Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 70 Great Defeat

In the slaughterhouse formed by the iron chains, a wall of corpses half a person's height gradually piled up.

No one knew who threw down their weapons first, but the rout spread like a plague.

The elite soldiers of the old camp, who had chased and killed the Ming army for hundreds of miles, were now crying and tearing off their heavy armor.

Someone knelt down and begged for mercy, but his neck was immediately broken by an iron chain.

Someone rode his horse towards the moat, but his spine was smashed by the iron mace thrown by the black-armored cavalry.

Li Zicheng glared at Hao Yaoqi on his horse.

These are his real assets!
Normally, a loss of one or two thousand yuan would make him feel extremely distressed.

In just a quarter of an hour, thousands of people have been slaughtered. If they continue like this, I'm afraid they will all be slaughtered!
"Put me down! Hao Yaoqi, stop right there!"

"Send Tian Jianxiu back for help! Where's Liu Zongmin? Let them come back too!"

Not only did Hao Yaoqi not listen, he also kept whipping the horse's buttocks to make it go faster.

"Don't be stubborn, King Chuang! We've lost this battle! Escape is the most important thing!"

However, Li Zicheng, who had been doing well for two years, could not accept the great defeat at this moment. He still had a million troops and he could still fight!
"Hao Yaoqi, you're a fucking deserter! If you don't stop, I'll chop you down! We still have 50,000 brothers in our old camp here! We can't abandon them and run away!"

Hao Yaoqi also became anxious and yelled at Li Zicheng, "Prince Chuang, wake up!"

"We've been defeated! Even if the 50,000 old troops were decimated, we still have the lands of Qin and Jin, and the army on the left! We can take revenge the day after tomorrow!"

I don’t know if the scolding woke Li Zicheng up, but he lay on his horse’s back, staring blankly at the one-sided battlefield, and no longer spoke.

Hao Yaoqi desperately urged his warhorse and fled madly towards the northwest under the escort of only a few hundred remaining personal guards.

And after Li Zicheng left.

The tens of thousands of cavalrymen from the old camp of the rebel army did not hold out for long. Under the repeated attacks of the wedge-shaped formation of the black-armored cavalry, a hole was soon opened in their way.

Zhang Shize took the lead and led the black-armored cavalry to break out of the rebel army's formation. With red eyes, he looked around but could not see Li Zicheng at all.

Only a lonely central army banner stood there.

It goes without saying that Li Zicheng must have escaped.

The Black Armor Cavalry is a type of super heavy armored cavalry, and its speed cannot be increased at all.

Zhang Shize could only vent his anger on the big banner.

Taking advantage of the horse's momentum, he chopped down the indigo banner with one blow.

The moment the central army's banner collapsed, the 600,000 rebel troops roared loudly like a giant beast with its spine pulled out.

On the Deshengmen Arrow Tower, Huang Degong slammed his palm on the arrow embrasure and shouted frantically to the flag officer, "The thief Li is dead! All troops, press forward! Quick! The thief Li is dead! All troops, press forward!"

The flag-bearing officer naturally also saw the situation of the central army and waved the flag desperately.

Ten red-haired cannons spewed out tongues of fire from the battlements of the city wall, and shrapnel wrapped in caltrops exploded above the heads of Liu Zongmin's vanguard troops.

Liu Zongmin was holding a big sword and slashing at the shield formation of the five military camps.

Suddenly I felt a chill on the back of my neck, and when I looked up I saw iron rain pouring down from the sky.

"Raise your shield! Raise it!" Before he could finish his words, the iron-plated shield in his hand was pierced by a caltrop as thick as a thumb.

The broken iron nails dug into the shoulder blades on his arms, tearing off half of his chain mail.

Led by the Imperial Guards, the Five Army Camps erupted in thunderous cheers, "The thief Li is dead! The thief Li is dead!"

Wang Erhu, covered in blood, climbed up from the pile of corpses, laughed wildly, and pointed his knife at Liu Zongmin.

"Hahahahahaha! You bastards! The Emperor has been given the mandate of heaven, how could he be defeated by a bunch of postmen like you!"

"Long live the Ming Dynasty! Long live the Emperor! Kill!"

"Kill!!!!" The remaining 70,000 new army soldiers and militiamen shouted at the same time, raised their weapons and rushed towards the 300,000 rebel troops.

