Di Ming

Chapter 248 A Vicious Scheme

The conch shells of the Mongol central army suddenly shrieked, and the heavily armored cavalry, draped in yak felt, began to accelerate, the earth groaning under their iron hooves.

However, at that moment, a series of urgent whistles suddenly sounded from the Ming army's formation, followed almost simultaneously by three cannon shots.

"Boom boom boom!" The roar of the horn cannon drowned out the sound of the Mongol cavalry's hooves.

As soon as the signal cannon fired, the last rank of musketeers unleashed a volley, briefly slowing the Mongol cavalry's charge. Taking advantage of the firepower, the Ming soldiers at the front suddenly increased the distance between themselves and the Mongol cavalry, retreating in large strides.

At first glance, it seemed like a complete retreat, but a discerning eye could see that their retreat was orderly, methodical, and swift, clearly a well-trained tactical maneuver.

As the Ming army at the forefront retreated like a tide, the second line of Ming infantry pulled up planks about ten feet in size, like a drawbridge.

It turned out that there was a rope attached to the front of the plank, and when the person behind pulled the rope, the plank stood up.

As soon as the planks were erected, the barricades and deer carts that had been prepared beforehand immediately pushed up to meet them.

The area previously covered by wooden planks turned out to be a moat ten feet wide and three feet deep.

The trench was narrow and shallow, easily crossed in a single leap under normal circumstances. But now, combined with the wooden planks and chevaux-de-frise behind it, it was an obstacle tailor-made for the Mongol cavalry.

Thousands of Mongol cavalry were stopped by this suddenly appearing shallow trench!

Behind the trench were wooden planks ten feet high, and between the planks were long spears and halberds of the Ming infantry, as well as dark firing ports for firearms. Behind them were Ming archers.

The Mongol cavalry, who had already broken through the first line of defense of the Ming army, were suddenly unable to advance or retreat, their horses lost all speed, and they were in an extremely passive situation!

The lead horses plunged into the shallow trenches, becoming an obstacle themselves. The cavalry behind roared like thunder, their horses neighing like tigers, but they could only helplessly rein in their horses.

"Boom boom boom—" The Ming army's tiger crouching cannons, breech-loading cannons, and rocket launchers took this opportunity to fire at the dense Mongol cavalry, and the archers' arrows also fell like raindrops.

"Kill the thief!"

"annihilate the enemy!"

The Ming army was filled with fighting spirit and high morale; their battle cries were deafening, and everyone seemed to be on steroids. They knew that the Grand Commandant and Junior Protector Qi were watching them from the high cart behind them.

In particular, the Qi Family Army trained by Qi Jiguang was a formidable force with excellent teamwork, becoming the backbone of the infantry.

"Boom boom—"

"Bang bang bang—"

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh—”

Losing their speed, the Mongol cavalry were firmly blocked by trenches, wooden planks, and chevaux-de-frise, unable to cross the line, yet constantly suffering heavy casualties.

Rockets roared out, and lead bullets and cannonballs crisscrossed among the dense ranks of men and horses, causing the Mongol cavalry to howl in terror. The thick smell of gunpowder made even the horses with their ears plugged sneeze. The Mongol soldiers in front were so choked by the fumes that they couldn't even open their eyes.

The Mongol cavalrymen's eyes turned red. These damned southerners were so treacherous and cunning, turning the trench shield formation into a hedgehog, a noose!
This narrow, shallow, yet cunning trench was, of course, a trap set by Qi Jiguang. Though simple, it was perfectly designed to restrain the Mongol cavalry breaking through the enemy lines.

A Mongol centurion had just swung his saber to cut down a spear when a wolf-tooth spear thrust out from the side pierced his throat. Before his spurting blood could even hit the ground, a hook-and-sickle spear severed the leg of another Mongol cavalryman.

In the blink of an eye, the Mongol cavalry suffered heavy casualties, with men and horses falling to the ground. Some were killed by close-range firearms, while others were stabbed to death by spears and brooms.

"what--"

"Buddha—!"

The cavalrymen, though severely wounded but not yet dead, lay in pools of blood, letting out deathly screams. Many warhorses had their bellies ripped open, their intestines steaming and emitting a pungent stench.

In the blink of an eye, this scene, which Zhu Yin believed took less than a minute, resulted in over a thousand casualties among the Mongol cavalry.

Including previous casualties, the number had reached two thousand. And this first wave of Mongol cavalry charging numbered only five thousand in total.

