In Hongwu, we started as rebels

Chapter 695 The Ming Dynasty's Elite Forces, Burning Down the Enemy Camps

The daytime passed quickly.
The sky had already darkened, and light snowflakes began to fall, once again shrouding the world in a white mist.

The change in weather did not affect the battlefield.
The fighting continued, and the soldiers in the first, second, and third trenches had been replaced countless times, always fighting the enemy on the front line.

A shard of ice, stirred by a gentle breeze, landed on the surface of the telescope.
A large portion of the battlefield in view was abruptly obscured.

Huang Yingzhi wiped away the ice particles from the mirror with some irritation and continued looking ahead.
But more and more ice particles fell, constantly obscuring his vision.

One by one, the Jurchen and Ming soldiers were obscured by ice particles.

After the ice particles were wiped away, they lay motionless on the ground.

It was as if he had wiped it away with his own hands.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, and ice particles were swept up and echoed everywhere by the gale.

In the end, Huang Yingzhi could only distinguish friend from foe by the torches in the trench.

The telescope can no longer see clearly.

But he knew the war was still going on.

Huang Yingzhi looked up at the gray sky; she could see neither the moon nor the blue sky.
"What time is it?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, it is already 9 PM."

Huang Yingzhi nodded, somewhat enlightened.

From the start of the battle in the afternoon until now.
The battle had been going on for four hours and showed no sign of stopping.

The initial rousing battle cries had turned into sporadic roars.

The sound of the hilts clashing continued, only to be muffled by the wind and snow for a long time.

He turned to look at Qi Jingfeng beside him, his expression grave:

When will the war end?

Qi Jingfeng also frowned deeply and gently shook his head:
"It might take another four hours, or we might have to wait until the wind and snow get heavier."

Annoyance flashed in Huang Yingzhi's eyes.

He turned sharply to look at the camp behind him; although it was brightly lit,

However, morale has clearly waned.

It's not that the Jurchen people in front of us are so powerful.

It was this fearless and reckless behavior, this disregard for one's own life, that was truly awe-inspiring.

Especially when you see that short road leading from the Jurchen camp to the first trench,
The corpses were piled up like meat patties, layer upon layer, squeezed out of shape.

In fact, if the trenches hadn't been regularly cleaned, they would be completely filled with corpses by now.

Huang Yingzhi surveyed the battlefield, took a deep breath, and loudly gave the order:
"Send two thousand men up to launch a proactive attack, while the soldiers in the trenches rest and regroup!"

"Yes!"

The messenger left quickly, but Qi Jingfeng spoke up to remind him:

"General Huang, if we cannot break through the enemy camp in one fell swoop, it is better not to waste our efforts."

"What do you mean?"

Huang Yingzhi's gaze swept over them like lightning.

Qi Jingfeng's voice sounded somewhat hollow in the howling cold wind:

"These savages are starving soldiers; they have no fear whatsoever."
As for how many starving soldiers were in their camp, nobody knew.

Huang Yingzhi frowned, his gaze fixed on the battlefield.

The newly arrived soldiers indeed possessed extraordinary combat capabilities.

Those savages were slaughtered like chickens, with no chance to resist.

The reason was that the savages who later left the camp were not exactly wearing half-armor,
Having a piece of skin to protect one's chest already qualifies one as an elite soldier.

What kept them going was their obsession with food.

Two thousand soldiers quickly pushed the savages out of the trenches.
Corpses were scattered everywhere, and no one cared.

Starving soldiers continued to pour out of the savage camp.

Even though they were surrounded by well-armored soldiers wielding long swords, they were fearless.

Their eyes were filled with madness, revealing only one desire!
"Kill one person and you'll have food to eat!"

The fighting continued. The two thousand soldiers did not advance rashly, but instead blocked the entrance to the camp, taking advantage of the fact that the savages did not have enough bows, crossbows, and iron weapons.

In just two miles, it was transformed into a meat grinder.
The soldiers could easily kill the enemy simply by swinging their long swords.

They had never fought such an easy battle before, and their kill count was rising rapidly.

One hundred. Five hundred. One thousand.
As time passed, everyone looked suspicious.
How can you kill all the people?

Savages kept pouring out of the camp.

In the end.
They didn't even have weapons, they just shouted and charged forward.

