[{"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-287":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},1205576,1561,"Chapter 287: So-Called Harassment Was Nothing but a Joke","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-287",287,"\u003Cp>Soon the three armies converged, formed ranks, and deployed their battle array.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the scouts, the enemy was still far away — this was the advantage of having elite scout riders: one would not be caught off guard when facing the enemy, and could deploy troops and form ranks at leisure. When Wang Dou marched, the night scouts in his army always spread out twenty to thirty li in all directions; with such elite scout riders on the flanks, any enemy surprise attack became an empty boast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the situation required, sending them out several hundred li was no great matter either. The army was full of precedents — during the Wanli-era campaign to aid Korea, the Liaodong night scouts crossed beyond the national border and went straight to the banks of the Daedong River to observe the Japanese army fighting the Korean army. What they saw and heard was vividly written up into an extremely detailed intelligence report.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only a pity that the army had too few elite riders and still had to rely on allied troops for protection. Wang Dou hoped that after taking the Plain Red Banner camp at Zhuozhou, he could seize the horses the Qing troops had looted and in the future build a cavalry force of at least several thousand men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deploying troops and forming battle arrays required suitable terrain; without terrain that allowed a large force to spread out, not only infantry but even cavalry on the march had to maintain a column of only a few riders abreast. Such a column, apart from harassment, had no effective offensive power whatsoever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a pitched battle with firm formations was to be fought, besides needing to choose terrain suitable for deployment, time also had to be spent forming the battle array. Sometimes the time needed to form the array could be as long as half a shichen to a full shichen, and this was true for both infantry and cavalry alike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking across the surrounding several dozen li, only this stretch was open, without rivers, fields, or irrigation ditches, making it convenient for both sides to do battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Xuan-Da Army converged and formed its array, from the Shunxiang Army to the troops in the camps of Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei, every soldier was composed — that was the confidence and courage born of each man's bloody battles. Moreover, the Qing riders were still far away; even if they came forward, they would still need time to form their own array, so the main army might well have to wait for quite a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If those Qing soldiers merely came to harass… the six thousand cavalry in the Xuan-Da Army were not to be trifled with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While the Xuan-Da Army was busy, the Plain Red Banner Qing troops also slowly pressed closer from the distance. Watching their large mass gathering together in a disorderly column, Yang Guozhu gazed out from horseback for a moment and said, \"The Eastern Slave soldiers number less than three thousand — they have not come to fight a decisive battle.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guo Yingxian, the personal general of his central army beside him, spat and said, \"A mere two thousand-strong force, and they think they can delay the advance of our great army?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cupped his fists toward Yang Guozhu and cried, \"My lord, allow your subordinate to lead a troop of men out at once and slaughter them until not a single piece of armor remains.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Guozhu said, \"No hurry. Let us observe the situation before deciding.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Dawei also agreed with Yang Guozhu's opinion — prudence was paramount.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gradually those Plain Red Banner Qing soldiers drew nearer, and from afar their black helmets and red armor could already be seen. They halted three or four li ahead of the Xuan-Da Army, slightly adjusted their ranks, and before long several squads of cavalry came whistling forward, charging toward the Xuan-Da camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing such arrogance, Guo Yingxian was so furious his nose nearly twisted out of shape, and he once again begged Yang Guozhu for permission to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In cavalry warfare Wang Dou had no say, and Xu Yue'e's horse-bandit troops would likely fare poorly in a head-on clash with the Qing soldiers. Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei conferred in low voices for a few sentences, and the two men decided that each camp would dispatch five hundred elite riders to teach those Qing soldiers a harsh lesson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Receiving the order to go into battle, Guo Yingxian was elated. He shouted, \"Haha! Five of us beating one of them — absolutely splendid!