Xie Ming

The flames of war illuminated the heavens, and new flags were raised atop the old city walls.

The clash of swords and the thunder of horses shattered the old land, and the jade trees and precious branches turned to ashes.

The palace remains majestic, but the inscriptions on the vermilion gates and golden plaques have been changed to reflect the present day.

The imperial seal of the former emperor still retains its warmth; the young emperor has just ascended the throne; a hero stands tall in the wind, taking charge of the court.

A storm brewed in Hangzhou, only to turn into a farce.

Finally, after the Xiao family army took control, the turmoil was completely quelled under the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials".

The instigator, Ma Shiying, died, and his accomplices, including Qiu Weizhen and Gao Hongtu, were all convicted and executed, bringing disaster to their families and friends. The incident caused a great uproar and implicated hundreds or thousands of people across three generations, too many to count.

More than 10,000 men of the former Imperial Guard were recruited and dispersed after surrendering. In the end, 5,000 men were removed from the quota and sent home.

With over four thousand soldiers remaining, they were divided and reorganized. Two thousand joined the ancestral troops, and the rest were temporarily led by the leader of the "Mourning Star" (a derogatory term for a leader who is considered unlucky), and they marched straight to Nanjing to defend the Yangtze River.

Liu Wenbing and Gong Yonggu, two former nobles and relatives of the emperor, died in prison.

The victor is king, the loser is villain. In the vast land of China, in its glorious history, how many heroes have shed blood, yet not all of them have achieved their goals?

It's really not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning at all.
August 23rd arrived in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, in Hangzhou, things were changing rapidly, with the imperial court undergoing a daily transformation and tensions rising.

It is only when he is twenty-one that he can deliver a proclamation.

The imperial edicts issued were numerous, but they all boiled down to two things.

Firstly, the death of Emperor Hongguang brought national grief, and the new emperor ascended the throne before his spirit tablet, changing the era name to Gengshi.

Secondly, a general amnesty and rewards should be granted, and this should be widely publicized to all units at the front.

Soon, the people of Jiangnan will all know the charm of Hangzhou.

On the morning of the 23rd, thirty miles west of Jintan City, Li Huchen was engaged in a battle of pursuit and attack.

"kill--"

"kill--"

"Quick! Quick! Don't let the Tartar soldiers escape!"

Between two hills in a certain place in the wilderness, the group that was in a panic and had lost its armor was clearly the remnant of Bahana's Eight Banners army.

Looking from a distance, the group now numbered less than three hundred riders. The commander leading the group was in a sorry state, cursing as he fled westward along the road, unable to keep up with his own forces.

After the fleeing thief turned around in a panic and galloped away...

Before long, Li Huchen's cavalry arrived at the bend almost simultaneously.

"Uu——"

Suddenly, Hu Chen pulled on the reins at the fork in the road.

The chestnut horse beneath him could not stop its momentum, galloping with its hooves pounding and neighing loudly.

"Damn it, he's quick to flirt!"

Tiger Minister, using foul language, came up and hurled a curse.

At that moment, he was leading the way, at the very front.

Squinting and frowning, he discerned the fork in the road ahead, both marked with scattered hoofprints.

What's even more frustrating is that the enemy's horses are indeed of excellent quality.

Our cavalry pursued from behind, but after only four or five li, they had already fallen behind.

Such poor military preparedness is bound to cause resentment.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the close guards and personal guards, including the secretary, caught up with him on horseback.

"General, General—"

Just as Hu Chen turned his head to guide his horse, Xiao Quanzi had already galloped up and arrived close.

Looking at the soldiers behind him, they were all covered in dust and dirt, panting heavily as they hurried forward.

"General, the enemy... which way did the enemy cavalry flee?"

"How do we pursue them?"

Before Xiao Quanzi could catch his breath, he hurriedly shouted to ask, swallowing a mouthful of sand and dust, and then haphazardly wiping it off his face.

Upon hearing this, Li Huchen was also filled with rage, his fiery temper flaring, and he didn't waste any more words.

He shrugged.

"Damn it, the map, bring me the map!" Hu Chen ordered.

"Yes!" Xiao Quanzi replied quickly, pulling out a parchment scroll from his pocket and handing it over.

