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

Chapter 248 I'm definitely going to get a beating today!
Jingshan drill ground was tamped down bit by bit by the White Guard soldiers using heavy 200-pound rams. After confirming that they would settle here, the White Guard showed great enthusiasm, hoping to build everything to perfection, rather than treating it as a temporary structure to fool people.

After being trampled on and swept frequently over a long period of time, the ground has developed a texture similar to shale. Even when warhorses tread on it, there are no obvious hoofprints. When the warhorses run over it, they make a sound similar to the sound of metal and stone being trampled on bluestone slabs.

In the first round of mounted combat, Cao Bianjiao used a bow and a horse spear. The bow was a large, black-lacquered bamboo bow with a long draw, capable of being drawn to its full extent. The bamboo was tough, had a fast rebound speed, and provided moderate force. For a fierce general like Cao Bianjiao, there was almost no stamina loss, and he could easily fire a full quiver of forty arrows continuously.

The drawback is that the bow is slightly soft and not suitable for firing heavy arrows. To effectively kill armored targets, one needs a high level of accuracy. Therefore, the Kaiyuan bow, like the horse lance, became a favorite of Ming generals, and only those with superb martial arts skills could unleash its true power.

The lance used by Cao Bianjiao was 18 feet long, longer than the Six Harmony Spear of the White-Spear Soldiers, and three times the length of Cao Bianjiao's height. The Ming Dynasty construction foot was 32 centimeters, so 18 feet is 5.76 meters.

Of course, the horse lance is usually held with both hands, gripping the middle section, and can be switched between left and right. The shaft is as thick as a child's arm, and the front tip is like a broad, thick long sword with two sharp edges. The lance body also has four blood grooves, which is exactly the form mentioned in the "New Book of Military Tactics" as "a long weapon on horseback, the lance is heavy and sharp, and is used to break through armor".

If Cao Bianjiao's weapon was standard equipment for a fierce general, then Ma Xianglin's attire was somewhat peculiar. He held a shield in one hand, the shield being broad and long enough to almost completely cover his upper body. The large shield was woven from rattan, serving both defensive purposes and, most importantly, being lightweight, allowing for agility on horseback while being held.

His weapon was a six-foot-long hook-and-sickle spear, slightly longer than Ma Xianglin's own height, with a spike at the end for thrusting. Ma Xianglin's spear, however, had a metal ring at the end, a standard feature of the White-Spear Soldiers. From his choice of weapon, Ma Xianglin was clearly prepared to be attacked.

As expected, the battle began with a spectacular display of offense and defense. The two riders slowly passed each other on horseback, their eyes locked. Ma Xianglin's gaze was calm and serious, while Cao Bianjiao's eyes revealed an unparalleled confidence, as if he had a spear in hand and would dare to charge into any enemy army in his path!

Ma Xianglin held his spear forward and downward with one hand, while Cao Bianjiao hung his lance on his horse's side without taking it down. Ma Xianglin lightly spurred his horse's belly, while Cao Bianjiao merely lifted the reins slightly, and both horses gradually accelerated. When the two riders were about a hundred paces apart, Ma Xianglin swiftly reined in his horse and turned around, while Cao Bianjiao's black horse drew an arc on the ground with small, quick steps.

A spring breeze was blowing, and only the leaves of the jujube tree not far away were swaying gently. Time seemed to stand still. Thousands of eyes were fixed on the two people's movements. Everyone held their breath, afraid that they would miss this wonderful duel if they were not careful.

This is the White Pole Guard's headquarters, and the soldiers naturally hope that their commander will win. Although Zhang Fengyi is skilled at managing the household and has Ma Xianglin completely under her thumb, she has always regarded her husband as her pride and naturally does not think he is inferior to others.

Despite being away from home and facing the subtle threat posed by the White Guards' thousands of troops, Cao Bianjiao showed no fear whatsoever, remaining as composed as if he were in his own backyard.

"Giddy up!" The two sides clashed instantly, their warhorses galloping towards each other. Cao Bianjiao's bow moved like lightning; in the blink of an eye, three arrows shot out in quick succession, their arrowheads coated with burlap soaked in mortar. Ma Xianglin didn't even blink, raising his large shield to the side. "Thump thump thump!" Three damp white spots, accompanied by a pungent odor, instantly appeared on the shield's surface; the arrows bounced off, resulting in invalid points.

The distance between the two sides closed to eighty paces. Cao Bianjiao still did not switch to his lance. His hands kept moving, and a dense barrage of arrows flew out. The "swish, swish, swish" sound attracted everyone's attention. Everyone, including the emperor, was overwhelmed. One person alone had managed to create the formation of a cavalry squad.

