Chapter 323: Sudden Chaos (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Pockmarks stood in the first row. The thick shield gave him a strong sense of security. Their shields were likewise made of rawhide. In fact, all Later Jin equipment was identical to that of the Ming army, and the management systems for weapon production were largely similar. Every weapon bore the names of the craftsman who made it and the soldier who used it — quality problems could be traced, and lost weapons meant the user would be held accountable.

It was just that Later Jin was in a rising period and had not yet become like the Great Ming's Ministry of Works, a dead pig that no longer feared boiling water. During wartime, the demands on the bondservants were extremely harsh — the slightest problem meant beheading. Thus, quality was ensured through high-pressure, violent means. Dengzhou Garrison, on the other hand, relied on its own quality control, achieving quality standards through assessments and monetary rewards and punishments.

So Pockmarks had great confidence in his equipment. After nearing the riverbank, the flintlock musketeers behind ceased fire. Pockmarks drew his waist saber and rested it on the shield's blade bracket — a very good and practical design. It was said the inventor had earned a twenty-tael silver reward for it and a permanent pay raise, which made Pockmarks somewhat envious.

Then he pulled the short gun from his waist. The thing was of little use one-on-one — it had missed during the forest skirmish last time — but it was useful against a packed mass of enemies in front. He craned his neck and glanced at the opposite bank: likewise a wall of shields.

Ten paces from the riverbank, there was no movement on the other side. Pockmarks knew they were waiting for his side to come ashore first, then they would trap them in the narrow landing point. But he had no other choice. The order from the messenger was to seize the crossing at maximum speed. Otherwise, there would have been no need to use their special service teams and scout riders — they could have waited for the line infantry behind to come up. Because they were at the very front, they had no choice but to step onto the riverbank.

A sudden roar. The Later Jin shields scattered apart and charged forward. The riverbed where Pockmarks stood was slightly lower than the bank. All he could see was a dense mass of legs moving beneath the shield line.

"Aim low! Don't rush ashore!" Pockmarks bellowed. The front-row shield soldiers fired their short guns simultaneously. Blood blossoms burst among the mass of legs opposite. Several shield soldiers screamed and tumbled to the ground. The Later Jin soldiers behind roared and continued charging, wanting to close into a melee with the Ming troops so the Ming short guns behind could not fire.

"Hold!" Pockmarks shoved his short gun back into his waistband, gripped the saber hilt, lifted it lightly, and swiftly drew his waist saber. A dozen or so Ming soldiers also shouted in unison. The shield walls on both sides charged at each other.

The crashing thuds of impact rang out continuously. Both sides sought openings in each other's defenses even as they collided. They swung waist sabers, hacking and slashing at one another. The narrow crossing point was packed with men. In an instant, flesh and blood flew everywhere. Waist sabers scraped and clashed against mail armor and helmets, sending out showers of sparks. After the first squad engaged, the Ming troops behind quickened their pace, preparing to join the battle ahead.

Pockmarks was powerfully built and held a slight advantage in the first collision, though the enemy, using the terrain, pushed him back a stretch. But his footing did not scatter, and his shield position held well. The shield opposite, however, tilted askew, revealing a small section of a fish-skin-clad figure in mail armor. Pockmarks had no time to see the man's face. He pinned the opponent's square shield dead with his own and thrust his right hand out, stabbing at the figure. The blade tore through the mail and pierced the upper left chest of the wild Jurchen. But the cut was not deep.

The wild Jurchen roared, and heedless of the pain, slashed back at Pockmarks' right hand. Behind him, another Later Jin soldier thrust with a large blade. Pockmarks hurriedly withdrew his saber and blocked with his shield in front. The wild Jurchen's ferocity erupted. He kicked and hacked at Pockmarks' shield, actually driving Pockmarks back step after step. Just as he was about to be forced back into the river water, several thunderous booms suddenly rang out beside his ears. White smoke spread across his vision. Pockmarks was shaken dizzy and disoriented. The Later Jin soldiers opposite were the same.

