Chapter 1755: A True

Daishan, the Great Beile of the Great Jin Kingdom, who was directing the battle from behind the lines, was also startled by the ferocity these "fleeing nobles" displayed.

These must be the legendary Iron Cavalry of the Imperial Guard, right?

Daishan thought to himself: They really do have some skill! No wonder the little emperor snatched away the Hutudun Khan's own younger sister — but against the Eight Banners' heavenly soldiers of the Great Jin Kingdom, they're still doomed.

Great Beile Daishan's confidence was, of course, well-founded — how formidable could a bunch of nobles, driven to desperation by the little emperor, possibly be? These men never trained properly in peacetime, and they had hardly ever been on a battlefield. At best, they were only good for bullying the weak. If it came to real skill, they were not even the equal of the Kharchin Mongol cavalry they had just scattered!

It was only because Daishan had forced the Kharchin Mongol cavalry to fight a fixed formation battle, preventing them from using their mounted archery skills, that they had been broken in a single charge!

But after breaking the Kharchin Mongol cavalry, these "fleeing nobles" showed their true colors — just like the Mongols who had just been scattered, they too fell into complete disorder! Some of them, such as the bare-handed Zhu Chunchen, did not linger in the fight. Following Zhu Youjian's orders, after breaking through the Mongol formation, he wheeled his horse around and withdrew to the right flank.

However, most of them had remembered to grab their weapons before the charge began (how could one go into battle without a weapon?), so now they could happily beat the drowning dog — chasing the scattered Mongols, slashing with blades and thrusting with spears, having a grand old time, completely forgetting that behind the Mongols there was still a group of savage Manchu armored cavalry!

There were also some household retainers and guards of the nobles, men who had likely served in the frontier armies, who could not resist the urge to cut off heads and claim merit at the sight of Mongols lying all over the ground. They simply dismounted and threw themselves upon the fallen to hack off heads — His Majesty was personally overseeing the battle, and if they presented the severed heads, perhaps the imperial countenance would be greatly pleased, and an official post would be theirs!

And so, some fled, some fought hand-to-hand, some hacked off heads — the "fleeing nobles," who had originally been divided into seven large groups capable of combining their strength, scattered completely in an instant.

And this was exactly what Daishan had been waiting for. He immediately gave the order to charge!

With a low, drawn-out blast of horns, the Later Jin iron cavalry, which had been advancing at a walking pace, began to accelerate all at once. Nearly two thousand Eight Banners armored cavalry, formed in two ranks front and back, like two moving red walls, charged toward the Kharchin Mongol cavalry and Ming iron cavalry already locked in melee ahead.

Hoofbeats thundered like rolling thunder; battle cries shook the ears!

In the blink of an eye, the Plain Red Banner's armored cavalry had charged into the fray. These Eight Banners heavenly soldiers did not care who in front of them was Mongol and who was Ming. Anyone in their path was skewered with a cavalry lance! Under the single charge of the Eight Banners troops, both the Kharchin Mongols and the Great Ming's "fleeing nobles" suffered catastrophic casualties!

And after charging into the melee, these Plain Red Banner armored cavalrymen immediately threw themselves into close combat!

These Eight Banners troops were, in fact, typical Eastern feudal soldiers, trained in mounted archery, formation-breaking charges, close combat, and fighting both mounted and on foot. And although they fought with discipline and formation coordination, they still placed greater emphasis on individual valor. So after breaking the formation, what naturally followed was close combat — or slaughter!

The Eight Banners feudal soldiers of this era truly could fight! In mounted and dismounted combat alike, every one of them could be called an expert. Though they could not compare to Zhu Youjian's "black spear," how could those "fleeing nobles" possibly be their match? The "fleeing nobles" and their guards and retainers, who moments ago had been overwhelming the Mongols, instantly became prey for the Eight Banners troops to cut down at will. Even clad in sturdy armor, they were still hacked apart, wailing for their fathers and mothers, corpses piled one upon another.

"Ha ha ha!" Behind the lines, Daishan, directing the battle with several dozen white-armored soldiers around him, laughed aloud in triumph at the one-sided battle unfolding ahead, and said to those around him: "What Iron Cavalry of the Imperial Guard? Nothing special!"

His words had not yet faded when a piercing blast of suona horns rang out from the Ming battle line!

So the Ming army had a second wave too!

Daishan hastily stood up in his stirrups and craned his neck to look ahead. One look, and astonishment immediately showed on his face.

