Chapter 281

Forty li south of Jinzhou city, a large group of auxiliary soldiers were digging trenches, sweat pouring like rain. Several training officers shouted encouragement, urging them to speed up. These auxiliary soldiers were all originally garrison farmers or ordinary camp soldiers from Lüshun, over seven hundred in total. Spurred by the training officers' encouragement and the lure of food, they had signed up one after another for the temporary auxiliary battalion. Nearly eight hundred men were divided into sixteen banner teams, with transferred logistics soldiers from the Wendeng camp temporarily serving as banner team leaders. Each banner team had five squads, ten men per squad, and the squad leaders were, as usual, recommended by the soldiers themselves.

"Everyone put your backs into it! Build the camp strong and the Jianzhou bandits won't be able to harass us. Once we take Jinzhou, we'll recruit regular soldiers from the auxiliary troops who perform best — one tael and five qian of silver a month, room and board covered by the public purse, meat and wine every day... no, scratch the wine, but steamed cakes and mantou, plus five qian a month in retirement silver held at the Central Army's Supply Office. When you retire later, you can take it and buy a big house and get yourself a wife."

The gaunt auxiliary soldiers let out a chorus of strange yells. The yearning for a better life is an innate human nature that cannot be extinguished. Even though years of hardship had nearly crushed their hope, when hope reappeared, vitality returned to their bodies.

Zhao Xuan waved his hand smugly. He loved moments like this most. Back when he ran the Red Sun Sect and hoodwinked people, he knew he was speaking falsehoods and always worried about being exposed. Now he could speak with righteous conviction.

"My lord, will we get land? And if we get crippled, is there a way to survive?" an auxiliary soldier asked while digging. Zhao Xuan turned to look and saw the man's clothes had rotted into strips, his gaunt, bony body visible through the countless tears, yet his face was full of sunshine.

Zhao Xuan nodded slightly, his mind wandering a bit as he said, "There will be land. Our Wendeng camp has garrison farmland in Dengzhou. Those crippled and retired will each get ten mu of land. For those who can't work, ten households from the garrison village will support one wounded soldier. We guarantee you a way to live. Not only will you have a way to live, Lord Chen will give all suffering people a way to live. Later, when we recover Liaodong, every family will get thirty or fifty mu of land, and no one in the family, young or old, will lack food or clothing."

That Dongjiang soldier grinned foolishly and bent his head to dig with force. Zhao Xuan suddenly remembered something, grabbed his pack and rummaged through it, pulling out a padded jacket his wife had made for him before he left home last year. He hesitated a moment, then finally gritted his teeth and handed it to the Dongjiang soldier.

"My lord, what are you doing?" The Dongjiang soldier's face was full of alarm.

"For you to wear. It's still cold at night — don't freeze."

The soldier stood stunned for a moment, then dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed to Zhao Xuan without stopping, all while breaking into loud sobs.

The auxiliary soldiers around them all stopped working. Zhao Xuan hurriedly helped the soldier up and said to the surrounding men, "We shipped military grain when we came this time. Lord Chen has already sent orders to the Wendeng naval camp — the next shipment must bring clothing. Everyone will have new clothes."

That soldier wept loudly, "Never has an officer given us clothes. This one was stripped off a dead man. From now on, my lord, just say the word, and this humble man won't frown even if it's through water or fire."

"Long life to Lord Chen!"

"May Lord Chen rise in rank and wealth!"

The auxiliary soldiers shouted in a chaotic din, their voices carrying far. Auxiliary soldiers elsewhere looked over this way, baffled.

Chen Xin was on the small hill at the central army position. Seeing this, he couldn't help but smile. These auxiliary soldiers were all ordinary military households, with none of the original Lüshun officers or retainers among them. A single piece of clothing could move them to tears of gratitude — a clear sign of how harsh their existence was. Those who had survived this long were the ones with the greatest resilience. Used well, they would become the most resolute strong army against the Jianzhou bandits. It was a pity that in the original timeline, these Liao people who had suffered so much at the hands of the Later Jin were ultimately forced to throw in their lot with the Later Jin.

He was also fairly satisfied with Zhao Xuan. Although the man came from a cult background, he still possessed a kind nature. His small gestures often won the soldiers' admiration more than Huang Side's silver tongue. His only weakness was that his courage was still somewhat lacking.

"My lord, military intelligence from the central army's scout riders." Wang Mafu's voice sounded from behind.

