Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 247 If we fight, we will win!

The morning mist enveloped the entire battlefield, and only a few frozen hills and plains could be vaguely discerned in the haze.

The cold wind blew across the face like a blade, making people shiver.

On the ground, frost flowers bloomed, like countless tiny ice crystals emitting cold light.

The branches were covered with icicles, as crystal clear as pearls.

The sky was gray, as if covered by a thick quilt, making people feel suffocated.

The smoke and bloody smell on the battlefield were frozen by the low temperature, and the war that had lasted for several days was also frozen to death by the severe cold.

In this silent land, the occasional whimpering sound from afar can be heard, which seems particularly desolate. Countless Tartar corpses, blood, arrows, weapons, and horse corpses are frozen together, forming a piece.

Bright red, pale white, gray and black...all over the battlefield, all kinds of dead landscapes stuck together and buried under a layer of fine ice.

From time to time, there were soldiers in groups of three or four coming to the battlefield to look for things. Upon careful observation, it was found that they were almost all members of the Pinglu Army.

Because they have lived through hard times, the desire to clean up the battlefield and make some extra money from it is almost ingrained in their bones.

Even though most of them are in vain, they still enjoy doing it.

Li Banghua and Chongzhen did not stop them because they were not too far away from the Ming army. This was similar to sending out scouts to achieve the effect of reconnaissance.

Perhaps the one who felt the most was Matchmaker.

Her injuries were not serious, she was just exhausted. After a simple bandage, she could continue to move. As someone who participated in the entire battle, she looked at the Rufeng Mountain in the distance and murmured:

"The Manchu Tartars have been developing for decades, but they have turned the war into this..."

This was something that Hongniang had never thought of before the battle.

From the day she followed her master to become bandits, she had heard that the Later Jin soldiers were extremely powerful and invincible. Since the Battle of Sarhu, the Ming army had been defeated again and again and was no match for them at all.

In order to "cut down big trees", Nurhaci, Huang Taiji, Dorgon and others constantly planned peasant uprisings within the Ming Dynasty. In turn, the peasant uprisings also took advantage of each time the Qing Dynasty entered the pass to grow and develop.

Now that the peasant uprisings in the interior of the Ming Dynasty have been wiped out, at this moment... a hundred thousand Qing troops swept over, but were defeated.

This made Hongniangzi suddenly feel relaxed.

It's like... it's like I suddenly have a reason that can convince myself.

The Eight Banners Cavalry couldn't defeat the five major camps of the Ming army, let alone her peasant army?

Hongniang turned her head and looked in the direction of the central army behind her. Cavalry, artillery, musketeers, spearmen, crossbowmen... all kinds of soldiers were in their barracks in an orderly manner, ready to fight at any time like a giant beast with eyes open, ready to devour anyone.

"How's the injury?"

"It's nothing serious, just a cut. You'll be able to move around normally in a few days."

"Since you have such great combat power, why didn't you show it earlier... Is it just to make the peasant army grow stronger and then kill them all at once?"

Over the past few days, she has reviewed in her mind everything that had happened, and the result she came to was one that made her terrified and tremble in her heart.

Everything began to change since this man appeared in Xinyang Prefecture.

Later, he separated from himself and joined Zhang Xianzhong's team, and then to Wuchang Prefecture. Everything, scene by scene, seemed to be within his calculations.

The death of Zhang Xianzhong, the death of Li Zicheng, and the death of other rebel kings...

The abilities he displayed, his plans, his madness, brutality, his calculations... each and every one of them sent a chill down his spine.

Looking at the other person's ordinary face, Hongniang felt a slight chill all over her body. Even though she was standing next to the burning firewood, she could not feel any warmth.

"..." Chongzhen's facial muscles twitched and he sighed, "I want to say that before this, the Ming Dynasty did not have such a strong fighting force. Do you believe it?"

But even though what Chongzhen said was true, it sounded completely different to Hongniang's ears.

The more sincere the other party is, the more uneasy Hongniang feels.

At this time, a member of the Imperial Guard came to report, "General, the commander-in-chief asked me to inform you that the Tartars are trying to escape!"

"The Tartars are trying to escape?" Chongzhen stood up suddenly and ran towards the central military camp.

……

The morning light had not yet fully risen, but the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty had already begun to gather, and the fog was filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

Countless soldiers emerged from the shadows and dived into the thick fog like jackals.

