Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 96 Impossible Reinforcements
There are only two groups of reinforcements that can reach Beizhili now. One is Zheng Chenggong, but he has already been sent by Zhu Youjian to launch a surprise attack on the Jurchen homeland.

Another route is Zhang Shize. Although there has been no news of him, Zhu Youjian has arranged for over a hundred nights of unrest to the west, and the movement of twenty to thirty thousand cavalry cannot be concealed.

Zhang Shize's appearance would have been known to him at least two days in advance, and it was clear that the one capable of attacking the Jurchen camp was not Zhang Shize.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian was extremely surprised.

Dai Shan didn't have time to think much before exclaiming, "We've fallen into a trap!"

From the moment he intercepted the hawk, he knew that Shanhaiguan was doomed.

If Zhangjiakou is lost again, the Ming army will be able to trap and defeat them.

Their four armies numbered nearly 300,000 men. Even if they were strong, they would be worn down by the Ming army!
Looking up at the dragon banner not far away, Dai Shan's eyes were red, but he dared not attack again.

With a flick of his whip, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Order the Mongol Eight Banners to disengage from the battlefield and rush to reinforce our main camp!"

Gushan Ezhen, a trusted confidant, hesitated. "Master, I should lead my troops back to reinforce the area. The fighting strength of the Mongol Eight Banners is unreliable."

Dai Shan gave the latter a cold look, "Do you think this is a question of who we want to send back?!"

"Will the Southern Emperor on the other side just let us go like this!?"

As he spoke, Daishan couldn't help but sigh, "This was all the Southern Emperor's scheme! What a cunning Emperor Chongzhen! He completely outmaneuvered Jirhalang and me. No wonder he could defeat a million with a crippled army!"

He once again heightened his belief in the threat posed by the Southern Dynasty. No matter what Dorgon was up to, this farce was about to end.

If Huang Taiji were still alive, Daishan wouldn't have had so many thoughts; he would have simply completed his mission.

Unfortunately, he died, and now a young emperor sits on the throne of the mighty Qing Dynasty, where court intrigue is raging.

We cannot let the Southern Dynasty seize this opportunity.

Looking up and seeing his trusted confidant still in the same spot, Daishan urged him again.

"What are you all standing there for!?"

"Quickly send Obama back with his troops to reinforce the area, and have the Damutai tribe fight their way in to rescue the Dulei Plain Red Banner!"

"Bai Ya La, form ranks on the spot and stop the pursuit! All units, prepare to withdraw!"

The fate of the Mongol Eight Banners had nothing to do with Daishan, but every soldier of Liang Hongqi was the foundation of Daishan's livelihood.

They were determined to rescue the Zhenghongqi Banner no matter what.

Standing atop the peak, Zhu Youjian could naturally see Dai Shan's arrangements clearly.

Especially the Mongol Eight Banners, which hadn't really participated in the battles since they arrived, saw a massive return of 70,000 troops, a truly extraordinary event.

Regardless of who the reinforcements are, we must seize this opportunity to keep Daishan here.

Looking at the gradually closing formation of the red-flag formation in the distance, he quickly grabbed the gilded bronze whistle from his waist.

"Woo~~"

A piercing whistle broke through the dust and smoke, and the ten red-coated cannons on the summit of Rolling Stone Peak roared to life.

This was a trump card that we had finally managed to drag up.

A single red cannon weighs about two thousand pounds, so dragging it up Rolling Stone Peak would be no easy feat.

Originally, I wanted to use it in conjunction with the Xuanjia Cavalry to recreate the Battle of the Capital, but now I can only put it to use ahead of schedule.

With a command from the little flag.

Ten shells were fired.

They bypassed the Xuanjia cavalry that were forming ranks and crashed into the path of the heavily armored soldiers with the red-flag design.

Although the target of the Red Cannon was Dai Shan, the purpose was to force him to withdraw from Feihu Ridge first.

This could destabilize the morale of the Eight Banners troops in Lingnan.

Unfortunately, the artillery of that era was simply too inferior.

Three of Daishan's personal guards were overturned, and the loud noise caused the warhorses to neigh and rear up.

But it didn't cause much damage, and Daishan didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Send word to Huang Degong! Hold them at Luoma Slope at all costs!" Zhu Youjian shook off the guards who tried to help him up, and leaped onto the watchtower in three quick steps. "Tell Qi Yuan to let the Jurchen reinforcements come over, and let the Xuanjia Cavalry deal with them!"

