My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

However, due to the continuous journey, the peasant army was extremely exhausted. Their steps were heavy and sluggish, their faces were full of weariness, and their clothes were soaked with sweat and clung tightly to their bodies.

Even so, they still dared not let their guard down, and a hint of vigilance and unease was revealed in everyone's eyes.

Because everyone knows that there are still dangers waiting for them ahead.

At the same time, Li Zicheng was also observing the scene in the distance.

But by then it was already dark, and even with the help of the moonlight and firelight, he couldn't see clearly what was ahead. He could only see that the gloomy Qinling Mountains in the distance looked like a huge black dragon, stretching across the sky and earth, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

Li Zicheng's intuition told him that there must be an ambush waiting for them near the Qinling Mountains.

An ominous premonition welled up in his heart, as if an invisible eye was watching them from the darkness, ready to launch a fatal attack at any moment.

Just then, Liu Zongmin, who was standing next to him, suddenly said:
"Chuang Wang, should we send out scouts to check the situation first?"

Clearly, Liu Zongmin also knew that he had to be cautious at this time, as any negligence could lead to the annihilation of the entire army.

However, upon hearing this, Li Zicheng waved his hand and said:

"No need for that. Aren't there still a few cannons left in the army? Bring those cannons over here!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zongmin instantly understood Li Zicheng's meaning.

They need to bombard the area in front with artillery first!
If there is an ambush, it will naturally be exposed and they will be able to prepare a response in advance.

If there were no ambushes, they could pass through smoothly!
Fortunately, Li Zicheng's side had not used all of their artillery during the previous battles, and they had not abandoned them during the retreat, so they came in handy at this moment.

Before long, six cannons were pulled out.

These cannons were not very large, and their black barrels exuded a cold and majestic aura.

At Li Zicheng's signal, the artillerymen quickly sprang into action. They skillfully loaded ammunition, carefully placing each heavy shell into the breech, and then ignited and fired.

next second.

"Boom boom boom"

Several loud cannon shots rang out, the sound deafening, like a roar from heaven and earth.

Immediately afterwards, the shells, trailing flames like angry fire dragons, shot forward, leaving dazzling trails in the darkness.

On the other side, the moment he heard the sound of cannons, Zuo Liangyu couldn't help but think to himself, "This is bad!"
Because he hadn't expected that Li Zicheng's army would be able to take artillery with them when they retreated.

His expression instantly turned serious, and a hint of worry appeared in his eyes.

But it was too late to think about these things now; he could only hope that the cannons wouldn't hit his own soldiers.

Otherwise, if Li Zicheng were to discover them, he probably wouldn't dare to approach!
In this way, the advantages of flintlock muskets cannot be demonstrated, since the effective range of flintlock muskets is limited, and they can only exert their maximum power when the enemy gets close enough.

If Li Zicheng is afraid of an ambush and dares not approach, then their plan will fail.

Just as Zuo Liangyu was lost in thought, the cannonballs had already landed, instantly producing a series of huge explosions.

The sound shook the earth and was exceptionally loud in the silent night!
Fortunately, because these artillery pieces did not have a long range, four of the shots landed only a few dozen meters in front of them.

Another weapon, with slightly stronger firepower, landed directly on a nearby soldier's ambush position. However, because the blast radius was small, it only injured two soldiers.

The two soldiers were hit by the artillery fire and instantly groaned in pain, their bodies writhing on the ground.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers nearby rushed over and covered the mouths of the two wounded soldiers, fearing that they would make a sound and attract the enemy's attention.

At the same time, military doctors rushed over to provide treatment.

But the next second, the sound of cannons rang out again, as if the Grim Reaper was tolling his death knell.

Even though artillery fire continued to fall on the troops, causing casualties, the people around reacted quickly, immediately covering the mouths of the wounded soldiers and waiting for the military doctors to treat them.

Just kidding, at this moment it's a matter of life and death, we absolutely cannot let the casualties of one or two people affect this battle!
After waiting for quite a while, the cannon fire from Li Zicheng's side gradually stopped.

