weaving

Chapter 1624 Unbelievable...

"Master Huo, the Tartars have dismounted," the sentry officer Chen Zhidong reminded him from the side.

Huo Yuanshan simply nodded without saying anything more, but his gaze remained fixed on what lay ahead.

At this moment, he was already behind the first earthen wall line of defense against the Tartars. This line was only deployed with two sentries of chariot soldiers, and they were only equipped with Yunzhou quick-firing guns, without any artillery, because those things were inconvenient to use when retreating.

The two sentry posts were positioned behind two unconnected sections of earthen wall on the left and right, respectively, while the middle section was left completely undefended, leaving it as a route for the Tartars to attack.

The reason for this arrangement was to allow the Tartars to attack according to the pre-set battlefield layout, which would facilitate the subsequent troops to take over the defense. This mutual cover would greatly reduce casualties and allow as many Tartars as possible to be killed.

The earthen walls here are built very high, making it difficult for the Tartars to climb up from the attacking side. Without the aid of long ladders or other aids, they can only go around them. Of course, if three or four of them work together, they can still climb up the earthen walls from the attacking side.

However, climbing like that would be slower and more convenient than attacking through the pre-existing passage!
Behind these two high walls, there was a low slope about the height of a person. The chariot soldiers of the Tengshe Battalion were standing on this slope, which allowed them to use their muskets to block the attacking Tartars from behind the high walls.

Now, the Tartar soldiers, dismounted, slowly approached. The first two rows held up large shields for cover, followed by three rows of archers. Judging from their robust physiques, they were all skilled with powerful bows, providing the main force for ranged attacks.

Behind the archers were three rows of Mongol Tartars carrying shields and weapons such as knives, axes, and hammers. They were all heavily armored and formed the main force of the Tartars in their assault operations.

…………

Huo Yuanshan put down his binoculars. He had a clear view of the Tartars' arrangement on the other side.

"We don't have cannons, so we can only fire when they get closer. Tell the brothers below to wait until the Tartars are within forty paces before firing in unison!"

"Forty paces?" Sentry Chen Zhidong looked on in disbelief.

"Yes. Forty paces." Huo Yuanshan repeated decisively, then added, "Make sure all the team leaders and captains keep a close eye on things. No one is allowed to fire prematurely and disrupt our formation."

“But…” Chen Zhidong wanted to try again: “Forty paces is too close. If the Tartars charge fast, we won’t be able to react in time. What do you think, sir? How about we fire a volley every sixty paces? That way we can fire three volleys at our leisure!”

"No." Huo Yuanshan resolutely refused Chen Zhidong: "Fire again at forty paces, three rounds of volleys, then immediately move into the communication trench and the entire garrison retreats."

Seeing Huo Yuanshan's resolute attitude, Chen Zhidong stopped trying to persuade him. He accepted the military order and was about to leave when Huo Yuanshan grabbed him again: "Zhidong, tell the sniper team to fire as soon as they have a target. There is no need to ask me for instructions again. All targets are to be determined by the team leaders themselves."

"Yes, sir." Chen Zhidong obeyed and left.

Huo Yuanshan raised his binoculars again, observing the Jurchens' every move.

…………

At this moment, Gadahun was riding his warhorse, watching the changes on the battlefield ahead.

Seeing that his warriors were less than two hundred paces away from the high earthen wall, yet there was still no movement, he felt a little uncertain, so he summoned Niru Ejen Apuda.

“Apuda, lead the warriors of this Niru on horseback to circle around from the flank and see what Ming Gou is up to.”

"Yes, sir." Amuda obeyed and left.

Niru Ejen Bap then stepped forward and said, "Gushan, there's no need to worry. The Ming dogs' muskets aren't very accurate. Our warriors are wearing three layers of armor and have large shields for protection. Are we afraid we can't break through the Ming dogs' formation?" Gadahun, however, was unconvinced: "The Ming dogs we've encountered this time are not simple. They're using the Emperor's 'encircle and attack reinforcements' strategy. They must have something to rely on to do that. We still need to be careful."

He had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He always felt that the Ming army he had encountered in Yanzhou was strange. Since they were able to cut off his communication with Abatai, there must be a reason for their arrangement!

However, Gadahun couldn't guess what these Ming soldiers were after—he vaguely felt that they wanted to rescue the captured Ming people, otherwise why would they go to such lengths?
But their own side already had a large army gathered, with seven banners of soldiers including Manchus, Mongols and Han Chinese. This was a total of 25,000 to 26,000 Qing warriors. Who in the entire Ming Dynasty could withstand them?

Although he had some concerns, Gadahun still firmly believed that although the Ming army on the other side was much stronger than other Ming armies, it could not escape the fate of collapse and defeat when faced with the iron hooves of his nearly 30,000 warriors.

"Bap, you should also go and prepare. Once the warriors break through the Ming formation, it will be your turn to go and hunt down the Ming dogs."

"Here!"

…………

Uen, the chieftain of the Plain Red Banner of Mongolia, was ordered to lead his banner into dismounted infantry combat. As the left wing commander, he divided his warriors into three teams, personally leading the outermost team.

With only 140 to 150 paces between them and the Ming army's high wall defenses, Wu En showed no concern whatsoever. Instead, he urged his warriors to quicken their pace.

After walking another four or five steps, I suddenly noticed a wisp of white smoke rising slowly from the high wall in the distance. Just as I was wondering about it, I heard a commotion from my left.

Uen was startled, thinking to himself, "It doesn't sound like cannon fire, and I didn't hear any sound?"

Indeed, no cannon fire was heard. Not only was Wu En surprised, but the other Mongolian warriors were also puzzled. But a moment later, they heard the news that the Zhuangda Zhangjing Akda, who was in charge of leading the team, was dead!
"How did he die?" Uen roared.

"He was...he was...killed by a musket."

"What? How is that possible? How could a musket hit that far!"

Without a word, Uen roared and swung the shaft of his tiger spear, striking the warrior who had come to deliver the message mercilessly. He dared not explain, dared not dodge, and dared not utter another sound, only able to endure Uen's blows to his face and body.

Whether Uon believes it or not, Akda's death is a fact that no one can change.

In fact, Wu En knew that the warrior who came to deliver the message would not dare to lie to him, but he just couldn't believe that the Ming army's muskets could shoot at a distance of 140 or 150 paces. And even at that distance, they could kill a warrior wearing two layers of armor.

Unbelievable—this is truly unbelievable!
Although Uen was furious, he could not ignore the situation. He shouted, "Ushan, go and lead our warriors to kill the Light Dogs in place of Akda."

Wu Shan responded loudly and strode to the left.

Uen led the warriors forward another six or seven steps, and then a few crisp explosions came from afar. If Uen hadn't been paying attention, it would have been hard to hear the distant explosions amidst the muffled footsteps.

Immediately afterwards, Uen saw another cloud of white smoke rise from the opposite side.

He remained silent, his face filled with surprise and disbelief. He pointed to the opposite side, and the warriors, sensing a hint of surprise, all turned to look...

A jet of blood spurted from Uen's chest and abdomen, splashing a step away.

At this moment, Wu En also knelt down on both knees, and the tiger spear in his hand naturally slipped to the ground. Obviously, he was also "killed" from a distance by the Ming army's weapon of unknown origin!