Chapter 702: Soaring

Vultures soared in the sky.

The horse herd thundered wildly across the great earth.

Hong Chengchou fled in disarray through the Gobi.

He had never in his life felt such crushing pressure.

First, the anticipated time to open battle came early, leaving the vanguard army trapped on the mudflats and unable to move.

Then, to avoid constant piecemeal reinforcement and troop losses, they simply threw everything in at once, determined to use overwhelming force to push the battle line back in one stroke.

Just as Hong Chengchou's main force of nine battalions entered Lingzhou City, they were detected by the patrol cavalry of the Marshal's Army's Second Brigade; the patrol riders advanced and withdrew, and in barely half a shichen, Ren Quan'er, sixty li away, received word that a massive enemy relief force was on its way.

The Second Brigade immediately launched a fierce assault on Gold and Silver Beach, where Zhang Yingchang was garrisoned.

Zhang Yingchang was scared out of his wits.

Because this attack came completely out of nowhere.

Ren Quan'er had been urging him to surrender for a full day and two nights, and the work had made great progress.

At first, Zhang Yingchang had only wanted to stall for time — after all, the three people he detested most under heaven were Yang Yanchang, He Renlong, and Ren Quan'er.

Especially since in the past he had only detested Yang Yanchang and He Renlong; looking back, the three battalions' endless feuding in Lintao Prefecture was still vivid in his mind, yet now, none of the three could be said to have met a good end.

Only Ren Quan'er, with a single defection, had become a ranking general in the Marshal's Mansion.

When Zhang Yingchang recalled the details, many things he had been unable to understand in the past became clear, and he felt more and more that this Ren Quan'er was a real piece of work.

But Ren Quan'er had sent four batches of envoys over, and had also blanketed the camp with arrows carrying surrender letters, appealing to both reason and emotion, making Zhang Yingchang feel... that this battle probably could not be fought any longer.

Mainly, both sides had the idea of stalling for time — Ren Quan'er was waiting for rockets to reach the front line, while Zhang Yingchang was building defensive fortifications on one hand and waiting for reinforcements to arrive on the other.

As they waited, once night fell, officers under his command would take dozens or even hundreds of soldiers, cross the defensive line, and flee to the Marshal's Mansion side.

Ren Quan'er was not a fierce general like Zhang Tianlin, who was accustomed to charging headlong into battle; he clearly understood the Ming army's mentality, enticing Ming soldiers to come over for food on one hand, while proclaiming the Marshal's Mansion's policies toward their hometowns on the other.

This kind of propaganda was devastatingly effective against Zhang Yingchang's troops.

Half of Zhang Yingchang's men were Ningxia soldiers with zero morale, and half were guest troops from Shaanxi and Yansui; among them were no small number of veterans from Suide, Yan'an, and Guanzhong — the moment they heard there was a chance to go home, many men's minds began to stir.

Mainly, it was a matter of battlefield mentality.

Ren Quan'er could urge the Ming army to surrender without the slightest burden, but Zhang Yingchang had absolutely no standing to urge Ren Quan'er to surrender.

When it came down to it, this army of theirs, subordinate to Hong Chengchou, had nearly squandered even its legitimacy — where would it find the face to urge anyone else to surrender?

Especially last night, when Ren Quan'er sent men to shout loudly outside the perimeter of Gold and Silver Beach, reporting that the Ningxia Rear Guard relief force under Zhao Huai had been defeated at Huamachi by the Marshal's Mansion general Ding Guodong — it caused an enormous uproar within the army.

Two squad commanders led their troops to defect under cover of night, leaving a huge gap directly in the defensive line.

Zhang Yingchang did not even know if he could hold out for three days.

For soldiers and low-ranking officers, surrendering was simple, but a major general had far more things to consider.

His family was in Yulin — his third brother Zhang Dechang was in Yulin, his second brother Zhang Quanchang was in Xuanfu; surrendering was not a matter of himself alone.

