fell, and a large piece of Qing cavalry fell instantly. They struggled desperately, despairingly roared, but everything was in vain.

  The explosion's flames engulfed them, sand and rocks flew up from the ground, turning into countless bullets, smashing their proud armor to pieces, and shattering the bodies inside.

  Wow!

  Achang Ah Meng suddenly opened his mouth wide, and a mouthful of dark red blood spurted out. In the blood, there were also many dark red blood clots, apparently shattered internal organs.

  This guy's vitality is extremely strong, and he hasn't died immediately. In front of his eyes, the scenes of entering the pass keep flashing by. Countless Han people are like chickens and ducks, being driven away at will. The Ming army doesn't dare to fight back, grabbing money, grabbing grain, grabbing women, and grabbing slaves. How refreshing, how proud he is! His family still has a large group of two-legged livestock serving his family.

  Rushing into the pass, no longer just content with plundering, they want to become the masters of this rich land. Ah Chang's hot blood is boiling, fantasizing about a beautiful future where people are on top of each other.

  But all that was far away, and when the flames rose before his eyes, everything ended for him. These Han people were not slaves after all. The thin, dry soldier, facing the iron cavalry without any fear or hesitation, even with a faint smile, resolutely inserted the fire into the explosive barrel.

  Achang's body fell to the ground, his mouth still with a strange smile, as if he had a sense of satisfaction from a beautiful dream, but also a cruel awakening...

  More than 400 martyrs were almost annihilated, and the Eight Banners soldiers they killed or wounded also numbered two to three hundred. Compared with death, their annihilation shocked these bandits even more.

  A group of savages will never understand that there are things in this world more terrifying than death, and beliefs worth dying for!

  Horses' hooves pounded against the hard ground as a cavalry unit approached. This time, it wasn't the Qing dynasty's iron knights, but rather Gu Zhenhua leading the Guanning Army!

  Gu Zhenhua rushed to the front, like a sharp arrow, and inserted himself into the Qing army's body without hesitation.

  The smoke has not dispersed, the Qing army is still immersed in the shock just now, Gu Zhenhua's war horse has arrived at their side, the long knife swings, and the big human head falls to the ground.

  One after another, Gu Zhenhua struck with anger, each time the sword was drawn, a Qing soldier fell to the ground. The other soldiers also had red eyes, madly killing.

  They actually all sensed that this time the Qing army entered the pass was unusual, no longer fighting for the Ming dynasty, not fighting for Dashun, and even more so not fighting for a certain general.

  Perhaps it's just as Gu Zhenhua said, for Huaxia!

  "For China!"

  A soldier shouted on the battlefield, and then someone followed suit: "For Huaxia! For Huaxia!"

  Hong Niangzi, who had been watching from behind since the start of the battle, had her hand on the hilt of her sword all along, and her blood was constantly warming up.

  When the roar sounded, Hong Niangzi also involuntarily shouted: "For Huaxia!"

  A red lightning bolt burst out of the battle array, followed closely by dozens of female soldiers, like a whirlwind sweeping towards Manchu.

  Li Yan saw it with his own eyes, stomped his feet fiercely and shouted loudly: "What are you still dazing about, follow me to charge!"

  The Taiping Army was like a burst dam, unstoppable, charging towards the Qing soldiers. Swords were raised high, long guns stood like forests, everyone yelled, releasing all the resentment in their chests.

  One sword fell, the horse was lifted open, and then two long guns came in, the Qing soldiers' bodies surged out of blood, and then more soldiers rushed up, you one sword, I one gun, thoroughly killed this Tazi.

  Gu Zhenhua charged to the front of the troops, the machete in his hand was the most efficient killing tool, continuously harvesting lives. Gu Zhenhua, covered in blood all over his body, seemed like a god of war emerging from hell, bringing death to these Tartars.

  A white-armored soldier threw a flying axe at Gu Zhenhua, who suddenly lowered his head and grasped the handle of the axe.

  "Let go!"

  A loud shout, the white armor was suddenly unable to grasp, and just as he was stunned, the knife had already fallen on his neck, and his head flew far away.

  Gu Zhenhua grasped the machete in one hand and the axe in the other, crazily chopping and killing. His blood was boiling, he had never felt such a strong desire for fresh blood before. Only this red color could eliminate the anger in his heart.

  "Damn it to the Qing dynasty! Damn it to the queue!"

  Gu Zhenhua loudly roared, suddenly a red flash appeared in front of him, the knight on the crimson horse swung his sword, one sword pierced the throat of the Qing army, and instantly a Tartar fell to the ground.

  "Lord Gu, it's not just you men who are heroes. Remember that women can hold their own against men!" Red Maiden's silvery voice echoed across the battlefield.

  Gu Zhenhua's heart was also warm, and he couldn't help but laugh: "Mrs. Li is indeed brave, comparable to Old Lady Qin!"

  Madam Qin was none other than the famous Qin Liangyu, also Red Maiden's idol. Upon hearing Gu Zhenhua mention her, she felt delighted in her heart.

  They launched a fierce attack, and the seven hundred strong cavalry troops sent by Modu suffered heavy casualties, with more than 700 to 800 Xiongnu warriors being killed. Although the Great Shun Army also paid the price of over a thousand men, it was clearly worth it!

  The soldiers killed more and more, their morale became more and more vigorous, as if everyone had forgotten the fatigue. The Qing army was also frightened to retreat frequently, leaving a large number of corpses on the ground.

  Just as they were about to make a concerted effort, a sudden gust of wind and sand swept up, flying sand and pebbles, and the sky instantly turned dark yellow. Everyone was blown open-eyed, and even ten or so steps away, no one could be seen.

  As the strong wind blew, Gu Zhenhua's heart suddenly felt a chill. According to records, it was this gust of wild wind that gave the Qing army time to deploy in an orderly manner, and when the wind stopped, the Qing army and Wu Sangui's troops emerged together, defeating the Dashun Army miserably.

  After struggling for so long, will history still be like this? Doesn't Li Zicheng have any chance at all?!

  Gu Zhenhua thought of this, and his heart was furious. He cut down two more Qing soldiers in a row. After all, Gu Zhenhua was also flesh and blood, and his arms were numb and swollen, losing strength.

  "Brothers, fall back!"

  Gu Zhenhua gave the order, and his cavalry quickly retreated, the Guanning Army were all seasoned veterans, not unfamiliar with this at all, and soon they had withdrawn from the battlefield. It wasn't until then that the strong winds finally stopped!

  "General, it was a thrilling victory, I'm afraid we've killed over 500 of those Tartars. If this were in the past, it would be a great achievement that could even shock the Emperor." Yue Po Xu said excitedly.

  "It's not just surprising the emperor, but also exciting Chongzhen to run to the Tai Temple to offer incense to his ancestors!" Guo Yunlong burst out laughing. In fact, Guo Yunlong was initially a bit suspicious of Gu Zhenhua, but under Gu Zhenhua's leadership, he had won victory after victory against the invincible Tartars, and Guo Yunlong willingly followed Gu Zhenhua.

  Just then, a horseman suddenly appeared in the distance and rushed towards Li Yan, dismounting as he approached.

  "Report to General Zhai, something has gone terribly wrong. The Qing army's Baitaibei troops have broken through General Liu Zongmin's defense line, and the King is in danger!"