Chapter 129: Breaking the Camp

Outside the Qing army's camp, squadrons of Ming cavalry came howling in pursuit, galloping wantonly around the enemy encampment.

"Tartars! Come out and fight!"

A squadron of Dragon-Soaring Night Scouts brandished their long spears arrogantly, shouting loudly at the Qing camp.

The generals of the Plain Blue Banner all wore grim expressions—to have Ming troops come and challenge them at their own gates, when had the Great Qing army ever suffered such humiliation!

Angry as they were, no one dared to volunteer for battle. They had personally experienced the sharpness of this Ming force; no one was willing to go to their deaths before even leaving the pass.

"Ajige! Abatai! Come out and die!"

Outside the Qing camp, more and more Ming cavalry came galloping—fully ten thousand of them—riding in circles around the flanks of the Ming center formation. The thunderous pounding of hooves made the earth tremble violently, kicking up vast clouds of dust.

"Ajige! Abatai! Come out and die!"

Before the Ming center formation, a sea of red banners fluttered as Yang Qili led the first squadron of Dragon-Soaring Night Scouts on horseback, ceaselessly issuing their challenge.

"Come out and die!"

"Come out and die!"

"Come out and die!"

Tens of thousands of Ming soldiers shouted in unison, wave after wave of tremendous sound surging into the Qing camp.

The Ming army's imposing might made the Tartars on the palisade walls change color. The Tartar generals gazed at the vast, pitch-black Ming formation in the distance—and when they saw the several enormous dragon banners at its heart, their faces instantly turned ashen.

"The Ming crown prince has pursued us here." Abatai's heart was bitter; the thing he had feared most had come to pass.

"Father, let me lead the troops out to attack!" Bohetuo, unable to contain his fury, begged Abatai for permission to fight, wanting to blunt the Ming army's edge.

Abatai immediately stopped him—one didn't throw away lives like that. He said sternly, "Hold fast. Hold out until the vanguard has left the pass!"

Zhu Cilang stood atop a four-meter-high, double-decked war chariot, gazing through a telescope at the Qing camp with its tightly shut gates. The corners of his mouth curled slightly upward: "A mere wooden stockade without even a ditch dug—that can stop my army? A fool's dream!"

The Qing camp was the most common sort of timber stockade, built by felling trees and erecting palisades when the enemy situation was urgent. It could be raised quickly and could withstand charges by cavalry and infantry.

Lu Xiangsheng gazed at the Qing camp from afar and said, "If we had the Divine Engine Camp's cannons to assist us, this stockade would be shattered in a single blow."

Huang Degong added, "A pity our artillery wasn't brought along. If it had been, this pile of rotten wood would have been blown to pieces long ago!"

Zhu Cilang shook his head, however, and said, "Cannons aren't the only way to break this stockade. We can also use fire!"

Sun Yingyuan said, "Your Highness, our Divine Engine Arrows and other rocket weapons weren't brought due to transport difficulties. If we use regular bows to shoot at close range, our losses will certainly be enormous."

Zhu Cilang smiled. "Who said anything about bows? We'll use the Fire Dragon Emerging from Water from the artillery camp!"

"Fire Dragon Emerging from Water? Your Highness intends to burn down the slave rebels' camp?" Lu Xiangsheng asked in astonishment.

"Exactly!" Zhu Cilang nodded.

The Fire Dragon Emerging from Water was a new type of rocket invented in the mid-Ming dynasty. It was a rocket usable on both land and water, and the ancestor of two-stage rockets, with a range of fully two to three li. The Ming army had once used it to inflict heavy damage on the Japanese fleet at the Battle of Luliang.

Beneath the dragon's head and on both sides of its tail were mounted half-jin gunpowder barrels. The fuses of the four rockets were gathered together and connected to the fuse of the rocket within the dragon's belly.

Since the Fire Dragon Emerging from Water could burn warships, it could naturally burn down the Qing camp from a distance.

The Fire Dragon Emerging from Water was only a little over a meter long and not heavy, making it easy to carry. The Yongwei Camp's artillerymen couldn't bring cannons, but they had brought plenty of other light firearms.

When the Yongwei Camp's artillerymen aimed several dozen Fire Dragons Emerging from Water at the Qing camp, they unceremoniously lit the four powder tubes on the dragon's body. With a whoosh, several dozen Fire Dragons shot forth, flying far off toward the Qing camp.

