"Your Majesty, please calm down! That villain is trying to provoke you..."
“Good. Haven’t you noticed that the soldiers are already burning with rage? Now that he has personally restored the morale we’ve lost, we still have a chance to fight this battle. Let those Korean soldiers come forward.”
The tactics were simple: two thousand Korean musketeers were pushed to the front as human shields. The Qing troops dismounted and followed behind the human shields, forcefully charging the two gun-armed hills.
In this battle, the North Korean army undoubtedly suffered the most human rights abuses. The Mongols were cavalry, moving freely in and out of battle. Daišan dared not push too hard, but these North Korean musketeers were a different story. The supervising officers simply drew their swords and advanced, avoiding them. These North Korean soldiers could only cry and scream, charging forward like madmen. Those who were slow to charge were hacked and trampled to death from behind.
The cannons roared again, followed by a continuous barrage of gunfire. This time, the Qing army advanced their lines to within fifty meters. The two thousand Korean soldiers were long gone. The musketeers could even see the Qing soldiers'狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) expressions and their bloodthirsty killing intent.
The distance was too close. So close that a single charge from the Qing troops would have been enough to breach the artillery battalion's positions and unleash a one-sided massacre. However, they failed to notice that the opposing artillery battalion wasn't panicked. Well, there was a slight panic, but it was quickly suppressed by their commander.
All the musketeers put away their guns and then took out cylindrical objects.
"Heavenly Fire Thunder, prepare..." The shout rang out again.
"cast......"
Thousands of primitive hand grenades were thrown simultaneously. The explosive damage of these grenades was actually not high. However, they were filled with lead bullets, small stones, and other materials, increasing their lethality. Most importantly, the gunpowder inside was specially made. While not very powerful, it produced a deafening roar and was accompanied by a blinding flash.
After three rounds of hurling, the Qing soldiers, who had just mounted their horses and were preparing to charge, saw thousands of burning bamboo tubes flying towards them. Yet another adjective perfectly captured the scene: men and horses alike were thrown into chaos.
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Chapter 147 Your Majesty, Where Are You Going? (Third Update, Please Subscribe)
The nature of the war changed completely at that moment. The power of firearms was laid bare before everyone. Daishan regretted not stockpiling more firearms, regretted not forming his own firearms battalion. But he had no more time for regret. The two armies were already locked in direct combat. At this point, retreat was no longer an option.
Lu Xuan personally led three thousand elite cavalrymen in a direct attack on his main camp. The Qing general assembled his reserve cavalry and met Lu Xuan's forces. He knew perfectly well that this arrogant general dared to personally lead a charge. If he could kill him, the battle was still within his grasp…
His thoughts ended there, for in a single exchange, Lu Xuan had chopped off his head. In a cavalry charge, the spearhead was crucial. Lu Xuan personally acted as the spearhead, and his entire force, like a sharp arrow, pierced through the Qing army's ranks.
The Tartar cavalry wasn't originally this bad. It was just that several thousand elite cavalrymen had been decimated by artillery fire, and they had long since lost their will to fight. Later, Lu Xuan spurred them on with a sliver of fighting spirit. But they were then relentlessly attacked by cannons, muskets, and even heavenly fire bombs. If it weren't for their commander keeping order, the entire cavalry regiment would have scattered long ago.
Now, in a single exchange, the general was beheaded. The remaining cavalrymen lost all fighting spirit. Adding to this, Lu Xuan was unparalleled in bravery, like a god descended from heaven. His heavy sword was invincible. Wherever he went, men and horses fell in disarray. The cavalrymen behind him, though still somewhat inexperienced, would grow rapidly under Lu Xuan's encouragement. Fighting for one's life is the best motivation for a soldier's growth. After this battle, these surviving soldiers would become true elites.
"Protect His Majesty!" Daishan's personal guards formed a shield formation similar to that of Lu Xuan's troops, protecting Daishan in the center. This was also thanks to Lu Xuan. Ever since Lu Xuan beheaded Nurhaci amidst thousands of men, Daishan naturally felt uneasy, fearing that he might suffer the same fate. Therefore, he paid even more attention to his safety.
In just a dozen breaths, Lu Xuan led his troops to break through the Qing army's cavalry regiment and directly confront the Qing army's shield formation.
"Break the formation..." he shouted. Suddenly, two tall knights in the ranks simultaneously swung their arms, and a heavy iron ball, weighing at least three hundred pounds, appeared between them. Each knight held an iron chain, dragging the ball between two warhorses.
Holding a shield in one hand and dragging an iron ball in the other, he steed his warhorse using only his legs. The heavy iron ball rolled rapidly across the ground. When it was less than thirty meters from the shield formation, a long arrow pierced through a gap in the warhorse's armor, felling one of the horses. One of the riders fell to the ground.
But that was enough. The instant he fell, both of them released their grip simultaneously. The heavy iron ball, carrying immense acceleration, hurtled towards the shield formation.
With a deafening crash, the heavy hardwood shield was shattered by the rapidly rolling iron ball. The knight behind him was thrown off balance. The next second, Lu Xuan had already charged through the breach.
Behind him were a dozen or so groups of the same cavalry breaking through enemy lines as before. Lu Xuan on the flank, plus the infantry regiment in front, instantly transformed the battlefield into a two-pronged attack by the Ming army against the Qing forces. As for the Mongols, after losing about two thousand men, they began to slack off.
