Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 310 The Power of Heaven
The two armies fled in Hunan Province. Zhang Xianbi fled to western Hunan, while Cao Zhijian headed southwest and retreated to Yongzhou Prefecture.

After Cao Zhijian retreated into Yongzhou Prefecture, he burned, killed, and looted along the way, and soon arrived at the foot of Qiyang City in Yongzhou Prefecture.

In Qiyang City, thousands of soldiers lined up outside the city. The 300 soldiers in the front were dressed in neat armor and all of them were riding war horses. About one-third of the 1,500 soldiers behind them were wearing leather armor. Although some of them were whispering to each other, the formation was still quite neat.
The three or four thousand men behind them were completely without armor. They only held long swords and short spears in their hands, and their robes were of various styles. As for the formation, there was no such thing.
Thousands of people barely divided into two groups and stood still, but the formation was in chaos. If these people were not holding swords in their hands, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were refugees fleeing.

The elite soldiers in the front line were lined up, and then Cao Zhijian's deputy general Wang Dajie led more than a hundred cavalrymen to the city.

At this time, the four gates of Qiyang City had been closed, but there were no soldiers on the top of the city walls. There were young men in short brown clothes everywhere on the walls, who were obviously the common people in the city.

Right above the city gate, several figures in brocade robes were standing on the top of the city, looking out of the city.
The leader of the people on the top of the city wall was a middle-aged man in a black robe. Although Wang Dajie could not see the expressions of the people on the top of the city wall, he knew that they must be extremely frightened at this time.
Wang Dajie had just led the cavalry to the city. Before he could even open his mouth, three hundred taels of silver, one hundred dan of rice, ten sheep, twenty jars of wine, and dozens of baskets of steamed cakes were already hung from the top of the city wall.
After the people on the top of the city dropped all the supplies, they called the people below the city "king" and hoped that they would leave as soon as possible.
Wang Dajie knew these people in the city, but he mistook them for bandits from somewhere. In recent years, there have been numerous bandits in Huguang, so it is not surprising that people in the city mistook them for bandits.

Wang Dajie did not fail to explain, and directly called 500 soldiers from the rear to carry all the supplies under the city back to the rear.
Rice, grain, mutton and wine would have been fine, but after the dozens of baskets of steamed cakes were carried back to the front, the soldiers in the front line scrambled for them, and there was no formation at all.

Not long after the supplies were brought back from the city, a large flag was suddenly raised in the rear army formation. On the flag were written the five characters "Hengshan General Cao"

Wang Dajie looked at the commotion on the top of the city wall and nodded slightly, then he shouted:

"I am Wang Dajie, deputy general under General Cao Zhijian, the general of Hengshan. General Cao has come to Qiyang to guard the city on the orders of the governor, Lord He Tengjiao. Where are the county magistrates in the city?"

On the top of the city wall, Yao Shouguo, the magistrate of Qiyang County, who was dressed in a black robe, nodded slightly to Shi Xian beside him, and then shouted to Wang Dajie below the city!

"General Wang, our county magistrate Yao learned yesterday that a large number of bandits had entered the country. He went to Yongzhou early this morning to report and ask for help. He is not in the city now."

"If General Wang wants to see the county magistrate, please come back in two days. We will immediately send a letter to Yongzhou and ask the county magistrate to return as soon as possible."

When Wang Dajie heard this, a hint of realization flashed in his eyes. They had just entered Yongzhou Prefecture three days ago and robbed along the way. The Qiyang County Magistrate must have discovered their tracks and thought they were big bandits entering the country, so they were scared and fled overnight.

However, when Wang Dajie heard that the Qiyang County Magistrate was actually going to Yongzhou, his expression changed slightly.

He was Cao Zhijian's confidant and was well aware of the situation in the court. Yongzhou was now the court's territory. If the county magistrate fled back to Yongzhou to report the news, it would be very likely that he would accidentally attract the court's troops.

Wang Dajie's face was also solemn when he thought of this. He immediately called a man and asked him to go back and report to Cao Zhijian. Not long after, more than a thousand elite soldiers in the front suddenly formed a battle formation and pressed towards the city.
After Wang Dajie heard the messenger's report, he also understood Cao Zhijian's meaning. Wang Dajie's eyes turned, and he immediately shouted at the top of the city wall.
"Those who broke into Yongzhou Prefecture were not bandits, but Green Camp rebels who surrendered to the Tartars. This group of rebels was defeated by General Cao yesterday."

"Half a month ago, the Tartars had already breached Hengzhou, and they are following closely. They will soon march into Yongzhou. Governor He sent my general here to guard Qiyang and keep the Tartars out of Yongzhou."

"The Tartars may enter the city at any time. Since the county magistrate is not here, you should quickly open the city gates. The military situation is urgent. We must enter the city immediately and prepare to defend the city."

On the top of the city wall, Yao Shouguo's face suddenly changed when he heard what Wang Dajie said. He looked at Shi Xian beside him.

Shi Xian frowned, thought for a moment, and then shook his head slightly at Yao Shouguo.

