Di Ming

Chapter 245 A daughter doesn't easily shed tears, but only when she's truly heartbroken?
Eight hundred Ming soldiers charged into the enemy camp, taking advantage of the darkness and the protection of their double armor. Before the enemy could react, they stormed straight into the enemy's central command tent, and for a time, none could stand in their way.

In particular, fierce warriors such as Lancha, Qi Zuoguo, Cao Wenzhao, and Mao Wenlong moved with the ferocity of tigers among sheep, cutting down enemy troops as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.

Eight hundred elite warriors killed people as easily as cutting grass.

"Pfft—Pfft—"

"what!"

In the blink of an eye, hundreds more Mongol soldiers were killed.

Blood splattered onto the white felt tent, human heads rolled on the ground, and frightened warhorses ran wildly in all directions.

Panicked Mongols rushed out of their tents, many of them killed by the sudden enemy before they could even put on their armor.

The dim light illuminated the menacing masks of the Ming soldiers, stained with blood, making them look like ferocious demons emerging from hell, their killings sending shivers down the spines of the newly awakened Tartars.

Even though they prided themselves on being fierce and good at fighting, they were so frightened that they retreated one after another, and it was difficult for them to organize an effective resistance for a while. They seemed to have become a disorganized mob.

In the blink of an eye, from the moment the Ming army fired the Tiger Crouching Cannon to blast open the camp gates to the moment they stormed deep into the enemy camp, less than a third of a quarter of an hour had passed.

However, more than a thousand rebel soldiers have died at the hands of Ming soldiers' suicide squads!
Lancha alone killed more than thirty people, his spiked club stained with blood, bone fragments, and brains. This wild Jurchen, with his superhuman strength, was a killing machine; almost every time he swung his club, a bandit soldier was blown to the head.

Qi Zuoguo, Cao Wenzhao, Mao Wenlong and others were also covered in blood, each of these fierce men had killed more than a dozen people.

Although more and more bandit troops gathered around, they were unable to surround the fearless and powerful suicide squad in the short term.

Soon, the Ming soldiers stormed into a rather luxurious tent and clashed fiercely with the guards protecting it.

Although these personal guards were also fierce and good at fighting, how could they withstand the Ming army's elite soldiers who wore two layers of armor?
With a loud "bang," the entire tent was pushed over, and a Mongolian nobleman, wearing only half of his armor, fled barefoot outside.

It was none other than Ayun Taiji, the son-in-law of the Western Ming and the leader of the remnants of the Ordos tribe!
"Protect Taiji!" His personal guards roared and rushed forward, desperately blocking Lancha and the others, but they were soon killed and bled.

"Where do you think you're going!" Qi Zuoguo roared, charging towards Ayun Taiji with his knife.

Ayun Taiji's face turned pale, realizing there was no way to escape.

Suddenly, a still-childish voice shouted, "Brother-in-law! I'm here to save you!"

A young man in magnificent armor, leading a group of Han soldiers, charged forward with a roar.

"Die!" Qi Zuoguo swept his long sword, slashing out like lightning.

With a clang, sparks flew as Qi Zuoguo's vicious slash was actually blocked by the young man.

Qi Zuoguo exclaimed "Eh!" somewhat surprised, not expecting that this young man could actually block his attack and not kill him with a single blow.

"Kill! Protect the prince consort!" A group of Han warriors beside the young man charged forward with their swords, blocking Qi Zuoguo and his men.

The boy quickly helped A-Yun up, then carried him away.

Ah Yun was both surprised and delighted, and said to the young man with deep gratitude, "Your Highness, you are my brother-in-law. You have saved my life again today. From now on, my troops will obey your command!"

A smile immediately appeared on the boy's lips.

That's it!

Only then did Qi Zuoguo and the others realize that the most well-dressed bandit soldiers were actually Han soldiers under the young man's command.

They were all fully armored, clearly not having gotten up in an emergency, but rather having never removed their armor to begin with.

Sleeping in armor at night in such hot weather shows how vigilant these people are.

A sense of unease crept into Qi Zuoguo and the others' hearts. They hadn't expected that after the camp was breached, the Han soldiers would put up the strongest resistance, while the Mongol troops, lacking armor, were thrown into disarray.

