Chapter 498: Cavalry Battle, Melee Battle

Old White Ox: The Year of the Snake has arrived — wishing everyone a happy new year, good health, family bliss, and may all go as you wish!

…

The charging Qing riders again tumbled into chaos, men and horses overturned — the Ming army’s fire arrows were simply too dense, and no matter how each man brandished his weapon or raised his shield to cover himself, they could not keep up.

Although most of the fire arrows lacked accuracy and, without a direct hit, inflicted only the harm of random bow fire from horseback, still great swathes of men and horses were struck, thrown into panicked confusion.

Smoke and powder billowed and swirled, flame and sparks blooming like a myriad of flowers; in the sky, thousands upon thousands of arrows flew — when all two hundred rocket carts of the Divine Machine Battalion had finished firing, the Qing riders were already in utter chaos. Add to that the firing of nearly a hundred Red Barbarian cannons and nearly a hundred mortars, and this firepower, unprecedented, stunned them senseless in an instant.

It was only the cavalry’s ingrained momentum of charging fast that kept them going — had this been an infantry assault on the formation, they would likely have collapsed long ago.

In particular, the firing of certain poison-smoke shells and ash shells sent even more of their men and horses into wild screaming and frantic rearing.

Seeing the Qing riders in disorder beyond recognition, their once-dense charging formation already turned into something like scattered skirmishers, Wang Dou decisively ordered the cavalry to attack.

“Ten thousand victories!”

Warhorses neighed; the five thousand cavalry of the vanguard surged forth, rolling out on horseback.

At their very front were two thousand Jingbian Army cavalry, most using cavalry lances and long spears, only a small portion using sabers — and those were thick-backed sabers. The blade backs were stout, the whole saber carrying considerable weight: an inevitable result of this era.

Those light, handy sabers only appear in later ages, when neither side wears armor. Using a light blade, even borrowing the horse’s momentum to draw the blade edge across an enemy’s body, whether against cotton armor or heavy armor, amounts to nothing more than tickling.

The two thousand Jingbian Army cavalry formed an extremely tight array, nearly man pressed to man, horse to horse, knees touching knees.

Such a dense formation was also the fruit of the Jingbian Army cavalry’s relentless drilling in peacetime.

Their tactic was to form up and charge the enemy at speed; they did not fire their hand cannons during the charge, only charging back and forth repeatedly, shattering the enemy’s unit cohesion.

Only when they fell into a melee did they use their hand cannons, firing face to face — the hit rate was sure to be extremely high.

Watching the Jingbian Army cavalry ahead, Wu Sangui could not help but sigh in admiration once more; such a tight cavalry formation was far beyond his ability to achieve.

He led a thousand of his household retainers close behind; their equipment was rather mixed, with bows and sabers, hook-sickle spears, trident-halberds, great clubs, and other weapons. They needed more space to swing, so the formation could not be too dense — besides, Wu Sangui had no concept of such a thing.

These household retainers were all the fruit of the Wu family’s painstaking cultivation. Each man was outstanding in skill and utterly loyal to the Wu family.

In single combat, Wu Sangui believed his subordinates could match the Jingbian Army, but charging head-on against them — Wu Sangui certainly would not dare. Even adding the two thousand Ningyuan cavalry behind him, he still would not dare; that stern, imposing might of theirs made one’s blood run cold at a glance.

And Ming cavalry rarely dared to charge head-on against Qing riders; many needed the protection of the wagon forts. In this, there were reasons of men and reasons of horses. In terms of formation density, the Qing cavalry were in fact far more orderly than Ming cavalry — after all, their organizational power was superior and their horses finer.

But now their formation had been shattered by cannon and rocket fire — this was the perfect moment to bully them!

“Ten thousand victories!”

The style of the Jingbian Army cavalry was to push their horses to high speed right from the start; they raced like wild gales and lightning, like a rolling torrent of iron.

They carried an aura of crushing everything in their path, yet still maintained their tight, orderly array.

Opposite them, tide-like Qing riders surged forward; both sides quickened their pace, neither showing the slightest intent to yield.

Boom!

Like two surging torrents, the two sides slammed hard into each other!

It was clearly visible: the Jingbian Army cavalry, men and horses all in red, plunged straight into the disordered, loose Qing formation opposite, like a soldering iron slicing effortlessly through butter, bowling them over all the way, men and horses tumbling, directly cleaving open a bloody path.

“Good!”

Wang Dou could not help nodding to himself; his cavalry had finally been forged.

“This… truly unexpected.”

Army Supervisor Zhang Ruo was visibly beside himself. He had thought Wang Dou was only formidable in firearms and cannon; he never imagined his cavalry would be so sharp as well!

On Mount Rufeng and Huangtuling, Huang Taiji and Dorgon’s pupils contracted — this Jingbian Army cavalry…

“Impossible!”

