You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 169 Li Dingguo Slays Another Prince, Eight Banners Soldiers Stain the Xiang River with Blood.

Hengyang City, southwest direction.

On the not-so-high Shiniu Mountain, tens of thousands of elite Ming troops, who had been lying in ambush, were anxiously awaiting the final military orders from the Prince of Jin.

Below us lies a flat valley, half a mile wide.

At this moment, the valley was filled with their own comrades running for their lives.

Behind them were hundreds of fierce Qing cavalrymen, relentlessly pursuing them like wolves chasing deer. Wherever they went, blood gushed out and the prey howled in agony.

The loud noise in the valley drowned out the distant cries of the elephants.

Warhorses can be silenced, but war elephants are difficult to silence; these large, intelligent beasts are very temperamental.

At the mountaintop, Li Dingguo closed his eyes slightly, silently praying for the blessings of Heaven, the late Emperor Chongzhen, the King of Daxi, and all the fallen soldiers of the Daxi Army.

You only get one chance!
For the Great Western Army, in terms of manpower, material resources, financial resources, and morale, a battle of this scale could not be organized a second time.

We won; let's conquer the Yangtze River.

They lost, and the Ming Dynasty was completely destroyed, with no chance of recovery.

……

Li Dingguo suddenly opened his eyes.

"They're coming."

Everyone gazed into the distance, and after a short while, a fierce storm rolled in from afar, and the earth began to tremble, as if an earth dragon were turning over.

Half an hour later, the Qing cavalry vanguard was clearly visible.

A large banner appeared in everyone's sight—the Imperial Appointment of the General Who Pacifies the Distant Lands!

The Ming soldiers lying in ambush on the mountain could barely stand, relying on their weapons for support to maintain their balance. The power of ten thousand cavalry charging at full speed was terrifying.

The voice of the valiant general Feng Shuangli trembled with excitement.

"Prince Jin, a big fish has been caught in the net."

Li Dingguo's face turned red. He stood up abruptly, raised the command flag in his hand, and waved it rapidly.

Boom~
The blast cannon fired.

Instantly, thousands of arrows were fired from both sides of the valley, and boulders tumbled down.

……

The Ming archers frantically drew their bows, arrows raining down, while the infantrymen nearby quickly rolled away the boulders and logs around them.

The Qing army's formation was thrown into chaos.

Countless people fell from their horses.

Nikan's mind exploded with countless fireworks, and he was instantly enveloped in cold sweat.

"Don't stop, keep going."

next second~
The flag bearer, who was two steps behind, along with the banner, was smashed into a bloody pulp by a boulder.

The overthrow of the great banner was of extraordinary significance.

At the mountaintop, the Ming soldiers cheered in unison.

“The Prince of Jin has decreed that killing a Tartar will be rewarded with 5 taels of silver for each head, and 500 taels for the head of a high-ranking official. Anyone who captures the General of Dingyuan will be ennobled.”

"Kill the Tartars!"

The roar was earth-shattering.

……

A skilled horseman from the Eight Banners Guard decisively dropped his spear, dismounted, grabbed the banner from the ground, and raised it again.

A banner stained with blood!
Shoot people first, shoot horses, and capture thieves first.

Instantly, he became the target of all the Ming army archers' concentrated fire.

The arrows rained down like locusts, and even his thick cotton armor couldn't withstand the dense barrage. In an instant, he and his warhorse were riddled with arrows.

The dead horse has pinned down the banner, and it can no longer be picked up.

Nikan was extremely calm at this moment.

"Charge, charge out, then turn back."

His decision was correct. Once ambushed, the vanguard must not turn back or stop. They must charge out in one go and then turn back to fight again.

The front and rear detachments worked in perfect coordination to ambush the enemy forces.

The warhorse was galloping wildly, and he had already been hit by five arrows. Fortunately, he was protected by his armor and his belt was not tied around his waist. The gaps in his armor absorbed most of the damage, and only one arrow pierced his flesh. The other four arrows became mere decorations on his armor.

However, the guards around him kept falling off their horses, screaming in agony, as they blocked most of the arrows.

……

Dawn is just around the corner.

The valley gradually widens, and after a mile or two, one can escape to safety.

However~
Suddenly, a huge group of creatures appeared in front of them.

The war elephant herd, controlled by the southwestern barbarian soldiers, waited quietly for the esteemed Eight Banners lords.

