How could the Pseudo-Ming, who doesn't even have Red-coated Cannons, possibly produce any formidable firearms?
It was nothing more than an excuse for Dodo to cover up his defeat.
Ajige did not believe it, so when he faced a massive barrage of falling rockets, he had only one thought in his mind: What is this thing?
Although Ajige was reckless, he was not blindly reckless; after the first round of rocket strikes, he immediately led his troops to retreat, while simultaneously recalling Dodo's previous descriptions of the Great Ming firearms.
After thinking about it for a long time, he realized there was no detailed description at all; it only said that these things were more flexible than Red-coated Cannons, while they weren't effective enough for siege warfare, they possessed immense power in open battle between two armies.
Was Dodo being intentionally vague?
Ajige felt a surge of hatred in his heart, keeping a close watch on the movements of the Ming Army as he retreated.
Ajige's retreat was also within Zhu Ci's expectations.
As long as one had a functioning brain, there was no way they would charge forward against the combined power of a hundred tigers and rocket cannons; it would achieve nothing but a swift death.
The moment Ajige began his retreat, Zhu Ci drew his Yanling Blade and swung it forward. "Pursue!"
Ajige could not help but laugh when he saw that the Ming army actually dared to pursue: "You greenhorns have no idea how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is!"
The cavalry under his command was invincible. The soldiers of the Great Ming were both short and small, their horses were inferior as well; how could they compare to his cavalry?
Ajige's sense of timing was excellent; he quickly noticed that once the enemy had moved out of the range of the Hundred Tigers Charging Rocket Cannons, they had turned to counterattack the Ming army.
No matter how flexible the Hundred Tigers Running Rocket Chariots were, they certainly couldn't compare to cavalry, or even infantry.
Therefore, Zhu Ci generally preferred to start with a couple of rounds of long-range strikes; if the enemy retreated, he would then decide whether or not to pursue based on the situation.
Now that they had caught up, he was in no hurry to charge head-on into Ajige's cavalry. Instead, after noticing that the enemy was gradually slowing down and showing signs of turning back, he immediately halted, sheathed his blade, unslung the bow from his back, notched an arrow.
The cavalrymen following behind him also drew their bows and notched their arrows, just as he had.
Ajige didn't take these few hundred cavalrymen seriously at all; this amount of arrows wouldn't wound many people. As long as they charged through, the Great Ming army's defenses would quickly collapse and disintegrate.
However, as he charged forward, Ajige also felt a sense of confusion; why did the arrows from the opposing side look much thicker?
Could it be heavy arrows?
No, soldiers could use heavy arrows, but how old was the Little Emperor? He hadn't even fully grown into his frame, that small physique clearly wasn't built for innate divine strength; how could he possibly use heavy arrows?
That bow didn't look like a heavy bow either.
Just as Ajige was feeling suspicious, the arrow flew toward him. He instinctively drew his saber to slash, in that moment of striking, he felt as if he saw sparks.
In the next moment, he knew it wasn't just a feeling; there truly were sparks upon that arrow.
Because that arrow exploded right in front of him.
Ajige let out a scream and immediately covered his face; not only him, but the officers beside him and the soldiers behind him all screamed in unison.
Ajige saw through the blur that the Little Emperor had drawn his waist saber and was charging at the front.
Ajige covered one eye and turned his horse's head: "Go!"
Although it was a retreat, it was not quite a rout, because the soldiers in the rear had not been hit by the explosions, they could stay behind to act as a rearguard.
Zhu Ci did not continue using Exploding Arrows while leading the pursuit, not because he couldn't, but because he lacked the capability.
The quality of his cavalry varied greatly; shooting arrows from horseback was a difficult feat to master without proper training.
Not only the cavalry, but even the quality of the horses was inconsistent; the breeds were all over the place, making them seem as if they had been cobbled together from all sorts of sources.
Of course, in reality, they were indeed cobbled together.
Yet, such a ragtag group of people was actually chasing after Ajige's massive army.
During the pursuit, Zhu Ci found it very strange; it was as if Ajige had no idea that rockets even existed.
Don't the members of the Qing Army communicate with each other? Dodo has suffered losses before, so why was Ajige completely unprepared?
