Chapter 520: Stirred

The brass horns of Dengzhou sounded the charge. On the road, battle cries rose from all sides. The Later Jin soldiers in front of the formation abandoned the ground, littered with corpses and wounded, and fled for their lives. The rout spread like an avalanche. Many threw away their cumbersome long weapons, wanting only to find their horses as fast as possible and escape this place.

The Later Jin troops originally in the Dengzhou rear formation skirted the position through the woods on both flanks and joined the fleeing columns. The first Dengzhou unit soon reached the position. The bloody battlefield before them left every man stunned where he stood.

The first to arrive was Liu Yue, Company Commander of the Second Company. He directed two platoons to pass through the position and pursue the Later Jin army, then slowed his own pace and came before Zhu Feng, who stood where he was.

Liu Yue was a Wendeng mountain man, a soldier since the second year of Chongzhen. He had fought in most of the Dengzhou Garrison's campaigns. He had seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood, but never a battlefield this gruesome.

The craters from the landmine shells still trailed wisps of white smoke. The small semicircular position was heaped with bodies. The corpses at the breastwork formed a slope — one could step on them and cross straight over. Some wounded soldiers writhed among the piles of dead, emitting low, muffled groans. Liu Yue stepped on bodies and jumped into the position. Inside, everything was coated in red — red uniforms, and red blood.

Many corpses still held the postures of combat. Right in front of Liu Yue, a soldier was locked in a death grip with a Later Jin soldier, a severed ear clenched in his teeth. A broken spear had pierced through his back, and that same spear had killed the Later Jin soldier beneath him as well.

When Liu Yue raised his eyes, a red banner appeared before him. It had over a dozen holes, but the rampant flying tiger was still there. Around the flagpole were clustered twenty or thirty Dengzhou soldiers, many needing to support one another. Of the four hundred and sixty Dengzhou soldiers, fewer than fifty could still stand.

A man covered in blood and grime stood swaying not far away. Liu Yue recognized from his uniform that he was a Dengzhou officer, but the rank insignia were completely illegible. He strode quickly up to the man and finally identified him: Zhu Feng, Company Commander of the First Company.

Zhu Feng was about to collapse limply. Liu Yue hurriedly supported him. Seeing Zhu Feng's vacant stare, Liu Yue swiftly called for a medic, then pulled out his coconut ladle to give Zhu Feng water.

"Commander Zhu! Commander Zhu!" Liu Yue called repeatedly, but Zhu Feng did not answer.

Zhong Laosi's booming voice rang out. "Liu Yue, who told you to stop here? Lead your unit and attack the Jianzhou bandits across from us, now!"

Zhong Laosi strode up and saw Zhu Feng at a glance. He shouted at Zhu Feng, "Commander Zhu, you've got real damn grit. I used to think you were too young. Today you've made me see you with new eyes. From now on, let anyone dare disrespect our Second Close-Guard Battalion. Where is Zhao Xuan?"

"Sir Zhong!" Zhu Feng suddenly came to, as if waking, and stared at Zhong Laosi. "Training Officer Zhao is dead."

"Training Officer Zhao…" Zhong Laosi looked at Zhu Feng, who was drenched in blood, and paused. The staff officers and soldiers nearby who heard this all stopped.

After a long silence, Zhong Laosi broke it and spoke to Liu Yue. "Keep leading your unit in pursuit! The Fourth Platoon will attack along the main road. Commander Wang from Jimo, your unit is responsible for clearing the woods beside the road and covering the flanks of the flintlock soldiers. After routing the Jianzhou bandits, stay on their tail and chase until you can't run anymore. The Jianzhou bandits' morale is shattered and their losses are heavy. They are no longer fit for battle. Give me speed, speed — cut off their retreat route. Any who flee into the woods, do not pursue. The main force will keep attacking and advancing along the main road. I want you to at least seize Samaji Fort and cut off the main retreat route of those armored soldiers. They will starve to death in the mountains."

