Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 713 Fighting
"Hold on! Damn it, hold on for me!"

Gao Jie shouted in panic. Unable to sit still any longer, he personally picked up a sword and led his personal guards forward. He chopped off several deserters' heads and barely stopped the collapse of the front line.

Then, Gao Jie asked the veterans in his army to lead the counterattack and drove back all the rebels who had charged into the front line. After the enemy retreated like a tide, Gao Jie breathed a sigh of relief, holding his sword in both hands and breathing heavily, and kept shouting for all units to prepare for the next round of defense to prevent the enemy from rushing into the front again.

"General Gao! Where is General Gao?"

At this time, Sun Chuanting's personal soldiers came to the front of the formation and shouted loudly where Gao Jie was.

"I'm here!" Gao Jie replied. When the personal soldier found Gao Jie, who was covered in blood and whose face was almost unrecognizable, in the crowd, he hurried over.

"Lord Zhongcheng has issued an order!" The personal soldier said to Gao Jie sternly, "Order Shaanxi General Gao Jie to guard the entrance to the valley. If the entrance to the valley is lost, Lord Zhongcheng will not show mercy."

"Brother, please help report back to the Lord. Tell him that as long as I, Gao Jie, am alive, the entrance to the valley will be there. If the entrance to the valley is lost, the Lord Zhongcheng doesn't need to do anything. I, Gao Jie, will chop off my own head!"

"General Gao, you have worked hard. I will report back to you right away." The soldier said with a fist. He turned around and was about to leave, but before leaving, he turned back and said to Gao Jie, "General Gao, arrows have no eyes in front of the battlefield. Please be careful."

"Stop talking too much!" Gao Jie waved his hand and grinned, "The arrow that can kill me hasn't been made yet. Go ahead and do your thing. Lord Zhongcheng can rest assured."

The guard clasped his fists again and then hurried away. After the guard left, Gao Jie patrolled the front line with his sword in hand, shouting and commanding his men to defend. A moment later, Gao Yingxiang's troops launched another attack. This time, Gao Jie did not even go down, but personally led his guards to command the front line. If he found that the front line was shaky, he would lead his men to support it. At the same time, he also personally served as the supervisor of the battle. Anyone who fled after fearing the enemy would be beheaded by Gao Jie with his sword without mercy.

The battle that day lasted from morning till sunset. Gao Yingxiang launched six attacks on the entrance of the valley, but was stopped by Gao Jie every time.

Gao Yingxiang's troops suffered as many as 3,000 casualties, and more than half of Gao Jie's elite troops were lost. One can imagine how brutal the battle was.

Even Gao Jie's left arm was injured, but thanks to the good quality of his armor, he only sustained a minor injury. Looking at the messy defense line and Gao Yingxiang's troops who had already retreated in front of him, Gao Jie was so tired that he could hardly stand and sat down on the bloodstained ground.

"General!"

"I... I'm fine. Get me some water. I'm dying of thirst..." Gao Jie said weakly.

The guards quickly brought over a water bag, and Gao Jie took it and drank it in big gulps. As the water went into his stomach, his dry lips were moisturized, and his strength gradually returned.

After taking off his helmet with great effort, Gao Jie poured water directly from his head with a water bag, and then wiped his face. It would have been fine if he hadn't wiped his face, but once he wiped it, the mixture of blood and water dyed Gao Jie's face red, and he looked like a demon crawling out of hell.

"Pass on my order, have the brothers clean up the battlefield, send those who can be treated as soon as possible, and take good care of the dead. Also, the front line must not be relaxed to prevent Gao Yingxiang's nighttime sneak attacks, and there must be no mistakes!"

"Yes!"

The guards took the order and left. Gao Jie sat down and rested for a while before he stood up and staggered to inspect the position. At this time, Sun Chuanting came with his men. Upon learning that Sun Chuanting was coming, Gao Jie hurried to greet him. When Sun Chuanting saw Gao Jie's embarrassed appearance, he was also shocked. He knew that the battle ahead was fierce, but he didn't expect it to be so fierce.

