Chapter 502: Death

How could this be? Lin Jinsi, atop the hill, stared in stunned disbelief. He had never imagined that the Shenji Battalion, with its overwhelming firepower, would prove so utterly helpless before the Tartars' bows and arrows.

In just a few exchanges, the Tartar soldiers had shot their formation to pieces. Earlier, like Fu Yingchong, he had scorned Bai Guangen's Jizhen troops for collapsing so quickly. Only now, witnessing battle firsthand, did he understand how terrifying the Tartars' mounted archery truly was.

No matter how strong one's own firepower, if field training fails to pass muster, it is equally useless. The Lumit muskets, capable of piercing heavy armor at a hundred paces, could not outshoot their bows.

The Frankish cannons, needless to say, could barely fire a single shot in half a day.

Fortunately, two companies of Jingbian Army troops were inside the formation; otherwise, the army's battle array would surely have broken today.

At this thought, he cast a pleading glance toward Lei Xianbin beside him.

Lei Xianbin's expression remained calm. Looking at the Tartar soldiers before the wagon fort, they seemed to be everywhere, their banners stretching beyond sight, their armor and weapons dazzling.

Across the undulating terrain, countless Tartar soldiers, bows drawn and arrows nocked, rode wildly to and fro, their momentum immense, yet faintly organized with strict discipline, not in chaos.

One could see large waves of armored soldiers from each banner surging up to the wagon fort, dismounting to shoot on foot.

Their large waves of heavy-armored troops likewise dismounted in droves, gripping long spears and great halberds, eyeing the formation with predatory intent, ready at any moment to form ranks and charge.

He narrowed his eyes. The Tartar soldiers before him were vicious, cruel, and exceptionally skilled in battle, yet to him, they were nothing special.

Watching the Shenji Battalion musketeers below the hill, he inwardly shook his head. Flashy and showy, they looked imposing but fell apart in a real fight. Their equipment — not to mention the numerous cannon carts, even those uniform Lumit muskets — if placed in the hands of his own troops, would have long since held the Tartar cavalry formation beyond a hundred paces. And they still wanted to approach and shoot on foot?

As for their armor, of course, he would politely decline. It could not even stop the Tartars' cavalry bows. He truly had no idea how their armor could be so useless.

At this thought, Lei Xianbin gave the order for the two companies of Jingbian Army arrayed on the hill to enter the battle. The unit's sharpshooters concentrated their nine-headed bird guns and Yingyang cannons, using solid shot to pick off distant Tartar officers. The various Lumit musket sharpshooters were deployed to the front and left wings of the wagon fort, awaiting their moment to strike.

At the same time, he said to Lin Jinsi, "General Lin, the mortars may open fire. All the divine machine rocket carts, lower your arrow ports and fire likewise upon the Tartars' massed cavalry."

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Large swaths of Qing cavalry had pressed to within a few dozen paces of the Shenji Battalion's wagon fort to loose their arrows. Seeing the Ming troops behind the cannon carts in disarray and the breach of the formation imminent, they shot with ever greater relish and vigor. But suddenly, they saw iron lumps raining down from behind the cannon carts, tumbling down the slope of the hill.

Some Qing soldiers who recognized them cried out in terror: "Ten-Thousand-Man Destroyers!"

Then these iron lumps exploded. Thick clouds of smoke billowed up, and fragments flew in all directions. In an instant, those Qing soldiers who had pressed close to shoot on foot were blown to bloody pulp, fleeing in utter panic like stampeding wolves and boars.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Right after the Ten-Thousand-Man Destroyers, flashes of fire and the roar of muskets merged into one continuous din from behind the cannon carts. Great plumes of white smoke rose as the two companies of Jingbian Army within that formation fired two hundred fowling guns in unison. Amid the chaos, a large swath of those Qing archers collapsed.

Not to mention that these Qing soldiers wore only light armor — even if they had been in heavy armor, at a distance of a few dozen paces, how could they possibly withstand the Jingbian Army's firelocks?

Over a hundred of them fell on the spot. The lead balls struck their bodies; lacking sufficient penetration, they hit like massive iron hammers smashing heavily, crashing through their insides and churning everything within to pulp. Those struck in the belly writhed on the ground in agony, yet could not utter a single sound.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Another wave of Ten-Thousand-Man Destroyers was hurled out. Shortly after, another two hundred fowling guns fired in unison. Before the Shenji Battalion's wagon fort, more agonized screams rang out. Many Qing soldiers howled at the top of their lungs: "The Jingbian Army! It's the Jingbian Army!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Some of the Frankish cannon and destroy-the-caitiff guns on the cannon carts belched great gouts of flame, spraying countless lead pellets chaotically. More Qing soldiers tumbled to the ground, howling.

