Chapter 475: The Great Defeat of Hong Taiji

Gunpowder smoke still drifted over the battlefield, yet the entire field had fallen into utter silence.

This battle had unfolded quickly—its onset was very sudden, and its conclusion equally sudden, as if no one had been given time to react.

The men on both sides were all at a loss at this moment.

Even Sun Chuanting, who had long since formed a plan in his heart, had never imagined the fighting could turn out like this. It made him hesitate involuntarily—were the rockets really this powerful?

As for Hong Taiji's side, there was no need to even mention it. He simply hadn't reacted in time—his men were just gone like that?

In such a short span of time, to have his men blown away like this was truly beyond his expectations, leaving him still unable to process it even now.

But soon, new movement appeared on the battlefield.

The Ming army began advancing forward in orderly formation, and the sound of footsteps rang out in an instant.

The cavalry on both flanks also began to move, gradually building up speed as they rode toward the front.

Clearly, in this battle, Sun Chuanting had no intention of letting go—he wanted to keep expanding his gains.

Hong Taiji's face was black as he glanced at Daišan beside him, his expression extremely ugly.

At this very moment, Hong Taiji had no idea what to do. Those ten thousand men had been blasted badly enough, then mowed down by the Ming army's volley fire.

If he charged forward now, Hong Taiji had no confidence at all in winning. But if he retreated like this, those ten thousand men would be lost for nothing.

Moreover, turning the horses around and fleeing now—he probably couldn't escape anyway. The distance between the two sides wasn't that great. If he turned the horses around now, the rear ranks becoming the vanguard, their speed wouldn't be fast enough, and the Ming cavalry would catch them by the tail.

Hong Taiji gritted his teeth, abruptly drew the blade from his waist, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Charge!"

The men around Hong Taiji saw this, and their faces all changed as they savagely drew their own blades in response.

But the soldiers behind them were different—fear was written across their faces, they swallowed involuntarily, and their whole bodies grew timid.

Truly, the scene just now had been too terrifying. Those things the Ming army had—they exploded the moment they hit the ground. By now, so many people had been blown to death, and their own side had no way to fight back at all. This was hardly a good way to attack; if they kept going like this, they might well be marching to their deaths.

Hong Taiji looked at Daišan and said directly: "Send the ambush force around behind them and take out those things of theirs that can explode."

Daišan nodded, his expression very grave.

Those things naturally had to be destroyed—otherwise this battle couldn't be fought at all. Daišan immediately sent men to relay the order.

The Ming army continued pressing forward. Their speed was not fast, but the pressure they exerted grew stronger and stronger.

Those Ming soldiers marched in neat steps, not saying a word, their guns held level in their hands, the dark muzzles pointing straight ahead.

The expression on Sun Chuanting's face was very serious.

Seeing that the Jianzhou barbarians showed no sign of retreating, Sun Chuanting was somewhat surprised.

With so many of their men wiped out, with those ten thousand dead just like that, the Jianzhou barbarians still hadn't collapsed into a full-scale rout?

Their discipline really was considerably stronger than that of the Ming officers and men. Sun Chuanting had confidence in his own troops, but that didn't mean he had the same confidence in Ming armies elsewhere.

The distance between the two sides grew shorter and shorter, and the tension grew thicker and thicker.

Just at that moment, a force suddenly burst out from the Ming army's right flank, howling madly as it swept around toward the Ming rear.

It was Jianzhou barbarian cavalry! Their speed was very fast, and their intent was obvious—they were going to loop around and destroy the Ming army's heavy weapons.

And at that moment, Hong Taiji spurred his warhorse and charged swiftly forward.

Suddenly, the sound of horns rang out from the Ming side.

With the sounding of the horns, the Ming army rapidly shifted formation. The ranks that had been lined up in rows quickly transformed, finally forming a hollow square, with the rocket carts protected in the very center.

If one wanted to destroy the rocket carts, breaking through the Ming square formation was an absolute necessity. This was the hollow square formation specifically designed to counter cavalry.

Although the Ming side had shifted into the hollow square, which appeared to greatly strengthen their defenses—after all, they had their firearms—

Hong Taiji's heart rejoiced nonetheless, because they had already charged to close range, and by attacking from all directions at once, the Ming army's rocket artillery would be useless. Soon, everyone would be locked in close combat. As long as they charged in and got tangled up with the Ming troops, the Ming army would have no way to fire their gunpowder weapons.

For a moment, the cries of battle on both sides shook the heavens.

Iron-shod cavalry horses pounded the ground, producing a rumbling thunder.

All the Jianzhou barbarians could see the hope of victory—such a thin Ming formation could never stop the edge of a cavalry charge.

And although the Ming army's firearms were sharp, even volley fire could not stop every single cavalryman. As long as some broke through, they could easily tear open their line, and then the situation would turn into a one-sided rout.

And things indeed unfolded just as the Jianzhou barbarians had predicted. When the cavalry charged forward, their bows began to sweep fire.

Arrows crashed directly into the Ming positions, inflicting casualties on the Ming army in an instant.

Facing the arrows that blanketed the sky and covered the earth, the Ming army did not panic. Though some men were struck, they still stood rooted in place without moving.

When the cavalry charged in once more, the carts within the formation suddenly opened fire.

