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

Chen Feng rode through the fog all night. He originally intended to retreat westward back to Jinzhou, but he found that the area westward was full of Later Jin cavalry. Unless he abandoned his horse and spoils of war, it would be virtually impossible for him to break through the Later Jin's defenses.

Chen Feng recalled his instructor's account of the Battle of Dalinghe, where on September 16th, Huang Taiji led Dodo and Tong Yangxing to intercept Qiu Hejia's reinforcements.

Huang Taiji personally led 200 Bayara to scatter 7000 Ming soldiers. In the end, only a few hundred Ming soldiers escaped back to Jinzhou, and he himself was obviously not among these few hundred Ming soldiers.

Subsequently, Jin fully implemented the strategy of besieging the strongholds and attacking reinforcements throughout the entire campaign, thoroughly eliminating the fortified villages around the Daling River.

So perhaps he could go north and detour around the edge of the Great Wall back to Jinzhou. If that didn't work, he could go around to the outside of the pass via Yizhou and then back inside the pass. There was still a chance of survival.

Yizhou is located in the heartland of the Later Jin, so the defenses there should be more relaxed than around this battlefield.

Thinking of this, Chen Feng simply reined in his horse and headed north, crossing the Xiaoling River.

The journey in the latter half of the night was exceptionally smooth; they encountered no enemy troops, not even routed soldiers.

The thick fog didn't completely dissipate until nearly noon. Chen Feng reined in his horse and found himself in a rolling hill, finally having time to stop and determine his location.

He climbed the nearest rocky slope, gazed into the distance, and felt his heart sink.

Just twenty miles to the southeast, a tall city can be vaguely seen; it must be Jinzhou, the city that He Mingxiao has been longing for.

He rode for a night and a half, thinking he was taking a detour to the north, but in reality he was just going around in a pathetic circle on the outskirts of the battlefield.

On the plains surrounding the city, the black dots of the Later Jin cavalry moved about everywhere. It was a miracle that I was able to move among them last night without encountering any enemies.

Having a brief respite, Chen Feng's mind became much more active.

Having been given a second chance at life, as a transmigrator from the future, I naturally need to accomplish something to live up to my title as a transmigrator.

It's absolutely impossible for him to travel back to the late Ming Dynasty and defect to the Qing Dynasty. Putting aside everything else, he couldn't stand the hairstyle.

As for Fu Ming, he had no sense of belonging to the Ming Dynasty, and by 1631 the Ming Dynasty was already in dire straits. It would be better to start from scratch to save it.

He also didn't like the path of joining the peasant uprising army. The army supported by refugees was difficult to control, and the various rebel kings had committed too much killing.

So there aren't many options left, and the one that best suits Chen Feng's wishes is to establish a border town regime.

"Perhaps I could learn from Wu Sangui or Zu Dashou? I just don't know if I'll ever meet Chen Yuanyuan."

Chen Feng shook his head. It was too early to think about these things now. The most important thing right now was to survive the chaos in Dalinghe. Only the living had the right to think about the future.

Now that he has no teammates and no map navigation, relying solely on the geographical knowledge he gained in his previous life, it is virtually impossible for him to escape this predicament.

Therefore, what he needs most right now is to find teammates like the Ming army's night scouts who are familiar with the mountains and rivers, and this teammate has arrived just as he was thinking about it.

He was observing the terrain when the commotion in the valley below caught his eye.

Several Later Jin soldiers surrounded a tall, thin figure dressed as a Ming person, pushing, shoving, and cursing.

Chen Feng squinted, his hand resting on the shotgun, but he quickly released it; he had gotten used to using the shotgun as a sniper rifle.

He looked at his own Bayara battle robe, thinking that his attire might create an opportunity.

He put on his helmet with plumes to cover his face and hair, and hid the other two horses and excess equipment.

He carried only a knife, a musket, and a pistol, and slowly rode his horse down into the valley.

Disguising himself and infiltrating was something he was very familiar with in his previous life.

Recalling the appearance of the Bayara leader, he deliberately controlled the horse's pace to be slow and deliberate. The movements did not need to be fast, but they had to be accompanied by a cold indifference that held the power of life and death.

————————————————————————————————————————

Meng Changgeng knelt on the cold mud, surrounded by five Later Jin soldiers who looked him over like livestock.

A Han Chinese bondservant whispered in his master's ear, his face plastered with a fawning, obsequious smile.