He carried this doubt all the way while pursuing Ajige to Huangzhou Prefecture, then he stopped in Huangzhou.
Further ahead is Wuchang, where Ajige's navy is stationed. When the two sides converge, he will be the one running. Moreover, Li Zicheng is also in Wuchang; since he has had no communication with Li Zicheng, when they encounter Li Zicheng's great army, will the two sides fight or not?
He did not want to fight, but what if Li Zicheng feared he would? It would be better to stop and communicate first.
Especially since he didn't even know if Li Zicheng was actually alive or dead.
Inside the Huangzhou Prefecture Yamen, Zhu Ci looked at He Gang and asked, "Do you dare to go and see Li Zicheng?"
Ajige would either run back to retreat his troops or simply ignore Zhu Ci and kill Li Zicheng first to absorb his Dashun Army.
Zhu Ci could not simply wait here for Ajige and Li Zicheng to decide the winner; if he truly waited like this, the only possible result would be an Ajige victory.
Li Zicheng's Dashun Army had long since lost its momentum, its morale might not even be able to be held together.
Before He Gang could speak, Liu Zhaoji spoke up, "Your Majesty, I am willing to go."
Zhu Ci waved his hand without responding to him, merely looking at He Gang.
He Gang immediately stepped forward, cupping his hands, said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to go."
Good. I am sending you to persuade him to surrender. I will write a letter of persuasion for you later. If you can meet Li Zicheng, give the letter to him. If he agrees, then so be it; if he does not, then return. Prioritize your own safety and do not get too entangled with him.
He replied immediately after hearing this, "Yes."
Zhu Ci thought for a moment and looked at Jiang Quan. "You will go with General He."
Jiang Quan immediately stepped out of line and said, "Yes."
This time, writing the surrender appeal was not that much effort for Zhu Ci; after all, Li Zicheng came from a peasant background with limited education, his subordinates were likely much the same.
After all, this man implemented the equal-field system even more thoroughly than he did; Zhu Ci at least compromised a bit and wouldn't drive those wealthy households and landlords to total extinction, whereas Li Zicheng didn't care about anything and simply followed his path to the bitter end.
It was precisely because of this that he lacked visionary ministers under his command.
Zhu Ci also felt that the aristocratic families were not a good thing, but he had to admit that the people they nurtured possessed a vision that was somewhat more far-reaching than that of ordinary people; they had seen more, thus naturally knew more.
He Gang brought a letter of surrender and twenty elite guards, traveling by water toward Wuchang.
When he arrived in Wuchang, Ajige and Li Zicheng were also in their respective states of truce.
When Ajige returned, he did not intend to continue fighting Li Zicheng, because he himself was seriously injured, with one eye nearly blinded by an explosion, so he went straight back to his ship to recover from his injuries.
Li Zicheng was quite well-informed; he knew that after Ajige was wounded, he had originally intended to strike a fallen enemy, but Ajige had returned to his ship very quickly. Furthermore, the Qing Army navy was equipped with Hongyi Cannons, while his own navy had been slaughtered to near extinction by the Qing Army, making it impossible for him to confront them.
Left with no other choice, Li Zicheng could only retreat to Wuchang. It was for the best, as he could take this opportunity to rest and regroup, preparing to go to war with Ajige at any time.
"Your Majesty, the Pseudo-Ming has not continued the pursuit of Ajige; I fear it would be unwise for our forces to take the initiative to attack," Prime Minister Niu Jinxing said with great concern.
The Marquis of Ru, Liu Zongmin, immediately said, "The Pseudo-Ming is watching us like a tiger from the sidelines; I fear they are simply waiting for our army and the Tartars to exhaust each other so they can reap the benefits."
Li Zicheng wiped his face and sighed, saying, "How could I not know what you all are saying? It's just that, what else can we do now?"
“The Pseudo-Ming forces number only tens of thousands. We should attack Huangzhou first to replenish our supplies, then settle the score with Ajige!”
“Absolutely not!” the Marquis of Ze Tianjian immediately said. “Although the Pseudo-Ming forces are few, they must not be underestimated. Ajige's army is strong and well-equipped; he pursued our army all the way here, yet he was ultimately defeated by the Pseudo-Ming and is said to have even been wounded by that Pseudo-Emperor. The strength of the Pseudo-Ming is unpredictable; we must not move recklessly.”
