The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 17 Fierce battle!
Before Jiang Han could think further, the Mongol cavalry on the other side had already taken the initiative to move.

Jiang Han licked his chapped lips. The north wind swirled snowflakes across the horse's mane, and the Qinghai horse beneath him trotted its hooves restlessly.

Half a mile ahead, in the dust and smoke, more than a hundred Mongol light cavalrymen rolled in in a crescent formation, their sabers gleaming coldly in the sunlight, exuding a menacing aura.

In the past, the Ming army would have been galloping into the city by now, but today the fifty riders in the front row remained as steady as Mount Tai, their formation as solid as if cast in bronze and iron, without moving an inch.

Shao Yong scoffed:
“These Mongol barbarians really don’t know their own strength; they want to swallow us all up.”

When there were less than fifty paces left, the Mongol vanguard suddenly drew their bows to a full moon, and the sound of arrows piercing the air rose abruptly!

"Cut to the right!"

On Jiang Han's side, someone shouted, and the first rank of Ming soldiers responded and pulled on the reins, cutting directly to the right of the enemy cavalry.

Meanwhile, the enemy cavalry vanguard suddenly veered to the flanks, revealing the cavalry in the second echelon behind them.

The Mongol cavalry in the second echelon, taking advantage of the dust cloud, suddenly accelerated within fifty paces and charged straight towards the Ming army.

"Gunners, prepare!"

"put!"

More than a dozen three-barreled guns fired simultaneously, creating a deafening roar and billowing smoke. The dozen or so Mongol cavalrymen at the forefront, along with their horses, plunged into the snow.

But more cavalry had advanced to within thirty paces, and the cold wind whipped up by their horses swept over them.

"Crash into it!"

At Jiang Han's command, Li Laowai led the second rank of fifty riders out from behind him, charging straight at him.
These elite cavalrymen, clad in cotton armor and wielding twelve-foot-long spears, charged directly into the Mongol cavalry ranks.

The Mongol cavalry on the other side clearly did not expect the Ming army to dare to charge, and their formation froze for a moment.

The clang of metal on metal exploded, and a gap appeared in the Mongol cavalry formation.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Laowai charged into the enemy ranks and fired his three-eyed musket at close range, knocking a Mongol cavalryman off his horse. Blood splattered everywhere, and the Mongol cavalryman immediately fell to the ground, howling in pain.

Just as Li Laowai was about to step forward and finish off the enemy, a bronze mace suddenly flew from his right front, smashing his warhorse into a bloody mess with a single blow and knocking Li Laowai off the horse.

In the instant he fell from his horse, Li Laowai rolled towards the enemy horse's belly, stabbing the horse's belly from bottom to top with his saber, and with a forceful tug, the steaming hot horse intestines immediately spilled onto the ground.

Before the Mongol cavalryman holding the mace could react, he fell off his horse, and Li Laowai grabbed a three-eyed musket from the side and hurled it at him.

Jiang Han saw it clearly: Li Laowai had used the three-barreled gun like a hammer, swinging it around and smashing it into the enemy soldier's skull.

"hiss!"

Jiang Han then understood where Shao Yong's confidence came from.

These seemingly carefree veterans, every move they make reveals the agility and ruthlessness honed by years of battlefield experience.

Shao Yong's bowstring always drew blood, Li Laowai's horse-slaying knife was used to cut horses' legs, and Hei Zi was like a mad dog, specializing in attacking people's lower body.

In an instant, half of the Mongol cavalry that had charged forward were killed.

"Reserves! Charge!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, the Mongol centurion who was watching from a distance quickly blew his whistle and gave orders to those behind him.

woo-

The sound of horns echoed across the battlefield, and suddenly a banner was raised in the Mongol army ranks, fluttering in the dust.

Jiang Han knew this was a sign that the Mongol reserve force was being mobilized.

As expected, a troop of Mongol cavalrymen, wearing iron helmets and leather armor, trampled over the corpses of their comrades, their crimson eyes fixed on the Ming soldiers before them. These were the last 130 Mongol cavalrymen; the Mongol centurion had staked everything on annihilating Jiang Han and his group.

