Chapter 374: Fleeing in Terror / Arriving at Ruzhou

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Rongcheng’s rank of twenty-five ironclad long-spearmen had already killed and wounded several times their own number. So ferocious and sharp were they that every bandit facing them turned pale, their legs trembling.

They were utterly ruthless. Though both sides used long spears and pikes, the bandits found that when they thrust against them, they could gain no advantage at all. They were both ruthless and precise; even when both sides thrust at the same moment, they could strike first and pierce a vital spot.

Moreover, these government soldiers wore iron armor. Even when a bandit sometimes landed a thrust on their bodies, it was hard to penetrate their fine harness. How could the bandits’ ordinary long spears compare to the opponents’ armor-breaking long pikes with their long awl-like spikes? Not to mention that such occurrences were exceedingly rare.

For the bandits suddenly discovered that, under the enemy’s tight formation, although their own side had superior numbers, when the fighting truly began they were often isolated and weak. Frequently, a single bandit spear would be surrounded and attacked from multiple angles by several of the enemy’s long pikes.

The reason for this was that in combat at this time, only the one or two front ranks could actually join battle. No matter how anxious those behind were, they could only stand and stare helplessly. Moreover, the bandits had no training and always charged in a chaotic swarm, with generally only the boldest few rushing at the very front of a unit.

Thus, when battle was joined, only these few men in a unit were actually fighting; the rest merely played the role of a jeering, onlooking crowd behind them. This is why ancient times placed special emphasis on battle formations and ranks. With a strict formation, an entire unit, an entire squad, could be brought to bear in combat, rather than relying on just a few fierce individuals to fight.

But how could the bandits understand this principle? Nominally charging together as a unit, they were in fact a chaotic, tangled mass. When the ironclad long-spearmen formed ranks and charged, it was like snowflakes meeting a blazing sun — unit after unit of men was slaughtered and routed, and the boldest in each unit were the first to die.

Just as these bandits were stricken with terror and their hearts turned cold, the drumbeats from the government army’s formation slackened, and those ironclad soldiers ebbed back like the tide. The moment the bandits breathed a sigh of relief, the drumbeats from the government formation suddenly quickened, and another rank of ironclad long-spearmen, leveling their long spears, came charging with ferocious, murderous howls.

After the government troops had rotated through four ranks of ironclad soldiers in combat, those bandits could no longer suppress the terror in their hearts. It was too dreadful — these government soldiers were not human. Of the twenty bandit dare-to-die foot units attacking the northern slope, many units had already been shattered under the enemy’s arquebus fire, leaving behind vast numbers of wounded and corpses. Yet the hand-to-hand combat before them now was even more terrifying than the earlier charge against the government firearm formation.

Fighting face-to-face requires greater courage, for this kind of slaughter is more brutal — weapons pierce one’s own body, drawing forth blood and entrails. Or one hears the brothers one knew day after day fall before one’s eyes and at one’s side, their dying screams, their flowing blood sending up billowing steam from the winter-cold ground.

Ordinary men are utterly incapable of bearing such immense psychological pressure, let alone these bandits who swarm forward in victory and scatter in a rout at defeat. Therefore, when Zhao Rongcheng’s rank of ironclad long-spearmen, having rested enough, charged again, those bandits collapsed. Screaming wildly, they fled back toward their own lines, dragging the entire infantry formation into panic.

Through the telescope, the bandits’ situation was fully visible to Gao Shiyin. Seeing the eastern and northern slopes strewn with corpses everywhere, littered with the bodies and wounded of the bandits, Gao Shiyin estimated that today’s battle had killed and wounded over fifteen hundred of the enemy. They were about due to collapse, and the course of battle was just as Gao Shiyin estimated.

Now, watching the field covered everywhere with routed, fleeing bandit soldiers, Gao Shiyin let out a hearty laugh, then shouted: “Pursue! Let those bandit curs have a good look at the fate of those who make enemies of our Shunxiang Army.”