Hooge cried out in alarm: “Our Great Qing’s iron cavalry actually no match for Wang Dou’s horsemen? This cannot be! …Right, it must be the cannon’s doing.”

Jirgalang and Ing’erdai wore expressions of extreme gravity: “The Jingbian Army’s cavalry… from now on, this war will not be easy to fight.”

Wang Dou raised his telescope. Amid the clash of men and horses, in the rolling rear waves of Qing riders, there seemed to be a woven-gold dragon banner of the Plain White Banner; around the dragon banner were their elite Bayara guards. Looking further at the engagement, some Qing cavalry were about to break through.

He barked an order: “Red Barbarian cannons, bombard their rear and smash their formation again. Red Barbarian light cannons, fire on their vanguard — do not let them slip through to the Divine Machine Battalion’s position. Divine Machine Battalion rockets, prepare to fire again!”

Though the telescope view was not very clear, Wang Dou estimated that the owner of that Plain White Banner woven-gold dragon banner was either Dorgon or Ajige. Judging by the dragon banner, it was not the banner lord’s standard, so it must be Ajige without doubt.

If they could use cannon to kill a prince of the blood, that would naturally be best; even if not, using cannon to scatter their follow-up cavalry would also do, clearing a maneuvering space for the main army.

And the attacks of the Red Barbarian light cannons and rockets were also meant to deny the Qing vanguard cavalry any maneuvering space, or to block them from exploiting the moment to attack the Divine Machine Battalion’s rocket positions — after all, it was not yet time for the rear army cavalry to move.

…

Smoke and powder mingled with the stench of blood. Behind the war wagons of the Yi-grade troops, twelve hundred men in three ranks of arquebusiers were firing continuously at the Qing riders in front of the wagons.

They likewise used the arquebus relay tactic. Not far behind them, several hundred grenadiers from the supply battalion were hurling wave after wave of “Ten-Thousand-Man Foes” forward with all their might. And some sharpshooters, likewise seizing their chances, pulled their triggers at enemy officers or formidable soldiers.

Under the continuous volleys of the rank fire, the Qing cavalry flooding to this point suffered grievous casualties and could hardly advance a single step past the war wagons.

Their men and horses were densely packed, unable to unleash their horses’ speed, and mostly circling in front of the war wagons to shoot from horseback. For the Yi-grade troops behind the wagons, the bullets they fired counted as flanking fire, and the hit rate was extremely high.

Even when some Qing riders dismounted to fight on foot, the arrows they shot and the weapons they hurled could not match the dense firepower behind the war wagons.

The casualty ratio between the two sides was not even on the same order of magnitude.

This battle result also calmed the originally somewhat nervous hearts of those Yi-grade arquebusiers participating in the fight; presumably after the battle, most of them would become hardened soldiers.

Not far behind the arquebusiers were another twelve hundred Yi-grade pikemen arrayed in strict readiness, divided into multiple waves and layers. Every man wore a bowl helmet, a deep-red long body tunic, arm guards, a round collar, and black-velvet or white-velvet trim at the edges, with no red velvet or velvet balls on the shoulders — all soldiers from Han Chao’s rear battalion and Zhong Xiancai’s right battalion.

Not far behind these pikemen was the central command position of Han Chao and Zhong Xiancai. Here there were also two companies of Jia-grade soldiers and four companies of Yi-grade soldiers.

On the hill at the central command position, Han Chao and Zhong Xiancai both held telescopes, gazing intently at their own wagon formation. Beside them stood the various battalion staff officers and the awaiting Company Commanders.

From the Jingbian Fort days until now, Han Chao had grown ever more steady. Behind him stood the battalion discipline officer Huang Shibian and the morale officer Li Jinpei. Huang Shibian’s trademark was a completely expressionless face, while Li Jinpei wore a genial smile. The two had been partnered with Han Chao since Shunxiang Fort and still were — old partners.

Lowering his telescope, Han Chao said to Zhong Xiancai beside him: “The slave-curs’ decline is already evident. If we order the pikemen out to fight, this wave of slave cavalry will surely collapse!”

Zhong Xiancai said: “Elder Brother Han sees clearly; I was thinking the same.”

Just then, a signal flagman came to report: the Grand General of the main army’s central force had sent a flag command ordering the pikemen into battle. Han Chao and Zhong Xiancai exchanged a glance and both nodded.

Han Chao shouted: “Beat the drums, blow the long horn, pikemen — attack!”

In the first squad of Ding Company, Yi Battalion, Rear Section of the Right Battalion, Squad Commander Zhao Rongcheng was secretly frantic, screaming inside: Why hasn’t it come to the pikemen’s turn to fight yet? Why hasn’t it come to my turn to fight? Watching the arquebusiers up ahead having all the excitement, he felt only envy; the fighting instinct in his blood was burning fiercely.