The cannons roared to life in an instant, shells smashing straight over—explosive shells and solid iron balls all crashed across.

Fierce combat erupted in an instant.

And within the formation, Sun Chuanting kept a grim face, quietly watching the scene.

In truth, Sun Chuanting had done this deliberately. Though he was confident he could keep the Jianzhou barbarian army from breaking through, that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to bleed the enemy—to trade his own light casualties for heavy slaughter of the foe.

And at this moment, Sun Chuanting said directly: "Pass the order—have them open fire."

As he finished speaking, the signalmen beside Sun Chuanting blew their horns and began waving the flags used for relaying orders.

In an instant, the situation on the battlefield shifted.

The Ming troops atop the war carts began cranking their rotary machine guns. The "rat-tat-tat" sound rang out in an instant, and bullets smashed over in a sky-covering, earth-blanketing torrent.

Though they used paper-cased cartridges, they still achieved a rate of fire of two hundred rounds per minute. At such a rate of fire, they could already achieve fire suppression. Combined with the volley fire, a curtain of bullets formed in front of the Ming army in an instant.

The Jianzhou barbarian horses charging at the front were struck down in an instant, and the cavalrymen on their backs pitched straight to the ground. The riders behind instantly fell into chaos, and the following troops went down in swaths like wheat being scythed.

The men and horses that had just fallen in front blocked the advance of the cavalry behind them, and the entire formation instantly became a mess like a pot of porridge.

Across the whole battlefield, the roar of guns and cannons sounded as one, and screams of agony and cries of battle rose up together.

Just then, from behind the Ming army's formation, rockets were launched once more, smashing directly toward the Jianzhou barbarians' rear.

The sound of explosions rang out across the battlefield in an instant—explosions erupted everywhere on the field.

This was also a tactic Sun Chuanting had drilled long ago: seal the front with bullets, bombard the rear with rockets, leaving the enemy unable to advance and unable to retreat, directly inflicting enormous casualties.

In that instant, the entire battlefield became a hell on earth. Blood became the dominant current, and the horses lying dead on the ground were beyond counting.

Hong Taiji was shielded by his men, his face twisted with fury, the man half-mad with rage.

Hong Taiji had never imagined the Ming army's firearms could be so devastating—those guns that fired when cranked around had simply overwhelming power.

The volley fire alone might not have been enough, but with the addition of the rotary-style machine guns before him, a curtain of firepower instantly formed across the Ming front. Cavalry on such a battlefield became nothing but targets in an instant.

The entire tide of battle reversed in that single moment. The Jianzhou barbarians' formation instantly fell into chaos—there was no way this battle could continue.

The vanguard had been repulsed, unable to charge forward again. Without the advantage of speed, cavalry became useless.

Hong Taiji's eyes turned red, and he spurred his horse, wanting to charge to the front lines.

Daišan, quick of eye and hand, grabbed hold of Hong Taiji's reins, jerking the horse up onto its hind legs with a shrill neigh.

Daišan shouted: "Fall back! Fall back, we can't fight any longer! If we keep this up, all our men will be spent. Even if we win this battle, it will be for nothing."

In the instant his horse had reared, Hong Taiji had already calmed down. He too understood that Daišan was right—he could not afford to exhaust his men here.

Even if they ground down all fifteen thousand Ming soldiers, his own side would be wiped out in the process. If that happened, they would have no way to withstand the Ming army's subsequent attacks.

Hong Taiji wheeled his horse around in a wide arc, turning its head as he said: "Retreat, fall back!"

In an instant, defeat came crashing down like a mountain toppling. The Jianzhou troops on the battlefield turned and fled, the entire field descending into utter chaos.

All the Jianzhou men scattered in panic, clutching their heads as they ran. Behind them, the Ming army's rocket artillery kept firing, beginning an extension of the barrage.

Rocket shells rained down from the sky in an instant, inflicting tremendous casualties on the Jianzhou remnants.

Meanwhile, the Ming cavalry on both flanks charged forward as well, firearms in hand, opening fire in an instant—"Bang, bang, bang," the sounds rang out once more.

Countless Jianzhou cavalrymen were shot dead from their horses, thrown into utter disarray in that moment.

Watching the Jianzhou army retreat in defeat, Sun Chuanting ordered the pursuit to cease.

His army was strong, but it lacked mobility. Only when massed together in orderly formation was its killing power sufficient; once scattered apart, it had virtually no striking force at all.

Given the situation before him, pursuit was impossible. Sun Chuanting had mostly infantry at his side, so after the cavalry gave chase for a short while, he recalled his troops.

Sitting upright on his horse, Sun Chuanting said coldly: "Clean the battlefield. Drag out every enemy corpse, and give every wounded man one more blade. Tally up our losses, and have the men in the rear come up to tend the wounded. Re-form the ranks—do not give the Jianzhou barbarians any opening to exploit."

Though he knew the enemy could not possibly come charging back, Sun Chuanting still remained cautious.

"Yes, Marshal." Liu Xian, who stood beside Sun Chuanting, replied directly.

Judging by the situation at hand, this battle had already been won. Sun Chuanting was about to make a name for himself, and his men along with him. Such a feat of arms was more than enough.