Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 379 Dead End 4
Kong Youde shot an arrow in the back indiscriminately. The arrow hit Cao Jun's breastplate and bounced off with a jingle. It didn't hurt a single hair of Cao Jun, but it also blocked the fierce general a little.Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kong Youde kicked the horse's belly fiercely with his spurs, squeezed out the last bit of strength from the horse, and galloped towards the wide-open city gate. As soon as he entered the city gate, he yelled: "Li Jiuzheng, close the city gate quickly, close the city gate quickly! !” Panicked, he ignored his identity and called Li Jiuzheng by his name.

What responded to him was a dull sword light.Cold light flashed, and the neck of Kong Youde's war horse was cut off in a row, and the body and head were separated. A column of blood spurted straight out. The galloping war horse curled up its limbs as if it was struck by lightning, and suddenly jumped forward, with a crash. He fell down and threw Kong Youde out.Finally, he saw the opportunity quickly and flipped over in the air to maintain his balance, so he was not injured.He was filled with shock and anger, stared at Li Jiucheng who was hiding in the shadows, and shouted: "Are you crazy?"

Responding to him, another flash of the sword: "Dare to be rude to the commander in chief? Die!" The shape of this knife is a bit weird, with three points and two blades, nearly one foot long, the blade is as wide as a palm, and three feet long. He couldn't dance, but in the hands of the attacker, the knife was like a straw, dancing quickly, Kong Youde hurriedly turned his body to dodge, and finally he didn't get hit.Geng Zhongming felt bad, and roared: "Li Jiuzheng, are you going to take the heads of your brothers to claim credit!?" He rushed up with a team of servants.

What answered him was the giant ax knocked down by the strong wind from both sides of the city gate. This small area was immediately splashed with blood!
Kong Youde barely managed to dodge a few extremely sharp knives, rolled behind a servant who was dumbfounded and pushed him hard, pushing him to the front of the terrifying swordsman. Taking this opportunity, he finally saw clearly Situation inside the gate:

There are hundreds of burly men in the corridor, holding huge axes, and are slashing and killing the rebels who poured into the city gate. The huge axes are flying like slaughtering pigs and sheep.The leading man was holding a long-handled giant knife, the blade was as wide as a palm, and the cutting force was extremely amazing. With a single swing, even people and horses were chopped down.He was naked and bare-chested, showing his extremely strong muscles, his upper body was splattered with blood, he shouted and fought fiercely, his voice was like thunder, he had the demeanor of Li Siye, a fierce swordsman in the Tang Dynasty, which made people frightened!
Kong Youde was terrified, he knew these people, these monsters were the heavy infantrymen of the Heluo New Army who cut open his formation like cans in the Battle of Shahe!How could these battlefield can openers suddenly appear at the gate of Dengzhou City and deal him a fatal blow?
Perhaps Li Jiuzheng, who was hiding behind the hoplite and looking at him with a smile, could give him the answer.

Kong Youde's eyes were red, and he shouted sharply: "Li Jiuzheng, you actually betrayed us!?"

Li Jiuzheng said: "Kong Youde, don't speak so harshly! What do you mean I betrayed you? I am turning away from the dark and turning to the bright! How dare you wait for the clown to have a whimsical idea and rebel, making Denglai's life miserable, and the crime cannot be punished! Now the imperial court has arrived. , are you going to catch him without a fight?"

