Chapter 1075 - Cavalry Conflict
Throughout the march, Zhu Mingxia wore a gloomy expression. Huang Xiong muttered uneasily in his heart, uncertain what the Chief was thinking. Having served as an old Dengzhou soldier, he habitually tried to divine his superiors' intentions. Whenever a superior's face went dark, he grew anxious. It wasn't proper to ask directly, so he could only follow quietly alongside.
"Huang Xiong—do you think the force I brought out is too small?"
Hearing Zhu Mingxia's question, Huang Xiong perked up and replied immediately: "Report to Detachment Leader—this recovery team consists of two infantry companies, one baggage company, one village brave company, one cavalry squad, and a work team. Four hundred seventy personnel in total. It is not few."
"Enough to recover refugees." Zhu Mingxia glanced coldly at Huang Xiong. "But if we wanted to do something other than recover refugees, this number wouldn't be worth looking at."
"What plans do you have, Detachment Leader?"
"Hmph—I just wanted to gripe about it."
Huang Xiong naturally didn't understand what "gripe" meant, but he sensed there was meaning in Zhu Mingxia's words. When a superior wanted to vent, a subordinate had best listen patiently. Any interruption was asking for trouble. So he kept his head down and followed closely, listening intently, afraid of missing even a word.
"Huang Xiong, our army is brave and skilled—capable of fighting one against ten. You were personally trained by me. You are soldiers forged from iron." Zhu Mingxia gestured toward Dengzhou. "Far beyond what that rabble in Dengzhou can contend with. My Northbound Detachment has two thousand men. Don't let the small number fool you—if we wanted to crack Dengzhou City, we could do it just the same. And yet? We can only turtle up on Qimu Island because we must avoid direct military conflict."
Huang Xiong had once been a Dengzhou soldier. After news arrived of the rebels massacring local soldiers and civilians upon breaking the city, he had felt considerable anguish. But the Chiefs kept holding the troops back, and as a minor officer, he could say nothing. Hearing Zhu Mingxia speak thus, he could not help but sigh.
"We can't even attack Huang County—that's the rebels' barrier, their defense against us. Once we attack Huang County, we've started a proper war. Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng would have to mobilize a full army to fight us to the death. Beating them is nothing—easy as flipping a hand. But my current mission isn't to fight rebels. Otherwise, taking Huang County would be far simpler than wandering around collecting refugees."
The Senate's intervention in the Jiaodong Peninsula had significantly altered history. Though the refugee camp on Qimu Island did not outwardly resemble a military installation, thousands upon thousands of people had gathered there. To speak kindly, they were refugees; to speak harshly, they were a potential bandit horde in waiting. In the eyes of people in this era, such a massive gathering—even if not bandits—could not be good birds. Should they ever run short of food and surge outward, they would become human locusts.
Shortly after occupying Dengzhou, the rebels had attacked Huang County immediately, preparing to use it as a stronghold to secure their rear. Their offensive toward Laizhou aimed to broaden their operational scope; capturing Huang County ensured a reliable support point on Dengzhou's periphery. If the Court ever launched a suppression campaign, the first wave of government troops would certainly strike from the Huang County direction.
Because a large refugee concentration had formed on Qimu Island, the rebels attacking Huang County this time came in greater numbers than recorded in history. After capturing the city, they more actively pressed able-bodied men into service. If Zhu Mingxia did not go out to actively receive these refugees, he feared none could escape—all would be caught. He jokingly called this collection effort "Operation Plunder Little Brothers." His goal was to plunder population from under the enemy's nose with minimal or no combat. Wouldn't it be simpler to just crush those rebels! he howled inwardly more than once.
Amid Zhu Mingxia's griping, the recovery team arrived at an abandoned village. The buildings here were relatively intact, with dilapidated fences and barely recognizable earthen walls. If water could be obtained locally, this would be a suitable campsite. Zhu Mingxia immediately ordered a search team to enter the village.
"No one in the village. There's a well—" The scout hesitated. "Someone threw a corpse in the well. It can't be used."
Wang Qisuo, the scout sent to search the village, delivered his report. He came from a local salt-smuggling background, spoke the dialects of Dengzhou and surrounding areas, and was quite clever. His training results had been excellent, so Zhu Mingxia selected him as a scout in the Advance Column to assist regular army scouts with local operations.
"It seems the rebels have been here." Zhu Mingxia nodded. Throwing corpses into wells was equivalent to destroying the essential conditions for local survival, forcing inhabitants to scatter. Even those lucky enough to avoid rebel capture could not remain in the village.
Zhu Mingxia had no doubt that if recent snowfall hadn't made fire-starting difficult, the rebels would probably have burned the village to ashes.
