Late Ming Dynasty: From the Defeated Soldiers at Daling River to Ascending the Throne

Just when Chen Feng thought he was going to die here today.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow shot horizontally from the direction of the hillside like a meteor!

The arrow pierced the right temple of the Mongol cavalryman who was dragging Chen Feng with perfect accuracy, and the arrowhead, with red and white residue, emerged from below his left ear!

The cavalryman fell straight down without uttering a sound, and the lasso in his hand immediately came loose.

Chen Feng felt the tension on his neck loosen and immediately untied the noose around his neck.

He collapsed to the ground, gasping for fresh air, feeling stars flashing before his eyes and a constant taste of blood rising from deep in his throat.

A rider charged down the hillside like the wind, his bow drawn to its fullest extent and arrows flying in rapid succession. With two sharp "whoosh" sounds, two other Mongol cavalrymen who were about to draw their bows and aim at Chen Feng were forced to duck and take cover. The situation around Chen Feng eased.

After sheathing his bow, the knight drew his gleaming saber and spurred his horse, charging directly into the scattered ranks of the Mongol cavalry.

A flash of light, and a Mongol soldier was unable to parry in time. His arm was slashed open, revealing the bone, and he screamed as he retreated.

"Zhao Sheng, commander of the Jinzhou Night Raid!" The newcomer reined in his horse, stood between Chen Feng and the enemy cavalry, sword drawn, his voice booming through the ravine, "Coming to their aid!"

Chen Feng coughed a few times, looked at Zhao Sheng who was about to make a heroic entrance, and laughed, "Damn it, didn't you run away?"

The situation reversed in an instant.

Albanian was both surprised and furious. Just when he was about to succeed, such a tough opponent suddenly appeared!

Judging from his skill and masterful horsemanship, he was definitely an elite veteran of the Ming army's night watchmen.

Two of our soldiers were killed and one wounded in an instant. Although the enemy's formation was scattered, the valiant armored soldier and two archers were still alive, and now they had been reinforced. If this continued, our casualties might continue to increase.

He made a quick decision, pinching his tongue between two fingers and letting out a sharp whistle: "The wind's getting strong, let's get out of here!"

Upon hearing the whistle, the remaining three Mongol cavalrymen turned their horses around without hesitation and retreated into the distance, covering dozens of paces in the blink of an eye.

Chen Feng was helped to his feet by Hao Dadao, a shocking bloodstain ring around his neck.

He saw the enemy trying to escape, and a surge of blood rushed to his head.

We can't let them get away like this! These capture soldiers are familiar with the terrain. If they escape, they will attract more scouts, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

"Zhao Sheng!" he shouted hoarsely, "Find a way... to keep them here! We can't let them escape!"

Zhao Sheng was drawing his bow, preparing to shoot at the fleeing enemy, when he heard Chen Feng's shout. His eyes flashed, and he instantly understood Chen Feng's intention.

Upon seeing these men, he recognized them as Mongols. Only Mongol soldiers capturing prisoners would wear the rags of the Ming army; the Tartar soldiers were far better equipped than them.

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning, and a sly smile appeared on his lips.

He suddenly reined in his horse, which neighed and reared up. Alban turned to look at him.

Zhao Sheng pointed his left index finger at the waning moon hanging in the sky and shouted in broken Mongolian, "Tengri! (Eternal Heaven)!"

Then, in a clearly mocking tone, he roared at the retreating figures in Chinese: "Get out of here! You cowards of the Eternal Heaven! You only deserve to be the dogs of the Jurchens! Your dog blood has tainted the golden bloodline!"

Upon hearing this, Alban and the others, who had already run some distance, visibly paused.

"Tengri" is the belief of the Mongols. If someone points at the moon and utters this phrase, it is considered an insult to them, calling them "forsaken by heaven."

Alban's face contorted instantly, his heart surging with rage.

He abruptly reined in his horse, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at the lone Ming scout, letting out a beast-like roar: "Black Gold!!! (Kill)!"

The four Mongol cavalrymen roared and turned their horses around, abandoning all retreat and charging towards Zhao Sheng with a do-or-die attitude.

They want to tear this Han dog who insulted the Eternal Heaven to shreds!

Chen Feng's spirits lifted. Although he didn't know what Zhao Sheng was shouting, the taunt skill had indeed drawn the boss's aggro.

