Chapter 818: Advance, Advance, Advance
As the scout seemed poised to escape, the Guyuan border army scouts pursuing him grew frantic.
The other five had dealt with their targets and turned to look, but they were too far to help. They could only watch helplessly as the scout sped further and further away.
Just as everyone felt powerless, believing the mission was doomed to fail,
Suddenly, a figure burst from the tall grass with a whoosh.
It was none other than Production Model 3, the Heavenly Lord!
His mystical propulsion wheels spun with incredible speed. Being four-wheel-drive with large rubber tires, his off-road capability was supreme. In an instant, he caught up to the Manchu scout ahead.
The scout heard a strange whirring sound and turned to see a figure, covered in wheels, "driving" towards him at astonishing speed in a prone position.
The sight was utterly terrifying.
The Manchu scout shrieked in terror, "What are you?! Stay away from me! Noooo!"
Thus, the form he revealed in mid-air was a terrifying, half-human, half-machine Terminator T-800.
This kind of sight wouldn't just terrify people in ancient times; even in films from decades past, it could scare an audience half to death.
The Manchu scout was so petrified he could barely breathe.
The next instant, Li Daoxuan delivered a flying kick, striking the scout squarely in the face.
His intention had been to kick the man off his horse and take him alive for questioning, but he had no idea of his own immense weight and power. The kick landed with a sickening crunch of bone; the scout's facial bones shattered, collapsing inward into his skull...
With a "thud," the last scout and his horse crashed to the ground.
Li Daoxuan got to his feet, pulling the silicone shell back into place, and dusted his hands. "Damn it, didn't get a live one," he muttered. "Oh well, no big loss, probably nothing to ask anyway."
Lao Nanfeng rode up from behind, stopping beside him with a grin. "Heavenly Lord! The enemy's scout squad to the southwest is completely wiped out. Now we can launch a surprise attack on the main Manchu army from this direction."
Li Daoxuan nodded. "Good. The rest is up to you."
The battle for Daizhou City was proving incredibly difficult.
The official troops led by the Prefect of Daizhou were simply no match for the Manchus.
At this time, the Manchu Eight Banners forces had not yet succumbed to corruption; they could still legitimately claim the title of "Asia's strongest army." Their warriors were fiercely skilled, savage, and fought with utter disregard for their own lives.
Across the entire Ming Empire, only a handful of renowned units—the Guanning Iron Cavalry, the Qi Family Army, the Tianxiong Army, and the White Pole Soldiers—could truly stand toe-to-toe with the Eight Banners. As for the other "soft-bellied" Ming soldiers, they were utterly incapable of putting up a fight.
Daizhou City was on the verge of falling...
Although Sun Chuanting was adept in both civil and military arts, his personal retinue was too small. Faced with the overwhelming Manchu army, he felt utterly helpless.
The city walls were under siege everywhere. Manchu elite warriors had already breached the ramparts, forming small, stable formations on the battlements, and more Manchu troops were steadily scaling up behind them.
Sun Chuanting saw this unfolding and knew the tide had turned. Daizhou City, he feared, was doomed.
"My lord, we must leave!"
His retainers rushed over, attempting to pull him away.
Sun Chuanting roared, "We cannot leave! We can still fight!"
A retainer countered, "My lord, you are not an imperial official right now; there's no need to push yourself this hard. Look, it's the Prefect who truly cannot leave."
The Prefect of Daizhou, standing high atop the Bianjing Tower, wore a face of ashen despair.
The Emperor had issued a decree: whoever's city fell would be executed.
He was finished.
Since death was inevitable, he might as well get it over with quickly, rather than endure prolonged torment.
The Prefect let out two hollow laughs, then leaped from the Bianjing Tower.
His head hit the ground first, with a sickening thud, and split open...
Sun Chuanting stared, speechless.
His retainers cried out, "My lord, we must go!"
His men grabbed Sun Chuanting from both sides, intending to rush him towards the south gate.
Just then...
From the southwest flank of the Manchu siege army, a new force suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Their arrival was incredibly abrupt; the Manchu attention was entirely focused on Daizhou City ahead, and they had never anticipated an army emerging from the side.
Crucially, no scouts had returned with intelligence!
In battle, nothing was more dreaded than such a mysterious enemy appearing from unknown quarters; it was profoundly damaging to morale.
The Manchu army instantly split into two segments: one continued its fierce assault on Daizhou City, while the other, without waiting for orders from their commanders, instinctively turned to face the new threat.
It was an instinct! An irresistible, primal instinct.
Sun Chuanting, from his vantage point on the city wall, had a broader view and quickly discerned this new, incoming army. Strangely, it bore no banners or standards...
Ah!
That's right!
Tie Niaofei had given me a telescope!
Sun Chuanting hastily pulled out the telescope Tie Niaofei had given him and focused it on the strange, new army. What he saw was truly wondrous: at the very front of the army stood Tie Niaofei himself, waving at him.
Sun Chuanting was overjoyed. "The Jin merchants have organized a militia to help me?"
"Advance, advance, advance!"
The martial song rose into the air...
For the first time, the Gao Family Village Militia had organized an army of ten thousand.
Cheng Xu commanded the center, Lao Nanfeng led the vanguard, Gao Chuwu guarded the left flank, and Bai Mao and Wang Er held the right...
Such a display of force filled every militia soldier with a profound sense of pride.
Oh, and there was also an artillery battalion bringing up the rear.
The artillery battalion commander's face was alight with excitement. "My fellow artillerymen, we have been overlooked for too long! But with the successful development of our light, compact small mortars firing small grenades, the battlefield of the future will surely become our grand stage!"
The artillerymen erupted in cheers. "Let's go!"
The commander ordered, "Small mortars, primary preparation!"
"Small mortars, secondary preparation!"
"Small mortars, fire!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The artillery battalion was the first to engage...
A barrage of light artillery spewed forth fury, launching small grenades, barely larger than fists, from their compact barrels. They soared through the air, high, high, high, like crimson dragonflies against a sapphire sky.
Then, tracing a perfect parabolic arc, they plunged into the heart of the Manchu formation.
For a brief moment, the Manchus were utterly bewildered.
Then, with a deafening "boom," the fragmentation shells exploded.
Shrapnel and tiny steel pellets instantly scattered through the Manchu ranks, felling soldiers in a radial pattern, like petals bursting from a chrysanthemum.
Just one volley!
It left the Manchu soldiers utterly decimated.
Their formations broke, and cries of agony echoed across the field.
"What in the world are those monstrosities?!"
"What kind of demonic shells are these?!"
Cheng Xu took a deep breath, then swept his command saber forward. "Infantry, advance!"
"Advance, advance, advance!"
The Gao Family Village Militia marched forward, singing their battle hymn...
Front rank Flintlock Rifles, volley fire!
Rolling fire! Advance!
In an instant, the Manchu forces collapsed into disarray, no longer an army.
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