Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 464 Bloody Battle of Dongjing River (Part 2)
In the temporary camp by the Dongjing River, soldiers from the 101st Division and the 5th Imperial Guard Division were arranged in several square formations. Jin Chaoxing stood on the command platform, looking at the soldiers below with a serious expression, and suddenly asked them a question.

"Soldiers of the 101st Division, our Holy Martial Army has a total of 40 divisions, and our division is ranked first. Does anyone know why?"

A murmur arose from below, but Jin Chaoxing ignored what they were saying and continued shouting.

"Some people might say that our division is the first because we are veterans from Chaohu, the main force of the Holy Martial Army, the direct subordinates of His Highness and General Liao, and the direct leaders of our entire army. It is only because of seniority that we were given this title."

"We're sure we're right to say this ourselves, but I'm telling you, people from other army groups think the same way. Do you think it's glorious? No, it's a disgrace!"

“Our Holy Martial Army is now quite large, with a total of 40 divisions. We have soldiers from all over the country. Take our 101st Division for example. Among its three regiments are soldiers from Chaohu, Dingyuan, and Anqing. But no matter where you come from in Huaixi, you are all considered Huaixi soldiers.”

"Other army groups include the Jiangzhe Army and the Huaidong Army. No matter where they come from, they all developed from our Huaixi Army. In other words, our Huaixi Army is their elder brother, and our First Division is the elder brother among their elder brothers!"
"But now the other brothers are not convinced by us as their elder brother, especially the Zhejiang soldiers and Huaidong soldiers of the Second and Third Front Armies. They feel that our First Division is not worthy of the title and that we got it based on seniority."

"In terms of military achievements, they fought in the Crossing the Yangtze River Campaign, the Eastern Zhejiang Campaign, and the Northern Zhejiang Campaign, and conquered two or three provinces; in terms of combat strength, at Xiaomaoshan, they fought against three against one, with 30,000 men annihilating 100,000 Yuan troops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, while our First Division, the elder brother, has only fought in Anqing Prefecture."

"No results, that's shameful!"
"They've long thought that the Huaixi soldiers are nothing special, and that we should give them the title of the First Division. Would you be angry if you heard that?"
"I am angry!
"The world is so vast, and there are so many enemies. Your Highness will decide who to attack first and who to attack later. You can't look down on us, your elder brother, just because other brothers have fought a few battles first. Do you want to be looked down upon by the brothers of other armies?"

"No!" The soldiers present immediately shouted in unison, led by their respective company instructors.

"Then how do we let them know who the real main force of the Holy Martial Army is, and who is the leader among the 40 divisions? Only battle records! Without battle records, when you meet your brothers from other armies, you will have to speak to them with a sense of inferiority."

"We didn't have the chance to go to the battlefield before, but now the opportunity has come. There are 40,000 troops waiting for us just a few dozen miles to the northwest. Their strength is twice ours. We can only defeat them by fighting two against one. Are you afraid?"

"Not afraid!"

"Very good. Our First Division must have the courage to be fearless and the guts to fight to the death against a strong enemy. The brothers of the Third Front Army have won against three enemies, so what is there to be afraid of if we fight against two?

"We're determined to use this battle to demonstrate the might of our number one division and show the other brother units who truly reigns supreme. Our title as the number one division isn't just based on seniority! Do you have the confidence to live up to that title?"

"Have!"

"Very well, in this battle I, the commander-in-chief, will not retreat, and none of you are allowed to retreat a single step! All hands, prepare for battle!"

"We will fight to the death, to be number one! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

After Jin Zhaoxing finished his pre-battle mobilization, he was not a reckless man and he still had to make the necessary preparations. Since his detachment was only assigned an artillery battalion with a total of 16 field guns, the number was not large, so it was impossible to take care of the overall situation of the enemy.

Therefore, after discussing with the artillery battalion commander, Jin Chaoxing decided to concentrate the artillery fire, but not to attack the enemy's main formation. Instead, they would concentrate the artillery fire to bombard the enemy's central command, disrupt their command system, and create an opportunity for the entire army to launch an attack. When the battle was about to begin, the artillery shells would be fired wherever the enemy's central command banner was!