"General Gao, you have worked hard."

"I greet the Lord Zhongcheng..." Gao Jie hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects, but before he could finish his greetings, he was supported by Sun Chuanting.

"You are hurt?"

"It's okay, just a minor injury, just a bite." Gao Jie grinned.

"Where is the military doctor? Come and treat General Gao!" Sun Chuanting turned around and shouted. As soon as he finished speaking, a military doctor came forward and helped Gao Jie take off his armor with the help of several personal soldiers. Then he checked his wound, cleaned it, and applied medicine to it. Gao Jie did not refuse and sat down to let the military doctor toss him around. After a while, his arm felt much better after applying the medicine. The wound was cool and the pain was much less.

"General Gao's injury is not serious, but it is best not to do strenuous exercise on your left arm in the next few days. Also, you cannot drink alcohol or eat spicy food." The military doctor gave the order after bandaging the wound, and Gao Jie nodded to show that he understood.

After the military doctor left, Gao Jie said to Sun Chuanting, "I have lived up to the trust of the Minister of State today and have held the front."

"Well, thank you for your hard work. By the way, how are the casualties among the soldiers?" Sun Chuanting frowned slightly as he looked at the traces on the battlefield. He did not expect Gao Yingxiang to fight so frantically. Even a dog will bite when it is angry. Moreover, Gao Yingxiang is now at the end of his rope. The valley entrance where Gao Jie is stationed is his only way to survive.

"The loss is not small, with nearly half of the people killed or wounded. If Gao Yingxiang continues to attack like this tomorrow, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to hold on." Gao Jie spoke the truth. He had originally planned to report the matter to Sun Chuanting after he was settled. Now that Sun Chuanting came directly, Gao Jie of course had to make things clear.

Sun Chuanting frowned. With such casualties, the Ming army would have collapsed long ago. It was not easy for Gao Jie to defend like this. But he did not have enough troops. These troops not only had to block the front, but also stationed on both sides of the valley with Hong Chengchou's troops to prevent Gao Yingxiang from climbing over and escaping from both sides.

After thinking for a while, Sun Chuanting said to Gao Jie, "Well, I'll let Bai Guangen bring 2,000 people here. Zuo Guangxian can't move for the time being. I'll go find Hong Hengjiu later to see if he can transfer some people."

"Tomorrow we must hold on no matter what. We must not let Gao Yingxiang break through the entrance to the valley. As long as we have the entrance to the valley, Gao Yingxiang will be defeated and he will not be able to escape even if he has wings! General Gao knows what this battle means, so there is no need for me to say more."

"Master Zhongcheng, please rest assured. With the support of General Bai's two thousand men, I will guard the entrance to the valley for you and not let Gao Yingxiang take even a single step past it!"

"Okay!" Sun Chuanting nodded heavily and said with a smile: "After this battle, I will personally recommend merit for the general! With such a great achievement, the court will never treat the general unfairly. When the time comes, it will be no problem to promote him to a higher position or even confer him a title. General Gao, please!"

Gao Jie's eyes lit up. A title? If he could be a title, it would bring honor to his family. Could a bandit leader like him who came from a peasant family also be a titled? Thinking of this, Gao Jie felt full of strength, and even his wounds no longer hurt. He patted his chest and promised Sun Chuanting on the spot that he would fight for his country and die on the battlefield. He would never let Gao Yingxiang escape.

After returning from the battlefield, Sun Chuanting went to find Hong Chengchou and told him about the matter, hoping that Hong Chengchou could transfer some troops to assist Gao Jie in guarding the entrance of the valley.

When Hong Chengchou heard this, he agreed without hesitation. He not only dispatched troops, but also specially dispatched his most elite cavalry unit to cooperate with Gao Jie in the battle.