With one hundred thousand soldiers and horses, they were unable to achieve any success. Going back like this was a huge blow to their morale. Not to mention the soldiers, even the leaders of the Eight Banners themselves felt a bitter taste in their mouths.

"Is everything ready?"

"Your Majesty, all the other flag owners are here, only Yue Tuo is not here."

Dorgon frowned, "Yue Tuo? Where are the others?"

At this moment, a messenger suddenly came on horseback, "Your Majesty, Yuetuo has fled ahead with the red banner."

"what?"

All the princes and nobles of the Qing Dynasty were stunned and suddenly panicked.

……

As for Yue Tuo, he was furious after returning to his tent last night. "These Saishei are worthless... No, I can't let them lead me into a trap."

Faced with Dorgon's doubts and Man Dahai and others' unclear understanding of the situation, Yuetuo felt extremely insecure in his heart.

This was the second time. The great victory in Tongzhou, plus this time's Battle of Ningjin, were all like alarm bells ringing in Yue Tuo's mind.

After gathering tomorrow, will we break out in the direction of Shengjing?
Wouldn't that be a sitting duck for the Ming army?
People are afraid of unknown plants, but the same fear of known plants is even more terrifying.

Yue Tuo was really scared of the beating. He didn't dare to sleep at night. Finally, he gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, and fled with his troops in the night.

In the dark night, the Manchu Tartars had not had enough food for several days and each of them suffered from night blindness.

The cavalry and infantry trampled on each other, the camp was in chaos, and there were many casualties.

The army of tens of thousands advanced very slowly, and when they rushed to the Dalingh River, they encountered deep and wide trenches again.

He had seen this thing on the battlefields of Xingshan and Tashan.

With just one glance, Yue Tuo's head buzzed, and a strong sense of malice hit his brain.

"Be careful~"

However, before his shout could be finished, there was a loud bang and a fire dragon rushed straight into the sky, illuminating the earth with bright light.

Boom boom boom~
What followed was a roar, and shells landed in the Red Banner camp. Because it was getting dark, the team of tens of thousands of people walked in a hurry, and the team was very long.

It was even several miles long, so that when a battle broke out, the team could not take care of both ends. …

A few days ago,

It was the Ji-Liao troops led by Hong Chengchou and part of the troops of Xuan Da, totaling 60,000 soldiers, who were ambushed here.

At the beginning, they were not optimistic about this war, so they were assigned to ambush in Dalingh River, while also waiting for the end of the war.

Hong Chengchou did not have much resistance to this arrangement. After all, it allowed him to avoid a head-on collision with the Eight Banners Cavalry, and it was also an order from the Grand Council. Even if he failed, it would not have much impact on him.

As for having the Ji-Liao soldiers dig trenches, he also completed the task in a proper manner.

But not long after, Hong Chengchou learned what had happened amid waves of shock and astonishment.

"The Ming Dynasty actually defeated the Eight Banners Army? Killed 30,000 people? This... is impossible. The Qing Dynasty's cavalry is unmatched in the world. How did they... do it?"

"Why did Li Banghua send us to Daling River? Was he afraid that we would steal the credit?"

"The imperial court must have already formulated a battle plan, but they don't trust us and deliberately don't allow us to be granted titles..."

Bai Guangen, Hu Dawei, Wu Sangui and other generals and lieutenant generals under Ji-Liao were talking and regretting.

"You didn't want to fight in the beginning, so there's nothing to complain about now." Hong Chengchou spoke to the crowd and everyone fell silent.

Li Banghua once asked them to make a choice, but most of them chose Dalingh River, which is why they are here.

"It's not like there's no chance at all."

Everyone's eyes suddenly brightened, "Governor, how do you say we fight?"

Hong Chengchou took over the map of the Daling River and said, "At first we thought that our Ming army and the Eight Banners Cavalry were not equal, so we missed the opportunity."

"But according to the battle report that the Jinyiwei just gave me, the Tartars will probably retreat back to Shengjing soon. If we ambush them on their way back..."

"Everyone, cheer up. The five battalions have already eaten the meat. Whether we can drink the soup depends on this battle."

"We can't defeat a 100,000-man army, but if we face a defeated army of 10,000 or even several thousand soldiers, wouldn't we dare to fight?"

Before this, they had retreated after digging the trenches, but when they heard the news of the Ming army's great victory, they suddenly became active.

Bai Guangen clenched his fingers and said, "Damn it! If the defeated soldiers still don't dare to attack, won't they be looked down upon by the five major camps, or even those bandits in the Pinglu Camp?"

