Chapter 851: Truly Come and Go Like the Wind

The Xuzhou bandit cavalry came very fast. Before long, Army Commander Lu Qin could already see them appear, and this made him curse furiously in his heart again — truly wretched scum. You led a raid and came back defeated, yet you didn't even know you were being followed this closely. But one thing puzzled Lu Qin: they had also been galloping hard on the heels of the pursuit, so how could they still dare to charge like this? Could their horses' strength hold up? Had they not even considered the return journey!

When all the bandit cavalry appeared in view, Baoding Army Commander Lu Qin could not help but burst out cursing again. What "over a thousand riders"? This was at most a little over five hundred riders. Had that wretch Wei Pingfang gotten his brain kicked by a donkey today?

Yet even these five hundred cavalry stirred some unrest in the government army's battle-ready formation. No one had imagined the bandits would have the nerve to launch a sneak attack. No one had imagined the bandits would have a mounted unit of this scale, and one that looked exceptionally disciplined, with strict and orderly ranks. Anyone in the government army with a bit of experience could see that this was already no worse than the government cavalry. Some could even see that the bandits' armor and weapons were all of uniform specification. To achieve this — even the government army could not manage it...

Those without experience were simply overwhelmed by the enemy's momentum. Not being on high ground, they could not see the whole picture or know how many enemies there really were. They only saw the bandit cavalry pressing forward, disciplined like an iron wall or a towering mountain. If they charged straight at me, I definitely could not hold them off. When the time came, it would be better to flee first.

"Those bandits are wearing iron armor?" Army Commander Lu Qin rubbed his eyes and said in disbelief. Then Lu Qin grew frantic and roared angrily, "Move to meet the enemy! What are you all standing around for!"

No one had expected the bandits to have such momentum. The entire government army formation's reaction was slowed. On the battlefield, everything changes in an instant, and this tiny delay was enough to ruin everything.

Baoding Army Commander Lu Qin cursed as he drew his sword. At this juncture, he might well have to meet the enemy blade-to-blade himself; otherwise, the situation could completely collapse.

But the next moment, his motion of drawing the blade froze, because the bandit cavalry had actually lunged fiercely toward the left flank of their own formation. What were they doing there? That was where the weakest battalion and the cannons were placed. Did they intend to smash the weak flank and then sweep through the entire army? But if they planned that, they were mistaken — before that could happen, the various government army units could fully react.

Boom, boom — several muffled blasts rang out, audible even amid such noise, like distant thunder from the horizon. The cannons had opened fire...

The mounted household retainers led by Ji Xiang, along with those Xuzhou mounted warriors following them, all had two horses per man, ensuring ample horse strength during long-distance raids.

A few li from the government army formation, everyone switched horses. The extra horses were all left in place, with one man left behind for every ten horses to hold the reins and stand guard. The rest advanced at full speed.

Even though it had rained a few days earlier, the vegetation here had mostly been taken by villagers for firewood. A few clear days and it was bone-dry. The galloping and trampling of horses sent dust into the sky. Moreover, the large government cavalry unit had just galloped back, so in a sense, the sky-churning dust also served as cover for the Zhao Camp cavalry.

Right at the horse-switching point, the Zhao Camp scouts and outriders who had been patrolling around the government army's main formation also returned to report, giving the exact position of the cannons. Then these scouts also switched horses — they were to lead the main force in charging straight to where the cannons were placed.

Ji Xiang rode at the very front of the unit. The mounted household retainers wearing breastplates and helmets were all in the front ranks. They started at a canter to build power, then gradually accelerated when they were about five hundred paces from the government army formation. By the time they could clearly see the banners of the government army ranks, their mounts were already galloping fast.

He could clearly see the government army ranks stirring in unrest. Ji Xiang could not help feeling a trace of regret. If he seized this chance to charge in, the government army would surely fall into chaos, and perhaps these few hundred riders could achieve great merit. But Ji Xiang also knew the danger. If the charge failed to break them, or if they got tangled up by the enemy cavalry, then his own side would be in danger.

Ji Xiang could now clearly see the place where the cannons were positioned. He could even see the shock on the faces of the government cavalry and infantry above and below. Why were they not going for the place where they could achieve the greatest result, but instead heading for the sparsest left flank? What use was that?

A muffled thunderous boom rang out. Ji Xiang's heart clenched instinctively. He saw the cannons belching white smoke. Ji Xiang also clearly felt his mount's unease. It was fortunate that his horse was a carefully selected fine steed, and he had ridden it for a long time — it was well-trained and familiar. But behind him, there were the neighs of horses and the startled cries of riders. The cannons roared, the horses panicked, and some were losing control.

Heavier muffled blasts followed immediately, accompanied by cries of alarm and screams of agony. Ji Xiang glanced back. The ranks were tight, and he could not see the details clearly, but he noticed several men were gone. Gaps had opened in the ranks. Those around were crying out in alarm, and the unit was beginning to fall into disorder.

Further out on the periphery, riders and horses lay on the ground, their flesh and blood pulped, their bodies already mangled and incomplete. In that moment, a chill spread from the bottom of his heart through his entire body. He had only heard that cannons were immensely powerful; he had not imagined it was truly like this. What if it had hit him? If the main force of Zhao Camp had come, and this one cannonball had struck, what would have become of the disciplined infantry ranks? In that moment, Ji Xiang suddenly understood Zhao Jin's intent.

