Chapter 1346: The True Zhao Family Army

Although they had been raked by fire lances and cannon, the Jianzhou Jurchen troops still numbered two thousand at this moment, still holding an advantage over the six companies of the Zhao Family Army, and the firearms fire had now ceased.

Cold steel combat, face-to-face slaughter — this was the golden chance to turn defeat into victory. Once they closed in, those devastating cannon would not fire upon them. Then it would come down to a contest of martial skill and ferocity. If they could drive back these few hundred rash attackers and send the routed troops crashing back into their own lines, they might even snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Though the morale of the Jianzhou Jurchen troops had already sunk exceptionally low, when they saw the Zhao Family Army companies charging forward, the company commanders and platoon leaders still reorganized their ranks, shouting, driving, even killing men to assert authority, forcing the rank-and-file soldiers below to meet the attack. It was not so much a case of fighting with their backs to the wall as it was a cornered beast still struggling.

Watching the numerically superior enemy surge toward them, the six companies of the Zhao Family Army did not change their pace. There was no level battlefield here. Over this uneven terrain along the shore, maintaining tight formation made any swift advance impossible. The Jianzhou Jurchens, meanwhile, came charging down with fierce battle cries. In comparison, the Zhao Family Army companies looked clumsy, while the Jianzhou Jurchens appeared exceptionally fierce and valiant.

The hearts of the Pi Island common folk watching the battle clenched with anxiety. They had seen the Zhao Family Army fight the Jurchens before. In field battles, they had not gained much advantage — it seemed they relied solely on longer weapons, superior armor, and a disregard for death to hold their own. Now, with the situation so favorable, would it not be better to keep bombarding and shooting with cannon and fire lances? Why resort to cold steel?

And even if you wanted to engage in cold steel combat, you should not commit so few men. The six companies before them were in dense formation, appearing even fewer in number, while the main force of Jianzhou Jurchen troops swept down with overwhelming momentum. The contrast only made this side seem weaker and more isolated. Some even muttered inwardly, saying, "All six hundred of you are clad in iron armor — don't let those good things fall into the Tartars' hands. Those Tartars are already fierce and brave; if they get a full set of this armor, it will be even more trouble."

The Zhao Family Army companies began to close in on one another, gradually forming a single broad horizontal line. Their long spears layered forward, tier upon tier. Once they assumed this posture to meet the attack, their advance slowed even further. The Jianzhou Jurchen force, holding the high ground, charged faster and faster. The Zhao Family Army companies seemed about to halt entirely.

No matter how fast one runs, in the end, a collision is inevitable. No matter how fast one runs, in the end, one must break through that dense, layered wall of long spears — but there was simply no way through. Those charging forward tried to slow their steps, but the men behind kept pushing onward. Then, from the Zhao Family Army side, the drums beat, and that layered horizontal line of long spears once again shifted forward.

Pushing and shoving from front and rear, the long spears began to stab and kill the enemy. Against the Zhao Family Army's standard-issue long spears, the Jurchens' spears were on the short side. Their bows and arrows were useless against the Zhao Family Army's armor. At this moment, the Zhao Family Army was like a hedgehog the size of a tiger. This hedgehog rolled forward step by step, and no matter how the pouncing tiger approached, it would inevitably collide with those spines — and these spines were forged of steel.

Shouts, curses, collisions. Parry one long spear, and there is another. Parry the front rank, and the rear rank is still there. There was simply no way to advance. And as the long spears thrust forward and the formation moved ahead, the killing was irreversible.

Only now did the Pi Island common folk watching the battle breathe a sigh of relief. From below, they could see that seemingly thin horizontal line standing immovable. The Pi Island spectators were dazzled and spellbound. Meanwhile, the Zhao Family Army side continued to bustle about — the loading and unloading at the harbor went on. Some Pi Island folk noticed this and were stunned, thinking, "Are you really so certain of victory?" Every last Pi Island commoner still gripped their weapons tightly, ready to fight at any moment.

The horizontal line of six companies blocked the Jianzhou Jurchen units charging down. Behind this long-spear line, the fire-lance soldiers had already finished reloading. They split into two groups and ran swiftly toward the left and right of the horizontal line, then opened fire in a crossfire from both flanks of the long-spear formation!

The Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers were pinned in front of the long-spear line, bleeding continuously in face-to-face slaughter. The soldiers' strength pressed and piled forward with ever-increasing force. Just as the density of the formation grew greater and greater, the fire lances on both flanks opened fire. Not a single volley missed. Every lead bullet struck a target. Worse still, the Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers had no time to dodge — their attention was entirely fixed on what lay ahead.

Only at this moment did this Jianzhou Jurchen unit realize the deadliness of Xuzhou firearms. Such firepower, such lethality — they had never experienced it before. Armor could not stop it. There was nowhere to hide. Once hit, combat effectiveness was lost instantly. And this terrifying firepower seemed unending. Long spears to the front, fire-lance volleys on both flanks — the charging battalion seemed to have been enveloped in a sack.

In such a battle, the braver one was, the further forward one charged, the faster one died, the sooner one perished. The others grew ever more terror-stricken and disheartened. They could only retreat, could only keep retreating, and then flee. But the fire lances had already been firing at sufficiently close range. Even fleeing now, they were still within the intersecting curtain of bullets. At this moment, the long-spear horizontal line was advancing again. To be speared to death? To be shot to death by fire lances? Whichever choice they made, the outcome was death.

