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

Chapter 188 Huang Taiji's Defeat and Escape, A Change of Direction
It's not wrong to dodge artillery shells.

However, it is quite obvious that the Qing army's method of evasion was somewhat incorrect.

If it were Ming army cannons, as long as you dodge the frontal attack of the cannonballs and the brick and stone fragments flying from the city wall after the cannonballs hit the wall, there would be no problem.

However, the artillery of the People's Salvation Army is clearly different from traditional artillery.

In an instant, the shells exploded on the city wall, sending flames soaring into the sky and shrapnel flying everywhere.

Many Qing soldiers were blown away by the terrifying shockwave before they could even react.

Even if they withstood the shockwave, the shrapnel flying everywhere tore through their leather armor, broke through their so-called divine power protection, and penetrated deep into their bodies.

In the end, they could only gradually stop breathing amidst painful cries.

In comparison, those soldiers who died instantly were actually more fortunate.

Huang Taiji, however, reacted immediately and mobilized the national fortune and dragon energy for protection.

"Ang~!"

The golden dragon roared, and a dazzling golden light descended, instantly enveloping Huang Taiji.

Although the cannon fire was sharp and caused the golden light to fluctuate, it ultimately failed to break through the protection of the dragon aura of national destiny.

Looking at the devastation around him, Huang Taiji's eyes became bloodshot.

"Take cover! Be careful, enemy shells will explode!"

With Huang Taiji's shouts, he organized his soldiers to defend and counterattack, and the Qing army gradually stabilized.

Countless Qing soldiers began to seek cover in the city wall battlements.

Seeing that all the soldiers on the city wall had hidden themselves, Zhou Junsheng's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"Extend the attack into the city!"

This area is no longer Han territory; the people there are either left behind by Ligdan Khan's forces or Qing soldiers.

Since that's the case, then don't blame him for using artillery to bombard the area.

"Boom boom boom"

"Boom boom boom"

In an instant, Guihua City was engulfed in flames, with violent explosions and screams echoing everywhere.

Even hiding in a room is not absolutely safe.

A single shell landing nearby can destroy a whole area of ​​houses.

This bombing lasted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and the shells were almost exhausted.

"Artillery cover, attack the city!"

Only then did Zhou Junsheng order the attack on the city.

No one spoke, and the four thousand militiamen picked up their guns and charged out.

Protected by the dragon's aura, Huang Taiji, who had been carefully observing the city below, instantly discovered the rescue army's actions.

He immediately shouted again.

"The enemy has attacked the city! Everyone prepare to fight back!"

However, faced with the fierce shelling, they were already terrified, and very few dared to get up.

Only those extraordinary soldiers who possessed divine power were nervously leaning against the crenellations of the wall, looking down.

Once the militia got closer, these people immediately began to try to fight back with bows and arrows while avoiding artillery fire.

With divine power, the arrows intertwined in the air, forming a rain of arrows that instantly shot towards the army of the people saving the city.

It can't reach the 400-500 meter range of the People's Salvation Army, but it can still reach around 300 meters without any problem.

However, the militia could often easily dodge the arrows rained down from the city walls.

Even if some arrows are unavoidable, they will often deflect when they hit you.

The ability to create protective clothing grants it powerful defensive capabilities.

It can be said that even if the militia were wearing only a single layer of clothing, they could defend against ordinary sword and spear attacks and a barrage of arrows.

Moreover, every member of the People's Salvation Army was wearing armor.

Therefore, even if they cannot ignore all attacks, they can defend against most of them.

As a result, the damage caused by the Qing army's arrows to the militia was negligible, if not nonexistent.

On the contrary, the counterattack of the People's Salvation Army caused great casualties to the Qing army.

"clap clap"

Every crisp gunshot meant the death of a Qing soldier.

Even if they used their divine power, they were still no match for modern firearms. Only those generals with strong divine power could barely hold them off.

However, faced with the continuous fire of the militia, their divine power was quickly exhausted, and they were shot dead.

In addition, there were occasional artillery shells that caused violent explosions.

The new firearms and artillery firepower were simply too overwhelming for them to withstand.

Cannonballs and bullets traced arcs through the air before landing on the Qing army's positions.

The explosions were deafening, and flames soared into the sky. Bullets crisscrossed the air, and Qing soldiers fell one after another amidst the barrage of gunfire.

Upon seeing this, Huang Taiji immediately realized that if things continued this way, the Qing army would be completely annihilated.

Huang Taiji acted decisively and immediately issued a retreat order, instructing the soldiers to withdraw from Guihua City in an orderly manner.

Huang Taiji took the lead and led his elite troops out of the city.

Upon discovering his movements, Zhou Junsheng immediately led his troops in pursuit.

Yes, this was also a Great Khan, and even stronger than Ligdan Khan.

If he were killed, his Golden Dragon Mark would instantly solidify to its maximum, surpassing even Wang Zhenyuan's.

Every time Wang Zhenyuan revealed the golden dragon mark between his eyebrows that seemed to solidify, he was filled with envy.

And now, the opportunity has come.

On the other side, five thousand elite Qing troops, led by Huang Taiji, quickly withdrew from Guihua City.

They retreated through ruins and corpses, heading towards the distant mountains. Zhou Junsheng led a thousand soldiers in hot pursuit.

However, due to the Qing army's familiarity with the surrounding terrain and Huang Taiji's command, they frequently divided their forces to resist Zhou Junsheng and his troops.

Although they were no match for the militia, their desperate struggle managed to buy them some time. Ultimately, they failed to catch up with Huang Taiji.

Zhou Junsheng couldn't help but sigh with regret.

