Chapter 563: Opening the Game

One after another, observation-cart poles rose amid the human "tide" on both sides, their lookout buckets hoisted high; because the terrain was flat, the commanding officers of every unit needed these devices to observe the enemy's formations and movements.

Beneath the yellow Later Jin Khan's banner, Huang Taiji held his beloved telescope and swept it across the Dengzhou garrison's battle line. Along the several-li-long line, the sound of infantry drums and bugles never ceased, accompanied by wave after wave of orderly marching steps. Dengzhou infantry streamed continuously onto the battlefield, shifting from column into line and spreading across the entire front. Through the lens, the front-rank pike squares were tight and powerful; advancing under the simple, orderly direction of banners and drums, they resembled shifting forests of pikes. Under the overcast sky, the neat, vivid red stood in stark contrast to the snow covering the ground, delivering an intense visual shock and projecting an aura of irresistible momentum.

After the Dengzhou garrison finished deploying, the banners of every unit along the line began answering in succession. Looking out from Huang Taiji's vantage point, the horizon was a dazzling expanse of scarlet — lines neat and even, pennants fluttering, sunlight glinting ceaselessly off armor and bayonets. Small bronze cannon were arrayed before each battalion's front, and through the gaps between formations, more troop arrays were faintly visible behind. Officers and soldiers across the entire line stood solemn and erect in dead silence. Even from two li away, the killing aura radiating from the great army struck the face head-on, and even Huang Taiji felt a chill in his heart.

Huang Taiji could be considered a veteran of a hundred battles. One glance told him that the Dengzhou army's morale and bearing far surpassed his own, and he could not fathom why — when the Ujen Cooha were trained the same way, with the same firearms and pikes — the difference in spirit could be so vast. Could it be that Chen Xin possessed some sorcery, or was it because of those most hateful instruction officers He Changjiu had spoken of?

Huang Taiji suppressed the unease rising in his heart; the iron will forged through years of campaigning once again took command of his emotions. He glanced at Li Jiucheng beside him. The Tianyou Army had been placed by Huang Taiji in the rear rank of the center's right wing, commanded by Kong Youde as Regional Commander. Li Jiucheng himself had been temporarily transferred to the main army to serve as an advisor, the reason being his thorough familiarity with the Dengzhou garrison.

"Vice Regional Commander Li, you have fought the Dengzhou garrison the most. What do you make of the formation Chen Xin has laid out?"

Huang Taiji handed the telescope to Li Jiucheng as he spoke. Li Jiucheng begged his pardon, then stood up in his stirrups to get a clear view of the Dengzhou rear formation.

After observing for a moment, Li Jiucheng settled back into his saddle and said to Huang Taiji, "Great Khan, this slave sees that Chen Xin's formation is not an offensive one. But his front arrays are all infantry — Dengzhou is strong in foot and weak in horse. His battle formation interposes cannon, firearms, and pikes for mutual offense and defense, truly possessing the momentum of an immovable mountain. Yet it also has one flaw."

"Tell me."

"His formation is drawn up in a single line — a long front with shallow depth, a long linear array. It is not nimble when maneuvering, and both flanks lack firearms troops and close-combat strength. So long as our Great Jin uses heavy horse-armor troops to break through at one point, then attacks his two flanks from the side, his formation will surely fall into chaos. As far as the Dengzhou army is concerned, chaotic fighting is far from its strong suit; at that point his formation can be shattered."

Huang Taiji nodded slightly. What Li Jiucheng said was largely what he himself had been thinking. But the Dengzhou battle formation covered nearly the entire front. Although there was some distance between each small square formation, all were within musket range. Its front array was also divided into two layers, with those ironclad infantry in Mandarin Duck squads and a small number of cavalry serving as roving troops in between — roving troops that could reinforce the first line of battle at any moment.

Moreover, there was a cavalry force on the western side of the front array. Huang Taiji did not agree with Li Jiucheng's claim that Dengzhou was strong in foot and weak in horse. On the contrary, Dengzhou cavalry were the branch the Later Jin troops feared most. The power of their dense shock charges had once struck terror into Dorgon. The Later Jin's only advantages lay in cavalry numbers and individual skill.

Li Jiucheng continued, "What bears watching is Dengzhou's second line. Its strength is around twelve or thirteen thousand men, a mix of foot and horse. That camp banner on the left seems to bear a skull — it should be that Dengzhou Guards Second Battalion from Caohe Fort. The one on the right should be the Dengzhou Guards First Battalion. These are Chen Xin's decisive strike forces. This slave humbly begs the Great Khan to take careful note."

