Chapter 107: A Great Victory

The bodies lying on the ground grew ever more numerous, and the bandits' blood had pooled into a wide slick. Bandits kept climbing the city wall from the scaling ladders, then charging continuously toward both flanks.

When Yizhang Qing saw his men reach the top of the wall, he thought the matter was as good as settled.

After three rounds of gunfire from the wall, there was no further sound. It seemed the government troops defending the city, though elite, were far too few in number.

As long as they could gain a firm foothold on the wall, no matter how fierce the government troops were, they could not withstand being buried under a mountain of corpses.

As wave after wave of his men climbed the wall, Yizhang Qing felt he should now thrust out to both sides to support the allied forces attacking the eastern face.

He turned and bellowed his orders: "Hu Laosan! Take the Old Camp up and strike east!"

Hu Laosan, his face full of savage ferocity, gave a shout in response. Wielding a long-handled wolf-teeth mace, he led several hundred elite veterans of the Old Camp racing toward the long ladders.

As time passed, Yizhang Qing sensed that something was wrong.

Over a thousand men had gone up already, including several hundred picked troops of the Old Camp, and Hu Laosan was famed for his ferocity—so why had he not heard the customary whoops and shouts of his boys?

Just as the bandits' attention was fixed on the wall, the south gate of Shouzhou quietly swung open. From the gate tunnel came a continuous thunderous rumble, and a tall black horse burst out first through the gateway, followed closely by rank after rank of cavalry. Seizing on the bandits' lapse, Huang Degong had decided to lead his horsemen out of the city in person to charge and slaughter.

The several thousand bandits preparing to scale the wall were caught completely off guard and had no power to resist the galloping warhorses. Huang Degong led his men in repeated charges back and forth, and when the horses' strength was nearly spent, he calmly returned within the city, whereupon the gate was tightly shut again.

The bandits beneath the wall suffered grievous losses—of a force several thousand strong, barely a thousand remained. The archers, who had been sitting on the ground resting, became the first wave to be butchered, nearly all of more than eight hundred being wiped out. Because Yizhang Qing commanded from horseback, he made too conspicuous a target. When he spotted the government cavalry charging out, he tried to spur his horse and flee, but the distance was too short—the government horsemen had already built up speed inside the city, and by the time they burst through the gate their mounts were at full gallop. He wheeled his horse to escape but could not get away in time, and Huang Degong cut him down with a single stroke of his blade.

By the time Gao Yingxiang got word and arrived with two thousand horsemen, all he saw was a field of corpses and wounded soldiers moaning in agony.

For the first time, he felt a thick, choking sense of defeat.

Since he had raised the banner of revolt, everything had gone smoothly for him—his forces kept growing, his fame kept spreading. Against government troops, from the earliest days of fleeing at the mere sight of them to later victories in battle after battle, his ambition had gradually swelled.

Though he had been beaten by Lu Xiangsheng before, Gao Yingxiang was not convinced. He believed it was only his own carelessness that had let the government troops gain an advantage.

But this attack on Shouzhou left a flicker of bewilderment in his heart.

First the Xi'an Camp was checked, then came the night raid by government troops, and now this disastrous assault on the city with countless casualties.

Could it be that Shouzhou simply was not meant to be taken? He had smashed prefectural seats and county towns by the dozen and had never run into such a hard bone to gnaw. Who was the commander of this city? How could he fight like this?

Watching the defenders hurl his men's corpses down from the wall one by one, Gao Yingxiang's heart bled. His face expressionless, he gave his orders: "Go tell Old Han to halt for now! Come to my tent for a council! Send men to bury the dead!"

Just as the bandits launched their attack on Shouzhou, after a forced march of several hundred li, the Tianxiong Army and the Sichuan troops finally arrived at Shouzhou.

A camp of more than ten thousand men was pitched about ten li southeast of the city, and scouts were fanned out to the west and south.

Lu Xiangsheng and Chen Qiyu hurried to the Tianxiong Army camp. After some deliberation, they decided: leave a hundred men to tend the several hundred sick and wounded suffering from heatstroke; let the soldiers rest at once, eat a meal after one shichen, and then the whole army would strike camp and advance to the southwest.

Orders were sent for Huang Degong to dispatch two thousand men out the east gate to form ranks and meet the enemy, Lu Xiangsheng sent Li Chongjin's five hundred cavalry to strike from the flank, and Chen Qiyu would lead the Xuzhou and Fengyang troops to press in from behind the bandits.

