Chapter 572: Fifteen Paces

"All of you, stand straight for me, you damned Nikan." Taketan's roar rang out from the front row.

Zhang Zhongqi raised his head in a daze. Taketan, gripping a waist saber, was beating a bondservant. The bondservant was frantically searching for his position. The Ujen Cooha wheeled from the center to face east. They held the advantage of maneuvering on interior lines and barely needed to reposition, yet this adjustment still threw the Ujen Cooha into massive chaos.

By the time the Dengzhou Battalion infantry had already appeared on the opposite side, the Ujen Cooha's adjustment was still not complete. Several companies were jumbled together, while on the other flank several companies had gaps far too wide. Officers ran back and forth in front of the formation, coordinating the alignment of the ranks.

The Plain Blue Banner had only abolished its pikemen just before the battle. Because Haoge had become the new Banner Lord, Huang Taiji treated the Plain Blue Banner as his own personal troops. After the two Yellow Banners performed brilliantly at Xipingbao, Huang Taiji gave a newly manufactured batch of flintlock muskets to the Plain Blue Banner. They became an all-flintlock unit, but their organization remained the same as before, and their formation was still six ranks deep, whereas the two Yellow Banners were already using three- or four-rank battle lines.

That bondservant being beaten was from their own village. He seemed unable to find his own squad. He tried several spots in the front row but was shoved out by others each time. At a loss, he turned in two circles, then stepped further away, attempting to find a spot over there. Just as he reached in front of Zhang Zhongqi, a blade-flash suddenly flickered. The bondservant's head flew several paces away. His headless body collapsed forward, spraying blood, and the surrounding bondservants cried out in alarm.

Warm droplets of blood flew through the air. By the time they landed on Zhang Zhongqi's face, they already felt ice-cold. A trace of life stirred in Zhang Zhongqi's dull eyes. His eyeballs slowly shifted, looking toward Taketan, who stood not far ahead, gripping his blade.

"He killed someone," Zhang Zhongqi murmured.

His whisper went unheard amid the clamor of the battlefield. Taketan was fiercely glaring at the bondservants before him. "Death to any who leave the ranks! Death to any who shrink back!"

The surrounding bondservants cowered and retreated a short step. Taketan bellowed, "Those Dengzhou Nikan have come to seize your wives, children, and homes. They want to slaughter every last one of you. Only by killing every one of those Nikan across from you can you all be raised to the Banners..."

Zhang Zhongqi said dazedly, "He killed someone..."

"... Then you can go to that Ming country and plunder. Silver, women, grain — inexhaustible. The Ujen Cooha of the two Yellow Banners routed those Nikan at Xipingbao. Same firearms — these Dengzhou Nikan will die just the same."

The bondservants seemed to muster some courage. Taketan strode toward another section of the line. The armored soldiers overseeing this banner company came over shouting loudly, ordering the soldiers to form up quickly.

Zhang Zhongqi stared at the corpse on the ground. "He killed someone, killed..."

"... my boy." After Zhang Zhongqi finished speaking, his mouth hung slightly open. His gaze suddenly froze, then he abruptly turned his head to look at Taketan's retreating back, his eyes filled with a ferocity that had never before appeared in him.

Zhang Zhongqi's face twitched. Taketan's figure had already moved far away, yet he still stared fixedly, until an armored soldier overseeing the formation kicked him awake. Zhang Zhongqi turned his head. That armored soldier was glaring at him viciously. Zhang Zhongqi hurriedly put on a smiling face, nodding and bowing as he stepped back.

That armored soldier went off to hurry the others. Only then did Zhang Zhongqi focus his gaze on the opposite side. A clear bugle call rang out from there. The Ming army's two wings rapidly extended, stretching into a broad horizontal line roughly equal in width to the Later Jin formation. The speed at which they formed ranks was something Zhang Zhongqi had never witnessed before.

Then artillery appeared on the Ming army's flanks. Dragged by teams of four or eight horses, they swiftly moved into position, angling their dark muzzles diagonally toward the Later Jin battle line. In the center of the formation, a red military banner flew high. On it, a winged tiger, baring fangs and claws, trampled upon a skull.

