Chapter Fifty Counterattack

  Facing Gu Zhenhua's questioning, all the officials of the Kuan Ning army lowered their heads. They had fought against the Qing for decades, and in the blink of an eye, they were going to surrender to the Qing and become Han traitors. Who could bear it in their hearts?

  Just then, Yue Po-wu got up from the ground, his eyes red with anger, and shouted loudly: "My ancestors were the loyal and brave General Yue of the Great Song Dynasty. Whoever wants me to surrender to the Tartars is impossible! No matter who it is, as long as they rely on the Manchu Qing, they are my enemies!"

  Yue Po Xu finished speaking and found himself standing beside Gu Zhenhua. Everyone's eyes fell on Guo Yunlong.

  "General Gu, as a proud descendant of the great Chinese nation and a true man, I would never surrender to the Qing. It's just that the situation is unclear, and General Yue may not have surrendered to the Qing yet, it's all just a misunderstanding."

  "Haha, Guo Youke also makes sense, how do you think Wu Sangui can be proven not to have surrendered to the Qing?"

  "I..." Guo Yunlong suddenly didn't know how to respond.

  Just as they were at a stalemate, there was suddenly a hurried horseshoe sound outside, and a team of horses rushed over. The leader, a general, shouted loudly: "Guo Yunlong, why haven't you brought back Gu Zhenhua's head yet!"

  Kuang Yunlong and others suddenly lifted their heads, and the newcomer was also familiar to him. It was Wu Sangui's younger brother Wu Sanrong. This guy stood on a white horse, holding a big knife in his hand, with an arrogant attitude.

  Just as Wu Sanrong appeared, Gu Zhenhua suddenly jumped up and leaped onto Li Xu's war horse. Two days ago, Li Jibao had already secretly communicated with Gu Zhenhua to discuss the plan. Although Li Xu's injuries had not yet healed, he still brought some men to secretly protect Gu Zhenhua, his lifesaver.

  It was precisely because of his confidence that Gu Zhenhua dared to face Gu Yunlong alone. If Gu Yunlong had really followed Wu Sangui's orders, he would not have been able to harm Gu Zhenhua.

  At this time, Gu Zhenhua got on Li Xu's war horse and shouted loudly: "Wu Sanrong, do you still want to kill me?"

  Wu Sanrong saw Gu Zhenhua and was also shocked, but immediately burst out laughing: "Gu Zhenhua, this head of yours is the one that King Nine personally named, don't blame my knife for being ruthless!"

  Wu Sanrong was also exceptionally brave, he showed no fear, urging his war horse to charge towards Gu Zhenhua. The two men were only a few dozen steps apart, their horses clashed head-on, and it was all over in the blink of an eye.

  The other's face was magnified in the pupil, Wu Sanrong's big knife was raised high, shining with cold light, and chopped down fiercely, like a cloud, instantly reaching Gu Zhenhua's head.

  Wu Sanrong was fast, but Gu Zhenhua's speed was even more astonishing. His hand tightly grasped the iron spear, and just as Wu Sanrong raised his knife, the long spear in his hand aimed straight at Wu Sanrong's heart and stabbed fiercely forward.

  The war horses collided, like a comet impact, in the flash of an electric spark, two people rushed past. The entire handover took less than ten seconds, Gu Zhenhua's war horse ran out for more than a dozen steps and slowly circled back.

  At this time, Wu Sanrong had a long gun nailed to his chest, and he was strung up like a sugar gourd. Fresh blood dripped down, and the corpse fell to the ground with a thud. The helmet also fell to one side. A great general died at the hands of Gu Zhenhua.

  "Ah!"

  At the moment Wu Sanrong's helmet fell to the ground, everyone present couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. His head was shaved smooth and shiny, with only a small tuft of hair left at the back, known as a "golden money mouse tail".

  "Shaved head and changed clothes, Wu Sangui really surrendered!"

  Anyone who has seen this far should be clear that Wu Sanrong shaved his head, and Wu Sangui can't run away. Indeed, as Gu Zhenhua said, they really became traitors.

  Yue broke out in anger, his chest filled with rage, and charged forward. With one slash of his knife, he beheaded Wu Sanrong and impaled his head on the blade.

  "Brothers, take a look, who else wants to keep such a thing on their head?"

  Li Xu also shouted from the side: "Brothers, everyone follow Lord Gu and rebel against Wu Sangui!"

  "Right! Wu Sangui has turned traitor and become a slave of the Qing court!"

  "Traitorous Wu Sangui!"

  ……

  The sound is not just these people in the yard, more than 200 people rushed into the yard from outside, all of whom are Li Jibao and Li Xu's connected people, they have been in Shanhaiguan for many years, their influence is absolutely not weak.

  Especially before Li Xu was injured, he was also a guerrilla general and had excellent martial arts skills, and was highly respected by the Gengjing Army. It was not difficult to recruit some old troops.

  Guo Yunlong took one look at these people rushing in and knew that Gu Zhenhua had already made arrangements. Although he still felt a bit awkward, he could only go with the flow.

  Gu Zhenhua also knew that the situation was urgent, and hastily said to everyone: "Brothers, we are all hot-blooded men, no one wants to be a slave to the Qing court. Let's follow me and charge out of Shanhai Pass!"

  As he spoke, Gu Zhenhua rushed to the front, Li Xu and Yue Poqiu closely followed behind. Of course, Gu Zhenhua didn't stupidly charge forward directly; instead, he first killed his way towards the city wall, where more than 2,000 soldiers were waiting for him.

  They had just turned the corner when they saw the Great Righteous Army and the Guanning Army engaged in a fierce battle before their eyes. Both sides were roaring with anger, cursing each other nonstop, as people fell to the ground one after another, while others trampled over the corpses, continuing to fight on.