He felt that this time, Wang Zhenyuan would probably take the lion's share of the credit again.

Having escaped his pursuers, Huang Taiji looked back at the direction of Guihua City with lingering fear.

I wonder where this army came from; their firearms are truly formidable.

If only they had such firearms, they could easily breach Ming city walls and take control of the Central Plains.

"Great Khan, that seems to be the People's Salvation Army."

Fan Wencheng, who had received special attention, approached with a pale face and spoke.

"Hmm? The People's Salvation Army? The People's Salvation Army from Shaanxi?"

"Hmm, judging from their clothing and the rumors about the militia's superior firearms, they should be the militia."

"Damn it, how did they suddenly appear outside Guihua City and attack us?"

wrong"

Suddenly, Huang Taiji's expression changed slightly, as if he had thought of something.

It seems that the militia did not appear suddenly, but rather there were certain signs.

"Your Majesty, is there a problem?"

Fan Wencheng spoke.

"When I first saw Lin Danhan cross the river, his luck suddenly became pure and powerful, and I had some doubts in my heart."

Now I have some ideas.

"The Great Khan's meaning is to save the people's army."

"Yes, based on the strength they have shown before, they are capable of eliminating Lindan Khan in a short period of time."

"Therefore, the national destiny that unfolds west of the Yellow River does not belong to Ligdan Khan, but to the People's Salvation Army."

Huang Taiji looked solemnly to the west, where he could vaguely see a pure and refined bright yellow.

He was already certain that this People's Salvation Army would be the Qing Dynasty's greatest adversary and enemy, even surpassing the Ming Dynasty.

However, looking at the army of only three thousand behind him, Huang Taiji couldn't help but sigh again.

Now is not the time to think about those things; everything will have to wait until we return to Shengjing (Shenyang).

Moreover, we don't know how the Qing army that entered the pass is doing.

Having made up his mind, Huang Taiji continued to lead his army forward, preparing to garrison in Fengzhou and await the return of the Qing army that had entered the pass.

At the same time, he once again sent people to the interior to gather intelligence and information.

However, as he continued eastward, Huang Taiji began to feel a growing unease.

Frowning as he looked towards Fengzhou, Huang Taiji felt extremely agitated.

Ultimately, Huang Taiji ordered a halt to the advance.

No, we can't go any further.

There must be some danger ahead.

After some thought, Huang Taiji suddenly had an idea.

Could it be that there's an ambush by the militia ahead?
The more Huang Taiji thought about it, the more he felt that this was indeed the case.

Since that's the case, let's avoid Fengzhou ahead, and we can also go beyond the Great Wall to meet Dorgon and his men.

After thinking these things through, Huang Taiji felt a sense of clarity and his previous agitation vanished.

Meanwhile, Wang Zhenyuan had already occupied Fengzhou and was waiting for the remnants of Huang Taiji's army.

As for whether Huang Taiji could escape the encirclement and killing by Zhou Junsheng and others, he felt that there was basically no problem.

The ruler of a country is not so easy to kill.

As we can tell from the situation when they killed Ligdan Khan, they were left with only a few dozen men and were forced into a dead end on the banks of the Yellow River. It took them quite a bit of effort.

Huang Taiji had an army of 20,000. If he had been more cautious and retreated early, there was a great chance that he could have led some people to escape.

However, when Zhou Junsheng received the news a day later, he was surprised to find that...

Huang Taiji did escape, and even originally planned to head to Fengzhou.

However, halfway there, something happened and they suddenly detoured south.

After receiving the news, Wang Zhenyuan remained silent for a while before finally deciding to lead his troops in pursuit.

Although he knew that it was highly unlikely he could kill Huang Taiji.

However, it's never a bad thing to give it a try; what if it works?

On the other side, Zhou Junsheng, who also received the news, made the same decision.

After communicating through their respective divine positions, the two decided to each lead two thousand cavalrymen to jointly encircle and annihilate Huang Taiji from the north and west, and sent a message to Yang Zonghan.

At that time, Yang Zonghan was on his way to the Qing army in Xuanfu.

After annihilating most of the Qing army, Dorgon and others led the remaining troops to escape, and Yang Zonghan originally wanted to pursue them.

However, at this time, Xuanfu also faced an attack from the Ming army. The 20,000 Guan Ning troops originally intended for the Qing army, as well as Cao Wenzhao's 3,000 extraordinary assault battalion soldiers, did not have time to fight the Qing army, but instead encountered the rescue army.

At this point, if Yang Zonghan wanted to completely occupy Datong and Xuanfu, he would have no choice but to return and resist.

Especially after this period of fighting, their guns and ammunition are running low, so they may have to put in a little more effort when fighting the Ming army.

Yang Zonghan was really uneasy if he didn't personally oversee things in Xuanfu.

Therefore, he simply sent a message to Wang Zhenyuan and the other man before returning to Xuanfu to organize a defense against the Ming army's attack.

However, in the end, Wang Zhenyuan and Zhou Junsheng led their troops in pursuit and killed more than 5,000 Qing soldiers.

However, that was deliberately left behind by Huang Taiji and his men to delay their march.

Huang Taiji and Dorgon had already led their core elite warriors and left ahead of time.

In the end, Wang Zhenyuan and his men could only helplessly watch the direction in which Huang Taiji and his men retreated, lamenting that they had missed this opportunity.

Afterwards, the group composed themselves and did not return to Guihua or Fengzhou. Instead, they led their troops across the Great Wall and into Xuanfu, intending to join forces with Yang Zonghan and annihilate the Ming army that had swept through Xuanfu.

(End of this chapter)