"He is the fake Crown Prince Zhu Shuaixin! Kill him immediately!" Qi Zuoguo reacted quickly and immediately knew who the boy was.

He never expected that there would be such a young hero among the royal family.

However, more and more bandits blocked the path of the Ming soldiers, and arrows rained down.

"Know when you're ahead! Then charge out again!" Qi Zuoguo shouted.

Lancha roared and charged back, swinging his spiked club like a windmill.

"Kill!" The Ming soldiers, armed with rattan shields in one hand and swords and spears in the other, followed Lan Cha westward, carving a bloody path through the enemy lines.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—" The Mongol soldiers' arrows rained down, but the Ming soldiers were all wearing two layers of iron armor, so even at close range, they were difficult to be injured by the arrows.

The bandit commander, Zhenzhen, who had already arrived, roared with a livid face, "Stop them! Don't let a single one escape!"

He had won his first battle during the day and thought the Ming army was nothing special. He never expected that the Ming army would dare to send out assassins to raid his camp at night!

Seeing his men dying and being wounded, Zhen Xiang's eyes turned green with envy.

"Archers! Shoot them with heavy arrows!" Zhenzhen ordered. "To let even one of them escape is a disgrace to the Mongol warriors!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" The archers fired their heavy arrows at close range, each arrow weighing more than four ounces and capable of piercing armor, whistling as they shot towards the Ming soldiers' suicide squad!

Many armor-piercing arrows pierced through two layers of iron armor and embedded themselves in the bodies of Ming soldiers.

The casualties among the Ming army's suicide soldiers suddenly increased significantly.

"Kill!" The Ming soldiers charged forward bravely, using rattan shields to block arrows as they fought recklessly.

The large band of bandits was no match for them.

For every zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) the Ming soldiers advanced, a bloody path followed. Many soldiers fell, leaving behind even more enemy corpses; the blood flowed like a river!
Despite being struck by several arrows, Lancha, Qi Zuoguo, Cao Wenzhao, Mao Wenlong, and others charged ahead, tearing through the enemy's defenses and breaking out of the camp.

The truth was stunned, and everyone gasped in shock.

This Ming army is truly too strong.

Not only did they break into the camp, but they also managed to break out of the camp despite being surrounded!
"Chase them!" Truth roared in fury. "Leave their heads behind! Kill them!"

A large group of rebel soldiers chased after them like a tidal wave, attempting to surround the Ming army's suicide squad once again.

But this time, just as they were surrounded, the encirclement was broken open again.

Finally, they watched helplessly as hundreds of Ming soldiers plunged headlong into the gloomy and dark Qilian Mountains.

The bandits chased them to the mountainside and dared not pursue them any further.

The saying goes, "Never enter a forest." But what if they, primarily cavalry, entered the mountains?
The truth, Ayun, Zhu Shuaixin and the others looked at the Ming soldiers who had fled, their faces extremely grim.

Despicable! Utterly despicable!
Soon, the number of casualties was reported to the truth.

The Ming army's suicide soldiers left behind only two hundred corpses; the majority of the rest escaped.

But more than 2,100 Mongol warriors died! And over a thousand were wounded.

The casualties have reached three thousand!
This Ming army suicide squad had at most a thousand men, no more than that.

Such heavy casualties are heartbreaking and make it hard to breathe.

hiss--!
Many of those killed were the elite of his tribe. How could so many die in such a short time!

I gained a small advantage during the day, but who knew I would suffer such a huge loss at night!
Even worse, the team felt that their previously high morale had been greatly damaged.

"Useless! Useless!" Zhenxiang couldn't help but jump up and down. "We have 30,000 troops in our camp, while the enemy has less than a thousand, yet we slaughtered you until you screamed like ghosts, and they still managed to escape! You are a disgrace to the Mongol warriors!"

The truth is that he looked at the many disheveled Mongol soldiers and cursed.

Zhu Shuaixin, however, glared at Zhen Xiang with dissatisfaction.

Waste? Don't you, as a true Taiji, bear the greatest responsibility?
It was your arrogance and carelessness that led to tonight's defeat!
Ayun and Zhu Shuaixin exchanged a glance, both feeling dissatisfied with the truth.

