Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1066 Cut off your arm first

"Why haven't you come yet? Why haven't you come yet..."

At the foot of Xinxing City, Bai Zhouguan kept looking at the brightly lit Ming army camp in the distance, and occasionally paced around in circles anxiously.

Now, it was already night, and the Ming army seemed to still be enjoying the banquet, with no intention of accepting the surrender and entering the city. The night wind was cold, and many Annan officials were already shivering at the city gate, and some complaints were inevitably heard from the soldiers.

"Sir, how about... sending someone to urge the Ming army again?" An official from Xinxing Prefecture suggested. "Perhaps... the two Dukes of the Ming Dynasty got drunk and forgot to send someone to accept the surrender tonight?"

"I have urged them many times...but they have been sent back three times!" Officer Bai made a "three" gesture with a sad face.

"The Duke of Ming was indeed drunk. Before I even entered the account, I was kicked out on the pretext that I had disturbed the Duke's drinking mood."

"They finally agreed to our surrender. I think we should not offend the Ming soldiers again."

"Just wait... When the Duke sobers up, he will naturally remember to take over the city..." said the Baizhou official with a sigh.

"Ah? Do we have to wait until dawn?" The officer looked embarrassed. "If we wait any longer, what if our soldiers mutinied..."

"What's the matter?" Baizhouguan suddenly screamed like a fighting cock. "I finally got the chance to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. Ask them, is it better to stay here in the cold wind for a night, or fight with the Ming Dynasty's soldiers on the battlefield?"

The subordinates were speechless. If this message was passed on, the soldiers' restlessness would surely be quelled instantly. Standing in the wind for a night would only give them a headache, but if they fought with the Ming Dynasty, they would probably die.

"Sir." Another officer came over and asked hesitantly:
"Since the Duke of Ming is already drunk, why don't we just launch a night attack..."

Before he could finish his words, Baizhouguan was already terrified. He suddenly jumped up and kicked the official to the ground.

"Asshole! Asshole! Treason!"

Officer Bai was so frightened that his face turned red and his breathing became rapid, and it seemed as if he was about to faint from lack of oxygen.

Several subordinates came over quickly and patted him on the back to help him calm down.

"Hoo, hoo..." Baizhouguan was still panting heavily, and then pointed at the nose of the official who was kicked to the ground and said, "Hurry up, put away your inappropriate thoughts."

"You, you will kill us all! How could you have such an idea? You, you are so bold! Too bold!"

He looked like he was frightened to death.

The official got up from the ground in a panic and admitted his mistake to the governor Bai with a humbly look on his face... The Bai family was the largest aristocratic family in the city. After years of operation, they had become no different from local emperors.

It took Baizhouguan a long time to recover, and then he began to wait anxiously for the Ming army to come and accept their surrender. Suddenly, he seemed to find that the lights in the Ming army camp had moved, and there were faint shouts of killing in the night wind.

"How could there be shouts and cries of killing? Could it be that someone is so ignorant that he attacked the camp without informing me?"

This frightened the Baizhou official so much that his face turned almost pale and purple.

"This... can't be possible. Are there any generals in the city who are so bold as to attack the Ming Dynasty soldiers?" said an official close to the Bai family.

One's own family knows one's own business. Xinxing Prefecture under the rule of the Bai family had actually been emptied out by the Bai family. Soldiers were often seen eating empty salaries, embezzling weapons and selling them, and using the old, weak, sick and disabled as elite soldiers to defraud military funds. Most of the generals were also the sons of the Bai family. How could such an army be a match for the Ming army?

It is precisely because of this self-knowledge that everyone in the city is single-minded and would rather lose their skin than not ask the Ming army to accept surrender... After all, if the Ming army attacks the city, they will soon find that the entire Xinxing Prefecture is just a facade and can be easily taken down without any effort.

With this self-knowledge, except for the idiot who was struck on the head by lightning just now who dared to propose a night attack on the Ming army...it is impossible for other generals to have such an unreasonable idea.

Even if the general was willing, the soldiers would not be willing! The general's brain was struck by lightning, so could it be that the brains of the old, weak, and disabled were also struck by lightning?

Thinking of this, Baizhouguan's expression finally looked better, but then he began to wonder, "If someone was so bold as to try to provoke the Ming people, where did the shouting and killing come from?"

He paced back and forth anxiously, and finally stamped his feet and said, "Quick, one of you go to the Ming army camp and take a look."