Chen Xin hastily took it and read. The scout riders had engaged in mounted skirmishes with multiple groups of Mongol soldiers today at Siping Mountain and other places — five wounded, one killed, eleven enemies killed or captured, and over two hundred head of cattle and sheep seized. The Later Jin troops in Jinzhou should have received word by now, but they had not yet encountered Later Jin Plain Blue Banner true Jurchens.

"Wang Mafu, do you think the Jianzhou bandits will come out?"

"This subordinate, uh, thinks they probably will."

"Reason!"

Wang Mafu scratched his head. "Because we didn't fly the Wendeng camp banners. The scout riders blocked their scouts from probing our main force. They must think it's Lüshun troops coming out to seize cattle and sheep. The Jianzhou bandits... don't fear these Lüshun soldiers."

Chen Xin laughed heartily. "Makes sense. We'll see if they dare come tomorrow. If they really do come out, Manggūltai's heart will be bleeding again."...

On the twenty-sixth day of the second month, the Wendeng camp's grand army advanced under the morning sun. The auxiliary soldiers marched alongside the combat troops, using their gaunt yet resilient bodies to help the combat soldiers carry their armor.

Just at the end of the chen hour, the forward scouts urgently reported back that a large Jianzhou bandit force had appeared, heading south. They were all cavalry. The central army scouts could not get close, but roughly estimated around seven hundred cavalry, plus two to three hundred bondservants. They were approaching extremely fast, still ten li away.

Liu Pojun, out on probation to fight, still stayed by Chen Xin's side, riding a scrawny mixed-breed horse scavenged from Lüshun. He asked quietly, "My lord, should we send more scout riders?"

"Rare that they dare come out. Let the scout riders delay them." Chen Xin pointed to a gentle east-west hill three li ahead, beside the official road. "Double-time to seize the hilltop. Have the cavalry battalion and the reserve battalion's fourth company headquarters form up on the northern slope. The second combat company will form up on the southern slope. Without my order, the second company is not to cross the ridge. Release all light cavalry to cover the cavalry and infantry forming up."

Liu Pojun thought for a moment, guessing Chen Xin wanted to lure the Jianzhou bandits into battle by deliberately hiding the first company on the southern slope. He immediately called over the relay riders and sent them to deliver orders to each unit.

The orders were quickly executed. Signal flags danced through the ranks. Low-ranking officers at the banner team level and below shouted commands. Over two thousand infantry began advancing at a quick march. The auxiliary soldiers also quickened their pace, staying beside their assigned combat soldiers, the armor on their backs clattering.

The cavalry battalion at the front mounted their horses one after another and rumbled forward under the guidance of the company banner.

Chen Xin led his guard squad and staff officers, spurring their horses to a gallop. They quickly passed the infantry and, following behind the cavalry, charged up the hilltop. After crossing the ridge line, the rolling hills to the north appeared before them like waves.

Two or three li down the slope, mounted figures were chasing each other. From the direction of the official road, hidden by the hills, dust rolled thickly, and a faint, thunderous rumble could be heard — clearly a large body of cavalry approaching. The Wendeng camp's follow-up light cavalry continuously charged down the gentle slope, throwing themselves into the skirmishing battle two or three li out, covering the Wendeng camp's formation.

Chen Xin felt a surge of inexplicable excitement. He turned to look to his right. Dense ranks of warhorses of every color crested the ridge, snorting heavily. The cavalry battalion's command brass horns continuously sounded the formation signals. The dense cavalry rumbled past Chen Xin and expertly began forming up on the gentle slope.

This was the Wendeng camp's one and only cavalry battalion — just four hundred men. Since the end of the third year of Chongzhen, their reconnaissance function had been stripped away, and they had trained exclusively in dense-formation charges. They were the seed unit Chen Xin had prepared for large-formation cavalry. To match their three-rank formation tactics, the organization had also been restructured. These four hundred men were divided into four cavalry bureaus, each bureau with three banner teams, each banner team with three squads. Each squad formed one line, and each squad used only one type of weapon. The weapons had been adjusted several times and were currently set as: front rank long spears, second rank tangba tridents, third rank thick-backed waist sabers. The cavalrymen with waist sabers were also equipped with a short carbine.

This was the Wendeng cavalry's first real combat operation. Cavalry was still the king of warfare in this era. Its powerful mobility and shock power dictated the initiative on the battlefield. No matter how strong the Wendeng camp's infantry units were, they had only dared to confront the Jianzhou bandits head-on twice while relying on city walls and once in island warfare. During the jisi campaign, they had even been afraid to leave the walls of the capital for a time — all because they lacked the support of strong cavalry.

