Chapter 1276: Torn to Shreds

The second volley rang out. Several firearms burst their barrels on the spot, screams rising one after another, making the surrounding government troops tremble even more, their hands shaking. There was no talk of aiming anymore — they just fired their weapons as far from themselves as possible, getting off one shot to count as having done their duty, then reloading and firing again as best they could.

"Stop laughing! Keep tight, close in!" Shi Manqiang bellowed. His voice was muffled beneath his faceguard. Watching the government troops ahead firing in utter panic, the Zhao Family Army cavalry had completely relaxed. But this was a battlefield of life and death — what the enemy held were killing tools. Overconfidence meant casualties. Shi Manqiang could only strain to restrain and urge his men on.

They had already charged within a hundred paces. More and more government firearms were failing to fire or bursting their barrels. More and more men were throwing their weapons down, turning, and fleeing. Some firearms had grown scorching hot; the moment powder was poured in, it ignited and exploded. This was what happened from overloading and firing without discipline — the weapons overheated and became useless.

What could truly cause trouble were the bows. Those archers possessed real skill and could be counted as the army's elite. They could hold steady, they knew they were within range. But unfortunately, the chaotic gunfire ahead had shrouded everything in smoke, and the men in front were fleeing recklessly, heedless of anything else, making it impossible for the archers to settle their minds and draw their bows. And by now, the Zhao Family Army cavalry was already about to charge into them.

At this moment, there were still some firearms that could fire, and they were within range. A volley boomed out. The Zhao Family Army cavalry could not wheel their horses aside to dodge; they could only lower their heads and shield their faces with their arms. Horses screamed in pain, but such fragments, sand, and stone could hardly penetrate leather, and the horses, packed in tight formation, could barely thrash about. For the riders, such firepower against the Zhao Family Army's standard-issue armor produced nothing but a rattling sound — utterly harmless.

Some arrows struck the mounts. Horses screamed and collapsed; some bucked and jumped wildly; others charged on with arrows still embedded in them. Arrows that hit the Zhao Family Army cavalry's armor at most scratched a white mark. Only a few shafts slipped into the gaps. As long as they did not strike the head or face, they did not affect the cavalry's fighting strength.

The government infantry grew more and more panicked. It should have been cavalry against cavalry. Who could have imagined that this band of Xuzhou horsemen would know the terrain better than the local troops, that they would circle around in a wide arc and charge straight at the infantry formation? Everyone was already terrified to begin with.

They could see with their own eyes that firearms and bows could not stop the enemy. Were they supposed to rely on their flesh-and-blood bodies to slam head-on against those tall, mighty horses? They watched the enemy cavalry, every man clad in fine iron, only their two eyes exposed. Then they looked at themselves. Even a Battalion Commander or Brigade Commander's iron mail hauberk looked like rags compared to the bandits' gear, let alone the cotton armor on their own backs — armor so cheap they had not even bothered to use real cotton. Who exactly was the government here, and who were the bandits?

Those cavalry squadrons were arrayed in perfect order, man and horse together a crushing weight, the very ground trembling as they charged. If that hit you, you would be smashed to pieces, then trampled into meat paste. It was nearly the sixth month, yet their pay had only been issued through the second month. Every day they were forced to do unpaid labor for this big shot or that count inside the city, without even a drop of oil or grease to eat. Why should they sell their lives in a desperate fight? Run!

Shi Manqiang held his lance level with one arm. The lance was perfectly steady — the result of years of diligent practice. Watching the enemy's panic and confusion, Shi Manqiang felt a surge of excitement. He had been cooped up far too long in that semi-enclosed northern district of Huai'an. The bandits and those blind, reckless roving brigands had all been wiped out by the second year. Day after day, nothing but training, training, training. Sometimes Shi Manqiang was full of envy for Ji Xiang. What was the point of training martial arts and leading troops, if not for the joy of killing the enemy?

He was about to draw blood, about to finally have his fill of joy. But just at that moment, he saw the cavalry units to his left and right all accelerating, not even bothering to keep their formations aligned, charging straight into the government troops' ranks — if you could still call them ranks. The government formation before him had already completely collapsed. All he could see were men fleeing in every direction, men swept under the horses in a spray of blood and flesh, men sent flying by direct collisions, screaming, men trampling and slaughtering each other. Squadron after squadron of cavalry rushed in ahead of Shi Manqiang's unit and began the killing!

"You little bastards! If the drill instructors who trained you saw this, they'd whip you to death! Worthless scum!" Seeing this scene, Shi Manqiang roared curses from horseback. He turned his head to look at the cavalry beside him who were still maintaining their formation, so furious he could only seethe helplessly.

Originally, Shi Manqiang's unit had been at the front. Now they had become the rear guard. Shi Manqiang thought for a moment, then threw his lance straight to the ground. He flipped his hand and seized his long saber, continuing to roar: "When your old man and the big brother were killing men, you lot were still back home planting fields! When we brothers were suppressing bandits beneath the city walls, you were still fleeing famine! Think I'm afraid to kill? Think I'm afraid to die? Charge with me!"

