Chapter 72

The damp, cold air hovered just above freezing.

The water levels in both the Greater and Lesser Daling Rivers surged violently.

Just as the river waters swelled, countless farmers quietly appeared on both banks of the Lesser Daling River, blocking its channel.

As the river channel became silted up,

the water level rose with sudden, rapid acceleration.

At this very moment, the Yulin Guard had already arrived at Ningyuan City!

The banners of fifty-one feudal princes and the Crown Prince's ceremonial tally fluttered in the sky.

Immediately after passing Ningyuan,

Lan Yu detected a slight anomaly.

Lan Yu was no stranger to Liaodong; he had been there before.

The air in Liaodong during this season should absolutely not be this damp!

Sensing something amiss, Lan Yu immediately ordered his men to enter Ningyuan City to investigate the situation.

Soon after, Lan Yu learned about the heavy rains that had struck western Liaodong over the past few days.

Lan Yu's expression gradually grew grave.

Tang Prince Zhu Zhu Yujian also seemed to notice that Lan Yu's demeanor was off.

"Grand General, further ahead lies Yang Yang Yang Jian slave territory. Shall we...?"

Upon hearing this, Lan Yu finally snapped back to reality and issued a decisive order:

"All units make camp here. Tomorrow at noon, we depart from Ningyuan!"

Lan Yu knew there was likely an ambush ahead.

However, before launching this expedition, Lan Yu had already learned something of the current situation under Chongzhen's reign.

Regardless of whether this truly meant marching to their deaths,

Songshan had to be saved.

This was the vile nature of besieging a point to strike reinforcements.

You know someone is waiting ahead to ambush you,

yet you cannot abandon that point; you must save it.

Therefore, you are forced to be led by the nose.

You have only one choice.

That is to charge forward and crush your opponent!

Lan Yu had no choice.

Great Ming likewise had no choice.

The two hundred thousand troops under Lan Yu's command similarly had no choice.

Zhu Zhu Yujian stood up on his own, cupped his hands, and said,

"Yes!"

73, Dorgon: The Zhu family intends to carry us brothers into the Temple of Martial Heroes!

At dawn the next day,

the Yulin Guard, composed of two hundred and fifty thousand imperial clansmen and able-bodied men from Great Ming, formally crossed the defensive perimeter of Ningyuan City.

They advanced eastward along the western Liaodong corridor to relieve Songshan.

Meanwhile, atop a certain mountain peak,

Dorgon, banner lord of the Manchu Plain White Banner, stood with several personal guards, using a telescope purchased by Kong Kong Youde from the Franks to gaze down at the mountain foot.

When Dorgon looked through the telescope and clearly identified the banners of this army,

he was completely stunned.

"The Prince of Liao, the Prince of Qin, the Prince of Jin, the Prince of Chu, the Prince of Shu... and the Crown Prince?!"

A look of delight suddenly appeared on Dorgon's face.

At the same time, four words involuntarily surfaced in his mind:

"The Princes Venture Beyond the Pass!"

This was the first time since the Jingnan Campaign that the Ming princes had ventured beyond the pass!

Thinking of this, Dorgon immediately felt his blood rushing wildly through his veins.

"Quick, send an urgent eight-hundred-li dispatch to inform His Majesty immediately: this army consists of troops from Great Ming's various feudal princes!"

"Tell Dodo that our chance to go down in history has arrived!"

"Great Ming intends to use the blood of the Zhu family to carry us into the Temple of Martial Heroes!"

Upon hearing that relatives of the Zhu Ming Emperor were personally leading the expedition, these Eight Banners soldiers instantly became ecstatic.

The imperial clansmen of Great Ming at the mountain foot remained unaware

that their movements had been completely exposed to the scouts of the Eight Banners soldiers.

Lan Yu, however, had anticipated this to some extent.

But there was no helping it.

According to Ming army convention, when a large force moves, Ye Bu Shou—so-called scouts—must be deployed fifty to sixty li ahead of the main army.

These men were all elite warriors, each worth ten ordinary soldiers.

Their primary duty was to scout enemy movements around the marching army.

It was quite evident, however,

that such troops could not be trained in merely one month of military drills.

At this moment, Lan Yu could only advance eastward with his troops like a blind man, struggling every step of the way.

……

A hundred li away.

Several scouts ran joyfully into Hong Taiji's Dragon Tent.

"Great news, My Lord! Great news!"

Hong Taiji tossed aside the memorial in his hand, stood up, and repeatedly asked,

"Has an urgent report arrived from the front lines?"

"Yes, yes! The Plain White Banner has just confirmed that the forces exiting the pass belong to the soldiers of Great Ming's various feudal princes."

"Great Ming's Prince of Qin, Prince of Shu, Prince of Shen, Prince of Chu, Prince of Jin, and Prince of Zhao have all arrived!"

Hearing the scout's words,

Hong Taiji immediately drew in a sharp breath of cold air.

"Is this truly so?"

"Absolutely certain! Your Majesty, Great Ming is truly at the end of its rope!"

Fan Fan Wencheng, standing nearby, could not help but show a look of delight on his face.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty; congratulations, Your Majesty."

"In this battle, Great Ming has likely poured out the very last of its national resources."

"It is foreseeable that after our victory in this battle, the mighty passes stretching for ten thousand li will be as good as nonexistent."

Forcing back the smile on his face, Hong Taiji said,

"How can Mr. Fan speak so lightly? What if these feudal princes are Great Ming's true elite troops?"

Upon hearing the word "elite," Fan Fan Wencheng nearly burst out laughing.

"Your Majesty, elite troops?"

Having said this, Fan Fan Wencheng turned to look at the scout and asked,

"On your way here, did you see any of the Ming army's Night Raiders?"

Hearing Fan Fan Wencheng's question,

the scout suddenly realized the implication.

"Reporting to Lord Fan, I did not see a single one; these feudal princes have not deployed any scouts outward at all!"

Smiling brightly, Fan Fan Wencheng looked at Hong Taiji and said,

"Has Your Majesty ever seen elite troops that do not even deploy Night Raiders?!"

"The Zhu Emperor is simply sending people here to escort your various Banner Lords into the Wumiao!"