Zǔ Shān Tóu

  Zushan Head, located east of Haicheng Water Head, was originally a small hill on one side of the official road. There was originally a Red Rolling Temple dedicated to Baosheng Dadi Daodong Gong, which was built during the Wanli period, but it had been abandoned for many years due to the early implementation of the boundary order. However, today this abandoned temple is surrounded by more than 30,000 Qing troops who are unable to advance or retreat due to the loss of Water Head.

  Among them, there were local Fujian Green Standard Army, Guangdong Green Standard Army from Chaozhou, Fuzhou's Mongolian Eight Banners garrison, Han Eight Banners who followed General Tārǎi to conquer the south, and even Manchu Eight Banners known as Tianhuangui and Guozu Jueluo.

  Inside the camp, sentries were densely arrayed, and from time to time, groups of Qing soldiers would shuttle back and forth on patrol. The atmosphere was tense, as if a great battle was imminent. However, this tense silence did not last long before being broken by the sound of urgent hoofbeats.

  The Qing soldiers who were on patrol in the camp instinctively dodged to the side, but before they could take a closer look at what was happening, they felt a gust of wind blowing past their faces. It wasn't until then that the frightened soldiers saw clearly that it was several dusty and sweaty riders galloping over their heads.

  The Qing army, who were patrolling, angrily stomped on the ground and spat out saliva, but saw the riders rushing straight into the commander-in-chief's tent, Fujian Land Minister Duan Yingjiu. Knowing that something was wrong, they subconsciously looked for a while, only to see that after a moment, more than a dozen middle army guards rushed out in a flurry of fire and smoke.

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  "Zheng Jun's barbarians have arrived." The leader of the external delegation blurted out, and only then did his face change color as he swept his gaze around, fortunately there was no one on the side, otherwise he might have been beheaded for shaking the military's morale. "What are you still dawdling about!" The battalion commander, who had narrowly escaped death, didn't have time to celebrate his good fortune and hastily rebuked his bewildered subordinates. "Don't continue patrolling..."

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  On March 18th, the gate of the Qing army's Zushan Mountain camp, which had been closed for several days due to Liu Guoxuan's sudden attack, slowly opened early in the morning when the thin morning fog had not yet completely dissipated. Except for a small number of logistics soldiers, doctors and clerks, the main force of the Qing army marched out in an orderly manner and quickly formed a battle array in front of the Zheng army that was pressing forward.

  They fired a few rounds of artillery and cannons, and the two sides clashed together. The Zheng army's vanguard was led by He You, who had been given a chance to redeem himself for his past mistakes. He personally took to the battlefield, darting left and right, cutting through several Qing formations in one go. Seeing the Zheng army's ferocious charge, Duan Yinghui shifted troops to counterattack from the side, and as the Zheng army was outnumbered, the Qing gradually gained the upper hand.

  "Kill!" With a swing of his large blade, He You beheaded a Qing army commander who was advancing on him. Immediately after, he pulled the reins of his warhorse, which reared up on its hind legs with a loud whinny, narrowly avoiding a spear thrust by another Qing soldier. The horse's iron hooves then came crashing down, crushing the man's head into a pulp like a rotten watermelon.

  "General!" He You's personal guard rushed over from the rear, covering the main general who had slightly retreated to a relatively safe place. One of the guards reported, "The Liu army commander is unwilling to dispatch the main force to reinforce our unit, and also said that either the General should die in battle or just escape if possible."

  "Liu Guoxuan, this is a fierce general!" He Yu sneered and smiled. "If you escape again, I'll lose face, and it won't be right by the king." As he said this, He Yu took a deep breath. "Are you afraid of death?" Without waiting for his subordinates to respond, he urged on his warhorse. "Those who are not afraid of death, follow me to kill the Tartars, kill!"

  He You, like a mad tiger, charged back onto the battlefield with his few remaining bodyguards. His actions inspired the courage of the Zheng army officers and men around him, and they managed to momentarily halt the Qing army's advance. However, the Qing army had deployed three times as many troops on the central front line as the Zheng army, and their high morale could not change the fact that they were outnumbered. As a result, after exhausting their last bit of strength in a final counterattack, the Zheng army was forced to retreat towards the center while fighting.

  "Congratulations, General! This battle is already a foregone conclusion." The officers beside Duan Ying saw their own side's momentum advancing step by step and couldn't help but try to curry favor with the commander. "Liu Guoxian may have a great reputation, but looking at it now, he's nothing special. If the General wins this battle, His Majesty will surely reward him tomorrow. Don't forget about us subordinates, General!"

  "Good, good." Duan Yingjie also narrowed his eyes with satisfaction, secretly calculating in his heart whether this great victory could be exchanged for a hereditary title. He then thought about how to preserve this military achievement, which aspects still needed to be taken care of, and how much benefit he and his faction could gain from it. However, these thoughts did not hinder him from showing kindness to Xu Konghou. "As long as we win this battle, I will definitely report your merits and hardships to the Emperor, everything will be fine."

  "The gate of the army, something is terribly wrong!" But the beautiful dream eventually had a moment of awakening. Just as Duan Yinghui was making many promises in his intoxication, news came from both wings that made him terrified. "Liu Guoxian sent Jiang Sheng and Wu Shu's two divisions to attack from left and right, the Guangdong Green Camp on the left wing has collapsed, and the Fuzhou garrison of the Eight Banners on the right wing can't hold on much longer."

  "Hurry up and let Huian Town immediately reinforce the left wing, and transfer Shaowu Town and the Eight Banners of Han Army to the right wing."