Seeing this, Yao Shouguo's expression relaxed a little, and then he shouted to Wang Dajie under the city.
"Since Magistrate Yao is not here, we dare not open the city gates. General Wang has been ordered to guard the city. Do you have documents to prove your identities? If you cannot prove your identities, we dare not open the city gates."

Wang Dajie frowned as he looked at the Qiyang gentry on the top of the city wall. The Qiyang County Magistrate had already fled back to Yongzhou. The imperial army from Yongzhou might come to Qiyang for support at any time. At this time, they could no longer attack the city slowly.
Wang Dajie thought for a moment and called for a messenger to deliver a message to the rear. The messenger returned quickly with a document.

This document is the official document of the Huguang Governor's Office appointing Cao Zhijian as the general of Hengshan, which is enough to prove the identity of their troops.
The document was quickly sent to the city. Yao Shouguo only glanced at it and handed it to Shi Xian beside him. However, Shi Xian did not even look at it and directly threw the document to the personal soldiers behind him.

At this time, Yao Shouguo shouted again

"This is the document appointing General Cao as the commander-in-chief of Hengshan, not the official document ordering him to guard Qiyang. Without the appointment from the Governor's Office, we would never dare to..."

Before Yao Shouguo could finish his words, he was interrupted by the angry shouts from below the city.
"When the Tartars broke through Hengzhou, we risked our lives to protect Governor He and he escaped. The situation was extremely critical at the time, so there was no time to write an appointment document."

"Since you have confirmed that we are the imperial army, why are you still making trouble here? How dare you, the gentry of Qiyang, prevent our army from entering the city? Are you secretly colluding with the Tartars?"

"The Tartars will chase us out of the city at any time. If you stop us from entering the city now, you will be destroying the imperial court's plan to resist the enemy. This is a capital crime."

"I will give you a quarter of an hour. If you still don't open the city walls within a quarter of an hour, General Cao will immediately attack the city. After the city is captured, all the gentry in the city will be executed for the crime of secretly communicating with the Tartars." "All soldiers, listen to my order, shoot!"

As soon as Wang Dajie finished speaking, he shouted at the thousands of soldiers around him.

The next moment, hundreds of iron arrows immediately covered the top of the city, and the young and strong men on the top of the city immediately fled in panic and disappeared on the top of the city.
Wang Dajie had a cold expression on his face. These people were deserters who had abandoned the city without permission. In He Tengjiao's eyes, they had probably already become a riotous army. How could they possibly be appointed to guard Qiyang?
Wang Dajie had been with Cao Zhijian in Huguang for a long time, so he knew the temperament of these gentry very well. It was useless to reason with them. These people were only afraid of swords. As long as they saw swords on their necks, they would be honest.

Sure enough, after the rain of arrows stopped, panicked shouts came from the city.
"General, calm down. We will open the city gates immediately."

"We, the gentry in the city, have prepared steamed cakes, wine and meat for all the soldiers in the city to entertain the king's army. There is enough wine and meat in the city. Please control the soldiers and keep the city peaceful."

After the shouting from the top of the city wall, more than a dozen baskets of steamed cakes, barbecued meat and wine fell down immediately. The soldiers under the city saw the wine and meat, but they didn't care about the beatings and scoldings of the officers in the battle, and rushed forward to fight for them, dividing up all the wine and meat.

The soldiers in the rear heard that there was wine and meat in the city, and saw the elite soldiers who had arrived at the city first eating and drinking, and they immediately became agitated.
The gate of Qiyang slowly opened. Wang Dajie saw the gate open and immediately rushed into the city with hundreds of soldiers.
When the rear-line generals saw Wang Dajie leading his men into the city first, they no longer hesitated and rushed towards the city.
They entered the city to plunder. If they were too slow, all the good things would be taken away by others.

Wang Dajie led his men into the city, but the streets in front of the city gate were quiet. Wang Dajie did not care. Since the people in the city already knew that the rebel army was coming, the people near the city wall naturally fled early.
The soldiers were relieved when they saw they had entered the city, and rushed to the streets ahead.
Wang Dajie did not stop them, but after all, he was a general, so he did not lead his men to plunder the city first. Instead, he gathered more than a hundred personal soldiers and ordered them to go up to the city to take control of the city gate.
Wang Dajie ordered the two general flag officers to lead their men to the city, and then he led the remaining soldiers to rush into the city. But before he could make a move, a scream suddenly rang out from the top of the city wall.
Wang Dajie looked towards the top of the city wall, and saw that the two teams of soldiers he had just sent to the top of the city wall had now fallen on the slope.
The ramp leading to the city wall had been covered with barricades at some point, and more than a hundred soldiers with bows and crossbows suddenly appeared on the wall, and then a hail of arrows rained down on the soldiers in the city.
The crowd of soldiers rushing into the city were completely unprepared and dozens of them were shot down in an instant. Shocking screams suddenly rang out from under the city gate.

