pappabearbooks Chapter 70 The Death of King Jin
Chapter 70 The Death of King Jin
"Achoo—Achoo—"
Liu Feng wrinkled his nose. Who the hell is talking about me?
Without much thought, Liu Feng grabbed a large piece of horse meat and started to gnaw on it. Horse meat was tough and not as palatable as beef or mutton, but it was good enough to have horse meat to eat right now.
This battle killed many of the Mongols' warhorses, so they used what they had on hand to satisfy their cravings.
Li Mu moved closer and sat down next to Liu Feng.
Liu Feng retorted irritably, "You're not a little girl, what the hell are you doing sitting next to me!"
Li Mu smiled and took out a flask of wine from his pocket, handing it to Liu Feng: "I've been storing this wine for several months. Have some to warm yourself up and relieve your fatigue, sir."
Liu Feng didn't stand on ceremony, gulping down several mouthfuls of wine from the spout. He wiped his mouth and laughed, "Good wine."
Li Mu looked around and lowered his voice: "If the imperial reinforcements are defeated, with our small force..."
Liu Feng stopped the horse meat that was about to be placed in his mouth and said, "Although I have never been on the battlefield leading troops, I still understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.' We must definitely go to the rescue of the Beijing garrison, but we absolutely cannot just charge straight ahead like this. That would not be to relieve the siege, but to send them to their deaths."
"So what do you mean?"
"wait."
"wait?"
Liu Feng took a bite of horse meat and chewed, "We'll make our move once the Beijing garrison stops its rout and the two armies reach a stalemate."
Li Mu understood Liu Feng's plan, but could the defeated Beijing garrison stop its rout?
The sound of horses' hooves rang out, and then a member of the Imperial Guard rushed over and knelt down before Liu Feng: "My lord, the 3,000 cavalry battalion has launched a counterattack, and the heavy armored spearmen of the Fifth Army Battalion have also stabilized their position."
Liu Feng swallowed the horse meat in his mouth: "Explore again."
Li Mu was secretly shocked. As expected of the most elite field troops of the imperial court, even with all their cannons destroyed and their central army scattered after being attacked, they still managed to withstand the two-pronged attack from the Eight Banners and the Mongols, quickly reorganized their formation, and launched a counterattack.
Liu Feng casually tossed the horse bones aside, wiped his hands, and asked, "How many cavalrymen have you gathered?"
Li Mu quickly swallowed the horse meat in his mouth, stood up and replied, "Datong is located on the border, and the people are known for their fierce spirit. Every soldier in the army is a skilled horseman. What we lack right now is warhorses. Including the horses captured from the Mongols, we have managed to gather more than four thousand cavalrymen."
Liu Feng nodded.
With hundreds of thousands of troops locked in fierce combat, this number of men was indeed insufficient. However, if eight hundred men dared to attack the Xuanwu Gate, why shouldn't four thousand men dare to provoke the Tartars?
News from the battlefield kept coming in, and Liu Feng's side was ready to launch an attack at any time.
They even used the captured gunpowder to make some explosive packages; if they didn't have enough men, they'd make up for it with firepower!
As the sun began to set, Zhang Laifu returned in person and reported to Liu Feng: "My lord, the last remaining force of the Tartars has also joined the battle, and the 3,000-strong battalion is now completely surrounded."
Liu Feng didn't say a word, but spurred his horse and galloped towards the battlefield.
The Datong Guard cavalry followed closely behind and charged out of the camp together.
In the nearby mountains, Young Master Fan put away his binoculars and looked up at the sun. He had been ordered by General Agui to deliver a message to the Shanxi merchants, which was how he escaped this calamity.
Instead of informing the Tartars, he planned to sneak into the city after dark, take the money the Fan family had hidden there, go to the border region, seek refuge with the Fan family in Shengjing, secretly gather strength, and take revenge!
......................
The shouts of battle were deafening.
With their numerical advantage, the two white flags tore through the defenses of the three thousand battalions, gradually expanding their advantage and continuously dividing, encircling, and annihilating the three thousand battalions of cavalry.
Wang Ziteng, Feng Tang, and other generals of the Beijing garrison were helpless. Without the cannons and muskets of the Shenji Battalion, the archers alone could not break through the encirclement of the Mongol cavalry. They could only watch the battle situation deteriorate and passively wait for death.
The Duke of Cheng'en was now disheveled and utterly wretched, his lips trembling uncontrollably. He glanced at Prince Teng and the others, whose attention was entirely focused on the Three Thousand Battalion, and quietly pulled the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard aside, lowering his voice: "Immediately assemble the Imperial Guard cavalry and escort me out!"
The lieutenant was utterly shocked, unable to believe his ears.
The Duke of Cheng'en grew impatient: "Did you hear me?!"
Lieutenant: "Isn't it inappropriate to leave now?"
"If we don't leave now, it will be too late!"
The Duke of Cheng'en stamped his feet in anxiety. "I'm not afraid of death, I'm thinking of the court and the royal family! His Majesty has only four princes, and they're all trapped here. If anything happens to them, the Great Qian Dynasty will collapse! If the princes fall into the hands of the Tartars, the consequences will be unimaginable, do you understand?"
The deputy general despised the Duke of Cheng'en from the bottom of his heart, but he had to admit that what the Duke said made perfect sense. He could only clasp his hands and say, "Your Excellency the Imperial Brother-in-law and the other princes, please go change your clothes first. Once we find an opening, we will break through and escape immediately."
