Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The dust had not yet settled at the martial arts training ground in western Beijing.

Just as Han Lie's Shenji Battalion finished practicing the "hollow square formation" and bayonet charge, and their morale was high, a muffled hoofbeat, like rolling thunder, came from the other end of the training ground, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a troop of about five hundred cavalrymen slowly galloping into the training ground.

But they were quite different from the nimble and fierce cavalrymen people imagined.

Men were clad in heavy armor, and so were their horses.

The armor worn by both men and horses was made of thick steel lamellar armor pieced together, with leather straps connecting the joints, reflecting a chilling gleam in the sunlight.

The warhorses were all plump and strong Hequ horses, but even with such a huge load, they still appeared sluggish and clumsy when running.

The knights carried long spears and maces, and some even carried powerful bows and crossbows.

This was a heavy cavalry unit from Xuanfu, the last "Iron Pagoda" of the Great Xia, specially ordered by Xiao Chen and transferred from the Nine Borders.

The general leading the team was a burly officer with a fierce face, named Hei Yunlong.

He was from a hereditary military family in Xuanfu and had an almost obsessive faith in heavy cavalry.

"This humble general, Hei Yunlong, greets Your Majesty!"

Hei Yunlong did not dismount, but merely clasped his hands in a salute, his voice rough, "I've heard that Governor Han's Divine Machine Battalion is renowned for its marksmanship? This humble general is unconvinced! My five hundred Iron Falcons are the old guard who fought Esen and defeated the Little Prince back in the day! I don't believe these iron lumps can't withstand a few iron pipes!"

His words were filled with arrogance and disdain.

In his view, firearms were nothing more than fleeting, ingenious tricks; the true masters of the battlefield were still heavily armored cavalry, the pinnacle of cold weapons for charging into battle.

Xiao Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm: "General Hei, I'm giving you a chance. Han Lie, you will send out one hundred men, form a battle formation, and practice an attack and defense drill with General Hei's cavalry."

"As you command!"

A hint of excitement flashed in Han Lie's eyes. He had long wanted to test how effective this new weapon and formation would be against the legendary Iron Pagoda.

"snort!"

Hei Yunlong snorted coldly, drew his saber, and shouted, "Men! Charge with me! Let these bastards with firewood sticks see what the might of cavalry is all about!"

"drive!"

Five hundred heavy cavalrymen began to accelerate.

At first, it was slow, but as the distance increased, the sound of hooves became more and more frequent and the momentum became more and more powerful.

The earth trembled, dust billowed, and the oppressive feeling of that steel torrent was truly suffocating.

Opposite them, a hundred Shenji Battalion soldiers quickly formed a hollow square formation.

Three columns deep, the first two kneeling and the last standing, three thousand flintlock muskets with their dark muzzles aimed at the charging cavalry.

"Hold on! Hold on!" Han Lie shouted from within the formation.

Eighty paces... seventy paces... Black Cloud Dragon's cavalry had entered firing range. But the square formation remained unmoved.

Sixty paces! Fifty paces!

"put!"

The first volley of fire! Smoke billows everywhere!

"Clang! Clang!"

With a few sharp sounds, several cavalrymen at the forefront were knocked off their feet, their horses and riders staggering. Clear dents appeared on their armor, and some of their warhorses even collapsed with mournful cries!

However, the vast majority of cavalrymen were only shaken by the impact, their blood surging, but they were not injured! The thick lamellar armor blocked the shots from Yuanfeng's spear!

"Hahaha! That's all they are!" Black Cloud Dragon laughed wildly. "Charge them!"

Forty steps! Thirty steps!

The second and third ranks of the square fired in unison! More than a dozen cavalrymen fell from their horses, but the density of the square's firepower was clearly insufficient to stop the charge of five hundred iron cavalry!

Twenty paces! Hei Yunlong could already see the terrified faces of the soldiers opposite him. He grinned and raised his spiked club, ready to smash the heads of the first rank!

"Load bayonets! Prepare for hand-to-hand combat!" Han Lie's voice was frighteningly calm.

Just as the cavalry was about to crash into the battle line!

"kill--!!!"

The soldiers in the square formation roared in unison, their spears instantly extended, the bayonets on the spearheads forming a deadly thicket of thorns in the sunlight!

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The warhorse at the very front couldn't stop in time and crashed straight into the gun emplacement!