Movement began between the camps, and scouts were dispersed.

It was not until the fifth day, when they were about to give up, that a scout suddenly brought a message that a group of Tartars were heading towards Dalingh River in the middle of the night.

……

Looking at the Ming Dynasty's "fireworks arrows" rushing up into the sky, Yue Tuo was shocked by the scene before him and was a little dazed.

The Ming army actually ambushed a troop here?
And it seems that there are quite a lot of people, perhaps tens of thousands.

"Rockets" were continuously launched into the sky, illuminating the ground. The troops of Ji Liao and Xuan Da had been holding back for several days. Under the cover of artillery and muskets, they rushed towards the Eight Banners Army.

People...have never been troubled by scarcity but by inequality.

In the past, the Ming army could not defeat the Manchu Tartars or the Eight Banners Army, so whether it was the Guanningjin line or the troops in Ji, Liao, and Xuanda, they all gave up and each one was weaker than the other.

But now, as they watched the people from the Five Major Camps and the Pinglu Camp achieve great success and win glorious military exploits, and were expected to be granted titles and honors in the future, they could no longer sit still.

The troops are like tides, and the war is raging.

The cannons and muskets fired desperately, completely blocking the way for the Red Banner troops.

Because of the trenches, the Eight Banners cavalry could not rush over for a while, and their greatest field combat capability could not be exerted, while the combat effectiveness of the Ming army's artillery and muskets was not greatly affected.

More importantly, behind the Tatars are the Ming Dynasty’s five major camps and the Pinglu Army.

Even if the Qing Tartars were attacked bit by bit using the tactic of adding fuel to the fire, they would not be able to bear it.

As for the pressure from behind, that is, the military pressure from Shengjing of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Chengchou and others were not worried, because the Jinyiwei had reported that Korea had also sent troops.

The reason they sent troops was to bring back soldiers and women from their own country.

"Kill, use the corpses, fill up the trench with horses, and charge forward."

Yuetuo's anger resounded throughout the battlefield. However, he was not so afraid of the sudden ambush, because he could tell from the attire of the enemy that they were obviously the border troops of the Ming court.

He had an inexplicable sense of confidence in the Ming court's border troops.

And he understood that he had to get away from here quickly before returning to Shengjing.

Only by defeating the enemy and completely destroying Hong Chengchou can he avoid being attacked from both sides. A frontal attack could not defeat the five major camps, so it was really unimaginable for him if he was attacked from both sides.

On one side were the Ming border troops who wanted to prove themselves, and on the other side were the Qing Red Banner who were eager to escape.

The two sides, with their own ideas, collided with each other.

The Jialazhangjing of the Bordered Red Banner were also aware of the danger of the battle. Faced with the roaring artillery and muskets like a tide, they loudly shouted at their Eight Banners soldiers to rush into the trenches and then climb out.

It has to be said that the Manchu Tartars were so powerful that they resisted the Ming army, which was several times larger than theirs, with only over 10,000 people.

As the bodies piled higher and higher in the trench, the Qing cavalry was able to charge across the trench.

The battlefield suddenly became stalemate.

……

At the same time, the troops of the other seven banners of the Qing Dynasty had already begun to withdraw from the Mongolian Eight Banners and the Korean troops.

On the Ming army side, Li Banghua also ordered the camp to be disbanded, and took the troops of the five major camps and the Pinglu army to chase after the Qing army.

When attacking the city, the Korean and Mongolian soldiers were in the front, and the Eight Banners of the Manchu were behind. But now when fleeing, the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty are in the front, because their cavalry is the fastest.

"Commander-in-chief, why don't you just wipe out the Qing troops right away?"

Chongzhen looked at Li Banghua but he did not seem anxious, and he suppressed his anger in his heart.

"I don't think we can completely wipe out the Qing army in one battle. Although we killed 30,000 Qing soldiers in one battle, the Eight Banners of the Manchus only had less than 10,000 of them. Even if the Qing Dynasty's food supply is insufficient, it will be given priority to the Eight Banners of the Manchus."

Li Banghua stroked his beard and said, "When a large army advances, stability is always the key."

Steady and cautious.

He would not look down on the Manchus just because they suffered a defeat. Instead, he would become more vigilant.

Don't give the other side a chance to act desperately, and don't fight in vain.

If we fight, we will win!

(End of this chapter)