Chapter 468: Twilight

At dusk, over forty li southeast of Boping. Snowflakes drifted down endlessly from the sky, the great earth a vast expanse of gray.

Yang Guangdi still wore his constable uniform over his padded armor, no eight-petal helmet but a captured rabbit fur hat instead. The scout cavalry regulations did not specify when to wear a helmet, but after the experiences of confronting roving bandits at Gucheng and the rally to the king campaign, many new unwritten practices had formed among the scout cavalry.

Whenever stealthy movement was required, the scout cavalry would remove their helmets to avoid obvious reflections giving away their position. When disguised as yamen runners they also removed their helmets. As for what hat to use as a substitute, each man resorted to his own ingenuity.

Previously the scout cavalry had no experience operating in the north, and most of the hats they brought offered no protection from the cold. The ones they now wore were mainly taken from captures. Yang Guangdi had not reacted as quickly as the others; this rabbit fur hat was one Qin Jiuze had picked up for him at the parade ground. Once he put it on, it was much warmer.

But this hat had no brim. Snowflakes piled up on Yang Guangdi's eyelashes, and as he blinked, a few flakes fell away. Yang Guangdi reached up and rubbed his eyes, and his vision immediately improved considerably.

He slowly scanned the western plain. The snow was accumulating, gradually covering the traces left by the cavalry. On the horizon was the outline of a village, and in the fields a few human figures were moving about.

Those figures were all local commoners. They had been frightened when the Anqing cavalry passed through, and many had fled the village. Now that the cavalry had gone far away and these people saw no danger, they were returning to the village.

There were eight other scout cavalrymen around him. Today the one leading the unit was the Banner Commander. When their banner team had withdrawn from Wei County, there had been twenty-seven men. Now only nine remained capable of fighting, not even enough to form a full squad, so there was no need to select a new squad leader — the Banner Commander simply took on both roles.

But even so, theirs was still the most numerous of all the scout cavalry banner teams. Some banner teams no longer had enough men for a squad of five, which was why the rear-guard task had been assigned to them.

During ordinary marches, such a task would not be given to the scout cavalry; the Garrison Inspector soldiers could handle it. It mainly involved rounding up stragglers and checking the road for lost equipment, with punishments meted out after returning to camp.

But when in a threatened zone, the rear of the column was more dangerous than the forward scouts, especially when there were enemies in pursuit from behind. Once entangled by the enemy, one might become separated from the main force. Only the scout cavalry could undertake such a task.

Yang Guangdi held out a handful of black beans before his mount. Blaze's tongue licked across his palm, warm and moist. Yang Guangdi patted Blaze's mane and fished out another handful of black beans.

Blaze again licked them up impatiently. Yang Guangdi tilted his head to look — the horse's fat reserves were already nearly depleted.

The column had left Tongcheng Post yesterday morning and had now marched two hundred li, with two engagements in between. Both men and horses were utterly exhausted and in urgent need of rest and reorganization.

So tonight's camp ground was very important. The position Chen Rulie had chosen was a village twenty li southwest of Thirty-Li Post. There was no main road in this direction, and the Tartars' path-lurking soldiers would not penetrate too deeply.

Both men and horses needed rest. Only after replenishing their strength could they complete tomorrow's raid. A safe camp ground was critically important.

This location was relatively remote, but the Tartars were not far. The morning's surprise attack on Boping had gone very smoothly. The Fourth Company had initiated action first, diverting Tartar attention on the east side of Boping. Chen Rulie led the Fifth and Sixth Companies, choosing a position where the Qing army's defenses were weak. One camp had been wrecked, allowing at least several hundred civilians to escape, and quite a few livestock had also bolted away.

When they disengaged, only a small Qing force pursued. Chen Rulie had shaken off the pursuit with a single counterattack. Today's snowfall was considerable, which greatly aided the Anqing cavalry in concealing their movements. They had still not been caught up by follow-up Qing forces.

But everyone knew that the Qing army was certainly tracking them. Otherwise they could not defend such a broad area. The Qing forces behind them were not far away. The greatest danger still lay before nightfall.

After traveling east for a stretch from the designated assembly point, the Anqing cavalry had turned south. They had changed direction several times along the way, so that the trail's heading would not be too obvious, making it impossible for any pursuing enemy to determine their course. The main force would not head directly for the destination until after dark.

At present the main cavalry force was in a village to the south. Chen Rulie was resting the horses there, replenishing them with fodder beans and water. They were five li from the scout cavalry.

While feeding Blaze, Yang Guangdi asked, "Could the Tartars on the post road send Mounted Armor out to seize people, and happen to run into us?"

The Banner Commander looked at the sky. "If Mounted Armor came out, they should have turned back by now."