Two hundred and thirty riders against one hundred and twenty riders—the advantage is on my side!
"Quickly! Have them mount their horses and retreat!"

Seeing the enemy reserve force charging towards them, Jiang Han shouted at the top of his lungs to order the guard beside him to hurry up and get to the front to relay the order.

Shao Yong, who was standing to the side, led the remaining archers to draw their bows and aim at the enemy formation.

The bowstring trembled, and the arrow shot out like lightning, causing seven or eight more Mongol cavalrymen to fall from their horses, clutching their throats.

However, the enemy cavalry had already completed their encirclement, and Li Laowai and Zhuzi's right flank was immediately pinned down by the pursuing Mongol cavalry.

"Lord Jiang, they're being caught up with!"

Jiang Han looked ahead following the sound and, sure enough, to the right rear of Li Laowai and Zhuzi, a large group of Mongol cavalry was rapidly approaching.

Jiang Han clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, extremely anxious. In the midst of the cavalry battle, the appearance of the enemy on the right flank was a very dangerous sign.

Because most people shoot arrows by holding the bow in their left hand and drawing the string with their right, it is very rare to find someone who can shoot with both hands.

The three common riding and archery postures are: parting the mane, facing the stirrups, and stroking the saddle.
These correspond to the three angles of front, left, and left rear, respectively. Therefore, cavalrymen generally have little recourse against enemies on their right, unless they are highly skilled riders who can turn their horses around instantly.

This matter is also recorded in the section on horseback archery in the "Essentials of Military Preparedness"—

"In battle, if the enemy attacks from the right, those who can shoot from either side need no further explanation; if not, they must quickly turn their horse's knees to the right to kill the enemy. Therefore, training horses is an urgent task for military strategists, as it can be a matter of life and death in battle."

Therefore, Ming soldiers would generally place the gunner on the right side so that they could counterattack any enemy that appeared on the right flank at any time, since there is no distinction between left and right hands when firing a gun.

"Follow me to kill the enemy! Charge!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, Jiang Han drew the mace from his waist, spurred his horse, and charged towards the Mongol cavalry.

Seeing their commander launch the charge, Jiang Han's twenty cavalrymen followed closely behind, smashing into the Mongol reserves like iron hammers, catching the Mongols off guard.

Twenty riders dare to charge into battle?!

The Mongols snapped out of their daze and turned to surround Jiang Han. Jiang Han swung his mace to deflect the spears, then slammed it into the helmet of a Mongol cavalryman in front of him, causing blood to splatter everywhere.

As the enemy's warm blood sprayed onto Jiang Han's face, he suddenly heard a familiar whooshing sound, which startled him so much that his hair stood on end.

At the critical moment of life and death, Jiang Han instinctively tightened his body. The arrow grazed his left shoulder, and the cotton armor on his shoulder immediately tore open.

Jiang Han was both shocked and furious. He swung the mace backhand and smashed it precisely into the attacker's face, cracking his skull open.

Not to be outdone, Shao Yong, mounted on his horse and wielding a long spear, used the momentum of his horse to easily pierce the enemy rider's breastplate with a single strike.

The Mongol cavalryman looked down at the spear shaft in disbelief, only to be sent flying into the air by Shao Yong and die on the spot.

Despite their bravery, the number of Mongols surrounding them continued to grow, and Li Laowai, Heizi, and others had already turned back to join the melee.

"Lord Jiang, hold on a little longer, reinforcements will be here soon!" Shao Yong shouted to Jiang Han as he swept aside the Mongolians in front of him with a shot.

Jiang Han was somewhat surprised. Where did the reinforcements come from? Weren't we all here? Could it be that the camp's infantry reinforcements have arrived?
That's impossible. How can two-legged infantrymen catch up with four-legged cavalrymen?

"Sir, have you forgotten about the cavalry that cut in front of us? They'll definitely come back once they've dealt with the Mongol archers!"

Jiang Han suddenly realized that he had forgotten about the fifty riders in front of him. He wondered if they could defeat the Mongol archer cavalry and if they would be outmaneuvered by the Mongols.

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(End of this chapter)