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

Sun Ergou was awakened by the commotion in the village.

He slept in a haystack next to the woodshed, his left arm wrapped in thick cloth, the wound still throbbing.

He vaguely heard someone running outside, so he sat up, put on his cotton-padded coat, and went out the door.

"What's wrong?" He grabbed a villager who was running past.

"The southeast side has been bombed! Old Qin is taking some men down the mountain to check it out!" The man said and ran off.

Sun Ergou was stunned for a moment. An explosion? What explosion? Wasn't Commander Qian and the others heading southeast?

He turned and ran back, quickly rummaging through the haystack and finding the musket and pistol Chen Feng had left behind, still with gunpowder and lead bullets.

He rushed out of the woodshed and bumped right into Old Pu.

"Dog, what are you doing?" Old Pu stopped him.

"Go down the mountain!" Sun Ergou walked past him.

"Your injury hasn't healed yet!" Old Pu grabbed his left arm, causing Sun Ergou to wince in pain. "Don't move! In the dead of night, do you know what's going on down the mountain?"

"I don't care what the situation is!" Sun Ergou shook off his hand. "They said the southeast side was bombed, and Commander Qian went there. I have to go find him!"

Old Pu grabbed him again, "Commander Qian and your Master Hao went together, what could possibly happen? Go back and stay put!"

"I'm worried! What if something happens to Commander Yi?" Sun Ergou tried to break free from Old Pu's hand, but he found that the old man's grip was incredibly strong and he couldn't break free at all.

"Are you guaranteed to meet them if you go down the mountain? What if you miss them?"

Sun Ergou was stumped by the question, but after thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "If I don't run into them, I'll just come back. Anyway, I'm going!"

Old Pu tightened his grip, "You're still injured, what can you do there?"

"I can load medicine for Commander Qianzong." Sun Ergou waved his musket in front of Old Putou.

As he spoke, he forcefully broke free from Old Pu's hand and ran towards the assembled villagers.

Old Pu sighed, picked up a long spear, and followed.

Qin Shouyi left Zheng Sanfu at home to guard the village, while he led more than ten villagers, carrying torches, and hurried southeast.

The mountain road is difficult to travel, and it's even slower at night.

They crossed two mountain ridges and passed through a forest, arriving at a cliff called Dalingya, southeast of Dadingbao.

By this time, the sky was already turning white, and the torches had gone out.

Sun Ergou followed in the group, his left arm aching and sweating, but he gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound.

He carried the musket on his back and the pistol tucked into his waistband, constantly touching it as if afraid of losing it.

"Old Qin, let's not go any further, or we'll reach Qilihepu!" someone said.

Qin Shouyi pointed ahead, "Go a little further, and from that cliff over there you can see what's happening to the southeast..."

Before he could finish speaking, a shout of battle came from below the cliff in front of him.

Everyone stopped in their tracks at the same time.

Qin Shouyi waved his hand, "Be quiet, follow me!"

They crouched low and crept along the ridge toward the direction from which the sound came.

After walking about a hundred steps, you'll reach the Great Ridge Cliff ahead. Below the cliff is a gentle slope with some sparsely growing low trees.

Qin Shouyi lay down and peered down, while Sun Ergou squeezed next to him and also poked his head out.

It was already daylight, but the sun had not yet risen, and the light was dim and hazy.

Thirty or forty feet below the cliff, a group of people were fighting.

There were about ten people ahead of them, running unsteadily, some being carried on someone's back, and some supporting each other.

Seven or eight Tartars, clad in iron armor and wielding sabers, were chasing after the man in front, relentlessly pursuing him.

Just as they peeked out, the Tartars caught up with another man, who was slashed to the ground by the Tartar's blade and screamed in agony.

"They're Tartars!" someone exclaimed in a low voice.

Sun Ergou's eyes were fixed on the group of people in front of him.

