Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

Forty paces is a distance that an ordinary person can cross in less than half a minute, but it is not a short distance for an army that is wearing armor and has to maintain formation.

When the order for the central army to charge came, E Shuo, who had been unable to contain himself, roared, threw away his bow and arrows which he cherished as his life, drew his long sword from his waist and charged toward the Dongning army's line.

As the Later Jin army charged forward, the distance was quickly closed. The gunners in the middle hurriedly fired their last shells and then scrambled back to the rear.

Under the onslaught of the entire army, the Later Jin formation instantly scattered, but this actually reduced the damage from the artillery fire considerably.

In the blink of an eye, they had crossed twenty paces and approached the Dongning army's formation to within thirty paces, which was the optimal range for the Later Jin heavy arrows.

A small number of Later Jin soldiers stopped and began sweeping across the Dongning army's positions with heavy arrows as terrifying as spears. The rest continued their frantic run, needing to engage in hand-to-hand combat before the enemy could unleash another volley of fire.

One of Wang Guangcai's soldiers was instantly struck; a thick arrow pierced his chest, and he was clearly going to die.

Worse still, this interference slowed down the soldiers' loading speed even further, and many of them started to shake, unable to get the bullets into the barrel no matter what they tried.

"Stay calm, take a deep breath, don't panic. These aren't the enemy, they're silver fields and military merits. Load your bullets and send them to their deaths with one shot." Wang Guangcai couldn't help but shout to comfort them, even though his own voice was trembling slightly and his heart was pounding violently.

The enemy was ten paces away, which is about fifteen meters in modern terms, when most of the soldiers finally completed the third round of reloading.

"Take three steps forward!"

Everyone stepped forward on the officer's command, stopping after three steps. At that moment, the distance between the two sides was reduced to ten steps.

After taking three steps forward, the flintlock infantrymen of Dongning Kingdom emerged from the previous smoke and clearly saw the ferocious-looking enemy before them.

Countless maces and short axes were thrown from the hands of the Later Jin soldiers, causing considerable damage to the Dongning soldiers in the front row, but no matter what the enemy did, they could not stop this round of fire.

"Raise your gun!"

"Fire!"

Upon hearing the company commander's desperate shouts, Wang Guangcai pulled the trigger without any hesitation.

As the gunshot rang out, a Jin soldier in white armor fell to the ground in front of him. At a distance of only ten paces, the flintlock musket was practically accurate.

Although less than 50% of the flintlock muskets fired in this round due to time constraints and immense pressure, the damage caused by a thousand flintlock muskets at close range was still terrifying.

The sheer volume of sound and light from such close-quarters, almost face-to-face shooting instantly shattered the morale of the Later Jin soldiers.

The collapse occurred in an instant and was subsequently unstoppable.

After seeing the effect of this round of shooting, Lin Er ordered an assault without hesitation.

As the bugle sounded, signaling the charge, Wang Guangcai charged forward with his flintlock pistol. A Jin soldier blocked his way, and without hesitation, he thrust his spear into him.

The triangular bayonet is very effective at penetrating armor; the opponent's armor simply cannot stop this attack.

The Jurchen soldier trembled and then collapsed to the ground. The bayonet was pulled from his body, leaving a diamond-shaped wound that could not close on its own, and blood continued to gush out. The soldier became motionless after a short while.

Countless pairs of military boots trampled over his head, relentlessly pursuing him along the route of the Later Jin's defeat.

At this time, Lin Er also sent out the reserve forces near the central army to pursue and kill the enemy. These reserve forces, which were originally intended to prevent the enemy from breaking through the lines, were completely useless from beginning to end.

Under the brutal bombardment, the enemy was unable to even mount a complete assault.

Eshuo fled in a disheveled state among the fleeing soldiers. During the previous volley of gunfire, it had a stroke of genius: it lay down on the ground. Although the posture was unseemly, it managed to survive. The others, however, were not so lucky.

Most of the people around him were killed, and the rest were terrified.

He experienced for the first time what defeat felt like, and he fled for his life frantically, not daring to look back at all.

At this moment, he became like those Ming soldiers he used to mock.

At this moment, just as at that moment.

Eshuo dared not turn around. Behind him, there were shouts of killing, the sound of fire, the neighing of horses, and the screams of the wounded being trampled.

He didn't know how many men were left in his Niru, nor did he know where Degelai Taiji was; in any case, he could no longer see him.

At that moment, all he wanted was to run. If he could get to the horses and get on one, he would still have a chance to live.

He had retreated before; in the early years when he followed the Great Khan in his campaigns, retreats were common. But this time was completely different from the past.

In the past, their retreat was an orderly retreat, a way to lure the enemy and regroup.

Only at this moment was he truly fleeing for his life.

The bugle call of the Dongning Army was still ringing out from behind, the sound sharp and urgent, like the cry of an eagle in the sea breeze, one after another, gradually eroding the courage of the fleeing soldiers.

When Eshuo ran to the vicinity of the herd of horses behind him, the place was already in complete chaos.

The moment the Later Jin army was defeated, the bondservant men panicked. Then the appearance of the Dongning cavalry completely broke them down, and the horses, now unrestrained, ran wildly everywhere.

At this moment, where the horses were originally stationed, there were no warhorses left, only a herd of horses running around in disarray.

Some lucky ones managed to mount their horses early and are galloping northwards.

Some people were knocked away by the chaotic horses and then trampled to death.

"My horse!" E'shuo roared, then his sharp eyes spotted a horse struggling with a servant.

This guard was clearly unfamiliar with horsemanship and did not know how to control a frightened warhorse. So even though he mounted the horse and tried to escape, he was constantly struggling with the horse in place.

E Shuo's eyes lit up, and he rushed over. He then took a step forward, grabbed the man, and yanked him to the ground.

He then mounted his horse and quickly calmed it down. He then spurred the horse and charged out of the chaotic crowd.

Only then did he dare to look back.

Ah, it was just that one glance that sent chills down his spine.

The entire main battlefield had completely collapsed. The Ming soldiers who had surrendered had long since surrendered, and the remaining taxi drivers of the Plain Blue Banner and Bordered Blue Banner were herded away like ducks.

The Dongning soldiers, dressed in blue uniforms and carrying flintlock rifles, followed behind everyone at a leisurely pace.

Whenever the Jurchen soldiers attempted to rally and counterattack, the Dongning army would immediately halt, and after several volleys of musket fire, the resistance would crumble instantly.

"It's over, it's completely over," E Shuo cried out in despair.

The Later Jin dynasty was already small in number, and these 2000 people were a devastating blow. He didn't know how many would escape, but the number certainly wouldn't be high. Keep in mind, this place was over 400 li (approximately 200 kilometers) from Haizhou.

He dared not imagine how many people would die on such a long journey.

Two months ago, in the Liaoshen battle, although the Later Jin suffered heavy losses against the Sichuan and Zhejiang troops, they ultimately won. The wounded taxi drivers were able to receive medical treatment, and the number of casualties was not large.

But now, almost all those who are injured are doomed to die, and those who failed to seize a horse have little chance of making it back.

"I must hurry back and tell the Khan about the situation here. This Dongning army is no ordinary force; we must deal with them with all our might."

Eshuo's mind raced as he rode his horse, and after a short while, they arrived at a junction of official roads.

A little ahead is Jinzhouwei, the direction the Later Jin army came from. There are supply points along the way. To the right is a mountain road, rugged and difficult to traverse. E'shuo hesitated for a moment, then turned his horse around and headed directly for the official road on the right.