Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 299: The Duel of Scouts
While lighting the beacon fire to warn the south of the enemy, the commander-in-chief Li Bingcheng, the garrison commander of Fengji Fort, had basically completed the armament.

As long as he puts on the helmet, his fish scale armor weighing 45 kilograms will be fully equipped.

A moment later, Li Bingcheng walked out of the central military tent. His 3,000 cavalrymen were already mounted, ready to march out of the city to meet the enemy.

The cavalry were divided into three divisions, six departments and sixty teams, and stood in an orderly manner at the gate of the fort, waiting for the commander-in-chief to lead the way.

Li Bingcheng took the reins from the guards, refusing their help, and mounted the horse himself. Once firmly seated, he said nothing more, simply shouting "Go!" He then led the 3,000 cavalrymen out of the city, galloping towards the outer forts where the beacon fires were lit.

"Quick! Quick! Get into position!" After the cavalry left the city, the remaining lieutenant-general immediately ordered his junior officers to lead the infantry from the fort, armed with small cannons and long rifles, out of the city through the four entrances and rushing to the designated locations of the outer fortifications to organize defenses. The lieutenant-general himself climbed the newly built brick wall and, along with the soldiers on the wall, gazed in the direction the general had left.

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Upon learning of Nurhaci's northern attack on Yehe, Xiong Tingbi abandoned his pessimistic strategy of annexing Shen and defending Liao. Seizing this rare opportunity, he embarked on a massive construction project in Liaoyou, repairing old forts and building new ones. By the summer of the 48th year of the Wanli reign, the restoration and fortification project was largely completed. By then, around the four cities of Shen, Feng, Hu, and Liao, there was a tower almost every three miles, used to transmit beacons and scout enemy activity.

Li Bingcheng led his troops to a fort six miles away from Fengji Fort, where five beacons were still burning, and stopped advancing.

The sergeant guarding the tower couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the general leading the cavalry to arrive.

He led his men down the pier and came before Li Bingcheng, bowing his head and saluting: "General!"

"Yes." Li Bingcheng didn't waste any more time asking questions, but nodded with satisfaction. Then he took the captain of the three cavalry divisions of the standard battalion to the watchtower to observe the enemy situation.

The soldiers on the fortresses didn't have to die. They all had horses. If the enemy was overwhelming and formidable, they could give the appropriate signal, take their weapons, signal guns, and any food they had, and retreat to the next fortress along the route. If the enemy continued to advance, the soldiers on both fortresses could retreat together, until they had returned to their main city and awaited further inspection.

The soldiers of this fort did not flee, and the soldiers of the front tower did not come over to crowd together, which means that the wild boars under Nurhaci were still far from reaching the suburbs of Fengji Fort.

Li Bingcheng ascended the platform and gazed out into the distance. He saw the beacon smoke extending northeastward along a slightly curved, but generally straight line toward the captured city of Fushun. At the end of his sight, the smoke transformed from a single dot into a horizontal line. This indicated that the enemy's formation was extensive. The exact scale and layout of the enemy's deployment required further investigation.

Li Bingcheng then turned northwest, gazing at Shenyang City, some thirty miles away. "It seems the enemy soldiers are heading straight for Fengji," he muttered, confirming there was no smoke rising from the city walls. He then turned and walked to the edge of the platform, leaning over and gesturing to the people below, ordering the four cavalry units to continue their planned cavalry scouts.

After the scout left, Li Bingcheng returned to the lookout and continued to stare at the horizontal beacon smoke. After the scout left, Li Bingcheng seemed to see a ball of fuzzy smoke slowly moving under the beacon smoke.

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At the Smoke Tower, twelve miles from Fengji Fort, two hundred cavalry scouts split into four groups and set off in four directions. Shortly after their separation, each of these four groups of scouts split into ten squads, each led by a squad leader, and continued their advance. Once fully deployed, they moved like a moving arc, sweeping the ground as they passed.

A quarter of an hour later, the one closest to the right of the four cavalry scouts spotted over thirty retreating soldiers on horseback. Upon seeing this, the scout leader immediately blew his whistle to gather his troops and approached. The soldiers instinctively turned their horses away until the scouts signaled, and both sides verified their identities. The eighty or so men finally converged.

It's no wonder both sides were so cautious. The Ming army had lost much armor and weapons during the Battle of Sarhu, and when the Jiannu came to scout, they often wore these items to confuse the enemy. Being deceived was a minor issue, but if they approached rashly, they might be attacked and killed. Therefore, the commanders of each garrison developed a set of simple identification gestures to distinguish friend from foe, and even to determine the direction of friendly forces before engaging in conversation.