The troops of the Ren Section, with Yi, Bing, and Ding Regiments defending the eastern, western, and northern faces of the slope — although the Bing Regiment’s defense line saw no action, Gao Shiyin still ordered them to hold their position. This was also stipulated by military regulations.

The remaining idle Jia Regiment troops, under orders from the central command, all mounted their warhorses with loud shouts. They surged out shouting and yelling through the defense line opened by the Ding Regiment, brandishing their waist sabers as they chased after the retreating bandits, driving them to crash into their own main formation.

Seeing the government cavalry in pursuit, the bandits fleeing back grew even more panicked, and the bandits’ great infantry formation rippled with unrest, in danger of a complete camp-wide rout.

Watching the enemy situation on the flatland below the slope, the central command was filled with laughter. The Comfort Officer saluted Gao Shiyin and said: “This victory — our division, with less than a thousand, has defeated over ten thousand bandits. It will surely shake the Central Province, and the people’s spirits will surge. This triumph is like a voice in an empty valley; when the General hears the report, his delight can well be imagined.”

Gao Shiyin smiled, fully satisfied with himself. He rubbed his own face: “Still, I cannot heap all the credit on this old Gao’s head. This is the achievement of all the officers and men of the Ren Section.”

Then, pressing his hand on his sword, he puffed out his chest and belly and said with great regret: “Looking across the realm today, finding a worthy opponent on the battlefield is too difficult. The hero is lonely.”

…

The battlefield situation was likewise fully taken in by Liu Fangliang and Li Guo. Liu Fangliang was all right, but Li Guo’s face was ashen. He had thought this government unit was only formidable in firearms; he never imagined their hand-to-hand combat would be even more outstanding. If their own troops disregarded their lives, they could indeed charge through the enemy firearm formation, but to be routed under the fierce assault of their ironclad long-spearmen — truly a miscalculation.

Though Li Guo was young, he was battle-hardened. Where had he ever seen such fierce government troops? He had heard that this unit was merely the vanguard of the Jia County government forces, and that their main force gathered over there numbered nearly ten thousand. If they all came to Ruzhou, how could this battle be fought?

But that was a worry for later. In the current battle situation, the infantry had already collapsed. Under the impact of the government cavalry driving the routed soldiers, the remaining infantry began fleeing in terror. The ambush planned for many days had ended in a great defeat.

He said softly: “Brother Liu, what should we do?”

Liu Fangliang gave a long sigh. He looked at the sky; the sun was gradually setting. It was time to return to Ruzhou. What became of those infantrymen did not weigh on his mind. In Ruzhou, he still had nearly thirty thousand such “soldiers.” Fortunately, the old camp and the horse troops had not joined the battle; those elites were preserved. Of such “soldiers,” he could have as many as he wanted.

He said: “Let’s go. We withdraw. Have all the brothers of the horse troops follow. As for those foot units, let them make their own way back to Ruzhou.”

“Brother Liu, Brother Li, my troops have scattered! Old Hao will take the horse troop brothers and charge once more — there’s still a chance of victory. Liu…”

At that moment, Hao Yaoqi hurried over with some trusted followers, only to be met with the sight of Liu Fangliang and Li Guo turning their horses and withdrawing.

Hao Yaoqi was stunned for a moment, and his expression immediately turned extremely ugly.

Liu Fangliang and Li Guo led the Chuang Army’s old camp and horse troops, nearly three thousand men, raising their whips and speeding away westward. From a distance, Liu Fangliang left behind a single sentence: “Brother Dayong, it’s getting dark. We’ll return to Ruzhou first to secure the camp. You gather the brothers of the foot units and come back; we’ll discuss military affairs in detail then.”

Hao Yaoqi ground his teeth for a while. Turning back to look at the infantrymen fleeing everywhere across the hills and fields, how could he possibly rally them?

After a long while, he cursed: “These donkey-sired bastards.”

Rallying them was out of the question. In the end, over a thousand men gathered around him, mostly his trusted followers. Some had horses, some did not. Not daring to look back, they simply followed behind Liu Fangliang and the others, fleeing desperately toward Ruzhou.