It turned out that after the arquebusiers fired and the spearmen hurled the Ten-Thousand-Man Destroyers, the squad commanders of the two Jingbian Army guard units had all ordered the Shenji Battalion gunners behind the cannon carts to load and fire.

Shielded by the Jingbian Army, those gunners steadied their nerves and hurriedly loaded grapeshot and fired. Although in the panic only a few cannons managed to fire, the large volleys of grapeshot that blasted out still had the Qing soldiers shooting on foot before the wagon fort wailing for their fathers and mothers.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

Cannonballs screamed through the air — it was the mortars on the hill firing. They depressed their muzzles, specifically bombarding the large concentrations of Qing cavalry massed before the wagon fort.

The round explosive shells landed on the ground, landed among the Qing cavalry, exploding continuously with thunderous booms. Acrid, choking poison smoke and white mist spread, immediately sending the Qing soldiers who inhaled it into fits of coughing, their heads splitting with pain. There were also those lime shells; when they exploded, lime powder sprayed everywhere, and many Qing soldiers clutched their eyes, howling.

With a hissing sound, besides the smoke from the mortars firing, brilliant flames erupted on the hill. Dense volleys of rockets screamed forth, blanketing the sky as they enveloped the Qing cavalry before the wagon fort.

Most of these Qing cavalry were not far from the wagon fort, clustered together in group after group. They were immediately shot down in droves by the screaming rockets.

Coupled with the Shenji Battalion's poison shells and lime shells exploding from time to time, they fell into utter chaos, losing entirely the fearsome momentum of their earlier mounted and foot archery.

"Bang! Bang!"

The Jingbian Army sharpshooters on the hill swiveled the triangular mounts of their nine-headed bird guns or Yingyang cannons, aimed at some Qing officers outside the wagon fort, and pulled the triggers. Amid the flames spewing from these large fowling guns, one after another, Qing squad leaders, deputy company commanders, and even company commanders were struck.

In particular, a company commander of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner was hit in the head by a lead ball weighing several taels. His head instantly burst apart like a rotten watermelon, brains and blood splattering the heads and faces of those nearby.

Another deputy company commander of the Bordered Blue Banner was struck in the arm by a heavy lead ball. Amid a mist of exploding blood, his right arm was blown clean off. He stared blankly at his arm for a long moment before letting out a hoarse, hysterical shriek of agony.

Watching the situation rapidly reverse, Li Jinsi exhaled deeply and thought, "Thank heaven the Jingbian Army is here!"

"Ten thousand victories!"

The Jingbian Army cavalry, along with Wu Sangui's retainers and two thousand Ningyuan cavalry, charged straight into the chaotic and scattered formation of the Qing cavalry.

The two sides collided savagely. Lances against lances, sabers against sabers, with no fancy tricks — it was all hard, brutal slaughter.

Amid the tangle of men and horses, the distance between life and death was but an instant. On both sides, men screamed as they fell from their mounts.

Clearly, the Qing cavalry suffered heavier losses. Their formation had long been thrown into disarray by the Jingbian Army's cannons and rockets. How could a scattered formation be a match for a tight, disciplined battle array?

And to be frank, the Qing soldiers' array was not truly a cavalry formation, but rather a formation of mounted infantry. In each unit, the light armor was still on the flanks or in front, the heavy armor behind or in the middle. When the two sides were twenty to thirty paces apart, they still loosed arrows, hurled javelins, iron maces, and the like.

Although the Jingbian Army cavalry suffered some losses at first, when the two sides subsequently crashed together, the Jingbian Army cavalry tore through their formation like a hot iron, instantly sending men and horses tumbling.

Even when they later faced the enemy's heavy armor, the Jingbian Army's formation was tighter. Every Qing cavalryman had to face several cavalry lances or thick-backed sabers at once. Although the Qing cavalry also valued formation, compared to the Jingbian Army, they emphasized individual martial prowess more. Besides, their ranks had already been disrupted by cannon fire — how could they be a match?

Amid a rain of spraying blood, the Jingbian Army cavalry pierced through the Qing cavalry's vanguard and center formations in an instant.

