Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 126 Xianxia Pass

The siege was a brutal and fierce battle. Even though Dingyang County was not high, Bai Yongfu had no way to retreat, and Bolo had no way to retreat either, so it was destined to be a brutal fight.

On the walls of Dingyang, the defenders desperately threw stones, dropped rolling logs, and shot arrows to stop the attack of the Eight Banners Army. They were in a dominant position and used the advantage of the city walls to defend themselves without retreating.

As the saying goes, "Don't stop the returning army." Bai Yongfu blocked the retreat of the Eight Banners. The Eight Banners soldiers, who had no way to retreat, could only fight desperately. Under the city wall, the Eight Banners troops attacking the city launched wave after wave of attacks. They carried ladders, climbed up the city wall, and climbed frantically toward the top of the city. From time to time, the Eight Banners soldiers were hit by rolling logs and stones thrown from the city wall and fell to the ground. However, there were still brave men who jumped onto the city wall and engaged in close combat with the defenders. The swords crossed, the cold light flashed, and the blood was everywhere. The shouts and screams of the soldiers were intertwined, deafening.

Under the city wall, there were corpses and blood everywhere. Both sides paid a huge price. In such a tragic fight, no one was a bystander. Every soldier was fighting for his own survival. This was a life-and-death battle. Only the strong, brave, and lucky ones could survive the fight.

After Bolo stood in the formation, he put down his telescope and said with gritted teeth: "Bai Yongfu..." If you ask who Bolo hated the most, Bai Yongfu would probably be at the top of the list. Compared with Meng Jun, Bolo hated him even more. If it weren't for Bai Yongfu as an insider, Meng Jun would probably still be trapped in Suzhou City at this time. How could he be so powerful and difficult to control?

Nikan, who was below the city, had also reached the ladder. Looking at the low city, Nikan quickly climbed up the ladder, but at this moment, a rolling log was thrown down from the top of the city. Nikan was startled and quickly jumped off the ladder. The moment the rolling log hit the ground, he rolled to the side and narrowly avoided it. Nikan felt some pain in his foot, but he looked at the top of the city, gritted his teeth, and climbed up again.

On the top of the city wall, Bai Yongfu was wearing armor, with guards gathered around him. The battle had only been going on for more than two hours when the Eight Banners soldiers had already climbed to the top of the city wall. If Bolo had not been in a hurry, they would have only had simple ladders to attack the city. If they had had all the equipment, Dingyang City would have been captured within a day.

Bai Yongfu was sweating profusely. Teams of Meng army soldiers under the city wall rushed up to the city wall and filled up the gaps under Bai Yongfu's command. The morale of the Meng army defenders was high. As early as when they entered Dingyang City, everyone knew that this city was the only way for the Eight Banners soldiers to pass. Defending this place would create an opportunity for the governor to eliminate Bolo.

Although the Eight Banners soldiers were brave, they were still unable to capture the city in the face of the desperate resistance of the defenders. At this time, Nikan personally took to the battlefield and jumped onto the city wall. He waved his sword and slashed at the defenders. Several defenders on the city wall were killed by Nikan in succession. For a while, the gap here showed signs of widening.

Seeing that the Meng army soldiers who had been sent in still could not kill or drive Nikan away, and that they were already in a stalemate, Bai Yongfu gritted his teeth and shouted to his left and right: "Come on, kill that Tartar here!"

Nikan also saw Bai Yongfu. As soon as he saw Bai Yongfu, Nikan's eyes turned red instantly, and he wished he could cut him into pieces. Nikan ignored everyone else and rushed towards Bai Yongfu desperately, raising his hand and swung his sword.

However, Bai Yongfu dodged Nikan's fatal blow and forced Nikan back with a backhanded knife. Bai Yongfu was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He did not dare to move forward alone, but relied on the advantage in numbers to attack Nikan. Nikan killed two people in succession, and before he could catch his breath, he felt a sudden pain in his foot. It turned out that he was under too much force, and his already injured right foot was even worse.

Nikan suddenly felt a piercing pain in his right foot, and his whole body tilted. He was not paying attention and was chopped on the left arm by Bai Yongfu's personal guards. The knife was so deep that the bone was visible. Nikan groaned in pain. Nikan's personal guards who were on the city wall hurriedly guarded him and sent him down from the city, while several personal guards behind him were beheaded by the defenders on the city wall.

After Nikan was injured, he had to retreat, and the Eight Banners' attack was frustrated. After a day of fierce fighting, the Eight Banners were still unable to break through the city. Finally, they had to withdraw to the camp, and Bai Yongfu finally held on for the first day.

Bai Yongfu looked at the tragic scene on the top of the city wall. After the siege, the city wall was devastated, and the defenders suffered heavy casualties. The bodies of the defenders and the Eight Banners soldiers were everywhere. Some of them were beheaded, some fell in a pool of blood, and some still held their weapons tightly, with unwillingness written all over their faces. The blood dyed the city wall red, flowing along the cracks of the bricks and stones, forming shocking bloodstains. The air was filled with a strong smell of blood, which made people sick. The wounded soldiers were groaning in pain, their wounds were bleeding, and their faces were as pale as paper.

Bai Yongfu murmured to himself: "Commander-in-chief, you have to hurry up..."

In the Qing army camp.

Nikan's face was livid. Goshha beside him was applying medicine to his arm. Nikan said in a muffled voice: "This city is not difficult to capture. We can definitely capture it in two more days at most."

The former Hangzhou Governor Zhang Cunren sat aside, saying nothing.

Bolo looked at Nikan, nodded after a while and said: "Even if there are heavy casualties, we must break through Dingyang County."

Tulai sighed beside him and said, "They climb the city walls like ants. When did the warriors of Manchuria actually climb the city walls like ants?"

Nikan also said: "Li Chengdong still has more than a thousand people, let them go first tomorrow."

A group of Eight Banners generals nodded. It made no sense for the noble Eight Banners descendants to climb the city wall with the Green Camp soldiers behind them, not even the cavalry could do that.

In Li Chengdong's tent, Li Chengdong, Yan Keyi and Yang Dapu sat together. Li Chengdong drank his wine in silence, feeling very upset. He had devoted himself to the cause since surrendering to the Qing Dynasty. However, after the defeat in Suzhou, he had to live under other people's roofs. Not only that, he also had to retreat all the way, and his adopted son even abandoned him. Li Chengdong's original ambitions seemed to have dissipated at this moment.

Yan Keyi looked at Li Chengdong and said with a worried look on his face: "Li Shuai, I'm afraid we will have to climb the city wall tomorrow."

Yang Dapu nodded in agreement, and Li Chengdong was stunned and said, "We are all cavalry."

Yan Keyi said helplessly: "Yes, we are cavalry, but the Eight Banners soldiers also climbed the city. When we returned to the camp, the Eight Banners soldiers looked at us with strange eyes."

Li Chengdong paused after hearing this, then drank the wine in the jug in one gulp, and then said: "Let him go."

They were speechless for a while.

At this moment, dozens of riders rushed towards Bolo's camp at night. This man was Huang Xiyin, the Minister of Rites. He brought something extremely important to Bolo, that is, Zheng Zhilong was determined to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. The gateway to Fujian, Xianxia Pass, had been opened. Bolo no longer needed to enter Jiangxi from Dingyang County, but could directly enter Xianxia Pass from Jiangshan County, Hengzhou Prefecture and retreat to Fujian!