Ma Xianglin could only remain in a passive defensive state. Every time he tried to peek out, he had to raise his shield above his head, blocking his view. It was quite frustrating to watch, and there was nothing interesting to see.

However, the principle of "shoot the horse before the rider" remains unchanged. Although Ma Xianglin was unharmed for the time being, his beloved mount was riddled with bullets. Given the horse's size, Cao Bianjiao's decision to only shoot its forehead clearly indicated a desire to show off.

Everyone understands that if it were a real duel, the outcome would probably be decided by now. But this is a competition, and when the rules were being implemented, the scoring criteria did not take the warhorse into account, so they had to pretend that it was an armored warhorse.

Cao Bianjiao hadn't fired so many arrows just to add a small white dot to Ma Xianglin's shield and horse. Suddenly, the rain of arrows stopped for a moment, and Ma Xianglin seized the opportunity to peek out, only to see Cao Bianjiao use a rather strange archery posture: twisting the string and releasing it.

Ma Xianglin's eyes narrowed as he saw an arrow hurtling towards his right hand, where he held his spear, tracing an exaggerated arc as it flew toward his waist. In that critical moment, Ma Xianglin executed a masterful "Hidden in the Horse" technique, tilting himself to the left and causing his warhorse to veer to the other side as well.

However, he was a step too slow, and the arrow struck his lower thigh, right at the crease of his buttock. The force of the blow sent half of his buttocks numb! Ma Xianglin had already been hit in the leg by an arrow. Although it wouldn't result in an immediate loss, it could serve as a basis for scoring if the fight ended in a draw. Before the two had even engaged in close combat, Ma Xianglin was already injured.

Finally, after the distance between the two sides had narrowed to fifty paces, Cao Bianjiao lowered his great bow. It wasn't that he couldn't shoot anymore, but that his quiver was already empty, and he hadn't brought a spare quiver.
Furthermore, his actions have already caused serious public outrage. Cao Bianjiao has no doubt that if he continues to bully Ma Xianglin like this, his soldiers will be unable to restrain themselves and rush up to beat him up. Does he really think he is invincible? If the White-Spear Soldiers form a battle formation, he will have no choice but to flee for his life with his tail between his legs!
Contrary to popular belief, the horse lance typically doesn't use thrusting techniques, but rather slashing and striking, targeting the front side rather than the front itself. Determining victory by score is a effeminate approach and often fails to convince others. Although the two fighters didn't discuss it beforehand, they shared the same goal once the fight began: to defeat their opponent completely.

Cao Bianjiao rose from his stirrups, holding the middle of the spear shaft in his right hand and the back in his left. With a slight movement of his hands, he used his waist and back to deliver a powerful horizontal thrust. A soft gasp rippled through the crowd. If that blow had landed, even a warhorse weighing several hundred pounds wouldn't have been able to withstand it, let alone the rider on horseback.

While Ma Xianglin wasn't renowned for his cavalry combat, this was only relative. In the Ming Dynasty, high-ranking generals who rose through the ranks through merit were all skilled in a wide range of martial arts. His knowledge of cavalry warfare was only superficial. Despite being over thirty, his waist remained agile and resilient. Facing the oncoming spear, he didn't choose to withstand it head-on, but instead lay down. "Sizzle!" The spear grazed the surface of his shield. A direct thrust would have been impossible for the thin shield to withstand the lance's devastation; even the Jurchen's triple armor couldn't stop it. However, the grazing spear dissipated nine-tenths of its force, rendering it completely ineffective.

Of course, if it were an old general like Zhao Shuaijiao, he might have strained his back, but for a military general like Ma Xianglin who was in his prime, it was nothing at all.

The two sides passed each other by, and the first round of confrontation ended. Cao Bianjiao continued to be the main attacker, while Ma Xianglin focused on defense. Although it seemed frustrating, in reality, neither side could gain the upper hand.

Ma Xianglin once fought alongside Cao Bianjiao. At that time, he commanded 8,000 White-Spear Soldiers to encircle and annihilate the Jurchen cavalry to avenge the bloody battle at Hunhe where he killed his uncle. He personally witnessed Cao Bianjiao's heroic figure as he charged back and forth among the Jurchen cavalry as if he were in an empty field. Whether it was a Jurchen soldier or a Jurchen chieftain, none of them were a match for him.

Such bravery was beyond Ma Xianglin's capabilities, and thus, he had already begun to take notice of Cao Bianjiao. As the saying goes, heroes admire heroes, and Ma Xianglin had long wanted to spar with this young general, but since they belonged to different military units, they rarely had the opportunity to meet. He never imagined that such a day would actually come.

