Chapter 126: Crushing the Enemy's Edge

Ajige burst into laughter and ordered a captain behind him, "Duming'a, take three niru and wipe out these Southern Ming barbarians."

"Yes!"

The captain, Duming'a, acknowledged the order with a roar and rode off.

When Nurhaci first established the Eight Banners system, he organized three hundred men into a niru, led by a niru-ejen, also known as a lieutenant. Five niru formed a jalan, led by a jalan-ejen, also known as a colonel. Five jalan formed a gusa, or banner, led by a gusa-ejen, also known as a banner lord or commander-in-chief.

After Huangtaiji ascended the throne, he reorganized the internal power structure of the Jianzhou Jurchens several times to consolidate imperial authority. The number of niru under each banner fluctuated, with the Upper Three Banners seeing significant increases and the Lower Five Banners seeing decreases. While the total number of niru per banner was not fixed, the number of soldiers in each niru remained constant at three hundred.

Duming'a mustered his three niru—nine hundred heavy Jianzhou cavalry—and split them from the main cavalry force, charging straight toward the two thousand musketeers led by the Bearded Man and the Scarred Man. As the distance closed, Duming'a raised his scimitar and let out a long howl. His nine hundred cavalrymen immediately fanned out by niru, forming three successive ranks of charging lines.

Duming'a gestured forward with his blade, and the nine hundred cavalry began to wail like ghosts, spurring their horses into a full charge. The sea of tossing horse heads and thundering iron hooves kicked up a massive cloud of dust that billowed into the sky. Though only nine hundred strong, the momentum was enough to terrify most fresh recruits.

Half of the two musket companies consisted of such raw recruits. Witnessing the terrifying formation of the Jianzhou iron cavalry, these men—who had never seen a battlefield or shed blood—turned pale with fear. They trembled uncontrollably; had it not been for the calm demeanor of the veteran soldiers beside them, they likely would have scattered before the heavy cavalry even reached them.

"Halt!"

The Bearded Man, leading the front, raised his waist sword abruptly.

"Form ranks!" The Scarred Man, right behind him, roared at the top of his lungs. "Form ranks right here!"

These musketeers had undergone rigorous drill training at the Leigong Mountain camp. Whether in units of one hundred or fifty, they were trained for different marching and firing formations. The two thousand musketeers were organized into four ranks of five hundred.

The advent of paper cartridges had revolutionized the firing speed of the musketeers, and four-rank volley fire was sufficient to ensure a continuous stream of firepower.

At the Scarred Man's command, the twenty centurions quickly led their units into position. Within moments, the two thousand musketeers stood in a strict firing formation. While the recruits were terrified, their long-term military training took hold, and they managed the simple maneuvers without chaos.

"First company..." The Bearded Man turned slowly, his expression cold as he watched the sweeping tide of Jianzhou iron cavalry. "Ready!"

The Scarred Man and the five centurions of the first rank raised their swords as well.

Five hundred musketeers raised their weapons in unison, the dark muzzles aimed at the surging cavalry. A deathly silence fell over the Ming lines, broken only by the heavy breathing of the terrified recruits. The air was thick with suffocating tension.

"Fire!"

The Bearded Man’s sword dropped, and he let out a sharp roar.

"Fire!"
"Fire!"
"Fire!"

As the swords of the Scarred Man and the centurions fell, the five hundred musketeers pulled their triggers. A dazzling flash of white light erupted from the front—the spark of flint striking steel—followed by plumes of black smoke from the igniting priming powder.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The next moment, blinding red flashes spat from the muzzles, and a deafening roar of gunfire erupted, threatening to burst the eardrums of the Ming soldiers.

The first rank of charging Jianzhou heavy cavalry instantly fell into a heap of man and beast. Over fifty riders collapsed in a pool of blood. The orderly charge formation suffered a minor ripple, but fortunately, the following ranks were skilled enough to jump over the fallen, avoiding a pile-up.

"Second company..." The Bearded Man raised his sword again, his expression cold. "Ready!"

The Scarred Man raised his sword in sequence. The five centurions of the second rank waved their blades forward, and the five hundred musketeers of the second company stepped forward with precision. The first company, having fired, quickly scattered to the sides and retreated to the rear to begin the urgent task of reloading.

Within less than three seconds, the second company was ready.

"Fire!"

The Bearded Man’s sword dropped again. With the screams of the Scarred Man and the centurions, the second company pulled their triggers, then scattered to clear the front for the third company.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Dazzling white light, swirling smoke, and deafening roars erupted continuously from the Ming line. After four full volleys, the Jianzhou heavy cavalry had crossed half the distance of death and were less than eighty paces away. Yet, by now, nearly half of the nine hundred riders lay dead or wounded, with fewer than five hundred remaining!

