Chapter 2845: Fallen Divine Maiden

Zu An hurriedly reorganized his forces to break free from the crisis, but deep down, he knew that the tides were no longer with him. There was no way his enemies would watch as he left with his army.

As expected, the Manchu army quickly noticed his intention and ordered an all-out attack.

Sixth Elder Naraka saw the signal and dropped the act altogether. He also led his troops out of the city to attack the Ming army. His soldiers were no longer emanating Order power, but potent Annihilation power.

The Ming army was confused. They'd thought that they could finally turn the tables on the Manchus and eradicate them for good, but why had the situation suddenly turned on them? They couldn’t comprehend why their allies in Jinzhou City had suddenly turned against them.

Commissioner Sun had been the highest commander for their border defense. Everyone had always heeded his orders. No one could have thought that he would betray them.

Zu An tried his best to struggle and break free of the encirclement, but the Manchus had designed this trap meticulously with Naraka to corner them. There was no way he would let them escape so easily.

Several times Zu An almost broke free of the encirclement, but the famed Manchu general, Dorgon, shoved him right back in.

Under the Manchu commander flag, a plump man dressed in a yellow robe watched the intense battle and remarked, “That Hong Chengchou is indeed a prodigy. If not for Naraka, we might not necessarily have won this battle.”

He was the Manchus’ Huang Taiji[1]. The Annihilation power shrouding him was so thick that it was almost tangible, sending shivers down the spines of those around him.

“Hong Chengchou is one of the major figures participating in the Order Ceremony, but he isn’t from the Universal Conglomerate. He’s a Memory envoy,” the strategist standing beside him, Fan Wencheng, replied.

“Oh? How did he end up with the Order faction?” Huang Taiji was confused.

“He was courting the Universal Conglomerate’s first miss, Isabella. That could be the reason he’s aiding the Universal Conglomerate.”

“Hahaha! Yet another lust-driven fool. That simplifies matters. Relay my order. I want him captured alive!”

“Yes!”

...

Zu An unleashed everything he had, but he couldn’t turn the tides single-handedly. In such a large-scale battle, his individual prowess was insignificant. The enemies he was up against weren’t ordinary feudal soldiers; these were worshipers imbued with the power of universal deities, mixed with experts from the Myriad Worlds.

In the end, Zu An and his troops were cornered on a mountain, with their rations and water supply cut. It was only a matter of time before they were defeated.

Zu An furiously racked his brains for a solution.

In truth, he knew deep down that Great Ming’s military force had suffered such a heavy loss here that even if he somehow broke free of the encirclement, the compounded problem from their internal turmoil and external invaders had already sealed the Ming Empire’s fate.

Their defeat was already set in stone.

Will everything unfold the way it did in history? Hong Chengchou was defeated in battle, captured, and became a notorious Han traitor. Later, he suffered under the Qing dynasty and was treated like a second-class citizen.

Great Ming also failed to stand its ground and lost its capital to Li Zicheng’s peasant rebel army.

Eventually, the Manchu army breached the pass, destroyed Li Zicheng, and united the world...

Hold on, I’m not just a Memory envoy, but also a Chaos and Enigma envoy. Even if history is already set in stone, I can still tamper with the process.

The thought of that made Zu An’s eyes light up.

...

The Ming Empire was utterly crushed in the Battle of Songjin. Its army was annihilated, and its highest commander died in battle. The news caused a huge stir when it reached the capital. Great Ming’s morale was greatly shaken. Isabella was anguished. Many times she tried to head to the borders to search for Zu An, only to be stopped by the elders.

Meanwhile, Zu An was in the Manchus’ main camp. He had been captured by them.

Influential officials like Fan Wencheng and Dorgon had visited him to persuade him to surrender, but none had been able to move him. His attitude remained firm even when Huang Taiji personally paid him a visit.

Huang Taiji laughed. “You don’t belong to the Order faction. We don’t have to be enemies, so why do you insist on dying with them?”

Zu An maintained his silence.

