Volume 2 Southern Continent Chapter 62 Hot Blood (5)

  "General, hurry up, let's go!"

  Seeing the cavalry coming like a rising tide, with more than 200 riders fully armored, the iron knights galloped in, their momentum was so powerful that it seemed as if heaven and earth were collapsing, and thousands of horses were rolling down the hills!

  The vanguard cavalry, originally deployed in two wings, surrounded the Ming army of less than 200 riders, attacking and killing them. Both sides were enraged, but the imperial guard cavalry had just gained the upper hand. However, the Ming army had elite cavalrymen like Wei Yue, who wore heavy armor, were well-equipped, and were brave and daring fighters. Their formation remained intact, so despite being at a disadvantage, they did not show any signs of disorder or defeat.

  At this time, another four hundred elite cavalry rushed over, rushing into the camp from top to bottom, and for a moment, everyone was panicked.

  Li Shuangxi also deeply regretted dispersing his troops, with over 2,000 cavalrymen scattered about. If they were all here, would there be the current desperate situation?

  Du Xun and others, who were originally watching from the rear, rushed over in a hurry. Du Xun loudly called out to Li Shuangxi: "General, your body is worth a thousand pieces of gold, there's no need to recklessly throw it away here! If you retreat now and gather the main army, we can come back and chase them down!"

  "This..."

  Li Shuangxi is also the first time as the main general of the army, in recent years, the more he fights, the more smooth it goes, and this situation in front of him, he has never encountered before.

  Moreover, having just been defeated by Wei Yue's sword, it also wounded the young general's confidence. For a moment, he was also hesitant.

  "General, if you don't leave now, it would be unfortunate to fall in battle. The Emperor will also deeply regret it. Leave your useful and great body behind, and come back with troops to avenge me."

  Du Xun grasped Li Shuangxi's arm, pulling him away with a bitter persuasion, and finally dragged Li Shuangxi away from the battlefield.

  With just this little effort, the newly arrived Ming army rushed over like a furious tide and pounced on the cavalry array of the rebel army's vanguard, which was in a state of panic!

  Wang Yuan held an axe in his hand, roaring with anger, and chopped down at the waist. One of the vanguard soldiers was cut in two on the spot, blood gushing out from the horse's body and the severed lower half, splashing everywhere, while the upper half of the soldier's body fell to the ground, still shouting in pain!

  He is so ferocious and violent, who dares to be his opponent? At this moment, no one is not fleeing in all directions, dodging and hiding. Li Gong and others, some with iron spears, some with chopping knives, some with iron whips, some as swift as lightning, some with fierce and powerful strength, all are easily defeated!

  The Crown Prince's inner training, after all, is the last bit of splendor in this great empire. The many military officers and their subordinates have also undergone more than half a year of hard practice. Their knife skills and gun techniques are all extremely refined, and their riding and shooting postures are exceptionally brave and unmatched. This one move will be a severe blow to the invading army that is full of morale!

  "The officers and soldiers are fierce, the young general has already fled with the flag, let's go too."

  "This battle is unfavorable, let's talk about it next time."

  "This kind of defeat is really too humiliating... I see that there aren't many government soldiers either, and when added up, they're even fewer than us."

  "General Zhao was framed by that eunuch of the Ming dynasty, I think he's in trouble this time. We can't follow him, the old camp's reputation is at stake!"

  In the midst of the battle array, hundreds of cavalrymen gathered in a group, and just as they were hesitating, a cavalry commander led his troops to charge forward, rushing straight towards Wang Yuan and others. This man was a veteran soldier from Li Zicheng's personal army, with countless scars on his chest and back, and at this moment he let out a thunderous roar, his beard bristling with rage, using the thick accent of northern Shaanxi dialect to shout and curse at the Ming army.

  Under his instigation, many of the Imperial Guard cavalrymen turned their horses around and came back, readied their lances and knives, preparing to fight again.

  The peasant army has been at war for over a decade, experiencing countless defeats and hardships. To say the least, their ability to remain calm in defeat and ultimately emerge victorious is far superior to that of government troops.

  This man led his troops with an unstoppable momentum, charging towards the Ming army's reinforcements. Just as everyone thought he would boost morale and inflict heavy casualties, and that more cavalrymen would return under this general's lead, Zhu Ciyan didn't shout or speak, nor did he bring many people with him. He simply drew his sword and urged his horse forward, swift and agile like a bolt of lightning. In an instant, he flashed past the side of the charging camp's commander, who had no time to react or defend himself. A flash of the sword in the neck, and a head flew high into the air, revealing a smooth, bloodless expanse between the shoulders, as fresh blood gushed out wildly!

  "His Royal Highness is mighty!"

  The Crown Prince led the generals, and when Zhu Ci burst out, they all jumped in fright. Feng Kai Zhang and others were even more frightened. Because the opposing general had a dark face, a long beard, and whiskers like steel needles, he looked like an unstoppable fierce general. Unexpectedly, within one move, he was beheaded by the Crown Prince!

  "Lucky..." After urging the horse to return to its original position, Zhu Ciyan himself was also covered in cold sweat. As the crown prince, taking such a risky move was really unavoidable. Moreover, it was his first time on the battlefield, and saying he wasn't nervous would be a lie.

  At this time, we cannot show weakness, so let us raise our swords and boost morale.

  This time, the morale of the vanguard has completely collapsed!

  Everyone was in a state of chaos, each galloping away on their own horses. In the midst of the confusion, it was impossible to maintain formation. The two Ming armies merged and launched a fierce attack, cutting down the rebel camp's cavalry who were completely unguarded and unable to counterattack. For a time, the cries of the fallen filled the air, and the battlefield was littered with the dead and wounded.