Huang Yingzhi turned his gaze to the Jurchen camp, which was half-hidden in the mountains and forests.

It was like a black box, from which Jurchen people kept pouring out.

After pondering for a long time, Huang Yingzhi looked at the messenger:
"Go and have the cooks take a thousand steamed buns to the front lines, and have Chi Yun and the others throw them into the camp!"

"Yes!"

The messenger's eyes flashed with surprise, but a military order is a military order, and he ran away quickly.

Huang Yingzhi spoke again:
"Move the crossbowmen forward, prepare rockets and oil, and once the enemy is thrown into disarray, breach the camp!"

"Yes, sir!" The messenger ran off again.

Qi Jingfeng looked at him in surprise, his lips trembled twice, but he ultimately did not speak again.

He knew that Tianjin's food supplies were limited.

Furthermore, judging from the disputes of the past few days, the supply of provisions is unlikely to be abundant in the future.

Huang Yingzhi's actions right now are quite bold!
Less than 15 minutes later, a strange scene unfolded on the battlefield.

Some dissenting voices arose:
"Steamed buns, piping hot steamed buns!!"

The sound pierced through the howling wind and snow, carrying the enticing aroma of wheat, like an invisible blade stabbing into the Jurchen camp.

The savages, driven by hunger and lining up to leave the camp, suddenly froze in place.

His bloodshot eyes rolled sluggishly, his Adam's apple bobbed wildly, and his nose twitched rapidly, like a wild dog, his eyes gleaming!

A few starving soldiers in the front row peered through the wide gaps in the fence.

I saw those white steamed buns.

He staggered forward, completely ignoring the scimitars of the soldiers supervising him from behind!

"Mian, mian!"

The sound was shrill and somewhat chaotic.
The unrest began to spread at an unprecedented speed.

Soon everyone near the fence knew there were steamed buns outside.

They were leaning against the fence, peering through the gaps at their fate.
Now, they struggled to their feet.

They gripped the wooden fence tightly with their palms, undaunted even if it was pierced by spikes!

Outside the camp, Chi Yun looked at the hands emerging from the cracks.
I couldn't help but shudder.

The scene before me was still somewhat eerie.

"Throw!"

The sound was more powerful than ever before.

The cook grabbed a steamed bun and threw it forcefully into the camp.

The moment the steamed bun fell, a deafening "boom" seemed to explode throughout the entire Jurchen camp.
The cacophony of sounds immediately drowned out the battle cries.

Everyone stared blankly at the scene inside the camp.

Hundreds and thousands of people crowded together, shouting and cursing.
The Jurchen people, who were preparing to leave their camp, saw white steamed buns falling from the sky.

He quickly turned around and rushed into the camp.

"Charge forward! Charge forward!"

"You scum, charge forward!"

The supervising officers, wielding curved swords, swung them down repeatedly.
People fell to the ground from time to time, but this did not stop the Jurchens from being enthusiastic.

As more and more steamed buns were thrown, the two thousand soldiers who were still easily killing suddenly realized, where did everyone go?

There were very few Jurchens left; only corpses remained.

Through the open camp gate, one could see that the camp was in complete chaos.
The initially surging, frenzied crowd instantly crumbled.
The starving Jurchen soldiers were like madmen, pushing and shoving each other.

They rushed towards where the steamed buns were.

They completely disregarded the lives of their companions.

For a single steamed bun, they would even risk a knife against each other.

Those already emaciated, ragged, and starving soldiers,

They were being jostled and pushed around in the crowd, screaming in pain.

Some starving soldiers, having finally managed to grab a steamed bun, had just stuffed it into their mouths when...
It was snatched away by the starving soldiers behind him.
The two instantly started fighting, rolling around on the ground, completely oblivious to the chaotic situation around them.

Some people even disregarded the fact that their hands were holding the steamed buns.
He took a big bite and ate the finger along with it! The finger was pulled out, and the blood that flowed out drew a red line.
Everyone who witnessed this crazy scene couldn't help but swallow hard.

They were elite warriors, but they had never seen anything like this before.
General Chi Yun, barely managing to compose himself, roared out the order:

"Fire arrows!"

The order was given, and the archers who had just rushed forward finally realized what was happening and quickly drew their bows and nocked their arrows.

