Chapter 121: Ambush 1

Abatai led the remaining several hundred archers and five hundred armored soldiers in a hasty retreat, and the Han-martial banners who had been attacking the chevaux-de-frise on both flanks also fled back one after another.

The situation Geng Zhongming encountered was basically similar to that of Yangguli's side—after dismantling most of the chevaux-de-frise, his men were badly mauled by the Ming grenadiers. The only difference was that Geng Zhongming had no fondness for leading from the front; back when he served in the Ming army, he was accustomed to commanding from the rear formation and never placed himself at the head of his troops, so unlike Yangguli, he was not blown to pieces.

When Ajige heard the news of Yangguli's death, without a word he ordered the heads of the Han-martial banner commanders who had led the assault to be chopped off—the crime of losing one's commanding general ranked first among Qing army military regulations.

From the moment battle began, Ajige had stood on the platform of his carriage, watching the entire course of the engagement with perfect clarity.

This Ming force was indeed an elite unit—their musketeers faced the enemy without panic. Unlike the Ming troops of old, who would hastily fire off all their muskets while the Qing army was still out of range, then turn and flee for fear of being cut down once the Qing closed in, these men kept their ranks orderly and their commands strict, and their muskets seemed more powerful and longer-ranged than what the Ming army had previously been equipped with. Faced with such an elite, numerous square formation of musketeers, Ajige could not immediately think of a countermeasure.

Then there was that small squad of Ming soldiers throwing thunderclap mines (Ajige did not know of the Thunderclap Bombs, so he thought the Ming troops were throwing landmines)—though few in number, their killing power was enormous.

Moreover, this method of killing inspired both hatred and fear. Even if you were a warrior who could defeat ten thousand, as long as there was a stretch of distance between you, you could easily be blown to death by such a mine. It was deeply frustrating, giving one the feeling of having strength with nowhere to use it.

The Ming cannons were not much of a concern—though their sound and might were fearsome, their firing intervals were long, and one only needed to charge through the area covered by their bombardment.

Abatai was given ten lashes by Ajige in front of everyone. Though Abatai was more than ten years his elder and was also his seventh elder brother, Ajige had always looked down on this seventh brother born of a secondary consort.

A battle-hardened Beile of the great Qing who had experienced a hundred battles, yet he had retreated without even engaging the Ming troops in close combat—he had shamed his father Khan's face completely.

Abatai harbored resentment in his heart, but dared not show the slightest trace on his face. He understood Ajige and knew just how violent-tempered this convenient younger brother of his was. The eighth brother was already exalted as Emperor, yet Ajige still frequently contradicted him to his face—how much more so himself, who had always been discriminated against by all his brothers? Since Ajige was the commanding general of this southern expedition, if he were to contradict him to his face and provoke his wrath, Ajige might well have his head chopped off. He would keep this account in mind; when the opportunity came, he would surely repay the humiliation of being publicly shamed.

Ajige looked at the assembled generals and spoke: "Let all generals deliberate—how shall we fight next! Abatai, you speak first!"

Abatai shook his head upon hearing this and said: "Ordinary armor cannot stop muskets, let alone that thunder-like exploding mine. This Changping is a hard bone—if we're not careful, we might chip half a tooth. Prince of the Commandery, I think we should head east and join forces with Tan Tai before making further plans!"

Ajige made no comment, then continued: "Genger, Danba, you two also speak. You have both seen the battle just now—the Ming army's strength is not low. How should we fight?"

Genger spoke up: "Prince of the Commandery, the Ming muskets are indeed strong, but if we can break through the chevaux-de-frise on both wings, musketeers without cavalry protection are like lambs. What we should do now is find a way to break through the chevaux-de-frise formation!"

Danba spoke up: "What Genger says is not wrong. Send men to harass the musketeers from the front, break through the chevaux-de-frise on the flanks, and then charge with the cavalry—no matter how strong the muskets, they can only fire once, and not necessarily accurately!"

Ajige fell into thought. What everyone said had merit; the most important thing now was how to break through those chevaux-de-frise, otherwise the Qing army's powerful cavalry would have no way to deploy.

Though Abatai's words were dispiriting, they were not necessarily without reason. Since they had encountered a hard bone, why must they gnaw it to the end? Such an elite Ming force surely numbered only this one, and moreover it had no cavalry. If they wanted to leave, those infantry would not dare pursue—once deprived of the cover of cannons and chevaux-de-frise, musketeers moving formation would be fish on the chopping block, and the spearmen could not protect them either.

