Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 173 What kind of godfather?! Military titles!

To prevent the two Jurchen cavalry forces from joining together, even without a commander, several Ming generals made the same choice: they squeezed into the gap between the white-armored soldiers and the red-flag cavalry, trying to use their own flesh and blood to block the attacking Jurchen cavalry and the trapped white-armored soldiers.

However, their encirclement was barely formed before it was attacked. The siege was already fragile, and under the repeated assaults of the Jurchen reinforcements, their formation was eventually breached. Thus, the white-armored soldiers, like beasts released from their cages, quickly broke through the breach, disappearing into the sea of ​​Ming cavalry as if squeezing out jelly.

Because the Ming army relentlessly pursued and harassed them, it appeared visually as if the Ming cavalry had squeezed the group of white-armored soldiers out. After suffering heavy casualties, Zhao Lüjiao's plan to encircle and annihilate the elite Jurchen guards ultimately failed.

After escaping their predicament, the white-armored soldiers rallied again. Hauge ordered his men to disperse the surrounding red-flag soldiers, leaving room for the charge, intending to regroup and charge into the enemy lines again to avenge their defeat!

When Shuoto found out, he rushed to see Hauge and said irritably, "Your father sent me to rescue you, but now that you're free, why fight again?!"

"Save us?!" The word seemed to pierce Hauge's heart, and he roared in fury, "You should have come long ago! We weren't carrying bows and arrows; we should have had elite troops with us, and where were you then?! Now you're finally here, and I'm expected to remember your kindness?!"

"Why didn't the elite troops follow? Shouldn't you ask the Great Khan? What are you doing, arguing with me?! You've ruined the once-proud White Armored Bayara. Do you really think you're the Crown Prince? Look at your father's birth order!" Shuo Tuo said with a mocking expression.

Jealousy can cloud one's judgment. Shuo Tuo felt that if Hauge hadn't been Huang Taiji's eldest son, he would be nothing, not even qualified to be selected for the White Armored Bayaqa. Why did his father treat him and his brother like dirt, while Hauge received such great honors?

Previously, when the two brothers received care from Huang Taiji, this sentiment wasn't so obvious. They regarded Huang Taiji as their father and Hauge as their brother. But now, Shuo Tuo has realized that Huang Taiji has never valued the two brothers and has only ever cared about the Bordered Red Banner they hold.

"You!" Haug was successfully provoked and grabbed Mashuo, ready to rush forward and beat Shuoto, but was stopped by Sony and Abatai. Seeing the content of the cousins' argument, Abatai felt a strange sense of familiarity.

As the most senior person present, Abatai should have used his seniority to educate his two nephews. However, both of them were Gushan Ejen (rulers of a banner), while he, as the seventh son of the old Khan, was still working for others at his advanced age because he was born to a concubine. In terms of status, he was not as good as his two nephews. How could he dare to scold them? He could only act as a peacemaker.

Hauge, barely suppressing his anger, said, "I will not pursue the matter from before. Now the Ming army is at a disadvantage, while our army is at its peak. We are only a few steps away from completely defeating the Ming army. In this way, we can both be credited with great merit. Shouldn't we fight?!"

Hauge pointed to the soldiers of both sides engaged in battle and the retreating Ming army lines, then pointed to the walls of Beijing and said, "Now that we are fighting each other, the Ming army dares not fire their cannons. If they retreat, they will be bombarded again, causing our men to die in vain. Are you satisfied with that?!"

No matter how much Hauge pleaded, no matter how reasonable his arguments were, Soto still shook his head. Hauge was furious, but he still struggled and said, "I'll go charge. You don't need to go yourself. If we win, I'll give you the credit!"

"Go if you want, I'm withdrawing my troops. If you get trapped, don't expect me to come to your rescue," Shuo Tuo said calmly, then turned and left, ignoring Hauge.

"Putting him the top contributor?! Do they think I'm a three-year-old?!" Shuo Tuo sneered inwardly. "If Hauge were really that capable, he wouldn't have been surrounded by the Ming army."

