weaving

Chapter 1629 Will Definitely Return Alive
To be fair, Hu Shibu's judgment is quite accurate.

When he first heard the news of the Ming army's withdrawal, he immediately judged that the Ming army had really fled. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately led his cavalry to chase after them. This judgment of the situation and his decision-making on the spot already put him far ahead of Rasuna.

However, it was precisely Hushbu's keen sense of opportunity that led his Mongol Bordered Blue Banner onto a perilous path, resulting in considerable casualties.

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Zhang Guangda chose to retreat, not flee in defeat. His troops did not collapse, but retreated and transferred in an orderly manner!
Besides the fact that Deputy General Wang Tieren arranged for landmines to be laid along the retreat route, the soldiers of the Zhuque Battalion also retreated in an organized manner under alternating cover, rather than fleeing in a chaotic mess.

Zhang Guangda's plan was for the infantry to retreat first, laying mines along the way. Meanwhile, the cavalry, which were equipped with mules, pack horses, and other military vehicles, retreated in groups of two to three hundred men. They would choose a strategic location every two or three miles as their position and take turns covering the retreat.

In addition to their long guns and short weapons, these chariot soldiers also carried a small number of lightweight cannons, tiger-squat cannons, and breech-loading cannons, specifically for intercepting pursuing troops during their retreat.

However, since it was a voluntary and urgent withdrawal, they did not carry much gunpowder and cannonballs; basically, each cannon only had two or three powder packs and cannonballs.

Their principle is to carry whatever is easy to use and lightweight, and discard it on the spot after use, so as to move around lightly!

Hu Dayou's heavy cavalry was a crucial guarantee for the success of the Zhuque Camp's retreat, so they dared not use them lightly. They were divided into two squads, each hidden in the shadows and lying in ambush. If the cavalry had not been caught by the Jurchen cavalry, they would not have easily gone out to fight.

After all, while these heavily armored cavalrymen were extremely lethal, their weaknesses were also very obvious—their mobility was too weak. If they could not immediately defeat the Jurchen cavalry in front of them and were instead caught up by their large force, it would be extremely difficult for them to escape, and they were even less capable than those chariot soldiers on horseback.

Fortunately, the chariot soldiers of the Vermilion Bird Camp lived up to expectations. Although the blocking battle was very tough, they managed to get through it on their own and did not give the heavy cavalry a chance to fight.

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Despite the casualties among the banner's warriors, Hu Shibu stubbornly followed behind the Zhuque Battalion soldiers, chasing them closely, and soon they had traveled seven or eight miles south...

"General Zhang, this can't go on!" Deputy General Wang Tieren said anxiously. "I'll lead three sentries to stay behind and hold off the enemy. You lead the main force to cross the river quickly and rescue Jinbao and the others."

Zhang Guangda glanced at him, his eyes filled with reluctance, but reality was what it was and he had no choice but to do it. He could only tell him, "I'll leave you two more heavy cavalry scouts. They'll be very useful in a critical moment."

"No need," Wang Tieren refused outright. "Jinbao is in grave danger; let's save the heavy cavalry for when we need them most."

Zhang Guangda slammed his fist into Wang Tieren's chest and said in a deep voice, "Alright. I'll be waiting for you on the west bank."

"Don't worry, I, Wang Tieren, will still follow you, Commander Zhang, to kill the Tartars."

"Okay. We must get back to the unit alive!"

Yes, I will.

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Wang Tieren and his three sentry soldiers were prepared to die. They handed over all their money and tokens to their retreating comrades, entrusting them to take back to their families.

All the various light artillery pieces brought from the Suzaku Camp's supply depot were left behind at the final defensive position, since it would be extremely difficult to carry these things across the river.

Even so, there weren't many artillery pieces and cannons available. After all, it was a strategic retreat. Although it was much better than running away, it was still not as calm and collected as an offensive posture. There were already few light artillery pieces that they brought with them, and some were abandoned along the way. How many were left now?

"If the Tartars can reach Shandong today, they can reach our Xuanfu tomorrow..." Wang Tieren shouted, trying to boost morale: "If we don't fight the Tartars to the death today, are we going to wait until they've already reached our Xuanfu before we fight those damned Tartar dogs?" "If that really happens, which of your parents, sisters, wives, and children will be left unscathed?"

"In war, there are always sacrifices. Today, we brothers will do just that."

"Brothers, you are all excellent, not a single one of you is a coward. You have not disgraced your families, nor have you disgraced our Iron Man Wang. You are truly worthy of being good soldiers under the command of the Earl of Yongning."

The chariot soldiers who stayed behind to hold off the enemy were already somewhat prepared, but Wang Tieren's words stirred them up again, and they immediately became agitated, shouting that they wanted to kill the Tartars.

At that moment, the sentry officer Yin Tiezhu stood up, raised his long gun high, and shouted: "Born to be a soldier of the Marquis of Yongning, and even in death... I will be a ghost of the Marquis of Yongning!"

Another officer, Wang Zhigang, also stood up and roared, "Even if my head falls off, it'll only leave a big scar. Eighteen years from now, I'll still be a hero and come back to be the Earl of Yongning's soldier!"

"Kill the Tartars...become a soldier of the Earl of Yongning...even in death, you'll be a ghost of the Earl of Yongning..."

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The Tartars are coming...

Two or three thousand knights clad in blue cloth armor trimmed with red rims rode up and charged towards us, their imposing presence beyond description.

They seemed to have gone mad, not pursuing in an orderly formation, but instead spreading out into a huge fan shape to directly encircle the enemy. The dust raised by their galloping warhorses blotted out the sky.

"Boom... Boom..."

Occasionally, one or two loud explosions pierced the thud of the Tartar warhorses' hooves, carrying far and wide...

"Damn it, these landmines are still no good!" Wang Tieren muttered under his breath.

"Perhaps the brothers were in a hurry to set it up; the trigger probability was much higher before." Sentry Wang Zhigang also had this question.

"Never mind."

Wang Tieren roared, "Artillery, pay attention! Check the fuses! Ignite immediately after three breaths!"

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The cavalry charged forward at breakneck speed, covering a mile in the blink of an eye...

When they were about two hundred paces away, the sporadic roar of artillery fire from the blocking line could be heard, one explosion after another, "Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

Although no salvo was fired, the cannons still unleashed seven or eight tenths of their power against the fan-shaped charge of the Tartars. In particular, the cannons firing small cannonballs would fire out hundreds of small cannonballs with a single boom.

Seeing the Mongolian Bordered Blue Banner cavalrymen fall to the ground one by one, the chariot soldiers felt extremely relieved.

But there were simply too many Mongol Tartars, and the fourteen cannons were completely unable to stop their charge. Seeing that there was no time to reload, Wang Tieren had no choice but to shout, "Prepare the muskets! Fire from eighty paces away! Fire until they drop dead!"