Daming: Stealing Chen Yuanyuan at the beginning

Chapter 185

Ningling, within the county government office.

Zhou Yuji leaned over to look at the map, and said to himself, "It's strange, where did the Qing soldiers in Shangqiu area go, and why they disappeared all of a sudden?"

Liu Dacai, the prefect of Guide, said: "It's really strange. A few days ago, the spies came to report that the Qing soldiers gathered in Shangqiu and threatened to kill and plunder the grain in Jiangbei. Ningling County was the first to bear the brunt. Why has there been no movement in the past few days? Ningling is the first city where His Majesty stayed after moving to the south, it is of great significance and cannot be missed, this is why I asked General Zhou for help."

Gu Yanwu cautiously asked: "Will there be fraud in it?"

"This general has such suspicions!" Zhou Yuji frowned and said worriedly, "I have been restless these past two days, feeling flustered and bored. I always feel that something is going to happen, but I can't figure it out. Hey, if the emperor or Yan Junshi Here, you don’t have to worry about the sky falling.”

Just as he was talking, a spy ran into the county office in a panic, yelling, and when he came to the lobby, he threw a dog and gnawed mud.

"General Zhou, something is wrong, the Tartars have occupied Kaifeng City!"

"what?"

The spies cried: "The Tartars raided Kaifeng City last night and killed all the soldiers in Kaifeng City. The people were also massacred, causing countless casualties..."

Zhou Yuji's heart skipped a beat, he swayed and fell into the chair, panting for a few breaths.Suddenly jumped up and shouted: "Where is His Royal Highness, where is Mrs. Liu, are they still alive?"

"The crown prince was captured, and Mr. Liu died... General Zhou, it turns out that Qingluan, the maid next to the crown prince, is a spy of the Tartars. When the Qing army approached the city, it was she who held the crown prince hostage and opened the city gate to meet the enemy."

There was a buzzing in Zhou Yuji's head, and he felt dizzy and almost passed out.

Liu Dacai and Gu Yanwu were also as white as paper, and their hands and feet were stiff.Huang Zongxi was still somewhat sober and calm, grabbed the spies by the collar and said, "There are still [-] soldiers in Kaifeng, why don't you resist?"

"Considering the safety of the prince, the soldiers are willing to die..." The spies thought for a while and added, "It is said that the prince ordered the surrender. Before Mrs. Liu died, he also advised the prince not to surrender to the enemy, but the prince did not obey. .”

Huang Zongxi paused and sighed: "His Royal Highness, you are so confused! It's a shame and a shame that the prince of a country is willing to be a prisoner, an unprecedented shame and a shame!"

Liu Dacai couldn't hold back his emotions anymore, his body became limp and collapsed on the ground, covering his face and crying.

Zhou Yuji came back to his senses, breathed a sigh of relief, got up suddenly and walked out.

"General Zhou, what do you intend to do?" Gu Yanwu asked.

"Go to Kaifeng and rescue the prince!"

"Wait a minute!" Gu Yanwu rushed to the door and grabbed Zhou Yuji's sleeve, "Now General Zhou has only [-] soldiers in his hands, how can he compete with the Tartars? Besides, the crown prince fell into the hands of the Tartars. When the two armies confront each other , the Tartars threaten the life of the prince, can this battle still be fought?"

Huang Zongxi said: "That's true, but the crown prince has to be rescued! I suggest that Governor Du Yinxi be informed, and ask him to order all the troops and horses in Jiangbei to come to Ningling to rendezvous, and to gather the army together to plan a good strategy."

Zhou Yuji said: "No, the troops in all parts of Jiangbei should not act rashly. Who knows if the Tartars have other schemes? Your Majesty values ​​Jiangbei very much, and Jiangbei cannot fall."

"We can't mess up our position. On the contrary, we must deal with it calmly. Governor Du must be notified of such changes, but it is not to ask him to send troops to support him, but to ask him to do his best to stabilize the situation in Jiangbei."

"Gu Yanwu, you go to Xuzhou immediately to meet Governor Du; Huang Zongxi, you travel day and night as fast as you can, rush back to Nanjing, and inform Army Adviser Yan Ermei of the news that Kaifeng has fallen and the crown prince has been captured. Your Majesty is far away in Sichuan and Sichuan, but Only with Master Yan can we turn the tide!"

Zhou Yuji's arrangement is the best way to deal with it now.In the face of sudden drastic changes, it is paramount to stabilize the situation.

