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

Chapter 18 Border Troops of Datong Town

Just as Jiang Han was pondering, a cold glint suddenly appeared in an inconspicuous corner!

A saber pierced Jiang Han's armpit from an extremely sinister angle, aiming straight for his vital area!
"Lord Jiang, be careful!"

Shao Yong kept a close eye on Jiang Han's surroundings. When he saw someone launching a sneak attack, he immediately shouted and thrust his spear out like a dragon emerging from the sea, forcefully deflecting the saber.

"clang"

The saber was blocked by the spear, deviated from its original angle, and pierced Jiang Han's breastplate with a crisp sound.

Jiang Han broke out in a cold sweat instantly, cursing himself for being careless.

He almost lost his life because he was distracted on the battlefield!

If Shao Yong hadn't reacted quickly, that knife strike would likely have killed him.

He nodded gratefully to Shao Yong, then took a deep breath, mustered his spirits, and charged into the enemy ranks with his sword.

"Damn it, why are all these bastards coming for me?!"

Jiang Han cursed and smashed a warhorse over, then casually wiped the blood from his right eye.

Looking up, he found that the enemies around him were gathering in greater numbers, and the situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.

"My lord! Look to the east!"

Shao Yong pierced through the cavalryman in front of him with another spear thrust, and suddenly shouted at Jiang Han.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han turned his head sharply and saw that the fifty cavalrymen who had previously split up had somehow circled around to the rear of the enemy formation, with the Mongol banners flying high on their lances, and were galloping toward them.

"Damn it! Retreat!"

Seeing that his escape route was cut off, the Mongol centurion's face changed drastically. He blew a sharp whistle, turned his horse around without hesitation, and fled.

The surrounding Mongols were clearly not expecting the battle to collapse so quickly; they were still fiercely fighting when they realized that their own commander had already fled.

"The centurion has run away!"

A sharp-eyed Mongol noticed that his own hundred households were fleeing and shouted loudly.

With their commander fleeing, the morale of the Mongols in battle was thrown into chaos, and their formation collapsed instantly.

Seeing that the situation was not good, some Mongol cavalrymen threw their weapons away, trying to take the opportunity to escape.

However, would Jiang Han and his men give them a chance? The encirclement was complete, and these Mongols were already trapped.

Unfortunately, the Mongol centurion ran too fast and managed to escape.

Jiang Han sighed inwardly, not expecting this Mongol centurion to be so decisive, abandoning his men and fleeing for his life as fast as a rabbit when he saw the situation was not good.

Just as Jiang Han was feeling regretful, the two soldiers who had been chased earlier suddenly appeared from some hidden corner, one on the left and one on the right, heading straight for the Mongol centurion.

"You old thief! Die!"

The two men had been lying in ambush for a long time and finally got their chance to retaliate. They suddenly rushed out from the flank and knocked the Mongol centurion off his horse.

Jiang Han was slightly taken aback; these two had certainly found a good opportunity.

But he didn't think much of it and immediately turned around to continue the encirclement and annihilation of the remaining Mongol cavalry.

"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"

With the last Mongol cavalryman surrendering, this unexpected battle ended in a resounding victory for the Ming army.

"In this battle, a total of 121 enemy cavalrymen were killed, 43 were wounded, 23 warhorses were captured, along with 65,000 taels of gold and silver and one carriage."

"Our army suffered 14 dead, 22 lightly wounded, and 3 seriously wounded."

Listening to Hei Zi's post-battle statistics, Jiang Han winced in pain. These were his elite troops, and more than a dozen of them had been lost.

"If only I had ridden away on horseback, would we have had to fight this battle?" Jiang Han lamented.

Even so, Jiang Han knew that this battle was unavoidable.

First of all, the Mongol cavalry was less than a mile away from their own cavalry, a distance that the cavalry could cover in an instant.

If they showed weakness and were pursued and killed by the Mongols, the casualties would only be more severe.

Just as Jiang Han and his men were clearing the battlefield, the two soldiers who had been there earlier brought the Mongol centurion before Jiang Han:
"Thank you so much for saving our lives, sir. We have no way to repay you, so we offer this beast as a token of our gratitude!"

Jiang Han nodded, then gave the instructions:

"Take it back to camp and let the brothers rest first!"

"Take this fellow to the main tent, I'll interrogate him myself!"

Inside the large tent, Jiang Han sat steadily behind a table, looking down at the Mongol centurion who was bound hand and foot in front of him.

The Mongol centurion, his face covered in blood and his eyes filled with resentment, stared intently at Jiang Han.
"When did you Ming soldiers become so capable in battle?"

Jiang Han wiped the blood from the corner of his eye and laughed heartily:

"Thanks to you, I only found out today that these bastards are such good fighters."

Li Laowai, still looking disheveled, stepped forward and kicked the Mongol centurion, sneering, "You Mongol barbarians are lucky to have caught a good time. Lord Jiang just paid us our wages not long ago and is feeding us three meals a day."

