Chapter 48: The Hammer King

Zhu Shuang and his men spurred their horses into Shanxi territory. Soon, a scout reported that a unit of Yuan cavalry was tailing them closely.

Glancing at the strategic Niangzi Pass ahead, Zhu Shuang turned to Zhu Wenzheng beside him and ordered, "Have the entire army set up an ambush in the mountains, bombard Niangzi Pass, and lure the pursuing Yuan forces right into our trap."

It had to be said that Zhu Wenzheng was a versatile talent. He grasped the plan instantly, deployed troops along both sides of the mountains, and had Zhang Yu position three artillery pieces before Niangzi Pass for rotational shelling.

The meager Yuan garrison stationed inside Niangzi Pass panicked immediately and dispatched a messenger to request reinforcements from the main Yuan force in the rear.

Rushing desperately along the road, the messenger paid no attention to the ambushing troops hiding behind trees on both sides of the mountain valley, speeding straight toward the ten thousand cavalry led by Guantong.

Upon receiving the report, Guantong immediately gave the order: "Advance at full speed to reinforce Niangzi Pass!"

His subordinate, Tumen Commander Tuoxuhan, hesitated and said, "General Guantong, if those sixty thousand Ming troops are using an enticement tactic, wouldn't our forces be in extreme danger?"

"Do you think I don't know that? But if we don't save them, once the Ming army breaks through the pass and charges directly into the heart of Shanxi, will you and I be able to withstand the monstrous fury of Köke Temür?"

"All troops, accelerate and press forward!"

The ten thousand Yuan cavalry galloped into the valley mouth. Zhu Shuang, who had lacked a suitable weapon until now, hoisted an eighty-jin heavy iron hammer—normally used for driving tent stakes—onto his shoulder and shouted, "Lads, time to work! Three taels of silver per head, and with ten thousand men, that's thirty thousand taels, dammit!"

The surrounding soldiers burst into hearty laughter, while Qiu Fu, Zhang Yu, Zhu Neng, and others drew their gleaming sabers, eager for the fray.

Zhu Wenzheng said in a deep voice, "Qiu Fu, take the musketeers to block the valley mouth. Zhang Yu, have the artillery battalion execute three rounds of shelling. Once the bombardment ends, Zhu Neng will lead the charge."

"Understood, General!" The three men cupped their fists in compliance.

Zhu Shuang pointed to himself and asked in confusion, "Then what about me?"

Zhu Wenzheng maintained a stern expression. "As the commander-in-chief, you naturally hold the center. A man of wealth and nobility does not stand near falling tiles."

"You've already assigned all the fighting, dammit! What the hell is the use of me just sitting in the center?"

Suddenly, thousands of breech-loading Frankish cannons were pushed out from behind the brush on the mountainsides. The moment Guantong saw them, the color drained from his face and he shrieked in absolute terror: "Retreat! Quick, quick, retreat!"

The cannons roared, breathing tongues of fire and letting out thunderous booms. Cannonballs rained down into the Yuan formation like a dense swarm of black dots.

A series of earth-shattering explosions erupted. Numerous Yuan soldiers were blasted off their horses, their severed limbs flying through the air.

The entire battlefield was choked with thick smoke and dust. The densely packed Yuan cavalry formation was blown apart, leaving a bloody, muddy trench of carnage.

In the rear guard, Guantong and Tuoxuhan had narrowly escaped death, though their faces were covered in blood. As they watched over five thousand Yuan soldiers blasted to pieces, their minds went completely blank.

After a long moment, they snapped back to reality and screamed at the top of their lungs, "This Ming army is abnormal! Fall back! Fall back right now!"

Before he could finish speaking, a dense rattling akin to roasting beans erupted behind them. Following a flurry of gunfire, the two thousand musketeers led by Qiu Fu unleashed three continuous volleys, mowing down the remaining thousand-plus Yuan soldiers.

Surveying the littered corpses and wailing wounded, Guantong drew his curved saber, a ferocious expression twisting his face. "Leave two hundred men to shoot arrows and cover the rear! The rest of the army, charge toward Niangzi Pass and carve out a bloody path!"

The remaining three thousand and more cavalry drew their bows and returned fire toward the heights. Meanwhile, Zhu Shuang noticed the glowing red barrels of the artillery pieces after their three successive volleys, thinking to himself that while native methods of steelmaking had increased production, the quality of the steel still fell short of required standards.

