Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"Your Majesty! We've detected an enemy force in the northeast, numbering approximately 20,000 to 30,000!"

A scout came running over with a terrified look on his face. He said that he had personally witnessed the bombardment that was like a thunderclap, and was still a little frightened.

Huang Taiji was filled with grief and indignation upon hearing this. He took two quick steps, grabbed the scout's collar, and asked anxiously:

"Did you see the flag clearly?"

The scout was frightened by Huang Taiji's sudden action and trembled, hesitatingly replied:

"Your Majesty, it's too far away to see clearly, but it seems...it seems to be a yellow word."

"Huang Degong!" Huang Taiji muttered to himself, and in surprise let go of the hand that was holding the scout's collar.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-

Boom—boom boom boom boom—boom—

At this time, violent artillery fire sounded again, and compared with the first round, this time the artillery fire lasted longer.

Dorgon was nearly hit by artillery fire, but his brother Dodo was not so lucky. A cannonball hit Dodo's right chest.

Even the Qing Empire's finest cotton armor could not withstand the immense impact of the heavy artillery. Duoduo's entire right shoulder was shattered, and he was thrown several steps back by the immense impact.

Dorgon was only twenty steps away from Dodo, and he saw with his own eyes that his brother was severely injured.

"Old Fifteen!" Dorgon rushed towards Duoduo like crazy and hugged Duoduo in his arms.

Unlike Dorgon and his brothers Huang Taiji, Daishan and others, Dorgon, Dodo and Ajige were three brothers from the same mother.

But all along, the three brothers were not close to each other. Instead, they often quarreled over the interests of their own banner and even had conflicts.

Dorgon believed that both his elder brother Ajige and his younger brother Dodo were rude and reckless, lacking in wisdom and irritable, and were not capable of accomplishing great things.

But even so, they still fought for the Qing Dynasty. They fought side by side on the Mongolian grasslands, in the mountains of Korea, and on the land of the Ming Dynasty.

It was not until Ajige was killed by the bastard Zhang Shikang in front of him that Dorgon suddenly realized how insignificant those minor frictions were compared to the blood-thicker-than-water family ties.

And now, Duoduo also...

"Brother... I'm useless. Hurry... run... get out of here..."

Duoduo's injuries were so severe that he only had time to say these few words before he passed away.

He did not ask Dorgon to avenge him in anger as he had before, but only reminded him to leave here and stay away from those powerful and large artillery groups.

Just because they are brothers.

At this moment, Dorgon burst into tears. He held Dodo's body and cried loudly, even though there was chaos around him and even though he lost his composure in front of his own guards.

On the other side, more than 7,000 artillerymen were working together in an orderly manner.

The person cleaning the barrel couldn't wait to get into the gun, while the person carrying the gunpowder barrel had already weighed the gunpowder in advance, and could quickly load the gunpowder as soon as the barrel was cleaned.

Another person was holding a twenty-pound artillery shell waiting for loading. At the tail end of the gun barrel, several artillerymen were calibrating the angle under the command of the sentry chief.

"Order from the Grand Marshal! Fire immediately after loading the ammunition! No need to wait for the order to fire!"

A messenger carrying a flag came on a fast horse, quickly passing through the artillery position and loudly announcing the latest orders.

Because of this moment, the Guards suffered heavy casualties, and Zhang Shikang decisively gave up the volley.

The time available to the artillery was too short. Once the enemy army reacted and began to disintegrate, the lethality of the artillery was greatly weakened.

"Master, we don't have to commit suicide, right?" Zhu Cilang tugged at the corner of Zhang Shikang's clothes and asked seriously.

The moment his master shouted that he would never be taken prisoner, Zhu Cilang was mentally prepared to commit suicide if he was defeated.

He was the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty. He would rather commit suicide than be a prisoner of the enemy country.

He had thought it through long ago. Even if he died, he still had several brothers, his father was still young, and the Ming Dynasty would not lack heirs.

Even if he died, he would rather not let the Ming Dynasty be humiliated.

