[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army":3,"chapter-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-264":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Little Soldier of the Late Ming Border Army",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1205553,1561,"Chapter 264: Hand-to-Hand Combat","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-264",264,"\u003Cp>\"Fire!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front rank of arquebusiers swiftly dispersed to both flanks, and the second rank, standing in place, pulled their triggers at the charging Qing soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This volley shattered more Qing leather shields, and several heavy-armored soldiers of the Plain White Banner had their armor broken and were hurled backward to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second rank withdrew, and the third rank of arquebusiers continued firing. By now the Qing troops had charged within ten paces. At this range, even the Qing iron shields were blasted with large holes by the arquebuses of the Shunxiang Army's baggage soldiers. More than ten Qing soldiers screamed and fell sprawling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third rank of baggage-troop arquebusiers retreated at full speed. At that moment the Plain White Banner heavy armor had already surged forward. With a rushing sound, a great wave of objects came flying from behind those shield-bearers — iron maces, throwing axes, javelins, and the like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like them, at the gap in the earthen wall, the saber-and-shield soldiers under Yang Tong's command, along with the second and third ranks of pikemen, likewise hurled a great volley of javelins. Screams rang out as warriors on both sides were struck by javelins and other missiles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sharp javelins nailed Qing soldiers and Shunxiang troops dead to the ground one after another. Squad Commander Yang Tong, standing behind the three ranks of pikemen, saw a javelin flying straight at his face and dodged hastily. A bodyguard beside him had his helmet knocked off by a whistling iron mace, startling him into a cold sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both formations had thinned somewhat. With no time to dwell on it, Yang Tong bellowed: \"Level spears!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kill!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly the surviving pikemen of the three ranks reacted by conditioned reflex. Every man turned sideways, gripping his spear and standing ready, and from their mouths burst a great war cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shunxiang Army pikemen drilled only one move every day: thrust! Two steps — first, level the spear; second, lunge. Day after day they practiced these two motions over and over. From the army's founding until now, they had leveled spears and thrust millions of times, so many they could not count, until the skill was ingrained beyond familiarity. Even in their dreams, they could execute it to the most exacting standard by pure instinct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their long spears, designed for close combat, could pierce armor. They were not the red-tasseled spears of common impression; the spearheads were very long, like sharply pointed awls. Rank upon rank of grim soldiers standing with spears leveled was a profoundly awe-inspiring sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thrust!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kill!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the blink of an eye the Qing troops charged to the front of the formation. The Shunxiang soldiers' eyes blazed red. Dozens of long spears in the front rank thrust out with explosive force. A series of heavy thuds and the screams of the impaled rang out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the shields swung at them and the flashing blades of the Qing soldiers, these pikemen did not dodge. Their training was all about who had the sharper eye and the faster hand — to kill the opponent with a thrust before the opponent's weapon struck them. The rule was: whoever was slower died first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In terms of sharp eyes and quick hands, many of the soldiers trained at Shunxiang Fort could, from dozens of paces away in a charge, thrust and hit targets on the eyes, throat, heart, and other vital points. This was precisely how the army distinguished superior soldiers from inferior ones in skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether the Qing saber-and-shield men came leaping over their shields, rolling along the ground, or darting from behind their shields, the Shunxiang Army pikemen paid them no mind. Their eyesight was superb, their long spears quick as lightning. Spotting a gap in the Qing soldiers' defense, they raised their spears and thrust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An inch longer, an inch deadlier — the advantage of the long spear over the saber and shield lay precisely here. Except for a few spears blocked by shields, the rest of the Qing saber-and-shield men had not yet struck the Ming soldiers opposite them when several long spears, carrying a fierce whistle of wind, drove straight into their hearts, their flanks, or their eyes, throats, and other vital points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heart-rending screams rose. The Shunxiang Army's long spears pierced the Qing soldiers' armor and sank deep into their bodies. In this bitter winter weather, the moment a man was stabbed, his whole body convulsed violently. When the opponent's spear withdrew with ghostly speed, those who had been stabbed felt all strength abruptly leave them, and they shuddered and collapsed to their knees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dozens of blood-dripping long spears thrust out again like venomous serpents. Among the surviving heavy-armored Qing shield soldiers at the front and those charging up behind them, many more were impaled by the spears and fell with expressions of disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Shunxiang Army doctrine, if several long spears faced only a single enemy, then aside from the spear directly in front making a frontal attack, the remaining spears would strike from the flanks. Those Qing shield soldiers almost always fought alone. How could they defend against several long spears thrusting from different directions at once?