Chapter 28: A Great Victory

  Outside the south gate of the iron factory, under the illumination of a string of torches, was a cavalry with strict military discipline, and a large flag with clear characters was held high at the head of the team.

  "The reinforcements, the imperial reinforcements have arrived!" The excited shouts of the defenders at the south gate quickly spread throughout the city. Morale was instantly boosted, cheers shook the sky, and the Qing army was shocked and confused, thinking that some powerful killing weapon had come out, and for a time, they actually slowed down their attack pace.

  The city of the iron factory is sandwiched between two mountains, with steep terrain on both east and west sides, and a moat in between, making it difficult to attack. To circle around to the south gate for an attack would also take a long time.

  The reinforcements were the Imperial Guards stationed in Xuzhou Prefecture, led by General Niu Yong. The scattered officials and soldiers who had fled back spread the news of the Qing army's southern expedition. Niu Yong was shocked and discolored, could it be that the frontier army had been completely defeated? The news was soon confirmed, and the Qing army had already arrived at the Ligu Iron Factory City. Niu Yong set off with 5,000 cavalrymen first, and the 50,000 infantrymen in the Xuzhou camp took the train to reinforce the iron factory in two routes. If the iron factory is lost, the Qing army's weapons and equipment will be greatly enhanced, and Xuzhou Prefecture cannot be kept.

  The railway tracks were destroyed by the Qing army halfway, and only the rear tracks could be dismantled and laid in front. The train's transport capacity was limited, and most of the soldiers had to run along the railway embankment on foot. The cavalry also found that iron caltrops had been scattered along the way. After clearing all obstacles, they finally arrived at the iron factory late at night.

  The south gate was wide open, and the imperial cavalry poured in like a fish. The second south gate also opened, and the train slowly slid into the city along the rails. The infantry collectively got off the train and rushed to the north gate without rest under the leadership of their officers.

  Suddenly, countless banners were erected on the city wall. Countless men wearing helmets with brims and iron pots emerged from behind the battlements.

  "The barbarian reinforcements will arrive tomorrow morning." The Qing soldiers knew the reason for the cheers of the Tiechang people, and their morale was greatly dampened. The rear array of the Qing army sounded the retreat, and the soldiers retreated with a sigh of relief. Originally, they had lost their momentum, and as soon as they learned that they could retreat, they rushed to flee in a panic, fearing being shot by the Tiechang people's iron guns. In the chaotic retreat, the formation gradually became disordered.

  The commander-in-chief of Xuzhou's main camp, the Northern Jiangsu Provincial Military Commander Yuan Chonghuan, rode a train with a soft sleeper compartment directly into the Tiechang Railway Station. Peng Changzhu personally came to greet him, and without any small talk, he introduced the military situation while climbing the city wall. A group of deputy generals and lieutenants surrounded them on both sides. Liu Ziguang followed behind Peng Changzhu, curiously looking at Yuan Chonghuan, a famous person, finally seeing a celebrity in this strange time and space.

  Yuan Chonghuan indeed had the demeanor of a great general, he picked up the telescope and observed for a while, with a composed expression said: "The enemy's rear camp has caught fire, most of their siege equipment is damaged, infantry casualties are heavy, the linked cavalry deployment was unsuccessful, morale has suffered greatly, they won't attack again tonight." His Cantonese-accented Mandarin was quite authentic.

  "What's your view on this, then what should be our current strategy?" asked Mr. Peng.

  "Launch a surprise attack! Wait for the Tartars to slacken their efforts, tomorrow we'll cut down trees and manufacture siege engines. Now take advantage of their recent defeat, when their formation is in disarray, launch a surprise attack, create even greater chaos among them, and in the dark of night, just their own trampling will be enough for them."

  "The end will be willing to go." Niu Yong volunteered to fight.

  "Alright, I order you to lead our troops and charge at the Qing army's retreating forces, go quickly." Yuan Chonghuan stroked his beard in satisfaction.

  "Our factory also sent two armored vehicles and a thousand cavalry." Peng Changzhu couldn't shrink his head like a turtle at this time, they were here to save the iron factory after all.

  Liu Ziguo relied on his good kung fu skills and made a sudden move with his hand, saying "I'm willing to go."

  Liu Ziguang, as the vanguard of the Iron Cavalry, quickly changed into new armor with the help of several guards, picked up a long-handled great sword, mounted his warhorse, and led the Iron Guard cavalry to charge out of the city first.