The oil on the arrows was ignited by torches, making them look like three hundred bright lamps in the darkness.

"put--"

Three hundred rockets soared into the sky simultaneously, their trails of flame leaving crimson streaks in the snow, as they hurtled toward the Jurchen camp!
The outer fence was the first to be set on fire, with flames shooting into the sky.

Even more deadly, some rockets hit the most densely packed part of the camp with pinpoint accuracy.

Whether it's the hay on the tents for warmth or the stacks of hay,

They were all soaked in kerosene and burst into flames!

Sparks from the splattered grease landed on the leather tent and instantly transformed into a towering fire dragon.

Thick smoke, carrying the smell of burning, billowed out.
Amidst the rising and falling screams, the darkness of Liaodong was torn open with a hideous rift.

On the high platform, Huang Yingzhi looked much more relaxed.

Through the flickering firelight, he finally saw the elite of the Jurchen tribe.
They frantically grabbed snow to put out the fire and frantically beat out the burning haystacks.

But in stark contrast, those ragged savages completely disregarded the burning flames.

Still with red eyes, they rushed towards the steamed buns, as if the burning of the camp had nothing to do with them.

"Oil tanks! Vanguard, clear the way, charge in!"

The soldiers, who were originally preparing for battle, let out a shout and brandished their long swords.
They stormed into the camp without any hindrance!
In the center of them, twelve tall and strong soldiers carried earthenware jars and rushed to the front of the battle. The cotton wicks at the mouth of the jars still burned with a faint blue flame in the snow.

When the first can of kerosene hit the wooden palisade of the camp...

The snow licked by the flames instantly boiled! A raging fire shot skyward!

Without hesitation, Huang Yingzhi, standing in the camp behind him, drew his long sword and issued the order:
"The warhorses leave the camp, the soldiers in the trenches mount their horses, and the camp is breached!"

"Well--"

The mournful sound of horns echoed from all around Lingchuan Slope, resonating with the swirling gale and adding to the somber atmosphere!

The drumbeats also changed abruptly, and the camp gates were flung open!

Horse hooves shattered the thin ice, whipping up towering waves of snow.
They charged out of the moat and around the road toward the gate of the Jurchen camp.

Using the power and momentum of the warhorse, the longsword he swung casually already carried the weight of a thousand pounds.

Even the elite soldiers who rushed forward could not stop them.

Huang Yingzhi saw the cavalry charge into the camp.
He put down the telescope and let out a mocking laugh.
"What Jurchens? They're utterly vulnerable."

Inside the Jurchen camp, Bayan looked at the flames soaring into the sky above the camp ahead, his face extremely grim.

Xu Cheng, on the other hand, burst into hearty laughter:

"What kind of bullshit determination is this? It's all just a bunch of worthless idiots!"

Bayan suddenly turned his head and stared straight at him.

Seeing his laughter grow increasingly unrestrained, Bayan's face became more and more ferocious, and he slapped him hard across the face:

"Shut up!"

With a sharp crack, Xu Cheng's head snapped to the side.
Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, but his smile grew even more arrogant!

Bayan turned around abruptly and gave the order in a cold voice:
"Go, leave the savage here!"

The night passed in the blink of an eye.

When the first rays of dawn pierced the clouds, the battlefield had already transformed into hell.

Charred corpses and broken weapons were piled up in layers.
The snow was stained a dark red mud, and the camp had been completely burned down.
The ground was littered with corpses and bones with dried flesh and blood.

Huang Yingzhi trudged through the sticky snow toward the enemy camp.
The soles of the boots made a sickening crunching sound, the sound of burning flesh that hadn't been completely burned away.

Looking at the mess before him, Huang Yingzhi's expression turned somewhat grave.
The Jurchens were indeed easily defeated.
But the Jurchens, who truly led these savages, were like an eel.
We have just breached the forward camp.
They slipped away quietly and disappeared into the night forest.

Huang Yingzhi's gaze swept across the camp and down into the dense forest.

After thinking it over for a long time, he decided not to pursue it.

Ten hours of continuous fighting had exhausted the soldiers.

Moreover, jungle warfare is not his forte.

This is not the familiar Ming Dynasty; the jungle is fraught with danger.
The savage could navigate it with ease, but he couldn't.

