Chapter 100: The Ridiculous Formation

Buzhan felt both ashamed and furious. He desperately wanted to turn around and flee, taking his few remaining hundred men to escape with their lives, but he discovered that several rows of Ming soldiers across from them had already raised their muskets and pulled the triggers.

"Fire!"

The Yongwei Camp's artillerymen quickly withdrew after firing their cannons, while over three thousand musketeers in four rows had already raised their firearms, aimed at the remaining Qing cavalry, and mercilessly pulled their triggers.

The dense and deafening gunfire rang out almost simultaneously, its sheer volume in no way inferior to the cannon fire from just moments before. The Qing army suffered yet another merciless blow.

In an instant, three fist-sized holes were blown through Buer's body, and he swayed before tumbling from his warhorse, dying with his eyes wide open. Every Qing soldier who had charged within a hundred paces of the Yongwei Camp had their souls sent straight to the underworld.

After the Yongwei Camp's musketeers fired their first volley, they did not pause in the slightest, calmly continuing to reload and fire. After several volleys, not a single Qing cavalryman remained mounted on the battlefield.

The brave warriors of the Great Qing now all lay upon the ground, their hot bodies gradually growing cold.

Because Meile Zhangjing Buzhan, seeking only a thrilling battle, had charged too fiercely with his cavalry at the start, he had left the thousand infantry behind by two li, not even letting them taste the dust.

The Qing infantry in the rear discovered from afar that their cavalry had vanished. When they caught up and drew closer, they saw the ground ahead already covered with fallen cavalrymen and warhorses.

"This—" When he saw the tragic scene before him, the Qing Jalani Janggin at the lead felt his heart tremble, somewhat at a loss.

Just as this Jalani Janggin was deliberating whether to attack or retreat, a series of cannon fire rang out from the distant Ming formation, and dozens of solid shot from red barbarian cannons howled toward them.

The cannonballs bounced continuously across the dry earth, carving a bloody path, leaving mangled flesh wherever they passed, severed arms and legs strewn everywhere.

A Qing soldier beside the Jalani Janggin was directly cut in half by a cannonball sweeping in at an angle, blood spraying all over the ground.

"Retreat!"

This Jalani Janggin was nearly scared out of his wits, let out a ghostly shriek, and immediately turned his horse to flee at the lead. The thousand Qing soldiers behind him also turned and ran, racing toward Shunyi city.

Seeing this, the Yongwei Camp's officers all burst into loud laughter. Huang Degong laughed wildly: "These dog Tartars are truly useless! They don't even dare to engage in battle!"

Sun Yingyuan also laughed heartily: "Engage? How would they engage? With their heads?"

Zhu Cilang waved his hand and said: "Alright, we can chat another time. Pass the order for the entire camp to pursue and slaughter. The cavalry will lead the way and prevent them from retreating into the city. We must wipe out this group of Tartars to the last man—leave none alive!"

"Yes!" Huang Degong and Sun Yingyuan immediately accepted the order, each leading their troops in pursuit.

The Yongwei Camp's cavalry had lost over half their number in the Battle of Liangxiang, and had later been supplemented with several hundred men from the new camp to make up a full thousand. Although they had undergone very strict training and their mounted combat skills had taken shape, their fighting power was still not what it once was.

However, this time they were pursuing a routed and broken army, so the cavalry faced little pressure. Every man was full of fighting spirit, urging their warhorses forward and swinging their sabers in vigorous pursuit.

With several hundred veterans forming the arrowhead of the Yongwei Camp's cavalry, upon catching up to the routed army, they charged past the flank of the targeted Qing soldiers, and with a light swing of their sabers carried by the momentum of their horses, cut the enemy down.

Some veterans skilled in mounted combat struck with precise angles and targeting, severing Qing soldiers' heads with a single blow. As for the new recruits, this was their first real battle, and they were somewhat flustered, hacking wildly as they rode, yet they still cut down quite a few men.

The fleeing Qing soldiers had no will to resist, only desperately running for their lives. It wasn't that they couldn't fight, but that everyone knew infantry against cavalry was a suicidal tactic. Their only thought was to retreat into the city, then regroup and fight again.

The thought was beautiful, but reality was cruel. The Yongwei Camp's thousand cavalry pursued mercilessly, slaughtering the fleeing Qing soldiers until heads rolled and they cried for their fathers and mothers.

Under Huang Degong's command, the Yongwei Camp did not wheel around for another pass, but instead charged through the Qing ranks, blocking the entire Qing force behind them and preventing their retreat back to Shunyi city.