He assigned the task of breaking through the enemy lines head-on to Zhang Zhen's musketeer regiment. When the battle began, they were to fire several volleys at the enemy first, and then the pikemen would swarm forward. Song Guoxing's vanguard regiment was assigned to the two flanks, with two heavily armored battalion commanders on each side, to seize the opportunity to attack from both sides.

Four auxiliary vehicle battalions remained to guard the camp, protect the artillery, and secure the retreat route for the entire army.

After making all these preparations, all that was left was to wait for the enemy to come to their door. However, soon, the scouts brought him some bad news: Aslan had cavalry, not many, but about two thousand, while his side only had four or five hundred, which were composed of scouts drawn from various battalions and companies. They had never trained in cavalry tactics and were therefore at a great disadvantage in fighting the Yuan army.

Upon learning the news, Jin Chaoxing first ordered the scouts at the front to avoid a direct confrontation with the Yuan cavalry. Instead, they were instructed to form small teams of a hundred men each, provide mutual cover, and retreat slowly to lure the enemy over, thus preserving their strength as much as possible.

Then they consulted with other generals again to discuss countermeasures. The enemy had cavalry, which would definitely harass their rear and flanks, and their own cavalry would be unable to compete with the enemy cavalry. If the enemy cavalry got close, it would definitely cause a lot of losses to the infantry formation.

Therefore, the generals finally decided to leave two of the four musketeer battalions in the vanguard and place the other two on the flanks, using muskets and bayonets to drive away the enemy cavalry.

In the rear, a wagon battalion was set aside at the very back. Each battalion had 64 four-wheeled wagons, which were arranged in a horizontal line to form a defensive line at the rear. In battle, the horses should not be unharnessed; they should simply pull the wagons and follow the main formation.

The wagons were connected by ropes, and the supplies were left in the camp. Each wagon crew consisted of 12 people. Two of them were responsible for leading the horses and controlling the speed of the wagons. Four people squatted in the wagons. If enemy cavalry approached, they would throw grenades from the back of the wagons to drive the enemy away. The remaining six people were divided into two groups of three, carrying rifles and following on both sides of the wagons. If the enemy approached and were injured by grenades, the rifle team would go up and finish them off.

With everything arranged, we were just waiting for the enemy to come to us.

On September 28th, at noon around 10 o'clock, on the west bank of the Dongjing River, 40 li northwest of Mianyang Prefecture, Aslan's main force of the Huguang Yuan army finally arrived. From afar, they saw that the Shengwu army had already formed a large formation on the bank, and they couldn't help but look puzzled and solemn.

When he first discovered the Holy Martial Army scouts on his right flank, he was taken aback. The scouts then reported that the Holy Martial Army that had crossed the river and was advancing westward numbered about 30,000 to 40,000, which was about the same size as his own forces. Aslan dared not be negligent.

Aslan had fought alongside Yu Que and Xing Ji in Susong last year, but they not only failed to capture it, but also suffered heavy losses. He witnessed the power of the bastions and artillery, and later he heard that the Holy Martial Army relied on artillery to dominate both sieges and open field battles, so he was very wary of the Holy Martial Army.

But when he turned back over the next two days, he noticed something was wrong. This bandit army of 30,000 to 40,000 men seemed to have very few cavalry, only about 400 scouts, who were no match for his own cavalry. Logically speaking, an army of 30,000 to 40,000 men should not have even a thousand professional cavalry. This was not right. Aslan began to suspect that this bandit army might not have that many troops at all.

It wasn't until then, after seeing Jin Chaoxing's grand formation with their own eyes, that they realized there really weren't that many soldiers.

Aslan immediately asked his subordinates, "Wuduman, Lundai, how many soldiers do you think are in this bandit army formation?"

Both of them were veterans, and upon hearing this, they immediately looked at Jin Chaoxing's formation and gave their assessment.

Wuduman immediately said, "I think that excluding those in the camp, the outer formation has at most 20,000 people."