Wang Dajie looked at the rows of soldiers holding bows and shooting arrows on the city wall, and his expression changed drastically. He was about to gather his troops and charge onto the city wall, but at this moment, another burst of arrows rang out from the front of the city wall.

Hundreds of arrows suddenly shot out from the streets ahead, and the dozen Cao army soldiers who were at the front were instantly pierced by dozens of arrows and nailed to the ground.
Then, groups of soldiers in Ming army uniforms suddenly emerged from the streets.
The Ming troops quickly gathered together and soon formed a shield formation of several hundred people. In front of the shield formation were two rows of shieldmen holding long shields, in the back were two layers of spearmen, and in the middle was a group of archers.

The Ming army in the city formed a battle array, and then immediately pressed towards the city gate. The disorderly soldiers in front of the battle array were all stabbed to death by long spears, while the archers in the battle array fired from all directions, killing all the disorderly soldiers on both sides.
Arrows were fired from the army formation, and the soldiers crowded in front of the city gate were shot down one after another like wheat being cut. Screams, roars, and shouts of killing suddenly resounded in front of the city gate.

"Retreat, quickly evacuate the city"

Wang Dajie looked terrified and shouted as he was about to lead the people out of the city. However, there was no need for him to give orders at this time. The more than a thousand soldiers who had rushed into the city first were now madly fleeing out of the gate.
The soldiers at the rear saw the city gate wide open and rushed to the gate. Some wanted to enter the city to plunder, while others wanted to leave. There were shouts and cries of killing in the city, and the gate was instantly in chaos.

Before Wang Dajie could lead his men out of the city gate, the sound of horse hooves could be heard from outside the city.

The east gate of Qiyang suddenly opened wide, and Shi Lang led 500 cavalrymen wearing red cloth armor and rushed out of the east gate, heading straight for the chaotic army in front of the north gate.
Before the five hundred cavalrymen arrived, a wave of arrows had already covered the city gate.
These chaotic troops in the rear were weak auxiliary soldiers of Cao Zhijian's army. They had no armor at all. Under the rain of arrows, the chaotic troops outside the city gate were instantly plowed down.

Outside the city gate, the cavalry was roaming around and shooting, and inside the city gate there were bursts of shouting and killing. The Cao army soldiers in front of the city gate finally collapsed completely and fled to the rear in a panic.
"Su Mao, blow the horn and lead the troops to attack."

Shi Lang led 500 cavalrymen and rode around the city gate, shooting arrows. Seeing the chaotic army disintegrating, he immediately shouted loudly, and the sound of trumpets resounded throughout the city.
Su Mao led 300 cavalrymen and rushed into the chaotic army. The already scattered chaotic army was instantly in chaos.

Under the city wall, Cao Zhijian looked at the Ming army rushing into the battle array, driving away and killing them, with a look of shock and anger on his face.

But the next moment, Cao Zhijian said nothing and led dozens of guards who had just gathered to kill the soldiers who blocked the road and fled to the rear.
But Shi Lang had already set his sights on the Hengshan general's flag, so there was no way he would let him leave.
As soon as Cao Zhijian had his men charge out of the chaotic army, Shi Lang immediately led two hundred cavalrymen to surround Cao Zhijian from the left and right.
Horses chased each other on the field, and dust billowed. Shi Lang led his men to within fifty steps of the enemy, and then a rain of arrows was fired at once, and more than a dozen cavalrymen surrounding Cao Zhijian fell off their horses immediately.
"Change the knife and charge!"

Shi Lang shouted loudly, raised his saber, and then drove his horse forward with all his strength. The cavalry that had been trying to intercept him had also arrived. Cao Zhijian looked at the cavalry that were trying to intercept him from the front and back, and finally despair flashed in his eyes.

Outside the north gate, on the hillside, Shi Lang stood under the general's flag covered in blood. Not far ahead, there were dead horses and soldiers everywhere.

The Ming cavalrymen dismounted and searched the bodies on the ground. Not long after, Su Mao dragged a figure in armor to Shi Lang.
"General, we found him. The rebel soldiers identified him as the rebel general Cao Zhijian."

Cao Zhijian was covered in blood, with seven or eight arrows stuck in his neck and chest. His eyes were wide open and still had a ferocious look on his face, but he was already silent.

"The imperial court has repeatedly issued orders not to allow the generals from Huguang to enter Yongzhou. However, such people dare to offend the majesty of the emperor. They deserve to die."

Shi Lang had a cold expression on his face. He just glanced at Cao Zhijian on the ground and ignored him.
Shi Lang looked at the soldiers still fleeing in panic under the city gate and shouted softly:
"Get on your horses, follow me and completely defeat these rebels"

Shi Lang mounted his horse, and hundreds of cavalrymen galloped again, rushing towards the city. At this time, the infantry in the city had also rushed out. The two thousand Ming soldiers attacked from both inside and outside, and the chaotic soldiers were soon captured and killed.
Cao Zhijian fled the city in order to save his soldiers, but the 6,000-man army did not allow him to become king again, but was completely destroyed in Yongzhou Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)