Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 172 Fierce Battle

"Come in!"

"Stop the Tartars!"

When the Ming and Qing armies were just able to see each other's faces in the faint light, shouts of encouragement were heard from both sides.

Under normal circumstances, the soldiers would generally stop at the edge of the weapons' attack range, but when the Qing army in the front row was about to stop and launch an attack, they felt a huge force coming from behind them, and then they uncontrollably crashed into the Ming army's weapons.

"I'll enter you."

In this situation, the Qing soldiers in the front row either shouted or struggled, and those leaning against the side even jumped down from the rubble without caring about anything.

However, human movement is not as fast as the transmission of force. Only three or two people ran away from the sidelines when the front rows of the two armies collided violently.

At this point, although the Ming army had not yet reacted, the veteran Qing soldiers had probably figured out the trick.

It is no secret that the Ming army is small in number.

After the generals were mobilized overnight, fighting broke out everywhere and there were probably not many people left in Hangzhou city.

If the Ming army could maintain its defense line at the gap, then this would not be a problem. After all, although the gap in the city wall was not narrow, it was not conducive to the deployment of a large number of troops.

But now that the prince is using this method to attack the defense line, although it may seem like he is disregarding the lives of the soldiers, he is also very likely to push the defenders back directly with his numerical advantage.

As long as they break through this gap and move the battlefield to Hangzhou City, their advantage in manpower will be brought into play. As for whether the front-line soldiers died unjustly,
As long as it’s not me, who else can care about this?
"Smash!!"

Jia Youqing shouted to the top of the city wall, and then called on the people behind him to join the wrestling.

Fortunately, the force could not be effectively transmitted on this kind of slope, otherwise they might have been pushed back into the city under the initial charge of the Qing army.

But the Qing army's numerical advantage was not given in vain. Even if only a small part of each person's strength could be transmitted to the front row, when they were gathered together, they had enough power to force the Ming army to slowly slide to the back.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

Several stones as big as human heads smashed into the dense crowd, and then several Qing soldiers who were hit on the head were completely silent.

The soldiers were all protected by helmets, and the cause of their death was probably that their necks were shattered and could not withstand such force, otherwise it would have been really ugly with the red and white objects flying all over the place.

Although this tactic seems to require no technical skills, it is often used when fighting for certain important locations, especially when there are sufficient cannon fodder.

Kong Youde had been a cannon fodder himself and had also used others as cannon fodder. When implementing this tactic, he would not feel any burden at all because of the soldiers' experiences.

"Keep working hard! There will be a huge reward for everyone who enters the city!"

He naturally saw the casualties caused by the falling rocks to the soldiers, but at the same time he could also see that the pile of rocks on the city did not seem to be very large. Even if the Ming army smashed them all down, it would not necessarily have a fundamental impact on the battle situation.

In this situation, he would not change his original idea because of the life and death of half a hundred soldiers. In order to increase the momentum, he even kept cheering for the soldiers from behind.

As for the casualties, they are not their own soldiers. As long as they can attack the city, no one will care so much.

As time passed, the Ming army was still holding on, but was about to be pushed off the heights of the ruins.

Seeing the Qing troops gradually emerging from the gap, Zhu Cilang knew that he would not be able to hold out for much longer.

Under such circumstances, even someone like him who had experienced many battles could not help but feel a little nervous. It was not difficult to imagine what the mentality of those "new recruits" was.

"When the Tartars come in, use your weapons to greet them. Don't be polite to them!"

After he finished speaking, he was about to say something else, but out of the corner of his eye he saw that Huang and Ma were still beside him.

"Why don't you two leave?!"

"Your Highness is still here. How can we, as subjects, flee in the face of battle?"

"Exactly."

The two people's answers were one long and one short, but they both expressed the same meaning.

Hearing this answer, Li Yongmao seemed a little surprised, but Zhu Cilang did not react much.

In the original history, they all died for their country calmly in the end, which shows that they were not the kind of people who were afraid of death. It is understandable that they behave like this now.

However, Zhu Cilang was also certain that if he could pass this level, these two would certainly restrain each other as needed and have second thoughts as needed. So at this moment of great enthusiasm, he was not the least bit excited by their performance.

"Li Zhongcheng, have someone escort you two away."

