There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 177 Cavalry Defeated
The Qing cavalry had entered the final few dozen meters of high-speed charge, and had no way to dodge, nor could they possibly dodge, the dense barrage of muskets and crossbows.

In an instant, a large number of cavalrymen in the front row fell down; there were at least a hundred of them!

Even the warhorses couldn't withstand the strain; their front legs buckled, tripping over many friendly cavalrymen charging from the rear who couldn't get out of the way in time.

The three thousand cavalrymen lost over a hundred of them in one fell swoop, which was basically equivalent to the annihilation of the entire front cavalry. The cavalry in the rear rank couldn't react in time and were still reining in their horses and charging forward when they ran headlong into the forest of spears of the Han army's infantry square formation.

Phew! Phew!
The spears didn't quite pierce the horses; rather, they struck the horses' chest bones. Some spears were pointing upwards, and the momentum and force of the impact sent the Qing soldiers and knights flying off their horses.

A real hail of bullets.

First came a dense barrage of fire from muskets and crossbows, followed by a hail of bullets and a barrage of crossbow bolts with the same power as bullets, which the armor worn by the Qing cavalry could not withstand at all.

After finally managing to get close, the Han army's muskets and crossbows were still in the back row, while the front row was covered by layers of spearmen and swordsmen.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

"Shhhhhhh!"

Just as the Qing cavalrymen who charged forward were questioning their existence after being stabbed by the spears, the muskets and crossbows hidden behind the spear formation opened fire again.

The crossbows are all made with modern technology, and with a little practice, almost everyone can be as skilled as a master archer.

The firearms were even more outrageous; the musket battalion of the Second Division had already started using rifled flintlock muskets.

The rifling machine had already been built, and the Han army certainly couldn't abandon it. They had already mass-produced several of them and were working day and night to re-rifle the gun barrels and make rifled flintlock guns.

The rifled flintlock muskets produced in this way still had various problems, such as the rifling not being good enough and the production of hollow bullets specifically for rifled muskets not keeping up with demand, resulting in almost every musketeer carrying a small hammer specifically for loading bullets.

However, this does not diminish the revolutionary impact of the rifled flintlock musket on modern warfare. Some people still believe that the advent of the machine gun marked the end of the cavalry era.

That's a very accurate statement!
Strictly speaking, cavalry was already outdated as early as the advent of rifled muskets. This is because rifled muskets improved bullet accuracy, unlike smoothbore muskets which required linear formations and increased firepower density to improve accuracy.

With rifled guns, the rigid linear formation began to crumble, and infantry could fire in a dispersed manner, adopting a more dispersed formation. In addition, the improved accuracy of rifled guns also indirectly increased the effective range.

Cavalry would find it difficult to charge again; often, when they tried to accelerate from a distance, they would be hit by a volley of bullets. By the time they got close, the enemy infantry had already fled, engaging in guerrilla warfare as they ran.

The Han army wasn't quite as exaggerated; they were still using a conservative line formation, and their rifled guns had only recently been put into actual combat, so they were still unfamiliar with many aspects of the game.

It doesn't matter if you're not familiar with it, as long as you can hit accurately!

At close range of tens of meters, even smoothbore guns can be effectively fired, and rifled guns and crossbows are practically infallible.

The Han army's musketeers and crossbowmen all transformed into sharpshooters, each shot and arrow capable of taking down a Qing cavalryman.

After two rounds of fire, the Han army musketeers gradually became familiar with the rifled guns and found that they were really effective.

His aim is so precise, hitting exactly where he points, without needing to rely on experience or luck.

The Han army's musketeers and crossbowmen simply stopped firing in volleys. Since they could hit accurately, the density of firepower was not important; killing as many Qing soldiers as possible was enough.

Hundreds of muskets and crossbows were fired freely, while soldiers, hiding behind the spears, swords, and shields of their allies, fired sniper shots and arrows at the Qing cavalry.

On the battlefield, the Qing cavalry could not advance for long before they were completely immobilized. The Han army's muskets were too accurate and could hit the target from too far, with almost every shot finding its mark. The Qing cavalry charges were no longer effective; they could not break through the Han army's long spear formation at close range, and they had no way to deal with the Han army at long range either.

Many Qing soldiers were so angry that they spat and cursed. Were these rebels not afraid of death? They used their flesh and blood to block the charge of the warhorses. Although they were blocked by the spears, a considerable number of Han soldiers were also seriously injured and coughed up blood after being knocked down by the warhorses.

This was a high-speed collision by a warhorse, no different from being hit by a motorcycle. It would be a miracle if you didn't die on the spot.

Why haven't the rebels collapsed yet?
The Qing cavalry couldn't understand it, so they simply didn't charge.

As mentioned before, the Qing cavalry had significant problems in its composition and organization. Its forces came from the Green Standard Army cavalry in various provinces, and there was almost no unified command within the army.

It was only thanks to the leadership of the veteran general Mingliang that they were able to barely stay together and avoid major conflicts. There were no major conflicts, but minor conflicts were inevitable. People from different dialects and regions banded together for mutual support, and the three thousand cavalrymen were divided into several small groups and factions.