The military order drums once again resounded across the battlefield, and orders were distributed to the generals by messengers.

The Qi Family Army, which was still engaged in battle, immediately retreated several hundred paces, and their formation became more compact.

Daishan knew that Zhu Youjian had deliberately let his reinforcements pass through, but he had no choice but to do so, otherwise, if he attacked head-on, he didn't know how long it would drag on.

They could only watch as Damutai's Gushan crossed the sea of ​​fire and headed straight for Luomapo.

However, just as they passed through the plains and forests, they were overtaken by the Xuanjia cavalry, who had already picked up speed.

Damutai's Gushan were not particularly elite; they could only manage to achieve a 70% armor coverage rate.

They were no match for the heavily armored Xuanjia cavalry.

The first wave of the Massho attack alone caused hundreds of casualties.

Damutai gritted his teeth and ordered his army to hold on. After blocking the first wave of cavalry, he wanted to take advantage of the situation and engage the Xuanjia cavalry.

Cavalrymen feared nothing more than close combat with infantry. They thought they could defeat the more than two thousand Xuanjia cavalrymen by virtue of their numerical advantage.

But he underestimated the Xuanjia Cavalry, who fought alongside the strongest carbon-based life form of the seventh century.

Despite being entangled, the hundreds of vanguard cavalry remained calm. They threw Ma Shuo to the ground, drew their iron maces, and engaged Damutai in combat.

The remaining Xuanjia cavalry continued to form a triple wave formation, launching wave after wave of attacks.

Damutai's eyes turned red with anxiety.

Little did they know, this was exactly what Dai Shan wanted.

He knew that the Xuanjia Cavalry was the most difficult to deal with as soon as they appeared.

Now, one Gushan is enough to hold off the Xuanjia cavalry. Although Qi Family Army is elite, it lacks mobility.

All that's needed is to throw down one Gushan; the rest of the Ming army is no threat.

"Send an order to Manggutu, instructing him to lead his troops to block Qi Jiguang's army."

"The Baiyala will send out three thousand as spearheads to launch a fierce attack on Luomapo together with the Suoluo'e troops, in order to aid Dulei!"

The horn trumpet sounded.

The Niru with the red flag formed a tortoise-shell formation using iron-clad round shields.

Seven thousand five hundred men charged straight at Qi Jiguang's army, not seeking any victory, but simply to block their advance.

Zhu Youjian's order for Qi Jiguang's army to retreat and clear the way was an open strategy, as was Dai Shan's order for his men to block the way.

As Solo'e's Gushan and three thousand heavily armored soldiers marched toward Huang Degong.

Zhu Youjian could do nothing more than order the Imperial Guard Tiger Warriors, who were entangled on the right flank, to withdraw 2,000 men to support Huang Degong's troops, while the Divine Machine Battalion opened fire at will to attack the Eight Banners troops fighting against Qi Jiguang's army.

In order to cause more casualties.

Everything else was fine, but Huang Degong was the one who was suffering the most.

There were more than 10,000 Plain Red Banners in the Black Wind Forest, but he only had 15,000 men under his command.

They were already struggling with a direct assault, and now they were being attacked from behind by three thousand heavily armored soldiers and the entire Red Banner Army of Gushan.

If it weren't for Zhu Youjian behind them, Huang Degong's troops would probably have collapsed long ago.

Faced with this situation, Huang Degong had no choice but to switch from offense to defense, trying his best to prevent the Zheng Hongqi in the Black Wind Forest from breaking through.

Zhu Youjian stood silently atop Rolling Stone Peak, waiting.

The stronghold in front of Qi Jiguang's army is the easiest to break through. Under the combined attack of Shenji Battalion and Qi Jiguang's army, as long as that stronghold falls, Qi Jiguang's army can turn around and support Xuanjia Cavalry. Then, using these two armies as weapons, they can further encircle the encircling Solo'e tribe.

The situation can be reversed!

This time, both sides fought tooth and nail. The Manchu Eight Banners were already known for their strong fighting spirit, and with Daishan's death order, they naturally refused to retreat.

On the Ming army's side, because Zhu Youjian was on the summit, after a series of actions, his personal prestige among the northern troops reached a terrifying level.

The Ming army, despite suffering casualties of 30-40%, fought to the death and refused to retreat.

Both commanders were astonished by what they saw.