"Back to formation! Stabilize the formation!" He pushed Hao Dadao aside, picked up a curved sword dropped by a dead Mongol soldier, and staggered back into the barely regrouped circular formation.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Sheng let out a strange cry and began to spur his horse to retreat in an arc. He continuously harassed the four enraged enemy riders, leading them step by step into his own "circular formation".

"Stabs horse legs! They'll prick you!"

Amidst the chaotic shouts, the wounded Mongol cavalryman lost control of his horse and crashed into the edge of the circular formation.

The warhorse was pierced in the abdomen by several randomly thrusting sharpened wooden sticks and fell directly into the formation. Two fleeing soldiers were knocked down by the powerful force, and the cavalrymen on their horses were also thrown off.

The fleeing soldiers gave the Mongol cavalryman no chance, and began to stab and hack wildly with rusty knives and broken spears, killing the cavalryman instantly.

Hao Dadao roared and pounced on another rider like a raging bear, actually pulling the rider off his horse!

The two men rolled over and wrestled. The cavalryman's horse was startled and knocked down a fleeing soldier, stomping on the soldier's face several times.

Chen Feng seized the opportunity, pounced behind the Mongol soldier who was wrestling with Hao Dadao, grabbed the Mongol soldier's braid from the back of his head, and directly touched his neck!

Zhao Sheng circled around the perimeter, his arrows never missing their mark, and he shot down another rider.

The last Mongol soldier, seeing the situation was dire, turned his horse to flee, but was shot in the back by an arrow from Aji, who had recovered his breath, and fell from his horse.

Only Arbanayan remained. Seeing that his men had been almost all killed or wounded, fear finally appeared in his eyes. Only then did he remember that he still had a cannon in his arms. He turned his horse around and used a flint to light the tinder next to the cannon's fuse.

Did Aji, who had been lurking on the periphery looking for an opportunity, let this chance slip by?

The bowstring twanged again, and a sharp arrow pierced Alban's hand holding the cannon, pinning it to the saddle!

The firecracker slipped from his hand and, instead of soaring into the night sky, exploded on the ground, emitting a dazzling flash and crackling sound.

Alban let out a miserable howl, daring not to linger any longer. He lashed the horse's rump with his uninjured hand, lay flat on its back, and galloped desperately into the depths of the South Gully.

"Chase!" Chen Feng ordered in a hoarse voice.

Without hesitation, Aji spurred his horse and gave chase. The sound of hooves quickly faded into the darkness.

The bottom of the ravine fell silent instantly, save for heavy breathing and painful groans.

The cold moonlight shone on this small slaughterhouse, and of the twelve men in the group, less than half were still standing.

The horses' hooves trampled the surrounding grass into a mess, and the stench of blood filled the air.

Zhao Sheng slowly rode back to the front of the battle line. A few drops of blood were splattered on his face. His gaze swept over the messy battlefield, over the terrified and defeated soldiers, and finally landed on Chen Feng, whose neck was covered in blood and flesh but who stood upright.

Chen Feng looked at him, nodded, and said nothing.

Meng Changgeng also spurred his horse back, grabbing Zhao Sheng by the collar on horseback, "You son of a bitch! You..."

Before Meng Changgeng could continue cursing, Zhao Sheng swiftly threw Meng Changgeng off his horse.

Seeing that the two were about to fight, Chen Feng quickly stopped them. The two glared at each other and began to clean up the battlefield.

Hao Dadao roared, "We won!"

The remaining defeated soldiers also cheered.

Chen Feng couldn't laugh. In this encounter, four of them died, and everyone present except Zhao Sheng and Meng Changgeng was injured, two of them seriously. It was a terrible victory.

"Quickly clean up the battlefield! Take everything usable!" Chen Feng said, "Take the dead brothers too!"

Everyone glanced at Chen Feng and silently began their work.

Silently, the group picked up the knives, arrows, and dry rations from the corpses, and hastily wrapped their dead comrades in the leather robes they had stripped off, then tied them to the horses.

Aji galloped back, leading a warhorse behind him. A man was bound across the saddle; it was Arbanayan, whose hand was pierced by an arrow and who was cursing under his breath.

In the end, Zhao Sheng and Aji recovered three warhorses and confiscated six sets of relatively intact equipment.

After giving the wounded a simple first aid, the fleeing soldiers disappeared back into the deep night, staggering towards Dadingbao.