Chapter Eighty-Six: A Win-Win Battle

A white smoke screen spewed from the edge of the square formation. The charging Ming cavalry immediately tumbled over in the rain of bullets, like a wave crashing on a reef. The remaining cavalry did not dare to charge forward again and scattered to both sides of the square formation, trying to outflank and slash the infantry from the side and rear. The soldiers on both wings of the square formation seized this opportunity to continuously fire at the cavalry galloping past the front of the formation. The helmeted and armored cavalry suffered heavy casualties under the repeated volleys of the Minie rifles. In just a few minutes, dozens of bodies of men and horses were already strewn around the square formation.

He Zhanran reined in his horse and retreated a few dozen zhang. He gathered his men and prepared to charge again. At this time, Yang Zeng shouted: “Sights at 100 meters, fire!”

The cavalry squadron, which had just finished assembling, was once again covered by a dense rain of bullets before it could launch a charge. In an instant, dozens of cavalrymen fell. The others were completely stunned—no one had expected the enemy’s firearms to be able to shoot so far and so fiercely. Iron armor was of no use. The heart-protecting mirror of one company commander was shattered, and the helmet and half the head of another company commander were blown off.

The Ming cavalry retreated slightly and then divided into two groups to outflank from both sides. This time, their speed was very fast. They probably knew that the bandits’ muskets had a long range, so everyone galloped at full speed, hoping to use speed to offset the enemy’s aim.

The volley fire sounded again, and more than twenty cavalrymen fell from their horses. At this time, He Zhanran suddenly turned his horse’s head and led all the cavalry to charge straight at the square formation—he had originally thought that the bandits were using the “three-stage volley” tactic of musket warfare. Now that the three volleys had been fired, the enemy would surely have a longer reloading time. He planned to use this gap to break through the square formation. One of his trusted small leaders, with a few personal guards, charged at the very front, preparing to crash into the bayonet formation regardless of his own life and death, to cut a bloody path.

But the bandits’ muskets once again fired a neat volley. The charge was like a raging wave against a reef. The tide of the cavalry was shattered, and the routed cavalry retreated all the way to two hundred meters away before the Minie rifles stopped firing. He Zhanran had already lost almost half of his men. The rest of them had no heart to fight again and all spurred their horses to flee the battlefield. He Zhanran, while cursing, beheaded a fleeing cavalryman. Just as he was trying to reassemble his men a few hundred meters away, the sound of cannons rang out in the air.

One after another, cannonballs with red lights flew over the light infantry’s square formation. They suddenly exploded in the air, showering the ground with a rain of 88 canister shots. The assembling cavalry was covered by the fierce rain of bullets and fell down in droves. The neighing of horses, the screams of pain, and the groans of the men were mixed together.

A canister shot almost grazed He Zhanran and hit the ground, throwing up a cloud of dirt that covered his head and face. The pungent smell of gunpowder smoke made it impossible for him to open his eyes. He knew that the bandits’ firearms were powerful, but he had not expected them to be so powerful. The cannonballs could actually explode in the air! And then they would throw out a rain of bullets! He no longer dared to fight. He only had forty or fifty cavalrymen left. Not only was he at an absolute disadvantage, but the bandits’ earthen fortress two li away was also beating its military drums urgently, and a force had already been dispatched. He Zhanran turned his horse’s head and shouted loudly for the soldiers to flee.

“Cease fire!” Zhang Bolin put down his binoculars. In the distance, only a few cavalrymen were fleeing towards the county town. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. “I didn’t expect the square formation to be so useful!”

When the cavalry charged the retreating infantry, he had thought of having the gunners fire shrapnel to intercept the cavalry, but the enemy’s cavalry was running so fast that they soon reached the front of the infantry square formation. Firing at this time would easily injure their own side.

Seeing the enemy retreat, Yang Zeng breathed a sigh of relief. By this time, he was already covered in sweat. During the first charge of the cavalry, he even thought he would not survive.

“Hold steady! Maintain formation!” he shouted continuously, holding his command sword, and holding the line. He remembered that he had heard the instructor say during his studies that when the enemy cavalry charged a square formation, there might be a second or third wave of cavalry waiting. As soon as your formation was slightly disordered, they would immediately charge over and destroy the square formation. The momentum of the cavalry’s full-speed charge had once made him extremely fearful. If it weren’t for the long and continuous training that had made the soldiers develop a kind of conditioned reflex-like numbness, the soldiers would probably have fallen into chaos long ago.