The battle lasted from late at night until dawn.

Gushan, who was blocking Qi Jiguang's army, had been reduced from 7,500 to 3,000 men under the attack of two of the world's most heavily armed forces, yet they were still holding out. Huang Degong's side was in an even worse state; of his 15,000 Ming troops, only 5,000 remained after being attacked from both sides.

Luomapo was also mostly occupied by the Eight Banners soldiers.

The remaining five thousand people are teetering on the brink of collapse.

Of the two thousand Tiger Warriors who came to provide support, only three hundred were still able to move.

Qi Yuan's gunpowder was almost used up, and he needed to save gunpowder for the musketeers, so the cannons could no longer fire and he was preparing a counterattack.

But these things were not enough to make Zhu Youjian feel sorry for him.

What truly pained him were the Xuanjia Cavalry.

He turned a perfectly good shock cavalry unit into a line-filling machine.

More than two thousand men and seven thousand bannermen endured the night, but only a thousand cavalrymen survived, and all the survivors were wounded.

However, the Eight Banners soldiers also fared poorly. A complete Gushan (a type of military unit) was defeated by the Xuanjia cavalry, who outnumbered them and inflicted a staggering casualty ratio of one to four.

Adding to the losses of the Dulei and heavy infantry, Daishan's side has already lost 12,000 men.

Both sides are clinging to life.

However, it seems that the Ming army will be the first to give out.

When the heavily armored soldiers broke through the Imperial Guard's defenses again and charged into Huang Degong's troops.

The remaining 5,000 Ming soldiers could no longer hold out. Ignoring Huang Degong's attempts to stop them, they fled north in a panic, crying out in despair.

The besieging Soloe tribe did not pursue, but took the opportunity to establish a defensive line at Luomapo. Du Lei, who had been trapped for a night, finally broke out.

As the Zheng Hongqi broke through the encirclement, the six thousand Ming soldiers on both sides lost their will to fight and fled in disarray.

"Master, Prince Du Lei has broken through!"

The scout, his face covered in blood, rolled off his horse. "He's leading ten thousand Red Banner soldiers from Black Wind Forest toward Luoma Slope!"

Dai Shan's finger guards almost snapped the horsewhip.

The eastern horizon was beginning to lighten, and if the Ming army's superior position was held for another half hour, their advantage would become increasingly apparent.

Fortunately, he won this battle.

He abruptly pulled the messenger over, "Have Damutai's troops cover the rear! The rest of you take turns providing cover..."

Before the words were finished, a deafening battle cry suddenly echoed from the northeastern mountain valley.

Li Guozhen's Shenji Battalion suddenly launched twenty Hundred Tigers Charging Arrows from the mountainside, raining down rockets that covered the left flank of the Bordered Red Banner.

Daishan watched helplessly as the three armored men of the Niru were swallowed by the flames.

"Your Majesty! General Huang has been defeated!"

Zhu Youjian's hand trembled slightly as he took the telescope.

The bearded general in the mirror, his body riddled with arrows, was wielding a broken mace and leading his remaining troops in a swooping descent from the hilltop.

Behind them, the bright red flags of all kinds surged out of the Black Wind Forest.

"Have the Xuanjia riders change horses! Charge again!" Zhu Youjian's voice was almost hoarse. "Have Qi Yuan cut off the passage where the Plain Red Banner and the Bordered Red Banner meet!"

"We must never allow Du Lei and Dai Shan to join forces!"

Once the two sides reunite, the losses in this battle will have been in vain.

A thousand heavily armored cavalrymen abandoned the Eight Banners soldiers they were entangled with, retreated several hundred meters, and regrouped. This time, they unloaded all their firearms.

The moment the eighteen-foot spear was raised horizontally, the rising sun pierced through the clouds, and the gold paint on the black armor drew a dazzling torrent in the morning light.

Damutai was already bloodthirsty. Now he didn't care about any losses. He only wanted to leave all the black-armored cavalrymen in front of him as a sacrifice for his men!
However, once the Xuanjia cavalry charged, they were unstoppable by human strength. The vanguard of the Damutai tribe was like a wave crashing against a reef, instantly shattered into blood and foam.

The Xuanjia cavalry did not stop and continued their charge towards Luoma Slope.

Dai Shan's banners waved wildly thirty feet away, and the heavy infantry with red-bordered flags began to flank the Xuanjia cavalry.