The youngest Li Laiheng was somewhat frustrated: "But.. this won't work and that won't work, are we just not allowed to move at all?"
If we don't move, I'm afraid that won't work either; Zuo Liangyu's troops are still in Jiujiang.
After he spoke, the light faded from everyone's eyes, for a moment, they felt as though they were surrounded by enemies on all sides.
Li Zicheng, who had been silent all along, looked to the side and asked, "Why is Strategist Song remaining silent?"
Everyone looked toward Song Xiance, Niu Jinxing immediately asked, "Has the Strategist divined anything?"
Song Xiance said nothing, only after a moment did he speak, "The general trend of the world is in turmoil. I was unable to divine a result before, so I can only try once more tonight."
Niu Jinxing looked at Song Xiance and said, "It seems the Strategist's divination is no longer very accurate."
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Follow me, I'll give you a bowl of rice and help you avenge yourselves! *Cat with round eyes and a sincere expression holding out a bowl of noodles. jpg*
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock~
Chapter 120
He and Song Xiance had always been at odds, after all, they were in a competitive relationship.
Although Song Xiance is currently only a strategist, many times the Dashun Emperor relies more on this strategist than on him, the Chancellor, which makes Niu Jinxing extremely dissatisfied.
He was a narrow-minded person by nature. Back then, Li Yan was targeted because he had offered slanderous words, claiming that the "Eighteen Sons and the Sacred Artifact" referred to those surnamed Li; since Li Yan was also surnamed Li and held great prestige within the army, he claimed that Li Yan "intended to split the army to establish his own rule and seize the world."
Later, with Li Zicheng's tacit approval, he held a banquet and murdered Li Yan and his brother Li Mu.
Now he found this strategist very unpleasant to look at. How could someone without even a title sit on equal footing with him? Although he was only a Juren, he still held a title!
Song Xiance remained unmoved, merely lowering his head and saying to Li Zicheng, "Your servant's abilities are limited; I ask that Your Majesty punish me."
Li Zicheng waved his hand and said, "No matter. Everyone, please return and rest for now. Ajige will not make any sudden moves for a while, which provides the perfect opportunity for my army to recuperate."
After everyone had withdrawn, each harboring their own secret motives, Li Zicheng had Song Xiance called back.
He leaned forward slightly and asked in a low voice, "Why don't you tell the truth, Strategist Song? What was the result of yesterday's divination?"
Song Xiance's expression was extremely complex, finally, he lowered his head and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Pseudo-Ming Emperor possesses the appearance of prosperity and auspiciousness."
Prosperous and flourishing, a lucky hexagram, signifying a reign over all under Heaven.
In divination, the Ziwei Imperial Star is merely a symbol, not something unique.
Li Zicheng said nothing after hearing this, merely leaning back in his chair, feeling somewhat perplexed.
The Ming Dynasty's destiny has clearly reached its end, so how could the Ziwei Imperial Star suddenly appear again?
When he retreated from the Capital previously, he had already planned to head straight south to take Nanjing, because at that time, Song Xiance had performed a divination for Zhu Yousong, the hexagram indicated great misfortune and downfall, meaning the monarch would face disaster.
The mandate of Pseudo-Ming has come to an end, but it has occupied the best position; as long as he captures Nanjing and establishes a foothold, there is still a chance.
Yet in just a few short months, a successor to the Pseudo-Ming Crown Prince suddenly emerged before his altar; not only did he repel Dodo, but he is now leading troops directly toward Xuzhou.
What exactly is happening within the Pseudo-Ming court?
Li Zicheng was hesitating, contemplating whether to split his forces, when he simultaneously received two letters of surrender—one from Zhu Ci, the other from Zuo Liangyu.
As for Ajige, he was different from Dodo; for him, there was only victory or surrender.
Li Zicheng was somewhat surprised by Zuo Liangyu's letter of surrender. After opening it and glancing at it a couple of times, he let out a sneer and tossed it aside.
Zuo Liangyu was insatiable, actually daring to dream of making him surrender as a subject and even supporting him to become Emperor.