The scouts had already surveyed the vicinity—to the west was a narrow passage between the border wall and Changping, unfavorable for a large army's advance. To the east lay open terrain; if they took Huairou and pushed south all the way, could Shunyi, Xianghe, and other places possibly have such elite Ming troops stationed? But if this Ming force were not destroyed, it would be like a thorn in the back, and might well become a grave threat to the heart.

After pondering for some time, Ajige said in a deep voice: "Whether or not we can take Changping, this Ming force must be destroyed! Our Great Qing soldiers have fought the Ming army for years and never lost! The more than a hundred thousand Ming troops called the Guan-Ning Iron Cavalry have been beaten by our Great Qing into not daring to leave their gates! If we cannot even finish off these few thousand men, it will revive the morale of the already dejected Ming army! Moreover, musketeers are easy to train—if we delay, the Ming court will likely soon train equally elite musketeers! If that truly happens, where would our Great Qing still have a chance to contend for the realm!"

Below the walls of Changping, Sun Yingyuan was in council with Assistant Regional Commander Wang Yuncheng of the Firearms Camp, Assistant Regional Commander Li Zuo of the Long Spear Camp, Mobile Corps Commander Fan Yu of the Sword and Shield Camp, and the Chiliarchs of each camp, discussing the Qing army's likely next move.

Sun Yingyuan spoke: "In the battle just now, the Jianzhou barbarians' losses were not heavy—apart from the several hundred archers killed by the Firearms Camp, their main cavalry force never moved. I judge that the Jianzhou barbarians will not let this rest; they are certain to launch a fierce assault next. What do all generals think?"

Li Zuo spoke: "Reporting to the Regional Commander, the chevaux-de-frise are the key tool separating the Jianzhou barbarians from our forces, and our unit serves as the musketeers' protection. Now that seventy to eighty percent of the chevaux-de-frise have been broken, the Jianzhou barbarians will surely use the same tactic again. How to respond, I beg the Regional Commander for instructions!"

Wang Yuncheng spoke: "What Assistant Regional Commander Li says is quite right. Our unit relies entirely on the long spears for protection. We do not fear a frontal charge from the enemy, but we worry about the flanks. If the enemy breaks through the flanks, the great musket formation is not easy to turn; if they charge us, the situation would be perilous!"

After a moment's deliberation, Sun Yingyuan ordered: "Dispatch the remaining two thousand spearmen from within the city to thicken both flanks respectively, ensuring the safety of the Firearms Camp. Move the archers forward in formation, positioned behind the spearmen's ranks, with the sword and shield men protecting the archers. Send men to scatter caltrops before the chevaux-de-frise on both sides to check the enemy's momentum when they charge. The cannons atop the city walls shall fire when the enemy cavalry assembles, scattering their formation! Go prepare at once!"

Let us return to the time before Tan Tai's force was ambushed.

The Qing army had always placed great emphasis on scouting; their scouts were chosen from the finest soldiers in the army, and this deep incursion into enemy territory made them exceptionally cautious.

Tan Tai sent out his five White Bayała, leading more than fifty riders split into two groups taking turns to probe ahead and reconnoiter the enemy situation.

From each niru of three hundred men, the Qing army selected the five to ten most elite, armed them with sharp blades and clad them in white armor—hence the name White Bayała. These white-armored soldiers were all battle-hardened, fierce and valiant men, worthy of being called warriors who could fight one against a hundred. In the Battle of Sarhu back then, several dozen White Bayała charged the lines and caused two thousand Ming troops to rout. With these five white-armored soldiers as his vanguard, Tan Tai was very reassured.

The White Bayała Dexi was around thirty years of age. He had taken the field to kill enemies at fourteen and had since rendered repeated meritorious service. But because he was addicted to drink and repeatedly violated military discipline, he had never been promoted in rank—yet his fame for valor was unmatched throughout the Plain White Banner.

