NCCnovel Chapter 540 Massacre
Chapter 540 Massacre
Kong Lianshun was somewhat moved. The soldiers who had originally been chasing him had become temporary allies because of the appearance of the Tartars and Mongols. The world was indeed full of strange things.
He glanced at the billowing dust in the distance and said to Ma Wei, "I am a man of principle, and I know right from wrong. You just saved me and my brothers. As a way of repaying you, you go first, and we will cover the rear. If the Tartars catch up, we can hold them off for a while."
Ma Wei hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself. He really wanted to say that if you can't even deal with the Mongols, how can you deal with the real Tartars? This time, the elite troops of the Plain Blue Banner have come – they are flying the banner of the Plain Blue Banner, and the commander is not the banner lord, but at least a Gushan Ejen (Note 1).
However, seeing the determination in Kong Lianshun's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say anything discouraging. He simply nodded and said, "We are outnumbered, so don't be reckless. If we can all return to Dengzhou alive, as long as you lead your men to confess to the authorities, I can ask the General to plead with the Governor to let you and your men atone for your crimes."
Kong Lianshun cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you. I was originally a soldier in Dongjiang Town. I had no choice but to become an outlaw. If I could have the opportunity to serve the court again, that would be the best thing."
Upon hearing this, Ma Wei immediately felt a sense of kinship.
"So we're brothers from Dongjiang Town after all. What a coincidence! My surname is Ma, and my given name is Wei. I used to work in Xuanfu Town."
After sharing their experiences of serving in the border town, the two felt much closer to each other.
Kong Lianshun cursed his bad luck. If he had known this was going to happen, he could have tried to build a relationship and made things a thing of the past. Now he had been chased for hundreds of miles and had even run into the Tartars. Both sides were in danger of dying. What a waste of time.
But it's too late for regrets now; escaping the Tartar army's advance is the most important thing. He looked back at the slowly approaching army and urged, "Brother Ma, hurry up and leave, or we won't be able to escape."
Ma Wei didn't mince words, saying, "Brother Kong, be careful." He spurred his horse and led the cavalry eastward. Kong Lianshun and his bandits lagged behind the government troops, following a distance.
In the Later Jin army, Abatai frowned after listening to the report from the Mongol general Arsleng, and said coldly, "A single Ming cavalry unit can cause you to suffer heavy losses? Do you think that by praising the Ming army as being as powerful as the warriors of my Great Jin, you can cover up your incompetence?"
Gartu chimed in gloatingly, "Who doesn't know that the Ming army inside the Great Wall is utterly useless? Did you just happen to run into heavenly soldiers descended to earth?"
Arsleng blushed, unsure how to convince them. He gestured with his hands as he explained, "This Ming army is different from the ones we've encountered before. They use a strange short gun that loads much faster than a matchlock musket, and each soldier has three guns, allowing them to fire in turns. It's far more powerful than the three-barreled muskets of the Guan Ning army..."
Abatai impatiently interrupted his explanation and ordered Gartu: "Gartu, take your warriors and let the brothers of the Khalkha tribe see how the warriors of my Great Jin Dynasty deal with the Ming army."
Gartu puffed out his chest: "Yes, sir." He glanced smugly at Arsleng, then spurred his horse to the ranks to select his troops for battle. To show his contempt for the Ming army, he only selected half of a single regiment, gave a brief order, and more than a hundred armored soldiers stepped forward, spurred their horses, and thundered off in pursuit of the fleeing Ming army.
Abatai waved his hand: "Keep moving forward, take a detour around Qingzhou and then go back."
Hearing the sound of hooves behind him, Kong Lianshun turned around and saw that it was indeed armored men with long, thin braids. Although there were only a little over a hundred of them, it still made his heart tighten. He had fought many battles against the Tartars in Dongjiang and knew that these armored men were the main force of the Tartars, second only to the White-Armored Soldiers, Bayara.
The Later Jin dynasty implemented the Eight Banners system, where all able-bodied men were soldiers in wartime and civilians in peacetime, achieving universal conscription and giving its army formidable combat power. Its most basic organization was the Niru, a social organization combining production and military functions. In principle, each Niru consisted of 300 men, with the elite among them being those qualified to wear two to three layers of armor, generally called armored men. Depending on their wartime roles and combat skills, they could be divided into infantry armored men and cavalry armored men, forming the main force of the Later Jin army.
Before the Qing army entered the pass, the Eight Banners were at their peak in terms of combat power. In addition, the Ming army was rotten to the core. Apart from a few generals' personal guards, ordinary soldiers had no fighting spirit. It was not a problem for one armored soldier to deal with three, five, or even ten ordinary Ming soldiers. It was not uncommon for a few hundred armored soldiers to drive away tens of thousands of Ming soldiers.
Kong Lianshun and his bandits had been chased by the cavalry for four days and three nights, and both men and horses were exhausted. Meanwhile, the Jin army was full of energy, and with the tide of battle turning, they quickly caught up.
Hearing the rumbling hooves getting closer and closer behind them, Kong Lianshun gritted his teeth and shouted, "Brothers, the Tartars are coming! Our horses are no match for theirs, and we'll be overtaken sooner or later. Let's turn back and fight! There are nearly a thousand of us, and we refuse to believe we can't defeat these hundred or so men."
The bandit group, originally numbering nearly two thousand, had been relentlessly pursued by the cavalry and then ambushed by the Mongols, reducing its numbers to half. Even so, they still outnumbered the pursuers by almost ten to a standstill, giving them an absolute numerical advantage.
The numerical advantage gave the bandits some confidence. Dragging their weary bodies, they raised their sabers, shouted loudly, and turned to meet the armored soldiers.
The leader, a Niru Ejen, grinned maliciously and raised his dagger, saying to his men, "These Nikans are truly courting death! Charge! Cut off their heads and hand them over to Lord Gartu!"
More than a hundred armored soldiers yelled and brandished their weapons, charging into the bandit ranks like a whirlwind. The two sides collided with a loud bang.
In terms of individual soldier quality, the Later Jin soldiers were all hunters from the Changbai Mountains and Heilongjiang River region. They did nothing but hunt except eat and sleep, and were constantly fighting. Naturally, they were much better than the bandits who only worked sporadically. In addition, one side was well-rested and the other was exhausted. The outcome of this battle was destined from the very beginning.
Although the soldiers were few in number, they were fearless and slaughtered the bandits as easily as cutting melons and vegetables. Various weapons, such as daggers, spiked clubs, and short axes, reaped lives. Blood and flesh scraps flew in the air, and screams were continuous. Apart from veterans from Dongjiang like Kong Lianshun, many bandits were no match for the soldiers.
Abatai and Gartu watched the battle from afar, their eyes filled with disdain.
"Is this the formidable Ming army you mentioned?" Abatai asked Arslen, his nostrils flaring.
Arslan shook his head: "Your Highness is wise. Although I don't know the relationship between this cavalry and the Ming army we just met, they are not the same group. The truly formidable one is the cavalry in front who are using short guns."
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Note 1: Gushan Ezhen is a Manchu word. In Chinese, it means the military and political leader of a banner. He manages the banner's population, production, education, training, and other affairs. He is subordinate to the banner lord and has a very high power and status in the Later Jin political system, second only to the banner lord.