Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 389 Everything is beyond expectations

The truest lie is nine truths and one lie.

Liu Jinzhong did rebel, and the retreat of the Dashi elite troops was indeed cut off, but in the end there was a slight difference. Zhang Xianzhong did not die in the chaos, but met Liu Jinzhong on the way to escape.

This was both unexpected and reasonable.

Liu Jinzhong, who had blown up Jinniu Road, only wanted to join up with the Qing army as soon as possible, while Zhang Xianzhong, who had just been defeated, only wanted to return to Guangyuan as soon as possible.

As a result, both sides chose the nearest path at the same time, and then collided head-on.

Although Liu Jinzhong abandoned a large group of troops, he still brought his trusted elite troops with him, considering the future development of the Qing Dynasty. However, Zhang Xianzhong only had a few personal guards and Generals Sun and Ai.

In this power comparison
It is not difficult to imagine what happens next.

With these people in hand, Liu Wenxiu had no choice but to obey orders. After some collusion, hundreds of elite troops led by Wu Sangui and Oboi mixed in with the defeated Dashi army.

But how can anything go smoothly in this world?

Since Hauge had unexpectedly captured Zhang Xianzhong and many high-ranking officials of the Dashi, he encountered many twists and turns.

First, the ambush in the city wall was missed, and then a banquet was scheduled in the guard camp. During the banquet, not only was no one allowed to get close to the emperor, but even the wine and food were prepared separately.

Under such circumstances, their painstaking preparations naturally became ineffective one by one, and the Ming Emperor was able to live safely to this day.

just
That night, 3:30 pm
Outside the Guard Camp
The sky in Sichuan is gloomy most of the time, with thick dark clouds obscuring the stars and the moon, making the night as dark as ink.

This is the characteristic of this place. There are occasionally one or two cracks between the clouds, through which tiny rays of light shine down, making the silent wilderness come alive.

"General, we have succeeded ahead."

After a rustling sound, Liu Wenxiu heard the soldiers' report. He then pressed his hand forward, and then a series of black shadows appeared in the silent field.

Most of the more than 10,000 soldiers and horses that fled Guangyuan with him were indeed defeated soldiers, but among these defeated soldiers, in addition to the hundreds of Eight Banners led by Oboi and Wu Sangui, there were also 1,500 elite soldiers from the Dashi belonging to him.

This is all his capital.

If we cannot capture the Emperor tonight,
Nothing is wrong, you will succeed.

As his thoughts turned, Liu Wenxiu forced himself to dispel the distracting thoughts in his mind. After looking around, he and his subordinates quietly moved towards the Ming army camp.

For the Qing court, Zhu Cilang’s life or death was not important. As long as the Ming Dynasty could be restored to a state of leaderlessness, the ultimate goal would be achieved.

But for Liu Wenxiu, Zhu Cilang must be alive, at least until he is exchanged for Zhang Xianzhong and others.

Otherwise, how could he exchange the emperor of Dashi from the Tartars when he had no bargaining chips at all?
Fortunately, all the guards were drunk.

Fortunately, the Ming army set up camp in a hurry.

We will definitely capture the Emperor tonight!

"Enemy attack!"

When Liu Wenxiu was still 20 or 30 steps away from the broken camp fence, a sharp howl suddenly came from somewhere. He no longer cared to hide his body, raised his sword high with one hand, and then shouted loudly: "This is the time to make achievements. Kill!"

Liu Wenxiu's military strategy was no better than the others, but he was also a veteran who had led troops on the battlefield for many years.

This time, Fang was discovered by the sentry as soon as he entered the camp. Apart from the fact that the Ming army had been prepared in advance, he really could not find a second explanation.

But even so, he had no plans to evacuate.

At this time, his vanguard had already entered the guard camp. Unless the Ming army was on high alert and did not take off their armor at night, they would be defeated without any chance to fight back in the face of such a night attack.

After all, an army fights based on its formation and equipment, not just its individual bravery. Even if every guard is a well-trained elite soldier, it is difficult for them to organize an effective defense at this time.

"puff!"

When Liu Wenxiu passed by a military tent, a guard soldier without armor came out of the tent.

Seeing this situation, he would not show mercy. He thrust the blade in his hand forward fiercely, and immediately a muffled sound came from the soldier's waist and abdomen.

"Don't fight too long! Capturing the Emperor alive will be rewarded with a million gold!"

