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

Chapter 169 The Plastic Brotherhood Between Daishan, the Leader of the Two Red Banners, and Huang Taiji
Amidst the clanging of armor and arrows, screams of agony could be heard intermittently. More importantly, the Ming army's horses were unarmored. In this volley of fire, few of the Yulin cavalrymen were killed, but their horses were riddled with arrows, and the less capable horses began to lose control, some even collapsing.

However, the Jurchens were not shooting arrows for the sake of inflicting casualties; they were simply trying to disrupt the Ming army's formation, confuse their vision, and delay them, so that their own cavalry could approach more quickly.

Boom! The Yulin cavalry were not fighting alone; the cannons on the city walls unleashed their power. To avoid friendly fire, they did not choose to attack nearby targets, but instead directly struck the Jurchen rear guard. If Huang Taiji had not learned his lesson and set up his main camp ten miles away from the city, the Ming army would have wanted to attack the Jurchen rear guard as well.

The ten-pound iron ball flew straight out, sweeping across the short-armored cavalry in the rear of the Jurchen ranks. Anyone hit by it would hardly be left with a whole corpse. The cannonball pierced through the unfortunate Jurchen cavalrymen, and after hitting the ground, it bounced dozens of paces further, knocking down cavalrymen along the way.

"Woo-woo-woo!" Horns blared from the Jurchen ranks, and the cavalry quickly dispersed, widening the gaps between ranks to minimize damage from Ming artillery fire. The Ming army had countermeasures for this tactic, but grapeshot could only be used at the front lines; with friendly forces fighting below the city, firing recklessly risked friendly fire.

To avoid accidentally harming friendly forces, Zhu Youjian was extremely careful. There were strict restrictions on firing cannons from the city walls. He didn't seek merit but only to avoid mistakes. Second-line troops were not to get involved in the battles between the elite troops; they were just to act as cheerleaders and provide logistical support.

Bang! Bang! Bang! At a distance of thirty paces, the Yulin cavalry began firing their three-barreled muskets at the Jurchen white-armored soldiers. The first volley was fired at thirty paces, the remaining two were fired in quick succession at twenty paces, and at fifteen paces the Yulin cavalry turned their horses around. At ten paces, twenty paces, forty paces, the Yulin cavalry sped away in a flash.

Du Hongyu must have been out of his mind to go and fight the Jurchen heavy cavalry to the death. The enemy soldiers and horses were fully armored and carried much heavier loads than them, so they couldn't outrun them. If they didn't retreat now, when would they?! Watching the duck that was about to be caught fly away, and the distance between the two sides growing further and further apart, the Jurchen white-armored soldiers felt a sense of defeat, as if they were powerless to do anything in front of their wives.

"Hauge Beile, let's retreat! We've become separated from the rear guard!" Abatai shouted as he rode up to Hauge's side from the right rear.

Because they are charging, their mouths will be filled with water as soon as they open them, and their voices will be scattered by the wind. The voices of those in front can be heard from behind, but the voices of those behind are hard to hear from those in front.

Hauge turned to look at his father Khan's first-class bodyguard, his eyes filled with confusion. Abatai had no choice but to repeat the same words twice before Hauge could barely understand. However, Hauge was stubborn; the struggle for the crown prince position was always like this, and in order to win his father Khan's favor, he would never dare to disobey Huang Taiji.

He Hauge, holding the reins in one hand and pointing to the Ming army camp ahead with the other, said, “The Khan ordered us to launch a surprise attack on the Ming cavalry camp. Now the camp is right in front of us, and the Khan hasn’t sounded the retreat. How can we retreat on our own? What will we do if the Khan blames us? Stop talking and get back to your lines. Charge with me!”

"How can there be a decisive battle right from the start!" In the central army camp, Zhao Shuaijiao built a wooden platform to command from above. Watching the Jurchen cavalry relentlessly pursuing them, his expression turned somewhat grim.

