Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Chapter 152: Sad soldiers will win

"I am willing to die for your majesty! Long live your majesty! Long live the Ming Dynasty!"

More than 40,000 soldiers roared loudly at the same time. The sound rose and fell like a tsunami, and it lasted for three breaths. Only then did the extremely excited soldiers gradually calm down.

“Although I am of little virtue and lack courage, I will fight with you, my fellow soldiers.

If you win, I will celebrate with you and I will not be stingy in giving you promotions and honors.

If we lose..."

Emperor Chongzhen looked at all the soldiers again with a solemn expression, paused for a moment and then said:

"I will not retreat. I will personally go to the battlefield, draw my sword and kill the enemy. I will die with my body and reputation destroyed, and go to hell with you!"

The words of Emperor Chongzhen were so eye-opening that even Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Weifan frowned.

In their view, even if it really came to that, the emperor could not take such a risk. As long as the emperor was there, there was still a chance.

But Emperor Chongzhen did not think so. Over the past few decades, the Qi Family Army, the White Spear Army, and the Tianxiong Army were all gone.

All the wars with the Jiannu ended in disastrous defeat. Not only did the court lose a lot of territory, but also almost all of its elite troops.

Those gathered around Dingzhou today are the only elite troops of the Ming Dynasty.

If there is a failure, it will be almost irreparable for the court which is now so poor that the emperor needs to tighten his belt.

Emperor Chongzhen had already made up his mind. If the war went badly, it would be better to die on the battlefield with a bang, rather than retreating to the palace walls and enduring torture.

It is said that the emperor guards the country's borders and the king dies for the country. Now, let's start with him.

If the soldiers were excited and thrilled before, after hearing the words of Emperor Chongzhen, including senior generals such as Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Weifan, they all felt as if a huge rock was pressing on their chest.

That is an emotion called grief and anger.

The Majesty whom they had been looking forward to and revering had to sacrifice his life on the battlefield, all because of their incompetence!

When they thought that the emperor would be humiliated because of their incompetence, they felt grief and indignation. Their eyes were red, their teeth were gritted, and their fists were clenched, but they didn't know how to comfort the emperor.

At this moment, a word suddenly popped up in Zhang Shikang's mind.

The army that mourns will win.

When he saw the soldiers' hands trembling in grief and anger, he knew that Brother Chongzhen had maxed out his buff.

"The Ming Dynasty will win!"

Zhang Shikang walked up to Brother Chongzhen, drew out his sword and hung it high in the sky, releasing the fire of grief and anger in everyone's chest.

Instantly, a roar even louder than before resounded throughout the entire military camp.

"The Ming Dynasty will win!"

"The Ming Dynasty will win!"

……

A quarter of an hour later, more than 40,000 troops set out from the barracks and marched towards their fateful battlefield.

Countless scouts spread out from all directions, and messengers with ivory flags on their backs rode their war horses and ran around. Even during the march, no one dared to relax.

Because everyone knows that the emperor is with them in this battle.

"Brother, I didn't realize you have such eloquence. Look at how you fooled those soldiers. I can't wait to eat the Tartar alive."

Zhang Shikang and Emperor Chongzhen were riding on their war horses, and they recalled the scene just now with a little surprise.

Although Brother Chongzhen occasionally spoke very impressively in the court, Zhang Shikang felt that today's pre-war speech was Brother Chongzhen's real highlight moment.

Courage, sincerity and determination, coupled with the supreme imperial power, are simply amazing. Even Xi Mule would have to call him an expert when he heard them.

However, Emperor Chongzhen did not agree with Zhang Shikang's words. He never thought that he was fooling those soldiers.

"I just speak out my feelings."

"Brother, are you really planning to die on the battlefield?" Now it was Zhang Shikang's turn to be speechless.

Why did he practice running so hard? Wasn't it so that he could run faster on the battlefield?

When fighting a war, you have to give it your all, but if you really can't win and don't run away, then you are stupid.

Preserving your strength and fighting again later is the right way to go.

But Emperor Chongzhen just shook his head and did not answer Zhang Shikang's question.

According to the established plan, the soldiers from the Beijing camp will still be the main force in this battle, and the reason why they went out of the city to fight was actually a helpless move.

With the city walls defending, the losses would of course be small, but Dorgon would not be stupid enough to attack a fortified city guarded by a large army.

He would only attack surrounding cities that were short of troops, and he had always been in this state of anxiety.

The Jiannu did not want to delay, and the imperial court could not afford to delay, so the only option was a decisive battle in the wild.

The army marched towards Qingdu, and at the same time ordered Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou on the left and right wings to wait in the nearby city.

Zhang Shikang was worried that if the three armies were really gathered together, Dorgon would probably avoid the attack again, which was not what he wanted.

More than an hour later, the Jiannu army was in sight.

……

On the other side, Dorgon, the Prince Rui of the Qing Dynasty, was watching the approaching Ming army from a distance with a covetous look.

"Your Highness, isn't this too risky? That kid named Zhang Shikang is very cunning. He will definitely not fight a battle without preparation."

The obedient King Kong Youde reminded carefully.

Although he was also a king, the title of a surrendered minister could not be compared with the title of a king of the Qing royal family.

Compared with the rude Yuetuo, Kong Youde was more respectful of Dorgon.

In the Battle of Jiazhuang, Kong Youde's troops suffered heavy losses, and now there are only about a thousand old brothers left with him.

He felt heartbroken every time he thought about it. There were nearly ten thousand people following him when he entered the customs.

Fortunately, Dorgon not only did not blame him, but comforted him and promised that he did not have to fight in this battle, but only had to supervise the battle from behind.

But when he thought of the last disastrous defeat, Kong Youde still felt a lingering fear.

“Prince Gongshun, I’m afraid your courage has been beaten away by Zhang Shikang, which is not a good thing.

How do you know that I haven't made any preparations?" Dorgon glanced at Kong Youde and said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

In the past half month, his royal brother had urged him many times to leave the country as soon as possible and not take risks if he could not expand the results of the war, but he was still unwilling to do so.

Not only did this battle cost the lives of so many warriors, but Yuetuo also died. If he went back like this, he would not only have to face the blame from his brother the Emperor, but also the wrath of his eldest brother Daishan.

Fortunately, five days ago, he suddenly received news that a fire had broken out again in the backyard of the Ming Dynasty court.

Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong actually started the rebellion at the same time, and their momentum was even greater than before.

Dorgon immediately made up his mind that he must not retreat at this time and must strike the Ming army as hard as possible. This was not only in the interests of the Qing Dynasty, but also would give Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong a chance to catch their breath.

If he could annihilate the Ming army in Dingzhou in one battle, he would not only be able to get rid of many accusations, but it would even be a great achievement.

During this period, he had heard a lot of descriptions about the Ming Dynasty's Beijing Army soldiers from Yuetuo's old subordinates, who only said that their fighting power was very strong and was not inferior to theirs.

Although Dorgon generally knew that the Ming Dynasty's Beijing Army soldiers were not a weak force, he felt that those people were trying to make excuses for his own incompetence.

"Your Highness, I have no such intention, I just hope Your Highness will be cautious.

Zhang Shikang's team has an elite firearms team that can break through heavy armor protection."

Kong Youde thought of the bloody battle that day and reminded again.

……