Chapter 11: Arriving at Kaiping City

The blood‑stained scent of Eagle's Mouth Gorge had not yet faded, and the army had already broken camp.

In the morning mist, the Ming army's serpentine column marched north along the official road.

Shiniu, bearing the Double Hammers, walked in the middle of the Personal Guard Unit; the hammer heads had been cleaned last night, yet in the dawn light a dark‑red mark could still be seen in the cracks.

Originally Shiniu also had horses, but because his two great hammers were too heavy, the horses could not bear the load.

Now he can only walk alongside them.

General Lan spurred his horse forward from the front of the column, halted the reins as he passed Shiniu, glanced at him and said, "Did you sleep well last night...?"

Shiniu looked up, nodded slowly and replied, "Hmm."

General Lan twitched the corner of his mouth, seemed about to speak, but finally just nodded and, with a squeeze of the horse's belly, continued forward.

Wang Gui leaned close to Shiniu and whispered, "General Lan has approved you; in yesterday's battle you saved at least thirty of his men."

Shiniu said nothing, merely adjusting the position of the hammer on his shoulder.

The column's marching speed was not fast.

Scouts dispatched by Chang Yuchun continuously reported that within fifty li ahead there was no large enemy force, only scattered cavalry.

At noon they rested; the soldiers sat on the ground, gnawing on dry rations.

Shiniu, as usual, took five servings of flatbread and jerky, and ate while seated on a stone by the road.

The surrounding soldiers were already accustomed; occasionally someone cast a curious glance, but no one commented further.

While eating, sudden rapid horse‑hoof sounds came from ahead.

A lone scout galloped over, heading straight for the central army.

Moments later, Chang Yuchun's Personal Guard relayed orders to each unit: "Cease resting, form ranks for battle! Thirty li ahead we have spotted Northern Yuan cavalry, about three thousand riders!"

The column sprang into action.

Shiniu shoved the last piece of flatbread into his mouth, lifted the Double Hammers and stood among the Personal Guard Unit.

Li Cheng hurried over, issuing rapid orders: "Shiniu, come with me to the vanguard camp; General Chang is about to launch a charge."

"Hmm."

Shiniu followed Li Cheng forward.

The vanguard camp had already formed its Formation, and General Lan was delivering a speech before the lines.

Seeing Shiniu approach, General Lan's eyes brightened as he said, "Perfect timing! Shiniu, take the frontmost position."

Shiniu moved to the very center of the front line.

He glanced left and right; on the left stood an old veteran with a long spear, on the right a Strongman gripping a sword and shield.

Both men nodded at him.

General Lan vaulted onto his horse, brandishing his sword toward the Northern Region and shouted, "Scouts report three thousand Yuan cavalry charging at us; General Chang commands the vanguard camp to meet them head‑on, the central army to flank on both wings. Hear me! This battle we will crush them and display the Ming army's might!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Three thousand vanguards roared in unison.

The ground began to tremble.

On the distant horizon, a black line appeared and quickly thickened.

The sound of hooves rolled in like muffled thunder, raising clouds of dust.

Northern Yuan cavalry arrived.

General Lan squinted, sneering, "So it's really three thousand… Relay the order, archers, prepare!"

Front‑line shields rose, rear‑line archers drew their bows and nocked arrows.

Shiniu stood in the gaps between shields, watching the Yuan forces draw ever nearer.

He gripped the hammer handles tightly; his hands were steady.

Five hundred steps, four hundred steps, three hundred steps…

"Release the arrows!" General Lan bellowed.

"Bzz…"

A torrent of Arrow Rain rose into the air, arcing in parabolic paths and falling into the Yuan formation.

Men fall, horses tumble.

But the Yuan cavalry's charge did not cease.

These Grassland cavalry, fierce and brave, pressed forward under the Arrow Rain.

Two hundred steps, one hundred steps…

"Spears!" General Lan shouted again.

Front‑line shields tipped forward sharply, spears thrust out from the gaps, forming a forest of spears.

Fifty steps…

Shiniu moved.

He was the first to break out of the Formation.

The Double Hammers crossed before him, meeting the Yuan charge's torrent, thrusting upward against it.

A Yuan front‑line centurion saw a Ming soldier daring to charge alone, sneered, raised his sword and urged his horse to gallop faster.

Man and horse interlaced… no, they did not interlace.

Shiniu's left hammer swept horizontally, striking a horse's leg.

"Crack…"

The warhorse's front leg snapped, it let out a mournful whinny and collapsed.

The centurion on the horse fell, and the right hammer was already upon him.

"Bang…"

The helmet and the skull exploded open like a watermelon.

Shiniu's footsteps did not stop, charging into the Yuan Cavalry.

The Double Hammers were swung open.

The left hammer struck a horse, the right hammer struck a person.

With one hammer swing down, both man and horse shattered.

Where he rushed, there was a spray of flesh and blood.

The Yuan army's dense charge Formation was brutally torn open by him, leaving a gap.

Lan Yu, watching clearly from the front of the Formation, inhaled a cold breath and then roared, "All troops charge…"

The Ming army's line moved.

Three thousand vanguards surged like a landslide and tsunami, charging toward the Yuan army stirred by Shiniu.

Shiniu had already penetrated thirty steps into the enemy formation. All around were Yuan Cavalry, yet he was not frightened at all.

The Double Hammers danced into two golden discs; wherever they passed, not a single enemy stood.

A Yuan army ten-man commander thrust a spear from the side.

Shiniu didn't even glance, the right hammer swept back, and with a "clang" the spear snapped into three pieces; the hammer's momentum remained, striking the ten-man commander's chest.