In an instant, Hu Chen grabbed a piece of paper with his large hand.

“This road leads west for another ten miles to Sanmao Mountain.” He gestured as he looked.

"Damn it, they're trying to split up their forces with me."

"Ignore him, the main force is definitely heading towards Sanmaoshan."

"Xiao Quanzi, don't follow us. Take a squad of soldiers and take the rear route to Liyang to find Nie Daxing."

“We cast our net earlier, and that kid with about a thousand men should have arrived in Liyang by now.” “When you see him, pass on my military orders: come east quickly and assemble on the western route at the foot of Sanmao Mountain.”

"Damn it, that bald bastard Bahana, I've been keeping an eye on him for over a month, and he's finally showing his face."

"Give me troops to surround Sanmaoshan."

"We absolutely cannot let him escape again."

"Pass on my order: anyone who lets this bald thief escape will be court-martialed!"

"Go!"

Tiger Minister was impatient. The eagle saw the rabbit, its eyes turned bloodshot, and it secretly made up its mind that it must catch this big fish and kill it in this battle to eliminate future troubles.

"Yes!"

Xiao Quanzi was also quite excited upon hearing this, and immediately raised his fists in response, eager to issue the order and leave.

"Hey you guys, follow me!"

However, at this critical juncture, just as Li Huchen was in a hurry, he immediately wanted to rush forward again and relentlessly pursue the pursuer.

Suddenly, a voice came from the top of the mound behind them.

"Report——"

"Report——"

Following the sound, they saw a lone messenger on horseback, shouting and yelling as he galloped toward them.

Turning his head to peek, Xiao Quanzi, with his sharp eyes, cut off the words before speaking.

"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute."

"General, it's a scout from Zhenjiang."

"look."

After he finished speaking, Hu Chen glanced in the direction Hu Chen pointed and saw a lone rider with a small red flag on his saddle, galloping down the hill and already close to the end of the procession.

"Report——"

"Report!"

"Reporting to the general, an order has been sent from the court."

"The person is already in Zhenjiang, and also, he has brought a message from the Duke of Jingguo."

After a moment, the horse remained still, and Li Huchen reined in the horse to steady it.

The messenger stepped forward from behind, leaped off his horse, knelt on one knee, and without hesitation delivered the message.

Upon hearing this, Hu Chen gritted his teeth and turned away, feeling even more disheartened.

Reluctantly, he frowned and glared with his tiger-like eyes, then immediately rejected the order and ignored it.

"Hey, what court, what duke? Can't you see I'm busy here? I don't have time right now."

"Whatever it is, we can talk about it after we capture Bahana."

"All men, heed my command, advance and pursue!"

Ignoring Mang Huchen, he kept his eyes fixed on the bald bandit ahead, unwilling to let the cooked duck fly away.

To obtain that Bahana, they were willing to defy even divine orders.

Upon hearing this, the messenger was greatly alarmed and quickly slurred his words to finish speaking, lest he take the blame later.

Immediately, the man sprang up, grabbed Hu Chen's reins, and quickly reported the news.

"General, General!"

"The commander-in-chief orders you to immediately muster 20,000 troops and march swiftly east of Hangzhou, towards Tangzhen."

"Orders must be obeyed without fail!" the official urged.

Upon hearing this, Hu Chen was extremely upset.

"what?"

"This this"

"I've been staking out this place for a month, and I finally caught that bald thief peeking out. Now you want me to leave? No way!"

"Damn it, what does it matter? We'll talk about it after the war is over."

"Whether it's a reward or a punishment, I'll accept it."

Hu Chen forcefully kicked the messenger aside, snatched the reins, and prepared to charge forward.

Unfortunately, seeing that his master was about to cause a great disaster, his close follower Xiao Quanziye quickly spurred his horse and moved to the side in front of Hu Chen's horse.

"General, no, General, you absolutely mustn't!" Another voice blocked the way.

Seeing this, Hu Chen's temper flared even more, and he lashed out with his whip at his personal attendant.

"Get the hell out of my way."

However, no matter how the black-faced Hu Chen tried to cause trouble, Xiao Quanzi stood at the front, grabbed Hu Chen's horse's head, and refused to let go. (End of this chapter)