Chapter 1434: Still Not Enough Cavalry

Suddenly, one column of several hundred cavalry began to turn, stopped circling, and started charging straight at the wagon convoy, spreading into a loose column as they advanced — a formation that made it very difficult for firearms to inflict mass casualties.

Column after column of cavalry ceased their circling and charged the convoy from every direction, effectively launching a general assault all at once. In such a situation, the convoy simply could not have enough troops to respond.

The charging Jianzhou cavalry drove their mounts desperately, racing forward at full speed, trying to close the distance as fast as possible to avoid being struck by the enemy firelocks.

The Jianzhou horse troops moved with lightning speed, and the Zhao Family Army soldiers atop the piled cargo of the large wagons matched their pace. On nearly every side, light cannons were being swung into position, and it was clear they had been loaded well in advance.

Although there were only seventeen cannons in total spread across all four directions, the sight still made the Jianzhou officers' eyes twitch. Since when had cannon become so cheap? But on second thought, it made sense — cannons this light, you could bring several more without much impact on mobility.

The Jianzhou cavalry at the front were already ashen-faced. They had seen the power of these cannons before — perhaps they didn't fire that far, but within thirty or forty paces, nothing could survive. Those charging at the front were doomed. Yet at this point, turning back was no easy matter either. Wheeling around would only get them trampled by the comrades behind them. Death either way — the comrades behind were as good as a blocking force.

Once this sank in, the speed of the charge actually increased. Get in close — could they possibly fire a second shot? With the reloading speed up there, they probably could manage a second shot... but no more than that.

Yet as they drew nearer, they discovered that in every direction of the charge, Zhao Family Army soldiers stood with firelocks at the ready — dozens of firelocks on every side.

Good heavens, these Han people from Xuzhou really did make their living by firearms. A force of barely a thousand men, counting even the wagon drivers, and they had nearly four hundred firelocks. The Jianzhou officers who saw this all turned pale; some clenched their jaws so tight their teeth ground. Even if they won this fight, the cost in blood would be ruinous. But they could still win — a pyrrhic victory was still a victory.

From a distance, they watched the light cannons atop the large wagons spew white smoke. Men toppled, horses screamed. Even with the thunder of hooves, the shrieks of agony carried clearly to their ears. The iron shot and lead pellets poured out like a rainstorm — anyone at the front would be riddled into a sieve.

The Jianzhou Jurchen cavalry kept closing in. The firelocks at the wagons opened fire, and then they watched those firearms withdraw — just one volley, and then they were preparing for hand-to-hand combat?

That wishful thought was instantly shattered by reality. Just as many firelocks came forward again and kept firing. From the moment those firelocks opened up, the cavalry's charge was stopped dead in its tracks. The occasional horse that slipped through the net was quickly brought down by concentrated fire.

"Damned Han dogs, just how many firelocks did they bring!"

Someone couldn't hold back the curse. To pull off volley fire like that, they'd need at least three times the number of firelocks visible at any moment. By that reckoning, it had to be seven or eight hundred firelocks roaring — was the entire wagon convoy made up of firelock soldiers? That didn't match any unit structure, and it defied all common sense!

Only, what was utterly baffling to the Jianzhou Jurchens and Mongols was standard practice to the Zhao Family Army.

In truth, the volley fire still couldn't achieve a completely seamless barrage, but whenever a gap appeared and the Jianzhou horse troops thought they could push forward, the light cannons above would always roar in time to fill it.

The gunpowder smoke grew thicker and thicker, but the sea breeze blowing in from the north swiftly scattered the sight-obscuring haze. No sufficient number of cavalry ever managed to close the distance. Some riders who reached the front were met with concentrated fire. The Jianzhou cavalry didn't even dare to draw their bows and nock arrows, because doing so would slow them down. In this blood-soaked killing field, one moment's delay meant getting hit.

Some riders did manage to charge right up to the large wagons. Those Jianzhou cavalrymen who reached the wagons were often struck with bewilderment — they had assumed that reaching the wagons meant victory, but now they had no idea what to do once they got there, or what they even could do. Amid the roar of guns and cannons and the screams of the dying, they finally remembered they were supposed to draw their blades and fight to the death.

The window was brief. In that moment of hesitation, a long spear would often thrust out from the wagon, or a long halberd would sweep across. In such a dazed and confused state, there was no chance of defending against it. The spear pierced through bodies; the halberd lopped heads clean off. The sight chilled the hearts of the Jianzhou cavalry coming up behind.

Those who had been ambushed in the mountain valleys and narrowly escaped had never engaged the Zhao Family Army in close-quarters combat. That left the Jianzhou cavalry this time clinging to a sliver of wishful thinking — no matter how deadly your firearms, once it came to a desperate melee, once we get in close, you'll be pigs and sheep waiting for the slaughter.

So they had all been waiting for their fiercest warriors to charge up to the wagons, for the enemy firelock soldiers to collapse and flee in panic, and then to break through in one fell swoop. But the enemy showed no fear of close combat. Even those not using long spears or halberds — they actually saw firelock soldiers swinging their weapons like iron clubs, smashing the skulls of Jurchen cavalrymen who tried to climb up, brains splattering.

