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

The setting sun, like blood, soaked through the city walls of Fangshan, as if the entire city had been dyed a layer of scarlet.

Li Dingguo reined in his horse and stood atop the high slope, his iron armor gleaming coldly in the afterglow of the setting sun.

His gaze was sharp as a blade, piercing through the smoke of battle and pointing directly at the crumbling city wall.

Three days ago, the gunpowder-laden earthworm he had ordered to be buried finally exploded at the foot of the city wall, with a deafening roar and billowing smoke and dust.

The city wall shook violently during the explosion, bricks and stones crumbled, and dust flew everywhere.

Li Dingguo could almost clearly see the look of horror flashing in Wu Guogui's eyes on the city wall, a look of madness from a cornered beast on the verge of death.

Wu Guogui stood atop the city wall, his dented armor dull and lifeless in the sunlight.

His face was as pale as paper, and he gripped the long knife tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

The rebel army surged in from below the city like a tidal wave, their battle cries shaking the heavens and the earth.

The Western Army under Li Dingguo was brave and fierce. Although their weapons and armor were inferior to his, their fearless appearance greatly surprised the Ming army.

At this moment, Wu Guogui's feelings were complex and difficult to describe.

he knows,

Fangshan can no longer be defended.

"Fire arrows!"

Wu Guogui roared hoarsely, his voice filled with despair.

Despite knowing the final outcome, he still fought desperately, not to defend the crumbling city, but to kill more bandits and relieve some pressure on Fang Zhengbang, who was stationed at Guangli Bridge.

The Lion and Tiger Battalion on the city wall consisted largely of veterans who had been withdrawn from Liaodong.

With these veterans as the backbone, the new recruits around them remained calm despite their panic.

For a time,

The Ming archers on the city wall drew their bows to the limit, unleashing a hail of arrows like locusts.

The sound of arrows piercing the air was sharp and shrill, carrying the whistling of death as they shot towards the Shun army below the city.

Western soldiers pushed carts covered with wet cotton shields, slowly approaching the city wall.

The dull thud of arrows piercing cotton mingled with the wails of the dying, weaving a blood-red net across the scorched earth.

Each arrow that struck its target sprayed blood, and the Western Army soldiers fell one after another, but the soldiers behind them continued to advance, stepping over the corpses of their comrades.

After finally managing to climb onto the city wall using siege ladders, they were shot down by musketeers on the wall.

Li Dingguo watched all of this coldly, his face showing no emotion.

He raised his hand to signal, and the five cannons behind him slowly turned their muzzles, the dark muzzles pointing at the city wall.

Gunner Li Sanma's one eye was bloodshot. As he brought the torch close to the fuse, a sinister smile curled at the corner of his mouth: "You damned government troops, I'll send you to meet the King of Hell!"

With a deafening roar, cannonballs whistled out and slammed heavily against the city walls.

Bricks and stones crumbled, dust billowed, and the city wall showed signs of collapse under the bombardment of artillery.

The city gate burst open with tremendous force, and bricks and stones rained down, hitting the Western Army and Ming Army soldiers below, causing screams of agony to rise and fall.

"Kill!" Bai Wenxuan, bare-chested and brandishing his sword, led five hundred elite soldiers, trampling over severed limbs, into the barbican.

His face was covered in blood, and his eyes gleamed with madness.

Wu Guogui's personal guards, wielding spiked clubs, charged forward, their blows sending blood and flesh flying.

A young Western Army soldier was struck in the waist with a spiked club. His upper body was still crawling, and his intestines were dragged out in a three-foot-long bloody trail, a truly gruesome sight.

Without the protection of the city walls,

Bai Wenxuan led the Western Army in a swarm of troops.

Faced with an enemy army several times their size, the Ming troops inside the city were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, and could only fight and retreat.

As the veteran soldiers of Liaodong fell in battle, the new recruits that followed also disintegrated.

Some died, some fled, and some surrendered.

