Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 322 Accident?
"The defending general is dead! Surrender and you won't be killed!"

As a dense rain of arrows fell on the city, Ajige shouted loudly without caring about the facts.

This is a way to shake the enemy's morale. It is simple but effective.

It was already dark at this time. Even if the defending general was not killed by the rain of arrows, how could the soldiers further away know?
If the enemy army is caught off guard and has no time to explain, the defenders may be defeated.

This was not Ajige's imagination, but something that actually happened during his years of battlefield experience.

In his opinion, not to mention these southern barbarians, even the most elite border troops of the Ming Dynasty had fled in such circumstances more than once.

Sure enough, after this sound, the figures on the city wall suddenly became chaotic, and the soldiers under his command took this opportunity to quickly approach the city wall, and then threw out hooks and locks one after another.

"The commander is fine! Everyone stay in your positions!"

"The commander is fine! Everyone stay in your positions!"

I don't know if it was the sound of the hook hitting the wall that brought the defenders back to their senses, but within three or two breaths, a cry came from the city.

Ajige was naturally a little disappointed about this, but this was just to create chaos. What else could he expect?
You have to know that ordinary sieges require facing a rain of arrows from the city walls, and just getting close to the city walls will result in a lot of losses.

At this time, not only did they get to the foot of the city without any loss, but they also hung the hook on it. Even though the defenders had responded after a moment of chaos, this could be considered extremely smooth.

just
"Oh!"

"Oh!"

With a series of muffled sounds, several of the first batch of soldiers who climbed the city fell heavily to the ground.

Climbing the city wall with ropes is not as stable as using ladders, and because their hands are restricted, the soldiers are unable to respond to attacks from the defenders. This situation is inevitable.

Not only did Ajige know this, but even the soldiers who were climbing the city wall had foreseen it.

Fortunately, the people he brought with him this time were all willing to die for his words. Even though they knew it was impossible to climb the city wall with ropes as the defenders were well prepared, they still rushed to the city one after another like moths to a flame.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

A few more muffled sounds were heard one after another. There was no change on Ajige's face, but he felt terrible pain in his heart.

These people were all his personal guards, Goshaha, and he had only trained a thousand of them over so many years.

In the past, this team was always used to win at critical moments, but now, due to the situation, they are being used as cannon fodder.

How could he not feel heartbroken?
"If we can capture the city today, I will make the southern barbarians pay back a hundredfold."

After cursing angrily in his heart, Ajige couldn't help but glance into the distance.

Just when the attention of the defenders on the city wall was all drawn to this section of the city wall, several teams carrying ladders approached the city gate.

This time he was ready to die if he lost, but that didn't mean the battle-hardened commander would become a reckless man.

He knew very well that although the Ming army seemed to be very close to victory at this moment, the defenders were most likely at their lowest level of vigilance.

You know, during this half month, those who were attacking the city were already somewhat exhausted, not to mention the extent of the defense of the city.

The so-called one blast, then decay, and exhaustion.

If this had not happened today, the defenders might have continued to be nervous out of inertia. But after this, would the defenders, who thought they were no longer in danger, relax their guard due to the arrival of reinforcements?

It's probably because I've relaxed.

Realizing that the movements of that team seemed to have not been discovered by the defenders, Ajige couldn't help feeling a little lucky.

But after that he prayed twice in his heart, obviously realizing that it was not time to rejoice yet.

"Don't be discovered. Don't be discovered."

Ajige has led troops for more than 20 years, but he has never been as nervous as he is now.

When he realized that his strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west seemed to be successful, although his face was still facing the city wall, his hand holding the hilt of the knife tightened again and again.

"My lord."

"Shut up!"

Ajige could sense the movements of those teams, and the generals beside him could also sense them.

But when the man was about to say something, he was interrupted by him directly, as if he was afraid that his actions would let the defenders see the clues.

Because of the darkness, although their position was within the range of arrows from the city wall, no arrows had been shot at them since they began climbing the city wall.

But even in such a situation, he was worried that the actions of the generals beside him would be seen by those on the city wall, and he was really a little worried.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

As time passed, the handle of Ajige's sword became slippery, but at this time there was another extremely dense burst of muffled sounds. When he turned his attention to the city wall again, he found that there were only a few ropes left hanging from the city wall.

