[{"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-676":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},1205965,1561,"Chapter 676","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-676",676,"\u003Cp>Wang Zheng cursed his luck inwardly. He had already tried his best to keep his head down — how had the General still noticed him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the main-force battalion was under his jurisdiction, and Wang Pu had always thought highly of him. With the battle going so badly, he too felt his face burn with shame, so he could only kneel and admit fault: \"Your subordinate is incompetent. I beg the General to punish me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other officers knelt as well: \"We beg the General to punish us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Punish my ass!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regional Commander Wang, who always cared deeply about his image and maintained an elegant, graceful bearing, let out another vulgar curse. He waved his hand in irritable frustration: \"This is no time for punishment. Tell me — how do we deal with those Tatar cavalry?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone's gaze turned to Wang Zheng. Wang Zheng cursed in his heart — he knew they would push him forward. This was exactly the situation: they wanted him to come up with a plan, but how was he supposed to know?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet under Wang Pu's unfriendly stare, he had no choice but to speak. Thoughts raced through his mind, and finally he said: \"General, these Mongol Tatars fight differently from the Manchu Tatars. The Manchu Tatars are more rigid in battle — they always attack formations head-on in a hard fight. These ones are more fluid: if there is advantage, they charge in; if not, they spy from a distance, following like haunting spirits that will not disperse…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…And on the grasslands we are in unfamiliar territory, with no knowledge of the terrain. They are also expert riders with many horses. For now, our only course is to meet change with constancy — not to covet momentary merit, but to advance cautiously. Better to march only five li a day than to let those Tatars spot a gap… Did we not agree to rendezvous with the Pacification Army by the lakeshore? We are not far from Jining Lake now. As long as we reach the shore and link up with the Pacification Army, our force will have achieved victory…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officers around him all chimed in: \"Colonel Wang speaks wisely. That is also what we were thinking. The army must advance with caution, resisting the temptation of momentary gain, not seeking merit but avoiding fault. Let the Tatars' heads stay on their necks a while longer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Pu then turned to some of the staff advisers beside him. Imitating Wang Dou, he too had set up a staff department, recruiting a fair number of civil officials and military officers as advisers, and had even made some sand tables. Though not as detailed as the Pacification Army's, they were still far better than those of other Ming forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking toward his chief of staff, he said with authority: \"Adviser Tian, what is your view?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adviser Tian was in his forties, with a goatee. He wore a half-sleeved padded jacket over a dark-blue inner robe, a sword at his waist, and a wrapped headscarf — the typical Pacification Army adviser style. In fact, much of the present Datong Army was a knock-off version of the Pacification Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adviser Tian fancied himself a man of great resource and stratagem, styling himself \"Rival to Zhuge.\" Hearing his commander's question, he said with affected reserve: \"Bring the sand-table cart.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since sand tables had appeared, Adviser Tian felt that when offering plans and strategies, if he was not speaking while looking at a sand table, something was always missing. Eventually he reached the point where, without a sand table, he felt utterly incapable of saying anything at all — earning him the nickname \"Tian Sand-Table\" in the army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Very soon, a sand-table cart was brought over — crude in Wang Dou's eyes, but refined in Wang Pu's.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing at the terrain on the sand table before him, Adviser Tian stroked his beard for a long while. At last he sighed: \"Colonel Wang's words are correct. We are, after all, unfamiliar with the grasslands and the lands beyond the frontier. There are too many places where the Tatar bandits could ambush us, and their tactics of bow and horse… General, it seems we must revise our plan. Originally, after linking up with the Pacification Army by Jining Lake, our force was to advance southwest, attacking toward Guihua along the Xiashui Lake line. Now it appears we had best not divide our forces, but simply advance together with the Pacification Army in one column…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stroked his goatee: \"Our present position is about a hundred li from Jining Lake. Yesterday we received a scout report from the night scouts that Senior Captain Han of the Xuanwu Army is already not far from Xinghe. Therefore, our best course for now is to advance steadily and surely — on no account must we underestimate the enemy and rush forward rashly. As long as we link up with the Pacification Army, military merit will not be lacking…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Pu sighed inwardly. Every officer was saying they must not advance rashly — which meant moving slowly, not seeking merit but merely avoiding fault. Sure enough, campaigning beyond the frontier was nothing like campaigning in the Central Plains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Throughout history, the moment an expedition beyond the frontier was mentioned, faces would change drastically. Many would hold forth on the perils of war and so on, doing everything possible to avoid a campaign beyond the frontier. Indeed, the grassland Tatars' style of fighting made one feel utterly out of place — there was no concept of front or rear at all, and that kind of harassment was especially maddening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had barely traveled any distance beyond the border wall, and already he was worn beyond endurance. If they marched another few hundred li, would they not be utterly exhausted?