Chapter 517: Attacked from Front and Rear

"They've learned to imitate us quite well." Zhao Xuan watched in surprise as the square formation approached in the distance — long spears standing upright in the center, musketeers on both flanks, the main formation in six ranks, with two rows of skirmishers ahead. Its numbers were roughly equivalent to a Dengzhou square formation company, about two hundred and fifty men. Judging by the banner colors, they were mainly from the Bordered Yellow, Plain Blue, and Bordered Blue Banners.

The Dengzhou garrison's position was on high ground, giving them a clear view of these Ujen Cooha formations. On the road, six square formations were spaced out one after another, arrayed in sequence along the road. Behind each square formation stood armored soldiers acting as battle supervisors. They halted three hundred paces away and did not approach. Dengzhou garrison had only one four-pounder cannon, and to conserve ammunition, they did not engage in long-range strikes.

Zhu Feng stood beside Zhao Xuan. He said quietly to Zhao Xuan, "My lord, their single formation has only one hundred and fifty arquebusiers. We have three hundred firearms and three cannons. This kind of square formation is solid in defense, but it moves slowly when attacking. Our square formation company's training is extremely harsh, yet it still appears clumsy during offensive drills. With the Jianzhou bandits' level of skill, attacking is not to their advantage — though it can buy us quite a bit of time."

Zhao Xuan nodded and said, "No wonder it took them so long to come. Some armored soldiers entered the woods just now — are they planning to come around from the flank and rear?"

"My lord sees clearly. Those armored soldiers are surely meant to penetrate directly behind our formation to assemble, then attack from two directions. However, the mountain is high and the forest dense; they still need time to reach their designated positions. As long as we repel this wave, it will take the Jianzhou bandits even longer to organize their next assault. By then, Sir Zhong should have arrived."

Zhao Xuan said worriedly, "But once the Jianzhou bandits get behind our formation, the scouts we sent to reconnoiter Caohekou won't be able to return. And we don't know how Shen Zhixiang's side is faring. I just hope Old Fourth Zhong doesn't get thrown into disarray by them."

Zhu Feng said with full confidence, "The Training Officer need not worry. Sir Zhong is a veteran of a hundred battles; many of his engagements have been included in the military academy's curriculum. He will certainly have a way."

A quarter of an hour later, the sound of conch horns rose from behind the Dengzhou garrison's position. Armored soldiers emerged from the forest in an unbroken stream and began assembling on the road. Many sat down on the ground the moment they exited the tree line — this detour through the dense woods to bypass the Dengzhou position had indeed cost them considerable physical strength.

Sporadic light arrows shot out from the woods on both flanks, falling aimlessly onto the Dengzhou position. Occasionally one struck a soldier's helmet with a crisp clang. The Dengzhou soldiers kept their heads slightly lowered, using the brims of their bright helmets to deflect the arcing light arrows. They all wore captured Jianzhou armor stripped from the dead, giving them a somewhat motley appearance, but their defensive capability had indeed improved. Those light arrows could only serve as a nuisance.

Some soldiers who still had energy were digging trenches. Over two hundred Jianzhou corpses had been piled onto the breastwork, with earth banked in front and behind to make the breastwork even sturdier. The arquebusiers had suffered fifty casualties; a dozen or so lightly wounded continued to hold the battle line, while the seriously wounded were sheltered in the center. Their remaining firearms, once loaded, were placed on the breastwork as reserve firepower.

Zhao Xuan walked along the battle line, constantly boosting the soldiers' morale. After the psychological low that followed the first wave of casualties, the soldiers' morale was slowly recovering. Having weathered their first battle, these soldiers would all become steadfast veterans.

Zhu Feng stood beside the four-pounder cannon, discussing with the gun captain how to allocate firepower. This four-pounder was the most powerful firepower-output weapon here, and it could be repositioned quickly. Zhu Feng wanted it to be able to move rapidly between the front and rear formations rather than being fixed at the front. So after discussing with the gun captain, he found a battered Mandarin Duck Formation squad. Zhu Feng had them assist the artillery crew in moving and protecting the gun, to prevent Later Jin skirmishers from threatening these gunners.

