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

Chapter 173 The Fall of Shanzhou
Ai Wannian was so angry that he cursed loudly, and even coughed up blood from the corner of his mouth, which aggravated his old injury.

Zuo Guangxian's face also turned ashen, and he instantly realized that he had been betrayed by Cao Wenzhao!
He immediately ordered his infantry to tighten their formation and prepare to fight and retreat.

But in that brief moment of hesitation, Shao Yong had already led his team to the front.

This was a real hardship for the Qin soldiers. They had just been charged by their own horses, and now they were about to be charged by the enemy's horses again. They simply didn't have time to organize an effective resistance.

They were almost entirely infantry, and facing a cavalry charge, they needed a well-organized military formation to defend themselves.

But by this moment, the Qin army's ranks had already been utterly routed, with fleeing comrades and ferocious bandit cavalry everywhere.

Seeing the bandits charging menacingly, many Qin soldiers let out a strange cry, dropped their weapons, and ran away.

"Don't run! Hold on! Hold on for me!"

Zuo Guangxian drew his sword and killed several deserters in an attempt to stabilize the situation.

On the battlefield, once the first person runs away, the rest are naturally left to fend for themselves.

Driven by the instinct for survival, so-called military discipline and formations become utter nonsense.

If you can run faster than your teammates, you have a better chance of survival.

On the battlefield, it completely devolved into a chaotic rout.

The cavalrymen followed closely behind the deserters, relentlessly nibbling away at them.

In their desperate escape, the fleeing soldiers pushed and trampled each other, and quite a few died at the feet of their own men.

Shao Yong led his team in a relentless pursuit, chasing the enemy for over twenty miles until his warhorse was foaming at the mouth and could run no more. Only then did they reluctantly stop.

Jiang Han personally led the main infantry force, following behind at a leisurely pace, continuously receiving surrendered government troops along the way.

Many people were terrified and, seeing no hope of escape, simply threw down their weapons, knelt down, and surrendered, begging for a way to live.

Jiang Han gained a great deal from this battle.

Not only did they successfully ambush Cao Wenzhao's Guan Ning cavalry, but they also routed the reinforcements led by Zuo Guangxian and Ai Wannian.

A rough count revealed that there were over three hundred captured warhorses and nearly two hundred surrendered soldiers.

The number of Guan Ning soldiers and Qin soldiers who were killed on the spot was in the thousands.

Jiang Han returned to his camp on the south bank of the Yellow River with a rich spoils of war and prisoners, completely satisfied.

As soon as he entered the tent, he saw Li Zicheng lying unconscious on the bed, his face ashen.

Li Jinwang, Liu Guoneng, and others standing nearby were also injured and dejected.

Jiang Han was startled and quickly asked:

"what's the situation?"

Li Jinwang, Liu Guoneng, and others then recounted the previous great battle with Zuo Liangyu's troops with shame on their faces.

After hearing this, Jiang Han felt a wave of fear wash over him.

Those two idiots really didn't take their military orders to heart.

Before setting off, he specifically instructed them to hold their positions and not to launch any attacks, let alone engage in direct combat with the main force of the government troops.

The result was quite the opposite; despite having three thousand men fighting against one thousand, they were routed by Zuo Liangyu, suffering heavy casualties.

If Li Zicheng hadn't stepped forward at the last moment and fought desperately to repel Zuo Liangyu, these three thousand men would probably have been completely annihilated.

When Zuo Liangyu leads his troops back to attack, the wounded soldiers he left outside Shanzhou City will be in danger.

Fortunately, they managed to hold out. The imperial pursuers have been completely scattered, and the troops can finally rest and regroup.

The army rested in the camp for two full days before Jiang Han gave the order to attack Shanzhou City.

He did not attack the city immediately.

Shanzhou is now an isolated city; it doesn't matter whether we attack it sooner or later. We should wait until we've rested before coming back, lest we be caught off guard and suffer a setback.

Looking at the dark mass of bandits outside the city, Zhang Chen on the city wall finally realized that this time the bandits were serious.

Perhaps driven to the brink, this commander, who had always been cowardly and avoided battle, surprisingly displayed bravery this time.

He personally donned his armor and led the remaining eight hundred defenders in a bloody battle against the enemy soldiers on the city walls.

In the end, he was hit by three arrows and pierced through the chest by a spear, but he still fought to the death and died from exhaustion. In the end, he did not disgrace his status as a commander.

Meanwhile, Shi Jiyan, the prefect of Shanzhou, led the students and temporarily recruited monk soldiers in the city, fighting and retreating all the way to the prefectural government office.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless and there was no way to reverse it, the historical record says that he was determined to die, so he set fire to the government office, preparing to sacrifice himself for his country.

But two monks who had received his kindness couldn't bear to see him like this, so they risked their lives to rush into the fire and pull him out of the flames.

"Amitabha Buddha, Prefect Shi, as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn."

"Rather than die here, I'd rather keep my body and serve the court in the future!"

The two monks dragged Shi Jiyan along, changed him into monk robes, and fled frantically.

But as soon as they stepped off the crumbling parapet, they were surrounded by Zhang Tianlin and her men:

"You surnamed Shi, surrender."

"The commander said that if you surrender and appease the people of the city, he will spare your life!"

The Records of the Grand Historian states that he stood atop the ruins, his monk's robe tattered, blood seeping from wounds on his face, yet his spine remained straight.

He looked at the bandits' still-dripping swords and spears, showing no fear, and shouted sternly:
"A prefect may die, but a prefect may not surrender!"

Having said that, he rammed his head into the spear in front of him, and blood splattered on the spot.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han merely nodded slightly, showing no concern.

He was just an old-fashioned official destined to be crushed; he wasn't worth investing too much emotion in.

He is currently busy posting notices to reassure the people and taking stock of the battle losses.

According to statistics, the battle resulted in the capture of 352 warhorses, the acceptance of 175 surrendered soldiers, and the killing of over 1,200 Guan Ning and Qin soldiers, a truly remarkable achievement.

But on Li Zicheng's side, the situation was far worse.

He himself was seriously injured and remains in a coma.

Of the more than 1,000 men under his command, almost all were killed or wounded in this battle, leaving only less than 300 survivors.

Of the two thousand men led by Liu Guoneng and Li Jinwang, less than seven hundred remained.

More than 3,000 men fought against Zuo Liangyu's more than 1,000 men, but were instead routed, suffering nearly 2,000 casualties.

Jiang Han frowned upon seeing the casualty ratio.

These rebel leaders are really not capable of anything; no wonder they all died so young.

All things considered, since the imperial court mobilized troops from all directions to launch a siege in Shanxi.

Of the more than 30,000 people who initially gathered around Jiang Han, only less than 6,000 are still alive.

One after another, the rebel brothers who rose up against the Ming Dynasty fell under the siege and suppression of the government troops, suffering heavy casualties.

Fortunately, they managed to fight their way out.

Now, the sky's the limit for birds to fly and the sea's the freedom for fish to leap.

But now, a new problem has arisen for Jiang Han:
His forces are already severely insufficient.

Of these 6,000 people, 3,000 belonged to other leaders, leaving Jiang Han's main force with less than 3,000 people.

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(End of this chapter)