He did not dare to change the formation and ordered them to retreat slowly towards the main camp in a square formation.

“Hold steady, hold steady!” he waved his command sword, and the other two company commanders also did their best to maintain the order of the retreat. At this time, he heard the cheerful sound of the grenadiers’ march being played on the flute from behind. A company of tall grenadiers marched in an orderly manner from the rear and formed a neat double line next to them, covering their retreat into the camp.

They retreated all the way to the gate of the main camp, and the artillerymen and infantry on the earthen wall let out a warm cheer—apart from a part of the officers and non-commissioned officers who had participated in the defense of Bopu and the anti-bandit operations, this new type of army had never fought a battle in a proper formation with the enemy. Now they saw the result of their repeated drills on the training ground every day: three hundred infantry against three hundred cavalry, and the cavalry did not gain even the slightest advantage, but instead left a field of dead men and horses. The native soldiers and officers were even more confident in their own army and weapons.

When Yang Zeng returned to the camp, he was immediately summoned before He Ming. He trembled and saluted the supreme commander:

“I have brought all the companies back! No casualties!”

“Well done!” He Ming punched him hard, almost knocking the little man to the ground. “Give him a merit! First-class merit!”

When Tong Yizhen arrived at the battlefield with his family retainers and infantry, he saw the routed troops of He Zhanran. They were retreating in a chaotic manner, most of them had lost their helmets and weapons, and many had terrible wounds. They would fall from their horses as they ran.

Tong Yizhen was shocked. It was not surprising that the vanguard had been defeated, but this was three hundred elite cavalry, more than enough to defeat three or four times their number of infantry. Now they had been defeated, and so miserably.

He Zhanran was brought before him in a disheveled state: “I am incompetent—”

“How many cavalry does the enemy have?” He didn’t have time to listen to his plea for forgiveness. “Where are they now?”

“The bandits have no cavalry, it’s just, it’s just…” He Zhanran barely swallowed a mouthful of saliva that had become bitter from the frantic running and the smoke. “Their firearms are very powerful!”

He then reported everything from his charge on the square formation, being accurately and continuously fired upon from two hundred paces away, to being bombarded by cannonballs that could explode in the air and shower projectiles:

“Not only are the bandits’ firearms sharp, but their formations are also very neat, and they are by no means comparable to ordinary pirates.”

“You may withdraw for now!” Tong Yizhen did not quite believe his words. It was common for officers who had been defeated to exaggerate the enemy’s strength and fighting ability, but He Zhanran’s defeat was so miserable that it did not seem like a lie.

The vanguard had suffered a setback, so he decided not to lead his troops directly into the battlefield, so as not to be hit head-on by the enemy whose morale was high. He had already learned from the defeated soldiers that the bandits had abandoned their camp at the south gate and the earthen enclosure that surrounded Chengmai, and the entire army had retreated to a large camp near the coast in the northwest.

He immediately ordered a part of his mounted family retainers and personal guards, led by a young general under his command named Song Ming, to quickly occupy the empty camp abandoned by the bandits outside the south gate and raise his banner. He then called over a personal guard:

“Quickly go and report to the commander-in-chief! I have captured the bandits’ south gate main camp! The siege of Chengmai is broken!”

He then urged the infantry to hurry. He led his men to the south gate of Chengmai and instructed the defenders on the city wall to quickly open the gate. The defenders on the city wall had witnessed the tragic defeat of the government army’s cavalry just now and were already in despair. Suddenly, they saw dust and smoke rolling in the direction of the post road, and a large number of government troops were pouring in continuously. They knew that the government army had finally come to their aid. The county magistrate, county assistant, and others who were lying on the city wall commanding the militia to resist were all in tears. They all kowtowed towards the north, towards the capital, and shouted “Long live the emperor.”

The soldiers and civilians in the county then opened the south gate, and Tong Yizhen immediately entered the city with his own troops. He quickly took over the defense of the four city gates, and then his subordinates quickly began to occupy houses. For a time, the county town was in chaos, and the soldiers and officers were busy occupying houses everywhere and demanding supplies.

