Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 583 Violent Contact
"Where?" The chieftain officer called "Miss" took two steps to the front of the young scout, while her attendant went to talk to another scout who reported the discovery of footprints almost at the same time.

"Right here," the young scout dodged a step, then, close to the ground, traced a direction with his fingertips and his gaze. "Look. The footprints are wide in the front and narrow in the back, deep in the back and shallow in the front, and they're continuous. I'm sure this is the direction these people left."

"Isn't this the direction of the Yalu River? Are they going to get water?" The female chieftain walked a few steps along the footprints with her head down, and soon saw a winding river.

"It may also be going to North Korea." said the scout.

The Youyang Tusi troops' activities extended beyond the Ming territory; they were also present on both sides of the Yalu River. Recently, another unit of Tusi troops had carried out a moderately successful ambush across the river in Pyeongan Province, Korea. While this ambush failed to annihilate the enemy, with many fleeing, they at least managed to capture two heads, each with a rat-tail pigtail hanging from the back, at the cost of no casualties.

"If you want to go to North Korea, there is no need to cross the river nearby, right? There is a ferry over there in Sudian." said the female chieftain.

"I'm just guessing." The scout curled his lips.

"We'll find out after following the footprints for a while." The female chieftain's attendant came over. "If the footprints disappear at the riverbank, they've crossed the river."

"Fourth Wife," the female chieftain looked in the direction where the attendants were coming from, "What's going on over there?"

"That's the direction this group of people came from. I think they should have come from Yujiabao yesterday." said the attendant called "Fourth Auntie".

"How many people do you think are camping here?" the chieftain said, pointing to the footprints on the ground. "There seem to be only four or five different sets of footprints here."

"Four people," the fourth grandmother held up four fingers and said with extreme certainty, "I've carefully examined the footprints. There were only four people camping here. Three of the footprints are very deep, while one is shallower." The fourth grandmother squatted down and pointed at the footprints on the ground, speaking like a master teaching an apprentice. "Look. These three sets of deep footprints are two in front and one behind. The first two sets are separated by a certain distance, while the back set is almost directly adjacent to the shallow ones." The fourth grandmother raised her head and looked at the female chieftain. "Why do you think this is?"

The female chieftain thought for a moment, then pointed to two sets of deep footprints spaced apart in front and said, "Those are the outposts." Then she pointed to two sets of footprints close together in the back and said, "Those are the escorts."

"The reconnaissance was correct," Si Po nodded approvingly, "but the last two sets of footprints don't indicate an escort, but an escort."

"Escort? How do you know that?" The chieftain tilted his head and blinked.
"Escorts should be parallel, but not too close. Just think about how I followed you. But these two sets of footprints almost overlap along the route, with some deep footprints even covering some shallow ones," said the fourth grandmother, pointing to a pair of overlapping footprints at a certain angle. "This means that the person with the deep footprints was always following directly behind the person with the shallow ones. If you add the two separate sets of deep footprints in front, doesn't it look like three people forming a triangle, surrounding a prisoner in the middle?"

"Yeah, that seems to be what it means." The female chieftain nodded deeply.

"The Jurchens are skilled in archery. I can even imagine a Tartar soldier staring intently at the captive's back with a bow and arrow." Si Po made the motion of drawing a bow and shooting an arrow: "If you dare to escape, I will shoot an arrow through your back."

"So, these should be three Jurchen Tartars who went out for some unknown reason, accidentally captured a thin Han man, and then took him to the Yalu River?" The chieftain also imagined it.

The attendant nodded slightly. After a moment's hesitation, she offered a second possibility: "It's also possible that the Tartar scouts were taking a Han captive who was familiar with the surrounding area to scout the terrain. To prevent him from escaping, they formed a triangular formation to guard him."

"Well! No matter what, this time we can save one person and bring back three more heads." The chieftain stood up and ordered excitedly: "Form a team, set off, and advance quickly. We must intercept them before they cross the river!"

"Maybe they have already crossed the river." The young scout muttered to himself.

The female chieftain didn't hear it, only the fourth wife glared at him.