"Get up!"

"But Lord"

"Go up!!"

Seeing Ajige so determined, the generals around him hesitated for a moment, but finally held the hooks in their hands and moved towards the city wall with their subordinates.

At this time, those teams had already put the ladders on the city wall, and while the soldiers were moving forward, they also quietly climbed up the ladders.

He knew very well that the general was not afraid of death, but after seeing the situation over there, he felt that there was no need to suffer unnecessary losses here.

But he also knew that if he could attract the defenders here for a little longer, the success this time might be a little greater. After paying a huge price, how could he cherish the chips in his hand?

"There are Tartars here too!"

"The Tartars have put up the ladder!"

"The pole! Take the pole!"

Sure enough, after a few breaths, the defenders finally found the ladders. But at this time, Ajige was not upset by it, but instead felt more hopeful.

The reason why the elite are elite is that they have the ability to make the final decision.

What's more, the Ganzhou defenders have been exhausted for half a month, and their energy and physical strength are now exhausted. As long as they can successfully climb the city wall, they will definitely be able to capture the city gate.

As for the other
"Send a letter."

"Whoosh~~!"

Before the word "hao" came out, a sound of breaking through the air reached Ajige's ears.

I don't know if it was because of the darkness or the archer's poor aim, but although the arrow caused quite a noise, it failed to hit anyone.

Seeing this, Ajige was shocked. When he turned around and looked back, it seemed that there were figures rushing towards him from the night.

Ming Army?!
Aren't they supposed to be encircling and suppressing the scattered soldiers? Why are they here? !

Thinking of this, Ajige was extremely surprised, but because of his confidence in the elite troops under his command, this surprise only lasted for a moment, and then he passed down a series of military orders.

"Send the signal! Ignore those attacking the city, and the rest of you follow me to meet the enemy!"

If ordinary people were here, when they saw the enemy surrounding them from behind, they would be in chaos even if they did not collapse immediately.

But Ajige brought with him elite Goshaha soldiers. Even though their combat power was not as good as that of top soldiers like Ustuna, they had managed to defeat many enemies alone in previous battles.

"kill!"

"kill!"

The same shout was heard simultaneously from the two armies more than ten feet apart.

Then Ajige took the lead and led hundreds of elite Goshaha to rush straight towards the enemy behind.

It was with such courage that he defeated Man Gui's troops who were marching out of the city to form a battle line at the gates of Ningyuan.

It was with such momentum that he killed the isolated and helpless Zhao Lujiao at Shanhaiguan.

Even though the army is in a desperate situation today, even though the enemy is twice as many as his own, he still has the confidence to lead his brave soldiers to defeat them, and then turn the tide of the battle in Ganzhou and strangle the Ming Dynasty, which is still in its last moments.

"kill!"

With another loud shout, he took advantage of his superior position and swung the sword in his hand towards the general who was coming to meet him.

But who would have thought that although this powerful blow knocked the man to one knee, at the same time he felt the horse under him lost balance, and then both he and the horse fell to the ground.

One hand?!
Only then did he see clearly that the general had blocked the blow with his weapon in one hand, while his other hand was withdrawn from the horse's leg.

How can it be? !
Although I didn't get the Baturu Yonghao back then, I was no match for the ordinary white armor. But how could I
"General! This is a high-ranking official."

"Hey, hey! Look carefully, you blind dog, what is rusted on the clothes?"

"Dragon? Is this Ajige?!"

At this time, Xiang Rensheng naturally had no intention of correcting his brother's mistakes. Seeing that Ajige, who was pinned down by the warhorse, seemed to be planning to resist, he hit him on the arm with a stick.

"Crack!"

"Tied!"

After he finished speaking, Xiang Rensheng turned around and ran towards the next enemy, but Ajige, with his arms already twisted, could not accept the fact that he could not even hold out for one round.

"You seem to be charging forward quite aggressively, but I didn't expect you to be just a show-off."

Ajige's mind was finally brought back to reality by the mocking voices of the Ming army soldiers beside him.

When he wanted to struggle again, the soldier pressed his arm down.