Duming'a watched in horror as his men fell. His anger burned like a wildfire, his eyes bloodshot. *When did these damned Southern Ming barbarians become so formidable?*

In Duming'a’s experience, the Ming firearms units usually managed only one ragged volley before the Eight Banners closed in, forcing them to drop their guns and fight with cold steel. But these men were different; they fired in endless, rhythmic waves.

"Kill!"

Duming'a swung his scimitar and roared, desperate to close the remaining eighty paces. He imagined that once he reached the front, the Eight Banners would slaughter these barbarians without mercy.

"Charge!"
"Awooh!"
"Uwah!"

The remaining five hundred riders, eyes bloodshot, roared with him, swinging their blades, aching to cross the final distance.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Another dense volley of bullets struck. Over a hundred riders tumbled from their saddles. Duming'a himself was struck by two burning lead balls, his chest pierced through. His burly body shuddered twice on the horse's back before sliding off, landing on the ground and twitching before going still.

After three more volleys, the Jianzhou cavalry finally reached the Ming line, but only two riders remained. Before they could engage, the Bearded Man and the Scarred Man dispatched them with a stroke of their blades.

"Listen up!" Before the musketeers could catch their breath after this near-bloodless victory, the Bearded Man roared, "Attack formation! Advance!"

"Advance!"
"Keep moving!"

The Scarred Man and the twenty centurions bellowed. The cold-faced veterans and the bewildered recruits took their places and marched forward in perfect step. With every stride, they chanted in unison: "Kill the slaves!"

"Kill the slaves!"
"Kill the slaves!"
"Kill the slaves!"

In moments, the rhythmic, thunderous chant echoed across the battlefield.

In the center of the rebel forces, Ajige was locked in combat with Red Lady.

Ajige possessed immense physical strength, while Red Lady was a master of martial arts. After dozens of bouts, neither could gain the upper hand. Growing irritated, Ajige forced Red Lady back with a horizontal slash and laughed, "What a succulent woman. She’d be a pleasure to ride. I like this! Hahaha!"

"Die, you dog!" Red Lady’s brows knit in fury. She flicked her hand and shouted, "Take this!"

*Whoosh!*

Ajige heard the whistling air and ducked, but felt a chill on his forehead.

He reached up to touch it and realized the braided pigtail at the back of his head had been cleanly severed by Red Lady’s throwing knife. As he had ducked, the braid had flipped up, serving as a perfect target. Furious at the loss of his status symbol, he raged, "Vile woman! You dare cut my braid? I will not spare you!"

"As if I’m afraid of you!"

Ajige charged, and Red Lady met him with her horse. As they clashed again, the voice of Fiyanggu, a colonel of the Bordered White Banner, cried out from behind: "Your Highness, this is bad! A disaster!"

"Fiyanggu, what happened?"

Ajige parried Red Lady’s sword and looked back. Red Lady seized the opportunity to thrust at his throat. Ajige twisted to dodge, but failed to avoid the blow entirely; his right ear was clipped off. Blood gushed out, and Ajige clutched his face, turning his horse to flee.

Fearful for Li Yan’s safety, Red Lady did not pursue.

Ajige retreated over a hundred paces until he reached the main body of his cavalry. He reined in his horse and demanded, "Fiyanggu, what is it?"

Fiyanggu, catching up, gasped, "Your Highness, Duming'a’s three niru have been completely wiped out!"

"What did you say?" Ajige gasped in disbelief. "That’s impossible! The Ming forces outside the city are at most two thousand strong. Duming'a had nine hundred heavy cavalry. Even if they couldn't win, they shouldn't have been annihilated by these Southern Ming barbarians!"

Fiyanggu pointed to the left flank, his face pale. "Your Highness, look."

Ajige looked. Indeed, the Ming unit was marching forward in perfect formation, chanting "Kill the slaves." They looked completely untouched and were now very close to the main body of the Jianzhou cavalry, while the wreckage of Duming'a’s men lay strewn across the field.

Ajige gasped, "How... how can this be?"

"Your Highness!" Fiyanggu whispered, "The Ming firearms unit is about to cut off our retreat!"

"Retreat?" Ajige blinked. "What retreat?"

Fiyanggu pointed at the chaotic battlefield. "Your Highness, look. We have pushed too deep. The Ming forces are in front and on both flanks. If they block the gap behind us, we will be completely surrounded!"

