The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 8 Attack and Kill
The third day of the third month of the forty-seventh year of the Wanli reign.

Under the cover of night, the Hunjiang River meanders northward like a giant black python. In the deep forests on both sides of the river, the screams of night owls can be faintly heard, followed by the sound of fierce arrows breaking through the air and metal colliding.

The bright moonlight shone through the trees onto the snow in the forest. A bone-chilling cold enveloped the earth, and there was not a single living thing in the forest.

Suddenly, a white light flashed through the woods.

All I saw were long spears like a forest, iron armor flashing, and a team of strong armored soldiers, all holding their tongues and keeping silent, moving through the woods like ghosts.

There were several cold corpses lying on the ground. Each of them was wearing blue armor, with a small blue flag on their backs, and their eyes were still wide open.

These were the elite white-armored soldiers of the Bordered Blue Banner. They were the ones who made the owl's cry just now. These white-armored soldiers were all killed under the siege of Ming army servants who outnumbered them several times.

Not far ahead of the Ming army infantry, groups of cavalry were marching in the snow. Each of them rode two horses and wore fine armor. They looked like servants at first glance.

A scout returned from the front and reported the situation to the commander.

"The Jiannu didn't set up any secret sentries. Amin really doesn't take our Eastern Army seriously!"

Liu Zhaosun stood on his horse and looked towards the north.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, the sky was clear after the snow, and the view was vast. Five miles to the north, the Jianzhou Jurchen Blue Banner Camp was clearly visible.

Behind Liu Zhaosun, a thousand elite soldiers were rushing towards the Jiannu camp, and the general felt a surge of heroic spirit in his heart.

"Second Prince, I'll start with you today!"

Liu Zhaosun was certainly not a fool. Although he only brought a thousand men with him for this night attack, they were all elite soldiers, including:

General Liu Jing had 300 elite servants, 500 Zhejiang spearmen, and 200 Korean archers.

Guerrilla General Deng Qilong and Korean Left Vice Envoy Jin Yinghe both volunteered to join the night attack.

The Zhejiang soldiers led by Deng Qilong were in strict discipline. This powerful army with the blood of Qi's army was strong enough to confront the Eight Banners soldiers head-on.

The two hundred archers under Jin Yinghe were elite soldiers selected from 13,000 Korean soldiers. Although the overall combat effectiveness of the Korean soldiers was worrying, their archery skills were not inferior to those of Jiannu Bayara.

In the original historical dimension, the Korean soldiers who were good at using bows were equipped with bird guns and fired against the Later Jin army. Due to the poor quality of the bird guns and the problem of wind direction on the battlefield, the thick fog and fireworks after the bird guns were fired blocked the vision of the Ming army, and the formation fell into chaos. They were harvested by a wave of heavy arrows from the Jurchen hunters and were defeated.

It is necessary to explain a little bit about the process of Liu Zhaosun selecting soldiers for the night attack.

After the North Korean army arrived, the Shajianzi camp's strength reached 30,000. Selecting 1,000 elite soldiers capable of carrying out a night raid from this 30,000 was no easy task. The proportion of soldiers suffering from night blindness in this era far exceeded Liu Zhaosun's expectations. If he led those night-blind soldiers on a 30-mile night raid, half would likely be lost before they even reached Amin's camp.

Liu Jing had already risked everything and bet all his fortune on defeating Nurhaci.

In the past two days, Liu Zhaosun has been patiently educating his adoptive father about historical knowledge.

The Ming general became increasingly aware that if he could not repel the Jiannu, he would die without a burial place.

Liu Jing offended all the forces around him that he could, from Liaozhen to Dengzhou, from the capital to Korea.

Li Rubai, Yang Hao, and many others were waiting to see Liu Jing make a fool of himself, and some were waiting for General Liu to strike him with a knife at Caishikou.

He deceived the Koreans by saying that he had someone in the cabinet, but in fact, there were few civil servants in the capital who were willing to help. Of course, he now had two close friends: Kang Yingqian and Qiao Yiqi.