On the other side, Agui put down his binoculars and quickly scanned the battlefield where the fierce battle was taking place. A smile appeared on his face: "Twenty years ago, the two White Banners were ambushed here by the Beijing Garrison and lost a large number of men. At that time, almost every family in Shengjing was in mourning. The late emperor was also depressed because of this and passed away not long after."
For the past twenty years, the soldiers of the Two White Banners have endured humiliation and hardship, training and reorganizing their troops diligently. Now, they have finally avenged their past blood feud!
The generals behind him, bearing the white banner, nodded in agreement.
Agui: "The Han cavalry from Xuanfu will arrive no earlier than noon tomorrow, which will be enough for us to pacify the capital garrison..."
"Waaah—"
A powerful horn sound, carrying a chilling murderous aura, suddenly rang out. Agui's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately raised his telescope to look in the direction of Xuanfu, but found nothing.
"It's Datong! The enemy troops are coming from Datong!"
Agui turned her head abruptly, her face filled with astonishment: "How...how is this possible?"
Behind them, a red cloud surged rapidly, and a large group of cavalrymen were charging towards them!
"Get back on defense! Get back on defense now!"
A general of the Bordered White Banner shouted, but the main forces of the two White Banners were currently entangled in a fierce battle with the Three Thousand Battalion and could not withdraw at all.
"General, let's go!"
Someone slapped Agui's horse hard, startling the warhorse, which carried Agui toward the main force of the Two White Banners.
Several generals of the Bordered White Banner led hundreds of personal guards to meet the army, hoping to buy them some breathing room.
On his galloping horse, Liu Feng brandished his spear, knocking down a charging Tartar. Without pausing, he led his cavalry straight at the Mongols besieging the Five Armies Camp. He knew his own limitations perfectly well; with such a small force, a sneak attack on the Two White Banners would be futile if the enemy reacted.
Therefore, he decided to first rescue the infantry of the Fifth Army Battalion, and after combining their forces, he would then support the Third Army Battalion.
Liu Feng led his cavalry in a fierce charge, piercing the backs of the Mongol army like a sharp blade. His spear flashed up and down, felling several Mongols from their horses in succession.
The Mongols were skilled in riding and archery, and were adept at maneuvering and close combat. They were no match for the Datong Guards, who were clad in double armor. Their formation was directly breached, leaving a large gap in their lines.
"Reinforcements have arrived! Reinforcements have arrived!"
The morale of the Fifth Army Battalion soared, and the long spearmen began to slowly advance, coordinating with the Datong Guard to attack the Mongols from both sides.
There were too many Mongolians, and Liu Feng couldn't make it in and out seven times as he wished. He only made four trips before he was too tired to continue.
A single shot pierced the heart of a Mongolian man. Liu Feng shouted, "Throw the explosives!"
Sparks flew as explosive charges were hurled into the enemy ranks. With a deafening roar, severed limbs and blood splattered everywhere, and agonizing screams rose and fell, only to be swallowed up by the continuous explosions. Blood rained down on the battlefield...
"Look! The Mongols are retreating!"
Feng Tang was thrilled; he saw a glimmer of hope for survival.
Prince Teng hadn't been wasting his years of hard work; he immediately ordered the entire army to attack. Remembering the Imperial Guard cavalry, he hurriedly said, "Quickly, send the Imperial Guard cavalry to reinforce Datong Guard!"
Before the words were finished, a general stumbled in, "General, the Duke of Cheng'en has fled with the Imperial Guards!"
"What!" Wang Ziteng was stunned with anger, and after a long while, he finally managed to say, "Shameless!"
......................
Liu Feng was unaware of what was happening there. He led the Datong Guards and rampaged across the battlefield. Wherever the Mongols were densely packed, they would first throw a few explosive charges, and then unleash a fierce attack.
When he defeated the Mongols, he was covered in blood and became a blood-soaked figure.
"My lord, the routed Mongol soldiers are rushing towards the two white flags." Li Mu was excited.
Liu Feng's eyes lit up. Without waiting for the Fifth Army Camp, he gathered his troops and gave chase.
"Release the arrows!"
Agui was furious. He had managed to free up several thousand White Banner cavalry from the stalemate on the battlefield, and he absolutely could not allow these defeated soldiers to disrupt the army's formation, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.
With a whooshing sound, a hail of arrows rained down, densely piercing the fleeing Mongol troops, but still failing to stop the desperate rout.
"Fire arrows! Fire arrows..." A-Gui's face turned ashen.
At this moment, a soldier from the Plain White Banner rode up at full speed and said, "General Agui, the Prince said that we have achieved our objective and should withdraw our troops."
Why...?
At this moment, Agui also saw the Five Armies Camp pressing forward. His mind raced as he calculated that the chances of winning were less than 50%, and continuing the fight would only put them at a disadvantage.
He gritted his teeth: "Withdraw the troops!"
......................
In this battle, the Beijing garrison suffered heavy casualties, losing not only men and generals but also all its firearms, especially its skilled artillerymen.
Liu Feng was very curious, but everyone was evasive, so he didn't bother to ask.
"Damn, the treatment in the Beijing garrison is really good. Not only do they get to eat meat, but they also get to drink imperial wine!"
By the fire, Li Mu ate large chunks of meat and drank heavily, all the while cursing and swearing.
Liu Feng took a sip of wine. He had just heard about the Duke of Cheng'en's affair. Whether he was shameless or not had nothing to do with him. He only felt it was a pity that he hadn't been able to take the opportunity to kill the Prince of Jin.
A series of footsteps sounded, and Zhang Laifu emerged from the darkness, whispering a few words in Liu Feng's ear.
Liu Feng was shocked: "The Prince of Jin is dead?"