The breastplate dented, the man flew Three Zhang away, knocking down two comrades.

Three Yuan soldiers on the left simultaneously swung their swords to cut.

Shiniu lifted the left hammer upward, producing three "clang clang clang" sounds, and all three curved blades fell from their hands.

The right hammer, following the momentum, swung horizontally, and the three men were struck as if by a massive log, all falling together.

He kept moving, continuing to charge forward.

The target was clear: the Yuan army officer in the formation holding the wolf‑head banner.

The officer also saw him, his face turned pale, and he hastily ordered his elite guards to surround him.

More than twenty elite guards rode in, surrounding him, spears, curved blades, Wolf Fang Clubs, all kinds of weapons ready.

Shiniu's Double Hammers slammed together violently.

"Boom…"

The huge sound roared like thunder.

The shockwave radiated from him, and all Yuan troops within Three Zhang were shaken, stumbling in all directions.

He seized the momentum to charge forward, the left hammer striking a horse, the right hammer striking a person.

"Bang bang bang…"

Like smashing a clod of earth.

One hammer per target, never needing a second strike.

Twenty guards, in less than ten breaths, were all annihilated.

The officer finally panicked, spurring his horse to flee.

How could Shiniu let him escape?

He thrust his legs, leapt forward fiercely, the leap covering Three Zhang, landing precisely in front of the officer's horse.

The warhorse was startled, and the rider stood up.

Shiniu's left hammer struck the horse's head, the right hammer struck the rider.

"Puff!"

The horse's head shattered, the rider flew out, and the wolf‑head banner fell.

The surrounding Yuan troops, seeing their commander slain and the banner fallen, fell into chaos at once.

At this moment, the Ming army's main force had pressed forward across the entire line.

Lan Yu led his troops to smash through the Yuan army's Formation from the front, while Chang Yuchun personally led the central army to encircle from both flanks.

Three thousand Yuan troops were divided and surrounded, breaking into a rout.

The battle lasted half an hour.

At the end, over a thousand Yuan corpses lay on the battlefield, the rest scattered in disarray.

The Ming army suffered fewer than three hundred casualties.

Chang Yuchun rode his horse to inspect the battlefield, and when he saw Shiniu, he halted his horse.

Shiniu was polishing his hammers.

He was splattered with blood, but it was all others' blood.

He himself hadn't even broken his skin.

Chang Yuchun stared at him for a long time, then burst out laughing, "Good… good lad! In this battle, you earned the first merit!"

Shiniu gave a simple smile, "General, your command was excellent."

"Stop flattering me, tell me, how many did you kill?" Chang Yuchun chided with a laugh, but his eyes were full of admiration.

Shiniu scratched his head and said, "I didn't count!"

"I counted for you; just from what I saw, it's at least two hundred. You kid… truly a monster." Lan Yu rode over, his face still stained with blood, but his eyes shining.

Chang Yuchun nodded and said, "With such a fierce general, why worry that Northern Yuan won't be destroyed!"

Then, he glanced at the sky and said, "Send orders: clear the battlefield, set up camp on the spot; tomorrow… the troops will arrive at Kaiping City!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers cheered.

Kaiping City, the Yuan Capital, lies just a hundred li away.

That night, the Military Camp's bonfire burned brightly.

The soldiers gathered around the Fire Pit, excitedly discussing the day's battle.

Shiniu became the center of conversation again.

"Did you see... Brother Shiniu swing his hammer once, crushing both men and horses into mush!"

"Not just that... I saw it with my own eyes, he charged alone into the Yuan army formation and killed seven in and seven out!"

"The 'seven in, seven out' is just storytelling, but… it's close enough."

"....."

Shiniu sat beside the Fire Pit, quietly gnawing on a roasted leg of lamb.

Chang Yuchun had someone specially roast it for him: a whole leg of lamb, five jin heavy.

Wang Gui came over, handed him a sack of Wine and laughed, "Try it, just captured."

Shiniu took it, took a sip, his brow furrowed from the spiciness, but he swallowed it anyway.

"How is it?" Wang Gui asked with a smile.

"Spicy," Shiniu replied honestly.

Everyone around laughed.

Lan Yu walked over at that moment, and the soldiers hurried to stand.

Lan Yu waved a hand, sat down beside Shiniu, and took a sack of Wine for a sip.

"Shiniu, that Double Hammers technique you used during the day, shaking down a whole area—what were you thinking?" he asked, smiling at the Fire Pit.

Shiniu thought for a moment and said, "They surrounded us, too many; hitting them one by one was too slow. After shaking them down, it was easy to strike."

Lan Yu's mouth twitched, "Just because of that?"

"Hmm."

Lan Yu tipped his head back, gulped a big mouthful of Wine, and sighed, "General Chang is right; you're a war genius, your instinctive reactions surpass what others spend a lifetime pondering."

Shiniu didn't quite grasp the meaning, but continued gnawing the lamb leg.

Lan Yu sat a while longer, then stood, patted his shoulder, and said, "Rest early; tomorrow… we face a hard battle."

Kaiping City is not a field battle; it's a siege.

Shiniu nodded.

At night, Shiniu lay in his tent, listening to the snores of his comrades around him.

He didn't fall asleep immediately; instead, he recalled the day's combat.

He couldn't recall the faces of the Yuan soldiers before they died.

On the battlefield, there was no time to remember those.

All he knew was that he must charge, kill, win...

That way, his comrades would lose a few fewer lives.

Wang Gui had said, that's how war is.

If you don't kill them, they will kill your brothers.

Shiniu turned over and closed his eyes.

Tomorrow, Kaiping City.