"Turn back! Don't move forward anymore. A large number of bandits are attacking us, more than ten thousand in total!" shouted the leading soldier.

The captain hesitated for only a moment before pulling the reins and making a 180-degree U-turn. "Come back with us and report the enemy situation to the commander!"

"it is good."

In this way, the team of fifty scouts responsible for long-range reconnaissance turned back without even seeing the enemy.

At about the same time, the second group of cavalry scouts on the right also encountered the retreating soldiers of the reunion.

"Which direction are the bandits going?" After verifying their identities, the second team leader rode his horse and galloped to the front of the soldiers and asked loudly.

"That's the direction we're retreating from!" the captain of the Dunbing team replied.

"What nonsense!" the second team leader shouted, "Turn around! Take us over."

"There are more than ten thousand slaves and bandits, with flags everywhere. Are we going back to die?" The soldiers had completed their mission and naturally did not want to go back.

"Let's go!" The two sides were not subordinate to each other, so the cavalry couldn't order the soldiers to cooperate. They could only persuade them to cooperate. But he didn't want to waste time, so he led his cavalry and continued to advance towards the next fort.

"Oh no! Turn around!" The leading soldier gritted his teeth and turned around to follow the scout. "I'll lead the way!"

"Good!" The captain's heart warmed. With the soldiers leading the way, at least they wouldn't rush headfirst into the enemy without realizing it.

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Unlike the opinions of the imperial censors who had never been to Liaodong and knew nothing about military affairs, the Eight Banners Army under Nurhaci was not only brave in battle but also extremely disciplined.

Nurhaci stipulated that when marching Banner troops over vast areas, the eight Banners would be arranged side by side, divided into eight wings. In narrow areas, the eight Banners would be combined into one route. During the march, the troops must be organized and strictly controlled. Soldiers were forbidden from making noise, and crossing the ranks was prohibited.

Long periods of training and combat had honed the Eight Banners' basic sense of coordination. Consequently, upon emerging from the valley and entering the plains, the soldiers, without even needing a single horse to relay their orders, consciously and swiftly followed their pre-deployed positions, forming a marching formation across an area several miles wide.

Although the formation process did not last long, it was enough for a group of soldiers closest to the valley to light smoke, fire cannons, and evacuate calmly.

When the guards led the cavalry back to the fort they had just abandoned, the Eight Banners infantry and cavalry had already advanced nearly twenty miles.

"Ming cavalry scouts!" A dozen or so mounted scouts from the Left Bordered White Banner were the first to spot this small Ming army unit. "Report," Niulu Ezhen, commanding the scouts, casually pointed at a cavalryman and sent him back with the message. He then fired a flare arrow into the sky and led the remaining troops toward the Ming army, which outnumbered them by nearly eightfold.

"Slave cavalry!" When the Eight Banners soldiers discovered the Ming army, the Ming army also saw them.

"Meet the enemy!" The captain pulled a loaded musket from a special saddle bag, lit the matchlock, and charged forward. His team of fifty was equipped with eleven muskets, while the rest had only bows, arrows, and sabers.

"Kill!" Fifty mounted scouts followed without hesitation.

"Fire the arrows!" the captain of the Dunbing team shouted, but the scouts didn't hear him. Helplessly, he had to lead his men to follow.

The Ming and Jin armies did not engage in direct combat. The moment the Ming army, instead of fleeing, charged forward at full speed, Niulu Ezhen of the Bordered White Banner made a tactical judgment, yanked the reins, and led his men in a turn, galloping towards the right rear.

His men were nearly ten miles away from the main force. If they were surrounded by Ming troops that outnumbered their own troops by several times, they would almost certainly be killed.

Niulu Ezhen let go of the reins and squeezed his legs together. The horse continued to run, but its speed had slowed considerably. Then, Niulu Ezhen pulled out a special Jin army bow from his bow bag, unhooked a long-range quiver, and placed it against the handle.

Other Jin soldiers did the same.

"Fire arrows!"

Draw the bow, string it full, and release! The Ming army approaches, and the Jin soldiers are the first to release their arrows!
The arrows flew in, and although nine out of ten missed due to their long range, some people were still hit in non-vital areas.

The soldiers who were shot by arrows slowed down their horses and left the battlefield, while the others continued to gallop.

The second round of arrows from the Jin soldiers flew over, and this time someone was shot directly in the shoulder blade, causing him to lose his balance on his horse and fall to the ground.

"Shoot!" When the Jin soldiers fired the third round of arrows, the Ming army finally counterattacked.