With almost no need to regroup, those Jingbian Army cavalrymen, still in tight order, swiftly wheeled in a half-circle and continued to charge the even more chaotic Qing cavalry.

Behind them, Wu Sangui led his retainers and the Ningyuan cavalry, following in disarray. After one charge, their formation had vanished; after wheeling around, they were even more scattered. But trailing behind, with easy pickings to be had, Wu Sangui and his men were still happy.

Severed limbs and mangled flesh, the thunder of hooves rolling — countless Jingbian Army cavalrymen in red armor on red horses charged and re-charged the chaotic Qing cavalry repeatedly.

Like a nightmare, many Qing cavalrymen watched helplessly as their comrades were speared off their horses by the Jingbian Army or hacked down. The sounds of lances piercing armor, piercing flesh, and the dying howls of each man merged into the brutal cacophony of the battlefield.

"Charge forward!"

Watching the Ming cavalry repeatedly charge and slaughter the Great Qing warriors ahead, Ajige was frantic with anxiety.

He led some Baya soldiers of the Plain White Banner, Bordered White Banner, Plain Blue Banner, and Bordered Blue Banner, along with some mounted armored soldiers and foot armored soldiers, at the very rear of the cavalry formation.

When the Jingbian Army's cannons and the Shenji Battalion's cannons opened fire, cannonballs had screamed into the cavalry clusters beside him, inflicting considerable losses on the elite cavalry around him. Even some Baya soldiers had been blown to bloody bits, forcing him to order the cavalrymen beside him to spread out.

Seeing the dire situation of the vanguard, Ajige desperately tried to charge forward to reinforce them. But under Wang Dou's orders, the Shenji Battalion's Divine Might Grand General cannons, along with dozens of the Jingbian Army's red-barbarian six-pounder cannons, were already bombarding the area around his great banner, making it impossible to approach.

In particular, the Jingbian Army's cannons, employing volley-fire tactics, produced a lethality that was even more terrifying.

Each time, dozens of heavy iron balls fell within a close area, and wherever they passed, misty blood burst forth and severed limbs flew sideways.

A five-jin solid iron ball shot over, bounced high, pierced through the horse head of a Plain White Banner Bayara not far from Ajige, then grazed past the mounted rider’s neck, snapping it with a crack.

The cannonball’s remaining force unspent, it continued bouncing forward and slammed heavily into a Bayara’s chest and abdomen. This Bayara wore three layers of heavy armor, yet amid the crackling sounds of shattering bone, a large hole appeared directly through his chest and abdomen, and fresh blood and internal organs gushed out at once.

The cannonball still did not relent; rolling across the ground as if slow yet swift, it rolled onto a warhorse’s leg, breaking the leg, and the mounted rider came crashing down.

Not only this solid iron ball — the heavy iron balls that kept shooting over bounced up repeatedly, tumbling and rolling chaotically, and from time to time the crackling sounds of shattering bone could be heard, along with the wretched howls of the Qing soldiers beside Ajige.

Ajigenikan, the Acting Bayara Banner Commander of the Plain White Banner, was also drained of all color. He prided himself on martial valor, yet facing the cannon fire, his heart trembled with fear.

Right beside him, a Plain White Banner Niru Commander had his skull obliterated by a cannonball, and much of that Niru Commander’s burst brain matter and blood splattered onto him.

That cannonball continued onward, grazing the head and face of a armored soldier, stripping the skin clean off his face. Not only that, the cannonball finally smashed into a Bayara’s arm, directly crushing it into shattered bone and pulp.

No matter how valiant he himself was, he was still flesh and blood; facing such irresistible force, how could he not be afraid?

He shouted at Ajige, “Prince Wuying, the Ming army’s cannon fire is fearsome — shall we withdraw?”

Ajige roared, “We warriors of the Great Qing advance even as those before us die! His Majesty watches us from the mountain fortress — anyone who dares speak of retreat will be executed…”

Before he finished, the boom of Ming artillery thundered again from their lines, and another wave of cannonballs shot over. Everyone around Ajige watched the direction the cannonballs were falling, faces utterly drained of color.

Cannonballs shrieked as dozens of solid iron balls came smashing down upon them head-on.

Boom!

One cannonball bounced high and hurtled straight at Ajige. Misty blood burst forth, and a gigantic bloody hole appeared directly in Ajige’s chest!

That cannonball actually passed clean through his body.

“No!”

Amid the frantic roars of Ajigenikan and the others, Ajige sat rigidly on his horse, his body swayed, and he slumped and toppled from the saddle.