The Ming troops of the squad behind had arrived in time. Exploiting the flexible advantage of short guns that needed no space, they fired a chaotic volley at close range through the gaps, immediately dropping the several Later Jin soldiers in front. A cloud of white smoke hung over the engagement point, and visibility instantly blurred.

But neither side could retreat. Pockmarks opened his mouth wide to clear the ringing in his ears while continuing to stab wildly ahead with his saber. He felt the blade strike something again and again, not knowing if it was man or shield. All he heard were screams and furious shouts from the opposite side. Then another great force slammed into his shield. The shield was pressed down hard by someone, and immediately after, a sharp pain shot through his left shoulder. Jolted by the pain, Pockmarks' mind cleared considerably. From the corner of his eye, he caught a scaling saber withdrawing from the edge of his shield.

"I'll kill you, you dog!" Pockmarks' own ferocity was roused. He heaved his shield upward with force, flinging the scaling saber up. As his vision cleared, he saw the fish-skin Tatar covered in blood, his shield already discarded, his face twisted in savagery as he still swung his blade to strike.

Pockmarks used a straight thrust to stab the wild Jurchen first. The wild Jurchen, with vicious ferocity, grabbed the waist saber with his bare hand, yet the scaling saber still came slashing down. Pockmarks parried with his shield, kicked out with a foot underneath, and in the same motion pulled his waist saber free. The wild Jurchen's movements finally grew sluggish. Without the slightest pause, Pockmarks hacked at the fish-skin Tatar again and again. The finely crafted, thick-backed Qi-family saber cut through the mail on the wild Jurchen's left shoulder section by section. That patch of flesh became a mangled mess. Pockmarks, as if possessed by madness, did not go for the head. His left-hand shield blocked the wild Jurchen's dull, feeble chops while his right-hand Qi-family saber kept hacking relentlessly at the left shoulder. The blood-smeared fine steel blade chipped in several places. The blade coiled the white smoke in the air, tracing streak after streak. The wound on the wild Jurchen's left shoulder deepened inch by inch. Amid the blood, white shoulder bone became visible.

Finally, with a crunch, the wild Jurchen's entire left arm dropped off. Blood gushed from his body like a fountain. As if completing a task, Pockmarks finally drove his saber deep into the wild Jurchen's heart. With a vicious twist, the wild Jurchen collapsed limply.

Pockmarks had no time to catch his breath after this rampage. Behind, another wild Jurchen came at him, swinging a large blade. Pockmarks began to fall back step by step again...

Both sides fought to the death at the crossing. Corpses piled the ground. Eventually, they were all fighting atop bodies. Squad after squad of Ming troops kept feeding into this flesh-and-blood battlefield. At last, the Later Jin soldiers, having lost over half their number, fled backward in panicked shouts. The following Ming troops swarmed onto the riverbank, chasing and hacking at those Later Jin soldiers. Many Later Jin soldiers did not even have time to get their horses and fled north in desperate disarray.

On the opposite side, Zhu Guobin, seeing the crossing opened, swiftly waved his hand. The horse-holders of the scout riders immediately dragged their horses across the river first. Then Tan Shen quickly led the main cavalry force to begin fording the water. When they came ashore, however, the height of the riverbed caused some confusion. Some horses could not climb up for a time, and the riders dismounted to drag and haul them. Meanwhile, other horses kept crossing, creating a jam at the landing point. The formation thus became disordered. And on the main road to the south, dust rolled thickly — the returning Later Jin reinforcements were racing over at full speed.

Zhu Guobin looked at the position of the dust cloud and frowned, urging those behind him: "Tell Tan Shen to speed up and reform ranks. Notify Old Fourth Zhong and the others to cross the river right behind the cavalry's tail and form up on the side facing the Fuzhou River."

"Detachments cross first, then the four-pounder cannons, and the pike-and-shot squares last. Four-pounder gun crews, prepare canister shot."

Old Fourth Zhong, seeing the cavalry's somewhat chaotic river crossing and landing, immediately roared at the messenger. The messenger, holding a signal flag, ran swiftly to deliver the order. Old Fourth Zhong, uneasy, sent an additional one. He could see the dust cloud in the distance. The Jianzhou Bandits' vanguard was already in sight, and the main force behind should have already set out. The vanguard, galloping at full speed, would arrive soon. There was not ample time for his entire brigade to cross the river.