The sharp bayonet, propelled by the horse's charge, easily pierced the armor and plunged into the horse's body! The horse neighed in agony, and both rider and horse were thrown to the ground!

The cavalry behind, unable to stop in time, crashed into their comrades in front, throwing their formation into chaos!

Even more terrifying, the Shenji Battalion soldiers did not retreat. They used the advantage of bayonet length to stab the cavalrymen who were right next to them.

Having lost their charging momentum, the heavy cavalry were extremely immobile in front of the dense bayonet formation, becoming easy targets!

In just one exchange, Black Cloud Dragon's "Iron Pagoda" lost nearly fifty riders, and its offensive completely collapsed!

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Black Cloud Dragon was both shocked and furious, and had no choice but to order a retreat.

He re-formed the ranks, his face ashen as he looked at his heavily wounded men and their scarred, terrified warhorses.

Xiao Chen slowly walked up to Hei Yunlong and looked at the panting heavy cavalrymen with fear in their eyes.

"Black General, do you see that?"

Xiao Chen's voice was completely calm, "Your Ironclad Cavalry was once invincible. But in front of my Divine Machine Battalion, they are too slow, too clumsy, too expensive, and—too fragile."

"I know you're not convinced."

Xiao Chen pointed to the armor pierced by bayonets, "Heavy armor can indeed protect against ordinary arrows, and even a few lead bullets. However, for this defense, your warhorse is carrying a load of over four hundred pounds! Its mobility is completely lost! Its supply consumption is three times that of light cavalry! Moreover, once it gets stuck in mud, mountains, or blocked by bayonet formations like just now, they become sitting ducks!"

Hei Yunlong gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Facts speak louder than words; his proud cavalry indeed failed to break through the formation of one hundred men.

"I don't want to abolish the cavalry," Xiao Chen changed the subject, "but rather to reform them."

He waved his hand, signaling Mo Qi to bring up the things that had already been prepared.

It was a strangely styled suit of armor, along with several elongated spears.

The armor was neither traditional lamellar armor nor the full-body plate armor of Europe, but a kind of "lightweight partial plate armor".

Key areas, such as the chest, back, shoulders, and elbows, use high-strength crucible steel plates produced in Cizhou. These plates are of moderate thickness but weigh one-third less than traditional heavy armor!

At the joints, multiple layers of oil-impregnated hardened leather and high-strength webbing are used for connection, which is both flexible and resistant to knife cuts and arrow shots.

The spear was longer than an ordinary lance, measuring twelve feet, with a wide spearhead and barbs, specifically designed to counter cavalry.

"General Black, try on this armor," Xiao Chen said.

Hei Yunlong put it on with some skepticism. Sure enough, it was much lighter than the iron lamellar armor he was wearing, and it allowed him to move more freely.

"And this too." Xiao Chen handed him an anti-cavalry lance. "It's perfect for use in phalanx formations, especially for breaking cavalry charges!"

Xiao Chen turned around, faced all the soldiers, and spoke in a loud voice:

"The era of heavy cavalry is over. The future belongs to firearms and mobile infantry!"

"But cavalry is still important! What I need are light cavalry! Light cavalry capable of rapid reconnaissance, flanking maneuvers, and pursuit of the remaining enemy forces! Not these expensive, cumbersome tin cans!"

"As for fighting against cavalry..."

Xiao Chen looked at the lightweight plate armor and anti-cavalry lances. "I will equip the infantry with better protection and longer spears! Let every infantryman become the cavalry's nightmare!"

"Imperial decree: All cavalry nationwide shall gradually phase out heavy lamellar armor. Zhao Tie of the Ministry of Works shall be responsible for the research and production of new lightweight armor, prioritizing its issuance to the Divine Martial Army infantry and reconnaissance cavalry! The Ministry of War shall formulate a new 'Cavalry Drill Manual,' emphasizing mobility and reconnaissance, and abolishing frontal assault tactics!"

"My lord, I obey your order!"

Han Lie, Hei Yunlong, and the others responded in unison. Although Hei Yunlong was still somewhat unwilling, he could not disobey the emperor's order, and besides, he was convinced of his defeat just now.

The regret of the Iron Pagoda lies in the limitations of its time.

Xiao Chen, however, is personally burying this regret in the dust of history, and using steel and firearms to forge a brand new god of war.