After arranging the four-pounder's movement route, Zhu Feng went to the rear formation facing the true Yi armored soldiers. Several picket riders were twenty paces beyond the battle line, setting up ten-thousand landmine cannons using flintlock mechanisms. This time they used a pull-release method, linking several tripwires to control the flintlocks. The road was overgrown with wild grass, and once laid, the tripwires were swallowed by the weeds. Using pull-release detonation would allow them to set off the mines when the Later Jin troops were most densely packed, inflicting better casualties than a pressure-triggered method.

They had not brought much spare gunpowder with the army, so this time they used only six mines, laid on the left, right, and center wings of both the front and rear formations. Zhu Feng had also studied laying landmine cannons. After helping the picket riders, he returned to the center of the position, climbed onto an observation platform made of piled corpses, and began surveying the Later Jin army's situation.

The Later Jin had spent a full half-shichen preparing this assault. More and more armored soldiers appeared behind the formation, their numbers now exceeding five hundred. There were likely still some in the woods on both flanks. Combined with the Han soldiers at the front, the total force numbered over two thousand. The greatest threat remained those true Yi armored soldiers. Once they charged into the battle line, the arquebusiers would lose their advantage, and Dengzhou had only one hundred close-combat troops — and had lost twenty in the previous round. So Zhu Feng remained most focused on the rear formation.

The several company commanders gathered again for a quick conference. The two Mandarin Duck Formation company commanders responsible for the rear formation both felt that the rear's firepower was still somewhat thin. After considering for a moment, Zhu Feng drew fifty arquebusiers from the front formation as a reserve force, to be personally commanded by the flintlock company's captain. They would be stationed in the center to preserve firepower, ready to support the rear formation at any time. This left only about one hundred fifty or sixty men at the front, with over one hundred eighty flintlock firearms — firepower reduced by thirty percent.

The Later Jin troops at the rear formation sounded three consecutive conch horn calls. The Ujen Cooha at the front responded with three calls. Immediately, drums rolled from both front and rear. On the official road ahead, the forest of Han army long spears began to sway, and the formation advanced toward the Dengzhou position.

The first square formation entered two hundred paces. The road was not wide; most of the square formation's frontage extended onto both sides of the road. The ground was rugged and uneven, constantly cut by shrubs, making their advance much slower than normal.

At two hundred paces, the square formation halted once to redress ranks, then continued forward. During this time, it was struck twice by solid shot from the four-pounder. The three-catty balls tore through the six-rank column. The Ujen Cooha lost nearly twenty men, and chaos broke out in the ranks. These Han soldiers, who had trained for one winter, were on the battlefield for the first time — and had encountered an opponent as formidable as the Dengzhou garrison.

The armored soldiers at the front and rear drove them on relentlessly. After milling in confusion for a while, the first formation barely managed to keep advancing. This time the Later Jin troops had learned their lesson. They knew the Dengzhou soldiers had only one small cannon — solid shot could break them, but grapeshot could devastate them. So the first wave consisted of only two formations. They would wait until the Dengzhou artillery switched to grapeshot, then the rear square formations would continue advancing. They no longer rushed forward in a mass as they had last time, and thus did not suffer catastrophic losses from the Dengzhou cannon.

After the first Han soldier formation entered one hundred paces, the Dengzhou four-pounder had no choice but to switch to grapeshot and elevate its trail. Only then did the rear square formations accelerate their advance. The entire process was not struck by the Dengzhou cannon.

The Han army's forward skirmishers, driven by the armored soldiers, quickened their pace and soon entered seventy paces. The Dengzhou soldiers' flintlocks were placed one after another on the breastwork, the soldiers exposing only their bright helmets with fluttering red tassels.

The true Yi at the rear were just as in the first assault. This time their formation was not orderly, but their attack was extremely resolute. The Dengzhou garrison was on elevated ground, and the position's location cut off the line of sight between the two groups of Later Jin troops at the front and rear, forcing the Later Jin commanders to rely on drums and horns for communication. The amount of information drums and horns could convey was very limited, barely enough to coordinate the starting time of the advance.