Only Wu Guogui led twenty or thirty of his personal guards to retreat to the corner tower and hold their ground, their tattered armor splattered with brains and blood.

His breathing was rapid, and the spiked club in his hand was nowhere to be found. Only the long knife with its worn edge remained in his hand, but he still gripped it tightly, as if it were the last barrier between him and death.

He suddenly recalled what Emperor Chongzhen had said when he bestowed the armor: "This armor is indestructible..."

Thinking about this,

Wu Guogui glanced instinctively at his already tattered armor and cursed under his breath.

The arrow tower caught fire, and the heat wave made the armor scorch. Large beads of sweat appeared on Wu Guogui's forehead.

He took off his helmet, revealing graying temples, and a resolute look appeared in his eyes.

He took a deep breath and roared at Li Dingguo, who was not far away, "Li Dingguo! I'll be waiting for you in the underworld!"

Before he could finish speaking, he leaped into the sea of ​​fire, turning into a charred corpse.

Li Dingguo stood not far away, coldly watching Wu Guogui's corpse burn in the sea of ​​fire.

His face remained expressionless, as if all of this was within his expectations.

He slowly raised his hand, and the Shun army behind him surged into the city like a tide, their shouts of battle shaking the heavens and the earth.

With the fall of Fangshan, the Ming army's resistance crumbled under the fierce attack of the Shun army.

The people in the city fled in all directions, their cries and screams mingling together, creating a scene resembling a living hell.

Li Dingguo rode his horse into the city, the horse's hooves pounding on the streets littered with blood and corpses.

At the moment Fangshan fell, Li Dingguo's gaze was cold and stern.

He felt no joy of victory, but rather a complex mix of emotions.

He could understand why Wu Guogui was determined to fight to the death in Fangshan.

Because Fangshan is the first line of defense for Beijing.

Wu Guogui had a reason to fight to the death.

But for Li Dingguo, this battle was also a fight to the death with no way out!

Li Zicheng was defeated.

Zhang Jingchuan's army has occupied Shanxi. If he were to send troops back to reinforce the province, Li Dingguo would not hesitate to flee south.

unless,

He was able to capture Beijing and take Emperor Chongzhen prisoner before Zhang Jingchuan returned with his troops.

By then,

With the emperor in hand, Zhang Jingchuan would inevitably be hesitant to act rashly.

Only then could Li Dingguo find a way to survive.

at this time,

Bai Wenxuan stepped forward and reported, "General, we have captured nearly two thousand Ming soldiers. What should we do with them?"

Li Dingguo looked up at the lingering clouds in the sky and said calmly, "You're leading the vanguard to attack Guangli Bridge; these cannon fodder are just what you need."

"Understood!" Bai Wenxuan grinned and asked, "General, when shall we depart?"

Li Dingguo looked at Bai Wenxuan but did not speak.

Bai Wenxuan raised an eyebrow, then turned around and addressed his deputies in a loud voice:

"Brothers, muster your troops and lead these surrendered government soldiers to attack Guangli Bridge!"

"Yes!" Several deputies acknowledged the order and left.

Bai Wenxuan turned around and bowed to Li Dingguo to take his leave, but Li Dingguo called out to him to stop.

"Before sunset tomorrow..."

"Rest assured, General, I will be waiting for you at Guangli Bridge before nightfall tomorrow!"

finished,

Bai Wenxuan clasped his hands in farewell and took his leave.

Watching Bai Wenxuan's departing figure, Li Dingguo opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something more.

But in the end,

In the end, only a sigh remained.

sometimes,

The uncertainty of what lies ahead is what torments people the most.

And he, Li Dingguo

It will determine the lives and future of tens of thousands of people.

"In the end, someone has to play the game of chess in the world."

Li Dingguo muttered to himself, a resolute glint in his eyes.

he knows,

There was no turning back; the only way forward was to carve out a path to survival for these tens of thousands of people!

……