  Hushan's long-handled axe had been chopped off, the knife in his hand was also rolled up, and fresh blood burst out from many places on his body. One knife cut onto the opponent's shoulder, but couldn't chop through the iron armor, Da Shunjun suddenly lifted his leg and kicked him to the ground.

  Hu Shan had never been so weak before, the opponent swung a big knife and chopped it down on his head. Hu Shan wanted to dodge, but he didn't have any strength in his body, he grinned bitterly, he was really going to die!

  In an instant, a heavy arrow suddenly pierced the forehead of this mighty warrior, as if struck by lightning, and red and white matter splattered everywhere.

  "It's Master Guo, Master Guo has arrived!"

  Hu Shan exclaimed with surprise, struggling to get up, just as Gu Zhenhua led his men in a charge. Gu Zhenhua stood steadily on the stirrups, bow and arrow at the ready. With each twang of the bowstring, another soldier of the Great Shun army fell to the ground.

  In an instant, two quivers of arrows were shot out, and the Dashun army fell to the ground. Everyone was a flesh-and-blood body, and when they saw that their opponent's bows and arrows were so terrifying, they retreated in a hurry.

  At this time, Gu Zhenhua rushed up on horseback, his chopping knife was like cutting vegetables, and one charge was a bloody alley. The Dashun Army was chopped to cry out for their parents, it was miserable.

  With Gu Zhenhua leading the charge, the Gongning Army finally summoned up their remaining courage and charged forward together. After a fierce battle with much killing and slashing, corpses filled the city walls from top to bottom, and eventually they managed to block the breach once again.

  "Long live the lord! Long live the lord!"

  The soldiers who were reborn from the brink of death let out a heartfelt cry, everyone had deep gratitude towards Gu Zhenhua, in their eyes, there was feeling, worship, admiration and even a bit of piety.

  Gu Zhenhua had been with these soldiers for less than a month, but he made the most of every moment to cultivate feelings between them. He visited every camp, memorized everyone's name, trained in martial arts with them, taught them medical knowledge and told them about hygiene.

  Facing Wu Sangui, this treacherous and cunning wolf, Gu Zhenhua risked his life to win over these soldiers with all his might, not just for the sake of it.

  The Guanning Army was a crack force created by the Ming Dynasty at the cost of countless wealth, and Gu Zhenhua was well aware that in order to counter the Manchu Qing, he had to have cavalry power, and the Guanning Iron Cavalry was the only choice!

  In history, this army followed Wu Sangui and served as the running dog of the Qing dynasty's entry into the Pass, handing over the Ming dynasty's rivers and mountains to the Qing all the way.

  Since Gu Zhenhua had a deeper understanding of the soldiers, he found that no one was born to be a traitor, their hot blood still boiling. Especially those who were originally residents of Liaodong, their land was taken away by the Qing dynasty, their families were slaughtered by the Qing dynasty, with deep-seated hatred and resentment etched in every person's heart. They resolutely joined the army, just wanting to avenge their shame and restore their home!

  Actually, at the crossroads of history, as long as someone points them in the right direction, these people will not go astray!

  "Brothers, look at this!"

  They had just repelled the Dashun Army, and all the soldiers were sitting on the ground, not having any strength left. But when they suddenly lifted their heads, they were all stunned.

  "Is this, is this the head of a Tartar?"

  Gu Zhenhua sneered: "Everyone take a good look, this is the head of Wu Sangui's younger brother Wu Sanrong. He has shaved his hair and become a running dog for the Manchu Qing dynasty. If he can do so, Wu Sangui will not be an exception either. Soon, the Gengjing Army will also shave their heads like those Han traitors in the Eight Banners, dress up like a flower shell Lang, and serve as slaves to the Manchu Qing."

  Facing this explosive news, all the soldiers present were frightened, looking at Wu Sanrong's head, especially the dazzling golden mouse tail, which made them even more terrified.

  Suddenly several soldiers jumped up from the ground and cried out in a loud voice: "I don't want to shave my head, I won't be a slave, I don't want to not be able to enter my ancestors' tomb!"

  The emotions of the people present also surged, and Hu Shan, Hou Sanhuai, Zou Tong and others all took the lead in shouting: "We all listen to Master Gu, not traitors."

  "Right, Lord Gu! Give us a clear direction, we'll all follow you!"

  "We are subjects of the Great Ming, we will not be slaves."

  Facing the enthusiastic soldiers, Gu Zhenhua's face revealed a hint of a smile, it seemed that his efforts over this period of time had not been in vain, and indeed many people were willing to follow him.

  Wu Sangui's accumulated prestige over the years was deeply rooted and intertwined, making it difficult for these people to completely surrender.

  "My fellow brothers, let's break out of Shanhai Pass and see the vast ocean and sky. I have promised you before that each one of you will get 500 mu of land and 1,000 taels of silver, double for those who die in battle. You are no exception, as long as you follow me to break out, not only can you live a dignified life, but also get silver and land!"

  For people of this era, relying solely on grandiose rhetoric about national righteousness is a bit too hollow. What's most important is still self-interest; upon hearing Gu Zhenhua's promise, everyone's heart skipped a beat. Especially the low-ranking soldiers, their blood was boiling, and their faces turned bright red.

  "Your Lordship, we are following you, let's overthrow Wu Sangui!"

  It's all messed up!

  In an instant, out of the more than 2,000 soldiers, over 1,600 followed suit and shouted along. The rest, although still hesitant, were swept up in the momentum and could only obey.

  Gu Zhenhua was also extremely excited when he saw it, but he only pulled away 2,000 people. Gu Zhenhua was obviously not satisfied and wanted to give Wu Sangui an even bigger blow.

  "Brothers, everyone follow Benjue's war horse and grab as much as you can, it's all yours!"