[{"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-885":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},1206174,1561,"Chapter 885","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-885",885,"\u003Cp>With a thunderous boom, a breech-loading swivel gun spewed over a hundred large pellets forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dust swept across the ground like a rainstorm. On the opposing side, a hundred paces away, blood mist erupted wildly among a group of veteran camp cavalry. Many men toppled from their horses without a sound, while many of their mounts reared high on their hind legs, shrieking in frenzied chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alongside this swivel gun, another hundred and forty-nine breech-loading swivel guns fired in unison. The hundred and fifty swivel guns fired canister shot in a volley, leaving the veteran camp soldiers opposite dead and wounded in heaps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the bandit cavalry had largely never seen the musket-and-cannon battle formations of the Border Garrison Army. The entire right camp of ten thousand riders still charged as one. Within the camp, General Liu Xiyao, along with Left and Right Resolute Generals Bai Jiube and Liu Tichun, personally oversaw the formation from the rear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, after enduring three waves of canister shot—a volley from seventy red-barbarian cannons, a volley from thirty great general cannons, and a volley from a hundred and fifty medium and small breech-loading swivel guns at the Azure Dragon Army's position—the cavalry behind still surged forward in panicked congestion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Muskets, prepare!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the bandits still swarming forward like a tide, though much thinned out, Jie Yifeng, the Left Camp officer commanding the forward formation, bellowed the order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Prepare!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the musketeers roared in unison. Amid the clatter of metal and the clicking of hammers being cocked, each soldier pulled back the hammer and raised his flintlock. Instantly, a forest of gleaming bayonets bristled. Ten paces ahead, the artillerymen and archers desperately crouched low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Aim!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, the first rank of sixteen hundred musketeers leveled their firelocks. Muzzles tipped with bayonets pressed darkly toward the charging bandit cavalry ahead, a vast expanse of metallic, icy light spreading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fire!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jie Yifeng roared the command. The bugler beside him sounded the call, the shrill note of the swan horn piercing the clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every soldier in the first rank pulled the trigger. The hammer struck each man's frizzen with a soft click, followed by a loud bang. The striking sparks ignited the priming powder in the flash pan, which in turn instantly ignited the gunpowder within each man's barrel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, thick clouds of smoke belched from each flash pan and muzzle, carrying intense flames. The smoke then interconnected, merging into a rising wall of smoke, and a vast white haze spread across the four-li battle formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the deafening volley, the charging bandit cavalry ahead tumbled in droves. Some forward positions were nearly swept empty. Piercing screams of men and horses filled the air. Riders struck by bullets rolled on the ground howling, while horses hit grew even more frenzied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the volley was not as massive or fierce as the canister shot, it was denser and more accurate. They still stood one man per meter, but the charging bandits were no longer so tightly packed. Almost every man aimed at a single target, and nearly every shot found its mark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Second rank, advance!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jie Yifeng bellowed the command. Immediately, the second rank of musketeers advanced several steps, raising their muskets to aim at the cavalry surging forward again. The first rank remained in place, reloading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the Border Garrison Army's advance-by-fire tactic. After the front rank fired, the second rank advanced; after the second fired, the third advanced. The musketeers fired while advancing. Among the many volley-fire tactics, compared to the retreating-fire method, this advance-by-fire tactic seemed more offensive and enterprising, and it exerted a stronger sense of threat upon the enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even advancing a single step carried a different significance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fire!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Again, the swan horn's note pierced the clouds, followed by the deafening volley. More screams arose from the bandits ahead. As far as the eye could see, another large swath of men and horses was emptied. The cavalry behind, carried by momentum, surged forward only to be tripped and blocked by the corpses of men and horses ahead, crowding into a tangled, chaotic mass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially the horses they rode; many stubbornly refused to advance, facing that forest of sharp metal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Third and fourth ranks, advance!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jie Yifeng roared the command. Seeing that even if the rear bandits came up, they would only crowd into a tangled mass with the remnants of the forward cavalry, he seized the opportunity. He immediately ordered the third and fourth ranks of musketeers to come forward together, meeting the enemy in a dense formation—two musketeers per meter—and firing all at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tiger!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Tianmin roared, joining his comrades beside him in a mighty shout. Their rank of musketeers raised their weapons and advanced all the way to the very front, with the fourth rank of musketeers following close behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Aim!