Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 152 The Third Night at Han'erzhuang: The Unrecruited Squad - Li Youan

On the first day of the first month of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, as dawn broke and the winter chill lingered, the night watchman walked along the inner city wall, striking the gong five times and shouting, "Dawn is approaching, go to bed early and get up early, everyone be at your post." However, the soldiers inside the watchtowers merely turned over, tightened their tattered cotton-padded coats, and continued to sleep.

Thirty miles outside the wall, Turge, son of the late First Baturu of the Jurchens, Fei Yingdong, dragged a Ming scout back on his warhorse. Huang Taiji glanced over and saw that the man's ankles were bound with ropes, and as he was dragged along, his back, hands, and arms were covered in blood. The flesh at his elbows was torn open, revealing the pale, white joint bones.

"Great Khan, one of us escaped, and our whereabouts have been exposed," said Turgh, who was as strong as a bear, with his head down.

Huang Taiji frowned slightly, but then relaxed. A surprise attack is all about speed. Once the army has set out, it's impossible to completely conceal their movements. He had reason to believe that the news of their advance had already been known to that old codger Yuan Keli, and that reinforcements might have already set off.

So what they needed to do was be fast, even faster, so fast that the Ming Dynasty couldn't react in time. Deploying troops also takes time, and Huang Taiji didn't believe the Ming army could do it better than him. Besides, this place wasn't by the sea; could the Ming army fly over? The Ming dogs only knew some fancy tricks and gimmicks—relying on fortified cities, powerful cannons, and naval raids—but in a direct confrontation, the Ming army was nothing.

“The Ming dynasty’s night patrols outside the Great Wall are also considered loyal and brave. Why do you want to humiliate them?” Huang Taiji said with some reproach.

Turgh grinned and said, "Khan, I've tried, but this kid refuses to surrender no matter what."

"Then kill them." Huang Taiji waved his hand, his expression unchanged, and said calmly.

Da da da!
The rapid hoofbeats sounded particularly jarring in the quiet morning. The tightly closed gate of Da'ankou was pounded on by urgent pounding. After the blood-stained warhorse stopped, it fell to the ground and could not get up again. Its long neck twisted upwards a few times before finally sinking to the ground.

The warhorse foamed at the mouth and its limbs began to convulse, and its rider was in no better shape. His back was riddled with arrows. His leather armor was only effective against the bone arrows of the Mongol nomads, and it proved utterly useless against the longbows and arrowheads of the Jurchens, its effect being almost as good as parchment.

vomit!
The knight coughed up a mouthful of thick blood, his hands leaving bloody handprints on the door. His vision grew increasingly blurry, yet the door remained tightly shut, silent and still.

The knight was filled with despair. He carried the weight of nine lives on his shoulders. He was only able to return because he was the youngest; his brothers had sacrificed their lives to allow him to escape. Although he knew he probably wouldn't survive, he couldn't just die in vain, couldn't let his captain and his brothers die meaninglessly.

Time seemed to crawl by. The knight's limbs were too weak to hold onto the city gate any longer, and he could only curl up on the ground, his head pressed against the earth. He didn't know how much time had passed, but finally, footsteps echoed from the city gate, but to the knight's ears, it sounded like the sound of someone drowning.

In his mind, scenes from the past began to surface, and he could no longer distinguish between reality and illusion.

Clang, clang, clang—the sound of wood being struck rang out, and then a hidden mechanism above the doorway was activated, sending wood chips and dust swirling onto the knight. A small hole appeared above the doorway, through which an eye peered down at everything below.

"They're our people! Go save them!" came a cry from upstairs.

"Help...help..." The knight felt as if his consciousness was clearing up a bit.

Click-clack, creak!

The heavy city gate was slowly opened, and the knight struggled to open his eyes.

"Where are you from? I've never seen you before. What happened? How did you get so badly injured? Do those damned barbarians even want to do business anymore? How can they be so unruly?!"

The city gate opened a crack, and several people walked out, chattering, "This, this injury is too serious. Can you even walk by yourself? This can't be lifted either. Wang Datou, go and take a door panel over. Seventh Brother, go back to the city and find Doctor An."

"Huh?! Banner Chief, Doctor An is a horse doctor!" Old Liu looked astonished.