  This time, they chased for several miles, driving Li Shuangxi and others to the outside of Zhengyang Gate. Seeing that the cavalry was getting more and more, the crowd gradually retreated.

  "Since following the Emperor Father in rising with troops, there has never been a humiliation like today!"

  Lying on the war horse, surrounded by a group of cavalrymen, Li Shuangxi fled towards the outside of the city gate, feeling anxious and worried, his face burning like fire.

  Although I have no worries about my life, but this face is really lost too much!

  If Luo Hu asked just one question: "What's going on?", he would probably be left with nowhere to stand.

  But turning back to look, he still saw the Ming army's iron cavalry in full body armor relentlessly pursuing him. Although he had followed Li Zicheng for over a decade and had experienced many great battles like Tongguan South Yuan, it was nothing special. Who would have thought that today, leading his troops into battle, would be so disastrous? Moreover, he really didn't know why he lost!

  It was just a cavalry battle, chaotic and confusing, with more people on their own side, yet they inexplicably lost.

  "Think carefully!" Li Shuangxi's eyes were about to bleed with hatred, and he said fiercely: "How can these hundreds of Ming troops be so powerful? I must figure it out. Also, I must discuss with Hu Zi Ge, the task of leading soldiers to pursue the enemy, is still mine."

  ……

  ……

  "Your Majesty!"

  The troops retreated in disarray, and on the battlefield, although there were corpses everywhere, broken flags, dead horses, broken spears and discarded long knives and iron whips were scattered all over the place. The blood flowed freely, and those who were lucky enough to have not died yet were struggling on the ground, unsure if they could still manage to escape with their lives.

  The Ming army didn't need to bother with those bandits, just taking care of their own wounded and burying the dead soldiers. The survivors were relieved after the intense battle, thinking that the remaining enemy forces were still on the west side of Zhengyang Gate, where the Beijing garrison and eunuchs from the Imperial Palace were resisting. Since the enemy had just entered the city, they didn't dare to let loose, and with their recent defeat, there wouldn't be any cavalry coming to reinforce them for a while. Everyone's face showed a look of relief.

  On the battlefield, several Ming troops merged, and on the faces of Gong Yong and others, there was an inevitable appearance of surviving a disaster.

  However, after meeting Zhu Ciyan, Gong Yonggong still spoke bluntly: "The crown prince is back, which is very unwise. However, it's not necessary to talk more about it now, I think it's better to leave quickly after the meeting."

  "I wish to die after you!"

  Liu Wenbing was injured but his spirit remained strong. He had only over a dozen bodyguards left, yet he still asked to go into battle.

  "Wei Yue, what do you say?" Zhu Ciwen looked at this tall and robust man, who had been fighting for several days, almost without sleep or rest. Yet, he stood upright like a pine tree, with bright and piercing eyes, only his cheekbones were more prominent, his eye sockets were deeper than before, and the bridge of his nose and eyebrows seemed higher. A man not yet forty, but clearly showing signs of fatigue and aging.

  Listening to the prince's question, Wei Yue smiled and said: "The young master has returned, I guessed it was because the emperor didn't leave. Since he has already come back, then of course he must return to the city once, without taking the emperor away, otherwise it would be impossible to claim success!"

  "Good, you're right!"

  Zhu Ciyan was deeply moved, and Wei Yue's troops had 112 people at the end of this battle. Forty-seven people had died in battle, fifteen were seriously injured, and the rest were all wounded. Even the two battalions of cavalry brought by Zhu Ciyan and the Tianjin governor's troops had just fought fiercely, with more than thirty people killed, more than twenty seriously injured, and many lightly injured.

  Gong Yonggu and Liu Wenbing originally had nearly two hundred cavalrymen, but now they have less than forty men combined.

  The casualties are so heavy, what's the point of coming? Now that we've come to this point, having taken 99 steps out of a hundred, why hesitate over the last step? At once he said: "Two imperial relatives will follow me into the city and enter the palace, we'll just need one banner of guards, the rest can stay behind with Vice-General Wang to defend the city gate, be on guard against the west direction of Chaoyang Gate, if there's any alarm, General Wei Yue will lead all units to drive them back!"

  When he spoke, his words were firm and powerful, yet concise and clear. Everyone who listened was deeply moved. Finally, Zhu Ciyan waved his arm and everyone bowed their heads, shouting in unison: "Yes, we will strictly follow your orders!"

  For a moment they returned to the Chaoyangmen direction, Wang Jiayan and others came out to meet them. The two old ministers were both tearful, and when they knocked and bowed, their emotions were extremely agitated.

  "Your Highness can rest assured and enter the city," Wang Jia Yan also didn't hesitate, nor did he try to persuade him, but only said: "Your Highness can be at ease, within two hours, the bandits will not be able to get here, nor will they be able to enter the city gate."

  "We would die a hundred times, but we will wait for Your Highness to bring the Emperor here." Li Banghua's expression was relieved to the extreme, and his eyes were filled with laughter. He looked at Zhu Ciyan and said, "The Emperor is still being coy, I'll say something that deserves ten thousand deaths... why not just tie him up and bring him over?"

  Such words would be extremely disrespectful to an emperor like Chongzhen, who was normally strict and short-tempered. If it weren't for the current circumstances, no one would have dared to say this.

  Zhu Ciyan just smiled and said: "Don't worry, Father Emperor has come to this point, he won't be unaware. I think it's time for us to go back now, it's just the right moment!"