If he fails to win this time, his two mortal enemies, Yang Hao and Li Rubai, will be able to kill him without the censor impeaching the Jinyiwei.

So when he heard that Liu Zhaosun decided to launch a night attack, the general naturally gave his full support.

Over the past year, Liu Jing had been begging the imperial court for all kinds of firearms and armor (although the Eastern Army was short of firearms), which was more than enough to equip a thousand elite troops.

Liu Zhaosun was not polite either. Needless to say, he brought with him excellent armor. Except for the French cannon, which he left behind to guard the camp, he brought with him all the other firearms he could carry, such as the Divine Fire Flying Crow and the Ten Thousand Enemies, which left the other generals dumbfounded.

Three hundred household servants were armed with lances, clubs, and a limited supply of bows and arrows. Each wore two layers of armor, with a layer of cotton armor beneath their mail. They rode two horses, one for approaching and the other for charging. This 300-man cavalry force served as a mobile force, containing enemy counterattacks and protecting the spearmen from breaching the camp. Deng Qilong led five hundred Zhejiang soldiers, equipped with two layers of thick armor. Each carried a spear, a sword, a javelin, and a rattan shield. They were accompanied by another five hundred auxiliary soldiers. These five hundred spearmen, the main force of this night assault, would form a mandarin duck battle formation, appearing on the battlefield after the cavalry's surprise attack to reap the lives of the Jiannu.

As for the two hundred elite Korean archers, Liu Zhaosun equipped them with even more lavish equipment, to the point of being the envy of the other retainers. Each Korean archer rode two horses and was equipped with a long- and short-stemmed bow. The longbow was used to penetrate armor, while the short-stemmed bow facilitated rapid-fire. They also had thirty heavy arrows, eighty light arrows, two strings, a bow spigot, an arrow spigot, a thumb ring, and a lance. Like the retainers, the Korean archers wore two layers of armor: chain mail and cotton armor. They wore Ming helmets that left only their eyes exposed. When engaging the Jiannu, they could hardly be killed by a single arrow unless struck in the face.

In addition, the accompanying auxiliary troops also carried a considerable number of tiger squat cannons and ten thousand enemies.

The so-called "Tiger Crouching Cannon" is similar to later mortars, shaped like a crouching tiger, hence its name. The Tiger Crouching Cannon was already in use during the early Ming Dynasty, primarily in the Nine Frontiers. After years of development, the Ming Dynasty's Tiger Crouching Cannon had a range of approximately 20 to 30 steps. Despite its short range, its power was formidable, making it particularly well-suited for combat in mountainous terrain.

As for Wan Ren Di, it can be understood as a grenade or hand grenade in the Ming Dynasty, but it is much larger than the hand grenades of later generations, about the size of a basketball, with a stone shell on the outside and a hollow inside, filled with explosives, and the gaps filled with soil. It is generally used to defend the city and placed on the battlements of the side walls. When the enemy army attacks the city, it is thrown from the top of the city. Even if it does not explode, it can kill or injure a few unlucky people. As far as Liu Zhaosun knows, once this thing explodes, it is incredibly powerful, and due to its crude design, the damage caused by Wan Ren Di to the enemy is completely random. It is said that some people will not be hurt if they stand next to Wan Ren Di, while other enemies will be hit by stones even if they stand a hundred steps away...

The explosion of Wanren Di makes a shocking sound. If you throw a few of them at the Bordered Blue Banner camp during a night raid, even the soundest sleepers will be woken up. If you do this in the middle of the night, you might even cause a roar in the camp.

At the beginning of the night, after groping in the dark for more than an hour, Liu Zhaosun and Jin Yinghe were the first to arrive at the outskirts of the Dong'eli Bordered Blue Banner Camp.

The Jiannu scouts surrounding the camp had been eliminated by the servants ahead. Liu Zhaosun ordered everyone to rest and count the number of people. Of the three hundred servants and two hundred Korean archers, fifteen were missing. Liu Zhaosun did not intend to return to search for them. Instead, led by two night guards, they ascended to a high point near the camp. It was dark and the road was slippery, and they fell twice along the way. Fortunately, the night guards were familiar with the terrain. Once they reached the heights, the Jiannu camp was in full view.