Huang Yingzhi walked to the burned-out granary, bent down and picked up half a piece of unburnt wheat cake, which still had clear teeth marks on it.

"Sir, the prisoner says..."

Chi Yun arrived covered in blood, but fell silent when he saw what Huang Yingzhi was holding.

Huang Yingzhi forcefully broke the wheat cake into pieces, feeling the fine particles and warmth inside, her brows furrowing slightly.

He tucked half a wheat cake into his pocket and looked at Chi Yun:

"what happened?"

"My lord, the prisoners say that they were driven by soldiers of the Ula tribe."

"Ula tribe? Haixi Jurchen?"

Huang Yingzhi's expression turned solemn as he turned to look over:

"Those who are sent to their deaths?"

“They are the real savages from the mountains, captured and driven by the Ula tribe.”

As he spoke, Chi Yun's expression became somewhat strange:
"It wouldn't be accurate to say they were captured."

"What do you mean?" Huang Yingzhi asked, looking puzzled.

"The weather this year is unusually strange; it's already March and the snow hasn't stopped."

They couldn't find food in the forest, so the Ula tribe went to recruit them.
They followed us, saying that if they hadn't come, they would have been dead long ago.

Huang Yingzhi's expression turned solemn. He looked at the still gently falling snowflakes and sighed deeply.

"This year is indeed strange. It has been snowing for almost a month and it still hasn't stopped. No wonder these Jurchens are fighting so hard."

As he spoke, Huang Yingzhi kicked a skull away from the ground and gave the order:
“Burn all the camps down, take everything you can, leave nothing behind.”

"Yes!"

Around noon, Marquis of Runan and Commander of Liaodong, Mei Yi, hurriedly arrived at Lingchuanpo.

When he saw the completely burned-out camp ahead, his expression was somewhat astonished.

Zhao Zunian, who followed beside him, also had the same expression.

It's like saying, "Is this all we have to win?"
Qi Jingfeng rushed over, and he spoke excitedly:
"My lord, my lord, we've won the battle! We stormed the Jurchen camp in one fell swoop, and all the Jurchens have fled."

Qi Jingfeng's voice grew softer and softer.

He noticed that the Marquis in front of him did not show any joy after the victory; on the contrary, his face looked rather unpleasant.

What's going on here?
However, Qi Jingfeng quickly stopped smiling.

Tianjin Wei wiped out the Jurchens as soon as he arrived at the front lines.
This made the Liaodong soldiers feel somewhat embarrassed.

Was it that the elite troops inside the Great Wall were too strong, or that the elite troops in Liaodong were too incompetent?
It's hard not to think about this issue.

Mei Yi glanced at him, calmed himself, and said in a deep voice:

"Tell me everything that happened yesterday, without missing a single word!"

"Yes!"

Qi Jingfeng quickly recounted the bravery of Tianjin Wei yesterday and the method of defeating the enemy with steamed buns.
Upon hearing this, Mei Yi's face turned extremely ugly!

"Useless! All of you are useless!" Mei Yi cursed loudly!
Qi Jingfeng's face stiffened, and his lips trembled as he dared not speak.

But the next moment, Mei Yi seemed to realize something and added:
"Look at them, they defeated the enemy so easily, and then look at us!"

Qi Jingfeng lowered his head even further, feeling somewhat aggrieved.

If his soldiers are in good physical condition,

He asked himself if he could defeat the Jurchens so easily!
"Alright, go clean up the battlefield and go back to reflect on why they can do it while we can only waste our time here."

After Qi Jingfeng left, Zhao Zunian's face turned grim, and he tentatively said:

"My lord, the situation is excellent right now."

"Heh," Mei Yi's face darkened, and he scoffed.
"Whether it's good or not remains to be seen. Let your people take action."

Zhao Zunian's face stiffened, and a struggle flashed in his eyes:

"My lord, it's not that bad, is it?"

"Just do what I tell you to do!!!"

Mei Yi's voice suddenly rose, and he roared at Zhao Zunian.

His expression was ferocious, and he tore at his lips:

"If we don't do this job well, we're all finished!!! Do you understand?!"

Zhao Zunian stood there stunned for a long time before finally nodding:
"Yes Yes."

(End of this chapter)