Dodo knew very well how cumbersome the Red-coated Cannon was; besides the Red-coated Cannon, there were only Birdlock Guns, but Birdlock Guns were difficult to use and had a short firing range, making them completely unable to rival the enemy's firearms.
Misfortunes never come single, Dodo had not yet even figured out the enemy's origins, nor did he know where their firearms came from, when he received news of the Huai River dike breaching, reports that the ports and docks had been destroyed, resulting in heavy losses.
Dodo stood up abruptly and asked, "What is the current situation along the Huai River?"
It has basically stabilized, but the subsequent logistics cannot cross the river for the time being; it will take at least three days.
The only thing to be thankful for right now is that the floodwaters aren't particularly high, the peak has already passed, but no one knows what will happen next.
Dodo made a swift decision: "Retreat and hold our positions."
He glanced inside the camp. "Alna, you stay behind to cover our retreat."
Alna immediately stepped forward and said, "Yes."
Even if Dodo had not assigned him to cover the rear, he would have volunteered to do so himself.
Because he suspected that the person leading the troops this time was very likely the person he was looking for.
The basis for this judgment was, of course, because the other party had produced something that did not belong to this era.
Even if the person leading the Great Ming army this time is not him, his shadow is behind it!
Moreover, hasn't the "gift" the other party mentioned giving him been delivered now?
Alna has been on edge ever since receiving that letter, fearing that one day this person would jump out and expose his origins.
Unless this person is eliminated, he will be unable to eat or sleep in peace!
Although Dodo said he was retreating, he didn't actually intend to retreat too far; he only wanted to retreat about twenty li, mainly to avoid the section where the dike had breached.
After all, the Huai River was only about forty li away from Yangzhou; they couldn't possibly retreat directly to the north of the Huai River, of course, they couldn't retreat any further now.
Zhu Ci felt a surge of spirit upon noticing the Qing Army's retreat, drew his long saber, shouted, "The Tartars can't hold out! Kill!"
Having said that, he spurred his horse and charged forward, the soldiers behind him also felt their blood boil, charging forward after him.
Zhu Ci lowered his body and scanned his surroundings, but he was actually looking for the Qing Army's logistics troops.
There is a saying in a song that goes: without food and without clothing, the enemy will deliver them to you.
He indeed had quite a lot of provisions, but who would ever complain about having too many military supplies?
Moreover, the Qing Army does have birdlock guns, they are indeed using them to defend themselves; it is just a pity that Zhu Ci has rockets with a much longer range.
It can only be said that although the Qing Army had captured many of Great Ming's weapons and equipment, they could at most merely use them; it was simply impossible for them to carry out any improvements. What could a group of illiterates know about mathematics, physics, or chemistry?
Not to mention that Great Ming itself had only designed the rockets, without ever performing any subsequent improvements.
At this time, rockets were a very troublesome thing for the Qing Army; their range was longer than that of birdlock guns, they were much more convenient to carry than red-coated cannons. Even if their power was inferior to that of red-coated cannons, red-coated cannons were essentially better suited for sieges, were even unsuitable for defending cities.
However, things were not smooth sailing for Zhu Ci, as the Qing Army's cavalry and archers were all very strong. Rockets could strike from a distance, but once they drew close to one another, it would be nothing but hand-to-hand combat.
Just as Zhu Ci was swinging his blade to cut down a Qing Army soldier, he suddenly felt the hair on his body stand on end. He instinctively looked up and found a Qing Army officer on the opposite side drawing a bow and aiming an arrow at him.
Alna was very calm at this moment; he knew that being left to cover the retreat meant he would definitely be punished upon his return.
Because the orders the General of State Stabilization gave him were to delay rather than to charge into the enemy, but he could not simply walk away.
If he could not find the person who caused him such unrest, he would have to live his entire life under that person's shadow.
Fortunately, he finally held on until he saw that person.