"The brothers below were all holding their breath, thinking about how to repay Lord Jiang's great kindness and virtue."

"Since you've delivered yourselves right to our doorstep, shouldn't we brothers show Lord Jiang our skills?"

The Mongol centurion struggled to his feet, indignant:

"Hmph, so what if you can fight? If you run into Manchu soldiers, we'll still slaughter you all without leaving a single one alive!"

"May the Eternal Heaven protect us. In a few years, we will slaughter all of you Han people and take the great Central Plains for ourselves."

These Mongols were clever; unable to defeat the Ming army themselves, they followed the Manchu soldiers into the pass to plunder.

Due to the Ming Dynasty's continuous suppression over the years, the Mongol tribes had long since declined. However, what the Ming court did not expect was that after the Mongols fell, the Jurchens emerged.

"When death is imminent, what are you talking big about?"

Jiang Han waved his hand coldly, ordering Hei Zi to drag the Mongol centurion outside and kill him.

At this moment, the two soldiers who had been rescued earlier also stepped forward, bowed to Jiang Han, and spoke with gratitude in their voices:

"Thank you for saving me, sir. May I ask your honorable name? Are you from the border army of Datong?"

Jiang Han cupped his hands in response:

"My name is Jiang Han from Yansui Town. May I ask how you two are addressed?"

One of the older soldiers nodded and began to introduce himself:

"My name is Liu Qidong, and this is my younger brother Liu Qiming. We were soldiers in the Shanxi Loyalist Army. Now that the army has disbanded, we are on our way back to our hometown."

Jiang Han's ears twitched, instantly catching the key words—Shanxi loyalist army? Army disbanded?
He remained calm and continued to press for answers:
"Why did the army disperse? Has something serious happened?"

Liu Qidong's eyes flickered, and he stammered as he explained:

"Your Excellency, we encountered some unforeseen circumstances on our journey to aid the emperor and were ordered by the court to return the way we came."

Jiang Han frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes:
"Return the way you came? Where is your unit now? Why are you two the only ones who have broken away from the group?"

Liu Qidong was momentarily speechless, then quickly corrected himself:

"Sir, you misspoke earlier. It was dismissal. We have been dismissed."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han raised an eyebrow slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then coldly looked the two people in front of him up and down.

The brothers' shifty eyes and evasive tone, along with the panic on their faces, convinced Jiang Han that they were lying.

Jiang Han didn't say anything, but crossed his arms and stared at them with eyes as sharp as knives, a faint smile on his lips.

Inside the large tent, the campfire crackled and popped, its light casting flickering shadows on the two men's faces.

The two of them trembled slightly without realizing it, whether from the cold or from being frightened by Jiang Han in front of them.

After a brief standoff, the younger brother, Liu Qiming, finally couldn't hold on any longer, his legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees.
"My lord, we fled back because of a mutiny in the army."

Seeing his younger brother confess, the older brother Liu Qidong sighed and took over the conversation:

"Your Excellency, our Shanxi loyalist army has been without food and pay for many days, so the army has mutinied and looted the capital region."

"Both the governor and the general were punished by the imperial court, leaving the army leaderless, which is why they returned to their hometowns on their own."

It's no wonder these two lied; strictly speaking, the two brothers were deserters.

According to the provisions of the "Military Law" of the Ming Dynasty:
“Any officer or soldier who deserts to return home or flees to another place after serving in the army shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane for the first offense and shall still be sent to the army; if he or she commits a second offense, he or she shall be hanged.”

When Liu Qidong saw the hundred or so cavalrymen led by Jiang Han, he guessed that Jiang Han was at least a centurion, so he dared not tell the truth.

Jiang Han nodded slightly after hearing this, his mind racing with calculations.

The fact that these two men were able to withstand the pursuit of hundreds of Mongol cavalrymen shows that they possess considerable bravery, and Jiang Han immediately had the idea of ​​recruiting them into his ranks.

Therefore, Jiang Han decided to temporarily conceal his identity, put pressure on the two brothers first, and then try to bring them under his command.

"You are both skilled soldiers. Do you know the consequences of deserting your posts?" Jiang Han's tone changed, and he sternly questioned the two men.

He pressed closer, his voice growing increasingly heavy:

"Looting and desertion—this constitutes a mutiny, punishable by hanging! Do you two know your crimes?!"

The two brothers, Liu Qidong and Liu Qiming, kept their heads down and didn't dare to utter a sound.

The air was deathly still, so tense you could almost hear your own heartbeat.

"However, since we all come from the border army, I can point you in the right direction."

Jiang Han changed the subject, preparing to win over the two.

But Dong Erzhu, as if belatedly realizing something, looked at the Liu brothers, Qidong and Qiming, with excitement, as if he had found kindred spirits:
"What a coincidence? You've also staged a mutiny?"

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(End of this chapter)