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

Chapter 229 Qin Noble Guard
If it were local regiments that disobeyed military orders, Tang Tong's cannonballs would probably have already landed on those bastards' heads. However, it was the Qin vassal guards charging forward. He wasn't doing this out of respect for the King of Qin, nor was he under the King's command. What truly constrained him was the guards themselves, filled with generals and lieutenants, including the King of Qin's brother and son!

After the emperor allowed the princes to build their own guards, the Prince of Qin brought all his poor relatives with him! On the battlefield, guns and cannons have no eyes. Killing a few Qin princes' guards is nothing, but killing a bunch of royal relatives is chilling to even think about.

Let alone Tang Tong being merely a minor general, even if it were Sun Chengzong, the Governor-General of the Three Borders, the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and the Imperial Tutor, he would be sweating profusely. Forget about accidental killings; even if they weren't properly supervised and were killed by bandits, it would still cause a lot of trouble.

The Qin prince's guards were arrogant and repeatedly violated the rules, which disgusted Tang Tong. He had no need for these eight hundred men to hinder him. However, when he complained to his superior, Hong Chengchou, asking him to transfer these men, Hong Chengchou said that he also couldn't command the prince's guards.

They brought their own rations and were not subject to any restrictions. Besides, they weren't just there to cause trouble; they were also going to fight. So, Lao Hong advised him to be more tolerant and not to rush to wipe out Wang Jiayin's rebel army. He should just hold them off and prevent these scoundrels from heading south to cause trouble. He could return to support the rebels after he had dealt with the bandits in Hanzhong.

The first Prince of Qin, Zhu Shuang, was a bastard personally certified by Zhu Yuanzhang, but he was a bastard who could fight. His descendants were somewhat talented. The prince's guard of eight hundred men had only three hundred horses. The reason they roared and charged into the enemy lines was not for military merit, but because they had their eyes on the bandits' cavalry.

Although northern Shaanxi was poorer than Guanzhong, its proximity to the north made it easier for them to obtain horses. Horses were valuable, not just for warfare; they served as both transportation and agricultural tools. Northern Shaanxi had a high horse ownership rate, as many people there were originally horse owners for the border troops, raising horses not so much for their own purposes but for their tax revenue.

The government troops withdrew hastily, and coupled with the inefficiency of officials and chaotic household registration management in northern Shaanxi, many horses were left behind. Of course, most of the horses came from wealthy families in northern Shaanxi, many of whom had made their fortunes through horse trading and were ruthless individuals.

Seeing the strength of the rebel army, they joined with their own resources, adhering to the principle of "if you can't beat them, join them," and became leaders within the rebel forces. These men were skilled in horsemanship and archery, and had fought many battles against Mongols and bandits, even occasionally acting as bandits themselves. Therefore, their combat effectiveness was considerable, and they easily became the backbone of the rebel army.

……

Facing a rebel army nearly ten times their size, the three hundred Ming cavalrymen remained fearless and charged up the slope on horseback. Halfway up, the Qin cavalry drew their bows and fired over a hundred arrows, and surprisingly, nearly half of them were knocked off their bows!

Seeing this from the rear, Tang Tong couldn't help but cover his face, but he could only suppress the urge to strangle these spoiled brats. He waved his command flag and ordered the army to attack. He could only pray that the two most important people wouldn't be killed with pitchforks.

More than a hundred arrows, facing a peasant army dressed in thin clothes and at most wearing a few broken wooden boards on their heads, did not cause much casualties. They either missed or did not penetrate deeply enough, only breaking the skin and falling off with a shake.

The peasant army, which had been struggling under the pressure of the government troops, was greatly encouraged by this. They were terrified of the approaching cavalry, never expecting that this seemingly elite cavalry would turn out to be such a show-off.

Of course, the soldiers were not good soldiers, but the warhorses were excellent. When the two sides clashed, many peasant soldiers were knocked away by the warhorses. However, because they were attacking from below, the horses were not fast, and the fallen peasant soldiers got up and continued to fight. Soon the warhorses could no longer charge, and the Qin cavalry were surrounded.

Their initial enthusiasm was extinguished, and looking at the densely packed bandits, they felt only a chilling coldness.

"Uncle, save me!" Qin Fan's eldest son cried out as he was pulled off his horse. Zhu Cunxi was shocked to hear this and pulled on the reins of his warhorse, trying to turn it around, but he was blocked by a dense swarm of bandits. The warhorse, impatient with his pulling, angrily stood up, almost throwing him off.

"Get out of here! If you don't want to die, get the hell out of my way!" Zhu Cunxi wildly swung his curved sword back and forth.

This is a Central Asian-style scimitar adorned with rubies and sapphires. It was looted by the Mongols from the Western Regions and then seized by Zhu Shuang. It has been passed down to this day, transforming from a collectible into a weapon on the battlefield.

Zhu Cunxi had practiced martial arts under the tutelage of a renowned master, but unfortunately, once on the battlefield, he completely forgot all his techniques and was left only with brute force to hack and slash indiscriminately.

However, this haphazard hacking was quite effective. Although he was incredibly bad at the game, his opponent was even worse and still couldn't get a full meal.

The scimitars sliced ​​through the filthy skin of the crowd, cutting many peasant soldiers until they bled profusely. Their rebellion was merely a means to survive; don't expect them to have any death-defying spirit. The wounded rebel soldiers retreated in terror, only to be pushed and shoved forward by the surrounding crowd.

With a muffled thud, Zhu Cunxi was shot in the back. A tremendous force struck him, and he felt half of his body go numb. He didn't know if he had bled. Then, another spear thrust in from the side, hitting him squarely in the side. The sharp pain in his ribs made him scream in pain.

At this point, he couldn't care less about his nephew; it was uncertain whether he himself would survive! He was careless. Seeing that Tang Tong was sweeping away the rebels with overwhelming force, he deliberately excluded them, preventing them from going to the front lines, only letting them shoot a couple of arrows and fire a few shots to satisfy their cravings.

They traveled two hundred miles from home to come here, not to watch the battle, which is why they launched this unauthorized attack. Now he regrets it!

On the other side, Qin Fan's eldest son fell off his horse and was completely disoriented. At the same time, seven or eight cleavers slashed at his back, almost causing him to vomit blood and nearly pass out from lack of breath.

From the perspective of this uncle and nephew, their plight was utterly miserable; however, in the eyes of the peasant army, it was a completely different story:
The swords in their hands were almost dulled from cutting, but they couldn't even break through the armor of the government troops. This was completely different from the government officials and guards of wealthy families they had dealt with before, which made them feel utterly hopeless!
Ahead, heavy, dense footsteps approached, and the government troops' gun formation was slowly closing in!

Half an hour later, the Ming army advanced to the mountainside, and the Qin Prince's eldest son and younger brother, who were trapped in the encirclement, were rescued. The Qin princely family had no legitimate son, and if nothing unexpected happened, the eldest son would become the future Qin Prince. Tang Tong even suspected that this boy might have been disliked by the Qin Prince and deliberately sent here to be killed by the bandits!

Zhu Cunyu's horse died, but he was unharmed. The eldest son of the Prince of Qin was beaten black and blue. Tang Tong, however, showed no pity for him and pointed at his nose, cursing, "Do you think you can guarantee your safety just because you're wearing armor? You're only fooling these bandits who don't know the art of 'wrestling.' If the enemy had been Jurchens, you'd be buried a long way behind their backs!"

(End of this chapter)