[{"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-313":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},1205602,1561,"Chapter 313: The Road Ahead, The Enemy at the Gates","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-313",313,"\u003Cp>Shouts and cries never ceased across the wilderness, as cavalry from both the Ming and Qing sides fled wildly like wolves and boars. Unlike before, this time the pursuers were Ming cavalry, and the fleeing troops were Qing cavalry. Neither side knew how many li they had covered in this chase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From time to time, straggling Bordered Yellow Banner Qing riders were overtaken, and amid wails they were killed one by one. Exhausted by the long march and the preceding pursuit and combat, these Bordered Yellow Banner Qing troops and horses were utterly spent — how could they outrun the Ming cavalry, who had waited at ease for the weary foe?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, nearly half of their heavy cavalry had been lost in the earlier charge; the \"Baturu\" and Meiren Zhangjing Oboi had died on the spot, and every remaining man was stricken with terror. With their fighting spirit gone, they had not even the courage to turn back and engage in a tangled fight. They only knew to flee desperately — flee, flee, flee. When one horse dropped dead, they switched to another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, and their five thousand cavalry pursued relentlessly. During the chase they divided into several columns: one column pressed hard while the others advanced at a measured pace. Once one wave grew weary, another wave took up the pursuit, always preserving their own edge and the stamina of both horse and rider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The several thousand Ming cavalry pursued all the way past Machangying. When they were not far from Sungezhuang, a subordinate came to report to Cao Bianjiao that the fleeing Bordered Yellow Banner Tartar troops had already been met by a contingent of Plain Yellow Banner Tartar troops, who were hastily forming a battle line not far ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one meeting the remnants of Bordered Yellow Banner's Zhunta was none other than Plain Yellow Banner's Bayara Guard Commander Tulai. He had led three thousand men as a support force, about half a day's march from Oboi's vanguard. After receiving Oboi's plea for help, he had rushed his troops to the scene. Seeing the wretched state of Zhunta and the others, and hearing that Meiren Zhangjing Oboi was already dead, he was dumbstruck and could scarcely believe it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tulai was a prudent man. He saw that the remaining Bordered Yellow Banner troops were all downcast, their faces ashen, utterly devoid of the will to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Influenced by them, the men of his own Plain Yellow Banner were also stricken with panic. When he further learned that a large Ming force had arrived in pursuit, he knew the situation was critical and immediately gave the order to fortify the position on the spot and form a strict, tight military formation. Any routing soldier who dared to charge his own lines was to be shot down on the spot without mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under his arrangements, the Bordered Yellow Banner troops gradually calmed down. Soon, the vast tide of Ming pursuit cavalry arrived, gathering in clusters no more than two li away to reconnoiter. Seeing the Plain Yellow Banner troops drawn up in strict array, none dared to press forward and charge the formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, several dozen riders dashed out from the Ming army. They came whooping forward; behind the horses of some of them, ropes dragged several captured Bordered Yellow Banner soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the sight of their great banner bearing the character \"Wang,\" some Bordered Yellow Banner soldiers cried out in alarm: \"Shunxiang Army! It's the Shunxiang Army...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid their cries, the remnant Bordered Yellow Banner troops stirred with waves of unrest. Seeing his own side's morale wavering, Tulai barked sternly: \"Any who dare to shake the army's morale will be executed without mercy!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhunta knew how grave the situation was. If these remnant troops of his banner caused the entire formation to waver, then not only he himself, but even the entire allied army might be dragged into collapse and annihilation. He suppressed the unrest with all his might, personally hacking off the heads of several unarmored soldiers in his banner who shouted the loudest, and only then did the formation stabilize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You barbarian whelps, dare you fight?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those Ming riders flaunted their prowess before the Qing lines, galloping and shouting their taunts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were precisely the Night Scout soldiers of Wang Dou's army. Veterans at pursuit, after the Bordered Yellow Banner collapsed, these few dozen men — each with three horses — could chase over a thousand Qing riders fleeing like wolves and boars, and not a single one of the foe dared turn back to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had taken many heads and captured several prisoners, whom they now dragged behind their horses by ropes with practiced ease, shouting their challenges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The situation was completely reversed. Tulai and Zhunta remembered that when they had accompanied the Emperor at Tongzhou, it had been the same — only the lead and supporting roles had been swapped. Tulai's face was grim. He restrained the furious Plain Yellow Banner warriors beside him and strictly ordered them to hold formation and stand guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every one of them dismounted, strung their bows, and nocked arrows, waiting only for the Shunxiang Army Night Scouts to enter range before loosing a volley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These Night Scouts were personally led by Wen Daxing. He was certainly not foolish enough to charge into their bow range, and merely circled and galloped outside their formation...