Chapter 45: Guanyin Slave

April 9th, Mao hour.

The morning fog is denser than yesterday's.

Zhu Yong leads five thousand soldiers, advancing with great fanfare into Shen'er Valley.

War drums sound, and war flags flutter.

The five thousand form a long column, advancing slowly.

After marching three li into the valley, Zhu Yong orders a halt.

"Dig trenches, set up a camp!"

The soldiers immediately get to work, shoveling earth, digging ditches, driving wooden stakes, and raising fences.

Two hours later, a simple camp takes shape.

Zhu Yong climbs the watchtower within the camp, looking toward the depths of the valley.

The fog has not yet lifted, obscuring the distant scene.

But he can sense something in the fog watching them.

At noon, the fog gradually dissipates.

From deep within the valley, faint horse‑hoof sounds arise.

The sound rolls from afar to near, like a muffled thunder.

"Enemy attack..."

The lookouts shout a warning.

Zhu Yong leaps down from the watchtower and mounts his horse.

Outside the camp, Mongol cavalry surges like a tide.

This time it is not two thousand Vanguard, but a full ten thousand Mongol Iron Cavalry.

Horses pound the ground, kicking up dust.

First, a great banner is raised, embroidered with the Jin Wolf Banner.

Under the banner, a senior general in his early forties, face like ancient bronze, eyes sharp as an eagle.

It is Kuokuo Tie Mu Er.

He reins his horse, standing on the hillside, overlooking the Great Ming camp.

Beside him, the Vice General says, "Prince, that is Zhu Yong, Zhu Yuanzhang's second son, ennobled as Prince of Wu."

Kuokuo squints, looking at the Golden Armor officer before the camp.

"I heard he broke the plain with three hammer blows, hammered Helin with one strike, and in front of the formation cut Yesu?"

"Yes, the scout saw it with his own eyes; this man's bravery is inhuman, under his hammer there is never a living survivor."

Kuokuo sneers, "No matter how strong his might, he is still only one man. Send the order: the whole army charges, flattens this camp. I will use Zhu Yong's head to sacrifice to my Northern Yuan war flag!"

The horn sounds long.

The ten thousand Iron Cavalry begin to accelerate.

The hoofbeats roar deafeningly, and the earth trembles.

Inside the camp, Great Ming soldiers grip their weapons and hold their breath.

Zhu Yong, alone on horseback, stands before the camp gate.

He turns back, looks at the five thousand behind him, and shouts, "Brothers, are you afraid?"

"Not afraid!"

The five thousand roar in unison.

Zhu Yong grins and says, "Good! Today, we'll show Kuokuo that Great Ming men are no cowards!"

He turns his head again, looking at the Mongol Iron Cavalry drawing ever nearer.

He raises his right-hand hammer slowly.

The hammerhead glints coldly in the sunlight.

Three hundred zhang.

Two hundred zhang.

One hundred zhang.

Zhu Yong squeezes his horse's belly, and the Black Horse darts out like an arrow.

Solo charge!

Kuokuo, watching clearly from the hillside, furrows his brow and says, "He dares to charge alone, reckless!"

Before his words finish, the battlefield situation shifts abruptly.

Zhu Yong rushes into the enemy formation, swinging his Double Hammers.

The first hammer smashes five riders into the air.

The second hammer sweeps a swath down.

The third hammer strikes a warhorse's head dead‑on, the head bursts, and the rider on its back is flung three hundred zhang away.

He moves like a ferocious tiger entering a wolf pack; wherever he passes, men and horses tumble.

The Mongol cavalry's charge formation is brutally ripped open by him.

But the cavalry is too numerous, coming forward in endless waves.

Soon, Zhu Yong's figure is swallowed by the sea of people and horses.

Kuokuo lifts the corner of his mouth, "Bravery is... but a common man's courage is hardly worth mentioning..."

"Boom!"

A deafening blast cuts off his words.

Only ten‑plus riders, men and horses together, burst out of the cavalry formation.

Zhu Yong's figure reappeared.

He was drenched in blood, but it was all the enemy's.

His Double Hammers spun into a windmill, covering a radius of three Zhang; no one could approach.

The Mongol cavalry's charge was stubbornly blocked by him alone.

Kuokuo's complexion changed.

He had seen fierce generals before, but never one this fierce.

This was no longer human.

"Loose the arrows! Shoot him dead!" Kuokuo barked.

