"Anyone who dares to take a step back will be killed without mercy!"
Zhu Cixiang's eyes were red, he pointed the sword in his hand at the fleeing Ming army, and roared repeatedly.
It's no big deal that these gangsters escaped and hid. What should he, the emperor, do? Where should they hide and where should they escape?
The last two thousand Imperial Guards were all veterans, all loyal, and all wore three-text fine armor.
Upon hearing this, he immediately rushed forward and slashed at the defeated soldiers who escaped from the stairs.
"Those who retreat will be killed without mercy!"
Unfortunately, it was of no use at all. The people in front still pushed back desperately, pushing the people behind them down the stairs, making the scene even more chaotic.
Zhu Cixi also saw it at this time.
There were far more of them than the bandit army that came forward, but the bandits that came forward were all very brave.
On their side, except for Zhou Yuji's people, everyone else was afraid of death and did not dare to go forward. Even the Imperial Forest Army was infected and cowered, and then they were killed and retreated.
At this moment, he finally understood the principle of having more troops but not too many. Too many people would be a bad thing.
No, his two thousand troops wanted to go up to support Zhou Yuji, but instead they were defeated and blocked the corridor.
Once Zhou Yuji and the others are eliminated and the bandits completely occupy the city, there will be no room for a comeback.
When he came to the end, Zhu Cixiang's head became very clear, and he shouted again with a distorted face: "Let me rush to the top of the city. Anyone who stands in front will be killed regardless of friend or foe!"
The Royal Forest Army was also furious, and they really went all the way up the corridor to kill, cutting down the Jingjun Jingying who was blocking the front, and even the Royal Forest Army who came to support earlier, from behind and felling them to the ground.
Then he stepped on their corpses and rushed upward until he collided with the bandit army.
"Kill! Kill for me!"
"Soldiers, I am the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. I am with you. If you kill a thief, you will be rewarded with ten taels of silver and an acre of land. Kill it for me!"
Zhu Cixiang, on the other hand, kept shouting promises at the top of his lungs to boost morale.
The effect was pretty good, at least when Zhou Yuji and the others heard it, they all felt like they were on adrenaline.
The people who had previously run down and hid in nearby houses also ran out secretly and followed the imperial guards as they rushed upward.
Although the two thousand old burly generals had never been on the battlefield, they were all tall and powerful. With their sophisticated armors, their blood surged to the point of killing, and they soon rushed to the top of the city to engage in a melee with the bandits.
.
This greatly reduced the pressure on Zhou Yuji and the others, and as more and more Han generals rushed forward, the situation slowly turned towards the Ming army.
After all, how can climbing up a ladder be faster than rushing up the stairs?
And the most important thing in hand-to-hand combat is armor.
"Your Majesty, I'm here to escort you..."
Dozens of civil servants ran over with their swords and servants in hand, all of them out of breath.
"Okay! My loyal ministers and righteous men of the Ming Dynasty are finally alive. There are also Ni Aiqing, Li Aiqing, etc. I am very relieved, I am very relieved..."
Among these civil servants, Zhu Cixiang only recognized Ni Yuanlu and Li Banghua, but he was still completely moved.
"Your Majesty has a body of ten thousand gold. If you have to retreat a little, I will go and kill the thief in return for your kindness!"
As soon as Li Banghua held his hand, he held his official robe in one hand and his sword in the other, and went up the corridor to kill.
Others followed suit.
As a result, several people fell down on the steps and almost didn't insert their swords into themselves. However, after being helped up by the servants, they still chose to rush upward.
Zhu Cixiang watched this scene without stopping him. Firstly, he wanted to see if they were putting on a show. Secondly, the situation on the top of the city was already one-sided.
at the same time.
On a high platform several hundred meters outside the city, a group of rebel generals were angry and anxious as they watched the originally good situation suddenly take a turn for the worse.
"Damn it, the Ming army actually hides such an elite force, and all of them are wearing elite armor!"
"Commander, we are just feinting, there is no need to fight so hard, we should withdraw our troops!"
"Yes, Sister Hong. It's already getting late, and most of the ladder has been lifted. The defeat has been determined. It's better to withdraw our troops first and regroup tomorrow to attack again!"