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The Youyang chieftain's soldiers followed the footsteps and advanced quickly. In less than half an hour, they found Mangku and his group slowly moving along the river on a slope.

"Stop." Si Po stopped the procession with a gesture and whispered to the female chieftain beside her, "Miss, what should we do next?"

The female chieftain leaned against a blooming maple tree, looking down at the unaware Mangku and his group.

After thinking for a moment, the female chieftain looked at a short, sharp-eyed male scout. "Brother Yang, you're a great archer. I want you to shoot that Tartar at the back. Ideally, a single shot will kill him, so that we can save the bald Han man in the middle." The female chieftain was so nervous that her voice trembled. This was her first time commanding an operation, and her first time ordering a killing.

"Yes." Brother Yang San responded softly, and then silently calculated the shooting angle and the strength of pulling the bow.

"Uncle Thirteen." The female chieftain looked at a middle-aged man who looked very strong. "Take four people and follow Brother Yang San to block their retreat."

"Yes." Although Uncle Thirteen was an elder of the same clan, he obeyed obediently at this time and pointed at the three people holding guns and shields.

"The rest of you, follow me and Fourth Auntie to block the road ahead. It would be best if we can capture the two Tartars in front alive, but if we can't, just kill them directly." The female chieftain finally looked at the four people who were not named by Uncle Thirteen.

The four people didn't say anything, just nodded silently.

"Fourth Aunt, do you think this is okay?" The female chieftain turned around and looked at Fourth Aunt.

"Very good." The fourth wife smiled and nodded. Eleven people attacking three people, even if she was the one to arrange this operation, she would not be able to come up with anything fancy.

"Everyone, take my whistle signal," the female chieftain licked her lips. "Upon contact, your first priority is to kill the enemy and save your own life. Don't hold back for fear of losing your life. If the enemy flees and you can't catch them, or if they escape into the river, let them go. Never pursue them alone, or you'll be punished by family law."

"Yes." Ten chieftain soldiers, both men and women, nodded in unison and responded in a low voice.

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Mangku, advancing alongside Sangguli on the west flank, was also a top-notch scout. He not only stared intently ahead, but also glanced to the sides and behind him. Although Mangku failed to detect the danger from the Youyang Tusi soldiers looking down from their high position, he did hear a subtle noise when the female Tusi officer and five Tusi soldiers attempted to circle around them.

Mangku suddenly stopped and instinctively lowered his body to look towards the east.

Sangguli saw Mangku stop out of the corner of his eye, so he stopped too. "Why did you stop again?" "I have a feeling something is following us." Mangku kept scanning the area where the Tusi soldiers were hiding, but because the Tusi soldiers also stopped in time, he didn't see anything for the time being.

"Where is it?" Sang Guli looked around intently, but still saw nothing.

"I don't know," Mangku shook his head and said, "I just feel this way."

"It's an illusion. Stop being suspicious and keep going," Sangguli said. "If I remember correctly, we'll see the first fortification the Ming army has deployed along the river in less than ten miles."

"No, something must be following us." Mangku said confidently, "I heard it just now, but now I can't hear it anymore. It must have hidden itself."

"Maybe it's a tiger. Let's just light the torch. Once the fire is lit, the beast won't dare to come near." Sangguli said.

Sangguli himself encountered a Siberian tiger that tried to sneak up on them while he was out hunting. This creature, which weighed hundreds of pounds, was lighter than the wind when approaching its prey. If they hadn't brought a torch and lit it in time, two people would probably have had to die to kill the beast.

"What if it's a person? Wouldn't lighting a fire reveal where they are?"

"But there's nothing." Sangguli scanned the mountain range again. "If you're really worried, have Yu shout a few words of surrender in Chinese. As long as we don't run into those southern barbarians who don't understand northern dialect, it'll be fine."

"That's right. 'Yu', I want you." Mangku turned and took a step towards the Han man named Yu. Suddenly, he saw a figure suddenly appearing from behind a tree.

"Enemy attack, hide!" Mangku didn't think twice and immediately stepped towards the nearest tree.

Tweet!
Before Mangku finished speaking, a flare arrow flew towards him with the force of breaking through the air.

