Chapter 365: Someone's Circling Around
Padi Tu’s unconventional move truly opened up new possibilities for the militia.
Zheng Gouzi and the others quickly grabbed pre-packed bundles of explosives, lit the fuses, and, once halfway burned, tossed them randomly towards the riverbank. A continuous roar of explosions erupted, sending the rebel forces on the shore screaming in terror.
While the explosions themselves inflicted limited casualties, their psychological impact was profound. The rebel vessels, startled by the blasts, dared not approach the shore for a crucial moment. The border army soldiers who had desperately charged ashore earlier were now isolated. After enduring a barrage of explosions and arrows for a while, they couldn't withstand it any longer. They were forced to retreat, half their bodies submerged in the water. Some even clung to the gunwales of their boats, only their heads visible above the surface, shielded by their bucklers, the rest of their bodies submerged.
The rebel assault briefly stalled.
Witnessing this, Bai Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Disciplined, by-the-book soldiers would never think of throwing gunpowder from cannon shells by hand. Only someone with Padi Tu's flair for the unconventional would have such flexible thinking. This fellow, despite his usual antics, always seemed to deliver in unexpected ways during critical moments.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a retainer beside him offered a rifled musket. “My lord, your musket is reloaded.”
Bai Yuan was truly unique among musketeers. While others had to reload their own weapons, he had evolved. He simply fired, then casually handed his musket to a retainer to reload, never dirtying his own hands. Grinning, he took the musket, aimed at a border army captain's head bobbing in the water, and *boom*! After firing, he handed the musket back to his retainer with a flourish. "Reload it."
The retainer observed, "My lord, that last shot missed. Should the art of archery be struck from your list?"
The retainer simply blinked.
As the group was chatting, a sudden roar from Feng Jun, who was standing atop the tall watchtower, pierced the air: "Disaster! Look north! Look north!"
Bai Yuan spun his head towards the sound, only to see a group of marauders actually scaling the riverbank to the north—a section without stockade walls or militia guards. That stretch of the river was all steep cliffs and swift currents, unsuitable for landing, so the militia hadn't bothered to guard it. Yet, somehow, the marauders had managed to climb it.
It turned out that Bai Yuzhu wasn't foolish. While attacking the Qichuan Ferry, he had dispatched a team of hardened bandits skilled in climbing to land further north along the sheer cliff face. They then risked their lives, scaling the treacherous rock to reach the top.
Naturally, not many bandits could make such a climb, nor could they carry much in the way of useful weapons or wear armor. They were all lightly equipped, carrying only sabers and, at most, a small, portable leather buckler or a pot lid. Such a lightly armed, small contingent would have no effect whatsoever against regular Ming or Qing troops, but it dealt a significant blow to the morale of the Heyang County militia!
The Heyang County militia was worlds apart from the Gao Family Village Militia in terms of training. As long as they defended behind the wooden stockade walls already built along the dock, they could put up a decent fight. But the moment they discovered the enemy had breached their defenses and landed from the flank, their spirits instantly plummeted into disarray.
Their formation shattered!
Many militia soldiers didn't know which way to face. Should they confront the riverbank, or this new group of hardened bandits who had just scaled the cliff?
The arrows aimed at the riverbank visibly decreased, immediately easing the pressure on the rebel forces. Masses of boats surged towards the shore once more, and the marauders, raising their shields and pot lids, swiftly leaped onto the riverbank.
Feng Jun cried out in alarm, "Mr. Bai, quick, think of something!"
Bai Yuan chuckled, snapping open his fan with a flourish. "Lord Feng, there's no need to fret."
No sooner had he spoken than the thunder of hooves echoed across the land. The cavalry battalion, which had been observing from a mile or so behind, had moved.
Zao Ying led the charge, her horse thundering at the front.
Zao Ying's equipment was vastly different now compared to when she first joined Gao Family Village. Adorned in mountain-pattern armor, she presented a truly imposing sight. A Kaiyuan bow was slung across her back, and a long spear was gripped in her right hand, while her left held the reins. Her appearance, galloping furiously on horseback, was an utterly dashing spectacle. It was a slight shame that for her, one could only use "dashing" rather than "beautiful" as an adjective.
"Drive them back into the river!" Zao Ying roared, charging towards the lightly equipped bandits.
Hearing the thunder of hooves, the bandits turned their heads, instantly terrified out of their wits. Three hundred cavalrymen were bearing down on them! What in the world... how could this be? This tiny Heyang County had cannons, bombs, and even cavalry? What kind of hellish place was this?
The cavalry swept in like a gale. The bandits had barely formed that thought in their minds when Zao Ying was upon them, swinging her long spear. With a sickening thud, the spear punched through the foremost bandit, leaving him cold.
Her seasoned subordinates, skilled horsemen, were just as swift, following up with a spear thrust of their own....
One subordinate cried out, "Damn it, my spear flew from my grasp!"
It turned out that after thrusting his spear into a bandit, the body became impaled on the shaft, and he couldn't pull it back in time. With the horse's rapid charge, there was no time for a slow retrieve. The horse's forward momentum carried it, and the man's long spear flew from his grip.
Zao Ying turned back, her voice sharp with anger. "What was that?"
The subordinate replied awkwardly, "I'm used to fighting with sabers. This is my first real combat with a spear, and I lost my grip." As he spoke, he swiftly drew a gleaming saber from his waist; he still preferred using a blade.
Zao Ying could only stare.
Using a saber made him no different from an ordinary horse bandit, robbing him of the devastating reach of a cavalry charge with a spear. Zao Ying raged, "Go back and practice it ten thousand more times!"
Despite the minor hiccup, the cavalry's advantage over lightly armed infantry was simply too immense. The cavalry battalion swept through the marauders like a tempest, their long spears and sabers stabbing and hacking, sending the bandits wailing in panic.
The bandits who had scaled the cliff were few in number, even fewer than the cavalry. They stood no chance of turning the tide.
The remaining bandits shrieked and leaped back down the cliff.
Below them, the mighty Yellow River surged. They hit the water with a splash, kicking up a yellow spray, and resurfaced after a moment, as the marauders on the river scrambled to rescue them.
Zao Ying pulled her horse to a halt at the cliff edge. Beside her, one hundred and twenty horse bandits lined the cliff edge, their horses prancing, spears held at the ready, sneering down at the marauders below.
After a few chuckles, she suddenly felt something was amiss. The numbers seemed a bit low?
She whirled her head around. Several yards behind her stood another one hundred and eighty cavalrymen—not Zao Ying's seasoned horse bandit veterans, but fresh recruits enlisted after joining Gao Family Village. They hadn't approached the cliff edge, cowering nervously, wanting to come closer but not daring to.
Zao Ying demanded, "What are you doing? We've won! Come join us and mock the enemy!"
The group responded with embarrassed expressions. "Our horsemanship isn't quite good enough yet. We're a bit scared of getting too close to the cliff. What if our mounts got spooked and dragged us over the edge?"
Zao Ying roared, "Useless! From now on, you'll eat, sleep, and breathe in the saddle!"
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