The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 144 Tiger Great's Death in Battle

"You damned thief!"

Hu Dawei was attacked from both sides, and his eyes widened in fury.

He never dreamed that these thieves would be so cunning and treacherous!

"Form ranks! Prepare for battle! Hold the line!"

Hu Dawei brandished his waist knife, desperately parrying the incoming arrows.

He roared at the top of his lungs, directing his soldiers to organize a defense on the spot.

It must be said that the Qin soldiers under Hu Dawei's command are indeed elite troops who have experienced many battles.

Although they were caught in a pincer attack by the enemy, they did not immediately collapse and flee.

Under the suppression and command of officers at all levels, the Qin soldiers quickly shrank their formation.

The soldiers in the front ranks raised their shields and spears and began hand-to-hand combat with the charging bandits.

However, for Hu Dawei and his men, the nightmare had only just begun.

Shortly after Jiang Han led his troops in the charge, the city gates of Ling Shi City behind them burst open with a roar.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hu Dawei saw thousands more ferocious bandits emerge from the city, roaring and howling as they swept towards the flank of Hu Dawei's army.

The deafening battle cries instantly resounded throughout the entire battlefield!
Cao Er took the lead, charging ahead, and led his musketeers, who lined up in a row about fifty paces to the side of the government troops.

"put!"

At Cao Er's command, the musketeers raised their muskets in unison, aimed at the densely packed government troops, and unleashed a volley of fire.

Bang bang bang bang—!
In an instant, smoke filled the air and lead bullets flew everywhere.

Many Qin soldiers, preoccupied with the enemy in front of them, were caught off guard and fell to the ground by the sudden barrage of musket fire, letting out shrill screams.

They are blocked in front, pursued from behind, and now their flanks are being surrounded.

Looking at the scene of being surrounded on three sides, Hu Dawei felt utterly desperate:
"It's over!"

He could even see that the enemy's artillery was rapidly assembling beneath the city wall not far away.

Dozens of cannons, each as thick as a bowl, had already been dragged out of the city gate by the bandit soldiers on mules and horses, and were now huffing and puffing their way toward the battlefield.

Hu Dawei felt a chill in his heart.

He knew that once the enemy soldiers set up their artillery positions, no matter how tight his defenses were, he would not be able to withstand the whistling shells!
"Brothers! Things have come to this, we have no choice but to fight to the death!"

"Follow me and fight your way out!!"

Hu Dawei's eyes were bloodshot. He understood that in this desperate situation, if he wanted to find a glimmer of hope, he had to fight to the death and put himself in a life-or-death situation.

Instead of trying to solidify the defensive line, he decisively chose to concentrate his forces and launch a desperate breakout towards the relatively weaker front of the enemy!

Although the bandits facing them were fierce, they numbered only seven or eight hundred, while he still had more than a thousand soldiers under his command.

If we're willing to risk our lives, we might actually be able to tear a hole in this direction and escape!

"kill!!"

Hu Dawei roared and charged ahead of Jiang Han's main force.

At the critical moment of life and death, his Qin soldiers also unleashed astonishing fighting power.

These Guanzhong soldiers, who had followed Hu Dawei in countless battles and endured hunger and hardship year after year, had long since cast aside their fear and exhaustion.
They had only one thought in mind: to follow their commander closely, forward! Forward! And forward again! Until they fought their way out!
In an instant, the battlefield was filled with the sounds of battle and the flying of blood and flesh.

The soldiers from both sides clashed fiercely, each blow drawing blood and each shot potentially fatal!
Hu Dawei led the main force in a fierce charge towards the front, and Jiang Han immediately felt the pressure of the entire battlefield surging towards him like Mount Tai pressing down.

In order to lull Hu Dawei into a false sense of security, he deliberately feigned weakness and only sent seven or eight hundred men out of the city.

At this moment, he also felt somewhat strained as he faced the breakout of the main force of the government troops.

Moreover, Hu Dawei was indeed a fierce general. He led from the front, carrying a large sword and constantly charging into battle.

Wherever they went, they were invincible, cutting down many of their own infantrymen who tried to intercept them.

Inspired by him, the Qin soldiers behind him fought fiercely and bravely.

