The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

With his objective achieved, Gao Jie watched as the cavalry of the Wanmin Army's Vanguard Battalion flanked him from both sides.

"withdraw!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Gao Jie immediately issued the order to retreat.

The remaining three hundred or so elite cavalrymen did not hesitate at all; the moment the retreat signal sounded, they all reined in their horses and fled.

During the retreat, many knights who had lost their horses were pulled up by their teammates.

However, some cavalrymen who lost their horses in the charge were not able to make it to the evacuation.

Gao Jie gripped the reins tightly, but did not stop his retreat. His personal guards and armored cavalry also retreated without looking back.

These cavalrymen, who had lost their horses and had no way to retreat, watched the main force depart into the distance.

No one begged or cursed; they simply picked up their weapons in silence and slowly moved closer together.

In the moment of charging forward, each of them disregarded their own lives, fully aware of the consequences.

Standing with them were many defeated soldiers who had not had time to evacuate.

The group supported and leaned on each other, watching the rapidly approaching elite cavalry.

Begging for mercy will not save your life under these circumstances.

Death is a foregone conclusion.

All they could do was stand and die on the battlefield, preserving their last shred of dignity.

The elite cavalry formation arrived in an instant.

No miracle happens.

On the battlefield, human lives are not much different from the lives of ants.

Their resistance barely made a ripple before being overwhelmed by the charging elite cavalry.

The cavalry that followed Gao Jie in his retreat also did not fare well.

The elite cavalry of the Wanmin Army, flanking from both sides, finally caught up with them.

Arrows flew continuously through the air from both sides' cavalry formations, and as the arrows fell, warhorses stumbled and fell to the ground, and riders tumbled off their horses.

Gao Jie rode his galloping warhorse, bow and arrow in his hand.

On the right, the elite cavalry of the Wanmin Army were already charging in from the side.

They saw his banner and wanted to block their retreat, leaving him there forever.

The arrow flew towards them, and they were already very close.

The few riders closest to Gao Jie rushed forward desperately to shield him from the deadly arrows, but they also fell off their horses and were swallowed up by the cavalry.

Gao Jie's armor had been hit by several arrows, but fortunately his armor was thick, and most of the arrows were thrown, so none of them were able to penetrate it.

However, as they get closer, the threat of the arrows gradually increases.

"General."

Gao Jie heard someone call his name.

Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw that the speaker was one of his centurions.

The man's original name was Huang Yu. He was an old brother who had followed him since Shaanxi, and had been with him for eleven years.

"Take care of yourself."

There were no impassioned words, no passionate pronouncements.

Huang Yu drew his saber from his waist and slowed his horse down.

Beside him, the knights under his command also slowed their horses.

Then, dozens of knights, led by Huang Yu, rammed head-on into the elite armored cavalry charging diagonally towards them.

The clash of weapons and the shouts of battle were like a tidal wave.

Gao Jie gritted his teeth, his whole body trembling, his heart bleeding.

Those were his soldiers, soldiers who had followed him all the way from the 72nd Battalion!
Gao Jie turned around with all his might, frantically waving his whip to urge his warhorse on.

He knew in his heart that he could not let down so many people who had sacrificed themselves!
The elite cavalry of the Wanmin Army on both flanks attempted to intercept them several times, but all attempts were thwarted.

It was clear that the audacious Jingnan cavalry, who had charged into the enemy formation, was about to break through the encirclement.

Zhang Chengyi, who was following behind, was already furious.

"General!"

The deputy general who had been following Zhang Chengyi in his charge approached him on horseback and roared loudly.

"We can't go any further!"

"The Jingnan Army's reinforcements have arrived!"

As they continued their pursuit, they drew ever closer to the second line of defense of the Jingnan Army in Shandong Town.

The second line of defense consisted of a long, narrow trench, behind which were rows of palisades.

Meanwhile, the gunners from Shandong Town were already standing behind the fence, ready for battle.

Cold muskets protruded from the gaps in the fence.

The central bastion had already opened its gates, ready to welcome the retreat of its own cavalry.

On the walls above the bastion, even more muskets protruded from within.

Under the sunlight, you could even see quite a few cannons mixed in with the fortress.

If we charge any further, we'll be within enemy fire range.

"roll!"

Zhang Chengyi shoved aside his deputy, his expression growing increasingly grim.

He was not blinded by rage. He saw the Shandong garrison soldiers standing guard not far away, and he also saw a large force of Jingnan troops sweeping in from the east to his right.

