Chapter 1284: How to Become a Loyal Martyr — The Shun Has Iron Cavalry

Gunfire, battle cries, the clash of metal, and the booming roar of igniting gunpowder all merged into one continuous din across the small plain between the Ju River and the Han River!

More than thirty thousand fully armed soldiers were shooting at one another with muskets, thrusting at one another with pikes, and hurling javelins with grenades tied to them. Oh, and wave after wave of cavalry charges!

The 1,500 armored cavalry commanded by Shang Zhixin were undoubtedly the trump card in Shang Kexi's hand, and their very first charge shattered two battalion-sized square formations of the Shun army.

The Shun army's infantry battalions had always suffered from relatively weak anti-cavalry capability. They had rather many sword-and-shield men and rather few pikemen, and although their musketeers' matchlocks were all fitted with bayonets, the Shun musketeers were all gentlemen of the fubing system, and they preferred to fight hand-to-hand with their waist sabers rather than with bayonet-fixed matchlocks, because they had more confidence in their own swordsmanship!

In addition, because each Shun infantry battalion had an eighty-man pike company, the musket companies and sword-and-shield companies had grown accustomed to leaving the task of defending against cavalry to the pike company, so confusion in deployment often arose at the moment of battle.

All these factors combined meant that Ming heavy cavalry could often smash through Shun infantry square formations from the front.

Just as Shang Zhixin ended his first charge and led his cavalry back to reform, the twelve infantry battalions in the rear also launched their attack under Shang Kexi's command.

The infantry battalions under Shang Kexi were all so-called "mountain battalions," much like the Shun army's infantry battalions: they too had reduced their pikemen while equipping large numbers of sword-and-shield men. Such an organization was advantageous for mountain warfare, but its ability to resist cavalry on open plains was far from sufficient.

Moreover, the firepower of these mountain battalions could not compare with that of the Guards Army, which was heavily equipped with flintlocks (three-quarters of its soldiers carried flintlocks).

For the moment, however, both sides had roughly similar equipment and tactics, and the fight was evenly matched. The musketeers on both sides exchanged fire at thirty or forty paces. Their aim was nothing special, but the gunpowder smoke in front of the two battle lines was quite thick, and soon visibility began to fail.

Under cover of the smoke, the sword-and-shield men on both sides charged almost simultaneously, first hurling "explosive javelins" at one another, and then closing for sword-and-shield melee.

The Shun army's left wing also moved quickly, sweeping around toward the right wing of Shang Kexi and Kong Tingxun. But they were infantry, and their speed could not match cavalry. Before they could get into position, Kong Tingxun, commanding from high ground, immediately dispatched eight infantry battalions to meet them, temporarily holding off the enveloping Shun force.

At the same time, Kong Tingxun pulled out six infantry battalions to cover Shang Zhixin's cavalry — the specific method being to press forward and exchange matchlock fire with the enemy, create smoke on the battlefield, and then use the smoke to screen another cavalry charge.

If only they could smash the Shun army's right wing, victory in today's decisive battle would be in hand. At least in Kong Tingxun's view, the situation was that optimistic!

Just then, Kong Tingxun suddenly heard one of his personal guards shouting: "Regional Commander! Roving bandit cavalry — the roving bandits have cavalry!"

What a novelty! Of course the roving bandits had cavalry — without cavalry, how could they rove?

Kong Tingxun craned his neck and scanned the battlefield, but saw no cavalry! Where?

"On the other side of the river — a whole lot of cavalry!"

The other side of the river? The Han River? The Ju River?

Kong Tingxun froze, hastily raised his telescope, and turned to look. One glance nearly knocked him off his horse, for he saw a large body of cavalry pouring out in grand array from a great stretch of woods on the far bank of the Ju River — no fewer than 1,000 of them!

A thousand Shun cavalrymen were of course nothing to fear, but through his telescope Kong Tingxun saw that the ears of the warhorses beneath those riders were all folded inward.

Those were Indian fold-ear horses! How did the Shun army have so many fold-ear horses — right! Only now did Kong Tingxun remember: hadn't the roving bandits gone to India just last year on a great plundering expedition? That was the homeland of the fold-ear horse, so bringing back one or two thousand of them was nothing strange.

