How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 78 A Risk-Taking Loyalty, Beyond Words! (Thirty chapters tomorrow, please subscribe!)

On the 28th day of the first month of the first year of Chongzhen's reign, at dusk.

Behind the crenellations of Dushikou Castle, Centurion Batel, his hand on his sword, squinted as he gazed south. He was a veteran of Ligdan Khan's army, ordered to lead over a thousand of his own men, along with several hundred-man squads, to defend this formidable city—a matter of Ligdan Khan's pride and his only remaining bargaining chip!
If the Ming army were to take it back, we would be left empty-handed. How would we then ask the Ming Dynasty for a reward?
The cold wind whipped snowflakes against his face, but the Mongolian man who had followed Lindan Khan from the Liaohe River bend was completely unaware.

To the south, the Qinglong River stretched across the vast land like a gray ribbon. Seven or eight miles away on the opposite bank, a Ming army camp was under construction, with wagons and supply wagons lined up one after another, and laborers and soldiers bustling about like ants. Further away, the outline of the camp and its banners could be faintly seen.

Three or four miles ahead of the camp, several dark Ming army square formations had already lined up. Even from a distance, Batel could still feel the chilling aura emanating from them. Long spears stood like a forest, and the firearms at the front of the formation gleamed coldly in the twilight. The formation was impeccable, silent, like a rock standing firm on the snow-covered plain.

"Hmph, you're quite the poser." Batel spat, his tone disdainful, but his grip on the knife tightened unconsciously.

His gaze returned to the north bank of the Qinglong River. There, over a thousand Mongol light cavalrymen, like a pack of wolves, roamed about, wearing fur robes and carrying bows, constantly approaching the riverbank to spy before dispersing again, poised to cross the ice and head south.

Batel finally looked down at the Dushikou Castle. The walls were thick and sturdy, and behind the crenellations were his warriors. Although they weren't skilled with the muskets and cannons on the walls, they were all expert archers! With this castle as his base, he was confident that even if ten or twenty thousand Ming soldiers came, they would leave their corpses strewn across the battlefield.

Moreover, the terrain of Dushikou was not open, making it difficult for the Ming army's large force to deploy. The real elite force—the 30,000 main cavalry led by Ligdan Khan—was stationed on the north bank of the Huanglong River to the north of the city, forming a pincer movement with the castle.

"Absolutely foolproof," Batel told himself again, trying to dispel the ominous feeling in his heart.

But this ominous feeling lingered.

First, they attacked Xuanfu Town, but suffered a defeat and returned empty-handed.

Then, Wei Zhongxian, that damned eunuch, somehow bewitched the Ming army in Xuanfu, and several thousand of his elite soldiers launched a night raid on the Khan's camp, resulting in the loss of more than a thousand Mongol warriors!

Later, the two sides set up a field battle under the city of Xuanfu, and then suffered another defeat!
A few days ago, the worst news came: the Hana Tumen Wanhu Ordo had been captured again! Thousands of women and children suffered, and even the Khan's most beloved wife, Sutai Fujie, was captured by the Ming army!

Four losses in four battles!
The mighty Great Khan of the Mongols, after losing to Nurhaci, then to Huang Taiji, then to Wei Zhongxian… he even lost one of his wives! If he keeps losing, who can he lose to? Is he going to lose to the Choros tribe of the Oirat Mongols (that is, Ge Erdan's family)? He'll have nothing left to lose!
"Damn Ming dogs!" he muttered under his breath.

Just then, a strange change occurred in the Ming army camp to the south!
A series of urgent shouts and the clanging of metal on metal faintly came from the direction of the Qinglong River, breaking the silence of dusk.

Batel and the guards on the city wall were immediately drawn to the sight and peered over.

About ten miles away, on the south bank of the Qinglong River, two groups of people, one large and one small, were engaged in fierce fighting! Judging from their clothing, it seemed to be an internal conflict among the Ming army?

