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Chapter 1071: So Formidable

A roar of battle cries erupted from the distance beyond the village, an immense sound, at least ten thousand voices bellowing in unison.

Meng Hu and Du Hu were playing for keeps this time. Over ten thousand of their men charged forward, a unified wave of destruction.

Their initial move was to raise their voices in a deafening roar, hoping to intimidate the Prince of Tang's Guards.

And indeed, the tactic proved remarkably effective.

The rebel army hadn't even arrived, yet the sheer roar alone had terrified the Prince of Tang's Guards.

There were only a little over a thousand of them, and barely two hundred were proper, disciplined guards; the remaining thousand-plus were hired mercenaries. To call them a ragtag bunch wouldn't be an exaggeration. As soon as they heard the overwhelming might of the rebel army, half of the Prince of Tang's Guards were already in disarray, even before battle was joined.

The commander, having just managed to wipe the pallor from his face, frantically rushed to Zhu Yujian's side, exclaiming, "Your Highness, the rebel army is too strong; we cannot possibly resist them! Our best course of action is to retreat to Nanyang immediately!"

Zhu Yujian was furious. "Our army has just left Nanyang City, and we haven't even engaged the Manchu invaders yet!" he thundered. "How can we simply retreat to Nanyang now?"

The commander retorted, "To fight the Manchu invaders, Your Highness, we first need to survive long enough to even reach the capital!"

In the short time it took for these few words to be exchanged, a small portion of their ragtag mercenaries had already begun to slip away. Some scurried into the ditches behind the village, while others darted into the woods beyond. The scene was utter chaos.

Zhu Yujian exclaimed, "What? How can this be happening?"

Just then, Zhu Yujian suddenly noticed that Bai Yuan's men remained perfectly orderly.

Each member of this "militia" had a calm, resolute expression, utterly unlike his own panicked soldiers, who were scrambling around like headless flies.

They all stood firm, their eyes fixed on Bai Yuan, awaiting orders.

Bai Yuan simply waved his hand. "Prepare for battle," he commanded.

Only then did the men swiftly disperse with a practiced ease.

Some ran to abandoned villagers' huts, quickly retrieving flintlock rifles from within. Others rummaged through nearby bushes, pulling out a flintlock rifle. Still others reached into tree hollows, also producing a flintlock rifle...

In the blink of an eye, every man was armed with a long flintlock rifle.

Then, in another swift moment, they dashed to their designated positions throughout the village.

A large group clambered up the small hill beside the village.

A group climbed onto rooftops, lying prone and aiming their flintlock rifles.

A group hunkered down behind the village's picket fence.

...

They seemed to know exactly where they should be stationed, without a hint of confusion. It was clear that each man's position had been meticulously predetermined.

Their voices echoed from the distance, crisp and organized: "Xiaolangdi Militia, Fifth Battalion, has taken defensive positions! Sixth Battalion, deployed! Seventh Battalion, in position! Eighth Battalion, in position!"

The chorus of voices eventually quieted. All the militia soldiers fell silent, settling into a state of unwavering readiness for battle.

Only the Prince of Tang's Guards were still milling about, making a commotion and shouting like a group of fools.

This was a stark example of how comparison breeds discomfort.

Prince Zhu Yujian stood utterly bewildered. "Who... who are these formidable people?" he murmured.

The commander, who had just recovered his composure, was now utterly petrified. "Thank goodness we didn't clash with this militia," he stammered, "If we had truly come to blows, we wouldn't have stood a chance against them."

Bai Yuan smiled faintly. "Your Highness," he said, "let your men stay and guard the center of the village, and watch mine fight this first round."

Zhu Yujian nodded dumbly.

"They're here! The rebel vanguard is within range!" someone shouted.

"Not yet," a calm voice countered. "Hold fire, let more of them come into range."

"Hold fire a little longer," another voice added. "They think this is the Prince of Tang's Guards, so they're unprepared for flintlock rifles. Hold fire, and the results will be even better."

Watching the surging mass of ten thousand rebels charge forward, the militia soldiers showed no fear, not even eager to open fire.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Yujian was secretly astonished. What incredible discipline! he thought. If these were my men, when the rebels were halfway to them, someone would surely have lost patience and fired arrows. But this militia before me, when they say 'don't open fire,' they don't open fire; not a single soldier acted without orders.

Not until the rebel army was very close did the battalion commander, in charge of the frontline, let out a sudden roar: "Open fire!"

"Open fire!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A deafening volley of flintlock fire erupted. Silent as mutes moments before, the entire force now unleashed a continuous, crackling barrage, like beans popping frantically in a hot pan.

The vanguard of the rebel army, their fiercest bandits, fell in swathes instantly.

Meng Hu was greatly alarmed. "Damn it, we've fallen into a trap!" he roared.

Du Hu cursed, "We thought it was the Prince of Tang's Guards, but it turns out to be that flintlock unit!"

"Damn it!" Meng Hu yelled, "We're trapped, run!"

Meng Hu and Du Hu instantly pivoted from charging to retreating.

The rebel soldiers were like a tide, surging onto the beach, then immediately receding back into the sea.

At this moment, the tactical wisdom of the militia's "held fire" strategy became strikingly evident.

The rebel army had been drawn in too close. Now, trying to retreat, it wouldn't be easy to escape the flintlock rifles' deadly range. Some, while running, were shot in the back and collapsed to the ground.

Others scrambled away, rolling and crawling. Seeing those next to them fall, shot, they no longer dared to stand and run, only slowly crawling on the ground.

Some didn't even dare to crawl, lying prostrate on the ground, completely motionless, shouting, "Mercy! I surrender, I surrender!"

It didn't take long. Meng Hu and Du Hu retreated, leaving hundreds of corpses and hundreds of surrendered rebels on the ground.

Bai Yuan waved his hand. "Go count the casualties," he instructed, "clear the battlefield, and take the surrendered back for labor reform."

"Understood!"

The militia soldiers quickly set about their tasks.

Zhu Yujian watched, dumbfounded. His own Prince of Tang's Guards were equally wide-eyed. All of them, like stunned fools, simply stared blankly as the Gao Family Village Militia handled the aftermath and cleared the battlefield.

At this point, the refugees in the village also poked their heads out of their homes. After surveying the situation outside, these refugees were utterly shocked and terrified.

The refugees who had just been unwilling to move now scrambled towards the militia soldiers, grabbing their forearms and asking, "Have the bandits already attacked our village?"

"Yes!" a militia soldier replied. "As you can see, these bandits could return at any moment."

The refugees were thoroughly frightened. "Honorable soldier, please take us with you!" they pleaded. "We are willing to go with you to Luoyang now!"

The militia soldier chuckled. "Don't call me 'honorable soldier'; it sounds so old-fashioned!" he said. "You can call me 'young man' or 'handsome lad,' that's perfectly fine."

Given such a clear choice, only a fool would opt for 'young man'.

The refugees quickly said, "Handsome lad, please take us to Luoyang!"

The militia soldier's face broke into a wide grin. "Ah, my handsome and dashing face was finally discovered by you," he quipped.

Of the remaining villagers, not a single one dared to stay in the village any longer.

Bai Yuan's "community outreach" had finally succeeded. Taking a large group of captives and an entire village of refugees, he clasped his hands towards Zhu Yujian. "Your Highness," he said, "the matters in this village are concluded. I must now proceed to the next village to assist the refugees."

Zhu Yujian now admired Bai Yuan wholeheartedly. He couldn't help but sigh, "Master Bai, your militia is truly formidable. If you were to march to the capital to support the emperor, where would the arrogant Manchu invaders find any room to flaunt their power?"