Volume 2 Southern Continent Volume 2 Southern Continent Chapter 65 Hot Blood (8)

  At noon on this day, Luo Hu's three thousand elite troops had gathered more than half and rushed to the vicinity of Chaoyang Gate.

  Li Shuangxi fled in defeat, then Luo Hu gathered his forces and along the way also collected Li Shuangxi's defeated imperial troops, and also defeated several small groups of Ming defenders, by the time they arrived at Chaoyang Gate it was still before noon.

  At that time, it was already impossible to be faster. However, when he arrived and saw the actual situation on the ground, Luo Hu's heart sank directly.

  The city gate was open, but there was no sign of decline or collapse. On the contrary, it was tidy and orderly. If it weren't for the desolate surroundings, it would have looked like an ordinary, slightly larger-than-usual city gate.

  There were also a few old soldiers, and with the coming and going of merchants and common people, it looked even more like the gate tower of a city in peaceful times.

  Unfortunately, the more it is so, the more Luo Hu knows that something is wrong.

  He was also somewhat vexed and disordered, so he sent a supervisor to search the inner city in advance, while calling people to check everywhere to see if there were any insiders.

  As he set up, Li Shuangxi was just pouting, looking angrily at the battlefield in the early morning.

  The place had been roughly swept, and the corpses and wounded of the Ming army had naturally been taken away. Looking around, there were dead bodies of the rebel army everywhere, with broken flags and dead horses by their side. Occasionally, a faint moaning sound could be heard... The Ming army was busy dealing with their own dead and wounded, and they didn't have time to take care of the wounded in the rebel camp.

  On the battlefield, it's either you die or I live, and no one can be blamed for that.

  "Hurry up and send people to bring back all the wounded brothers and treat them with care!"

  After hastily arranging the troops, Lu Hu turned back to hear that there were still many wounded soldiers on the battlefield. He was shocked and immediately ordered people to rush to rescue them, not to delay.

  When Lu Hu heard this, Li Shuangxi puffed out his chest and said: "Tiger brother, I really wish to beat them again. Usually so arrogant, when the battle comes, more than 800 riders can't defeat the other side's 500 or 600 people, it's really shameful."

  "You can't say that again!" Lu Hu's expression turned stern, and he said to the little brother, "You'd better think carefully about how to explain this matter to Chuang Wang."

  Recently, Luo Hu and others had already changed their words, calling Li Zicheng "Your Majesty", at this time the bandit king also spoke out, it can be seen that the young general saw the tragic defeat in front of him, and was indeed greatly disturbed.

  "Alas... Yes, I understand!"

  As soon as this was mentioned, Li Shuangxi's anger vanished, and he quietly agreed, no longer daring to make a sound.

  In just a short while, a small cavalry team drove over a dozen or so civilians from the city gate area, with old and young men, all of whom were timid and fearful in appearance, constantly stopping their feet and afraid to move forward. The cavalry driving them felt anxious and kept hitting them with the pole of their long spears, which finally made the civilians hurry up a bit.

  Lu Hu saw this and hastily rode forward, staring at the small school leader who was leading the team, shouting: "Who told you to beat people indiscriminately? The emperor has ordered that after entering the city, no one is allowed to kill or beat people at will. We must treat the civilians well, do you know that?"

  "Yes, I understand!" The young Xiao Xiao bowed his head and clenched his fists, a look of obedience on his face. Luo Hu's words were both kind and strict, which was why his subordinates had always respected him, even when he scolded them harshly. Immediately, someone jumped off their horse and began to untie the ropes binding the villagers, while comforting them: "Don't be afraid, this is General Luo. If you know something, speak up; if not, keep quiet. Don't cause trouble by speaking nonsense. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, I understand, thank you for your kindness, General."

  "We certainly know what we are talking about, it's just that we are ordinary people and our knowledge is limited."

  "No harm!" Hearing the crowd's words, Luo Hu first scanned his subordinates with a look of approval. Knowing that they could change and improve, they were indeed worthy of being the children of the old camp. However, it was not the time to praise them now. Luo Hu thought for a moment, then asked the crowd in front of him: "During the big battle this morning, did you hear any movement?"

  "As for General Hui's words, I did hear them, but all I heard was the sound of killing shaking the sky and horses running with a force that made the earth quake and mountains shake. We hid in our homes and didn't dare to stick our heads out."

  "Afterwards, I heard the sound of gunfire at Chaoyangmen, and became even more afraid to go out."

  "I heard that the artilleryman's aim was off and several shells even injured people."

  "Blind," Li Shuangxi said with a scornful tone to the crowd: "The Ming army has always been like this, they don't dare to really fight fiercely, all they know is shooting arrows and cannons, and their aim is also very poor..."

  If there were no battlefields in front of him, his words would be somewhat convincing. Ninety percent of the Ming army did not dare to engage in close combat with the peasant army, and ninety percent of the Ming army did not dare to engage in close combat with the Manchu enemy. An army that only dared to use chariots and cannons to defend fortified cities and positions could hardly be said to have trained troops or morale.

  But it's pointless to say these things now, Luo Hu didn't care and asked again: "Do they have the Red Barbarian cannons?"

  Someone in the crowd replied: "It seems not, it should be a mortar or a howitzer."

  "The fight is over, didn't you guys want to see the excitement?"