In the past, when they fought against the Ming army in open battle, they always crushed them. It was only because of this good-for-nothing Hauge, who had the best soldiers and the best generals, that they were defeated like this. It was truly shameful.

They're currently dominating the Ming army, but what's the cost?! Fighting the Ming army will result in deaths; these are their resources. Their Bordered Red Banner forces were already small, and last year they lost several hundred, including his brother.

After his brother's death, the banner chiefs no longer paid him any attention; instead, they tried every means to seize his banner. If this continued, his Bordered Red Banner would be left without anyone! Even if he made contributions, what good would it do? With Huang Taiji's biased treatment, how much of it could be attributed to him?! What he needed most now was to preserve his strength and bide his time!
"General, the Jurchens have retreated!!!" Zhao Erhu, a young general beside Zhao Shuaijiao, shouted excitedly.

"I saw it, I'm not blind!" Zhao Shuaijiao said irritably.

"Uh, godfather, I was just too excited," Zhao Erhu said, scratching his head. "What godfather? In the military, we use titles!"

"Yes, Commander!" Zhao Erhu roared. "Father, get out of the way!"

Zhao Erhu leaped off his horse and knocked Zhao Shuaijiao away.

Boom! ! !
The cannon fire was delayed, and clouds of blood billowed up in the Ming cavalry camp, with many cavalrymen and their horses torn to pieces.

Zhao Shuaijiao was old, and the fall was quite severe. He saw stars and it took him a while to recover. Looking around, he saw corpses strewn everywhere and a scene of utter devastation.

"Erhu, Erhu?!" Zhao Shuaijiao pushed Zhao Erhu beside him in a panic.

"Cough cough cough, Commander, I'm fine, I'm still alive." Zhao Erhu grinned. Zhao Shuaijiao couldn't help but smile wryly at his silly look, but since this kid had just saved his life, he couldn't very well scold him again. Zhao Shuaijiao lowered his voice and gestured for Zhao Erhu to move aside.

"Oh, alright!" Zhao Erhu released his grip on Zhao Shuaijiao's waist. But suddenly, the smile on Zhao Erhu's face froze. He glanced down at Zhao Shuaijiao, then burst into tears in front of him: "Father, my legs, my legs are gone! I can never ride a horse again, I can never fight alongside you again!!!"

Zhao Shuaijiao's head buzzed, and he was completely stunned. He hurriedly got up from the ground and saw that Zhao Erhu's right calf was empty below the knee, with only the trouser leg connecting it. Looking around, there were many severed limbs on the ground, and he had no idea which one was Zhao Erhu's foot.

Blood gushed from Zhao Erhu's severed limbs with each heartbeat. Zhao Shuaijiao quickly knelt on the ground, tore open his cloak with a dagger, and tore off a strip of cloth along the tear with a "rip" sound. He then tightly tied the cloth strip around Zhao Erhu's thigh.

"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!!!" Zhao Erhu howled.

"Bear with it, it'll be over soon," Zhao Shuaijiao said in a trembling voice. "Where did these cannons come from? Is Huang Taiji some bastard on the city wall?!"

"Commander, this cannon fire is from the Jurchens!" Zhao Erhu looked up at the sky and said anxiously, "Commander, you need to find somewhere to hide quickly, don't worry about me! There's a hole the size of a bowl, I'm doomed!"

"The Jurchens' cannons?! Where are our cannons? Wang Lin, you son of a bitch, I'll go back and impeach you, and have the emperor behead you!" Zhao Shuaijiao roared.

On the city wall, Zhu Youjian shouted at Wang Lin, "What's going on? Fire the cannons! Fire the cannons!"

"Your Majesty, we can't fire anymore! If we fire any more, the cannon barrels will explode!" Wang Lin said, sweating profusely. "They're too far away. Our cannons can't break through the Jurchen's shield carts. Only the Divine Might General Cannon can."

"Then let's use this cannon to bombard them!"

"Too far, we can't hit them!"

(End of this chapter)