Chapter 325: Prayer

The Dengzhou square formations slowly advanced. On the right flank of each square walked the company commander and the company banner; on the left flank was the deputy company commander. They moved back and forth, constantly reminding the squad leaders and banner squad leaders in the ranks to watch certain parts of the formation.

The flanks were stretched wide, and the Jianzhou bandits' infantry formation was also drawn very long. The Dengzhou square formations had to defend a broader front, shifting from two in front and two behind into four side-by-side squares. The Later Jin infantry numbered about one thousand three hundred men, six or seven ranks deep, their line slightly longer than the Dengzhou garrison's, advancing steadily to the sound of great drums.

Above the pike blocks in the center of the Dengzhou formations, gently swaying pikes were densely arrayed. The Dengzhou soldiers held their pikes upright on the right side, right hand gripping the butt, left hand on the shaft, moving slowly with the drumbeat. Holding a fourteen-chi pike level was extremely taxing; they would only level them when battle was joined.

The mounted company commander's unit had specialized carrying harnesses for lances on horseback during the march, conserving the soldiers' strength, so at this moment every man was full of vigor.

"The pikes across from us are no shorter than ours. Keep a slow pace when closing with the enemy. Don't think about charging in to kill. Anyone who wants to stay alive, listen clearly: the pikes are evenly matched. Don't imagine you can just rush up and start killing men — if you do, you'll most likely run headfirst onto their pike points. When you close with the enemy, go even slower. Take one step only when the drum beats once. Remember, turn sideways and level your pike, the spearheads forming a single line."

Amid the orderly drumbeats and tramping footsteps, Zhong Laosi rode back and forth in front of his two squares, habitually using his loud voice to remind officers and soldiers. He had just borrowed the artillery group's telescope to observe, and judging from the pikes and the height of the Later Jin soldiers, he deduced that their pikes were very close in length to his own. It seemed the Jianzhou bandits had also learned the lesson of Shenmi Island.

Zhong Laosi's Second Division was deployed on the side closer to the cavalry, while the First Division was on the side near the riverbank. The army's iron armor gleamed. As Chen Xin's fist unit, all the pikemen had been issued iron armor, and most of the musketeers wore chain mail — they were the best-equipped infantry in the Dengzhou garrison.

Zhong Laosi crossed in front of the forward ranks, running laterally before the pike block toward the musketeers on the left, shouting at the top of his lungs: "The Jianzhou bandits have no way back. This time they've come to fight to the death. This is Liaodong — you have no way back either. If you want to live, remember the drill manual. When the long pikes engage, the square's musketeers draw daggers and waist swords, crawl through, and hack at their feet. The detached squads fire only one volley, then prepare firepower to protect the flanks, ready at any moment to counterattack any Jianzhou bandits who break the formation..."

Guan Dadi in the first rank of pikes looked past the heads of the forward detached squad and glanced at Zhong Laosi riding by. He knew that this time it was not the Dengzhou mutineers, but the strongest of the Jianzhou bandits. Guan Dadi shifted his gaze to the front, observing the Later Jin army through the gaps between the heads of the detached squad. Across from them was a black wall of men, above their heads a dense thicket of gun barrels, like a long wall made of blades. As usual, there were some archer skirmishers in front of them.

Guan Dadi glanced at both flanks from the corner of his eye — the same unbroken line of comrades — and his heart was immediately reassured. This was what Zhong Laosi had told them: when you think the enemy is too many and feel afraid, look at your own side — in truth, you have even more men.

Having heard Zhong Laosi's howling, Guan Dadi raised his right hand slightly, touching the dagger sheath on his belt. A small sense of safety welled up in his heart. Though the dagger was small, it was his last tool for self-defense. He had heard that its cost equaled a month's pay for him.

A light, lively copper flute sounded, and Guan Dadi felt a wave of relief in his heart. For the first time, he thought this flute sounded very pleasant. It was said that the tune had been designed by Lord Chen himself, called the Infantry March.

The two sides closed rapidly. When they were about one li apart, a bugle call rang out again from under the Dengzhou infantry company commander's banner. The Ming infantry shouted "Hu!" in unison, stamped their feet, and halted. At the banner squad leader's command, Guan Dadi let his pike touch the ground and rested it against his shoulder.

They had marched only a short hundred paces, more to assume the posture of a head-on confrontation and boost the soldiers' morale. The Later Jin troops across from them, however, moved very quickly, because they did not have much time to dawdle.