Even so, under the pressure of circumstances, surrender had become an option under consideration, which in itself said a great deal.

But just when he thought the surrender negotiations would continue for another two days, Ren Quan'er suddenly, without the slightest warning, ordered a fierce assault, giving Zhang Yingchang a terrible fright.

Not only because Ren Quan'er had received word that Hong Chengchou's great army was bearing down, but also because the rocket and ammunition supplies from the rear had arrived.

Faced with the intelligence that Hong Chengchou's great army was coming to their aid, Ren Quan'er and Zhang Xianzhong did not panic; after a brief discussion, between retreat and holding their ground, they chose to attack.

They divided the Second Brigade into two parts — one part led by Ren Quan'er to storm Gold and Silver Beach, and one part led by Zhang Xianzhong and Deputy Commander Ouyang Gun, deployed north of Gold and Silver Beach to launch a raid against Hong Chengchou's relief force.

At the same time Zhang Xianzhong and Ouyang Gun moved north, A Liu's reinforcement battalion was the first to push cannons across the Qin Canal, and Zhang Yingchang also dispatched Zheng Jiadong's and Liu Shaozong's two battalions forward to meet them in battle.

Both the Zheng and Liu battalions had officers who had defected to the enemy and were understrength; they pinned their hopes on catching the Marshal's Army off guard while its heavy equipment was still unsteady from crossing the river, attacking to snatch an easy advantage.

They were also heavy firearms battalions, except that the Ming army's field firearms were primarily breech-loading Great General cannons, capable of providing support to their own troops at shorter engagement distances with faster rates of fire and more powerful firepower.

Only, they had not anticipated that the Marshal's Army's true heavy equipment was not the cannons that A Liu's reinforcement battalion pushed by hand and hauled by mule, but the cavalry of the roving battalion.

Ma Ke's roving battalion started later but arrived first, racing across the Qin Canal, setting up launch racks directly in front of the battle line, unloading rockets from the mules' backs, and slamming two hundred rockets onto the heads of the Ming troops pulling heavy equipment out of camp.

Then, without even bothering with the launch racks, the cavalry swung into their saddles, raised their blades, and trampled the formation.

Still the same old stuff of Zhang Tianlin's — simple, efficient.

Amid the gunpowder smoke of rockets exploding chaotically everywhere, the dazed Ming army collapsed into rout, and as one cavalry squadron after another broke through the defensive line, the fleeing soldiers surged backward straight toward Zhang Yingchang's main formation.

At the same moment, Ren Quan'er's main camp also sounded its horns from the flank and launched a vicious assault, cutting into Gold and Silver Beach at the waist.

The trenches and rammed-earth walls that Zhang Yingchang had labored over, building for two full days, had instead become an exquisitely crafted coffin for himself.

The routed soldiers blundered blindly through the three encampments, only to be jammed up inside the trenches and walls, unable to flee even if they wanted to.

They could only watch as the Marshal's Army cavalry rode into the camp squadron by squadron, raising their goose-quill sabers and golden-melon maces as they burst through the formation, like a sharp knife piercing tofu, cleanly and efficiently carving the army formation into pieces.

A Liu's reinforcement battalion did nothing at all in this battle — they just pushed the cannons forward.

From the moment they pushed the cannons across the river, signaling the start of the general offensive, to the moment they pushed even more cannons into the camp and aimed the muzzles at the last Ming troops holding formation, the entire reinforcement battalion never laid a hand on anyone from start to finish.

Yet they carried the greatest intimidating force — wherever the cannon muzzles pointed, one small Ming squad after another, stubbornly resisting, laid down their weapons and surrendered.

But they were also quite tired; pushing their own cannons forward was exhausting enough as it was, and Liu Shaozong and Zheng Jiadong had also pushed the Ming army's cannons out, which meant that after those were toppled by rockets, A Liu still had to pick up those loaded Great Generals and push them toward the main camp as well.

