Chapter 747: Like a Mirage

Early in the eleventh month was the standard agricultural off-season. Even if farming households wanted to busy themselves making a living, there was nothing left to tend in the fields. Moreover, after the Liao tax had passed through, how many people could still be found among the fields and plots? There was no longer much grain stored at home. Going out to beg or flee the famine still offered a sliver of hope for survival; staying behind meant only the fate of starving to death alive.

After Zhao Jin led his unit onto the official road, they traveled very smoothly. There were no checkpoints from the Smelling Incense Sect. In fact, it was impossible for the Smelling Incense Sect to have any arrangements here—who could have imagined that people from Xuzhou would come to this area, and who could have imagined it would be such a large force of men and horses?

Seeing the secret marks left on the official road the day before, they confirmed they were still five li from the Zeng Family Manor. The light cavalry scouts were once again dispersed, while Zhao Jin's unit dismounted entirely and continued forward leading their horses. Each man took a flatbread from his bosom, broke it into pieces, and fed it to his horse.

As they advanced, they continuously received reports back from the scouts. There were indeed sentry posts and lookouts outside the Zeng Family Manor, but only around the manor itself; everything else was as usual.

Three li from the Zeng Family Manor, Zhao Jin's main unit, advancing on foot and leading their horses, made no great show of force. From a distance, they looked at most like a large merchant caravan.

Mount up, break into a trot, advance.

"Clear out the sentries on the perimeter. Kill without restraint!" was Zhao Jin's order after mounting.

The light cavalry were mostly Xuzhou martial artists of the jianghu loyal to the Zhao Character Camp. They could not endure the discipline and training of the household militia, but their skills in scouting and roaming were not poor, and they were in no way inferior to the Night-Not-Returning scouts of the border armies. Although Zhao Jin was not satisfied with this, it was more than sufficient for use here.

On this march, Zhao Jin had issued strict orders: anyone who killed recklessly would be executed, anyone who advanced recklessly would be executed, and anyone who engaged the enemy in battle would be executed. They were not to expose themselves, not to rely on their own valor to rashly advance, and not to seek merit by engaging in battle.

It was indeed stifling and dull, but the critical task of this operation lay in not being exposed. Once exposed, withdrawing unscathed would not be difficult, but there would be no way to rescue the people.

Having received this order from Zhao Jin, these fierce light cavalrymen, who had been pent up for a long time, were each and every one roused. They spurred their horses to accept the order, shouted, and charged out. After the light cavalry scattered and surged forth, Ji Xiang glanced at Zhao Jin and raised the long spear in his hand, drawing circles from left to right.

Low shouts began to ring out in succession through the ranks. Everyone was urging their mounts on. Hooves struck the earth, armor clashed and collided, and the sound rumbled forth. Zhao Jin shook the reins and urged his horse slowly forward. With him as the first man of the first row, the unit advanced slowly.

The flatland was broad, and at a distance of three li, the Zeng Family Manor was already clearly visible. Located outside Yuncheng County and being a large manor with several hundred armed able-bodied men, no mounted bandits or brigands would come provoke it. Naturally, it had no earthen wall for cover. It was flat as a board, and one could even hear the gongs, drums, and shouts coming from the other side of the manor. One could also see the few sentries on this side fleeing in panic, though they could not outrun the arrows and saber slashes of the light cavalry.

The horses of Zhao Jin's main unit did not break into a wild gallop; their speed was controlled at all times. However, the cavalrymen had already begun reining in their mounts to keep them from running too fast.

On the open ground of the Zeng Family Manor, dust and smoke rose, and gongs, drums, and shouts filled the air. The crowd on the open ground strove to put on a show for the Smelling Incense Sect Hierarch and the various faction leaders under the great awning, while those figures beneath the awning watched the field with rapt attention.

Zhao Jin said something to the person beside him. Ji Xiang again raised the long spear in his hand and swung it broadly left and right. Shouts rang out continuously through the cavalry unit. Taking Zhao Jin, Chen Sheng, Ji Xiang, and Liu Yong as the standards, each squad spread out to the left and right.