Yang Guangdi gave an "Oh," and patted Blaze's neck. He suddenly noticed that Blaze's ears were swiveling backward. Then he saw that the other horses' ears were also turning, mostly swiveling backward — a sign they were feeling tense.

Yang Guangdi turned his head to look at Qin Jiuze and found that both Qin Jiuze and Manda'er were observing the surrounding horses.

Then Qin Jiuze turned to the west. He said to the Banner Commander, "Someone's coming this way."

The Banner Commander raised his telescope and looked again. The lens showed nothing unusual.

Manda'er pressed himself to the ground. No one moved. After a moment Manda'er rose and shook his head. "Can't hear anything."

Qin Jiuze's narrowed eyes fixed on the west. His tone was very certain. "Those people are running. Must have seen something."

Everyone stopped what they were doing. Yang Guangdi used his hand to check the equipment on his belt while scanning the western horizon. He did indeed see that the several figures who had been walking toward the village a moment ago had changed direction.

The Banner Commander handed the telescope over. Qin Jiuze took it and raised it to his eyes, slowly shifting his gaze.

The sun was setting now. A residual glow lingered on the western horizon. Yang Guangdi observed carefully but detected nothing unusual.

He only heard Qin Jiuze say, "Two on horseback."

The Banner Commander took back the telescope, following Qin Jiuze's finger to examine carefully. At last, in the twilight, he saw two faintly discernible human figures.

Looking in their direction, they were backlit. These two were traveling along another parallel small path, their forms hidden within the dark outline of the village. If one were not paying particular attention, it would be very hard to spot them.

But even so, the Banner Commander could not be certain whether these two were enemies or commoners. This area was far from the official road and was not a prosperous region. The Qing forces from Boping and Chiping had not come here before, so many commoners were active in the vicinity.

Qin Jiuze touched his arrow quiver. "Definitely Tartars. Following the tracks here."

The Banner Commander studied the lens carefully. Those two were indeed moving along the road passage, occasionally pausing — probably checking the ground traces.

Behind those two, several more mounted figures appeared.

"Tartars. Visually confirmed, five men."

The moment the Banner Commander spoke, the surrounding scout cavalrymen each mounted their horses.

Yang Guangdi cursed under his breath and swung himself onto Blaze's back. Two straight days of marching, with two battles in between — both men and horses were exhausted, all hoping to rest come evening. The appearance of Tartars at this moment was truly disheartening.

The several scout cavalrymen at the rear took out their cavalry bows. Qin Jiuze and Manda'er had their own cavalry bows. The Ming dynasty's Nine Borders cavalry generally used the Kaiyuan bow, a type of recurve composite bow. To facilitate use on horseback, the bow limbs were wider and shorter than those used in foot combat, and the draw weight was less than that of a step bow, so it was also often called a soft bow.

The Anqing region had no cavalry tradition, and cavalry bows were exceedingly rare. During the city defense battle at Tongcheng, only two cavalry bows had been captured — essentially as good as none. The army was also mostly infantry, using mainly step bows. Because of the victory at North Gorge Pass, they had obtained over ten Kaiyuan bows used by the Border Army, but they still could not equip the cavalry in large numbers. The cavalry bows obtained from Zhang Guowei were of Nanjing and Yangzhou make, a style prone to the glue failing, and not as good as the Border Army's Kaiyuan bows.

The roving bandits' horse troops had large numbers of cavalry bows. After the two great battles at Chuzhou and Susong, the Anqing Battalion had captured quite a few Kaiyuan bows. Equipment was no longer lacking — they could basically give every man a cavalry bow — but those who could actually perform mounted archery in combat were still few. Even among the scout cavalry, only half were actually equipped with one. Yang Guangdi's mounted archery assessment ranking was last in the banner team, so he was not issued a cavalry bow. His step bow had been left at Tongcheng Post, and after his firearm was damaged, he had no choice but to pick up a cavalry bow at the parade ground for temporary use.

"Visually confirmed, seven men."

The Banner Commander finished speaking and handed the telescope back to Qin Jiuze. As Qin Jiuze took it, the two Tartars in the lead had stopped in the lens and were looking this way — they must have also spotted the scout cavalry.

The Banner Commander asked Qin Jiuze, "Old Qin, how do we fight these few Tartars?"

Qin Jiuze looked around. The nearest village was over two li away, and not in the Tartars' direction of advance. The surrounding land was flat and open for miles, with no other terrain to use for concealment.

Qin Jiuze studied the scene carefully for a moment. "Two groups engage. Scatter the bandit riders, then combine to strike. Drag it out until nightfall."

