Chapter 177: A Royal Court Within Easy Reach (4K+ Chapter)

The two great armies had not yet clashed, but a brutally savage battle of scouts had already erupted first.

The hundred-man squad that Arslan, the commander of the ten thousand left to guard the royal court, had originally sent ahead to receive them — the moment they saw this large cavalry force, which shared nothing in common with steppe riders except that they were all on horseback, they knew the situation was about to turn dire.

Daraachi, the centurion leading the squad, sent men back to report while he took the rest and converted them into scouts on the spot, hoping to first get a clear picture of the opposing force.

In truth, there was not much to figure out — a great Ming banner, raised high, the flag of an old foe passed down through generations and rooted deep in memory; there could be no one who did not recognize it.

But they could not afford to leave the situation unclear — that the enemy was Ming troops was beyond doubt, but what of their numbers? Judging solely by the tremors coming through the ground, the rough count was around a hundred thousand riders.

Yet from the dust cloud the other side was kicking up, it had to be at least a hundred fifty or sixty thousand cavalry; otherwise they could never have raised so vast a cloud.

The Ming cavalry at the head of the column had by now also spotted this hundred-man squad. An equally sized hundred-man squad immediately detached from the main cavalry force on the march and came charging after this squad that was probing their situation.

Daraachi spat bitterly, gave a shout, and then led his riders off in a wide circle, intending to first drag the opposing hundred-man squad on a chase and slowly wear them down.

Harbari, the centurion of the hundred-man squad dispatched to pursue Daraachi, saw the enemy squad hanging far back and at once spurred his horse hard and gave chase.

After the two sides had circled several times, Daraachi reckoned the enemy riders were still several li away, so he slowed his horse, then wheeled around and charged back.

When Harbari saw that the hundred riders of Ligdan Khan's forces had finally stopped circling, he was overjoyed and immediately urged his horse forward, leading his hundred-man squad to attack.

It had to be said, the Chongzhen Emperor's strategic choice was absolutely correct — pick the softest persimmon first!

Ever since they had come onto the steppe, slaughtering over a dozen small tribes affiliated with Ligdan Khan's Chahar along the way, they had gradually rebuilt the confidence of this ten-thousand-strong force that Bushitu and Jorightu Khan had scraped together after being thrashed by Ligdan Khan.

They now firmly believed that, under the Chongzhen Emperor's leadership, they could once again become that invincible iron cavalry that had thrashed the whole world.

So the situation now was that Harbari, who originally would never have dared to clash head-on with Ligdan Khan's iron cavalry, had for once grown uncharacteristically bold and dared to lead his hundred-man squad in a charge against Daraachi's hundred-man squad.

Daraachi, however, was enraged. These men were clearly Mongols of his own tribe, and now they willingly served as the Han people's running dogs, leading Han troops to attack Mongols!

These dog-slaves who had betrayed Eternal Heaven all deserved to die! In his fury, what Daraachi hated most at this moment was not the Ming army, but these traitors who had brought the Ming army onto the steppe — they were the most hateful of all!

Were it not for them, how could the Ming army, coming onto the steppe, ever find the royal court? Supplies and water sources, and the line of march all along the way — all of it could have tangled the Ming army to death on this boundless steppe.

Daraachi was furious, but Harbari was even more furious.

Originally he had grazed his herds with Jorightu Khan among the Inner Khalkha in Liaodong, and occasionally he would answer the Ming court's call to strike a blow at the Jianzhou barbarians and earn some rewards — that little life could hardly have been sweeter.

But it was precisely because of Ligdan Khan's dog-fart notion of restoring the glory of Genghis Khan that the Inner Khalkha were wiped from the rolls! His wife, his lovely daughter, and that little man who would surely have become a Jebe — all gone! Nothing was left!

Both sides carried hatred in their hearts, and there on the boundless steppe, beneath the blue sky and white clouds, tribesman against tribesman, a great drama of brothers fighting within the walls and kinsmen slaughtering one another played out.

After the first clash was over, Daraachi ignored his broken right arm, switched his saber to his left hand, and glared at Harbari opposite him, raging: "You traitors who have betrayed Eternal Heaven and the Great Khan!

Eternal Heaven will surely punish you — you deserve to be dragged to death by horses!"

Harbari's face was expressionless, but the hatred he could not hide in his heart left him with no interest even in answering. He simply raised his saber once more and charged at Daraachi.

The Chongzhen Emperor was trailing far behind the great army. Watching the dust cloud rising, he muttered to himself, This damn thing looks just like the sandstorms of later ages. Good thing it's only temporary — otherwise, would We have to eat sand in the capital from now on?

His head full of wild fancies, the Chongzhen Emperor had very wisely chosen not to interfere with the command this time. He was a complete greenhorn on the battlefield; in a great battle of tens of thousands, he had better not go meddling blindly.

If through his own fault he lost troops and officers, that would truly not be worth it.

