Volume 2 Southern Continent Chapter 59 Hot Blood (3)

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  "General Little Li," Du Xun exhorted, provoking a burst of scattered gunfire from the city wall. Unbeknownst to them, this actually brought him and Li Shuangxi closer together. At this moment, the eunuch, with a look of loyalty on his face, rushed to Li Shuangxi's side and whispered: "It seems that Chongzhen has not left."

  "How can you be sure?"

  Unconsciously, Li Shuangxi's attitude towards Du Xun had also undergone a great change. Listening to Du Xun's words, which were in line with his own thoughts, he changed his expression and asked, no longer wearing the stern and cold mask of just now.

  Du Xun smiled and said, "Li Banghua and Wang Jiayan just appeared on the city wall. If Chongzhen has already left Beijing, why would he leave these two powerful ministers in the city to die? Other officials have not even dared to attend court for several days, but these two are Chongzhen's most loyal ministers!"

  "As expected, this time you've done a great job!"

  Li Shuangxi nodded slightly and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, saying only: "I hope it's as you said."

  "The general might as well send another cavalry unit to follow the road to Tianjin and see what happens. Perhaps Chongzhen will send someone to escort the prince to the south."

  "Good!" Li Shuangxi's face changed with surprise, and he nodded: "First send 300 cavalry to chase after him. If the prince really did escape, gather the imperial guards' cavalry and pursue him directly to Tianjin!"

  "Indeed, General," Du Xun said with a charming smile. "You are truly the Emperor's trusted assistant."

  However, when Li Shuangxi smiled, Du Xun also said with a slight disdain: "As long as Chongzhen doesn't leave, the overall situation won't be in danger. The Ming dynasty's crown prince is only 15 years old, and although he has a good reputation for more than half a year, his previous impression was that he was silent and taciturn, not eloquent, and had average knowledge. The key is that he is too young, those Ming officials in Nanjing are the most clear about it, they look down on each other, everyone says their own words, no one listens to anyone else... When the south is chaotic enough, our Da Shun Tianbing will arrive, just wait and see them competing to hand over their documents, kneeling on both sides of the road, surrendering..."

  Du Xun's analysis of the situation in the south is all very apt!

  Rushing to the upper ranks, the reason for insisting on directly attacking the capital is also because in Huguang, it was seen many times that the Ming dynasty had lost the hearts of the people, especially the backbone of the ruling power, the gentry class, were no longer willing to serve the Ming dynasty. Therefore, they determined their resolve, directly attacked Yan and Yun, took control of the momentum of the great righteousness of the world, and then the south could be settled by sending out orders!

  He looked at the dead eunuch with a praising gaze, and Li Shuangxi also finally changed his expression, nodding: "What you said is not wrong. So, we will patrol around the east gate and guard the road where Chongzhen escaped to the south!"

  "Yes, General... Eh?"

  "What?"

  Du Xun's eyebrows suddenly revealed a tense expression, and Li Shuangxi was also startled. Following Du Xun's gaze to the rear, he saw that his own cavalry left at Dongbianmen and Chongwenmen were desperately fleeing towards him.

  In the faint light of dawn, only over a hundred riders were left, galloping at high speed. However, these cavalrymen wearing white felt hats showed no intention of sparing their horses' strength and continued to whip them on, with large drops of sweat constantly appearing on the horses' bodies. Even from a distance, it was clear that both the horses and the men were emitting hot steam.

  "What kind of body is this?"

  Li Shuangxi was seeing this scene for the first time under his command, over a hundred cavalrymen galloping wildly, and behind them, the dull sound of horse hooves echoed through the quiet, cold, and misty morning. The hoofbeats were like a fierce storm, and between the inner and outer cities of the capital, there were still many households from which bursts of barking dogs could be heard. Later, the sound of horse hooves and human voices covered up all the sounds and traces of people in the city, suppressing even the slightest hint of strangers.

  "General, it should be the Crown Prince's Imperial Guard Cavalry!"

  These past few days, the prestige of the Donggong Inner Guards' cavalry has also deeply penetrated people's hearts. Alone and unsupported in the rear, with over a hundred riders, they stirred up unrest among the 700,000-strong army, coming from behind the Imperial Guard Cavalry - it should be this powerful force.

  Li Shuangxi's eyes were also narrowed, the young and ambitious general, seeing the strong army approaching, not only was he not flustered, but on the contrary, he had a eager-to-try attitude!

  "Follow me!" Seeing the enemy cavalry approaching, Li Shuangxi's broad and long eyebrows were filled with joy, he waved his hand and rode out first to meet them.

  Enemy cavalry in front, nothing but a head-on charge! Cavalry against cavalry is a collision, breaking through the array, fighting to the death, and what they are fighting for is bravery and determination!

  "Kill!"

  Closely following Li Shuangxi, the 800 elite cavalry also wielded their swords and spears, forming a crescent-shaped formation as they galloped along. The well-trained Imperial Guard cavalry naturally formed a beautiful encirclement!

  The sun rose a bit higher, round and red, emitting a faint warmth. Under this newly risen morning sun, a young general wearing iron armor and a large red cloak galloped at the forefront. Behind him was a tall and robust man carrying a white banner with the character "Li". Further back were over 800 rough and fierce veteran cavalrymen, their knives, spears, guns, and swords glinting in the morning light. Every face had a ferocious and stern killing aura!

  On the opposite side, of course, were Gong Yonggong and Liu Wenbing's residual cavalry, who had been fighting fiercely with nearly 300 riders until now, leaving only about a hundred riders.

  But the ones who charged forward, displaying their ferocity and bravery were not the subordinates of these two men. Gong Yong and his troops had been fighting for several rounds, although they mustered up their remaining strength, they still retained considerable combat power, but in any case, they couldn't be compared to the over a hundred iron cavalrymen in the formation!

