The First Episode of Amnesia

  "Hold the camp gate." After Zhou Kaihuang withdrew from the camp, he immediately ordered a soldier to report the situation in the main camp to Yuan Zongdi.

  The other three camps are still unknown, but Zhou Kaihuang plans to defend this camp. If Yuan Zongdi's army can rush back quickly, they might be able to rescue some supplies. The main camp is not far from the front line, and Zhou Kaihuang thinks it's okay to hold on for a while.

  In the distance, Yuan Zongdi's command flag was not far away, and it began to move towards the main camp, but soon stopped moving. Suddenly, a thunderous roar of killing and shouting erupted from the direction of Chongqing, and the originally weak cannon fire on the city wall of Chongqing suddenly became intense.

  "The Tartars have come out of the city." Zhou Kaihu said with a sullen face, gritting his teeth. He was not wrong, today Wang Mingde concentrated all his main forces to deal with Yuan Zongdi, and after seeing his big camp catch fire, he let the whole army prepare, and as soon as Yuan Zongdi moved his flag for the first time, they killed him from the city.

  There were still many soldiers engaged in earthwork construction at the foot of the city, as well as troops covering them. Although they had stopped working, they could not quickly assemble and withdraw completely. Yuan Zongdi originally wanted to bring the central army, which was the only force that could react quickly, to rescue the main camp immediately, but the Qing army in Chongqing suddenly killed out, so he had to turn around to fight back to protect his remaining subordinates.

  "Forage for the great army!" Zhou Kaihuang turned his head back again to look at the large camp, his heart burning with anxiety.

  The enemy who came to set fire was obviously a small troop and would not be Tan Yi's main force. A big battle is happening on Yuan Zongdi's side now, which is the decisive battle of the main forces. Zhou Kaihuang prepares to abandon this place and rush to protect his superior.

  "I hope Fei Hou can defeat Tan Jian, this traitor, at least hold on for a while." Zhao Tianba comforted Zhou Kaihuang. Yuan Zongdi's troops were originally in a dispersed state of comprehensive attack, if Tan Wen followed and defected together, it would be three against one, and Yuan Zongdi's complete defeat would be imminent. Zhao Tianba hoped that Tan Wen was still his own man, so that two against two, there was still room for recovery.

  Before Zhou Kaihuang led the vanguard to set out, Tan Wen's unit on the left wing of Yuan Zongdi suddenly collapsed in a big defeat. E saw that the Ming soldiers fleeing from the left were rushing towards the direction of the Yangtze River, with the enemy troops closely behind them, and the pursuing troops were slaughtering wildly at the back of the defeated soldiers.

  "Hmph, they didn't even see the flag and collapsed, most of them probably fled in disarray." Zhao Tianba saw Tan Wen's troops collapse like a landslide, his heart turned icy. The cries of the defeated soldiers would strike at the morale of Yuan Zongdi's troops and disrupt their formation. Now Yuan Zongdi's troops were struggling to regroup while resisting the enemy from Chongqing, these defeated soldiers behind them would suddenly crash into the back of Yuan Zongdi's troops.

  The routed soldiers running in the front had already arrived near the main camp, separating the main camp from Yuan Zongdi's commander flag. The dust they stirred up blocked the view ahead.

  "There's no chance." Zhao Tianba made a judgment and immediately called out to Zhou Kaihuang, "Withdraw, protect Mr. Deng, we'll go downstream and meet up with Duke Jingguo."

  "Useless officials and soldiers, can't even hold on for a moment!" Zhou Kaihuang scolded loudly, pointing at the fleeing soldiers of Tan Wen's unit, extremely angry. Without the cover of the flank, Yuan Zongdi's defeat was already irreversible, and it was estimated that they would soon be breaking through individually. Zhou Kaihuang immediately remembered Yuan Zongdi's entrustment, if there were any extraordinary circumstances, no matter what, he must ensure Yu Shengping's safety.

  "Mr. Deng, come with me!" Zhou Kaihuang didn't dare to think about the battle situation under Chongqing City anymore, and he ran towards the Yangtze River bank with Zhao Tianba on either side of him, pulling Mr. Deng along. The soldiers who had just been rounded up also followed the two military officers as they ran. On the Yangtze River, there was Yuan Zongdi's fleet, which was now their only hope for escaping danger, as a complete defeat had become inevitable.

  Ran to the riverbank, saw the fleet neatly arranged, safe and sound, Yu Xing's heart let out a sigh of relief. The soldiers of Yuan Zongdi's fleet had discovered that the big camp suddenly caught fire earlier, and also saw a chaotic scene on the shore. The thousand general immediately ordered everyone to be on guard, with swords and arrows drawn. As soon as he saw Zhou Kaihuang from afar, he shouted loudly: "General Zhou, how is the big camp?"