And 1,000 riders mounted on Indian fold-ear horses were a completely different matter from 1,000 riders mounted on short-legged Yunnan or Sichuan ponies!

Right now, a full 1,000 plate-armored riders on Indian fold-ear horses were advancing toward the hillside where Kong Tingxun stood, and in moments they would be fording the Ju River.

The Ju River was not the Han River: it was not very deep, nor very wide, and now in the dry season it could be forded without difficulty.

Moreover, the woods where this cavalry had lain hidden were due east of Kong Tingxun's own headquarters position, less than five li away. Once they crossed the Ju River, they would be upon him in an instant.

"Regional — Regional Commander! A great body of roving-bandit infantry! Following behind their cavalry!" the personal guard shouted again.

What? A great body of infantry too?!

Kong Tingxun hastily raised his telescope again, and one look made him gasp cold air!

Shun infantry were swarming out of the woods like a tide — at least ten thousand of them! If they crossed the Ju River, everything would be over.

"Quick, quick, follow me! We have to stop the roving bandits — we cannot let them cross the Ju River!"

"We can't stop them — they've got cannons too!"

The cannons had been brought out as well: Dutch-made 6-pounder bronze guns, dragged one after another out of the woods by small draft horses.

Seeing those cannons, Kong Tingxun knew the day was lost. But he still steeled himself and led three battalions down the hill, intending to set up a defense along the Ju River. Yet the Ju River was quite long, winding for seven or eight li along his flank — how could three battalions possibly cover it? The Shun cavalry were not blind, either: seeing them deploying, they simply circled far around and chose a shallow ford well away from Kong Tingxun's force to begin crossing.

And at that moment, the Ming troops locked in fierce battle with the Shun army to the front also realized something was wrong — their rear was about to catch fire!

The battle situation, which had originally favored them, instantly reversed. The panicking officers and men could no longer hold their formations and began retreating in disorder toward the hillside to the north. The Shun army facing them seized the chance to turn to the counterattack, their battle cries shaking the heavens as they pressed forward along the entire line.

Seeing the way things were going, Kong Tingxun dared not hold out any longer — nor could he — and had no choice but to flee with his few still-intact infantry battalions toward the mountain pass leading to Lueyang.

And with his flight, Shang Kexi's rear was left completely exposed.

The 1,000 Shun cavalry who had just forded the Ju River needed only a moment to reform before launching a charge at the rear of Shang Kexi's and Shang Zhixin's forces.

It was a textbook heavy-cavalry charge — cavalry circling behind the enemy and slamming into their backs!

The first to collapse were the infantry battalions that had been screening Shang Zhixin's cavalry charge. They were closest to the roving-bandit cavalry that had crossed the Ju River and had no time to react before being smashed to pieces!

Leading the charge was Li Dingguo's second son, Li Sixing. As early as last winter, he had been ordered to build an elite cavalry force mounted on fold-ear horses.

Building cavalry was no difficult matter for the Shun, which firmly practiced the fubing system: the second generation from middle- and upper-rank fubing households were mostly fine riders — the only problem was the lack of good horses.

Now, with the more than 1,000 fold-ear horses Li Jicheng had brought back from India, establishing an elite cavalry corps was naturally no difficulty at all.

And these 1,000 iron cavalry became the trump card in Li Dingguo's hand!

After smashing through several Ming infantry battalions, Li Sixing did not linger over the scattered Ming troops, but drove straight at Shang Zhixin's force, whose horses were already spent and who were now looking for a way to flee.

A single charge scattered Shang Zhixin's cavalry, and the young master Shang, so imposing only moments before, died amid the chaos of battle, becoming a loyal martyr of the Great Ming!

Li Sixing's next target was Shang Kexi, who was fleeing for his life. Shang Kexi was tall and rode a fine horse, and surrounded by the heavy guard of his personal retainers, he made an obvious target! Pursued by more than a thousand Shun iron cavalry, how could there be any way out for him? He was soon surrounded, and after a few desperate dashes left and right, he collided with a Shun fubing cavalryman and tumbled from the saddle, seeing stars. Before he could recover his wits, several warhorses came galloping over him and trampled him into a loyal martyr of the Great Ming!

This time the Shang Kexi family gained two more martyrs; added to those who had already given their lives for the nation, they were truly a family of martyrs through and through!

(End of Chapter)