Chapter 282: Cavalry Formation Shatters the Vanguard

The overtones of the new-style brass horns rang across the hillside. Four cavalry companies, totaling twelve cavalry banner squads, were arrayed in a long three-line formation, each line over one hundred thirty men strong. The spearheads and the center prongs of the tang-pa forks raised above the formation glittered silver in the sunlight. The front rank of the cavalry battalion wore scale armor and wielded fourteen-foot long spears; the second rank carried eight-foot tang-pa forks; the third rank used thickened and widened single-handed waist sabers. The rear two ranks all wore chain mail. Cavalrymen in the same rank were spaced only three feet apart, with two paces between banner squads and seven paces between the front and rear ranks. They would serve as the main force to shatter the enemy formation.

Zhu Guobin rode to ten paces before the formation and looked at the Later Jin troops arrayed across from him, his eyes blazing with deep hatred. He needed no rousing speech from any training officer — the Later Jin soldiers had long been his irreconcilable mortal enemies.

Both sides rode fine warhorses. Most of the Wendeng cavalry's mounts had been captured during the Jisi Campaign, with a small number supplemented from the Dengzhou garrison in the fourth year of Chongzhen. These horses all sensed the atmosphere of the battlefield; those with fierce temperaments began pawing the ground with their forehooves, snorting and shaking their heads from side to side.

The standard-bearer's company commander flag came beside Zhu Guobin. The standard-bearer tilted the red triangular flag diagonally forward. Amid the advance call of five short notes followed by one long note, four hundred cavalrymen spurred their horses forward in unison. Zhu Guobin needed to judge the distance accurately, ensuring they clashed with the enemy at the highest speed of the charge. They were currently one li apart from the enemy. They had to maintain a walk until about two hundred paces — a charge from two hundred paces was their most practiced drill. The only difficulty lay in maintaining a dense formation while gradually increasing speed. Under rigorous training, these four hundred cavalrymen could now execute an approach and charge from as far as three hundred paces.

The four hundred warhorses of the Wendeng Battalion advanced slowly. The twelve squad leaders, each with a back banner planted on his back, rode out ahead of the formation, taking position five paces ahead of the right side of the ranks. They carried cavalry lances fitted with small triangular pennants, holding them upright above their heads so that the men in the rear ranks could clearly see their positions. These squad leaders turned their heads from time to time to observe the position of the company commander's flag. The other front-rank cavalrymen watched their respective squad leaders' positions, controlling their horses' speed. The entire cavalry formation advanced straight and level toward the Later Jin troops.

The forty attached cavalrymen from the two company headquarters and Chen Xin's guard detachment followed up behind the dense cavalry formation in succession, forming a loose fourth line. They gathered in small groups of three or five riders, twenty paces behind the third rank of the cavalry formation, serving as mounted skirmishers with the freedom to attack any enemy riders who broke through the front formation.

Chen Xin watched the slowly advancing cavalry, his emotions surging so intensely that the hand gripping the reins began to tremble. Only a few staff officers and Hai Gouzi remained at his side. In his heart, he desperately wanted to join the cavalry charge, yet he was also somewhat afraid of dying, and even more worried that Wendeng would be left leaderless. From a tactical standpoint, if he mixed himself in among them, Zhu Guobin would probably be unable to act freely because of it.

Amid these wild thoughts, the infantry drums sounded behind him. The battle formation of the Reserve Battalion's Fourth Division appeared at the top of the slope. Chen Xin led a few attendants away from the front, retreating through the gaps in the formation to the rear. At the slope top, Chen Xin glanced toward the southern slope — the Second Company Headquarters had also finished forming up, and further behind were several hundred support troops. He then turned his gaze back to the cavalry battlefield.

Horns sounded from the Later Jin central force one li away, and their formation slowly advanced to meet them. They too had spotted the Ming infantry formation, but the Ming cavalry had taken the initiative to engage. If they retreated now, the situation would become unmanageable. Besides, they had come with overwhelming momentum; if they fled at the mere sight of the enemy, morale would plummet. Moreover, the Ming infantry numbered only about a thousand men — the Later Jin troops did not take them seriously.

The Mongol soldiers, now fighting with heightened fervor, were still locked in combat with the Ming skirmish riders. The Ming skirmish riders began withdrawing to both flanks, clearing the center. Some of the Mongol soldiers in the middle charged directly toward the Ming main formation, preparing to harass the Ming troops drawn up in ranks. The Later Jin main formation also detached organized small squads to reinforce the skirmishers. These squads spread out toward the two wings, weaving back and forth in front of the formation and loosing light arrows from their cavalry bows.