Seeing Lu Xuan decisively defeat the last Qing cavalry, they turned and fled without a word. Daishan was furious, but helpless. However, he hadn't completely given up hope. After all, he still had nearly eight thousand elite infantrymen; surely he could escape unscathed.
Just as this thought formed in his mind, he heard a scream. The scream was so close that when he looked up, he could see a gap in the shield formation. A Ming army, in a wedge formation, was less than fifty meters away from him. And leading them was none other than Lu Xuan, the very person the Qing Dynasty hated most.
"Protect the Emperor..." Daishan shouted instinctively. Last year, he would never have cried out like that. Back then, he was the invincible Grand Prince. Seeing this situation, he would have immediately led his personal guards back to fight. But this time, he was the Emperor... How could the Emperor personally lead the charge? The throne was indeed a powerful weapon; in just a few days, it had already eroded Daishan's bravery.
Not far away, Dorgon had barely managed to gather a few hundred scattered cavalrymen. Seeing Daishan in danger, his instinct was to rush to his aid. But after a moment's thought, he stopped. He stood there, his expression uncertain, hesitating for a while, before turning and fleeing with his remaining few hundred cavalrymen. Little did he know, Zhao Jingzhong had been watching him for quite some time.
At this moment, Zhao Jingzhong had to admire Lu Xuan's foresight. The General had long anticipated that Daishan, having just ascended the throne, wouldn't yet have complete popular support. Once the army collapsed, there would inevitably be instances of high-ranking officials fleeing. His task was to keep an eye on the highest-ranking among them.
Zhao Jingzhong was arguably the Han Chinese who understood the Qing Dynasty best. For the past six months, he had been closely observing the Qing's activities. He immediately recognized this man as the newly enthroned Fourth Prince, one of the highest-ranking figures in the entire Qing Dynasty. This was a truly big fish.
On the main battlefield, the shield formation trained by Lu Xuan clashed head-on with the Qing army. The soldiers inside the shield formation only needed to do one thing: thrust with their spears, then retract them, then thrust again.
Occasionally, Qing soldiers wielding heavy warhammers would attempt to break through the shield wall. But as soon as they breached the shield barrier, they would be hacked to pieces by the axemen inside. Those soldiers with shields and spears wouldn't even glance back. They trusted their comrades.
The entire Ming infantry regiment, like a giant hedgehog, advanced slowly but steadily. The Qing soldiers, with a sense of despair, discovered they had no way to break through this shield formation. To counter such a shield formation, heavy cavalry were usually needed to force their way through, or firearms were required. Against a slow and clumsy shield formation, grenade throwing was the perfect weapon, but unfortunately, these Tartars had none. Their cavalry had already completely collapsed. Their defeat was inevitable.
Daishan finally began to panic. In a flustered manner, he ordered his personal guards to escort him in retreat. A hundred or so guards immediately brought him a warhorse. Daishan mounted the horse, trembling, and looked back in Lu Xuan's direction. To his horror, Lu Xuan was now less than thirty meters away from him.
"Quick, retreat..." Daishan hurriedly mounted his horse, ready to flee. But at that moment, a sharp whooshing sound rang out. A long spear suddenly flew out, aimed straight at Daishan's warhorse.
"Your Majesty, be careful!" A guard rushed out from the flank and stood in front of Daishan. His heavy armor was completely unable to withstand the power of the attack. His entire body was pierced by the spear, and the huge impact sent him flying backward, crashing heavily into Daishan's warhorse.
The spear that pierced his chest struck the warhorse's leg, though the force was no longer fatal. However, the horse, writhing in agony, violently jolted, throwing Daishan off.
In a daze, he only heard a voice in his ear.
"My Majesty, where are you going?"
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Chapter 148 What? His Majesty has lost?
Daishan calculated that this was his eleventh day as emperor. The Qing army's deployments were different from the Ming army's; they were much faster. After all, the territory was small, and the population was small. Moreover, they had little supplies; their purpose was to plunder, so there was no question of carrying their own rations.
He was emperor for eleven days, and then he became a prisoner. Most importantly, he had fallen at the hands of the very same thug who killed the previous Khan. Was this man destined to bring ruin upon the Qing Dynasty?
Bound like a dumpling, Dai Shan remained on a wooden cart, his thoughts racing. The fact that his captors hadn't killed him made him even more uneasy. He had a feeling that falling into their hands might be worse than death.
Surrounded by dozens of soldiers, and with Lu Wenzhao personally guarding him, he had no chance of escape. He could only watch in agony as the wounded Qing warriors were dragged out one by one and stabbed to death by the Han people. Those who were uninjured were bound hand and foot and gathered together.
More than ten thousand elite Qing troops, plus five thousand Mongol cavalry, were utterly routed in less than an hour. Even now, he couldn't understand how they had been defeated. Even if that man was temporarily powerful, how could none of the Qing's more than ten thousand warriors be able to stop him even for a moment?
And those firearms completely shattered his impression of Ming dynasty weaponry. The continuous, dense firing meant that the Qing warriors weren't even able to touch the enemy before being torn to shreds. Not a single cannon exploded; lead bullets rained down like a storm. How could they possibly fight this battle? Even if they had twice as many warriors, they couldn't break through!
Lu Xuan naturally paid no attention to Dai Shan's thoughts; at this moment, he was directing everyone to clean up the battlefield.