  In the middle, those cavalrymen were all wearing beautiful silver armor, and their horses were also extraordinary, each holding a single sword or double swords, or extremely sharp short axes. At the time of the fierce battle, this team of cavalry suddenly broke in, cutting off the rebel cavalry in half, then with fewer men defeating more, they pierced through the rebel army's formation several times, killing them and making them flee in disarray, leaving behind over 200 lives. Then, like a violent storm, they pursued and attacked all the way... This team of fierce and unmatched fighting power, which made Wei Yue and others marvel at their prowess, was the Donggong Neicao cavalry led by Wei Yue.

  After sending Wei Suo to report, Wei Yue defeated several groups of rebel infantry and cavalry along the way, then rushed forward. After learning that the enemy had broken through the outer city, this team of cavalry quickly rushed to Chaoyang Gate and finally arrived at the battlefield before Gong Yonggu and others were eliminated.

  One good kill, because of the Crown Prince's safety, after the three joined forces, more than 200 cavalrymen chased and defeated the rebel army's cavalry all the way to near Chaoyang Gate.

  "I don't know if the prince has left..."

  The vanguard cavalry came face to face, with a much larger number of people than himself, but what was on Wei Yue's mind was still Zhu Ciyan's safety.

  No matter what, defeating the enemy in front of us is the only choice!

  Under the banner of Li Zibai, a general with red horse and red spear rushed forward, wearing a purple cloak with a team flower, a cherry blossom helmet on his head, and silver armor. Wei Yue slowly drew out the double knives on both sides of his waist, advancing to meet them while loudly laughing to left and right: "Brothers, after continuous bloody battles, can you still hold on?"

  "Wei can rest assured, even if he kills seven people and then releases them, nothing will happen."

  "Good horse and good armor, even the old lady has been sent to Nanjing, and all the silver for settling down has been given out... What else can be said about life? Who really wants to live a thousand years?"

  "That's a turtle, it's a tortoise!"

  "Haha, that's right, as a man, just charge forward and kill."

  "Goodbye, brothers, until next life."

  The cavalry of the vanguard after all had a number far superior to their own, and apart from a small amount of quilted armor, it could also be seen that most of them wore iron armor, which was generally a strong armored soldier!

  Such a formidable enemy, everyone in their hearts also knows, wanting to survive this killing field is difficult.

  It's just that at this moment, no one showed any fear, having killed for so many days, and not a few brothers died on the battlefield. How could heroes shrink back in fear at this time?

  "Then come and try to kill me!"

  Wei Yue also didn't say much, urging his horse forward, and charged straight at the enemy commander!

  People shouting, horses neighing, swords flashing!

  If viewed from high altitude, it can be seen that the two iron streams collided without hesitation! I don't know how many people were knocked off their horses at the first moment!

  The fallen riders' bones were broken, and they could only grit their teeth and struggle to survive between the horse's legs. At this time, any cry for help was in vain! Everyone's eyes turned red with killing intent, and many cavalrymen crowded together. Those who had not fallen off their horses or been stabbed at first made a desperate effort, wielding their long knives to slash at each other, and thrusting their lances and iron spears into each other's bodies!

  There were some archers and arquebusiers left on the periphery, desperately shooting arrows and firing arquebuses, with people constantly falling to the ground, wailing in agony.

  But in the brief moment, after the fierce collision, neither side retreated. In this small killing field, there were only the sounds of horseshoes, people falling with a thud, and the involuntary cries of agony when being hacked or stabbed, as well as the moans of those dying on the ground, their faces covered in dust and blood.

  When faced with a single sword, Li Shuangxi, who was also a master among the young and vigorous soldiers, was cut down from his horse. The big man with a dark red face in front of him was like a giant spirit god, his hands were unstoppable, one knife after another, his hands chopped continuously, and it was unclear how many knives he had used, exhausting the young general's strength, unable to resist, his hand went numb, and he fell off his horse.

  Fortunately, Li Shuangxi's personal soldiers came to his aid and managed to rescue him. From then on, he did not dare to call him forward again, but instead stayed behind the formation, directing his troops to surround this group of Ming soldiers.

  "We can't let a single one escape!" Li Shuangxi's face was covered in dust, his eyes blazing with fury as he shouted orders non-stop.

  After all, they have a large number of people. After the collision, they gradually took the initiative. Although more than 100 iron-clad cavalrymen were excellent, they were still outnumbered. Many had already fallen off their horses due to exhaustion or been shot down by the surrounding rebel archers.

  The two wings gradually closed in, and not a few Ming troops had been killed or dispersed, fighting on their own, while Liu Wenbing and more than ten cavalrymen were forced to leave the battlefield, being slowly pushed away by a cavalry of more than 50 people.

  The situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable, the besieged Ming army has already felt quite desperate, and not far away from Chaoyang Gate are all infantrymen. This kind of cavalry showdown, by the time they arrive, it's probably too late.

  Suddenly, someone in the army shouted: "Another group of government soldiers is coming!"

  They themselves, although claiming to be a new dynasty, still involuntarily referred to the Ming army as "official soldiers". After one shout, everyone turned their heads to look back, only to see the Ming army coming from the north, like a rising tide in the ocean. At first glance, it was just a thin line, but when they heard people shouting and horses neighing, it was already like a raging wave! As they approached, they saw that there weren't many people, but the formation was very wide, with hundreds of iron cavalrymen rushing forward in a "one"-shaped broad array.

  "It's the Crown Prince!" Wei Yue fought fiercely, but in his heart he was not without despair. At this moment, seeing the flag-bearing troops, with one glance, he recognized the arrival of the Ming dynasty's Crown Prince Zhu Ciyan!