The detachments using bayonet flintlocks were his treasures. Each company had fifty men, commanded by a banner captain. They could provide fire support and had a certain self-defense capability. When concentrated for use, they should normally be commanded by the vice squad commander, but Old Fourth Zhong decided this time to lead them personally.

The two units arrived quickly. Old Fourth Zhong, ignoring the objections of the vice battalion commander, transferred brigade command to the vice battalion commander and personally led the detachments behind the cavalry's tail. The cavalry had already shifted westward a stretch, freeing up the crossing for the troops and horses behind to cross the river, and were now hurriedly forming ranks.

After Old Fourth Zhong led the detachments across the river via the crossing, he moved southward a stretch to clear the crossing. Then all the detachments immediately dismounted, handed their horses to the auxiliary soldier horse-holders beside them, and formed into two squares of twelve files and four ranks. Thanks to Old Fourth Zhong's rigorous training, their formation speed was extremely rapid, and they began checking their ammunition.

By now, the Later Jin vanguard was already four hundred paces away. This vanguard numbered over three hundred men. At its head were the White Armor Guard troops commanded by the Plain White Banner's Bayara Erzhen. Even on the march, they maintained basic formation. Now, seeing that the Ming cavalry on this side had not yet formed up — these cavalrymen were fierce and battle-hardened — the moment they spotted an opportunity, they immediately charged with howls toward the cavalry. Dengzhou Garrison's scout riders could not withstand so many cavalry and scattered back toward the west.

Tan Shen's cavalry battalion finally sent three companies of cavalry to meet the attack. These cavalrymen had not trained long, and with the sudden situation just now, their formation was somewhat disordered. In some places, it was even very loose, and their speed had not built up, so they were at a disadvantage. The two sides clashed once in the middle. The Later Jin troops, with light losses, broke through the line and charged straight toward the unadjusted cavalry formation behind.

"First two ranks, kneel! Form the hedgehog!" Old Fourth Zhong saw at a glance that the enemy wanted to drag them into a melee, exploiting their individual combat skills to first rout the most threatening Dengzhou cavalry. He immediately jumped off his horse, walked to the front rank, and roared at the detachments on both flanks. He opened his throat to maximum volume, and his voice rang clear even amid the muffled thunder of hoofbeats.

Before them came the rolling tide of cavalry. The detachment soldiers were somewhat nervous, obeying orders by instinct. The first two ranks angled their bayoneted flintlocks diagonally forward, almost exactly the same motion as pikemen forming a hedgehog. The method of having the rear ranks fire first was also Old Fourth Zhong's own invention — it was not in the basic drill. Old Fourth Zhong believed that letting the rear ranks fire first allowed them to reload while standing upright afterward.

The Later Jin cavalry was already about one hundred twenty paces away. Old Fourth Zhong's face was ferocious. "Rear two ranks, prepare!"

The rear-rank soldiers simultaneously turned sideways, raising their guns vertically. Old Fourth Zhong did not give them much preparation time and immediately roared: "Aim!"

Forty-eight flintlocks leveled in unison, aimed diagonally at the Jianzhou Bandits charging the right wing. Amid the thunderous hoofbeats, Old Fourth Zhong coldly waited for the Later Jin troops to enter eighty paces. "Fire!"

Gun flames blossomed. A volley rang out in unison. Over ten Later Jin cavalrymen in the front row fell in response. While cavalry was imposing, it also provided a larger target. Most hits were on the horses, which tumbled violently on the ground, throwing the Later Jin formation into chaos. Some Later Jin cavalrymen noticed the threat from this side and turned to meet it.

"Front ranks, rise! Aim!" Old Fourth Zhong drew his own short gun. His tone remained very steady, but his commands came faster.

Amid his shouts, the soldiers of the first two ranks rose and raised their guns, while the rear two ranks began reloading.

"Fire!"