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qing shield soldiers kept charging forward and being stabbed to death, until at last, every one of them was terrified, whirling their shields with a roaring wind as if not a drop of water could get through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shunxiang Army pikemen ignored them. Coordinating with their footwork, they advanced in unison at times, retreated in unison at others, taking care not to overextend their spears, always keeping the Qing soldiers before them under the threat of multiple long spears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching them maintain a disciplined formation, utterly uninterested in single combat, these Qing heavy-armored troops felt unbearably stifled, feeling that all their superb martial skills had no outlet whatsoever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And indeed — in single combat, apart from the Night Scouts of the Shunxiang Army, every one of these Qing heavy-armored soldiers was superior to the Shunxiang troops. But against the Shunxiang Army's formation fighting, where there were no heroes and no cowards, only clusters of spears thrusting in and clusters of spears thrusting out, what could they do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now the Plain White Banner heavy-armored troops were pouring in continuously, but only the first two ranks could actually fight. Unable to squeeze into the front, they surged toward the two sides of the earthen wall gap and clashed fiercely with the Shunxiang Army saber-and-shield men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the blink of an eye, the charging Qing heavy-armored shield soldiers at the front had already suffered over twenty casualties. Realizing that their shield soldiers were no match for the Ming pikemen, these heavy-armored shield soldiers parted, revealing the heavy-armored pikemen behind them. Those Qing pikemen leveled their long spears and great halberds, rank by rank, gnashing their teeth and slowly advancing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, the three ranks of Shunxiang Army pikemen also slowly advanced. The two sides glared at each other with vicious ferocity, their long spears drawing closer and closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, with a great roar, they raised their long spears and thrust with all their might. Screams rose from both sides in succession, and the sound of spearheads sinking into flesh was unceasing. In this kind of formation battle, with long spears thrusting at each other, there was simply no room to dodge. Apart from desperately stabbing the enemy down, there was no other way out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both sides were armored heavy troops with excellent protection, yet when the long spears thrust at each other, no armor whatsoever could stop the armor-piercing spearhead of the enemy from driving into one's body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such an exchange was brutally savage. After the two sides stabbed at each other desperately for a spell, in the blink of an eye, the front-rank pikemen on both sides collapsed in great swaths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood gushed from these corpses and wounded men, sending up billowing steam from the frozen winter ground. Seeing such a brutal scene, many on the Qing side showed expressions of hesitation and terror. To suffer so many casualties all at once — this was truly...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And moreover, fighting in such a formation, all one's martial skill was useless. There was nothing but thrusting, and more thrusting. Even death was utterly plain and obscure. One could not even flourish a spear. And besides, how could the Ming troops opposite be so unafraid of death? By all reason, in such a savage melee, those Ming troops should have collapsed on the spot. How could they... come up to fight again?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the silent and brutal battle scene before him, the muscles on Yang Tong's face twitched uncontrollably. In this first wave of pikemen combat, the casualties among his own company's pikemen were too heavy. Of the forty-plus men in the front layer, more than twenty had fallen in an instant, and the rest were all wounded — more than half lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bit his lower lip and waved his hand. The drumbeats sounded again, and at once the front-rank pikemen withdrew, replaced by the second rank, who formed up and advanced. Looking at the Qing pikemen opposite, their front rank likewise withdrew, replaced by the fresh troops of the second rank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gnashing their teeth, the two sides raised their long spears and slowly closed in again.\u003C\u002Fp>",1549,"2026-06-03T14:05:36.780Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","e739b82597b26e89d9e14f9072145287269961168bba2a9a5df88bfb0212f69e","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-265","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-263",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]