[{"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-672":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},1205961,1561,"Chapter 672: Raven Troops and Scattered Stars Formation (Part 2)","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-672",672,"\u003Cp>On the fifth day, flying sand and tumbling stones made travel impossible for men and horses, so the great army had to rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the sixth day, they marched several dozen li. The terrain gradually descended, with many grassy meadows. Small streams within them slowly merged into a river, flowing southwest. The originally gentle hills and undulating terrain also gradually transformed into low hills and ridges, with peaks and valleys that sometimes felt fragmented and scattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, the great army followed the river into a long, narrow, and broad river valley — the Yuanyang River Valley. From north to west lay the Bayuan mountain lands; stretching southward were the Great Qing Mountains, which in later ages would become the flourishing areas of Shangyi County and Xinghe County, but at this time were the territory of the former Great Ming Xinghe Defense Thousand-Household Battalion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The river valley was broad, with many streams flowing from the mountains on both sides into the Yuanyang River. In later ages, this place would be densely covered with farmland, but at this time it was mostly grassy meadows, with various coniferous forests, birch groves, and shrub thickets, where roe deer, rabbits, and pheasants appeared from time to time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the great army arrived here, everyone's spirits lifted. With such terrain, this was naturally a paradise for nomadic tribes — even Tanshihuai, the Xianbei chieftain, had once set his royal tent in this very region.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, some tribes had grazed their herds here, but now they had all fled far away, not a single figure in sight. The tribes' relocation was much like the Han practice of strengthening walls and clearing fields.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of hoofbeats rang out as a cavalry unit swept up a high slope like a whirlwind, then reined in their horses one after another. Han Chao, mounted on his horse, gazed into the distance. The river valley wound southwestward, flat and broad — at its widest several dozen li, at its narrowest still over ten li — a vast expanse of green.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking far toward the Great Qing Mountains, they rose dark green against the sky, with patches of fiery red and golden yellow — for the mountains were rich with sea buckthorn and mountain lilies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commandant Shang, if we march another twenty li, we can reach the designated fort-building site by the shen hour this afternoon. After building the fort, another hundred-plus li further we can build a second fort. But from the looks of it, the Tatars won't let us have an easy time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A military staff advisor spoke loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For this campaign, some Night Scouts from the Vanguard Reconnaissance Battalion were deployed in coordination. They had detected Tatar cavalry appearing from time to time in the Great Qing Mountains and at both ends of this river valley. To gather more intelligence, some of the Xuanwu Army's feathered cavalry, along with some Mongols accompanying the army, had all joined the scouting efforts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The intelligence gathered indicated that no fewer than three thousand Tatar cavalry might be lurking in this Yuanyang River region. In fact, since early that morning, they had been appearing in twos and threes before the great army's eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They moved with extreme speed, seeming to appear out of thin air, and their range of activity was extensive — sometimes emerging from both flanks, sometimes appearing ahead, sometimes even showing up behind the great army, making the concepts of front and rear feel completely meaningless to the western expedition force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed an enemy attack could come from any direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, these Tatars were quite cautious in their movements, only following outside the Jingbian Army's firing range without launching any sudden assaults. But Han Chao and the others all had a premonition that they would act soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jingbian Army Night Scouts' mission was to gather and scout intelligence and bring it back safely, not to fight the enemy to the death on the battlefield. Although they were in no way inferior to the Tatars in single combat, there was no need for that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, unlike many of the Manchu Tatars who were mounted infantry that dismounted to fight upon reaching the battlefield, these northern barbarians were extremely agile in mobility. They generally had two or three horses, and some even had four or five. When the Jingbian Army Night Scouts charged at them, they immediately fled, switching between horses and vanishing in a flash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Night Scouts were few in number; if they pursued too fiercely and fell into an enemy cavalry encirclement, suffering losses, the gain would not be worth the cost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Chao's feathered cavalry were actually mounted infantry — they dismounted to fight on foot upon reaching their objective, moving like cavalry but fighting like infantry, much like the Great Song dynasty's Imperial Dragon Cavalry, \"designated as mounted infantry, they dismount and fight upon seeing the enemy formation.