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

Chapter 296 Powerful Fighting Will

The three thousand Ming soldiers on the south bank were now in dire straits.

On the front was the mighty and fearless main force of the Han army, which was crossing the river with great force and their offensive was like an overwhelming wave.

From the flank and rear, Li Dingguo's 1,200 elite troops descended like divine soldiers, having completely broken through the outer defenses and were killing, burning, and creating chaos throughout the camp.

Flames continued to rise, thick smoke billowed, and deafening battle cries came from all directions, leaving the defenders completely clueless about the number of enemies.

"It's over! The stronghold has fallen! The bandits have stormed in!"

"We can't hold on! Run!"

Desperate cries spread like a plague among the defenders, completely shattering their will to fight.

The Ming soldiers scattered and fled, abandoning their weapons, throwing away their heavy helmets, and even taking off their uniforms, all in order to run faster.

The officers' shouts and suppression seemed utterly ineffective at this moment; some officers even took the lead in throwing away their command flags, loosening their armor, and joining the fleeing ranks.

The Ming army's defensive system at the Chashan Pass ferry crossing completely collapsed under the attack from both sides, resulting in a major defeat.

Li Dingguo stood amidst the ruins, calmly surveying the entire battlefield.

Seeing that the Ming army had already fled, he immediately gave the order:
"Blow the bugle! Halt advance toward the riverbank!"

"Have all units move closer to me and prepare to intercept the fleeing troops!"

Li Dingguo was well aware that since the Ming army had lost its organizational structure, there would be no further obstacles for the troops crossing the river.

The immediate task is to encircle and annihilate this Ming army and prevent them from escaping back to Guiyang.

"Quickly, split into two groups. One detachment stays in place to clear out the remaining enemy forces and control the riverbank!"

"The rest of the units, follow me and turn southeast. We must block the retreat of the fleeing soldiers before they can escape!"

In less than a quarter of an hour, the Han army in the camp had been assembled.

Three hundred men were left behind to clear out and suppress the enemy, while Li Dingguo led the main force at full speed toward the official road behind Chashan Ferry.

Li Dingguo's decision was very bold, and could even be described as reckless.

His troops, after a forced march of forty li in one night, rested for only an hour before launching a high-intensity surprise attack.

The soldiers were almost completely exhausted, and many were just enduring the Ming army's attacks.

Now, Li Dingguo is leading this exhausted army on a forced march to block the road ahead of the routed soldiers.

This would be an extremely severe test for any army, let alone a group of militiamen who had only been in the army for six months.

The best-case scenario is that the Ming army finds its retreat route blocked and chooses to surrender on the spot.

Otherwise, Li Dingguo would have faced a Ming army that outnumbered him and launched a desperate counterattack.

But his mind was made up.

If this group manages to escape and reunite with Xu Chengming in Guiyang, it's unknown how many soldiers' lives will be needed to capture the city.

At this moment, this detachment demonstrated astonishing perseverance and resilience.

Without the slightest hesitation, once they had assembled, they immediately sprinted off in a southeast direction.

The soldiers abandoned all their belongings, carrying only their weapons, and relied on their "iron feet," honed by countless mountain paths, to march swiftly along the official road and the adjacent wilderness.

Sweat had already soaked through their armor, and their lungs felt like they were on fire, but no one stopped.

This team of over 800 people maintained its basic formation and moved forward silently and swiftly.

With astonishing perseverance and speed, the soldiers marched five miles, finally getting ahead of the Ming army's routed troops and blocking them on the official road.

The location Li Dingguo chose for the ambush was an official road that narrowed from wide to narrow, with slightly higher terrain on both sides.

"Quickly! Use what you have to build a defensive line!"

"Swordsmen and shieldmen in front, spearmen providing cover, musketeers, archers, and artillerymen occupying the high ground on both sides!"

"Hurry up!"

Without much time to rest, Li Dingguo personally led people to build temporary fortifications.

The soldiers, panting heavily and having exhausted their last bit of strength, managed to set up a simple defensive line and waited for the fleeing soldiers to arrive.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Ming army's routed soldiers finally surged over in a chaotic manner.

Leading the charge were Lu Mingzhe, the garrison commander of Chashan Ferry, and his men. Seeing that things were not going well, he led his personal guards and fled the battlefield.

The group was routed and in a sorry state, only thinking about escaping back to Guiyang as soon as possible.

However, when they saw that the official road ahead had been blocked by the Han army, everyone present felt their hearts sink to the bottom.

Looking at the conspicuous "Li" character banner not far away, everyone's faces were filled with shock.

"Why are there bandits everywhere?!"

"Where exactly did they cross the river from?!"

Lu Mingzhe and the others thought it was another Han army in front of them. They never expected that this team had actually run all the way from the ferry.

Looking at the heavily fortified position ahead, Lü Mingzhe's face turned pale. He truly felt trapped with nowhere to turn!

Lu Mingzhe knew very well that they were now being pursued from behind and blocked from the front. If the main force of the Han army that had crossed the river came after them, it would all be over.

In his despair, a glint of madness flashed in his eyes.
"Brothers! We have no way out!"

"Those who don't want to die, come with me and break through!"

But before he could finish speaking, a messenger carrying a small flag suddenly appeared from the front lines.

The messenger stepped forward, approached, and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Listen up, Ming soldiers! Your cause is doomed!"

"It's not too late to pull back from the brink!"

"We guerrillas said that as long as you lay down your weapons, you can save your lives! Otherwise, once the army arrives, you will surely be reduced to ashes!"