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the Qing formation remain utterly silent, with not a single man daring to answer the challenge, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen exchanged smiles and exclaimed in exhilaration. They secretly envied the Shunxiang Army's fearsome prestige — the mere raising of their great banner made the eastern slaves as silent as cicadas in winter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It really is advantageous to follow by General Wang's side. No wonder that after General Wang was appointed vanguard commander, the allied troops at Tongzhou scrambled over each other, all wanting to follow him. Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen did not understand why Wang Dou had taken a liking to them, allowing them to gain such enormous benefits on this expedition to Pinggu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that the Qing troops remained motionless, Wang Tingchen said to Cao Bianjiao, \"Young General Cao, shall we let the men have a go at them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Bianjiao shook his head. \"The slave-thief formation is tight and disciplined. We should quit while we're ahead.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shouted: \"Pass the order — the entire army is to withdraw and rendezvous with General Wang.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exhilarating! Exhilarating!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment on the Daxingzhuang battlefield, Li Guangheng was likewise shouting at the top of his lungs. Earlier, he and a Mobile Corps Commander from Cao Bianjiao's garrison had jointly charged the one thousand troops hastily dispatched by the Bordered Yellow Banner. He had thought that since his own cavalry had insufficient training time, even if the enemy was weary, they were fierce and battle-hardened — in a head-on clash, the outcome would likely be grim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To his surprise, when his several hundred cavalry charged into that thousand-strong Bordered Yellow Banner cavalry force, they were like tigers among a flock of sheep, quickly breaking open their formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those Bordered Yellow Banner Qing riders, with their chaotic and disorderly ranks, were no match at all for his own tight, disciplined formation. After several rounds of clashing, that thousand-man force was on the verge of collapse. The failure of Oboi's heavy cavalry charge on the front was merely the last straw that broke the camel's back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This outcome left Li Guangheng beside himself with excitement. All along, his cavalry had played a supporting role within the Shunxiang Army. Perhaps one day, they could shine with dazzling brilliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou was not surprised by this result. No one understood the power of discipline and battle formations better than he did — training infantry was so, and training cavalry was likewise so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the individual martial prowess of the Shunxiang Army cavalry was not outstanding and their riding skills were not refined, when facing cavalry units of this era — whose individual quality was first-rate but whose formations were loose and lacked discipline — whether they were Qing troops or Ming troops, pitting collective strength against individual strength, there was no reason they could not win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only regret was that his cavalry force was somewhat small. However, on this relief expedition he had captured a large number of horses. The time was now ripe to return to Baoanzhou and build a large-scale cavalry force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time Cao Bianjiao and the other pursuit riders returned, Wang Dou had already finished cleaning up the battlefield. Apart from Wang Dou's Shunxiang Army, the three thousand cavalry from Cao Bianjiao's garrison who had earlier gone into battle also remained on the Daxingzhuang battlefield. With several thousand men cleaning the field together, it did not take much time to tidy up the site.