Chapter 15: The Final Battle!

  Zhou Yu couldn't help but distrust their unanimous statement, and if they didn't let him go into battle, he would just have to keep waiting!

  But... the military supplies that Zhou Huchen brought back shocked him thoroughly. Zhang Lao's generosity was too great, it was simply unimaginable, he had actually given so many good things at once, and it wasn't in vain that he had assisted him with all his might.

  The cavalry has upgraded a level this time, and these war knives, armor, gunpowder, and cannons have arrived just in time. There are also bows and arrows, shields, long spears... This is simply against the sky! If it were before, Zhou Yuji wouldn't even dare to think about such equipment!

  Just as Zhou Yuji was still preparing for battle, at a critical moment, an unexpected order was delivered to Zhou Yuji's hands. Zhang Guowei ordered Zhou Yuji to leave the capital and take up his post in Shanxi within three days.

  This was obviously a wrong decision, Jian Nu was about to arrive, but he let himself leave. Looking at the document in his hand, Zhou Yuji understood after thinking for a long time. Zhang Guowei didn't want

  He was sent to war and let him go to Shanxi to take office. This is an obvious protective behavior. Zhang Guowei seems to have seen something.

  Zhou Yuji could not disobey military orders, especially those of Zhang Guowei. When Zhou Yuji went to hand over the seal and credentials to Sun Yingyuan, the commander-in-chief of the Jingying army, Sun was reorganizing his troops, having already received orders to begin marching towards Jixian's Luoshan (today's Tianjin Hongluoshan).

  In the 15th year of Chongzhen, on November 6th, news that Li Zicheng had crossed into Ji Zhou reached the capital. At the same time, Zhou Yuji reluctantly set out on his journey, unaware of this news. The only information he knew was that Li Zicheng was attacking Ji Zhou; he did not know what happened afterwards because since handing over his duties in the Imperial Guard, he no longer belonged to the Imperial Guard and their battle reports were no longer accessible to him.

  Zhou Huchen was too excited, because the soldiers under Zhou Yuji's command were left with only 2,000 people, and even the martial officials on duty were not spared. All of Zhou Yuji's brave generals were present, let alone the war horses and useful equipment, no one asked about them anymore. The reality is that the soldiers and equipment have been taken away.

  Zhang Guowei indeed was a man of his word. Before the army set out, he allocated a sum of grain and pay to Zhou Yuji.

  "Second brother, come! Big brother will take you horseback riding!"

  Just as he was about to get on the horse carriage, Zhou Tuesday Tiger did not hesitate. He broke free from his mother's hand and turned around with small steps. Zhou Hu Chen stretched out his hand and picked up this little person.

  "Xiao Hu, slow down! What if Er Hu gets hurt?" Hearing Zhou Hu's voice, the old lady stuck her head out of the carriage and began to show her discontent:

  "Don't worry, Grandma! Erhu is fine!" Zhou Huchen didn't care at all and had already put Erhu in front of him while speaking.

  The old lady had no choice: "Little Tiger, ride slowly! Play for a while and send Second Tiger back to me!"

  "Got it! Grandma!"

  This time, it's not just Zhou Yuji and his family who left the capital with the team. Many generals also brought their families, including Mo Xiancheng and Zhou Yuji's cousin.

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  Zhou Huchen was very clear that as long as Zhou Yuji knew that Jian Nu had started attacking the capital, he would definitely return, and that thrilling battle would inevitably occur.

  Of course, he wouldn't stop it. Zhou Huchen knew that was a battle they were bound to win, and...it seemed like Zhou Yuji's current army was much stronger than the one in history.

  Just as Zhou Xiangyu was slowly setting out with a large amount of supplies and his family towards Shanxi, a series of changes were taking place in the imperial court. The Minister of War, Zhang Guowei, submitted a memorial to the throne, requesting to lead a large army to resist the invading Jurchen-led Later Jin dynasty. Emperor Chongzhen firmly rejected Zhang Guowei's request, not because he did not trust Zhang, but because he was waiting for someone.

  This person is very famous, at least more famous than Zhang Guowei.

