Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 164: Camp
At night, the camp was completely silent.

On the South Gate Watchtower, there was a bloody scene at this moment.

On the watchtower, wine, food, cups and plates were scattered all over the floor. Five or six Qing soldiers fell to the ground, and the ground was stained red with blood.

Ma Bao pulled the knife out of the Qing army goalkeeper's abdomen. The Qing army goalkeeper looked horrified and stared at Ma Bao, who looked cold in front of him, making a hoarse sound.
The Qing army goalkeeper spurted out a mouthful of blood, and finally fell to the ground with a thud.

There was a slight commotion in the watchtowers at the South Gate, but it soon calmed down again.

Ma Bao shook off the blood on the knife and sat back at the table. Several guards were cleaning up the bodies on the ground.
The walls of the attic were covered in blood, but Ma Bao looked normal, just looking at the dark night outside the tower.
There was a sound of footsteps, and Ma Ziyuan and a tall general hurried into the attic. The armor on both of them was stained with blood.

Taxinze had a full beard and a red scarf tied around his arm. He looked serious and immediately bowed and spoke.

"I have already eliminated all the Tartars in the two watchtowers on the left. Not a single one is left alive."

Ma Bao nodded, and then looked at Ma Ziyuan beside him.

"Has the signal been sent? Has the other side responded? Have the barricades in front of the gate been removed?"

"The signal has been sent, and the other side has responded. All the barricades in front of the camp gate have been removed, and people are waiting in front of the camp gate to act as guides, but there is no sign of the imperial army moving."

Ma Ziyuan spoke immediately, his face showing anxiety. It had been a quarter of an hour since they sent the signal. If everything went according to plan, the imperial army should have already approached the camp gate.

But outside the camp, there was silence, and no sign of the imperial army's movement.
When Ta Xinze heard this, his expression suddenly changed. This was no joke. They had already killed Tong Yangjia's men. If the Ming army retreated temporarily, then except for the hundred men at the south gate who could abandon the camp and escape, the rest of the brothers would probably all die in the camp.
"Are you sure the other side responded?" Ma Bao said in a deep voice.

"Sure, as soon as I sent out the signal, the other side immediately responded with fire, but there has been no sign of the imperial army moving," Ma Ziyuan replied immediately.

Ma Bao thought for a moment and then spoke immediately.

"The imperial army should have arrived outside the camp. The reason they are still not here is probably because they are worried about a trap."

"In that case, let's burn the camp first!"

"Ta Xin Ce, gather the troops immediately, have the brothers tie up their red scarves, and burn the camp immediately."

A hint of cruelty flashed across Ma Bao's face, but he walked straight down to the lookout building.

In the darkness of night, hundreds of soldiers with red scarves on their arms, led by Ma Bao, quickly headed towards the Qing army camp.
As Ma Bao and his men took action, flames soon shot up from the camp.

Ma Bao led his soldiers to shout and clamor. In the dark night, a blazing fire suddenly appeared in the Qing army camp. Some soldiers ran out of the tents in panic, and were killed by Ma Bao and others in an instant. The camp was in chaos.

"The Ming army has arrived, you Tartars, surrender immediately"

Nearly a hundred people shouted together, and in the darkness it seemed as if countless Ming troops were coming to attack.

In the firelight, the soldiers who escaped from the camp were constantly hacked to death by Ma Bao and his men. There was blood, knife shadows, shouts, and firelight. The soldiers in the South Camp finally collapsed completely and fled to the rear in panic.
The Qing army camp was ablaze with flames and shouts echoed through the night. At this moment, the rumbling sound of horse hooves finally came from the darkness.
Ma Bao chopped down a Qing soldier in a single layer of clothing with his sword. When he heard the rumbling sound of horse hooves, the expression on his face finally relaxed.

"Dad, the imperial court is here, there are at least a thousand cavalrymen!"

Ma Ziyuan lay on the ground and listened for a while, then stood up immediately with a look of joy on his face.
At this time, the camp was in chaos, with soldiers wearing only single clothes and fleeing in panic.

Ma Bao looked at the blazing fire all around him, but a fierce light flashed in his eyes, and he spoke in a stern voice

"Since the army has entered the camp, the Tartars will surely be defeated. We are few in number and it is useless for us to stay here."

"Gather the troops, follow me to capture Tong Yangjia!"

Ma Ziyuan was stunned for a moment, and then a gleam of wisdom flashed across his face. No matter how hard they fought here, they could not defeat the imperial army.
But they are familiar with the distribution of the camp. If they can catch Tong Yangjia, it will be a real achievement!
Ma Ziyuan immediately turned around and called over Ta Xinze who was hacking and killing the fleeing soldiers. Then, more than 50 soldiers with red scarves on their arms, led by Ma Bao, hacked and killed all the way to the east tent of the camp.
Behind them, groups of red-armored cavalrymen rode in, their sabers raised, the cold, gleaming blades reflecting the red light of the flames.

In the firelight, the scattered soldiers fell down in an instant, and the sounds of fighting and shouting suddenly resounded throughout the camp.