"Kill! Leave no one alive before the horses!" Zhao Jin raised his voice slightly. Ji Xiang held the long spear aloft with one arm and suddenly swept it forward. Every man roared a battle cry.

The suddenly erupting battle cries drowned out all other sounds on the field. The outer edge of the Smelling Incense Sect unit drilling there had already sensed something was wrong and had already seen, through the sky-filling dust, the cavalry unit charging in from a corner of the grounds. Under the sunlight, within the dust and smoke, the armor of the riders atop their fine steeds glinted with cold light.

"Pull back... retreat..." Someone was shouting at the top of his lungs, but this voice was faint and indistinct amidst the din.

Even as they approached, the several rows of riders with bows and arrows behind Zhao Jin had already hung their weapons on their saddle sides and were nocking arrows to bowstrings. The moment Ji Xiang swept his long spear forward, a rain of arrows howled as it was flung out.

A chorus of screams rang out. The outer ranks collapsed in an instant like a wheat field cut by a scythe, a whole swath falling at once. But these screams were soon cut abruptly short. The cavalry unit of the Zhao Character Camp trampled over them without the slightest mercy, flesh and blood splattering everywhere they passed. The riders were clad in iron armor, and with the added weight of the horses, mere flesh and blood had no way to resist.

The flesh, blood, and screams did not make those further inside react, even though they heard the hoofbeats like thunder, heard the shouts, and saw the cavalry unit like a wall of iron. Yet they still could not react.

The area around Yuncheng County was the location of the Smelling Incense Sect's main headquarters. Everywhere were eyes and ears, lookouts and informants. No stir of wind or rustle of grass could escape notice. Everyone here was a believer. With a single shout, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand people could surge forth at any moment. Here, the words of the officials and yamen runners carried not the slightest weight. This place was the sect-state of the Smelling Incense Sect.

How could such a place be attacked? Even if someone launched a raid or made a sudden move, a warning would have come from ten li, several tens of li, or even a hundred li away. How could there have been no prior knowledge?

And where had these iron cavalry come from? Where had so many horses come from? Where had so much iron armor come from? Where had such a mighty host come from!

Even a peasant in the countryside would instinctively dodge upon seeing galloping horses, let alone these well-trained warriors on the field. Among them were even core cadres from the border armies, who knew even better how to deal with cavalry.

Yet now, the only reaction from everyone was shock, even a sense of bewildered confusion. Cavalry should not appear here. There simply should be no cavalry here! More than one person felt that what appeared before them was a mirage.

Since when did the Great Ming have cavalry clad entirely in iron like this? Could these be divine soldiers and heavenly generals that had run out from the True Void Homeland?

The long spears, sabers, and axes were no mirage. The neighing of the horses was no mirage. That formation like a wall, like a rampart, was no mirage. It was right before their eyes, and it had already begun its charge and slaughter!

At the front of the cavalry unit, flesh and blood flew in all directions. Only after charging straight through for over a dozen paces did the cavalry's momentum finally slow. On the open ground, the various armed forces of the Smelling Incense Sect jostled and ran in chaos, unable to organize any resistance. They could not even organize a retreat or flight. Now, packed together, all that awaited them was slaughter.

The flatland open ground was broad and level in terrain. During the advance, the cavalry unit led by Zhao Jin had deployed into a horizontal line, its length far exceeding that of the thousand-odd young men on the field, enveloping these elite armed forces of the Smelling Incense Sect within it.

The cavalrymen in the first row stabbed and slashed incessantly with the long spears and great sabers in their hands. The cavalrymen in the rear rows mostly set down their weapons; those who could shoot arrows were all nocking arrows to bowstrings and continuously loosing them in volleys forward. As long as the arrows were shot over, they were sure to kill.

One by one, men fell beneath the horses. One by one, men collapsed from arrow hits, then were trampled by hooves. At this moment, dust still rose to the heavens, but the dust was faintly tinged with the color of blood. At this moment, the Zeng Family Manor was a field of carnage, a hell on earth.