"Your Highness! And."

"Don't say anything more. In a fight, swords and knives are blind, and I can't protect you. Let's go."

Knowing that the two were still trying to persuade him to leave, Zhu Cilang interrupted them when they were about to open their mouths. However, he took two steps forward and hesitated again. Finally, he turned back and said, "We can't go to Fujian, and we can't lose Qiantang. If I die, whoever is willing to enter Zhejiang and defend it will be made king."

"boom!"

"call!"

Just at this moment, two noises, one big and one small, suddenly came.

When everyone looked in the direction of the sound, they saw that the Qing army had already broken through the defense, and in the distance there seemed to be bursts of fireworks flickering in the darkness.

In such a situation, some people might only be attracted by the aggressive Qing army, but Zhu Cilang was keenly aware that the bursts of fire in the distance were caused by Fang Yuanke's success.

"Our army succeeded and held back the Tartars!"

In this situation, he had no time to give any instructions to Huang Ma and the other man.

Then he shouted loudly, pointed out the current situation to the soldiers present, and rushed out first.

Ever since that night when he stopped the Qing army's sneak attack in Yingtian, Zhu Cilang has been wearing the same armor as the guards.

Although this month's effort was not enough to make him very strong, it was more than enough for him to survive in the battle group.

"when!"

"Bang!"

Zhu Cilang slashed at a Qing soldier who was about to fall into the ruins, but the soldier turned around and swung the sword in his hand to deflect the powerless blow away as if he had expected it.

But Zhu Cilang was not alone. The soldier was about to launch a counterattack, but in a moment he heard a sound of a heavy object colliding with armor from behind, and then the soldier, who had just stood up, fell directly to the ground.

The soldier's lumbar vertebrae were shattered by the blow. Such an injury would probably result in paralysis even in the future, let alone now.

Under normal circumstances, most people would ignore this enemy that no longer posed a threat. However, when Zhu Cilang was about to walk past him, he heard the soldier begging.

"Please give me a quick death! Please!"

Hearing this, Zhu Cilang was a little confused.

At this point, the soldier had lost his fighting ability. If he just lay there quietly, probably no one would pay attention to him.

If he thought in this way, even if he became paralyzed, he could still keep his life. So why would he make such a request to his "enemy"?

With this in mind, he planned to follow the guard, but who would have thought that the soldier would struggle to raise his sword and chop at him.

The sword in Zhu Cilang's hand slashed across the soldier's neck along the gap between the armor, and then blood splattered, immediately covering his clothes and armor with a layer of blood.

What he didn't know was that in this age, if you lose the ability to move, you are no longer considered a human being.

Even if he had another chance to survive this battle, what awaited this soldier in the future would be even more frightening than death.

That's why he would resolutely seek death after losing his ability to move, probably just to suffer less humiliation.

Zhu Cilang had never really come into contact with the darkness in troubled times, so he naturally couldn't think of these things.

Of course, if he had time to think carefully, he would be able to guess something roughly, but in the current situation, how could he have the time to think about these things?

However, in a moment, his attention was drawn to the battle group by the sound of weapons clashing.

At this time, many Qing troops had taken advantage of the momentum to enter the city, but they were trapped around the gap and could not advance even a single step due to the desperate resistance of the defenders.

But if this trend continues, the defense will be breached sooner or later.

At that time, the Qing army would not have to do anything else. They only needed to hold the gap and wait for reinforcements, which would be the way to victory.

With this in mind, Zhu Cilang had probably figured out Kong Youde's plan.

It would be no problem to burn, kill and loot with a few thousand people, but it would be absolutely impossible to occupy Hangzhou.

Therefore, he never thought of anything else from the beginning, and everything he did was just to hold the gap and wait for reinforcements.

It was only when he separated from Li Benshen that he sent a message for help to Duoduo, but he didn't know how long it would take for the reinforcements to arrive.

In tonight's battle, Duoduo and Zhu Cilang each have their own plans.

Duoduo wanted to use the artillery positions as bait to force the Ming army to split up, while Zhu Cilang wanted to destroy the artillery positions so that he could defend the city with peace of mind.

Up to now, Hangzhou was divided into three battlefields, but these three battlefields were only separated by a few miles.