"What's going on? What's going on?" Tong Yang rushed out of the tent with his clothes in disarray. At this time, the camp was ablaze with flames and there were shouts of panic everywhere.

Bai Yindai was barefoot, with a ferocious look on his face, and rushed towards Tong Yangjia quickly.

"Governor, there is chaos in the camp. I'm afraid the Ming army is attacking the camp."

Baiyindai led several Jurchen guards and killed all the fleeing soldiers along the way. Soon they came to Tong Yangjia's side.

"The army has already made arrangements. How could the Ming army possibly break into the camp?" Tong Yangjia's face was filled with shock and anger.

"Your Excellency, please stop caring about this and leave now."

Bai Yindai didn't care what Tong Yangjia said at this time. He waved his hand and the two Qing soldiers beside him drove Tong Yangjia to escape to the east gate.
But at this time, Tong Yangjia reacted, gritted his teeth, and directly shook off the two Jurchen soldiers and said

“You can’t just leave like this”

"The Ming army may not arrive so quickly. Go to the Jurchen camp. These are the warriors of our Manchuria Eight Banners. We must take those two Niulu away."

Tong Yangjia's face was filled with fear. He was defeated this time, but the more than 500 Jurchen soldiers must not be harmed.
No matter how many Han soldiers died, it would be a small matter. But if those Jurchen soldiers died here, it would be a catastrophe.

He had no choice at all. If the two Jurchen soldiers from Niulu died here, he would be executed by the court even if he escaped back, and even the Tong family would be implicated.
Tong Yangjia was about to run towards the Jurchen camp, but at this moment, a shout of killing suddenly sounded in front of Tong Yangjia and others.

Ma Bao was covered in blood. He chopped down a defeated soldier who was blocking the road with a knife, and then he saw Tong Yangjia in front of the big tent.
When he saw the dishevelled Tong Yangjia, Ma Bao's face lit up with joy and he shouted loudly:
"The man in black robe is the Tartar governor Tong Yangjia. Anyone who captures him alive will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver."

Ma Bao shouted and immediately led the soldiers behind him to rush towards Tong Yangjia in front of the tent.
Tong Yangjia was stunned when he saw Ma Bao rushing towards him, but he reacted immediately and understood everything in front of him in an instant.

"Li Chengdong, you will die a miserable death"

Tong Yangjia had a look of resentment on his face and roared angrily
Ma Bao had already led his soldiers to surround Bai Yindai and the others. The sounds of fighting and roaring instantly filled the air in front of the big tent.

In the west of the camp, Li Chengdong ran out of the tent in a single layer of clothing, looking at the flames and fleeing figures everywhere, with a look of panic on his face.
Du Yong and Li Yuanyin led a dozen armored soldiers to kill and rush to the front of the big tent.

"General, the Ming army attacked the camp, and there was chaos in the camp."

Du Yonghe said in panic
"Go to Ximen, walk quickly"

Li Chengdong was extremely decisive. After hearing what Du Yonghe said, he put on a leather armor without any hesitation, took a waist knife and rushed towards the west gate.
Just as they were about to start, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the front of Li Chengdong and his companions.
Li Chengdong looked up and saw dozens of cavalrymen in red armor galloping towards the camp.
The leader was wearing a red cloth armor and a black iron mask on his face. Looking behind him, the dozens of riders were all wearing armor.
Forty or fifty riders rushed forward, and all the soldiers who blocked the road were chopped down to the ground, leaving a pile of corpses behind them.
The tall horses were wearing black vests, breathing out hot air in the dark night, like ferocious beasts. At this time, dozens of horses were galloping, and the rumbling sound of horse hooves resounded throughout the fields, like the sound of thousands of troops galloping.

In front of the fifty red-armored cavalrymen, there was a cavalryman in single clothes who kept indicating the way.

Li Chengdong looked at the cavalryman with a long braid behind his head, and a sense of familiarity rose in his heart. He was sure that he must have seen this man somewhere, but at this moment, a sense of fear suddenly rose in his heart.

At this time, the cavalryman in black military uniform and red scarf saw Li Chengdong in front of the tent, and his face was immediately overjoyed. He shouted loudly, pointing at Li Chengdong in front of him.

The iron-faced general who was leading the group finally raised his head and looked forward, and happened to meet Li Chengdong's eyes.

Liu Qijiao's face was calm. He raised the saber in his hand, reflecting the blazing fire, and shouted loudly.

"The man in black uniform is Li Chengdong, the general of the Tartars. Follow me to capture the enemy."

"Capture the enemy, capture the enemy!"

Behind Liu Qijiao, dozens of red-armored cavalrymen suddenly shouted loudly.

Liu Qijiao raised his saber, and dozens of cavalrymen in red armor instantly turned into a torrent and rushed towards Li Chengdong and others in front of the tent.
The rumbling sound of horse hooves resounded throughout the field. Li Chengdong looked at the surging red armored cavalry, and a look of despair finally appeared on his face.

In the dark night, the Qing army camp was ablaze with flames, and the shouts of killing were deafening. With the capture of Tong Yangjia and Li Chengdong, the entire Qing army camp finally collapsed.

(End of this chapter)