\" Their mobility was decent, but engaging true cavalry units still put them at a disadvantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Mongols accompanying the army could not be sent out to fight either, for the army still had to march. This expedition of the Xuanwu Army was aimed at taking Guihua City, not getting bogged down fighting the Tatars in some location.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So those Tatars were like sticky candy — impossible to shake off. They knew the terrain intimately, slipping into the mountain forests and river valleys, reappearing at another position at any time, always shadowing the great army's vicinity. Achieving battlefield information dominance was clearly no easy task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When soldiers come, send generals to block them; when water comes, use earth to dam it. If the Tatars want to fight, let them bring their horses over.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cold gleam flashed in Han Chao's eyes as he spoke icily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the wei hour, the New Auxiliary Battalion, serving as the vanguard, finally engaged a group of Tumet men who could no longer restrain themselves. These harassing Tatars were not numerous; across a broad front, they divided into two wings in a dispersed formation, attacking in an arc-shaped array.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zeng Jiuyi formed his ranks and sent a thousand New Auxiliary Battalion Mongols out to fight, charging in a relatively dense formation. The two sides collided, and the slaughter was fierce...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u002F>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Die!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tabunang's face twisted savagely. Seizing the opportunity as the horses crossed, he smashed the heavy hammer in his hand viciously onto a Tumet man's right chest. Instantly, the man's cotton-armored chest area caved in deeply. Thick blood sprayed from his mouth, and the warm liquid, reeking of blood, seemed about to splash onto Tabunang's face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man swayed violently for a moment, then toppled from his horse. Looking around, Tabunang dismounted and drew his axe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw that this man still had a breath left. Lying helplessly on the grassland, the man looked at him with a gaze that mixed terror and pleading. A strange emotion suddenly stirred in Tabunang's heart — he too was a Mongol, a descendant of Genghis Khan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this thought flashed by in an instant. Raising his axe, Tabunang hacked down fiercely, cutting the man's head clean off and hanging it, dripping with blood, at his own waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then seized the man's horse, his heart filled with joy — military merit was in hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After this brief engagement, the group of Tumet men fled in defeat, leaving behind only a dozen or so wounded and dead, along with some horses that had lost their masters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tabunang looked over at Galede, who had also achieved results — using the grappling hook on his lance, he had pulled a Tumet man off his horse, then killed him with his crescent blade. Now he was unhurriedly cutting off the man's head and fastening it to his own waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes met, and each saw the delight in the other's gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the Tumet men flee in disarray, Zeng Jiuyi laughed heartily, and the surrendered Mongols in the ranks also cheered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zeng Jiuyi was about to order pursuit when a middle-aged Mongol beside him, sporting a tiger beard and the ruddy complexion of the steppes, hurriedly said in stiff Han Chinese: \"Commandant Zeng, you must not pursue. Those Tumet barbarians may be feigning defeat to lure us. Their tactics just now closely resembled the lava tactic of the steppes...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He added an explanation: \"It is similar to the Han people's ambush tactic. If we pursue, we may fall into their trap.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The lava tactic?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zeng Jiuyi's heart tightened. Before taking up his post, he had undergone a period of training at the military academy and had learned about many tactics and battle examples, especially those of the Mongols on the steppes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nomadic barbarians of the steppes were most skilled at luring the enemy into ambushes, called the lava tactic. They would first use a vanguard force to lure the enemy from both wings, drawing them to the location where their main force was assembled, then launch a frontal assault while enveloping from both wings or the rear — achieving great victories time and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a battle example: during the Mongol western expedition, at the Battle of the Kalka River, Subutai used a small force to lure the enemy, retreating continuously for nine days and nine nights, even abandoning much gold, silver, and valuables along the way. Finally, he lured the enemy into the lava formation set up along the Kalka River and, with thirty thousand Mongol troops, annihilated the enemy's eighty thousand men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This battle example was recounted by the Grand General. Although Zeng Jiuyi did not understand how he knew of events in the distant west, if the Grand General said so, it certainly could not be false.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, a Night Scout sent a hand-cannon signal indicating that a large number of ambush troops had been set in a patch of river-valley forest in that direction. But seeing that this side was not moving, they gradually withdrew. Zeng Jiuyi cursed: \"These barbarians — they make defeat look so real.