Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 281: Blocking the Bloody Battle

An Eight Banners soldier had just climbed over the breastwork when the Ming army soldiers had been waiting for him for a long time. They quickly swung their spears and pierced his throat directly. Blood gushed out. The Eight Banners soldier's eyes instantly became unfocused and he fell powerlessly down the wall.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third Eight Banner soldiers climbed up, but suffered the same fate.

The Ming army soldiers fired their guns skillfully, giving the enemy almost no chance to breathe.

Despite this, the intensity of the battle escalated. Some Eight Banners soldiers took advantage of the moment when the Ming soldiers drew their guns to counterattack and kill the enemy, but almost in the instant, they were killed by the Ming army that arrived later.

The Ming army soldiers in the front row suffered heavy losses in this fierce battle, many of them were seriously injured and were forced to retreat.

At this moment, more people seemed to have unleashed their potential, bursting out with unprecedented bravery, as if they had endless energy.

The soldier Wang Li thrust out the spear in his hand one after another under his fierce force, and in a blink of an eye he had replaced it with the third one. The short axe at his waist had already been thrown away and disappeared in the chaos of the battlefield.

The armor on his body was damaged in many places, and his exposed arms were scratched with bloody marks by the enemy's weapons, but Wang Li didn't care about these at all. He had already reached the breastwork and was feeling nervous and excited.

The high-intensity training he received on weekdays played a huge role at this time, making him almost lose his independent consciousness in this extremely dangerous environment. He just relied on instinct and combat experience. When he saw the Qing army climbing up, he swung his spear without hesitation and stabbed the enemy out of the wall.

However, thanks to their numerical advantage, several armored soldiers of the Eight Banners Army successfully climbed onto the breastwork.

One after another, they took firm steps, showed no intention of retreating, and charged forward with axes and long swords raised high in their hands.

Seeing that the position was in danger, Gudefu frowned and realized that the situation was not good. He gritted his teeth and had to order two reserve flag teams to join the battlefield.

The addition of this new force temporarily relieved the pressure on the Ming army, and they barely repelled the Qing army that was about to break through the line and drove them back outside the breastwork.

However, the Qing army's offensive did not weaken because of this, but became even more fierce, as if they had made up their minds to break through the Ming army's defense line in one fell swoop and escape.

The Eight Banners soldiers fought without regard for consequences or casualties, as if it was the last fight to burn their lives. Every charge was a fight to the death.

At this time, Gudefu only had more than a hundred exhausted soldiers left. Facing the enemy's wave after wave of attacks, his defense line gradually became shaky.

Although he sent his last reserve troops to the front line, this only delayed the Qing army's offensive for a moment.

The Eight Banners soldiers who fought desperately continued to pour in, making it difficult to resist.

As time went on, more Eight Banners soldiers rushed up the breastwork.

The corpses outside the breastwork piled higher and higher, to the point that these corpses had become a natural aid for the Qing army, enabling them to easily climb to a height comparable to that of the Ming army.

The Ming army's geographical advantage was gradually lost, and several obvious gaps began to appear in the front line. The Qing army took the opportunity to launch a more fierce attack.

The Ming army soldiers fought desperately, the shouts of killing on the battlefield shook the earth, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and the scene was extremely tragic.

Everyone's feet were sticky and there was almost no place to stand. The ground had long been soaked with blood and became muddy.

Every step the soldiers took was on the corpses of their comrades or the remains of their enemies, and the killing continued amid endless shouts and wails.

Wang Li suffered several more scars on his body during the fierce fighting, and was eventually forced to retreat from the battlefield due to his serious injuries.

At the same time, according to the battle report of the same flag team, Liu Peng killed three Eight Banner soldiers on the front line, and was eventually hit by an enemy soldier's sword, bleeding profusely, and died on the spot.

The balance of victory and defeat in the battle began to tilt in an unfavorable direction.

As the battle became more intense, Luo Tian, ​​the soldier who was once responsible for musket shooting, was forced to join the hand-to-hand combat on the front line.

But even so, the Ming army still had very few soldiers, and was fighting alone on the battlefield with no soldiers available.

At this moment, Gu Defu felt a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart. He looked at the scene in front of him. The Qing army was pressing forward step by step. Although the morale of the soldiers had not completely collapsed, it was approaching its limit.

His fingers tightly gripped the command knife, and he was thinking in his mind if there was any strategy that could save the situation.

However, the enemy's offensive was like a tide, wave after wave.

He understood that this might be his last chance to defend desperately.

Gu Defu's eyes were firm, and he growled:
"Brothers, hold on!"