This messenger was sent by Li Dingguo, who was trying his best to delay the inevitable.

Seeing that the Ming army was determined to fight to the death, and that his soldiers had just finished a long run and were all exhausted and weak, Li Dingguo came up with this plan.

But despite his good idea, Lu Mingzhe on the other side remained unmoved.

Lu Mingzhe interrupted the messenger sharply, resolutely refusing:

"Shut up! Stop talking nonsense!"

"A loyal minister does not serve two masters. We have received the emperor's favor for generations. How can we surrender to the enemy!"

"All soldiers, heed my command! Follow me and we will break through the pass!"

Lu Mingzhe may have said nice things, but his choice to fight to the death and refuse to surrender was by no means motivated by loyalty or righteousness.

He refused to surrender for only one reason: his wife, children, and elderly parents in Guiyang.

As early as the beginning of the deployment, General Xu Chengming, under the pretext of "eliminating worries about the rear", "invited" the wives, children, and even the entire families of the front-line generals, including Lü Mingzhe, to live in Guiyang.

If Lü Mingzhe surrenders to the traitors today, his entire family in Guiyang will likely be beheaded in the execution grounds tomorrow.

For the sake of his family's lives, he had no choice but to fight to the death.

Seeing that persuasion to surrender had failed, Li Dingguo stopped wasting words and immediately gave orders to the messenger beside him:
"Artillery ready!"

The messenger raised the command flag high, and the seven or eight crouching tiger cannons immediately adjusted their firing range, aiming their muzzles at the official road ahead.

"put!"

At his command, a series of cannon shots suddenly rang out on the official road, creating an astonishing sound!
Although they were small field guns, their power was maximized in this narrow terrain.

A hundred or so lead bullets shot out, and the Ming soldiers at the forefront fell like wheat being cut down, screaming in agony!

The Ming soldiers fled in haste, and most of them were not wearing armor. They were directly hit by lead bullets and iron plates, falling to their deaths and bleeding profusely.

The first charge was easily repelled, leaving behind only wounded soldiers and corpses groaning in agony.

Upon seeing this, Lü Mingzhe's eyes widened in fury.

He dared not delay any longer; if the pursuers arrived, he would be doomed.

He snatched the rattan shield from the guard, drew his sword, and began a general mobilization before the battle:
"Anyone who doesn't want to die, charge at me!"

"Kill these bastards!"

Having said that, Lü Mingzhe took the lead, personally donning his armor and leading his personal guards in a desperate charge towards the official road.

Li Dingguo didn't bring much ammunition on this trip because he was rushing the army.

Despite the sparse lead bullets, Lü Mingzhe led the fleeing soldiers and charged to the fortifications.

A fierce battle broke out instantly. The Han soldiers, despite their exhaustion, roared as they charged forward.

The swordsmen and shieldmen in the front row held firm and withstood the first wave of Ming army assault.
The spearmen behind them bravely thrust out their spears, piercing through the charging Ming soldiers.

On the high ground on both sides, gunners and archers, ignoring the soreness and swelling in their arms, frantically loaded and fired, sending arrows and bullets into the Ming army's ranks.

In their desperate attempt to escape, the Ming army also displayed astonishing fighting prowess.

Led by Lü Mingzhe, they disregarded casualties and launched wave after wave of attacks on the position.

The Han army's defensive line was on the verge of collapse, and there were even gaps in it several times.

Fortunately, Li Dingguo reacted quickly. He led his personal guards and rushed around like a fire brigade, heading to wherever there was danger.

The sounds of clashing armor, roars, and screams filled the air.

The Han soldiers were fighting on sheer willpower. Every moment, someone would fall in the ranks, but someone else would immediately take their place.

The defensive line on the official road was like a reef, repeatedly attacked by the Ming army. It seemed that it could be submerged at any time, but it always stood stubbornly.

Just at this critical moment, a loud bugle call finally came from behind.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of footsteps and deafening shouts of battle grew louder as they approached, quickly reaching the rear of the Ming army.

It turned out that Shao Yong had led his troops across the river, and upon learning of Li Dingguo's movements, he immediately dispatched an elite force to pursue and kill him along the official road.

"Reinforcements! Reinforcements have arrived!"

A huge cheer erupted from the Han army ranks, and their morale soared!

The arrival of fresh troops immediately turned the tide of the battle.

The Ming army, already at its last gasp, completely lost its fighting spirit when attacked from both sides.

Hearing the shouts of battle behind him and the desperate cries of his own soldiers, Lü Mingzhe knew that the situation was hopeless and felt utterly hopeless.

He desperately parried Li Dingguo's slash, and tried to make a last-ditch effort, but was pierced by several spears thrusting from the side at the same time!

He shuddered, coughed up a mouthful of blood, glanced resentfully in the direction of Guiyang, and collapsed to the ground.

With their commander killed in battle, the surrounding Ming troops dared not resist and knelt down to surrender.

In this battle of attrition, Li Dingguo's troops deserve the greatest credit, not only for leading their troops in a surprise attack on the Chashan Pass ferry.

Moreover, they exceeded expectations and successfully prevented the Ming army from escaping back to Guiyang.

At the cost of more than half of their troops being killed or wounded, these new recruits annihilated the 3,000-strong garrison at Chashan Pass, clearing the biggest obstacle on the outskirts for the next attack on Guiyang.

Zheng Zhifeng arrived late, and due to physical limitations, he did not participate in the ambush.

But from the battlefield piled high with corpses, he could still glimpse the ferocity of the battle.

Zheng Zhifeng's evaluation of this team has risen to a new level.

(End of this chapter)