That man bore a resemblance to Zhu Ci; it was unclear what their relationship was, but the corners of his eyes and brows were far more fierce than Zhu Ci's. Flickering under the firelight, that bloodstained face possessed a lethal allure.
At this moment, Alna no longer wanted to kill this person; he wanted to take him alive.
The other party clearly knew many things; if he could trick him into revealing the method for making rockets, he would surely be able to make further progress!
Therefore, when Zhu Ci looked over, he gave the other person a smile.
When Zhu Ci saw those aggressive eyes, he felt a sudden realization: this must be Alna.
He had never seen this person before, but the only one who would endure such pressure and insist on staying just to see him dead was likely Alna.
He wasn't surprised that the other could guess these things; if he didn't even have this much intelligence, how could he be the male lead?
Alna suddenly felt a surge of excitement when he came into contact with those overly calm eyes of the other.
Compared to Zhu Ci, this youth before him was even more interesting to him.
Especially when he saw Zhu Ci not dodging or avoiding, but instead drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, that excitement even made him tremble slightly.
However, Alna was still searching for a more suitable target to aim at, while Zhu Ci had already released the bowstring.
Alna was stunned for a moment. As a commander born of an archer's lineage, he knew very well that Zhu Ci's aim just now had not been precise enough; if he had simply dodged slightly, the arrow wouldn't have been able to wound him at all.
Alna tilted his head slightly, the arrow flew past his ear.
Wrong!
That arrow was problematic!
Zhu Ci's Exploding Arrow, which he hadn't used since the fight began, finally taught Alna a lesson.
He felt a bit of regret that the Exploding Arrow ultimately failed to wound Alna, though it did succeed in startling his horse.
Zhu Ci did not continue to draw his bow and notch an arrow, because his own men had already engaged the opponent. Given his accuracy, it would have been too risky, he might have accidentally blown up his own people.
He could only urge his horse to retreat, not giving Alna the chance to take aim at him again.
Alna wanted to continue the pursuit, but his subordinates stopped him in time: "E Zhen, let's go. Our mission is already complete. Let them go for now; they won't dare to pursue us. Once the cannons arrive, we shall return."
Alna looked forward with some unwillingness, but he could no longer find that youth in black, so he had no choice but to retreat.
It doesn't matter; since the other party has already arrived in Yangzhou, they certainly won't leave easily. He will have his chance.
Zhu Ci watched Alna lead his men away, then turned and ordered, "Pass down the command: halt, no pursuit allowed, clean up the battlefield."
At this time, the horizon was already turning a pale white. After waiting for his subordinates to finish cleaning up the battlefield, Zhu Ci turned and led his men toward the north gate of Yangzhou.
As they approached the city gate, Jiang Quan rode forward a few steps and shouted, "Open the gates!"
Someone on the city wall shouted, "Who is below the city?"
Zhu Ci yanked the reins, his eyes flashing. "The Crown Prince of Great Ming!"
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Still shouting? I'm coming to collect you all! An evil kitty jumps onto the city wall. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 86
The officers on the city walls nearly fell over upon hearing this, instinctively wanting to refute it, but last night they had watched almost helplessly as this man's subordinates drove the Qing Army away.
He hesitated for a moment before immediately going to report, before long, several heads appeared above the city walls.
The dark-faced middle-aged man at the very front tried his best to look down. Once he saw clearly, his expression changed abruptly, he turned to run down from the city wall, shouting as he ran, "Open the city gates, quickly!"
The city gate finally opened. Zhu Ci did not move in a hurry; since he remained still, the soldiers behind him also remained still.
Many people rushed out from within Yangzhou, the leader ran up to Zhu Ci, cupped his hands, knelt on one knee, said, "Your servant, Shi Kefa, pays respects to His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Zhu Ci looked down at him with an expressionless face, his eyes showing neither joy nor anger; combined with the dried blood on his face, for some reason, it even made Shi Kefa feel somewhat apprehensive.