The battle line was pushed back to the starting point.

Before the front army of the rebel army could recover from the shock, they heard the earth-shaking sound of horse hooves behind them.

After breaking through the central army, Zhang Shize's black-armored cavalry did not rest, but directly followed the horse's momentum to charge towards the refugee army.

There was no other way. After the Black Armor Cavalry were connected with iron chains, it was extremely difficult for them to turn around, and they could only let the more than 5,000 Chuang Army cavalrymen behind them flee.

Three thousand five hundred suits of iron armor gleamed bloody in the morning sun, and the intestines strung on the horse lances were still steaming.

Liu Zongmin couldn't figure out whether Li Zicheng was dead or alive, but the central army's flag had indeed fallen. Even if Li Zicheng was alive, the outcome of the battle had already been decided.

As the first general of the rebel army, Liu Zongmin knew exactly what to do at this moment.

He called the flag officer and said, "Hurry and send an order to all the battalion supervisors. The first elite troops to ascend the battlefield must retreat back to the camp immediately!"

The flag bearer was stunned. "What about the army?"

"What army?!" Liu Zongmin asked back. What needs to be done at this time is to take the elite troops away, as refugees are everywhere.

As the flag order was given, more than 5,000 elite soldiers from the old camp of the front army immediately broke away from the battle, following Liu Zongmin's flag and leaving the battlefield in an orderly manner.

The retreat of the soldiers in the old camp became the last straw that broke the camel's back, and the 70,000 to 80,000 front-line troops immediately collapsed.

Someone threw away his weapon and jumped into the moat, but his head was smashed by the iron bone ball thrown by the black armor cavalry.

More people knelt down and begged for mercy, but were trampled into pulp by the fleeing soldiers in the blink of an eye.

The same scene also happened in the left and right armies.

On the left wing battlefield, Yuan Zongde was leading 100,000 infantrymen to block the surrendering troops.

These Ming army surrendered soldiers, who usually only wanted to survive, counterattacked like crazy.

No matter how bad the surrendered troops are, they have at least experienced battles and training, and their combat effectiveness is stronger than that of the refugees.

There are more people than him.

Yuan Zongdi was already having a hard time defending, and with the fall of the central army's banner, the rear army was almost on the verge of collapse.

"Your Majesty is still charging!" Someone shouted, and the surrendered soldiers became even more excited.

With red eyes, he tore apart the rear army's defense line.

After taking a look at the battle formation, Yuan Zongdi shook his head helplessly, "We lost..."

Unlike Liu Zongmin and others, Yuan Zongde thinks more.

If he only led his personal troops to retreat at this moment, even if he could escape, he would not be able to resist the pursuing Ming army.

All the cities in the northern Zhili area will be lost, and it will be difficult to attack again.

After pondering for a moment, Yuan Zongde issued an order that was completely different from that of Liu Zongmin and others.

"Order the personal army camp and the supervisory team to push forward. Bo'an, you will lead the team yourself and hold out for at least three quarters of an hour!"

Li Bo'an, the commander of the imperial guard camp, bowed and listened to the order without any hesitation. He led a thousand imperial guards and joined the less than three thousand supervisory troops to charge forward.

Yuan Zongdi raised his left hand, glanced coldly at the battlefield, and then spat out a word, "Retreat!"

With the sound of gongs and drums, the refugees quickly retreated under the leadership of their respective team leaders.

A thin defense line consisting of 4,000 elite soldiers was able to stop more than 100,000 surrendered troops!
This was when the morale of the surrendered troops was high.

Although battlefield limitations prevented the deployment of hundreds of thousands of troops, the gap in strength between the two sides was obvious.

Just at this time.

The 3,000-man battalion led by Zhu Youjian finally broke through the entanglement of Tian Jianxiu's 30,000-man cavalry from the old battalion. The emperor in golden armor and white horse raised the emperor's sword, wanting to break through the rear army that was still in order first, so that the surrendered army could free up their hands and surround Tian Jianxiu's 30,000-man cavalry from the old battalion.

However, the 30,000 cavalrymen of the old camp had already gone crazy with killing. Even though the armor of the Confucian general Tian Jianxiu was torn to pieces, he still fought to the death and refused to retreat.

