Chapter 277: Ambushed on a Snowy Night

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, twenty miles outside the Yafu Pass of the Liaodong Garrison.

The vast wilderness was covered with snow as deep as a palm, obscuring the original color of the earth. Only some withered yellow grass stretched out from the snow, shivering in the cold wind.

A Great Zhou army of two hundred men was marching in the night.

Although the bright moon in the high sky was clear, dark clouds moved from time to time. Whenever dark clouds covered the bright moon, the earth would be pitch black, making it impossible to discover this team marching in the snow.

Ten miles ahead was a military fort protruding dozens of miles from the border town. There were seven such military forts in the Liaodong Garrison.

These military forts were the forward outposts of the Liaodong border town, built with solid high walls, arrow battlements, and beacon towers, each stationing two hundred to three hundred troops.

The role of these military forts was to scout enemy situations in advance for the border town, discover the movements of Jurchen fast cavalry, and report back to the border town by fast horse in time, or light wolf smoke.

Even in necessary times, the military forts would link their forces to block the enemy in advance.

Since entering winter, the supplies of the Jurchen tribes had gradually become scarce. Although the supplies in the large border towns were sufficient, they were also guarded by heavy troops. If they plundered in these places, they would definitely have to pay quite a price.

And if the Jurchens wanted to break into the pass, completely removing the obstacles of these military forts was also the primary task.

The team leader took the leather pot and took a big gulp, then coughed violently: "Jiang Xiao Si, this is wine! Carrying wine on the march, aren't you afraid of getting military sticks!"

In the end, the Jurchens could only take away some supplies that were too late to burn, and these things were just a drop in the bucket for them to survive the long winter.

The Jurchens had once captured two military forts, but the border troops guarding the military forts would burn the remaining grain and supplies before retreating or dying in battle.

In recent months, the Jurchen tribes and the Great Zhou army had been in a tug-of-war over the forward military forts.

Because these military forts protruded dozens of miles from the border town, they must have stored sufficient grain, and the troops stationed were only two or three hundred, so the difficulty of Jurchen plundering would be much smaller.

Only this team leader with a tall stature stood straight on his horse, his eyes bright and piercing, looking around from time to time, exuding an extraordinary spirit.

Guo Zhigui replied: "You think I want to be this team leader? We have only been here for a few months, and the brothers who were close to me have almost all died."

The combat power of the Great Zhou border troops was not comparable to the garrison soldiers who were defeated by dozens of Japanese pirates in Jin Ling.

Other firearms soldiers were curled up on their horses, resisting the bone-chilling cold of the northern night.

The reason for marching at night was to reduce the risk of encountering Jurchen fast cavalry plundering supplies along the way.

Guo Zhigui's voice was filled with sadness, and Jiang Xiao Si stopped talking when he heard this.

This team consisted of two hundred cavalrymen, thirty musketeers, and four large carts full of supplies.

And the border troops sent to the military forts were all veteran soldiers who had fought for a long time in Liaodong. Even for the Jurchen elite cavalry who were good at fighting, they were very hard bones to chew.

And this team marching in the middle of the night was going to the military fort ten miles ahead for routine rotation and transportation of grain and supplies.

"Even Team Leader Zheng died. I was brought by him when I first joined the camp. Without him,

At this moment, a firearm soldier rode his horse over to his side and handed him a leather flask: "Zhigui, you're just standing there stiffly, aren't you afraid of getting tired? Take a sip to relieve your fatigue."

Jiang Xiao Si replied indifferently: "Forget it, on such a cold day, marching at night, one sip of wine is one life; Guo Zhigui, you've only just become a squad leader, and you're already starting to throw your weight around."

The squad leader in charge of these thirty firearm soldiers was a tall, large-framed musketeer.

Consequently, the various military forts positioned at the three major strategic passes of the Liaodong Town became the primary targets for the Jurchens' raids.

That day, a Jurchen thousand-man unit invaded the Yafu Pass, and the two armies faced off outside the city.

The firearm battalion had just finished two triple-volleys when the left-wing cavalry, unable to withstand the Jurchen cavalry's charge, retreated prematurely, causing the firearm battalion to encounter the Jurchen cavalry's charge ahead of time.

Over a hundred brothers died in that battle; if it hadn't been for the Yafu Pass Assistant Regional Commander leading the right-wing cavalry to desperately block the Jurchen cavalry's charge, the firearm battalion's losses would have been even greater.

It was also in that battle that the former Squad Leader Zheng, while engaged in close-quarters combat with the Jurchens, kicked Guo Zhigui, allowing him to dodge a Jurchen's slash in time, while he himself died tragically under the opponent's blade.

And after the losses from that great battle, Guo Zhigui's squad of musketeers dropped from fifty men to over thirty, and they hadn't had time to replenish them yet.

