Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 157 Dare to Fight
On the top of the city wall, the Ming army shouted loudly and their morale was boosted, while the Qing army below the city was slightly shaken.
The dozens of Tartar soldiers who were acting as supervisors at the rear of the army only heard a loud shout from the city wall, and then the soldiers in the front line started to clamor.
The leader of the Jurchen army called for the military interpreter. After understanding the call from the top of the city wall, the Jurchen leader was furious and immediately sent several Tartars to the city to shoot arrows. However, Zhu Lang had already returned to the back of the city wall and did not give the enemy any chance.
The so-called Daizi, also known as Xiaoqixiao, is a grassroots officer below the rank of Zuoling in the Jurchen army. Although it sounds like a lieutenant, it is actually just an officer in charge of 20 to 30 people in the Jurchen army, roughly similar to the small flag or general flag officer in the Ming army.

Seeing that his archery was ineffective, the Jurchen leader led his men into the army and directly hacked and killed several Han soldiers from the Green Camp who were talking to each other. The entire army then fell into silence.

On one side of the army, Ma Bao looked at the dragon flag flying on the top of the city with a gloomy face. His face was uncertain, and the words "Han people do not kill Han people" kept echoing in his mind.
He was silent for a long time, then he gritted his teeth and called Ma Ziyuan to the side.

"San'er, when we attack the city, come and get my flag."

“Yes, son, I understand.”

Ma Ziyuan also responded immediately. Ma Bao looked at Ma Ziyuan in front of him, was silent for a moment, and then suddenly whispered
"I will personally lead the troops to attack the city. You follow behind with the flag. Don't climb the ladder. I will give you an order when you are halfway up the ladder. When you see my signal, cut down the commander's flag, and then you will lead our troops to retreat."

Ma Bao spoke in a low voice with a solemn expression on his face, but when Ma Ziyuan heard Ma Bao's words, his expression suddenly changed.

"Father, you..."

Ma Ziyuan looked horrified, but before he could say anything, Ma Bao spoke in a low voice.

"You've sent so many letters these days, I'm afraid you've guessed it."

"Yes, your father has surrendered to the Ming Emperor in the city, and your eldest brother is also in the city now. The Ming court's reinforcements are about to arrive. We need to find a way to buy some time for the emperor in the city."

"Dad, this is... this is a capital crime..."

Ma Ziyuan looked nervous. He tried several times but still couldn't say it. He glanced around and then lowered his voice and said
"There are not only our people in the West City, but also Yan Keyi, Hao Shangjiu and others. Even if we retreat, they may not retreat. Moreover, there are dozens of Tartar supervisors behind the formation. If we are discovered by them, what should we do?"

Ma Bao's expression did not change when he heard this. He stopped Ma Ziyuan from speaking, a hint of determination flashed across his face, and he said in a deep voice:
"Don't worry about it. Just do as I say. Yan Keyi and Hao Shangjiu were only forced here by Li Chengdong. They will never fight to the death. If we retreat, they will definitely retreat too."

"As for those Tartars, I have my own way to deal with them."

Ma Bao whispered a few words to Ma Ziyuan, but seeing Ma Bao's resolute expression, Ma Ziyuan stopped trying to persuade him and went down to prepare with a worried look.

Ma Bao stood under the general's flag, looking at the golden dragon flag flying on the top of the city, with a gloomy look on his face.
At this time, it seemed that Xicheng was about to be lost, so the emperor of the Ming court rushed to Xicheng to speak and boost morale.

But Ma Bao knew that it was no accident that the emperor came to West City.
The Qing army attacked the city from all sides. With the limited military strength in the city, which side of the city wall was not in danger? The emperor did not go to other sides of the city, so why did he come to the west city?

