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

Chapter 244 You must die for your sovereign, I will relieve the people from their suffering.
Looking at the weary female general before him, whose temples were already streaked with gray, Hou Liangzhu was also filled with emotion:
"General Qin is unparalleled in loyalty and righteousness, truly a brave general worthy of the Emperor's own poem praising him!"

"I admire you!"

But then he changed the subject, pointing to the chaotic battlefield and the bandit soldiers roaming the perimeter:

"The general has seen Coco's current condition."

"Our main force is almost entirely wiped out, with only one-tenth remaining."

"Even though the general has gathered many remnants of the army, there are at most four or five thousand men."

He swallowed hard, his eyes filled with worry.
"As far as I know, the main force of the enemy is about to arrive, with a total strength of no less than 20,000, all of them fierce and ruthless troops coming with victories."

"And our troops are exhausted, how can we possibly withdraw?"

Qin Liangyu silently gazed down the mountain.

The rebel army had already regrouped, and the cavalry on the outer perimeter were ready for battle. Further away, the banners of the main rebel army were increasing, and the dust cloud obscured the sun.

Qin Liangyu knew very well that if she led her troops to meet Hou Liangzhu, she might also trap her three thousand soldiers.

But she could not stand idly by and watch Hou Liangzhu's main force be completely annihilated by the enemy.

At that time, not only will Baoning Prefecture be without reinforcements, but the entire Sichuan defense line will completely collapse, and the Shu vassal state in Chengdu Prefecture will be in grave danger.

As a military commander personally appointed by the emperor and a first-rank lady, she could not betray the emperor's trust and sit idly by while the rebel army occupied Sichuan.

Meanwhile, Shao Yong gradually came to his senses after the initial panic.

The weapons in this southwestern region are truly strange; before he knew it, Hou Liangzhu had escaped back.

But Shao Yong showed no annoyance; he simply waved his hand and gave the order:
"Pass on my order: regroup and surround the government troops."

"The commander's main force is approaching; none of them can escape!"

At his command, the surrounding infantrymen stopped in their tracks, ceasing their pursuit of the fleeing soldiers and instead consolidating their lines, surrounding the hills occupied by the government troops.

The soldiers who had escaped the calamity were like frightened birds, rushing towards the Qin-character banner on the hill, seeking their last refuge.

The earth trembled slightly, and the dull, continuous sound of footsteps slowly came from afar, growing closer and closer.

Beneath the banners that blotted out the sky, Jiang Han's main force finally arrived at the battlefield.

Beside him, a scout rode swiftly to report:
"Reporting to the Commander!"

"Hou Liangzhu's remaining troops and Qin Liangyu's White Spear Army, numbering about five thousand, have been surrounded by our army in the hills ahead!"

"General Shao's vanguard and Commander Liu's cavalry went forward to fight, but they were both driven back."

Jiang Han reined in his warhorse and looked into the distance.

When he saw the Qin-character banner standing tall not far away, a complex expression appeared on his face.

Qin Liangyu

Jiang Han muttered to himself, his tone tinged with a hint of emotion.

This female general was truly selfless and commendable in her loyalty and courage.

After a forced march of thousands of miles, knowing full well that they were facing a mountain of knives and a sea of ​​fire, they still dared to lead their troops to the aid of their allies without hesitation.

Looking across the entire Ming Dynasty, there are probably very few people who could achieve this level.

Jiang Han kept recalling the life of this legendary female general.

Qin Liangyu is the only female general in Chinese history to have a separate biography in official history.

She was born into the Tujia ethnic group in Zhongzhou, Sichuan. Later, she married Ma Qiancheng, the Pacification Commissioner of Shizhu. Together, the couple created the renowned "White Spear Army".

After Ma Qiancheng's death, Qin Liangyu took over military power. Her family members were all known for their loyalty and bravery, making them a family of loyal martyrs.

Qin Liangyu quelled the rebellions in Bozhou and She'an, and during the Tianqi era, she rushed to Liaodong to fight against the Jin dynasty. In the bloody battle of Hunhe, she severely damaged the Qing army, losing her brother and younger brother in the process.

