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

Chapter 168 Marching North, Yang Guanglie of Yulin
Upon hearing the gunshots coming from the south of Zhenyuan Pass, Lin Danhan immediately looked towards the south of the city in terror.

Immediately afterwards, they saw hundreds or even thousands of gray figures, lined up in neat rows, holding rifles, rushing rapidly toward the army.

Every few steps they took, countless gunshots rang out, and hordes of Tumed soldiers fell.

"escape!"

"Escape!"

The Tatar Tumet army had already suffered heavy losses and its morale was already at rock bottom.

If it weren't for the fact that Wang Erniu and the others were on the verge of collapse, they might have already broken down.

At this moment, the sudden appearance of the People's Salvation Army became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The entire Tumed army collapsed instantly. Before Ligdan Khan could give any orders, they retreated in chaos, fleeing for their lives in the northwest.

The road was littered with pushing and trampling, and countless people died.

Upon witnessing this scene, Lin Danhan couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh, for it was the will of Heaven, beyond human control.

Then, he immediately led his personal guards and fled westward without looking back.

He was at the very back; when it came to escaping, who was as convenient as him?

However, even though he was desperately trying to escape, he repeatedly instructed his personal guards to keep a close watch on the captured rifles and not to lose or damage any of them.

On the other side, after the Tumed army retreated like a tide, Wang Erniu and the others collapsed to the ground, leaning against the city wall, watching from a broken crenellation as the militia pursued the Tumed army below.

This pursuit lasted for a full hour, killing more than 5,000 Tumed soldiers. Fewer than 3,000 of the steppe cavalrymen actually managed to escape.

Although Lin Danhan felt a pang of heartache at this, he was also excited and thrilled when he thought of the rifles he had captured. As long as they also had rifles, wouldn't they be able to roam freely across the grasslands?

However, from beginning to end, he only thought about roaming the grasslands, and never thought about retaliating against the militia or even attacking the Ming Dynasty.

In his view, the Ming Dynasty and the People's Salvation Army were essentially the same, since they were both Han Chinese.

If the People's Salvation Army wins, it will become another Central Plains empire after the Ming Dynasty. If it attacks the Ming Dynasty, who knows if the People's Salvation Army will use that as an excuse to attack them?

As for this attack, it was just a spontaneous act by some small tribes and had little to do with his Tatar Tumed tribe.

He even helped the militia wipe out those tribes, which is why he acquired some rifles.

He felt that it wouldn't be so bad if the People's Salvation Army submitted to him and paid tribute; perhaps they could even receive more rewards.
That's what Ligdan Khan thought, but he didn't know what the dynasty and the People's Salvation Army thought.

However, based on his understanding of the Han Chinese empires in the Central Plains, he believed that if they voluntarily submitted and paid tribute, they should be able to accept them.

Thinking about everything that would follow, Lin Danhan couldn't help but feel smug, thinking he was truly a genius.

Meanwhile, after resting and regaining some strength, Wang Erniu led the remaining five men, along with a thousand militiamen who had arrived, to collect the remains of the fallen soldiers.

Looking at the hundred soldiers' remains lined up in front of him, Wang Erniu's face was filled with sorrow and his heart was filled with guilt.

Logically speaking, as the commander-in-chief of Zhenluwei, Wang Erniu must have witnessed many soldiers die in battle, even if the militia was powerful. He shouldn't be so sentimental.

In fact, he had indeed witnessed many members of the People's Salvation Army die in battle.

However, there weren't as many as I had imagined.

After all, whether in the beginning or now, the main strategy of the People's Salvation Army has always been long-range attack, and close combat is only used as a last resort.

With this combat mode, when the enemy's bows and muskets had a shorter range than the militia, it was difficult for the militia to suffer casualties.

This time, the casualties were something that had never occurred in the previous dozen or even dozens of battles, big and small.

Most importantly, the deaths of hundreds of soldiers in this battle were caused by Wang Erniu's command errors.

It was all because of him. He was too arrogant and conceited, which led to the soldiers dying on the battlefield and being separated from their wives, children, and families by death.

Although it seems that the soldiers who died in battle were able to ascend to heaven and become heavenly soldiers and generals.

However, it is not without its drawbacks.

Just to put it simply, the thought of being separated from one's wife, children, and parents by death, with little chance of ever seeing them again, is something not everyone can accept.

Moreover, it is said that they ascended to heaven to become immortals and became heavenly soldiers and generals.

But has anyone actually seen it?
How could Wang Erniu not feel guilty?

Taking a deep breath, Wang Erniu silently prayed, "Brothers, may you rest in peace. I am sorry for what I did to you. I will come to be with you after I complete the leader's mission."

"Qinglin, I'm counting on you!"

"This is simply my duty."

Staff Officer He Qinglin shook his head and stepped forward to the soldier's remains.

He slowly pressed down with his hand, and the iron-blooded aura above surged and rapidly converged upon him, then, under the operation of his supernatural power, covered the remains of the soldiers.

In the next instant, an extremely cold aura erupted, instantly freezing the bodies of all the soldiers.

With his current Qi Refining realm power, plus the iron-blooded baleful energy he draws in, he is already equivalent to an extremely powerful divine ability realm, enough to ensure that he will not melt for three months.

Given this extended period of time, their strategic objective is nearing completion.

When that time comes, they will be able to return and rebuild the Martyrs' Shrine.

When Wang Erniu led his troops to attack again, he became much more cautious. He would send five or six hundred men to attack cities that could be captured by a few dozen or a hundred men.

If the militia of five or six hundred men attacked the city, it would be a one-hit kill, and it would not be slower than the previous attack by a few dozen men.