He placed great hopes on this tiny cavalry force. Based on the superficial knowledge he had acquired, he had demanded Zhu Guobin train them rigorously. Today was the day to test the level of this half-baked military enthusiast.

Retro cavalry assault tactics were also rising in the West at this very time. The success of the Spanish and Dutch systems had revived infantry in Europe. Dense, disciplined infantry could effectively counter cavalry. Knights were driven from the battlefield, and European cavalry for a time became a firearm-wielding role, no longer the decisive force. The revival of cavalry, however, unexpectedly occurred in Sweden. Gustavus abandoned the once-popular cavalry caracole firearm tactic and returned cavalry to the path of retro cold-steel charges. The greatest improvement lay in emphasizing dense formations and strict discipline, just like the infantry. Individual valor was no longer important in such a system.

From then until the Napoleonic era, European cavalry tactics would continue to develop along this path, and the modern cavalry system it formed would eclipse all the once-glorious nomadic cavalry.

The Wendeng cavalry battalion appeared on the battlefield as an independent formation for the first time. This cavalry unit of only four hundred men had trained for a year. The funds they consumed exceeded those of a full-strength company headquarters. Every day's training was dense formation charging. Yet their battle record was unremarkable. The Wendeng camp's cavalry units had played a peripheral role in the jisi campaign, only handling scouting, route-finding, and relay reporting. In the subsequent Shenmi Island and Dengzhou battles, they had also not played a major role. Zhu Guobin, as the commanding officer, likewise needed a chance to prove himself.

Dense ranks of cavalry appeared on the distant hills. Under the guidance of their respective blue niru banners, they flooded over the slopes. More and more Later Jin cavalry joined the skirmishing between the light riders.

The Later Jin vanguard's light riders were mostly Mongols. They maneuvered their horses with agility, gathering and scattering as they attacked the Wendeng light riders with their bows. The crack of firelocks and the snap of bowstrings carried from afar. Ming reinforcement light riders also arrived on the battlefield. White smoke from short carbines puffed continuously. Men from both sides fell from their horses from time to time. The slaughter intensified.

After the Later Jin rear formation closed in, the Ming scout riders began fighting while retreating. Both sides fought spiritedly, but losses were light. The accuracy of the short carbines in the heated pursuit was appalling. The bows, meanwhile, lacked power; at close range they could barely penetrate the Ming army's mail armor, though they could injure unarmored mounts.

But the Mongol soldiers' superb mounted archery gave them a great advantage. Chen Xin raised his telescope. The Ming scout riders had lost over ten men, most of them having their mounts shot out from under them before being ridden down and hacked to death by the enemy. The remaining several dozen scout riders also appeared very much on the back foot and were retreating toward the main formation, now only one li away. The Later Jin light riders pursued them relentlessly, harassing them ceaselessly with their bows.

The Later Jin cavalry had now all crossed the northern hilltop and were fully displayed before Chen Xin. Besides the light riders, there were still over five hundred men. They had also spotted the Ming army formation on this side and were beginning to form up two li away. At the center was a Plain Blue Banner jala ejen's personal banner. Conch horns and bugles sounded unceasingly through their ranks. It looked like they were preparing for battle.

The cavalry battalion had finished forming up. Training officers were giving pre-battle rousing speeches in front of the formation, drawing waves of fervent response from time to time.

Chen Xin squeezed his horse's flanks and rode to the cavalry battalion's company banner. Zhu Guobin was waiting for orders but had not expected Chen Xin to come personally. Somewhat moved, he cupped his hands and said, "My lord."

Chen Xin pointed ahead. "Our light riders can't beat them. The infantry can't catch them. This time, it's up to you."

Cavalry warfare is fluid and unpredictable. Commanders do not enjoy the privileges of infantry camp commanders. They must advance with the combat troops, often commanding from the front ranks and personally engaging the enemy. They thus become priority targets for enemy attacks, and the danger they face in each engagement even exceeds that of ordinary cavalrymen.

Chen Xin knew this too, which was why he had come personally to deliver orders to Zhu Guobin. He saluted Zhu Guobin and said, "Vice Battalion Commander Zhu, my thirty guard cavalrymen are also under your command. Rout the Jianzhou bandits across from us. Tell them that the sons of Han can fight on horseback too, and their courage is far beyond what those men can match."

Zhu Guobin returned the military salute and nodded to Chen Xin. The Later Jin main formation had already begun advancing. The Wendeng light riders were also retreating closer and closer.

Zhu Guobin took a deep breath. "Tan Shen, sound the advance!"