Chapter 54: Killed in Action

The Ming army had indeed laid an ambush on the surrounding hills. First a company of Ming troops charged out from a hill on the left, then another company charged out from the hill on the right.

The Ming troops who had been chased all along also turned back and came charging, followed by a large Ming force. Who else could the man at the front be, riding the big blue-gray horse, but Zhou Shixiang?

The Ming troops charging out from front and rear numbered several companies. Looking out, it was impossible to tell how many Ming soldiers there were.

All around came shouts of killing, and on the hills many Ming banners fluttered and swayed, while war drums beat ever closer, as if a host of thousands were surging forward to attack.

The Green Standard soldiers still picking up scraps of silver and copper coins were stunned by this sudden turn of events.

They froze only for a moment, and then, with no one leading them, the whole lot of them shouted and yelled as they retreated back the way they had come, many still clutching a handful of coppers.

The Ming ambushers charging out filled Zhang Dade with the shame of having been insulted: that bastard Shao Jiugong really had treated him like a pig!

His warhorse, startled, kept kicking up its hooves, and the armored personal guards around him were all pale-faced, looking at their Garrison Commander at a loss.

"Stop them! Quickly, stop them!"

Seeing the situation turning bad, Tang Sanshui raised his blade and ordered several personal guards to stop the fleeing soldiers, but those deserters were scared out of their wits — how could they be willing to stop?

Even the bolder ones among them could not make sense of the situation at this moment and could only run with the main body.

The road to Xihe Ford was not wide. Just now, in their eagerness to chase the Ming troops, the Green Standard soldiers had been full of high morale, their eyes only on battle merit, paying no heed to whether the road was easy to travel.

Now they were all jammed together in chaos — you wanted to run first, he wanted to run first — and the crowd ahead and behind packed the road so tightly that not a drop of water could get through.

Seeing that the deserters could not be stopped and the road was jammed shut, Zhang Dade could not help recalling the two tragedies of years past. Bitterness welled up in his heart, along with the unwillingness of a hero of a lifetime being brought down by a petty man.

"My lord, go quickly! Protect the lord!"

Tang Sanshui, loyal to his master, saw the Garrison Commander sitting dazed on his horse. He quickly grabbed the reins of his lord's mount and ran back on foot for all he was worth.

The several dozen armored personal guards hurried to follow, but they had just run several li in one breath, and with armor on their bodies, their legs had no strength left. Their formation straggled, stretched out over more than ten zhang from front to rear.

If even the fiercest personal guards were in such a state, the fleeing unarmored soldiers were far worse.

The Ming troops had long been lying in ambush here, waiting at ease for the exhausted enemy, and they made a great show of force, frightening the Green Standard men into panicked confusion, as if doomsday had come.

The situation was completely one-sided. Most of the Green Standard soldiers were too exhausted to run, there were no officers to command them, and the road ahead was blocked. Those behind could only throw down their weapons one after another, kneel, and beg for their lives.

The Ming troops, who had been somewhat uneasy and frightened, saw the Green Standard soldiers kneeling in surrender, and every one of them swelled with confidence, cheering and shouting as they charged forward.

Zhou Shixiang was also greatly excited. After cutting down three Qing soldiers who tried to resist, he shouted: "Those who surrender will not be killed! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

"Those who surrender will not be killed! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

The rest of the Ming troops followed suit and shouted the same, and at once several dozen more Green Standard soldiers knelt and surrendered.

Seeing that the Ming troops truly did not kill their kneeling comrades, the remaining Green Standard soldiers lost all will to fight. Except for the few dozen at the very front, most threw down their weapons and begged to surrender.

"All of you, keep up! Guard the lord and break through!"

Tang Sanshui saw that most of the Green Standard soldiers had surrendered and knew the cause was lost. Seeing the Ming troops charging this way and Zhang Dade's horse unable to run well, in desperation he dragged Zhang Dade down from the horse and pulled him forward, running for their lives.

"Capture the Tartar high official! Capture the Tartar high official!"

Ge Wu saw two Qing officers with several dozen soldiers running outward. Eager for merit, he led his men charging at them.

"Stop them! Stop them!"

When Tang Sanshui saw the Ming troops charging over, he urgently ordered the personal guards behind to turn and hold them off. Though those guards were utterly exhausted, they still instinctively obeyed and turned back.

They had all been prepared to sacrifice themselves for their lord, but when they saw clearly that only a few dozen unarmored Ming troops were charging at them, the will to live surged up in them, and with roars they raised their blades and met the attack.

Ge Wu's company were all new recruits, without armor, and had never even killed a man. How could they withstand this desperate counterattack by Green Standard elite troops?

