GBP Chapter 607 Cowardice
Chapter 607 Cowardice
As Wang Hong was envisioning a bright future, a cavalryman arrived at the city walls and shouted, "May I ask if General Wang of Tianjin is here?"
Wang Hong approached the wall and asked in return, "Who are you, and why are you making a scene at the foot of Jinghai City?"
"Is this General Wang? I am from the Qionghai Army. The Tartars are trying to escape from Jinghai County. The general ordered me to come and ask General Wang to stop them. If we can keep Abatai, half of the credit will go to General Wang."
The trusted lieutenant beside him lit up and whispered, "Commander, the Guangdong soldiers have increased their demands! Half the credit for the battle! Shall we do it?"
Wang Hong snorted, thinking to himself, "What do you know? Let alone whether I'll live to win this battle, even if I manage to hold off the Tartars with heavy losses, I've offended the future Minister of War. I'll inevitably face trouble in the future. It's not as carefree as being the General of Huai'an."
He shouted down from the city walls, "Go tell General Liu that I, Wang, will say the same thing again: I will not send troops without the order of the Ministry of War. There can be no order without rules, and I, Wang, am a man of principle. I will never do anything without a just cause."
The soldiers on the city wall were in an uproar. Although they were also afraid of being killed or wounded in the battle, it would be too cowardly for their brothers to be fighting the Tartars to the death not far away while they stayed in the city doing nothing.
The messenger cavalryman was furious, disregarding rank and social status. Pointing at the city wall, he cursed, "Wang Hong, I'll curse your mother! The Tartars are right under our noses, and you're still spouting some Ministry of War order? Who are you trying to fool? You're clearly just cowards! I'm a Shandong native, and after joining the Qionghai Army, I chased the Tartars all the way from Shandong to Tianjin. You Tianjin soldiers, the Tartars are killing and burning at your doorstep, and you're all hiding in the city, too afraid to come out. You're all cowards, not even worthy to carry our Qionghai Army's shoes!"
The vast town of Jinghai was swarming with soldiers on its walls, yet not a single one dared to object. What they said was the truth, each word piercing to the heart. Most of the Tianjin soldiers were blushing with shame, wishing they could disappear into the ground. Many thought to themselves, "If the Shandong people dare to fight the Tartars, why can't we?" But what could these lowly soldiers do without the general's order?
Wang Hong was furious upon hearing this. These words were like daggers to the heart, easily stirring up the emotions of his subordinates. He immediately drew his bow and arrow, shouting, "What nonsense are you spouting? Shut up!" With that, he shot an arrow.
The cavalryman, completely unprepared for the attack from his own men, was caught off guard and desperately tried to dodge, but was still shot in the arm. Fortunately, his chest, abdomen, and face were not injured. Knowing that he could not persuade the general today, he clutched his wound, spurred his horse, and angrily turned away.
After Wang Hong put down his bow and arrows, he turned around and saw his subordinates staring at him silently. Other soldiers on the city wall were also staring at him with complicated expressions. It seemed that these people did not approve of his actions, but dared not speak out because of his power as the general. He wanted to reprimand them, but was afraid of causing a backlash. After hesitating for a moment, he gave up, snorted coldly, and turned to inspect another section of the city wall.
The wounded cavalryman rushed back and relayed Wang Hong's words to Liu Ye verbatim.
"What? Wang Hong not only refused to send troops, but also wounded one of our men?" Liu Ye roared in anger. "If we weren't fighting the Tartars right now, I would have blown open the gates of Jinghai County and ripped out Wang Hong's heart to see if it was red or black! At a time like this, he's still bringing up the Ministry of War's orders. He's either extremely cowardly or a traitor colluding with the Tartars!"
Qin Tian said resentfully, "I think this guy is not only afraid of death, but he might also be up to something else, deliberately keeping it from us..."
Qin Tian's casual remark was actually close to the truth. However, no one could have imagined that the mastermind behind it all was Yang Sichang, the least likely person to be appointed Minister of War, who also had the secret support of Emperor Chongzhen.
Yan Guang sighed, "These days, he's not the first, nor will he be the last, military general who prioritizes self-preservation and fears battle. Let's leave him alone and think about how to stop Abatai!"
Looking at the Later Jin army that was forcibly passing through the flank, Liu Ye gritted his teeth and said, "The First Regiment and the Independent Regiment, go! Regardless of whether we can hold them off in the end, we must at least try!"
The two regiments changed from a horizontal formation to a vertical formation and advanced towards the Later Jin army, which had already passed most of the way. The Second Regiment was still entangled with the cannon fodder units and could not spare any troops.
Abatai hesitated, observing his opponent's change in formation. These arquebusiers, no longer in a tight formation, were much more effective at charging. Should he turn back and launch a counterattack?
However, after glancing at the soldiers who were hastily riding forward, seemingly without even a moment to look to the left, he immediately dismissed the idea. The warriors of the Plain Blue Banner had already lost their confidence and morale due to the Ming army's attack, and had no desire to fight.
He shook his head and hurriedly gave the order: "Pass through quickly, don't get entangled with them."
"Damn it!" Seeing two regiments abandon their formation and charge forward despite the danger of being outflanked by the cavalry, while the Later Jin army didn't even glance at them and just kept their heads down, Liu Ye couldn't help but curse. Was this still the Later Jin army he knew? "Damn it, what's the difference between these Tartars and the Ming army that fled without a fight? They don't even have the courage to turn back and fight!"
Yan Guang smiled wryly and said, "General, from another perspective, this is also a good thing. The Tartars are afraid of us and dare not linger in battle. This is a level that the Ming soldiers have never reached before."
"What's the use of that? All I want now is to annihilate this entire force," Liu Ye said bitterly.
But two legs can never catch up with four. The Qionghai Army chased desperately, but could only watch helplessly as tens of thousands of Tartars ran further and further away, raising clouds of dust, while they could only eat the dust behind them. At this time, the battle on the Second Regiment's side also ended, and a messenger came to report: "General, those Tartars refused to surrender, fought to their last breath, and are all dead. The Han army has suffered more than half its casualties and has completely surrendered!"
Liu Ye, seething with rage, shouted, "What surrender? Kill them all!"
Yan Guang was startled and quickly advised, "General, killing prisoners is an ominous sign!"
“They’re just a bunch of Tartars. If we don’t kill them, are we supposed to keep them as servants? I don’t have that much food to feed them,” Liu Ye said. “They’ve already forgotten their ancestors by shaving their heads and growing queues. Such heartless bastards don’t deserve to live in this world.”
The order was given, and the soldiers of the Second Regiment immediately took action. Screams of agony rose and fell, reaching Liu Ye's side, but he didn't even flinch.