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

Chapter 268 Night Raid on the Plain Yellow Banner Camp 5.0
A thousand rockets were launched, some hitting as far as the Jurchen camp, illuminating the battlefield once more. The wind fanned the flames, and the fires soared into the sky, making it as bright as day.

The ruins of Xipingbao will eventually be reborn from the ashes of this great fire, and the souls of the Ming soldiers who died tragically in the past will also be put to rest today.

The arrows that landed in front of the enemy lines pierced through the Jurchen cavalry, causing over two hundred casualties in an instant. The Ming army had never fought the Jurchens so easily. Previously, the Jurchens had wrapped themselves up so tightly that even muskets couldn't penetrate them, and arrows would only produce a whiff.

With Man Gui leading the charge, the Ming cavalry, like wolves and tigers, reached their peak speed with their heavy armored cavalry, knocking the slave cavalrymen and their horses flying.

With lances held horizontally, like skewers of candied hawthorns, the Jurchen cavalrymen were lifted off their horses; with sabers held diagonally, without the need for forceful slashing, speed alone was enough to decapitate the enemy warhorses, and the cavalrymen on their backs were also cut in half at the waist!
The Ming vanguard was unstoppable, and the Jurchen elite crumbled at the first contact. Man Gui, caught up in the battle, charged left and right, his lance flashing and sweeping. Wherever he went, the Jurchens were only concerned with fleeing for their lives, and none could withstand him. Before long, the Jurchens' already thin formation was broken through, and Man Gui turned his horse around and went back into the fray to fight again.

Meanwhile, more slave riders rushed to the battlefield. The slave riders who arrived later were not because they reacted slower, but because they let those in front delay them while they went to put on their armor.

Even the most elite troops cannot withstand betrayal from the central command! They were indeed completely unprepared. They hadn't simply removed their armor; if that were all, it would have taken them at least a quarter of an hour from discovering the Ming army's surprise attack to the engagement.

They had absolutely no sense of being in a wartime state. The armor was already on the supply wagons, and unloading, distributing, and putting on the armor was already enough for them to race against time. Being suddenly woken up in the middle of the night is disorienting, and it was already quite remarkable that they were able to organize themselves and not desert.

But they were still a step too late; the thousand-plus slave cavalry that had been blocking their way at the camp had been routed, with at least eight hundred lost. Even if reinforcements arrived later, their numerical inferiority would make it difficult to turn the tide!

With a well-prepared strategy and heavily armored troops beating an unarmored enemy, the Ming cavalry achieved such brilliant results while suffering negligible losses. The Manchus loved to boast that they conquered the world with archers and cavalry, but this was a complete lie. If they truly only had archer cavalry and heavy cavalry, they couldn't even defeat the White-Spear Soldiers!
The Jurchen army was actually a combined arms force of infantry, artillery, chariots, and cavalry, and they were more adept at using firearms than anyone else. But now there were only three thousand Jurchen cavalry here. Huang Taiji was preparing to take over the garrison in Guangning, and he really hadn't anticipated this calamity.

With the addition of the Jurchen cavalry, Man Gui's killing pace slowed noticeably. His sabers slashed against the iron armor, sending up a trail of dazzling sparks. In response, the Ming soldiers shamelessly pulled out their classic three-barreled muskets, firing at the Jurchen cavalry at point-blank range. After firing three rounds, they swung the muskets and smashed them down on the Jurchens.

The battle went even more smoothly than expected. Three thousand against three thousand, it was thought to be a tough battle, and even if we won, it would be a Pyrrhic victory. But unexpectedly, Man Gui's one thousand cavalry almost wiped out the entire three thousand Plain Yellow Banner Guards.

This was truly because the Ming army's elite troops were of extremely high quality. A single elite Ming cavalryman's combat effectiveness was actually only about the same as the Jurchen cavalry, but the addition of a large number of mid-level generals breathed life into this force. When the Jurchens were in chaos, multiple Ming cavalry battalions of a hundred men each tacitly completed the encirclement, cutting off, and strangling of the Jurchen cavalry.

The Jurchen army was organized into units called "niru," and compared to the Ming army's small and well-organized battalions, their military structure was actually much more rudimentary.

Small-scale special operations were something the Ming army excelled at. Without local numerical superiority, the Jurchens' fighting strength was not actually that strong.

Just as Man Gui's vanguard was embroiled in melee, Cao Wenzhao led fresh troops to attack. The Jurchens, having barely held off the Ming army's offensive, were instantly routed before they could fully stabilize the situation. At this moment, Huang Taiji had just donned his armor and rushed to the battlefield. He tried to gather the scattered soldiers around him to stabilize the situation, but this action also revealed his position, and countless bloodshot eyes turned towards Huang Taiji.

"It's a kill-stealing frenzy!" Instantly, all the Ming cavalry battalions present converged on Huang Taiji's direction. Huang Taiji was the ultimate target of this battle; three thousand cavalrymen were not as valuable as him. The others could simply flee.

Huang Taiji was indeed a great hero. Faced with such a crisis, most people would have run away long ago, but he still wanted to try to salvage the situation: "Ebilun, take four hundred cavalry and go around from the rear to attack the right flank of the Ming army."
Turgh, you and Ildon, take twenty sharpshooters and find an opportunity to ambush the Ming general! Mendu and Sony, each lead four hundred armored long-armored soldiers to clear the way for Turgh and his men!

"Great Khan, we've all left, what will you do?!" Turgh asked.

Huang Taiji then drew his sword and said, "I have followed my father on campaigns since I was a child, so I naturally have some strength and courage. I should be able to protect myself. You may go now, do not worry about me!"

Just then, a discordant voice said, "Great Khan, let's retreat! The Ming army came prepared, and our troops, hastily engaged in battle, may not achieve much! As long as we live, we can always fight again!"

"Huh?!" Everyone turned to look, only to see a scholar riding a packhorse, standing out from the crowd.

Huang Taiji laughed angrily: "We? Who's talking to you about 'we'?! You dog slave!"

A cold glint flashed, and the dog slave Huang Taiji had spoken of was personally beheaded by him. Fan Wencheng, a notorious traitor, had already perished before he could rise to power.

Seeing the others looking stunned, Huang Taiji explained, "I know that the situation is now beyond saving. But the enemy is well-prepared, and we don't know if there are any ambushes in the shadows. If we retreat, we will be pursued by the Ming army and then suddenly ambushed. We will die here today."

"I have already sent men to request reinforcements. If we can severely damage the Ming army, we might be able to stabilize the situation and hold out until reinforcements arrive. If not, we will engage again and then retreat!"

"I'm off, Great Khan, take care!" Ebilun said.

Huang Taiji had gathered less than two thousand cavalrymen, and then sent out most of them. Now he only had less than five hundred cavalrymen left by his side. He had never lost so badly in all the battles he had fought. He still had tens of thousands of troops under his command, but now it was hard to say whether he could survive.

It felt like he was being punished. He also experienced the treatment of being outnumbered in a localized area, just like the Mongol tribes he had annexed, and was directly crushed!
(End of this chapter)