After the first-stage rockets on the dragon's body burned out, the rocket inside the dragon's belly ignited automatically—the second stage—and several rockets shot out from the dragon's mouth, striking the wooden palisade walls of the camp and setting them ablaze.

Chaos immediately erupted within the Qing camp. Some generals shouted for soldiers to put out the fire with water, but what water was there in a hastily pitched camp? Beyond the pass lay a great mountain range, and for a time water was scarce—who would be stupid enough to use their own drinking water to fight a fire?

Zhu Cilang said, "Lu Qing, lead the Tianxiong Army around to the rear flank of the Tartar camp. Once our main force breaks through the front, your unit will immediately cut off the Tartars' retreat."

"Yes!" Lu Xiangsheng acknowledged and immediately led the Tianxiong Army off to make his dispositions.

Zhu Cilang continued, "This battle is under the overall command of Huang Degong. All camps will obey his orders!"

"Yes!" The officers and men of every camp acknowledged in unison.

By having Sun Yingyuan command the Xincheng campaign and Huang Degong command this one, Zhu Cilang not only balanced out military merits but also trained both great generals in the ability to command and employ firearm tactics.

After carefully observing the situation within the Qing camp, Huang Degong immediately gave the order: "Musket formations lead the way! Prepare to break the camp!"

Officers of the two great camps issued the command in succession: "Musket formations lead the way..."

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

War drums thundered. On the horizon, several dense, orderly musket formations advanced toward the Qing camp like moving fortresses.

The rhythmic tramp of iron boots on the ground struck the Qing soldiers' ears like hammers beating against their hearts, making it hard to breathe.

Several pitch-black square formations approached. That familiar battle line and aura made Abatai's face twitch involuntarily: "The Ming army's musketeers..."

"Beat the drums and shout the battle cry!" Huang Degong gave the order, and the drumming rhythm immediately grew urgent.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Three shouts of "Kill," laden with boundless killing intent, magnificent in spirit, shaking heaven and earth. The Qing soldiers' faces turned pale at the sound, and even those who had been putting out fires before the camp involuntarily retreated several steps.

Even the Tianxiong Army, which had gone off to make its dispositions, showed a trace of stir—all shocked by the might of these several thousand musketeers. Lu Xiangsheng sighed in admiration: "With such military might, they will surely be invincible wherever they go!"

When the musket formations were a hundred paces from the camp, all the musketeers loosed a volley at the stockade ahead. Amid the crackling reports of the muskets, splinters flew from the Qing camp's walls, and Qing soldiers around them fell one after another.

Chao Pichang led his two thousand surrendered troops, fleeing in terror from the stockade wall with their hands over their heads, screaming as they ran back. No one was willing to stand there as cannon fodder and wait to die. The cowardice of the Ming defectors made the Tartars gnash their teeth in fury, yet there was nothing they could do.

"Keep advancing!" Huang Degong continued to shout.

The several musket formations marched to the beat of the drums, loosing a volley every ten paces they advanced. After firing, they reloaded while continuing forward—extremely steady and composed.

By the time they were thirty paces from the stockade, the musket formations had already fired seven or eight volleys. The Qing soldiers inside the camp had long since retreated far back, hiding within fifty paces behind the wall, waiting to loose arrows en masse when the Ming broke through.

"Grenades! Break the camp!"

At Huang Degong's command, the musketeers slung their muskets over their shoulders, took round grenades from their belts, lit the fuses, and hurled them all at the stockade wall.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Explosion after explosion rang out. The Qing stockade wall could not withstand the assault—sections of it were blown flat in succession.

"It's broken just like that?"

Not only was Abatai dumbfounded, all the Qing troops were stunned. They had originally hoped to ambush the Ming army, trapping them before the stockade wall and shooting them down with arrows, but the stockade wall was utterly useless!

Huang Degong continued: "Keep advancing, shoot every ten paces!"

Amid the war drums, dense ranks of musketeers surged into the Qing camp, still shooting every ten paces as they steadily pushed forward, displaying great discipline.

The Qing troops were forced to retreat step by step; no one was willing to tangle with these several thousand Ming musketeers—the weapons in their hands were far too vicious.

Huang Degong continued to roar: "All cavalry, charge from both flanks! The left wing enters the pass to rescue the civilians, the right wing circles behind the Tartars' rear to annihilate them in one stroke!"

As the command flags were raised, thunderous shouts erupted from the cavalry host. Brandishing spears and sabers, they galloped madly toward both flanks of the Qing camp.

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