Chapter 1704: Don't Run! This Khan Is Still Here!

"Long live! Long live! Long live the Emperor!"

The cheers of the Ming army on the battlefield shook heaven and earth!

Well now, the Mongol Khan's horse stumbled, and he's about to be captured alive by the Ming Emperor! What even the Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor, never managed to accomplish has actually been pulled off by the present Son of Heaven, the young Emperor! The present Son of Heaven truly is the bravest of the three armies!

"Beat the drums! Beat the drums! Charge the formation! Don't let the Tartars rescue their Khan!" Zhu Youjian, who had been half-kneeling in the long-spear formation taking potshots, jumped up excitedly when he saw the Mongol Khan fall from his horse. But he hadn't forgotten the important matter, and at once fired off a rapid string of orders to charge.

The Mongol Khan must not be allowed to be rescued!

In fact, there was no need to wait for the drums to sound — the Imperial Guard cavalry arrayed on both flanks of the infantry square had already begun their charge. Because the Mongol iron-lance cavalry on the opposite side had also gone mad, all rushing to rescue the Grand Princess of the Ulianghai!

Zhu Youjian didn't hesitate either. The moment he finished giving orders, he dashed to the rear of the infantry formation, where Hei Wentao was waiting holding the reins of Zhu Youjian's warhorse, surrounded by over a hundred Imperial Guard riders — half with long spears in hand, half with bows and arrows. Zhu Youjian said nothing more, swung himself into the saddle, put away his firelock, took out his Kaiyuan bow, then waved his arm grandly and roared: "Gentlemen, follow Us and slay the enemy!"

The others roared back: "Slay the enemy!"

Then this young Emperor, the greatest martial artist under heaven, spurred his horse and trotted around the long-spear formation to join the battle at the front.

By the time he entered the fray, the two squadrons of Imperial Guard cavalry arrayed in horizontal lines on either side of the spear formation had already completed their charge, scattering the iron-lance cavalry who had rushed up to rescue the "Mongol Khan." But those iron-lance cavalry had thrown caution to the wind — even scattered, even suffering heavy casualties, they still fought to the death without retreating.

And the Imperial Guard cavalry, having finished their charge, did not withdraw quickly as usual to regroup and charge again. Instead, they engaged in close combat right where they stood — because they had to cover Wu Sangui's capture of the "Mongol Khan"!

The Imperial Guard cavalry's close combat was also a refined art, not mere brute courage — it emphasized combined bow-and-lance attack. That is, one rider with a spear, one rider with a bow, covering each other and fighting in coordination — a fairly traditional cavalry tactic that Li Shimin and Yuchi Jingde had once played to great effect. Most Imperial Guard riders had mastered it before joining the Imperial Guard.

Zhu Youjian's archery was extraordinarily formidable, ranking among the very best in the Imperial Guard! Not only could he shoot from horseback, but he could also loose arrows in rapid succession from the saddle. Moreover, he was born with night eyes and exceptionally keen vision, able to make out targets even in dim light. Thus, under the cover of Hei Wentao, who wielded a long spear, he loosed arrows left and right in rapid succession while spurring his horse at full gallop into the thick of battle. And the warhorses beneath him and Hei Wentao were fine steeds handpicked from the stables of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, racing like the wind across the battlefield — ordinary Mongol warriors could not even get near the two of them. Working together, they were like a pair of death gods: wherever they charged, several men would fall!

Of course, no one was paying attention to these two sinister and ruthless men right now. All the Mongol cavalry were desperately rushing to rescue their "Khan," all charging toward where Wu Sangui was.

Wu Sangui was equally unwilling to give up this heaven-sent great merit. After the "Mongol Khan" fell from his horse, he wanted to take him alive. But he didn't dare dismount. Instead, he put away his long spear and took out a flying-claw hundred-link chain used on the battlefield for seizing men and lassoing horses. He hurled the claw at the "Khan" lying motionless on the ground, hooked it onto the "Khan's" armor, and then dragged the "Khan" along as he spurred his horse toward the infantry formation.

Commanding that infantry formation was Lu Xiangsheng, who with bloodshot eyes drove his men forward — as long as Wu Sangui could be enveloped within the spear formation, that "Mongol Khan" would be the Ming army's prisoner. Such a great merit — even a tiny share of it would be enough to earn a noble title!

And at that very moment, the main forces of both armies on the battlefield also began to move!

The entire Ming army was going mad. The Mongol Khan had been captured by their Emperor — this was a great victory the likes of which had never been seen! Now charging forward meant taking heads and earning merit. Each head was worth dozens of taels of silver — normally so hard to take, but today they looked free for the taking! If they didn't cut until the Ming court bled silver, what kind of soldiers would they be?