"What exactly is going on... I need to know before I can feel at ease!"

All the subordinates took a few steps back quietly, unwilling to get into trouble. In the end, the subordinate who proposed to attack the Ming army at night became the unlucky one. He was named by the Baizhou official and rode on a horse to the Ming army camp to inquire about the news.

Official Bai was waiting anxiously. While he was waiting, the shouting and screaming became louder and louder. A fire broke out in the Ming army's camp, which was big enough to engulf the entire camp.

Everyone was becoming more and more anxious. Just as they were hesitating whether to go forward to help the Ming Dynasty soldiers put out the fire, the officer came back on horseback.

"How is it?" Baizhouguan immediately stepped forward and asked.

"Fighting has started, fighting has started..." the officer said repeatedly with a look of fear on his face. "It's Hu... It's Your Majesty, the reinforcements sent by Your Majesty, and the reinforcements are fighting with the Ming army."

"Ah!" Baizhouguan slapped his knees heavily. He was not happy at all. Instead, he felt resentful, "Why did he come at this time instead of earlier?" "It's over, it's over. After the Ming soldiers have defeated the reinforcements, they will definitely be resentful of Annan. By then, the surrender will be ruined again."

"How about we go out and help the Ming Dynasty and give the heavenly soldiers a boost?" an officer suggested. "If we wait until the Ming Dynasty beats back the reinforcements, it will be too late to send troops."

Baizhou official was very tempted and was hesitating whether to put it into practice. The officer who went to inquire interrupted and said, "No, it was not the Ming Dynasty that repelled the reinforcements."

"It was the Ming Dynasty that was repelled by reinforcements!"

"When I went there, I saw that the Ming Dynasty was being beaten back step by step by the reinforcements. It was only a matter of time before they were defeated!"

"What?" Baizhouguan was dumbfounded.

When did Hu's army have such capabilities?

"..."

The scene became silent for a moment. The officials of Xinxing Prefecture all looked dazed as they looked at the Baizhou official who also had a dazed expression.

"Sir, sir, this should..." the officer asked in a somewhat dull tone.

"It's over, it's all over..." Baizhouguan felt as if the sky had collapsed.

It would be fine if the Ming Dynasty won, but if the Ming Dynasty lost, Hu Jinyi would definitely know that he wanted to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. But if Hu Jinyi knew about it, Bai Shi would be dead without a burial place...

The family business that has been passed down for generations, I never expected it would fall into ruin due to such an ending...

Official Bai felt that God was playing a huge joke on him.

"Yes, yes, I haven't surrendered yet, maybe..."

Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind and he thought of a way to escape punishment.

"If, if the Hu family thinks that I am pretending to surrender and actually want to attack the Ming army at night..." His eyes lit up and he looked at the Xinxingfu army that had already assembled and were about to wait for the Ming army's review.

……

On the other side, Hu Jinyi, who was personally commanding the army and fighting the Ming army at night, was also in the same confusion.

Ever since he cautiously led his troops to test the Ming army, the Ming army began to retreat. It could be said that they collapsed at the first touch... Their combat effectiveness was not only inferior to that of the Nguyen family, but was even worse than those slave rebels he had suppressed.

Is this the Ming Dynasty? The Ming army that had forced the Mongols to flee north, Timur the Great’s death and the destruction of his country, annexed Japan and Korea, and made expeditions to Fengmingzhou and the Western Regions, with almost no rivals in the world?
Hu Jinyi fell into deep suspicion.

"Father." Hu Cang, who was leading the vanguard, came to Hu Ji's side in a hurry, "Why don't you allow me to chase?"

"The Ming army has been badly defeated. If I am allowed to pursue them, I will surely be able to wipe out all of them..."

Hu Cang was defeated at Wuqu City before, and now he wanted to prove himself even more. After discovering the "weakness" of this Ming army, he was immediately excited, and all he could think about was making military achievements to prove himself and become the "crown prince" of the Great Yu Kingdom.

The Duke of Cao and the Duke of Liang of the Ming army were also famous generals whose names resounded throughout the world. As long as he defeated them, his reputation would also reach a terrifying height.

"It's better to be cautious. The Ming army's actions are too abnormal." Hu Jinyi said.

"I suspect that the Ming army is feigning defeat..."

He said. After all, he was a general who had fought several battles with Champa, so Hu Jinyi still had some calmness and experience.