For Liu Wenxiu, it didn't matter whether he could defeat the guards or not, and it didn't matter how many casualties he suffered.

At this moment, all his thoughts were focused on the big tent in the center of the camp. As long as he could successfully get there, everything else would be insignificant.

Nearly.

Nearly.

Just a hundred steps more and we can rescue our adoptive father.

Looking at the big tent looming in the night, Liu Wenxiu couldn't help but feel excited. But when he and his elite troops reached the main road in the camp, the scene before him made him stunned.

"I'm afraid"
-
"Liu Wenxiu got in."

"Ah."

Just as shouts of killing were heard from the Ming army camp, Wu Sangui and Haoge were hiding in the wilderness.

Naturally, they were both salivating over such a tremendous achievement, but as high-ranking military commanders in the Qing court, how could they not know what the Ming Emperor's guards looked like?

As time passed, the shouts and cries became louder and louder, but the two men remained motionless, as if they were waiting for something.

"I'm afraid Liu Wenxiu won't be able to hold on for much longer."

"Wait a little longer. After all, they are elite soldiers, so they shouldn't be so bad."

After hearing what Aobai said, Wu Sangui thought for a moment and then turned his attention to the Ming army camp more than a hundred steps away.

After all, his thoughts were more profound than Aobai's, and he only believed about 70% of the battle reports.

What about resisting the cavalry's charge and being on par with the elite troops of the Eight Banners.

In his opinion, these statements were just whitewashing. He didn't think anyone could really fight to a draw with the elite Eight Banners.

But then again, he couldn't ignore Oboi's opinion.

After all, there were differences between Manchus and Han people in the Qing court, and he could not get over this hurdle.

After another half an incense stick of time, the Ming army camp, which was already vaguely visible in the light, suddenly became clear. Oboi, who seemed to be waiting for his prey the moment before, shouted in a low voice.

"on!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of elite soldiers stood up and moved forward. At this time, Wu Sangui also understood his thoughts.

The shouts and screams could only mean that Liu Wenxiu had already started fighting with the Ming army, while the flash of fire could mean that the war on both sides was in a tense situation.

When will I be anxious?
Naturally, they would have to kill their way to the Ming Emperor's army camp before they could cause a commotion. At this point in time, the Ming army's attention would have been drawn to those elite Dashi troops.

Thinking about this, Wu Sangui was surprised at the thoughtfulness of this reckless man, but before he knew it, a group of soldiers had already rushed to the Ming army camp. Then he did not delay and ran after them. As Aobai expected, due to the sudden attack by Liu Wenxiu's troops, there was no one around the Ming army camp except for a few sentries.

Although they encountered some scattered Ming troops after entering the camp, they did not cause any disturbance under the cover of the shouts and cries of killing.

Seeing this, both Wu Sangui and Oboi felt that they would be able to succeed tonight. Afterwards, under the cover of the military tents in the camp, they continued to move towards the center of the shouting and killing, while at the same time evaluating the situation on Liu Wenxiu's side from all the movements.

Although the shouting and screaming had weakened slightly at this time, the fire was much more intense than before.

Obviously, this meant that Liu Wenxiu's troops were already at a disadvantage, and that the Ming army was fully focused on dealing with the incoming enemy and was unable to take care of the spreading fire.

With this idea in mind, the two of them quickened their pace, and after a while, the largest military tent in the camp appeared in their sight.

Due to the cover of the military tents, they could not see the battle situation in the distance, but at this point, everyone knew that as long as that thin line of defense was broken, the life of the Emperor Ming would be at hand.

"kill!"

Following Aobai's loud shout, hundreds of elite soldiers of the Eight Banners suddenly rushed out from the darkness. However, when they were only thirty or forty steps away from the thin line of defense, bursts of roars came into their ears.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

"It's a musket! Don't be afraid!"

Although Aobai was not very old, he was very familiar with such noises.

He knew that Ming soldiers were accustomed to using firearms and that firearms could penetrate thick armor, but he knew even more clearly that as long as his side bravely advanced, given the nature of the Ming army, they could only use one round of these killing weapons.

"kill!"

As Oboi's shouts were heard, the elite troops of the Eight Banners not only did not slow down, but their momentum became even more fierce.

But when they pushed forward a little further, the deafening roar came again.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Seeing the elite soldiers of the Eight Banners falling one after another in the roar, Wu Sangui was startled at first, and then his pace suddenly slowed down.