Beyond the second line of defense of the Ming army, a barrier made up of the corpses of men and horses was erected. The cavalry behind it could not cross it at all.

At this point, only three thousand of the first batch of Mongol cavalrymen remained.

"What!" Upon seeing this, Zhen's expression changed drastically.

"Retreat! Retreat to the flanks!" Zhenxiang's eyes widened in fury, and he quickly ordered the cavalry in front to retreat to the flanks.

Prince Zhu Shuaixin of the Western Ming Dynasty watched with twitching eyelids, gripping his sword tightly, his heart pounding in his throat.

Is the Ming Dynasty going to lose this battle?

Sure enough, Qi Jiguang was a famous general, how could he be so easy to deal with?
The Mongol cavalry roared and turned their horses around, retreating in a flanking maneuver, just like the enemy infantry who had previously withdrawn to the sides.

This is the only way to evacuate; we can't just turn around and run back, can we?
But how could the Ming army pass up the opportunity to strike a fallen enemy? Taking advantage of the Mongol cavalry's retreat to both sides, they bombarded them again.

Although the Mongol cavalry in the front line managed to retreat to the flanks with great difficulty, they suffered several hundred casualties.

Of the five thousand cavalrymen who went out to attack, only half remained!
Whether they were Mongolian nobles or the Western Ming prince, they were all heartbroken and could only gasp in pain.

The heavy cavalry has already charged forward. Should we retreat?

Just as Zhenxiang was hesitating about whether to withdraw his heavy cavalry, the Ming army's firearms roared once again.

At this moment, the heavy cavalry had already charged within thirty paces.

Because the Ming army's firearms were slow to load, only a small portion of them were loaded and fired at this point, so the Mongol heavy cavalry did not suffer significant losses.

Their men and horses were all heavily armored, and at this distance, muskets and arrows were ineffective against them.

Only artillery shells could effectively kill them.

Moreover, at this distance, the Ming army's firearms soldiers could only fire once, and there was no other chance.

The truth and the others breathed heavily, staring intently at the heavy cavalry that was striking the Ming army like an iron hammer.

The Ming army's second line of defense was not formidable under the iron hammer of heavy cavalry. This was contingent on the eight hundred heavy cavalry maintaining a high speed during their charge.

The Ming army's firearms have already been fired once, so they must be out of options now, right?
"Charge! Charge!" Truth couldn't help but clench his fists, his eyes wide open.

At this moment, even the Mongol cavalry, who were holding back Li Rusong's cavalry on both flanks, were drawn to the scene on the front lines. They temporarily ceased fighting and couldn't help but rein in their horses, looking at the eight hundred heavy cavalry charging with a thunderous roar.

"Boom boom boom!" The Mongol heavy cavalry, with only their eyes showing, rode on relatively tall Xihai horses and swept in with overwhelming momentum.

Eight hundred cavalrymen were like a thousand horses galloping. And a hundred paces behind them were five thousand Mongol light cavalry!

This scene suggests that the Mongol cavalry still held the initiative on the battlefield.

However, at that moment, the Ming soldiers loosened their grip, and all the wooden planks collapsed.

As soon as the wooden plank fell, it revealed over a hundred Hundred Tigers Galloping Arrows that had been deployed behind it, as well as fifty ballistae!
"Sizzle—" The massive arrow with a hundred tigers charging forward burned with a heart-stopping intensity.

"Click-click-click—" The winch of the ballista also rang out with the cooperation of several soldiers, making it sound terrifying.

These were all improved weapons by Qi Jiguang, which had been hidden in the formation and not used before, with the purpose of waiting for this moment.

"Trying to break through the enemy lines with heavy cavalry?" Qi Jiguang stroked his white beard, the cold glint of the chainmail armor of the Mongol heavy cavalry reflected in his monocular telescope.

Qi Jiguang was a renowned general who excelled at improving, configuring, and utilizing weapons. His command and coordination of weapons, troop types, and formations were unparalleled.

He knew very well that the Ming army lacked a strong cavalry, and that proactive attacks against the Mongols, who were mainly composed of cavalry and moved swiftly, would be ineffective and risky.

The best tactic is to create an opportunity to lure the Mongol cavalry into attacking, and then annihilate the enemy in a counterattack.

At this moment, his move was essentially a sneak attack; the enemy had willingly offered themselves up to cooperate with his sneak attack.

With a deafening whoosh, these deadly weapons, derived from the "Treatise on Military Preparedness," launched two thousand heavy rockets in an instant! Hundreds of giant crossbow bolts, as sharp as spears!