Huang Taiji was equally wary of the Dengzhou second line. According to reports from the lookouts, the second line behind the front array numbered somewhat over ten thousand men, in even denser formations, concentrated mainly in the center. Of these, cavalry numbered around three or four thousand. So even after the Later Jin troops broke through the front array, they would still have to face this intact Dengzhou second line. Only by shattering the rear line could they trigger the collapse of the entire Dengzhou garrison battle line.

Huang Taiji glanced to his right. The small village at the foot of Zhuanzi Hill stirred a surge of displeasure in him. Dorgon had once again fled the field and returned. His report to Huang Taiji was that a large force of Dengzhou cavalry had attacked, forcing him to withdraw his troops. With Zhuanzi Hill Village lost, the Dengzhou garrison had deployed light artillery there, severely restricting Later Jin troop movements on the right wing — already affecting Huang Taiji's ability to execute his plan of attacking the Dengzhou left wing.

Opposite Zhuanzi Hill Village, a dense black mass of Later Jin cavalry had just finished forming up. The cavalry came from the Two White Banners, the Bordered Red Banner, the Outer Domain Mongols, and the Mongol Left Wing. These horsemen could either strike directly at Zhuanzi Hill Village or bypass Zhuanzi Hill from the right wing. Ahead of them were the foot-combat True Jurchens and Ujen Cooha of the Two White Banners and the Bordered Red Banner. The Later Jin troops had already massed heavy forces on the right wing; they needed only to finish answering banners before the curtain of battle could be drawn open.

Just as Huang Taiji was observing the Dengzhou battle formation, several dozen warhorses galloped out from the junction of the Dengzhou garrison's center and right wing. The man at the front wore a suit of gleaming mountain-pattern armor and rode at the very head. Behind him, one man carried a Dengzhou garrison Flying Tiger military banner, while another flag-bearer held a Regional Commander's red banner one zhang and eight chi in length. The party rode slowly westward along the front, and wherever the military banners passed, a tidal roar of "Ten Thousand Victories!" erupted from the Dengzhou ranks.

Li Jiucheng pointed at those hundred-odd riders from afar and said to Huang Taiji, "The one at the head is Chen Xin."

Huang Taiji narrowed his eyes and watched for a long moment, then turned his head slightly to look at the Ujen Cooha behind him. Their ranks were passably neat, but now they stood in dead silence, every soldier staring blankly at the opposite side. For this army composed of half-slaves, apart from money, women, and status, he had no other means to boost morale. He gave a few orders to the bayara guards commander beside him, and soon several dozen bayara riders galloped toward the various formations, preparing to raise morale as well.

Wave after wave of tidal cheering rolled over from the opposite side. Huang Taiji sat high on his horse, his gaze complex as he watched the opponent in mountain-pattern armor beneath that great banner.

…

Amid the tidal cheering, Chen Xin rode along the battle line. Nine years of hacking through thorns and brambles had coalesced into the great army of tens of thousands before his eyes. Behind this army there was still a powerful civil affairs system and reserve forces, enough to look down proudly upon the entire East. Even compared to the armies of Sweden or Austria in Europe at this time, Dengzhou's professional army surpassed them by half an era. Once they defeated the enemy two li away, the Dengzhou army would enter an entirely new epoch — and might even alter the course of world history.

Chen Xin's Regional Commander's red banner halted before the front. Chen Xin turned to face the great Later Jin formation. There was no obstacle before him; it felt as if he alone stood facing an army of tens of thousands.

The Later Jin army formation was a dense black mass, its armor and uniform colors all inconsistent; only the banner colors of each division stood out clearly. According to the consolidated reports from the lookouts, the Later Jin army had concentrated its heavy forces on the western side — that is, the Later Jin right wing. The three Manchu banners and the Mongol Left Wing cavalry together numbered roughly seven to eight thousand; the Outer Domain Mongols were around four thousand. Cavalry alone amounted to about twelve thousand men. The foot-combat True Jurchens and Ujen Cooha numbered about eight thousand. The estimated total strength was around twenty thousand.

The center consisted of the True Jurchens and Ujen Cooha of the Plain Red Banner and the Two Yellow Banners, with the Tianyou Army in the rear formation on the Plain Yellow Banner's right side.

The Later Jin left wing was composed of the Two Blue Banners, a portion of the Mongol Right Wing, and a small number of Outer Domain Mongol troops — roughly several hundred men. These men were useless in formation battle, but highly adept at roving harassment. At this moment they were dispersed around Erdaokou Village, some even riding near Xu Hill, incessantly provoking the Dengzhou Fourth Battalion First Brigade on the hill.