By the time Zhang Yingchang's last holdout troops saw A Liu, every squad leader in this battalion had a cannon in hand, aimed at them — terrifying.

Even more terrifying was that Ren Quan'er's main-force troops were reorganizing the surrendered soldiers and prisoners, while A Liu's cannon company fired at empty targets on Gold and Silver Beach.

For some unknown reason, the surrendered generals and prisoners could only watch as A Liu's reinforcement battalion blasted the open ground wildly with Great General cannons.

Some men even loaded captured matchlock arquebuses, formed up ranks, and fired into the sky in volleys of ten or twenty.

But the surrendered troops and prisoners had little chance to appreciate the Marshal's Army's performance art; they laid down their weapons, unbuckled their armor, and almost without pause were assigned their own officers and put to work repairing chevaux-de-frise and digging new trenches beyond the existing ones.

The cannon fire on Gold and Silver Beach still did not cease; the heart-shaking booms carried far across the empty wilderness.

Ren Quan'er gave the forced-to-surrender Zhang Yingchang no pleasant face; upon meeting him, he told the men holding Zhang Yingchang to let him go, and before the bound Zhang Yingchang could open his mouth, Ren Quan'er stepped up and threw a punch that left him dazed.

This gesture left Ma Ke, who was wiping blood off his blade to the side, utterly dumbfounded: "This... Marshal Ren... do you two have a grudge?"

Ma Ke and Ren Quan'er were on good terms — both were Li Bei's disciples.

"Me?"

Ren Quan'er rubbed his wrist and said, "Back when we were garrisoned at Lintao, that bastard never stopped insulting the commanding officer. I've wanted to do this for a long time."

As he spoke, he turned to the guards escorting Zhang Yingchang over and said, "Take some men and my command arrow. Do not enter any prefectural or county seats along the way. Escort him, Zheng Jiadong, and the others to Xi'an, to await the commanding officer's judgment after the battle."

Having said that, Ren Quan'er sniffed. The pervasive smoke and the stench of blood drilled straight into his nostrils.

He said to Ma Ke, "The main camp and the reinforcement troops on Gold Silver Beach are enough. Send the Mobile Troop Camp to support them as well."

Ma Ke, upon hearing this, slid his saber back into its scabbard, clasped his fists, and said, "Your subordinate obeys the order!"

Quickly, the cavalry of the Mobile Troop Camp crossed the trench and galloped north once more.

Ren Quan'er watched the vast dust cloud rising in the north and took a deep breath. He watched for a long time before tilting his head back to crack his neck. Frowning, he gave the order: "Tell the Reinforcement Camp to keep the cannons firing without pause. Keep shooting!"

He wanted the sound of cannons across the wilderness to create the illusion that Zhang Yingchang was still resisting on Gold Silver Beach, goading the Ningxia reinforcements in the north to rush their march.

His reconnaissance soldiers had spotted the enemy sixty li away, meaning the enemy was still seventy or eighty li out—at least a full day's march at normal speed.

Spurred on by the cannon fire, perhaps the enemy could be made to run another thirty or forty li like mad dogs.

Of course, whether the sound could actually be heard was uncertain.

Just like at this very moment, the one truly responding to the cannon fire on Gold Silver Beach was Liu Chengzong to the west.

If Ren Quan'er had not directed all of the reconnaissance cavalry's attention to the north, the reconnaissance riders of Liu Chengzong's First Brigade would have already made contact with those of the Second Brigade.

The reconnaissance riders relayed the news of cannon fire in the east to the main army, causing Liu Chengzong to change direction mid-march with his main force. Only after running ten li did he receive word that Ren Quan'er had already finished the fight and the cannon fire was a ruse to lure the enemy. He then led his army north again, attempting to complete an encirclement of Hong Chengchou from the flank.

During their movement, Ouyang Gun, the Deputy Brigade Commander of the Second Brigade rushing to the front lines of the battlefield, was also sprinting forward like mad.

