I wield power with my innate talents, and forge the Heavenly Court.

Chapter 167 Eastward Advance, Trapped at Zhenyuan Pass
Although Sun Zushou and Man Gui both died in the subsequent defense of Beijing.

However, their unwavering spirit of fighting to the death greatly boosted the morale of the Ming army, causing Huang Taiji's several attacks to fail.

On the contrary, under Yuan Chonghuan's command, Huang Taiji's eldest son, Hauge, almost died in battle.

Under these circumstances, Emperor Chongzhen summoned Yuan Chonghuan into the city and then arrested and imprisoned him.

For a time, the army led by Yuan Chonghuan was filled with panic.

Upon receiving this news, Zu Dashou immediately led his army back, intending to return to Shanhaiguan.

However, he was dissuaded by Sun Chengzong halfway there.

Even so, he no longer had the will to participate in the defense of the capital; he simply did not rebel.

In the following month, Huang Taiji launched several attacks on the capital, but all of them ended in failure.

Looking at the majestic capital city, Huang Taiji sighed.

It's a pity. If he stays any longer, the armies from all sides will march into the capital to support the emperor, and then it will be too late for him to leave.

Helpless, in January of the third year of Chongzhen's reign, he could only carry the spoils of this entry into the pass eastward, conquering several more cities before leaving the pass.

Then, in March of the third year of the Chongzhen reign, Yuan Chonghuan was executed by slow slicing.

Yuan Chonghuan, the anti-Qing general whose reputation was mixed in later generations, has come to a complete end.

While Huang Taiji entered the pass and various armies rushed to the capital to defend the emperor, the Dynasty's People's Salvation Army was not idle either.

Wang Ziyong and his group were guided by the peasant community and shadowy figures to the easternmost part of Shaanxi, then crossed the Yellow River and entered Shanxi.

At this moment, apart from the small number of troops left behind by Hong Chengchou and the border posts in Ningxia and Yulin, there was basically no military force left in Shaanxi.

The Ming army was nearly wiped out, and the rebel army had all entered Shanxi.

With everything prepared, in January of the third year of Chongzhen's reign, when the Later Jin army withdrew, the dynasty boldly marched eastward and captured Qingyang Prefecture in one fell swoop.

Wang Erniu's troops marched out of Jingluwei and entered Ningxiawei, where they also fought their way through many checkpoints.

At this moment, Wang Erniu became somewhat arrogant, because the Ming army seemed too weak in the face of the People's Salvation Army, and they were almost no match for them.

After some deliberation, they decided to divide their forces and advance separately.

In the beginning, it took several hundred people to attack a city, but later on, even a few dozen people dared to attack a city.

However, in reality, even so, the People's Salvation Army often managed to capture cities one after another.

The situation only changed when Wang Erniu led less than a hundred men to attack Zhenyuan Pass, the northernmost point of Ningxia Guard.

The garrison commander of Zhenyuan Pass watched as cities across the land fell one after another, and they were probably powerless to resist.

In the end, he even contacted Ligdan Khan of the Tumed Tatar tribe outside the Great Wall, wanting to conspire with him to wipe out Wang Erniu's troops.

After receiving the secret message, Lin Dan Khan fell into deep hesitation.

He truly hated the People's Salvation Army, but at the same time, he was also extremely afraid of them. His repeated battles with the People's Salvation Army taught him this.

The People's Salvation Army was not comparable to ordinary armies and was far beyond the reach of the Tumed army.

However, when he learned that the militia only numbered a little over a hundred, he finally became tempted. This was a rare opportunity for revenge, and he could also take the chance to raid Ningxia.

Most importantly, they might be able to seize the weapons of the militia.

He had long coveted the rifles of the militia.

Ultimately, Lindan Khan decided to lead 20,000 troops to join forces with the Zhenyuan Pass garrison commander and the militia led by Wang Erniu to save the people.