Kong Youde's eyes were cracked, and he howled wildly: "I'll kill you!" He picked up a saber and rushed towards Li Jiuzheng.The cronies around Kong Youde were also furious, roaring and rushing towards Li Jiuzheng, wanting to die with him.You know, the culprit of Denglai's rebellion was Li Jiuzheng. If he hadn't spent all the money Sun Yuanhua gave him to buy horses, he was afraid that the court would pursue him and killed Wang Xiangchun's domestic slaves in the chaos, coercing them into a mutiny, how could they have become rebels? Homeless?Now everyone is at the end of the road, and the culprit is the first to betray the water, using their trust to sneak into their midst with the elite officers and soldiers, taking the opportunity to seize the city gate and blocking their way of life, how can people not bite Broken teeth, furious!Even if you risk your life, you have to bite him hard!
The rebels who were blocked outside the city also realized that something had happened inside, and rushed in desperately.The Lancers of the Heluo New Army are already close at hand. If they cannot enter the city, they will die!Although they have been killed and injured by Heluo's new army, their number is still more than ten times that of the hoplites, and they are cavalry. Even if they use the crowd tactics, they can drown the hoplites. However, the gate is so big. Only three or four horses can pass through at most at a time, but the corridor is much larger than the gate of the city. The heavy-armored infantry can stand in formation with a heavy axe.The rebels in the city also got the signal to rush over to support them, but they bumped into a wall of swords.Remember that Li Jiucheng brought hundreds of people back to the rebel army?Except for a hundred heavy infantrymen among those hundreds of people, all of them were carefully selected from the Heluo New Army. After leaving Dengzhou City, some of them entered the city, and some stayed at the gate of the city to fight side by side with the heavy infantry. When the heavy infantry launched, they immediately attacked at the same time.The Hengdaoshou who sneaked into the city beat down the unsuspecting rebels, and the streets of Dengzhou City were filled with people's heads and blood splattered everywhere. Hengdaoshou threw oil bottles at the houses while attacking the rebels, and screamed wildly at the same time: "Officers and soldiers have rushed in, run away!" Those oil bottles were full of fierce kerosene with sulfur, nitrate, etc., and soon one after another was lit in Dengzhou City, thick smoke billowed, and the flames Soaring to the sky, there were killing sounds everywhere, and the rebels thought that the officers and soldiers had really rushed in, and they were in a mess.And the swordsmen guarding near the city gate also brandished their swords horizontally, intercepting the rebels who were trying to retake the city gate. With the horizontal swords swung, the mutilated corpses of the rebels fell down convulsively.

Boom boom boom!

The sound of rumbling artillery was heard from the city wall, and the rebel artillery fired chaotically, trying to prevent the cavalry troops of the Heluo New Army from rushing into the city.These artillerymen, who had received rigorous training from Portuguese officers, had high shooting accuracy. Although they were too frightened and their shooting accuracy was greatly affected, dozens of cannons fired at the same time, which still caused a lot of casualties to the Heluo New Army.The performance of the Heluo new army after being shelled also opened the eyes of the rebels. Instead of retreating, they accelerated their horses, roaring, and rushed over, as if they were going to smash the Dengzhou city wall with their war horses. It's broken!Such a fierce opponent was really unheard of, and the rebels couldn't help but feel terrified.The sound of the rumbling guns made the corridors of the city gate hum and shake, a large cloud of dust fell down, blood spattered in the corridors, and the muffled sound of giant axes splitting flesh and blood continued one after another. The ground was full of corpses and dirty blood, thick and disgusting. The bloody, heavy panting, the shrill and short screams, the howling of thousands of troops, and the roar of giant cannons made this square inch like a slaughterhouse for Shura.

Few of Geng Zhongming's and Kong Youde's servants were killed by the slashing of the Mo Dao's huge axe, and the soldiers and horses outside the city were also blocked by the heavy infantry, and they couldn't rush in at all. They became trapped beasts in a cage. .What's even more ominous is that there were bursts of killing sounds above their heads. After the horizontal swordsmen who had sneaked into the city successfully muddied the water in Dengzhou City, they began to attack the artillerymen on the city wall. Killing the past, the rebels were killed and wounded everywhere, and the unarmed gunners became the targets of the massacre very sadly. Some gunners even jumped off the city wall in fright, and fell into a ball of meatloaf.Geng Zhongming was terrified and wanted to run away, but was entangled by Xu Meng.Xu Meng recognized him as a high-ranking official, and knew that it was time for him to perform meritorious service. He swung the huge ax half a circle and slashed down. Geng Zhongming blocked it with his spear, and the spear broke in response. He was shocked and took several steps backwards.Before gaining a firm foothold, Xu Meng took a step forward and kicked over. Suddenly, his iron-shoeed foot kicked Geng Zhongming's chest hard, and the heart guard was slightly deformed. It flew backwards like a doll, and hit a pile of corpses, making it impossible to get up.Xu Meng still refused to let him go, he rushed forward with a lunge, swung his giant axe, and slashed straight down!