Still, this was a suitable relay campsite. Without a clean water source, collecting snow from the ground would barely suffice. As for fuel—they would have to tear down houses. Anyway, Zhu Mingxia thought, the people of this village won't be coming back.
He ordered some personnel to remain for defense. Refugees collected along the way were settled into empty houses to make fires and rest temporarily. Others piled village debris and some baggage to form a makeshift street barricade blocking the east and west approaches. Landmines were buried on the north and south sides to guard against sneak attacks.
He himself led the main force forward. All cavalry in his command were deployed to actively contact the largest refugee group and annihilate any small enemy groups encountered. Zhu Mingxia estimated the rebels would very likely dispatch cavalry to harass refugees, slowing their march to facilitate capture by follow-up forces. Of course, some might simply be stragglers out robbing.
On the frozen Shandong earth, more than a hundred refugees huddled together. Several lay motionless on the ground, blood gurgling from their wounds. More than a dozen executioners sat on horseback, happily surveying their spoils. They were rebels under Kong Youde. Dozens of similar cavalry groups were scattered about—their sole purpose: robbing refugees. Young and beautiful women were abducted; belongings were snatched; whether others lived or died was of no concern. This kind of plundering sometimes yielded good treasures with minimal risk. Many rebels were happy to participate.
A bald-browed man at the head was first to dismount, intending to carefully examine the women among the refugees. But everyone had their heads lowered, huddled tight. He grabbed hair to force faces up, but the features were too smeared with soot to see clearly. Rage instantly consumed him. He raised his sword and hacked down two more refugees, then grinned widely and roared: "Grandma's bear! Women—come over to Granddaddy here right now. Dawdle any longer and I'll hack one with every swing—cut through all of you."
He raised his sword to strike a third victim. Before the blade could descend, someone shouted: "Cavalry!"
Bald-brow followed the voice. More than a hundred zhang away, a small squad of cavalry was trotting toward them. He dropped the refugee and hurried to raise his sword and mount—visibility was better from horseback.
Bald-brow had once been a cavalryman in the Liaodong Garrison, had faced the Manchus in Liaodong. Though they lost every battle, he had relied on horsemanship and an unerring instinct for the optimal moment to flee, always staying safe.
This survival skill had earned him promotion to Commander—though Mao Wenlong had granted official titles far too freely on Pi Island, so after his death, the ranks of Dongjiang generals were downgraded several levels. Bald-brow was merely a Squad Leader now.
Years of flight-based survival had made him cautious about enemies, especially mounted enemies. Pursuing cavalry posed the greatest threat to fleeing cavalry.
Rising in his stirrups, he surveyed the newcomers. These cavalrymen wore no armor. Their attire was completely unfamiliar—gray cloaks, tall hats, advancing toward him in a double column.
The approaching force was hostile. Numbers appeared roughly equal on both sides. Bald-brow and his rebels had seen battle formations after all. Observing that the enemy had no numerical advantage and wore no armor, they did not scatter but gathered together, preparing for a cavalry charge.
Though Liaodong cavalry performed poorly against the Manchus, they could at least put up a fight. Inside the pass, they were known as "Iron Cavalry." Neither Bald-brow nor his subordinates took the dozen or so cavalrymen before them seriously—even with roughly equal numbers.
But the other side did not draw swords and charge. Instead, they reined in their horses seventy or eighty zhang away. Except for three or four riders, everyone else dismounted. They formed a line.
Bald-brow pulled down his iron helmet, confused. Did they dismount to prepare for archery? He had seen Tartars do this in Liaodong, but this distance was excessive. Even Tartars renowned for powerful bows and hard arrows would not dismount to shoot from so far. He waved his hand. "Everyone charge! Cut them down!"
More than a dozen cavalry drew their swords simultaneously and spurred their horses to gallop fierce.
Given the small numbers on both sides, Bald-brow did not order any formation—they simply charged headlong.
Almost the instant they spurred their mounts, crisp cracking sounds reached their ears.
"Too early!" Bald-brow roared. Firing guns from such distance was merely making noise! He lowered his head, clamped his horse's belly with his legs, and continued charging wildly.
A second volley rang out almost immediately. A rebel cavalryman's horse suddenly collapsed. Another fell right after.
The gunfire grew increasingly dense. The enemy's bird guns seemed capable of continuous fire! Before they had covered twenty zhang, three or four men had fallen. When another dropped, everyone wheeled their horses in unison without waiting for orders, lashed their horses' rumps wildly, and chose to flee without a word.
The rescued refugees stared at these cavalrymen in terror, uncertain of the newcomers' intentions. Fortunately, their languages were mutually intelligible. After some communication, they learned that the others had come from Qimu Island specifically to escort them to refuge there. Qimu Island had not been their original destination, but before these cavalrymen who had just killed men, they had no other choice.
(End of Chapter)