Chapter Seven: Capturing Dai Shan

There is an assassin

Sss... ...

Hmph. Dai Shan let out a muffled grunt and surprisingly spoke in Chinese, "This king does not change his surname or his given name; I am the Prince of the First Rank of the Great Qing, Aisin Gioro Dai Shan"

Wang Pudu suppressed his laughter and replied: "I am Wang Pu, the General of the Great Ming Empire, appointed by Lord Hong, the Commander of Jilin and Liaodong, to lead a battalion of elite soldiers to attack your stronghold of the Jianzhou bandits—Shengjing."

At this moment, the bearded man had already led two hundred men into the village. The more than three hundred Jian slaves inside the village were all elderly, weak, sick, or disabled, and were easily killed without any effort. The remaining over seven hundred Aha were Han people, and upon seeing the Ming army invade the village, they were all visibly delighted. Some of the bolder ones even picked up hoes and rushed out to assist in killing the Jian slaves.

In less than half an hour, the bearded man had completely taken control of the entire manor. Even the dozen or so young Jian slaves hiding in the cellar were dragged out by the frenzied Han Ah, who beat them to death with clubs in the courtyard. These Han Ah, having endured enough humiliation from the Jian slaves, seized the opportunity to retaliate fiercely, and their methods of revenge were no less brutal than those of the Jian slaves.

"I have some knowledge of medicine," Wang Pu said. As soon as he finished speaking, a robust old man accompanied by a young lad, who appeared to be a novice, stepped forward from the crowd. The old man approached Wang Pu and said, "General, I have practiced medicine for decades and have a basic understanding of it. If the General trusts me, I would like to examine your soldiers. If it is merely ordinary knife wounds or arrow injuries, then it should not be difficult for me to handle."

This is truly wonderful, Wang Pu exclaimed, "How should I address you, sir?"

Fortunately, Wang Pu was cautious. If he had initially led six hundred bodyguards to launch an open attack, it would inevitably have evolved into a direct confrontation between the two armies. Given the formidable combat strength of the Jianzhou cavalry, the outcome would have been difficult to predict. This was still the most elite bodyguard unit within the Ming army; had it been an ordinary Ming army, its combat effectiveness would have been even less noteworthy compared to the Jianzhou cavalry.

The Han people in the courtyard immediately erupted in cheers upon hearing these words

With a household of six hundred servants, they launched a surprise attack on over a hundred cavalry of the enemy. Initially, they shot down seventy to eighty riders with a barrage of arrows, but to deal with the remaining thirty or so enemy cavalry, they surprisingly incurred casualties of several dozen men.

This is good," Wang Pu nodded and said, "Now, please return to your respective residences and prepare some meals. Our soldiers have not had hot dishes for several days. If there are any who understand medicine, please come forward to help bandage our injured soldiers.

The remaining soldiers quickly reacted, surrounding Dai Shan in a circle and charging forward. Wang Pu, of course, would not let them have their way. He immediately jumped up from the sorghum field, raised his large knife forcefully, and shouted: "Big Beard, you take two hundred brothers to attack the manor, the rest follow me. We must not let the Jian soldiers escape. Kill!"

"Old man Li Changfu," the elderly man said as he pulled over a young lad beside him, "this is my grandson Li Bao. The general calls him Little Leopard. Little Leopard, quickly pay your respects to the general"

"Dai Shan? You are Dai Shan!" Wang Pu was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Hahaha, this is truly a blessing from heaven."

"Wait a moment." Wang Pu waved his hand to stop the two servants, then leisurely sized up Dai Shan for a moment and said, "Looking at the clothes he is wearing, this fellow should be a noble among the Jian slaves, let's keep him for now."

In the end, Wang Pu had no choice but to personally intervene and weave a lie to appease these emotionally unstable Han people

In the early days, the Eight Banners soldiers relied on sheer bravery due to their outdated equipment, and their combat effectiveness was not particularly strong. However, by the later period of Hong Taiji's reign, with improvements in the equipment of the Eight Banners soldiers and repeated victories in external battles and campaigns, both their confidence and combat experience had risen to a considerable level. At this time, the Eight Banners soldiers had entered a period of prosperity, and their combat power was indeed formidable.