The reason why the emperor in the city came here was because the intelligence he delivered to the city last night had already said that he would lead the attack on the West City today.
Others thought that the emperor's words were meant to disrupt the morale of the Qing army, but Ma Bao knew that the emperor's words in the city were not only meant for the soldiers under the city, but were also meant for him.
The situation in the city had reached the point where even the emperor had to go up to the city to defend it. I'm afraid the situation had reached its end.
The emperor appeared in Xicheng at this time, actually asking him for help, hoping that he could find a way to slow down the momentum of the Qing army's siege.

Seeing that the emperor had already pressed himself on the top of the city wall, Ma Bao finally decided to take a risk and buy some time for the city.

Half an hour passed in a flash. The Ming army shot dozens of arrows from the top of the city wall, but they were all blocked by the shields of the Qing army in the front. Then the Qing army also shot a wave of arrows at the city wall, which were also blocked by the shields of the Ming army on the top of the city wall.
The two sides fired several rounds at each other, but since neither side had many arrows, these rounds of arrow rain caused almost no damage to either side.

Half an hour later, the soldiers finished their rest and the Qing army blew the horn again. The soldiers in the front of the Qing army also raised their shields and began to advance towards the city wall.
As the Qing army approached the city, rocks immediately fell down, smashing the shields in the front row with bangs, and some people without shields were hit with blood on their heads and fell to the ground seriously injured.
Ladders were placed on the top of the city walls, and soldiers holding shields climbed up. Countless ladders were erected on the top of the city walls again.
As the soldiers began to climb up to the top of the city wall, shouts of killing were heard again, and a new round of siege began again.

Under the city wall, Ma Ziyuan was standing not far from the city wall holding the Ma Bao general flag. Several guards held up shields to shield Ma Ziyuan behind them.
There were shouts of killing everywhere on the top of the city wall, but Ma Ziyuan ignored them all and just stared at Ma Bao, who was wearing armor and approaching the city.
At this time, more than half an hour had passed since the siege began. The fighting on the top of the city had reached a fierce point. At this time, even the falling rocks on the top of the city became sparse. It was obvious that the Ming army on the top of the city was short of manpower.

Ma Bao held up his shield and started to climb the ladder. Ma Ziyuan stared at Ma Bao on the ladder. When Ma Bao was halfway up, a small flag behind him suddenly fluttered. Ma Ziyuan's expression immediately tensed up when he saw the fluttering flag.

"Beat the drums, march forward"

Ma Ziyuan gave an order to the soldiers beside him, then grabbed the general's flag and pressed down towards the city.
The Qing army, which was waiting in the rear, heard the drums and the flags moving forward and began to move, rushing towards the city.
Ma Ziyuan grabbed the general's flag and saw that all the troops had already started to move. He gritted his teeth and suddenly smashed the general's flag in his hand against the city wall in front of him. With a click, the general's flag, which had been secretly sawed off, broke immediately.
The green flag fell to the ground like a falling goose.
Everyone on the city walls stared blankly at the green flag that suddenly fell. Even the shouts of killing on the battlefield stopped for a moment.

There was only a moment of silence on the top of the city wall, and then suddenly there was a sound of retreat drums from below.

On the top of the city wall, Zhao Xing was covered in blood. He chopped down a ferocious-looking Qing soldier with his sword. He looked at the fallen flag with great joy on his face and immediately shouted loudly:

"The enemy general is dead, surrender quickly"

The Ming soldiers beside him also shouted loudly upon hearing this. For a moment, the entire top of the city was filled with shouts of the enemy general being dead. The morale of the Ming army was instantly boosted.

The Qing army that had already attacked the city wall subconsciously looked down and found that the general's flag was no longer visible.

