Chapter 1200: An Iron Formation Like a Mountain

The government cavalry continued their advance. The archers drew and loosed their arrows. Compared to the arquebuses that fired and killed without pause, the arrows actually frightened the government cavalry more. They ducked their heads or wheeled their horses aside, terrified of being caught by that shower of arrows. Amid this dodging, men were constantly struck by arquebus fire, but these casualties were ignored — or credited to the archers.

Just as the third rank of arquebus retainers was about to begin its second volley, the government cavalry had already charged to within thirty-some paces. The arquebus company commander was frantically waving a red flag over his head. At this signal, every arquebus retainer and archer who had finished loading, no matter which rank or position they were in, fired forward in unison. The sudden burst of intensified firepower finally checked the government cavalry's charge. Even the cavalry in the rear ranks consciously slowed their pace — if the enemy kept up this relentless bombardment, they could not rush forward to their deaths.

After this volley, however, the arquebus retainers and archers all turned and fled. With their level of loading drill, they could have managed one more shot, but after that, the government cavalry would be upon them, hacking and slashing. To survive, they had to run.

Yet several arquebus company commanders were growing panicked. The distance was simply too close, and the pike retainer square was still at least forty paces away. If they were overtaken and cut down halfway there, it would be a disaster. This time, the four regiments had concentrated nearly seven hundred arquebuses and two hundred bows in their fire, expecting to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy. They had not anticipated that the government cavalry's formation would be so loose, and the results were far from satisfactory. The company commanders now wanted to risk holding on, but what came next would be perilous.

The arquebus company commanders were already prepared to turn back, brandishing their pole sabers and long halberds, to answer with their lives for the responsibility. But just as everyone turned, they saw the pike retainer ranks moving forward. The rhythmic drumbeats and horn calls cut clearly through the thunder of hooves. Shouldn't the main force be standing fast, waiting to receive the government cavalry's charge? How could they be advancing like this!

Though they did not understand the commanding general's intent, this support still brought tears to the eyes of the arquebus retainers and archers. By this point, the commanders of the arquebus companies and archer squads were shouting themselves hoarse with orders: do not obstruct the pike retainers' formation; let the archers jog, and let the arquebus retainers run first, because once the archers entered the formation, they had to immediately turn and shoot, killing the charging enemy.

"These rebel foot soldiers don't know the meaning of death — our brothers' glory has arrived!" "Charge!" Seeing the pike ranks of Zhao's Camp advancing to meet them, the government cavalry were wild with excitement. Their howls and shouts even carried over to Zhao's Camp's side.

At a distance of twenty-some paces, one could see the pikes of the First Brigade's various regiments in Zhao's Camp lowering layer upon layer. Their pace of advance had also shifted to inching forward step by step. This manner of movement was precisely to allow them to halt at any moment. But just then, six cannons were pushed out from the right flank of the formation by howling retainers and militia, even protruding ahead of the formation's front ranks.

Right there before the formation, the six cannons swiveled their muzzles obliquely, and then the fuses were lit. Seeing the cannons pushed out, the government cavalry cursed the rebel gunners as madmen while instinctively reining in their horses — they could not afford to close in on those cannons.

The cannons roared. Six rounds fired in flat trajectory slanted across the battlefield. At such close range, hurtling through at extreme speed, any man or horse in the projectiles' path had only death awaiting them. Onlookers could even see the upper bodies of men and horses suddenly snap apart and shatter into mangled flesh and blood. Of course, with such a loose formation, the terror these six rounds caused far outweighed the actual damage.

The government cavalry who had already charged to the front were now furious to the point of madness. They saw that those rebel gunners had not run — instead, they were frantically reloading their pieces. The sharp-eyed among them even noticed that the rebel gunners had not had time to load cannonballs; they were stuffing bundles into the barrels instead. They certainly would not get off a second shot in time. Then let them meet their deaths!

The government cavalry's front, originally spread far wider than the front of Zhao's Camp's First Brigade, now actually began converging toward the position of those six cannons. Every man wanted to hack these damned rebel gunners into pulp! And by skirting around the formation's front, which looked troublesome to tackle, they could pick off an easy target at the cannon battery — a win on both counts!

In that short distance of a few dozen paces, over a hundred government cavalry actually converged there. They saw most of Zhao's Camp's gunners grab the tools lying around the cannons — taking everything except the cannonballs — and flee into Zhao's Camp's pike formation. Yet beside each cannon, one man still remained. Was he planning to perish along with his gun? The government troops cursed, each brandishing blade and sword, ready to hack these gunners to pieces!

The gunners left beside the cannons lit the fuses. The foremost government cavalry instinctively shielded their faces with their arms, but the cavalry in the rear ranks were ready to kill. After all, the cannons had no cannonballs loaded. Even if they fired something, the men in the front ranks would block it — even the men in the first two ranks would block it. Those behind could always charge through.