Liu Zhaosun planned it in his mind and couldn't help but sneer. Qi Shaobao said that whenever setting up a camp in the wild, one must explore the terrain, either guarding the plains, or occupying a dangerous place, or a place with convenient advance and retreat, and convenient water and grass for livestock.

Amin set up his camp in the valley of Dong'e Road, close to the river bank and in a depression. If the Hunjiang River could be brought in, it would be the Sarhu version of the flooding of the seven armies.

"After two consecutive victories, the enemy must have become complacent. Furthermore, Amin saw our army hesitate and thought we were losing our nerve, which is why he acted so arrogantly."

"Master Thirteen, these Tartars don't know how to defend the city!"

After coming down from the high ground, Liu Zhaosun ordered everyone to replace the horses they rode with more powerful spare horses in preparation for a night attack.

Jin Yinghe looked at the Later Jin army camp in front of him, but his expression remained unchanged. He had been walking at night for more than an hour and had already sharpened his sword. He was whispering in Korean to the archers around him about how to attack.

Liu Zhaosun called in Yebushou, a cavalryman from Shaanxi, thin and capable, who had followed Liu Jing for many years. His name was Zhang Dong, nicknamed Zhang Mazi.

"Thirteenth Master, we were out on scouts today. The bandits have set up a chariot camp. Chariots, baggage carts, and ox-drawn carts are piled up in a circle outside. There are chevaux de frise and horse traps at the entrance. We are too far away to have any scouts to know the exact situation inside the camp."

Amin did not intend to stay in Dong'e Road for a long time, nor did he take the Ming army seriously. He set up camp hastily, not even setting up secret sentries. He only set up some barricades and traps to get the job done perfunctorily.

Liu Zhaosun called everyone forward, looked up at Zhang Dong, and whispered:

"Zhang Mazi, see? On the opposite mountain, send your men to place large torches among the trees and rocks, pouring tung oil on them. When we start fighting, have them set fire to the mountain and light a few Ten Thousand Enemies. The louder the better. The bandits will be confused and unable to determine our position and strength, and will be thrown into panic! This will make it easier for us to retreat!"

Zhang Dong immediately took the order and left, arranging several capable men to go up the mountain at night to set fire.

Liu Zhaosun turned and looked at Jin Yinghe. In his opinion, the two hundred Korean archers were most suitable for ambush.

"General Jin, you will lead the archers and hide in the surrounding high ground. Block the camp gates to prevent the slaves from leaving. Once the spearmen arrive, provide cover for them in the battle."

Jin Yinghe groaned. Compared to being Voldemort, he would rather rush into the enemy camp and fight with Liu Zhaosun. However, before setting off, Deng Qilong repeatedly reminded him that the Koreans should provide cover for his spearmen and suppress the heavy arrows of the white-armored soldiers. Otherwise, when the Jiannu reacted, the 500 spearmen on their side would only become sitting ducks for the enemy.

Finally, Liu Zhaosun pointed out several traps and barricades in the opposing camp, asking everyone to avoid them when charging. Once his arrangements were complete, he led three hundred retainers, armed with lances and clubs, and, taking advantage of the cover of night, charged towards the camp on horseback.

Three hundred war horses charged forward at high speed, their hooves like thunder, and the earth shook slightly.

When they were about a hundred steps away from the Jiannu camp, several cold arrows shot out from the camp. A servant in front was shot in the chest with a tinkling sound. The chain mail blocked the arrow and he was not seriously injured.

Then, some frightened Manchu voices and chaotic drum beats were heard from the camp. Through the blazing bonfire at the camp gate, the figures of several remaining soldiers of the Bordered Blue Banner with frightened faces could be vaguely seen.

Liu Zhaosun pointed his gun at the rat-tail pigtail swaying in front of him and roared angrily:

"Kill the Jiannu!"

(End of this chapter)