Chapter 804: Beware Their Muskets
The Wushen tribe leader surged forward with his people, immediately clashing with the Ordos.
Clearly, the Wushen were outnumbered. They had only seven or eight hundred warriors, while the Ordos boasted over fifteen hundred.
The Wushen leader cursed silently, thinking, *If we hadn't lost over four hundred men at Wangjia Fork, I wouldn't fear you, Ordos...*
But there was no medicine for regret in the world, and no "what ifs" in battle.
They had no choice but to push through, head-on.
The two armies let out a primal roar, preparing for a head-on charge.
Just then...
From the southern grasslands, two scouts galloped forth simultaneously. One belonged to the Wushen tribe, the other to the Ordos. Normally, these two would have fought on sight, but to everyone's surprise, they rode side-by-side, incredibly fast, shouting as they came: "Don't fight, don't fight! The Han people are here! The Han people are here!"
At the mention of the Han people, both tribes truly ceased their preparations.
"Han cavalry! A thousand! A thousand horsemen!"
Both scouts reported simultaneously: "They appear to be subordinates of Yansui Regional Commander Shi Jian."
Hearing the name Shi Jian, the Wushen leader flew into a rage. "That's the scoundrel! He's the one who killed our men last time. How dare he come to the grasslands?"
On the other side, the Ordos leader had never heard of him. "A Ming Regional Commander? They're all weaklings, not worth mentioning. Do they dare seek death on the grasslands? Haha!"
The Wushen leader suddenly roared at him, "Ordos, let's fight the Han people together! After we're done, we can settle our own scores, what do you say?"
The Ordos leader agreed, "Good!"
The discussion was swift and direct, devoid of any pretense or theatrics.
The two tribes instantly transformed from being on the brink of battle to becoming allies. Such a rapid shift was indeed remarkable.
They both looked south, where a cavalry unit appeared on the grassland. Not many men, just about a thousand, flying three banners. One read "Yansui Regional Commander Shi," and the other two, "Yansui Company Commander Zao," and "Yansui Company Commander Zheng."
Displaying three large banners for a total force of a thousand men struck a somewhat comical note.
The Ordos leader understood immediately: "The Regional Commander brought two Company Commanders, but both of them are embezzling salaries, so each only has five hundred men. Together, that's just a thousand."
Such practices were standard operating procedure for the Ming army, not at all surprising!
The Ordos leader bellowed, "Sons of the grasslands, charge! Slaughter the Ming army! Their weapons and armor, whoever seizes them, keeps them!"
The Mongol soldiers roared, "Awooo! Awooo!"
The Wushen leader cautioned, "Be careful! Their muskets seem very powerful. We suffered losses because of their muskets last time."
The Ordos leader scoffed, "I've only ever heard of Ming infantry using muskets. I've never seen cavalry with any impressive muskets. At best, they'd be using Three-Eyed Arquebuses on horseback, and those are incredibly weak, hardly worth mentioning."
The Wushen leader hesitated, "Uh... it seems you might be right."
"Charge!"
The Ordos leader was done with talk; it was time to charge.
The Wushen leader echoed, "Charge!"
The two Mongol cavalry units simultaneously surged toward the "Ming army."
This "Ming army," of course, was Zao Ying's Cavalry Battalion.
Upon seeing the Mongol forces charge, the cavalry battalion felt a touch of apprehension.
Mongol cavalry were renowned throughout the land.
The men of the Gao Family Village Cavalry Battalion held a certain reverence for the Mongol horsemen, knowing their own archery and horsemanship were far inferior. Fortunately... the Gao Family Village soldiers didn't use bows.
The cavalrymen's minds flashed with their standard training drills. Then, with a swift motion, they drew their cavalry muskets.
These muskets also utilized breech-loading technology, but their barrels were a full thirty centimeters shorter than the infantry muskets. Naturally, their range was also significantly reduced, designed primarily for ease of use on horseback.
Facing the charging Mongol soldiers, the Gao Family Village troops anxiously began loading.
One soldier's hand
trembled, and a bullet fell to the ground. On horseback, one couldn't bend down to retrieve it, so he had no choice but to waste a bullet and grab another.
Seeing this, Zao Ying couldn't help but laugh and scold loudly, "What are you panicking for? Stick to your training, fire steadily, don't be afraid!"
"Click-clack!" went the sound of a bullet sliding into the chamber.
The thousand cavalrymen quickly finished loading all their bullets...
The Mongol cavalry, swift as the wind, had already closed to within two or three hundred meters.
"Within range, fire!"
At Zao Ying's command, the cavalry battalion opened fire.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Puffs of blue smoke rose from the short muskets...
Interestingly, although their muskets were short, they were, after all, breech-loading rifled firearms. They fired much farther than the incredibly long, smoothbore bird guns used by the Ming army.
The Ordos cavalry, charging at the very front, instantly fell in swathes.
The Ordos leader was shocked. "What? Muskets used on horseback aren't Three-Eyed Arquebuses? They can shoot that far?"
The Wushen leader's heart tightened. "Damn it, it's just as I feared."
After firing one round, the cavalry quickly began reloading. But seeing the Mongol cavalry rapidly closing in, the militia horsemen felt a surge of panic.
Zao Ying laughed and scolded, "Why are you loading while standing still? We're cavalry! Get moving! Reload while running!"
"Move!"
The inexperienced cavalrymen finally understood. They quickly reined in their warhorses and galloped backward, their feet gripping the stirrups, using their core strength to clamp their horses' flanks, maintaining their balance. Both hands were free, frantically loading bullets.
The speed of their retreat, of course, couldn't match a full-speed charge, but it was enough to maintain a considerable distance from the Mongol cavalry.
Later, a practical math problem was assigned to the middle school students of Gao Family Village's Thirty-Two Middle School: "The Gao Family Village militia is running at 50 kilometers per hour, 200 meters ahead of the Mongol cavalry. The Mongol cavalry is chasing at 70 kilometers per hour. How long will it take for them to catch up?"
Zheng Daniu couldn't even begin to calculate such a difficult problem, but he knew the answer would definitely be much longer than it took him to reload his musket.
In a flash, he had already loaded a bullet. He turned and casually fired his musket.
"Bang!"
The closest pursuing Mongol cavalryman fell from his horse, dead.
Zheng Daniu burst into laughter. "Not only am I good at throwing grenades, I'm great with a musket too!"
Zao Ying playfully teased, "You're so mighty, Daniu!"
Shi Jian grumbled, "Damn numbskulls, stop being lovebirds on the battlefield!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The cavalrymen continued to fire backward as they galloped, and before long, the Ordos tribe had suffered heavy losses.
The Ordos leader's mind was reeling. "What's happening? These Han people..."
The Wushen leader interjected, "I told you to be careful of their muskets! We can't chase them anymore, we can't! If our men chase them, they just become targets, and if they chase again, they become targets again!"
The Ordos leader roared, "Dammit, stop chasing! Halt!"
Both Mongol cavalry units stopped simultaneously.
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