When a violent explosion sounded at the artillery position, not only did people in the city hear the noise, but Li Benshen, who was closer, even heard the fire and the sound clearly in his mind.

After Kong Youde led his troops away, he led the remaining troops to join the battle, and he also realized how powerful the guards were.

However, this battle had been going on for quite a while, and the physical strength of the soldiers on both sides had been mostly consumed. Although the addition of his troops could not play a decisive role, it also brought tremendous pressure to the Ming guards.

But there were many unexpected events on the battlefield. Kong Youde successfully reached the gap in the city wall by taking a long detour, and Fang Guoan also successfully arrived at the battle group.

"Rescue the guards!"

Seeing the Ming and Qing armies entangled in each other from afar, he shouted and urged his horse to rush forward.

In his day, Fang Guoan was also a fierce general. Although he is a little older now and his energy and blood are insufficient, the people in the battle group have been killing for a while. With his equipment and skills, he can make endless progress.

"when!"

"Bang!"

He slashed the gap in the enemy's armor with his sword, and then kicked him in the soft spot on the abdomen.

The Qing soldier originally wanted to launch a counterattack when the distance between the two men was shortened, but in a flash he found himself retreating rapidly, and then fell to the ground and rolled several times.

"Oh!"

Faced with such a situation, Fang Guoan would naturally not chase him anymore, but when he set his target on another Qing soldier, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that the soldier he kicked away happened to fall on a guard.

However, the guard didn't even look at him and took the opportunity to hit the Qing soldier on the back while swinging the iron rod, and then hit someone else.

Looking at the Qing soldiers with blood foaming from their mouths, Fang Guoan immediately understood what His Highness meant.

The guards are good at fighting in chaos.

Isn't this good at fighting in chaos?

If there were our own people around, who would dare to dance with that heavy iron rod like this?

Did I misunderstand His Highness's meaning?
With this in mind, Fang Guoan did not slow down his movements at all, but his mind was a little confused.

Before leaving the city, he was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he disobeyed orders on the battlefield and misjudged his superiors' intentions.

Before, I thought that I was a dying person and didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.

But now the Qing army is already somewhat defeated, and it seems that he and the guards will not have to put in much effort to defeat them.

Under such circumstances, he couldn't help but feel uneasy when he recalled His Highness's previous expression.

"when!"

Although the Qing army was somewhat defeated as Fang Guoan had expected, the two armies were still fighting after all.

In addition, it was pitch dark and the soldiers beside him soon dispersed into the battle group.

Just a few breaths after he was distracted, a Qing soldier wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to take the head of this Ming army officer.

But Fang Guoan was, after all, one of the most powerful generals in the Ming Dynasty. Although the armor he wore was not as good as that of the guards, ordinary sword and knife attacks could hardly hurt him at all.

After this blow, Fang Guoan came back to his senses.

In a flash, he cleared his mind of all thoughts and focused on dealing with the enemy on the battlefield.

The Qing troops here were already frightened by the killing of the imperial guards. If they had not relied on their large numbers, they would have been defeated long ago.

When Fang Guoan's troops joined the army, the Qing soldiers dared not to fight any longer. They probably only held out for three or two incense sticks before they fled in all directions, crying for their parents.

"Why did you come out?!"

This was the first sentence Xiang Rensheng said after seeing Fang Guoan.

"Your Highness ordered me to come to your aid."

"Hi!"

Hearing this, Xiang Rensheng slammed his fist into his palm, and then without even bothering to chase the defeated army, he immediately turned around and ran towards the city.

"How.?"

Fang Guoan was totally confused by the situation. He had originally intended to die and try to sacrifice himself in exchange for the survival of the guards, but looking at Rensheng's look, he felt that not only was his efforts met with a cold shoulder, but it seemed as if he had done something terribly wrong.

"General Fang, the Qing army sent a group of troops to the city earlier. Didn't you meet them?"

"No hi!"

After hearing the words of the guards, Fang Guoan immediately realized why he was treated like this and understood how big a mess he had made.

If the Qing army broke into Hangzhou City and injured His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, let alone Fang Guoan rescuing the guards, even if he took Duoduo's head from among the thousands of soldiers, how could he atone for the sin?

"Back to the rescue!"

(End of this chapter)