  "Half of the officers and soldiers have defected, the remaining half are all defeated, and the grain is also burned!" Zhou Kaihuang loudly replied, jumping onto the boat in one leap. The soldiers from Yuan's unit who had escaped to the riverbank earlier had already boarded their own boats one after another, with the last batch following behind Zhou Kaihuang. Zhou Kaihuang turned his head to take a look, and behind him were dense crowds of Tan Wen's defeated soldiers. He waved his hand at the water camp commander in his twenties and said: "There are no more of our people, untie the ropes and set sail!"

  Yuan Zongdi's fleet had more than 100 large and small ships, enough to carry thousands of soldiers. After the incident, the commander of the fleet ordered most of the ships to head towards Chongqing to meet up with Yuan Zongdi's main force, leaving behind 30 ships to receive soldiers retreating from the Dabing direction. Upon hearing Zhou Kaihuang's words, the Water Camp Commander understood that the loss was severe and his face darkened. He immediately ordered preparations for departure. If there was little hope of Yuan Zongdi turning defeat into victory under Chongqing City, then after picking up soldiers on board, they would have to retreat immediately, needing to quickly catch up with the main force.

  Right before everyone's eyes, hundreds and thousands of defeated soldiers from the Tang army rushed to the ships by the riverbank. Most of these soldiers were already empty-handed, and when they saw the ship that Yuwen Huaji was on start to untie its moorings in preparation for departure, some of the soldiers who had run ahead jumped onto the dock, waving their hands towards the ship and shouting desperately: "Save me! Save me!"

  The guards on the boat immediately turned their rifle butts around and swung them at these people with force, chasing away the closest ones. The sailors on the boat then formed a line along the shore side, with the tips of their knives and guns pointing straight out, apparently not intending to let anyone board the ship.

  Xu Ming saw that there were many defeated soldiers crowded outside the dock on the riverbank, and more and more people gathered. Many of them jumped into the river and swam towards the Yuan army's ships not far from the riverbank. Those ships, like Xu Ming's ship, did not show any courtesy, beating people with sticks and clubs, several Tang Wen's Ming army soldiers in the water were beaten away from the ship, and some were smashed into the river and never surfaced again.

  A young man who looked like an officer sat on the shore not far from the bow of the boat, pointing at Zhou Kaihuang, who was watching with a cold eye, and shouted loudly: "You dare to kill me, I will haunt you even if I become a ghost!"

  Zhou Kaihuang sneered and was about to retort, but suddenly remembered that Yu Shengming was by his side. This was Chongzhen's third prince, and Yuan Zongdi still hoped he would speak for himself in the future. Zhou Kaihuang quietly took a look at Yu Shengming beside him and thought to himself: "Although the third prince has a good temper and gets along with us, that guy opposite is always 'bandit, bandit', stirring up his parents' hatred, and there must be a knot in his heart, which will probably not be beneficial to the Duke."

  But the Water Garrison Chief did not have Zhou Kaihuang's scruples, and he immediately pointed his spear in response: "Useless officials and soldiers, even as ghosts you're useless! You don't dare to fight against the Tartars, but instead bully the common people. Are you also considered Han people? Bah!" The Water Garrison Chief then gave the order to set sail.

  "Brother Zhou!" Yu Ming heard the mournful cries of the Ming soldiers and, disregarding his own bloody clothes, grabbed hold of the Water Camp's thousand general and pleaded with Zhou Kaihuang: "Why not save them? There is still room on the boat, it can still take more people!"

  The Water Camp Commander didn't know the origin of Yu Ming's name, but he had seen Yu Ming standing beside Yuan Zongdi, who treated him with courtesy. At this critical moment, the Captain of the Imperial Guard was with him, which showed how much Yuan Zongdi valued him; perhaps he was a trusted advisor. The Commander patiently explained: "Sir, please look, our ships are not many, and if we move forward, we may still need to pick up our own brothers. If we carry an useless official soldier, we will have to leave behind one of our own brothers. Moreover, the pursuing soldiers behind them are not many, if these waste dare to turn back and fight, they can definitely be beaten."

  Xu Ming didn't know how many people each boat could hold, and General Shi immediately blocked him from going back.

