Chapter 4

Riding his horse for over ten miles, Zhou Shixiang felt as if his whole body was about to fall apart, and his right arm ached terribly, probably due to the excessive force he used when killing You Yunlong.

After bending his right arm and moving it a few times, Zhou Shixiang sighed. This body was not the one he had trained every day in his previous life as a soldier. If it were his old body, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

The siege of Xinhui had lasted for months, and Zhou Shixiang had been starved to the point of being unrecognizable. Fortunately, after he passed the examination and got married, his family's financial situation improved, and he was able to regain his strength over the next few years. Although he wasn't plump, he looked quite robust.

With this foundation, after the Ming army lifted the siege, Zhou Shixiang went to receive government relief and stayed at home for over twenty days, finally recovering from his weakened state, regaining about eighty percent of his strength. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to take the risk of assassinating You Yunlong. After all, in this world, no one who wobbles while walking would dare to kill.

Thinking about the moment he killed You Yunlong, Zhou Shixiang couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. If it weren't for his identity as a scholar, which made You Yunlong less suspicious and thus less vigilant, he wouldn't have succeeded so easily!

Although he was a cavalryman in his previous life, Zhou Shixiang had never truly killed anyone. He knew that his martial skills would not last long against You Yunlong, a seasoned general who had fought countless battles. If it weren't for You Yunlong's carelessness and the bow that made him feel ashamed, it would have been Zhou Shixiang who died, not You Yunlong.

Killing someone is just a matter of a head nod, but after personally beheading someone, Zhou Shixiang deeply understood the taste of killing. However, he didn't feel the fear and unease that usually follows such an act. Instead, he felt an immense sense of satisfaction because he had killed his enemy, the murderer of his parents and children!

A man of honor should act with satisfaction, and a gentleman should not wait ten years to seek revenge!

Death, Zhou Shixiang was not afraid of. What he feared was that his death would be meaningless. Killing You Yunlong was a long-held intention. Not killing him would not resolve the hatred in his heart, nor would it avenge his parents and children!

Before taking action, Zhou Shixiang had considered that if he failed, the Zhou family would be completely wiped out. But he had no regrets because he wanted revenge. He couldn't kill all the Qing soldiers in Xinhui, but he had to kill You Yunlong, the commander. Even if he couldn't kill him, he still had to try, all for the sake of his deceased parents and children!

How could the death of his parents and children go unavenged!

......

With You Yunlong dead, the Xinhui garrison would be leaderless and in chaos. However, the Qing soldiers pursuing him were probably not far behind.

Zhou Shixiang looked back toward Xinhui, and his body instinctively wanted to rest. But he knew that the longer he rested, the greater the chance that the pursuers would catch up. At that time, alone and outnumbered, he would have no chance against the Qing soldiers and would likely be captured and killed.

Death should have meaning. If he had failed to kill You Yunlong, he would have died, and he could have reunited with his parents and children. Since he was not from this era, why should he cling to life? But now that he had succeeded, he wouldn't die in vain. One You Yunlong was not enough; he wanted more You Yunlongs to die by his sword!

There is a famous saying from the internet in his previous life: "If you travel to the Qing dynasty and don't rebel, you might as well have a drill in your ass." Although crude, it expresses the deep sentiments of the Han people, the silent majority who yearn for rebellion. If you travel to the Qing dynasty, you must rebel. The sons of Han will never be slaves, will never keep the ugly braids, and will never be oppressed by foreign races!

The sons of Han will never be slaves, will never keep the ugly braids, and will never be oppressed by foreign races!

The sons of Han will die like men!

The Ming dynasty has not fallen. In places I cannot see, countless sons of Han are fighting the Manchus with their swords and spears, and countless Han scholars and heroes are striving to preserve Chinese civilization! Having lived two lives, how can I stand idly by, how can I not join them!

Join the army, kill the Tartars!

Thinking of this, Zhou Shixiang's expression became resolute. Ignoring the pain in his body, he gritted his teeth and spurred his horse to continue galloping forward.

......

This horse, a fine Mongolian steed given to You Yunlong by the Prince of Pingnan Shang Kexi, was tall and strong, with excellent stamina. It had galloped for over ten miles without showing any signs of fatigue. It seemed capable of continuing for another thirty to forty miles.

After another twenty miles, there were no residents along the way, and he had deliberately taken several detours. When he reached a low mountain covered with trees and confirmed that there were no pursuers, Zhou Shixiang decided to dismount and rest.

There was a stream at the foot of the mountain. After leading the large gray horse to the stream, Zhou Shixiang found a patch of grass and lay down. He was extremely tired.

As he closed his eyes to rest, his brows remained furrowed.

His parents and children were dead, and he had no home in this world. Xinhui was no longer a place for him. To kill more Qing soldiers, he had to join the struggle between the Ming and Qing. Given his current situation, he couldn't rally a large group of people like the protagonists in穿越 novels, who would gather under his banner and fight the Qing to the death. To kill Qing soldiers, he had to join the army and follow orders.

But where should he go?