When he found that Zhu Youjian was beginning to leave the battlefield, he did not take the opportunity to withdraw his troops, but instead went straight to Jinjia, "Kill the dog emperor!"

The Three Thousand Battalion had no choice but to turn back and confront Tian Jianxiu.

The Black Armor Cavalry had already slaughtered their way through the entire battlefield. After Zhang Shize's 10-foot-long horse lance broke, the iron mace he replaced it with was smashed and deformed.

When he rushed through the remnants of the left army, the Chuang army on the battlefield had completely collapsed.
Huang Degong let out a long sigh, letting the sweat from his forehead drip down his cheeks, and finally waved the last command flag in his hand.

Deshengmen and Anningmen opened at the same time, and the last 4,000 soldiers of the Shenji Camp lined up and came out.

The smoke from the three attacks formed a curtain of death.

Those defeated soldiers who managed to escape the pursuit of the Black Armor Cavalry could not escape the lead bullets.

Huang Degong raised his arms and shouted on the city wall, "Ming!"

"Wan Sheng!!"

The roar echoed from Deshengmen to Guangqumen, and the remnants of the five military camps supported each other and pursued.

The moat was filled with flags with the Chinese character "Shun" (Shun) flying all over the city, and the sluice gates were blocked tightly with corpses.

Tian Jianxiu's only remaining hand was clenched on the reins, and veins were brimming from it. He could feel his back teeth rubbing violently.

After looking at Zhu Youjian who was a mile away, Tian Jianxiu suddenly felt a strong sense of oppression.

When I was besieged by Chen Qiyu, I felt the same suffocating sense of oppression.

"Dog Emperor" Tian Jianxiu cursed angrily, whether to boost courage or morale. Anyway, the battle was already lost, and it was unknown whether Li Zicheng was dead or alive. If he could capture the emperor, he might be able to leave with the remaining 25,000 cavalry.

Liu Zongmin and his troops had a limited number of elite troops, with some at most seven or eight thousand and some at least five or six thousand. If they were dispersed, they could easily escape.

The 25,000 cavalry under his command were too conspicuous, and the enemy also had cavalry, so even if they escaped, few of them would be able to escape.

He really couldn't bear to leave these good brothers.

He turned to look at his adopted son Tian Ming and gave him a solemn instruction.

"I'll hand over two thousand of my personal soldiers to you. I'll lead the entire army and attack! Capture the damn emperor!"

"Your mission is to lead these two thousand personal soldiers to stop those three thousand heavy cavalry! Remember, you must stop them. We will hand over more than 20,000 people to you!"

Tian Ming's pupils contracted slightly.

As the general closest to Tian Jianxiu, he could clearly see the three thousand camps' sharp arrow formation forming.

Those armored cavalrymen who should have been slowed down by flesh and blood were able to turn by stepping on the corpses of their comrades, as if there were an invisible hand controlling the battle situation. They were not affected by the casualties at all and were full of energy.

On the other hand, they had just experienced a fierce battle and suffered a great defeat on the battlefield. The central army's flag fell and the army had no strength or will to fight.

It would be extremely unwise to confront the Ming army at this time.

What’s more, there are 3,000 extremely elite cavalry.

Just now, Hao Yaoqi's 10,000 cavalrymen couldn't stop them, so how could his 2,000 men possibly stop them?

But he still clasped his fists and said, "Understood!"

The elegant face under Fan Yang's hat suddenly turned ferocious.

As the two thousand guards separated, the cavalry formations of both sides collided again.

The target of this time's rebel army was very clear, that was Zhu Youjian in golden armor! As the latter was charging forward, a cry of surprise suddenly came from behind him.
"Be careful, Your Majesty!"

Then there was a sound of bones breaking.

Zhu Youjian turned around and saw that his own captain of the guards was locking the enemy rider's throat with his broken arm. As the two bodies fell off their horses, he heard Wang Yan's last whisper.

"I have done my utmost loyalty."

Wu Wei, who had been following Zhu Youjian, also realized the purpose of the Chuang army.

He hurried forward and came to Zhu Youjian's side, shouting to the army, "Three thousand battalions, guard the frame!"

Thirty thousand cavalrymen suddenly burst into terrifying war roars.

These elite soldiers who had been through hundreds of battles and were blessed with these entries became even more courageous after suffering nearly 20% casualties.