Is this Huang Taiji an Annihilation worshiper? He’s terrifyingly powerful. No wonder even the powerful Augustus died to the Manchus.

Huang Taiji continued, “Are you doing this for the Conglomerate’s Isabella? A true man can have any woman he wants. Tell me the kinds of women you like. I’ll find you someone no worse than her.”

“I don’t think anyone can compare with her,” Zu An casually replied.

“I doubt that.” Huang Taiji laughed as he walked out.

Zu An had been deep in thought. He couldn’t understand why the Annihilation faction was so determined to bring him into their fold. The Manchus had a massive advantage over the Ming Empire right now, so his presence made no difference to them.

Unless... there's some kind of variable where my help is necessary. But what could that be?

Someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Zu An was perplexed.

I’m a prisoner now. Is there any need for them to knock on the door?

“Da Yu’er[2] seeks an audience with Military Governor Hong,” a cold but pleasant voice echoed.

Zu An was surprised. There were rumors that Huang Taiji had ordered his women to seduce Hong Chengchou and persuade him to surrender... but was there a need for

this

Huang Taiji to do that here?

He hadn't thought that an Annihilation worshiper would need to sacrifice his wife to recruit him.

But why does that voice sound so familiar?

“You may enter.”

Let me meet her first.

A tall, dignified woman entered with a vat of wine. She was dressed in ethnic clothes, though what was more eye-catching were her long legs draped in black silk. Feudal-era clothes paired with modern black silk stockings were a bizarre combination, but somehow, she was able to pull off this contradicting look.

This beautiful woman had the coldest look on her face until she saw Zu An and suddenly stiffened up. Disbelief filled her eyes.

Zu An was shocked as well. The woman before him was none other than Jiang Luofu!

Back then, they had traveled into a spacetime fragment to gather the ingredients required to save Xiaoxi from her Cruel Poison Constitution. However, Jiang Luofu’s determination to save Xiaoxi was so strong that it caught a universal deity’s attention.

The universal deity had summoned her elsewhere, and Zu An had lost contact with her since. He hadn’t expected to reunite with her here.

Zu An, being as quick-witted as ever, snapped out of his daze and quickly asked, “Miss Da Yu’er, is there something you need from me?”

Jiang Luofu’s eyes twinkled with a smile. She played along and said, “Our Khan heard that Military Governor Hong has been on a hunger strike for many days now, so he requested me to deliver some food to you.”

“Miss, what makes you think I’ll eat the food you delivered?”

“Please have pity on me, Military Governor Hong. The Khan will have me executed if you refuse to eat my food.”

Zu An noticed that Jiang Luofu wasn’t emanating any energy at all, so he telepathically asked her what was going on.

“Just like you, I am a prisoner.” Jiang Luofu’s previously cold eyes had regained some spirit. “I am an Order envoy. They captured me to drive me into depravity. For that, they coerced me to seduce the man residing in this room. I was planning to find a chance to end my life, but I didn’t expect that the man I was supposed to seduce is you!”

—

Some additional trivias about Da Yu’er:

Da Yu’er, also known as Empress Xiaozhuangwen, was quite the respected figure in history.

She was the mother of the Shunzhi Emperor, but she’s more well-known as the grandmother of the Kangxi Emperor. She aided the young Kangxi Emperor’s rise to power, encouraged him to learn from the regents, and helped him eliminate regents that threatened to usurp imperial power.

The Kangxi Emperor was considered one of China’s greatest emperors, leaving behind a huge legacy for his descendants. Additionally, he was extremely filial to Da Yu’er.

Her real name was Bumbutai, but the Qianlong Emperor issued a naming taboo, so most people didn’t know her real name. They called her Da Yu’er in performances, and the name stuck.

There are many Chinese dramas following Da Yu’er’s life.

1. He was the second Khan of Later Jin, but after annexing Great Ming, he became the founding emperor of the Qing dynasty. ☜

2. She was later married to Huang Taiji and later became the future Empress Xiaozhuangwen. Her son, the Shunzhi Emperor, later inherited the throne from Huang Taiji. ☜

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