"What is there to fear?" Ajige snapped. "A few tens of thousands of Southern Ming barbarians? They don't have the stomach to surround our eight thousand warriors of the Two White Banners!"

"Your Highness, we only have five thousand riders left!" Fiyanggu urged. "Usually, we wouldn't fear them, but we have marched over a hundred miles and fought for half a day. The men can hold, but the horses are exhausted!"

Ajige remained unimpressed. "And?"

Fiyanggu continued, "And that firearms unit... they annihilated three niru in such a short time. Things are not looking good. We must withdraw!"

"Nonsense!" Ajige raged. "The word 'retreat' does not exist in my vocabulary. Only attack, attack, and attack again!"

"Your Highness," Fiyanggu said despairingly, "we are to continue attacking?"

"Attack, of course!" Ajige tore a piece of cloth from his garment to bind his bleeding ear, then brandished his sword. "Pass the order: the warriors of the Two White Banners are to press forward! Attack! We must break these damned Southern Ming barbarians from the front!"

"Yes!"

All the officers, including Fiyanggu, acknowledged the order.

In the center of the rebel camp, Li Yan, Li Hu, Jing Maocheng, and Li Xuan had all witnessed the clash. Even Li Yan had expected the Ming firearms unit to suffer heavy casualties, but the result shocked them all.

The Ming unit had not only won; they had achieved a total victory with almost zero casualties, while the thousand Jianzhou cavalry were wiped out!

"Unbelievable!" said Li Xuan, a defector from the Ming army. "This Wang Pu is a genius. To think of a way to keep the muskets firing in a continuous stream... with this tactic, who can ever reach their lines?"

"Indeed," Jing Maocheng added solemnly. "Terrifying. A thousand Jianzhou cavalry charged, and not a single one survived... And these are cavalry! If infantry were to charge, how many would die before reaching them?"

Li Xuan recalled the siege the night before and felt a chill. "Luckily, the Commander had the foresight to have Jing’s Crow Battalion suppress them with arrows, forcing them to stay inside the barbican. Otherwise, I don't know how many more of our men would have died."

Li Yan remained silent, but the tactics and destructive power of the Ming firearms unit were burned into his mind. He began to form a plan: one day, he would build his own firearms unit and use Wang Pu’s tactics.

However, a question nagged him: if Wang Pu had such a powerful unit, why hadn't he sent them out to attack the rebels during yesterday's battle?

At that time, the rebels were engaged at the South Gate. Wang Pu could have easily sent his unit from the East Gate to flank them. That would have caused massive casualties and likely routed the rebel army. Why hadn't he?

And why, suddenly, was he helping them now? The rebels and the Ming were natural-born enemies. When the rebels were on the verge of being crushed by the Jianzhou, the Ming should have been celebrating, yet Wang Pu had reached out a hand.

Red Lady rode up to Li Yan. "Husband, what are you thinking?"

Li Yan whispered, "I’m wondering why Wang Pu is helping us."

"This..." Red Lady furrowed her brows. "Could it be he wants to join our cause?"

"No," Li Yan shook his head. "Wang Pu would never defect to the rebels."

"Why not?" Red Lady asked, puzzled.

"No reason," Li Yan replied. "Just an intuition. My intuition tells me he will never join us."

"If he doesn't want to join us, then why help?" Red Lady thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Regardless, he has helped us immensely this time. The debt from Jining is settled."

"Commander!" Jing Maocheng shouted from behind. "Things look bad! The Jianzhou offensive has intensified, and the men can't hold much longer!"

"What?"

Li Yan and Red Lady looked up. Indeed, the rebel lines were buckling under the impact of the Jianzhou cavalry. The center, led by Ajige himself, was particularly ferocious. The remnants of the Crow Battalion and the Gushan Battalion were collapsing.

The heart of Li Yan’s command was once again exposed to the Jianzhou blades!

The five thousand remaining riders of the Two White Banners were true elites. Even exhausted and surrounded, they remained the aggressors. The rebels, despite their superior numbers, could only struggle to survive.

"Pass the order," Li Yan commanded. "Tell the men to hold on at all costs. We must last until the Ming firearms unit maneuvers behind the Jianzhou to cut off their retreat. Tell them this is the Jianzhou’s final, desperate struggle. Once we survive this wave, the Jianzhou are finished!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Li Yan’s personal guards rode off to deliver the orders.

"Commander," Li Xuan said loudly, "leave this to General Jing and me. You and the Lady must retreat to the left flank."

"No," Li Yan said firmly. "I swore to live and die with my men. I will not retreat a single step."

"Husband," Red Lady stepped in front of him, her eyes filled with deep affection. "I will not let the Jianzhou harm you."