Yes, this shows his respect for, or rather, his awe of, the People's Salvation Army.

Of course, he also had other considerations: what if the rescue force was more than a hundred?
Thus, when Wang Erniu led his army to attack Zhenyuan Pass, a large number of Tumed cavalry suddenly appeared around them and began to attack.

Upon seeing this, Wang Erniu's expression changed, and he immediately dispatched more than eighty men to temporarily block the Tatar Tumed cavalry.

He led twenty soldiers of the Salvation Army to intensify the attack on Zhenyuan Pass.

Wang Erniu himself took the lead, braving the arrows of the Ming army, and charged directly to the foot of Zhenyuan Pass. He mobilized the iron-blooded aura of a hundred men, as well as some of the national fortune he could draw upon, and slashed straight down along the crack in the door with his sword.

"Tsk~!"

"Pfft!"

"Bang bang."

"Wow."

With two dull thuds, the city gate bolt was cleaved in two.

Without saying a word, Wang Erniu mobilized his forces, forcefully pushed open the city gate, and shot the city gate guards dead with a few shots.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Erniu led his men into Zhenyuan Pass, then slammed the gate shut and rushed into the city.

With Wang Erniu leading his men into the city, the battle inside could be declared over.

The garrison commander of Zhenyuan Pass originally intended to open the city gates and let the Tumed army led by Ligdan Khan enter the city.

However, in the end, he was shot dead by Wang Erniu.

Subsequently, Wang Erniu relied on Zhenyuan Pass to engage in a fierce battle with 20,000 Tatar Tumed cavalry.

Standing atop the city wall, while organizing the others to fire their weapons, Wang Erniu also summoned his General's rank card.

With a slight sigh, Wang Erniu still had a thought, and the card emitted a faint glow, then transformed into a light screen the size of an A4 sheet of paper.

He pulled up a list of his generals, began editing the text, and issued orders for them to gather at Zhenyuan Pass to provide support.

This is a new feature added to the Celestial Rank Card, allowing you to send messages to people you are connected with, enabling them to transmit information more quickly and preventing delays that could cause problems.

However, although Wang Erniu used his Heavenly Rank Card to issue the order to gather and increase personnel.

However, that will eventually take time.

He needed to hold out for at least another day to wait for reinforcements from the militia and to completely annihilate the invading enemy.

Before this, Zhenyuan Pass was held by these hundred or so men.

It was really not easy to defend against the 20,000-strong army led by Ligdan Khan.

Their numbers were simply too small, scattered around the four sides of the city wall with only twenty-odd people on each side. How could they possibly withstand the siege of an army of twenty thousand? Moreover, they were running out of ammunition.

Originally, each person had a hundred bullets, but after a series of battles, only twenty or thirty bullets remain.

According to prior estimates, capturing Zhenyuan Pass would be more than enough.

However, who would have thought that the garrison commander of Zhenyuan Pass would be so reckless as to collude with Ligdan Khan of the Tatar Tumed and launch a coordinated attack from within?

Although he quickly wiped out the enemy forces inside, the 20,000 troops outside were not so easy to resist.

Seeing Wang Erniu and his men rushing into the city, Lin Danhan's expression turned grim, and he kept cursing the Zhenyuan Pass garrison commander as a good-for-nothing.

In such a short time, the militia broke through the pass and occupied the city.

In this way, their previous plans would fall through.

However, having already come this far, he naturally couldn't just retreat like this. Since he couldn't annihilate the militia outside the city, he had no choice but to launch a full-scale attack, since the militia numbered only a little over a hundred.

"Attack! They only have a hundred men. Give them a full-scale attack and take Zhenyuan Pass in one fell swoop, seizing the muskets of the militia."

As he said this, a burning desire flashed in Lin Danhan's eyes; he too would soon be able to obtain that powerful musket.

It would be best to find someone to copy it.