The brave and fierce soldiers were dead or wounded almost to a man. The madness of the cornered beast's struggle turned to terror. The Jianzhou Jurchen battle formation collapsed. Those in the rear no longer dared follow in the charge downhill. They turned and fled toward the high ground. At that very moment, a sharp suona horn sounded. The routed Jurchen soldiers looked back and saw that the Zhao Family Army's battle formation had not pursued them — it had simply stopped. Could it be that the fighting would end here?

This question was swiftly answered. The cannon, silent for only a short while, roared to life once more. During the fierce, grinding battle, the easily maneuvered light cannon had already been moved to one flank of the battlefield and reloaded. Once the two sides broke contact and there was no longer any risk of friendly fire, they immediately opened fire. Over a dozen shells came howling down. Though they did not inflict enormous casualties, they thoroughly scattered the already routed Jurchen units. By this point, no organized resistance remained whatsoever.

The rhythm of the drums changed. The suona horn sounded sharp and piercing. In an instant, the Zhao Family Army companies, which had been massed into a single body, suddenly dispersed. From companies of a hundred men massed together, they broke into squads of ten. No longer moving slowly, they advanced at a swift pace, beginning to pursue the scattered enemy.

From the slow advance of the long-spear horizontal line, to halting to hold off the enemy, then the fire-lance companies moving up, the cannon bombardment, and finally the dispersal into pursuit — this entire sequence of actions was methodical and unhurried. The Jianzhou Jurchen troops opposite had first charged down from the high ground, then fought with reckless disregard for death, and only finally, under the bombardment and volleys of fire lances and cannon, had they collapsed and fled. To someone ignorant of military tactics, it would clearly seem that the Jianzhou Jurchens had abundant morale and moved faster, while the Zhao Family Army units were unhurried and composed, even resembling a parade-ground drill. The enemy swift, ourselves slow — such a confrontation would appear doomed to fail.

"To deploy troops, to mass and disperse them as if it were second nature — that is the highest art." Someone murmured a line. This was a person who truly understood the craft.

By the time they split into squads and began the pursuit, although the Jianzhou Jurchen troops still outnumbered the pursuing six companies, they had absolutely no power to resist. In most of the pursuit engagements, a single Zhao Family Army squad faced fewer than ten enemies. Even if some Jianzhou Jurchens could rally and resist, the Zhao Family Army squads would mass together faster than they could. From start to finish, with ample firearms and intact organization, the Jianzhou Jurchens had no ability to resist at all. From start to finish, the Zhao Family Army had been dominating the enemy.

"First Company through Eighth Company, take the squad as your basis — pursue the Tartars, kill every last enemy soldier!" Zhao Song gave the order, his voice brimming with vigor. The Pi Island soldiers and able-bodied men, already formed up and ready, roared their assent.

Their answering roar was full of spirit, but their movements were chaotic. Compared to the Zhao Family Army companies, who massed and dispersed as if it were second nature, these Pi Island units, when divided into squads of ten, became a disorderly mess. Squad leaders and the company officers leading them shouted at the top of their lungs, even having to reach out and physically pull men into place before the squads could be sorted out. When they charged up the hill, everyone scrambled to be first, each afraid of arriving too late to kill the enemy, which threw their formations into further disarray.

Zhao Song, watching from the rear, felt a touch of embarrassment, but also a measure of pride. Because these soldiers, whose performance was so chaotic, had been nothing but cowering, incompetent common folk just twenty-some days ago. Under the pressure and tempering of these past days, they could now take to the battlefield and kill the enemy. Given another year or two, they too could be forged into qualified soldiers of the Zhao Family Army!

By this point, the battle was already over. All that remained was vengeance and slaughter. They had fled from Liaodong to Pi Island, enduring hardship here just to survive. They had never imagined the Jianzhou Jurchens would pursue them even here, leaving them without even this last refuge. Throughout this process, families had been torn apart, kin and friends killed or wounded — some they had not witnessed, others had happened right before their eyes. Hatred had been accumulating all along. Over these twenty-plus days of desperate defense on this isolated ground, over these past few years since the Jianzhou Jurchens attacked the Liao Garrison, too much blood-debt had been suppressed, too much fury demanded release.

The Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers had utterly collapsed. They knew this was a dead end, a death trap. They had thought that once they fought their way up, the Ming troops and commoners here would completely disintegrate. In truth, most had collapsed — only one corner had held out. Who could have imagined that this tiny corner could resist for so long, could inflict such massive casualties, and could even now turn the tables? On this lonely island in the sea, there was nowhere to flee. And now, any will to resist was utterly gone. Some were already weeping and kneeling on the ground, begging for their lives.

So the Tartars could surrender too. So the Tartars could be so terrified they begged for mercy. So that awe-inspiring, swaggering ferocity of theirs was not something they possessed at all times. So you, too, would have a day like this!

Some of the Jianzhou Jurchen troops fought stubbornly and were soon speared to death in the woods. Some wailed and begged for mercy, and were likewise speared to death on the ground without the slightest mercy. Some tried to jump into the sea, and were speared to death in the water by Zhao Family Army soldiers riding in sampans. Everywhere, there was slaughter. Everywhere, there was vengeance. Because everyone inside the harbor fortress had said: sooner or later, we will have our revenge; sooner or later, we will kill every last one of you.

For Qi Erkui and Zhao Song, the battle at this moment held no surprises whatsoever — it was merely a process unfolding as a matter of course. Qi Erkui did not even look at the battlefield anymore. He turned to Zhao Song with a smile: "Company Commander Zhao, the Pi Island Battalion's table of organization remains intact. The Pi Island harbor fortress still stands. Lord Jin has issued a military order!"

Thank you, everyone.