By this time, the Ming army had suffered approximately fifty casualties.

The wounded soldiers lay on the ground, struggling in pain, their blood staining the earth beneath them, and a strong stench of blood filled the air.

But there's nothing we can do about it; people always die in war.

Moreover, these casualties only fueled the Ming soldiers' rage. Their eyes burned with fury as they stared intently at the approaching peasant army, their hatred growing ever stronger.

Meanwhile, Li Zicheng on the other side was also confused about the situation.

Because he was still unsure whether there were any ambushes ahead.

After all, this round of artillery fire had fired dozens of shells in various directions, but it hadn't made a sound. It seemed like there was no one in front of them.
But this is impossible!

The Ming army has brought nearly 200,000 troops this time. He had previously encountered at most 100,000, and there were still about 70,000 to 80,000 that he had not yet encountered. Logically, they should be ahead of him!
For a moment, his heart was filled with doubt and unease, as if he were in a fog and could not find his way.

At this point, Li Zicheng should have first sent a small detachment forward to probe the area, and then led the main army through only after confirming it was safe.

But by then, he had no time left!
It was obvious that the hundreds of thousands of Ming troops behind them had probably already joined up and would arrive here soon.

If we wait until then, he'll have no chance of escaping!
Thinking of this, Li Zicheng had no choice but to bite the bullet and say:

"It seems there are no ambushes ahead. Let's continue and return to the Qinling Mountains via the same route!"

At this moment, although his voice was firm, his eyes revealed a hint of helplessness and despair.

Hearing this, Liu Zongmin and the others felt uneasy, but they knew there was no other way at the moment, so they could only nod and then begin to mobilize their troops.

Immediately afterwards, the peasant army moved forward again.

However, at this moment, the peasant army in front was already terrified. Their eyes were filled with fear and confusion, and their steps became flustered.

Although they could not see the Ming army ahead, they could see the Qinling Mountains faintly visible in the darkness.

The mountain range resembled a giant maw, waiting to devour them.

Not long ago, they had just escaped from the Qinling Mountains. In those dense forests, they had endured countless hardships and lost many friends. They had even planned to never return to the mountains for the rest of their lives after leaving them.

Unexpectedly, just one day later, they found themselves back in this "man-eating" place, filling them with fear.

But they had no choice but to stay. Firstly, Li Zicheng's old camp was constantly monitoring them, and anyone who didn't leave would face their whips or swords.

Secondly, most of them suffer from night blindness. In this pitch-black night, they have completely lost the ability to discern directions and can only follow the crowd forward, like a group of headless flies, blindly struggling in the dark.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Zuo Liangyu was so nervous that he could hardly breathe, but he kept suppressing his excitement and silently calculating the distance between them.

Just as he was within range of the flintlock musket, Zuo Liangyu suddenly shouted:
"Brothers, give them a good beating!"

The next second, the soldiers, who could no longer suppress their anger, instantly pulled the triggers of their flintlock pistols.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang."

In an instant, a barrage of gunfire erupted again, the sound like a torrential downpour, as countless bullets rained down on the peasant army.

This happened so suddenly that the peasant soldiers at the front had no chance to react and were hit directly.

In an instant, a large number of people were killed or injured!

The peasant soldiers who had been shot fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

Seeing this, the remaining peasant soldiers instinctively tried to turn back and run away, but the peasant soldiers behind them were still surging forward, and the two sides collided head-on. They couldn't even escape, and a large number of them were shot down by the Ming army in an instant.

In an instant, chaos erupted within the peasant army, with shouts, cries, and the sound of horses' hooves mingling together to create a terrifying symphony.

"Damn it! There really was an ambush!"

Seeing this scene, Li Zicheng was filled with rage, his eyes bloodshot as if they were about to spit fire!

The last glimmer of hope I had was completely gone!
Meanwhile, his army was in complete disarray, with everyone fleeing in panic like a pack of frightened wild beasts, having lost their reason and direction.