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Cao Bianjiao and the others in high spirits, leading horses and bearing heads, returning with laden packs, Wang Dou knew they had reaped an exceedingly rich harvest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The party returned in a mighty, sweeping column. When word spread that the expeditionary force had won a complete victory and had even slain the Bordered Yellow Banner slave-general and vanguard commander Oboi in formation, Sun Sanjie and the others who had stayed behind erupted in thunderous cheers. When the news reached the camp of the captured commoners east of the city, all the people burst into jubilant celebration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at the Garrison Commander's residence inside Pinggu city, Cao Bianjiao and the others were all beaming with joy, utterly delighted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gains from this battle were far too great. A preliminary tally showed that over nineteen hundred heads of Bordered Yellow Banner slaves had been taken, and more than four thousand mules and horses captured, along with a vast quantity of armor, tents, weapons, and other baggage. Even the dead horses killed at Daxingzhuang were all carted away and given to the captured commoners east of the city for food and drink, improving their livelihood, which drew an even greater chorus of tearful gratitude from the people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The heads taken shall be divided between you two Army Commanders and the various generals,\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said generously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heads no longer held any meaning for Wang Dou. It was better to use them to build goodwill with these two Regional Commanders, with whom he might fight side by side again in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Wang Dou say this, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen looked at each other, overjoyed. While heads meant nothing to Wang Dou, to them they were of immense importance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With these nearly two thousand heads divided up, plus the gold, silver, and valuables each man had privately taken... in this entire battle, the army's casualties were only a few hundred men, all from the earlier decoy operation and the cavalry engagement. Such a small cost for such a huge gain. This trip to Pinggu with Wang Dou had truly been worth it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A peach is repaid with a plum. Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen conferred in low voices for a moment, then Cao Bianjiao smiled and said, \"General Wang is gallant and righteous — Cao will say no more.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We shall accept the heads taken, and we shall also accept the silver and valuables stripped from the slave soldiers. As for the captured slave armor, horses and mules, as well as the tents, baggage, and other supplies, we shall present them all to General Wang.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou was secretly delighted. He had already gained quite a few mules and horses at Zhuozhou and Pinggu. With these Bordered Yellow Banner Qing army horses — many of them warhorses among them — he would be even more confident in building a large-scale cavalry force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rose and said, \"You two Army Commanders are generous and gallant — this humble general will accept with gratitude!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued, \"In this battle, our army routed the slave chieftain's vanguard, slew Oboi in formation, and greatly dampened the eastern slaves' morale. However, the main body of the slave chieftain's force is still advancing toward Pinggu. This humble general is willing, together with all you generals, to unite our hearts and strength and jointly resist the slave chieftain!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Unite our hearts and strength, jointly resist the slave chieftain!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, and the others likewise rose and shouted, then they burst into hearty laughter and embraced Wang Dou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That day, at the you hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The main army that Huang Taiji and his party had set out with from Tongzhou, after a day's march, was approaching evening. Huang Taiji gave the order to encamp at Sungezhuang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the camp was pitched, Huang Taiji received an urgent military report from Plain Yellow Banner's Bayara Guard Commander Tulai. It struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving Huang Taiji and his men speechless for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oboi's Bordered Yellow Banner vanguard had suffered a crushing defeat. After a headcount, the five-thousand-strong army he had led had lost over half its men, with the armored soldiers of the banner suffering particularly severe losses. Moreover, according to Tulai's report, the military situation at the time had been extremely critical. Without his reinforcement, the five thousand troops of the Bordered Yellow Banner vanguard, under the relentless pursuit of the Pinggu Ming army, would very likely have been completely annihilated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A five-thousand-strong army losing over half its men — those were the Two Yellow Banners he personally led, the fundamental guarantee of his ascension to the throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon receiving this news, the world spun around him, and Huang Taiji nearly collapsed in a faint. He had long suffered from \"wind-dizziness syndrome,\" which manifested as liver qi stagnation and depression, a proneness to rage, and blood rushing upward, causing dizziness of the head, triggering apoplexy, high blood pressure, and a series of other symptoms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Taiji's lack of kindness and scant affection toward his own brothers was partly caused by these ailments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Huang Taiji's allotted lifespan was not yet exhausted. Although at the time it threw his ministers and his own son Hooge into a flurry of panic, he quickly recovered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After he came to his senses, recalling the vanguard military intelligence of the Bordered Yellow Banner, Huang Taiji erupted in fury once more, wanting to pursue severe punishment for the vanguard officer Oboi, who had been defeated through underestimating the enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after thinking it over, Huang Taiji still issued an edict: “Transmit Our will: bestow the title Baturu. The Third-Class Meile Zhangjing Oboi died in bloody battle for the nation; posthumously promote Oboi to Bayara Banner Zhangjing of his own Banner, and grant as reward one thousand taels of silver and two horses.