Chapter 1256: The Cannon's Roar Is the Signal for Battle

But the Zhao Army's light cavalry did not cooperate much. Although they also tried to stay as close as possible to the government army's formation, they ignored the provocations of the government light cavalry. They only began to fight back when pursued too closely. Some even just kept their heads down and ran. The distance between the two armies was over a thousand paces, an interval that made it easy to run back to one's own unit before being caught.

The cavalrymen of Mongol origin often had the upper hand. Their mounted archery was quite impressive. When both sides closed to within twenty paces, everyone drew their bows, aimed, and loosed from the jolting backs of their horses. The Zhao Army cavalrymen of Mongol origin showed no stage fright and could even pull off quite a few fancy moves, while the Zhao Army cavalrymen of other origins could only cooperate with each other or rely on the protection of their main unit.

Even so, the Zhao Army's light cavalry did not gain the upper hand overall. The superiority of the government cavalry seemed quite obvious, which drew continuous cheers from the government army's formation and kept morale high. The officers leading the troops constantly issued rewards and commendations.

"There are cannons mounted on the city walls, but none have been seen in the government army's formation yet."

"Over ten cannons are being pushed to the front. They're setting up an artillery position on the east side of the enemy formation. It's unknown when they'll be loaded with ammunition."

The Zhao Army's light cavalry kept riding forward and circling back precisely to scout this information. The Great Ming government army had a very high rate of firearm equipment, and casting cannons had been a tradition of the government army for these past years. However, these cannons were mostly used to defend cities and were rarely used in field battles. But today's battle was of great importance, so the government army also wanted to make use of their weapons as much as possible.

"According to the Internal Guard's intelligence, there are twenty-three cannons in total. It seems all their positions have been identified." After the light cavalry reported back, a smile appeared on Zhao Jin's face. At the right rear of each regiment's formation, an observation platform had been built using bamboo and timber frames. Zhao Jin was standing on the platform observing the enemy formation with a telescope, while mounted personal guards serving as messengers waited below.

"Keep a close watch on the enemy's cannons and report back at any time!" Zhao Jin gave the order, and the cavalrymen below galloped off with a whoosh.

"Send word to Artillery Regiment Commander Meng Zhiqi: once the battle begins, cease fire immediately after knocking out the enemy's cannon positions. Do not delay the army's advance." Zhao Jin issued orders one after another.

The war drums from the direction of the county seat gradually became rhythmic. Zhao Jin also descended from the observation platform and said in a deep voice: "The enemy is divided into three routes. In reality, we are fighting two routes. The enemy force nearest the canal is the weakest and is only there to support and defend. The central army is the strongest, the western army second. Once the battle begins, I expect they will use the western army to attack our left flank while the central army engages us head-on."

As Zhao Jin spoke, the clerical guards beside him kept recording without pause. Zhao Jin continued: "But the enemy's movements are far slower than ours. I will use the cavalry to pin down the western army, while the main force crushes the center and then turns to engage the enemy. The artillery regiment is to await orders at all times. Distribute this!"

The personal guards below responded with a loud shout. Several clerical guards recorded at flying speed, then handed the orders to the messengers. The messengers had to repeat Zhao Jin's orders back; if there were any doubts, they would use the written text to verify. In a true emergency, of course, only verbal commands would be used — it had not yet reached that point.

As the messengers rode off, Zhao Jin felt a stirring in his heart and looked up at the sky. He spotted a black dot streaking across high above — it was probably a bird of prey like a hawk or falcon. It was flying high enough that it dared to come here; any small bird would have long since been frightened far away.

From the perspective of that hawk in the sky, one could see that the Zhao Army's two brigades and eight regiments had already formed a horizontal line four across and two deep. The four regiments of the Second Brigade were in the first row, the First Brigade in the second row. The First Regiment of the Personal Guard Brigade was positioned to the right rear of the large horizontal formation, while the Suzhou Regiment was to the left rear. The Training Brigade's Ironclad Cavalry Battalion, the Mounted Soldier Regiment, and each brigade's directly attached mounted soldier companies were at the right rear corner of the entire grand formation. The artillery positions were even further back, though some cannons were also being pushed forward. The rest of the Training Brigade's units were guarding the artillery positions.

On the government army's side, their formation had also been deployed. Organized by their respective commands, they were arrayed in units led by battalion commanders, with cavalry in front and infantry behind. The various ranks of military officers — Regional Commander, Vice General, Assistant Regional Commander, and Mobile Corps Commander — were each positioned at critical points surrounded by their personal guards. Flags and banners fluttered everywhere. Viewed from the sky, the government army's formation could be considered orderly, with the troops of different garrisons clearly distinct from one another. However, compared to the Zhao Army's formation, which was as precise as if hewn by blade and axe, the government army's looked like barely shaped dough.

The government army outnumbered the Zhao Army by more than three to one, but because their formation was tight in some places and loose in others, from the sky they still seemed to be looking around at each other in front of the formation. In reality, the government army's scale was five times that of the Zhao Army or even more. Such a disparity gave the government soldiers and officers even greater confidence.

On the government army's side, the commanding general Zhang Jixian was stationed in the midst of the Xuanfu Garrison's main force, surrounded by his personal guards and household troops, with the commander's banner flying beside him. Yet the supreme commander of this government army, Supreme Commander Wang Zaijin, was at that moment inside Jinghai County's seat. Major strategic decisions and the deployment of the various forces all had to be issued from the government office within the county. This was precisely why the military officers refused to obey him — if he could not come to the front lines in person, how could he issue correct decisions?