The air was torn apart, emitting a terrifying sonic boom.

The Mongol heavy cavalry, who had charged forward with such arrogance, were suddenly met with screams of agony. In an instant, the leading cavalrymen fell to the ground, their armor shattered! At this distance, their heavy armor was utterly ineffective against the barrage of arrows and ballistae.

At least two or three hundred heavy cavalrymen were killed or wounded in this extremely fierce attack! The eight hundred Mongol heavy cavalrymen were like arrows with their arrowheads cut off, or snakes with their heads suddenly severed.

The sheer scale and suddenness of the loss left the Mongol nobles speechless!

Many of the ballistae and the Hundred Tigers Charge Arrows missed the heavy cavalry in front, but instead hit the light cavalry behind, killing and wounding several hundred Mongol light cavalry.

This sudden and devastating attack by the Ming army stunned the entire Mongol cavalry.

Even more critically, heavy cavalry needed speed and momentum. At this point, with two or three hundred dead or wounded at the front, the remaining five hundred or so heavy cavalry had lost their ability to break through the enemy lines.

Their horses slowed down considerably, and their momentum was disrupted.

"Withdraw!" A furious roar rang out, followed by the sharp sound of a gong.

Suddenly, a dense cloud of heavy arrows rose from the ranks of the Mongol heavy cavalry. These arrowheads were as thick as a thumb and were specifically designed to cover their retreat.

Hundreds of heavy arrows came flying, killing and wounding some Ming soldiers.

As the heavy cavalry abandoned their charge and obediently withdrew from both flanks, the remaining 5,000 cavalry also split up and withdrew from the main battlefield from both flanks.

Taking advantage of the Mongol cavalry's change of formation and withdrawal, the Ming army's firearms were reloaded and fired again.

The Mongol cavalry suffered hundreds more casualties before finally completing their withdrawal to the flanks.

Then, all the Mongol cavalry and Han infantry who had retreated to the flanks withdrew back to the north of Huangyangchuan.

They returned defeated and humiliated, leaving behind a dense mass of human and horse corpses.

The Ming army also retreated a hundred paces and slowly withdrew to their camp.

Thus, in just a short two quarters of an hour before the official start of the battle, the rebel army had suffered more than four thousand casualties.

The Ming army suffered only a few thousand casualties.

This bloody battle ended quickly, but it was extremely brutal.

Qi Jiguang and Zhu Yin both smiled with relief as they watched the enemy army suffer a crushing defeat and retreat.

well.

After this defeat, the enemy army cannot retreat immediately. Otherwise, their morale will be ruined.

Next, the rebel army will no longer charge blindly like they did today. Instead, they will use their cavalry advantage to harass and attack the supply lines along the Zhuanglang River, trapping the Ming army.

In this way, it will take at least ten days. That way, the main force of the enemy cavalry can be tied down here.

Looking at the smoke-filled battlefield and the mangled corpses of the Mongol warriors, Zhenxiang was speechless for a long time.

In one day and one night, they suffered two defeats in succession, losing more than seven thousand soldiers!
More than 30,000 people came, but now only more than 20,000 remain.

Even their precious heavy cavalry suffered a loss of three hundred men.

Even if it's not a major blow, it's certainly a serious injury. If they keep losing like this, they'll lose everything they had.

The truth is so heartbreaking it's hard to breathe.

But he knew very well that he couldn't back down now!

The more you fail, the less you should give up; you have to win big at least once.

Otherwise, you won't be able to hold onto your position.

“Prince of Xihai,” Zhu Shuaixin said boldly, “Zhu Yin and Qi Jiguang are cunning, like cowards who only know how to defend and resort to underhanded tricks. The Mongol warriors have already fought very well. However, I suggest that we should not waste time with them.”

"Prince of Xihai, our forces are mainly cavalry, and we are much faster than them. Why don't we attack Jincheng Pass, reinforce Ruian Fort, or go to meet the reinforcements from Xihai? What do you think, Prince?"

Although Zhu Shuaixin is only a fifteen-year-old boy, he was born in a border town and has loved military strategy since childhood. He has already gained considerable experience, but he is like a caged bird with no opportunity to use his skills.

He could see that after two consecutive defeats, it was not advisable to continue fighting against the famous and veteran general Qi Jiguang. He should immediately abandon the main force of the pseudo-Ming forces and attack the pseudo-Ming flanking forces.