The female chieftain had good aim, but Mangku dodged faster. The whistling arrow passed by his shoulder and stuck firmly into the ground, leaving a fleeting and eerie silence.

Before Mangku had time to rejoice, several more arrows whizzed towards them from behind.

"what!"

A scream was heard and Mangku suddenly looked back.

In a split second, Erjigen, who was in charge of guarding the rear and keeping watch over the Han people surnamed Yu, was shot through the left shoulder blade by a feather arrow. If Erjigen had not subconsciously taken a step sideways after hearing his brother's cry, the arrow would have pierced his heart.

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"I shot the Tartar behind us!" Yang Sange shouted, "He should be alive, but there's no way I can kill the prisoner with my bow!"

"Stop shooting! They're hiding! Take cover! Take cover!" Uncle Thirteen jumped behind a red pine tree like a monkey and yelled at the Tusi soldiers following him. "Are you fucking deaf? The Tartars' arrows are very accurate!" Uncle Thirteen picked up a stone and threw it at a Tusi soldier who was still exposed.

Pain makes people wake up quickly. After being hit by a stone, the chieftain soldier quickly hid behind a nearby shelter and no longer stared with his bow and arrow looking for the lost target.

On the other side, that is, in front of Third Brother Yang and Thirteenth Uncle, or southwest of Mangku and his party, the female chieftain also commanded her team members to hide behind the previously hidden bunker after a round of shooting.

"Miss. Aren't we still at the designated position? Why did you suddenly shoot the arrow?" The attendant known as the Fourth Granny was hiding behind a fir tree surrounded by bushes. She tilted half of her head and used one eye to observe the position marked by the arrow.

"Those Tartars have spotted us! If we don't strike now, we'll miss the opportunity!" The female chieftain's breathing became rapid, and her palms began to sweat. "I heard Brother Yang San say that the man behind was shot. Now there should be only two Tartars who are still able to move."

"Then what should we do next?" Fourth Granny nodded slightly.

"Leave two people who are good at shooting to watch from behind, and the others will go forward and fight the Tartars in hand-to-hand combat. When they see us coming, they will either try to escape or fight back desperately. In any case, they will definitely come out, and then those who are watching from behind will shoot them!" The female chieftain swallowed her saliva, her eyes fixed on the place where Mangku was hiding next to the flare.

"What about Old Thirteen?" Fourth Aunt asked again.

The female chieftain glanced back quickly, only to see a hillside covered in mountain flowers. "They should be a hundred paces away; we should be able to hear them shouting and talking. Just greet them and let them cooperate. Uncle Thirteen is also a veteran, so he'll definitely have his own considerations." Uncle Thirteen was more than just a veteran; during the expedition against Yang Yinglong of Bozhou, he was among the first elite soldiers to kill the Shanglongtun and claim the "first place in the army."

"Then please give the order quickly." Fourth Granny agreed.

The female chieftain took a deep breath and shouted behind her, "Uncle Thirteen, we're about to attack. The layout is four in, two left. You'll just wait and see when the situation calls for action. We'll use the signal of a whistle! If you hear it, respond!"

"Okay!" Uncle Thirteen's slightly hoarse reply echoed in the mountains.

"Miss, you and Hei Ya'er stay here and watch. The other person will follow me and attack." As the voice echoed, the fourth wife immediately interrupted and gave orders to the people around her.

Hei Ya'er was the young scout who had previously reported that Mangku and his group had left the camp. Upon hearing Si Po's call, Hei Ya'er nodded immediately. However, the female chieftain refused to accept the offer. "Si Po, you stay here. I'll lead them up."

"No, no, no," the fourth wife said sternly, "Miss, you can't even beat an old woman like me. You'd better not go. It's not good to get hurt."

The female chieftain blushed. "That's different. I was just giving in to you."

"You'd better stay back and hold the fort. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to explain to my wife." Although the fourth wife smiled, her tone was much more serious. "Besides, if you get caught by the thieves, wouldn't it cause trouble for everyone?"

"Oh, alright!" The female chieftain glared at the fourth wife, but she didn't lose her temper at this time.

(End of this chapter)