Seeing themselves surrounded front and back with no route of escape, this Qing force steeled themselves for certain death and began to fight like cornered beasts.

The Jalani Janggin among the Qing troops shouted loudly: "Form a circular formation!"

As a battle-hardened army of this era, the Eight Banners troops, even after losing all their cavalry and suffering this pursuit, fully displayed the quality of a strong army. They quickly completed their assembly, standing back to back with their comrades to form a large circular formation, defending against the Ming army's encirclement.

The Qing Jalani Janggin Buzhan's heart was pounding. He didn't know whether this tactic, learned from Prince Su Hooge, would actually work. He had heard that this formation was something the Emperor had comprehended from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

At this moment, Zhu Cilang arrived with the Yongwei Camp's musketeers. Seeing the Qing formation, he was somewhat surprised, then smiled: "This Tartar commander actually has some skill—he even managed to pull out Sun Bin's circular formation."

Xu Sheng beside Zhu Cilang asked: "Your Highness, is this circular formation very powerful?"

Zhu Cilang said: "The circular formation is a ring-type formation with very strong defense—it's hard to attack from any direction. Back in the Battle of Changping, when Zhao Kuo was surrounded by the Qin general Bai Qi, he used this formation. Bai Qi recognized it and dared not launch a strong assault, so he could only besiege them. The Zhao army held out for forty days before finally surrendering due to running out of food."

Xu Sheng had also heard of the great name of Bai Qi, that god of war. He said in surprise: "Then should we also besiege the Tartars to death?"

Zhu Cilang let out a sigh. This Xu Sheng was all brawn and no brains, ultimately unsuited for leading troops in battle—only fit to serve as his bodyguard.

He shook his head and said: "Anyone can learn formations and anyone can form them, but it also depends on who's using them and how much they truly understand. This Tartar formation is nothing but an empty shell—it's a hundred thousand li short of the square-circle formation Sun Bin designed!"

Then, without further ado, Zhu Cilang directly gave the order for the Yongwei Camp's musketeers to surround the Qing army in a semicircular formation at a distance of seventy paces.

The Yongwei Camp currently had over three thousand musketeers. If they formed a large circular encirclement at the safe distance of seventy paces—the range of arrows—the musketeers would be spread too thinly to form an effective fire net.

Therefore Zhu Cilang adopted a semicircular formation, with the Yongwei Camp's cavalry forming a semicircle behind them to surround the Qing troops, preventing them from desperately breaking through the blockade and retreating to Shunyi.

"Open fire!" Zhu Cilang ordered. Cold weapons can't attack you easily? Then we'll use firearms—let you taste what it means to be lined up and shot, riddled with bullets!

"Kill!"

The Yongwei Camp's musketeers shouted in unison, collectively stepping forward one pace. Over three thousand muskets lowered in dense ranks, pitch-black muzzles aimed at the Eight Banners soldiers arrayed in their circular formation ahead.

Dense gunfire rang out, and the Eight Banners soldiers across from them fell in swaths. In the blink of an eye, multiple gaps had appeared in the circular formation.

Within seventy paces, the Yongwei Camp's self-igniting Lumi muskets pierced through their armor without exception, while the Eight Banners soldiers' bows and arrows couldn't reach the musketeers. The musketeers shot as easily as they did in target practice, completely without danger—even the new recruits felt it was quite easy.

The Eight Banners soldiers tumbled to the ground one after another. The pungent smell of blood and the choking smoke of gunpowder blew together on the wind, making the remaining Eight Banners troops inside the circle tremble all over with fear. They began to retreat, and the circular formation ceased to exist in an instant.

Sun Yingyuan calmly observed the Qing army's situation, then suddenly shouted: "Beat the drums, advance!"

To the rhythm of the drums, the Yongwei Camp's musketeers marched forward in orderly steps, continuously loading powder and shot, firing round after round.

After several rounds of shooting, nearly a thousand Qing infantrymen were instantly reduced by half. The remaining few hundred collapsed in an instant, falling into chaos. Some screamed at the top of their lungs, desperately running toward Shunyi city.

"Kill!"

After the remaining Qing soldiers charged out of the musketeers' effective range, the Yongwei Camp's cavalry began urging their warhorses forward in a merciless charge against the Qing remnants. After one pass, they wheeled their horses around and charged again.

After several rounds, there was not a single Qing soldier left standing on the entire battlefield—not even one survivor was left alive.

New week, three chapters today, still at the usual times—one chapter after midnight, one at 11 AM, one at 8 PM.

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