Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 253 Who exactly likes war? [Seeking monthly votes]

"Ah!"

"Hush Lulu!"

Accompanied by this neat array of firelight, the Tatar cavalry charging at the front seemed to have encountered a giant scythe of death.

They were like wild grass on the grassland, falling down neatly, their bodies sliding several meters due to the immense inertia.

The bodies of these people and horses became the biggest obstacle for the Tatar cavalry following behind. Those who reacted quickly spurred their horses over, while those who reacted slowly were tripped by their horses and fell to the ground with them, resulting in a serious stampede.

"what?!"

Upon seeing this, Anda's eyes widened instantly. Startled, he slammed his hand on the wooden railing, causing dust to fall from the entire wooden city tower.

These were his elite cavalry, and the best of the best, each one extremely valuable.

The Hero Battalion's firing this time alone resulted in at least 300 casualties, including those from bullet wounds and trampling injuries. This loss was considerable!
The only saving grace was that his elite cavalry were well-trained.

Although their charging posture was slightly affected, more cavalrymen crossed or bypassed these "human and horse barricades" and instinctively formed the initial form of an arrow formation in a very short time!
"?!"

The Tatar leaders, who were already shocked by this scene and unsure whether to gloat or feel a sense of impending doom, were immediately terrified by Anda's slap.

"Clang!"

One of the Tatar leaders lost his grip on his scimitar, which fell to the ground with an embarrassing thud.

"..."

Yan Shifan was also startled, but he still kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield.

Only he knew that Yan Maoqing's Hero Battalion was no ordinary army; even the former Divine Machine Battalion could not compare to it.

This is an army that has never before maximized its firepower!

And this is just the beginning.

Next, the Hero Battalion will officially enter its full form, continuously unleashing firepower like a machine, with no one able to withstand its onslaught from the front!

That's his only worry now.

After the Tatars reacted, they used their usual tactic of scattering light cavalry to harass the flanks and rear of the hero camp.

Ma Fang's supporting cavalry has not yet arrived, and Zeng Xian, though in the rear, is at least several hours away.

If this happens, the Hero Battalion will have no choice but to change tactics. Even if they still use a three-stage attack, their firepower will inevitably be dispersed.

At that point, the Heroes' Battalion would be trapped in place, passively waiting for Ma Fang and Zeng Xian's reinforcements...

Just as I was thinking this.

"Heh, they only gained the upper hand by using muskets. Now they've run out of tricks, and it's time for my cavalry to slaughter them... Uh-oh?!"

Altan Khan realized his lapse in composure and immediately tried to cover it up by laughing at the group of Tatar leaders. However, before he could finish speaking, the last syllable of the word "carve" suddenly became sharp.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

A neat flash of light followed, and only after Ida finished his "uh" did the gunshots finally ring out.

Before that, the front-line Tatar cavalry, who had not yet reassembled into a complete arrow formation, were once again slashed by the Grim Reaper's scythe, and the arrowheads of the formation were almost flattened.

Anda didn't even see clearly how the soldiers of the Hero Camp changed their formations.

All he knew was that the Heroes' Battalion hadn't gone into a state of sagehood after firing all their shots; they still had firepower, and that firepower hadn't diminished at all!

This is not right!
Anda was shocked. He had seen the Ming army's muskets before and had even fought against them.

Therefore, he remembered very clearly that the Ming army's muskets were slow to reload, and except when defending the city, they usually only had one chance to fire. As long as they forced their way through, they would enter the Tatar cavalry's home ground.

However, there is one thing about the Heroes' Camp that seems to differ from his experience.

Previously, when facing a frontal charge by Tatar cavalry, the Ming army's musketeers would start firing in panic from a hundred paces away.

Moreover, their timing of firing was completely haphazard, and they did not have such orderly formations.

Even after the fighting started, the Ming soldiers began to retreat and flee, instead of continuing to stand firm as they are now!

"!!!"

The Tatar leaders stared wide-eyed, unable to decide whether to gloat or feel a sense of impending doom.

All they wanted to know was how the Heroes' Camp had managed to do it, and what their secrets were.

They had never seen a Ming army like this before!
next moment.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The neat flashes of fire appeared again, and the Grim Reaper's scythe swung out with another cruel blow.