This was the "Lava Tactics" most commonly used by the Mongol soldiers, a signature skill of the Mongol Empire since the era of Genghis Khan. When employing it, they typically used a unit of a thousand men, forming a broad, curved skirmish line to harass the enemy formation. A Battalion Commander controlled the skirmishers' operations, luring the enemy troops to break formation or waver, while the massed forces in the rear sought out weak points in the opponent's line for concentrated assault, thereby triggering a total collapse of the enemy formation.

But clearly, the Later Jin troops before them did not possess the caliber of Genghis Khan's Mongol army. Their harassment was more like mere nuisance. The horses in the Wendeng first rank wore leather face-guards on their heads and arrow-proof cloth curtains across their chests, capable of withstanding light arrows fired at shallow angles. In total, only five or six horses were wounded by arrows. The tang-pa wielders of the second rank swiftly moved forward to fill the gaps.

The Wendeng skirmish riders' all-out containment also limited the enemy's effectiveness. The three ranks of cavalry continued their advance, pressing on into the harassing light arrows.

The steady pace produced a chaotic clatter of hooves. The two sides closed to three hundred paces. Zhu Guobin's company commander flag tilted forward again. The bugler sounded the second advance call. Zhu Guobin gently pressed his legs against his horse's flanks. The warhorse he had ridden for over a year sprang lightly forward, beginning to canter.

Zhu Guobin paid no heed to the light arrows flying in from afar. As he rode, he glanced left and right, observing his own formation. All four hundred cavalrymen had begun to canter. Everywhere he looked, surging horse heads filled his vision. The squad leaders in the front of the ranks were all effectively controlling their units. The formation had not fallen into disorder from the harassment. The fruits of a year's bitter training were on display — the formation remained steady.

On the gentle slope, the sound of hooves was no longer a chaotic noise. The dense hoofbeats slowly merged into a rumbling thunder, like celestial music in Zhu Guobin's ears.

The distance between the two sides quickly shrank to only two hundred paces. Because they were advancing toward each other, Zhu Guobin reckoned it as just over a hundred paces. The even formation was like a moving wall of horses. The Mongol soldiers before them had little room to maneuver and retreated before the dense cavalry.

The Later Jin cavalry appeared in full before Zhu Guobin. Their armored formation glittered. Their weapons were mostly long spears and large blades, with some also wielding wolf-tooth clubs and blade-staffs. Their formation was likewise orderly as they began to canter — but orderly only relative to ordinary Ming troops. Their cavalry spacing was wider, their troop strength not evenly distributed. Behind the left, center, and right formations each stood a reserve unit. Once they began to canter, a slight disorder became apparent.

Zhu Guobin's blood surged. "Third speed!"

Another advance call sounded. The standard-bearer circled the company commander flag, then tilted it forward. The twelve squad leaders bellowed orders; the triangular pennant lances tilted forward once more. Hearing the bugle call, the Wendeng cavalry spurred their horses to accelerate in unison. The rumbling of hooves was like rolling thunder sweeping in from the distant horizon. The red tassels atop the rows of bright helmets danced, like countless flickering red flames.

None of the harassing Later Jin skirmish riders dared to stand against the edge of this onslaught. They fled to both flanks one after another, loosing arrows wildly at the two wings. The Ming troops on the wings shot down several men, but such losses had no effect on the main formation.

With both sides advancing toward each other, the distance between them shrank to the final hundred paces in the blink of an eye — a matter of mere seconds.

"Charge call!" Zhu Guobin bellowed into the wind whipping across his face. The two buglers blew a resounding call. Zhu Guobin and the twelve squad leaders leveled their black pennant lances. "Hu!"

The Wendeng cavalry let out a collective roar according to military regulation. The upright long spears of the first rank came down in unison, followed immediately by the tang-pa forks of the second rank. The Later Jin troops also sounded their conch horns. They likewise leveled their long spears and raised their large blades. Both sides began the charge.

At the top of the slope, Chen Xin involuntarily stood up in his stirrups, staring fixedly at the battlefield. Before his eyes were nothing but surging horse rumps and dancing red tassels. Clods of earth and shreds of grass kicked up by a thousand hooves flew in all directions. The tremor generated by the galloping could be felt even at the slope top.

