Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 486 Tumu Fortress

It seemed that at this moment, Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen realized: the battlefield was not as simple as he had initially imagined!

"Ha!!" Seeing Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen in such a desperate situation, still looking so utterly hopeless, Fan Zhong seemed to have truly given up. A faint laugh appeared on his lips, as if mocking his own ignorance, before his once-firm head slumped weakly down.
For a moment, everyone in the dilapidated Taoist temple, whether soldiers, imperial guards, eunuchs, or palace attendants, looked at the increasingly weak Fan Zhong with sorrowful expressions, their eyes filled with helplessness and desolation.

At this moment, only Emperor Yingzong, Zhu Qizhen, remained immersed in his own panicked little world, completely stunned and oblivious!

"Ha~~~~!" Suddenly, just as everyone was grieving, a voice that was extremely weak rang out again. To everyone's astonishment, Fan Zhong, whose body had completely collapsed, seemed to have a second bout of lucidity. His face turned pale again, and he mustered his strength to let out a long breath before raising his head with difficulty.

"The imperial edict, the ring, the token, the Prince of Han, the salvation of the nation!" Fan Zhong, who had just managed to raise his head again with great difficulty, seemed to have used all his strength to desperately use his loudest voice to express his words to everyone, while coughing up blood and speaking in broken sentences.
Right after he finished speaking, the commander of the Imperial Guards, who had served four emperors of the Ming Dynasty throughout his life, suddenly let his strong neck go limp and never lifted it again!

Then, a gleaming brass ring rolled out of the hand of the completely dead general and landed on the ground in front of everyone!

At this moment, seeing the Imperial Guard commander, whose armor was stained red with blood and who remained motionless, everyone knew that this represented the complete fall of the last remaining general of the previous generation of the Ming Dynasty!
However, no one picked up the ring that had rolled to the ground.

All eyes were on the stunned Emperor Yingzong, Zhu Qizhen, hoping that their emperor would make some decision.

However, regrettably, even at this moment, the young Emperor Yingzong remained immersed in his own panicked state of mind, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the old general who had protected him had perished and his belongings lay scattered on the ground!
Just moments later, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves echoed outside the dilapidated Taoist temple!

Upon hearing this voice, everyone in the dilapidated Taoist temple immediately turned pale! They knew that the steppe barbarians were pursuing them! In an instant, everyone involuntarily tightened their grip on their swords!
Upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves, Emperor Yingzong, who was already trembling, turned even paler and began to shake violently as if he had the malaria syndrome!

"Fight the enemy!" Seeing the Emperor Yingzong slumped on the ground in such a wretched state, the last remaining commander of the Imperial Guards showed a flash of despair and desolation in his eyes! But immediately, this commander changed his demeanor and shouted that he should fight the enemy! Perhaps this was the last bit of bravery he had inherited from the personal guards of the Xuande Emperor!

At the same time, the commander of the Imperial Guards steeled his heart and resolutely picked up the ring that Fan Zhong had dropped on the ground!

"Whoosh!!" Upon hearing the command from the Imperial Guard commander, the remaining soldiers in the dilapidated Taoist temple seemed to have found their leader. They all raised their weapons and protected the limp Emperor Yingzong within the protective circle!
No matter how much they disliked Emperor Yingzong, their loyalty to the emperor and their love for the country still compelled them to firmly protect him and fight to the death for him!
"Chirp chirp chirp~! Crash~! Crash~!" The wall outside the dilapidated Taoist temple had collapsed, and the sounds outside were those of the brutal Tartars!

"Tie Niu! Da Tou! You are the only ones among the brothers who are still uninjured and the most agile! We will hold off the enemies outside and give you a chance!"

"General Fan cannot have died in vain! You must relay General Fan's words and his keepsake to the court!" After a change of expression, the Jinyiwei commander, wielding a sword and shield, turned to his two brothers behind him and said. He then forcefully shoved the ring he had just picked up into the hand of one of the Jinyiwei guards behind him!
As soon as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard uttered these words, everyone in the room turned their gazes towards him. However, after opening their mouths, no one spoke; they simply tightened their grip on their weapons and turned their attention back to the seemingly sturdy door!
They all knew that staying meant certain death in battle! And escaping was simply impossible! There were too many enemy troops outside! Escaping meant certain death!
At this moment, only Emperor Yingzong, who was sitting blankly on the ground, seemed to have heard something unbelievable. He turned his gaze to the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard with disbelief and confusion in his eyes! Clearly, even at this moment, Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty still did not understand the meaning of letting these two Embroidered Uniform Guards escape!

"Commander!" Upon hearing the commander's words, two burly figures wielding swords and shields immediately stepped forward from the Imperial Guard ranks. However, after seeing the commander's grim expression and slightly trembling eyes, the two silently retreated behind the others!
The two men, at the very back of the crowd, resolutely discarded their shields, threw away their longswords, unfastened their crossbows, and even tossed their badges—symbols of the Imperial Guards—to the ground! All this to lighten their load and run faster!

"Kill!" Seeing his two brothers ready, a roar erupted from the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Instantly, the soldiers guarding the gate flung open the trembling doors of the Taoist temple. Then, the commander led his men in a charge.

Or rather, they were collectively taking steps toward death!

At the same time, two lightly armed Imperial Guards took the opportunity to dart out through the back door like nimble monkeys!

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" In the blink of an eye, just as the two darted out, two rapid arrow sounds rang out from not far away, and the two Imperial Guards who had just rushed out fell to the ground! But immediately afterward, a figure with an arrow stuck in his back darted out again!

"Deserter!" At this moment, a Tartar on horseback looked at the figure that had dashed off again with disdain and spoke in a barbarian language, preparing to give chase once more.

"No need to chase him, he's injured, he can't get far!" Another barbarian cavalryman raised his hand to stop his teammate's actions with a disdainful look, and said the same thing.

"Let's go see the true dragon of the Ming Dynasty!" Immediately, the two Tartar cavalrymen rode off with disdain toward the dilapidated Taoist temple.

"Big Head~!!" The Imperial Guard who had dashed far away, after realizing there were no pursuers behind him, pulled a bloodstained arrow from under his armpit and threw it hard on the ground! He then looked at the ring he was tightly clutching in his hand.

It turned out that the two arrows hadn't hit him; instead, both had struck the Imperial Guard named Big Head. However, to deceive the enemy, the two of them nimbly fell to the ground simultaneously. Then, the Imperial Guard named Iron Ox pulled the arrow from his partner Big Head's body and tucked it under his own armpit, creating the illusion of being wounded!
"Commander, Big Head, I will definitely send the message back!" After throwing away the arrow in his hand, the Imperial Guard named Tie Niu glanced resolutely in the direction behind him and continued to run towards the Ming Dynasty!

He absolutely could not let his brothers die in vain!

(End of this chapter)