At this time, Kong Youde shouted sharply: "Stop! Stop!" As a mighty general of the Dongjiang River, he still had a bit of dignity, Xu Meng was taken aback by his hoarse shout, and the huge ax stopped on Geng Zhongming's neck , only one tenth of a millimeter away, General Geng was about to be blood spattered three feet.

Wang Tiechui put away Mo Dao, stared at Kong Youde, and asked in a deep voice, "What else do you have to say?"

Kong Youde said dejectedly: "We admit defeat, you have won, stop fighting, stop fighting!"

Wang Tiechui said: "Then you have to stop your people first."

Kong Youde shouted at the rebels at both ends of the corridor: "Brothers, stop, we have lost, and if we continue to fight, we will lose our lives in vain!"

The rebels who were desperately fighting were heartbroken, and stopped fighting hesitantly, looking at the dead bodies all over the ground with a dazed expression.Lost like this?Tens of thousands of troops were wiped out after only two battles with the Heluo New Army?Kong Youde admitted defeat, but what should they do?They went all over the land, destroyed states and cities, and killed countless people. Will the imperial court let them go?

The battlefield centered on the city gate corridor gradually quieted down.

Kong Youde threw away the long knife full of gaps in his hand, exhaled a sullen breath, looked at Wang Tiechui, and said: "What a good strategy. If you dare to use only a few hundred people to sneak into the tens of thousands of enemy troops and cut open the city gate, I'm afraid you will be the first one." .”

Wang Tiechui said: "I'm sorry, I didn't come up with this, it's a strategy formulated by our general."

Kong Youde asked: "Where is your general? I want to see him."

Yang Menglong's voice came over: "I'm here." The rebels outside the city gate separated on both sides, and the young commander of Heluo's new army rode Heifeng, separated from the crowd under the protection of a small group of personal soldiers, and walked in.His body was also splattered with blood, obviously killing many people.

Kong Youde looked at this young general who looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, and showed a sad and bitter smile... Could he really be his nemesis?The powerful strength he had spent nearly a year building up was completely destroyed by him in just two head-to-head confrontations.Looking at Yang Menglong's tall figure, he was filled with emotion.He had also been so high-spirited. His extraordinary bravery, Mao Shuai's trust, and his repeated victories made him confident and convinced that he would regain Liaodong together with the brothers in Dongjiang Town!Unfortunately, in the blink of an eye, all these were taken away by a pair of invisible hands. He no longer had the trust of his superiors, no more victory over Jian Nu, and his own bravery had no place to use!

He took a deep breath, bowed to Yang Menglong, and said: "The general uses soldiers like ghosts, Kong admires him!"

Yang Menglong shook his head and said, "I told you that you couldn't win this battle, but you didn't believe it."

Kong Youde said: "From the very beginning, Kong knew that he couldn't win, and he didn't even have half a chance of winning, but... do we have a choice? Forget it, let's not talk about it, General Yang, does your promise still count?"

Yang Menglong said: "It counts. Your brother, as long as his hands are not stained with civilian blood, he will be fine."

Kong Youde said: "Then I can rest assured... Yang Menglong, I envy you. You are luckier than me. From the very beginning, you have a well-equipped army that obeys you unconditionally, a group of generals who are loyal to you, and the emperor's respect for you." Your trust! We have never had these things. When Mao Shuai led us to fight against Jiannu, let alone such sophisticated equipment as yours, he couldn’t even eat enough! After taking down Jiannu’s city, we can still eat for a few days If we can’t get enough food, we will starve to death... Not only that, but we also have to suffer from the imperial court’s anger. As soon as we get the food and salaries we deserve, they will take [-]% of the food and money, and only [-]% of it will be paid to us. It's just that, even the [-]% of the salary is not available every month. Mao Shuai has fought with them, and even brought the lawsuit before the first emperor, but in the end he still couldn't compete with them..."