  There were not many pursuers behind these defeated soldiers——Tan Yi's main force, after defeating Tan Wen's troops, rushed to help the Qing army attack Yuan Zongdi. However, these defeated soldiers ran away in disarray, most of them lost their weapons, and they were in a state of chaos, making it hard to imagine that they still had the ability to resist the pursuers. Moreover, they were well aware that the defeat was already settled under the city of Chongqing, and even if they organized themselves to turn back and hold off the pursuers, after Yuan Zongdi retreated, they would still be unable to escape death.

  Xu Naiyi looked around and saw more of Tan Wen's soldiers jumping into the water, struggling in the icy river in December. Some of those who were washed away did not return to the shore but desperately continued swimming forward, as if they wanted to rely on their own strength to reach the southern bank and leave the battlefield of Chongqing - this was also a glimmer of hope, but how many people could cross the Yangtze River?

  "Take them to the south bank," said Yuexing, pulling on the arm of the Water Camp's Qianzong: "Just take them to the south bank, put them down and let them find their own way."

  "Sir must also know... it's easy to invite a god but hard to send one away..."

  His words were cut off by Zhou Kaihu, who interrupted him and said: "Alright, let's do it Mr. way, put them on the boat and send them to the other side, then get rid of them all and go pick up the Duke immediately."

  Zhou Kaihuang didn't really care about the fate of Tan Wenbo's Ming army soldiers, but since Yu was by his side, he still wanted to give Yu some face. He estimated that in Yu's heart, there was still some affection for these imperial Ming troops after all.

  Shui Yingqian was taken aback when he heard Zhou Kaihuang say this. Just as Xunamesi had finally managed to get Zhou Kaihuang to agree to help, he urged him: "Hurry up and transport the people, the Duke's side is still waiting for our ship."

  "Since you know that Guo Gong's side is urgent, why are these hateful officials and soldiers still being transported?"

  Yuan Zongdi's trusted guards and newly recruited teachers all wanted to save people, so the water camp commander had no choice but to reluctantly order the release of the people onto the boat.

  After a signal flag and shouting, each boat began to take in the Ming troops. The Ming troops on the dock rushed up, and Yu's boat was quickly filled with people.

  The young Ming army officer by the shore had just seen Xu Ming's actions and guessed his conversation with Zhou Kaihuang, the commander of the water camp. He knew that thanks to this young man, he had saved himself and the lives of his brothers and subordinates, so after boarding the ship, he rushed towards Xu Ming and kowtowed deeply. Zhou Kaihuang saw the situation and coldly laughed, turning around and walking away, he didn't want to accept this guy's gratitude.

  Xu quickly helped the young officer up and exchanged a few pleasantries with him.

  "May I ask how to address you, sir?" Although it was only a few words, the officer immediately sensed that the person in front of him didn't seem like a soldier, and seemed to have heard someone addressing him as "mister".

  "My surname is Xing, and my given name is also Xing." Mr. Xing replied, politely asking in return: "How should I address you?"

  The way Xing Ming answered made the young officer slightly stunned and somewhat surprised.

  "This guy is probably a scholar, I've heard that some scholars have a strange way of speaking. Most likely he's the kind of person who would be a tutor for Yuan Zongdi." The young officer thought to himself: "A good scholar like him, how could he join forces with these bandits? He's probably just another shameless rascal without any integrity."

  After all, the other party was his lifesaver, and leaving Beishan had a glimmer of hope. Although he boarded Yuan Zongdi's ship, these Ming army officers and soldiers were unwilling to acknowledge that they were rescued by the remnants of the Li Zicheng rebel army, and would rather believe that they were saved by Yu Ming, a scholar.

  "If I report my own name, there will be something to say when I become a bandit in the future, and I will also owe them a favor." The officer thought of this and bowed his hands to Yu Ming: "Great kindness, dare not express gratitude, humble name is not worthy of being heard."

  ……

  The defeated soldiers on the shore all boarded the ships. Thirty boats were packed full, and the Water Camp Commander ordered the departure again.

  Tan Xian's military strength was limited, and his most dangerous enemy was the combat troops of Yuan Zongdi, so not many people were sent to pursue the defeated soldiers. Seeing that the Ming army on the water was heavily guarded, Tan Xian's subordinates did not dare to act rashly, but only stood far away, shouting loudly for a while, and then watching as the fleet sailed away from the shore, gradually disappearing into the distance.

  The ship was heavily guarded, not only to prevent the Qing army from pursuing, but also for fear that Tan Wen's subordinates would hijack the ship. However, these defeated soldiers were mostly empty-handed and exhausted after desperately running and swimming, without any such thoughts. The ship quickly crossed the river and arrived at the south bank, where the Ming army soldiers from Wan County disembarked quietly.

