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

Chapter 89 Slaying Li Bei
He Huchen received news of Wang Chengen's defeat the following morning.

As dawn broke, he had no interest in appreciating the sunrise; instead, he felt an unusual sense of unease in his chest.

He waved his hand to dismiss his personal guards and sat in the main hall, sighing repeatedly.

How did a perfectly good army of eight thousand men dwindle to just over four thousand after all that fighting?
This also includes Li Bei's troops stationed in Tuyanchuan.

He only had 2,800 men at his disposal, barely enough to defend the city.

However, He Huchen did not dare to recall Li Bei from Tuyanchuan.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but there was simply no food left in Yan'an Prefecture.

Li Bei's troops were stationed near Tuyanchuan, and at least they could barely survive on supplies from the neighboring Yanchuan County.

If they rashly transfer him back to Yan'an Prefecture, and there is no food, they will probably starve to death before the rebels even attack the city.

At that time, the rebels won't have to do anything but surround Yan'an Prefecture and wait for the government troops to break out on their own.

However, even if He Huchen doesn't actively seek help from Li Bei, Jiang Han will force him to do so.

Jiang Han had already gathered his troops and swaggered back to the outskirts of Yan'an Prefecture.

He adopted a siege posture and launched a fierce attack on the North Gate, Anding Gate.

He first ordered the cannons to fire simultaneously, severely suppressing the defenders on the city wall, and then sent men to push shield carts to ram the city gate.

More than a dozen heavy cannons roared in turn, shells rained down, and the corner towers on the city wall collapsed with a crash, billowing smoke and flying bricks and stones.

Seeing the fierce firepower of the rebels, the defenders on the city wall dared not linger and had to retreat temporarily.

Only after the cannon fire subsided did they dare to grit their teeth and rush forward to defend themselves.

Jiang Han was in no hurry to build ladders to climb the city wall. He just kept attacking the city gate, and several times the city gate was so badly damaged that it almost broke through.

Seeing that there was no hope of holding out, He Huchen summoned Ai Mu and ordered him to lead troops to launch a night raid on the camp.

But Jiang Han had already anticipated this move, and he had set up sentry posts at all four city gates.

If there is any disturbance at the city gate, the sentries will immediately light a beacon to notify Jiang Han at the north gate.

Aimu led his troops out of the city several times to launch night raids, but they were all driven back by Shao Yong and Li Laowai, resulting in heavy casualties.

After several failed attacks, He Huchen dared not send anyone out to their deaths again.

If a few more people die, the rebels might start using ladders to attack the city.

Left with no other choice, he gritted his teeth and ordered his fast cavalry to rush to Tuyanchuan and send Li Bei's troops back to reinforce them immediately.

"Lord Jiang, it's done!"

"He Huchen has sent cavalry to seek help from Li Bei!"

With a beaming smile, Shao Yong rushed into the central command tent.

Jiang Han was taken aback upon hearing this, then slammed his hand on the table and stood up:

"really?"

Shao Yong nodded repeatedly:

"Absolutely true! We just arrested a few messenger cavalrymen, and after a separate interrogation, they all confessed!"

He Huchen ordered Li Bei to return to Yan'an Prefecture immediately and demanded that he arrive within three days, or he would be punished for being late.

“We deliberately let a few escape and sent them to deliver messages.”

Jiang Han laughed heartily upon hearing this and instructed Shao Yong:
"Okay! Go and call them all over, I have tasks to assign!"

Shao Yong nodded and quickly went to find the other officers.

Before long, the officers and soldiers in charge of the troops returned to the central command tent.

Jiang Han scanned the crowd and said in a deep voice:

"He Huchen has already ordered Li Bei's troops to come to our aid, and now I must also divide my forces!"

"Pillar! Blackie!"

The two stepped forward in response: "Here!"

Jiang Han looked at the two of them and said in a deep voice:

"I'll leave you 1,500 men, plus all the heavy artillery!"

"You must guard the city gates and not let He Huchen leave the city even a step!"

"I will personally lead two thousand men, together with Shao Yong and Li Laowai, to confront Li Bei's troops!"

Upon receiving the order, everyone responded in unison:
"Yes!"

Jiang Han didn't waste any words. He waved his hand, signaling them to go their separate ways and prepare.

The next day, before dawn, Jiang Han led two groups of men and quietly left the camp, disappearing into the vast night.

The remaining pillars and black pieces did not adopt a defensive stance.

They continued their previous offensive tactics, relentlessly attacking the gates of Yan'an Prefecture.

The city's defenders did the same thing as before: they retreated from the city walls and waited until the cannons finished firing before coming up to drive away the shield carts at the city gate.

They had no idea that the rebel army outside the city had been reduced by more than half.

Upon receiving He Huchen's urgent plea for help, Li Bei dared not delay and immediately ordered his troops to break camp and prepare to rush to Yan'an Prefecture to relieve the siege.

This famous general from Shaanxi was experienced in suppressing bandits. In the second year of Chongzhen's reign, he gained fame for his campaign against the Lao Hui people, driving them from Ganquan all the way out of the Great Wall.

Historical records state that Bei Jian led 200 elite cavalrymen in a two-day and two-night pursuit, covering 400 li to reach Baoanning Pass, where they were defeated in succession, earning over 1,000 merits.