Liu Yue and the Jimo commander saluted Zhong Laosi and left. Zhong Laosi then called over Zhou Shao'er. "Take the Second Platoon and follow behind the Third Platoon as the reserve. If the attack goes smoothly, you are responsible for occupying Caohe Fort. Those Jianzhou bandits have no provisions. They can only cross the mountains back to central Liaodong. They may be hunters, but they are not wild men — not many will necessarily survive. Leave the First Platoon here to help the brothers of the First Company."

After finishing his orders to Zhou Shao'er, Zhong Laosi finally said to Zhu Feng, "Take me to see the brothers… and Zhao Xuan."…

Jirgalang loudly said to Huang Taiji, "Great Khan, Great Khan, you must leave quickly. The Dengzhou soldiers are coming."

Huang Taiji, however, showed little reaction. Jirgalang's forehead was covered in sweat. He watched as a unit of Dengzhou soldiers had already emerged from the position just now, likewise under a red Flying Tiger Skull Banner, moving with extreme speed. Many armored soldiers who could not flee in time were shot dead by their volleys. The armored soldiers and bondservants who had just taken part in the attack were all fleeing for their lives. The Later Jin troops had attacked for a long time without success and suffered heavy losses; their morale was already extremely low. The enemy's fresh troops, in strict formation, had suddenly appeared on the battlefield. At this moment, the Later Jin army could no longer confront them head-on. The situation was extremely critical.

Before the attack, Huang Taiji had ordered Jirgalang to prepare a portion of Bayara guards for defense. These elite troops were accustomed to individual combat. Now, by leaving the main road to let the routed troops pass, they could use the high rate of fire of their bows at the edge of the woods to block the Dengzhou soldiers. Although there were still reserves, Jirgalang's heart remained terrified. Today's battle had broken his courage. With morale utterly shattered, he believed those Bayara were actually also in a state of panic. For men tasked with rear-guard covering, a lack of morale was fatal.

Huang Taiji was still staring blankly at the military banner planted on the position opposite. That flying tiger danced in the wind, as if mocking the Later Jin soldiers.

"Great Khan, leave quickly. The Dengzhou soldiers will be here soon."

Huang Taiji stared at the banner and spoke softly, "Why… why."

Jirgalang had no mind to ponder this. He hurriedly waved at Songin behind him. This close minister also hesitated for a moment, then finally found several Bayara scouts to come up and drag Huang Taiji away.

The routed soldiers streamed past the Khan's banner, no one even noticing that the Later Jin Great Khan was right there. They discarded their armor and heavy weapons, ran swiftly to where the horses were tethered in the rear, wildly grabbed any horse, and fled.

After Huang Taiji reached the main road, Jirgalang led troops to guard the rear, preventing the disordered soldiers from crashing into the column. Under the escort of a group of Gebu Xi Xian Chao Ha, Huang Taiji was helped onto a horse in a daze. Songin tugged his reins and started running. After the rear formation rounded a bend, Huang Taiji's gaze slowly focused. There, nearly a thousand mounted armored soldiers stood waiting by the roadside. Now, seeing the routed troops, their ranks were in turmoil and on the verge of collapse.

"Raise the Khan's banner," Huang Taiji said suddenly.

Songin hurriedly ordered the banner-bearer to raise it. Huang Taiji slowly rode his horse past the front of the formation, calmly surveying the ranks. The agitated formation immediately settled. These thousand-odd men were troops of the Plain Yellow Banner. Huang Taiji's authority was beyond question.

Huang Taiji rode past the formation. The Niru Zhanggin and Bosoku at every level brought the armored soldiers under control. Following behind Huang Taiji's horse, they slowly withdrew. Jirgalang continued to lead troops to guard the rear, preventing routed soldiers from crashing into the column.

The sound of volley fire from behind was unceasing. The Later Jin cavalry gradually picked up speed, rapidly withdrawing toward Caohe Fort…

With a retch, Peng Yunfei leaned over the breastwork and vomited violently.

Tang Wei hurriedly handed him a coconut ladle. Peng Yunfei poured a few mouthfuls of water down his throat and felt a little better. Around them, the surviving Dengzhou soldiers were all resting against the breastwork. The soldiers of the First Platoon were carefully tending to them.