One four-pounder gun from each infantry division arrived at the two flanks of the formation. Solid shot had already been loaded. Dorgon was fortunate that one four-pounder gun carriage from each division had broken down and been left behind. The two eight-pounder guns each from the Guard Battalion and the Fourth Battalion had also not arrived. Zhu Guobin could not help feeling somewhat helpless inwardly. He very much wished to give Dorgon a warm welcome with four eight-pounder guns, but a surprise attack was like that — if you cared about speed, you could not guarantee absolute perfection. If they waited for the cannons to arrive, the opportunity for battle would also be gone.

Zhu Guobin was quite pleased that Dorgon was meeting infantry with infantry. After all, Dengzhou had also started out with infantry. The current seven hundred cavalry had only been expanded after the Battle of Jinzhou. Judging from their performance just now, their combat efficiency was far from comparable to the original three hundred veterans. Facing the Later Jin's flexible skirmishing tactics, Zhu Guobin felt somewhat uncertain. These Later Jin soldiers were extremely cunning. Having learned their lesson at the Battle of Jinzhou, they were no longer willing to charge head-on against the Dengzhou cavalry.

As the infantry formations of both sides drew closer, the Later Jin vanguard cavalry also advanced to screen the flanks, but two groups of mounted troops still remained in the rear on both wings. If the Wendeng cavalry launched a charge, the mounted troops left behind could entangle them from both sides. They might be tied down on the flanks and drawn into a melee, so the Dengzhou cavalry merely maneuvered along their own battle line. This Later Jin tactic naturally could not achieve victory either, but it was enough to tie down the Dengzhou cavalry. As long as their infantry prevailed, they could, with infantry support, drive the Dengzhou cavalry westward, thereby breaking through to escape, and also deal the Dengzhou cavalry a heavy blow.

Zhu Guobin frowned as he watched the Later Jin maneuvers. This was also his first time commanding so many cavalry. His practical combat experience was far inferior to that of the Later Jin commanders, but Wendeng's Blue Team and adversarial training system could reduce this gap. Similar containing tactics had also appeared in adversarial exercises before. He had thought of several solutions, but each had its advantages and drawbacks.

He quickly made up his mind, rode over beside Tan Shen, pointed at a group of Jianzhou cavalry screening the western flank of their infantry, and shouted to Tan Shen: "The cavalry will attack in rotation. Each group will be two companies. Leave one company for me as a reserve. This group of cavalry has to screen the flank of their foot soldiers — they can't dodge far away. When the enemy closes to two hundred paces, the time they have to evade will be very short. You begin the charge immediately."

Tan Shen asked, "What if they really do dodge away?"

"If they dodge away, you charge the flank of the Jianzhou infantry formation. Have the saber cavalry harass them with short muskets, or go straight behind the infantry formation and disrupt their morale. If the Jianzhou cavalry countercharges, you charge all the way to the foot of the hill opposite. After the charge, break off westward. Even if you encounter interception, do not counterattack or engage. No matter how many casualties you take, just focus on fleeing back. The other two groups will be responsible for support. Whenever the other Later Jin cavalry in the rear try to entangle, whichever group is in the right position will flank those Jianzhou bandits. After the first group returns, switch to another group and charge the Jianzhou flank position again."

Tan Shen acknowledged the order. He too had been extremely anxious about the Later Jin's skirmishing. The cavalry under his command were insufficiently trained — their two-hundred-pace charges could only barely be considered qualified. In a melee, they were absolutely no match for the Jianzhou bandits.

Tan Shen personally rode along the battle line, relaying orders to the company commanders of each company. The cavalry of the three companies on the far left moved out beyond the battle line. The first group was led personally by Tan Shen, the second group by the deputy commander of the cavalry battalion.

Zhu Guobin swiftly rode back to the westernmost edge of the infantry, spotted Zhong Laosi riding about chaotically, and shouted at him: "Transfer a detached squad to me."

Zhong Laosi opened his mouth and said, "The infantry formation is all drawn out flat. The detached squads are the reserve. I don't have any extra..."

"Execute!"

"Old... Yes." Having been suppressed several times, and having always held some awe for Zhu Guobin, Zhong Laosi wilted and accepted the order, handing over the Fourth Company's fifty bayonet flintlock musketeers to Zhu Guobin.

Zhu Guobin personally led these men to the cavalry formation, dividing them into two groups and interspersing them among the cavalry to serve as the cavalry's ranged firepower output, used to cover the cavalry's reorganization. This tactic had also been summarized by Zhong Laosi, but right now Zhong Laosi was unwilling to give up men. In Zhu Guobin's view, it would be best to have more detached squads, but the pressure on the infantry was also immense at the moment, so he could only mobilize one detached squad.