He exerted force with his legs again, urging his warhorse to accelerate once more.

Although the cavalry interception on both flanks failed, they had caught the tail of the Jingnan Army cavalry.

Gao Jie was less than fifty paces away from him.

Gao Jie was the commander of the western formation of the Jingnan Army.

As long as Gao Jie is killed.

This would inevitably severely damage the morale of Shandong Town and cause Shandong Town to lose its commander.

At that time, the collapse of Shandong Town will be imminent.

The situation has been deadlocked for far too long.

If they fail to break the deadlock soon, the People's Army may cease to exist.

How could he let such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip by?

"Push them down! Push them down!"

Zhang Chengyi discarded the lance in his hand and took the bow and arrows from beside the saddle.

"Even if it means death, we'll bite them to death!"

Zhang Chengyi gritted his teeth, his hair standing on end in fury.

The Jingnan Army's warhorses were excellent, but after a mid-journey gallop and a powerful charge, their stamina was severely weakened.

Meanwhile, the cavalry of the Vanguard Battalion of the Wanmin Army had been conserving their strength and had plenty of horsepower.

The elite cavalry, like banners of reapers, relentlessly slaughtered the Shandong garrison cavalry that lagged behind.

The distance was shortened further, from fifty steps to thirty steps.

Mounted on his galloping warhorse, Zhang Chengyi had already drawn his bow and aimed an arrow at Gao Jie's vest as he fled ahead.

As the warhorses rose and fell, Gao Jie, though surrounded by guards, found himself with gaps in his ranks as the number of guards dwindled. "Closer...closer..."

At a distance of thirty paces, if he were using a crossbow, Zhang Chengyi was 100% confident he could kill Gao Jie with a single arrow.

However, shooting at a moving target from thirty paces away on a galloping warhorse was ultimately too difficult.

"Closer!"

The bamboo frame of the composite bow made a continuous creaking sound in Zhang Chengyi's hands.

As if in response to Zhang Chengyi's expectations, Gao Jie's warhorse, which had been galloping at high speed, gradually began to slow down.

Zhang Chengyi's vision gradually cleared, and Gao Jie's figure continued to grow larger.

But at that moment, a clear swan-like sound rang out, followed by a loud explosion that suddenly rang in Zhang Chengyi's ears.

Zhang Chengyi's heart sank. Although the sudden gunshot hadn't made him miss his shot, it had certainly disturbed his concentration.

He had already missed the best opportunity; at this moment, Gao Jie's figure was barely visible among the fleeing cavalry, making it difficult to pinpoint his location.

"It's too late."

A cold glint flashed in Zhang Chengyi's eyes, and he took a deep breath.

The bowstring swiftly glided across the thumb ring, producing a muffled, resonant sound.

The arrow, like a shooting star, grazed the shoulder armor of a knight lagging behind Gao Jie, swept between two passing warhorses, and traced a fatal trajectory in the billowing dust before striking Gao Jie squarely in the back.

However, the arrow ultimately missed Gao Jie's heart.

Gao Jie, riding on horseback, swayed slightly but did not fall down.

At the last moment, Zhang Chengyi saw Gao Jie's body lying on the horse's back.

The Jingnan army's cavalry formation was thrown into chaos, and then more cavalrymen protected Gao Jie.

Zhang Chengyi also completely lost track of Gao Jie.

"General!"

The deputy general's loud shout pulled Zhang Chengyi back from a distance.

Zhang Chengyi narrowed his eyes and looked towards the source of the earlier explosion.

Some of the Jingnan Army's musketeers actually jumped out of the battle line.

The musketeers of the Jingnan Army were arranged in three horizontal rows, spreading out in a line on both sides of the plain.

The dense gunfire erupted again, like popping beans.

The three volleys of muskets fired simultaneously, the deafening sound even drowning out the thunderous hooves of the horses.

Hundreds of muskets were fired at the same time, spewing out deadly white smoke that formed a menacing, smoky dragon.

"Bang! Bang! Bang bang bang bang!"

Zhang Chengyi saw his elite cavalry, galloping on both flanks, fall in disarray, with the dozen or so riders on the far flank instantly riddled with bullets.

The dull thuds of lead bullets piercing iron armor echoed repeatedly, wounding countless weakened cavalrymen.

The warhorse neighed and collapsed, throwing the rider on its back a great distance.

A surge of murderous intent churned within Zhang Chengyi's chest.

Zhang Chengyi slowed his horse down and put the bow and arrows back on the saddle.