What he saw was that several hundred paces away, to the south of the tangled mass of Eight Banners troops, Ming cavalry, and Kharchin Mongol cavalry, a line of ironclad cavalry had appeared at some point, deployed in a single extended line!

"These cavalry..." Daishan drew a sharp breath, and a trace of alarm actually appeared on his broad, flat-cake face.

Because what he saw was over a thousand lancers arrayed in an extremely dense horizontal formation, nearly shoulder to shoulder!

Dense as their formation was, they were nevertheless galloping faster and faster, launching a charge!

They launched an indiscriminate wall-charge at the Eight Banners troops, Ming cavalry, and Kharchin Mongol cavalry locked in melee!

And the one leading this charge of ironclad cavalry was, of course, the man first in martial prowess under heaven, first in the art of war, first in learning — the Great Ming's His Majesty, Zhu Youjian.

This was a true "Long Live the Emperor" charge!

This was the genuine Great Ming His Majesty personally leading the charge! Over a thousand Imperial Guard cavalrymen, all as if possessed, spurred their horses forward with all their might, each striving to charge into the enemy formation ahead of His Majesty, who rode at the very front...

This was not the first time the reborn Zhu Youjian had charged an enemy formation on horseback, but it was the first time he had led the Imperial Guard cavalry he had personally forged in a headlong charge against the Later Jin's Eight Banners troops.

Although he had great confidence in his Imperial Guard personal troops and their formation-charging tactics, the Imperial Guard's charge tactics had, after all, never faced a true test — charging the elite Eight Banners!

Of course, Zhu Youjian did not dare charge them head-on, face to face. So he had very mercifully given those nobles — every one of whom deserved beheading and confiscation of property — an opportunity to serve the nation unto death. As long as these would-be martyrs could become locked in combat with the Eight Banners troops... he did not expect them to kill even a few Eight Banners soldiers; as long as their armor was sturdy enough to withstand a few blows, then the lancers personally led by Zhu Youjian could carry out a comfortable cavalry assault!

And now, that was precisely the moment for a cavalry assault!

"The Great Ming Emperor is here! Who dares do battle with Us?!" Seeing himself hurtling toward the melee ahead, Zhu Youjian was excited beyond measure and shouted at the top of his lungs.

In an instant, the collision happened!

Zhu Youjian, riding at the very front, charged into the fray! One hand held his lance loosely, the spearpoint aimed at a Later Jin cavalryman who was raising his own lance high, point downward, seemingly about to skewer someone into a human kebab.

That cavalryman was perhaps stunned senseless by Zhu Youjian, the foremost martial artist under heaven — he even forgot to thrust his lance downward, and merely stared in terror at Zhu Youjian bearing down on him, watching as the tip of Zhu Youjian's lance pierced into his chest, and then his entire body was carried off the saddle by the tremendous force of the spearpoint, flying backward and finally crashing heavily to the ground.

This Eight Banners soldier was even a red-armored trooper. Though he had not been selected for the white armor, he was still a man of considerable martial skill — yet now he had not lasted even a single exchange before Zhu Youjian unhorsed him!

At the instant Zhu Youjian thrust his lance at that red-armored soldier, his right hand released the lance — otherwise the tremendous force would have injured his wrist as well. After discarding the lance, Zhu Youjian immediately drew his iron mace, also holding it loosely, then raised it high, leaning his body slightly forward, never reining in his horse, continuing the charge.

Another Eight Banners soldier blocked Zhu Youjian's path. This fellow's lance had just pierced into the body of a "noble's guard" and could not be pulled free at once, so he fumbled frantically to draw his saber — but before the blade could be drawn, Zhu Youjian's iron mace, driven by the momentum of the charge, came smashing down. It did not strike his head, but it shattered the arm that was reaching for the saber!

In the mere blink of an eye, Zhu Youjian had slain one slave-bandit and gravely wounded another — truly, his valor surpassed the entire army!

After Zhu Youjian struck down that Eight Banners soldier with his iron mace, he had already ridden at the very front and broken through the tangled melee — the Imperial Guard cavalry's rule was to charge through without lingering in combat and without taking heads; once through, they left, and would charge again next time.

So after completing the charge, Zhu Youjian immediately tugged the reins and changed direction, preparing to wheel around and return. But at that moment, he spotted several dozen riders standing on open ground thirty or forty paces away, apparently directing the battle. So he put away his iron mace, drew his Kaiyuan bow, nocked an arrow, and shot — aiming at the lead rider, not at the man but at the horse, loosing seven or eight arrows in rapid succession...

(End of Chapter)