Chapter 156: Section 13: Bitter Struggle

Several Heavy Armor Soldiers had already thrown aside their bows; as they charged the formation, they twisted around and drew their two-handed greatswords from their backs. In the blink of an eye, they were already hurling themselves at the Ming army’s front line.

“Thrust right.” The Firefighting Battalion’s long-spear fruit commander shouted at the top of his lungs while fiercely attacking the enemy on his right.

“Kill!”

The Firefighting Battalion’s standing rule was this: if there is no comrade in front of you, then thrust right. Just as in the last engagement, the ferocious right-thrust assault slaughtered large numbers of enemy troops from the flank. Even warriors as brave as the Heavy Armor Soldiers, when long spears stabbed at them from two directions at once, were killed with no room to parry.

At the same time, half of the front-rank Ming soldiers were also stabbed by the advancing Later Jin spearmen or fell under the flying javelins. The third rank of Ming long-spears immediately thrust out, smashing the heads and necks of these Later Jin soldiers who had entered range in one blow. As the Ming troops at the tips of both wings turned to face the front, the Later Jin rattan-shield soldiers on the flanks seized the chance to charge the formation. The command “Thrust right” rang out across both wings of the Ming army…

In the very instant the Ming soldiers finished their thrusts and pulled back their spears, several Heavy Armor Soldiers seized the fleeting gap in the Ming spear forest. They burst out from behind the Later Jin battle line, diving headfirst toward the ground, hugging their heads as they rolled straight under the spear forest. Each one, though clad in heavy armor, rolled with lightning speed. The first Heavy Armor Soldier to reach the Ming soldiers’ feet had already drawn his blade mid-roll; he hacked at a Ming soldier’s leg, used the force to halt his momentum, then suddenly swung upward and severed a thigh.

Within a few breaths, several more Heavy Armor Soldiers successfully rolled through the spear forest. They crouched to avoid the long spears above their heads, hid in front of the Ming soldiers to evade the long-spears from the rear ranks, and at the same time stabbed fiercely at the Ming soldiers beside them while violently ramming the Ming soldiers on the other side. Following their charge into the formation, the three-line Later Jin army once again launched a furious assault on the Ming battle array.

Huang Shi yelled with all his might: “Matchlock men, drop your guns and draw blades.” He leaped off the earthen platform in one bound; the personal guards behind him all drew their blades and followed him as he pushed toward the enemy soldiers who had penetrated the Ming ranks. As he pushed forward, Huang Shi tore off his cloak with rapid movements. Now he could only hope that the matchlock men or the officers had heard his order.

“Thrust right.”

“Thrust right.”

“Thrust right.”

…

Above the Ming battle formation, it was not only the officers shouting. Every soldier, while fiercely attacking the enemy on his right, repeated these words mechanically. Under the influence of this frenzied shouting, the Ming soldiers who were not under attack repeated their drill movements as if possessed. Every time a Ming soldier fell under the enemy’s attack, a soldier from the rear rank always stepped forward to take his place. When the Later Jin soldiers charged the formation, even if they were lucky enough to block the spear thrusting from the right, they would still be struck by the long-spear from the front. Every Ming soldier’s life was certain to be exchanged for at least one Later Jin soldier’s life.

The dozen or so Heavy Armor Soldiers who had charged into the Ming formation attacked the Ming soldiers around them with increasing savagery. But apart from those they entangled, the remaining soldiers still obeyed orders by instinct. The Ming battle line was like an embankment, against which the Later Jin army’s wave-like follow-up attacks shattered time and again.

The matchlock men or officers seemed to have heard Huang Shi’s final order. Those matchlock men had already thrown down their matchlocks and drawn their self-defense daggers — which were the one-foot-five-inch spear blades from the Firefighting Battalion’s standard long-spears fitted with a handle. Brandishing their ramrods and daggers, they fought the enemy soldiers who had penetrated the Ming formation. The matchlock men and the dozen or so charging Heavy Armor Soldiers were all half-crouching on the ground, fighting like rats. Above their heads, long-spears flew back and forth, and the hoarse shouts of “Thrust right” were deafening.

Among the rats scrambling chaotically beneath the spear forest was Huang Shi. Many Later Jin soldiers attempted to emulate the example of their successful predecessors, trying to crawl or roll into the Ming formation. But this batch’s skill was very poor; when they slipped through, they had no ability to defend themselves at all. Sitting on the ground, Huang Shi met one head-on and stabbed him dead, then kicked against the corpse’s crown to pull out his waist blade.

As he drew his blade, a Later Jin soldier beside him suddenly lunged through the air. The gleaming general’s armor on Huang Shi was far too conspicuous. One personal guard straightened his back slightly to shield Huang Shi, and a long-spear thrust with full force from behind by one of his own men pierced straight through his neck. The personal guard’s body immediately pitched outward from the formation, his blood and flesh spraying all over Huang Shi’s body and face, making him instinctively shut his eyes.

That personal guard’s corpse actually shielded the lunging Later Jin soldier for a moment, but on his final leap he had no such luck. Two long spears thrusting from different directions instantly opened two large holes in him. The impact robbed the Later Jin soldier’s swinging blade of its aim and force; it merely struck Huang Shi’s armguard and sent him rolling across the ground.

