Chapter 1364: Forward! Zhao Family Army!

The fire lances had sounded. The Jianzhou cavalry who had returned to the main force had repeatedly warned them to beware of these fire lances, but no one took him seriously. Cannons were formidable, no one could deny that — even the Ming army's cannons were weapons of state power — but what were fire lances worth? You lot have been scared out of your wits, afraid even of fire lances.

Only when they faced them directly did they understand the power of these fire lances. Against such a dense crowd, as long as the Zhao Family Army's fire lancers held a general direction, the high-velocity lead balls could not possibly miss the enemy, especially the archers standing in the very front ranks.

They saw no locust-like rain of arrows, only heard one explosive crack after another. The gunpowder smoke did not linger long, quickly dispersed by the sea wind. There was little spectacle — compared to the blazing flames, smoke, and dust they had seen before, it fell far short. It should have been weak, yet one man after another suddenly collapsed. Some clutched their chests, not dying at once, but the terrifying stains of blood could be seen seeping out. Some looked as if struck by a heavy iron hammer, their wounds directly caved in.

The enemy's fire lances rang out row after row, men falling continuously. The Jianzhou Jurchen archers shot their arrows in vain; though they arced them high, they had no way of hitting the enemy.

The charge did indeed halt. Directly facing the fire-lance line, the Jianzhou Jurchen main formation was literally battered concave. Dead, wounded, or retreating, they could not advance at all. Instead, the two wings began to push forward, as if they might outflank the enemy.

The Zhao Family Army's several hundred fire lances did not fire in rotation. The fire density of matchlocks could not stop a mass charge of this scale. Once their volley was complete, the fire-lance soldiers withdrew through the gaps between the pike companies.

Now the Jianzhou Jurchens faced the pike companies. They had finally gotten the face-to-face slaughter they awaited. No firearms blocking the way now — let's see what other tricks you have. In close-quarters slaughter, who is our match?

The Jianzhou Jurchen archers also began drawing their bows. Only at this distance did they clearly see the equipment of the reinforcing army. Under the sunlight it was somewhat dazzling. Were they wearing iron armor? Was that plate armor? Why did it look like iron slabs? What could possibly pierce such armor?

A shrill suona horn suddenly blared, and the drums beat in rapid urgency. The sound that erupted all at once made the charging Jianzhou Jurchen formation pause. On this path of advance, hearing a sound meant death and injury would follow — they had truly had enough. Only when they recognized it as drums and suona did they feel somewhat relieved.

Yet this monotonous suona and drumming made the heart pound with dread, deeply unsettling to hear. The entire Jianzhou Jurchen army, from top to bottom, could not help but quicken their movements, desperate to close in and kill.

Zhuang Liu thrust his long halberd forward and roared, "Zhao Family Army, forward!"

The company commander beside him echoed the shout: "Zhao Family Army, forward!"

Every soldier in that company shouted: "Zhao Family Army, forward!"

Every company already formed up on the mudflats, every man, joined in the thunderous cry: "Zhao Family Army, forward!"

This sound drowned out everything else. All that could be heard was every man shouting: "Zhao Family Army, forward!"

Battle flags unfurled, drums beat, long weapons thrust forward — the whole army advanced!

The sixteen pike companies of the Zhao Family Army's First Brigade, formed in a horizontal-eight, vertical-two rectangle, charged forward without fear, surging straight toward the ferocious Jianzhou army formation.

Pikes, long halberds — all the Jianzhou Jurchen units could see were blades glittering with cold light. The Zhao Family Army's companies were now all ten-by-ten square formations. In these Zhao Family Army squares, the soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder. Across from them, over the same width, the Jianzhou Jurchens did not have as many men. Along the frontage of the Zhao Family Army's eight companies, the number of Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers per unit length was far fewer than the Zhao Family Army's numbers. Every Jianzhou Jurchen soldier had to face several long weapons.

A sparse rain of arrows splashed over. The helmeted Zhao Family Army soldiers lowered their heads, their pikes wavering. Still, some arrows slipped through these screens and struck the Zhao Family Army soldiers' armor.

The clanging and clattering sounds extinguished the Jianzhou Jurchens' last shred of wishful thinking. This truly was iron armor. Such iron armor could not be overcome by arrows. Even though these were heavy arrows, and some Zhao Family Army soldiers were wounded by them, it did not affect what followed. Men in the front ranks fell, and the men behind stepped up.

The Jianzhou Jurchen archers retreated at a quick step, and the foot soldiers leveling their pikes moved up to meet the enemy. But the Zhao Family Army's pikes were two feet longer than the weapons in their hands, or even more. Moreover, the iron spearhead sockets were a full foot long — even trying to chop them off with a blade or axe was extremely difficult.

No one had ever expected to decide a battle with bows and arrows. Once they discovered the Zhao Family Army was wearing iron armor, the Jianzhou Jurchen archers quickly fell back from the front, letting the foot soldiers with blades and spears take over.

Their spears were not as long as the Zhao Family Army's pikes. The two-foot difference decided life and death. Collision — the pikes pierced through the enemies before them. The front-rank Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers fell, and then the ones behind them.

The Jianzhou soldiers holding spears were helpless against the Zhao Family Army's pikes. Some, in despair, hurled their spears, but these were immediately parried and knocked aside.