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He and a Company Commander from Hu Dawei's camp each led five hundred men charging out of the formation. The Qing soldiers opposite had only sent five or six squads, two to three hundred riders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guo Yingxian and the other man led a thousand cavalry, an overwhelming advantage in strength. They swept forward with a roar, at minimum every three squads encircling one enemy squad — two squads outflanking from left and right, and one squad engaging head-on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, and Xu Yue'e gathered together. Watching from horseback in the distance, the cavalry on both sides rapidly closed in, and very soon the two sides collided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Plain Red Banner cavalry opposite were still in squads of fifty men, of whom twenty wore heavy armor and carried polearms and spears, while thirty wore light armor and wielded bows and arrows. However, at this moment each Qing squad had its light-armored troops in front and heavy-armored troops behind. When they charged within several dozen paces, those light-armored archers loosed their arrows in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cavalry under Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei, however, were in squads of sixty men — within each were twenty bow-and-saber men, twenty hook-sickle spear men, ten trident men, and five great-club fire-troop men. Just like those Qing soldiers, the bow-and-saber men of each squad from the two camps also shot their arrows together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flurry of arrow fire was exchanged, and both sides' squads, as if by unspoken agreement, raised the small shields on their left arms to block. Even so, some men and horses on both sides tumbled to the ground. Then they brushed past one another and fought with curved sabers, long spears, hook-sickle spears, tridents, and great clubs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In cavalry combat, what mattered was speed of hand and sharpness of eye; often in a single pass one was skewered off the horse by the opponent. With the momentum of the horse, one could kill an opponent without even expending much strength. Even if one survived the fall, amid the stampede of charging hooves, the outcome was quickly being trampled into minced flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a true life-or-death struggle, the warriors of the two garrison commanders' main battalions were not inferior in martial prowess to those Qing soldiers. Even if they could not maintain a one-to-one casualty ratio, the casualty rate would not exceed two to one. Not to mention that the Qing troops were far too few in number — three squads of Ming troops ganged up on one squad of Qing troops, with every two squads appearing on their flanks, impossible to guard against.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One after another, Ming soldiers were hacked or speared off their horses. Likewise, one after another, Qing soldiers were hooked or stabbed off their horses, or impaled by tridents, the weapons in their hands knocked flying. Or one heavy club after another, swung with the force of a charging horse, came crashing viciously down upon their bodies or their mounts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Men kept falling from their horses; the combat was bloody and fierce, and the agonized screams of warriors from all sides as they died or were wounded could be faintly heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two sides tangled together, and many men had already dismounted to fight on foot. Wang Dou saw Guo Yingxian likewise leap off his horse, fighting with the desperate ferocity of a mad tiger. He was stocky and powerfully built, with the strength of an ox; the trident in his hands whirled with a whistling wind, sweeping all before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trident was the supreme weapon for knocking an opponent's weapon flying. When an opponent thrust with a polearm or spear, Guo Yingxian would catch it with the three-pronged trident, then use the leverage to twist — and the opponent's polearm or spear would go flying into the sky. Then Guo Yingxian would viciously thrust his trident forward, leaving three bloody holes in the opponent's body. It worked every time without fail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the blink of an eye, Guo Yingxian had already skewered several Qing soldiers to death. Seeing such martial valor, the Qing soldiers before him all shrank back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Xuan-Da Army on this side watched with keen attention, and every man cheered. Hu Dawei beside Yang Guozhu repeatedly praised, \"General Guo is so fierce and valiant — it fills one with admiration. Old Yang, a thousand troops are easy to raise, but one good general is hard to find. With such a great commander under your banner, our Xuan-Da Army is like a tiger that has grown wings.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Guozhu's face showed a look of self-satisfaction. Xu Yue'e beside him also saluted him: \"General Guo's martial valor exalts the military prestige and morale of our Great Ming. Your daughter respectfully offers congratulations to her foster father.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yue'e's words filled Yang Guozhu's heart with even greater delight, and he burst into hearty laughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou glanced at Xu Yue'e. This woman was usually silent and never said a word; he had not expected her to be so eloquent. As for the scene on the battlefield, he too watched with amazement — this was the allure of cold-weapon cavalry combat, and every time it stirred the heart and lifted the spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However… observing the combat on both sides, it was still mostly disorganized and undisciplined. The warriors of each side possessed outstanding riding skills and individual combat ability, but when fighting, their formations were scattered and could not generate any cohesive power. Morale was still largely driven by individual martial valor, especially the martial valor of the lead commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou hoped that in the future his own cavalry would possess strong organization and discipline. That way, even if the soldiers' riding skills and individual combat ability were not outstanding, they could still defeat opponents whose discipline was poor but whose riding skills and martial prowess were both exceptional.