  Since Zhou Yueren took office as the current Grand Chancellor, the Ming dynasty has become more and more precarious, with Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong gaining momentum. The Jianzhou have never been restrained and have lost Liaodong. Due to repeated failures, it is unknown how many high-ranking officials have been beheaded, and the number of dismissed officials is countless. In short, Zhou Yueren is not as good as his predecessor Wen Tiren.

  This is not trust, but a move of disappointment by Emperor Chongzhen. He wants to see how the copper wall and iron bastion blown by Zhou Yuer are doing after all. He is waiting for Zhou Yuer to ask for inspection himself.

  Jian Nu's army advanced very quickly, and by the 10th of November, Jian Nu's main force had already entered the suburbs of Beijing. Of course, he was not willing to go to the front line, but Prime Minister Zhou Yanru was still insisting, he understood the emperor's meaning, but could he really command the army? Only heaven knows.

  In fact, Jianzhou will not attack the capital of the Ming Dynasty. Their purpose for entering the pass this time is to plunder and weaken the Ming Dynasty at the same time.

  Jian Nu swept through like a hot knife through butter, completely disregarding the supposedly impenetrable copper walls and iron fortresses that Zhou Yunru had boasted about. Wherever Jian Nu passed, either the city gates were broken open or they were tightly shut in defense. As for the troops stationed to defend, except for those who fled in disarray, all were defeated like a mountain collapse. Thus, Jian Nu crossed over Shuntian Prefecture, Tianjin, and Cangzhou, then made a beeline straight into the borders of Shandong.

  Just as Jian Nu entered Shandong, Zhou Yuji's army had arrived at the Zijing Pass in Baoding Prefecture, and he was very close to his destination of Datong. At this time, a fast horse from the capital arrived at the Zijing Pass, according to the battle report, Jian Nu did not attack the capital, and has now passed by Cangzhou.

  Zhou Yuji had fought against Jian Nu several times, he knew the ferocity of Jian Nu and their habits. The goal of Jian Nu must be Shandong and other places, they came for wealth and population, so Zhou Yuji stopped his own advance.

  "The bandit troops of Jian Nu must retreat ahead of time! They must also pass through Tianjin. Tell me, do you want to fight a battle?"

  "We must make Jian Nu know our strength!!" In response to Zhou Yuji's suggestion, all the generals almost spoke in unison. How many comrades had died under Jian Nu's blade, yet these brave Ming soldiers had never retreated because of this. They would not avoid battle just because they had left the capital. This was Zhou Yuji's men.

  "We'll go back with cavalry! Let those dog* slaves know the ferocity of the Great Ming's cavalry!" Zhou Hu knew the truth of history, and his suggestion coincided with historical facts:

  "We have three thousand cavalry, with over eight hundred veterans and new recruits who can fight. We can deploy one thousand two hundred men. What do you think? Can we set up an ambush in Tianjin and recreate the slave?"

  As for Zhou Yu's question, the generals did not speak up, they all knew that Jian Nu had a combat force of 1,200 cavalrymen, although they were elite, but actually very few!

  "No problem! Our cavalry may not be many, but Jian Nu's returning troops won't be too powerful. We just need to complete one surprise attack and kill as many of Jian Nu's men as possible with all our might! A complete victory is impossible, I estimate that Jian Nu's troops will have tens of thousands of people, but don't worry, Jian Nu must be mainly auxiliary soldiers, our task is just to teach Jian Nu a lesson!" It was still Zhou Hu Chen who made the judgment decisively.

  The commanders fell silent, and soon Zhou Yu asked again: "If we don't win, will we suffer a crushing defeat?"

  "No way! General! The Jinuo cavalry is not much different from us, at most it will be a pursuit battle. This is within the territory of our Great Ming, and we are more familiar with the terrain than the Jinuo people. This is the most advantageous point. So even if we don't win, we can still retreat intact!"

  Zhou Yuji no longer hesitated, and he gave the order with a sense of relief: "Alright! Let's do it this way! The infantry and their families will stay put, with Deputy General Mo Xiancheng in charge. Cavalry Commander Liu Qi will select cavalrymen to get ready, and at dawn tomorrow, our cavalry will rush to Tianjin!"