During the Jisi Incident, she again used her family fortune to lead troops to defend the emperor, recovered four cities, and was awarded an imperial python robe.

Emperor Chongzhen even wrote a poem in praise of her, saying, "Women have always been willing to endure hardship, why must a general be a man?"

In her later years, Qin Liangyu, at the age of seventy, guarded eastern Sichuan, repeatedly defeating Zhang Xianzhong and was awarded the title of "Loyal Marquis". Until her death, she was still preparing to resist the Qing Dynasty.

Jiang Han recalled the many legendary stories of this female general and felt deeply impressed and moved.

Unfortunately, we have different paths and cannot work together.

Today, only one side can leave this battlefield alive.

The fleeting emotions in his heart vanished in an instant. Jiang Han abruptly raised his head, his voice resolute:
"Send the order!"

"Set up the cannons! Aim them at the main government troops and bombard them first!"

At his command, the heavy cannons were unloaded from the mule carts by the auxiliary soldiers and quickly positioned in front of the hill.

The dark muzzle gleamed in the sunlight as the gunners nervously and methodically loaded gunpowder, compacted lead bullets, and adjusted the firing arc.

On the hill, Qin Liangyu, Hou Liangzhu, and Ma Xianglin, who had just retreated, all witnessed this scene.

Qin Liangyu traveled lightly, without bringing any artillery, while Hou Liangzhu's army's artillery had already been abandoned by her orders.
At this moment, facing the enemy's line of heavy artillery, everyone's hearts sank to the bottom.

Ma Xianglin wanted to lead his troops in another charge, but his men's strength had already been exhausted in the previous battles.

"preparation--"

In Jiang Han's army, the artillery battalion commander raised his command flag high.

"put!"

At his command, the cannons roared, shaking the mountains and the earth.

Dozens of heavy cannons fired simultaneously, shells streaking through the air and whistling as they crashed into the government troops' positions on the hills.

Solid bullets plowed through the dense crowd, instantly creating a bloody alley!
The cannonball struck the White-Clad Soldiers' formation head-on, instantly smashing the head of a chieftain soldier. Then, with a slight twist, it crushed the government soldiers hiding behind it.

In the blink of an eye, screams rose and fell.

Limbs and entrails were scattered all over the ground, followed by a deluge of loose stones that poured down like a torrential rain, indiscriminately covering a large area.

The sturdy shields were pierced, the armor was as flimsy as paper, and the officers and soldiers fell in droves like harvested wheat.

The dense spear formation that made the White-Spear Soldiers famous was so vulnerable to overwhelming firepower!
With just one round of artillery fire, the government troops' positions on the hill were thrown into complete chaos.

The soldiers who had narrowly escaped death screamed and scattered like headless flies, wanting nothing more than to get as far away from the enemy's cannons as possible.

Seeing this, a cold glint flashed in Jiang Han's eyes:
"It's now!"

"Cao Er, crush them!"

Cao Er, who had been waiting impatiently, jumped up excitedly, drew his sword, and shouted angrily:
"Brothers of the central army, charge!"

The elite soldiers, clad in three layers of armor, moved at the command. They formed neat square formations, holding rattan shields in their left hands, and advanced step by step toward the government troops in front.

When he saw the enemy infantrymen approaching, Ma Xianglin tried to use the same trick again.

The White-Spear Soldiers poke their spears until they're smoking, but they still can't break through the enemy's defenses.

The barb at the tip of the spear is even more useless.

The soldiers, weighing over a hundred pounds, were as fierce as bears. They couldn't budge them an inch, and could only futilely cut open the outer cloth armor, making no further progress.

Thousands of elite soldiers, braving arrows and lead bullets, charged into the government army's ranks, easily tearing apart the White-Spear Soldiers' defenses.

Although the White-Clad Soldiers were brave, they had just experienced a baptism of artillery fire, their morale had collapsed, and their formation was in disarray.

Without the support of their formation, the White-Clad Soldiers were no match for these elite forwards.

"Hold it! Hold it!"

Upon seeing this, Ma Xianglin and Qin Liangyu led their personal guards and rushed forward.

The mother and son, one on each side, brandished their spears and charged left and right, trying to rally the remaining troops, but the defeat was as swift as a landslide and could not be easily reversed.

