Chapter 904: The Yuan Dynasty is Destined to Fall Here
Omubu and the Later Jin envoy inside the city stared, dumbfounded.
A stiff silence!
The atmosphere was undeniably tense!
After several moments of rigid stillness, the Later Jin envoy suddenly yelled, “Open the city gates! Charge out, quickly, go help us!”
Omubu merely uttered, “Oh!”
The instant that “Oh” escaped his lips, Omubu’s right hand swiftly drew the saber from his waist. The blade flashed, too quick to follow, and the Later Jin envoy’s head instantly sprang into the air.
Omubu caught the head with his left hand, rushed to the city wall, and hoisted it high, roaring, “I’ve killed the Later Jin envoy! I’ve killed the Later Jin envoy! Stop firing on us! I’m coming out to help my Mongol brothers!”
The gates of Guhuacheng swung wide, and the Tumed tribe surged out, shouting, “Mongols! We are Mongols! Don’t attack your own people!”
With such a declaration, there was no reason to fight them.
“Charge!”
“Charge!”
With a thunderous crash, the armored car sent another Manchu soldier flying.
The vehicle swung its rear, its front gun barrel spitting fire with a bang, and a distant Manchu soldier instantly collapsed.
Manchu soldiers’ arrows rained down on the armored car, clanging off it with a flurry of dings and bangs. *Their attack failed to pierce your armor...*
Manchu cavalry swiftly charged forward, thrusting lances against its iron shell. *Their attack failed to pierce your armor...*
Enraged, a Manchu soldier drew his saber and hacked wildly at the armored car, *clang, clang, clang*. *Their attack failed to pierce your armor...*
However, with a single *bang* from the armored car’s gun, a Manchu soldier fell, a gaping hole in his chest. He was dead.
Another *bang* as the armored car rammed forward, and another Manchu soldier crumpled, his head crushed.
Their attacks on our side were instantly lethal.
But our attacks on their side always failed to penetrate their armor.
How could this battle possibly be fought?
Dorgon raised his saber, utterly bewildered, unsure how to fight such a contraption.
It was Yue Tuo who reacted faster. “Retreat! Retreat! Let’s figure out how to deal with this armored car before we fight again. Go back, quickly, go back!”
Only then did Dorgon snap awake. Yes, when encountering strange, incomprehensible weapons, the wise course was to retreat first and then slowly deliberate.
“Retreat! Retreat!”
The Manchu sounded the gongs to signal retreat, and Yue Tuo and Dorgon took off running.
Since ancient times, those who achieved great things first learned how to flee. The Manchu loved treating *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* as a military treatise; which of those heroes, Liu Bei or Cao Cao, hadn’t frequently fled? Fleeing wasn’t shameful; failing to escape was.
The two great commanders were the first to run, and they ran incredibly fast.
Yue Tuo, despite being ill and coughing constantly, was now running at a speed no less than that of the healthy, young, and vigorous Dorgon.
Their main contingents instantly darted several hundred meters away.
The armored cars weren’t fast enough to pursue. The Gao Family Village Cavalry Battalion’s horsemanship wasn’t good enough either, so they couldn’t catch up.
However, several Mongol light cavalrymen gave chase. Mongols, with their superior horsemanship, pursued at lightning speed.
Unfortunately, while the Mongols’ horsemanship was superb, their fighting methods were primitive. One rider shot an arrow at Dorgon’s back, but Dorgon dodged it with a swift body movement, then fired an arrow back, actually striking the Mongol cavalryman off his horse.
“Damn it, this fellow has some skill,” someone muttered.
Another Mongol light cavalryman rode swiftly, closing in for a saber strike. Dorgon not only effortlessly dodged but also swung his saber back, cutting that Mongol cavalryman down from his horse.
Everyone stared, astonished.
For a moment, the Mongol cavalry dared not pursue further. Dorgon and Yue Tuo, leading a band of shattered remnants, galloped wildly northeastward, vanishing into the vast plains.
Although the ringleaders had escaped, the battle was won.
The Mongols immediately erupted in cheers. “We won! We won!”
“We finally defeated the Later Jin for once!”
The people from Gao Family Village were equally elated. “The Manchu aren’t so scary after all!”
“We avenged Instructor He!”
“We’ve avenged the common folk who died at Daling River!”
Amidst the chaotic assembly, Omubu, leader of the Tumed tribe, slowly approached the Wushen tribe leader. He bowed his head and knelt on one knee, declaring, “From this day forward, my Tumed tribe pledges allegiance to the Wushen tribe. We shall ally with the Great Ming and together strike down the Manchu!”
The surrounding crowd cheered in unison, “Wushen! Wushen!”
Yet the Wushen tribe leader knew exactly why they had won this battle. He respectfully walked over to Zao Ying, adopting the clasped-fist salute of the Han people, and declared, “From now on, everyone must fight alongside our Han friends to defeat the Manchu!”
“Defeat the Manchu!”
“Defeat the Manchu!”
A wild roar erupted across the steppe.
Zao Ying turned to Omubu. “Where are Ligdan Khan’s wives and son? And the Khan’s seal, passed down from Genghis Khan?”
Omubu dutifully replied, “They are with the Chahar tribe, a fair distance east from here.”
“Excellent!” Zao Ying declared. “Lead the way. We must secure the Khan’s seal.”
As a surrendered general, Omubu was naturally eager to prove his worth.
He obediently led the way. The contingent traveled eastward, and after some time, they reached the encampment of the Chahar tribe.
By this time, the Chahar tribe had long lost the luster of its former Golden Family glory. Years of warfare, waged against disobedient Mongol tribes and the Later Jin, had left it on its last breath.
Facing the formidable coalition of Han, Wushen, Ordos, and Tumed tribes, the Chahar tribe surrendered on the spot, without even nocking an arrow.
Ligdan Khan’s wives, Nangnang Fujin and Sutai Fujin, along with Ligdan Khan’s son, E’zhe, were brought before Zao Ying.
Zao Ying wasted no words, extending her hand and demanding, “Hand it over!”
Nangnang Fujin, with trembling hands, presented an imperial seal. This was the Imperial Seal of the Yuan Dynasty, inscribed with four large characters: *“Zhigao Zhi Bao”* (Seal of Imperial Edicts).
By rights, this artifact should have been given to Wushen, who would then assume the title of Great Khan.
But...
Zao Ying clearly had no intention of handing it to Wushen. Instead, she produced a wooden box she had prepared, lined with soft silk.
She carefully placed the imperial seal into the box, closed it, then tucked the box into a pouch. She smiled. “Nangnang Fujin, Sutai Fujin, E’zhe, the three of you will accompany us.”
The three dared not utter a word of dissent, obeying meekly.
Only then did Zao Ying turn to Wushen. “From now on, the steppe is yours to manage.”
Wushen didn’t yet realize he had become a Mongol traitor, or perhaps, a historical sinner against the Yuan Dynasty. Or perhaps he knew, but pretended not to.
In any case, the Yuan Dynasty was destined to fall at this time, in this place. The only difference was whether it fell into the hands of the Manchu or the Han.
The Wushen tribe leader clasped his hands in a salute and loudly addressed Zao Ying, “My dear Han friend, thank you for helping me pacify the steppe! From now on, I will manage the grasslands well, engage in abundant trade with our Han friends, and together, we shall deal with those Jurchen barbarians!”
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