Chapter 416: Not Afraid of Cold Water — Gao Hongtu, Part Two

The battlefield on the south bank of the Tu River had originally been a flat, open expanse, but now, because of the Ming army's "earthen redoubts" and the trenches and breastworks the Qing troops had dug, the Shandong trained army, which was in a defensive posture, had support on both its left and right. And they had formed their line with their backs to the water — behind them was the Tu River. Though it could be forded, a portion of Qing troops led by Gang'atai had already appeared on the north bank of the Tu River, cutting off the retreat route across the water.

So Gao Hongtu's trained troops could now only fight with their backs to the river, staking their lives against the Eight Banners soldiers surging toward them like a tide!

The Shandong trained army under Gao Hongtu (also called the Qi army) seemed to be at the very bottom of Zhu Cilang's current Ming military system, and from the very start it had an extremely strong feudal and backward character, held together by interpersonal ties of teacher and student, fellow townsman, clan, and in-law relations, thus forming one small military clique after another. To put it vividly, Gao Hongtu the great warlord was coaxing along a bunch of petty warlords beneath him. Such a body was very prone to corruption; once it had enough fruits of victory to enjoy, it would become lethargic and lifeless.

But for now, the Qi army was still newly founded and rising, and from top to bottom it could unite its hearts and strength. Moreover, because the Qi army followed the path of scholars leading soldiers, and the army contained many young Shandong-born scholars serving as brigade commanders, battalion officers, or deputy prefects, its ability to learn and improve was still very strong.

For example, the phenomenon of indiscriminate firearms discharge that had occurred a few days earlier when they first clashed with the Qing troops now had a solution: they selected gunners with relatively better psychological composure to mount the shield carts and do the firing, while gunners with poorer psychological composure were assigned to loading — this not only solved the problem of indiscriminate firing, but also allowed the three-eyed guns to produce continuous firepower.

And to protect the soldiers firing the three-eyed guns from being killed by arrows, the army's craftsmen had cut firing ports in the wooden shields of the shield carts, so the gunners could kneel on one knee behind the great shields and fire the three-eyed guns through the ports.

Since there was no time to link all the shield carts together, the crescent-moon wagon-fort formation could not be set up, so Gao Hongtu had to place saber-and-shield men and pikemen in the gaps between the shield carts. The trained army's archers, carrying bamboo bows, formed ranks behind the defensive line made up of shield carts, saber-and-shield men, and pikemen, waiting in formation, every man with a bamboo bow in hand.

And behind these archers was another battle line of pikemen and saber-and-shield men, and behind them were Gao Hongtu and his personal guards. And behind Gao Hongtu was the surface of the Tu River. The churning river water gradually soaked the hem of Gao Hongtu's robe, yet he was utterly unaware of it, only staring fixedly ahead.

The Eight Banners cavalry did not charge in all at once, but halted at a distance of one or two thousand paces from the Ming position. By now the sky had brightened a little more, and in the distance one could see white, yellow, blue, and red armor and clothing forming a sea, as if about to completely drown the low, thin dike formed by the Ming officers and men.

The officers and men facing the enemy all felt a trace of ominous foreboding. Because they discovered that this time, instead of the "beloved by all" booi slaves and Green Standard troops, what came up was uniformly genuine Manchu Eight Banners soldiers, and their number certainly exceeded ten thousand!

Woooo —

With a burst of mournful bugle calls, the previously motionless Eight Banners cavalry suddenly stirred! The Eight Banners soldiers did not charge in all at once, but instead a force of cavalry in yellow armor surged out, about two thousand riders, charging along the left side of the trench the Qing troops themselves had dug. They did not form any strict, tight formation, but came on in loose clusters, swarming forward. Seen from afar, one could only see the yellow cavalry rolling and leaping, howling as they came.

Li Dakai, commanding at the front, came from a military family. Although he had little actual combat experience, his eye was still keen, and seeing the Eight Banners formation, he knew they were going to play at mounted archery.

He opened his throat and bellowed: "No shooting arrows, no firing guns, no retreating! Every last one of you bastards, hold your ground for me!"

Bows on the eastern battlefields had always been divided into cavalry bows and infantry bows. Cavalry bows were light and supple, convenient for use on horseback. Infantry bows were long and stiff, impossible to draw on horseback, but their draw weight was ample and their effective range comparatively long.

However, the production cost and time required for a single fine bow were both things the newly founded Shandong trained army could not afford.