Although Oboi had seen soldiers with muskets, the soldiers he led were always cavalry infantry. When it comes to knowledge of muskets, he could not compare with Wu Sangui.

The Ming Dynasty's Guanning general was very clear that the musketeers in front of him were completely different from those he led. Not only did they only need a moment between each round of firing, their level of order was also unheard of.

As his thoughts turned, Wu Sangui's steps became slower and slower. In just a moment, he had fallen to the back of the team.

Oboi, who was only concerned with charging forward, was unaware of Wu Sangui's actions.

At this moment, his mind and eyes were filled with the Ming Emperor's army camp which was so close at hand, but he did not realize that most of the hundreds of elite soldiers of the Eight Banners had already fallen.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Another roar sounded, and Aobai felt a numbness in his leg. Then his center of gravity suddenly tilted forward, and then his whole body fell heavily to the ground under the impact.

The battle had reached this point, and the troops coming from the rear had no more room to maneuver. However, Xiang Rensheng, who was behind the defense line, couldn't help but feel a little scared.

After the banquet tonight, he returned to his tent.

To be honest, he had indeed drunk too much and even felt dizzy, but when Hu Yiqing walked into his tent, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and then he felt clear-headed.

He refused to take off his helmet in such hot weather.

If such behavior occurred among troops with strict military discipline, it would be natural, but if it occurred among a group of fleeing soldiers, it would be quite strange.

But then again, no matter how weird it is, it would be an exaggeration to mobilize a large force for it.

Moreover, Liu Wenxiu's troops were newly surrendered. Once they found out that we were on high alert, they would inevitably feel like leaving.

However, Xiang Rensheng was still a cautious man. After a little thought, he went to Meichun's tent with Hu Yiqing.

To his surprise, when this guy who had guarded the imperial mausoleum for most of his life heard this situation, he immediately ordered the entire army to be on alert without saying a word.

Faced with this situation, Xiang Rensheng expressed his concerns. Afterwards, although Mei Chun also gave up the idea of ​​putting the entire army on alert, he suggested that each camp send 500 soldiers to stand guard outside His Majesty's tent at night.

It is not difficult to imagine what happens next.

After enduring the first half of the night, a group of soldiers rushed in from outside the camp, but were stopped by the guards on duty. The invading enemies were quickly and completely overwhelmed by the soldiers from the central army who rushed over after hearing the news.

After all, the Imperial Guard Central Army is not the kind of troops that excel in military formations. Their real advantage is in this kind of melee. When the attacking enemy thinks they can completely defeat these troops without formations, they don't know that they are the real prey.

"General, General Mei ordered me to tell you that the enemy troops behind us have been completely annihilated."

He heard the soldiers' reports, but in front of him were his own troops who had not yet finished fighting. It was clearly their side that started the battle, but it was Mei Chun's rear army that finished off the enemy first.

Faced with such a gap, Xiang Rensheng suddenly felt a little jealous. Even though this jealousy did not mean anything, it still made him feel a little uncomfortable as he always regarded his own men as the trump card in His Majesty's hand.

"Ah."

After responding faintly, Xiang Rensheng turned his attention to the battle group not far away. After a while, he saw that the battle group in front of him was unlikely to cause any more trouble, so he turned around and went into the big tent.

"Your Majesty, the enemy in front of us has been nearly annihilated. I, Xiang Rensheng, have come to report."

"Come in. Come in."

Hearing the noise coming from his ears, Xiang Rensheng couldn't help but laugh in his heart.

Ever since he began following His Majesty, he felt that this young man, who was not even eighteen years old, was like a star from heaven. No matter military strategy or political struggle, nothing could stump him.

But tonight.
The turning of thoughts in his mind did not delay Xiang Rensheng's actions. After he entered the tent, he saw His Majesty leaning over a wooden basin, and Hu Yiqing and Mei Chun stood beside him.

After a while, Zhu Cilang finally straightened up. After wiping the corners of his mouth with the towel handed to him by Hu Yiqing, he spoke while suppressing the discomfort in his stomach.

"You were very alert tonight, otherwise you would have been tricked by Liu Wenxiu."

In response to Zhu Cilang's praise, the three generals present declined modestly. But when they were about to speak, they heard a report from outside the tent.

"Your Majesty, the invading enemy has been completely annihilated, and Liu Wenxiu and other rebels have been captured."

(End of this chapter)