The ruthless emperor in the late Ming Dynasty forced Chongzhen to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 13 Ningwu Pass

Ningwu Pass.

Located in the mountains to the south of Shuozhou, this pass is built on the mountain, guarding the throat where Daizhou enters the Datong Basin, and the terrain is very dangerous.

At this time, gunpowder smoke filled the front of the pass, corpses piled up like a mountain, and the strong smell of blood and stench filled the entire valley.

Ten days ago, Shanxi general Zhou Yuji led more than [-] remnants of soldiers. After retreating from Daizhou City into Guanzhong, they defended against danger and repelled countless attacks from the intruders.

It even made the bandits feel desperate for a while, and Li Zicheng, the Chuang Wang, had the idea of ​​turning east several times and joining Liu Fangliang of the South Route Army before heading north.

"Oh! I'm so angry!"

On the mountain on the left side of the valley entrance, a burly man wearing a bright yellow cloak with a fierce look on his face looked at the army retreating again in the valley, and was so angry that he drew his knife and slammed on the tree beside him.

The thick tree trunk was chopped off in the middle, which shows how angry this person is.

And this person is Li Zicheng, the Chuang Wang who has ruled the world for more than ten years.

"Prime Minister, military advisor, it has been ten days since our army has fought proudly, and tens of thousands of brothers have been killed or injured, and they still cannot break through. Do you have any good strategies to offer?"

"This…"

Facing King Chuang's copper-like tiger eyes, Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance, the prime ministers who were usually resourceful, were helpless and did not know how to offer advice.

It's really that Ningwu Pass is too steep, even though they have a million troops, they still can't use it.

They can only attack in waves, and choose to refuel, there is no possibility of trickery at all.

I hate the general guarding the pass, Zhou Yuji, but he vowed not to surrender, and he always took the lead, encouraged the soldiers, and repelled their attacks time and time again.

Really is a hard nut to crack.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. I have observed carefully today and found that most of the Ming troops in Guanshang are defending with wounds. Presumably, after ten days of exhaustion, the strength of the troops has been stretched, and the Ming army has no reinforcements.

Without reinforcements, Zhou Yuji, no matter how brave and good at defending, can't survive without rice. As long as reinforcements don't arrive tonight, tomorrow our army only needs to regroup and select elite and brave fighters to take the lead, and we will surely break through in one fell swoop. "

Li Yan, the military strategist at the side, stood up and clasped his fists together.

His face is full of confidence.

But in his heart, he admired Zhou Yuji very much, and at the same time lamented his stupid loyalty and the Ming court's collapse and incompetence. After so many days, they did not send reinforcements.

"Oh? So, Zhou Yuji is at the end of his battle?"

"But the two towns of Xuanfu in Datong are close at hand, with tens of thousands of soldiers. Why didn't that kid from Chongzhen send troops to come to support?"

Li Zicheng's eyes lit up first, then he frowned and stared at Li Yan.

"This...presumably the imperial court has been in arrears with the officers and soldiers of the two towns for a long time, so they refuse to listen to the propaganda and rush to help."

This is also what Li Yan couldn't figure out all the time, but in the end he had to find a reason to explain it.

Li Zicheng, who was born in the post station, has a deep understanding of this, and he is convinced that he looked up to the sky and burst out laughing.

"Haha, this is the end of the sky, let my old Li replace it!"

"Your Majesty entrusts the order to the sky, and you will live forever!"

All civil servants and military generals paid homage one after another.

Li Zicheng was in a good mood, and laughed again.

"Haha, good! Commander Hong, you will take the lead tomorrow. After breaking through the pass, I will slaughter all the people in the pass, and skin Zhou Yuji to give me comfort for my dead brothers."

"The last general takes orders!"

Among the generals, a heroic female general in a red cloak came out and answered.

It caused the other generals to be envious and jealous.

Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance looked at each other, but there was a gloomy look in their eyes.

at the same time.

