[{"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-353":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},1205642,1561,"Chapter 353: Surging Like the Tide (Part 1)","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-353",353,"\u003Cp>Late August of the twelfth year of Chongzhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Between the north side of Yongning City and the mountainous area of Jinghu Fort lies a stretch of open wilderness, flat and dry, lacking rivers and canals. In the past, some military households lived here, but a few months ago, the original residents were all relocated, and this area of several dozen li was entirely designated a military restricted zone, serving as the training grounds for the Shunxiang Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many of the Shunxiang Army's camps were set up on the Western Hills northwest of Yongning City, with dense clusters of barracks and stockades standing like a fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Setting the camp here made it easy to defend and hard to attack; at the foot of the hill lay the Qingshui River, providing convenient drinking water. Placing the training grounds on the open wilderness northwest of the hill also made large-scale combined training for the Shunxiang Army very convenient. In fact, there was a parade ground outside the east gate of Yongning City, but Wang Dou considered it dilapidated and cramped, so he had long abandoned it and opened up a new site.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, standing on the Western Hills and looking north, one could see dust and smoke rolling across the wilderness at the foot of the hill, with the muffled thunder of hooves sounding without pause. Nearly a thousand cavalry maintained a strict formation as they charged across the wilderness. Apart from the officers, every man wore padded cotton armor and deployed in several ranks. The front rank held long spears, while the ranks behind gripped gleaming sabers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they advanced, the officers constantly barked orders, demanding that the soldiers beside them keep the formation tight and orderly, that both man and horse strive to form a straight line during the charge. As the horses picked up speed, they surged toward the targets ahead — fat straw dummies, each marked with signs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The targets drew closer and closer. The several hundred cavalry in the first two ranks thrust out their long spears in a dense thicket. As they passed the dummies in staggered formation, their spears struck the vital spots on the straw men one after another. Many men released their grip on the shaft the instant they struck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more seasoned ones even managed to spear the \"fragile, boneless\" necks of the targets, so that as they rode past the straw men, their spears remained firmly in their hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, during a high-speed cavalry charge, being able to execute a feint thrust and release the grip instantly was an extremely difficult skill to master. Even striking the neck — avoiding the imaginary enemy's solid armor, which offered strong rebound and could easily trap the spear in the chest or abdomen — was something only those several hundred veterans in the front ranks, men who had spent long years in the cavalry, could accomplish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The remaining cavalry in the ranks that followed could only honestly swing their sabers. As they swept past the straw men, some dummies were \"decapitated,\" while others were cleaved in two, split into halves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet many saber strokes also missed their mark, achieving nothing at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the \"charge,\" these cavalrymen plunged into \"melee,\" either hacking away at the straw men with their sabers or drawing hand cannons from their saddle holsters and firing at the dummies at close range. They were all using live ammunition; the crack of shots rang out continuously, and smoke and flame kept bursting from the hand cannons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Those veterans are already quite good. It's the newly recruited cavalry that need more training.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over a hundred paces away from the training cavalry, Wang Dou stood surrounded by his officers, gazing out at the scene. Watching the cavalry under Li Guang's command train, he spoke thoughtfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few months ago, after Li Guang's unit completed its reorganization, it had a full cavalry unit of nearly a thousand soldiers. Among them, several hundred were veteran cavalry who had been training since the tenth year of Chongzhen and had also experienced the fierce battle of the eleventh year of Chongzhen. Their combat strength and mentality had made a qualitative leap, and following the unit into a charge was no problem for them. It was the newly recruited cavalry who held them back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General, with your keen insight, just give me another half year, and even if I had to fight the Eastern Slaves' cavalry, I would not fear them in the slightest.