The cavalryman with a dented breastplate tore off the spear stuck in his ribs and thrust the spear head into the enemy horse's abdomen with his backhand.

Soldiers who were doomed to die if they fell off their horses had to hold onto the horse's legs while they were still able to move.

Cold sweat gradually seeped out of Tian Jianxiu's palms.

Eight thousand of his thirty thousand cavalrymen had been killed, but the Ming army on the opposite side seemed to have no idea what death was. For every one that fell, two were immediately added to their place.

What's even more terrifying is his physical strength. After fighting repeatedly, even he is a little exhausted.

The Ming army was still vigorous and vigorous, and each move was powerful and heavy.

The Emperor's Sword in Zhu Youjian's hand, which was not suitable for cavalry warfare, finally became blunt.

He simply held the sword horizontally in his hand, lay on the horse's back and used the horse's momentum to cut off the rebel army that passed by him.

He also tried to boost morale, but that was all his role was anyway.

"Soldiers of the Ming Dynasty! Follow me to kill the bandits!"

Before the roar died down, the deafening sound of gunfire rang out again in the Three Thousand Camp.

The Guanning Army's most powerful killing move is to use the three-barreled gun in close combat.

The reason why the battle just now was not fought was entirely because there were surrendered soldiers separating them in the middle. There were three guns in total, and there was no time to reload after firing.

Later, there was a melee between the two sides, which made it easy for accidental injuries.

Now I finally have the chance to perform.

The battlefield was covered with smoke.

Tian Jianxiu's left ear disappeared instantly.

He touched his bloody cheek in a daze, and was instantly struck by severe pain.

When he turned around, he saw an even more horrifying scene.

The black torrent of the black-armored cavalry had crushed Tian Ming and his two thousand personal soldiers.

"Stop them!" Tian Jianxiu roared with tears in his voice.

But it's too late.

The body of his beloved adopted son was being dragged along with an iron chain around his neck.

The soldiers in the old camp could not withstand the pressure from various sides and began to retreat in an organized manner.

These veterans who had fought for ten years turned their backs on the enemy for the first time on the battlefield.

At this moment, the black-armored cavalry has arrived.

Zhang Shize's iron mace smashed the twelfth Shun flag, and suddenly he caught a glimpse of Tian Jianxiu just a hundred steps away.

Without any hesitation, he rode forward and charged forward.

Even though there were still dozens of Chuang army cavalrymen around Tian Jianxiu.

Because of the ancestral motto he had memorized in the ancestral hall when he was young, "It is a blessing for a military official to die for his country!"

"Die, thief Tian!" Zhang Shize roared like thunder, and the sound of the iron mace breaking through the air pierced through Tian Jianxiu's intact right ear.

The latter hastily raised his sword to meet the blow, but the long sword made of fine iron could not withstand the powerful blow.

It broke into three pieces immediately.

However, the iron mace still had some force left and it smashed heavily on the beast-faced helmet, sending red and white objects flying three feet away.

The great Confucian general Tian Jianxiu felt relaxed all over, and then lost consciousness.

The main general was killed, the chief commander's life and death were unknown, the central army's banner was overturned, and the army fled in all directions.

A single incident can make an army lose its will to fight.

However, the 20,000 cavalrymen managed to hold out until all four conditions were met before they began to collapse.

The iron chain strangulation formation of the Black Armor Cavalry did not stop. The armored torrent of thirty people in groups plowed across the battlefield, mincing all the fleeing people into pieces.

Zhu Youjian's golden armor had long since turned dark red, and half a lung lobe was hanging on the blade of the Emperor's Sword.

He stared blankly at the battlefield littered with corpses. Of the 630,000 rebel troops, except for the tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers who knelt on the ground to surrender, the rest were running wildly, and the mountains and fields were filled with people.

The land within ten miles of Deshengmen was soaked in blood, and the wheat here will surely grow exceptionally lush next year.

There were 30,000 corpses lying around Zhu Youjian, including the rebel army and 3,000 elite soldiers.

Wang Chengen's nephew Wang Yan was left with only half of his body leaning against the flagpole, still holding tightly in his hand the leg of a horse that had died in battle.

Zhang Shize and the 3,000-strong cavalry continued to chase the fleeing cavalry.

Wu Wei was worried about Zhu Youjian, so he ran over with a hoarse voice.