  "...". The crowd hesitated, but an old man came forward and replied: "The little old man climbed onto the roof to take a look and found that the thieves... uh, it seemed that the Great Shun Army had been defeated and fled. Then the Crown Prince led several cavalry teams into the city, while the rest of us cleaned up the battlefield. We were afraid of trouble and didn't dare come out, only seeing from afar, and not daring to speak clearly."

  Although the man's words were ambiguous and he didn't dare to take any responsibility, as soon as they came out of his mouth, all the brave generals present felt a chill in their hearts. Luo Hu's face was like iron, and he asked again: "So, what happened later?"

  Less than half a watch later, we saw the Crown Prince accompanying the Emperor out of the city. Many high-ranking officials knelt down near the city gate to welcome the Emperor. They were reviewing troops at the city gate before heading south.

  "How long?"

  "It's been over an hour."

  "Good, good!"

  Under Luo Hu's command, they were all elite cavalrymen, eight or nine out of ten of whom were former young soldiers from the old camp, brave and fierce in battle. Now he had assembled over 2,000 horses, plus the Imperial Guards' horses, totaling nearly 3,000 men. With so many troops, even if the enemy was spread out, there wouldn't be more than 1,000 people on their side. Although the enemy had been walking for over an hour, they had both cavalry and infantry, and couldn't move too quickly, and must have had heavy baggage with them. At this time, light cavalry could definitely catch up to them in pursuit.

  No more delay, he ordered the people to take these civilians away, and then shouted: "Did you hear that? Chongzhen old man and his crown prince are just ahead, not far away!"

  "We've heard!" The generals all cried out in unison: "We wish to follow the general and pursue them on horseback!"

  "Good!" Luo Hu's whip cracked loudly, and he shouted sternly: "Follow me, even if it means sacrificing your life. We must capture Ming Huang under my emperor's tent. Do you understand?"

  "We've heard!" The other generals were also very excited and said: "We will never retreat, otherwise, we'd rather die by military order."

  "Alright, follow me!"

  The morale has been greatly boosted. After fighting for so many years, the emperor of the Ming dynasty should be the ultimate goal. With such great military achievements ahead, what more needs to be said?

  Lu Bu's scarlet horse galloped ahead, followed by dozens of his personal guards and his central army, who surrounded him on both sides. Next were the various directors, generals, and lieutenants leading their troops, advancing at a steady pace and in formation.

  In the midst of the expedition, the cavalry troops were also limited, and the most elite cavalry troops, Luo Hu's unit was undoubtedly one of them. At this time, under the leadership of the commander-in-chief, they were in an orderly manner, with no disorder in their sequence, and under the continuous commands of the flag signals, they quickly unfolded their formation and disappeared on the official road outside the Chaoyang Gate.

  "This army is really formidable."

  Beijing's troops are not just one or two, and even in the early years, everyone had seen the elite of the Manchu dynasty inside and outside the city walls. At this time, when looking back and evaluating, without strong soldiers by their side, they naturally have a few more calm and composed. Old Beijing may not be good at other things, but when it comes to talking or winking, that's the best in the world.

  "It's all the same, isn't it? Just like what Xuan Dabing said?"

  "Also not far from Tianyong Army."

  "Hong Jun also has this flavor."

  "Compared with a Manchu?" Someone suddenly interjected amidst the hubbub.

  "Hey!" The old man who first answered Luo Hu's words shook his head, turned around and walked away with his hands behind his back, muttering: "Those Tartar beasts are not worth mentioning, what's the point of bringing them up! Ridiculous!"

  "What's the point of being so arrogant just because you're young?" The one being scolded was a young man, his face red with anger.

  Someone explained: "You don't know, his wife and daughter were both taken away by the Manchu bandits in the second year of Chongzhen."

  "So it was!"

  It seems that this old man must have originally lived in Guangqu Gate or outside Dongbian Gate, so during the troubles of the capital and its suburbs, he encountered strange disasters. This time, hiding between inside and outside, he was still affected, but fortunately did not suffer too much, which is also a lucky thing.

  An old man sighed and said: "We ordinary people, as long as the disaster does not affect us, do not care whether it is prosperity or decline..." Looking at the winding dragon on the official road not far away, looking at the still clear flags and the fur hats on the heads of the cavalry, as well as the red grid white feathers on the helmets, or the long spears and iron guns shining with cold light... Everyone just shook their heads and sighed, no longer gathering to chat, all shaking their heads and sighing, one by one slowly dispersing.

  Those who live between the inner and outer cities are mostly poor families, who have any thoughts of loyalty to the king and love for the country? Chongzhen is just a heavy tax, many houses in the imperial city are rented to civilians at very low prices, either as residences or used as storefronts for business. During the Chongzhen period, due to the depletion of the national treasury, rents were increased several times, although they gradually approached market value, but for the people, it was also an increase in burden. Chongzhen's heavy tax is just a way for the people to vent their anger through words. What about the emperor? Copper coins are the foundation of a family's livelihood!

  Li rushed into the capital, this million-resident Beijing did not resist. Later, when the Qing army entered the capital, this Beijing also did not resist. Perhaps for the common people at that time, as long as they could survive and no longer mention their house rent, it was already the greatest benevolent government.

  Or even if they were driven out of town and their houses were occupied, as long as they could survive, that would be enough.

  The rise and fall of the dynasty, the emperor and the crown prince's last efforts for the fate of this vast empire, to what extent Li Kuang's cavalry was elite... all these are just topics for idle chatter among the people after dinner.