In order to increase his chances of survival, Li Chengliang brought along more than a hundred servants from his family who could be of use. There were also ten thousand cavalrymen and fifty thousand infantrymen from the capital camp who were given to Li Chengliang to lead to Zijing Pass.
It had been three days since Chai Guozhu led the vanguard out, and there was still one day left before Chai Guozhu arrived at Zijing Pass.
At that moment, an unprecedentedly brutal and bloody battle was unfolding at Pingxing Pass.
This pass later became famous because of the bloody battle with the Japanese invaders. It was actually quite a famous and important pass during the Ming Dynasty. It had also been broken through by the Mongolians before, causing a very serious crisis.
Although Yanmen Pass had a longer history of fighting against the enemy, Pingxing Pass was also a very important pass. It guarded the entrance to the central plains from the east and west.
If either of these two passes were broken through, it would be very troublesome.
The defending general of Yanmen Pass had already died in battle. It could only be said that it was fortunate that Wei Yunzhen was still there. Wei Yunzhen used the name of the inspector to fight together with the Ming Army to boost their morale and stabilize the situation at Yanmen Pass. They could even launch a counterattack to suppress the Mongolians' momentum and increase the momentum of the Ming Army. The battle was still in a stalemate.
Pingxing Pass did not have such good treatment. The pass at Pingxing Pass was not as grand as Yanmen Pass. Although there were a lot of troops stationed there, its innate conditions could not compare to Yanmen Pass, which had taken on the role of fighting against foreign tribes since the Warring States Period.
Pingxing Pass was smaller and did not have such tall walls. But to the Mongolians who mainly relied on cavalrymen, it was still a pass that was difficult to break through.
It should have been.
The Mongolians broke through Datong, seized the siege equipment, and captured the Ming Army soldiers who knew how to operate it. They began to have the ability to attack a city. The Mongolian cavalrymen, who could only charge into walls on horseback, could not only fight in the field, but they could also attack a city. It was a nightmare for the Ming Army.
But just like Yanmen Pass, Pingxing Pass was once blessed by the Goddess of Fortune. When the Mongols first attacked Pingxing Pass from the south, Dong Yikui arrived with his troops and joined in the defense of the city, greatly strengthening the garrison strength of Pingxing Pass, making it safe for a while.
However, the Mongolian army was strong and their horses were strong. In terms of military strength, they surpassed the defending army at Ping Xing Pass. In addition to the five thousand men that Dong Yikui brought with him, the defending army at Ping Xing Pass was only twenty thousand men, while the Mongolian army had at least thirty thousand men. If they were to fight in a field battle, Dong Yikui reckoned that the soldiers under his command would not even be able to last an hour.
With the Pass and firearms, although Pingxing Pass was dangerous, it could still hold out. Although the Mongolians used ladders to attack the walls several times, under the leadership of Dong Yikui and the general guarding Pingxing Pass, the Ming Army killed all the Mongolians.
Chopping off the head and throwing the body down had shocked a group of Mongolians, letting them know that the Ming Army was not completely defenseless.
The Great Harmony's defeat was because they were unprepared. Once they regained their senses, the Ming Empire's war machine started to rumble and rumble. A few Mongolian tribes were not a threat to them.
It was just that this war machine had not been repaired for a long time. It had not been used for a long time and was a little rusty. Now, it was being repaired urgently. The soldiers who were fighting a bloody battle were buying time for the machine to start working again.
The Mongolian offensive was very fierce. Not only did they have cannons, but they also had catapults and ballistae. These powerful siege weapons constantly threatened the defending Ming Army. From time to time, there would be Ming Army soldiers dying in the hands of these Daming standard weapons. It was quite an ironic scene.
Another Mongolian used a ladder to climb up the wall. With a wave of the blade in his hand, he killed three Ming Army soldiers. Following that, more Mongolians rushed up the wall. The situation became dangerous once again.
"The few of you, follow me!!"
Dong Yikui gritted his teeth and was about to personally lead the troops to stop them, but he was stopped by Ping Xing Pass's general, Zhang Da.
"Commander! Leave it to I! You still have to command! "
Dong Yikui nodded his head and said, "Quickly kill all the Northern Barbarians and stabilize the situation!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Zhang Da quickly led his troops and rushed over, engaging the Mongolians in battle. The Mongolians who had been slowly gaining the upper hand were slowly being suppressed after Zhang Da led his troops over. There were also some Ming Army soldiers who used their muskets to shoot at the Mongolians who were climbing up. A few of them were killed, and they fell down one after another, turning into a pile of meat paste.
"Northern Barbarians! Die with me!! "
Zhang Da pounced forward with bloodshot eyes. With one slash, he chopped off the last soldier's right arm. With a horizontal slash, he pierced through the soldier's chest, killing the last Mongolian soldier who had climbed up the city wall. Immediately, a soldier used a large wooden stick to push down the ladder. A dozen Mongolian soldiers who were climbing up the ladder fell down together. Some died, some were injured.
The danger here was finally over. The soldiers cheered and chopped off the heads of the 10 Mongolians. Just as they were about to leave, a cannonball landed on the spot.
"Boom!" This batch of Ming Army soldiers were either dead or injured. Some were blasted into mincemeat, some were turned into sieves by the rocks, and some were howling in pain.
Ping Xing Pass's general, Zhang Da, was dead. His chest was smashed by 10 fist-sized rocks, and he died on the spot.
Dong Yikui was commanding the battle when suddenly a soldier came forward to complain about the general's death. Dong Yikui was shocked. He suppressed the pain in his heart and expressed that he understood. He then quickly promoted his deputy general to be the general of Ping Xing Pass, taking over Zhang Da's position and continuing to command the battle.
The battle continued until the afternoon. The Mongolians' attacks became fiercer and fiercer. The Ming Army, on the other hand, was slightly fatigued. Under the premise of heavy casualties, the Ming Army did not have much power to fight back. They could only passively defend the city walls. Dong Yikui led his soldiers everywhere and acted as firefighters. He was exhausted from running for his life, but he still could not stop the Mongolians from climbing up the city walls and attacking fiercely.
Seeing that the battle situation was not good, Dong Yikui had an idea. He ran to the side of the war drum and waved the drum stick. He started beating the war drum loudly, trying to boost the morale of the soldiers. He wanted to tell them that the fighting spirit of the commander was still there and that everyone should not give up on the battle.
The sound of the war drum could indeed boost the morale of the Ming Army. The Ming Army gathered their remaining courage to fight back against the Mongolians. Although there were heavy casualties, the Mongolians did not gain any advantage.
The rumbling sound of the war drum seemed to have attracted the attention of the Mongolians. They started to continuously attack Dong Yikui and his guards from afar. There were constantly soldiers who fell to the ground after being hit by arrows. Some even died from being hit by cannons.
With one shot, Dong Yikui was also thrown to the ground by the violent airwave. After a while, he crawled up while panting heavily. He gritted his teeth and continued beating the drum.
"Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong."
The sound of the war drum did not stop. It kept encouraging the fighting spirit of the Ming Army. The casualties of the Mongolians were getting heavier. They did not have as many men as the Hans. They could not afford to waste time. Although they killed and injured a lot of the Ming Army, their losses were also huge. Based on the ratio, they did not gain any advantage.
These d * mned Hans, why did they not break down?
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
