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

As the gates of Donghai Fort opened, Ao Bai personally led a hundred cavalrymen to charge out first.

At this moment, Ao Bai could no longer care whether the two hundred infantrymen behind him could keep up; he had to kill the young Ming general as quickly as possible.

When Ao Bai rushed out of the city gate and saw Zhang Jingchuan two hundred paces away, he couldn't wait any longer and raised the long sword in his hand.

But when he saw the other side turn their horse around and flee in panic, his mind went blank.

shame!

What a shame!

To have been insulted for so long by a weak and spineless coward of the Ming army was the greatest humiliation he had ever suffered in his life.

Such a humiliating disgrace must be healed with the blood and head of the enemy.

"You rat, don't run away!" Ao Bai shouted as he spurred his horse into a gallop.

Zhang Jingchuan paid no attention to Ao Bai's curses from behind. He had the template of Xiang Yu, so he was naturally not afraid of Ao Bai. The reason he ran back was to lure out all the Qing troops in the fort and then use cannons to bombard the area.

After all, individual bravery is nowhere near as destructive as a barrage of artillery fire.

"fire!"

With Li Daniu's command.

The Hongyi Cannon and the Mielu Cannon, which had the longest range, were the first to fire. With a series of "bangs," twenty-five cannonballs flew toward the gate of Donghai Fort.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The cannonballs exploded violently on the ground, and in an instant, the Qing soldiers who rushed out of the city gate were thrown to the ground, their bodies and flesh flying everywhere.

however,

The Qing army's bravery was not diminished by the explosion of the cannonballs.

Despite the fact that his comrades-in-arms were being killed or wounded one by one, Qing soldiers behind him still rushed forward, stepping over the corpses of their companions.

"Fire!" came Li Daniu's loud shout.

The second round of bombardment began.

Ao Bai's eyes were bloodshot. At this moment, he no longer cared about his troops being bombarded by the Ming army's cannons. All he could see was the young Ming general who was riding away for his life in front of him.

For Ao Bai, the moment he rushed out of the fortress, he knew there was no turning back.

He must lead the hundred or so cavalrymen behind him to charge into the Ming army's formation a thousand paces away as quickly as possible in order to win the victory.

Eight hundred steps...

700 steps...

"Boom!" The twenty Tiger Lord Cannons, each with a range of seven hundred paces, roared.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" One hundred Ming soldiers armed with self-propelled muskets opened fire.

Five hundred steps...

"Boom!" The fifteen general cannons began to display their might.

At this point, all sixty cannons that Zhang Jingchuan brought from Songshan City were put into battle, and each round of bombardment caused varying degrees of casualties to the Qing troops.

The cavalry was alright because they were highly mobile and relatively dispersed when they ran. Even if a cannonball landed near them, they would only lose one or two riders.

But the infantry following behind the cavalry were not so lucky.

Since the soldiers were all pouring out of the city gates and were standing close together, if a cannonball landed nearby, three to five people would be injured. If the cannonball landed in the middle of the crowd, it would cause even more casualties.

Three hundred steps...

Two hundred steps...

Ao Bai, leading fifty or sixty cavalry, was about to reach the Ming army when the Ming army changed formation.

Under Ao Bai's horrified gaze, the first two rows of musketeers quickly crouched down, while the third row of Ming soldiers raised their three-barreled muskets.

In the blink of an eye...

Zhang Jingchuan pulled on the reins with his left hand, causing his entire body to fall to the left, and his warhorse was also pulled down by his immense force.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The three-eyed gun began to spit fire.

Cast iron bullets and iron filings, propelled by the gunpowder, shot out in a flurry, heading straight for the oncoming Qing cavalry.

Having been through many battles, Ao Bai naturally knew the power of this three-barreled gun.

Although the effective range of the three-barreled gun is only sixty or seventy paces, its damage area is very wide. Once hit, even if one does not die, one will be seriously injured.

Ao Bai charged ahead, and the instant Zhang Jingchuan pulled his horse to the ground, he quickly pulled on the reins, causing his warhorse's front hooves to leap high into the air, intending to use his own horse to block the damage from the three-eyed gun.

Eyesight, reflexes, and horsemanship are all indispensable.

Ao Bai was able to be bestowed the title of Baturu by Huang Taiji, which naturally meant he had the ability to do so. However, the cavalry behind him did not react in the same way, and both the men and their horses were hit by bullets and fell down.

"Kill!" Li Daniu gave the order, drew his steel sword from his waist, and charged out first.

The swordsmen and shieldmen on the flanks followed closely behind, finishing off the fallen Qing cavalrymen in front of them. As for the Qing cavalrymen behind them who had not fallen, they had to rein in their horses because of the fall of their comrades in front of them.

Just as they were about to charge at the Ming soldiers with swords and shields who were attacking them, they were met with muskets that had been reloaded.

Sixty cannons continued to bombard the Qing infantry, and when they finally managed to run within five hundred paces, they were met with Ming muskets.

At this moment, Ao Bai felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water, and instantly sobered up.

He got up from the ground, looked at his troops lying in disarray around him, and at the foot soldiers falling one after another behind him, his mind went blank.

At that moment, he realized how absurd and naive his decision to leave the fortress and fight had been.

When he saw the young Ming general wielding a steel sword relentlessly slaughtering his own men, he realized that the reason the enemy turned his horse around and fled was not because they were afraid of him, but because they had planned to use firearms to take the lives of his men from the very beginning.

however,

The realization came too late; all he could do now was try to escape.

As long as he can get back alive, one day he will take back everything he has lost today!

Ao Bai made a snap decision, mounted a stray horse, and rode north.

Seeing that Ao Bai was about to escape, Zhang Jingchuan quickly dodged a musketeer's gun, aimed at Ao Bai's back, and fired a shot.

Ao Bai was shot in the right shoulder, and the intense pain almost made him fall off his horse, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and steadied himself.

Zhang Jingchuan frowned as he watched Ao Bai gradually disappear into the distance.

He knew full well that letting Ao Bai escape today would become the biggest hidden danger for Donghai Fort in the future.

As Ao Bai fled, the remaining hundred or so Qing soldiers, under the siege of the Ming army, gradually lost their will to resist and knelt down to beg for surrender.

In today's battle, the Ming army suffered dozens of casualties, killed more than two hundred enemy soldiers, and captured dozens of enemy soldiers. Zhang Jingchuan's side can be said to have won a great victory.

Zhang Jingchuan sent Li Daniu into the city first with the artillery and supplies, while he stayed outside the fortress to supervise everyone in cleaning up the battlefield.

Just as Zhang Jingchuan was inspecting the spoils of war, Li Daniu walked over with an old man, who was the same person who had smiled at him from the fortress wall earlier.

The old man's hair was already gray, and his face was deeply wrinkled; he looked to be around fifty or sixty years old.

Although he was old, he stood up straight and walked with a steady gait, clearly a man from a military background. Moreover, the way he looked at me indicated that he had once held a high position.

Xu Fuzou approached Zhang Jingchuan, his expression calm, a smile on his face, and bowed respectfully, saying:

"This humble subject, Xu Fu, pays his respects to Your Excellency."

……