Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 476 "Blood Bridge" (Part 1)

On the night of September 13th, the moonlight, like a knife tempered with ice, slanted across the sea surface of the Liaoxi Corridor.

Huang Taiji reined in his horse and stood on a high slope on Changling Mountain. The frost on the collar of his sable fur coat gleamed coldly under the torchlight.

He gazed at the lights of the Ming army camp in the distance; those points of light resembled scattered silver pieces on a black cloth, yet they reminded him of the starry sky on the eve of the Battle of Sarhu.

At that time, he was still the Fourth Prince, waiting for dawn with his father, the Khan, on the banks of the Hun River.

The knife at his waist suddenly felt uncomfortable; the pearl on the hilt, a gift from the Korean royal palace last year, now felt like it was burning his palm.

"Tell Ajige..." he said in a low voice, as if afraid of disturbing the night fog, "to take action precisely when the tide comes down."

The words had barely left his mouth when he recalled Dorgon's plea for help. The ink on that paper was almost soaked with his sweat. The camp walls of Rufeng Mountain were about to be blown up, and the Eight Banners were suffering heavy casualties. The entire camp was filled with the wails of wounded soldiers.

This battle cannot be lost; it represents the last remaining assets of the Qing Dynasty.

Sony, standing beside him, bowed in response, and as he turned, the soft sound of the armor plates colliding was carried far away by the wind.

The 20,000 infantry and cavalry below the slope had formed a square formation. The action of the ladder-wielders wrapping hemp rope around the wooden ladders reminded Huang Taiji of the net weavers he had seen in Hetu Ala when he was a child.

He suddenly felt a tightness in his throat. The faces of these soldiers with red flags still carried the smell of yesterday's gunpowder. One of the young Niru Ejen had a bandage wrapped around his arm, from being shot by an arrow during the attack on the Ming army camp at Songshan.

Everyone seemed exhausted.

But he had no choice but to use them as bait, just as his father had lured Dusson into an ambush at Sarhu.

"Remember! Although it is a feint attack, we must maintain the proper momentum and put the Ming army under great pressure."

He added, glancing at Ao Bai's face, "Try to draw Hong Chengchou's main force to the front lines as much as possible, and prevent them from dividing their forces and heading east."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ao Bai bowed slightly and replied, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, this night raid will surely terrify the Ming army, making them only dare to cower in their camp and not dare to move an inch eastward!"

At the second watch of the night, a burst of fire suddenly erupted on the front of Songshan Mountain, accompanied by deafening shouts.

The Qing army's rockets, trailing crimson flames, cleaved through the thin mist, swept across the night sky, and struck the Ming army's deer antlers, burning holes in the night sky with the ignited fireballs.

Thick smoke, carrying the smell of burning, drifted in all directions, mingling with the dampness of the night, making people's throats tighten.

Hong Chengchou stood on the watchtower at the camp gate, his fingers digging deeply into the wood grain of the railing.

The siege ladders below the city walls swayed like black shadows in the firelight, and the Qing soldiers on the ladders climbed like ants, the light reflected from their armor plates flickering in the fog.

The Tartars are attacking again!

"Commander! The Tartars are attacking the right flank again!" The desperate cry of the personal guard arrived swiftly.

Hong Chengchou's knuckles turned white as he gripped the command flag. These days he kept having the same dream: the corpses of Sarhu were piled up like mountains, and Yang Hao's blood flowed down the steps.

"Move Mako to the right flank of the main camp!" he shouted, his voice sharp and cutting. "Push the artillery battalion to the front!"

"Make sure Wu Sangui's cavalry prepares for a counterattack!"

"Wang Pu's troops are firmly guarding the walls of Songshan City. Without a military order, they are not to leave the city to engage in reckless battle!"

"Bai Guang'en's troops are to launch a probing attack towards the eastern side of Songshan Mountain, but their advance must not exceed three li!"

"..."

At the same moment, more than ten miles away on the "sky bridge" of Bijia Mountain, Ajige was leading his horse, walking through the seawater that was over his ankles.

The icy seawater seeped into his boots, making his feet very uncomfortable, which reminded him of the days when he was a boy and went hunting with his brothers on the snowy plains.

The five thousand iron cavalry behind him resembled a long black snake, their hooves wrapped in hemp cloth, making only a soft thud as they stepped on the wet sand.

Behind him, a Niru Ejen of the Bordered Blue Banner was breathing heavily, muttering softly. As each person approached the "sky bridge," they stuffed a gag into the mouths of their men and horses to prevent them from making any noise.

The procession ahead suddenly stopped. Ajige instinctively gripped the knife at his waist, his pupils dilated, and he strained to see ahead through the dim starlight.

It is estimated that the vanguard encountered a Ming army patrol and had to stop to cover their tracks under the cover of darkness.

Or perhaps it was the changing of the guard at a Ming army outpost, with faint sounds of laughter and dragging footsteps drifting through the air.

Ahead lay a stretch of sea, its waves reflecting faint starlight.

In the middle of the sea is this "sky bridge" leading to the Ming army's grain storage camp.

