I was living at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and I dealt a brutal blow to the Eight Banners!

"The Tartars are attacking!"

"Brothers, run!"

The sounds of fighting, wailing, and the clanging of metal were incessant.

Zhang Jingchuan was awakened by the noise and smelled the stench of dust and blood in the air, which made him feel uneasy and caused his stomach acid to churn.

Zhang Jingchuan opened his eyes, looked around, and was momentarily stunned.

All around him were gruesome corpses, blood still gushing from wounds on their necks, and several armored soldiers were fleeing in panic.

He lay on the ground, a corpse pressing down on him. He straightened up and pushed the corpse off. The corpse even had a small braid tied at the back of its head, and its cotton armor was different from his own.

where am I?

Zhang Jingchuan fell into deep thought amidst a sense of existential unease, and then he was forced to begin to doubt.

I traveled through...

A torrent of memories surged forth, giving him no chance to react; countless fragments of memories flashed rapidly through his mind like a slideshow.

Zhang Jingchuan, courtesy name Huai'an, was a minor officer in the Ningyuan Guard of the Ming Dynasty. After being incorporated into the border army, he became a captain.

It is now the fourteenth year of the Chongzhen reign. If my memories from my previous life are correct, this should be the time of the Battle of Songjin, which is also the last battle between the Ming and Qing dynasties in the Liaoxi battlefield.

In this battle, the Ming army suffered a major defeat, and the Ming Dynasty was never able to organize an effective counterattack against the Qing army again.

He struggled to process his memories, and combined them with the surrounding circumstances, quickly realizing that his current situation was a truly hellish start.

In the distance, Ming troops were fighting Qing troops, and further away, there was a dark mass of Qing troops.

Perhaps seeing the arrival of Qing reinforcements in the distance, many Ming soldiers around them began to show signs of collapse.

He turned around and looked behind him. There was a Ming army formation, a dark mass. Besides the Ming army flag, there was another flag that seemed to have a large "Hong" character embroidered on it.

Hong Chengchou? I am a soldier under Hong Chengchou!

The main forces of the two armies faced off, with the vanguard battalions of both sides probing each other first.

And he was in the vanguard battalion, which was being used as cannon fodder.

Given the current situation, the Ming army's vanguard is already showing signs of collapse. Once the soldiers at the front fall, what follows will be a one-sided massacre.

As for escaping?

That's absolutely impossible!

Standing in front of the Ming army formation at the rear were fierce and menacing supervisors, and many of the vanguard soldiers who had fled back had already died under their blades.

In other words, with wolves in front and tigers behind, charging forward meant certain death, and fleeing back also meant certain death.

Thinking of this, Zhang Jingchuan felt a chill run down his spine.

【Ding! 】

Just then, a voice, devoid of emotion and devoid of any feeling, echoed in my mind:

[Mission Triggered: Survive today!]

Complete the task to get a chance to win a prize!

Zhang Jingchuan was stunned, cursing inwardly: Survive today? You're not giving me anything, how am I supposed to survive today?

[Ding! New player gift pack detected. Open it?]

"Open it! Open it!" Zhang Jingchuan said anxiously.

[Ding! Congratulations on obtaining the "Template of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu"!]

Then, the description of the [Template of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu] came to mind:

[Effect: Unrivaled in bravery, commanding overwhelming obedience, and invincible.]

"Hiss—" Zhang Jingchuan gasped.

While the "Overlord of Western Chu" module can certainly make him a force to be reckoned with, he is about to face thousands of fierce Qing soldiers. Relying solely on his personal bravery, he will likely find it difficult to reverse the tide of defeat.

If things go wrong, you might find yourself surrounded and possibly worn down to death.

He looked around at the demoralized Ming soldiers, their faces filled with fear and helplessness. Then, he turned his gaze to the Ming army formation in the distance behind him.

The situation is now very clear.

The Ming and Qing armies each sent out a vanguard battalion to probe the enemy. If the Ming vanguard battalion was defeated, the Qing army would gain the initiative, and the main Ming army behind would either form a defensive formation and hold their ground or retreat slowly.

Therefore,

The Ming army's vanguard must not be defeated!

Zhang Jingchuan quickly calmed down. Then, he took a deep breath of the cold air, picked up his sword from the ground, gripped it tightly in his hand, and climbed onto a chariot that had lost one wheel.

Looking around, there were crowds of people, at least a thousand.

The Qing army was already outnumbered, but if they could inspire the thousands of Ming soldiers to fight, they might have a fighting chance.

The template of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, has the effect of commanding widespread support, so it might be successful.

In addition, their unparalleled bravery and invincible military strength can greatly boost the morale of these Ming soldiers. Considering all this, they are not without a chance of winning.

He picked up an unclaimed steel knife from the ground and struck it hard against the back of his own knife. The two blades clashed, producing a clear, resonant metallic clang.

This immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding Ming soldiers, who all turned to look at Zhang Jingchuan, their panicked and helpless eyes filled with a hint of doubt.

Zhang Jingchuan surveyed the soldiers with a stern expression and said in a loud voice:

"Brothers, I know you are all very scared right now. I am scared too! Ahead are the ferocious Tartar soldiers, and behind us are the supervisory teams. No matter where we run, it seems like we are heading straight for death."

Hundreds of Ming soldiers stared blankly at Zhang Jingchuan. Many of them recognized him; he was a minor officer in the Ningyuan Guard.

"Brother, what do you think we should do?" a rough-looking man asked loudly.

Zhang Jingchuan looked at the man, who was the cook from the banner, named Li Daniu.

As soon as Li Daniu asked the question, a desire for life appeared in almost everyone's eyes.

“Brother Li, that’s a good question,” Zhang Jingchuan said, glancing at the soldiers again. “Look behind you. The General is watching us. As long as we can defeat this group of Tartar soldiers, the General will lead his troops to charge over, and we’ll have a chance to survive!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Ming soldiers were in an uproar.

Seeing the fear still lingering in everyone's eyes, Zhang Jingchuan roared in anger:

"The Tartar soldiers are human too, just like us. They have a head on their shoulders. If you cut them, they will feel pain and bleed. They will die anyway. If they are going to die, they should die with dignity. Killing one breaks even, killing two makes a profit!"

We have no way out. Surrender means death, go back means death too. We're going to die either way, and we outnumber the Tartars. Why not fight them to the death?!

"He's right, we're all born of the same parents, what's there to be afraid of!" With that, Li Daniu raised his arms and shouted, "Fight to the death!"

"Fight to the bitter end!"

Those who knew Zhang Jingchuan and Li Daniu also joined in Li Daniu's shouting.

Then, more Ming soldiers joined in the shouting, and more and more Ming soldiers began to join the shouting. In the end, almost all Ming soldiers, regardless of rank, began to shout wildly.

Once despair, fear, and repression find an outlet, the energy that bursts forth is undoubtedly astonishing.

"kill!"

Zhang Jingchuan turned around, facing the Qing army to the west, and fiercely brandished his steel sword, roaring at the top of his lungs.

More and more Ming soldiers followed suit, raising their weapons high into the sky, waving them wildly, and roaring furiously.

The roars and shouts of thousands of people gathered together were deafening.

Not only were the Qing soldiers hundreds of paces away shocked, but even the main force of the Ming army thousands of paces away was astonished.

……