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In particular, once beyond the frontier, the Tatars' lairs were hard to find, and grain and fodder were hard to keep supplied. No wonder that in past dynasties, expeditions beyond the frontier often saw entire armies of tens of thousands, even over a hundred thousand men, completely annihilated. If not for the fact that the Pacification Army would be accompanying them this time, would his own expedition beyond the frontier likewise end in total annihilation?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this thought, he stroked the small mustache he had newly grown, then took out a little bronze mirror, peered into it, adjusted his helmet, and declared with authority: \"Then we shall follow the counsel of all officers. The grand army will advance steadily. Where opportunity arises, we shall do our utmost to deploy in battle formation and lure the Tatars to attack, so they may learn that our firelocks are not for nothing!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officers breathed a sigh of relief and chorused: \"The Grand General is wise!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ninth day of the eighth month, mid-morning, the beginning of the si hour, by the banks of the Dongyang River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This place was already within the boundaries of the former Great Ming Xinghe Defense Battalion. To the east stretched the undulating ridges of the Great Qing Mountains — though these were not the same Great Qing Mountains as those by Guihua City. The waters of the Yuanyang River meandered in from the west, merging with the Dongyang River coming from the east, and together they flowed southward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the way, from the highlands to the east and the highlands to the west, stream after stream fed into the Dongyang River, forming vast stretches of flatland, full of grassy marshes and shrubs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Yuanyang Stockade to here, the land was all rich with water and grass. The Great Qing Mountains to the east, in particular, were thickly forested — dark green laced with gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splash, splash, splash…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spray flew as a large body of cavalry splashed across a narrow stream, startling away a number of animals large and small nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The torrent of cavalry rolled on across the grasslands, trampling countless beautiful flowers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Halt!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From beneath a great sun-and-moon banner bearing a silver carving of the Xuanwu Tortoise, a cold voice rang out. At once, several thousand cavalry came to a stop, leaving only tier upon tier of cap-helmets glittering in the sunlight, and black-bordered banners snapping and fluttering in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After giving the order to halt, Han Chao drew his spyglass from his waist, extended it, and looked ahead. To the east, he could see that the scout riders had already sent signals, and some riders were galloping back — these were the Xuanwu Army's own scout riders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Pacification Army, apart from the professional night scouts of the Scouting Battalion, every army's first-class and second-class battalions trained men of outstanding riding skill to take part in reconnaissance and scouting, to gather more intelligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Chao scanned carefully, especially toward the Great Qing Mountains. After a long moment, he gave a cold laugh: \"It seems the Tatars' nature never changes. They still want to fight a battle with us here — only this time there are no infantry, just cavalry!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The previous afternoon, Han Chao had led the Xuanwu Army's first-class middle battalion and Zeng Jiuyi's Newly Attached Battalion out ahead. Although their horses were not the warhorses of the cavalry battalions, for a distance of a hundred li, setting out the previous afternoon, they had all arrived by a little past nine in the morning, with time to rest during the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The infantry, however, could not move so quickly. Apart from traveling on foot, in many places they also had to build bridges for wagons and the like to cross — most inconvenient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zeng Jiuyi was likewise studying the scene through his spyglass. Watching band after band of Mongol riders emerge from the highlands and the wooded hills, he grinned savagely: \"Today, we shall give those Tatars a taste of something special.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ahead, just as on that other day, the whistling arrows sounded without cease, mingled with strange howls. Band after band of Tatar riders emerged from every direction — the greatest number coming from the Great Qing Mountains — roaring as they spurred their horses forward. Mongol riders constantly joined them along the way, and wolf banners and sulde standards gathered in throngs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that this side was cavalry, they apparently did not dare to surround them on all four sides. Instead, they formed a fan shape, vaguely assuming a three-sided enveloping posture, thundering forward as they came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the pounding of hooves, the shrieking Mongol riders grew more and more numerous. Han Chao focused and studied them carefully, estimating that they had over four thousand able-bodied riders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these men had too many horses. And judging from the experience of that other day, there were likely quite a few women and