In the infantry formation, Zhong Laosi and Guan Dadi both gaped, their eyes staring unblinkingly, holding their breath as they awaited the moment of collision. The dense formations left neither side any path of retreat, nor the slightest room to evade. Killing and being killed would be decided in the single instant when the horses crossed. At this moment, individual combat skill and horsemanship were utterly useless. The courage of men found its greatest expression in cavalry warfare.

The oncoming Later Jin troops began to show panic. Under the threat of the dense forest of long spears before them, some horses, ignoring their riders' control, veered off diagonally to the side — but to the side likewise surged the onrushing Ming cavalry formation. Their formation grew disordered, but at this distance, no cavalryman in a head-on charge could still retreat.

At full gallop, the Wendeng Battalion's cavalry formation began to show curves, but the short distance was insufficient to affect the integrity of the formation.

At fifty paces apart, the horses' speed reached its peak. The two sides closed at roughly twenty meters per second. Zhu Guobin's face was flushed crimson, his eyes wide and round as he gripped his pennant lance with its black triangular marker flag, its tip aimed at the Later Jin soldier opposite him. This Later Jin soldier, his face full of ferocity, wielded a large blade and led the charge at the very front. Now, at last, he too showed some panic, because he had to face the attack of at least two long spears.

Some in the Later Jin front rank were still attempting to shoot arrows. A volley of light arrows from cavalry bows came whistling in. Over ten Ming soldiers were struck, but only five fell from their horses. The short distance vanished in an instant.

"Kill!!" The Wendeng Battalion cavalry formation erupted simultaneously in a hoarse, desperate roar.

Boom. The two torrents of horses collided head-on. Countless shattered spear shafts and broken blade fragments flew through the air. The sounds of snapping and the collisions of men and horses continued without end. The screech of spearheads and armor grinding together set teeth on edge. Horses that could not veer aside in time crashed into each other, bones shattering. Some horses were sent flying by the impact; others tumbled to the ground with their riders, rolling and thrashing desperately.

At the final moment, Zhu Guobin's mount also disobediently veered left, but it did not throw his spear too far off target. He stared fixedly at that Later Jin soldier, lowering his own profile. They crossed in the roaring thunder of hooves. A tremendous impact force transmitted through his hands; the web of his thumb went numb, and the spear shaft flew from his grip in an instant. That Later Jin soldier let out a miserable cry, his figure flipping backward toward the sky, then flashed past his eyes and was gone.

"A hit." Zhu Guobin only had time for that single thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he swept a glance — a position beside him was empty. That bugler had been knocked away to who knows where. Several more Later Jin cavalrymen flickered past his eyes. The wolf-tooth club of one White Armor soldier whooshed across his line of sight. Zhu Guobin dodged purely on instinct, but the club was still far away. That White Armor soldier had no chance for a second attack. Zhu Guobin hurriedly drew his spare waist saber. By the time it was ready, his horse had already carried him more than twenty paces onward. No more enemies stood before him.

The dense formation of the Wendeng cavalry had seized the advantage. Over eighty Later Jin soldiers in the front rank were struck down in the first clash. The remaining Later Jin soldiers passed through the Ming front line, but before they could even catch their breath, the second-rank cavalry wall, bristling with dense tang-pa forks, bore down upon them. The sharp center prongs and the barbed side spikes, accelerated by the horses' momentum, were like the scythes of the God of Death. Most of these Later Jin soldiers had had their weapons broken or had no time to recover them; they were virtually defenseless. And the dense, level formation facing them left them no room to evade to the sides.

Another round of toppling men and horses. The Later Jin cavalry again suffered grievous losses. After the second column of Wendeng cavalry passed through, the Later Jin formation was in complete chaos. The place where the collision had occurred was piled high with the dead and wounded bodies of men and horses. The interval between the two waves was but the blink of an eye. The Later Jin cavalry following behind still had no chance or time to adjust their direction and were slowing down one after another when the third wave of saber-wielding cavalry charged fiercely upon them.

They still maintained their formation, sweeping in with thick-backed sabers in hand. With the momentum of the head-on charge, they needed no forceful swings — merely gripping the hilt firmly and giving a light slash as they passed was enough to send limbs flying and spray showers of blood. Even if piles of Later Jin soldiers lay ahead, they could only crash straight into them. Several riders were flung high into the air by the powerful inertia, then smashed down among the Later Jin soldiers behind.