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jie Yifeng bellowed hoarsely. Zheng Tianmin pulled down the hammer while leveling his musket forward. Beside him, firelocks aimed densely. They pressed close together, with musket barrels protruding over both his left and right shoulders, the cold gleam of bayonets spreading everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Tianmin aimed at a warhorse charging forward. The distance was now very short, and he could see the terrified and despairing expression on the bandit rider. The man's mouth was open, as if roaring something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Tianmin had been somewhat nervous. His first battle, and it was such a grand engagement. Fortunately, his daily training and the comrades beside him gave him strength. Intense excitement also made him forget everything, leaving only instinct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bandits' panic further bolstered his confidence. They were the invincible Border Garrison Army; even the most elite veteran camp soldiers among the bandits were no match for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His left hand firmly supported the musket, his right finger rested on the trigger, the stock braced against his shoulder, simply aiming at that bandit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a sharp swan horn blast sounded. Without thinking, Zheng Tianmin pulled the trigger. With a crack, a burst of flame erupted from his flash pan. The powerful recoil slammed the musket heavily, and then fierce smoke billowed from his muzzle, followed by a long, intense tongue of flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Tianmin's musket shot merged into a deafening roar. The sound was louder, the flames fiercer, the smoke denser. Viewed from the side, the erupting flames almost linked into a single sheet. The dense smoke produced by the musket blasts was several times thicker than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, the musketeers stood closer together, and the front and rear ranks fired simultaneously—nearly four times the precise firepower output. After their volley, the crowded, chaotic cavalry ahead was virtually swept empty. Only a few men seemed to remain sitting numbly on their horses, staring blankly forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within several dozen paces of the infantry formation, corpses of men and horses lay in piles and heaps. Everywhere were the most harrowing groans and the pitiful whinnies of bullet-stricken horses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This volley also thoroughly woke the bandits up. Their formation was thrown into complete chaos. Normally, cavalry charges were widely spaced, so even if the front horses fell, those behind rarely tripped. Now, with corpses of men and horses piled like mountains ahead, nearly every one of them stumbled as they charged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The veteran camp soldiers behind no longer surged forward by inertia. They came to their senses, each one screaming in alarm, desperately reining in their horses to turn back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Tianmin heard heaven-shaking wails from ahead. Out of the corner of his eye after firing, he also saw four puffs of blood mist erupt from that bandit's body, though he had no idea which one was his own hit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw that bandit soldier seemingly rolling on the ground, screaming in agony, clutching his stomach and struggling. With his movements, it seemed gaudy, colorful things gushed from his abdomen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Tianmin's heart still pounded with fear. The strong smell of gunpowder smoke filled his nostrils, mingled with the intense stench of blood, reminding him he was on a battlefield. He had no time for reflection, instinctively and automatically reloading, when he heard the Left Camp commander Li Zhengjing roar in response to the army command: \"Pikemen, advance!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flash of red tassels, and four ranks of pikemen squeezed past him, each holding a long armor-piercing awl pike that gleamed with sharp, metallic cold light under the sun. They still advanced in formation, charging in quick, short steps, then thrust their pikes at the panicked bandit veterans ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Tianmin heard heart-rending screams from that direction. Clearly, the panicked, congested bandit veterans were being slaughtered by his pikemen brothers. Zheng Tianmin's hands skillfully and blindly loaded a paper cartridge, while he watched. He saw the cold gleam of the long pikes withdraw in unison, then thrust out again in unison, accompanied by spurting blood mist and shrill screams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They advanced steadily, leaving not a blade of grass in their wake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After an unknown duration of killing, Zheng Tianmin heard Camp Commander Li Zhengjing roar again in response to the military order: \"Musketeers, advance!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Tianmin and the others jogged forward, raising their bayonet-tipped muskets, striding past the pikemen with a uniform clatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Infantry formation, forward!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Chao's expression turned stern as he bellowed the command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tiger!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sixteen thousand infantry soldiers—from two second-class battalions of the Black Tortoise Army, Wang Pu's new army battalion, and two third-class battalions—roared in unison. They stepped forward in orderly ranks, directly passing the cannons and artillerymen ahead. Their steps were resolute, the red tassels on their helmets fluttering in a sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was already the third wave of the slave bandits' assault on the formation. The first two waves of Outer Domain Mongol riders had been routed directly by canister shot. Then they grew clever: twenty thousand men of the Khorchin tribe charged all at once, driving a massive herd of horses amidst them. Thus, even after being pounded by three waves of canister shot and enduring several volleys of rockets, the billowing Tatar riders still surged forward like a tide through the dense smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Muskets, fire!