children posing as warriors, so the total number appeared to be five or six thousand — a scale matching their own. The first-class middle battalion and the Newly Attached Battalion together numbered just over six thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Pacification Army side formed ranks, they did not move. Seeing that the enemy riders were still far off, they all dismounted to take the chance to rest the horses. In their own dispositions, Han Chao had placed the Newly Attached Battalion in front and the first-class middle battalion behind. He stood on a hillock, wanting first to observe how a cavalry clash between the two sides would unfold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, some Tatar scout riders galloped up. After a careful look, they confirmed that this side had no cannons. Then the main body of men, reassured, formed up at a distance of a little over one li. No matter how sharp the Pacification Army's arquebuses were, they could not reach a distance of one li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, they also had some baggage horses, which they kept even farther away. No matter how many horses the grassland cavalry had, they could not face battle leading several horses each. They were generally left in the rear, with some men specially assigned to guard the spare horses, and then they would change mounts from time to time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two sides surveyed each other before battle, with only a few scouts dashing back and forth. Because they had spyglasses, the Pacification Army side had a considerable advantage — from a safe distance, they could see far more clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, on the Mongol riders' side, they were inwardly surprised. They had not expected the Pacification Army to come with cavalry alone, without using infantry and cannon fire as cover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They conceded that the Pacification Army's infantry and firearms were very strong, but they firmly believed that their cavalry was no match for their own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, not long before, they had received word from the Mongol riders who were besieging the Datong Army: the Ming cavalry had been beaten so badly they had turtled up and dared not move. This only strengthened their conviction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the scout riders had reported back that, apart from those Mongol-traitor cavalry, some of the Pacification Army cavalry carried arquebuses without lit matches on their backs, they did not take this seriously. Shooting arrows from horseback was one thing — but firing an arquebus from horseback? Could they even hit anyone? Where would the bullet fly?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even if a blind cat should chance upon a dead rat, they could not imagine how those Pacification Army soldiers, after firing, could reload powder and shot on horseback. Against their own bows, those men would make fine targets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, if these mounted arquebusiers dismounted and formed ranks, then they could simply treat them as infantry and ignore them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That left only those Mongol traitors. At the thought of them, they sneered inwardly — men from petty little tribes, skilled in bow and horse, with strong fighting ability — but could they compare to themselves?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed this battle was a foregone conclusion. Although cavalry was easy to rout but hard to annihilate, they only needed to defeat the Ming cavalry before them, to plant fear in their hearts, so that henceforth they could only rely on infantry cover. Then their own side's objective would be ideally achieved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was also the result of the discussions among the various Tatars of Guihua City: sweep away any possible mobile forces, and force the Pacification Army and others on the western campaign to march in tight formations as much as possible. Facing harassing cavalry attacks, they would be in a constant state of tension all day long; as days stretched on, they would become unspeakably weary. Then, no matter how formidable the Pacification Army's formations were, in the end an opportunity would present itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their tactic, expressed in the Han tongue, was: \"If the enemy arrays a forest of halberds on the outside and sets out chevaux-de-frise to block our charges, then we shall circle them with scattered cavalry, loosing an arrow now and then, to keep the enemy toiling. When the standoff has lasted some time, the enemy will surely run out of provisions or lack water and firewood, and will have no choice but to move — then we shall press forward with our troops. Or if the enemy formation has already shifted, we shall not strike rashly, but wait until they are weary and spent, and then charge in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frequent harassment, combined with cavalry dogging the infantry formations — this was a surefire tactic that the Mongol armies of old had used time and again with unfailing success. Although it took a heavy toll on the horses, and only the horse-rich grassland cavalry could afford to play this game, as long as victory was won, everything was worth it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention other things — the armor, firearms, supplies, and other spoils captured from the Pacification Army and the rest would be enough to make them a great fortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bursts of smug laughter erupted from this side: \"Beat these Ming cavalry before us, and from then on we can make them just like the Datong troops — marching five li, ten li a day, marching for three months, half a year, before they ever reach the great Bansheng.\" (To be continued…)\u003C\u002Fp>",2689,"2026-06-03T14:06:10.567Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","a53e8bf13d526ed644a4e3f48d3e6a7bc845923e7f80ddd0ae03b1c6f215cb23","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-677","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-675",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]