Chapter 76

The Zhu family has lost, but the Han people of the world are about to win...

In any case, that was a matter separated by hundreds of years of time and space.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang could neither see nor hear; he could only catch glimpses through the memorial scrolls.

This battle was far more brutal and heroic than Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang had ever imagined.

It happened just three days after Huang Taiji breached the ferry at the Xiao Ling River.

The mud on the Liaoxi Corridor had not yet dried.

Then, a heavy goose-feather snow fell across all of Liaoxi.

Those living in the north often know this.

While it is true that every autumn rain brings a chill, the weather truly begins to freeze only after the first snow melts.

When the first snow falls,

the residual heat remaining on the ground causes that first snow to melt with the utmost speed.

And just as the ice and snow melt, they carry away the last wisp of heat remaining on the surface.

Finally, as the temperature drops, the remaining slush on the roads freezes completely into sheets of ice.

The snow in Liaoxi was no different.

By the time Huang Taiji reached the front lines at Xingshan, the temperature had already plummeted.

Looking at the Ming troops struggling desperately on the frozen road,

even Huang Taiji, who had long steeled himself mentally, could not help but throw back his head and laugh aloud.

Clearly, this Great Ming expedition of "Princes Beyond the Pass" was far more feeble and incompetent than Huang Taiji had imagined!

It was obvious that the Zhu Emperor intended to sacrifice his own kin to secure the Great Qing's place in history forever!

"Heaven protects the Great Qing, Heaven protects the Great Qing!"

Fan Fan Wencheng, standing beside Huang Taiji, could hardly conceal the smile on his face; gazing down at the Ming troops below, he scoffed,

"Your Majesty, this subject is now thoroughly bewildered."

"This subject truly cannot fathom what is going on in that Zhu Emperor's mind."

"This subject wished to speak a few words in defense of the Ming army, but with them fighting so poorly, I simply do not know how to begin."

Hearing Fan Fan Wencheng speak thus,

Huang Taiji could only laugh a few times.

Then, the smile on Huang Taiji's face vanished in an instant, replaced by an ever-intensifying killing intent.

Staring fixedly at the Ming troops at the foot of the mountain, he spoke sternly:

"Tell Dorgon, Dodo, Jirgalang, and Ajige:"

"The time to achieve glory and establish merit has arrived; how posterity will judge them depends entirely on their actions today!"

"Yes!"

As several signal cannons rang out from within the woods,

the sudden thunder of hooves shook the accumulated snow from the tree branches.

Great flakes of snow fluttered down.

The Ming soldiers crawling out of their camps looked in terror at the Qing troops riding warhorses in the distance, sporting money-mouse-tail braids, and nearly cried out:

"Tartars! The Tartars are raiding the camp!"

"Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!"

"..."

Even though they said this,

the vast majority of soldiers still did not know what to do.

Even more of them scrambled to hide behind the war chariots.

Soon, the entire Ming army camp descended into chaos.

Only a few feudal princes rushed out of the camp on their own, shouting hoarsely at the soldiers inside the tents:

"Put on your armor quickly, grab your blades! Do not run wildly, watch out for arrows!"

"You there from the Old Thirteen Houses, stop running wildly on the battlefield!"

"..."

Accompanied by a loud "boom,"

several Qing soldiers of the Plain White Banner kicked open the gates of the Ming army tents and surged massively into the camp.

Followed immediately by several screams of agony.

Instantly, a thick scent of blood permeated the entire camp.

Inside the central command tent...

Lan Yu sat upright in the command tent.

Beside him stood a youth of fourteen or fifteen.

"Grand General, the Tartars have already killed their way in."

Lan Yu did not even open his eyes; sitting in the command tent, he gritted his teeth and whispered,

"Your Highness, do not panic. Our great army numbers two hundred thousand; the Tartars are still several li away from the central command."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang stood up abruptly, looked at Lan Yu, and asked sternly,

"What I mean is, does the Grand General intend to just hide here in the central command and watch?!"

"Those out there are the imperial nobility of our Great Ming!"

Lan Yu's body trembled slightly, then he gritted his teeth and whispered,

"This is precisely how I am saving them."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang looked at Lan Yu in shock and asked,

"Grand General, if this counts as saving them, then who in this world would be considered a murderer?!"

Lan Yu suddenly opened his eyes, stared fixedly at Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang, and said through gritted teeth,

"Liaoxi is now frozen solid; if I wanted them dead, I could order the camp to break and retreat right now."

"With such a flimsy foundation as they have, within five li they would surely collapse into a rout."

"Your Highness must understand: once a rout occurs beyond the pass, death is inevitable!"

Hearing this, Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang froze, then looked at Lan Yu somewhat dazedly and asked,

"Then... can we really just stand here and watch?"

Gazing toward the distant vanguard camp, Lan Yu said with a sigh,

"The only ones who can save them now are themselves."

Has there ever been an army forged in a single night under heaven?

Naturally, there has.

After a brutal, bloody battle, the veterans who survive can become the backbone of an army overnight.

This is especially true given the current state of the Ming army.

Setting aside their status as imperial clan descendants,

everyone slain on the battlefield is flesh and blood, kin and brother.

Never underestimate the bonds of blood and family.

From the Qi Family Army to the Liaodong Iron Cavalry and the Tianxiang Army, without exception, all were recruited primarily from fellow villagers, friends, brothers, and family members.

In such an army, once even one soldier falls in battle,

a towering rage instantly brews among the entire force.

Their fighting spirit far surpasses that of any other.

Once pursued by such an army, do not dream of escaping without being stripped to the bone.

For the moment you shoot down one of their own,

the conflict shifts from a national feud to a family vendetta.

This was the only method Lan Yu could conceive after pondering the entire journey to bring more imperial clan descendants back alive!

"Break out! Break out!"

At this moment, the entire vanguard camp had become a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

Dorgon's white heavy armor was already stained red with Ming soldiers' blood.