After a long time, Zhu Ci finally said, "Rise."
Shi Kefa finally stood up, came over personally to lead the horse for Zhu Ci, said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince has traveled a thousand miles to come to our aid; I am deeply moved."
Zhu Ci did not dismount, letting him lead the horse into the city.
When he entered the city and saw many commoners watching from both sides of the road, he suddenly felt a bit of regret, thinking that if he had known, he would have wiped his face first.
However, his mind had been so preoccupied with entering the city before settling accounts that he had completely forgotten about maintaining his image.
However, his current appearance significantly diminished his sense of youth. No matter what kind of posture he struck, his age was evident; his face still carried baby fat, his frame had not yet filled out, retaining a teenage slimness that made him very easy to underestimate.
Now, no one dared to look down on him, but Zhu Ci found himself somewhat uncomfortable under the adoring gazes from both sides of the road.
Upon arriving at the Yangzhou Prefecture Government Office, Shi Kefa said, "Your Highness, I will immediately have people prepare meals and hot water. Please rest first.."
"No need." After Zhu Ci said this, the main gates of the Prefectural Office were closed directly.
Shi Kefa's heart skipped a beat as he asked, "Your Highness??"
Zhu Ci stood with his hands behind his back and said to them, "Take them all down. Send word down: anyone at the rank of Thousand-man Commander or above is to be detained."
Immediately, someone restrained Shi Kefa and the others.
Shi Kefa did not expect Zhu Ci to turn hostile immediately upon entering, he struggled and said, "What is the meaning of this, Your Highness?!"
“What do you mean?” Zhu Ci turned around abruptly, his face darkening as he said, “Why didn't you open the gates when I sent people to call for you earlier? Facing the Qing Army, is the dignified Minister of War nothing more than a coward who only knows how to shut himself away?”
Zhu Ci was filled with hatred. If it weren't for Shi Kefa's refusal to open the city gates, he would have had many ways to make the Qing Army retreat, he could have kept the casualties within a certain range.
But now, because Shi Kefa refused to open the city gates, Zhu Ci could not lead his troops to attack Yangzhou, so he could only take the risk.
The casualty count had not been reported yet, but he had a premonition that it wouldn't be low.
If it weren't for the fact that the soldiers under Shi Kefa's command were extremely loyal to him, Zhu Ci would have stabbed him in the heart by now.
Before Shi Kefa could speak, someone behind him argued, "It is not that we wanted to stay huddled within the city, but rather that the Four Generals refused to come to our aid; they might have surrendered to the Tartars long ago."
“You blame them for not coming when there are no reinforcements, yet when I arrive with reinforcements, you still refuse to open the city gates. Do you truly think I have a good temper? Suppress them!”
Zhu Ci couldn't be bothered to listen to their excuses; the moment they refused to open the city gates, certain things had already been decided.
Shi Kefa had only about two thousand men under his command, while Zhu Ci had brought five thousand men this time, so he had no worries at all about being unable to control Yangzhou.
After capturing Shi Kefa and the others, Zhu Ci repeatedly instructed that his men must be closely guarded, warning not to let his men cause a disturbance.
In my memory, I seem to have heard people say that Shi Kefa treated his soldiers very well, essentially living and eating alongside them, so his soldiers were extremely loyal to him.
If these people were to cause trouble without restraint, it would be quite troublesome, Zhu Ci had no intention of starting a massacre immediately upon his arrival.
But perhaps it was because of his identity, or perhaps because he came riding the momentum of victory, that although Shi Kefa's subordinates were not submissive, they did not cause too much trouble.
After all, Great Ming had already lost so much in its struggle against the Tartars; winning a battle now, even if it was only a small one, was enough to lift everyone's spirits.
Zhu Ci watched the post-battle headcount; although he knew that deaths in war were unavoidable, he still felt somewhat weary.
He had trained these people so well, yet some would never return. However, the war was not yet over, it was possible that no one would be able to return.