About thirty or forty Ming soldiers, protecting two packhorses (one of which had a woman dressed in Mongolian attire tied to it), were desperately fighting off more than ten Ming scouts. Although the woman was bound, she stood upright and did not appear particularly disheveled. Meanwhile, the Ming officer guarding her had several arrows sticking out of his back and kept turning around to fire arrows, shooting down two pursuers in succession.

“That is…” Batel’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Before long, the small team broke through the barriers and stepped onto the ice. Suddenly, a cloud of dust rose behind them, and a Ming cavalry force of several hundred men, all clad in padded armor and riding iron steeds, charged out with a roar! The two leading generals, their helmets and armor gleaming, rode tall horses and looked fierce!

What exactly happened?
……

"Traitor, don't run!" Hou Shilu drew his bow and shot another arrow, striking the back of a "defecting" officer in front of him. That officer was none other than Wang Tong, who had "gambled his life for loyalty" and was about to become "unspeakably loyal." Wang Tong felt a sharp pain in his back, groaned, and cursed Hou Shilu's mother in his heart—was this Hou guy trying to make his act real?

But Wang Tong's "loyalty" to the Ming emperor would not waver, unless he truly abandoned his wife, children, and family... Otherwise, he had to be loyal, fiercely loyal, to atone for his sins! This was a high-stakes gamble where he risked his life and the lives of his entire clan!
Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and urged his warhorse to charge forward, rushing across the ice of the Qinglong River.

Behind them, the thunderous hoofbeats of the Ming army pursued them relentlessly!
Meanwhile, the menacing cavalry of the Chahan tribe on the north bank of the Qinglong River, whether out of fear or confusion, all smoothly dodged the approaching Ming cavalry in their full armor, without a single one attempting to stop them.
"Look! They're coming for us!" the Mongol soldiers on the city wall exclaimed. The thirty or forty "defected" Ming soldiers, protecting the women on their packhorses, rushed across the icy river as if their lives depended on it, heading straight for the south gate! Hundreds of Ming cavalry followed closely behind, also spreading out their formation and stepping onto the ice.

In the blink of an eye, the group of people in front had rushed to within a hundred paces of the south gate!
The defenders on the city wall stirred, and their bows and arrows instinctively pointed downwards.

"Don't fire arrows!" Batel shouted urgently, his eyes fixed on the upright figure on the packhorse. It was a Mongolian noblewoman who looked a bit like Sutai Fujin!

At this moment, among the group below the city, an officer (Wang Shiqin) with three arrows stuck in his back shouted towards the city walls in broken Mongolian:

"Warriors on the city wall! I am Wang Shiqin of Xuanfu! This is Wang Tong! We have been implicated by Zhu Chunchen, and the court wants to punish us! We rescued Su Tai's wife and have come to seek refuge with the Great Khan! We beg the Great Khan to take us in!"

As if to bear witness, the woman on the packhorse (Sutai) suddenly raised her head, revealing a face of beauty rarely seen on the grasslands, and shouted in Mongolian: "Listen up, people on the city wall! I, the Princess Consort, am here! Open the city gates at once!"

Batel was all too familiar with that voice and its imposing manner—it was Su Taifujin, who was in charge of the Hana Tumen Wanhu Ordo!
"It's the Princess Consort! It really is the Princess Consort!" A clamor erupted from the city walls. Many warriors from the Chahan tribe recognized this "Third Princess Consort" of Ligdan Khan—that Ligdan Khan relied on his wives to govern his people; his eight princess consorts each managed eight ordu (administrative units), and they frequently appeared in public. Moreover, Sutai was the most beautiful of the eight princess consorts, known as the second most beautiful woman in the Yehe tribe. She was a beauty with a pretty face, a graceful figure, and captivating charm.
Batel's mind went blank. The Princess Consort had really been rescued?!
Is there something fishy going on here?

As Batel hesitated, Su Taifujin shouted again from below the city wall: "Open the gate quickly... Ming Gouzi is coming soon! If I die here, the Khan will not forgive you!"