As soon as they clashed, more than ten of his men fell. The remaining Ming troops had not expected these Green Standard soldiers to be so ferocious, and every one of them shrank back in fear, not daring to advance.

"The rebels have lost their nerve!"

One personal guard, seeing that the Ming troops were so incapable of fighting, felt his courage return. He roared at his comrades: "They're all unarmored soldiers — what are you afraid of? Follow me!"

Zhang Dade and Tang Sanshui also noticed the change behind them. Seeing the Ming troops actually retreating, they both stopped, their faces showing bewilderment.

"No retreating! No retreating!"

The situation shifted abruptly. Ge Wu's company could not hold off those twenty-odd armored Qing soldiers and kept falling back.

Though Ge Wu bravely cut down two, he could not make up for his men all being new recruits. Unable to hold, he too had to retreat.

While retreating, he was nearly stabbed by an armored soldier, and in his panic he dared not resist further.

The Green Standard soldiers kneeling on the ground saw the Ming troops actually retreating, and one by one they raised their heads, mouths agape in disbelief.

Gradually, some Green Standard soldiers began picking up the blades and spears they had thrown on the ground, and the situation turned delicate.

Zhou Shixiang also noticed the change up ahead. Seeing Ge Wu retreating steadily, he was both furious and anxious, terrified that the situation would reverse and all their efforts would come to nothing.

In his urgency he lashed the big blue-gray horse, wanting to charge over and stop the Qing counterattack, but the road was packed with kneeling Green Standard soldiers, and the horse could not move an inch.

He had to leap down from the saddle and wave at Shao Jiugong, signaling him to bring the Jiangxi troops forward to help.

Shao Jiugong saw the Qing soldiers counterattacking up ahead. After a moment of shock, he said nothing and led his equally exhausted Jiangxi troops charging over.

Zhou Shixiang led a dozen soldiers leaping over the kneeling Qing prisoners and climbed onto the hillside beside the road. In his view, he saw dozens of figures on the left slope already charging forward — it was Baldy's company, and who else was at the very front but the one-armed Boss Hu?

"Brothers, kill the Tartars!"

Hu Quan led the charge. His ring-headed saber flashed and spun under his single arm, and in an instant he sent two armored Qing soldiers tumbling to the ground.

With the commander fighting bravely at the front, the Ming troops' morale surged again.

Baldy and the squad leaders in the company all knew they could not let these Green Standard armored soldiers turn the tide. Gritting their teeth, they charged forward one after another.

Ge Wu led his remaining dozen-odd soldiers into the fight as well, and at last they managed to suppress the counterattack of those twenty-odd armored soldiers.

But although they suppressed them, for the moment the Ming troops had not gained the upper hand. Though they far outnumbered the Qing troops, they simply could not wipe them out completely.

In the ceaseless fighting, the Ming troops fell in far greater numbers than the Qing. Had those armored soldiers not been utterly exhausted, the situation might truly have turned.

Tang Sanshui saw the Ming troops pressing forward again and knew the men behind could not hold much longer. He tugged at Zhang Dade and said: "My lord, the rebels are too fierce. We must leave now!"

But Zhang Dade violently shook off Tang Sanshui and, red-eyed, shouted at the remaining personal guards: "Loose arrows! Shoot that one-armed rebel dead for me!"

The several guards carrying longbows hurriedly took them from their backs, nocked arrows, and shot, but they only hit three Ming soldiers and did not strike the one-armed Ming officer.

"Useless! Give me the bow!"

Zhang Dade, furious at their failure, snatched the longbow from the guard beside him, nocked an arrow, narrowed his eyes, and drew the string back hard with two fingers. With a "swish," the arrow flew from the string, carrying full force straight at the one-armed Boss Hu.

"Big Brother, look out!"

Baldy, noticing the Qing troops' hidden arrow, cried out in alarm.

"What?"

Boss Hu, locked in combat with the two armored soldiers before him, had just raised his blade and turned his head in confusion. Before the blade in his hand could fall, an arrow shot toward his chest. With a "thunk," the arrowhead sank into his flesh.

"Dog Tartars!"

Boss Hu let out a muffled groan. The piercing pain made him unsteady on his feet, and his body staggered and swayed until he toppled backward.

"Die!"

The two armored Qing soldiers before him saw this and, wild with joy, raised their blades and hacked at Boss Hu's neck.

"You—!"

As the blades rose and fell, blood gushed from Boss Hu's neck like a spring. Bloody foam kept bubbling from his mouth, and he murmured: "Mother... Mother..."