When it came to actual coordinated assault, the Later Jin troops revealed the shortcomings of a non-professional army. A large gap had already appeared in the progress of the two Later Jin forces. The assembly point for the rear formation's true Yi armored soldiers had been chosen on the spot, and the starting distances for the front and rear were different to begin with. The Han soldiers at the front had already advanced to seventy paces, while the armored soldiers at the rear were still over two hundred paces away. Zhu Feng observed calmly from the corpse platform in the center. Noticing the difference in progress, he immediately redeployed the reserve force back to the front formation.

The Han army square formation drew closer and closer to the cadence of the step-drums. The faces of the ragged Han soldiers were full of terror. They had no combat experience, nor had they mentally prepared to serve as the main force on the battlefield — especially when behind the breastwork opposite them were the world-renowned Dengzhou soldiers.

Zhao Xuan and his guard Erzi, flintlocks in hand, also took their places behind the breastwork. A rapid roll of drums sounded from the opposite side. The Ujen Cooha halted at forty paces. Erzi said casually to Zhao Xuan, "My lord, the Jianzhou bandits can't learn it properly. They don't know how to fight."

Zhao Xuan asked hesitantly, "How should they fight?"

"They should keep moving. If the front rank dies, the rear rank can get closer. Standing here and trading shots with us — we've got the breastwork. No matter how many more they bring, they can't win."

Zhao Xuan gave an "oh." He felt he really ought to study tactics more. Even his guard understood things he couldn't articulate. No wonder Old Fourth Zhong always mocked him.

A flurry of commands came from the front. The Later Jin skirmishers had just raised their guns when Zhu Feng let out a great shout. A volley of musketry and the roar of the four-pounder erupted from the silent Dengzhou battle line. The orderly Later Jin ranks shattered. The forward skirmishers fell in swathes, exposing the bewildered pikemen behind them. The entire formation descended into chaos. The panicked Han soldier musketeers did not wait for their officers' orders; a ragged crackle of gunfire rang out. White smoke billowed before their eyes, but it caused almost no casualties to the Dengzhou soldiers behind the breastwork.

Immediately, the second volley arrived. In the blink of an eye, only a dozen or so of the fifty-odd skirmishers remained. Many pikemen in the rear square formation were also hit. The Han army arquebusiers on both flanks fired wildly and chaotically, even forgetting to retreat to reload. After firing, they simply stood in place reloading — some even stood there in a daze.

The armored soldiers supervising the battle hacked down the Han soldiers who were shouting and fleeing in panic, forcing them to charge the Dengzhou position. The shattered square formation advanced in disorder. When they reached thirty paces, the third volley arrived, along with angled fire from crouching-tiger cannons. The outer edge of the dense square formation collapsed in unison. The Ujen Cooha could endure no longer; they fled madly toward the rear. The second wave of Han soldiers advancing from behind, under the supervision of the true Yi, leveled their long spears.

The routed soldiers of the first formation, fleeing like headless flies, were all speared to death before the pike wall. The remaining Han soldiers, finding no path of escape, screamed in terror and scattered toward the flanks.

After the routed troops ahead fled to either side, the second formation appeared before the Dengzhou garrison. The true Yi armored soldiers at the front and rear roared, driving the second formation to continue the assault. Their firearms still fired wildly and haphazardly.

The four-pounder fired another round of grapeshot. The second formation fell into chaos. Zhu Feng, seeing that the Jianzhou bandits at the rear were nearly within charging distance, shouted, "First Company, cease fire! Four-pounder to the rear formation!"

Several gunners immediately dragged the four-pounder along the predetermined route toward the rear. The black true Yi armored soldiers at the rear were already surging forward like a tide. The second Han army square formation at the front had also advanced within forty paces. Archers appeared at the edge of the woods on both flanks, firing at the Dengzhou soldiers in dispersed formation.

The Later Jin troops at the rear formation let out a battle cry. War shouts shook the heavens from both front and rear simultaneously. The Dengzhou battle line remained utterly silent. Zhu Feng stared fixedly at the Han army ahead. They slowly advanced to thirty paces. Zhu Feng slowly raised his hand.