"I also think that with only 20,000 men, could there be more hidden in the main camp?" Huang Tulundai asked with some doubt. Wuduman immediately retorted, "If you have soldiers but don't use them, what kind of fighting strategy is it to hide them in the main camp? Does that mean if their outer formation collapses, the people in the camp won't be able to reinforce it in time?"

Aslan nodded in agreement, saying, "Wuduman is right. There shouldn't be many garrison troops left in the enemy camp, and even if there are, there certainly won't be many; they're just there to guard the camp."

King Kuanchepuhua, who was accompanying the army, heard their discussion and asked, "So, the enemy deliberately lured us here because they don't want us to join forces with Dashibadulu?"

"It's certain they won't let us join forces, but we don't know if the rebel army consists of only these soldiers. These Luzhou Red Turbans are known for their cunning and love of using tricks, so we need to be careful of their ambushes. We should investigate first." Aslan had fought directly against the Holy Martial Army before, so she was still very cautious.

However, scouts soon reported that no ambushes had been found within a 50-mile radius of the west bank of the Dongjing River, meaning that there were indeed only 20,000 men in front of them.

Having confirmed the situation, Aslan immediately laughed and said, "It seems that the Red Turbans of Luzhou have really delivered military merits to our doorstep. If we don't accept them, wouldn't we be letting them down?"

Prince Weishun, Kuanche Puhua, was still somewhat worried, saying, "Didn't the Pingzhang just worry about the rebel army's cannons? We should still be careful."

Aslan immediately said, "No, although the bandits' artillery is powerful, its numbers are still limited. Especially during major battles, the bandits like to use hundreds of artillery pieces at once. As for the bandits attacking Huguang at this time, if we're talking about major battles, we should go to Dashibadulu and Liao's side. The two sides together have more than 100,000 people, and their artillery is definitely there. Even if we have some here, there probably aren't many. We have more troops in this battle, so we can still fight."

"Besides, whether the bandits have cannons or not, we'll find out soon enough. If they do have cannons, they can't possibly hide them and not use them."

The others nodded in agreement; this analysis was indeed quite reasonable.

Just then, Jin Chaoxing didn't forget to mock the other side. He had several white banners with black characters written on them carried out and placed in front of the formation. There were four banners in total, two on each side, standing there like couplets.

The inscription reads, "Straight to Jiangling, sweep across Huguang," and "The bandit chief Silan is a defeated foe."

Upon seeing this, Aslan laughed in anger. This was a mockery of his defeat by the Holy Martial Army in Susong last year. So he immediately said, "It seems that this bandit army is the same one that defended Anqing and Susong last year. It is not the main force of the bandit army that marched east to Jiangzhe and north to Huai'an. It is just a garrison of the bandit army."

"How dare this mere garrison be so arrogant, completely disregarding me and the imperial court? Issue the order to form ranks and prepare for battle. Whoever can kill the opposing general, I will certainly report to His Majesty and personally commend him for his merit."

King Kuanche Puhua of Weishun also said, "Whoever can kill the enemy general will be richly rewarded by me!"

Aslan's side quickly completed its troop formation, arranging itself in the traditional front, rear, left, right, and center formation. It was already 11 a.m., with the Yuan army facing east with their backs to the west. The sun was already high in the sky, so it wasn't too glaring. Besides, it was already late September, and the weather wasn't too hot. The weather was fairly fair for both sides.

Aslan was wary of the Holy Martial Army's artillery and worried that there might be bandits hiding in the main camp. So he ordered the army to advance slowly to test the enemy first. If the enemy opened fire, they should retreat first to find out the number of enemy artillery pieces before making a decision. At the same time, he also ordered the cavalry to harass the enemy's rear and cut off the connection between the enemy's main formation and the camp. In this way, even if there were still ambushes in the main camp, his own cavalry could block the enemy from coming out of the camp.

Thump thump thump thump————

The Yuan army's war drums sounded first, and the large formation slowly advanced. According to the custom of the Holy Martial Army, they would usually have already opened fire by this time, but this time they did not. The Holy Martial Army then sounded their war drums as well.