Just as he was thinking this, he saw the column ahead begin to slow, until it gradually came to a halt.

Curious, Chongzhen rode forward and saw that the force left to guard Ligdan Khan's royal court was forming up its ranks on the opposite side, while his own commander of ten thousand, Baatar, after likewise ordering his ranks to form up, was galloping swiftly toward him.

With a great battle imminent, how could there be time for tedious ceremony?

Baatar did not dismount but merely pressed a hand to his chest in salute from horseback and said: "Great Heavenly Khan, those men on the other side seem intent on fighting a decisive battle outside the false Khan Ligdan's royal court."

A complete greenhorn on the battlefield, how could Chongzhen understand the subtleties of this? Seeing Baatar approach, he asked: "Our commander of ten thousand, why not simply charge in and slaughter them all?"

Baatar patiently explained: "O Great Heavenly Khan, they have ten thousand cavalry and the protection of their stockade. To force an attack would be like a wolf pack trying to snatch lambs from within a pen — never an easy thing.

If we fight a decisive battle outside their stockade, once we have dealt with these ten thousand-odd cavalry, their stockade will be of little further use."

Chongzhen nodded and said to Baatar: "Go then, act with a free hand. We trust that Our commander of ten thousand will not disappoint Us. We trust that you will bring the enemy the agony of blood and fire."

Baatar, hearing this, bowed once more and said: "As you command, Great Heavenly Khan."

Only after Baatar had ridden back did Chongzhen let out a long breath. This steppe manner of speaking was truly too damn troublesome — a matter of a few words, yet full of metaphors and whatnot, it gave him a headache.

Since the plan had changed, Chongzhen simply sent men to notify Liu Xingzuo and Zhang Zhiji, ordering them to alter the plan: no more of that "surround on three sides, leave one open" trick; instead, set up an interception line against the ten thousand cavalry, and also let those raw recruits of the Capital Camps see some blood.

The ten thousand cavalry Ligdan Khan had left to guard the royal court, though they could not compare to the elite hundred thousand he had taken south to Xuanfu, were by no means useless. Arslan, the commander of ten thousand leading them, was no ordinary man either.

That someone on the opposite side was conversing, Arslan could naturally see very clearly — he simply could not hear what was being said.

The scouts he had sent out returned to report that the opposing army likely did not have that many men. Though the dust they raised was enormous, judging by the sound of hoofbeats and the ground tremors, they should number less than a hundred thousand.

If the configuration was two horses per man, then it was around fifty or sixty thousand.

Arslan trusted the judgment of the scouts he had sent out; these assessments made through hoofbeats and ground tremors were basically not far off from his own.

Yet he truly could not fathom — since when did Ming troops have the nerve to venture beyond the passes? Had the Ming not been beaten like dogs by those savages of the Jianzhou Jurchen? His own Great Khan had also taken troops to what the Ming called Xuanfu — so where had this huge force come from?

Unable to figure it out, Arslan simply shook his head and stopped thinking about it. This was the royal court.

The great figures of the Golden Clan, the Great Khan's kin, and the families of himself and these brothers under his command were all here — he could not retreat. That being the case, then let him have a proper contest with those cavalry on the other side.

Let the Ming see what Mongol iron cavalry was, and tell them with facts: when it came to cavalry, the Mongols were still the strongest!

Just as Arslan and Baatar both made the decision to fight a decisive battle outside the royal court, the soldiers of the Capital Camps were also forming up their ranks under the barked orders of their respective centurions. The difference was, they chose to dismount and form ranks.

Ever since the Chongzhen Emperor had confiscated the property of the Eight Great Locust Merchants, his little life could be described as quite comfortable. Though the Capital Camps had brought only cavalry this time, they had brought firearms as well.

Moreover, there was a full guard battalion of cavalry carrying chevaux-de-frise spears.

Now the ten thousand cavalry taking the vanguard up front were about to clash head-on with the opposing ten thousand cavalry, while his own men would set up an interception line in the rear.

When the two sides passed through each other's formations, the opposing ten thousand would have no room to wheel around, and they could reap a wave of heads at that moment.

The steppe at this moment grew ever more silent. Even those bold enough to watch from within the royal court feared being discovered and held their breath tightly.

In the Chongzhen Emperor's view, if this scene were made into a film, you would absolutely have to add special effects of dark clouds pressing down, whirlwinds rising ceaselessly, and blades of grass either flattening or swirling — it was simply too damn thrilling.

The oppressive stillness was shattered. Arslan could no longer endure this stifling atmosphere, so he ordered the five thousand cavalry hastily cobbled together within the tribe, made up of slaves, to charge the formation first.

Once that first wave of five thousand had charged out, Arslan also drew his saber, swept it forward, and ordered the advance.

Baatar, seeing that the enemy had already made an offensive move, did not hesitate for a moment. He drew his saber, gave a shout, and charged out at the head of his men.