Meng Changgeng's throat was dry as he repeated the survival rhetoric he had practiced countless times: "I am literate and a scholar from the fourth year of the Tianqi reign, familiar with the mountains and rivers... I have heard that the Great Khan treats scholars with respect, and I am willing to serve him like a dog or a horse, begging my master to take me in..."

When the translator finished speaking, the leading soldier grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and said a few words to his companions in broken Chinese mixed with Manchu. The group immediately burst into laughter.

The bondservant turned back, a hint of arrogance in his eyes, "The master said that although you are weak, you have a fair complexion. You can shave your head, wash it clean, and send it to our Niru Ezhen as a 'haha bead'."

Meng Changgeng's mind went blank, and his face turned deathly pale.

He knew some Manchu and knew that "haha bead" meant male prostitute.

A mixture of extreme fear and twisted shame rose from the bottom of his heart, and his face contorted into a pretzel.

Just then, two soldiers grabbed his shoulders from the left and right, while another soldier pulled out a knife to shave his head.

He struggled instinctively, but was held down by two Later Jin soldiers, and could only watch helplessly as a lock of hair fell down.

Just as he was wailing in despair, the sound of horses' hooves approached at a leisurely pace.

The pressure on him loosened slightly, and everyone turned to look.

As the fog dissipated on the hillside, a rider slowly approached.

The newcomer wore a yellow-and-red-trimmed Bayara battle robe, his warhorse was covered with a fine horse coat, and he wore the iconic high-plumed helmet. His figure was as steady as a mountain.

Although he wasn't wearing armor, his posture while controlling the horse and his indifferent eyes were more oppressive than any armored person. They were the eyes of someone who had truly experienced mountains of corpses and seas of blood and regarded human life as worthless.

Several Later Jin soldiers were clearly taken aback, then hurriedly released Meng Changgeng, knelt down, and spoke hurried Manchu honorifics.

The servant lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

Meng Changgeng sat slumped, his heart pounding, unsure whether it was a blessing or a curse.

Then he saw that the Nayara increased the speed of his horse, raised his hand, and in his hand was a musket with the fuse already lit!

"Bang!"

Gunfire erupted! The soldier kneeling at the front of the camp suddenly leaned back, a cloud of blood bursting from his chest, and fell to the ground without uttering a sound.

In a flash, Naba Yala had already slung the empty-fired musket back behind his back, then took out a hand cannon with a lit match and fired it again, almost touching the face of the second soldier!

The bullet ripped open the soldier's skull, and the body fell to the ground with a thud.

The third man reacted swiftly, roaring as he thrust his spear forward, but the man named Bayara had already drawn his sword, dodging the spear tip. His long sword swept along the spear shaft, sending the soldier's four fingers flying with a scream. Then, the blade spun, and a fine head was severed.

The whole process was swift and smooth, and three people were killed in a short time.

The last soldier reacted a little slower, but he too howled and thrust his spear forward, ready to stab.

Seeing that things were not going well, Meng Changgeng suddenly pounced forward and grabbed the other man's waist tightly. The soldier roared and struggled, his spear tip waving wildly.

Another flash of light, and a head flew off in anger, its skull spurting out and splattering blood all over Meng Changgeng's face.

The world suddenly fell silent, leaving only the lingering smells of blood and gunpowder.

The Han Chinese bondservant knelt on the ground, warm fluid flowing between his legs, kowtowing repeatedly: "Master, spare me! Master, spare me! This servant is also Han Chinese, I was forced... I am willing to return to the Ming Dynasty, willing to serve you like a beast of burden..."

Meng Changgeng wiped the blood from his face, stood up unsteadily, picked up the small knife with hair still stuck to it, and walked over to the man in charge of clothing.

The servant raised his head, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes: "Master, we are all Han..."

The blade pierced his heart, and the hopeful gaze of the constable turned to terror.

Meng Changgeng stabbed the body several times, watching it slowly slump down.

He looked up at the person who had saved his life; the person was wiping the blood off the knife with the deceased's clothes, the movements swift and steady.

Then, the other person took off their helmet.

A young, cold face appeared before me; judging from his hairstyle, he was Han Chinese.

"Grab your weapons! Let's go!" The other person's voice was hoarse and deep, with an unquestionable commanding tone, and the accent was strange and hard to recognize.

Meng Changgeng nodded subconsciously, quickly gathered up the several swords and bows on the ground, and jogged after them.

The other party seemed to be poor at horsemanship and was not very fast; Meng Changgeng was able to keep up with them.