Chapter 255: 253: Musket Volleys

Forty li still remained to the county seat of Heyuan.

The mountain-search squad responsible for scouting the way suddenly came back clutching two wooden placards: "Supreme Commander, we found these by the river up ahead."

Shen Youlong shot them a glance and immediately barked, "This is a rebel trick! Take them far away and burn them at once — do not undermine our army's morale!"

"What are those?" Vice Regional Commander Shi Wangzheng walked over, curious.

"Deceitful talk, nothing more. Pay it no mind."

Shen Youlong did not want anyone to see; he directly used his sleeve to cover the writing on the placards.

Both wooden placards were indeed filled with false reports.

One placard read: Lu Qian, Regional Commander of Guangdong, has been annihilated with his entire army at Yingde County.

The other placard read: Assistant Regional Commander Lin Jun'en has surrendered the city at Heyuan County.

At this moment on the East River, Fei Ruhe had dispatched many small boats to cruise back and forth; no news whatsoever could get through.

Whatever could get through was all deliberately released by Fei Ruhe. Shen Youlong could only choose to believe it or not.

These mountain-search squad members were all Governor-General's elite troops. As they carried the placards away, Regional Commander Shi Wangzheng grew more and more curious, guessing that the information must be something extremely dire.

Shi Wangzheng returned to his own unit and warned his trusted household retainers: the moment things looked wrong, slip away at once.

In these chaotic times, everything is hollow — only troops can be relied upon.

A military officer without troops is worse off than a stray dog!

As for those mountain-search squad members, after re-entering the hills, they did not immediately chop up the placards and burn them. Instead, they gathered in a circle and began discussing.

"How about we just run for it? Heyuan County up ahead is surely lost. Going there is a dead end anyway."

"Yeah, the Governor-General treats us well, but we've been risking our necks scouting for days, and more than twenty of us have died one after another. We've already done right by His Excellency the Governor-General."

"Let's go, let's go. Head home."

"..."

This whole group of mountain-search scouts responsible for probing the way slipped away in one mass. Shen Youlong knew nothing of it.

The entire army continued advancing. Having lost the mountain-search squad, they unknowingly arrived right at the ambush point.

"Fourth Brother, the government troops are here."

"Let the vanguard pass — strike at their middle!"

The man commanding these five hundred was called Xiao Shan, a household slave of the Xiao clan of Yongyang Town by origin.

Xiao Shan had been rapidly promoted during the bandit-suppression campaigns in southern Jiangxi. The great mountains were full of bandits everywhere; Xiao Shan exterminated countless bandits and, in the process, trained himself in a full set of mountain-warfare skills.

The five hundred soldiers under his command were likewise thoroughly versed in mountain warfare — crossing peaks and ridges as if walking on level ground.

The government troops were marching very slowly, strung out in a long serpentine line advancing along the riverbank.

"Kill!"

"Doo-doo-dah doo-doo-doo-dah~~~~~~"

Five hundred Great Unity Army soldiers burst out from the mountains. The ringing charge horn shook the clouds in the sky as they shot swiftly toward the middle of that long serpent.

Vice Regional Commander Shi Wangzheng had originally intended to take his troops and flee, but his unit was positioned relatively far forward. If he fled, he could only flee forward — and he might well run straight into Fei Ruhe's main force.

The man was forced to fight to the death. He bellowed, "Form ranks! Form ranks!"

Shi Wangzheng's several hundred trusted household retainers formed ranks with extreme speed, not inferior to ordinary Great Unity Army soldiers.

But apart from the Governor-General's elite troops and the officers' household retainers, the remaining soldiers and civilian laborers were all scared out of their wits. Seeing the rebel troops charging closer and closer, the soldiers and laborers collapsed in an instant. Many simply jumped into the river and swam for the opposite bank.

In the blink of an eye, only a little over three thousand elite troops and household retainers remained, still attempting to form ranks and defend by the riverbank.

Yet as the common soldiers and laborers scattered and fled in all directions, the household retainers positioned further back were also thrown into disarray. Seeing the situation turning against them, the officers simply took their household retainers and began fleeing too.

Shen Youlong's elite troops and Shi Wangzheng's household retainers, normally well supplied with pay and provisions, were willing to stake their lives in battle.

Even under the impact of routing soldiers, these men were able to hold their formation.

They closed ranks toward one another and gradually formed a large battle array of over two thousand men by the riverbank, simply waiting for Xiao Shan's five hundred soldiers to come and throw their lives away.

And then — with so many routing soldiers to chase down, why would Xiao Shan go charge a large battle array?

Wherever the fleeing soldiers were thickest, that was where Xiao Shan pursued, scattering those routed troops completely. Once thoroughly dispersed, they could not be reassembled, and when the time came, the government troops would not even have enough men to transport supplies.

"The rebel troops number only a few hundred — charge them!" Shi Wangzheng said through gritted teeth.