"No need. I will never encounter such a situation again." Zhang Shikang answered with certainty.

This battle took place when the Ming Dynasty was on its way out of decline but had not yet fully recovered its national strength, while the Qing Dynasty was at its peak.

If they did not take risks, they would be controlled by the Qing Dynasty on the prairie, just like the five expeditions to Mongolia by Emperor Yongle, which consumed huge amounts of manpower and material resources but achieved very little results, and ultimately failed to eliminate the nomadic threat for the Ming Dynasty.

However, Zhang Shikang still underestimated the degree of danger, so much so that there were one or two moments when Zhang Shikang felt he was about to fail.

But Huang Degong, Lu Xiangsheng and others did not disappoint Zhang Shikang. They arrived at Guanshan as scheduled at the most critical moment, and they seized the opportunity just right.

"It was the artillery that won the opportunity for our Guards." Zhang Shikang said again.

The Qing Empire must have thought that the Imperial Guards were at the end of their strength, so they launched rounds of fierce attacks. Although the Imperial Guards were tired, the Qing Empire was also tired.

At this time, reinforcements from the Guards arrived, and three hundred heavy artillery pieces opened fire. The morale of the Tartars was instantly crushed, and everything was over.

The reason why Lu Xiangsheng and Huang Degong arrived at this time instead of earlier was to launch a counter-encirclement of the Qing Dynasty. They had to eliminate as many elite troops of the Qing Dynasty as possible in this battle.

There is no better opportunity than now. It is too difficult to defeat the entire main force of the Tatars in an organized manner.

"No." Zhu Cilang regained his composure and rarely denied his master's statement.

"It was the truth that won this opportunity." Zhu Cilang stated his reasons and was very confident.

Just now, on this blood-stained land, the sun rose and shone brightly, and he witnessed with his own eyes what truth is.

"You kid, you can learn and use it right away." Zhang Shikang gave a bitter smile.

Regardless, he won the bet.

After this battle, the Qing Dynasty will no longer have a chance.

……

"Your Majesty! There are also enemies in the northwest. They are the border troops of the Ming Dynasty!"

The huge sound of artillery fire forced the Qing Dynasty's scouts to report loudly even though they came to Huang Taiji, enduring the pain in their ears.

"Lu Xiangsheng..."

"Who's next, Wu Sangui?" Huang Taiji muttered to himself and closed his eyes in pain.

Everything is clear.

The surrounding personal guards and civil and military ministers all had faces filled with horror. They could never have imagined that they were the ones surrounding the Ming Dynasty's imperial guards and had the upper hand.

How did the situation suddenly reverse? The Guards suddenly had so many heavy artillery pieces, and in just two quarters of an hour, they were surrounded!

Among all the people present, only Huang Taiji had the calmest expression, but no one could understand how much pain he was in at the moment.

In this war where the fate of the country was at stake, he thought he was a chess player. As long as Zhang Shikang was killed, the Qing Dynasty would no longer have any hidden dangers.

Based on his understanding of the gentry class in the Ming Dynasty, it would not be long before the Ming Dynasty would return to its original state of rampant corruption and constant internal strife.

In order to kill Zhang Shikang, he did seem a little careless.

He had been cautious his entire life, but this time, just this one time...

Now he understood that he was not a chess player, but a chess piece.

This was all a conspiracy. The kid took advantage of his psychology and he jumped into the trap on his own initiative.

He no longer cared who leaked the military information. It was all meaningless.

The funny thing is, until a quarter of an hour ago, he still thought he had victory in his grasp.

Grief, pain, and unwillingness.

He suddenly felt helpless and wanted to find his brother.

Looking around, he saw no Dorgon, Daishan and other brothers, only a few Han officials with terrified faces.

He sadly discovered that because of his carelessness, his brothers might have...

At this moment, all his emotions burst out in his chest, and Huang Taiji felt uncomfortable and breathless.

A warm current surged in his heart, and Huang Taiji suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

His strength was rapidly fading, and he fell off his horse helplessly.

The Han officials around exclaimed.

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty!"

……