Liu Dacai got up and said: "Since this is the case, we still have to make a long-term plan. Please ask General Zhou to sit in Ningling, and my subordinates will accompany Gu Yanwu to meet Governor Du."

"You still don't understand what I mean, I must go to Kaifeng!" Zhou Yuji said firmly and resolutely, "Your Majesty entrusted the crown prince to me, but I failed to take good care of the crown prince. My sin is unforgivable. Let me go." Kaifeng, this general will be benevolent if he fails!"

"If this general dies in battle unfortunately, please tell your majesty that I, Zhou Yuji, have fulfilled your majesty's entrustment and don't need to collect my body. After the Ming Dynasty recovers the rivers and mountains, please majesty build a clothes tomb for me in Ningwuguan. Guard Ningwu Pass with your wife for His Majesty!"

Everyone present could tell that Zhou Yuji was determined to die.They wanted to dissuade them, but they saw that Zhou Yuji had already strode away.

"General Zhou, I'll wait for you to come back..." Liu Dacai chased to the door, his nose was sore, and tears welled up in his eyes again.

……

When Zhou Yuji led [-] soldiers to Kaifeng non-stop, it was already noon the next day.

At this time, the Tazi army had already escorted Zhu Cihong to retreat northward. Fan Wencheng knew that the Ming army would come to rescue their prince, and he was afraid that the Qing army would be trapped in Kaifeng, so he retreated immediately after the successful raid.

Kaifeng City was a tragic scene, and the people who survived by chance were weeping.Zhou Yuji had no time to appease the people, and ordered to pursue the Qing soldiers.

In the afternoon, he finally caught up with the Qing army dozens of miles away.Zhou Yuji took the lead and rushed forward. The soldiers of the Ming army attacked in spite of their fatigue and full of grief and indignation, and the soldiers of the Qing army rushed to fight.

All of a sudden, the sand and rocks flew away, the sky was dark and the sun and the moon were dark.On the battlefield, there are swords, swords and shadows, and blood splatters.

Under the leadership of Zhou Yuji, the soldiers of the Ming army ran like a pack of wolves without hesitation.

The Qing soldiers were overwhelmed by the desperate posture of the Ming army, and struggled to maintain their formation.The two armies were entangled in one place, and the situation was stalemate.

Fan Wencheng saw a brave general in the Ming army from afar, and exclaimed, "Who is this man? What a surprise!"

Kong Youde said: "I know him. I met him during the Jining campaign. He is Zhou Yuji! In the past two years, Zhou Yuji has become famous and won many battles. Chongzhen praised him as the 'Optimus Prime of the Ming Dynasty'. He He is the confidant of Chongzhen, and should not be underestimated."

"It turns out that he is Zhou Yuji, and he really lives up to his reputation!" Fan Wencheng stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and said, "Send my military order to surround the Ming army, and I want to recruit Zhou Yuji."

With an order, the cavalry of the Qing army dispersed, ran around and surrounded the Ming army.

Fan Wencheng and Kong Youde rode their horses up a high slope, and asked Zhu Cihong to ride on a tall horse so that the Ming army could see clearly.

"General Zhou, I, Fan Wencheng, have something to say! Your crown prince is in the hands of our army, please listen to me, General." Fan Wencheng said loudly.

Many messengers shouted together, repeating Fan Wencheng's words.The two armies stopped fighting for the time being, and the battlefield became quiet. Zhou Yuji raised his eyes and looked up the high slope.

Fan Wencheng continued: "General Zhou, you are a rare general, and I have admired you for a long time. General, would you like to follow the crown prince and surrender to my Qing Dynasty? If General Zhou surrenders, I will guarantee your glory, wealth and honor as a prince It's like searching for something..."

"Shut up!" Zhou Yuji roared, looked at Zhu Cihong again, and said eagerly, "His Royal Highness is frightened, and I came to rescue His Highness."

Fan Wencheng threatened: "Zhu Cihuang, if you can recruit Zhou Yuji, it will be a great achievement. Please open your mouth, order the Ming army to lay down their weapons, and let Zhou Yuji surrender, otherwise I will kill you!"

Zhu Cihong trembled, and shouted: "Zhou...General Zhou, if you really want to rescue Bengong, if you don't want Bengong to die by fighting, please surrender immediately!"

"What?" Zhou Yuji was stunned for a moment, and asked, "Your Highness, do you really think so?"

"General Zhou, don't hesitate!" Zhu Cihong shouted.