The Ming army on the Guancheng, looking at the retreating bandit army, finally relaxed their tense mind.

All of them sat powerlessly on the top of the wall, and the weapons in their hands dropped to the side, and they didn't even want to move.

A middle-aged general covered in blood, like everyone else, fell to the ground and gasped for breath.

After a long while, he got up with his weapon in his hands, looked up at the already dark sky, and then exhaled heavily.

I know today is a good day.

"Report! Marshal, Mr. Wu Qian is back."

"Oh, come on, let him come to me immediately..."

The middle-aged general was the chief military officer of Shanxi, Zhou Yuji, who was overjoyed when he heard the news, and immediately shouted towards the city.

Not long after, a general came to Zhou Yuji and fell to his knees with a plop, crying loudly.

"Marshal, the last general is incompetent, and Jiang Yu drove the last general out without even seeing him, saying that there is no imperial decree from His Majesty to dispatch troops!"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. Before I retreated to Ningwuguan [-] days ago, my commander sent someone to the capital to report to His Majesty. He strictly stated the importance of Ningwuguan and the potential for trespassers. Your Majesty An Neng will not care about it. Don't make a will?"

Zhou Yuji staggered, and after stabilizing his figure, he roared loudly, but his face was full of despair.

"Marshal, are there no reinforcements coming?"

The soldiers on the top of the wall also got up one by one, looking at Zhou Yuji with the same despair.

The reason why they persevere until now is that they are looking forward to the arrival of reinforcements. Who would have thought that day after day, they have never seen a single soldier come to reinforce.

Zhou Yuji's eyes swept across the faces of the soldiers who had fought with him until now, and he felt a burst of sadness in his heart, and finally nodded silently.

He didn't want to lie to them anymore.

After the ten-day battle, there were less than a thousand soldiers capable of fighting, and all of them were wounded.

The food was also exhausted, and the equipment was seriously damaged, and it was almost impossible to find a knife without a curved blade.

It was extremely difficult to last until dusk today, without reinforcements, it would be impossible to hold back tomorrow.

"Marshal, the brothers have tried their best, retreat!"

"That's right, Commander, it's because the imperial court didn't send reinforcements, and it's Jiang Guan who refused to save him. No wonder the Commander and his brothers."

"Retreat, handsome!"

Everyone knelt down and begged one after another, and there was a burst of crying from the top of the city.

"Brothers, I know that you have tried your best, and if you want to leave now, I, Zhou Yuji, will never stop you.

But I, Zhou Yuji, have been greatly favored by the emperor, and I will never abandon the pass and flee. I vow to live and die with this Ningwu Pass, and I have repayed the country's favor! "

At the end of Zhou Yuji's speech, he bowed his hands in the direction of Beijing with a determined face.

As the saying goes, there is a will to die, and a scholar has no thought of stealing life.

Everyone looked at Zhou Yuji with tears in their eyes. Seeing his resolute face, refusing to give up, they all gritted their teeth and prayed.

"The commander-in-chief wants to live and die with Guan, and we are willing to follow him to the death!"

"We will swear to follow the commander-in-chief."

"Okay! Why should a man be afraid of death when he was born in heaven and earth?"

"My Zhou Yuji can have you, brothers and sisters, who will accompany you to the death, and I will have no regrets in this life!"

"It's a pity that I failed to guard this Ningwu Pass for His Majesty..."

"You don't need to blame yourself, Commander. Since the proud battle, Commander has led his brothers to kill no less than tens of thousands of thieves. May I ask who among the generals of Ming Dynasty can stand shoulder to shoulder with Commander?"

"Never mind!"

"Brothers, let's have a good meal today, and wait until we have enough energy. Tomorrow, follow me to switch on and off to meet the enemy and fight to the death with the bandits!"

Zhou Yuji clenched his fists, and no longer thought about the situation that Daming would face after the fall of Ningwu Pass.

"Fight to the death!"

All the soldiers waved their weapons one after another.

(End of this chapter)