As the drums thundered, Jin Chaoxing led his entire army to slowly advance towards the Yuan army.

Aslan was overjoyed upon seeing this. It seemed that this bandit army really didn't have many cannons, or if they did, they certainly didn't have many and were reluctant to use them recklessly. So he immediately urged the drums to be beaten and speed up their advance.

The two sides advanced head-on. When they were 600 meters apart, the Holy Martial Army did not fire. When they were 400 meters apart, they still did not fire. When they were 300 meters apart, they still did not fire. Aslan felt relieved and immediately ordered the vanguard to charge. At the same time, he sounded the horn and ordered the cavalry to harass the enemy's rear, so that they could not concentrate on the front.

Upon hearing the enemy's bugle call, Jin Zhaoxing also ordered his men to beat the musketeers' tin drums, signaling the first rank of musketeers to prepare to fire.

The bamboo flute and drum soon began to play the Musketeers' March, and the two battalions at the front immediately leveled their muskets, singing as they marched forward in unison.

When the two sides were only 200 meters apart, the advancing firing began in units of companies. A volley of fire followed, with more than 400 muskets from the two companies firing at the same time, instantly knocking down more than 100 Yuan soldiers in the front line.

At 180 meters, another volley of 400 men was fired, and more than 100 Yuan soldiers fell again. However, the cannons did not fire. When Aslan saw this, he grinned. Without cannons, these ordinary muskets were no match for him.

At 160 meters, the Holy Martial Army's vanguard fired another volley, followed by a volley every 20 meters until the two sides were only 100 meters apart. At this point, each musketeer company of the two vanguard battalions had fired one volley, and then the entire line stopped to reload and waited in place without advancing further.

More than two thousand musketeers were arranged in three rows, one kneeling and two standing, all aiming forward.

At this point, the Yuan army had reached the final sprint stage, eighty meters, sixty meters.

The musketeer regiment commander, Zhang Zhen, shouted the order to prepare: "Forty meters, begin aiming; thirty meters." When the order to fire was given, gunfire erupted like popping beans, instantly halting the Yuan army's charge. Five or six hundred men fell to the ground in an instant.

Before Aslan could react, the second and third rounds followed immediately!
After three volleys, a layer of the Yuan army's front-line formation had been cut off, with nearly two thousand men lying sprawled between the two armies.

Just then, the bugle call of the Holy Martial Army sounded, and the musketeers charged into the Yuan army's formation with their bayonets. The pikemen of the 101st Division were not to be outdone. They first threw a round of grenades, which blasted a gap in the Yuan army's formation. Then, the pikemen squares charged desperately through the gap, quickly cutting the Yuan army's formation into several sections.

At the same time, the moment the bugle sounded, the sixteen cannons opened fire. They had been too far from the Yuan army's central command and had remained hidden within the formation without firing until now, when the two armies were intersecting and Aslan's central command banner was in sight, the sixteen field cannons began to bombard.

Boom boom boom boom—Chirp~
Boom boom boom~
More than a dozen exploding grenades exploded simultaneously in Aslan's central army, and the drumbeats behind the Yuan army suddenly weakened. The Yuan soldiers in the vanguard, unaware of the situation, were momentarily stunned, wondering why their own drumbeats had stopped, and they all turned around to look.

Just then, the Holy Martial Army launched a second round of artillery fire, severely damaging the Yuan army's central commanders and drummers once again. Aslan's command was thrown into complete chaos. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Jin Chaoxing led the charge, with the commander-in-chief personally leading the entire army in a fierce assault. The bright red 101st Division flag charged left and right through the enemy lines, instantly boosting the morale of the Holy Martial Army soldiers!
At the same time, the heavily armored trapping battalions on both flanks of the Holy Martial Army, along with two battalions of musketeers who had not yet fired, also flanked the Yuan army's flanks, pouring their fire into the gaps between the Yuan army's flanks and vanguard.

With the addition of this fresh force, the Yuan army's front lines began to suffer unstoppable defeats. The battle was won!
(End of this chapter)