Zhou Yuji sat on the horseback blankly, with tears in his eyes, he looked up to the sky and sighed: "Youyou heaven, why did my Ming Dynasty have such a cowardly prince? Forget it, forget it, today there is only one dead ear!"

Then leaned over on the horseback and saluted Zhu Cihong.He straightened his body, held up the long knife and said, "His Royal Highness, I'm sorry, I will never surrender!"

Kong Youde shouted: "Zhou Yuji, if you don't surrender, aren't you afraid that we will kill Zhu Cihong?"

"Prince, why are you afraid of death? The ministers are not afraid of death. Please don't tarnish the dignity of the court, and don't humiliate the face of the Ming Dynasty! , you shouldn’t just live by idling, and you shouldn’t be a pawn in the hands of the Tartars. Even if you fight to the death, you should be an example for the subjects of the world! Prince, if you don’t die today, when will you wait?”

Zhu Cixiang was silent and lowered his head.

Zhou Yuji was so bitter that he brandished his knife and shouted: "Soldiers, Your Majesty has abolished the guard system, raised wages, loved soldiers like sons, and all kinds of benevolent and benevolent government. You have seen and experienced it with your own eyes. Tell me, has Your Majesty ever failed you?" Wait?"

"No!" shouted the soldiers.

"Okay, let's not fight for others today, but for His Majesty, to repay His Majesty's kindness, and never die!" Zhou Yuji shouted, and rushed out first.

The soldiers of the Ming army regarded death as home, brave and fearless, burst out with frightening fighting power, and killed the Tartars retreating steadily.

Helplessly, there were few soldiers in the Ming Dynasty, and they ran for another day and night, and their physical strength had reached their limit.They were all supported by their passion, and they gradually fell into a disadvantage, heading towards failure irreversibly.

But knowing that failure was ahead, the soldiers of the Ming army still followed Zhou Yuji's footsteps and walked forward unswervingly.There are fewer and fewer companions around, and more and more corpses under their feet.

This battle lasted from noon to dusk.A round of red sun hangs in the western sky, crumbling.

The Ming army beheaded tens of thousands of Qing soldiers, and it was time for the entire army to be wiped out.Zhou Yuji was surrounded by only a hundred cavalry guards, and everyone was bloodstained and scarred.

The encirclement circle of the Qing soldiers gradually narrowed, but the Tartars were overwhelmed by the fearless courage of the Ming soldiers, so they didn't dare to step forward rashly for a while, and approached slowly with long spears and muskets.

Zhou Yuji was shot by an arrow in his left shoulder and stabbed in his right leg.He pulled out the feathered arrow and threw it away, sat upright on his horse, took the flag from the flag guards, and shouted: "Guards, charge with me!"

The flags are flying, and the setting sun is like blood.

After two rounds of charging, the guards were all killed.Zhou Yuji was stabbed again, the wound was on his chest, he rolled off the horse and hit a dead body heavily.

Zhou Yuji struggled on the ground, and the Qing soldiers watched him stand up and then fall down, fall down and stand up again.

The setting sun shone on Zhou Yuji. At this moment, in this world, only his shadow accompanied him in his stubborn struggle.

After a long time, Zhou Yuji finally stood up. He planted the flagpole on the ground, leaned on the flagpole and wobbled, but he never fell down.He turned his head to look at the sunset, tears streaming down his face suddenly.

He thought of the distant afternoon when he received His Majesty's secret decree two years ago, when Ningwu Pass was also shrouded in the afterglow of the setting sun, he and his wife Liu Shi stood shoulder to shoulder at the pass, holding hands to say goodbye;
He remembered the little things when he followed His Majesty all the way south, remembered His Majesty's kindness, remembered the hardships of His Majesty's painstaking efforts to support the crisis alone, remembered the victory of conquering the warlords and flattening Jiangbei, and remembered Jining's first battle and two victories. King's splendor...

"Your Majesty, I can no longer serve Your Majesty, but I do not regret following Your Majesty in this life... I am not the Optimus Prime of the Ming Dynasty, but Your Majesty is. I look forward to your Majesty's early expulsion of the Tartars and recovery. Heshan!"

Zhou Yuji calmed down, glanced coldly at the Tartars in front of him, and shouted: "Ming soldiers, charge with me!"

Zhou Yuji died. When he died, his legs were kneeling on the ground, his upper body was still straight as loose, and his hands were still firmly holding the military flag.

The flag did not fall, and the setting sun burst into a strong light, and the shadow of the flag stretched very long.

(End of this chapter)