The Later Jin formation was relatively deep. At these points of concentration, the Wendeng cavalry, in their dense formation, could not evade and could only charge headlong into them. Even if they killed the enemy soldiers in the front rank, they themselves would suffer attacks from the enemy's rear ranks, or else collide with enemy riders who likewise could not dodge aside. The Later Jin soldiers in the rear ranks brandished their weapons, trying to strike the Ming troops rushing past beside them, but the Ming troops did not slow down, continuing to gallop straight ahead and passing them in an instant. The Later Jin soldiers in the deeper parts of the formation were thrown into chaos by the impact. The men and horses rolling on the ground blocked their path, forcing them to slow their horses, which rendered them almost entirely ineffective in the engagement.

The three waves of attack came like a violent tempest, savagely tearing the Later Jin battle line into a thousand gaping holes and leaving the ground strewn with corpses and wounded. The remaining Wendeng ranks did not pause for an instant, sweeping away as swiftly as a sudden raging tide. They continued forward, and a hundred paces later they gradually slowed and began to reform their ranks.

After these three waves, the Later Jin troops had lost over one hundred fifty men. Their battle line was shattered, every man in a state of panic, command completely lost. But the blow was not yet over. What greeted them was the roar of a volley of short guns.

The fourth rank — the central guard detachment and the infantry's attached cavalry — immediately followed up. Blowing their bamboo whistles, they swept past in small groups of three or five, specifically targeting isolated Later Jin soldiers. Each man carried a short gun, and they likewise did not engage in entangled combat with the Later Jin troops, firing as they rode and swiftly withdrawing.

The skirmish riders who had earlier withdrawn to the flanks, now emboldened, came swarming back to harass. They split into small groups, gathering and dispersing, attacking the Later Jin cavalry with short guns and cavalry bows. White smoke blanketed the battlefield, adding to the chaos.

Where the collision had just occurred, corpses littered the ground. Wounded soldiers and horses from both sides struggled and screamed desperately. At the points where the collision had been most concentrated, the fallen of both sides lay piled atop one another. Some dismounted riders from both sides, recovering their wits, drew daggers or snatched up fallen weapons nearby and began fighting viciously against each other. Even some of the wounded grappled with one another...

The Plain Blue Banner's jala ejen leading the force had been slashed across the left arm. Faced with this Ming army, he felt an inexplicable chill of fear. It was the first time he had encountered this kind of cavalry tactic that was practically trading life for life.

The Later Jin cavalry were skirmishing with those Ming skirmish riders. He swept his gaze forward — the dense infantry square was advancing in this direction. Seeing the stern, orderly infantry ranks opposite, he suddenly recalled that Ming army from Denglai. The reports heard from other niru of the Plain Blue Banner seemed to describe exactly this.

His heart could not help but tremble. He bellowed furiously, calling his scattered troops to rally immediately and prepare to flee back to Jinzhou and hold it to the death. But the harassment of those Ming night scouts kept the Later Jin soldiers busy fending them off. The incessant roar of short guns drowned out his horns. The Later Jin cavalry remained in a state of chaos.

The goshiha beside him suddenly said, "Master, look." He pointed northward.

The jala ejen turned his head to look. The three Ming ranks from earlier had already reformed their lines about one hundred fifty paces away. A bugle call rang out, and the main formation began to canter. The Ming skirmish riders withdrew one after another toward the infantry formation.

The jala ejen shuddered. He had no time to think further. At this rate, just two more waves and his remaining men would be utterly wiped out. The banner lord would surely have his head. More importantly, he had lost all confidence of victory. He had to get away from here immediately. But those cavalrymen occupied the northern side; he would have to break through their blockade. If he fled through the hills on either flank, the enemy traveling on the official road could easily get ahead of them, and his force would scatter completely across that difficult terrain. If he simply tried to bypass them, these cavalrymen, holding the inner line, were not slow — a direct flank attack would be even more lethal than a frontal collision.

So even if he was utterly unwilling, he had no choice but to face them once more. And the enemy infantry formation was already less than two hundred paces away — he had to leave as quickly as possible.

This jala ejen was also a veteran of a hundred battles and quickly devised a plan. He shouted to the two White Armor soldiers beside him, "Sound the horn! Whoever can follow, follow! No waiting for those held back! Everyone stay behind my banner and charge — don't get separated..."