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guang, the Cavalry Company Commander, declared loudly beside Wang Dou, his words brimming with confidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the cavalry battle against the Qing troops earlier that year, Li Guang's cavalry had broken through the opposing cavalry that came to meet them with irresistible force, greatly boosting Li Guang's confidence. It proved that with strict discipline and tight formations, even if their riding skills were not superb, when facing Qing cavalrymen adept at archery and horsemanship, their own cavalry still held a great advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, after returning to Bao'an Prefecture and further adjusting his troops, Li Guang, in the subsequent cavalry training, demanded an even more exacting standard of formation tightness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his understanding, although many new cavalrymen had been added, his original unit already possessed several hundred fierce cavalrymen who had achieved the unity of man and horse and could meet the demands of a charge. With these veterans as the vanguard and the new troops following in strict formation, no matter whether they faced the Eastern Slaves or the roving bandits, no matter how high the enemy's individual riding skills were, their scattered formations would be no match for his own cavalry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Li Guang's confident words, Wang Dou smiled faintly. Behind him, Gao Shiyin raised his voice: \"I say, Old Li, aren't you training them too harshly? My lads haven't suffered casualties on the battlefield, but having you teach them to ride has left quite a few injured and crippled. My unit is infantry, not cavalry — you can't train them the same way you train cavalry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed Gao Shiyin had long been dissatisfied with this issue, and now, taking advantage of Wang Dou's presence, he seized the chance to vent his frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Gao Shiyin's words, Wen Fangliang and Zhong Xiancai, standing beside Wang Dou, exchanged glances, their expressions showing deep agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At present, Wang Dou's army, including each Squad Commander's command unit and the Company Commander's headquarters, had a total of nine hundred and twenty men per unit, of which eight hundred were combat soldiers. Excluding Sun Sanjie's logistics unit, he currently had six infantry company commands and one cavalry company command, totaling roughly over six thousand four hundred men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Wang Dou's plan, these several thousand men — if they could all be trained as cavalry, even the infantry company commands would have to learn to ride, to improve the mobility of his army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So over these past few months, apart from Han Chao, who was far away in Laishui, and Zhong Diaoyang, who was far away in Bao'an Prefecture, the infantry units of Wen Fangliang, Zhong Xiancai, Gao Shiyin, Yang Guodong (Yang Guodong was still in Jiangnan and had not returned; a Squad Commander from his unit was acting in his stead), and others stationed in Yongning City, after horses were distributed to each soldier, were all taught to ride by men under Li Guang's command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In training these men, Li Guang used the same method as when he trained cavalry in the past: throwing men onto bare-backed horses and letting them fall for three months. Although after these months, those mounted infantrymen could all ride proficiently, it came at the cost of many men injured and crippled from falls, which infuriated Gao Shiyin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Gao Shiyin's words, Li Guang glared and said angrily, \"Company Commander Gao, when I train soldiers, I follow the General's instructions. If Company Commander Gao believes I am mistreating the troops, you may raise the matter with the General. As for your unit's riding drills, I...\" Seeing his furious demeanor, Gao Shiyin was not about to back down and likewise shouted, \"Old Li, don't think that just because you lost your son-in-law, you can take it out on my men, I...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guang's eyes suddenly reddened, and he fell silent like a deflated ball. \"Insolence!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou had already barked out a reprimand. Gao Shiyin, shocked to realize he had misspoken, quickly shut his mouth. Seeing Wang Dou's anger, he hastily knelt, hanging his head in dejection like a defeated rooster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Fangliang coughed and said in a low voice, \"Old Gao, you went too far with those words. Why don't you apologize to Company Commander Li and accept punishment from the General?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou's gaze swept over Gao Shiyin and Li Guang, and he frowned. Gao Shiyin's mind was as rough as his appearance; those words just now were merely thoughtless speech, and punishment would suffice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Guang... it seemed that ever since Han Zhong died in battle, his temper had grown much more violent. It was said he often drank heavily and even frequently subjected his soldiers to corporal punishment. Although the Zhenfu Division had disciplined him many times, he still did not change, something Wang Dou could not permit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said coolly, \"Chi Zhenfu, Company Commander Gao spoke out of turn and attacked a colleague. According to military law, how should this be handled?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chi Dacheng bowed to Wang Dou and said coldly, \"According to the law, he should be severely punished with twenty military strokes!\" Wang Dou barked, \"Carry it out at once!\" Chi Dacheng said, \"I obey.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He waved his hand, and several burly soldiers from the Zhenfu Division stepped forward, pressed Gao Shiyin down, stripped off his trousers, and began delivering the strokes with a crack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene fell silent; even the soldiers of various units training not far away, startled by what was happening, began whispering among themselves. Seeing the officers' eyes sweep toward them, they hurriedly resumed their training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heavy strokes landed on his body, but Gao Shiyin made not a sound. Li Guang watched blankly. Seeing that Gao Shiyin had already received ten strokes, he quickly clasped his fists toward Wang Dou and pleaded, \"Company Commander Gao's words were unintentional. I beg mercy for Company Commander Gao.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Fangliang, Zhong Xiancai, Zhao Xuan, Wen Daxing, Sun Sanjie, and others also pleaded for mercy. The soldiers carrying out the punishment stopped and looked to Wang Dou for his decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chi Dacheng, however, said, \"The law is resplendent and clear. The General ordered me to punish Company Commander Gao. If it is waived because of personal feelings, how can our Shunxiang Army remain an army?