If we get a little closer and the tide recedes a little more, we can reach the middle of the "sky bridge" without any hindrance. At that time, the whole army can mount up and launch a fierce attack.

With the weather cooperating and the tide high today, the "sky bridge" ahead appears to be getting wider and wider. Perhaps, in no time, a dozen or so riders will be able to gallop away without any hindrance.

After pausing for about 15 minutes, the group continued on its way.

The lead soldier, Bayala, had already reached the middle of the sandbank. The torches cast long shadows of several Ming soldiers, making them look like paper figures pasted on the sand. Ajige's heart suddenly started racing, and the sweat on his palms dampened the hilt of his sword.

The old man always said that fighter jets are like fish in a river, fleeting and ephemeral.

Therefore, the opportunity for our Great Qing lies in this one move.

Suddenly, a Niru Ejen of the Bordered Red Banner slipped and the bow he was holding fell into the water.

The soft sound was like a thunderclap in the night. Almost instinctively, Ajige grabbed the back of his neck and pinched him hard in anger.

Under the starlight, the bow shimmered white in the water, like a struggling fish.

The procession immediately stopped, and everyone lowered their bodies and stroked the horses to prevent any further noise.

"Uh……"

"what……"

A few faint gasps rang out, and the Bayara in front moved like rabbits, rushing forward swiftly. The flying arrow pierced the sentry's throat, and the rushing dagger severed the neck of the Ming soldier.

The blood splattered on the sand was quickly diluted by the seawater, leaving only a faint fishy smell.

The tide is still receding, and the exposed part of the sandbar is getting wider and wider.

At the fourth watch of the night, the group finally set foot on the dry beach, and Ajige breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Mount up!" He spat out the gag in his mouth, mounted the horse, and drew his waist knife.

He looked up and saw that the three peaks of Bijia Mountain looked like several crouching giant beasts in the night. The granaries in the valley were dark and gloomy, with only the torches of the watchtowers and observation posts struggling in the wind.

"Prepare for the attack!" He licked his chapped lips, tasting the salt in his mouth.

"Charge!" Five thousand iron cavalrymen simultaneously removed the hemp cloth from their horses' hooves, brandished their swords and spears, and rushed straight towards the Bijia Mountain camp.

However, just a dozen meters after the procession had gone, the warhorses in the front row suddenly reared up and began to neigh loudly.

Several warhorses suddenly knelt down on their forelegs, throwing their riders three zhang (approximately 10 meters) away, where they crashed heavily onto the sandbank. The blood spurting from their mouths splattered onto the wet sand, creating a crimson stain.

“Barbed wire!” exclaimed a Manchu bannerman.

Under the faint starlight, the barbed wire on the sandy ground of the "sky bridge" gleamed coldly, its sharp spikes resembling countless upturned wolf claws, instantly piercing the horses' hooves.

Although all the warhorses were shod, there were always worn or exposed hooves that were pierced by barbed wire.

The armored cavalry in front collapsed like dominoes, dozens of warhorses charging wildly. Some rushed into the sea, their riders being swallowed by the waves, while others turned back, knocking over the riders behind them. The sandbank was instantly piled high with struggling men and horses.

"Don't panic!" Ajige swung his sword, slashing at a frightened horse beside him.

The horse crashed to the ground, spraying blood all over his face, but it temporarily calmed the chaos.

"Vanguard battalion! Get through them!" he roared, pointing to the camp entrance hundreds of meters away. "Even if it means paving the way with corpses, clear a path for the rear guard to charge!"

The flag bearers exchanged a glance and suddenly dismounted in unison.

Some of them struggled to drag the injured horses away, while others took off their armor and waved it across the sandbank to clear away the barbed wire. Still others brandished their spears, sweeping across the sandbank as they swiftly charged forward.

"Faster! Faster!" Azige roared from horseback, "The vanguard cavalry must clear a path!"

He saw the Ming army's torches lighting up one after another in the camp, and he could vaguely hear the soldiers gathering and shouting.

We can't delay any longer; we must storm the camp before the Ming army can react!
Upon hearing Ajige's roar, a Bayara immediately stabbed the horse's tail with his knife, leaped forward, and raced toward the end of the "sky bridge."

Behind him, more than ten riders broke through the crowd and charged forward frantically, trying to clear a path for the main cavalry with their own sacrifice.

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves quickly passed the middle section of the "sky bridge," leaving a bloodstain on the sandbank.

Without exception, the injured horses were knocked off the "sky bridge" by the galloping cavalry and plunged into the sea.

However, just as Ajige shouted "Break the camp!", the charging cavalry at the front stopped again.

"Your Highness! There are barricades! ...So many barricades!" a Niru Ejen shouted loudly.

"Charge! Don't stop!...Charge!" Ajige roared repeatedly, his waist knife flashing in the air.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Suddenly, three streaks of light flashed on the hillside of the camp, followed by the deafening roar of cannons echoing through the night sky.

"Damn it! The Ming army... has cannons!" Ajige's heart skipped a beat, his eyes widened as he looked at the cavalry ahead, which had been instantly riddled with several bloody gashes.
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(End of this chapter)