First, take advantage of the cavalry's speed to concentrate forces and wipe out the Ming's detachments one by one, cutting off Zhu Yin's food and supplies. Then turn around and deal with Zhu Yin's main force.

"No way!" Zhen refused without even thinking. "Our army has fallen into the enemy's trap and suffered two heavy losses. How can we retreat? What about morale?"

"Your Highness, you Han people are cowardly, always talking about retreating. We've suffered a loss, of course we must get our revenge. We'll get back up from where we fell!"

While his refusal to retreat was partly due to fear of damaging his prestige, it also stemmed from his unwillingness to admit defeat. To this day, he believes it was his carelessness and falling into a trap, not that the Ming army was truly stronger than his cavalry. He believes that as long as he persists in fighting and avoids falling into traps again, he can expose the Ming army's true colors.

Ayun couldn't help but say, "Prince of Xihai, I think His Highness the Crown Prince is right. Zhu Yin is cunning, and Qi Jiguang is a renowned general. Our army shouldn't waste time fighting them here..."

Zhenxiang was already extremely depressed because of his defeat, and when he heard the two men's words, he became furious and embarrassed, thinking that the two men did not believe in his abilities.

"Son-in-law!" Zhen said angrily, "You are also a Mongol. Do you really think those southern barbarians are stronger than Mongol warriors? Or do you think I am inferior to Zhu Yin and Qi Jiguang?"

"Stop talking! I am the Great General! Don't bring up the retreat again! We still have over 20,000 troops; we have every chance to get them back!"

"Pass on my orders: cavalry to harass the enemy in shifts, but not to charge any further! I'm going to cut off their supply lines and see how long these tortoises can hold out! I don't believe they can hold their ground in this heat!"

"Send another order: they are not allowed to come out to bury the corpses. Shoot them as soon as they go out into battle. In this hot weather, the stench of corpses will permeate their entire camp!"

Suddenly, the truth came up with a vicious plan.

The corpses were all in front of the Ming army camp. Once the corpses started to decompose, it would have a great impact on the Ming army.

As for his own Mongol cavalry, they could, of course, stay away from the stench of corpses.

“Prince of Xihai, isn’t this inappropriate?” Ayun couldn’t help but retort again. “Most of the corpses were Mongol warriors. Not only did we not collect their bodies, but we also forbade the enemy from burying them?”

Truth sneered, "We Mongols don't stand on ceremony! Corpses can be weapons too! What's more important than winning a battle? Let's do it this way!"

"The cavalry were divided into ten squads, harassing them day and night in shifts, preventing them from leaving the camp to bury the corpses!"

When the truth was revealed, many Mongols were dissatisfied, but they dared not disobey the order.

Next, whenever the Ming army went out to collect the corpses, they would be shot at by Mongol cavalry.

Although the Ming army had won two consecutive battles, they were not happy at this moment.

"These Tartars are outrageous!" Li Rusong was furious. "Commander-in-Chief, thousands of men and horses are lying dead near the camp. In this heat, how can we not clean it up? In three days at most, the camp will stink and be swarming with flies!"

“But if we change camps, there is no better place to set up camp. Why don’t I take the initiative to attack, drive away the Mongol cavalry, and send the infantry out of the camp to burn the corpses?”

Qi Jiguang shook his head. "The enemy cavalry are just waiting for our cavalry to attack. If you attack, you'll be playing right into their hands. We don't have many cavalry to begin with, and we don't use them like this."

Li Rusong's cavalry has been largely unused these past two days. Although he was burning with anger, he knew he couldn't afford to engage the numerically and technically superior Mongol cavalry in a direct confrontation.

Commander Qi is right. If he leads his cavalry out to attack, it might give the Mongol cavalry an opportunity.

Zhu Yin frowned and said, “Burning corpses is not easy. We don’t have that much oil and firewood, and the army is already short of them. Burying corpses… it takes a huge amount of manpower and effort. Moreover, we have to collect the corpses as soon as possible. If the corpses decompose, it will be even more troublesome and difficult to clean up.”

"But if we don't do anything about it, the stench of corpses will soon fill the air, and a plague may break out in the army."

"Then there are only two options left. One is to risk everything to bury the bodies, and the other is to re-establish camp. But if we leave here and re-establish camp, it will be difficult to get supplies from Zhuanglang River. The army's supplies can only last for three days."

For a moment, Qi Jiguang and Zhu Yin were stumped by the corpses of the soldiers and horses outside the camp.

What should we do now?
P.S.: Do any readers have a better solution to this problem? I might revise the title again tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)