If we can win the battle, these are not major problems. The only issue is that conflicts and disagreements may arise when vying for the merits of the battle.

For example, when they decisively defeated the White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang, Mingliang's three thousand cavalrymen almost turned on each other over heads. Fortunately, Mingliang intervened in time to mediate and redistribute the merits and heads, trying to ensure impartiality.

Afterwards, he privately found the cavalrymen who had received fewer merit points for the severed heads and compensated them personally, which helped to stabilize the morale of the troops.

This is also why, at Mingliang's command, these Green Standard Army cavalrymen, who had already suffered a defeat at the hands of the Han army once, were still able to launch a charge attack on the Han army without hesitation!
But now, they can't break through from the front. The Han army's spearmen all seem fearless, neither collapsing nor retreating, just standing there in the middle, like an insurmountable chasm.

Some Qing cavalrymen got carried away and were still looking for an opportunity to charge through. Once they got through, the rebel musketeers would be nothing to them.

Once the musketeers are eliminated, the remaining rebel infantry will surely collapse.

Some Qing cavalrymen, though not driven to madness, no longer wanted to charge and instead ran away to try and kill the enemy with mounted archery.

Whether mounted archery could kill the enemy is unclear, but the Qing cavalry's charge formation collapsed!
If the Qing cavalry could maintain a charge of three thousand riders, even if the Han army's rifles and cannons were powerful, the number of spearmen on the left flank would always be limited, and it would be impossible to stop the cavalry's charge indefinitely.

If the Han army's spearmen suffer too many losses, they will inevitably collapse, and no amount of disciplined training will help. The Han army consists mostly of new recruits, and new recruits are bound to be fearful.

Unfortunately, the Qing army had already missed its chance!
Without a unified charge formation, the biggest difference between cavalry and infantry is simply that they have a horse.

Even with an extra horse, the infantry still lacks a complete formation and fights independently. They're just like fish on a chopping board, or rather, fish that willingly cut themselves apart.

Although the Han army's left flank was entirely composed of infantry with no cavalry, making it impossible to directly counter-encircle the Qing cavalry, it was still entirely capable of achieving a stalemate.

The greatest strength of cavalry is their mobility. Once they get bogged down in a stalemate, cavalry has virtually no chance of winning!

The battle unfolded exactly as predicted. Some Qing cavalry were still trying to detour, hoping to break through the Han army's pike formation and penetrate to the rear of the Han army's square formation. However, after trying for a long time, they found that they couldn't get around it at all, as the Han army's square formation was always able to make deployment adjustments in the first instance.

Another group of Qing cavalry, attempting to increase the distance and find opportunities for mounted archery, fared even worse. Because of the increased distance, they became easy targets, becoming prime targets for rifled muskets.

If they run far away, they'll be shot down; there's no chance for mounted archery at all!

Their weaponry, morale, and tactical formations were all completely overwhelmed, and the casualties of the Qing cavalry increased rapidly and noticeably.

In the initial battle, the Qing army had 3,000 cavalry, but in less than half an hour, only 2,500 remained.

The casualty rate of 500 people has long exceeded one-tenth, which is also the limit that a typical army can withstand.

The reason it hasn't collapsed yet is entirely due to the fact that the Qing cavalry is too fragmented and lacks a unified and convincing command. The overall casualty rate of the army is already very high.

Of course, there's no need to count anymore; five hundred casualties is far too many. Even though the army was scattered, they realized something was wrong.

Without orders, the Qing cavalry began to retreat spontaneously. Several cavalry officers even gathered the surviving cavalry under their command and prepared to turn their horses around for a strategic retreat.

Their strategic retreat was bound to be followed by others. With so many people following suit, what was originally a spontaneous strategic retreat quickly turned into a major rout!

The Qing cavalry was routed, but the Han army's left wing did not attempt to pursue them. Firstly, infantry on two legs could not outrun cavalry on four legs, and secondly, the Han army's left wing had already suffered considerable losses.

The musketeers and crossbowmen in the back row suffered few losses, but the spearmen and swordsmen who served as the human wall in the front row suffered heavy casualties.

The entire left-wing formation only had a force of just over two thousand men, a single commander's corps. Yet, in this one-off incident, over two hundred men were killed, over fifty were seriously wounded, and dozens more were lightly wounded.

The casualty rate has reached one-tenth. Even for the elite Han army, such a casualty rate makes it difficult to launch a pursuit against the cavalry in a short period of time.

Bai Nan lowered his binoculars. The left flank had withstood the Qing cavalry charge, so it was time for him to make his move: "Cavalry battalion, attack! Target: the routed enemy cavalry ahead!"

With the clear military order issued, Bai Nan had no intention of letting this Qing cavalry escape again; he wanted to further expand the victory. He didn't need to annihilate the Qing cavalry completely, but at least he wanted to severely damage them, rendering them incapable of fighting.

(End of this chapter)