Chapter 46: The Fall of the General Star
At the Yuan army’s main camp north of Jinan city, Chaghan Temür frowned as the thunderous beating of drums echoed outside. “You few, go investigate why the Ming army in the south is making such a commotion.”
A messenger entered the central command tent and reported, “Taiqi, the Ming forces are fully mobilized and advancing toward our army, less than ten li away.”
A worried Mongol officer with a braid spoke up, “Taiqi, the Ming come with ill intent. The commander Kuokuo has taken a hundred thousand cavalry with him. With such overwhelming force, I fear they have uncovered our secret. Perhaps we should retreat and avoid their spearhead.”
Chaghan Temür laughed, “The barbarians are becoming more and more like the Han. Do you know what you lack most? It is the courage innate to us Mongols. Xu Da has only eighteen soldiers; I still command one hundred ninety thousand. Even if he has uncovered something, what of it?”
“If you lack the courage to face the enemy head-on, you might as well hide within the capital and wait for the Ming to come knocking. The Yuan Dynasty is like a patient at death’s door—knowing death is certain but lacking the courage even to take medicine. All that remains is to await death.”
Drawing his curved sword from his waist, Chaghan Temür shouted at the messenger, “Relay my order: the entire army shall march south. What was a feint attack shall now become a full assault.”
“Only with a formidable adversary like Xu Da does such a chaotic era become truly interesting.”
Nearly four hundred thousand troops arrayed themselves beneath the walls of Jinan, the two armies separated by barely two li.
Xu Da looked toward Chaghan Temür, who returned his gaze.
From afar, Chaghan Temür smiled and called out, “Xu Da, you have never bested me. Your beloved son-in-law, the Prince of Qin, is soon to be my son-in-law as well. For his sake, I promise to spare your life if I capture you alive.”
Xu Da’s grip on his long sword trembled with anger, but his face broke into a smile. “Old fool, spare me your empty words. We shall see the truth under steel and blade.”
“Relay my command: full assault!”
The drums of the Ming army thundered as the Yuan horns blared in response.
The elite forces of the Ming and Yuan collided directly.
The Yuan cavalry surged forth en masse, arrows falling like rain.
The Ming front line, holding swords and shields in tight formation, saw many in the rear ranks struck and fall to arrows, but fresh troops continuously filled their places.
Approaching the spear formation, the Yuan iron cavalry split into two columns, flanking the sides and drawing curved swords. The thunder of ten thousand horses made the earth quake beneath their hooves.
The hundred thousand Ming infantry fixed their gaze on the command flag, gripping their spears with unwavering resolve. When the Yuan cavalry closed to within two hundred paces, Xu Da gave the order, and from behind the front line of swords and shields emerged nearly two thousand arquebusiers. They loaded their firearms, ignited the fuses.
With a thunderous roar, gunpowder exploded, a cloud of smoke billowed, and the Yuan iron cavalry at the forefront struck an invisible iron wall, horses stumbling and riders falling. Many Yuan riders behind were tripped and fell as well.
The unstoppable momentum of the Yuan cavalry faltered. At Xu Da’s command, sixty Hongwu cannons and two hundred Tiger Squatting cannons fired simultaneously.
Iron solid cannonballs whistled through the air, crashing into the ground and exploding into deep craters. The Yuan infantry front ranks were thrown into chaos, countless dead and wounded.
After three volleys, the once tightly knit Yuan formation split open. Xu Da sought to exploit the breach, but suddenly a deafening explosion erupted within his own artillery ranks. A messenger arrived weeping, “General, the cannon barrels have overheated and cannot fire. Twenty-three Hongwu cannons have burst, killing over a hundred brothers.”
Xu Da sighed in frustration—this was the limit of cannon manufacturing in their era. He did not know that by the late Ming, cannons could burst after firing just once.
“Relay my order: the entire army charges straight at Chaghan’s central command.”
After months of skirmishes, the two commanders, evenly matched, decisively abandoned ornate tactics and chose raw, brutal melee.
Under the leadership of Chang Yuchun, the Ming cavalry surged forward with unstoppable momentum, charging directly at the Yuan center. The Ming spear formation spread out in a line like a forest of spears, advancing relentlessly.
The Ming swords and shields soldiers shouted, “Long live the Great Ming!”
They charged into the Yuan infantry formation. At the forefront, Chang Yuchun rode boldly into the fray, wielding his horse spear like a god of war. Each swing felled a Yuan general from his mount.
With a fierce shout, his spear swept horizontally; several Yuan soldiers raised their shields to block. The heavy spearhead smashed their iron-bound wooden shields to splinters, killing them instantly.