The big guy carrying the person—his build, his running style—even though he was wearing Tartar armor, he recognized him at a glance as Hao Dadao.

"Master Hao!" he blurted out.

The sound wasn't loud, but it carried far through the quiet mountain forest.

The people below the cliff all looked up at the same time.

Hao Dadao looked up sharply and saw the heads sticking out from the cliff.

He froze, then shouted, "Dog! Is that you?!"

The few Bayaras also stopped and looked up.

Qin Shouyi's mind went blank for a moment. He had originally planned to sneak down and ambush these Tartars, but now he was completely exposed!

But there was no time for him to hesitate. With his one arm, he grabbed a rock the size of his head and threw it down. "What are you standing there for! Smash it!"

The villagers then realized what was happening and started throwing stones and clods of earth down the cliff.

Stones rolled down, clods of earth flew, and crashed down on the few barbarians.

Only after shouting did Sun Ergou realize the trouble he had caused. He hurriedly took off his musket, pulled out the flintlock pistol, and lit it, his hands trembling violently.

After finally lighting the fuse, he raised the gun and fired a shot down below.

The musket spewed out a cloud of white smoke, and the bullet flew off somewhere. He then pulled out his pistol and fired another shot, but still missed.

Oroseson and his men were thrown into disarray by this sudden turn of events.

A barbarian was looking up when a rock the size of his head fell from the sky and hit him right in the face.

He didn't even make a sound; he just leaned back, twitched twice, and then fell silent.

"Hit! Hit!" the villagers cheered.

The remaining few Bayara quickly spurred their horses and hid below the cliff face, where protruding rocks formed a natural cavity.

Hao Dadao carried Chen Feng on his back and continued running north.

Meng Changgeng supported Wang Jie, while Aji, supported by Zhao Sheng, staggered behind.

Chen Feng's group originally consisted of more than twenty people, but they scattered after entering the mountains.

Escaping for their lives is the specialty of night scouts, as is abandoning their comrades and running away. The few night scouts who remain by Wang Jie's side are all his trusted confidants.

"Over there! There's a path over there!" Sun Ergou shouted, pointing to a gentle slope about two hundred paces north of the cliff.

Qin Shouyi glanced at the few Bayara hiding under the rocks, then looked at Chen Feng and his group staggering northwards below the cliff, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Go down! Get them!"

As he spoke, he rushed towards the gentle slope to the north.

The villagers rushed down the slope, some carrying knives, others wielding spears, howling as they ran.

Sun Ergou also rushed down the slope, his left arm throbbing with pain, but he couldn't care less.

He saw the commander lying on Hao Dadao's back, but the commander seemed to be injured and was not moving.

After a short while, Sun Ergou finally arrived in front of Chen Feng.

"What's wrong, Commander?" He looked at Chen Feng, who was still unconscious, his voice trembling.

Hao Dadao, panting heavily, said, "He's passed out. Hurry! The Tartars are still behind us!"

Sun Ergou glanced to the south, where the group of bandits, seeing that the falling rocks on the mountain had stopped, had already caught up with the official.

"Go!" Qin Shouyi shouted, "Retreat up the mountain!"

The villagers took the wounded from the fleeing soldiers and helped them carry them up the gentle slope.

Sun Ergou ran a few steps and then turned back, seeing that the group of thugs had closed the distance.

He squatted down, took out a gunpowder flask from his waist, and poured it into his pistol.

Unable to use his left hand, half of the gun ammunition spilled out. He gritted his teeth, clamped the gun barrel between his knees, and loaded it with one hand.

Qin Shouyi glanced back at the Tartars, then at Chen Feng and his men, who were in complete disarray.

Now that Commander Chen is injured and unconscious, and most of the men are wounded, the Tartars will catch up with them soon.

We must slow down the Tartars!

Qin Shouyi gritted his teeth, gathered about ten villagers who weren't carrying wounded soldiers, and shouted, "Turn around! Kill the Tartars!"