The original owner of his body was a scholar, and he had heard about the situation of the Ming-Qing conflict. According to his knowledge, after receiving support from the remnants of the Daxi army, the Southern Ming Yongli court had stabilized its position in the southwest. General Li Dingguo, following the orders of his sworn brother Sun Kewang, led an army of 80,000 to attack Hunan and then Guangxi, defeating the Qing army and forcing the Qing commander, Prince of Dingsou Kong Youde, to commit suicide. Li Dingguo then led his army north to attack Changsha, defeating the Qing army led by Prince Nikan, who was killed in battle, and the entire army was annihilated. This was known as the "two defeats of the famous princes."

After these two battles, the Qing army's momentum waned, and the Ming army's morale soared, shifting the balance of power in favor of the Ming. At that time, Zhou Shixiang thought that the Ming's restoration was within reach. However, for unknown reasons, Li Dingguo suddenly stopped advancing north and instead led his army south to attack Guangdong, suffering defeats in Zhaoqing and Xinhui, which greatly disappointed the scholars and people who had hoped for the revival of the Southern Ming.

Although the Qing army did not gain much from Li Dingguo, the influence of the Southern Ming had spread from Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi to Sichuan and Hunan. However, the overall situation remained one of Ming weakness and Qing strength. The favorable situation created by Li Dingguo's "two defeats of the famous princes" no longer existed. At that time, the Shunzhi Emperor in Beijing was so frightened that he was willing to abandon Jiangnan to negotiate with the Southern Ming. Now, however, he was becoming more aggressive, refusing to back down and determined to eliminate the Southern Ming.

In Guangdong, the Qing army had occupied most of the province, including Guangzhou. Although there were still some Southern Ming forces scattered throughout the region, they were generally weak and confined to coastal areas, with limited impact. The Chaozhou-Shantou region in northeastern Guangdong was not under Qing control but was held by Hao Shangjiu, who had been vacillating between the Ming and Qing.

Hao Shangjiu had always followed Li Chengzhu. In 1649, Li Chengzhu rebelled against the Qing in Guangdong, and the Southern Ming Yongli court appointed him as the Marquis of Xintai, tasked with defending Chaozhou. After Li Chengzhu's defeat and death, Hao Shangjiu surrendered to the Qing but refused to follow orders, maintaining his independence, which made the Qing wary.

Logically, Hao Shangjiu, as a former subordinate of Li Chengzhu, had a strong fighting force and was more powerful than other Ming forces in Guangdong. He was also hostile to the Qing, making him a good choice. However, before the Ming attack on Xinhui, Zhou Shixiang had heard that the Qing Jingnan King Geng Jimao and General Haha Mu had already led troops to attack Hao Shangjiu. It was uncertain whether Hao's forces were still intact.

The saying "a scholar knows the affairs of the world without leaving his home" is clearly not true. Zhou Shixiang, as a mere scholar, had limited knowledge and could not accurately obtain information about the war. Most of what he heard was hearsay and unreliable. Therefore, he did not consider joining Hao Shangjiu a good option. Moreover, in his previous life, Hao Shangjiu was not a well-known figure, and he probably did not last long. Hao Shangjiu might already be dead, and Chaozhou-Shantou might be under Qing control.

Betting on Hao Shangjiu defeating the Qing was too risky, and Chaozhou-Shantou was too small. Hao Shangjiu's actions were those of a warlord, and such a person would not last long. After much consideration, Zhou Shixiang believed that joining Hao Shangjiu was not a good strategy.

Zhou Shixiang had certainly heard of Zheng Chenggong's fame. Compared to Li Dingguo, who was derisively called "Old Bandit" by the Qing, Zheng Chenggong was much more famous in his previous life. However, Zheng's territory was in the coastal areas of Fujian, and the rest of Fujian was under Qing control. Zhou Shixiang had no confidence in crossing the Qing blockade in Fujian to join Zheng Chenggong, and the distance was too far. He would likely be captured by the Qing before leaving Guangdong.

Killing the Han general You Yunlong was a major event, and Zhou Shixiang did not believe that the Guangdong authorities and the Qing army would not be searching for him. The arrest warrants were probably already written and ready to be distributed.

The best option now was to go to Guangxi and join Li Dingguo. Although he did not know why Li Dingguo suddenly attacked Guangdong from Hunan or why he suffered consecutive defeats, the memory of Li Dingguo as the last guardian of the Southern Ming in his previous life made him willing to join him.

Li Dingguo's ability to defeat two Qing princes, Kong Youde and Nikan, demonstrated the strength of his forces. With his two lifetimes of memory and knowledge far ahead of his time, Zhou Shixiang believed he could help Li Dingguo defeat the Qing and prevent China from falling into the hands of the Tartars.

Thinking of this, Zhou Shixiang's heart was filled with enthusiasm, and his brows relaxed. Without hesitation, he sprang up from the ground, led the large gray horse, which had drunk its fill and was now grazing on the green grass, and, after determining the direction, set off along the mountain path toward the west.

......

Urgently seeking readers' favorites and recommendations.

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