Watching the light cavalry skirmishing between the two armies, watching the Xuzhou rebel cavalry repeatedly turn tail and flee back, the government army's formation grew more and more spirited. Cheers and war cries rose wave after wave. Yet the officers of various ranks within the army were not so happy. Although their own side had overwhelming numbers, the orderliness and calm of this rebel army was deeply unsettling. As military men, they naturally knew how crucial such formation discipline was for combat strength.

"What extravagant armor and weapons. Is that just lacquered bamboo and wood?" More than one person muttered these words.

In the morning light, the armor of the Zhao Army soldiers reflected a gleaming shine. Even if these Xuzhou bandits plundered everywhere with insatiable greed, how could they have the wealth to forge so much armor? Could it be that they rebelled solely to equip their soldiers, without wanting the slightest enjoyment for themselves? Many suspected that the bandits were bluffing, using lacquered bamboo and wood to deliberately create that metallic reflection. But lacquering bamboo and wood was also quite costly, and looking at the rebel formation across from them, they hardly seemed that insane.

What was even more baffling was the opponent's method of fighting. The Xuzhou rebels' formation and movements did not match any military doctrine or historical battle example at all. They stood in dense squads, their long spears looking like a dense forest. And in front of these squads of long spears were relatively loose horizontal lines. Light cavalry who had scouted reported back that these men were all carrying firelocks.

Were these Xuzhou bandits insane or just ignorant? Did they not know that firearms were not the tools for deciding victory before the battle lines? Once the cavalry charged through, what use would their firelocks be? Wouldn't they just be cut down like melons and vegetables when the riders reached them? But ever since entering Northern Zhili, the Xuzhou bandits had been very steady and composed. They shouldn't make such a mistake. Yet the remnants of the Two Yangs' cavalry also said that these Xuzhou bandits' firearms were devastatingly sharp, specially designed to break cavalry charges. However, that blocking action near Qing County had proven this might not be the case. The Xuzhou firearms were indeed not bad, but in that situation, if enough cavalry had been committed, with just a bit more force, they would certainly have broken through.

The banners in front of the government army's formation began to move. Cavalry from various battalions started converging in this direction. Since this was a pitched battle, there were not many tricks to play. It was simply a matter of using elite cavalry to first smash the rebel formation, then having the main army sweep in for the kill. At this point, it was merely a question of the resolve of the commander and the generals. If they were willing to accept casualties, they would not lose.

Just at that moment, a low rumbling sound arose from in front of the Zhao Army's formation. This noise immediately caused some disorder in the government army's ranks. The bandits were opening fire with cannons this early? The distance between the two sides was over a thousand paces. Did these Xuzhou bandits have Great General Cannons? Or was this just a bluff?

Amid the confusion, cannonballs came whistling down onto one side of the formation, sending the government troops there scattering in all directions at once. When people looked over, they discovered it was where the government army's own artillery unit was positioned. The government artillerymen there were fleeing in panic. Yet the casualties were not severe — the cannonballs had struck empty ground, and only two lives were taken by ricocheting shot. But that single volley had already thrown everyone into panic; no one dared to approach.

It was not just the artillery position that was panicking. The government army units that had just taken their positions were all thrown into alarm. The enemy could actually shoot this far — what if they aimed at our own ranks? The cannon fire continued to rumble. The front ranks of the government army were already growing panicked, but the cannonballs kept landing only near the government artillery unit. The soldiers and civilian laborers who had been setting up the gun platforms and emplacements had all fled far away, no one daring to come close.

"Cavalry, charge the enemy formation! The western army's cavalry, charge the enemy's left flank! Advance at once!" Although commanding general Zhang Jixian could not understand why the enemy was concentrating fire on the irrelevant artillery unit, he knew that if he allowed them to keep firing, the entire army's formation would soon collapse. They had to strike back.

The cavalrymen received their officers' orders and began moving forward, shouting and spurring their horses. They had no mind to linger any longer either. The sound of the cannons was deeply unsettling — heaven only knew when a shot might land on their own heads.

Just as the cavalry was advancing, an explosive blast erupted from where the government army's artillery position was located. Scattered screams rang out, and someone shouted in a heart-rending voice: "The gunpowder's exploded!"

The government army's ranks were all cursing and complaining. Ever since the bandits had opened fire, everyone had long since avoided the area where the cannonballs were falling. Yet there was still this kind of trouble they couldn't shake off. Those cannons were cumbersome and had little killing power anyway. They said one shot could devastate over ten li and kill a thousand men, but no one had ever seen such fearsome power. And now, at this critical moment, they were adding to the chaos. Wasn't the business of the battlefield, to put it plainly, just cavalry and infantry closing in to fight it out? What damn use were firelocks and cannons? If they were useful, the Mongols of the steppe and the Jurchens of Jianzhou would have been pacified long ago.

There were also some things everyone preferred not to think about. When the government army suppressed bandits, the government army was always well-equipped with superior arms and armor. Shouldn't it be the government army that brought out the firearms and bombarded with cannons, the bandits scattering at the first roar of the guns? But looking at it now, who exactly were the bandits and who were the government troops? The officers were somewhat better off, but the common soldiers below could not help thinking about it, and the more they thought, the more panicked and hollow they felt.

"General, it... it might be that the bandits' cannonball struck our army's brazier, and the charcoal ignited the gunpowder..."

The commander of the artillery unit was a battalion commander from the Capital Garrison. However, this battalion commander was not well-regarded even within the Capital Garrison, so he had no standing to rely on before the commanding general. Zhang Jixian could not be bothered to pay him any attention. In his view, soldiers who handled firearms were all cowards who feared death.

But at this moment, he also could not be bothered to argue with the man. He merely said coldly: "Useless trash. When the main army presses forward, go retrieve the cannons, then take position on the city wall and await orders."

Didn't sleep well, got up late.

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