And those long wooden bows drawn entirely by brute strength were also beyond the ability of old farmers who had just switched to soldiering — farming may be hard labor, but it is a different matter entirely from drawing a bow and shooting arrows.

So the Shandong trained army was generally equipped with bamboo bows, which were soft and light, and short-ranged. Against armored Eight Banners soldiers, they only had some killing power within a dozen or so paces.

Facing the surging Eight Banners cavalry, they could only endure being shot at with arrows without counterattacking, because counterattacking was useless anyway!

Likewise, the effective range of the three-eyed guns was only about that much; beyond that, they simply could not hit anything!

Just then, the first wave of charging Eight Banners soldiers had already slowed their horses, taken out their bows, and at the same time begun turning their horses' heads, wheeling left in sequence, changing from charging straight at the Ming defense line to moving parallel to the Ming battle line, at a distance of about twenty or thirty paces.

With a burst of twang-twang-twang-twang, vibrating sounds, countless sharp arrows shot forth violently, hurtling straight at the Ming army's great formation!

One could only see the sharp arrows falling like raindrops into the Ming ranks. The arrowheads fell in a very concentrated pattern, and at once soldiers with incomplete armor and insufficient protection had their bodies pierced through by the sharp arrows, collapsing to the ground and letting out wail after wail.

Yet the remaining soldiers still stood firm and unmoving.

Not a single arrow was shot back, nor was there the sound of a three-eyed gun firing.

The yellow-armored Eight Banners soldiers shot as they rode, and after loosing several thousand arrows, they had already swept past the front of the Ming formation and wheeled left again. So-called mounted archery, viewed from high above, was simply a group of cavalry riding in circles in front of the enemy infantry formation. The cavalry only drew their bows and shot when they closed in on the infantry's great formation, then rode off once they had shot.

If the mounted archery was of a high standard, then two or three thousand riders could all place their arrows within a designated area.

That is to say, in the sector hit hardest by the Eight Banners cavalry, seven or eight thousand arrows fell within a very short time!

If the infantry's armor had been excellent, and they were also holding up shields, then of course it would not have been much of a problem.

But the Shandong trained soldiers did not have such good equipment!

So in the places the Eight Banners archers concentrated their attack, the formation at once became sparse.

And just as the yellow-armored cavalry finished loosing their arrows and rode off in triumph, several hundred men in blue cotton armor came charging up like a flood bursting a dike.

Unlike the yellow-armored cavalry before them, who had held their horses' speed in check, their horses' speed grew faster and faster, the Jurchen steeds beneath them seeming to fly as they pressed bravely forward. Their formation was also denser; though not a "wall formation," it was still a very tight charging formation. The riders on horseback all hunched down behind their horses' necks, striving to reduce the area exposed to arrows and gun pellets. Their lances, tethered to their saddles by cords, were all clamped under their arms, the lance tips glittering with cold light, rushing forward like lightning.

The Shandong trained soldiers facing them had not yet recovered from the wave of arrows just now, and now, seeing the galloping cavalry bearing down on them, all fell into terror.

Fortunately, Li Dakai arrived in time with a squad of saber-and-shield men acting as battle supervisors — when the Eight Banners cavalry had been shooting just now, he had known a cavalry charge would follow, so he had immediately brought men over to steady the ranks.

"Fire the guns! Loose the arrows!"

The saber-and-shield men who had come with Li Dakai were all Gao Hongtu's personal guards, and now they all opened their throats and bellowed along with Li Dakai.

The moment their order was shouted, the archers and gunners, who had long been barely able to restrain themselves, could finally let loose and release the fear in their hearts.

In front of the Ming formation, smoke and ash at once rose up, arrows flew, and the Eight Banners soldiers charging fiercely forward collided head-on with the sharp arrows and pellets.

Casualties were produced immediately! One could see dozens of riders in the front ranks of the Qing cavalry topple at the same time, men and horses rolling into a tangled heap. Close-range fire from one or two hundred three-eyed guns and over a thousand bamboo bows still had some power.

But the endless stream of Eight Banners troops quickly filled the gaps in the front, still pressing straight ahead, not a single man hesitating in the slightest, instead quickening their pace even more frantically.

And what awaited them was another round of arrow rain and pellets from the three-eyed guns. And this was also the last volley the three-eyed guns and bamboo bows could deliver during this wave of the Eight Banners' charge.

Because the Eight Banners cavalry, in the blink of an eye, smashed through the somewhat sparse battle line formed by the saber-and-shield men and pikemen!

(End of Chapter)