Ming arrows, many times more numerous than the Jin arrows, flew towards the Jin cavalry, but the well-trained Jin troops had anticipated this counterattack and dodged the barrage with a single swift movement of speed. Of the seventy or so arrows fired, only a few hit, and most of them lodged in the horses' bodies. The horses felt pain, but didn't slow down much.

The two sides fired arrows at each other. An arrow almost passed by the left side of the cavalry scout leader's face, but he did not change his aiming posture.

The captain took a deep breath, held the rifle steady, and tried his best to align his sight with the line connecting the front sight and the rear sight, aiming at the belly of the Jin soldier's horse. Shoot the horse first!

The three points were in a straight line. The captain opened the fire door cover and pulled the lever-shaped trigger upwards.

hiss!
The fuse hits the gunpowder, causing it to burn violently. The large amount of gas produced by the combustion propels the round lead bullet straight forward inside the barrel.

Bang! A puff of white smoke, accompanied by a tiny flame, shot out from the muzzle, followed by a loud bang! Then, the lead bullet shot out and flew towards the horse's belly.

The next moment, ten identical explosions were heard, and a cloud of smoke immediately appeared on the battlefield in this small space.

After the bullet flew for a while, its trajectory slightly dropped and deviated, but it still hit the horse. However, the part that was hit was not the horse's belly, but the hind leg.

"Yike!" The lead bullet was so powerful that it embedded itself into the horse's tense muscles almost instantly. The horse stumbled in pain and fell over!

This burst of gunfire made the Jin soldiers feel an unprecedented sense of danger. However, they did not speed up to increase the distance, but instead suddenly slowed down.

"Cover your arrows!" Niulu Ezhen, who was leading the team, shouted, and all the Jin soldiers present replaced the stabbing arrows in their hands with cover their arrows.

The arrow had a thick, heavy shaft and a wide arrowhead, and was used for close range shooting. Paired with a powerful war bow and fully strung, its range and power were comparable to those of a bird gun.

The counterattack came and immediately shot down several Ming soldiers, but the Ming army continued to sprint under the leadership of the team leader!
The distance kept closing. Niulu'e, the leader, was starting to get a little scared. After all, he was outnumbered, and as a cavalry scout, he wasn't wearing armor. If the Ming army continued to close in, even the mediocre Ming archers would be a significant threat.

Niulu Ezhen looked back at the subordinate who had been thrown to the ground, with a look of hope in his eyes, and then he resolutely ordered: "Retreat!"

The Jin soldiers were driven back, and the morale of the Ming army's cavalry scouts soared. The captain, also overwhelmed by passion, completely lost the coolness and composure he had when firing his muskets. But just as he was about to give chase, he was intercepted by the captain of the dung troops, who had sped up. "Don't chase! The slaves have fired flares, and now you've fired your muskets. The other angry cavalry scouts nearby will soon be surrounding us."

The cavalry scouts reined in their horses and quickly calmed down. He nodded slightly, the blush gradually fading from his face. "Okay, we won't chase anymore. Get in formation, load our muskets, and keep moving." As he spoke, he patted the panting horses on the head.

"Still moving forward?" the captain of the Dunbing team asked in surprise.

"Of course. Our mission is to find out the enemy's strength and determine the location of the enemy's main force. We have only fought a decisive battle with the enemy's horses, so how can we just retreat like this?" The team leader said as he turned his horse closer to the fallen Jin soldier.

Seeing the Ming army approach, the Jin soldier instinctively raised his saber to fight back. However, he was so broken from the fall that he couldn't even get up. He could only curse in Jurchen, a language the Ming army couldn't understand. The horse, struck by the lead bullet, also fell to the ground, whimpering and struggling.

When they got close, the cavalry scouts stepped off their horses, stepped on their stirrups, and without further ado, drew their swords and chopped off the Jin soldier's head. With his head torn from his body, his heart still beating, a stream of blood immediately gushed out from the bowl-sized wound on his neck. However, the cavalry scouts always stood sideways, so they weren't splattered with blood.

"It's better not to advance any further." The captain of the guard came over and said, "Just now I saw a slave spy go back to report for reinforcements when the arrows were fired. If we advance any further, we'll run into a large number of enemy cavalry and may not be able to escape."

"No, you take the wounded back. We must continue our exploration until we have located the majority of the bandits." The captain pinned the head to his saddle and remounted. After mounting his horse, he took out a bean cake mixed with sugar and salt and stuffed it into the horse's mouth to replenish its energy. "Follow me."

"Alright." The captain of the guards stopped trying to persuade them. He led over thirty guardsmen and some lightly wounded soldiers back to the location where the friendly troops had been shot down. They discovered that two of them had been pierced through the bodies by the enemy's arrows, their eyes closed forever.

(End of this chapter)