The battlefield was strewn with severed limbs and chunks of flesh. This was Peng Yunfei's first time in battle, and it completely overturned his previous imaginings of war. Tang Wei, however, had seen it many times. By the Huan River in Lin County, he had witnessed large-scale formation combat for the first time and later helped clear the battlefield. He had been exposed to the atmosphere of battle; in this respect, he could be considered a veteran.

But the brutality of today's battlefield was something Tang Wei had not expected. In the past, it was always Dengzhou Garrison overwhelming others. Today, they had been besieged by an enemy several times their number. Of four hundred and sixty men, only a fraction remained. Of the nearly fifty who could still stand, over thirty were wounded. Only a dozen or so were completely uninjured.

The First Platoon of the Second Company, to which Tang Wei belonged, had been left at this position. It served both as a strongpoint and to help rescue and treat the wounded. The various bloody scenes deeply shook his heart.

His previous experience with the ambush patrol had given Tang Wei an indescribable feeling about these young soldiers. In ordinary contact, he felt they were extremely fanatical — even playing football led to fights almost every day. Tang Wei had thought these young soldiers didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Now, seeing this scene, his view had changed. The notoriously fierce Jianzhou bandits were fleeing in disarray before them.

Tang Wei took a few pieces of his treasured rock sugar from his pack and shared them with the wounded soldiers nearby. One wounded soldier even smiled at Tang Wei. Peng Yunfei rubbed his chest, feeling a bit better. After catching his breath, he tugged Tang Wei's clothes and whispered, "See what the platoon leader is doing over there?"

Tang Wei glanced toward the center of the position. Liu Liu was crouched on the ground, carefully searching for something. Tang Wei tilted his head and whispered into Peng Yunfei's ear, "Training Officer Zhao Xuan has fallen in battle. They say at the very end he ignited the gunpowder and took the Jianzhou bandits with him. His body was blown apart. Liu Liu is helping to gather his remains together."

"Sir Zhao has fallen?" Peng Yunfei looked at Tang Wei in shock. Seeing Tang Wei nod affirmatively, Peng Yunfei closed his eyes and said, "The day before yesterday, on the road to Tongyuan Fort, he was still chatting with me. He even patted my shoulder and said I had the makings of a general. What a pity. Sir Zhao was a good man."

Tang Wei shook his head and sighed. "Zhao Xuan was a good man. Liu Liu respected Sir Zhao the most. I heard him say that back when he was a military householder in Lushun, he followed the army to attack Jinzhou. He wore a tattered garment then, and no one ever cared to pay them any attention. It was Sir Zhao who gave him a new set of his own clothes and treated him like a brother. He said he would be grateful to Sir Zhao his whole life. And now Sir Zhao is blown apart like this… Sir Zhong had to go to Caohe Fort, so Liu Liu took this task upon himself."

Peng Yunfei's eyes reddened a little. Over there, Liu Liu was crouched on the ground, as focused as if he were laying a landmine shell.

Tang Wei sighed softly. Xie Fei edged over and said, "Fatty, if they had deployed our Second Company back then, it would have been our First Platoon up there. We would have fought this battle." Tang Wei's heart trembled. The figures of his parents flickered before his eyes. Tang Wei hurriedly patted his head, telling himself not to think about those things.

Xie Fei said in a low voice, "Fatty, look how fierce these young soldiers are. My heart is in turmoil. Neither of us is cut out to be a soldier. If we survive this battle, you should take the year-end discharge. Miss Guan is from a wealthy family now, not someone ordinary folk like us can aspire to. Go home honestly, marry a wife. Later, a few of us brothers can partner up and do some small trading. You can earn silver doing anything these days. Life will be just as comfortable. Besides, you're the only one in your family. Your parents are still waiting for you to support them."

Tang Wei tilted his head and thought blankly for a moment, then finally gave a low grunt of assent. The two spoke very quietly; no one nearby heard them. Peng Yunfei, having finished resting, rubbed his hands and walked toward the center. "Huang Shan has already gone to help the platoon leader. Are you two coming?"

Tang Wei stood where he was for a moment, then turned and said, "I'm coming too." (To be continued…)