Xu Meng muttered: "It's all about death, what's the use of talking about it?"

Kong Youde said: "It's useless, I just want to tell General Yang that sooner or later, you and your elite soldiers will follow the same path as me!"

Wang Tiechui was furious: "You are talking nonsense!"

Kong Youde said calmly: "Whether I am talking nonsense or not, you will know soon. In the First World War, Dalinghe rebuilt the slaves and stabbed the slave chief's war horse to death. In the Second World War, he defeated the main force of the rebels in Denglai and defeated Dengzhou alone. Such The record is enough to make you rise to the top, but it will also make you surrounded by enemies on all sides, and you will die without a place to die. Do you know why? Because the court does not need victorious generals, invincible iron soldiers, or even loyal ministers... ...General Yang, if you can end up like Di Wuxiang, it will be a good thing!"

Xu Meng became even more angry: "You dare to curse our general? I will chop you with an axe!"

Yang Menglong stopped him, looked at Kong Youde, and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Kong Youde said: "The government office of the prefect of Dengzhou has piled up the property we have plundered over the past year, worth three or four million taels of silver, you take it all, don't take advantage of those guys."

Yang Menglong said, "Thank you."

Kong Youde said: "There are more than 130 warships in the water camp. If you are interested, you can take them all. If you can use these warships to transport some food and grass to the Dongjiang Islands to feed the brothers in Dongjiang Town, Kong will be under Jiuquan. Thank you too."

Yang Menglong said: "I remember." He looked at Kong Youde again, sighed, walked up to him, took off his saber and handed it with both hands: "Please."

Kong Youde stared at him and asked, "Are you not afraid that I will take you as a hostage and force your subordinates to lay down their weapons?"

Yang Menglong said: "As long as you have the ability, you can try it."

Kong Youde laughed loudly, and drew out the horizontal knife casually, the light of the knife illuminated his face.He stroked the blade lightly, full of praise: "A good knife, a good knife! It's a bit sharper than the sharpest Japanese sword! It must be very enjoyable to chop Jiannu's head with it!"

Yang Menglong said: "If you like it, I will bury you with this knife."

Kong Youde said: "Thank you! In this way, I can use this knife in the underworld to taste the taste of cutting off the head of a Jiannu!" Laughing loudly, he stretched out his hand to untie his clothes, put the tip of the knife against his heart, and fiercely As soon as he exerted force, the horizontal knife entered at the handle, pierced through the chest, and blood spurted straight out along the blood groove.He staggered and fell to his knees, his body convulsing.

Yang Menglong reached out and took the Hengdao handed over by Xu Gong. Holding the knife with both hands, he stood behind Kong Youde and raised the Hengdao towards the back of his neck.Kong Youde closed his eyes, straightened his neck, and murmured: "Yang Menglong, I have never seen anyone as special as you... If you don't become a loyal minister of the imperial court, maybe the slave-building will really end in your hands. …”

On August 21, the fifth year of Chongzhen, the Heluo new army conquered Dengzhou. The rebel generals Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming committed suicide in despair. Li Jiuzheng was also beheaded by Yang Menglong. The Denglai rebellion ended.It took only 20 days from the arrival of the Heluo New Army to the Jiaodong battlefield to conquer Dengzhou, and it was definitely a beautiful blitzkrieg. The strength of the Heluo New Army is staggering.After this battle, the name of Heluo New Army's powerful army resounded across the country, becoming a brilliant star in the late Ming Dynasty when martial arts were sluggish.

However, Yang Menglong, who had won a great victory, did not feel the slightest joy in his heart, because he knew very well that this was a war with no winners.Even if the imperial court exaggerated the achievement of suppressing the rebel army, it could not conceal the fact that Denglai was completely smashed and lost its role as the rear of the Liaoxi battlefield. The saddest thing is that this rebellion was completely forced out by the Ming Dynasty itself of!

The young general climbed up to the tower, looked at the Dengzhou City filled with fireworks, and let out a roar.

(End of this chapter)