The princess consort is definitely real, and the Ming soldiers protecting her are few—only thirty or forty men, half of whom are wounded by arrows. Even if there's a trap, with so few men, they would be no match for over a thousand Mongol warriors once they enter Dushikou City! This gamble is worth taking!
"Open the side gate!" Batel finally gritted his teeth and gave the order. "Archers, suppress the pursuers! Quickly!"

The heavy gate creaked open, and the iron-clad wooden door was pushed open a crack.

Wang Shiqin and Wang Tong exchanged a glance; their moment to risk their lives and serve their country had arrived! The two spurred their horses forward and charged headlong into the gate of life and death!
Just as the last assassin squeezed through, Cao Wenzhao, the commander of the Imperial Guard's vanguard, who was chasing behind, fired an arrow that pierced the throat of a Mongol soldier who was about to close the gate! The soldier fell to the ground before he could even scream, and blood splattered onto the city gate.

"Kill!" A captain of the Imperial Guard roared as he leaped off his horse, brandishing his sword and leading more than ten fierce soldiers straight towards the gate! They were equally loyal, so loyal that they were willing to risk their lives!

"Stop them!" Batel, on the city wall, was both shocked and furious, and urgently ordered arrows and stones to be fired.

But it was too late.

Because inside the doorway, thirty or forty Ming Dynasty "loyal ministers" had already squeezed in, risking their lives.

Wang Tong grinned maliciously, pulled a short axe from under his saddle, and cleaved the throat of the nearest Mongol soldier in two, spraying hot blood all over his face: "Brothers! The day is the day to atone for our sins and show our loyalty! If we win this gamble, we will be loyal subjects, heroes!"

Those who followed Wang Shiqin and Wang Tong in "pleading loyalty" were all their most trusted retainers. They might not have been particularly loyal to Emperor Chongzhen, but they were absolutely devoted to their own commanders, willing to risk their lives for them!

Dozens of elite warriors drew their concealed blades and immediately engaged the Mongol defenders in a fierce melee. Within the narrow doorway, long spears and lances were ineffective, so the two sides clashed with scimitars, waist knives, and short axes. Wang Shiqin plunged his blade into the stomach of a Mongol soldier, twisting it to reveal his intestines. The soldier screamed and fell, the Mongol soldiers behind him trampling over his bloodied corpse as they charged forward.

"Block the city gates!" Batel roared, his eyes red with fury, realizing he'd been tricked. "Fire arrows! Shoot those Ming dogs to death... Don't worry about the Fujin!"

Chaos erupted inside the city gates, the crowd jostling and clashing amidst the flashing blades and bloodshed. Mongol warriors fell in droves. Wang Shiqin, Wang Tong, and their elite troops, all skilled warriors clad in double armor, suffered fewer losses, but their numbers were too small to withstand the onslaught. The Mongol soldiers on the city walls, disregarding the risk of accidentally injuring Su Tai's wife, unleashed a barrage of arrows. Soon, a third of their elite troops lay dead in pools of blood. Wang Shiqin and Wang Tong, also wounded, fought on relentlessly. They knew this was their only chance to turn the tide; defeat meant certain death and the survival of their clans; victory meant loyalty and honor! Either way, it was a win-win situation!
Outside the city, Hou Shilu led two or three hundred of his men to disperse the surrounding Chahan cavalry. Cao Wenzhao then led his troops to dismount, shields raised, and charge fiercely toward the city gate! Arrows rained down from the city walls, and Ming soldiers fell one after another, but those who came after stepped over the corpses of their comrades, fighting desperately forward.

At this moment, on the southern horizon, the dull, thunderous sound of hooves grew louder and louder as it approached! A huge banner bearing the character "尤" and a military flag reading "Imperial Guard" swept in!

You Shiwei personally led three or four thousand iron cavalry, rushing in like a flood bursting its banks!

The third update is coming soon! I'll finish writing about the Battle of Dushikou! The next update will be a VIP chapter. See you tomorrow at 12 PM. Please subscribe, at least give me a first-day subscription as encouragement!
(End of this chapter)