…

After the great victory that day, all the troops of the Ren Section rejoiced. The battle had slain many enemies and further strengthened their confidence in themselves. After routing the enemy army, the Jia Regiment troops soon returned, having not pursued very far. The Ren Section troops also made many seizures, though spoils taken from the bandits were not worth mentioning.

They did seize some gold, silver, and treasures, but in this age when silver and coin were useless, the Shunxiang Army men regarded them lightly. Even within the Chuang Camp, Li Zicheng had rules: of all the spoils taken from attacking cities, mules and horses must be handed over first, bows, powder, and lead bullets second, cloth and silks third, and gold, silver, pearls, and jade last.

One can imagine how useless gold, silver, and treasures were in this era.

Still, slaying enemies, winning a great victory, and making considerable seizures was always a good thing. After the whole army celebrated, they encamped that very night near the slope.

Before sleeping, the logistics troops also drew plenty of water from the river and boiled it, letting the soldiers who had fought wash themselves thoroughly. After the intense battle, especially the long-spearmen of the Yi and Ding Regiments, their bodies were covered in sweat and bloodstains. Once dried and congealed, it clung to their skin and armor, an indescribable discomfort all over. Only by washing could they sleep well.

That night, Gao Shiyin and the officers celebrated in the tent, held a bonfire gathering, finalized the list of those who had rendered meritorious service, and discussed how to report the victory to General Dingguo. These matters were handled jointly by Gao Shiyin, the regimental officers, and the garrison commissioner, keeping them busy until very late before they were completed.

Early the next morning, Gao Shiyin dispatched men to report the victory to Wang Dou, and also sent out fast-mounted scouts to notify the Ruzhou Department Magistrate Qian Zuozheng that his relief army had arrived. Of course, he did not forget to recount his brilliant feat of routing over ten thousand ambushing bandits with a mere thousand troops.

At the same time, his main army continued advancing toward Ruzhou, arriving at the Ruzhou area at the beginning of the si hour that day.

…

The news of the bandits’ great defeat was already known to the soldiers and civilians of Ruzhou. The previous day, from within the city, they had witnessed the scene of those fleeing bandits scurrying back in utter disarray.

That night they also scouted and learned that the bandits had struck camp and left overnight. This morning, scouts reported back that the bandit force originally gathered outside the eastern gate had already crossed the Miao River westward, struck camp, and merged into the bandit camp beside the Lu River several li outside the western gate. The route between Ruzhou and Jia County was now open.

Subsequently, they received the fast messenger dispatched by Gao Shiyin. Hearing that the relief troops had arrived and were so fierce — a thousand men routing over ten thousand bandits — the soldiers and civilians inside Ruzhou were utterly astonished and at the same time overjoyed. The relief troops had finally come. Yet in their understanding, government troops with strong combat power often had equally poor discipline, especially when they were guest troops.

Therefore, after Gao Shiyin led his army to Ruzhou, although he found that the soldiers and civilians of Ruzhou treated him with extreme awe — Department Magistrate Qian Zuozheng personally led the local gentry five li outside the city to welcome him and brought a large quantity of rewards — Gao Shiyin was soon enraged, because Department Magistrate Qian Zuozheng tactfully refused to allow his great army to enter the city.

The Department Magistrate made it clear that whatever provisions and fodder this government army needed, whatever gold and silver as rewards, he would do his utmost to provide, but as for entering the city…

Though Gao Shiyin was furious, Wang Dou had given prior instructions regarding such situations, so he swallowed his anger and encamped several li outside the eastern gate, at a place called Shizhuang beside the Ru River. The residents of this village had long since fled into the prefecture before the great army of Liu Fangliang, Li Guo, and the others arrived.

Moreover, the village had been plundered by the great bandit army besieging Ruzhou, and its interior was long since completely empty — just right for Gao Shiyin and his men to move into the village and avoid freezing in the open wilds.

On the eighteenth day of the eleventh month of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu led the main army to Ruzhou.