weaving

Chapter 1612 Follow Me to Kill the Slaves
The two locations were attacked almost simultaneously, which was completely unexpected by Baiyintu.

He had considered many directions and methods for the Ming army to attack, but the way they were fighting was something he had never expected.

You have to admit it, there were reasons why the Jurchens were able to win battles!
Although the incident was sudden, neither the Jurchens who were being bombarded, nor the Jurchens who were being ambushed by Ming cavalry, nor even the Jurchens who were marching south along the official road, appeared particularly panicked. Their ranks remained intact and there was no sign of panic.

However, the situation in Guleta was clearly worse, as they were under artillery fire from the Ming army. Even though the firepower could not compare to modern exploding bombs, the rapid flight of those metal lumps made casualties inevitable.

However, due to the strict military regulations of the Jurchen army, the Tartars did not collapse instantly, but their formation was somewhat chaotic. If a surprise force suddenly rushed out at this moment, they would probably be unable to cope.

In particular, the warhorses ridden by the Tatar soldiers were showing signs of panic and disorder. If it weren't for the Tatar soldiers on horseback struggling to control them, they would have already broken out and scattered in chaos.

…………

"Gushan, the Ming army has moved!" Akdun reminded him from the side.

Baiyintu looked displeased: "Bengushan is not blind."

He did not react immediately, but instead rode his horse to the side of the official road and looked down ahead, shouting in a deep voice: "Pass down the order, the entire army is to line up and stand by, and not to move rashly."

"Whoo."

After observing for a moment, Baiyintu said, "Issue the order: continue south on the official road and do not linger here. Anyone who causes a disturbance shall be beheaded on the spot."

"Whoo."

…………

In just a short while, Ahanikan's side was already engaged in battle with the Vermilion Bird Cavalry led by Morigen.

Without much choice, although Ahani Khan was ordered to intercept the Ming army coming out of the village, Baiyintu did not explicitly forbid him from making other combat options. Moreover, the battlefield situation was ever-changing, and they could not afford to fight a deadlock.

Moreover, if the Ming cavalry suddenly attacked, Ahani Khan couldn't just stand by and watch the enemy rush towards him, letting them hack and slash at him without fighting back, could he?
When he heard the sudden roar of cannons coming from Zhao Jia Gou village, he immediately ordered his Tartar soldiers to be alert and ready to attack at any time.

Apart from the cannon fire, there was no other noise coming from the village. Instead, a troop of cavalry rushed out from the grass to the south.

Ahanikan glanced at the direction of the village a few times, then let out a loud shout and personally led five hundred Jianzhou Bordered Yellow Banner Tatar cavalrymen, who roared and charged south to meet them.

The two cavalrymen, about two hundred paces apart, accelerated and charged at each other almost simultaneously, but then a miraculous scene unfolded...

When they were about fifty or sixty paces apart, the Jurchen and Ming cavalry made the same move—they simultaneously turned their horses to the left and galloped forward again.

Their tactical choices were exactly the same; neither wanted to engage in close combat, which created a very interesting situation...

The two cavalry forces, positioned thirty to fifty paces apart, exchanged fire with crossbows, throwing axes, javelins, and maces. Occasionally, the sounds of hand cannons exploding could be heard. Each knight was highly skilled, possessing exceptional horsemanship. They controlled their horses with their legs and their waists, swaying back and forth on their saddles to dodge arrows and other deadly weapons. Some even lay prone on their horses while simultaneously firing arrows to kill their enemies.
The sounds of clanging and banging continued, occasionally interspersed with loud bangs, and the screams and mournful cries of warhorses could be heard, revealing the brutality and tragedy of the battlefield.

A flying axe came hurtling towards him, but Morigenze caught it steadily on his horse. With a powerful twist of his waist, he turned and threw the axe back at the Jurchens of the Bordered Yellow Banner.

Such "flanking, receiving, and firing" maneuvers were constantly being performed in the cavalry formations of both sides. Although they looked quite ingenious, each move was deadly. A slight mistake could lead to death on the battlefield, with minor injuries and bleeding, or even death.

The two cavalry units quickly separated, as if they had switched places. The Vermilion Bird Camp was now on the high ground beside the official road to the north, while Ahanikan was in the grass to the south.

Just as Ahani Khan was waiting for the Ming cavalry to charge down from the high ground where he had been standing, a scene that surprised him appeared—the group of more than 500 Ming cavalrymen turned around and did not turn back to continue fighting him, but instead charged towards the location of Guleta to the north.

…………

The mortar fired three rounds in quick succession, which wouldn't take much time anyway.

Guleta suppressed the five hundred Jianzhou warriors he led, trying his best to keep their formation intact. In doing so, he even killed two warriors on the spot who had lost control of their horses and were running wild.

But when the cannon fire subsided and the shelling ended, he saw no soldiers or troops charging out from the village ahead. Instead, he heard fierce fighting coming from the south, but he dared not make a move.

Just as the battle cries from the south subsided, and everyone thought that Ahanikan had defeated the invading Ming army, the Ming army from the south unexpectedly broke through Ahanikan's defenses and charged towards them.

The two sides were more than a mile apart. Even if Morigen charged at full speed, he could not arrive instantly, since he could not teleport and could only rely on his warhorse to charge over.

"Warriors, do not tarnish the prestige of our Bordered Yellow Banner, follow me to kill the Ming dogs!"

Guleta shouted loudly to boost morale, leading the Bordered Yellow Banner Tartar soldiers who had just been bombarded by cannon fire, and they rushed towards Morigen, who was coming from the south, shouting wildly.

…………

As soon as Guleta took action, there was also movement in Zhaojialing Village. A group of Ming cavalry rushed out from the east gate of the village.

Although it was not immediately clear how many Ming cavalrymen had charged out of the village, since they dared to take the initiative, it was certainly not a small Ming army of a hundred or eighty men.

"Gan Xu, the artillery team is in your hands now. Make sure you bring it back to Gujiashao intact."

A slightly thin young knight, mounted on his horse, shouted to Xiang Jinbao, "Don't worry, General Xiang, if you lose even a single piece of cannon skin, my big head is yours!"

After he finished speaking, he grinned and turned back to shout to the nearly one hundred riders behind him, "Brothers, let's... go!"

It turned out that the three mortars had been fixed on a small wooden cart, which was carried by two strong, tall horses. Under the escort of nearly a hundred riders led by Gan Xu, it slowly headed towards the west gate of Zhao Jialing Village.

Xiang Jinbao merely glanced at the direction Gan Xu had gone before shouting, "Men, follow me to kill this slave!"