"Kill!"

Shen Youlong, too, threw caution to the wind.

These two-thousand-odd men were indeed elite soldiers. Even with routing troops disrupting them, they were able to hold formation and give chase in Xiao Shan's direction.

Training elite troops like these is not difficult: just be clear in rewards and punishments, and give them full pay and provisions. Shen Youlong even had five hundred musketeers.

As for the other soldiers, they were all expendable — once used up, you simply recruited more.

Xiao Shan led his troops in pursuit for two li. Seeing that he had scattered the main body of fleeing troops, he immediately gave the order to withdraw into the mountains, utterly ignoring the two-thousand-strong government elite force chasing from behind.

Shen Youlong and Shi Wangzheng chased after nothing but empty air. They dared not follow into the mountains, so they could only stand guard and rest where they were, while sending men to round up the scattered routing troops nearby.

After busying themselves for a long while, they finally rounded up a little over a thousand stragglers. Shen Youlong's total troop strength was now down to four thousand.

Overall combat effectiveness had not dropped by much.

But the civilian laborers had all fled, and several supply boats had run off as well!

Shi Wangzheng's face was grim. He said to Shen Youlong, "Supreme Commander, we can advance no further. There is surely a main rebel force ahead. Retreating is no good either — we march too slowly. The rebel troops from Longchuan County have already taken the county seat and are pursuing us. We have no choice but to abandon the baggage, pick a place to enter the mountains, cross the ridges, and head straight for Yong'an County (Zijin County). Southwest of Yong'an County there is a small trail that cuts through the mountains to the southwest of Heyuan County. From there we can safely withdraw to Huizhou Prefecture."

"Withdraw at once!"

Shen Youlong was extremely decisive this time. He voluntarily abandoned a large quantity of baggage, taking only a small amount of grain and ammunition as they left.

Several li away, Fei Ruhe received the report and laughed coldly. "They run rather fast!"

Xiao Shan's five hundred soldiers had been struggling in the mountains for several days. Not only were the soldiers exhausted, but the dry rations they carried were also depleted. They returned to the earlier ambush point, picked up some grain, and then forced themselves to rally their spirits and pursue into the mountains.

Fei Ruhe took only fifteen hundred elite troops, carrying no logistics supplies, and also accelerated in pursuit from several li away.

At first, the mountain terrain was not steep.

But the government troops were carrying a small amount of grain and ammunition, so their speed would certainly be relatively slow.

Shi Wangzheng suggested: "Supreme Commander, abandon all the grain. Let each man carry just a few jin on his person. Once we cross this great mountain range, we'll have grain when we reach Yong'an County."

Behind them, Zuo Shan's five hundred pursuers were already distantly visible. Shen Youlong said: "Why not fight one battle first, wipe out these several hundred rebel soldiers, and then talk?"

"We can set an ambush." Shi Wangzheng nodded.

At once, each government soldier carried a few jin of grain, the musketeers carried a small amount of ammunition, and they immediately advanced with light packs. The abandoned supplies were tossed on the hillside to slow Xiao Shan's pursuit.

The government troops crossed over a mountain col and immediately hid to set an ambush.

Xiao Shan, intent on keeping close to the government troops, could not possibly search along the way. After he ascended the col, his brows immediately furrowed — he had lost all trace of the government troops.

Below the col, dense forest stretched everywhere. Who knew which way the government troops had gone?

Pursue or not?

Just at that moment, from within the forest ahead, a sudden burst of noise rang out.

"Wretched scum!"

Shen Youlong cursed in fury.

It was the rallied scattered troops — they had long been terrified out of their wits. After entering the mountains, they were still tasked with transporting grain and fodder, and were watched over by the elite soldiers. Exhausted and frightened, they dared not flee.

Now, with Shen Youlong planning to ambush the Great Unity Army, the elite troops had all hidden themselves, and the ordinary soldiers finally had a chance to escape.

The grain-transporting civilian laborers were expendable, and these ordinary soldiers were not much better off.

In such dire straits, how could they possibly be willing to fight?

The more than one thousand rallied scattered troops, seizing the moment while Shen Youlong and Shi Wangzheng set the ambush, immediately turned tail and bolted — incidentally exposing the government troops' ambush position.

"Heh heh!"

Xiao Shan bared his teeth in a grin. He would not pursue; he would simply hold his position atop the col.

"Light the matches!"

Seeing that an ambush was impossible, Shen Youlong simply ordered a frontal assault. They had over two thousand elite soldiers — defeating five hundred rebel soldiers would surely be no problem.

The several hundred musketeers under his command first hid themselves and lit their match cords.

The match cord of a matchlock, depending on its specific quality, could burn for half an hour to an hour.

The close-combat infantry under Shi Wangzheng took the vanguard, screening the archers and musketeers behind them. After a simple formation, they prepared to assault the col.