When the soldiers heard his shout, they seemed to be rekindled, gripping their weapons tighter and becoming more determined to kill the enemy.

The battle in front of the breastwork intensified. This bloody battlefield witnessed the Battle of Cangzhou, the most brutal contest between the Ming army and the Eight Banners soldiers.

Several Qing army Bayala led armored soldiers to climb over the breastwork, trying to cover more Eight Banners soldiers to rush to the position.

They stepped on the corpses lying on the ground and fought with the Ming soldiers without hesitation. Every sword and gun was filled with determination to fight to the death.

The air was filled with blood mist, and death swept across the battlefield like a gust of wind. Both sides were fighting for the land that had been stained red with blood at the cost of their lives.

Despite the critical situation, the remaining Ming army soldiers did not retreat, but became more determined.

They knew they had no way to retreat and could only fight to the death.

Wang Li was still standing in the center of the battlefield. Although he was already exhausted, his hand still tightly grasped the spear, and his eyes were fixed on the Eight Banners soldiers who were rushing towards him.

The soldiers on the position spontaneously formed several small groups, forming a simple defensive formation, and fought desperately with the Qing army.

They had only one thought in their minds: to hold back these Eight Banners soldiers for the main force and buy more time.

Gudefu stood behind the position, watching the fierce battle anxiously.

Unexpectedly, the Eight Banners soldiers were so powerful that they attacked wave after wave, giving the Ming army almost no chance to breathe.

He had originally hoped that Zhao Zhengdong's reinforcements would arrive in time, but at this moment, he no longer had too much hope.

The wildfire blocked the advance of the reinforcements, and they could only pray that the Ming army troops that had previously pursued the Eight Banners soldiers could quickly bypass the wildfire and arrive to provide support.

However, with every passing second, the battle situation becomes more serious.

Gu Defu estimated that they had killed at least two to three hundred Eight Banner soldiers in this battle. If they could continue to resist, even if they died here, they would have fulfilled their mission.

His eyes swept from one corner of the battlefield to the other, and saw that the Ming soldiers had begun to fight the Qing soldiers one-on-one, and every blow was carried with the determination to die.

He knew that these people had no way to retreat, and their only option was to kill as many enemies as possible at the last moment in order to take a few Qing soldiers with them.

As the battle continued, the Qing army's armored soldiers continuously pushed down the breastwork, and the position was almost lost.

The once strong trench had long been filled with corpses, and the Qing army's attack came like a tide.

What's worse is that many Eight Banners soldiers on the mountain road have already mounted their horses, preparing to launch a more violent attack.

Gu Defu watched as hundreds of Eight Banner soldiers surged toward them. By this point, the Ming army was practically exhausted. They clung to each other, weapons tightly gripped in their hands, knowing full well that if the next wave of attack reached them, their only recourse would be to desperately drag a Qing soldier down with them.

At this moment, unexpected changes suddenly occurred on the battlefield.

Flames suddenly appeared on both sides of the mountain, and then deafening shouts of killing broke the silence and resounded throughout the valley.

The Eight Banners soldiers, who were originally in high spirits, suddenly fell into chaos. Those who had just mounted their horses were frightened and jumped off their horses one after another. The scene looked extremely funny, as if they had seen an ominous omen.

Accompanied by the loud sound of trumpets, the Ming army rushed down from the hillsides on both wings like a tide, with great momentum.

The horn sounds louder and louder, as if announcing the arrival of victory.

The Ming army soldiers were all in high spirits, waving their weapons, and rushed down the hillside with unstoppable momentum.

At that moment, huge shouts rang out on the mountain road. The Ming army's surprise attack was like a sharp blade, piercing into the heart of the Eight Banners Army.

The Eight Banners soldiers originally wanted to besiege the remnants of Gu Defu and try to annihilate them in one fell swoop.

But the sudden attack threw them into disarray. In an instant, the Qing army's formation was in chaos and the soldiers fled in all directions.

They seemed to realize that if they did not escape from the encirclement before the Ming army completed it, they would probably be trapped and killed in this valley.

The battle situation changed rapidly, and the Eight Banners soldiers who originally had the advantage turned into defeated soldiers and fled in all directions in the blink of an eye.

The Ming army soldiers took advantage of the situation and pursued them, and the Qing army suffered heavy casualties in the midst of swords and sabers.

The mountain road was filled with panicked Eight Banners soldiers who tried to escape but were killed one by one by the pursuing Ming army.

The hillside was dyed red with blood, and the battlefield was filled with screams and wails, as if a catastrophe was about to befall.