In a short time, the officers and soldiers were cut down and retreated in disarray, and their corpses piled up into small hills on the hillside.

Hou Liangzhu watched in the midst of the battle with trepidation. This group of border troops from the Northwest was simply unstoppable; even his prized White-Spear Soldiers couldn't hold them off for a moment.

Seeing that Qin Liangyu's defeat was inevitable, he quietly turned his horse around and whispered instructions to his personal guards:

"Let's go! Break through while the chaos is still going!"

Taking advantage of everyone's attention being focused on the front, Hou Liangzhu quietly retreated down the mountain.

He completely disregarded Qin Liangyu and her son, who were fighting desperately to stabilize the situation, and he also ignored the soldiers who were still being slaughtered. All he wanted was to escape!

Qin Liangyu was still at the front line, focused on resisting the enemy soldiers, until someone reminded her that Hou Liangzhu had already fled.

Qin Liangyu watched Hou Liangzhu's fleeing figure, trembling with anger. She slammed her spear heavily on the ground, sending dirt flying.

Her knuckles turned white from gripping the gun so tightly, and an indescribable grief and indignation welled up in her heart.

Jiang Han, who had been observing the entire situation from his vantage point, immediately gave the order when he saw Hou Liangzhu trying to flee:

"Hong Ming! That Hou fellow has run west!"

"Chase them! Kill or alive!"

The commander Hong Ming, who was waiting in the wings, grinned and immediately led a troop of elite cavalry to chase after Hou Liangzhu in the direction he had fled.

As Cao Er's main force continued its relentless advance, the resistance on the hills grew weaker and weaker.

The White-Clad Soldiers were almost entirely wiped out, their corpses strewn across the battlefield, and the indigo-blue figures on the battlefield became increasingly rare.

On the hills, only Qin Liangyu's personal guards, the Embroidered Armor Camp, gradually remained.

The two hundred female soldiers of the Embroidered Armor Battalion, dressed in indigo cloth armor embroidered with lotus patterns, and holding white-handled hook-and-sickle spears, tightly protected Qin Liangyu and Ma Xianglin in the center.

Their faces were covered in blood, but their eyes were all resolute.

Even when surrounded by an enemy force several times their size, they remained in neat small formations, showing no sign of panic.

Jiang Han's army slowly advanced and stopped a few dozen paces away from the Embroidered Armor Camp, forming an impenetrable encirclement.

The battle cries temporarily ceased, leaving only the wails of wounded soldiers and the restless snorting of warhorses on the battlefield.

Surrounded by his personal guards, Jiang Han rode slowly to the front of the formation.

He looked at Qin Liangyu and Ma Xianglin, who were standing ready, and said loudly:

"General Qin, things have come to this point, why bother with any more futile resistance?"

"I have always admired your loyalty, bravery, and skill in battle, Chief Shizhu."

"If you surrender today, I will guarantee your and these female soldiers' lives, and the land of Stone Pillar will also be preserved."

Qin Liangyu was already exhausted and could only lean on her spear to keep going for a while.

She looked up at Jiang Han, her voice hoarse but still strong:
"drop?"

"My Qin family has been favored by the emperor for generations, and the current emperor has entrusted us with even greater responsibilities. How can we possibly submit to the enemy?"

"Today's defeat is due to my inferior skills. Do with me as you please!"

Jiang Han smiled upon hearing this:

"thief?"

"Wherever our army goes, we kill corrupt officials, punish corrupt bureaucrats, reduce taxes, open granaries and distribute grain, and the people line the streets to welcome us."

"But the court you serve is plagued by corrupt officials who levy exorbitant taxes, natural disasters and man-made calamities that continue unabated, and countless people are displaced and forced to resort to cannibalism."

He flicked his whip, pointing towards the surrounding battlefield.
"General, may I ask, whose fault is this pile of bones and the mournful cries that echo for miles around?!"

"The court officials were constantly vying for power and infighting, and there were even corrupt officials who only knew how to embezzle military pay and cut back on grain supplies; the emperor was incompetent and foolish, disregarding the people's strength and only knowing how to urge more taxes and levies."

