noffsinger Chapter 626 Young Hero
Chapter 626 Young Hero
Chapter 626 Young Hero
"This is too dangerous!" Chen Yuanyuan didn't want her precious children to take any risks.
Zheng Chenggong quickly said, "Yuanyuan, we must put ourselves in a life-or-death situation. What battle is not dangerous? We can break out, but what about those young soldiers? They are all so frightened. If they run away now, they will be left with permanent psychological trauma. How will they be able to go to the battlefield in the future?"
Li Mei echoed, "I also think we should attack."
"Sigh..." Wu Sanying sighed. These two children, who haven't even grown up yet, are war fanatics. How easy is it to fight a war?
Chen Yuanyuan thought for a moment, she didn't quite understand either, and she looked at Wu Sanying and asked, "If we charge into the enemy lines, can we win?"
Wu Sanying replied, "The battlefield is ever-changing. Before the battle ends, no one can be sure whether we can win. I will do my best."
Chen Yuanyuan thought for a moment and then said, "Okay, be careful."
"Yes, yes!" Zheng Chenggong nodded and said with a smile, "Li Meiniang, let's go!"
"Wait!" Chen Yuanyuan quickly stopped Zheng Chenggong and said irritably, "What are you two doing following along?"
Zheng Chenggong said in a serious tone, "Yuanyuan Niang, the battle pet pandas cannot be commanded by anyone else. Only Li Meiniang and I can ride them."
Upon hearing this, Wu Sanying turned pale with fright. This little rascal actually wanted to charge into battle riding a giant panda!
"Young Master Zheng, Madam Li Mei, you don't need to go. This subordinate will send someone right away." Wu Sanying didn't want anything to happen to his young master and Li Mei. If these two died in battle, he wouldn't be able to live either.
But Zheng Chenggong and Li Mei disagreed. The two had been dreaming of going to the battlefield for a long time. Li Mei, in particular, had wanted to join the army all the time when they were in Hanshan. How could she let go of such a good opportunity?
In the end, Wu Sanying still failed to persuade the two.
In front of the defensive position, Xiao Zheng, dressed in well-fitting armor, rode on a giant panda, giving a pre-battle pep talk like a peerless general.
Looking at the terrified students, Zheng Chenggong said passionately, "Uncles and elders, you are all aware of the current situation. Barbarians have invaded our Great Ming territory. Every man of the Great Ming should stand up and defend our country."
"I am but a humble nephew, twelve years old this year! My godfather has gone to war for the country, leaving my two godmothers on the island. To ensure their safety, I volunteer to lead the army and wipe out the invading enemy. I would like to ask you all, do you dare to go with me to kill the enemy?" Zheng Chenggong looked around at the students of the youth army.
The students were terrified, trembling all over, and had no courage to fight again.
People who will become great figures in the future are usually quite impressive when they are young. Although Zheng Chenggong was young, he learned some methods of boosting morale from his father through observation and learning.
Zheng Chenggong said indignantly, "Uncles, I am only 12 years old this year, yet I dare to go into battle to kill the enemy. Are you all scared out of your wits by the enemy? Don't you even have this much courage? If that's the case, I won't force you. You can stand aside and help me hold the line, and watch how I kill the enemy until their souls are scattered!"
The students' faces turned bright red. It was incredibly humiliating. They were adults, after all, to be mocked for being cowards by some immature brat. If word got out that they hadn't participated in the fight, every single one of them would be utterly disgraced.
Scholars often care most about their reputation. Suddenly, the students' inner strength exploded, and their hands stopped shaking and their legs stopped cramping!
"Young Master Zheng is young and promising, we are all inferior to him! Now that a great enemy has invaded, how can we sit idly by! For the Ming Dynasty, we are willing to die on the battlefield!"
Mao Xiang declared passionately, "Brothers, the time has come to serve our country with our lives! We must risk our lives to prevent the barbarians from continuing their rampage!"