Behind Chang Yuchun, a Yuan general struck down with twin curved swords. Without turning his head, Chang Yuchun jabbed the butt of his spear backward, the smooth tail piercing through the general’s leather armor and out his back.
A shake of his spear, and the Yuan general died, collapsing from his horse.
Amidst tens of thousands of troops, Chang Yuchun’s horse faced no equal. He moved as if through a ghostly realm.
In moments, the Ming cavalry had advanced hundreds of meters deep into the dense Yuan ranks.
Chaghan Temür at the center noticed him and exclaimed, “There truly exists such unmatched courage in this world.”
With a wave of his hand, the Yuan army drew their bows, aiming a thousand arrows at Chang Yuchun.
Blue Jade, fighting beside Chang Yuchun, shouted hurriedly, “Brother-in-law, dodge!”
Thousands of arrows rained from the sky. Battlefield instinct took hold of Chang Yuchun; he twisted his body to hide behind his horse. Blue Jade raised his shield before him. Chang Mao rolled and grabbed a fallen Yuan soldier’s corpse, holding it before his chest as a shield.
The warhorse, like a porcupine, was riddled with over a hundred arrows.
The horse staggered; Chang Yuchun vaulted onto the mount of a nearby Yuan soldier, seizing the enemy’s neck and twisting hard.
The Yuan soldier’s neck relaxed, and he fell lifeless. Chang Yuchun drew the curved sword of the Yuan soldier and cut through the enemy ranks like a killing god, his eyes fixed solely on Chaghan Temür’s command platform.
He silently counted, “Five hundred paces.”
Seeing Chang Yuchun charging straight at him, Chaghan Temür immediately ordered his guards to form a shield wall.
A dozen Yuan soldiers thrust long spears at Chang Yuchun. He sidestepped, caught a spear tip under his arm, and despite the enemy’s desperate pulling, he held firm.
Gripping the curved sword low, he swung with great force, blood spraying.
A dozen Yuan soldiers had their necks sliced through.
A Yuan general raised a wolf-tooth mace to strike down, but Chang Yuchun seized a lasso and trapped the general’s neck. With a hard pull, he flung the general like a meteor, spinning twice before crashing him into Yuan soldiers.
The row of shields before the Yuan commander was broken apart by the flying general, crushing several men on the spot.
He murmured, “Two hundred paces.”
Chang Yuchun bent his bow on horseback, turned the horse, and shot three arrows in rapid succession—each like thunderbolt streaking across the sky. One struck the Yuan general Da Du, another hit Chaghan Temür in the shoulder, and a third flew toward Suluting, the Yuan emperor’s representative.
Da Du collapsed. Chaghan Temür fell softly to the ground, his shoulder pierced by an arrow. Suluting fell as well, his spear shattered in two.
At this moment, Chang Yuchun lay flat on his horse’s back, his lively spirit dimming as he gazed at the setting sun.
His last words whispered, “If Heaven would grant me one more month, how glorious it would be to capture the Yuan emperor alive.”
Blue Jade, holding Chang Yuchun’s gradually cooling hand, looked at his lifeless brother-in-law, tears streaming down his face. Having lost his father young, Chang Yuchun was not just a brother-in-law but a father figure who taught him martial arts and strategy.
Blue Jade silently vowed, “Brother-in-law, I, Lan Xiao’er, will bring the Yuan emperor to your spirit.”
He handed the reins of Chang Yuchun’s horse to the speechless Chang Mao.
Picking up Chang Yuchun’s horse spear from the ground, wiping away his tears, he mounted his horse and shouted to the surrounding Ming soldiers, “Men, we cannot allow the Yuan dogs to desecrate the general’s body. Follow me, draw swords, mount horses, and carve a bloody path to bring our general home!”
“Long live the general!”
“Long live the general!”
“Long live the general!”
The Ming cavalry, eyes bloodshot, charged toward the Yuan center. One Ming soldier’s horse collided with a Yuan rider, throwing him to the ground. Despite a broken arm, he bit fiercely at the Yuan soldier’s neck, blood dripping through clenched teeth. He had no breath left. The Yuan soldier beneath him was also lifeless.
“Long live the Great Ming!”
“Long live the Great Yuan!”
“Long live the Great Ming!”
“Long live the Great Yuan!”
Xu Da, commanding the central army, watched the battlefield churn like a meat grinder, feeling no hint of triumph.
The Ming brought forth massive bowl-mouthed cannons. After one round of fire, the Yuan front lines were shattered, corpses torn apart. Yuan catapults hurled huge stones, each impact causing countless casualties.