weaving

Chapter 1603 Charge Down and Kill the Light Dogs

March 4th, afternoon.

Inside the Mongol Plain Yellow Banner camp in Xiejiazhuang on the west bank of the Shu River, Gushan Ezhen Yile looked at the Mongol Bordered Red Banner Zhuangda kneeling below and asked calmly, "How many Ming dogs are there over at Vinegar Village?"

"Reporting to Lord Gushan, there are as many as 10,000 Ming dogs outside the vinegar shop. Their cannons are firing extremely fiercely. A large hole was blasted in the north gate of the camp, and several sections of the camp wall were also destroyed by the Ming dogs."

"Buyandai didn't launch an attack?"

"My lord Gushan led my Red Banner warriors into battle, but they only managed to drive back the Ming dogs; they did not succeed in seizing the cannon."

“How is that possible…” A fierce glint flashed in Ile’s eyes: “A mere ten thousand Ming dogs have stumped Buyanda?”

Upon seeing this, the strong man with the red flag hurriedly defended himself, saying, "Master Gushan, the Ming dogs are really cunning, and they are different from other Ming dogs. They are all wearing armor, and their muskets are very powerful. Our warriors have suffered quite a loss."

Ile glanced at him but didn't say anything more. He turned to his men and asked, "Hanachu, what's the situation with Wu Shoujin and Shi Tingzhu?"

Hanachu was a Jiala Zhangjing under the Mongol Plain Yellow Banner. The tall and burly man said in a deep voice, "Reporting to Lord Yile, Wu Shoujin reported that the Han army's Plain Red Banner was harassed by the Ming dog Jiang Xiang's troops, but the camp is well-defended and the guns and cannons are sharp. The Ming dogs cannot get close, so there is no need to worry."

The Han Chinese Plain White Banner troops under Shi Tingzhu reported that they had not yet seen any Ming dogs. Shi Tingzhu and his entourage also dispatched scouts to investigate, but no trace of Ming dogs was found within a fifteen-mile radius of the Plain White Banner camp.

A hint of doubt appeared on Ile's face: "So... there's no such intense artillery bombardment anywhere else? If that's the case, then Buyandai is undoubtedly the main force of the Ming dogs."

He turned to the burly man with the red flag and asked, "Did the Ming dogs only bombard the camp and never attack it?"

"Reporting to Lord Gushan, the Ming dogs also tried to rush into the camp after the shelling, but they were repelled by my Lord Gushan and his warriors, and thus failed."

The strongman of the Bordered Red Banner knelt down again, clasped his hands and said, “But the Ming dogs have many soldiers and powerful cannons. I am afraid that my Gushan will not last long. Once the vinegar village is attacked and occupied by the Ming dogs, not only will the money, grain, goods, people and livestock that we have plundered be lost, but the Ming dogs will also cut off the communication between the Han army and the Plain White Banner in the south. Please send troops to reinforce the vinegar village as soon as possible, Lord Yile.”

Yile stared at the strongman from the Bordered Red Banner who had come to ask for help. After a moment, he waved over the Jiala Zhangjing Hanachu and said in a stern tone, "Hanachu, Bengushan is giving you 1,500 of my Bordered Yellow Banner warriors. Immediately assemble your troops and set off for the Bordered Red Banner camp in Cuzhuang, to be under the command of Buyandaigushan."

"Yes, sir!" Hana responded loudly.

Yile then said, "Send another scout team to find Shi Tingzhu and ask him to allocate a portion of the Plain White Banner Han Army to support Buyandai in resisting the Ming dogs' firearms."

"Whoo."

Ile then looked at the strongman from the Bordered Red Banner who had come to ask for help, and warned him in a deep voice: "Go back and tell Buyandai that if the Vinegar Manor camp is lost, he cannot bear the punishment of the Great Emperor!"

"Whoo."

"You may go."

Hana responded and took his leave, then gathered his men and followed the strong man with the red-bordered flag out of the camp, heading straight for the vinegar factory at breakneck speed.

After some further deliberation in his tent, Yile finally made up his mind and immediately dispatched a Niru Zhangjing (a military officer) across the Shu River via a pontoon bridge to report the situation on the west bank to Zhengming's deputy commander, Turge, and request that Turge send troops to support the west bank.

...On the fourth day of the third lunar month, at the beginning of the Shen hour, the sun was setting in the west, a gentle breeze was blowing, and the sunlight shone on the tender green grass, creating a shimmering effect that made it appear exceptionally vibrant.

A troop of cavalry was traveling on the official road on the west bank of the Shu River. Judging from their hurried manner, it was unclear where they were rushing to.

Even though they were moving very fast, they did not forget to scout along the way. About a hundred paces ahead of the cavalry, another fifty or so riders were advancing rapidly. Their ranks were scattered, with only twenty riders on the main road and the rest slowly advancing among the grass on both sides of the road.

Two hundred paces ahead of these fifty-odd cavalrymen was another group of over a hundred riders, scattered among the grass on both sides of the official road, sometimes galloping and sometimes slowing down, always maintaining a distance of about two hundred paces from the rear group.

The rear guard, consisting of approximately 1,200 to 1,300 cavalry, was divided into three teams of about 400 riders each, spaced about 200 to 300 paces apart.

This shows that this cavalry unit must have undergone rigorous training and been tempered by major battles to maintain such a disciplined marching formation even at such a rapid pace.

Suddenly, the main force of cavalry on the official road stopped and assumed a posture of being ready for battle. Several cavalrymen hurriedly rode back, seemingly to deliver military orders.

A general wearing yellow cloth armor spurred his horse out of formation and came to the side of the official road, gazing westward...

About a mile away, a troop of armored cavalry was seen galloping towards them from the green grass. The clattering of their hooves could be faintly heard.

Hana, speaking in fluent Mongolian, shouted: "You Ming dogs, get your weapons, form ranks, charge down, and kill the Ming dogs!"

He saw the Ming cavalry approaching from afar, numbering around a thousand, at most no more than fifteen hundred, while his own force, though numbering only four hundred or so, consisted of seasoned Mongol warriors.

Besides, with two squads of nearly nine hundred elite warriors behind him, how could he possibly be afraid of the thousand or so Ming dogs' cavalry in front of him?
…………

But things took an unexpected turn...

Just as he led his cavalry down the official road, the more than a thousand Ming cavalrymen opposite him suddenly stopped. Not only did they stop their charge, but about three hundred of them dismounted and lined up in front of him.

The cavalry charge was incredibly fast...

Before Hana could even react, the distance between them had already reached about a hundred paces. It was only at this moment that he noticed something amiss.

Those Ming dogs opposite, dismounted, were brandishing muskets, their dark muzzles pointed directly in their direction...

Although Hana gasped inwardly, he wasn't particularly afraid. With only a hundred paces left, his cavalry could arrive in an instant at a gallop!

The opposing side only had about three hundred muskets, and could only fire one volley. With such a low hit rate, how much damage could they possibly inflict?

However, things were far more complicated than Hannah had anticipated!
Suddenly, the Ming army opposite them changed formation. About two hundred dismounted cavalrymen, in units of ten, moved together, instantly creating twenty openings...

Behind each opening, a series of crouching tiger cannons suddenly appeared, the fuses at the breech of the cannons already lit, hissing and sparking, and it looked like they were about to burn to the base.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." A series of violent explosions followed one after another.

Iron filings and gravel rained down, covering the entire battlefield as they hurtled towards the more than four hundred Mongol Plain Yellow Banner soldiers from Hanachu…