  Armored war chariots swept forward with machine guns, clearing the way. The Imperial Guards and Iron Guards cavalry all wore two crossed white cloths on their bodies as identification. Some people held torches in their hands. A total of 6,000 cavalrymen rushed out of the city gate. When the retreating Qing soldiers saw that they were being pursued by cavalry, they ran even faster. These infantrymen were originally cannon fodder and had only received a very short period of training. Their courage and discipline were not high. The defeat was like a mountain collapse, and even the morale-boosting team was trampled to death by the defeated soldiers, killing many people.

  The iron-clad war chariots were not as fast as the cavalry, and they were soon caught up by the cavalry. Liu Ziguang led the charge, chasing after the Qing soldiers. They did not intentionally try to kill these infantrymen, but rather tried their best to create chaos and panic. The steam cannons on the city walls had also been repaired and began firing again, this time not targeting the enemy's cannons, but instead launching long-range incendiary shells at the Qing army's camp.

  The Qing army's large camp did not have a complete defensive facility, because they didn't think the Ming army would launch a counterattack. They had planned to spend the night in the city. There were no trenches or abatis. When they saw the defeated soldiers about to charge into the large camp, the emperor hastily ordered the archers to shoot. A hail of arrows shot out, and the defeated soldiers were knocked down in large numbers. With arrows in front and pursuing soldiers behind, 7,000 defeated soldiers were caught between two fires and suffered heavy casualties.

  Liu Ziguang galloped his horse wildly, and if there were any fleeing soldiers in front of him, he would directly trample them. He had no experience leading troops in battle, but he knew that as long as he kept charging forward, he would soon reach the Qing army's main camp. The Iron Guards and Imperial Guards behind him drew their bows and arrows on horseback, shooting arrows into the sky and raining them down on the Qing soldiers inside the camp.

  Liu Ziguang was the first to approach the main camp in the chaos. The Qing soldiers saw an enemy approaching and hastily shot arrows at him, with random arrows piercing Liu Ziguang's warhorse like a porcupine. He crawled out from under the horse's belly and charged into the main camp like lightning, cutting down the archers and causing them to flee in all directions. The defeated soldiers took advantage of the situation and surged into the main camp, enraging the Qing emperor, who shouted, "Get the Imperial Guard up here! Get the cavalry to counterattack!"

  The Imperial Guards beside the Emperor were ordered to push forward, cutting down the fleeing soldiers like cutting melons and vegetables, immediately stopping the rout. The fleeing soldiers stopped running and began to turn around to resist, but the cavalry was already very close. The simple fence was easily crossed by the war horses, and even the elite Imperial Guard could not withstand the impact of the cavalry. The front line gradually moved northward. Liu Ziguang chased after the archers, running and running, only to find himself alone. He turned around and dodged into a nearby tent.

  There was no one in the tent, Liu Ziguang pulled down the two white cloth strips on his body and secretly looked out. The imperial forest army of the big team was running around. He pulled in an imperial forest soldier, easily breaking the soldier's neck, then took off the bright yellow cotton armor with copper nails on him, and hastily put it on himself.

  Enemy rear Wugong team, I can also play.

  Take another look outside, the Imperial Forest Army has almost run away. Liu Ziguang took out a match and lit one corner of the tent, then came out with a swagger, and of course, his weapon had also been changed to the iron-ornamented silver-hilted yellow flag knife of the Imperial Forest Army.

  He dashed out of the tent, dodging arrows while pretending to be a messenger, and ran towards the commander's flag. Liu Ziguang was wearing the uniform of a hundred-household officer, and he shouted "Report!" in a drawn-out tone, and for a moment no one stopped him.

  They walked all the way until they were a hundred paces away from the Emperor before two blue-feathered guards came to block their path, holding swords. "What is your business here?"

  "There is important military information that must be reported to His Majesty in person." Liu Ziguo said.

  One of the guards standing beside him glanced at Liu Ziguang, and suddenly stabbed with his sword, "Daring assassin, look at my sword." It turned out that the careful guard found that this hundred households did not have a braid behind his back.

  The other guards also followed closely, holding their swords straight and stabbing. These were all high-ranking officials in the imperial court, with martial arts skills that were not ordinary. Several long swords worked together, and even Liu Ziguang's quick reflexes only allowed him to defend himself.

  The Ming army had already reached the foot of the city wall, and this was unbearable! The emperor ignored the advice of his ministers and refused to move, and just as they were trying to persuade him, a cannonball flew in, and the streamlined long-range shell actually hit a place four miles away from the city wall. The yellow umbrella cover was blown off, and the scattered shrapnel hit the emperor's surroundings. Fortunately, the force was already insufficient, but it also scared the ministers out of their wits. Without saying a word, they lifted up the young emperor and stuffed him into a nearby horse-drawn carriage and left. At this time, the Imperial Guards were also being pushed back by the cavalry, and the guards did not dare to fight back. They retreated while fighting, and finally abandoned Liu Ziguang and chased after the emperor's carriage. Liu Ziguang ran under the yellow umbrella cover and found a pair of bright yellow deerskin boots with dragon patterns on them. He picked them up casually and laughed: Ha ha, the Qing emperor even ran away without his shoes!

