I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 633: Battle of the Three Kings (VII)

This tactic was simple, but very effective. The soldiers of the Southern Army had never seen such a large-scale and aggressive cavalry charge before, and they became even more panicked. Naturally, they had even less will to fight, and their collapse became even more complete.
Several rows of the Southern Army's formation had been disrupted by the shrapnel, and the fleeing soldiers in the front row were constantly attacking the troops in the back row, making the entire Southern Army's center completely chaotic and unable to organize a decent resistance.
Moreover, the chaos in the central army was spreading to other Confederate troops as fast as a plague.
More and more military formations collapsed. Even some troops that were more motivated could not maintain their formation and morale in the face of the massive onslaught of defeated soldiers.
After all, the panicked fleeing soldiers would flee in a panic, they didn't care about the friendly army's formation, and they didn't want to take a detour. Moreover, they still had weapons in their hands, so they didn't care about friendly army at this time. They just wanted to escape and stay away from the cavalry and the exploding shells.
So more and more Confederate troops collapsed.
The charging Union cavalry plunged into the Confederate army as easily as a hot knife into butter.
Wherever the Union cavalry went, the Confederate soldiers hurriedly moved away from them, so the Union cavalry could easily penetrate them.
After discovering that the Confederate soldiers had little will to resist, the Northern Army's cavalry did not kill many of them, but instead began to skillfully drive the Confederate fleeing soldiers to attack the Confederate formations behind them.
This made it impossible to stop the overall collapse of the Southern Army.
The previous propaganda played a role at this time. Many Confederate soldiers who could not run or felt they could not run away piled up their weapons as described in the previous leaflets and surrendered to the Union infantry who followed.
This is what Wang Ze saw when he rushed over. Wherever he looked, the Southern Army was either fleeing or surrendering.
He looked at the cavalrymen in front of him with hatred and said, "Damn it! Can you believe that I didn't get anything in such a big battle? I didn't even get to fire a shot! The fat meat was taken away by the artillery and the group of horsemen. Only some leftovers are left for us. It's so infuriating! This battle is so infuriating!"

Wang Ze's words resonated with many of his comrades. They were eager to gain more honors and military exploits, but the course of this battle was preventing them from gaining more military exploits, so many people were very angry.
"Okay! Stop complaining! What's there to be angry about? It's good to fight like this. Our casualties are not great. If we don't fight like this, and we face the elite of the Southern Army, we may be able to gain more military merits, but more comrades will also sacrifice their lives," the platoon leader suddenly interrupted.

Wang Ze and the surrounding Northern Army soldiers were silent.
Liu Di and a group of Southern Army soldiers squatted on the ground with their hands on their heads. They all looked dusty and their uniforms were dirty. After Liu Di's panic subsided a little, he knew he couldn't escape, so he mixed in with the Southern Army soldiers and surrendered to the Northern Army.
The unit he surrendered to was the company where Wang Ze was. He heard the conversation between Wang Ze and the others clearly. He couldn't help but stare at them in a daze.
Wang Ze noticed this strange Southern Army soldier and immediately pointed his gun at Liu Di and shouted, "What are you doing? Stay down! Don't look around."

"Alright! Show a better attitude! We have received orders from above to treat prisoners well! They are citizens of the Ming Dynasty just like us, they were just bewitched by traitors. We are all Chinese and one family," the platoon leader was obviously more conscious and said immediately.

Wang Ze was convinced by the platoon leader and quickly put down his gun without saying anything more.
The platoon leader walked up to Liu Di and shouted to the surrendering Southern Army soldiers around him: "The war is about to end. You are not the ones responsible for this war. You are also victims of this war. As long as you cooperate with us, I promise you that you will be able to return to your hometown soon."

Liu Di listened to the platoon leader's words in a daze, and tears welled up in his eyes unconsciously, falling into the soil under his feet. The surrounding Southern Army soldiers couldn't help but burst into tears to vent their emotions.
Amidst the cries, Liu Di suddenly felt relieved.
Yes! The war is over and he is going home.
The watchtower under King Xing's banner fell into a dead silence.
They saw everything that happened on the battlefield clearly, and they knew that the situation was hopeless.
But they still felt incredible about the current situation. Before the war, even the most pessimistic people did not expect that the official battle would be decided in less than half an hour. The most highly expected and most elite Southern Army Central Army collapsed so easily.
All this made many people think they were dreaming.
"Your Highness, please move south quickly!" Yan Song was the first to break the silence and spoke quickly.

Zhu Houcong, who was pale, came back to his senses and sneered, "Turn around? Where can you turn around to?"

"There are still places in the south that are loyal to Your Highness. If Your Highness goes there, he may be able to make a comeback." Yan Song advised, although he also knew that what he said was a fantasy.
"Don't try to persuade me," Zhu Houcong said dejectedly, "I've been defeated! I've been completely defeated! I can no longer mobilize such a large army. Even if I can, the result will not be much better than now."

"But." Yan Song wanted to persuade him again. He had seen a cavalry of about 10,000 people rushing straight towards the watchtower.
"You two can run for your lives." Zhu Houcong interrupted Yan Song and said calmly, "We are the emperor and his subjects. I will not drag you to die with me."

Zhu Houcong's words revealed his determination to die, which shocked everyone, but the content of his words made the ministers in the watchtower feel relieved.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Immediately, some people ran away. There were quite a few people, and the stairs were packed tightly. Some people even quarreled over it.
Zhu Houcong looked at these usually righteous officials who had become so uncivilized, with no sadness or joy on their faces.
"I am the eldest grandson of Emperor Xianzong and the most qualified person to inherit the throne of my brother Emperor Zhengde. Although Zhu Houcong has been kind to my Xingwang Mansion, he also stole my life. If it weren't for him, I should have inherited the throne! I should be the Son of Heaven, the Emperor of Ming Dynasty!" Zhu Houcong said calmly.

"Your Highness. No. Your Majesty." Yan Song did not run away, but looked at Zhu Houcong sadly.

"Yes, that's it." Zhu Houcong smiled and said intoxicatedly, but he didn't let himself be intoxicated for too long, because the people on the watchtower had fled and the cavalry of the Northern Army were almost at the bottom of the watchtower.
"As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I cannot let my cousin, the Prince of Jing, underestimate me. I am not afraid of death, but since ancient times, emperors have their own way of dying," Zhu Houcong said in a trembling voice.

"I understand what your majesty means. Since ancient times, the death of an emperor cannot be shed blood. Does your majesty need my help?" Yan Song also figured it out and asked softly, pointing at the belt.

Yan Song meant that he could help strangle Zhu Houcong to death with a belt.
Zhu Houcong shook his head and said, "I have already prepared Huang Banban."

"Your Majesty, the elixir is here." Huang Jin wiped his tears and said with a sob. Huang Jin was one of the only three people left on the watchtower.
Zhu Houcong took the crystal-clear pill, his eyes showing a hint of obsession, sniffed it gently and felt the fragrance, then he swallowed it without hesitation.
Huang Jin and Yan Song immediately knelt on the ground, crying, "We respectfully send your Majesty to heaven."

The toxicity of the pill was very painful. Zhu Houcong held the handle of the chair tightly and tried his best to endure the pain.
He wanted to leave in a dignified manner, so he didn't want to roll on the ground and ruin his clothes, so he could only endure the ravages of the poison in his body.
This specially made pill was very poisonous. His wide-open eyes quickly lost their luster and he completely lost his vitality.
Zhu Houcong, the Prince of Ming Xing, died on April 9, the second year of the Ming Republic, when his army was defeated. He was 30 years old.
(End of this chapter)