Chapter 1044: Come On, Let's Go Home
Northeast of Changping City.
Ma Shouying unrolled a perimeter map, hastily sketched by a scout from a hot air balloon not long ago.
The drawing was crude, more like a child's scrawl.
Yet, everything important was clearly marked.
He spread the map out for his key generals to see.
"Look closely, everyone, our current position is here... The Qing forces, escorting the people of Changping, are here... They have many civilians with them, their feet bound with ropes, so they're not moving quickly."
Ma Shouying continued, "Therefore, by the time we move from here to here, they should be at this spot."
He jabbed his finger firmly at a point on the map.
His generals responded in unison, "Understood!"
"The moment their scouts spot us, everyone must ride like hell," Ma Shouying boomed. "We must arrive before their commanding officer, simultaneously with their own scouts."
The generals acknowledged, "Yes, sir!"
Ma Shouying asked, "As for what to do after we charge in, I shouldn't need to tell you, should I?"
The generals cried out, "Kill, kill, kill! Take out their leader as fast as possible, don't give him a chance to use the civilians as human shields!"
"Good!" Ma Shouying waved his hand. "Attack!" —
Five hundred Qing forces, herding tens of thousands of Changping civilians, were crawling northeastward at a snail's pace.
The Qing commander was cautious, as they were deep within Ming territory.
Ming forces could ambush them at any moment, so he had his scouts spread wide, strictly ordering them to report any disturbance immediately.
The journey so far seemed safe enough.
Yanshou Town was just ahead... once past Yanshou Town and over Mount Dahei, they would enter a relatively secure region, and these tens of thousands of Changping civilians would safely become Qing slaves.
Bringing back so many slaves at once would greatly boost Qing productivity.
He was reveling in this pleasant dream when, suddenly, a thunderous rumble of hooves erupted.
The Qing commander jumped in alarm. He whipped his head around, looking towards the sound, and saw his own scouts galloping wildly in front, rushing towards him, roaring as they rode: "Enemy attack, enemy attack! Ming cavalry! Damn it, they're too fast, too fast... I can't shake them!"
Seeing this scene, the Qing commander was completely dumbfounded.
What the hell? The scouts arrived, and the enemy arrived at the same time?
Since when were Ming forces so fierce? Their marching speed so incredible?
No, no, that wasn't the problem. How did the enemy accurately intercept them without their own scouts detecting their movements? Damn it!
In that brief moment, the Qing commander's mind nearly shut down.
The leading Ming general, nocking an arrow to his bow, took aim at the scout ahead and fired. It was an incredibly precise shot, striking the scout directly in the back. The scout toppled from his horse.
The next instant, the Ming forces were upon them.
The Qing commander finally snapped back to reality. He opened his mouth, intending to loudly order his men to use the civilians as meat shields, but it was already too late.
The Ming general who had just shot the arrow was already before him, his long spear raised.
The Qing commander’s heart pounded. He swallowed the command that had been on the tip of his tongue and parried with his own spear.
Clang!
Their spears clashed, an even match, as they rode past each other, turning their horses.
The Ming general suddenly pulled back, drawing a curved saber from his waist. This uniquely curved blade was not standard for Han cavalry; it was a saber favored by Hui cavalry!
The blade gleamed like a crescent moon.
As they turned their horses, the curved saber swept backward with a powerful motion.
The Qing commander felt a sharp pain in his back; the tip of the blade had pierced him.
*What in the world, where did such a formidable Ming general come from?* The Qing commander’s last thought before falling from his horse was, *This isn’t an ordinary officer; he must be a top border general. I can’t believe the Ming still have such capable border generals? Why have I never heard of him before?*
The Ming general who had struck him down was indeed Ma Shouying. After killing the enemy commander, he didn't hesitate, continuing his wild charge like a blade slicing through the Qing forces. With a long spear in his right hand and a curved saber in his left, he cut down everyone in his path.
He slaughtered them indiscriminately!
Behind him, the Hui cavalry surged forward, instantly separating the Qing soldiers from the civilians.
It quickly devolved into a battle of two thousand five hundred cavalry against five hundred infantry, a completely one-sided fight.
Hundreds of civilians watched in terror, trembling, afraid of being caught in the horrific battle. They huddled together, crouching on the ground, doing their best to avoid drawing the attention of either army.
After an unknown period...
The civilians heard the sounds of battle gradually cease. Slowly, cautiously, they raised their heads. All they saw were Qing soldiers lying dead across the ground, and a large contingent of strange cavalry wielding curved sabers stood before them.
The civilians were gripped by fear. *These don't look like Ming soldiers. Where did these people come from? What do they want with us?*
Ma Shouying let out a long sigh and raised his curved saber.
A rope tied to one of the civilians' feet was severed in two by his blade.
Ma Shouying wanted to say something eloquent, but the words wouldn't come. He had only been with Gao Family Village for a short time and wasn't as adept at managing public relations as the other Gao Family Village generals, so in this situation, he found himself at a loss for words.
After a long moment, he snorted coolly and curtly stated, "Come on, let's go home."
His subordinates quickly followed suit, brandishing their sabers to cut the ropes from the civilians, then, imitating their leader, they told them, "Go home!"
The civilians were bewildered for a while, then finally understood: this group of people was benevolent; they just weren't very good with words.
Cheers finally erupted.
These tens of thousands of people had just endured the horrors of their city being breached by Qing forces, their capture, and being herded like livestock. Everyone had believed they were doomed, certain to die far from home, never to return to their native land, only to perish tragically as slaves in the north.
Yet, unexpectedly, they had been rescued so quickly.
Surviving such a calamity, many cried, and many laughed.
"We're going back to Changping!"
"Can we go back to Changping now? When we left, the Qing were still guarding it."
Ma Shouying replied, "You can go back now. The Qing forces have withdrawn. Hurry home."
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