Dodo did not manage to escape in the end.
Just as he was about to lead his troops to flee, the Xu Chu led Divine Martial Guards suddenly arrived.
Xu Chu did not know that he had met the main general of the Qing army. He only saw that Dodo wanted to escape, so he hollered, "Where do you think you're going!" As he said that, he chased over.
This huge shout reverberated through the wilderness.
Dodo was so frightened that his legs trembled. Originally, he was a little hesitant, but now, he ran even faster.
It was then that Xu Chu realized that he had met a big fish. He instantly led his troops to chase. They quickly left the camp and disappeared into the vast wilderness.
The current moon was still hiding behind the clouds, and only a sliver was revealed.
Luckily, the Divine Martial Guards were all really skilled, and their mounts were all top grade elite Qingfu Horses. Using the little moonlight, they chased closely.
Occasionally, they used their God arm crossbows to shoot out sharp arrows.
Dodo's group were in trouble, as there were many who were shot off their horses. They did not dare to stop to retaliate and only headed forward with all their might. Who knew that the more anxious they were, the easier it was for them to face the unexpected.
As he was too anxious, Dodo did not notice the geography of the area. The horse hooves were not stable and tripped on a rock. Instantly, both men and horses flipped.
When Xu Chu saw that, he was delighted and quickly covered the distance.
Seeing their main general fall off his horse, the following Personal Guards were helpless and could only stop to have a final battle with the enemy. Although they were Personal Guards, how could they be compared to the Divine Martial Guards?
"Kill!"
The Divine Martial Guards charged into the group. Like they were cutting vegetables, they hacked one after another of them off from their horses. They pretty much faced no resistance.
Dodo was imprisoned. Xu Chu executed the rest of the Personal Guards, as he was afraid that there would be problems.
"Let's return!"
After capturing a big fish, Xu Chu was really excited, and he rushed back. When they returned to the battlefield, the entire battle was close to its end.
Dodo abandoning his troops and leaving became the spark that led to the defeat of the Qing army. Seeing their main general disappear, the Qing army whose morale was already low had no mood to resist. They either surrendered or escaped into the wilderness.
When the news that Dodo's forces were captured spread to the north battlefield, Abatai's face sunk.
The north attack was similarly not smooth, as many men died but the city wall still stood. Abatai did not know that a crazy South Ming army would be so hard to deal with.
Seeing the fall of Dodo's forces, Abatai did not insist on continuing. Instead, he ordered his troops to fall back.
Using the night sky, he led the remnants of his forces to escape into the wilderness. He was ready to retreat to Yangzhou City to make a decision after gathering with the player force.
Maybe what he did not realize was that on this night, the fate of the entire Qing Dynasty had changed.
'Hula! Hula!'
Seeing the Qing army escape, the South Ming army gave out a loud cheer.
"It sure was not easy!"
Since the Qing troops started to wage war, the South Ming army had not fought such a soothing battle. Through this battle, it was like they were reborn, and each one of them grew stronger and became fearless.
There was nothing more important than this.
"We have won!"
The soldiers all tightly hugged one another; their eyes were filled with warmth and determination.
"That's right, we have won!"
The civilians cheered; it was more noisy than during the Chinese New Year.
The civilians all swarmed the streets to celebrate this difficult victory. The restaurants and inns that had already closed opened up once more.
The entire street became well lit.
"All wine is free tonight!"
The owner of the inn was really generous, and he used such a method to celebrate the miraculous victory.
"Great!"
The atmosphere was really warm and hyped up.
"Cheers!"
There was a 60 year old man who held up his wine while he used his other hand to wipe away his tears. Both of his sons had fallen on the battlefield and became spirits that fell under the Qing army blade.
This victory was the best sacrifice for the dead.
On the eve of the battle, his daughter and daughter-in-law had told him to escape with them. He did not leave, as he wanted to remain in Jianye. He wanted to live and die with this city.
If the Qing army managed to enter Jianye, the old man was not prepared to live.
"We have won!"
The people did not forget about the soldiers on the battlefield, preparing warm food for them to praise them for their heroics.
"Well done!"
People all gave them a thumbs up. Old people handed over eggs, while girls handed over the bracelets on their hands to give thanks.
The South Ming soldiers who returned from the battlefield were warmly welcomed by the civilians. This was a treatment that they had never received before. Each one of them stood with their heads high and their chests out.
Their great performance tonight made them worthy of such an honor.
A long needed warmth flowed in their hearts. Although it was night, they could feel the heat from the sun, chasing away the darkness that had long covered their hearts.
Jianye, this ancient Capital City, had been revived.
Palace.
"Your majesty, we have won!"
The Hongguang emperor was worried for an entire night, and when he learned that the army had won, he could not help but cry.
No one was more affected by this than him.
"This victory was really too difficult!" From a moment, he suddenly felt that he had not let down his ancestors and had defended Great Ming.
Hongguang thought back to the words that a past emperor had said before his death.
"The heavens have blessed us with such great warriors."
Hongguang emperor spent this night in the ancestor temple, praying till the dead of night.
On the city wall.
Looking at the celebratory scenes within the city, the usually calm Ouyang Shuo felt really emotional.
On this normal night, he had witnessed the rise of a race. A new form of strength known as confidence was spreading amongst the people.
Just like a seed buried in the dirt, hot blood was watered on it, and it finally sprouted.
"There's nothing more meaningful than this."
Ouyang Shuo wanted to thank Gaia. He wanted to to thank it for arranging such a special battle to strengthen his inner hopes and resolve.
"A person's rise, no matter how glorious, will be buried in history. The rise of a race, of a culture, is what truly remains in history."
"That's great!"
Ouyang Shuo smiled, disappearing from the city wall and into the night.
Crushing Dodo's forces was just the start. Next, he needed to command the army up north to reclaim lost land and chase the Qing army out.
The premise to all of this was not on the military but on the people.
As long as they were determined, they would give everything that he was doing meaning. If not, it would just be fake.
That night, Dodo was executed by Ouyang Shuo.