The World Online

Chapter 1072: Moral Courage

7th month, 25th day, Shanhai City.

In the blink of an eye, the last Battle Map of China started. The 100 thousand troops that Great Xia sent this time were the same as during the Battle of Yashan, including the Emperor Squadron, Guards Legion Corps 4th legion, and three thousand Divine Martial Guards.

Apart from that, Ouyang Shuo also asked Bear Legion Corps marshal Li Jing and Administrative Mentor Court Jia Xu to come along. He could feel that this Battle Map would not be simple.

At 9 AM, the System Notification sounded out.

“System Notification: 1645 AD, 2nd year of Qing Shunzhi’s rule, after Great Qing wiped out the Great Shun regime, they went down south to attack the South Ming regime. The two sides fought for numerous days, ending in the Hongguang regime being wiped out. 10th Battle Map – Qing Destroys Ming battle, officially begins.”

…

“Checking requirements, selecting troops…”

“System Notification: This Battle Map is split between the Qing Dynasty camp and the Ming Dynasty camp, please choose a camp! Special Reminder: if you chose the losing side and rewrite history, you will receive huge rewards. Please choose carefully.”

“Choose Ming Dynasty camp!”

“System Notification: Camp selected, teleportation begins!”

After a short while of twist and turning, Ouyang Shuo and his group arrived on the battlefield.

“System Notification: Welcome player Qiyue Wuyi to the Ming Dynasty main camp -Jianye.”

Right after appearing, Ouyang Shuo looked at Feng Qiuhuang and said, “You’re the star this time.”

Feng Qiuhuang opened up her arms and said innocently, “I did not know that I’ll trigger a Battle Map.” Then she asked worriedly, “Would the sudden Battle Map affect Great Xia’s plans in the north?”

Ouyang Shuo waved his hand and smiled, “No matter what comes, I’ll handle it.”

“That’s right.”

Since the start of the game, both of them had been through all kinds of situations. Such a small surprise was not enough to make them panic.

Just as Ouyang Shuo and Feng Qiuhuang had gathered up, a System Notification sounded out in his ear.

“Battle Notification: A total of three Lords participating in the Battle Map, a total of 300 thousand troops. Qing Dynasty camp has one Lord, total number of 100 thousand troops. Ming Dynasty camp has two Lords, total number of 200 thousand troops.”

…

This was the coldest and most fair Battle Map. The three Lords each bringing 100 thousand troops, going all out in the Battle Map.

As for why Di Chen chose the Qing Dynasty camp, Ouyang Shuo was not surprised at all.

First, after the An Lushan rebellion, Di Chen definitely would not want to be in the same camp as Ouyang Shuo. Secondly, he also wanted to get closer to the Qing Dynasty.

The sudden Battle Map undoubtedly gave Great Zhou a chance to work together with Jingdu to go against Beijiang Province. Taking a step back, the Battle Map camp selection did not make much of a difference, so why would Di Chen hesitate?

“Battle Notification: As Qing Dynasty camp is weaker than Ming Dynasty camp, based on Battle Map rules, Qing Dynasty camp forces obtains a 45% defense buff.”

…

One against two, 100 thousand against 200 thousand. Luckily, Gaia was always fair, giving the Great Zhou forces a 45% defense buff.

Just this alone would cut their losses in half.

“Battle Notification: based on rank and merit points, Qing Dynasty camp player representative is Di Chen, Duke. Qing Dynasty camp player representative is Qiyue Wuyi, Prince.”

…

Everyone had already gotten used to this.

Only after the notifications ended did Ouyang Shuo have the time to look at the environment they were in.

The 200 thousand strong army was located in the west barracks in Jianye city. Two miles to the west would be Changjiang. If one went down Changjiang, in less than 100 miles, one would enter one of the main battlefields, Yangzhou.

The place where the river flowed was a natural barrier in the south. Huai River was located between Changjiang and the Yellow River, flowing to the capital region of Yangzhou and then into Changjiang.

Since ancient times, when one defended a river, one had to defend the Huai River. If they lost control of the river, it would be fatal for South Ming. That was because it was a natural transportation line. If the battles were above the Changjiang, then the north and south sides could both use the river to transport goods. The south side would not have an advantage.

When the south side could defend the Huai River, then the South regime would control the transportation line. In an age where transportation depended on animals and foot, to use ships was a huge advantage for the logistics.

There was one more point. Before that region was under stable rule, if the Qing army went too deep into the river, there was no where they could back off to.

If they win, that was good, but if they did not, they would have enemies north of the river. In front of them was a strong enemy, behind them was not a way out, so they could only jump into the river. However, if the Huai River was taken by the Qing army, any point of the thousand-mile river could be where they attacked. Even if they lost, they could back off to the north and not lose much.

On the contrary, the South Ming army would have a headache, as the battle lines were too long, and it was impossible to completely defend. A small defeat and a small failure would give the Qing army a chance to go all the way down south.

The Qing army in history broke through Yangzhou, taking down the Huai River region and entering Changjiang right away. Without the natural barrier, it became expected that Jianye was lost.

History showed that.

In the 2nd year of Shun rule, Dodo sent troops from Xi An to the southeast to attack the Hongguang regime. In the 3rd month, the Qing army occupied Guide. In the 4th month, they split up to attack Xuzhou and Bozhou, with both sides aiming right for Huai River.

Ming Dynasty Shi Kefa ordered the people and troops at Yangzhou to defend, and they managed to do so for 10 days before they were broken through.

After which, the Qing army pretty much did not face any resistance. In the 5th month, the Qing army went passed Changjiang and took control of Jianye, capturing Zhu Yousong and destroying the Hongguang regime.

This entire battle took less than half a year, and the only shining light was the Battle of Yangzhou.

“Who knows whether Yangzhou is still there or not or not.” Although it was like self-deception, Ouyang Shuo did not want the 10 days of Yangzhou to happen once more.

“Move, enter the city!”

Handing the troops over to Li Jing, Guo Ziyi, and the like, Ouyang Shuo brought the Divine Martial Guards along with Feng Qiuhuang and entered Jianye.

With Great Shun being wiped, the Qing army went down south and committed a lot of atrocities. The current Jianye City was shivering in fear, having both people who wanted to fight valiantly and cowards who wished to surrender without a fight.

Looking back in history, the one fellow who wanted to surrender and left a huge impression on Ouyang Shuo was the minister of the board of rites, Qian Qianyi.

This person was the leader of the Jiangnan local tribe, but the soft and despicable nature of this man was really unimaginable.

2nd year, 5th month of Shunzhi, the Qing army were drawing in on Jianye.

Liu Rushi told Qian Qianyi to surrender, but he told her he could not. On the 15th day, not only did he go over to surrender, but he also cut his hair in advance.

And at that moment, Henan inspector general Yue Qijie as well as Yuan Shuju, who was in charge of the Henan logistics, these people that were close to him swore that they would not surrender, going on a hunger strike and dying to show that.

For the leader of the local tribe to be so shameless, he clearly had no moral courage.