For a time, the whole city was filled with the sound of curses, pleas, screams, and wails. Some families were driven out of their homes by the soldiers, some simply took the opportunity to rob the common people in the city, and some even entered houses to rape women. For a time, the county town was in chaos, and the cries of the common people and the shouts and roars of the officers and soldiers were mixed together.

The magistrate of Chengmai County, Liu Jingxuan, had a pale face. He led his clerks and yamen runners to tremble and deal with the endless stream of officers and soldiers who came to him for supplies. He had been slapped a few times, and his lips were already broken. A few clerks and subordinate officials cowered behind him.

The gentry were all terrified. Originally, when they were all contributing men and money to defend the county town, they had been hoping day and night for the government army to come to their rescue. They had not expected this savior to be like a bandit. Seeing that even the county magistrate had been slapped by a few big soldiers, they were even more worried about their own lives and property.

“General, I am the magistrate of Chengmai County, Liu Jingxuan—” he had just started when Tong Yizhen interrupted him:

“Alright, alright, the garrison commander will be here in a moment. Quickly clean up your yamen and welcome the garrison commander!”

“Yes, yes, this is my duty,” Liu Jingxuan knew that the court had already sent a large army to suppress the bandits. He had thought that it was just a matter of supplying provisions, but he had not expected the bandits to actually want to fight a decisive battle under the city. He couldn’t help but complain bitterly in his heart—he had been a county magistrate for several terms and knew that the most difficult thing for a local official was to deal with passing high officials and armies. Both were like bandits. There had been cases where a magistrate had died of illness or even committed suicide because he was forced too much. Now that the government army was actually going to be stationed in the city, his face instantly turned ashen, and the officials and gentry behind him also looked very uneasy.

“It’s just, it’s just, the military discipline of your esteemed troops, I hope the general will maintain it,” he said, trembling.

General Tong looked at the chaotic scene in the city. Not far away, there were still a few corpses with their heads cut off. From their clothes, it could be seen that these people were not bandits.

“I will naturally maintain military discipline, but the supply of provisions must also be done with all your heart.”

“Yes, yes, I—” before he could finish his words, a few disheveled women suddenly rushed towards him, crying and shouting that they had been wronged.

“What kind of world is this!” the woman cried and wailed. “My husband died defending the city as a militiaman, and before he was even buried, his head was cut off…”

Tong Yizhen knew that his subordinates were cutting off heads as military merits. This was a common practice in the army. He just coughed and instructed the soldiers to drive the women away.

At this time, a yamen runner hurried over: “Master, master!” he was so red in the face from running that his hat had even fallen off. “The masters…” seeing that there were many soldiers and a few generals next to the county magistrate, he quickly changed his words: “The north city, the north city, is on fire!”

Liu Jingxuan was shocked. He saw that several fires had already started in the city. He quickly said, “Quick, quick, beat the gong, call the water society to bring out the dragon!” He then turned his head and looked at the yamen runners who were already stunned like wooden chickens, waved his sleeve and stomped his foot and said, “You guys go quickly too!”

“This bunch of scoundrels, they are making too much of a scene!” General Tong, seeing the soldiers being so reckless, was afraid of being reported and impeached by the censors. And there were also the cries of the women. With the enemy at the gates, if they made too much of a scene, there would be trouble. He immediately ordered a personal general to lead dozens of personal guards with his command arrow to patrol the city. He beheaded a few looting and murdering rogue soldiers on the street before order was restored.

Half an hour later, a part of Li Guang’s standard battalion also arrived at the foot of Chengmai County town, but his attempt to enter the city was stopped by Tong’s troops—the Chaozhou soldiers under Commandant Tong seemed to think that this city was their spoils of war and did not allow others to touch it. The two sides drew their swords and were on the verge of a conflict. If it weren’t for the generals of both sides quickly coming out to stop them, the Chaozhou soldiers and the Zhaoqing soldiers would have almost clashed at the city gate.

He Ming stood on the tower, watching the endless stream of Ming army with a high-power telescope. Their numbers were so large that they were like mercury spilling on the ground, filling the entire open space around Chengmai County town.

Countless teams, countless flags, the clanging of armor, the footsteps of soldiers, the rustling of flags in the wind, like a great tide, were surging towards them.