"My Northwest Border Army was also a member of the loyalist army back then, but you, General Qin, should know what happened to us."

"The Qin family is full of loyal martyrs, why should they waste their lives for that corrupt and decadent Ming Dynasty?"

"I am raising an army today only to relieve the people from their suffering, overthrow the tyranny, and restore a bright and clear world to all the people under heaven!"

"If the general is willing to surrender, I, Jiang, will treat him as an honored guest, and the lives of my men will be spared."

"At that time, our two families will join hands in this righteous cause to save the people from suffering, and it will surely become a legendary tale in the future."

No matter how much Jiang Han pleaded, Qin Liangyu's eyes remained resolute:
"I appreciate General Jiang's kindness."

"Say no more, I only ask to die for my country!"

Jiang Han looked at Qin Liangyu's straight back and suddenly sighed:
"General Qin, have you forgotten the time when your husband, General Ma Qiancheng, was unjustly imprisoned?"

"General Ma was loyal and brave throughout his life. He fought against the Japanese pirates and pacified Bozhou. He was the most meritorious general in the Nanchuan Road campaign."

"But what's the result?"

"Just because he neglected Qiu Chengyun, the supervising eunuch of the court, he was falsely accused of 'treason' and died unjustly in prison."

Jiang Han's words struck Qin Liangyu's heart like a thunderbolt.

The tragic death of her husband, Ma Qiancheng, in prison remains a deep wound in her heart, one she has always been reluctant to speak of.

Qin Liangyu swayed slightly, her knuckles turning white from clenching her fists, while Ma Xianglin beside her was flushed and breathing heavily, as if the tragic scene of his father dying with resentment was right before his eyes.

Seeing this, Jiang Han seized the opportunity to ask in return:
"Is this kind of court really worth risking your entire clan's lives and swearing loyalty to to the death, General Qin?"

Faced with Jiang Han's questioning, Qin Liangyu remained silent for a long time.

After a long pause, she took a deep breath and spoke firmly:
"The matter concerning my late husband was framed by eunuchs. The emperor may have been deceived by these villains and failed to investigate for a time."

"Leaving aside the fact that the imperial court has already exonerated my late husband, I would like to ask Commander Jiang, how can the principles of loyalty and righteousness be altered because of one person's injustice or one incident?!"

"Even if the court has made mistakes and treacherous officials are in power, my Qin family has been blessed by the country for generations, and it is our duty to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country."

"How can we commit rebellious acts simply because the court has made mistakes?"

“My late husband often said, ‘I only wish to be able to face heaven, earth, the emperor, and my parents without shame.’ So even though he died unjustly, he never spoke of rebellion.”

"If I surrender to the enemy today, how will I face my late husband in the afterlife?! How will I face my ancestors?!"

Qin Liangyu glanced at the female soldiers around her and said decisively:

"Eating the emperor's salary is the only way to be loyal to the emperor."

"I, Qin Liangyu, am deeply grateful for the country's favor. The emperor personally bestowed upon me a python robe and jade belt, and also composed a poem to praise me. My body and heart have long been devoted to the country!"

"Even if the Ming Dynasty has a thousand faults, I will not betray my master for temporary success or failure."

"A loyal minister does not serve two masters, and a virtuous woman does not marry two husbands! Today, I have no choice but to die to repay the emperor's kindness!"

"Mother! Well said!"

Ma Xianglin stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with his mother.

His eyes widened in anger, and his voice boomed like a bell:
"The one surnamed Jiang!"

"Stop wagging your tongue! Bring it on!"

"My Ma family has been loyal and virtuous for generations. We may lose our heads, shed our blood, but we will never bend our knees or lose our will!"

Looking at the resolute mother and son before him, Jiang Han's last thought of surrendering vanished.

You must die for your sovereign, and I will relieve the people from their suffering.

This is a clash between two completely different beliefs, with no possibility of reconciliation.

He slowly turned around and left the small hill.

"A rich burial."

At his command, the elite troops around him surged forward, engulfing the indigo blue behind them.

The setting sun, like blood, dyed the hills a golden-red hue.

　It's already 3:30! Damn it!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)