The crowd beneath the earthen platform and the great awning were also utterly stupefied. Just moments ago, they had been admiring the elite troops on the open ground, just moments ago, they had been taking pride in the strength they had displayed. Each person had been utterly entranced by the prospects of the future. Yet all of a sudden, a cavalry unit had charged in, and then it was like snapping dry twigs, like utter collapse and disintegration.

It had come too suddenly, too quickly. The moment Xie Mingxian shouted that something was wrong, the field had collapsed. Even if one or two men had wanted to rally the troops, they were helpless in such chaos and were very quickly swallowed up without a trace.

Aside from Xie Mingxian, everyone from Xu Hongru on down still did not know what had happened on the field. And none of them could have imagined that a cavalry unit had charged in. They thought exactly the same as the able-bodied men below: this was completely beyond all reason.

The ground trembled. The great awning trembled. The thunderous hoofbeats filled their ears. Every person felt unsteady on their feet.

Beneath the great awning, some were dumbstruck, some were full of bewilderment. Only Xu Hongru's bodyguards reacted quickly enough, already hurriedly forming a circle around him, ready to take Xu Hongru and flee at once.

But it was too late. Four hundred cavalry charging a thousand foot soldiers, and in such an overwhelming, crushing manner, did not require much time. The brutal process was extremely short. The cavalry's front ranks had already reached the earthen platform and the great awning. Someone blew a shrill whistle. Men shouted, horses neighed, and the cavalry unit came to a halt.

Only at this moment did the group beneath the great awning react. They choked and coughed incessantly from the rising dust, but no one cared about that. They stared fixedly at the cavalry unit before them: sturdy horses, iron armor, sharp blades—a grim and forbidding killing formation!

Just moments ago, they had been marveling and praising the various forces of the Smelling Incense Sect below. But seeing this cavalry unit before them now, they realized just how ridiculous they had been. Those who had read books suddenly recalled the phrase "clay chickens and pottery dogs." Compared to the iron cavalry before their eyes, their own forces were nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs!

Only now did these people of the Smelling Incense Sect know terror and fear. Xu Hongru, standing in the center, had a vacant look in his eyes and trembled uncontrollably all over. The others were even more wretched. Some were pale-faced; some had directly lost control of their bowels and simply collapsed paralyzed on the ground.

Zhao Jin had just charged straight in like this, killing his way directly to the front of the earthen platform. He had originally thought it would be a surprise attack catching the enemy off guard, but had not expected the Smelling Incense Sect to be in the middle of reviewing its troops. Yet this review was not worth mentioning. These forces—he could simply ride his horse straight over them.

Only when he reached the earthen platform did Zhao Jin rein in his mount. Through the gaps in his face guard, he looked at those wretches on the earthen platform, each with a different expression.

"Send out half the men. Encircle the routed ones. Don't let any escape. Those who do not fight shall not be killed!" Zhao Jin gave the order.

The order was quickly relayed in all directions. One squad from each wing of the unit spread out, like a great net cast toward the surroundings.

From charging and killing at the corner of the open ground to reaching the front of the earthen platform, enough men of the Smelling Incense Sect's various forces had died that there was finally space for them to rout. Then they scattered in a single rush, fleeing in all directions. Even the most loyal men dared not turn to fight, for that would mean certain death.

However, the routed men could not outrun the cavalry squads pursuing them, let alone the light cavalry still scouting and roaming on the outer perimeter. Those on the earthen platform, looking down from their height, could see clearly enough. After the cavalrymen shouted that those who did not surrender would not be killed, the fleeing able-bodied men fell to their knees one after another, offering not a shred of resistance.

"How much silver would all this iron cost? Why spend so much?" Looking at the grimly arrayed cavalry unit below, the Smelling Incense Sect crowd beneath the great awning had actually thought of this first.

Thank you, everyone. I'm on a business trip tomorrow, but the update won't be late.