  The yellow umbrella canopy broke, the emperor retreated, and the morale of the Ming army was greatly boosted. The remaining Imperial Guardsmen retreated while fighting to the death for Duan's sake.

  At this time, the reorganized Lianhuan Ma troops charged from behind the Qing army, but they did not form a battle array and instead fought individually. The cavalrymen clashed together, with the Qing army being strong and powerful, while the Ming army was full of morale and eager to gain merit. The Iron Guards were well-trained and harbored hatred in their hearts. Everyone fought together, with swords and guns clashing, and it seemed that both sides were evenly matched. However, the iron-plated war chariots that arrived later immediately broke this balance. The machine guns rotated and fired lead bullets, which although not as effective against heavy armor as they were against infantry, still caused immense psychological pressure. Many cavalrymen were hit and fell off their horses or were directly overturned by the war chariots. Another war chariot occasionally spewed out flames, and wherever it went, the Qing cavalry was engulfed in fire.

  Sometimes having more people isn't necessarily a good thing. The Qing army had one million soldiers, but in the dark of night, commands and reports were difficult to convey. Furthermore, the emperor's sudden withdrawal led to fires breaking out all over the camp. Some Han soldiers who had been forcibly conscripted began to take advantage of the chaos to escape. Liu Ziguang tucked the emperor's boots into his waistband and followed the chaotic army as they fled north, setting fires as he went and periodically shouting loudly, "Run quickly! The Qing army has been defeated! The emperor has escaped!"

  After running a distance, they were blocked by the white armor troops like an iron wall. "Decapitate those who retreat!" A loud order was given, and the fleeing soldiers were beheaded in a row. The front-line soldiers were pushed forward by those behind them, like waves crashing against rocks. Liu Ziguang rushed to the front, but he didn't let himself be slaughtered like the Han army's defeated soldiers. The soldiers of the Zhengbai Flag were shocked to see a soldier from the Huanglin Army, dressed in yellow, killing his own comrades. "There are spies!" the soldiers shouted, but Liu Ziguang had already opened up a gap in their formation. The rumbling sound of iron-clad war chariots and the approaching gunfire also widened the gap, and the terrified defeated soldiers continued to flee.

  Suddenly, a large pile of objects next to him caught Liu Ziguang's attention. It was hay. The fodder yard had arrived. The fodder yard was surrounded by grain carts, and the soldiers guarding it were waiting in formation.

  Liu Ziguang is back to his old tricks, but this time he's a bit smarter. He cut off the long braid of a dead man, stuffed one end into his helmet and let the other end dangle over his shoulder in a showy manner. The shiny and smooth braid is definitely genuine, so he shouldn't be able to get caught again this time.

  "The Emperor's words, quickly summon your commander to receive the edict!" Liu Ziguang swaggered over to the gate made of two carriages and shouted in a pretentious manner. The small soldiers guarding the door were not as intimidating as the Imperial Guards. Seeing the Imperial Forest Army's hundred-man commander come to deliver the edict, they hastily reported back to the Grassland Camp Commander. A thousand-man commander rushed over in a hurry.

  "The Emperor's oral order, the Ming army is powerful, and you are ordered to quickly withdraw your camp and retreat 50 miles. Load the military rations onto carts and take them away, burn the fodder on the spot, and block the Ming army." Afraid that they might not believe him, Liu Ziguang also took out the deerskin boots with a dragon pattern from behind his back and showed them off, "This is the token given to me by the Emperor in his haste, the Emperor instructed: seeing this token is like seeing me myself."

  The pipe camp saw the emperor's boots being taken out as a token, and couldn't help but believe it. Moreover, having just witnessed the withdrawal of the imperial carriage, this order was also very appropriate. The grassland must not fall into the hands of the Ming army at all costs.

  He immediately ordered the camp to be dismantled, loaded the grain onto carts and took it away, and set fire to the hay on the spot. The flames of the burning dry grass illuminated half the night sky. The Qing soldiers, who were at a loss for what to do, retreated in disarray, trampling each other to death in the process.

  The Qing Emperor, who saw all this from the carriage window, spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted. The little eunuch attending him was frightened and shouted "Quickly summon the imperial physician!" But where could they find the imperial physician in the chaos? Everyone was busy escaping with their lives.

  The Qing army was defeated.