Chapter 150: The Jiayi Battalion Earns Merit

Even now, Liu Fangliang still felt he had lost last time in the most unjust way possible. Though he had escaped back to Guguan without a scratch, he had nonetheless managed to lose his entire army. After mulling it over within the pass, he simply could not bring himself to go directly before Li Zicheng.

Liu Fangliang did not know who the newcomers were, but looking at their armor, they were clearly not the Guanning army he dreaded so much. Since it was not Wu Sangui who had come, then once the other parts of the official forces split up, wouldn't dealing with them be as easy as chopping vegetables?

With the intention of beating a dog that had fallen into the water, Liu Fangliang saw that the enemy was about to flee, and immediately grew anxious.

The other side was protecting their commander and forming ranks as they moved south. Seeing this, Liu Fangliang had no other thoughts at the moment—afraid that the fat meat already at his lips would fly away, he ran downhill while craning his neck and shouting:

"Go, all of you go! Don't let them escape!"

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

"Governor-General Chen, hold on just a while longer, the rear camp is almost here!"

Chen Qiyu saw that they were surrounded on three sides. By now he had no idea how many people had been wounded protecting him, and his heart was already filled with regret over his misjudgment. Hearing Dong Qi's words, he was about to subconsciously nod in agreement.

In truth, under these circumstances, many people would already be considered extremely bold for not running. Chen Qiyu was not a military general who wielded blade and rode horses, yet at this moment he was not panicking and losing his composure—for this alone, Dong Qi could not help but hold him in deep respect.

Chen Qiyu also knew that the best course now was to avoid excessive panic. He took several deep breaths to calm himself, but at this moment, he saw Liu Fangliang, the enemy commander, run to the base of the city gate to personally give chase.

At once, Chen Qiyu seemed to understand something. He immediately abandoned the thought of calling up the rear camp for support and murmured: "It seems Liu Fangliang doesn't know I'm here. Then this is easy to handle!"

Saying this, Chen Qiyu forcibly steadied his thoughts, cast a glance around, and asked: "Dong Qi, how many men can the roving bandits have? Judging by this commotion, not ten thousand, right?"

Being suddenly attacked was something no one had expected. Dong Qi only snapped back to his senses after hearing Chen Qiyu's words. After conferring briefly with several officers, they all said in unison:

"From the looks of it, these roving bandits number at most seven or eight thousand. What does Governor-General Chen mean...?"

"Heaven truly aids me!" Chen Qiyu gave a cold laugh, picked up a tree branch, and drew a line on the ground, speaking with full confidence: "This governor knows well that Guguan is extremely long. If the bandits wish to maintain a proper defense, no fewer than twenty thousand men would suffice."

"At present, the bandit troops have surrounded us on three sides. By all logic, they should have committed heavy forces, yet their movements are so minimal. In this governor's judgment, they should number less than ten thousand."

"Even if the surrounding roving bandits number over ten thousand, I am certain that Liu Fangliang is going all-in to redeem himself before that bandit Li—that's the only reason he's doing this. His actual numbers are only this much."

"Then what should we do?" Dong Qi exchanged glances with the surrounding officers, found the reasoning sound, and their eyes all lit up at once.

"The imperial grace is vast and profound. His Majesty has treated us so generously—if we simply run today, we would betray that grace. You and I must fight a great and honorable victory!" Chen Qiyu, who had gradually calmed down, was now firmly settled in his heart and said with resolute determination: "Quickly send several men to break out and have the rear camp troops slowly encircle them."

Dong Qi nodded, well aware of the importance of this matter. He turned and selected more than twenty brave and daring men from among his household retainers, personally entrusting each of them with the great task.

"Governor-General need say no more. If I die in battle, I only ask that the Governor-General report to His Majesty to have my crimes pardoned, so that my wife and children need not live with their tails between their legs. As for the Loyal Martyr Shrine... I dare not hope for that." A criminal from the Jiazì Camp, who had been pulled from prison for killing someone and given a chance to atone through merit, gritted his teeth and said with his head lowered.

Dong Qi directly punched him and cursed: "What are you thinking, boy? Have you forgotten His Majesty's words? Anyone who dies fighting for the nation, regardless of status, is treated the same. I guarantee—if you die in battle, every one of you will be enshrined in the Loyal Martyr Shrine!"

"If that's the case, then dying in battle is worth it!"

Upon hearing this, the last shred of hesitation in these twenty-odd men vanished completely. These criminals released from prison, for various reasons, all declared themselves willing to fight to the death for the nation.

"For Your Majesty, I'll risk everything!"

"Good, kill two and I've made my quota!"

"I'm a criminal anyway, what the hell do I have to fear!"

At this moment, both sides were locked in chaotic melee. The Dashun bandit troops were naturally no fools—they all understood that the heavily surrounded center must surely be where the main commander of this official army was located.

However, what surprised many was that this official army was truly tenacious.

On their entire march up from the northwest, it was already rare to encounter so-called imperial troops who offered any resistance at all, let alone troops who wouldn't collapse outright after being ambushed—that was even rarer than phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Whether for the sake of seizing military merit or considering the overall situation, almost everyone was subconsciously gravitating toward Chen Qiyu's side. Even Liu Fangliang, in his desperation, charged down from the city wall himself to join the slaughter.

As a result, although the Dashun army's frontal assault had intensified, they did not hold the advantage in numbers, and the pressure on both flanks was bound to weaken.

The household retainers Dong Qi had gathered spotted their opportunity. In the first wave, over a dozen men charged recklessly toward the east and west.

Several retainers had barely mounted their horses when they were spotted by the alert bandit foot-archers on the city wall. Before they could run more than a few steps, the sound of arrows cutting through air suddenly came from behind.

Most of them had just mounted and could hardly react before being shot dead or knocked down. Adding to those who fell into the enemy ranks afterward, in the end only one man remained on horseback.

"They're going to send word?" Liu Fangliang had just cut down an official soldier when he looked up and saw this last surviving dark-faced officer galloping away at full speed.

"Give me that spear!"

At once, Liu Fangliang snatched a long spear from another soldier, calculated the distance, gathered all his strength, and hurled it with explosive force. Since the distance was only about twenty-some paces, the spear ultimately struck the dark-faced officer in the back.

With a "puh" sound, the officer spat out a mouthful of blood and toppled directly into the surrounding sea of Dashun bandit troops. In an instant he was swallowed by the surging mob, not even a sound escaping.

Just as Liu Fangliang was letting out a breath of relief, four more household retainers burst forth at speed from the Ming army formation. These four moved even faster, galloping off in four directions without looking back.

What made Liu Fangliang even more furious was that these four officers didn't just run—they wielded their sabers and hacked as they fled, wounding and knocking down quite a few Dashun infantry along the way.

But soon, the reacting Dashun soldiers formed spear formations under the continuous shouts of their various squad leaders. Three of the men were intercepted by the Dashun troops, and both men and horses were stabbed full of holes.

Even so, in the end, one man vanished from sight amid the dust and smoke.