Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 118 Gunshots
Dozens of Qing cavalrymen had ferocious expressions on their faces, their long rat tails swaying behind their heads, and rushed towards the carriage, shouting

"Catch the emperor and make him a duke"

The loud shouts echoed in his ears, and Zhu Lang finally came to his senses. Scenes suddenly appeared in his mind.

The fear and panic when he first arrived in this world, the excitement when Jiao Lian entered the city, the excitement when he eliminated Ding Kuichu and seized the military power, and the satisfaction when he moved the capital away from Zhaoqing
Scenes kept appearing and disappearing in Zhu Lang's mind. Although he was in danger at this moment, Zhu Lang felt that everything was moving extremely slowly, and everything around him was clearly revealed before his eyes.

The blood mist that rose when the long sword chopped into the body, the flying limbs, the strong smell of blood in the air, the ferocious-looking cavalrymen in the distance, the thin rat tails floating behind their heads...

Zhu Lang's mind was like an electric shock, all of this suddenly flooded into his eyes, and he suddenly woke up.

Zhu Lang pushed Li Guoyong away, took the flintlock rifle from the carriage, and jumped off the carriage.

Load, prime, and pull the trigger
All actions are done in one go

砰

A ball of fire came out of the black muzzle, and a Qing soldier who had approached a hundred meters away suddenly fell down.
The huge sound of gunfire resounded throughout the battlefield, and everyone on the battlefield suddenly fell silent.

Everyone subconsciously looked at the young man in the dragon robe, holding a gun and shooting. Even the shouts from the Qing army in the distance suddenly stopped.

Everyone looked dazed, but Zhu Lang had fully come to his senses. He looked at the Qing army that was blocked by carriages along the way and shouted:

"Li Chengzhi, send someone to tell Jiao Lian in the front that there are only a few hundred Qing troops, and order him to lead the troops to rescue immediately."

"Immediately organize the guards, pile the chariots to the front to form a chariot formation, and intercept the Qing cavalry."

"Yes"

Li Chengzhi had already rushed to the car and was about to drive Zhu Lang away with Li Guoyong.

But at this moment, seeing the young man standing in front of him with a gun and a cold expression, he gritted his teeth, responded with a sound, and immediately gathered people around him.
Zhu Lang ignored Li Chengzhi and spoke to Li Guoyong who was lying on the ground.

"Li Guoyong, organize the eunuchs to move the silver box on the carriage to the front of the carriage array. When the Qing army arrives, immediately sprinkle the silver in front of the array."

"Yes, I will go right away."

Zhu Lang's voice was cold, and Li Guoyong was also awakened. He got up from the ground, covered in dust and dirt, and organized several eunuchs who were still around the carriage to start moving the money box.

Zhu Lang kept talking, looking at the Qing army in the distance trying to bypass obstacles and rush forward, and shouted coldly:
"Li Chengzhi"

"Bundle Flag"

"Today, we are in this battle and will not retreat until we die."

The cold shout resounded throughout the field, and Li Chengzhi also responded loudly.
Soon the yellow dragon banner that had fallen to the ground stood up again, and the golden dragon flag fluttered in the wind.

A hint of cruelty flashed across Zhu Lang's face. The Qing army was still blocked by obstacles along the way. If he jumped on his horse immediately, he should be able to escape successfully.
But if he escaped at this time, the team would be defeated immediately. He could escape, but the more than one million taels of silver in the team could not escape.

He had spent so much effort to get rid of Ding Kuichu and to find the silver.

He wanted to use the silver to expand his army, buy armor and cannons, and subdue the rebels. This one million taels was his capital for a comeback. How could he just abandon this silver and run away alone?
All his future plans depended on this money. Without it, why would he go north to fight against the Qing?
His money, it's his money!
He had calmed down by now. Although the Qing army was terrifying, they only had a few hundred men. Otherwise, they would not have charged for so long and still failed to completely eliminate the hundreds of imperial guards in the rear.

If the Qing army had come with several thousand men, he would have nothing to say and would have fled directly to save his life.

But just a few hundred people wanted to rob him of more than one million taels of silver. They were so crazy!
Zhu Lang's eyes were red as he stared at the advancing Qing army.

He still had a chance to turn the tables. Jiao Lian still had more than 200 cavalrymen ahead of him. These people had not been attacked. As long as he could hold off the Qing army for a while and wait for Jiao Lian to lead his troops, he might be able to counterattack and kill the Qing army directly.
Zhu Lang's mind was constantly changing. In front of him, Li Chengzhi was leading 20 or 30 Jinyiwei soldiers who had not yet escaped and was pushing the carriage.