Hong Chengchou knew as well as Sun Chuanting that this was the best chance to kill Gao Yingxiang directly. Once this opportunity was missed, it would be almost impossible to find another one. Gao Yingxiang was now trapped in Heishui Valley and was in a dilemma. The only way to survive was to open the valley entrance and fight his way out of Heishui Valley. Otherwise, defeat was inevitable.

Gao Yingxiang was the biggest bandit in the Ming Dynasty, and the main culprit that had caused chaos in the Ming Dynasty over the years. As long as Gao Yingxiang was eliminated, the Ming Dynasty's suppression of the bandits would be mostly successful, and the remaining Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and others would not be a big deal. Once all these bandits were eliminated, the internal troubles of the Ming Dynasty would be completely resolved.

Moreover, Hong Chengchou was different from ordinary civil servants. He was not a member of the Qingliu group and was extremely capable. In addition, Hong Chengchou was good at judging the situation. When he learned that Zhu Shenzhui had cleared the court and entered the capital after the Jingguo Nan Campaign, and directly imprisoned Emperor Chongzhen and became regent, Hong Chengchou had some ideas in his mind.

Especially after Zhu Shenzhui issued an order to the whole country, the Ming Dynasty was pacified after a brief period of chaos. After all places tacitly accepted Zhu Shenzhui as regent, Hong Chengchou became more convinced that the Ming Dynasty's temperament had changed.

Hong Chengchou did not know Zhu Shencui, but that did not mean he did not send people to look for information about Zhu Shencui. After learning how Zhu Shencui started his career, how he secretly grew stronger, and even how he suddenly raised an army and captured the capital in one battle, Hong Chengchou had to admit that Zhu Shencui was a complete hero. Compared with Zhu Shencui, Emperor Chongzhen was no match at all. Now that the central government was in the hands of such a man, it was only a matter of time before the throne fell into Zhu Shencui's hands.

Zhu Shencui had just taken office as regent. From his various actions, it was clear that Zhu Shencui was taking control of the world in a steady and cautious manner without any reckless actions. This made Hong Chengchou think highly of Zhu Shencui even more.

In Hong Chengchou's opinion, now is the best time to join Zhu Shencui. As the saying goes, "helping someone in need is worse than helping him in need." Moreover, Zhu Shencui is different from Emperor Chongzhen. He is much superior in ability, vision and means. Not to mention other things, just from his appointment of Wen Tihen and those nobles in the Beijing camp, it can be seen that Zhu Shencui does not care about the upright or the villains. He only promotes people based on their talents. As long as he can make the best use of people, even villains can occupy high positions.

Hong Chengchou was always conceited. He always thought that his talent was top-notch in the Ming Dynasty court. Not to mention a mere governor of three borders, even if he was made the chief minister, it would not be too much. Unfortunately, it was not easy to work under Emperor Chongzhen. This master was not easy to get along with. It was better to go to the local area than to be an official in the court. This was one of the important reasons why Hong Chengchou came to Shaanxi before.

When Hong Chengchou found out that Sun Chuanting was actually related to Zhu Shenzhui, and that Sun Chuanting's sister married Zhu Shenzhui's cousin, Wang Jinwu, who was also a general under Zhu Shenzhui, he wanted to make friends with Sun Chuanting. Originally, the two of them had a good cooperation in Shaanxi and had a good relationship with each other, but now because of Zhu Shenzhui, Hong Chengchou became even closer to Sun Chuanting. This was also the reason why Hong Chengchou led his elite troops to come without thinking when Sun Chuanting passed on the news to him that Gao Yingxiang would go to Ziwu Valley and hoped that he would bring troops to help block Gao Yingxiang.

At the moment Gao Yingxiang was blocked in Heishui Valley, and it was impossible for Hong Chengchou to hold back Sun Chuanting at this time. Not only would he not hold back, but he would also provide great help. So when Sun Chuanting asked Hong Chengchou for help and hoped that he would send troops to reinforce Gao Jie, Hong Chengchou sent out his elite cavalry without saying a word. Such a straightforward move made Sun Chuanting very grateful to Hong Chengchou.

(End of this chapter)