"Blow the halting bugle."

Zhang Chengyi suppressed the murderous intent surging within him.

His gaze lingered for a moment on the lines of Jingnan Army musketeers on both flanks before he issued a new military order.

Banners fluttered and horns blared.

The elite cavalry on both flanks that were pursuing them completely abandoned the pursuit.

But they did not retreat.

Zhang Chengyi led his warhorse, constantly shifting his position before the halting cavalry formation.

These two audacious musketeers from the Jingnan Army, who leaped out from behind the lines, did indeed disrupt his pursuit.

But they are about to pay the price for their arrogance.

The Jingnan Army that came to support from both flanks each numbered around a thousand men.

Without the cover of their lines, the Jingnan Army musketeers ultimately collapsed under the onslaught of the cavalry and were hunted down and wiped out!

After regrouping, with a swing of Zhang Chengyi's sword, more than three thousand elite cavalrymen split from the center to the flanks and surged towards the two groups of Jingnan Army musketeers who had broken out of the battle line.

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves echoed across the plains, and the dust kicked up by the hooves formed a hazy yellow mist in the air.

Without the cover of the battle lines and the protection of spearmen, the musketeers were as weak as lambs to the slaughter under the onslaught of the cavalry.

Zhang Chengyi squinted, gazing at the Jingnan Army's shaky and chaotic formation in the distance.

He knew this scene all too well—the musketeers' hands trembling as they gripped their rifles.

The commotion that rose and fell among the troops, and the fear written on their pale faces.

Throughout his many years of military service, he has witnessed far too many such moments.

When the thunderous roar of iron cavalry echoed across the plains, when the earth trembled beneath the hooves of thousands of horses.

Those seemingly well-organized infantry formations often disintegrate on their own before the first wave of attack.

Zhang Chengyi could almost foresee what would happen next: first, a terrified soldier would suddenly drop his weapon, then panic would spread like a plague, and finally the entire army would be reduced to a pile of bloody, mangled corpses under the charge of their iron cavalry.

only……

When the cavalry formation had advanced to within a hundred paces, the chaotic formation of the Jingnan army's musketeers had vanished.

Zhang Chengyi frowned slightly. He keenly noticed that the chaos that had just appeared on the Jingnan Army's musketeer line was not chaos, but a change in formation.

On the plains, the Jingnan Army's formation had changed from a horizontal line to an extremely strange formation—a series of hollow squares.

The Jingnan Army's musketeers stood back to back, their dark muzzles protruding from all sides, like a curled-up hedgehog, waiting for the hunter to walk into its trap.

The cold glint of the bayonets trembled slightly with the soldiers' movements, reflecting the sunlight and flashing continuously.

Zhang Chengyi's heart sank slightly as he looked toward the Jingnan Army's formation not far away.

He noticed that the flags of the Jingnan Army musketeers on both flanks were mainly dark red, which was somewhat different from the crimson flags commonly used in Shandong Town.

Moreover, when did the gunners in Shandong Town acquire bayonets?!

Zhang Chengyi was shaken. His gaze swept over his own cavalry charging forward, then over the Jingnan Army's musketeers to the east, and finally landed on the Jingnan Army unit in the distance to the east, which was rapidly approaching the battlefield.

"wrong!"

Alarm bells rang in Zhang Chengyi's mind, and he raised the saber in his hand.

That deep red flag was the color used by the Jingnan Army in Hanzhong Town.

Those Jingnan Army musketeers who leaped out of the trenches were not musketeers from Shandong Town, but musketeers from Hanzhong Town, or even possibly musketeers from Chen Wang's personal guard battalion!
Zhang Chengyi reacted quickly, and it can be said that he figured out the key point in a very short time.

However, the outcome of battles often hinges on a single, fleeting moment.

The popping sound, like popping beans, rang out again, and thick white smoke rose like a wall. The elite cavalry at the forefront seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall, and many fell down as men and horses tumbled over.

"Boom! Boom! Boom boom boom!"

The deafening roar of cannons tore through the battlefield, drowning out all other sounds.

The grapeshots swept across like the Grim Reaper's scythe, tearing the charging elite cavalry, men and horses alike, to shreds.

The surviving warhorses reared up in alarm, throwing their riders to the ground.

The fallen knight was then trampled into mud by his comrades who rushed in after him.

Flesh and blood were as fragile as paper before the storm of steel; severed limbs and entrails were scattered across the scorched earth. (End of Chapter)