Some ministers who had come to their senses, such as Wu Biao and Liu Yuansheng, also helped. With the combined efforts of dozens of people, they quickly pushed more than a dozen carts and carriages together to form a simple circle.
In the center of the circle, a yellow dragon flag fluttered in the wind. Zhu Lang, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, stood under the dragon flag. Several brocade-clad riders held wooden boards that they had gotten from somewhere and blocked Zhu Lang's way.
Further ahead were more than twenty soldiers in scarlet uniforms, holding long swords, hiding behind the carriage, staring closely at the Qing cavalry approaching.

Rumble

The ground began to shake, the sound of horse hooves was getting closer, and the shouts of the Qing soldiers were becoming clearer.
"Break the formation and kill the enemy"

Li Chengdong looked at the figure under the dragon flag in front of him, and a cold look flashed across his face.

He shouted loudly, and the longbow in his hand was bent into a full moon. With a whoosh, a heavy arrow flew through the air and killed the figure under the dragon flag.

哆

Under the dragon flag, Zhu Lang looked at the iron arrow that shone through the wooden board an inch, and a drop of cold sweat immediately flowed down his face. Zhu Lang's face turned pale, and he immediately bent down, not daring to stand under the dragon flag anymore.

He jumped and hid behind the imperial carriage. Several Jinyiwei soldiers followed him holding wooden boards. After hiding behind the carriage, Zhu Lang poked his head out to check the situation in front of the battle.
After Li Chengdong shot the arrow, dozens of cavalrymen also shot dozens of arrows sparsely.

They had traveled light all the way, and in order to ensure speed, they did not bring many arrows.
Most of the arrows had been fired when they attacked the rear formation just now. Now only the generals who followed the army still had a few arrows on them.
After the rain of arrows, the Qing cavalry finally rushed to the front.

The warhorse saw the vehicles ahead and subconsciously slowed down, but the horse had already started to sprint, so how could it stop immediately? The warhorse weighing hundreds of pounds thus crashed into the convoy at high speed.

The carriages were knocked over and scattered, and the horses fell to the ground. The riders on the horses were thrown out, but as soon as they landed, they were hacked to death by Li Chengzhi and his Jinyiwei soldiers.
With the carriage blocking the way, the Qing cavalry did not succeed in rushing into the battle formation, but were blocked in front of the battle formation. The soldiers on both sides immediately started a frantic fight among the wreckage of the horses and carriages.
In just a few moments, seven or eight people fell on both sides. Seeing that he could not attack them, Li Chengdong had to order the cavalry in front to retreat temporarily.
Li Chengdong's team retreated and prepared to charge again, while Li Chengzhi also led the remaining dozen people and pushed the cart to block the front again.
rumble

Li Chengdong's cavalry quickly adjusted their formation and charged towards the gap they had opened earlier.

Zhu Lang hid behind the carriage. When he saw the cavalry coming, he immediately shouted to Li Guoyong in front of him:
"Li Guoyong, spread out all the silver"

Li Guoyong's face was extremely nervous. Hearing the order, he subconsciously responded with a tearing throat. Then, he and Li Laitong and several trembling eunuchs pushed down all the wooden boxes piled outside.

Wow

More than a dozen silver boxes were pushed over in front of the formation, and large amounts of silver were scattered outside the formation. Li Guoyong and others grabbed the piled silver ingots and threw them forward.
The open space outside the car array was a glittering silver field, with silver ingots of all sizes making people dizzy.

The Qing cavalry had already started to charge, but the soldiers at the front looked at the silver coins on the ground and subconsciously pulled the reins of their horses. They slowed down before they even reached the front.

But before they could react, an iron arrow shot from behind, piercing the chest of a soldier in the front. Without even a sound, he fell off his horse.

A cold roar came from behind.

"If you don't advance, you will die"

"Catch the emperor and take all the gold and silver in the city."

"If you hesitate any longer, you will be killed without mercy"

Li Chengdong's face was grim, and his cold shout resounded throughout the field. However, the soldiers in front slowed down and could no longer charge, so they had to reorganize their ranks.

Li Chengdong reorganized the troops again. Although the soldiers obeyed the order, they all subconsciously looked at the silver coins on the ground in front of the formation. It would be difficult for anyone to ignore the silver coins in front of them.

Seeing this, Li Chengdong suddenly rode his horse from the middle to the front of the army.

