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

Chapter 87 A Twist of Fate, A Triumphant Return

On the night of February 21st, the Datong army, which had been hiding like a coward for more than half a month, launched a night attack on the northern enemy camp outside the city. The successive victories had made these Mongols lose their vigilance, and the soldiers, who were indulging in pleasure all day, did not patrol seriously and failed to notice the attacking Ming army.

At 1:15 AM, the Ming army in Datong fired their cannons outside the city, bringing them within 800 paces of the Northern Barbarian camp. At 3:45 AM, more than 100 heavy cannons fired simultaneously, sending large lead balls hurtling towards the Northern Barbarian camp, overturning their tents. The overturned braziers ignited the furs of the tents, emitting a strange smell of burnt hair.

Huluke Zaisang, the right-wing commander of the Northern Barbarians, completely disregarded the warning from Khuntu Taiji. He hadn't seen any unusual activity in Datong City the previous night or during the day, assuming the cowards there wouldn't dare leave the city. So, to reward himself for his hard work that night, he specially summoned ten women. Even when his men forcibly dragged him up, his legs were still weak!

Ligdan Khan mocked the Ming Dynasty for being old and feeble, but in reality, the Mongols were in a similar situation, merely "the sleeping dragon and the young phoenix" (a metaphor for powerful figures). In other words, aside from the specific period of Temujin, the Mongols had never been truly formidable. The Ming Dynasty, until its demise, at least remained a relatively intact nation, while the Great Mongol Empire had long since disintegrated.

The artillery fire caused limited damage, but it wasn't originally intended to kill the enemy; it was actually aimed at the enemy's warhorses. After the artillery barrage, the Northern Barbarian camp was in ruins, and the warhorses placed on the outskirts of the camp received special attention.

With the horses densely packed, a single cannonball pierced through three or five warhorses, leaving behind a shower of flesh and flowing blood. Warhorses are timid yet intelligent creatures; witnessing the carnage of their companions, they instantly went berserk. The herdsmen were unable to control them and were trampled to pieces by their hooves.

In fact, if they had been vigilant enough, they would have placed their warhorses next to each tent. It was precisely by observing the Northern barbarians' arrogance and negligence through binoculars from the city wall that General Qu Jiazhen gained the confidence to go into battle. Success or failure hinged on this moment. Qu Jiazhen raised his right arm, gently spurred his horse, and slowly led his troops out of the formation. The originally rectangular cavalry formation, with him as its spearhead, gradually stretched into a wedge formation.

With a thunderous roar, the warhorses gradually increased their speed, the sound of their hooves transforming from chaotic to orderly, and the earth began to tremble. The nomadic peoples of the grasslands were no strangers to such sounds; fear gripped them, and chaos ensued. Those who had seized horses immediately fled the camp in all directions. These people came from different tribes; don't expect them to be particularly united.

While Hulukzaisang was still trying to rally his troops and frantically slaughtering deserters, Qu Jiazhen personally led a large army into battle. In fact, Zhang Yiming was right; his crime of losing the border wall was enough to warrant beheading. He hadn't dared to go out before because he didn't have enough troops, hadn't found an opportunity to fight, and had no chance of victory. But now that the Northern barbarians were arrogant and had divided their forces, he had to fight desperately to create a way out for himself.

The main force of the Ming cavalry was semi-heavy cavalry, with both men and horses clad in armor and equipped with three-barreled muskets. Although the armor and muskets were not of high quality, they were large, heavy, and reliable, with strong close-range power, capable of firing three shots in succession. Qu Jiazhen even requisitioned the mount of Governor Zhang Yiming, and "borrowed" donkeys and mules from the common people, barely managing to assemble 5,000 cavalry.

The Datong cavalry stormed into the Northern enemy camp without encountering any resistance. They fired their three-barreled muskets at close range, the short, large muzzle firing bullets the size of a human eyeball. A single hit would create a gaping hole the size of a bowl, instantly killing the enemy. The scenario of soldiers covered in wounds yet still fighting desperately was nonexistent.

After three rounds of firing, the northern barbarians suffered nearly a thousand casualties. Then, the triangularly arranged muskets and grips formed the mace, a favorite weapon of these nomadic steppe savages, and smashed their heads open one by one. The Datong army, which had been suppressed and humiliated for a long time, finally got its chance to vent its anger.

On the one hand, they gained an advantage from the surprise attack, and on the other hand, the elite troops of the northern barbarians had been taken away by the Ligdan Khan brothers. However, while the more than two thousand elite Datong cavalry at the front performed well, the donkey and horse cavalry at the rear performed poorly. They not only became separated from the vanguard, but some were even thrown off due to their poor horsemanship.

On the city wall, Zhang Yiming saw the enemy camp ablaze with fire, and the battle was going so smoothly that he couldn't resist the urge to attack. He waited until 3:45 AM, when dawn was breaking, and finally, unable to contain himself any longer, he left 800 soldiers to defend the city and led the remaining few thousand infantrymen in an attack.

At dawn, the sun rises.

"Hahahaha!" Covered in blood, Qu Jiazhen stood on the head of an enemy soldier's corpse, laughing wildly until tears streamed down his face. The slanting sunlight illuminated half of his face. "Don't damage it! This head is worth fifty taels of silver!" Zhang Yiming said sourly.

He arrived late, intending to personally behead one or two bandits to earn a reputation for bravery, which he could boast about to his colleagues later. However, when the battle ended, the northern barbarians were either dead, surrendered, or fled, leaving the later-arriving soldiers only able to clean up the battlefield.

"There must be three thousand bandits here. Can we save our lives?" Qu Jiazhen exhaled a breath of turbid air and asked.

Zhang Yiming thought for a moment and nodded: "It should be enough to survive, but I'm afraid I won't be able to keep this official position."

"It's a miracle we survived! Alright, let's quickly clean up this battlefield and head back to the city as soon as possible. Those northern barbarians who retreated yesterday may not have gone far. What if they launch a counterattack? Didn't we agree that I would go out to fight and you would guard the city? Why did you bring your troops out?" Qu Jiazhen said reproachfully.

"I was just afraid you'd fall into enemy hands, so I specially led troops out to rescue you!" Zhang Yiming blushed and tried to argue his way out of it.

"Are you trying to steal the credit?" Qu Jiazhen looked at Zhang Yiming with a sidelong glance.

“Stop talking nonsense! How could a mere civil official like me compete with you for military merit? What good are these worthless achievements to me?! Qu Jiazhen, you should show some respect. If you continue to be so rude, don’t blame me for not petitioning the court for your commendation and reward!” Zhang Yiming said angrily.

"Governor Zhang, don't worry. You have saved tens of thousands of captured civilians and protected the people. Your achievements are truly remarkable!" Qu Jiazhen said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yiming was intrigued and asked in disbelief, "Is that really what you're thinking? Or are you planning to report me for embezzling your credit?"

"How could that be? But look at all this seized money and grain..."

"The wealth and provisions won by our soldiers in their bloody battles should all be used to reward the entire army!" Zhang Yiming said righteously.

Thirty li north of Datong City, Hulukezaisang had gathered over a thousand remnants of his defeated army. He had committed a grave offense; according to the customs of the grasslands, he might be tied to two warhorses and dragged to his death, and his tribe would be implicated, dismembered, and divided. Based on his understanding of Ligdan Khan, the latter was absolutely capable of such a thing.

After agonizing over the decision until noon, he made a tough decision: he would not go to Lin Danhan, but would return directly to the grasslands, strike first, and then seek refuge with Huang Taiji!
(End of this chapter)