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at the ruddy-faced middle-aged Mongol. This man was a Deputy Banner Commander under the Kharchin tribe, who had contributed five hundred troops for this campaign, over half of whom possessed armor — making his the largest and most powerful tribe among the surrendered Mongols.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zeng Jiuyi thought to himself: \"When it comes to steppe matters, these Tatars truly understand them better.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His subordinates examined the bodies and horses of the fallen Mongols. Each had a leather bag, made of cowhide wrapped around branches, in which much of their military equipment and provisions were stored. The search revealed that each man's leather bag contained a good amount of dried provisions — cheese, dried meat floss, meat powder — but very little dried grass and bean fodder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zeng Jiuyi said: \"Company Commander Lemiege, what do you make of this? Is the main camp of these harassing Tatars nearby? It seems they don't have much horse fodder.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lemiege placed a hand on his chest and said: \"Commandant Zeng... no, Commandant Zeng, judging from the captured barbarians' baggage, we cannot be certain their camp is nearby. Looking at the dried meat and cheese they carry, they can eat for at least ten days, half a month, or even a month.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They also have many horses, so the range of their raids is too vast to determine...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These barbarians don't have much horse fodder, but we Mongols rotate through many horses per man. By switching horses, we can solve the problem of the warhorses' stamina.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued: \"Besides, the water and grass here are lush and abundant. Even if they can't fatten up, the horses have plenty of grass to eat... Of course, after their harassment, each unit's horse losses are certain, and the remaining horses will need a long period of fattening.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zeng Jiuyi rubbed his face. Under the current circumstances, even the Night Scouts found it hard to judge, but as the campaign progressed, the enemy would eventually reveal their hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed this wave of Tumet attacks had opened the prelude to harassment. Wave after wave of Outer Feudatory Mongol cavalry appeared outside the Xuanwu Army's marching column, following at a distance of several li or a dozen li, watching with predatory intent like a pack of wolves circling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Occasionally, roving riders would dash forward, but upon encountering Ming scouts like the Night Scouts moving to intercept, they would veer far away. The Xuanwu Army had a marching mission and could not afford to get entangled with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging from their banners and the various colored sulde standards hung with wolf pelts that they raised, the surrounding Mongol cavalry came from diverse sources — there were Tumet men from Guihua City, Mongol tribes from the Hetao region, and some soldiers from the Outer Jasagh Mongol tribes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These Outer Feudatory Mongol troops were not uniformly dressed like the Mongols of the Mongol Eight Banners. Their armor, clothing, and adornments varied widely — some wore bowl-shaped hats and leather robes with standing collars and loop buttons, fully dressed in Manchu style; others wore willow-leaf armor or hoop armor, with helmet-like headgear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or traditional Mongol leather caps and leather robes, caps with tassels — in the Jiajing years they were called Red-Tassel Tatars — or wearing some Manchu-style cotton armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Chao received intelligence that a dozen-plus li behind the main army, among the hills and ridges on the left bank of the river, bands of Tatar soldiers were also rushing forward; they either crossed the river directly at shallow spots or used *hunduo* — a kind of special hide raft — to cross the river.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On all sides of the main army, enemy riders seemed to be appearing; Han Chao ordered the army to form ranks and march, firearms and cannon in front, the submitted Mongols on the right wing, the feathered cavalry protecting the baggage train in the rear, the left wing anchored on the river, screened by some wheelbarrows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Mongol riders gathered thicker and thicker, strange howls rising one after another; they did not mass tightly together but rode in twos and threes, now far, now near, strange whistling calls sounding from time to time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes when Ming cavalry charged toward a spot, they would instantly scatter like birds and beasts, and then at some unknown moment gather again in twos and threes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Chao knew this was a tactic the Mongols excelled at, called the Crow Troops Scattered Stars Formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their numbers were certainly not greater than the western-expedition main army, but their depth and range of movement were extremely broad, faintly possessing the momentum where a hundred riders circling could envelop a host of ten thousand, and a thousand riders spreading wide could fill a hundred li.\u003C\u002Fp>",2458,"2026-06-03T14:06:10.567Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","815a219de4be3478f4f8313f4205bdc63f689dd84d83d1c049c5467d7c49f42a","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-673","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-671",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]