  Duan Yingjie was still busy responding, while on the other side, Liu Guoxuan did not give him a chance to breathe. Seeing the chaos in the Qing army's rear, Liu Guoxuan led his elite troops to launch a surprise attack, and with just one thrust, the Zheng army's originally breakthrough formation was suddenly pushed back.

  "What's wrong, He Lao San? Still got some energy left?" Liu Guo Xuan's horse head passed over the blood-soaked He You, and seeing his former comrade-in-arms now his subordinate in such a sorry state, he let out a loud, mocking laugh. "If you've still got some strength left, then follow me to keep killing; if you can't take it anymore, then go rest at the back on your own!"

  "Liu Wuping, you're good at taking advantage." He You wiped the blood from his face and was about to straighten up, but felt a surge of weakness throughout his body. Helpless, he could only say some conciliatory words. "I won't hold it against you, if I win, I'll have to treat you to two cups of wine, but if I lose, then you'd better not come back."

  "Did you hear that? General He said that if we lose, none of us should return!" Liu Guoxuan smiled and took advantage of the opportunity to boost the morale of his men. "Cut off Duan Yinghui's dog head and serve it as a dish for General He! Men, follow me and charge forward!"

  After the Fujian Green Camp, it was the Manchu Eight Banners Army. However, the Manchu Eight Banners were no longer the invincible strong army they once were when the country was founded. They had been indulged by the prosperity of the Central Plains and their bones had been softened. Under Zheng's attack, they collapsed at the slightest touch and fled in a panic, shouting loudly. Not only did this disrupt the entire Qing army's formation, but it also scattered the reinforcements sent by Duan Yinghui.

  "It's all over! It's all over!" Witnessing the sudden reversal, Duan Yingjie was left speechless and stunned, sitting on the ground muttering to himself. But the people around him couldn't just watch him in a daze, so they pulled him up without regard for superior or inferior status and ran with him until they mounted their warhorses. This high-ranking official, a first-class general, still hadn't come out of his nightmare.

  "Kill!" As the saying goes, "the defeat of the army is like a mountain collapse". In the cold weapon era, except for a few battles such as the Spartans at Thermopylae and the White Stick Army at Hunhe River, it was rare to see situations where soldiers fought face-to-face until the last man standing. More often than not, casualties occurred during pursuits, just like now, when the Qing army, having abandoned their armor, were being chased and slaughtered all along the way. Many of those who knelt down to beg for mercy were also beheaded on the spot by Zheng's army in a frenzy of killing.

  "It's no good, there are barbarian ambushes on this side." On the Zhangquan Avenue, the small number of suspicious soldiers that Liu Guoxuan had laid in ambush beforehand played a role, and the Qing army, who had already lost their morale, did not dare to verify how many enemy troops there were. As soon as they saw the Han army's red flag, they immediately turned around and ran away, even abandoning their weapons and armor in order to run faster. The heavy grain and luggage carts were piled up on the road, and the Qing army hoped to use this to slow down the pursuit of their opponents.

  Zheng Jun's scouting horse caught up with Liu Guoxuan's figure: "Report! Report to the general! Duan Yingjie has led a large Qing army into Haicheng City."

  "Besiege the city immediately." Liu Guoxuan won again with a smaller force, but the Qing army was still strong and Zheng's forces had suffered many casualties previously. He didn't dare give them a chance to catch their breath. "Order Zhang Xiong to lead the Mao Suo camp to take Pinghe by surprise, then order Su Rui to attack Zhangping, tell He You to lead his troops to clear the battlefield, and then gather at Hai Cheng city."

  The Qing army retreated to Haicheng, and Liu Guoxuan ordered his men to dig trenches outside the city overnight. At this time, the Qing army had not yet recovered from the loss in the morning, and they were still nervous and thought that Zheng's actions were preparing for an attack on the city the next day, so they only carefully guarded the city wall and did not dare to launch a counterattack. It wasn't until the next day that they discovered that Zheng's army had already blocked Haicheng with water, and it was too late. Liu Guoxuan not only sent musketeers along the trenches to shoot at the Qing army outside the city but also dug several more trenches outside the first trench, completely sealing off Haicheng.

  "What? Surrender?" Looking at the letter of surrender shot by Zheng Jun, and then scanning the officials of Manchu Eight Banners who were incompetent in front of Zheng Jun but arrogant in front of him, Duan Yinghui, who had already recovered from the loss of defeat, helplessly threw down the letter. "Foolish fantasy, Duan certain has received the emperor's great favor and was promoted to Fujian Tidu, and will never dare to have a rebellious heart." Duan Yinghui comforted the green camp officers beside him who were in low spirits. "Don't worry, the court will not abandon us, just wait and see, there will definitely be reinforcements."

  "General, we also know that the imperial court will send reinforcements, but what about food?" The troops from Fujian and Guangdong are mostly here already, and it's unknown how long it'll take for the reinforcements from Zhejiang and Jiangxi to arrive. Maybe by the time they arrive, we'll have starved to death ourselves." "General, can't you make some prior arrangements?"

  "Have you thought ahead?" Duan Yingjie pondered for a moment. "How many horses are left?" Mu Bahe, the deputy commander of the Fuzhou garrison of the Mongolian Eight Banners, wanted to speak but hesitated, seeing his expression, Duan Yingjie sighed. "The horses don't need to be killed yet, it's just that once the grain is cut off, the people in this city will come out and beg Zheng to surrender, letting one hundred people leave the city."

  Duan Yingjie's plan was not bad, letting the common people not bring grain out of the city could allow the Qing army to supplement their food, and also put a burden on the Ming Zheng side, and gain a good reputation for the Wan family. It was a true one arrow three eagles, but he did not realize that the time it took for this sea wall siege would exceed his imagination

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