For the usually steady and taciturn Shi Manqiang to be angered to this degree was truly rare. But the cavalry unit beside him simply pretended not to hear. In any case, as long as they did not speed up, Shi Manqiang could not go fast either. Everyone understood in their hearts: if the Brigade Commander personally charged into the enemy lines and something happened to him, some mishap or accident, that would be a great calamity. The Company Commanders everywhere had long had a private understanding. Not to mention that Fourth Master Shi here was being held back — Fifth Master Ji over there had no way to get to the front either. The two Brigade Commanders might be angry now, but they would surely figure it out soon enough.

That said, a battle like this only needed to be fought by the book. There was no need to go all out. By now, it was already a complete rout, nothing but herding sheep. Squads of ten, several tens, or a hundred riders swept in from all directions, tearing the barely-coherent government army to shreds.

In such a situation, there was no longer any need to deliberately kill the enemy. Driving them to slaughter one another, to collide and trample, was enough to inflict sufficient casualties. The Zhao Family Army cavalry simply needed to thoroughly scatter this government force. Any government officer who tried to rally the troops — whether to flee or to counterattack — would be immediately struck down and crushed by converging attacks.

The government army's forward cavalry was utterly useless. They dared not disperse to meet the enemy, yet it never occurred to them that the Zhao Family Army cavalry would simply bypass them and charge the rear. The government cavalry could not turn around; even if they did, they would only face their own men and horses. They also dared not scatter — their numbers were already fewer than the Zhao Family Army cavalry. Dispersing would be suicide. What were they to do now?

Whether to go or stay, to fight or flee — a decision had to be made. They hesitated only for a moment. After all, the Xuzhou cavalry was not coming for them. But in that brief moment of hesitation, the routed infantry from the rear had already surged forward toward them. Men always instinctively move toward their own troops, toward open ground. In this terrain, there was not much open ground to choose from. The seemingly safe forward position became the choice.

But these were their own men. The government cavalry, arrogant and overbearing as they usually were, still hesitated when it came to actually cutting down their own. What followed was irreversible chaos. And after that, no one cared anymore about who was on their own side and who was not. Everyone struck out with their blades. If they did not kill, it would be too late to flee. Even now, the chance to counterattack was already lost.

More and more routed soldiers surged toward them. Even if the cavalry did not use their blades, the fleeing men would use theirs. A few particularly fierce ones were already thinking of killing men to seize horses. With a horse to ride, their chances of escaping with their lives were, after all, much greater. The government cavalry formation did not hold for long before it was forcibly scattered. The commanding general fled first, taking his personal guard. As the great banner was seen moving into the distance, the government army, already on the verge of collapse, completely disintegrated. For those who remained, aside from fleeing, there was only surrender.

The Zhao Family Army cavalry had no intention of accepting surrender. On such a cramped and chaotic battlefield, stopping was no different from courting death. But they also could not be bothered with the heads being offered up to them on a platter. The Zhao Family Army never rewarded based on severed heads. As long as the enemy did not block their path and get in the way, as long as they did not play petty tricks with fake surrenders, they were simply allowed to scatter and flee. The only thing the Zhao Family Army cared about was horses. Both columns of government troops had set out from nearby encampments; they could not have brought much in the way of baggage or provisions. Horses were the most valuable prize.

Small squads merged into companies, companies gathered into a great force. Before their eyes was nothing but dust. The enemy was entirely in the distant field of view. The ground was littered with corpses, discarded weapons, and banners lying every which way. The only enemies they could see faced one of three fates: fleeing, surrendering, or dead and wounded. The Zhao Family Army cavalry's encirclement and slaughter was over.

"Don't any of you get so wild! We're right beneath the capital! We've only got a little over three thousand men! In this city, the cavalry alone numbers over ten thousand! Settle down — there might still be hard fighting ahead!" Ji Xiang had not gotten his fill of the joy of charging into the enemy either. But at this moment, he had no time to be angry about that. The mood of the cavalry units was far too high. Even with Ji Xiang's temperament, he felt everyone was far too elated.

"This is no festival drill! We're beneath the enemy's city walls — there can be no mishaps! The General gave us orders: we cannot afford any mistakes!" Shi Manqiang was also shouting himself hoarse.

But the Zhao Family Army cavalry's excitement was not so easily calmed. The battle had been far too simple and swift. The victory had come far too quickly. Many Zhao Family Army cavalrymen were seeing the capital for the first time. Upon beholding that towering, majestic city, it was hard not to feel a sense of awe, and with it, a certain reverence for the capital's government troops. Who could have imagined that the soldiers here would be so utterly incapable in battle?

Such a sweeping rout, such a great victory — it swept away all the pent-up frustration and awe in their hearts in an instant. So that was it. So it was nothing more than this. Our Xuzhou troops can sweep the world — have already swept the world. Such excitement, such pride and confidence, could not be dispelled and quieted by a few words. Besides, as Ji Xiang and Shi Manqiang shouted, their own faces were also smiling — smiling with pride.

Below the walls, there was laughter. Above the walls, no one could laugh. When the two columns of capital garrison troops were dispatched, the people of the capital, each with their own thoughts, had climbed the city walls in droves to watch the battle unfolding in the distance.

The battlefield was over ten li from the city. Essentially, no details of the fighting or the troops could be seen. But the city walls were towering, and the area around the capital had no cover, so one could still make out the general picture. For the grandees and powerful eunuchs of the capital, achieving this much was already no small feat. Leaving the city, however, was absolutely out of the question.

Looking down from this commanding height, the Xuzhou cavalry force of just over three thousand riders seemed like nothing at all.

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