The sun was setting in the west, and the sunlight shone on the rolling army coming from the east. The armor and spearheads gleamed, and the sound of military drums, horns, and reed pipes rose from all sides, accompanied by the vast twilight. An indescribable sense of pressure weighed heavily on his heart.

If He Ming had been on the battlefield, fought the Vietnamese devils, and smelled the smoke of gunpowder, then many of the Elder officers in the field army, even if they had been in the army, had never fought a battle. Everyone knew from a rational point of view that a medieval army like the Ming army could not defeat a modernized army, but seeing this large army pouring in continuously, everyone’s face was very grave. Some even felt dizzy and simply put down their binoculars and stopped looking.

A general mounted a huge rock, and countless helmeted heads surged forward around him. He was like a reef standing in the stormy sea. The general looked forward, and the command flag in his hand pointed forward sharply.

More than 20,000 men arrived at the foot of the county town one after another and occupied the open space and hills around the county town. The infantry was setting up camp fences and placing gun carriages. The entire army set up three camps in total, with long trenches dug outside, facing the Fubo Army.

He Rubin arrived at Chengmai County town just before dark. He did not enter the city, but set up his main camp outside the west gate of the city. He and Zhao Ruyi first inspected the captured heads.

Not only were the heads scarce, far from matching the more than three hundred killed as reported by Commandant Tong, but the hair of these so-called “bandit” heads was mostly cut in a disorderly manner. Some of the hair still had bloodstains, and some of the heads had already turned black. It was clear that the hair had been cut one or two days after death.

He Rubin had been in the army for a long time and knew the tricks at a glance. As for Zhao Ruyi, he was also a very shrewd and capable person. But with the great battle imminent, they needed the soldiers to fight with their lives, so both of them remained silent. After the inspection, they ordered the military administration department to record the merits of the personnel who had contributed.

After the inspection of the heads, they immediately led their staff and generals to the north wall of Chengmai and looked at the bandit camp by the sea.

Tang Yunwen presented him with a Dutch telescope he had bought from Macau. He Rubin pulled out the telescope tube and looked at the bandit main camp:

About four li away, the bandits’ camp was surrounded by an earth embankment as high as a person. The shape of the main camp was not round or square, but had several large protruding sharp corners. He did not understand the use of these protruding sharp corners that surrounded the entire camp, but he knew that the Dutch also arranged their forts in this way.

On the earth embankment, there were many round baskets woven with willow branches, and bundles of bamboo were connected together to form fortresses. There were also many tall towers built with scaffolding, the tallest of which was even taller than the county town. Figures could be seen moving on them. The entire camp was surrounded by a moat, and the defense was very tight.

There were lights on the sea in the distance, and it seemed that many ships were anchored there. Tang Yunwen told him that these were all the bandits’ naval gunboats.

Judging from the size of the camp, the bandits had at least ten thousand men. He Rubin had not expected the enemy to come out in full force and fight a decisive battle with him under the city of Chengmai. And the combat effectiveness of the bandits did not seem to be to be underestimated. Commandant Tong’s troops had fought a hard battle to drive the bandit infantry out of the camp, and the cavalry had also lost more than two hundred men.

He saw a place like a village on the coastline about four or five li east of the bandit main camp: “Where is this?”

“To answer your question, garrison commander,” the county magistrate Liu Jingxuan, who had been called to accompany him, quickly said, “This is Xiaoyingchang. There was originally a village there, which was completely destroyed in an earthquake during the Wanli era. Now it is uninhabited.”

“General Sha! You send a thousand men to station at Xiaoyingchang and block the bandits’ route to invade Qiongshan along the coast!” he ordered.

Guangzhou garrison commander and guerrilla commander Sha Jianbi quickly responded and immediately went down the city to make arrangements.

After observing carefully for a while, He Rubin could not see any weakness in the bandits’ camp. He knew that the enemy’s main camp would be a very hard bone to chew tomorrow, and it was inevitable that he would lose soldiers and generals.

But as long as he defeated the bandits’ main force here, Lingao would be taken in one go. This force was probably all the land forces the bandits had. The other side’s tactics were nothing more than to defend a strong fortress with firearms, which was not beyond his expectations.