Ouyang Gun's original intention was actually to advance steadily and cautiously.

He had little desire for meritorious service. He had been perfectly fine as a Regional Commander, promoted to Deputy Regional Commander of Lintao. In the imperial court's eyes, he was nearing the pinnacle of a military officer's career.

But then Lintao Garrison fell, and he had nowhere to report for duty. He surrendered to the Marshal's Mansion in Gansu and idled for a while, which basically extinguished his desire for fame, fortune, and rank.

In a chaotic environment, a person who encounters a slight setback and then finds a moment of stability can easily become demoralized.

Then, as he followed Liu Chengzong in taking Xi'an Prefecture and entering Guanzhong, when the time came to employ men, he was once again called into service, drifting from place to place.

He was first appointed Deputy Commander of the Longxi Brigade. Just after it was formed, Li Wanqing arrived, and he was transferred to be Deputy Commander of the Second Brigade, which is how he ended up partnering with Ren Quan'er.

To put it bluntly, he was a patient, hardworking old ox who had no intention of earning merit and held no expectations of Liu Chengzong, just wanting to get by.

Yet he ended up being entrusted with a heavy responsibility by Ren Quan'er.

The new officers of the Marshal's Mansion, regardless of background and unconcerned with formalities, prioritized ability above all. Old bad habits were few, but new flaws were even more numerous.

For example, everyone had the attitude of 'Liu is number one, Heaven is number two, and I am number three,' submitting to no one and being difficult to control.

But Ren Quan'er was a standard old-school officer.

When Ouyang Gun served as Deputy Regional Commander under Wang Wenxiu, he was scolded on his very first day in office for riding in a carriage instead of a horse because he was in a hurry.

But with Ren Quan'er, he truly relied on his seniority as a Deputy General of the Ming army, and during the New Year, he even received a holiday gift sent by Ren Quan'er's men.

Precisely because of this, Ouyang Gun wanted to pursue a more cautious advance this time, to avoid throwing the army away.

After all, their reconnaissance riders had already detected that the enemy force numbered over ten thousand, possibly even exceeding twenty thousand. The vast dust cloud rising from the earth was visible from ten li away.

For his lone Surprise Attack Camp to charge forward and block the enemy was clearly like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

But he could not overrule the staff officer at his side, Zhang Xianzhong.

Section Director Zhang was like a military inspector wielding a small whip, lashing at Ouyang Gun relentlessly, urging him to advance at top speed.

And on the other side of the battlefield, Bai Guang'en was running even faster.

As he led his troops at a gallop, Bai Guang'en couldn't suppress the upturned corners of his mouth.

He had inquired with the messenger Zhang Yingchang sent to Ningxia for help.

Zhang Tianlin was not at the front line!

Even the cavalry unit that made him tremble in fear at the mere mention of its name was not at the front line.

And Bai Guang'en was rushing to the battlefield with his newly developed rocket muskets. Without a doubt, he believed his moment to shine had arrived!

After all, based on his extensive combat experience against the Marshal's Army, the only unit that ever used rockets with cavalry to break the enemy was Zhang Tianlin's camp. Everyone else used Red Barbarian Cannons.

With this confidence, Bai Guang'en rushed into Zhang Xianzhong's field of vision before nightfall that same day.

In the plains of southern Ningxia, all the gullies existed for irrigation. There was no cover whatsoever for ten or twenty li in any direction; everything was within eyesight, minimizing the possibility of ambush to the greatest extent.

But a well-functioning reconnaissance soldier system still allowed Ouyang Gun and Zhang Xianzhong to seize the initiative.

They had long known Bai Guang'en's exact position. The reconnaissance soldiers hung far back, eight or nine li ahead of Bai Guang'en, spread out in a semi-encirclement. No matter which direction he advanced, unless he retreated, there were always several dozen reconnaissance riders watching him from the surroundings.

If he advanced one li, the reconnaissance riders retreated one li, dynamically adjusting their positions further away based on his direction of advance.