Given the current situation, he couldn't even organize an army. Only the small number of 30,000 veteran troops remained calm, tightly clustered around Li Zicheng in an attempt to maintain their formation.

Li Zicheng looked anxiously ahead, trying to find a way out!
In his view, this should be the last line of defense for the Ming army.

If they can break through this line of defense, they can survive; otherwise, death awaits them!
Thinking of this, Li Zicheng suddenly pulled on the reins, and the warhorse's front hooves suddenly rose high, letting out a long neigh.

Li Zicheng glared with his single, bloodshot eye and roared in a booming voice:

"Don't panic! The last line of defense ahead should be the Ming army's last line of defense! As long as we break through this line, we can survive! Charge!"

Before he finished speaking, he spurred his horse's flanks, and the tall warhorse beneath him shot forward like an arrow.

Behind him, the remaining veteran soldiers also roared and charged forward with Li Zicheng like a surging tide.

The night was as dark as ink, and the faint firelight flickered in the night wind, barely illuminating a small area in front of us.

In this dim light, they could only see a dense mass of figures ahead, as chaotic as boiling water, making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe.

But at this point there was no other choice. Retreating meant certain death, while charging forward might offer a glimmer of hope!
Therefore, these veteran soldiers charged forward, brandishing their swords and slashing at the peasant soldiers at will!

There's no way around it; these peasant soldiers have completely gone mad.

Their eyes were filled with fear and madness. They charged around recklessly, howling like wild beasts, and were completely unable to obey any commands.

Some peasant soldiers even recklessly charged at the old camp's soldiers, trying to pull them off their horses and perish together with them.

Meanwhile, amidst the chaos on Li Zicheng's side, Zuo Liangyu stood on a distant high platform, a cruel sneer on his lips.

He would show no mercy to these peasant soldiers!

And so, the gunfire from the Ming army's side continued incessantly, as dense as popping beans.

With each volley of gunfire, hundreds or even thousands of people fell, their blood splattering in the darkness and quickly staining the ground beneath their feet.

And so, in the pitch-black night, a chaotic battle broke out.

Gunshots, shouts of killing, and cries of agony mingled together, like a symphony from hell.

Gunshots rang out continuously, each one accompanied by the loss of life.

People kept groaning and collapsing to the ground, their bodies twisting and struggling in the darkness before quickly losing their breath.

The entire battlefield was in chaos, as if it were the end of the world.

Moreover, at this time, those peasant soldiers at the very bottom of society were no longer lambs to the slaughter.

As soon as they saw the veteran soldiers rushing over, they disregarded everything and charged forward like mad dogs, dragging them off their horses and beating them mercilessly.

At that moment, they had only one thought in their minds: to survive!

Survive by any means necessary!

Soon, many veteran soldiers were submerged in the surging crowd and quickly turned into corpses or rotten mud!
That's what makes chaotic battles so terrifying, especially those fought at night, because you have no idea who you're facing—enemy or ally.

All you know is that to survive, you have to defeat the person in front of you, no matter who they are!
Before long, the peasant army suffered more than 20,000 casualties, and the number continued to rise.

Blood pooled on the battlefield, forming streams that flowed among the mud and corpses, emitting a pungent, bloody stench.

At the same time, even Li Zicheng was completely surrounded by a large number of peasant armies.

At this moment, these peasant soldiers had completely gone mad. Their eyes were devoid of reason, filled only with madness and despair, and they did not obey Li Zicheng's orders at all.

No matter how he whipped his horses, they ignored him and fled in all directions, as if Li Zicheng was no longer their leader but an insignificant person.

Even most of Li Zicheng's old troops were scattered, and at this time, less than 10,000 men had gathered around him.

Moreover, these people all looked exhausted and terrified, and their gazes towards the surrounding peasant army were filled with fear.

It was as if what appeared before him was no longer a peasant army, but tens of thousands of evil spirits! (End of Chapter)