How far apart were the two sides? No more than a few li — precisely the distance that would allow the warhorses to reach maximum charging speed just as the two sides met. In mere moments, the cavalry of both sides were locked in slaughter.

Ten thousand cavalry against ten thousand cavalry, and both sides prepared — there was no possibility of one side punching clean through the other's formation.

Unless it was like that old fox Wanyan Hong who had slipped up, where the formation's width was stretched wide enough but its depth was insufficient, and who, through carelessness, had not even sent scouts to reconnoiter the rear.

As warhorses collided and blades hacked at each other, the cavalry at both the head and tail of each side were all locked in combat.

Yet the ten thousand under Baatar's command had come prepared, and with infantry support in the rear to give them confidence, they did not get entangled with Arslan's cavalry but simply charged forward, and charged, and charged again.

In barely the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Baatar's ten thousand had already cut through Arslan's ten thousand and were executing a wide maneuver in the direction of Ligdan Khan's royal court, preparing to wheel their horses around and come back for another wave.

Arslan, however, was now in a bind.

He had originally thought the enemy had fifty or sixty thousand cavalry, but he had not expected that those who engaged him numbered only ten thousand, while the men left farther back had already dismounted and become infantry, and were steadily advancing in his direction.

Seeing that Arslan's cavalry were nearly upon them, the various centurions in the New Army and the Capital Camps all gave the order: "First rank, prepare chevaux-de-frise spears! Raise shields! Second rank, prepare to fire muskets! Third rank, prepare to throw bombs!"

When Liu Xingzuo and the Duke of Ying had drilled the New Army and the Capital Camps, they had thoroughly carried out the Chongzhen Emperor's directive: orders must be obeyed and prohibitions observed!

At this moment, the New Army and Capital Camps soldiers, drilled like machines, though their hearts were uneasy and they had no idea whether the chevaux-de-frise spears could truly give them a sense of security, since the order had been given, it could not be defied — behind them, three thousand cavalry of the Sibe tribe were watching as military enforcers.

One by one, the long spears were thrust into the ground, their shafts resting on the shields raised at the very front, the spear points slanting toward Arslan and his men who were charging straight at them.

When Arslan's cavalry had charged to a distance of roughly fifty meters, the various company commanders of the New Army and Capital Camps shouted out according to the regulations set during training: "Fire!"

After a crackling volley of gunfire, Arslan's side was astonished and delighted to discover that they had suffered hardly any significant casualties — even less than the casualties from the cavalry clash just moments before.

Just as Arslan's front ranks were about to continue their charge, they heard more shouts ring out from within the Ming ranks: "Throw bombs!"

The Mongol cavalry, who like the Jianzhou barbarians had never seen primitive hand grenades before, did not take these little bottles falling from the sky seriously at all — and it was this very carelessness that caused the Mongol cavalry grievous losses.

The falling little bottles landed at different times, some bursting in midair to wound men, others exploding after hitting the ground to injure horses' legs.

And what was even more wicked, the things made no small noise; many Mongol cavalrymen's warhorses, startled by the sound, showed signs of panic, forcing the riders to divert their attention to calming their mounts.

By now the Ming troops had finished reloading, and the many company commanders could be heard shouting: "Fire! Second rank, prepare!"

By this time, thanks to the excellent work of Xu Guangqi and that fellow whose name was something like Bi, the Ming troops' reloading speed had greatly improved, so there was no need even for three-rank volley fire — two-rank volley fire would do, which put even greater pressure on the Mongol iron cavalry.

The Mongol cavalry in the front ranks, unable to bear the pressure, wanted to scatter toward the flanks and then engage in skirmishing archery, but the cavalry behind them were still charging forward, making the front-rank riders utterly miserable.

Meanwhile, the ten thousand cavalry under Baatar's command had already completed their turn and reformed. Seeing that the cavalry under Arslan's command were still locked in a struggle with the infantry, they spurred forward and charged back.

By the time Arslan's cavalry realized there was still a force of ten thousand cavalry behind them, it was already too late. Though they wheeled their horses around and charged toward Baatar's ten thousand, at this distance the warhorses could no longer build up much speed.

Thus Arslan's ten thousand cavalry fell into bitter combat, and their total annihilation was only a matter of time.

The Chongzhen Emperor, whose horoscope was wretched enough and whose five elements lacked virtue, now rode a little closer.

Seeing that Arslan's cavalry were already tied down and that Ligdan Khan's royal court had lost its last defensive force, he asked Liu Xingzuo beside him: "Since we have no need for so many foot soldiers at the moment, why not detach ten thousand to attack Ligdan Khan's royal court?

That way, those cavalry will surely be distracted — wouldn't that make things even easier?"

Liu Xingzuo, who had never been a good sort either, cupped his hands upon hearing this and said: "Your Majesty is brilliantly wise!" He then wheeled his horse around and went off to draw troops from the Capital Camps to prepare to assault Ligdan Khan's royal court.

There will be another chapter a bit later.

(End of chapter)