Xiao Shan spotted the matchlocks from far off. He was no fool, and immediately ordered a retreat.

Even if the government troops had no matchlocks, Zuo Shan could not possibly fight head-on. Over two thousand government elite troops, having marched all this way into the mountains without routing, were clearly strong soldiers raised on silver.

In all of Guangdong, there were only these two-thousand-odd elite troops here, plus another thousand with Regional Commander Lu Qian. About 3,500 men in total. All the rest were a disorderly rabble — even the veterans of three years of bandit suppression were likewise a disorderly rabble.

Watching Xiao Shan lead his troops away, Shen Youlong and Shi Wangzheng were both left utterly deflated.

They could only continue crossing ridge after ridge, hurrying their withdrawal while scouting for a more suitable ambush point.

After another day of travel like this, Fei Ruhe, bringing 1,500 men, finally arrived, following the markers Zuo Shan had left behind.

"Where is the enemy?" Fei Ruhe asked.

"Right on the col ahead. I've been tailing them the whole time," Xiao Shan said, grinning.

Losing them was impossible — over two thousand government troops on the march were bound to leave traces. Xiao Shan sent twenty men ahead in pursuit, with the rest of the soldiers following half a li behind. Even if they ran into an ambush, they would only lose twenty men.

Seeing Fei Ruhe arrive in pursuit with over a thousand men, Shen Youlong began forming his battle line atop the col.

He was nearly driven mad. At this moment, all he wanted was to fight one satisfying battle, clean and quick.

Fei Ruhe was in no hurry. He was utterly exhausted from the pursuit and would recover his strength first before anything else.

As if by prior agreement, both sides simply waited like that — waiting for Fei Ruhe's troops to recover their strength. Shen Youlong held the advantageous terrain and could not possibly descend the hill on his own initiative.

Only after an hour did battle seem about to erupt.

Perfectly fair — both sides had five hundred musketeers. This would be a contest of hot weapons.

After each side lit their match cords, all other units cleared away, letting the musketeers decide the outcome first.

The Great Unity musketeers were at a disadvantage — they had to feign an assault uphill.

"Loose arrows!"

Shi Wangzheng, showing no regard for martial honor, actually ordered his archers to stand on the hill and shoot downward in volleys.

Swish, swish, swish!

Many arrows were blocked by the tree canopies; a small number fell through. In all, four Great Unity musketeers were struck. However, they wore bamboo hats and cotton-padded armor, and did not fear arrows.

Shen Youlong bellowed: "No one fires at will! Await my command — hold until they're close, then shoot!"

The Great Unity musketeers continued advancing up the hill, and the government musketeers began to grow tense.

Shen Youlong's musketeers had all been recruited and drilled three years ago, and had never failed to carry the day in any battle. Ordinary bandits, the moment they were hit by a volley from them, would immediately collapse and scatter in terror.

But precisely because of this, they knew the power of muskets all too well, and were deeply afraid of exchanging fire with enemy musketeers.

"Bang!"

As the Great Unity musketeers drew closer and closer, one of the government musketeers finally could not hold back and fired.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

One man firing immediately triggered the entire unit into firing.

They were still using rolling volleys by rank; except for the third rank, the first two ranks had all discharged their ammunition.

They had barely entered effective range — both accuracy and power were greatly diminished.

One Great Unity musketeer suddenly collapsed, struck by a bullet — most unfortunately hit in the face. Several other musketeers were also hit, but the cotton-padded armor stopped the shots. Had they advanced another ten paces, the armor would certainly have been pierced.

"Reload, quickly!"

Shen Youlong had no time to berate the one who fired early, and hurried his soldiers to reload at once.

The government side instantly fell into chaos. Most began fumbling blindly; some even forgot the correct steps for reloading.

Swish, swish, swish!

The bowmen under Shi Wangzheng loosed another volley.

The Great Unity arquebusiers kept advancing.

"Fire!"

At Shen Youlong's command, the third rank of government arquebusiers at last managed a passably coordinated volley.

Six Great Unity soldiers fell in an instant — at this range, even cotton-padded armor could not stop the shot.

Yet the remaining Great Unity arquebusiers continued their advance.

"Mother!"

The first two ranks of government arquebusiers, having failed to reload and now seeing the enemy closing in, could bear the psychological pressure no longer. They threw down their arquebuses, turned, and fled.

"Level your pieces!"

"First rank, fire!"

BOOM—

Over a hundred arquebuses fired at close range, instantly blasting a gap through the government troops' formation.

There was no need even for the second rank's rolling volley — the government arquebusiers had all collapsed into rout.

"Sound the charge!"

Fei Ruhe bellowed.

Du-du-du-dah du-du-du-dah~~~~~~

The charge call rang out, and the entire army surged forth. The two-thousand-strong government elite force finally disintegrated.

(End of Chapter)