Seeing that the latter was safe and sound, he felt relieved and his face flushed with excitement.

"Your Majesty! Great victory! Great victory!"

Zhu Youjian nodded mechanically, his eyes sweeping over the severed limbs floating in the moat.

The 700,000-strong army that was challenging the enemy in front of Deshengmen yesterday was now reduced to a mess.

The steel knife hanging above his head was finally taken off by his own hands, as if it were a dream.

Finally... survived.

On Deshengmen.

The messenger rushed over, "Report! Report to General Huang! The remaining 3,000 soldiers of Liu Zongmin's army are fleeing towards Juyong Pass, and Yuan Zongdi is leading 50,000 infantrymen towards Zijing Pass!"

"The Chuangni's central army has been defeated, and the left and right armies are fleeing towards Henan Road! Li Ni's whereabouts are unknown, and Yebushou is searching for him."

"Commanders of all divisions, please give us orders to pursue!"

Huang Degong sat back in his chair exhausted and threw the token to the messenger.

"Inform all units. Except for leaving half the troops in the five camps to guard the surrendered soldiers and defend the capital, the rest of the troops will pursue the enemy for a hundred miles! Anyone who captures and kills the bandit leader will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and the hereditary title of a thousand households! Whoever captures the traitor Li will be made a marquis!"

"Yes, sir!" The messenger hurried away.

Huang Degong picked up a cup of tea with trembling hands, but couldn't even bring it to his mouth.

No one is more nervous than him, no one is under more pressure than him, and no one wants to win more than him!
If we lose this battle, the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed.

Huang Degong will be a sinner who will be infamous for eternity!
Your Majesty has worked so hard to gather the elite troops, and the last hope of the Ming Dynasty is all under his command.

Even His Majesty himself took to the battlefield.

The emperor’s grace is so great, it is comparable to sleeping with your feet together.

If he lost, he really didn't dare to think about how to apologize.

Fortunately, this victory was won.

Huang Degong sat on the top of the city wall, enjoying the warm midday breeze and laughing heartily.

"Hahahaha, this is victory! Ming Dynasty wins! Ha... uh."

Did I forget something?

Never mind, just continue laughing, "Hahahahahaha..."

Inside a prison temporarily converted from a city defense warehouse under the city wall.

Ni Yuanlu and other ministers almost shed tears when they heard the loud cheers outside.

"Such a great victory, yet we cannot bear witness to it with Your Majesty. We would rather die!"

"This scoundrel! This brute! I want to fight him with swords! Single combat!"

"Mr. Zhi... that... Huang Chuangzi once fought and killed a bear..."

"Well... this old man... this old man..."

……

On the Changping Ancient Road, Hao Yaoqi carried Li Zicheng and ran wildly.

The warhorse could not withstand such torture and fell to the ground with foam at the mouth.

Li Zicheng and Hao Yaoqi fell heavily to the ground.

"Where are we?" Li Zicheng asked in a daze, touching the wound on his forehead.

Hao Yaoqi tore off his bloodstained battle robe and wrapped it around Li Zicheng's forehead. "We're still forty miles from Changyi Pass, Prince Chuang, our brother."

Before he could finish his words, this tower-like man suddenly choked up.

Li Zicheng turned his head and saw that of the more than 300 personal guards who had followed him during his escape, only 43 were left.

At that time, he led an army of 700,000 and headed straight for the capital. How heroic and ambitious he was.

But it was only a few days, no, it was only half a day.

Everything came to nothing.

The key is that he caused it himself!
If they had followed the advice of Niu Jinxing or Song Xiance and taken a steady and cautious approach, they probably wouldn't have given the Guanning Army a chance to enter the city.

The situation will be reversed!

The more I think about it, the more hopeless my life becomes.

Li Zicheng suddenly burst into laughter, grabbed his sword and slashed wildly, frightening his guards and forcing them to retreat. "Seven hundred thousand troops! My seven hundred thousand troops!"

Sparks flew as the sword struck the fallen rocks on the roadside. He stared at the cracked edge of the blade, as if he saw the large banner with the word "Shun" falling in front of Desheng Gate.

Li Zicheng closed his eyes, held the sword across his neck, and murmured.

"It's over... it's all over!"

Sorry, I forgot to set the timer to publish. I just saw that it was not published.

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(End of this chapter)