This time, Altan Khan and the other Tatar leaders finally saw clearly that the Hero Camp was actually constantly changing its formation.

After the first three ranks of soldiers opened fire, they immediately moved one step to the side, squatted down, and reloaded their ammunition. The next three ranks of soldiers quickly stepped forward from the gaps in the front ranks, continued to squat, half-squat, and stand up, and then opened fire together with the sound of the drum.

This is how the firepower was sustained indefinitely!
Yes!

They didn't retreat an inch; they kept moving forward!

Although each firing only allowed them to advance a few steps, they were indeed moving forward, steadily advancing towards the royal camp!
"Four times!"

Anda gritted his teeth in resentment, but remained defiant in front of the group of Tatar leaders.

"Their tactics can only sustain four volleys at most. After that, before the initial soldiers have even finished reloading their muskets, they will truly be at their wits' end!"

"We have already fired three volleys, and there is only one more to go. Then it will be time for my cavalry to slaughter us!"

I must admit, Anda does have some observational skills.

He had already discerned that the current formation of the Heroes' Camp consisted of twelve rows, allowing for four triple attacks in a single round.

Based on his understanding of the Ming army's muskets, he knew that the current firing frequency and reloading speed were simply not enough to maintain a continuous barrage. After the next volley, there would inevitably be a fatal gap!

"hehe."

Yan Shifan sneered inwardly upon hearing this.

Based on his understanding of Yan Maoqing, if this fatal problem had not been resolved, Yan Maoqing would not have launched a surprise attack on the Fengzhou Beach royal court, or at least would not have gotten himself involved.

However, he would absolutely not interrupt at this juncture.

He actually hoped that Anda would continue to be so stubborn until all of his elite cavalry were wiped out.

Furthermore, he dared not interrupt, for everyone knew that Anda was currently in a state of extreme shame and indignation, and was trying his best to regain face in front of these Tatar leaders.

At this moment, whatever he said was tinged with sarcasm... As the saying goes, "Don't provoke a fool," so he might accidentally anger Anda and have him cleaved in two on the spot.

next moment.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The Grim Reaper's scythe swung once more. "The fourth salvo has passed, it's time!"

Anda suppressed his shame and indignation, and endured the heartache that was making his heart bleed, and said loudly.

All of this happened too fast. In the blink of an eye, he had lost nearly a thousand elite cavalrymen, many of whom were valuable heavy cavalry!

Meanwhile, he was completely supported, and a slight sense of regret arose in his heart at having no choice but to continue the demonstration...

Perhaps he shouldn't have invited these tribal leaders to the city wall, much less let them watch this war that he thought was a foregone conclusion.

Two thousand infantrymen managed to wipe out nearly a thousand of his elite cavalry in such a short time.

Even if he wins this battle now, it will be a Pyrrhic victory that will be criticized, and it could even be seen as a shameful defeat for him.

or.

If he hadn't been so arrogant and focused on a theatrical victory, he wouldn't have demanded that his cavalry decisively defeat Yan Maoqing's army.

The situation was different then. After all, he could see that, regardless of whether it was a three-pronged attack or not, the front of the Hero Camp was an absolutely inviolable no-go zone, otherwise they would have to be prepared to suffer heavy losses.

But it's no use saying anything now...

The most important thing right now is to seize this critical opening as soon as possible and end this humiliating war!
But the next moment.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The Grim Reaper scythe has been swung for the fifth time!
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How did this army manage to do that?!"

Anda instantly grabbed the wooden railing with both hands, his body involuntarily leaning out from the city wall, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets, and the veins on his neck and temples bulging.

"!!!"

The Tatar leaders were also astonished, exchanging bewildered glances.

At this moment, all they felt was the sense of impending doom. Faced with an army whose firepower was relentless, they also felt an indescribable sense of powerlessness.

It's absolutely impossible to defeat them head-on!
Could this be the source of Yan Maoqing's confidence to lead only two thousand men deep into the grasslands and launch a surprise attack on the royal court?

"Sound the retreat! Sound the retreat immediately!!!"

Anda roared in desperation, no longer caring about the opinions of the other Tatar leaders.

His elite cavalry has suffered over a thousand casualties. If he were to launch another head-on charge, he fears that all the resources he has accumulated over the years would be wiped out today!
the most important is.