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The French were the European people least adept at horsemanship, and the quality of their cavalry and horses was also quite ordinary. Yet Napoleon's cavalry repeatedly defeated the brave and skilled Mamluk cavalry, precisely because their cavalry underwent strict and formal training, always maintained a tight and orderly formation in battle, and when charging swept forward with irresistible momentum for a thousand li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the collective power formed by organization and discipline. In the Great Ming, no one placed greater importance on discipline than Wang Dou. The Han people were also a people adept at horsemanship — the Han and Tang dynasties could casually field tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of cavalry. Wang Dou hoped that in the future, in his own hands, there would be a cavalry army unlike any other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a pity that his cavalry had not trained for long; their horses were not fierce-tempered, and man and horse had not yet achieved that state of seamless unity. The time for cavalry charges was not yet ripe — he would take it slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He likewise offered Yang Guozhu a few words of flattery: \"General Guo is highly skilled in cavalry warfare. After the battle, your subordinate will have to seek instruction from General Guo.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that even Wang Dou, who was expert at training troops, wanted to seek instruction from his subordinate, Yang Guozhu was even more satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the two sides fight fiercely, charging back and forth, Li Guangheng beside Wang Dou grew intensely eager and repeatedly begged Wang Dou for permission to fight, hoping to lead two squads of troops into the fray.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou smiled and shook his head: \"Company Commander Li, the slave cavalry cannot hold on — they are about to be routed. There is no chance left. Next time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the massed assault of over a thousand Xuan-Da cavalry, those two hundred-odd Qing cavalry who had come out to fight indeed could not hold on. In the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred of them were killed or wounded, and the remainder fled one after another toward their own army's formation. With the advantage of numbers, the Xuan-Da Army had suffered only a few dozen casualties. They pressed on relentlessly, shouting as they spurred their horses in pursuit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the Ming troops giving chase, those routed Plain Red Banner Qing soldiers were even more terrified and whipped their horses to flee at top speed. Several Ming soldiers ganging up on one of them — this unfair fight filled them with grievance, but they had nowhere to appeal for justice. For them, in this battle the Ming troops had suffered only ten percent casualties, while they had suffered thirty to fifty percent — truly a devastating loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching his own cavalry retreat in defeat, Luo Luohong's expression in the main Qing formation was extremely grim. It was just as his younger brother had said: the Ming army had cavalry in great numbers, and so-called harassment was nothing but a joke. Watching his own brave warriors being overtaken by the Ming troops, cut down and speared to the ground one by one, his heart felt as though it were being sliced by a knife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, those fleeing Qing soldiers had many horses, and most of them were still able to escape with their lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A company commander from the Bayara camp beside him cried out, \"Doroi Beizi, shall we send a few more squads of brave warriors to provide support and intercept and slaughter those Ming cavalry?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Luohong's face turned even more ashen. Nearly a thousand Ming cavalry were charging forward with a roar, showing a tendency to engage his main formation in a slaughter. What he feared most was getting entangled in a melee with these Ming troops. If they sent out several thousand more cavalry from their main formation to support the fight, then the harassment would turn into a chaotic melee, and ultimately into a decisive battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other side had over ten thousand men, while he had only two thousand. If they fought to the end, the elite core of the Plain Red Banner might be entirely consumed here — this he was unwilling to accept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before departing, his Ama had earnestly instructed him: under no circumstances should he engage the Ming army in battle; he must preserve his strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Luohong ground his teeth fiercely and finally sighed: \"They have cavalry in great numbers — there is truly no opportunity to exploit. We leave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the Qing soldiers routed, thunderous cheers erupted throughout the Xuan-Da Army. Yang Guozhu laughed heartily: \"Pass the order — beat the gongs and recall the troops.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shouted: \"After clearing the battlefield, our army will continue advancing. Before the hour of you, our great army must arrive outside the slave camp!\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2549,"2026-06-03T14:05:36.780Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","58490f10ead01256d714ee136e7e8463efae7b0475c4b1de9949564553d82e6c","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-288","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-286",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]