Another volley. Over ten more Later Jin cavalrymen in front fell, causing chaos again. But the other cavalrymen still charged. Old Fourth Zhong now had no time to worry about the cavalry — fifty or sixty riders were coming straight at him. Old Fourth Zhong dared not stay in the gap between formations any longer and ducked into the rear ranks.

"Front ranks, form hedgehog!" Even while hiding, he did not forget to give orders. The front-rank soldiers, who had just fired, knelt in unison, bayonets pointing forward. The second-rank soldiers stood with raised guns. The formation bristled like a hedgehog grown with sharp spines.

The Later Jin cavalry came howling, but the Ming musketeers before them did not collapse as they had expected. Instead, they presented this bayonet formation. They did not know that these Deng-Lai troops often had infantry-versus-cavalry training. The soldiers' psychological endurance far exceeded that of ordinary Ming troops.

The gleaming, dense bayonets stung the horses' eyes. These sensitive animals, ignoring their masters' control, veered around the bayonets and ran toward the rear or the flanks. Some even halted in front of the formation, twisting their heads to turn around. The weapons of the Later Jin soldiers on horseback could not reach those soldiers. Some Later Jin soldiers, as they passed, hurled their wolf-tooth clubs and iron maces, knocking down seven or eight detachment soldiers.

Some Later Jin soldiers charged into the rear area and discovered the horse-holders left behind by the detachments. They howled as they rushed into those horse herds, cutting down the horse-holders or forcing them to flee for their lives, and hacking at the uncontrolled horses. The mixed horse herd instantly scattered in panic, fleeing in all directions. Everywhere were stampeding horses. The entire rear area was in chaos.

Fortunately, one pike-and-shot company that had just come ashore had crossed on foot, so there were only a little over a hundred horses in the rear area. But even this few horses running wild forced that company to defend in place to avoid being scattered by the horses. The musketeers on their flanks kept firing, attacking the Later Jin armored soldiers nearby.

The rear formation of the Dengzhou cavalry had also engaged the main force of the Later Jin vanguard. Dengzhou's unique dense cavalry formation was still fierce. Though very hurried, they still inflicted casualties on par with the Jianzhou Bandits. But due to the speed issue, some areas had fallen into melee. The Later Jin soldiers held the complete upper hand in those places.

Old Fourth Zhong saw that the Later Jin soldiers who had charged past were now scattered, and only a little over forty remained. The stampeding horses likewise hindered those Later Jin soldiers from regrouping. With the Third Company over there, these Later Jin soldiers were not enough to shake this flank of the battle line. Old Fourth Zhong knew the most urgent thing now was to let the cavalry reform. He immediately pointed at the melee area over by the cavalry and roared at the two detachment banner captains beside him: "Detachments, break formation! Attack by squads! Support the cavalry!"

The two banner captains were somewhat flustered. Fortunately, Old Fourth Zhong's order was very clear. The two immediately acknowledged the order. The two banner units split into eight squads and rushed swiftly to the melee area. The cavalry there had mostly lost their momentum and were locked in chaotic individual combat. Many Later Jin soldiers had already dismounted to fight on foot. The Dengzhou cavalry, trained only in dense cavalry formations, were temporarily no match for them.

After these detachments arrived, they fired a close-range volley at the Later Jin soldiers, then swarmed forward, attacking the Later Jin soldiers with three-man or two-man bayonet tactics. Once they joined in, the Later Jin soldiers, who had been hacking away fiercely, began to falter. Even if they were Bayara, they could not withstand the cheapest lead bullet. Dengzhou's bayonet tactics were also extremely ferocious. As long as coordination was tacit, two or three ordinary soldiers could keep a Bayara scrambling.

Dengzhou's scout riders also re-entered the battlefield. With these highly skilled individual riders present, the Later Jin soldiers facing the cavalry grew even more demoralized and began falling back step by step. Constantly, Later Jin soldiers were shot off their horses during the retreat and immediately stabbed to death by the random thrusts of several bayonet soldiers.

Old Fourth Zhong stood alone by the river, constantly dodging the stray horses, observing the Later Jin soldiers who had charged into the rear area while walking around looking for something.

