One.
Dong Yikui saw that the situation was turning for the better and felt relieved. He swung the drum even harder and hit the drum even harder. It didn't matter if more than half of his guards died or were injured.
As long as the soldiers could muster up the courage to continue fighting, everything would be worth it!
He hit the drum with all his might. The rumbling sound of the drum stimulated the hearts of every Ming Army soldier.
Their struggle was meaningful.
Dong Yikui had never been so hot-blooded before. Even if he knew that his army would suffer heavy losses, as long as he could defend Pingxing Pass, even if he had to give up his life, it would be worth it. That was his decision.
He raised his hand high and beat the war drum fiercely.
"General, be careful!"
At this moment, a soldier shouted. Before Dong Yikui could react, a long and thick crossbow bolt whizzed towards him.
The arrow broke Dong Yikui's left arm at the elbow. Dong Yikui's broken arm and drum stick flew into the air. Instantly, blood sprayed out from Dong Yikui's broken arm like a spray.
"Ah!!!!!"
Dong Yikui roared angrily like a dying lion. He lost his balance and fell to the ground. The majestic sound of the war drums suddenly stopped. The Ming soldiers who were fighting felt panic in their hearts. They were incomparably panicked and shocked.
The Mongolians just happened to increase the intensity of their attack at that moment. They seemed to be preparing for the last fight. In one breath, they pressed countless soldiers onto the wall. The Ming Army's defense line was riddled with holes and was in danger.
The entire wall was in a chaotic battle. There were endless Mongolians who charged up the wall without any hindrance and joined the battle. In close combat, the Ming Army's disadvantage quickly became obvious. They didn't have any advantage.
A large number of soldiers died on the wall. Blood dyed every brick and stone. All of this happened under Dong Yikui's watch. Dong Yikui's broken arm was still bleeding. He felt himself getting weaker and weaker. He couldn't even feel pain. The guards beside him were panicking and saying something, but Dong Yikui couldn't hear anything.
A large group of Mongols surged towards them, Dong Yikui's remaining three guards drew their blades and prepared for the final battle. They killed a few Mongol soldiers, but they were then hacked to death by even more Mongols. Every single one of them died in battle.
Dong Yikui no longer had any guards to protect him. With a broken arm, he couldn't even stand up. His right hand groped around and found a knife. He struggled to hold the knife and placed it in front of his chest. When he looked up, he could see the mocking expressions on the Mongolians' faces and the excitement they couldn't suppress.
He was a high-ranking official, a third-rank commander-in-chief, the highest military officer of a province. Although he was nothing in the eyes of the civil officials, there were only a few dozen military officers like him in the entire Daming. The death of any one of them was not a small matter.
He supported himself with his saber and straightened his body. He did not know where the energy came from, but he managed to stand up shakily.
The faces of the Mongolians seemed to show surprise. They were surprised that this dying officer of the Ming Army could still stand up and look at them with his saber.
He raised the saber in his hand and used all the strength in his body to rush forward. He swung the saber down as if he wanted to kill another enemy. However, three Mongolians held three Ming Army standard long spears and stabbed them into his chest without hesitation. They pushed him back and he slammed into the wall. The intense pain made him almost numb.
Everything in front of him became more and more blurry. The world in front of him was no longer clear. There was only the sound of the wind in his ears.
Suddenly, he thought of his younger brother, Dong Yiyuan. The two brothers were both high-ranking military officers. They were both evaluated as brave generals. However, the person who evaluated them said that his younger brother did not lose to him in bravery, but in intelligence, he was better than him. Dong Yikui was a little unconvinced at that time.
For this reason, he put in more effort to practice martial arts and spent more time reading military books, but he still failed. He couldn't hold the Pingxing Pass and couldn't turn the tide. Now, he couldn't help but think, if it was his younger brother who fought this battle, would it still be like this?
The three long spears were pulled out of his body. He could no longer feel the pain. The inertia caused him to fall forward. His burly body crashed to the ground. His body smashed heavily into the brick surface of the wall. He took one last breath of cold air.
Pingxing Pass was finished. It was really finished.
Your Majesty … sinner … sorry, Daming …
This was his last thought.
On the thirtieth day of the eleventh month in the twenty-fifth year of the Wanli calendar, Pingxing Pass fell. The twenty thousand soldiers in the pass, from the commander-in-chief of Shanxi, Dong Yikui and the general guarding Pingxing Pass, Zhang Da, all died in battle. The twenty thousand people who had not been able to evacuate in time, other than three thousand young men and women, were captured. The rest, old, young, sick and disabled, were all killed.
That day, Pingxing Pass was on fire throughout the night. It was like a ghost town. Screams, cries for help, and laughter filled this small corner of the world.
When the sun rose in December, there was no longer a trace of life in the ruined Pingxing Pass. There were only flames that had not been completely extinguished and headless corpses that littered the ground.
After the fifty thousand cavalrymen of Tumerte, who were in charge of attacking Pingxing Pass, broke through Pingxing Pass, they sent a group of ten thousand cavalrymen to attack Taiyuan City. The remaining forty thousand cavalrymen rushed to Zijing Pass according to the plan.
They burned, killed, and looted all the Han villages and small towns from Pingxing Pass to Zijing Pass. The people were plunged into misery and suffering. The situation continued to worsen. It was almost to the point where it could not be saved.
The people in this area received the news very early. They ran into the pass with all their might. Those who had horses rode them. Those who did not had to think of ways to get carriages. The poor could only run everywhere. Those who could not run would either wait for death or hide in other places and pray to the Buddha to not be found by the Mongols.
Under such circumstances, a day and a half later, Zijing Pass received a warning.
Chai Guozhu, who had arrived at Zijing Pass to take over the defense of Zijing Pass, was stunned when he heard that Pingxing Pass had fallen and that a large number of Mongols were coming to Zijing Pass. He quickly realized the urgency of the situation and immediately sent someone to report to Li Chengliang and the imperial court. He asked the imperial court to make early preparations while he quickly arranged the defense.
Zijing Pass was located between Toppling Horse Pass and Juyong Pass. It was an extremely important capital city. It was made up of five small cities: Xiaojin City on the north bank of the Juma River, Guancheng City on the south bank, Small Boulder City, Strange Fengkou City, and Guanzuoling City.
The main defense system was formed by the four passes on the south bank. If the south bank fell, the north bank would only have a small river that could be used to resist the Mongols.
In reality, Zijing Pass would also fall.
Once Zijing Pass fell, Beijing would be in danger. Genghis Khan had done this when he was dealing with the Jin Dynasty, and it was also done in the past.
If Zijing Pass fell, the imperial court could start preparing for the third battle to defend Beijing. The Wanli Emperor, Zhu Yijun, would become the third emperor to guard the gates of the country after the Jingtai Emperor and the Jiajing Emperor.
This was really not something to be proud of.
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