Zhu Guobin, bringing the last cavalry company, stayed at the junction of the cavalry and infantry. Zhu Guobin calmly studied the Jianzhou battle line. Infantry numbered about one thousand four hundred, with some White Armor Soldiers supervising the battle behind the infantry. Cavalry numbered seven or eight hundred. Their total numbers were slightly superior. Dorgon's main force was all here.

After the infantry formation by the river stretched out, several dozen Special Service Team members went under the company commander's banner behind the infantry formation to serve as a reserve. In addition, half of the mounted infantry's auxiliary soldiers also temporarily served as a reserve. The other half of the auxiliary soldiers were watching the horses on the east bank of the Fuzhou River. According to Chen Xin's principle, even the fire soldiers of the Mandarin Duck Formation had to practice combat, so these auxiliary soldiers did the same. Half of them used sword-staves, half used flintlock muskets, forming two small formations of sixty men each. Although their combat strength could not compare to the regular soldiers, under the constraints of harsh military law, they could still play some role.

Zhu Guobin gazed eastward and southward. As long as those two reinforcing units arrived, Dorgon would be doomed.

At that moment, two cannon reports rang out from the infantry formation. The battle had begun...

The Jianzhou infantry entered one li. The two four-pounder guns roared simultaneously. Two iron balls burst from the muzzles, trailing faint white trails as they smashed toward the Jianzhou line. The two iron balls slammed into the ground several dozen paces in front of the Jianzhou formation with a crash, splashing up great clumps of dirt, mud, and grass. One iron ball bounced once and shot forward, coming to a stop twenty paces short of the Jianzhou line.

The two gun crews swiftly completed reloading, maintaining the elevation of the muzzles. When the Jianzhou line approached the previous point of impact, both guns fired simultaneously. This time, one iron ball struck the Jianzhou ranks. Guan Dadi could see several Later Jin soldiers being flipped over. The cannonball sent a chaotic spray of flying blades and severed limbs into the air.

A small gap appeared in the Later Jin line, but infantry from the rear quickly filled it. The line continued its resolute advance as before.

The gun captains of the two crews loudly gave orders. The several gunners coordinated skillfully, adjusting the firing angle while maintaining continuous fire, keeping up a rate of one round per minute. The Later Jin ranks were hit from time to time, but the power of the three-catty solid shot was not yet enough to shake their resolve. Every time a breach appeared in the battle line, men from the rear came up to fill it.

"They really have come to fight to the death." Seeing the enemy's steadfast demeanor, Guan Dadi muttered under his breath. His heartbeat began to quicken. He had already written his final letter in Jinzhou. If he died in battle, he had decided to use the dividends from his retirement pay to sponsor an orphan. Although he had a younger brother, he wished even more to have an heir of his own, even if only in name.

A faint smell of gunpowder smoke permeated the battle line. In his heart, Guan Dadi fervently wished there were more of these cannons, the more the better — ideally a whole row of several dozen, wiping out the enemy opposite with a single terrifying volley of canister shot.

The rate of fire of the two four-pounder guns was gradually increasing. The gun captains probably understood that the Jianzhou bandits would close rapidly, leaving them little time to bombard. The closer the range, the higher the hit rate. On the fifth salvo, both shots hit. Faint cries of agony from over two hundred paces away could be heard. The gap torn open was quickly filled again, and the corpses on the ground were soon hidden by the wall of men.

The Jianzhou bandits' indomitable momentum somewhat shocked the soldiers in the front ranks who could see it. The voice of Zhao Xuan, the training officer of the company commander's headquarters, rang out at the right moment: "Soldiers of the Fourth Battalion, the Dengzhou garrison is the strongest military garrison under heaven. The Fourth Battalion is the strongest battalion in the Dengzhou garrison. We, the Long Qibing company commander's headquarters, are the strongest company commander's headquarters in the Fourth Battalion. No one under heaven is your match. No one is more steadfast than you..."

Amid Zhao Xuan's familiar shouting, Guan Dadi abandoned the illusions in his heart, gripped the pike in his hands tightly, closed his eyes, and murmured: "Jade Emperor, City God, Old Mother of Mount Tai, protect me..."

At the very moment Guan Dadi was praying amid the cannon fire, the first group of cavalry on the right flank began a slow trot.