The six cannons thundered. The retainers turned and sprinted for the pike formation. No government cavalry pursued them. The six cannons had fired almost simultaneously. Each bundle had been packed with dozens, even a hundred, arquebus lead balls. In that instant, across the fan-shaped area dozens of paces before each muzzle, nearly a thousand high-velocity lead pellets wove a storm of death. Every man and every horse within that zone was riddled into a sieve.

Onlookers could even see mists of blood spraying from the bodies of the hundred-plus cavalrymen and their mounts. The lead pellets often penetrated several men. The force and speed imparted by the cannons were simply too great. In that instant, the battlefield seemed to fall silent. Every government cavalryman who had wanted to charge forward now frantically wheeled away to evade. Though they saw that no retainers remained around the cannons, everyone feared the unexpected, terrified that drawing near would mean another bloodbath.

The charging government cavalry, though they had spread out in their advance, still subconsciously aimed toward a single objective, men and horses alike. In the current situation, the largest objective in their field of vision was none other than the square, orderly formation of Zhao's Camp's First Brigade. Over a distance of several hundred paces, the cavalry, intentionally or not, converged toward this square formation as they galloped. Of the over one thousand several hundred cavalry, counting those already killed or wounded, a full sixty percent still charged toward the First Brigade's square.

Moreover, after the cannonade just now, many government cavalrymen probably felt that the pike square might actually be safer. Perhaps if they charged in on horseback, the enemy would fail to stand firm, throw down their weapons, and flee. Then they could ride them down in pursuit and win a great victory. In truth, by this point, many cavalrymen already felt that these rebels were far too troublesome to deal with. But having ridden to this position, not only had their mounts worked themselves into a frenzy, but turning or wheeling away was no longer possible.

Under the impact of such a cavalry charge, even government troops and Tartar caitiffs could not stand their ground — how could these mere Xuzhou rebels possibly hold? That was the natural order of things. Yet the formation of Zhao's Camp's First Brigade before them stood towering and unmoved, its pikes pointing straight ahead, unbending. The government cavalry saw the rebel crowd gripping those pikes; those young faces bore tension and terror too, but they did not retreat or break apart. They remained utterly still.

The government cavalry let out battle cries — whether to bolster their own courage, to frighten the enemy, or from their own terror, none could say. The retainers of Zhao's Camp were likewise shouting and roaring — whether from fear and panic or to steel themselves, none could tell.

Arrows flew without cease. The faces of Zhao's Camp's archers were contorted; drawing and loosing a bow repeatedly makes muscles ache and spasm, but at this moment they could only endure, because the arquebuses behind them were about to press forward and fire. The arquebus retainers no longer cared about volley fire. The moment they finished loading, they crowded to the front and fired straight ahead — they were bound to hit something, after all.

They reined in with all their might, wrenched at the reins with all their strength, yet momentum still carried man and horse crashing forward. They slammed straight into the forest of pikes. After several bloody holes were punched through their bodies, they fell screaming. The men and horses crashing at the front carried tremendous force. Some pikes snapped under that force, and even the retainers holding them were thrown off balance. But if one pike broke, there were still unbroken pikes. With comrades packed tight on all sides — front, back, left, and right — how could anyone fall to the ground?

More crucially, the government cavalry had charged in scattered fashion. If a full company had slammed straight in like that, Zhao's Camp's pike formation would certainly have been shaken. But there were no government cavalrymen so fearless of death, while Zhao's Camp's ranks were so toweringly firm — to say nothing of the arquebuses and bows that fired in constant rotation without pause.

When a man was impaled on a pike, he could not hang there long before being shoved off by the pikes behind. And many cavalrymen never reached the front at all — struck by shot at a few dozen paces' distance, they tumbled and slid to the foot of the formation on sheer momentum. Before long, the corpses of men and horses formed a nearly continuous "low wall" in front of Zhao's Camp's pike ranks. The cavalry coming from behind could only spur their horses to leap over it. Those who charged too recklessly were even tripped by the bodies, half-killing themselves in the fall before anyone had a chance to strike them.

After paying the price of over two hundred dead and wounded, however, the government cavalry ceased charging forward. The distance between them had been wide enough, and they could see the wretched fate of the front ranks. The rear ranks were naturally not so foolish as to come up and throw their lives away. Midway, they began wrenching their horses aside. Unable to turn back, they rode toward the two flanks of Zhao's Camp's formation.

This front was impregnable, but the flanks might not be so tightly arrayed. And on the flanks, there would not be so much killing. If they could not seize an advantage, they could at least ride farther away and stop throwing their lives away here...

A hundred-some paces in front of the First Brigade's formation, it was as if some invisible barrier stood. When the cavalry struck this barrier, they split off to either side, riding toward the flanks of the great horizontal line.

Yet of the government cavalry who evaded a head-on collision with Zhao's Camp's formation, most simply wanted to use this chance to flee. Some, however, still refused to give up. They thought: sure, you Xuzhou rebels can hold the front, but all those pikes and whatnot are pointed forward — the flanks can't have such tight protection. In the art of war and historical examples, the flanks of a military formation are always its weak points. I'm not thinking of smashing you, but taking a few lives with me and venting this rage — that much should be possible.

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