Zu Kuan's force, which had been shadowing the bandits from the rear all along, would continue to pin down the bandit horsemen and then act as circumstances allowed.

Huang Degong personally led three thousand government troops out the south gate to form ranks. When the bandits sent men to meet them, Li Chongjin would lead a thousand cavalry in a sudden strike against the bandits' flank from the southeast, with the Tianxiong Army and Sichuan troops following the attack. Huang Degong's five hundred horsemen would roam and harry, seeking out weak points in the bandit line to charge and cut down.

Gao Yingxiang, Guo Tianxing, Hun Shiwan, and others were holding council in the tent.

After learning that Guo Tianxing's attack on the east wall had also cost him no small losses, Gao Yingxiang frowned and said: "If it comes to it, we don't have to take this Shouzhou. Losing a few men is nothing! This fat piece of meat has turned into a bone! Gnaw any longer and we'll break our teeth!"

Guo Tianxing nodded: "I don't know which unit these government troops in the city belong to—not many of them, but tough as nails! I sent several hundred veterans up too, and barely a handful came back! Damned unnatural! Men who got onto the wall could still be thrown back down—what kind of government troops are these? Heavenly soldiers and divine generals, is it?!"

Hun Shiwan objected: "I say one more push and we'll take it! To have fought this far and then pull back—that doesn't sit well with me!"

Another commander, Ma Tianlang, said: "If we're going to fight, we need to think about how. The sun at noon is too fierce—the boys can't hold out. I say we wait until shenshi, when the sun is weaker, and then attack!"

Gao Yingxiang hesitated. If anyone was most reluctant to give up, it was him. Nearly a thousand of his horsemen were lost, over a thousand elite veterans of the Old Camp, and several thousand more of the common bandits. To withdraw while knowing full well the government troops in the city were few in number—he simply could not swallow that bitterness.

But if he did not withdraw, he truly had no good way to break the city either.

He asked: "Has Huang Hu's side made any attempt on the walls?"

Gao Ying'en, sitting crookedly on his chair, replied: "My men report that the Xi'an Camp sent a thousand men to go through the motions—they didn't really fight!"

Gao Yingxiang snorted: "So Huang Hu is back. He only thinks of grabbing advantages, never of taking losses! Never mind him!"

Guo Tianxing asked: "Dashing King, are we fighting or not? I say withdrawing isn't anything to be ashamed of. There are plenty of prefectures and counties under heaven—we don't have to wear ourselves out here. If you ask me, we should head west and take Huoqiu, then Yingshang—that's better than gnawing on this bone!"

Gao Yingxiang pondered a moment, then said resolutely: "We fight! One more assault at shenshi! I'll lead three thousand horsemen to hold the line on the south side! Old Han, you get a thousand horsemen on the east to guard against that city gate! If we still can't take it, we leave tomorrow! Rations go first to the Old Camp and the horsemen! Those mud-footed rabble can fend for themselves!"

At the end of weishi, Gao Yingxiang suddenly received word that several thousand government troops had marched out of the city and formed ranks!

He burst into loud laughter: With the city wall in the way, I couldn't beat you—fine. But it seems winning two rounds has made you forget your own names! Haha! As long as you come out of the city, my horsemen will earn their keep! Today I'll teach you a proper lesson!

He had not the slightest sense that anything was amiss: Why would the government troops abandon a stout city wall and suddenly come out for open battle? When things go against the norm, there must be something behind it!

Half a shichen later, Gao Yingxiang personally led three thousand horsemen to the south gate, and from afar he could see the government infantry square outside the gate.

So there were fewer than five thousand of them!

About sixty paces in front of the square stood a hundred or so chevaux de frise, set up to prevent a frontal charge by cavalry—the government troops' posture was clearly defensive.

On the eastern side of the square was a mounted force of several hundred, shielding the infantry's flank.

Gao Yingxiang ordered his horsemen to shift east, to keep the government cavalry from charging his own infantry, and to seize any chance to strike at the government foot soldiers. Then he ordered five thousand infantry to attack, break through the government chevaux de frise, after which his cavalry would charge once from the front and then pull off. The next five thousand infantry would surge forward to slaughter once the government troops broke.

The five thousand bandits formed no battle array at all—at a single shout of command, they screamed and charged at the government troops.

Several hundred bandits reached the chevaux de frise first. These men carried shields and axes, ready to hack the obstacles apart and clear the way for those behind.

