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

Chapter 162 Six thousand against four hundred, the advantage is in my hands!

Zhou Yuji was considered to have a good temper among military generals, but being wounded by a hidden arrow still ignited his ferocity. He turned his horse around and charged towards the Jurchen cavalry that had shot the arrow. The Jurchens were not intimidated either; seeing the Ming cavalry charging, they still drew their bows, intending to deliver a five-step shot to the face.

Zhou Yuji stared wide-eyed at the Jurchen's movements. The instant the Jurchen's thumb released the bowstring, Zhou Yuji dodged into the stirrups, hiding beside his warhorse. The arrow grazed his scalp. Zhou Yuji returned to his horse, brushing past the Jurchen riders, and punched the Jurchen in the stomach, sending him flying.

The slave rider lay on his back, one foot still dangling from the stirrup, being dragged away. He frantically searched his waist for his weapon, but Zhou Yuji wouldn't give him the chance. His warhorse seemed to have a telepathic connection with him, and without him needing to turn the reins, it took off after the slave rider.

The iron hoofprinted on the Jurchen's neck with a crisp crack, and the Jurchen's taut body instantly went limp, becoming a heap of minced meat being dragged along. The warhorse disdainfully shook its front hooves, turning its head arrogantly to look at its master. Zhou Yuji, seeing this, was somewhat amused and exasperated. He bent down and stroked the warhorse's neck, praising it generously, "Good horse, good girl!"

The warhorse seemed to understand, abruptly turning its head back, even swinging it to the other side. Head held high, its gait light and quick, it performed a little horse dance. At the same time, Zhou Yuji scanned his surroundings and could no longer see the remaining slave riders. In such a brief exchange, the outcome was already decided, and they had achieved their first victory. Although the number of enemies killed was limited, it was a good start.

Zhou Yuji dismounted, releasing the three-barreled musket from his grasp, the muzzle pointing downwards, the shaft resting against his side. He crossed his arms, rubbing his slightly numb hands, still shaken by the sight of the corpses strewn across the ground. He dispatched eight riders to guard the four sides, while the rest tended to the wounded and clean up the battlefield. Zhou Yuji personally severed off a slave's head, grabbing the thin braid at the back of its head and tying it to several other slave heads.

Although Zhu Youjian recognized the flaws in the merit-based system, he couldn't find a good solution in the short term. In the past, reporting merits often involved falsification; even with dedicated clerks in the army to record achievements, it was difficult to keep accurate records. As a result, the reported number of kills could be several times, in some cases even ten times, the actual number of enemy casualties during battlefield cleanup.

Therefore, enemy heads were still the best proof of military merit. However, after discussing with the cabinet and the Ministry of War officials, Zhu Youjian made a limited change. The method of proving military merit was still based on the captured enemy heads, but individual merit was replaced with collective merit.

Each soldier participating in a separate battlefield would share the military merit equally. If it was a night watchman squad, the merit would be divided among the squad members, a dozen or so men. If it was a large-scale battle involving an entire army, the merit would be shared by the thousands of soldiers in the entire army. Of course, auxiliary soldiers and combat soldiers would be treated differently.

So Zhou Yuji and his men collected the heads of the Jurchens, without distinguishing who had killed whom, registered them, and destroyed the heads. Each of them could then receive roughly half a head. As for the fallen allies, their merits were not considered; the court's compensation was limited, so they had to pool their rewards to subsidize the families of their fallen comrades.

Soldiers are willing to entrust their backs and share life and death because of this sense of responsibility. An army composed of soldiers from the same hometown often surpasses other haphazardly assembled and chaotic armies in terms of combat effectiveness, cohesion, and resilience. Lu Xiang-sheng's Tianxiong Army is this type of army.

Of course, it's good for soldiers to be united. If they're too united, the ruler will be afraid and will have to auction off the positions of military governor or emperor!
In the first charge, five Jurchens fell from their horses and three died, while the Ming army suffered similar casualties. In the second charge, the Ming cavalry, with their numerical advantage, achieved a one-sided massacre, but in the Jurchens' desperate counterattack, one was still killed, one was seriously wounded, and almost everyone else was injured.

In this small-scale cavalry battle, the Ming army, consisting of thirty-five riders, fought against thirteen Jurchen riders. The Ming army emerged victorious, killing thirteen Jurchens and capturing twenty warhorses. Five Ming soldiers were killed and three were seriously wounded. The Jurchen soldier, Gazha Boshiku, refused to surrender until his death.

A quarter of an hour later, the two riders who had given the warning spurred their horses back, panting, and said, "Commander, we've spotted a Jurchen cavalry unit ahead, about four hundred riders!" "Four hundred riders?!" Everyone was stunned. "How the hell are we supposed to fight them?!"

Zhou Yuji mounted his horse and decisively ordered, "Withdraw!"

Zhou Yuji was already a centurion, commanding five hundred cavalrymen, making him a mid-to-high-ranking officer in the Shen Shu Camp's elite force. He returned to the main force with the spoils of war and reported the intelligence they had gathered to Cao Wenzhao.

"Four hundred cavalry?!" Cao Bianjiao's eyes lit up. "General, let's ambush them and wipe them out!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Wenzhao unfolded the map he carried with him and compared it with the map. Then he summoned a local soldier familiar with the terrain and asked him a few questions before nodding.

There was a forest ahead large enough to accommodate a thousand cavalrymen, which could serve as an ambush site. The Jurchens were probably not very familiar with the terrain of the capital, which was an advantage compared to fighting in Liaodong. Fighting in the capital region gave the Ming army a certain home advantage, or the so-called geographical advantage.

They had marched all the way from the capital and had not yet set up camp. The enemy cavalry was constantly moving and changing positions, leaving them little time to discuss their options. Fearing an ambush and their plan backfiring, Cao Wenzhao ordered his men to scout again. Zhou Yuji, upon hearing this, was preparing to gather his troops for another battle when Cao Bianjiao stopped him.

“Brother Zhou, you have just gone through a fierce battle and are exhausted. You are not fit to fight again. You should go and rest first. I will go and meet the Jurchens in your place this time,” Cao Bianjiao said.

Zhou Yuji frowned slightly upon hearing this. His men had indeed been through a fierce battle, but he could simply replace them with another batch. As for himself, this level of combat was merely a warm-up. However, Cao Bianjiao was now his superior, and he was speaking so politely, so Zhou Yuji couldn't be stubborn and refuse to give him face. Thus, he tactfully cupped his hands and withdrew.

After persuading Zhou Yuji to retreat, Cao Bianjiao looked at his uncle. Cao Wenzhao frowned and said, "Go, take more men with you, be smart, and don't be reckless!"

"Understood!" Cao Bianjiao shouted in response, beaming with joy. He returned to his unit, seized fifty able-bodied riders, and then lightly pulled on the reins. The warhorse raised its forelegs and pawed twice, neighing in dissatisfaction. Cao Bianjiao pressed the horse down, gripped its belly tightly, and then propelled himself and the horse forward. A thunderous rumble of hooves echoed, with fifty riders closely following behind him.

At this moment, the four hundred Jurchen cavalry had arrived at the site of the previous battle and found headless corpses stripped of their armor. Although they were headless, they could tell from their clothing that these were their own men. The leader of the Niru Ejen was now in a dilemma; for the first time since the start of the war, he felt fear.

In fact, the scouts' primary task was to bring back news; fighting amongst themselves was secondary. Normally, if two scouts met, they would turn their horses and flee. However, they had had such a smooth journey and were so arrogant that upon seeing enemy cavalry, they didn't even send anyone back to report, and as a result, they were all killed!
(End of this chapter)