  When the boat with Deng's name restarted, the young military officer led his subordinates on the same boat to bow down to him from a distance and shouted in unison: "Thank you, Mr. Deng, for saving our lives." They had made up their minds not to put this kindness on the account of Yuan Zongdi's subordinates.

  As they headed towards the place where the cannon fire was the loudest, Xu Ming saw that many of the officers and soldiers around him had worried looks on their faces. Everyone understood that since Tan Yi's main force was not behind Yuan Zongdi's large camp or Tan Wen's defeated troops, it must be attacking Yuan Zongdi himself. With the Qing army in Chongqing City launching a pincer attack, Yuan Zongdi's situation was perilous, and it was unclear whether he could escape or retreat safely by boat.

  They soon arrived at the gathering place of a large number of Ming army ships, and it seemed that there was no fierce battle on the shore. Zhou Kaihuang and others analyzed that as soon as Yuan Zongdi saw the enemy's pincer movement from both front and back, he knew that things were not feasible, and immediately organized the troops to retreat to the riverbank. Yuan Zongdi made great efforts to withdraw the main force to the riverbank and form a circular defense, but unexpectedly, the Qing army's offensive gradually slowed down, not attacking the Ming army's position, but pulling away from a distance to watch from afar, seemingly not intending to interfere with the Ming army boarding the ships.

  Yuan Zongdi first retreated a portion of his troops onto the ships, then cautiously withdrew another portion. Seeing that the Qing army still had not made any major moves, Yuan ordered the wounded soldiers to be transported onto the ships. The Jiang ships only had a few large vessels, with most being small boats that could not carry many people. When Yuan's troops arrived in Chongqing, they advanced by both land and water, camping along the shore. However, under the current circumstances, staying on the shore was tantamount to waiting for death. Including the ship where Yu Ming was located, all the ships were packed with as many soldiers as possible. The soldiers on each of the Ming ships drew their bows and nocked their arrows, remaining highly vigilant - if the Qing army launched a general attack during the Ming army's retreat, they would shoot to hold off the enemy and cover their comrades' safe boarding of the ships.

  But the Qing army did not launch the expected fierce attack, only using firearms and artillery to bombard the Ming army, while also pouring down a large amount of arrow rain.

  "Alas, they also know that our grain and fodder in the big camp have been burned away. We are afraid that within a few months, we will be helpless against Chongqing." Looking at the Qing army on the opposite side, who were leisurely strolling around, Zhao Tianba and Zhou Kaihuang sighed: "Fortunately, most of our brothers were rescued."

  The Dajiang and Chongqing camps lost thousands of soldiers, and more than 5,000 of the 7,000 Dachang soldiers brought by Yuan Zongdi boarded the ships safely.

  "Let's return to Dachang." Zhou Kaihu said bitterly. This expedition was clearly a failure, and the only thing they could do now was to return to their base as soon as possible, but the grain and fodder along the way had not been settled yet.

  The boat carrying soldiers slowly left Chongqing, and the highly tense soldiers finally let out a slight breath, putting down their bows and arrows and relaxing their tight arms.

  Looking at the gradually distant Chongqing city, his heart was filled with indescribable feelings: "In such a historical torrent, I can really do nothing. Although I knew that this battle in Chongqing would have repeated setbacks, I couldn't warn them... Although I knew that the Qing dynasty's momentum would inevitably sweep across the country, I couldn't even think of a way to escape."

  At that moment of bewilderment, several white mists suddenly rose from the city head of Chongqing, followed by the thunderous sound of firecrackers entering his ears. He looked at the rising smoke in confusion and asked himself: "Is this the Qing army demonstrating its might?"

  "Enemy attack!"

  "Enemy attack!"

  Suddenly, a string of warnings and shouts sounded beside Jueming. He turned around to look downstream towards the bow of the ship, only to see a large number of ships rushing into the Yangtze River from the Jialing River fork not far ahead.

  During the time when Yuan Zongdi was carefully retreating from the riverbank, Wang Mingde sent all the elite sailors who had been withdrawn from Chongqing to Tan Yi's camp. The latter not only had his own ships but also those captured from Tan Wen. Unexpectedly, Yuan Zongdi used all his ships to cover the retreat of the infantry in order to guard against the Qing army's pursuit. The Qing naval soldiers were waiting in ambush at the fork, and when the Ming fleet began to withdraw, they launched a final attack.

  The Qing ships had no extra burden, every sail was full, taking advantage of the strong current to dash towards those Ming ships that were heavily loaded with soldiers and drawing a lot of water.