Gu Defu stood in the center of the position and witnessed all this happening.

A surge of ecstasy surged in his heart, knowing that the situation of the battle had turned around.

Despite facing numerous crises before, the Ming army finally succeeded in defeating the Eight Banners Army with its tenacious fighting spirit and sophisticated strategy.

At this moment, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, watching the Ming army soldiers chasing the fleeing Qing army on the battlefield, his heart filled with desire for victory.

In this battle, Gudefu and his soldiers defended their position with their lives.

Although exhausted, they still stood and welcomed the dawn of victory.

The sound of the Ming army's war drums rang out like thunder, and the Eight Banners soldiers on the mountain road were immediately thrown into chaos.

Those Qing troops who had broken through Gu Defu's positions no longer had the desire to fight. They hurriedly gave up the attack and turned around to flee desperately.

The remaining Qing troops still trapped in the mountain road also began to rush forward, hoping to fight their way out of the chaos.

However, the road was littered with corpses, and many people were tripped in the chaos and then trampled to death by their companions. The scene was horrific.

The mountain road was blocked on three sides, and the only exit was filled with densely packed corpses, blocking the Qing army's escape route.

The Eight Banners soldiers were trapped in a narrow space and their escape route was almost completely blocked.

The cavalry were originally the elite of the Qing army and were invincible on the battlefield. However, in this narrow mountain road, faced with mountains of corpses and surrounded on all sides, they were helpless and could not move forward.

The battle situation quickly turned one-sided and became a slaughterhouse for the Ming army.

The Ming army was in a dominant position and the firearms in their hands exerted amazing power. After several rounds of volleys, the Eight Banners soldiers fell down in large numbers.

Before the firearms stopped firing, the long spear phalanxes followed closely, and the swords and spears harvested the lives of the Qing army like rain.

Wherever the troops pointed, Qing soldiers fell one after another like fallen leaves, and their blood dyed the ground beneath their feet red.

When Zhao Zhengdong led his troops to the scene, what he saw was a sea of ​​blood and corpses.

The devastated battlefield was far more tragic than the Battle of Xuzhou he had experienced.

The air was filled with a strong smell of blood, as if every breath of air had been soaked with blood. When the wind blew, it brought a sticky touch that struck people's hearts.

Zhao Zhengdong has the longest seniority and rich combat experience, but even he couldn't help but tremble in his heart when he saw the scene before him.

In the light of the fire, every inch of the mountain road was littered with the corpses of Qing soldiers, and the blood flowed like a river, which was a shocking sight.

Although the Qing army showed excellent coping ability in desperate situations, relying on cunning strategies and brave breakouts, more than 2,000 Manchu Eight Banners soldiers finally broke through the blockade and escaped from the mountain road.

However, the interception teams led by two hundred commanders under Gu Defu were tenacious and refused to retreat. They eventually successfully blocked most of the deserters and won this crucial victory for the Ming army.

However, this brutal battle also resulted in the almost annihilation of the interception team.

Of the more than two hundred warriors, only more than fifty were still breathing. Every surviving soldier was seriously injured and exhausted, and almost had no strength to stand.

The fortitude and determination that had just been there in the battle seemed to be just the remaining strength that supported them in their last fight. With the arrival of reinforcements and the end of the battle, that strength had long since dissipated.

Gudefu himself was also covered in blood and was already exhausted, but he still forced himself to hold on and dragged his heavy steps to a soldier who was also covered in blood.

The man was the young general he brought with him. Although he was exhausted, he still stood there with trembling legs.

Gu Defu helped him up and said loudly with a smile:

"You're really good, kid! I was right about you! You have the same demeanor as me back then!"

His voice was filled with exhaustion and pride, as if this victory made all their sacrifices worthwhile.

At the same time, on the plain battlefield in the east, the remaining Eight Banners soldiers of the Qing army had just escaped from the mountain road, and before they could breathe a sigh of relief, they were pursued by the Ming cavalry who had circled here.

The Qing army had lost all its fighting spirit, and the cavalry charge devoured them like a flood and a beast.

The few remaining Eight Banners soldiers were almost completely slaughtered in a short period of time. The bloody scene on the eastern battlefield was exactly the same as that on the mountain road.

The sound of war drums gradually died down, and the shouts of killing all around gradually dissipated, leaving only the burning flames dancing in the night sky.

On the battlefield, blood flowed like a river and corpses were everywhere. The air was filled with the strong smell of gunpowder and blood, which was suffocating.

Zhao Zhengdong stood on the bloody battlefield with a complicated expression.

(End of this chapter)