Li Bei's troops reacted quickly, and were ready to go in less than half a day.

They traveled from Yanchuan along the official road all the way to Yan'an Prefecture without daring to stop for a moment.

Meanwhile, Jiang Han led two thousand men, searching along the official road for traces of Li Bei's tribe. As expected, the two groups clashed at Qinghua River.

A war is inevitable.

The two sides deployed their forces on the east bank of the Qinghua River and launched an attack on each other.

The two sides had equal numbers of troops, and there were no ambushes or flanking maneuvers; it was a pure, head-on confrontation.

Li Bei deployed his troops, with the five marshals' flags fluttering in the wind at the center, accompanied by the resounding of drums and horns.

His troops were quickly divided into eight infantry detachments, two cavalry detachments, and a central reserve force.

Eight infantry sentries were arranged in a double formation, with four in front and four behind in two rows, staggered and as steady as a rock.

The reserve force remained stationary in the center, while two cavalry sentries guarded the flanks, providing cover for the infantry's cross-advance.

Jiang Han, who was not far away, nodded as he looked at Li Bei's formation. This was the Ming army's most commonly used "one-two" stacked formation, also known as the "pig-slaughtering formation".

Its main selling point is to be watertight and solid.

Jiang Han lowered his binoculars and shouted to the messenger beside him:

"Pass on my orders!"

"Leave 300 men as reserves, and the rest of the troops, form ranks and charge forward!"

At his command, Jiang Han's troops quickly changed formation, also forming a double formation, and pushed forward step by step towards the government troops in front.

The scene was magnificent and spectacular, but the tactics were simple and direct.

As the infantry formations slowly advanced, the two sides clashed when they reached a distance of 800 meters.

The front-line infantry took their positions, providing cover with bows and arrows and firearms;

The rear infantry would then advance through the gaps to take over the cover, and the rear ranks would become the front ranks, advancing in this alternating manner.

The cavalry provided support on both flanks, protecting the infantry squares.

When they had gone within a hundred paces, the battle situation suddenly changed.

The rear infantry suddenly accelerated forward, closing to within fifty paces, and fired one last round of gunfire for cover.
Immediately, the cavalry on both flanks and the infantry behind them charged together, hurling javelins and thunderbolts into the enemy ranks.

Jiang Han's troops were winning battle after battle, their morale was high, and with their superior equipment and ample supplies, their strength far surpassed that of Li Bei's troops.

Even so, the battle was still extremely difficult.

At the start of the battle, Jiang Han's troops, with their ample ammunition and arrows, firmly suppressed Li Bei's vanguard.

However, Li Bei's troops were not to be underestimated. Seeing that their long-range firepower was insufficient, they immediately accelerated their advance.

The vanguard braved a hail of arrows and bullets, charging headlong into Jiang Han's formation.

Seeing this, Li Laowai led his foot soldiers to meet them.

The two sides clashed in close combat, and for a moment, blades flashed and blood and flesh flew everywhere.

The government troops' vanguard, wielding double maces, swung them around the crowd, smashing the skulls of infantrymen who came forward to attack with a single blow.
Li Laowai's soldiers were not to be outdone.

Upon seeing this, squad leader Deng Lin quickly led a team of gunners forward, surrounded the government troops' vanguard, and stabbed him through the neck.

For a time, both sides were enraged and fought fiercely, suffering casualties on both sides, with neither side able to gain the upper hand.

But as time went on, Li Bei's troops began to falter. His elite vanguard was almost wiped out, and his other soldiers were constantly being surrounded and killed.

Seeing that his army was about to be routed, Li Bei, who was in the center of the army, could no longer sit still.

With a wave of his hand, he led his central reserve troops forward.

Jiang Han saw it from afar, sneered, and led the central army to meet it.

As long as we eliminate this reserve force, we will have won the battle!
As soon as Li Bei's reserve force moved, it was spotted by Shao Yong, who led the left-wing cavalry away from the battlefield and charged toward Li Bei's reserve force.

Meanwhile, Jiang Han's central army ran head-on into Li Bei's central reserve force.

Shao Yong's cavalry struck Li Bei's central army like a heavy hammer, instantly killing several cavalrymen on the flank.

Jiang Han, on the other hand, took the lead, slashing through the crowd with his sword, cutting them down one by one.

The morale of the government troops gradually collapsed, and more and more government troops threw down their weapons and knelt down to beg for surrender.

Gradually, only Li Bei and his servants remained on the battlefield, struggling to hold on.

After several more rounds of attacks, Li Bei's servants fell one after another, leaving Li Bei alone to fight.

He looked around, his eyes showing neither anger nor despair, only a trace of resentment.

He didn't lose this battle unjustly.

In terms of both weaponry and morale, these rebels far surpassed his troops.

Both sides had the same number of troops and identical formations, but his troops just couldn't win.

Heaven intends to destroy him; it is not due to any fault in battle.

But he was unwilling to surrender to the rebels, fearing it would implicate his family.

Li Bei wiped his saber and then launched his final charge.

"boom!"

With a gunshot, Li Bei, his eyes blazing with resentment, fell to the ground.

"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"

With the last government troops surrendering, the battle ended in Jiang Han's victory.

In this battle, Jiang Han decisively defeated Li Bei's forces and killed Li Bei on the spot!

　It's 3 AM, and I've finally managed to finish this chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)