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tulai, Bayara Banner Zhangjing of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner, for his merit in reinforcing and rescuing, appoint him Gushan Ejen of his own Banner, and confer the rank of Third-Class Duke…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a series of rewards and punishments, he further ordered Tulai’s main army and Juntar’s Bordered Yellow Banner remnant troops to encamp on the spot and await the rendezvous with his own main army. Huang Taiji remained silent, his expression dark and gloomy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Huang Taiji’s terrible expression, every Banner Lord, prince, duke, and noble present was trembling with fear, and none dared to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The defeat of the vanguard troops and the death on the spot of the fierce general Oboi, known as the First Warrior of Manchuria, made the three Banner lords and officers who had followed Huang Taiji through the pass feel that the prospects of this campaign were not as good as they had imagined, and the sharp edge they had brought from Tongzhou quickly faded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In particular, word spread privately that the Bordered Yellow Banner remnant troops far away at Machangying had already had their courage shattered by Wang Dou, and no longer possessed the heart for a single battle. Perhaps in the future, when they faced Wang Dou’s great army, they would flee at the mere sight of him, just like the Plain Red Banner remnant soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the tent, everyone was silent, except for Dorgon, whose face faintly showed a gloating expression. He spoke: “Although the vanguard suffered a minor setback, with His Majesty’s heavenly might, our great army pressing upon Pinggu, even with Wang Dou’s cunning, it will be a matter of sweeping him away in a single stroke.”…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voices of agreement were sparse and scattered. Huang Taiji regained his composure and said with a faint smile: “Though Wang Dou is but a Mobile Corps Commander of the Ming state, he is a mortal affliction to our Great Qing, and this man cannot be underestimated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said: “However, what the Generalissimo by Imperial Mandate says also has merit. Though our army has suffered a minor setback, we must not lose the army’s heart and sharp spirit. Tomorrow morning, our army will strike camp and march straight for Pinggu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We have said We will personally observe his battle formations!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seventh day of the second month, in the twelfth year of the Chongzhen reign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Early in the morning, Huang Taiji’s great army struck camp and set out. They rendezvoused with the armies of Tulai and Juntar, and marched with even greater caution, sending out wave after wave of scouts, dense and numerous. Fortunately, the journey was uneventful. At noon, Huang Taiji’s entire army of over twenty thousand men reached the banks of the Cuo River outside Pinggu city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>※※※\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old White Ox:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let me emphasize: I have always welcomed discussion of the plot, whether supportive or opposing. But I have repeatedly warned that comments must not involve the author. Why do some people never understand this? For such people or posts, deletion and banning without discussion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regarding this book, the current twenty-four-hour subscription count is over 4,500 — not a bad result, and I am very grateful for everyone’s support. I remember when this book first entered VIP, the twenty-four-hour subscription was only a little over 1,400. Achieving this result now is inseparable from the support of readers, and also inseparable from the author’s own persistence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is debate online: should one write to cater to the tastes of novices, or to the tastes of veterans? My conclusion: one should cater to the author’s own taste, and persist in writing what one likes. On this point I am quite proud; this book has written over a million characters, and every chapter comes from the heart. I do not care whether I become famous or not; being able to write what I like is the greatest satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regarding the plot of this book, it still strictly follows the outline, without the slightest deviation from its direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.,\u003C\u002Fp>",3115,"2026-06-03T14:05:36.780Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","3999715c4e9fd675dd26407aef4d9e7cff6e75d10fc2aa21ad1740389df5fd79","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-314","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-312",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]