Seeing the servants sprawled haphazardly all over the ground, Wang Pu could not help but gasp in shock.

Two servants brought Dai Shan before Wang Pu and asked, "General, shall we execute this old servant as well?"

The young man knelt on the ground and respectfully said, "Little Leopard pays his respects to the General"

Protect the master and charge forward

Exterminate the traitorous invaders, leave not a single one! Kill, kill, kill!

Everyone, please do not be agitated. Listen to me, I have a tremendous piece of good news to share with you. The army of the Jurchens has been defeated by our Ming army at the foot of Songshan City. The entire force of 200,000 Jurchen troops has been annihilated, and their leader, Emperor Hong Taiji, has also been killed! Now, Lord Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jizhou and Liaodong, has led an army of 300,000 to Xiping Fortress, and will soon cross the Liao River to attack Shenyang. You will soon be able to return home and will no longer have to serve the Jurchens as their cattle and horses.

A harsh, piercing shriek rang out continuously, as six hundred hired men hidden in the sorghum fields by the roadside simultaneously launched their attack. The sharp crossbow bolts intertwined like dense spider silk, and the Jian Nu cavalry, mounted and holding torches, became the perfect targets for shooting, with no shooting blind spots whatsoever. In just a short while, seventy to eighty Jian Nu cavalrymen had already fallen from their horses, wailing.

Hmph, hahahaha..." Dai Shan first let out a cold laugh, then burst into a hearty laugh. After a while, he disdainfully said, "With my Qing Dynasty's thirty thousand elite troops stationed in Shengjing, do you think this ragtag group can dare to provoke the tiger? It's simply overestimating yourselves. Young man, I advise you to abandon this thought as soon as possible.

"Ah, I am unworthy of such praise." Wang Pu hurriedly stepped forward to help the little leopard up, then turned back to instruct the bearded man, "Bearded man, quickly take this Mr. Li to see the injured brothers"

Until the cheers in the courtyard gradually subsided, Wang Pu continued, "Our army's mission is to deceive and open the gates of Shengjing City, clearing the way for the subsequent troops' attack. Therefore, our actions must be discreet. I ask everyone to calm down and stay here for a few more days. Under no circumstances should you venture outside on your own. If our movements are leaked and the Jianzhou bandits in Shengjing City are forewarned, you will become criminals of the Ming Dynasty."

Before they even got close, several servants had already fallen under the arrows of the Jianzhou cavalry

Someone in the crowd responded: "General, rest assured, we will fully cooperate with the actions of the imperial army"

Amidst the surging emotions of the crowd, these Han people nearly set the entire manor ablaze

Dai Shan furrowed his brows and asked, "What are you laughing at? Who are you?"

Very well. The strong man respectfully gestured to the old man, saying, "Please, this way, sir."

"Haha, aren't you being overconfident? Your Highness, you will know soon enough." After saying this, Wang Pu waved his hand and commanded, "Leave two hundred brothers to clean the battlefield, burn the fallen brothers and take their ashes with us. Then, give each of these traitorous soldiers two more stabs to ensure there are no survivors. Strip them of their clothes and armor, and the remaining brothers should take the injured ones back to the village for treatment"

Protect the master!

After suffering casualties of over a dozen men, the household guards finally charged in front of the group of Jianzhou cavalry, and the two armies began close combat. Although the Jianzhou cavalry were highly skilled in martial arts, they ultimately could not withstand the overwhelming numbers. After a fierce battle lasting nearly half an hour, the household guards finally eliminated the remaining thirty or so Jianzhou cavalry and captured Daisan alive.

Six hundred retainers roared as they charged out from the sorghum fields, resembling a pack of hungry wolves pouncing on a flock of sheep surrounded by them. However, the Jianzhou cavalry within the encirclement were clearly not lambs. In the recent raid, the Jianzhou cavalry had already suffered heavy casualties, but the remaining thirty or so riders were elite warriors who had survived numerous battles, possessing not only exceptional martial skills but also remarkable archery prowess