He had already noticed that a large number of cavalrymen behind him were beginning to rein in their horses, and some of the cavalrymen who had charged ahead were also beginning to turn around, no longer daring to continue charging towards the front of the Heroes' Camp.

This is a sign of collapse!
If he continues to act arbitrarily, he could lose control of his cavalry at any moment, or even cause bigger problems.

The best course of action now is to temporarily halt our advance and regroup.

It's not important whether it's shameful or not; what's important is to cut your losses in time. As long as you preserve your own strength, you can take down the Hero Camp!
He had also seen through the weaknesses of the Heroes' Camp.

If we adopt the tactic of scattering crows from all sides to harass the enemy, we can definitely prevent them from taking care of their own front and rear, and trap them in place!
at this time.

"Khan, look over there! And over there! Those are Ming cavalry!"

A tribal chief pointed to both sides of the battlefield and said in a strange voice.

Anda looked in the direction of the sound and saw two cavalry units appearing on each side of the battlefield.

These two cavalry units were not large, each consisting of about a hundred men. They were riding their horses and quickly encircling the Tatar cavalry on both flanks.

"This is... Yan Maoqing's reinforcements?!"

Anda had a bad feeling, but fortunately the two reinforcements were very small and could serve as scouts.

Otherwise, if a large number of cavalry were to pursue and charge at the moment he gave the order to sound the retreat, it would be very likely that they would achieve an unstoppable momentum.

"What reinforcements? These are just the two hundred cavalrymen from the Heroic Battalion. If it were really Ma Fang leading thousands of reinforcements, how could it be such a small force?"

Yan Shifan recognized the identities of the two cavalry units simply by looking at their armor and attire, and inwardly felt a pang of regret.

"What a pity. If Ma Fang had appeared at this time, he could have easily defeated Anda's army..."

Just as I was thinking this.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

As the two cavalry squads rapidly approached the Tatar army from both flanks, but before they were within range of the Tatar light cavalry's shortbows, the firelight flared once more.

The two cavalry squads then quickly changed direction, made contact, and fled into the distance.

The arrows fired by the Tatar light cavalry all landed in the open ground.

In this single attack by the Ming cavalry, the Tatar cavalry lost dozens more men on both flanks.

"What's going on? The cavalry are equipped with muskets too?!"

Anda was dumbfounded and incredulous.

This unscientific!

While it wasn't entirely impossible, the cumbersome process of loading ammunition into a musket, coupled with the need to light the match cord beforehand, made it unsuitable.

This meant that even if cavalrymen carried muskets, it was difficult for them to load ammunition on horseback. As a result, they could only fire once at most in battle, rendering them useless fire sticks and often getting in the way.

then.

He saw that after the two cavalry squads had fled a hundred paces, they did not pursue the Tatar cavalry after receiving the order to retreat.

He actually reined in his horse and stopped, then brazenly loaded ammunition into the musket while still on horseback. Clearly, after loading the ammunition, he intended to continue doing the same thing.

"This is imitating our harassment tactics!"

Some Tatar leaders also noticed something amiss, their eyes revealing a hint of complexity.

When it comes to harassing the enemy, cavalry equipped with muskets are obviously more troublesome than cavalry equipped with shortbows, since muskets are more powerful and have a longer range!
No one understood why muskets, which were rarely used by cavalry, were now fully equipped in this army.
Moreover, judging from their actions of loading ammunition on horseback, it is clear that the loading process is much easier than before.

and so……

While the Ming army was completely unaware, they secretly upgraded their equipment. Isn't that a bit too unethical?
at the same time.

the other side.

"The cavalry will try their best to delay the frequency and intensity of the enemy's harassment. Maintain our formation and continue advancing. Our target is Anda's court. Let's fire a couple of shots at them first!"

Yan Maoqing looked at the corpses and wounded soldiers left on the ground in front of the Tatar cavalry after they sounded the retreat, but his heart was not stirred at all.

He felt that he might not be a good person at heart.

After all, when he watched those movies and read those novels in his later life, he always saw that the protagonists or heroines would feel physically uncomfortable just by seeing dead people, let alone killing them. They would vomit and cry.

But he didn't feel that way.

Of course, he didn't feel excited; he just wanted to curse loudly.
"Damn it, what kind of person would like war? Wouldn't it be better to make money through peace?"

(End of this chapter)