These government troops fought with all their might and actually managed to tear a gap in Jiang Han's lines!
However, individual bravery can never change the overall situation on the battlefield.

Just as Jiang Han felt the pressure mounting and was about to succumb to Hu Dawei's counterattack, Shao Yong, who had been patrolling the edge of the battlefield and responsible for cutting off the government troops' retreat, keenly sensed the crisis on the main battlefield.

He made a decisive move and immediately led a cavalry unit to charge up from the rear of the army formation, launching an attack on the main force of the government troops who were making a desperate breakout.

The cavalry galloped across the battlefield, their powerful impact sending any officers or soldiers who dared to stand in their way flying.

Then Shao Yong drew his bow and shot down the soldiers on the field from a high vantage point not far away.

On the other side, Cao Er, who was originally responsible for flanking from the flank, was extremely anxious when he saw that Jiang Han's side was in danger of being breached.

He abandoned the government troops in front of him and immediately led his most elite musketeers, making a small circle around the battlefield, and hurriedly rushed to Jiang Han's side.

The musketeers, wielding their muskets, constantly scanned the battlefield, focusing specifically on the Qin soldiers attempting to break through.

With the arrival of reinforcements, Hu Dawei's hard-won offensive was immediately dealt a severe blow.

One by one, his personal guards fell into pools of blood around him.

Hu Dawei himself was in no better shape; he could clearly feel that the old wounds he had sustained in Hequ were starting to ache again.

He mustered all his strength, slashing down the bandit soldier in front of him with a single blow, then suddenly raised his head and looked around.

All around, as far as the eye could see, were endless, dark masses of enemies.

There was absolutely no hope of breaking through.

"Could it be that I, Hu Dawei, am going to die here today?"

In an instant, an indescribable sense of sorrow welled up in his heart.

Hu Dawei, from a lowly surrendered soldier, fought his way up through hardships and struggles, finally becoming a guerrilla general.

He had hoped to quell the bandits, share the burden of the court, serve the emperor faithfully, and in the future, earn a title and bring honor to his family.
But he never expected that he would die before he could even begin his mission.

"That's it! That's it!"

"Even if I die, I'll take a few of them down with me!"

Hu Dawei gritted his teeth, a hint of determination and madness flashing in his eyes.

He suddenly raised his head and looked at the bandit leader's tiger-character banner not far away.

Without saying a word, he led the dozen or so personal guards he had left, like moths to a flame, and launched a final charge toward the banner!

The old, gruesome wound on his body was tearing at him with each violent movement, causing waves of excruciating pain.

But he ignored it, gritted his teeth, and charged toward Jiang Han with all his might.

Hu Dawei's personal guards also risked their lives to protect him.

He used his own flesh and blood to block attacks from all sides for his general, and he also cut down many enemy soldiers who came forward to stop him.

The bandit leader was now within reach!

In a daze, Hu Dawei could even see that under that big banner, the young bandit leader, wearing a golden-lacquered mountain-patterned armor and looking majestic, was staring at him with a look of astonishment.

"You thief chieftain! Die!"

He roared with all his might and swung his knife forward.

However, at this moment, a sudden change occurred.

Before he could take a few steps, a cold, long spear, like a venomous snake striking, silently pierced through his armpit at an incredibly tricky angle.

"Uh"

Hu Dawei felt a sudden jolt in his body, a sharp pain shooting through his armpit, before being knocked to the ground by a gunshot.

He lowered his head with difficulty, looking in the direction of the excruciating pain:
A gleaming standard-issue spear was seen, which had somehow become deeply embedded in his side, and blood was gushing out from the spearhead, staining the blood-stained sidewall red.

puff--

As a mouthful of blood gushed out, Hu Dawei's consciousness, like a kite with a broken string, quickly plunged into darkness.
And so, this veteran general of the Ming Dynasty, who had spent half his life on the battlefield and was known for his prudence and bravery, died in battle on this unfamiliar land of Shanxi.

With their commander killed, apart from a small number of soldiers who were still putting up resistance, the rest dropped their weapons and stopped fighting like cornered beasts.

Those personal guards and retainers who stubbornly resisted were quickly annihilated by the combined attack of Jiang Han's infantry and cavalry.

(End of this chapter)