The two passed each other, but did not increase the distance. Cao Bianjiao switched his grip on the lance between his left and right hands, reined in his horse and turned around, while Ma Xianglin directly grabbed the butt of the spear and used a classic "returning spear" move against him. "Clang!" Cao Bianjiao barely blocked the attack with the metal part of the lance butt, and he was already slightly sweating.

After his first attack failed, Ma Xianglin was once again at a disadvantage, because Cao Bianjiao's turning motion was only half completed, and he was still facing away from the enemy.

Cao Bianjiao wielded his long lance, drawing a dazzling arc in the air. Spears, lances, and maces are all related; the horse lance was more commonly called a cavalry spear in the Ming Dynasty, while lance techniques incorporated more of the staff and fist techniques. Adjusting his center line and twisting his grip, Cao Bianjiao now used the horse lance like a staff, swinging it downwards in a wide arc towards Ma Xianglin.

"Watch out!" Zhang Fengyi exclaimed anxiously, abruptly standing up and knocking over the chair. The chair fell to the ground with a screeching sound, but no one witnessed this scene.

"Boom!" Ma Xianglin hastily discarded his shield and hurled it at Cao Bianjiao. Cao Bianjiao braced himself against the flying shield with his breastplate, letting out a muffled thud, his breathing rhythm disrupted. Ma Xianglin, with his waist turned to the side, dragged his hook-and-sickle spear with both hands to withstand the blow. The shaft of the hook-and-sickle spear was smashed, chipping the paint off, and the hemp cloth that had been wrapped around Cao Bianjiao's lance for safety was flung away.

This man, who had remained unmoved even while casually wielding a Japanese-made mace, nearly failed to withstand this powerful blow. The gleaming metallic spearhead was now only three inches from his neck. The seemingly safe contest suddenly became much more dangerous, and the atmosphere in the arena grew even more tense.

The hook-and-sickle spear was slammed into a huge arc, looking as if it was about to break; the horse lance, after reaching its lowest point, was also bounced away by the reaction force. The horse lance used a thick, hard shaft, which was straight and undeformed when laid horizontally, but given its length, even rebar would bend if it was long enough.

In this clash, the lance bent, but this conveniently deflected the force from Cao Bianjiao's spear. Ma Xianglin withstood the blow, his entire arm trembling, and his warhorse neighed repeatedly; while Cao Bianjiao still had strength left, launching a barrage of attacks.

Ma Xianglin struggled to turn his horse around, bringing the two back to a parallel line. He wielded his hook-and-sickle spear, parrying left and right, but still couldn't maintain his balance. But the first to concede defeat wasn't him, but his warhorse. The side-front attack of the horse lance was adept at applying pressure to the opponent's side and throwing them off their horse.

After suffering numerous blows, Ma Xianglin's mount became increasingly unsteady on its feet, and was finally tripped by Cao Bianjiao's spear. Ma Xianglin landed, rolled, and got up, his neck precisely poking the tip of Cao Bianjiao's spear. Ma Xianglin had no choice but to admit defeat, and the morale of the White-Spear Soldiers plummeted.

"Brother Ma, you flatter me!" Cao Bianjiao retracted the tip of his spear, smiled brightly, and cupped his hands in greeting.

Ma Xianglin stared coldly at the young man without saying a word. Cao Bianjiao, worried that his condition might be compromised, suggested that the next foot combat match be held the following day, but Ma Xianglin refused his offer. After resting for about half an hour, the two sides resumed their battle.

Zhu Youjian finally understood why Ma Xianglin was confident of defeating Cao Bianjiao in foot combat. He saw that Cao Bianjiao had changed his weapon to a three-meter-long infantry spear. His horse spear was six meters long, and it was difficult to switch hands when standing on the ground. If he held the middle part, the tail would stick directly into the ground; if he held the tail part, he couldn't lift it at all. So he could only use the short-handled infantry spear.

Ma Xianglin then pulled out his over four-meter-long Six Harmony Spear. The spear was made of white waxwood, with silk wrapped around the shaft for reinforcement, but only a single layer; it lacked the complex craftsmanship of the Bamboo Accumulation Secret. The spear was flexible, and the tip wobbled when picked up. However, when Ma Xianglin lifted the twelve-foot-long spear by the buttocks with one hand, everything changed!

At this moment, the attack range of this four-meter-long spear has exceeded that of the six-meter-long lance. This is why the Jurchen cavalry, who also possessed lances, had no way to deal with the White-Spear Soldiers, because the latter had a longer attack range.

Cao Bianjiao was as arrogant as he had been before, and now he felt like crying. Looking at the small spear in his hand, he wanted to admit defeat, but seeing the emperor's mocking eyes and the murderous looks of the white-spear soldiers around him, he knew he was in for a beating today!
(End of this chapter)