How were they supposed to fight this? The cannons and firelocks had swept away the sharp edge of their charge, and the melee combat had obliterated the last shred of wishful thinking in their hearts.

No matter how fierce the momentum of the charge, no matter how unrelenting the advance, once the vanguard was dealt a head-on blow, the rear ranks would slow their pace. No one wanted to throw their life away for nothing.

Just then, the horn signaling retreat sounded. The Jianzhou Jurchen company commanders could read the situation clearly — some of them were even right there in the ranks. They all knew there was no way to continue. The enemy's nearly a thousand firelocks made the wagon convoy impenetrable, and with the cannons on top of that, it was obvious to everyone that even without firearms, the way those men inside handled cold weapons meant taking the convoy would still cost devastating losses.

Why keep going? If they fought on, they might well gamble away their last reserves. It would be one thing if there were a victorious outcome in sight, but from every angle, this looked like nothing but total slaughter with zero progress.

They might face severe punishment upon returning, maybe even military justice — but nothing like execution or dismissal from office. They were bringing back their forces more or less intact. If they lost everything here and still had no victory to show for it, that would be the true capital crime, the kind that got your house confiscated and your clan exterminated.

"Withdraw!"

"This time we just didn't have enough cavalry. A few hundred more, and we could have charged right up to them and shot our arrows, forced our way in no matter what!"

"To deal with a turtle shell like this, you need cannons!"

The company commanders debated among themselves. In retreat, they were quite composed. Scouts reported back from all directions — no ambush forces had appeared. The wagon convoy could manage a tight defense, but mobile pursuit was impossible. That was the greatest stroke of luck in this defeat.

Over two thousand Jurchen and Mongol cavalry had charged with overwhelming momentum. Now, more than four hundred corpses lay scattered around the wagon convoy.

If it were only corpses, that would be one thing. But some were gravely wounded and still alive; others were merely injured but had lost the ability to move. They cried out in agony, screamed for help — yet no one could spare them any attention. Their fate was easy to imagine: either a slow, agonizing death, or capture by the Zhao Family Army. And word was, the Zhao Family Army had never been known for treating prisoners kindly.

Abandoning comrades wounds morale the deepest. But at this moment, they had no choice but to abandon them. Did they want even more to die?

Realizing they would not be rescued, realizing they had been forsaken by their comrades, some of the screaming wounded broke down in tears, some erupted in furious curses, and some, overcome by terror, wept and begged. But it was all useless.

The retreating Jianzhou cavalry, from top to bottom, were all ashen-faced. The pleas and curses of the comrades behind them lashed at their backs like whips, driving them to move faster and faster. And then they heard the eruption of cheers behind them — no need to guess, that was the Zhao Family Army celebrating their victory.

The defeated Jianzhou cavalry were wild with rage, but no one dared turn back. They had already wasted far too much time in front of this wagon convoy, and without a single achievement to show for it. If they didn't leave now and the main Zhao Family Army force arrived, the outcome wouldn't be defeat — it would be annihilation.

No one knew what the Zhao Family Army was thinking. The hilly, mountainous terrain that should have been easiest to blockade had been left completely unattended, allowing the Jianzhou Jurchen army's intelligence to flow back and forth without hindrance.

Yoto soon received word of the outcome. Furious as he was, he responded with sufficient cool-headedness. He did not order the infantry to push forward; instead, he pulled the entire army back and sent riders at full gallop to report to the main camp at Gaizhou Guard City, informing the commanding general Amin of the news. At the same time, he dispatched riders to Shenyang — someone there also needed his direct report.

Just as he sent off his express messengers, the scouts brought in new intelligence. As everyone had more or less expected, after the Jianzhou Jurchen cavalry withdrew, the Zhao Family Army's wagon convoy began clearing the battlefield. They left no survivors, taking only the captured horses, weapons, armor, and clothing with them.

In the past, when the Jianzhou Jurchens had done this to other Jurchen tribes, to the Ming army, to the Mongols, they had thought nothing of it. Now that someone was doing the same to them, a faint chill began to creep into their bones.

Amin, Jirgalang, and every Jianzhou officer who needed to know the news soon learned of it. This time, no one flew into a rage, and no one called for an inquest or punishment. They simply summoned the men who had fought, one by one, and questioned them, demanding they recount every detail of the battlefield.

"... still not enough cavalry..."

That was the conclusion the Jianzhou commanders reached. No matter how dense the firelock volleys, there were always pauses — even with the cannons added in. If they had enough cavalry, enough to cross that fire-swept zone fast enough, then they could close in and kill. Once they reached bowshot range, once they reached the distance for swinging blades and thrusting spears, Jianzhou would win.

Word had come from inside the passes that the Zhao Family Army's formations were like mountains — some said, "Shake a mountain? Easy. Shake the Zhao Family Army? Hard." The Jianzhou commanders had scoffed at such talk. That line was clearly lifted straight out of a storyteller's tale — wasn't that exactly what they said about Yue Fei against the Jin army? How could it possibly apply now?

The reason for defeat after defeat was always underestimating the enemy. Everyone thought they could try this or that method, take a gamble. But every one of those methods had failed. A major battle demanded absolute priority be given to securing an unassailable position first. No wishful thinking, no recklessness — and from the light cavalry scouts sent out early on to Yoto's probing force later, they had all made that very mistake.