The long lance, over a foot long, moved with the ease of a magic wand in Lu Xuan's hands. With a single swing, four soldiers who had attacked from the flanks raised their swords to parry. But upon touching it, they felt an overwhelming force that they could not withstand.
The two sides passed each other, and behind Lu Xuan lay four heavy bodies. One strike down four men immediately terrified the Tartars. They had always looked down on the Ming army's hand-to-hand combat abilities. But the fighting prowess Lu Xuan had displayed in that exchange was truly frightening.
Several Tartars instinctively spread out and drew their bows.
But Shen Lian and Lu Wenzhao arrived. They fired their crossbows, instantly taking down two Tartars. A third Tartar fired an arrow. But the next second, he was so frightened he almost fell off his horse.
Without even glancing at it, Lu Xuan caught the long arrow steadily from a distance of over ten meters with his left hand. This scene left Shen Lian, Lu Wenzhao, and the other two behind Lu Xuan completely dumbfounded.
Even a martial arts master like Lu Wenzhao, from a prestigious family, had never seen anyone catch a powerful bow with their bare hands at such a distance. Moreover, Lu Xuan's nonchalant manner made it seem like a very simple matter.
The three of them were internally cursing; this was probably just standard practice for the 'Hunter'...
With a casual flick of his left hand, the long arrow struck the Tartar's horse's leg with pinpoint accuracy. A mournful neigh echoed as the horse and its rider were flung several meters away, motionless.
Shen Lian and Lu Wenzhao also took advantage of the situation to eliminate the other two Tartars. More than ten elite Tartar cavalrymen were swiftly wiped out by the four men. Even Guo Zhen managed to shoot one down with a crossbow bolt. This gave the three of them a strange feeling.
If the Tartars were so easily defeated, how did the Ming army suffer such a crushing defeat?
Of course, this is just an illusion. The Tartars of this era were still quite capable in combat. At least compared to the Ming army, they were far superior in terms of physical fitness, combat experience, and fighting spirit.
They had been galloping at breakneck speed, changing horses three times already. Except for Lu Xuan, the other three felt like they were about to be tossed about. Even Lu Xuan was beginning to feel exhausted.
The Tartars continued to pursue and attack. However, Nurhaci's original guards had been completely shaken off.
At that moment, Lu Xuan vaguely heard the sounds of a large group of people coming from ahead.
"Bow and arrows." The three men responsible for carrying Lu Xuan's equipment quickly took out a long-term laborer's certificate and threw it to Lu Xuan. Lu Xuan fired four shots in quick succession, knocking down the four Tartars who were falling behind them.
Then he waved to signal the three of them to stop.
He rode forward on his horse to investigate the situation.
After crossing a small hill, to his surprise, what lay ahead was not the Tartar army, but a Ming army.
Li Rubai was in a real bind. Just a few hours earlier, he had finally encountered the enemy. He had met the elite Tartars, twenty-five of them. You read that right, twenty-five (some records say twenty, but we're giving an extra number here). The enemy, beating drums and gongs, charged out of the mountains, making it look like they were launching a major attack.
Li Rubai immediately assumed the other three routes had collapsed and fled in terror. Over a thousand Ming soldiers had been trampled to death. From behind, twenty-five Qing soldiers indiscriminately slaughtered hundreds more. Fortunately, the Qing knew their numbers were ultimately too small and dared not pursue them excessively.
This battle has been the subject of much debate in later generations, largely due to its absurdity. Many believe Li Rubai acted intentionally, as the Li family's long-standing influence in Liaodong relied on the presence of the Tartars.
If the Tartars are gone, their family will lose its purpose. Moreover, given what the Li family has done over the years, calling it treason is no exaggeration. At that point, exterminating three generations, or even nine generations, would be the least of their worries.
However, given that Li Rubai later committed suicide because of this incident, I personally feel that he probably didn't do it intentionally; he was just genuinely incompetent. In a battle for national survival like this, incompetence is a crime, and Li Rubai's crime was extremely serious.
Li Rubo's men also spotted Lu Xuan. Since being routed by twenty-five men, he had become much more cautious. Now, the only question for him was whether to continue forward or turn back.
Up to this point, he knew absolutely nothing about the other three routes. He felt completely uncertain. He wanted to fight a real battle before leaving, but he had been terrified earlier and was hesitant to go forward. While he was struggling with this decision, he saw Lu Xuan and his group of four.
"Who are you?" The guards were quite confident when they saw that they were not Tartars.
Lu Xuan and his two companions completely ignored them. However, Guo Zhen, standing behind them, knew it was his turn to step in.
He was the military supervisor of Du Song's army, and his status was such that these guards dared not offend him. Even Li Rubai, upon learning of this, immediately came out to greet him personally.
"Eunuch Guo, how is General Du? How is the battle at the front?" Li Rubai asked anxiously.
"The battle at the front lines is over, and you still haven't arrived," Guo Zhen thought to himself with disdain.
"General Li, I am ashamed. We suffered a crushing defeat at the front. General Ma and General Du have been completely wiped out."
"..." Li Rubai suddenly felt dizzy.
"What about General Liu Ting's army?"
"That route is still unknown. It seems more likely to be dangerous than safe."
"...What should we do?" Li Rubai panicked. He had secured the position of general through his father, Yu Yin. But expecting him to save the war was asking too much. Even if his father, Li Chengliang, were here, he probably wouldn't be able to turn the tide.
At this moment, Lu Xuan, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.
"All three routes suffered heavy losses in this battle. Only your route escaped unscathed. Unless you can turn the tide, who knows what your fate will be after this matter is over?"
Lu Xuan's cold words sent a chill down Li Rubai's spine. In fact, this was exactly what he feared most. Historically, he had been driven to his death by this very issue.
"May I ask who this gentleman is?"
"You don't need to know who I am. There's a way to save you. Do you want it or not?"
Li Rubai stared blankly at Guo Zhen beside him. Guo Zhen nodded, indicating that Lu Xuan could be trusted.
"Please speak, brave warrior?"
Lu Xuan reached into the leather bag and opened it, taking out Nurhaci's head.
"This is the head of Nurhaci, the Khan of the Later Jin. With this head, you will not only be innocent, but you will also have made a great contribution. You could even be said to have turned the tide. General Li, as long as you agree to a few requests of mine, I will share this credit with you."
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Chapter 116 Where is Yang's manuscript?
Lu Xuan's identity is that of a hunter. Slaying the enemy chieftain is a great achievement, but his identity still imposes too many limitations. If possible, he still needs a similar starting identity.
This matter naturally fell to Li Rubai. He was incompetent in warfare and even worse at politics. However, it was undeniable that he was still the General-in-Chief, backed by the Li family of Liaodong. Promoting a few mid-level military officers would be a piece of cake for him.
Although this is theoretically against the rules, it's commonplace for the Li family of Liaodong. After all, almost every mid-level military officer in Liaodong is related to their family to some extent.