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eight thousand musketeers roared in unison. Two thousand per rank, they raised their firelocks at a slant, and the first rank aimed directly at the Tatar riders rolling toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the enemy charged within a hundred paces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Loose!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thunderous volley erupted. From their bayonet-tipped muzzles burst continuous flames and smoke, as if a wall of smoke had risen from the flat ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Loose!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the first rank of arquebusiers fired, they crouched down, and then the second rank pulled their triggers at the surging Mongol cavalry charging toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fire!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The volley fire sounded wave after wave. Seen from above, a dragon of smoke had just risen there and not yet dispersed when another long white wall of smoke soared into the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the smoke wall shone brilliant firelight, like a dazzling, radiant red thread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This red thread was very thin and very narrow, yet facing the seemingly boundless torrent of the enemy's charge, it appeared extraordinarily solid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were like an unbreakable iron line, sworn to block every enemy before their formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The explosive crack of gunfire merged into one continuous roar. Another dense dragon of smoke rose from the opposite side. With the gunfire, several hundred outer-camp Shun soldiers tumbled to the ground, shrieking in agony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their howls, heard by those nearby, made everyone tremble uncontrollably, stricken with terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jingbian Army's firelocks achieved a muzzle velocity of three hundred and fifty meters per second. Under such immense kinetic energy, the projectiles crossed a hundred meters in an instant and could easily pierce two or three layers of Qing armor — let alone the roving bandits before them, who were mostly unarmored or only lightly armored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So after they were hit, the projectiles easily bored into their bodies, tearing and tumbling inside, ripping their bones, muscles, and internal organs to shreds. Then the lead balls largely fragmented, producing a horrifying wound effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, long jets of blood spurted from the victims, and they rolled on the ground struggling in unbearable agony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the ghastly state of those hit, everyone nearby panicked. Thus, after the first rank of opposing arquebusiers — one thousand firelocks — fired in unison, this wave of ten thousand outer-camp troops assaulting the formation instantly collapsed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They let out earth-shaking howls, every man fleeing back in utter terror, shouting as they ran, cursing their parents for not giving them two extra legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alas, defeated again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Fangliang watched the situation there in silence. He commanded his troops on the left wing of the great formation. The area before Fuhai, before Wengshan, and before Hongshan was packed with men, and behind Hongshan it was just as crowded. He did not know the exact number, but he reckoned there were seventy or eighty thousand at least.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, many more troops were massing in the rear, preparing to fight a battle of attrition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because both sides here had very little cavalry and very few sharp heavy cannons or rockets, the two armies deployed their formations about two li apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Liu Fangliang supervised the left-wing offensive, he dispatched officers and deployed troops, launching multiple waves of attacks against the opposing side — yet with scant results.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jingbian Army's firearms were too lethal. Few of his own men could endure even two volleys. Generally, after the opposing side fired one volley of firelocks, the attackers — whether ten thousand or twenty thousand — would instantly collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, the officers of the various outer camps were deeply resentful, believing the old camp was driving them forward to take the Jingbian Army's bullets while they themselves stayed comfortably in the rear. They only barely held on because their men needed to mount just one wave of attack before they could withdraw to camp and rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, according to the prearranged plan, the Great Shun forces were to mass troops behind Hongshan, then climb over the ridge to strike the enemy's left flank. But the Jingbian Army had deployed troops several li away in the valley below the mountain, setting up firelocks and cannons. When their own men crossed the mountains and ridges, they became turtles in a jar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gazed into the distance at the central army position. It seemed things were not going well there either, which made him knit his brows tightly. Facing an enemy like the Jingbian Army, he did not know how to fight them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Count of Wuyang, Jin Youniu, rode his horse close by. For this campaign, he too had selected two thousand cavalry. Seeing Liu Fangliang's deeply furrowed brow, a mocking look flashed in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But seeing Liu Fangliang's dejection, he consoled him: \"Our Great Shun has many soldiers. No need to rush. Fight slowly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2456,"2026-06-03T14:06:27.906Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","bbefd574751a4fdda8a9662af451ef260980e714794afefb348a50c117b93bd7","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-886","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-884",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]