Six Company Commanders, with their guards, rode up to the battalion banner. Zhong Lao had just finished observing the enemy formation. Across the field, the Later Jin troops' banners fluttered. Mounted messengers raced ceaselessly before their ranks, kicking up flurries of accumulated snow. Yet the Ujen Cooha's formation was still not set. The chaos in their ranks also delayed their artillery from getting into position. Judging by their placement, the Ujen Cooha of the two Yellow Banners were on the wings, the Plain Blue was in the center, and the armored cavalry of the Plain Yellow Banner were positioned at the rear to oversee the formation.

Zhong Lao grinned smugly and loudly issued orders to the three cavalry Company Commanders: "Guard Cavalry, form up on the right wing and pin down the Tianyou Army. Cavalry Second Battalion, Second Brigade, take position in reserve behind the right wing. Long Qibing, follow behind the Guard Second Battalion."

Zhong Lao turned again to the three Company Commanders of the Second Battalion. "Guard Second Battalion, First and Third Brigades, change from column to line. The Second Brigade in the center will attack in company-front column formation." Mounted on his horse, Zhong Lao loudly ordered the staff officer, "Volley fire will be directed by the battalion drum signals. No one is to open fire until fifteen paces."

Zhu Feng was stunned. "Fifteen paces? It's usually between fifty and seventy paces."

"Lord Chen wants the Guard Battalion to smash the Jianzhou bandits' center at top speed. If we volley from beyond fifty paces, how long will that take? I want to break them in a single volley."

Liu Yue hesitated. "Then the Later Jin troops might get off two volleys. The closer we go, the more men we'll lose..."

"The more Jianzhou bandits will die too," Zhong Lao said, utterly unconcerned. "After the volley at fifteen paces, all troops charge with bayonets. Once we break through the Ujen Cooha, the Second Brigade will attack the Later Jin Khan's banner in column. The Long Qibing will look for an opening to launch a second wave assault. The right-wing cavalry will cut off their central army's retreat route north. Let's see if that dog can run away."

"Your subordinates obey, but could we advance to thirty paces before the volley?"

"Trust what I say. The first volley is what matters most. Let these Ujen Cooha see who the hell is the true ancestor of musketeers. Kill them all!"

"Kill!"

The First and Third Brigades on the two wings of the Guard Second Battalion changed from column to line formation. Their four companies each spread out in a single rank, forming a broad front. The battle line facing off against the enemy was on the right flank of the Seventh Battalion. The direction the Guard Second Battalion's front faced was northwest. Once they crushed that Ujen Cooha unit across from them, they could wheel to face due west and attack the Later Jin command banner there. For an ancient army like the Later Jin's, the command banner's importance far exceeded that in a modern army.

The Second Brigade in the center, however, remained in column. Its four companies were deployed one behind the other, with only the First Company spread out on the front line. This created a fourfold local superiority in manpower. They bore the task of breaking through and then rapidly attacking the Later Jin central army.

Tang Wei was in the First Company of the Second Brigade, which naturally made him the vanguard of the entire brigade. The open field before him was strewn with the corpses of men and horses. A li away, a dense, dark mass of Later Jin troops stretched beyond counting. The feeling was as if he alone faced tens of thousands of enemies.

Tang Wei's heartbeat suddenly quickened. His palms grew slightly sweaty, his mouth dry. He had imagined the battlefield countless times — imagined himself charging into the enemy ranks with calm heroism, becoming a battle hero. But now, at the moment before battle truly began, he realized his hands and feet were actually starting to tremble slightly.

Fortunately, his comrades were on both sides of him. Dengzhou's line infantry formation was dense; each man occupied a width of only about two chi. Their arms were practically touching.

At that moment, a muffled thunder of cannon fire erupted. Tang Wei's eyes darted toward the flanks. Several field guns there spat a burst of flame forward. A plume of white smoke rose from the vent. The gun barrels recoiled backward, and the moment they steadied, several gunners had already begun the second round of loading.

Dengzhou's eight-pounder and four-pounder cannons fired crosswise from both flanks into the Later Jin formation. The Later Jin troops' formation had very shallow depth, so frontal fire's lethality was diminished. Diagonal fire could inflict casualties across more ranks.