A whistle blew, and amid the humming twang of bowstrings, a sheet of arrows flew through the air.

Eight hundred three-edged arrows, capable of piercing cotton armor at sixty paces, poured into the bandit ranks. The front-rank bandits raised their shields in defense, so they suffered little harm. But those behind had no shields to shelter them, and several hundred men fell, struck by arrows.

Just as the front-rank bandits were congratulating themselves and beginning to smash the chevaux de frise, a burst of sound like popping beans rang out, and a great cloud of white gunsmoke rose. Several dozen shield-bearing bandits had their shields shattered by the bullets that came racing in, which then tore into their bodies. The agony made them fling away their shields and collapse screaming.

Three hundred musketeers, firing in three ranks, loosed one volley and then fell back—over a hundred shield-bearing bandits were already dead or wounded.

Eight hundred archers stopped after three volleys—not from exhaustion, but because no one was left standing within twenty paces of the chevaux de frise. Under the relentless hammering of muskets and arrows, over a thousand bandits lay dead or wounded on the ground, and those behind had been so terrified that they halted their charge.

His face livid, Gao Yingxiang watched the scene before him and immediately ordered the infantry to keep advancing—any who dared fall back would be beheaded! Then he split off a thousand horsemen to swing around and charge the government troops' western flank, while the two thousand cavalry facing the government horsemen prepared for a forced charge.

The reason he had not done this from the start was simply that he was loath to pit his cavalry head-on against the government troops. Infantry did not matter—kill one and you could recruit a hundred more. But every horseman lost was one gone for good, hard to replace.

This time, however, he had to pay the full price—the government troops across the field were simply too thorny to handle.

Under the watchful eyes of several dozen of Gao Yingxiang's personal guards, the remaining several thousand bandits crept forward timidly. After nearly a thousand more were cut down by arrows, they finally smashed dozens of the chevaux de frise, clearing all obstacles between themselves and the government troops. The first wave of five thousand bandits had already lost more than half their number and fell back to both sides.

Before the thousand horsemen had even finished swinging around to the west, Gao Yingxiang ordered the second wave of five thousand to attack at once.

Five thousand men screamed and surged forward. The government troops, instead of falling back, advanced—beginning to move slowly forward themselves, their formation never wavering.

A moment later the two sides crashed head-on, and the result was just like the battle on the city wall that morning.

The government troops formed up five hundred men to a row, and at the command thrust out their long spears in unison. The roving bandits were stabbed dead or wounded before they could even get close, and moments later the second wave of bandit soldiers lay dead and wounded in piles.

Seeing they could not prevail from the front, the roving bandits split off toward both flanks, preparing to attack from the sides.

The government troops had long since drilled for this. At a single command, the longitudinal ranks on both sides of the square formation turned about, sending the flanking bandits back with nothing to show for their efforts.

Because the Dashing King's camp archers had already been slaughtered almost to a man by Huang Degong, they had no way at all to deal with the hedgehog-like government troops. An air of despair spread swiftly, and most of the bandit soldiers were already preparing to flee.

Gao Yingxiang did not wait for the roving bandit cavalry on the west side to get into position. He decisively ordered his two thousand horsemen to begin their charge. The situation before him was already perfectly clear — the infantry could not hold out. He had to use the cavalry to tear open the government square formation regardless of cost, or this would be another great defeat.

Huang Degong spotted the bandit cavalry beginning to move, and urged his mount forward into a trot. Though the enemy cavalry outnumbered his several times over, he had to fight a desperate head-on clash. If he withdrew, the infantry could never withstand the charge of several thousand horsemen.

The two cavalry forces were several hundred paces apart, and at this moment both began moving forward of their own accord. Once the horses worked up to speed, they would collide in a matter of dozens of breaths.

Gao Yingxiang and his cavalry had all their attention fixed on what lay ahead. Several li off to his rear flank, Li Chongjin's thousand-strong cavalry had already quietly closed in from that direction.

Because the Dashing King's camp had split off troops to attack the east gate, there was a gap at the southeast corner. No one, Gao Yingxiang included, would ever have imagined that government troops might come slashing in from that quarter.

Dozens of breaths later, the Dashing King's camp's two thousand horsemen and the government's five hundred horsemen slammed hard into each other. After a scene of men and horses tumbling every which way, the two sides exchanged positions.