Jiang Xiao Si and Guo Zhigui were both from the Love Shenjing and had always been close; seeing that Guo Zhigui's mood was a bit low, he changed the subject and said:

"Zhigui, when Squad Leader Zheng was still here, he said that among our squad of brothers, you were the one with the most natural talent for being a soldier."

"Didn't you grow up in the Rongguo Prefecture before? That Duke of Rongguo was a famous general of his generation; tsk tsk, he truly deserves to be from a top-tier military family, anyone who comes out of there is a figure..."

Guo Zhigui seemed to recall his days in the Rongguo Prefecture, recalled his mother, and of course, his milk-brother, Cong Sanye Cong.

"What kind of figure am I? My Cong Sanye is the real figure."

"Is it that Jia Cong you talk about? I've heard of him in the Love Shenjing; they say he's a star of literature descended to earth, a dignified Jieyuan. Zhigui, are you bragging? Do you really know him, and why are you so intimate calling him Cong Sanye?"

"Do I need to brag about this? When we return to the Love Shenjing, I'll take you to see him. You kid are not at all hesitant in battle; you're a real man."

Just at this moment, a dull, heavy vibration, almost imperceptible at first, traveled from afar at an extremely fast speed, gradually turning into a roar, and even the snow foam on the ground was trembling slightly.

Guo Zhigui and Jiang Xiao Si stopped talking at once, looked at each other, and expressions of horror appeared on their faces.

At this time, the dark clouds obscuring the bright moon were gently dispersing, illuminating the snowfield with a bright light.

Under the clear, cold moonlight, four or five hundred paces away from them, a unit of several hundred Jurchen cavalrymen lit their torches one by one, galloping wildly across the snow, and launched a rapid charge toward them!

Guo Zhigui stood on his saddle, took a quick look, and shouted hoarsely:

"Enemy attack, form ranks and engage!"

Originally, they were marching at night to transport supplies, hoping to avoid the Jurchens' raids, but they didn't expect they still couldn't avoid them.

And the dark night instead became better cover for the Jurchens; it wasn't until they were within several hundred paces that the Jurchens began to spur their horses and charge, catching them off guard.

More than thirty musketeers used a large cart as a shield, forming a triple-volley formation, while dozens of other cavalrymen dismounted, holding wooden shields to provide cover in front of the musket formation.

But Guo Zhigui knew that thirty musketeers couldn't stop the charge of several hundred Jurchen cavalrymen at all; it would take three hundred musketeers to have a fighting chance.

And this time, their squad of musketeers wasn't here to confront hundreds of cavalrymen at all, but to go to the forward military fort for a rotation.

Moreover, they didn't have the supplementary cover of archers; thirty musketeers could at most delay them for a few breaths of time.

And the accompanying cavalry for the rotation was only two hundred men, which was not at an advantage in numbers compared to the Jurchen cavalry.

Guo Zhigui rode his horse to the front of the Cavalry Commandant in charge of the cavalry this time.

"Commandant Xiong, judging by the horse momentum, there are no fewer than four hundred Jurchens; their strength is far above ours, and it's difficult to fight them head-on. This subordinate suggests burning the grain immediately, then retreating to the military fort with light gear."

"What did you say! Burn the military grain? The military grain in the fort can only support us for ten days at most. If we retreat into the fort, the number of people will double, and the grain will only last five days! If we burn the grain, everyone will starve to death!"

"Commandant Xiong, there is plenty of military grain at Yafu Pass; it only takes one day to transport military grain from there to the fort."

"Most of us will retreat to the fort nearby to draw the enemy away, while a few return via small paths to report the news. As long as we don't let the Jurchens grab the military grain, the winners will be us!"

That Commandant Xiong hesitated in his haste, and at the same time was surprised that a small musket squad leader could actually have such quick wit, thinking of these things in a moment.

Only a moment had passed, and the sound of hooves in the distance grew louder and louder; the Jurchen cavalry had already charged to a distance of three hundred paces, and one could already see the cold light reflected by the Jurchens' curved blades under the illumination of the torches!

As long as they let them charge to a distance of two hundred paces.

Even burning the grain and fodder would be too late.

But the cavalry commandant with the highest military rank hadn't agreed, and no one dared to act rashly!

Just at this moment, Guo Zhigui rushed to a horse cart, pulled out a wooden barrel sealed with oilcloth from the cart, tore open the oilcloth with force, and splashed the liquid in the barrel onto the horse cart.

Ever since the incident of the Jurchens raiding the military fort, every horse cart transporting grain and fodder would have a barrel of tung oil prepared for emergencies.

That Commandant Xiong was startled by Guo Zhigui's actions and shouted subconsciously: "Stop him!"

But Guo Zhigui's actions were very sudden; how could they stop him in time? Everyone only saw him throw the torch in his hand toward the horse cart.

With a soft sound of a boom, the oil fueled the fire, and the entire horse cart was swallowed by flames in an instant, burning fiercely!

(End of chapter)