The Mongols were frantic too. Apart from the Grand Princess of the Ulianghai's personal guards, no one knew that the one captured was not the real Khan. Just now the Grand Princess's personal guards had even been shouting something about the Khan wanting to duel the Ming Emperor! The Mongol herders were a simple folk, so they all believed it. Now they all thought the Khan had been captured, so they had to rush to rescue him!

If the Khan were gone, who would they follow to feast on the best meat and drink the finest wine?

So both sides' forces charged out, all racing toward where Wu Sangui was, and a great melee immediately erupted.

The Chahar forces on the battlefield were more numerous — over twenty thousand had arrived in waves — while the Ming forces were fewer, only some ten-odd thousand. But the Ming army was better equipped! The Imperial Guard, the Man-family troops (household retainers), and the Datong garrison's elite soldiers were all crack troops, every man armored, and their bows, arrows, sabers, and spears were all of reliable quality — nothing like the junk used by ordinary camp soldiers. On the Chahar side, only the troops belonging to the Khan's ordo could barely compare with them; the rest of the herder militia simply couldn't match up.

Most importantly, the morale of these Ming troops was absurdly high!

Their Emperor was so awesome — he had won a duel against the Tartar Khan, and the Tartar Khan had been captured by His Majesty. How could they possibly lose this battle? This battle could only be fought like madmen!

The entire Ming army, from top to bottom, had fallen into a frenzy. Everyone advanced, none retreated, charging forward as if they had no regard for their lives. They no longer looked like a Ming army at all — it was as if the Eight Banners of the Later Jin had arrived.

On the Chahar side, although they too were straining with every ounce of strength, their hearts were all in panic. They were already a homeless army, surrounded by enemies on all sides here in the Right Wing Mongol lands. And their Khan was a runaway Khan — now they didn't even have their runaway Khan anymore!

So at first, when they were trying to rescue the Khan, they still had some fight in them. But after a while, the Khan had not been rescued, and instead they were being forced into disarray by a horde of crazed Ming troops. What morale could they possibly have left? The Khan was surely gone now, the Great Yuan Dynasty looked finished too — what was the point of fighting on?

Run for it, quick!

By this time, the sky had already darkened. The two armies fighting below White Climb Mountain were fighting a night battle! Night battles depend on self-motivation! So the side with soaring morale gained bonus after bonus, while the side with collapsing morale collapsed further and further!

So when the Hutudun Khan had gathered twenty thousand men and descended from White Climb Mountain, the battlefield was already full of Mongols fleeing in panic, shouting wildly as they ran.

"Disaster! The Khan is gone..."

"The Khan is gone! Run for your lives!"

"Defeated, defeated..."

"Run! The Southern Emperor is coming!"

"The Southern Emperor is coming..."

The Khan is gone?

The Mongol Khan, Ligdan Batur, was utterly astonished to hear this news — We are still here! How can We be gone? Then it dawned on him: it wasn't the Khan who was gone, it was the Khan's dear sister who was gone! First his brother-in-law died, now his sister — a whole family wiped out!

At that thought, Ligdan Batur immediately ordered those around him: "Quick, sound the horns, beat the war drums, raise the great banner! Make sure all the warriors of Great Mongolia know that their Khan is still here! Not dead yet!"

The more quick-witted of his personal guard officers nearby hurriedly ordered the Gol Tumed cavalry guarding the Khan to shout together: "The Khan is here, safe and sound!"

But no matter how much they shouted, no matter how many horns they blew, no matter how many war drums they beat, no matter how many great banners they raised, the one-sided situation tonight could not be avoided.

The battlefield was in such chaos — who cared whether the Khan was actually there or not? Run first, talk later!

Listening to the ever-louder battle cries of the Ming army, watching countless torches that seemed to cover the entire battlefield surging like a tide toward White Climb Mountain, this Ligdan Batur once again caved in — the runaway Khan's old affliction flared up again!

But this time his affliction wasn't too severe. He didn't think of running all the way back to the Tumed Plain in one breath. Instead, he withdrew his troops and retreated back up White Climb Mountain.

Because on White Climb Mountain there were still tens of thousands of Chahar herder militia, along with plenty of cattle, sheep, and horses, and many fine things looted from raids — he couldn't bear to abandon all of it.

More importantly, Ligdan Batur knew Zhu Youjian's bottom line — Zhu Youjian still needed him, the Mongol Khan, to keep the Later Jin in check!

What the two sides were now contesting was nothing more than the price the Ming would pay to buy off the Chahar. He could ask for a little less...

(End of Chapter)