"The two dukes of the Ming army were even beaten by my child and fled separately... Father must be worrying too much. How can you fake a defeat like this!" Hu Cang said unconvinced. He was now too excited and thought he was invincible.

"Father, give me a thousand men, and I will capture the two Dukes of the Ming Dynasty for you! I heard that Duke Cao is the nephew of the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. If we capture him and ask the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty for a title, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty will not dare to object!"

"Hmm..." Hu Jin'er was somewhat tempted. The imperial title from the Ming Dynasty was indeed what he needed most now. As long as he had the imperial title, he would be the legitimate ruler of Annan, and the Ming Dynasty would lose the righteousness of intervening in the Annan Rebellion. He could free up his hands to concentrate on dealing with Nguyen Duo Fang without worrying about the Ming Dynasty's backstab.

However, the situation tonight was too strange. The Ming army was defeated too quickly, and although Hu Jinyi was jealous of the imperial title, he still did not dare to act rashly.

"Your Majesty." At this moment, someone came to report. "We have found traces of our army in the direction of Xinxing City."

"They have formed their formation outside the city, ready to attack the Ming army."

"Huh?" Hu Jinyi was a little surprised. In Xinxing City, there was actually an army gathering and lining up at the city gate?
"I understand! I finally understand!"

Suddenly, he slapped his knees and felt that a sudden enlightenment had come to him, and he understood everything.

"Huh?" This time, Hu Cang was surprised. He looked at his father who suddenly yelled and asked in confusion, "Did father understand? What did he understand?"

"Could it be that you understand the truth about why the Ming army collapsed at the first blow?"

"Yeah." Hu Jinyi nodded, put his hands behind his back, and acted like a master.

"The reason why the Ming army collapsed at the first blow is that they were attacked from all sides and had no intention of fighting!"

"The Bai family of Xinxing City is so brave that they dare to secretly form a formation under the city wall in the face of the Ming army, intending to attack the Ming army..."

"What a stubborn minister! He is determined to perish together with his enemies!"

"If we hadn't arrived in time, such a loyal man would have died at the hands of the Ming army."

"Father, you mean..." Hu Cang interrupted, "It was this army that intended to launch a surprise attack on the Ming army that caused the Ming army to be attacked from both sides?"

With this explanation, everything makes sense.

For unknown reasons, an army in Xinxing Prefecture had successfully assembled under the city gate and was ready to attack the Ming army. At the same time, the reinforcements that came to rescue them happened to test the Ming army at this time.

The Ming army generals were panicked, fearing that they would be attacked by Dayu's army. In panic, they had no desire to fight and fled in haste.

It all makes sense!

"Father! Please give me three thousand soldiers!" Hu Cang was immediately more excited. The Ming army was already in disarray. In his opinion, this was equivalent to military merit and fame beckoning to him.

As long as you pursue the Ming army, fame and military merit will be at your fingertips!

"Yes." This time, Hu Jinyi did not stop him. "My son is very brave, I have always known that."

"Go ahead, but don't chase the enemy too deep, be careful."

"The rest of you, follow me."

"Tonight, we will accomplish our goal in one fell swoop!"

He wants to seize this opportunity to let the Ming Dynasty know that his Great Yu Kingdom is not something to be trifled with!

……

"My Lord, Hu's army has started chasing us again."

Beside Li Wenzhong, Deputy General Li Rong was watching the movements of the Annan troops and said to Li Wenzhong.

"These Annan monkeys really don't fear death. Our fake defeat is so obvious, yet they dare to chase us?"

"They must have discovered the defenders gathered at the gates of Xinxing City." Li Wenzhong sat upright on his horse and took down the telescope that was used to observe the enemy's formation. "Hu Jinyi is not a mediocre person, he is just pretending to be defeated, you can't fool him."

"But with the sudden gathering of defenders under the city, he would naturally think that our Ming army is afraid of being attacked from both sides... It's good that they dare to chase us."

"If I don't chase him, I'll have to worry about how to disrupt the situation and help Lan Yu go south during the chaos."

"These Annan monkeys really don't know their place. Duke, either you give me eight hundred men, and I'll charge in right away and tear off that dog's head." Li Rong said, rubbing his hands.

"Hey, hey, why do I need his dog head?" Li Wenzhong laughed. "Hu Jinyi, it's not time to die yet."

"However, today, we can cut off one of his arms first... and then watch him and the cripple Ruan Duofang continue to fight each other."

(End of this chapter)