However, the reconnaissance riders at this time were not aggressive. Not only did they refuse to engage in combat, but they even allowed themselves to be driven back three to five li, after which the rear reconnaissance riders would not fill in the gap. Occasionally, they deliberately exposed weaknesses to let Bai Guang'en know that the reconnaissance riders surrounding him were not numerous.

Because everyone was afraid of scaring the enemy away.

The battlefield is a mix of truth and deception. Sometimes, when the reconnaissance soldiers are few, they must deliberately act as if they have the enemy surrounded and the main force is right behind them, leaning into aggressive tactics to deter the enemy from advancing.

And at other times, they must let the enemy know they are few in number and the main force is not nearby, to prevent the enemy from stopping.

When Bai Guang'en was a rebel, he had his own methods for hunting down reconnaissance riders, but even now, he had no idea how to build a reconnaissance cavalry unit.

Therefore, seeing the Marshal's Army's reconnaissance riders showing signs of battle-aversion caused his fighting spirit to surge. He only had his forward scout cavalry don their armor, while the large force behind continued to rush forward lightly equipped.

It was not until he could see Ouyang Gun's army that, instead of being alarmed, he was delighted. He immediately ordered his subordinates to don armor and mount up, quickly shifting from a two-column formation into a grand battle array.

The entire camp formation had a large number of infantry at the center, striding forward. The cavalry on both wings continuously reformed as they advanced, positioning those riders carrying rockets and with exceptionally tough destinies at the front, with rows of cavalry prepared to charge the formation lined up behind them.

Aside from changing formation, Bai Guang'en's camp wasted not a moment, constantly closing in on the enemy at speed.

To be honest, this move made even Ouyang Gun a little nervous, causing the old northwestern general to keep looking back at his own troops, as if only the sight of the rumbling forward wheels could put his mind at ease.

The distance between the two armies closed. The battle lines of the Marshal's Army became increasingly clear in Bai Guang'en's eyes.

From several li away, he saw that the Marshal's Army had a massive war chariot unit. Soon, those chariots stopped, forming a loose wall of chariots before his eyes.

A chariot camp?

This was what Bai Guang'en feared least of all.

Because rockets could be fired over the top, and when they exploded inside the chariot camp, the chariot wall would provide maximum protection for his rocket-firing cavalry.

But as he continued advancing south for two li, he gradually sensed that the enemy force was not the wagon fort he had imagined — the war wagons forming the wall were not linked together.

The vast majority of the war wagons had their horses positioned forward, maintaining a posture ready to charge and strike, each wagon mounted with long-barreled large-caliber muskets, and soldiers carrying muskets on their shoulders were boarding the wagons one by one.

Among them, several wagons were the most eye-catching — unmanned, bearing only two rows of cylindrical tubes lined up side by side.

Bai Guang'en hesitated. They had already reached the distance to launch a charge, but those cylindrical tubes made him unable to decide.

The infantry still strode forward in great strides, several Great General Cannons were being pushed ahead, and the cavalry officers on both flanks kept glancing toward the central command, hoping to receive the order to deploy and charge.

Just then, a familiar shriek rang out across the battlefield.

Behind the row of war wagons, watching as rocket carts were ignited one after another, a figure on horseback waved a riding crop aimlessly.

Zhang Xianzhong was laughing wildly.

One after another, the wagons carrying musketeers swept past his side, launching attacks against the enemy formation.

When that sound, like the scream of a demon, reached Bai Guang'en's ears, the arm raising his saber dropped as if all strength had been drained in an instant, and even his whole body seemed to wilt upon the horse's back.

The carefully crafted waist saber fell, slanting into the soft, well-irrigated, moisture-rich earth.

Amid the chaotic battlefield, Bai Guang'en tilted his head back in despair, his weary eyes reflecting the tail flames rising from the distant wagon wall.

He sighed and slowly shook his head. "Forget it... screw your ancestors."