However, the truth was too powerful, and he couldn't bring himself to question it.

"We'll fight the Ming army to the death tomorrow!" Zhenzhen said through gritted teeth. "The grudge we suffered tonight will be avenged tomorrow!"

Having suffered such a great loss, he was determined to wear down the Ming army on the other side.

Originally, Zhenxiang didn't intend to keep entangled with Zhu Yin here, but now he has decided to fight Zhu Yin to the death!
We must get it back!
While Zhenxiang and the others were still in shock and anger, the two thousand Mongol cavalrymen who had been sent out to harass the Ming army camp returned dejectedly.

It turned out that they had been busy all night, but the Ming army ignored them. In the dead of night, they couldn't actually attack the Ming army's camp, so they had no choice but to return empty-handed.

To their surprise, when they returned, their own camp had been turned upside down!
They dared not attack the enemy camp at night, but the enemy dared to attack their camp.

What kind of situation is this? A group of centurions voluntarily took off their shirts, held whips, and obediently knelt before the Truth-Telling Taiji to receive their punishment.

He didn't mince words either. He took the whips from everyone in turn and gave each person two lashes!
The morale of the entire bandit camp immediately plummeted.

……

In the Qilian Mountains, Lancha, Qizuoguo, and others, their bodies studded with feathered arrows like hedgehogs, were resting under a large tree in the forest.

Fortunately, they had two layers of iron armor, so even if arrows pierced through, most of them were not injured. Only a few suffered minor cuts and bruises.

After all, there weren't many archers in the bandit army.

Because of the surprise attack at night, many of the bandits were caught off guard and could not be seen clearly in the dark.

But no one smiled; their expressions were somber and sorrowful.

There were 800 people when they left, but now, after counting the heads, there are only 560 left.

More than 240 brothers will never come back.

People silently chewed on their milk candies, many with tears streaming down their faces. The milk candies were sweet, but the tears were salty.

The bodies of our fallen comrades fell into the hands of the rebel army, leaving them with no place to be buried.

Although Lancha was hit by several arrows, he was not injured, but he was very tired.

He himself couldn't remember how many enemies he had killed tonight.

There might be more than sixty people, or even more than seventy. Even he felt exhausted at this moment, and the spiked club that was usually as light as a feather had become heavy.

Under the cover of darkness and the protection of the mountains and forests, hundreds of people removed their blood-splattered armor, which was soaked with sweat.

Qi Zuoguo leaned against an ancient tree, panting heavily. He gazed at the cold moon in the mountains, his expression a mixture of sorrow and relief.

His record is at least thirty.

Father, I'm finally back alive. You didn't have to bury your child.

Unfortunately, many of the brothers will never come back.

Not far away, Mao Wenlong held up a tinderbox and looked at Cao Wenzhao with a worried expression, saying, "Deyu, the arrow in your back is an inch deep and has already turned a bit black. The arrow was poisoned."

Cao Wenzhao felt both itchy and painful in his wound, and felt completely weak and powerless.

"That's enough." Cao Wenzhao forced a smile. "I volunteered to join the suicide squad. Tonight, at least thirty or forty bandits died under my halberd. I've already made my money back."

As he spoke, a beautiful and dashing figure suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Lady Hongying, am I never going to see you again?

No, I can't die like this. I must live to see you!

“Some of the Tartar arrows were soaked in excrement,” Qi Zuoguo said with a frown. “If you are hit by a Tartar arrow, you are very likely to be poisoned.”

He walked over and touched Cao Wenzhao's forehead, feeling its heat.

"Don't rest." Qi Zuoguo and Mao Wenlong helped Cao Wenzhao up. "Return to camp immediately!"

……

As dawn approached, the more than 500 exhausted daredevils finally returned to the Ming army camp.

"Woo-woo-woo—" The bugle sounded in the camp, followed by three booming cannon shots.

Zhu Yin and Qi Jiguang led the entire army to personally welcome the returning daredevil team. When they saw that more than two hundred men were missing, it was both expected and unavoidable that they felt sad.

When Qi Jiguang saw Qi Zuoguo, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

so far so good!
Upon hearing the news of the successful night raid, in which many enemy soldiers were killed, the morale of the Ming army soared even higher.

