weaving

Chapter 1626 The Fourth Team Covers the Rear
Almost at the same time that Chen Zhidong ordered the first volley of musket fire, dust billowed behind the thousand Mongol Plain Red Banner soldiers, clearly indicating that Mongol cavalry had flanked them from the left and right flanks.

"Team One, loading complete... Team Two, complete... Team Three, complete... Team Four, complete..."

"Second round, fire!" Chen Zhidong had already shouted himself hoarse.

Actually, you can't blame him for being anxious. After all, there were only forty steps left, and the Tartars would arrive in an instant. How could Chen Zhidong not be anxious?

Fortunately, the battlefield preparations in front of this line of defense were effective. There were low walls and shallow trenches in front of this defensive line. Although these obstacles could not stop the enemy's attack, they could greatly reduce the speed of their charge.

The low walls were mostly one to three zhang long. Although they weren't considered high, the Tartars certainly couldn't step over them while running. They either had to go around them or stop and climb over them.

In the gaps between the low walls, there were shallow trenches as a supplement. These trenches were less than a person high, only reaching a little above the waist, but they were nearly ten feet wide, making it impossible for the Tartars to jump over them.

Furthermore, these shallow trenches are even shallower on the side closer to the Tartars, only reaching about knee-deep, but they become deeper as you go further forward. By the time you reach the other side, they are already above waist level, making it extremely difficult to climb up without doing so.

The low wall and shallow moat are not side by side, but staggered, with each side less than ten steps apart. This arrangement was personally instructed by Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning.

It was precisely because these passages were reserved that the Tartar soldiers charged along the pre-set routes. After all, in an emergency, anyone would prioritize the most convenient route.

Compared to scaling low walls and climbing shallow trenches, nothing is as convenient as running directly through the pre-designed passage. The distance between them is less than ten steps, which also limits the Tartars' acceleration. This is the ingenious aspect of the design.

Even with such arrangements in place, forty steps is still too close.

Chen Zhidong was also somewhat worried about the loading speed of his men. If the power of the volley of guns could not be fully utilized, the Tartars might rush close, and then it would be impossible to retreat. This was also the reason why he had just persuaded Huo Yuanshan to return to the second line of defense to take command.

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"Bang bang... bang bang..."

It was obvious that the second volley was not as well-coordinated as the first, but it still managed to unleash half the power of the volley. Huo Yuanshan was still satisfied with the result under such dangerous circumstances.

Huo Yuanshan gripped a mace tightly in his right hand and a pistol in his left, shouting, "Load!"

Chen Zhidong, like him, held a short axe in one hand and a handgun in the other. He first glanced at the wagon soldiers on both sides who were busy loading ammunition, and then looked at the Mongol Tartar soldiers rushing forward.

"Hurry...hurry up and load the ammunition...hurry up..." Chen Zhidong urged silently in his mind.

At this moment, he was more anxious than anyone else, but he dared not urge them aloud, for fear of affecting his chariot soldiers—yet the expression on his face had completely betrayed him.

"Ten paces!" the observer inappropriately reported the distance of the Tartars.

"Team One, all cleared... Team Two, all cleared... Team Three..."

Before Chen Zhidong could even finish listening to the reports from each team, he roared in a hoarse voice, "Fire! Fire! All fire!"

He then shouted again, "Sniper teams, retreat down the trench first. All teams retreat in order. Team Four, follow me to cover the rear." After Chen Zhidong finished speaking, he glanced at Qianzong Huo Yuanshan and saw that he was staring intently at the Tartar soldiers charging ahead. Knowing that he couldn't persuade him, he gave up.

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When Apuda, the headman of the Mongol Plain Red Banner, led his cavalry to flank Chen Zhidong's five squads, they arrived just as Chen's five squads were retreating. However, the Ming soldiers in the five squads were all in Haogou, and they could not get off their warhorses.

"Shoot arrows...throw spears, kill those Ming dogs for me!" Apda roared angrily.

For these Mongol soldiers, who were practically born on horseback, shooting arrows on horseback was as natural as eating. While controlling their warhorses to slow down, they would already have their bows and arrows in hand—and one after another, sharp arrows would be shot straight at the chariot soldiers running in the trenches.

Some Mongol soldiers even grabbed javelins and short axes and threw them down without regard for anything else—these thrown weapons were incredibly powerful, far more ferocious than the arrows they shot!

The chariot soldiers were not wearing full-body armor. Although they wore half-body armor like the gunners, a closer look revealed that the chariot soldiers' half-body armor was inferior to that of the gunners—it only protected their chest and back, leaving the rest of their bodies unprotected.

On the high wall defense line, seven or eight people had already been wounded by Mongol soldiers charging on foot. Now, another fourteen or fifteen people fell to the ground, obviously hit by Mongol arrows and muskets.

However, the excellent quality of the Yongyi Army is "never abandoning or giving up". The soldiers around the wounded soldiers immediately helped them up, regardless of how serious the injuries were or whether they were dead or alive. They had only one belief - to drag them back to the rear first!

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Huo Yuanshan was the first to spot Apuda's group of northern barbarians. He nudged Chen Zhidong beside him with his shoulder, then leaped up and rushed forward, trying to stop Apuda's three hundred Mongol cavalry.

How could Chen Zhidong let Huo Yuanshan risk his life alone? As he leaped to his feet, he shouted, "Fourth Squad, kill the Tartars!"

The four teams left behind to cover the rear did not hesitate. With only thirty men, they charged forward against the three hundred Mongol cavalrymen rushing from the side. Everyone roared loudly, and not one of them retreated.

However, Huo Yuanshan was determined to kill the Mongol soldiers, but Apuda did not want to give him the opportunity—not because Apuda was afraid of death, but because Apuda completely looked down on their mere thirty Ming chariot soldiers.

Apda led his troops, the Mongol soldiers of the Niru, along the long trenches to pursue the three chariot troops that were retreating. They had a natural advantage of being on high ground and were almost unafraid of the Ming army's counterattack. How could he let such a good opportunity pass by?
Seeing that he could not catch up with the Mongol soldiers on horseback on foot, and that the Mongol soldiers fighting on foot were also close at hand, Huo Yuanshan made a decisive decision and shouted: "Jump over the trenches, retreat... retreat!"

After he finished speaking, he leaped into the trench, becoming the first to jump in, and strode towards the rear. Chen Zhidong also shouted and jumped down, and the soldiers of the fourth team followed suit, leaping down one after another...

Fifty or sixty Mongol cavalrymen galloped toward Huoyuan Mountain. They fired arrows from afar, and although some arrows hit the chariot soldiers, most of them struck their chests and backs. Only two chariot soldiers were hit in the arms by an arrow, but this did not affect their rapid running.

Seeing that the arrows had limited effect, more than forty Mongol cavalrymen put away their bows and arrows and took out throwing weapons such as lances, short axes, and maces, spurring their horses forward to hurl them down...

Seeing the danger approaching, Huo Yuanshan raised his hand and fired a shot, which hit the warhorse of a Mongol soldier. The horse let out a mournful cry and collapsed to the ground, throwing the Mongol soldier far away, who almost fell into the trench.

Chen Zhidong also raised his hand and fired a shot, but missed. At the same time, he shouted, "Bomb them with your pistol... Run, run... run fast..."

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When Gadahun arrived at the trench, although he was on the enemy's position, he felt no joy at all!