Chen Xin said to Liu Pojun beside him, "Huang Taiji intends to make his main attack on our left wing. Of course, he could also be feinting to confuse the Dengzhou garrison. The Later Jin have the advantage in cavalry and can shift the direction of their right-wing attack toward the center at any time."

Liu Pojun replied, "Our army occupies Xu Hill and Zhuanzi Hill Village. The two wings of our great formation jut forward while the center is held back. But the five battalions in the center have solid frontal defense; Huang Taiji can only maneuver on the wings. Behind Xu Hill lies Yulin Fort. Huang Taiji has no way to scout the true situation inside Yulin Fort. If there are troops garrisoned inside, even if he takes Xu Hill, he will find it hard to shake our right wing. So his best choice is the right-flank Zhuanzi Hill."

Liu Pojun pointed toward Zhuanzi Hill Village and said, "Zhuanzi Hill is garrisoned by the First Battalion's First Company, reinforced with two eight-pounder guns from the First Battalion's gun battery, supported by the First Battalion's pike square. If we want to hold Zhuanzi Hill Village to the death, we can send an additional thousand-man unit from the Guards Battalion, or dispatch a combat engineer company to assist in the defense. Combat engineers are best suited for this kind of close-quarters fighting inside a village."

Chen Xin glanced at the dense mass of cavalry over there, then at the village of Ertaizi beneath Xu Hill on the right wing, and finally shook his head. "No need to reinforce for now. Let the Jianzhou bandits come and attack. The First Battalion is our old foundation — not so easy to crack. Send word to Fan Shouye: no matter what happens to his rear formation, his First Battalion must hold Zhuanzi Hill Village."

"Understood." Liu Pojun immediately dispatched a relay rider to the left wing.

Chen Xin struck his horse's rump and rode through a gap in the front array straight toward the First Brigade's Mobile Corps Commander's identification banner. Seeing Chen Xin arrive, Zheng Sanhu rendered a military salute from horseback.

Chen Xin reined in his horse and said loudly to Zheng Sanhu, "Mobile Corps Commander Zheng, guard against the Jianzhou cavalry on the right wing turning toward the center. Keep the center secure."

Zheng Sanhu replied respectfully, "As you command, my lord. This subordinate will hold firm. The Second and Third Battalions can not only hold the center — they can punch right through the Jianzhou center."

Chen Xin gave an encouraging smile, then said to Zheng Sanhu, "The village of Wangjiatun in the middle must not be abandoned. Before the Jianzhou right-wing cavalry attacks our left wing, the main center formation must not advance rashly. Only attack when you see the signal flags from the main army command."

Zheng Sanhu assented at once. The Later Jin's ten-thousand-plus cavalry were massed on the western side, suppressing the Dengzhou left wing. The cavalry's high mobility allowed them to threaten the left flank of the Dengzhou center at any moment, which in turn prevented the Dengzhou center from committing to an offensive.

By now both sides had completed their deployments. Shouts and calls also rang out along the Later Jin battle line, but their momentum was far weaker than Dengzhou's. It seemed the Later Jin army was also carrying out some kind of mobilization.

Chen Xin wheeled his horse back to the space between the two garrisons and climbed onto a specially made observation cart. This cart was broader than the ordinary observation-pole carts; its top platform, fitted with a railing, replaced the lookout bucket and was large enough for two people. Below this platform, several wooden platforms had been erected, where staff officers from the Military Orders Department stood. Around the observation cart, tall banners were planted thickly, each battalion corresponding to a different banner. Chen Xin could issue routine orders to each battalion through flag signals; complex orders were delivered by relay riders.

Beneath the overcast sky, the two great armies facing off two li apart both fell silent. On the battlefield, there was only the neighing of horses and the sound of pennants fluttering in the north wind.

Chen Xin gazed at Huang Taiji's yellow Khan's banner in the distance and said to Liu Pojun beside him, "Of the three directions, there is always one that favors us and disfavors the enemy. Which direction do you choose?"

"Huang Taiji has deployed heavy forces against our left wing and is pinning down our center, intending to force our rear formation to follow his shift westward and throw our grand formation into chaos. Now that we refuse to be drawn, and he dares not attack rashly, it is time for our army to maneuver him. This subordinate believes the place for our army to open the game is on the right wing."

Chen Xin laughed heartily and pointed toward the direction of Ertaizi Village on the eastern side. "Then let's give Huang Taiji some exercise. We'll start from here. Order the Fourth Battalion to attack Ertaizi Village."

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