The Banner Commander did not delay. He immediately called out names. Yang Guangdi was still assigned to Qin Jiuze's group, while Manda'er was in the Banner Commander's group.

The Tartars' scout cavalry came toward the scout cavalry. Yang Guangdi narrowed his eyes and observed, making a final confirmation that the enemy numbered only seven.

There was no time to plan in detail. The Banner Commander gave a hand signal and advanced toward the Tartars' northwest. Qin Jiuze pressed his horse's belly and led four men moving toward the Tartars' southwest. The nine scout cavalrymen split into two teams, each heading for the outer flanks of the Tartars.

There were many abandoned fields around. The horses' hooves struck solid ground, but some of the land had been tilled over. Now with the sky gradually darkening and a layer of snow covering everything, it was hard to tell the difference.

Yang Guangdi followed behind Qin Jiuze, their speed gradually increasing. Qin Jiuze's back sat steady on the saddle. He controlled the reins with his right hand alone, his left hand gripping the Kaiyuan bow, a long arrow held between the fingers of his bow hand.

The Tartars ahead had also split into two groups. Four Tartars were coming this way to meet them. Qin Jiuze angled his direction slightly southward, opening the distance from the Tartars.

The wind carried snowflakes straight into their faces, stinging their cheeks faintly. Only then did Yang Guangdi remember he had forgotten to switch to his helmet. Qin Jiuze ahead had already changed into his eight-petal helmet. Yang Guangdi had no time to retrieve his helmet. He wiped his eyes with one hand, controlled the reins with his right, and drew the Kaiyuan bow with his left, preparing an arrow just as he had seen Qin Jiuze do.

The Tartars closed to within seventy paces, their forms gradually becoming distinct. They raced across the snowy plain, their horses' hooves kicking up sheets of snow.

Yang Guangdi's first reaction was that these Qing soldiers had better mounts. In both build and speed they surpassed the Anqing Battalion's warhorses, and their charge carried a mighty presence. This was the first time he had so clearly felt the disparity in horse quality.

Blaze was clearly frightened by the opposing horses. Before Yang Guangdi could even take control, Blaze veered further south, trying to evade. Yang Guangdi hurriedly pulled the horse's head back.

Qin Jiuze ahead suddenly pulled his horse's head to the right. His mount turned in an arc and charged straight toward the Qing soldiers. Yang Guangdi's heart pounded wildly. In the twilight, the gray-black silhouettes of four Qing soldiers ahead came rushing straight at them.

Still forty paces away, Qin Jiuze veered right again. He stood up in the stirrups, raised the Kaiyuan bow in his left hand, and drew the string with his right to shoot. The first arrow flew. Qin Jiuze's right hand followed through to pluck an arrow from the quiver, pressed it along the bow body to nock it forward, and smoothly strung and drew the bow.

Yang Guangdi could not make out the arrows. He dropped the reins from his right hand, drew his bowstring toward the front, all the while feeling the rise and fall of Da Huo. When the spine reached its highest point, his thumb snapped open.

Bowstrings thrummed from the Qing soldiers' direction too. A wail of tearing wind — a black shadow brushed past his ear. Yang Guangdi's scalp went numb. No time to shoot a second arrow; he ducked his head on instinct.

A scream from behind, then the sound of someone falling. Yang Guangdi had no attention to spare to look. They crossed paths with the Qing soldiers ten paces apart. Qin Jiuze loosed his second arrow. The four Qing soldiers opposite all loosed their second arrows. Yang Guangdi felt Da Huo shudder. He looked back — an arrow tail was lodged in the horse's flank.

The two sides passed each other. Qin Jiuze did not put away his bow. He used the bow tip to fiercely whip the horse's flank, and the mount instantly surged forward.

This was the first time Yang Guangdi had ever seen Qin Jiuze whip his mount hard. These warhorses were all very clever horses. Most of the time, you did not need to actually whip them — just flashing the riding crop was enough to make them speed up. Now Qin Jiuze was whipping hard, pushing the horse's speed to the limit, using this sliver of time he gained so all the mounted rangers could first combine their attack on the three Qing sentry horsemen on the other side, creating a numerical advantage of many against few.

Yang Guangdi did not overthink it. Even though Da Huo was already wounded, he still lashed the other flank fiercely. Those four Qing soldiers were left behind. In the dim twilight, the blurred silhouettes of three Qing soldiers appeared two hundred paces ahead.

Yang Guangdi hung his cavalry bow around his neck. His left hand gripped the reins. His right hand — shing — drew the Waist Saber. Da Huo strained every ounce of strength to accelerate. Amid the jolting, the rabbit-fur leather hat on his head fell away. Yang Guangdi braced against the cutting wind on his face and hurtled at full speed toward the three Qing soldiers.