The Jianzhou Jurchen saber-and-shield men came forward. They were the elite, the most highly skilled in martial technique. Wielding a saber in one hand and raising a shield in the other, using two different weapons and still surviving on the battlefield — they necessarily possessed extraordinary ability.

When the archers could not inflict mass casualties, and when the spearmen could not match the Zhao Family Army, the colonels and company commanders roared their orders, sending the saber-and-shield men forward. These were one of the Jianzhou Jurchens' core assets.

In face-to-face close-quarters slaughter, the two sides were mere steps apart, stabbing, slashing, and parrying with their weapons. They could see the enemy's expressions, hear the enemy's roars. They would be splattered with blood at any moment — the enemy's, or their own. In such combat, martial skill and experience were tested above all, but the most critical thing was courage.

The Jianzhou Jurchen saber-and-shield men had been sheltering behind the spearmen all along. When the spearmen could not hold the enemy and began to fall back, they used their shields to shove aside the comrades in front, even pushing their comrades forward, directly crashing into the Zhao Family Army's pike formation.

The shield angled into a slope, deflecting the pike directly ahead, while the saber knocked another aside. The man had already charged into the space between the pikes. More pikes came at him head-on. The Jurchen saber-and-shield man was now trapped between pikes. At this moment, he could only crouch low, using his shield to flick upward and push the pikes away. Now he advanced a few more steps — a few more and he could start killing.

But there were simply too many pikes thrusting at him head-on. This time he did not manage to parry in time. Two pikes struck the face of his shield, their points sinking in. The saber-and-shield man was suddenly unable to dodge or maneuver; he could only struggle in a contest of strength. How could one man resist two? He was pushed outward just like that.

This saber-and-shield man was rich in experience and naturally understood that he could not remain locked in stalemate for long within this forest of pikes. He was already prepared to discard his shield and advance a few more steps. By now he understood: the power of this reinforcing army's formation relied on men packed tightly together. As long as he closed in and hacked down one or two, the formation would then be broken.

But the pikes were truly too many. Directly in front of him there were at least five. In the midst of the struggle, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his thigh — a pike had stabbed him. He could not stay; he had to leave. He stepped back to retreat, but his thigh, pierced through, bled uncontrollably. He could no longer keep his balance. His shield exposed a gap, and a pike stabbed directly into his waist. The spear blade, over half a foot long, sank halfway in and was immediately withdrawn. The saber-and-shield man felt all the strength drain from his body along with it. He wanted to hurl his great saber, but he had not a shred of strength. He knelt on the ground, saber and shield both falling. A pike then stabbed into his throat.

Not every saber-and-shield man possessed such valor, nor could every man cover himself flawlessly. Some had barely advanced half a step before being skewered by a cluster of pikes. No matter how strong the saber-and-shield men were, they could not advance carrying a shield as tall as a man. Such a large shield was either not sturdy enough, or sturdy enough but utterly impossible to move.

Without such a large shield, the pikes could always stab some part of his body. Once stabbed, the bleeding began. After a wound was inflicted, his movements slowed, and then he would be stabbed with more wounds, until he was killed.

There were also those with exceptional martial skill and rich experience, who ducked and leaped, twisted and turned, and penetrated deeper into the pike formation. The pike-wielding soldiers were right before them. They could even see the enemy soldiers clamping their pikes under one arm while the other hand drew their sidearm. Blood was about to spill within five steps.

From the rear ranks, great halberds hacked down. They had been guarding solely against thrusts — who could have expected slashing attacks? By now, pikes were on the left and right; the only option was retreat. Some could not evade the slash and were cut down directly within the formation. Some dodged and hastily retreated, but before they could steady themselves, they were already stabbed by pikes.

Most of the saber-and-shield men could not penetrate deeply. They raised their shields, which could not cover their entire bodies, side by side, forming a row to resist the pikes. But the pikes could change the angle of their thrusts, stabbing at legs and feet, where the shields were hard-pressed to protect. The Zhao Family Army companies' forward speed slowed, but did not stop.

The Jianzhou Jurchen saber-and-shield men could be seen either staggering backward or kneeling before the Zhao Family Army's pikes, then pitching forward or toppling over.

The non-commissioned officers in the Zhao Family Army often wielded long halberds. They all stood at the edges of the formation, ready to break away and maneuver at any moment. Whenever a stalemate occurred, the NCOs would charge out from the formation, their long halberds hacking, smashing, hooking, and dragging, catching the Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers who were struggling against the pikes completely off guard.

But the Jianzhou Jurchens' advantage in numbers was very real. The front ranks were being continuously killed and wounded, but the rear ranks often could not see this. The Zhao Family Army's formation was advancing very slowly, so the rear continued to surge and press forward.

Similar to every previous battle, once the pike formation had stabilized, the fire lances had also finished reloading and began to circle around from the wings to open fire. The Jianzhou Jurchen main force had already surrounded this Zhao Family Army square formation. Many also thought that, rather than clashing head-on, the flanks of this square formation would be much weaker.

However, any unit that went toward the flanks was met with a punishing head-on blast from the fire lances. Moreover, units continued to land from the sea. Once they completed company formation, they were immediately thrown into the battle. The newly arrived companies did not follow behind the main force, but moved to the flanks according to the drill manual.

Compared to the front, which had only pikes and long halberds, the firepower on the flanks of the Zhao Family Army's landing square was even stronger. There, one had to endure fire-lance volleys, and then be assaulted wave after wave by pikes and long halberds.