The students were filled with righteous indignation, their earlier timidity gone. So what if they had to risk their lives? They were ready to fight the barbarians! They could give up their lives, but they couldn't give up their pride!
Seeing the students mobilized, Wu Sanying admired Zheng Chenggong, a twelve-year-old boy who had the demeanor of a great general.
"Alright!" Zheng Chenggong said, "Uncles, just follow orders and charge!"
By this time, the Dutch had finished their rest, and Van Nistel led his troops forward slowly.
Wu Sanying said, "Young Master Zheng, we'll go first. When the enemy's lines are shrouded in smoke, you can lead your men in a charge!"
Zheng Chenggong nodded and said, "Brother Wu, be careful and remember the tactics."
Wu Sanying nodded, waved his hand, and said to the guards, "Brothers, follow me!"
Chen Yuanyuan's bodyguard team still has more than 160 guards left. They are either from labor camps or servants sent by Wu Sangui. Each one of them is highly skilled in martial arts and extremely loyal.
At Wu Sanying's command, the guards followed him out of the trenches.
At the same time, Zheng Chenggong and Li Mei, riding their war pet giant panda, led two cavalrymen and two dogs, began to move towards the flank of the Dutch.
Seeing the Ming army charging again, Van Nistel smiled slightly. This Ming general was truly an incompetent fool. Their previous charge had been repelled, resulting in a rout, and now they were charging again—were they courting death?
Seeing the Ming troops enter firing range, Van Nistel quickly waved his hand and ordered, "Fire!"
"Bang bang bang..." The Dutch muskets opened fire.
Upon hearing the gunshot, Wu Sanying and his brothers immediately dropped to the ground.
Van Nistel was completely dumbfounded. What was going on? One volley of fire, and all the enemies were dead? No way, their marksmanship couldn't be that accurate!
Wu Sanying lay on the ground, took out a fireball made of "wolf dung" from his pocket, lit it, and threw it hard towards the Dutchman.
The guards also threw fireballs.
When wolf dung is lit, it produces a large amount of thick smoke, which is the origin of the term "wolf smoke." Beacon towers used to transmit military messages always kept wolf dung on hand.
The thick smoke from the wolf dung balls, combined with the gunpowder from the Dutch muskets, quickly enveloped the Dutch in smoke, obscuring their vision.
At this moment, Zheng Chenggong roared, "Charge!"
Two dogs, two cavalrymen, and Zheng Chenggong and Li Mei riding their war pet pandas—six elite cavalrymen in total—charged up from the flank of the Dutch square.
In the blink of an eye, the cavalry charged into the enemy ranks.
The giant panda that Zheng Chenggong was riding bumped into a Dutch soldier, who was immediately knocked to the ground. The two dogs also began to fight desperately, biting anyone they saw! The two cavalrymen were Wu Sangui's henchmen, highly skilled riders, and wielding their long spears, they moved through the enemy lines as if they were nothing.
At this moment, Wu Sanying led his guards, got up, and began to charge.
The Dutch phalanx was broken up by the cavalry.
During World War II, hand-to-hand combat was rare. Only two countries employed it: China, with its inferior equipment, and Japan, which had too many mentally unstable soldiers. In Japanese hand-to-hand combat, infantry manuals stipulated that bullets should be withdrawn from the gun, because firing a gun in close combat was too likely to cause friendly fire.
The Dutch didn't have this rule, and these Dutchmen weren't infantrymen; they were all sailors from the ship with little experience in foot combat. When six cavalrymen charged in, the Dutch panicked and began firing indiscriminately, mostly wounding their own men.
Of course, the cavalry were not spared; Zheng Chenggong was shot in the arm. But the young hero gritted his teeth and persevered, continuing to fight the enemy with his sword.
Then Wu Sanying led his troops to charge forward, and the Dutch had no way to escape, so they could only engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Ming army. When Mao Xiang led the Youth Army to charge forward, the Dutch realized the situation was bad and surrendered immediately.