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou remained silent and waved his hand. The Zhenfu soldiers resumed the punishment. After the twenty strokes were delivered, Gao Shiyin's pale buttocks were crisscrossed with bloody welts. Grimacing in pain, he patted his backside, stood up, put his trousers back on, and saluted Wang Dou, saying, \"I thank the General for the punishment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at Li Guang with some irritation and said, \"Old Li, I, Gao Shiyin, have wronged you... Brother Han Er, in years past, we two shared a bond of life and death. His passing weighs just as heavily on my heart... My words just now were rash. I apologize for the offense.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guang stood stunned for a long moment, then suddenly bowed deeply to Wang Dou: \"General, I know that ever since returning from Julu, my temper has grown much more violent, and I have often violated military discipline. In a few days, it will be my leave period. I wish to request the General's permission to return to Bao'an Prefecture to rest for a few days and settle my mind.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At present, the several thousand veteran troops from Bao'an Prefecture around Wang Dou had unknowingly become full-time professional soldiers. To ease their various needs, a few months ago, the Shunxiang Army had established a rule: whether officer or soldier, each person had five days of rotational leave every month to return to Bao'an Prefecture and visit their families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Li Guang had buried himself in the training grounds all day and had not returned to Bao'an Prefecture to see his family for several months. He knew his state of mind was not right and had also begun to feel the desire to return to Bao'an Prefecture to see his wife and daughter, to quietly adjust his mental state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou nodded: \"Company Commander Li trains the troops daily; it is indeed arduous. I grant you one month's leave to return to Bao'an Prefecture and recuperate properly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guang expressed his thanks. After he left, the affairs of his unit would be handled by the Vice Company Commander, so there would be no issues. Still, he recommended a talented man to Wang Dou to assist with cavalry training — an officer named Liu Cang, whom he had recruited from the Bao'an Guard City a few months ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Liu Cang held the official rank of Assistant Guard Commander of the Bao'an Guard and was said to be equally skilled in horsemanship. Wang Dou had an impression of this man: in the ninth year of Chongzhen, after he had heavily defeated Abatai's forces and went to the Guard City to meet the then Garrison Commander Xu Liyian, he had seen this Liu Cang at the welcoming banquet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that time, he had been despondent, drinking alone in silence, looking utterly frustrated. Wang Dou had not expected that Li Guang would take him in under his command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a good thing; having subordinates help recruit talent saved Wang Dou a great deal of effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Changing the hand cannons to the self-igniting type is indeed much more convenient. No need for a match cord, and firing is easy — though the misfire rate is a bit high... But equipping each cavalryman with two or three hand cannons makes up for that shortcoming.\" Seeing the somber mood in the group, Wen Fangliang quickly changed the subject, and sure enough, everyone's attention was drawn away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Li Guang's cavalry were still training on the field. On the vast wilderness, besides his cavalry company command, several thousand more men were training in riding and formation deployment. It seemed everyone on the field had a horse. The difference between the cavalry and the mounted infantry of various units was that under Li Guang's command, both the horses' manes and the round shields on each man's left arm were dyed a uniform red, which the mounted infantry did not have.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those cavalrymen were still fiercely attacking the straw dummies, their hand cannons striking the dummies from time to time. The close-range firepower sent mud and debris flying from the straw men. Had they been real enemies, they would have been dead beyond any doubt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Wang Dou and Li Guang discussed it, the cavalry's equipment was set as padded cotton armor, long spear, saber, and hand cannon. The combat tactic was to use long spears and sabers during the charge, and hand cannons during the melee. Ample evidence proved that firing during a high-speed cavalry charge was a pure waste of powder and shot; it was better to leverage the cavalry's impact force and use hand cannons after breaking the enemy formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou had originally thought of increasing the caliber of the hand cannons, but after training, he abandoned the idea. When both sides were entangled, the distance was only a few paces. Even with the power of a hand cannon, within a few paces, it was enough to penetrate an opponent's heavy armor — if they were to fight Qing troops in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the enemy were roving bandits, the power of these hand cannons was even greater. Within ten to twenty paces, they were quite lethal against unarmored soldiers, their power comparable to that of a horse bow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>。\u003C\u002Fp>",2658,"2026-06-03T14:05:36.780Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","db95190453a7755f799b4764e1db6b2710a5200742cc9dd59f07b8cc990867f1","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-354","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-352",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]