Although the Firefighting Battalion, thanks to captured equipment, now all wore iron helmets, the armor on Huang Shi’s body was still beyond comparison with that of ordinary soldiers. The mountain-pattern general’s armor he wore was a privilege reserved for military officers of the third rank. This suit of armor was of exquisite workmanship, using not a single rivet, so there was no need to worry about injuring himself. Huang Shi’s mountain-pattern armor was unquestionably rigid armor; when worn, its weight sat on the hips and lower back rather than on the shoulders like the soldiers’ flexible armor, allowing his arms to move and exert force freely.

Huang Shi moved low, using both hands and feet. He felt a long-spear just graze the red tassel on his helmet, which made him bend his waist even lower as he crawled past his own soldiers’ legs. Carelessly, his right hand was heavily stepped on. Above his head rang a madman-like roar: “Thrust right.” A Later Jin soldier flopped down right in front of Huang Shi’s eyes, a large hole torn in his right ribs gushing out blood and fragments of liver and intestines.

Pushing aside this corpse, Huang Shi crouched and shifted forward again, closing in on a Later Jin Heavy Armor Soldier ahead. Beside that fellow lay two Ming matchlock men. The two Ming soldiers clutched their ramrods and short self-defense blades tightly, dying with their eyes open. The dagger in one man’s hand was still pinning the Later Jin Heavy Armor Soldier’s arm to the ground.

Huang Shi saw that this Later Jin Heavy Armor Soldier was utterly exhausted, without even the strength left to pull out the dagger and free his right hand. The Heavy Armor Soldier knew that if he did not strive to break the Ming formation, no reinforcements would come. Struggling, he feebly shook the leg before his eyes with his left hand, then wrapped his arms around the boot and stretched his head forward to bite the Ming soldier’s calf.

This Heavy Armor Soldier was also stabbed to death by Huang Shi’s blade. The Ming soldier who had been bitten was clearly still mechanically obeying orders, continuing to fiercely attack the Later Jin reinforcements. Huang Shi pushed this corpse aside as well, his mouth wide open as he panted repeatedly. At the same time, he crouched and looked around; there seemed to be no enemies in his field of vision. Panting heavily, he raised his head to look. The Later Jin army’s battle line had already withdrawn some distance. On the ground, Huang Shi adjusted his posture, forcefully pointing his blade forward, waiting for the next charge.

But this time, the next charge did not come for a long while. Huang Shi narrowed his eyes and looked at the enemy. The Later Jin soldiers’ chests heaved violently; every man’s mouth was wide open, gulping down heavy breaths. The light in their eyes was very strange — it seemed, it seemed to be fear.

These Tatars, who knew not what death was, could also feel fear? Huang Shi clenched his long blade fiercely, every muscle in his body taut.

There were not many standing Later Jin armored soldiers left. The daily work of the Later Jin unarmored auxiliaries was farming; when they followed the army, their jobs were cutting grass and feeding horses. These banner men had originally been holding their sabers, waiting to join the pursuit. Now that the battle had reached a stalemate, they cowered behind the combat soldiers. Huang Shi felt these Later Jin auxiliaries were only good for putting on a show of force.

The Later Jin battle line withdrew even farther. The enemy’s horns urging attack had already ceased. Combat soldiers and auxiliaries alike picked up bows from the ground and began shooting over in scattered volleys. Huang Shi realized that the general’s armor on his body was a magnet for arrows. Soon several flying shafts came straight at him, but the two arrows that hit him failed to shatter the armor plates. Using the force, Huang Shi flashed backward into the formation.

The Ming long-spearmen still maintained their formation, while the matchlock men picked up their weapons from the ground and hurled javelins, broad-bladed flying swords, and ring-headed throwing knives back in a mass. For armored and helmeted combat soldiers, the killing power of these weapons was actually limited, but for the auxiliaries it was entirely different. Those Later Jin soldiers without armor, if grazed by a flying sword or throwing knife, suffered a bloody, gaping wound.

Huang Shi slowly walked back to the earthen platform in the center of the formation. When he had left, the area inside the town had still been packed full of people; now it was much emptier. In front of the earthen platform, it was already deserted. When he once again stood on the platform, several matchlock men had already set up their matchlocks. From the opposite side came a sobbing-like horn call. Before Huang Shi’s eyes, the Later Jin battle line kept retreating, retreating, then slowly pulled toward his right-hand direction. Huang Shi’s field of vision suddenly opened wide.

Behind the withdrawing enemy battle line, a forest of long-spears pointed straight at the sky, slowly approaching, bobbing up and down.

When Huang Shi had just straightened up earlier, he had felt a spell of dizziness, his vision going black; even now his head was still a little heavy. He shook his head again and felt much better. A mile away, the Ming army’s center was a forest of spears; beyond both wings, there seemed to be cavalry units.

Some Later Jin soldiers were dragging away their wounded comrades right in front of Huang Shi, even loading the wounded onto horses before his very eyes, yet he still issued no orders.

When He Baodao spurred his horse to a halt before him, Huang Shi was vigorously pounding his aching lower back. Watching the departing Later Jin cavalry, he said in a deep voice: “Mobile Corps Commander He, cancel the pursuit. The enemy army is far from collapsing.”

“At your command, my lord.”