The rear cavalry drew their bows and nocked arrows.

Arrow Rain fell like locusts, covering the area where Zhu Yong stood.

Zhu Yong neither dodged nor evaded, and his Double Hammers spun even faster.

"Clang clang clang clang…"

Arrows struck the hammer heads and all bounced off.

Occasionally a stray arrow hit the armor, but it could not breach the Mingguang Armor's defense.

He instead used the Arrow Rain as cover and charged again.

This time, he rushed straight for Kuokuo's great banner.

"Stop him!" Kuokuo's Commander of the Imperial Guard shouted.

Three hundred Imperial Guard cavalry rode forward.

These were the elite, one in a hundred, with fine armor and superb horsemanship.

They split into three units, taking turns to charge, their spears like a forest.

Zhu Yong showed no fear and collided head‑on.

The first unit's hammers swept the horses' legs, and over ten men were unhorsed.

The second unit's hammers struck chests, and another wave fell to the ground.

The third unit surged forward; Zhu Yong's left hammer slipped from his hand and flew away.

"Whew…"

The hammer head spun and smashed into the enemy ranks, toppling seven or eight riders in succession, its momentum undiminished, then striking several more behind.

The right hammer followed with a sweeping strike, and the remaining cavalry were all unhorsed.

Three hundred Imperial Guard were wiped out in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

Zhu Yong reined his horse, retrieved his left hammer, and looked toward Kuokuo on the hillside.

The distance between them was now less than a hundred Zhang.

Beside Kuokuo, only a few dozen Imperial Troops remained.

His face turned ashen, and he drew his horse to flee.

At that moment, thunderous war cries erupted from the ridges on both sides of the valley.

Mu Ying's ten thousand troops appeared.

Bows and crossbows fired together, and firearms roared.

The rear of the Mongol cavalry fell into chaos.

Soon after, war drums sounded from the valley entrance.

Chang Yuchun and Li Wenzhong each led twenty thousand men, sealing the valley mouth.

Kuokuo's ten thousand iron cavalry were surrounded.

"Prince, hurry away!" the Vice General urged.

Kuokuo gritted his teeth, cast a final glance at the still‑charging Zhu Yong, and rode deeper into the valley to escape.

With their commander fleeing, the Mongol cavalry's morale collapsed.

The Ming forces surrounded them on all sides, and the sounds of killing filled the sky.

This battle raged from noon until the Shen Hour.

Of Kuokuo's ten thousand iron cavalry, over three thousand fell in battle, more than two thousand were captured, and the rest scattered.

The Ming army suffered fewer than a thousand casualties.

A great victory.

As the setting sun sank in the west, the battlefield gradually fell silent.

Zhu Yong sat on a stone, while Zhang Wu cleaned the blood off his armor.

Chen Heng came forward to report, "Prince, we captured a woman; she appears to be of noble birth."

Zhu Yong looked up and said, "Bring her over."

In a moment, two soldiers escorted a Mongol woman forward.

The woman was about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in a splendid Mongol robe, hair in disarray, but her eyes were defiant.

She saw Zhu Yong and, in halting Chinese, asked, "Are you Zhu Yong?"

Zhu Yong nodded and said, "I am, you are who?"

The woman looked up and said, "I am Kuokuo Tie Mu Er's sister, Minmin Temur; kill me if you will, but you dare not disgrace me!"

Zhu Yong was stunned.

Kuokuo's sister?

He scratched his head and said, "I won't kill a woman; you hold her for now, and wait for General Xu's decision."

When Minmin Temur was taken away, they turned back and glared fiercely at Zhu Yong.

Zhu Yong didn't mind.

Zhu Yong stood up and looked toward the depths of the valley.

Kuokuo ran away, but this battle is only a beginning.

From afar, Chang Yuchun rode over on horseback and shouted, "Prince, today one hammer each—what a thrill! What a thrill!"

Zhu Yong gave a goofy smile.

Night fell, and the camp lit a fire pit.

The soldiers gathered around the fire pit, roasting the captured lamb, and laughter rang out.

In the Central Command Tent, Xu Da looked at the battle report, a smile appearing on his face.

This battle is an auspicious start.

But Kuokuo's main force is unharmed; the real decisive battle is still ahead.

Xu Da looked up toward outside the tent, and in the night the Shen'er Valley stretched like a crawling giant beast.

This battle has only just begun.