Unfortunately, Cao Wenzhao was hit by a poisoned arrow and was unconscious when he returned.

"Imperial Edict!" Upon seeing Cao Wenzhao, Ding Hongying could no longer maintain her composure and couldn't help but step forward to check on him, her expression anxious.

Soon, Cao Wenzhao was taken to the military tent for treatment. The military doctor looked at the wound on his back and couldn't help but feel bitter.

"He's been hit by a poisoned arrow from the Tartars," the physician said, shaking his head. "Being hit by a poisoned arrow doesn't necessarily mean the poison will take effect. Whether it does or not depends entirely on luck. But General Cao has already been poisoned. Alas, this is difficult."

"It's very difficult to treat. Even if you cut out the necrotic tissue, apply medicine, and bandage it, you can only do your best and leave the rest to fate."

Upon hearing this, Ding Hongying swayed, and her pretty face immediately turned deathly pale.

A while ago, Uncle Tiger privately asked Deyu if he would be willing to marry him.

The Emperor was overjoyed, saying he couldn't have asked for more, but he dared not presume. As long as he was willing, it was his good fortune.

He also said that if he married her, he would be devoted to her.

So, Uncle Tiger arranged the marriage, saying they would get married this October.

But who knew...

Ding Hongying's heart jumped into her throat.

Zhu Yin stood to the side, noticing the wound on Cao Wenzhao's back, but his expression remained relatively calm. He knew, of course, that Cao Wenzhao's so-called "poisoning attack" was actually bacterial septic shock.

In ancient times, when medical technology was underdeveloped, doctors had limited methods for treating bacterial infections. Severe acute bacterial infections, in particular, were often fatal.

It's really just a matter of taking an antibiotic or anti-inflammatory drug. Qingchen had already prepared this kind of medication for him.

Of course, it should not be used to save lives unless absolutely necessary.

“Uncle Tiger, Deyu…” Ding Hongying looked like a little girl, helplessly grabbing Zhu Yin’s arm, on the verge of tears.

At this moment, she didn't seem like a heroic female knight-errant, but rather like a sentimental and vulnerable woman.

Zhu Yin patted her hand and comforted her, "Don't worry, Deyu is lucky and will surely turn bad luck into good."

Ding Hongying nodded pitifully, her eyes reddening.

The physician took out a delicate, small scalpel, carefully cut open the wound on Cao Wenzhao's back, removed the infected tissue, and then applied medicine and bandaged it.

The medicine he used was a common herbal remedy. It was very safe, but its effectiveness was only so-so.

Zhu Yin reached out and touched Cao Wenzhao's forehead, frowning involuntarily.

very hot.

Judging from Cao Wenzhao's condition, he will have a hard time getting through this without taking an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drug.

I've heard that some of the Tartars' arrowheads were soaked in excrement, rotting corpses, and other such things, making them extremely filthy. Being wounded by such an arrowhead is no ordinary bacterial infection.

Medically, this is called acute bacterial septic shock, a serious complication. Judging from Cao Wenzhao's persistent high fever and unconsciousness, it's definitely him.

Real poisoning is not like this at all.

Cao Wenzhao fought a great battle, killing dozens of enemies, but his body was exhausted and he was sweating profusely. His immunity was temporarily lowered, and bacteria took advantage of this weakness, causing the so-called poisoning.

But he can get through this quickly after taking just one cephalosporin.

The physician lifted Cao Wenzhao's eyelids and sighed, "Alas... Mr. Zhihu, General Cao is probably..."

Ding Hongying could no longer hold back her tears.

She rarely cries. But this time she really cried.

She had finally found someone she liked, and Uncle Tiger had even arranged a match for her. Was it all going to be for nothing?

My daughter doesn't easily shed tears, unless she's truly heartbroken.

As Ding Hongying was heartbroken and shedding tears, she suddenly heard Uncle Hu say, "Let's give this last ancestral treasure medicine to Deyu."

Huh? The last precious medicine?
Ding Hongying turned her head with a mixture of surprise and joy, looking at Uncle Hu with teary eyes...

P.S.: I might change this title in a few days... Are you crazy? Destroy it all, I'm tired.

(End of this chapter)