Its neighing sound soared straight into the sky.

The warhorse was so frightened that it flew off on the spot.

The war elephants began their charge, like a tank army, rolling forward unstoppable by human power.

"General, retreat immediately!" "No retreat! Fight to the death!"

Nikan, with his temperament, would rather die in battle than retreat, and he decided to die here.

The guard battalion fought alongside their commander to the death.

At this moment, no one cared about past conflicts anymore. The yellow, red, white, and blue cotton-armored figures formed a battle formation and shot arrows at the charging elephant herd.

More than a hundred breaths later, the elephants trampled each other, a horrific sight, with not a single carcass intact.

……

The Ming soldiers on the mountain stopped shooting arrows and watched as their war elephants roared across the valley.

The highest point~
A blood-red triangular flag was raised, signaling the pre-arranged "all-out attack."

The officers drew their swords and roared:

"Brothers, let's go down the mountain and follow Prince Jin to kill the Tartars."

The horde of soldiers responded in unison, charging down the hillside, which was over a hundred meters high, and heading north.

"Kill the Tartars!"

The banner of the King of Jin is the direction in which everyone moves forward.

suddenly~
A rider charged from behind, holding a blood-dripping head aloft along the way.

The knight's voice cracked completely: "The head of Nikan, the Qing Dynasty's General of Dingyuan, is here."

Instantly, morale surged by 30 points.

Even the new recruits who escaped from Hengzhou City turned back, picked up their weapons, and followed the army back to Hengzhou.

……

Li Dingguo was extremely calm at this moment.

He commanded hundreds of war elephants to charge ahead. It was like hitting a powerful shot in billiards to break up the pool of balls that were clustered together.

The elite Xifu soldiers followed immediately and divided the area once again.

The Qing army is still resisting.

Someone brought a long bamboo pole and raised Nikan's head, the great banner, and the lightning rod-shaped golden helmet high above.

They shouted in unison, "Nikan is dead."

In an instant, the Qing army collapsed.

The severed head might be fake, but the banner and golden helmet cannot be faked; they are exclusive to the commander-in-chief and are too conspicuous.

The Eight Banners troops, now without unified command, were thrown into chaos. Some fled north, some west, and some even entered Hengzhou City.

"Prince Jin, which force should we pursue?"

"By bypassing Hengzhou, try to drive the Eight Banners army into the Xiang River. Proclaim to the entire army that the day is now to fight bravely against the enemy."

……

Li Dingguo stood under the great banner, his armor gleaming.

The morale of the Ming soldiers passing by him surged once again, and even the new recruits became more courageous. Under the command of the officers, they began to encircle him from all sides.

2 minutes later~
Xiangjiang River pontoon bridge.

Countless soldiers waited anxiously to cross the river.

People were constantly being pushed into the water. Although it was the dry season and the current was weak, the water was bone-chillingly cold, making it difficult to swim to safety. Those wearing heavy armor would sink instantly upon falling in.

A few people were routed but miraculously survived.

The scene was a complete mess.

Suddenly, a rider arrived carrying a command flag.

They kept shouting:

"General Dingyuan has been killed in action. Prince Tunqi will temporarily lead the entire army. All men, listen to my command and return to Hengzhou City."

The most dangerous situation on the battlefield is when there is no leader, and this is especially true for the Eight Banners troops.

Now that someone had stepped forward, the "obedience" ingrained in the Eight Banners soldiers' very bones became effective. They began to form ranks and return to Hengzhou City, several miles away.

……

Li Dingguo immediately gave the order.

"Move 20 war elephants to break through the enemy lines."

Unfortunately, war elephants are enormous and offer no cover when maneuvering.

On the city wall of Hengzhou, Beile Tunqi, who had been observing the battle situation, quickly gathered 1500 arquebusiers to intercept the enemy and simultaneously fired cannons from the city wall in response.

The deafening roar and the sudden flashes of fire caused the intelligent war elephants to cower in fear.

Li Dingguo was furious.

"Bring Ma Jinzhong to me."

A quarter of an hour later, Ma Jinzhong, a fierce general of the Great Western Army covered in blood, arrived. He had obviously been fighting for a long time, and he threw the copper hammer in his hand aside.

He said in a muffled voice:
"This humble general pays his respects to the Prince of Jin."

"Ma Jinzhong, why didn't you follow military orders and burn the city ahead of schedule?"

(End of this chapter)