"One great effort will lead to exhaustion, and three times it will fade away. If we withdraw our troops at this time, we will definitely miss the mark and never have another chance. Today, our brothers will die in vain!"
Facing the persuasion of her subordinates, the Red Lady turned a blind eye and spoke slowly with no expression on her face.
"Sister Hong, we really can't fight anymore. If we continue to fight, all our brothers will die!"
"Commander, withdraw your troops!"
When the generals saw that she refused to listen, they all knelt on the ground and begged.
One of them suddenly said in surprise: "Sister Hong, listen, the shouting to the west has stopped, Li Guonasi has withdrawn his troops!"
"Hateful! Li Guo deserves to die!"
The red lady listened carefully and saw that the shouts of death from the west had indeed stopped, and there was still the faint sound of bells ringing. She was so angry that she drew her sword and slashed at the guardrail.
"Sister Hong, hurry up and withdraw your troops!"
"Ming Jin, withdraw your troops!"
Although she was unwilling to give in, the Red Lady had no choice but to grit her teeth and order the withdrawal of troops.
Dang-dang-dang, Dang-dang-dang, Dang-dang-dang...
The ordering soldiers below immediately sounded the gong.
Suddenly the harsh sound of gongs spread throughout the battlefield.
The charging troops immediately came to a sudden stop and turned around.
The intruders who had already rushed to the base of the wall also picked up the wounded who were still shouting and ran backwards.
The man who was climbing up the ladder dropped his shield and slid down.
The people on the top of the city were completely mentally shattered.
Those who had time slid down the wooden ladder, and those who had no time simply turned over and jumped down. Most of them were chopped down to the ground by the Ming army.
Of the thousands of elite old thieves who finally rushed to the top of the city, less than a thousand escaped, and half of them broke their legs and were carried back by their companions.
Although the wall is three feet high, there are already piles of corpses below, no less than two meters high. If you are lucky enough to jump on the corpses, you can still save your life.
Looking at the rebel army disappearing like a tide, the Ming army on the tower did not cheer, but all collapsed on the corpses in a pool of blood, gasping for air.
At this time, Zhu Cixi also arrived at the top of the city. Everyone stood up to salute, but he stopped them one by one.
Seeing the bloody corpses on the ground, Zhu Cixiang felt his stomach churn, and he threw up while holding on to the wall.
I simply couldn't bear it.
And this also caused countless people to vomit.
"I deserve to die. I have behaved disrespectfully before you. Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Li Banghua wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and quickly knelt down to apologize. Others also knelt down.
"No problem!"
Zhu Cihong waved his hands, then took a few deep breaths, feeling much better, and then raised his eyes to look down at the city.
I suddenly took a breath of air, almost couldn't hold it back, and spit it out again.
I saw corpses piled up like a mountain under the wall, mixed with a large number of stones, wood, shields, long wooden ladders, and things lying upside down everywhere.
"Zhou Aiqing, do you know who the leading general in the north is?"
"Your Majesty, this person's real name is unknown. I only know that she is nicknamed Red Lady. She is a woman and the only female leader in the army."
"Red Lady, Li Yan?" Zhu Cixiang exclaimed. He didn't expect that there was such a famous figure as Red Lady in history, and she was so fierce.
"Your Majesty, this red lady is Li Yan's wife. In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, the couple engaged in trouble in Henan and later joined the bandits. Both of them were highly valued by the bandits for their talents in culture and martial arts.
It is said that Li Yan is also a civil servant with considerable talent and insight. He is one of the few with real talent and knowledge among the bandits. He is currently the bandit's military advisor!
Although the red lady was born in a rough place, it is said that she is highly skilled in martial arts, knows how to fight, has tens of thousands of thieves under her command, and has extraordinary fighting power. If His Majesty had not personally come to help today, the consequences would be really disastrous!"
At the end of Zhou Yuji's words, he felt a lingering fear in his heart.
But obviously I don’t know much about Red Lady and Li Yan.
Zhu Cixiang, on the other hand, touched his chin and looked at the camp outside the city, lost in thought.
If he remembered correctly, in history, after Li Zicheng's defeat, he seemed to have killed Li Yan under the instigation of Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance.
In other words, the intruders are not just a piece of metal, but are also fighting for power and profit. If they can be used properly, they may have miraculous results.
