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Chapter 1607 Gunshots at Guandao Village
On the east bank of the Shu River, Zhang Guangda was personally in command. After receiving news that a group of Tatar cavalry was heading south, he immediately led his elite cavalry from Zhuchendian northward to meet the southward-bound Tatar cavalry.

Zhang Guangda's Vermilion Bird Battalion suffered considerable casualties while suppressing bandits in the Central Plains. However, as the strongest assault force in the entire Yongyi Army, Marquis Zhang Cheng of Yongning quickly transferred veteran soldiers from other battalions to fill the vacancies.

The Vermilion Bird Camp is now not only at full strength, but its heavy cavalry division has expanded to 827 riders, with three additional heavy cavalry squads; while the scout cavalry division has also reached full strength with two divisions totaling 1,040 riders, which has greatly enhanced the Vermilion Bird Camp's combat power.

Don't assume that the Vermilion Bird Battalion, as an assault force, lacks the combat power to attack or defend, just because it is not equipped with infantry to ensure its speed advantage.

In fact, the tank and supply wagon units deployed by the Zhuque Battalion are its main combat forces for attacking and defending.

In addition to being equipped with tanks and cannons, the tank unit also consisted of 2,100 tank soldiers who were essentially the same as the infantry in other battalions. Their daily training included not only using tanks and firing cannons, but also practicing with swords and shields and long guns, just like the infantry.

The supply wagon department also differed from the supply wagon departments of other battalions. In addition to supply wagons, the supply wagon department of the Zhuque Battalion also had a large number of mules and pack horses, as well as a large number of accompanying veterinarians, with a total of 3,200 people. The number of supply wagons it was equipped with was also twice that of other supply wagon departments.

Therefore, during wartime, the Suzaku Camp's supply wagon unit could easily build a temporary wagon city. In addition to storing and protecting military supplies, it could also accommodate a cavalry unit. If it were to be coordinated with the chariot unit, it would be able to both attack and defend, and move freely.

According to the original plan, Xiang Jinbao, the deputy general of the Zhuque Battalion, led the cavalry and the chariot battalion to be stationed at Gegoudian, mainly to defend the west bank of the Shu River; Wang Tieren, the deputy general, led the light cavalry and the supply wagon battalion to be stationed at Shizilu on the east bank of the Shu River, mainly to defend the east bank of the Shu River; while Zhang Guangda, the battalion commander, led the central army and the heavy cavalry to be stationed at Zhuchendian, providing support from the center.

Upon receiving news that the Tartars had marched south, suspected to be to reinforce the Tartar tribe of Turge in Yanzhou, Zhang Guangda immediately ordered Wang Tieren, stationed at Shizilu, to lead a light cavalry westward across the Shu River to reinforce Xiang Jinbao, while the supply wagon unit, led by Qianzong Yang Qing, was to build a defensive line on the east bank of the Shu River, determined not to allow a single Tartar soldier to advance south.

…………

Eleven li north of Zhuchendian is a village called Guandaozhuang. Its east side is adjacent to the official road, only a few dozen steps away. From the wooden tower at the east corner of the village wall, one can clearly see the activity on the official road.

Although the Mongol Bordered White Banner Tartars led by Suna only had 2,600 to 2,700 true Mongol cavalry, they also included Mongol tribal knights who volunteered to follow them to plunder, as well as Mongol soldiers' lackeys and servants, bringing their total number to nearly 4,000.

Even so, they still left behind more than a thousand servants and soldiers. After all, the cattle, sheep and animals they had captured earlier still needed to be guarded, lest their entire army be sent out and these spoils of war become someone else's benefit!
In addition, these Mongols never lacked horses. Even though the tribes had to offer fine horses to the slave chieftain Huang Taiji every year, it did not affect the number of warhorses of their own people. After all, the Mongols controlled a vast grassland, and raising horses was one of their main occupations.

Moreover, after the Mongol tribes joined the Jurchens, there were strict regulations on how many armored soldiers they could have, which was not something that the tribal leaders could decide on their own.

Therefore, according to the quota of soldiers stipulated by the Jurchens, the Mongol tribes were not short of warhorses. Even some Mongols who were not selected as armored soldiers might have one or two warhorses. The ones who came out to rob with the banner soldiers this time were these banner soldiers.

Each Mongol Bordered White Banner cavalryman was equipped with at least three horses, two of which were warhorses, one main and one auxiliary, and the rest were pack horses, mainly responsible for carrying their spoils of war.

Suna's Mongol troops began their southward march from the camp at 9:00 AM. Although he was very aggressive and did not take the Ming army blocking his way seriously, he was not a reckless person.

His army was divided into three parts. At the forefront were three hundred elite Mongol cavalry and three hundred bondservants, who were mainly there to scout ahead for the main force. The three hundred bondservants, in particular, had no formation at all and were scattered and running wildly among the grass on both sides of the road. Closely following behind were the Mongol Bordered White Banner cavalry led by Suna, about 1,500 armored Mongol cavalrymen, plus more than 500 bondservants, who marched along the road in a slightly more orderly formation.

Bringing up the rear were the remaining eight or nine hundred armored Mongol cavalry, along with more than five hundred bondservants and servants. They maintained a distance of one and a half miles from the main force in the middle, supporting each other and advancing and retreating together.

To outsiders, the vanguard troops that scout ahead are easily visible, but the central and rear forces are almost equal in number. If one does not know the true situation, it is indeed difficult to distinguish which force is the real main force.

…………

Suna rode his horse along the official road. Although he was quite anxious, he knew he couldn't rush things. After all, there was still a Ming army blocking the way south, and he had to be careful that they didn't ambush him.

Along the way, he led his Mongol troops on a stop-and-go journey, becoming increasingly cautious the further south they went.

Every now and then, Suna would send out a hundred or so elite cavalrymen to ride down the official road and gallop across the fields covered with green grass, in order to check whether there were any Ming army ambushes hidden there.

When he passed through Guandaozhuang, he specially sent a small team of a hundred men to enter the village for inspection. However, they saw a group of Ming cavalrymen wearing dark red cloth armor galloping from the east of the official road.

Seeing that the Ming army seemed brave but small in number, Suna didn't pay much attention to them and simply sent a Niru Zhangjing to lead his Mongol warriors to meet them.

However, since Ming cavalry had appeared here, he dared not be too overconfident. He immediately ordered the army to stop marching south and form ranks on the spot, awaiting orders.

Almost simultaneously, several crisp "bang bang bang" sounds came from Guandaozhuang. Although they were hundreds of paces apart, and there was also the sound of Ming army horses galloping from the east, the vigilant Suna still vaguely heard them...

He abruptly turned his horse around, looking back at Guandaozhuang with a grave expression and furrowed brows. He said in a deep voice, "Chaolu, you take two Niru warriors..."

He raised his riding whip and pointed it directly in the direction of Guandaozhuang: "Let's go to that village and see what's going on."

"Whoo."

"Chao Lu..." The Niru named Chao Lu was about to rush forward, but was stopped by Suna. Suna instructed him, "One Niru should enter the village, and one Niru should guard it. Don't all rush in."

"Whoo."