The cannonballs flew crosswise toward the Later Jin ranks. Several bronze cannons the Later Jin troops had already deployed began returning fire. The shells tore through the air, leaving hissing sounds in their wake, smearing faint white trails across the open ground between the two armies.

Given the artillery's accuracy at this time, counter-battery fire between the guns was nearly ineffective. Gunners on both sides targeted the enemy infantry instead. Dengzhou Battalion's well-trained artillerymen fired solid shot at a rate of three rounds per minute. After the first salvo, the cannonballs began hitting the Later Jin ranks with increasing frequency. Tang Wei could see multiple places where the Later Jin lines had been punched through.

The Later Jin troops' counter-fire followed. A cannon across from Tang Wei belched a thick cloud of smoke. A black iron ball slammed into the ground twenty paces ahead of him with a boom, throwing up a column of smoke streaked black and white with soil. Scattered clods of dirt flew in all directions. Fortunately, it did not ricochet. A tremor traveled beneath Tang Wei's feet. Moments later, he saw a black hole emitting white smoke exposed in the ground. Two more salvos sounded from the Later Jin position. A burst of screams came from the First Brigade's line beside him. Tang Wei's heart pounded even harder, his throat parched.

Just as his mind was going somewhat blank, a familiar figure moved before his eyes. Guan Dadi's broad back appeared diagonally ahead. Tang Wei felt a sudden wave of relief in his heart. He had an inexplicable trust in this Sergeant Major, a feeling that no enemy could defeat Guan Dadi. Guan Dadi walked to ten paces in front of the formation and turned around with ease. At a hand signal, two squads of skirmishers slipped out through the gaps in the battle line. Guan Dadi blew his bamboo whistle. The skirmishers spread out their formation and advanced forward amid the cannon fire.

Tang Wei knew that once the Sergeant Major led the skirmishers forward, the moment for the infantry to advance was near. Xie Fei beside him sensed Tang Wei's arm trembling. Without turning his head, he said in a low voice, "Fatty, don't be afraid. Whether it's a good death or a bad one, it all comes down to this one throw. Once it's over, we go home and do business. No more fighting, ever."

Tang Wei answered quietly. By now, the skirmishers ahead had advanced to twenty paces out. The great banner of the Guard Second Battalion tilted forward. Immediately, the banners of each brigade and company tilted forward as well. The battalion bugler sounded the advance. The clear bugle call echoed. The company commanders of the front ranks stepped out one after another, standing about five paces ahead of their formation's center, facing the enemy line. The Mobile Corps Commander was on the right front of the column. At the center of the entire battalion was the battalion banner of the Guard Second Battalion. Because this was a full-battalion assault line, Deputy Battalion Commander Zhu Feng, with the drum-and-bugle corps, stood ahead of the battle line, using the battalion banner to coordinate the advance of the entire battalion's battle line.

The moment Tang Wei heard this familiar bugle call, his tension eased slightly. The sound felt intimate to him. After the bugle call came the advance. Tang Wei waited patiently for the step-drums to begin. The company commander, gripping his saber, stood before the formation with head high and chest out, a standard-bearer beside him. Everyone in the front rank could see the company commander; those in the rear ranks could see the banner.

"Whole company, shoulder arms. First rank, present arms." A clattering sound ran through the ranks. Tang Wei and his comrades in the first rank simultaneously gripped their smoothbore muskets in both hands with the standard motion, bayonets pointing diagonally upward. The two ranks behind shouldered their muskets. Across the Dengzhou army's battle line, a forest of coldly gleaming bayonets suddenly sprouted.

"Dong dong dong dong." The battalion's ten step-drummers struck four rapid beats, then struck four more in the rhythm of quick march. Immediately, the fifers began playing their brass fifes to the drumbeat. The lively fife music merged with the drums. Tang Wei's most familiar infantry march (the Grenadier's March) rang out. He began marking time in place. As soon as the first measure ended, every company commander pointed his saber forward. The entire battalion, stepping in unison to the drumbeat, began to march, producing a synchronized tread as they advanced. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian to vote and cast monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.)

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