Only then did he realize that this man was actually very strong.

It’s okay. Our Goshaha is capable of fighting against many enemies alone. Once we defeat these Ming troops, we will be able to rescue ourselves.

With this in mind, Ajige stopped struggling, but when he turned his attention to Xiang Rensheng who had just left, he found that the battle situation was very different from what he expected.

According to his original idea, his Goshaha could not defeat many enemies at once, but he could certainly defeat two or three.

But who would have thought that in this battle, Goshaha not only did not have the advantage, but was at a disadvantage due to the number of people.

Why? !
Our Manchu warriors are the best in China. How can the Ming army compete with them?

impossible! Absolutely impossible!
At this point, Ajige's mind was close to collapse.

Even though he saw many Manchu warriors dying under the siege of the Ming army, he still treated it as a lie.

This is no wonder, as ups and downs are the greatest test of one’s mental steadiness.

On that day, he was first angry because Wang Deren failed, but then he was happy because Hu and Zhang fell into the trap.

There was despair brought by the Ming army's navy, and then there was hope brought by the attack on Ganzhou.

Coupled with the frustration of being knocked down by Xiang Rensheng in one move and the shock of his own Gosha being defeated, I'm afraid no one would be able to withstand such drastic emotional fluctuations.

After a while, the remaining Goshaha were surrounded by the guards outside the city of Ganzhou.

At this time, voices began to be heard from the city.

"May I ask which general's troops are these people coming from?"

"I am Xiang Rensheng, the commander of the city is Wanyuan Jiwan?"

Xiang Rensheng!
When Zhu Cilang went south last time, Xiang Rensheng was still reorganizing the guards, so he was unable to follow.

But Wan Yuanji was in the city at that time, how could he not know this name?

Hearing the reply from below the city, Wan Yuanji endured the pain in his shoulder and walked to the edge of the city wall with the help of the soldiers before asking in a hoarse voice, "Is your Majesty here?"

"coming."

These two words were simple and clear, but the moment they reached the city, they completely brought out Wan Yuanji's emotions.

Fifteenth.

During these fifteen days, most of the Ganzhou defenders were killed and the city was nearly breached several times.

But even in such a situation, Wan Yuanji, a civil servant who had never experienced a battle, managed to survive with his loyalty to the Ming Dynasty and the will of the defenders.

When he once again confirmed from his friendly forces that His Majesty had arrived, how could he control his emotions?

"Your Majesty! I, your humble servant, have defended this."

With the help of the torches, Xiang Rensheng could see the situation on the city wall clearly.

The crying old man had layers of white cloth wrapped around his shoulders, and the "defenders" beside him were not only all injured, but also included several elderly, weak, women and children.

Seeing this situation, he could naturally think of the tragedy of the past fifteen days. When he heard the sobbing sounds coming from the city, even this iron man could not help but feel his vision blurred.

"General Wan, I have some good news."

good news?
After hearing these words, although Wan Yuanji still couldn't stop the sadness in his heart, he finally shifted his attention temporarily.

But now that Your Majesty has come to help, the crisis in Ganzhou has been resolved. Is there any better news than this?
"What did I say to the general?"

"Bring it up!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wan Yuanji saw several figures walking out of the darkness. When those figures approached the city, he saw an extremely embarrassed Tartar trapped in the middle.

"So that Commander Wan knows that the enemy chieftain Ajige has been captured alive. I will report this to Your Majesty and use his head to commemorate the fallen soldiers."

Xiang Rensheng naturally had no intention of showing off. To put it bluntly, the reason why he informed the people on the city wall of the news that Ajige had been captured alive was that he did not know how to comfort the defenders of Ganzhou.

But then again, capturing the enemy commander alive was a huge achievement. Even though Zhu Cilang had not emphasized the main merit since he came to power, Ajige's identity was enough to confer a title on Xiang Rensheng.

Both Wan Yuanji and the Ganzhou defenders were very excited about the capture of the enemy chief. They could even imagine how surprised His Majesty would be when he received the news.

However, Zhu Cilang’s opinion was different from theirs. He did not care whether one or two enemy commanders were captured.

At this time, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was struggling with another matter.

(End of this chapter)