Moreover, at this time, there was a chaotic sound of gongs and drums from under the city. Sometimes it was the sound of drums to advance, and sometimes it was the sound of horns to retreat. The rear Qing army that had rushed to the city to prepare for a general attack was also in chaos at this time, and slowly retreated to the rear. The people on the top of the city saw that the rear army under the city had actually retreated at this time. Listening to the meaningless sound of horns and drums below, there was suddenly chaos. The people who attacked the top of the city were originally a minority. If the reinforcements from the rear did not come, they would be courting death if they stayed on the top of the city. The Qing army that had already attacked the city saw the rear army retreat, and for a while they also fled downwards in panic.
At the rear of the army, the Jurchen army supervisor saw the chaos on the city wall and was immediately furious. He led a dozen Jurchen soldiers and directly killed several Green Camp soldiers who fled to the rear, trying to drive the soldiers back to the front of the army.
But at this time, the general's flag fell down and the army was in chaos. How could a few supervisors alone drive away the enemy?

The Ming army on the top of the city wall took the opportunity to shoot arrows and smash rocks. Although there were not many arrows, they made the Qing army below the city even more panicked. Everyone near the city wall was in chaos and fled to the rear.
The Qing troops fled to the rear in a rout, and the Ming troops on the city walls cheered.

The fleeing Qing soldiers huddled together not far from the city wall. A group of Qing generals and a dozen Tartar supervisors kept shouting in anger, trying to reorganize the chaotic army.
The Tartar military supervisor used a whip to continuously whip the scattered soldiers, hoping to restore the army formation and attack the city again. However, before they could start to reorganize, a rumbling sound of horse hooves suddenly came from afar.

ta ta ta

There was a flurry of horse hoofbeats, and on the western official road, nearly a hundred Qing cavalrymen in black armor were seen rushing towards the city.

No matter whether they were Ming or Qing troops, everyone on the city walls looked at the cavalry that suddenly rushed over.

The young and strong men of the Ming army on the top of the city saw the group of cavalrymen in black armor. All of them looked pale. They had finally repelled two attacks, and now the enemy reinforcements were coming again. How could they defend the city?

The horses were galloping, and for a moment the field was filled with the rumbling sound of horse hooves. However, although the cavalry was impressive, their formation was somewhat disorganized.

There was a sudden sound of breaking air behind the Qing cavalry, followed by hundreds of iron arrows attacking from behind in an instant.

More than a dozen of the cavalrymen fell immediately, but the cavalrymen in front did not even look back, but just rushed forward.
Boom boom boom

The ground suddenly began to tremble, and dust flew up on the official road. As the rain of arrows fell, countless cavalrymen in red armor suddenly emerged from the smoke and dust. Rows of cavalrymen pressed down towards the city wall like huge red waves.
The Qing soldiers in front fled in panic and headed straight for Xihao, while the red-armored cavalrymen behind them also suddenly exerted their strength. More than 200 vanguard cavalrymen wearing iron armor broke away from the formation and quickly chased forward.

Another hail of arrows shot out from the red-armored cavalrymen, and seven or eight cavalrymen in front fell.

The leading Qing general rushed across the West Moat in panic. He looked at the Qing troops gathering under the city, his eyes suddenly lit up, and then he turned his horse's head and rushed directly towards the Qing troops under the city.

The two hundred red-armored cavalrymen behind him were in hot pursuit and also crossed the West Moat. Although the black-armored cavalrymen in front of them were rushing towards the army formation under the city, they did not stop at the army formation, but passed by it and fled to the north of the city.
When the Qing army attacking the city saw the cavalry fleeing, Yan Keyi, Hao Shangjiu and the dozen or so Tartar supervisors all looked terrified.

Boom boom boom

But there was no time for them to react. The two hundred cavalrymen wearing red cloth armor gave up their escape and rushed straight towards the army formation under the city. Like a red-hot sickle, they instantly plowed into the defenseless Qing army formation.

The tall horses, with the terrifying kinetic energy brought by the charge, instantly crashed into the Qing army formation.
The entire Qing army formation had no power to resist at all, and instantly collapsed like a scattered ant nest. The open space outside the West City was filled with Qing soldiers crying and fleeing.