This time, having been ordered to lead the scouting party, he was secretly quite pleased with himself: he was now a leader commanding fifty men, and all of it earned through his own ability. This time he would surely grab a few more booi bondservants to take back—his dozen-plus qing of land and the three booi bondservant slaves at home could no longer be properly attended to; this time he needed to capture five more to be enough. With more grain he could brew liquor—anyway, as long as he handed in the required levy to the banner, whatever he did with the rest was his own business, and no one could interfere. He also wanted to seize a few more Han women to take home and serve him. That woman last time had too fierce a temper—he had bedded her for just one night, and the next day she threw herself down a well and died. Han daughters were truly wonderful—their bodies white and smooth; fondling them was an indescribable pleasure. Silks and cloth he should also take more of—his wife at home loved Han silks the most, and Han women's bodies were just as slippery as silk, tsk tsk.

Thinking of this, Dexi chuckled to himself.

The white-armored soldier Sumu riding shoulder to shoulder with him glanced at him sidelong and reminded him with dissatisfaction: "Dexi, we're in enemy territory—stay alert!"

Dexi replied carelessly: "What enemy territory? Do those bears of the Ming army even count as enemies? I've killed a hundred or more Ming soldiers, and even killed a Ming general! Being here is the same as being at home for me—my only fear is not running into any Ming troops!"

Sumu knew this was just how he was—he could never tolerate anyone criticizing him. Though the Ming army truly was no match, they had now stepped into someone else's home, and who could say some accident might not happen?

Two scouts dismounted and entered the treeline by the roadside to look around. Several hundred paces ahead, a few Qing soldiers were trotting their horses, glancing left and right from time to time, and another scout was riding up a gentle slope to the north of the road ahead—everything seemed perfectly normal.

The Qing soldier who had just ridden to the top of the slope suddenly toppled headfirst from his horse, tumbling dozens of paces down the gentle slope before stopping, lying motionless on the ground with several long arrows stuck in his body—the fatal one being a long arrow lodged in his throat.

In the blink of an eye, Sumu, Dexi, and another white-armored soldier, Hala, had already drawn their weapons.

Dexi shouted his orders at the top of his voice: "Face the enemy! Twenty riders, follow me forward! Ten riders, loose arrows!"

On the gentle slope, the figure of a Ming cavalryman first appeared—clad in black armor, wielding a long spear, reining in his horse to look down at the Qing soldiers below. Then another rider appeared beside him and stood alongside him, and after that, Ming cavalrymen emerged in an unending stream, lining up side by side atop the gentle slope, standing as still as a row of statues.

The Ming horseman who had appeared first said not a word—he raised his spear with one arm in a single gesture, then spurred his horse and charged down the slope. The rest of the Ming cavalry urged their mounts forward and followed, sweeping down in one rush. More and more Ming cavalrymen kept appearing atop the gentle slope, then charging downward in a fan-shaped formation. Aside from the gradually thunderous sound of hooves, not a single person made a sound throughout the entire process.

The two sides were about two hundred paces apart, but the Ming warhorses, aided by the advantage of the downhill slope, easily built up their speed, and the distance between the two sides closed rapidly.

Dexi's heart and guts split with terror. In all his years of soldiering, he felt despair for the first time—the pressure the Ming cavalry across from him brought was nearly enough to shatter his will.

Ambushed! It was not that he had been careless—scouts had already ridden to the top to look, and the Ming troops had been lying in wait here all along!

This time he feared he would never make it home! If he died, his wife would become another man's wife, and his sons would be used as slaves by others! The wealth and land in his household would all become his wife's dowry when she remarried!

Dexi let out a despairing cry, like the howl of a wild beast at the moment of death.

The entire battle ended quickly. Wang Chengxian, Mobile Corps Commander of the Yongwei Camp's cavalry, led five hundred horsemen in ambushing the Qing scouts, killing more than fifty Qing scout riders at the cost of thirty-five casualties.

Dexi, Sumu, and the other White Bayała were indeed fierce and brave—in the past it had always been they who routed Ming infantry and then slaughtered at will, but today they met with a head-on collision against a large body of Ming cavalry.

Individual valor was utterly useless in such a clash where the two sides were so unevenly matched in numbers. At the very moment Dexi ran through a charging Ming soldier with his tiger-tooth spear, he took three sword wounds and two spear thrusts, dying instantly, his corpse trampled into pulp by the warhorses thundering up behind him.

After cutting down the first wave of scouts, Wang Chengxian led his men forward at a gallop and slaughtered the second wave of more than twenty Qing riders. The five White Bayała, treasured as jewels by the Qing army, had never imagined they would die so easily within the borders of the Great Ming.