He looked at the dragon flag fluttering not far away, with a fierce look in his eyes. After defeating the rear formation, he thought he would definitely win a great victory this time.

In fact, according to common sense, this is what should happen. When the convoy is broken and the dragon flag falls, the emperor will definitely flee for his life. Once he flees, the remaining soldiers will never be able to gather together again.

But he did not expect that the unknown emperor in the caravan would still dare to resist after seeing the rear line being defeated.
A trace of ruthlessness flashed across Li Chengdong's face. There was no time to waste. This time he would personally lead the army forward and must capture and kill the emperor who dared to resist!
Li Chengdong raised his saber and was about to lead the charge, but just as he started, there was a rumbling sound of horse hooves coming from the front.

I saw dozens of cavalrymen wearing red cotton armor, led by a general wearing iron armor, rushing towards the chariot formation with dragon flags standing upright, and there was smoke and dust rolling behind them, and nearly a hundred cavalrymen without armor followed closely behind.
Li Chengdong saw the armored generals charging at him, and his face was also grim, but his reaction was extremely fast. He immediately led his horse back and then blew the horn to gather the troops in the army.

Soon, the Qing army that was originally scattered around chasing the remnants of the convoy heard the horn and gave up the pursuit and quickly gathered behind Li Chengdong.

Li Chengdong led more than 400 soldiers this time, but after killing 400 imperial guards in the rear, there were still more than 300 soldiers gathered together, with only less than 100 casualties.
At this time, the Qing army gathered, and Jiao Lian led the 200 imperial guards in the front and arrived. The two sides confronted each other at a distance of 400 to 500 meters.
Li Chengdong looked at the Ming army gathering in front of him with an unpleasant look on his face.
At this time, the Qing army was surrounded by chariots in front of them, and on the right side of the chariots were hundreds of red-clad cavalrymen.
He had done some reconnaissance beforehand and found that there were only two or three hundred cavalrymen in the front line.
With the convoy in chaos, the general in the front was able to lead his soldiers to arrive so quickly. This leading general was obviously not an easy man to deal with, and this group of soldiers must be the elite of the Ming army.
Now the number of people on both sides is similar, and they have been fighting for a while and are already exhausted. If they fight again, it will be a fight to the death. The risk is too great. He really has no confidence that he can win the battle.

Li Chengdong knew that he had no chance to capture and kill the Ming emperor today.
Li Chengdong's rationality made him decide to retreat temporarily, but looking at the flying dragon flag in front of him, he still felt unwilling.
Just a little bit, just a little bit. If the Ming emperor escaped directly, then even if he couldn't catch the emperor today, he could at least defeat the convoy, rush into Guangzhou and seize the city.

But no one knew what was wrong with the new emperor in the caravan. When the rear was in a state of collapse, he did not flee but stood firm and resisted, causing his plan to fail.

What's wrong with running away? Even Emperor Longwu ran away, so what's wrong with you, a nameless new emperor, running away?

How could you not escape!
Li Chengdong felt even more unwilling when he thought of this. He suddenly rode out on his horse, stood in front of the formation, and shouted to the front:
"Listen, Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I am the general of Guangdong Province of the Qing Dynasty."

"The Ming Dynasty has run out of luck, and the Qing Dynasty is about to rise. Today I am sending you my head. If you know your destiny, you should quickly surrender."

"If you still resist, I will take your head once the Qing army arrives."

Li Chengdong's voice was cold, and he was about to speak again, but before he could say anything, a dozen riders suddenly jumped out from the opposite formation, and a hail of arrows instantly covered his head.
Li Chengdong's expression changed, and he immediately turned his horse's head, without saying a word, and retreated back to the formation.
Rumble

Li Chengdong had just retreated back to the formation when Jiao Lian, who was wearing iron armor, led the armored soldiers and rushed towards them. More than a hundred unarmored cavalrymen behind him also followed and galloped, their long swords raised.
"withdraw"

Li Chengdong looked at the two arrows stuck in his armor, his face was filled with anger. Although he was unwilling to give up, he could not care less as he saw the armored cavalry approaching him. He had to lead his soldiers to ride away.
If he charged into the battle array at this moment, he would be risking his life. He came here to gain merit, not to serve the Qing court.
Li Chengdong was determined to escape, but Jiao Lian led the imperial guards to drive the Qing army away from the team, but did not chase them. Instead, he went back and guarded the Regent in the convoy tightly.
(End of this chapter)