And beside him, every soldier in the squad was likewise full of anticipation. Watching the medics up ahead sometimes carry off brothers who had taken serious arrow hits, or men gravely wounded by the slaves’ javelins, iron maces, and the like — even fallen warriors — they also felt an inexplicable tension.

Han Kaixi and Liu Lie clenched their fists from time to time, then loosened them, then clenched them again. Wu Dingguo still kept a gloomy face, expressionless. The junior soldier Chen Chong kept exhaling and inhaling, his chest heaving rapidly. Mou Dachang’s sallow face showed no emotion, but his eyes were opened to their widest.

Zhao Rongcheng and Mou Dachang, one on the left and one on the right, took their positions on the two flanks of the file as File Leader and Squad Commander, using the toughest soldiers to guard both wings of the file.

Their file was positioned at the very front of the squad. Behind this one file were the second, third, fourth, and fifth files of Ding Squad.

Squad Officer Sun Xuesheng gripped his long armor-piercing awl-spear tightly, standing on the upper-left side of the formation. Beside him, his bodyguard Li Song stood holding a saber and shield.

Then, on the lower-left wing of their Ding Squad was the long-spear soldiers of Bing Squad from Yi Company, and on the lower-right wing was the long-spear soldiers of the First Squad from You Company.

Because firearms soldiers and spear soldiers fought separately, one company of spear soldiers had only two squads of one hundred men. The twelve hundred spear soldiers of the Yi-grade troops were divided into two layers, each layer consisting of six companies of six hundred men.

Their battle formation was laid out in overlapping three-man formations, each resembling the shape of the character "pin". One squad of spear soldiers served as the vanguard, and then two squads of spear soldiers were positioned on the two wings, so that when the vanguard charged, the two wings could support and outflank the enemy.

Their tactics were largely like the Qi Family Army’s method of fighting: “...When the first layer fights fiercely, beat the drum, pause briefly, then beat the drum again. The second layer rushes swiftly past the front layer to take over the fight, while the front layer briefly reforms its ranks. The drum pauses briefly again, then beats again. The first layer then charges past the second layer to take over the fight, while the original second layer briefly reforms its ranks...”

In this way, layer after layer relieved one another, giving the melee soldiers a chance to catch their breath and regroup, and also committing more fresh troops to the battle.

This was because in ancient cold-weapon combat, physical exertion was extreme. Even the strongest soldier could generally only hold out for a few minutes, or a dozen or so minutes. If his physical strength gave out, all his martial skills became difficult to employ. This was unlike firearms soldiers, who only needed the strength to pull a trigger.

Squad Commander Officer Huang Wei, leading the various officers of the company headquarters, stood to the left of Ding Squad and Bing Squad of Yi Company.

Rear Battalion Company Commander Tian Qiming stood directly behind the two pin-shaped battle formations, personally supervising the combat.

Watching the battle ahead, Tian Qiming also thought to himself: judging by the situation, it should be the spear soldiers’ turn now?

As an officer who had joined the Jingbian Army from the old army, Tian Qiming and the others were actually more fervent about military merit. Back when Tian Qiming was a squad officer, he had performed brilliantly at the Battle of Shiqiao, and from then on his rise was unstoppable. He had climbed step by step from squad officer to company commander, becoming as renowned as his former superior Tian Zhijue, and had even reached the level of his old superior, Prefectural City Company Commander Tian Changguo — and with even greater substance to his rank.

At this moment, the firearms soldiers of the rear battalion fighting ahead were under the command of the Vice Company Commander and the Jia Company Squad Commander. Tian Qiming was personally supervising the long-spear soldiers within his battalion, and naturally wanted to put on another display of prowess.

Just as he was hoping for it, he suddenly heard the drumbeats from the center of the infantry formation. Tian Qiming inwardly exclaimed, “Good!”

With a ringing dragon’s cry, he drew his weapon in one motion and barked the order: “Long-spear soldiers, prepare!”

“Spear soldiers, prepare!”

“Prepare for battle!”

His orders rippled outward, wave after wave.

And at the front, the tide of arquebusiers withdrew, and the logistics soldiers also strained to push the war wagons aside, leaving a passage for the spear soldiers to advance.

All the long-spear soldiers subconsciously tightened their grip on their spears.

Very soon, from the central army position, a sharp swan-call sounded.

Everyone in Ding Squad, from Squad Officer Sun Xuesheng to File Leader Zhao Rongcheng and Luo Liangzuo, down to junior soldier Han Kaixi, gripped their weapons and roared: “Kill!”

Amid the mighty battle cries, the great drums of the central army and every unit answered, pounding until the heavens shook.

Suddenly the drumbeats quickened. Company Commander Tian Qiming, soldiers like Zhao Rongcheng, and the rest all began to run.

Dense rows of long armor-piercing awl-spears, dense rows of bright red armor, dense rows of eight-petaled iron-tipped helmets, gleaming arm-guards — their formation was strict and orderly, advancing like a wall.