Two hundred cavalrymen charged forward and instantly broke through the Qing army formation under the city. This charge alone killed and wounded nearly a hundred Qing soldiers, and the ground was covered with Qing soldiers who were lying on the ground howling in agony.

The Qing army below the city was already in chaos, with howling and shouting everywhere. Generals such as Yan Keyi kept calling out to their soldiers with panicked expressions.
The leading Jurchen Daizi was furious, and kept shouting in a difficult-to-understand tone. Dozens of Jurchen military supervisors quickly gathered together, killed all the soldiers who blocked the way, and fled quickly towards the north of the city.
The two hundred red-armored cavalrymen fought their way through the army formation, gathered on the east side, and then, led by the leading general, charged towards the Qing army under the city again.
The fleeing Qing troops below the city heard the sound of horse hooves again and became more and more confused. Everyone crowded together and fled towards the north of the city.
Yang Yandi led two hundred cavalrymen and charged again at the chaotic Qing soldiers in front of them. Wherever the cavalrymen passed, all the Qing cavalrymen were chopped down.

Yang Yandi was about to lead his men to continue the charge, but suddenly he felt a chill behind him. He subconsciously turned sideways, and then an iron arrow shaped like a moon shovel shot into his back. He felt a sharp pain in his back instantly. He immediately knew that the arrow might have penetrated the chain mail inside.
Yang Yandi felt a sharp pain in his back, but instead of running away, he looked furious and looked behind him.
Thirty steps away, the Jurchen soldier was holding a longbow, aiming at Yang Yandi on horseback, and the bowstring in his hand was still vibrating.
Yang Yandi looked at the figure with a long face, a flat forehead and a braid behind his head, and his eyes suddenly turned red.
"Fuck you, Tartar"

Yang Yandi turned his horse around and charged directly at the Qing army holding bows. The dozen or so guards behind Yang Yandi also charged forward without saying a word.

The rumbling sound of horse hooves resounded again. The faces of the dozens of Jurchen supervisors who were in formation changed color when they saw the dozen cavalrymen charging at them brazenly. They immediately fled in all directions.
Yang Yandi stared at the Tatar leader shooting arrows, with his saber raised high. When the leader saw Yang Yandi rushing towards him, his face became ferocious, and he kept shouting strange words, and he also raised his long sword.
铿咔
Yang Yandi rode his horse forward and chopped down the neck of the man with his saber. The long sword in the man's hand broke with a sound, and then there was only a slight pause before the headless corpse was knocked several meters away, with a hideous head flying up into the air.
Yang Yandi's face was red, and he shook off the blood on his saber. Then he turned back again, lowered his body, grabbed the braid behind the head on the ground, and lifted the Tartar's head in his hand.

Yang Yandi held up the ferocious head and suddenly ran around the field, shouting loudly

"Wu Xiangjun's Yang Yandi is here. Who among you Tartars dares to fight?"

When the cavalry saw the Tatar head held by Yang Yandi, they also shouted loudly.
"Who dares to fight, who dares to fight!"

The Ming cavalrymen shouted loudly while galloping around, constantly raising their swords to kill the fleeing Qing soldiers.
The Qing soldiers just took a look at the Tatar head in Yang Yandi's hand, and fled to the north of the city again without saying a word.
The Ming cavalrymen in the field continued to hack and kill the fleeing Qing soldiers. Suddenly, the ground began to shake again. Five hundred cavalrymen in leather armor in the rear formation finally crossed the West Moat and attacked the fleeing Qing soldiers under the city.
Under the entire West City, the rumbling sound of horse hooves resounded throughout the fields, and almost everywhere were Ming army cavalrymen wielding swords and hacking and killing.

"Fuck you, fuck you..."

On the top of the city wall, Zhu Lang suddenly collapsed on the ground, looking at the Ming cavalrymen scattered around the city, muttering to himself, while huge cheers had already sounded between the city walls.

(End of this chapter)