These cannons posed a tremendous threat to Zhao Camp. If they did not take out these cannons, the entire Zhao Camp could be blasted apart on the battlefield. No wonder Big Brother asked me if I feared death. I am not afraid!

"I am not afraid!" Ji Xiang raised his long blade high and roared from horseback. Then he bellowed again, "Charge through! Charge through with me!"

Two cannonballs had landed amid the cavalry unit, killing over ten riders and causing more than thirty horses to panic and bolt. But the forward momentum of the entire unit did not diminish. Most of the mounted household retainers were within the cavalry formation and could only press forward. There was no choice to turn or change direction, unless they wanted to be trampled to death. And besides, the leaders were all at the very front. Master Jin's brother, Fifth Master Ji, was at the very front. Even the company leaders were at the front of their respective units. So charge!

After firing, the government artillerymen were frantically busy reloading, but then they immediately realized something was wrong. Why was this bandit cavalry charging straight toward them? On the battlefield, what mattered was large armies and great units clashing in pairs — cavalry charging each other, arrows flying in volleys. Why would this raiding cavalry unit fixate on them and come this way? And they were getting closer and closer...

The cannons were already fixed onto their mounts. The bandit cavalry was moving so fast that if they fired another shot, it would land in roughly the same place as before and would not hit anyone at all. There was simply no way to stop the cavalry charge. As for the infantry battalions near the cannon emplacement, they had already kept far away out of fear of the barrels exploding. Seeing the bandit cavalry bearing down on them, they had even less courage to engage. No one thought protecting the cannons was any vital matter, and they retreated one after another, or even scattered in rout.

Seeing this scene, the artillerymen acted with clean decisiveness. Since you are fleeing, why should I stay here and serve? I'll flee for my life too. Could it be that these bandits actually want to capture the cannons? These things weigh hundreds or even a thousand jin — even if you drag them away, you won't move fast. That said, even the government artillerymen themselves felt these cannons were of little use in field battles. Once fixed, they could only hit a fixed area. Moving them took enormous effort. And firing shot after shot was far too slow. They would be of great use in sieges, though.

Ji Xiang had already gritted his teeth and resolved himself to die, but he had not expected the enemy to scatter and flee so easily. He had no time to dwell on the feeling of punching empty air. He began to slow down, swinging his long blade and shouting orders. The mounted household retainers of each unit spread out to prepare, acting according to the prearranged plan.

Reaching the cannon emplacement, the men hurriedly jumped off their horses. Some gathered up all the various tools from the emplacement. They took the brushes for cleaning the barrels and the round rods for tamping the gunpowder and hacked them apart with blades and axes. Then they doused them with oil from leather skins and lit them directly using the fire from the charcoal braziers near the cannons. Others brought large iron spikes and hammers before the cannons and drove the spikes directly into the touchholes and vents. It was fortunate that Zhao Camp had its own army blacksmiths; otherwise, they could not have prepared so many items. After driving in the large iron spikes, they even used special tools to shear off the spike heads. Still others simply tipped over the wooden crates of gunpowder, spilling the powder all over the ground.

The government soldiers naturally could not see any of this. The Zhao Camp mounted household retainers were making a show of pursuing the government army's left flank. The government left flank consisted of weak troops. Seeing such wolf-like, tiger-fierce bandit cavalry, they simply had no will to resist and retreated directly. But the other parts of the government army formation were assembling. The cavalry protected the central army, and the infantry battalions began to wheel around. If the Zhao Camp cavalry truly drove into the left flank and rolled it up, they would quickly be encircled. They could not charge fast, would get tangled up by infantry, and then the government cavalry would seal off their retreat.

But the Zhao Camp cavalry did not respond according to normal battlefield tactics. They merely made a forward-lunging posture, keeping the government army from daring to approach, creating a brief stalemate. Of course, such a stalemate could not last long. The government army would soon realize something was wrong and begin to envelop them from this direction.

However, the tools and ammunition for four cannons, even at the very most, amounted to only that much stuff. Moreover, Zhao Camp had long prepared contingency plans before arriving. Soon, everything that needed to be done was done. The entire cannon emplacement was already a scene of wreckage, a chaotic mess beyond recognition.

Only at this moment did Ji Xiang barely manage to breathe a sigh of relief. He hurriedly mounted his horse, gave a sharp whistle, and the main force swiftly wheeled around. Many men also tossed down a number of oilpaper packets onto the ground, then spurred their horses and headed back the way they had come.

This action left the government army, which had been bracing for a fierce fight, even more baffled. They had thought the bandits, after circling to the right side of the main formation, would begin their assault from there. Who could have imagined that these fierce bandits, who came and went like the wind, would fiddle with something unknown on the formation's left flank and then just leave like that?

It was not until the Zhao Camp cavalry headed back the way they had come that they realized something was amiss. Only then did that Mobile Corps Commander Wei Pingfang shout and lead his men in pursuit. But the swift horses were already galloping — the Zhao Camp cavalry's horses had already broken into a run, while the other side was just starting. Moreover, the government cavalry had just made a round trip; both riders and horses were utterly exhausted, and they lagged even further in acceleration. There was no catching up now.

Thanks to Qidian book friends "Opposing Words" and "Wind Dragon King" for their tips. Thanks to all friends on Chuangshi and Qidian for your subscriptions, monthly tickets, and tips.

It's the end of the month. Don't let your second monthly ticket go to waste — cast it for Great Ming Wufu!