Ignoring Zhu Wenzheng’s frantic shouts from behind, Zhu Shuang hoisted his iron hammer and leaped down from a nine-meter-high boulder on the mountainside.

Tuoxuhan, a fierce Yuan commander currently locked in combat, had just cut down three fleeing Yuan deserters and was about to wheel his horse around when he saw a figure plunge from the sky. Before he could register what was happening, the massive hammer came crashing down squarely between his eyes.

His skull exploded like a watermelon with a loud pop, scattering red and white matter everywhere. The tremendous impact shattered all four legs of his mount, causing horse and rider to collapse onto the ground, dead instantly.

Without missing a beat, Zhu Shuang swung his heavy iron hammer like a giant windmill and charged into the Yuan formation. Several Yuan soldiers leaped from their saddles and raised their shields in defense, but their wooden, iron-plated shields instantly splintered into pieces. The iron hammer did not slow down in the slightest, smashing those men off their horses and sending them vomiting blood to their deaths.

Spotting his uniform amidst the chaos, Guantong focused his eyes and roared at the top of his lungs, "Kill this Ming general and the Ming army will surely fall into chaos! Trample him to death!"

More a dozen Yuan soldiers immediately wheeled their horses around, lashing their mounts into a gallop, drawing their curved sabers, and preparing to slice off Zhu Shuang's head.

Watching the dust kick up behind the charging dozen horsemen and seeing the galloping steeds close in rapidly, Zhu Shuang remained unperturbed. Raising his massive iron hammer, just as the lead horseman bore down on him, he brought the hammer down with the force of a mountain-cleaving blow.

The leading Yuan soldier crumpled like a puppet struck by a massive force, his chest caving inward catastrophically. He and his mount were driven straight into the earth like a heap of mud under the crushing blow.

Spinning his body a few times like a hammer thrower, Zhu Shuang hurled the eighty-jin iron hammer forward. The weapon rotated at high speed through the air, crashing into the oncoming dozen Yuan soldiers and sending them flying in disarray before they crashed lifelessly to the ground.

Guantong was paralyzed with terror. Those dozen men had been his personal guards, elite seeds chosen from centurions and chiliarchs who possessed exceptional horsemanship and archery skills honed through years of warfare. Yet they hadn't lasted a single exchange against this opponent. He hurriedly nocked an arrow to his bow, but just as the enemy retrieved his iron hammer from the ground and prepared to hurl it at him, Guantong executed a maneuver that left Zhu Shuang utterly dumbfounded.

"What? You surrender?"

Zhu Shuang stared as the man before him dropped to both knees and raised his Mongolian bow high above his head.

Seeing the iron hammer halt a mere ten centimeters from his skull, Guantong said with utmost solemnity, "The General possesses divine might! Guantong is willing to serve as a loyal hound under the General's command."

With that, he knocked his head against the ground a few times with crisp, resounding thuds.

Having never encountered someone so utterly shameless on his first time on the battlefield, Zhu Shuang, a military novice, was completely thrown off balance.

"If you surrender, how am I supposed to collect my silver? I forbid your surrender! Get back on your horse right now so I can smash you to a pulp with my hammer!"

Clinging desperately to Zhu Shuang's boots, Guantong turned and roared at the Yuan troops, "I order all of you to dismount and surrender immediately!"

Only then did the fighting Yuan soldiers and the pacification army notice the dense row of wretched corpses piled at Zhu Shuang's feet.

Everyone's expression toward him shifted dramatically. The Yuan soldiers immediately tossed aside their weapons, raised their hands, and dropped to their knees.

As for the members of the pacification army, looking at Zhu Shuang filled them with a lingering sense of dread. Each of them frantically tried to recall if they had ever offended this smiling commander in their daily lives.

Qiu Fu's hand was trembling as he held his saber. *Good lord, not a single one of those bodies is in one piece! Anyone who dies under the boss's hands probably won't even have a chance at reincarnation.*

Forget making him read books; from now on, if the boss asked him to do embroidery, he'd gladly negotiate the terms.

Zhu Wenzheng dispatched men to clear the battlefield and tally the remaining thousand-odd Yuan soldiers. He then sent Guantong to the city walls to persuade the defenders, and the commander of Niangzi Pass surrendered along with over five hundred men, handing over the fortress.

After locking the prisoners inside the garrison caves within Niangzi Pass, Zhu Shuang ordered the army to set up stoves and cook meals. Fat Liu and the other mess cooks hoisted their marching cauldrons, dumped in chopped beef and mutton, stoked the fires, and boiled the stew with roaring flames.