He initially thought the Jurchen cavalry was merely testing and intimidating him. How could they use their elite guard like this?! What about their basic tactics and military strategy? Had Huang Taiji lost his mind? Could it be that the one leading the troops wasn't Huang Taiji, but someone else entirely?!
Huang Taiji watched as Hauge walked straight down the dark road, his expression turning grim. Firstly, he hadn't expected the Ming army to still have so many cannons in the capital. He knew the situation in the Ming Dynasty; their elite forces were all concentrated in Liaoxi. Based on their experience of conquering cities and territories since entering the pass, the Ming army within the pass was indeed pitifully weak.

He was deceived. When he was observing the city from all sides, there were only breech-loading cannons on the Deshengmen city wall. The city wall was 15 paces away from the moat, which was 20 to 30 paces wide. The Ming cavalry camp was also 50 paces deep. Logically speaking, a distance of nearly 100 paces should have been completely outside the effective range of the breech-loading cannons.

Once they charged into the Ming army's ranks and the two sides clashed, the Ming army would have to consider the consequences before firing their cannons. Based on this calculation, they were perfectly capable of fighting. He even secretly mocked himself: "The Ming Dynasty has no great generals; its rulers and ministers are devoid of strategy and know nothing of warfare."

In the end, he found out that he had been tricked and had become a laughing stock!
"Great Khan, let's retreat!" Daishan couldn't help but say beside Huang Taiji. Those three thousand white-armored soldiers weren't all Huang Taiji's; Huang Taiji himself only had a few hundred cavalry. These were all elite troops gathered from various banners!

While it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that Bai Jiaba Yala could take on a hundred men single-handedly, it's still quite possible that he could fight three to five men at the same time, and in a major battle, he could have beheaded a hundred men.

These are their precious treasures. People die and that's it, but the armor must be taken back. Those who wear white armor are white-armored soldiers. Anyone can be pulled out and put on triple armor and become brave and fearless!

Huang Taiji's face showed a struggle. Although retreating now could reduce losses, it would have a significant impact on morale. Morale is an invisible and intangible thing, but it is really important. They are in a good position, but if the Ming army wins a battle and their morale soars, then they will be in trouble. He did not come to take Beijing, but to force the young emperor to sit down and negotiate with him.

He also wanted the million-yuan annual tribute from his ancestors. To have a large sum of money automatically deposited into his account without having to fight desperately—could there be anything happier than that?!

Huang Taiji steeled his resolve and decided not to retreat. He would send his main army forward and crush the cavalry outside Desheng Gate. The enemy only had five or eight thousand cavalry, while they had thirty thousand. Even if the Ming army had the advantage of artillery, it would still be on their side, only in the form of casualties. But in war, there are always deaths.

"Second brother, you hold the line for me, I will personally lead the troops to charge and fight!" Huang Taiji said.

Daishan paused for a moment, then sighed and said, "Let me go. How can the Khan be the vanguard?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Taiji's face showed emotion, and his eyes welled up with tears. He held Daishan's hands tightly and said, word by word, "Take care, Second Brother!"

Daishan nodded, and said with some concern, "Gazha Boshiku has spotted that the Ming army's wagon formation to the east is closing in. Remember to send someone to stop them."

"Stop them?! What can we use to stop them?!" Huang Taiji smiled bitterly to himself, but he still nodded to Daishan.

Daishan rode away, and soon arrived at the Bordered Red Banner's position. He charged all the way to the central army and met Shuo Tuo, who did not want to see him. Daishan grinned and said to Shuo Tuo, whose expression was gloomy and whose face was full of stubbornness: "My son, the Great Khan has ordered you to immediately lead troops to support Hauge! Go quickly, do not disgrace your father, and be as brave as your brother Yue Tuo!"

Upon hearing this, Shuo Tuo clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, but still managed to squeeze out a single word filled with grief and indignation: "Yes!"

Daishan laughed inwardly. The Plain Red Banner and the Bordered Red Banner were, in principle, his own, so sending Yuetuo and the Bordered Red Banner out was, how could it not be considered his support?! As for what Huang Taiji thought, Daishan didn't care. Anyway, Huang Taiji couldn't possibly turn against him now. It would be even better if that rebellious son Shuo Tuo died on the battlefield!
(End of this chapter)