But Qi Jiguang's army's Mandarin Duck Formation suddenly attacked from the flank, with nine hundred wolf-tooth spears specifically targeting the gaps in the ankle armor of the red-flag-adorned soldiers.

Just as Du Lei was about to run out, he was blocked again.

Dai Shan smiled slightly, completely unconcerned about the Ming army's counterattack, and looked at the battlefield with disdain, saying, "Just a death throes."

Turning his head, he called out, "Dorogba, take your troops and head towards..."

Just as I was speaking, a hurried shout suddenly came from beside me.

"Your Highness! Urgent report from the camp!" Goshha, covered in arrows, tumbled off his saddle. "It's not the Ming army! It's the Shun army! The Shun cavalry are attacking the camp!"

"Obataiji has been defeated! The Mongol Eight Banners have lost 20,000 men, and the fleeing troops are scattering towards Feihu Ridge!"

"Wh...what!? Who!?!"

Dai Shan's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

He never imagined that the one who attacked the camp would be Li Zicheng, whom he was trying to win over!

Didn't Li Zicheng and the Southern Dynasty just fight a major battle?
Shouldn't we never see each other again?
Why would they support the Southern Dynasty?!
In an effort to win over Li Zicheng, he even sent an envoy to offer him great rewards and high rank.

Isn't this right!?
At this moment, the sun had fully risen, and even if Daishan didn't believe it, he could see a large indigo flag with the character "Shun" fluttering in the black smoke drifting from the northwest horizon.

Zhu Youjian was equally shocked as he watched the sudden change on the battlefield.

Fifty thousand Mongol cavalrymen poured in from the north like a receding tide, followed by tens of thousands of mixed infantry and cavalry troops carrying blue battle flags.

These Shun troops, who suddenly appeared, neither formed ranks nor lingered in battle; they simply drove the routed Mongol soldiers frantically toward the Qing army's main camp.

"Your Majesty, the one attacking the camp is the rebel Li Zicheng! They are flying the banner of Li Zicheng's general, Li Guo!"

The night watchman also reported the situation immediately.

Zhu Youjian was more shocked than Daishan.

He never expected that the reinforcements would be from Li Zicheng.

This was the least likely reinforcement to appear, yet it actually did appear on the battlefield.

The situation suddenly took a turn for the better at the summit.

The battlefield within Flying Fox Ridge has fallen into a strange stalemate.

The remnants of the Bordered Red Banner and Plain Red Banner gathered at the bottom of the slope to face the fierce attack from the Xuanjia Cavalry and Qi Jiguang's army.

Meanwhile, Li Zicheng's vanguard had begun to attack the right flank of the Qing army.

Caught in a death vortex formed by the three forces, Dai Shan frantically spurred his horse around in circles.

He, who had just been confident of victory, could only think about how to retreat.

"Red Banner, heed my command!" After much hesitation, the veteran general finally made his decision, his roar drowning out the clamor of the battlefield: "Front line, rear line, break out to the southeast! Mongol tribes, hold the line!"

"Let's try to get as many as we can!"

Zhu Youjian issued orders almost simultaneously: "Order the entire army to regroup! Do not let the Jurchens escape! Shenji Battalion, use all your gunpowder, target Daishan, fire a volley!"

"The Xuanjia cavalry retreat and pursue Daishan!"

The red flag of the Duli class became a discarded pawn.

The main force of the Bordered Red Banner, which had initially been determined to provide assistance, paused and then began to move towards the southeast valley entrance.

As Daishan's son-in-law, Du Lei knew that his father-in-law had done his best.

What he needs to do now is to get as many people as possible out of the country.

Seeing the Qi family army blocking his path, he couldn't help but burst into wild laughter, "Southern barbarians! Come and fight! Fight! Kill!!!"

Victory or defeat can sometimes hinge on a single thought, especially when both armies are hanging by a thread.

Although Li Zicheng's army had not yet made contact with the Qing army, it had already broken the Qing army's morale.

Daishan was too eager to preserve his strength. If he hadn't been so hasty in giving the order, the Eight Banners, which were adept at fighting tough and arduous battles, wouldn't have collapsed so quickly.

But it's too late to say anything now; the defeat is swift and devastating.

Standing atop the peak, watching the Qing army fleeing across the mountains, Zhu Youjian straightened his armor and smiled at Li Guozhen beside him.

"Let's go, come with me to meet the general who led the rebellion."

(End of this chapter)