More than half a month passed, and the entire Ningxia Five Guards were occupied by the Salvation Army.

The reason it took so long was not for the siege itself, but rather for the journey and the arrangement of subsequent officials to manage the city, which took even longer.

Meanwhile, the dynasty at that time was leading its army to attack Xi'an Prefecture. Upon receiving the news, it couldn't help but fall silent. The current People's Salvation Army had already created a huge gap between itself and ordinary armies. Coupled with its invincible record, it was inevitable that it would develop a sense of pride.

However, you can be proud, but you must not be arrogant.

It seems that the work of military ideological instructors is still a long and arduous task.

However, the dynasty then put that aside and began its journey toward Xi'an once again.

In addition to the armies led by Wang Erniu and Wang Chao, there were also Chen Ying and Wu Ping, each leading a force from Gongchang Prefecture to attack Hanzhong, while also guarding against attacks from Sichuan.

Well, they say it's an attack, but it's more accurate to say it's a reception.

The entire Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission has been infiltrated by members of peasant societies and the Shadow Guards.

Wherever the dynasty arrived, either the local officials had already been captured, or the city gates had been secretly opened by someone just as they were about to attack the city.

If it weren't for the need for stable arrangements for subsequent governance, the dynasty and its allies would probably have been able to conquer the entire Shaanxi province in just a few days.

In comparison, Ningxia Wei, which Wang Erniu attacked, and Yulin Wei in the east, were border areas, and most of them were guarded by border troops, so Hong Chengchou did not withdraw his troops there.

Therefore, the infiltration there was not ideal, and that is where a real war needs to be waged.

This wouldn't have been a problem in itself; the militia's strength was more than enough to easily take them over.

However, due to his excessive pride and carelessness, Wang Erniu nearly died in battle at Zhenyuan Pass.

In February of the third year of the Chongzhen reign, the People's Salvation Army completely occupied Xi'an Prefecture, Hanzhong Prefecture, and Ningxia Five Guards, and began to march north to Yan'an Prefecture, heading straight for Yulin Guard.

Upon receiving the news, the garrison of Yulin was immediately terrified. Before the battle even began, many soldiers had already secretly deserted.

Some even fled to the territory of the People's Salvation Army.

Yes, I heard that the soldiers captured by the militia were all to be forced into hard labor.

On the contrary, refugees who actively fled to the leaders of the Salvation Army would work under the arrangement of the Salvation Army and receive a certain amount of wages.

If they were willing to migrate westward to places like Guazhou and Shazhou, which were occupied by the People's Salvation Army, they would be able to obtain their own land.

In comparison, they would naturally prefer to flee to the territory of the People's Salvation Army and live as refugees.

Once their weapons and armor are discarded, who would know they were once soldiers?
At this moment, Yang Guanglie, the garrison commander of Yulin Guard and a guerrilla general, stood on the city wall and looked into the distance, feeling lost and confused.

I wonder if His Majesty has received his letter of appeal.

Although he was loyal, his soldiers were already in a state of panic and had little will to fight. Even if he had great abilities, what could he do?
"Could this be the will of Heaven? Father, if it were you, what would you do?"

Thinking of his father, Yang Guanglie's eyes instantly turned cold and resolute. With family feuds and national hatred, how could he back down again and again?

Just then, a bodyguard strode over.

"General, someone has given me a letter to deliver to you personally."

"Oh, a letter for me? Who sent it?"

As Yang Guanglie took the letter, he asked questions with curiosity.

"The messenger was a clerk from the Ji family's trading company."

"The Ji family?"

Yang Guanglie muttered to himself, a faint understanding dawning on his mind, before a cold smile appeared on his face.

"Heh, let's see what they have to say."

Upon opening the envelope and seeing the contents, Yang Guanglie's expression changed drastically.

"To my son, Guanglie."

Yang Guanglie was Yang Jiamo's biological son. He should have been appointed as the Guyuan Town Guerrilla General, but perhaps because of the butterfly effect of the dynasty.

Yang Guanglie did not take up the post of Guyuan Town Guerrilla General, but instead became the Guerrilla General of Yulin Guard.

That letter was naturally handed over to Chen Mo by Yang Jiamo.

After he had come to terms with it, he told Chen Mo about his background and wrote this letter.

He hoped that when the militia attacked Yulinwei, he would hand it over to Yang Guanglie.

When Chen Mo first heard about Yang Jiamo's background, he was indeed extremely shocked and almost jumped up.

However, he quickly calmed down.

Given the government's extensive network of intelligence, it was virtually impossible for any spy to escape surveillance.

So how could Yang Jiamo's identity be completely hidden from the government?
Now that the authorities haven't arrested him, it means they don't care about his identity. As long as he doesn't do anything illegal or disorderly, they won't do anything to him.

If that's the case, why is he making such a fuss?
In fact, with the government's extraordinary abilities, they could indeed discover Yang Jiamo's disloyal intentions, but they could not discover his specific identity. They only knew that he came from the northern border and had some hostility towards the People's Salvation Army.

However, many more people became hostile towards the People's Salvation Army.

Ask those prisoners how many of them weren't hostile to the People's Salvation Army.

As long as they do not violate laws or regulations, and do not transmit important information to the outside world, they will not immediately detain them.

Of course, necessary surveillance still exists.

As the Shadow has developed to this point, at least within the territory of the Salvation Army, it has penetrated into all levels and fields.

Combined with the latest weapon manufacturing division's sensory compass, capable of sensing power and general mental state, very few things in the entire Salvation Army territory can escape their surveillance.

Moreover, there are local city gods and earth gods in various places, who monitor both the spiritual and material aspects, so no one can escape their surveillance.

(End of this chapter)