"Gun crew, over here!" Old Fourth Zhong finally found the bewildered artillery crew. They had already taken the gun carriage off, dried the water, and loaded a round, but their horses had run off to who knows where. Old Fourth Zhong ran over, kicking and hitting. "It's all a damn mess, and you bastards are still hiding here! Push it over there for me!"

He personally took action, leading several gunners to push the gun carriage toward the rear area. The stray horses had mostly run off. There were still over thirty Later Jin soldiers left there. One company of Dengzhou cavalry was on its way. These Later Jin soldiers were running to regroup, looking as if they were preparing to retreat. The musketeers of the Third Company, defending in place, fired at them in rotation. Riders kept falling from their horses.

They were watching the pike-and-shot square and the cavalry over there, but amid the chaotic scene, they did not notice the tiny four-pounder gun crew that had already aimed at them and was now running back southward.

"Quick, the linstock!" Old Fourth Zhong, seeing the enemy clustered together, hurriedly roared in a low voice.

"Dropped, dropped it."

Old Fourth Zhong's eyes bulged with fury. "Where's the kindling pot?"

The gun captain hastily handed over the pot hanging from his waist. The Later Jin soldiers over there had just passed in front of them and had already noticed this side. Two men were pointing in this direction. Old Fourth Zhong yanked off the lid and poured it down onto the touchhole.

The kindling, carrying smoldering fire, fell into the touchhole. The four-pounder roared. Amid the long plume of white smoke, seventy-two one-ounce canister balls sprayed like raindrops toward that unit of cavalry. At close range, cannonballs were far more savage than musket balls. A mist of blood erupted wildly among the cavalry. The riders on the side facing the cannon all toppled over, screaming and neighing on the ground.

The close-range thunder of the cannon also terrified the horses. Several riders were thrown from their mounts. Of the thirty-odd men, only about twenty remained in the blink of an eye. In their panic, they dared not pause for an instant and fled desperately outward. A force of men and horses surged up from the crossing. They whooshed past Old Fourth Zhong's four-pounder, intercepted that unit of Later Jin soldiers at the waist, and cut down the panicked Later Jin soldiers like chopping melons and vegetables. Old Fourth Zhong realized it was actually Zhu Guobin personally leading his personal guards over.

The Later Jin vanguard had suffered heavy losses in the brief engagement. Of three hundred men, less than half remained. Dengzhou Garrison's casualties were also around a hundred. But at least they had held the crossing position.

Old Fourth Zhong laughed heartily for a moment, then turned his eyes back to the cavalry side. The three companies of cavalry were pursuing the remnants of the Later Jin vanguard. The two detachments were finishing off the Later Jin wounded with bayonets. The other cavalry had begun reforming ranks. The situation was now stable. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and send a gunner to pass the order for all units to return to formation.

Once the Fourth Company behind came ashore and the two companies deployed into front and rear pike-and-shot squares, Old Fourth Zhong finally felt at ease. This first engagement could not be said to have a clear winner or loser. Dengzhou Garrison's formation had been thrown into chaos, and their losses were not small. But the Jianzhou Bandits had lost over half their force, had neither retaken the crossing nor broken the battle formation, so it was even less a victory for them.

Zhong Lao Si told the vice squad commander to continue forming up the troops, then pulled out the short musket at his waist and swaggered over to the pile of men and horses that had been hit by the canister shot. A Later Jin soldier had been struck in the calf by the canister. He had just crawled from the heap of dead horses to the edge of the circle of corpses. Seeing someone approach, he hurriedly raised a hand, ready to beg for mercy. Without a word, Zhong Lao Si pressed the short musket against his head and fired. The Later Jin soldier's whole body convulsed violently, and white brain matter splattered far away.

"You damned dog Tatars, daring to charge the formation with just three hundred men, and making me lose my horse. I should've known to leave the horse on the other side of the river. Nothing but goddamn trouble." Zhong Lao Si grumbled to himself as he reloaded and walked toward the next one. (To be continued.)

ps: Last day, asking for monthly tickets.