"What kind of doctor is he? We only have one doctor around here, who else can we go to?!" the junior officer cursed.

"No!" The knight, with a strength that seemed to come from nowhere, grabbed the junior officer's hand. His eyes were wide open, bloodshot, and his face grew increasingly ashen. "Tell the garrison commander that they are Jurchens, numbering no less than fifty thousand cavalry, and less than thirty li from here!!!" "What, what?!" The junior officer could barely speak, feeling a chill run through his body, his fingers beginning to go numb.

"I am Li Youan from the Third Night's Rescue Team of Han'erzhuang. Tell my mother, your son is unfilial..."

The glimmer of light in the knight's eyes vanished completely. His fingers opened and slid off the junior officer. The junior officer tried to catch him, but was pulled back and stumbled. The man was dead and heavy.

The junior officer reached out to touch his nose, only to find that he was no longer breathing. He then touched his neck, finding only a trace of warmth, but no pulse.

The junior officer was somewhat bewildered. His ancestors were hereditary centurions, but they were not allowed to inherit the position because they had offended their superiors. He had exhausted all his connections and only managed to obtain the military rank of junior officer. He had been guarding the border in Jizhou for nine years and had never even killed a chicken.

His most brutal battle was against Mongol merchants, during which he lost a tooth. Now, however, someone told him that the Jurchens had arrived, and this was the first time he had witnessed a comrade die in battle.

"Boss, we...we?!" Wang Datou stammered.

"What are you all standing there for? Carry him back and report to the officer!"

"The person is already gone?!" Wang Datou said subconsciously, but regretted it as soon as he finished speaking. Sure enough, he saw the flag chief and several other brothers glaring at him.

call out!
Just then, a feathered arrow flew from afar and thudded into the door panel.

"Enemy attack!!!" Wang Datou roared, blood streaming down his face as the arrow grazed his skin.

"Quickly! Close the city gates!!!" the junior officer roared.

Several people scrambled to squeeze through the crack in the door. Thump, thump, thump! Several arrows struck the city gate in quick succession.

"Aaaaaah!!!" The junior officer suddenly screamed, tears streaming down his face, but he did act like a hero, enduring the excruciating pain and pulling Li Youan's body back.

Back in the city, the junior officer saw that an arrow shaft as thick as a thumb had pierced through his right forearm, embedding itself directly into the fletching. The arrowhead, about half the size of his palm, protruded from his arm, still covered in bits of flesh. The fletching was also different from what they usually used; it was grayish-black with spots, and as long and thick as his forearm. The junior officer felt like he was about to die and nearly fainted from fright.

A loud gong rang out from the city wall, accompanied by chaotic footsteps. Some soldiers wore armor, but not even trousers; their large, hairy legs trembled like leaves in the winter, whether from the cold or fear, it was hard to tell. Even more alarming was that none of them were capable of commanding an army; the highest-ranking officer was only a squad leader.

As for the garrison commander, why would he be staying on the city wall at this time? He'd have already gone home to sleep with his concubine.

Whoosh! The Jurchen scouts reined in their horses at the city gate. Although they were arrogant, they did not believe that their dozen or so men could take over such a fortified city, even though the city gates were not yet fully closed when they arrived.

Arrows fell sparsely from the city walls, but they seemed to have no end in sight, with some even flying into the sky. The Jurchen scouts racked their brains but couldn't figure out how these Ming dogs managed to do it. Occasionally, a few weak arrows would land on them, but they wouldn't even penetrate the first layer of armor, and they would even break the rusty arrowheads.

They finally burst into laughter, babbling incomprehensible but extremely grating words. The leader, a man with a pockmarked face and a fierce appearance, drew his bow and aimed an arrow at the city wall. The arrow pierced the crenellations precisely and went into the eye socket of a guard.

Someone's dead! Chaos erupted on the city wall. Many soldiers, who had finally mustered their courage, were so frightened that they huddled on the ground with their backs against the battlements, too afraid to get up!

The Jurchen scout squad swaggered around the city twice before leading their troops north. The squad leader had participated in the conquest of Liaodong. This felt familiar; the Ming dogs were indeed useless. Where were they going to find so many Dongjiang cavalry and Yi Ding cavalry?! He had to go back and tell Lord Ezhen this good news. This time they could finally have a good slaughter!

(End of this chapter)