Huang Degong held his long saber aloft in one hand, still dripping blood, wheeled his horse around in a circle, and turned back. The ground before his eyes was carpeted with the corpses of warhorses and soldiers.

He swept a glance back over his shoulder — of the five hundred horsemen, only around three hundred remained mounted.

Huang Degong's heart felt as if it were being cut with a knife. These five hundred men had followed him since the Yongwei Camp, and for over a year had been like brothers to him. He could call every one of them by name. He had never imagined that a single charge would take away so many familiar faces.

He turned his head back around, glared with bloodshot eyes, raised his saber, and roared: "Today we fight to the death!" Then he spurred his warhorse forward once more, and the three hundred government horsemen urged their mounts after him in close pursuit, not a single man making a sound.

The two sides clashed again and exchanged positions. Gao Yingxiang reined in his warhorse and gazed at the government cavalry opposite, now reduced to barely a hundred men. In his heart he felt both smug and admiring.

Five hundred riders had dared to charge two thousand head-on. Now, though only a hundred remained, they still faced him squarely instead of turning to flee! Very well — then today he would grant them their wish! One more charge was all it would take to wipe out the government cavalry completely, and the remaining infantry would be like lambs before horsemen.

Just as he was about to give the order to charge again, a muffled thunder-like rumble came from behind him. Along with the trembling of the earth, the warhorse beneath him shook its head and stamped restlessly, snorting.

Gao Yingxiang knew this sort of portent all too well — this was the sound of a large body of cavalry charging!

If it were his own cavalry, they would never charge from behind. Whoever was coming could only be government troops! He did not know where these government troops had come from, but it could be nothing else!

He shouted in a hoarse voice: "West! Run!" Then he dug his heels hard into his horse's flanks, and this cream-colored steed worth a thousand in gold suddenly surged forward and shot away.

The remaining thousand-plus roving bandit horsemen were not as quick to react as Gao Yingxiang, and their mounts were not as good as his. By the time they saw the Dashing King suddenly galloping west and had yet to grasp the meaning of his words, Li Chongjin's thousand horsemen were already only a few hundred paces away.

The timing could not have been better. The bandits had charged twice and were now reining in their horses to rest, waiting for the next charge.

A warhorse needed at least several hundred paces to go from a standstill to full gallop, and the Liaodong cavalry had already worked their mounts up to top speed — and they were charging from behind.

By the time the bandits came to their senses and frantically spurred their horses forward, the government cavalry had already slammed hard into them from the rear.

The outcome was beyond doubt. The thousand-plus bandit horsemen who had survived the clash with Huang Degong were cut down almost to the last man by the Liaodong cavalry, who had been building up their momentum all along. Fewer than two hundred riders escaped westward, and the thousand-strong cavalry that had meant to outflank Huang Degong's force had long since fled for their lives alongside Gao Yingxiang.

On the east side, Guotianxing and Hun Shishiwan encountered much the same situation as Gao Yingxiang.

While engaging the government troops arrayed in formation within the city, their thousand-strong roving bandit cavalry were ambushed from the flank and rear. Taken completely by surprise, they lost more than half their number. Seeing the situation turn bad, Guotianxing and Hun Shishiwan led the remaining cavalry in a southward flight.

Afterward Chen Qiyu led his troops in a pursuit and slaughter from behind. The tens of thousands of roving bandits east of the city suffered a great defeat, with fleeing bandit soldiers scattered everywhere.

With the addition of Lu Xiangsheng's ten-thousand-plus troops, the hundred-thousand-plus roving bandits collapsed completely. The guard station soldiers and local militia within Shouzhou city also came out to join in the chase and killing. Of the hundred-thousand-plus roving bandits, over eighty thousand were killed or wounded, and more than sixty thousand surrendered.

Liu Wenxiu of the Xi'an camp saw that things were going badly, and together with Ai Nengqi led the remaining veteran soldiers in flight early on. The remaining tens of thousands of roving bandits were either killed or captured.

Li Chongjin's force had suffered only light losses, and under Lu Xiangsheng's leadership they launched an attack on the roving bandit cavalry facing Zu Kuan to the south.

Completely unaware of what was coming, the five-thousand-strong roving bandit cavalry were caught off guard and attacked from two sides by the government troops. More than half of the five thousand were lost, and the rest scattered in all directions.

And so it was that the elite cavalry of Gao Yingxiang — which had run rampant across the Great Ming for years and boasted the strongest power of any bandit force — was wiped out almost to the last man.