By then, the Tatar Tumed will also possess such powerful firearms, and he will make those rebellious Mongol tribes, as well as the Later Jin and Jurchen, kneel down and call them father.

"Hahaha, attack! Attack! Attack!"

Overcome with excitement, Lin Danhan repeatedly brandished his sword and shouted, urging everyone to launch an attack.

"kill!"

"Kill!"

"bang bang bang"

Faced with the Tumed cavalry that were attacking them, Wang Erniu and his men did not hold back and opened fire repeatedly, quickly killing the ones who charged the fastest.

In just a short time, at least three or four hundred people had fallen.

However, this seemed insignificant compared to an army of 20,000.

Therefore, the army quickly reached the city walls and began to hide under carts and dig at the walls, or hold up hooks and sickles, preparing to climb the walls.

Although Wang Erniu and his men kept killing them, their numbers were too small, and people began to climb the city wall.

The two sides immediately engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat.

Originally, Khan Lin thought that once the army climbed the city walls and the two sides engaged in close combat, the militia would soon be unable to hold out.

However, in reality, this is not the case.

After the two sides engaged in close combat, the killing efficiency of the militia even exceeded that before.

The steel blades, forged from new steel, are extremely tough and sharp, combined with their unparalleled strength and incredible speed.

The Tumed soldiers who rushed onto the city wall were no match for the enemy and were all killed on the spot.

Even their armor and the long swords they wielded were easily cut and broken by the militia, who then killed them.

Thus, from high noon until the gong sounded to signal the retreat, the Tumed army lost nearly two to three thousand men and failed to actually capture the city walls.

Upon seeing this, Lin Danhan flew into a rage and began to curse.

At 10 p.m., he immediately organized his men to launch an attack on the city.

And this time, he committed his entire army.

After all, he was also afraid that the militia would come to his aid.

At that point, it wouldn't be him leading his troops to besiege the militia, but rather him being annihilated by the militia.

As the siege intensified, Wang Erniu and his men began to suffer injuries one after another.

Their physical abilities are indeed far superior to those of ordinary people. They also possess true qi within their bodies and even some supernatural powers.

However, they did not transcend the limits of the human body; otherwise, Qi cultivation would not be a mortal realm.

They get tired too, and they can get injured and die from being slashed or stabbed.

During the battle, the walls of the Salvation Army city were breached by the main force, but it was only through Wang Erniu and others' desperate counterattack that the Tumed soldiers were driven back down from the city.

By the end, even Wang Erniu was extremely exhausted, let alone the ordinary militia, who had already lost twenty or thirty men and were all wounded.

By the time the sun was about to set, they had only about twenty men left, who were firmly trapped on the western city wall.

Some of the rifles, which were not damaged in time, were seized by Ligdan Khan.

Lin Danhan imitated the militiamen, raised his gun, aimed at Wang Erniu and the others, and pulled the trigger.

Ultimately, there was no reaction.

By this point in the battle, they had long since run out of bullets.

As he fumbled to pull the bolt, Lin Danhan muttered to himself, "Do I have to load the gunpowder from the back?"

After a moment's hesitation, Lin Danhan decided to go back and study the matter further. For now, the priority was to completely annihilate this group of militia and then plunder Zhenyuan Pass.

As Lin Danhan watched the soldiers of the Salvation Army fall one after another on the city wall, an excited and thrilling smile began to appear on his face.

Haha, they finally defeated the militia, although the losses were quite heavy.

However, the small losses were worthwhile considering the acquisition of this new type of firearm and the looting of Zhenyuan Pass.

Just as Lindan Khan was imagining his troops, each armed with a rifle, sweeping across the grasslands, destroying the Later Jin, and restoring the glory of his ancestors, he suddenly heard a series of gunshots from the south of Zhenyuan Pass.

"clap clap"

The crisp, distant sound of gunfire echoed from afar.

To Lin Danhan and others, it was no less than the roar of the devil or the call of hell.

(End of this chapter)