Chapter 54: Those Who Fearing Battle and Retreat Shall Be Executed Immediately

On the imperial highway.

A group of mountain bandits on horseback surrounded the four riders in the center, gazing at the refugee procession gathered behind the large wagons to the west.

The four riders encircled by the horse bandits were all clad in full armor. Three of them wore purple cloaks, while the single rider who went bare-headed, wrapped only in a purple turban yet sporting a green cloak, stood out strikingly amidst the horde of brigands.

The green-cloaked bandit leader appeared quite young. Sitting on his horse, he addressed the other three, "My three elder brothers, the spoils shall be divided equally among our four factions—I have nothing more to say on that. However, the women, mules, and horses must be left for my men to pick through first."

One of the three purple-cloaked figures, a bearded man, cupped his fists and replied, "Very well, Chief Hu shall have his first pick. Our Taishan Stronghold has no objections."

This green-cloaked Chief Hu sat astride his horse, eyeing the other two sideways with a half-smile, remaining silent.

An older-looking leader spoke up, "Young Brother Hu commands the fierce and strong troops of Beiliangtou, and he was the one who first proposed this expedition. Naturally, our Waitoushan faction will follow your lead."

Seeing this, the final bandit leader quickly stated his position as well, "We shall defer to Chief Hu entirely. Just tell us how you want to launch the attack."

Chief Hu urged his horse forward a few paces and said in a ringing voice, "Judging by the enemy's reaction, though they show a certain method, they are ultimately just a mob of refugees. Even if there are a few individuals among them with extraordinary archery skills, I daresay they cannot withstand our wolf-pack assault tactic."

The other three chimed in together. Chief Hu continued, "My thought is to trouble elder brother Liu Xiong of Taishan Stronghold to urge the infantry forward and charge the first wave; older brother Qi of Waitoushan shall select our best archers to provide covering overhead fire from the rear; Brother Zhao of Zhajian will lead a horse troop of ten to the northern flank to command and stage a feint attack; and I shall lead the cavalry to charge the battle line when the opportunity arises. What do you three think?"

Since the other three factions had fewer men and their combat effectiveness was inferior to Beiliangtou, they had no major objections to his deployment.

Besides, in order to plunder this batch of wealth, all four factions had brought out their most elite mounted and foot bandits, and they were all gathered right here on the imperial highway. When the time came to charge the lines, their forces would be mixed together; any losses sustained would be shared equally by all, unlike taking turns in a sequential assault where one had to contend for priority. Thus, there was no reason to object.

Since everyone was in agreement, the four bandit chieftains began making their respective preparations.

One of the fierce, purple-cloaked bandits let out a roar of wild shouts while mounted, then galloped his horse down the imperial highway toward the foot bandits in the northern wilderness. A dozen or so riders followed closely behind him.

Liu Xiong, the Taishan bandit leader, led a band of veteran outlaws, urging the mass of infantrymen to fall into formation. They stood about fifty men to a row, arranged in roughly six ranks from front to back.

Half of the men in their first rank carried shields along with short blades or small axes, appearing to be seasoned fierce bandits placed at the vanguard for the initial charge. They were spaced out, with a spearmen stationed between every two shield-bearing thugs.

The second and third ranks consisted mostly of long weapons like spears and heavy clubs; these two ranks formed the backbone of the bandits' infantry combat strength, relied upon to break the wagon barricade ahead, and they were interspersed with a few archers who were not to be underestimated.

The fourth and fifth ranks carried a jumble of miscellaneous weapons—clubs, short sabers, iron rulers, and even shovels, picks, and rakes. Their combat power was likely not very high, but two or three men in each rank wore red military felt hats, seemingly acting as enforcers to oversee and drive the ranks forward.

In the final rank, more than thirty fierce warriors wielding long sabers and heavy clubs—many also wearing red military hats—clearly served as elites among the infantry of each stronghold. Their task was to drive the front-line thugs into a fight to the death and, at the critical final moment, deliver the fatal blow to He Shihui and his men.

Behind them, a group of infantrymen wearing red military hats or red-tasseled felt hats formed two relatively loose rows. Every single one of them held a bow and arrow; they looked like deserters or routed soldiers, bearing a strong resemblance to regular Ming military formations.

At the very rear was the bandit cavalry, arrayed in loose ranks behind the infantry, about seventeen or eighteen men per row across four rows. They rode back and forth, shouting curses to spur on the infantry ahead.

............

Over here, He Shihui listened to the distant roars while keeping his eyes fixed on the opposing bandits.

Seeing that the horse bandits sent to demand surrender had been shot dead, the enemy leader was consumed by rage, shouting curses as he drove the infantry to form up and array themselves. Knowing that the enemy would soon attack, He Shihui began detailed deployments.

In the center of the wagon barrier, originally consisting of a single large cart, an extra wagon had been hauled over from the northern side after noticing the enemy's main attack was likely to come from this direction.

Now, two large wagons sat horizontally across the imperial highway, separated by a gap one step wide, reinforced by a barrier piled high with handcarts, grain sacks, and other sundries. Those two one-step-wide gaps were temporarily blocked with handcarts, which could be moved aside when needed to facilitate sorties by the cavalry.

Then, thirty skilled archers of the Xuanzhen troops stood in a single file behind the wagons. Each held the back of his bow in his left hand, grasping seven arrows in that same hand while holding a single arrow in his right hand.

This was in preparation for rapid-fire shooting; holding the bow and extra arrows simultaneously in the left hand made it easy to draw and shoot again quickly.

Thirty men in a row, each shooting eight arrows—that would amount to two hundred and forty projectiles, delivering a heavy blow to the opposing bandits within a very short span of time. At the same time, loosing such a massive volley in a brief moment carried enough visual and psychological impact to be truly shocking.

Among the opposing bandits, only a very small fraction were deserters or routed soldiers who might have seen battle and possessed some experience; the vast majority of the infantrymen did not even possess armor.

He Shihui estimated that this single round of rapid-fire might be enough to rout the front-line infantry.

Behind them were sixty able-bodied men of the civilian militia right wing, led by Ma Huijun. Armed with spears, short sabers, and axes of varying lengths, days of relentless drilling had given them a somewhat martial bearing.

However, if they were to face a real army, they would still be utterly useless. Yet against mountain bandits, they stood a fighting chance, and this would serve well to temper their courage.

On the left and right flanks, fifty able-bodied men guarded each side. Temporarily organized during the march over the past few days with only basic drill in formation, most of them carried crude wooden staves.

He Shihui's primary concern was that they might flinch in the face of battle and disrupt the overall tactical situation. That was why he had ordered Sun Dashan to shoot down the surrendering envoy—to prevent any weak-willed individuals from wavering upon hearing the terms. He also shouted words of encouragement to steel their resolve for the fight.

Another ten horsemen guarded over thirty warhorses. Whether because their arm injuries had not yet fully healed or because their archery was poor, they were stationed at the rear to tend to the mounts and await the final charge.

Although the force was a hodgepodge and numbered many, under He Shihui's deployment everyone had their assigned duties, and all knew what they were supposed to do.

............

He Shihui looked across at the bandits, where a burly fellow clad in full armor and a purple cloak was riding behind the infantry, furiously waving his riding whip, roaring and shouting as he drove the foot soldiers to form up and charge.

He galloped back and forth, bellowing angrily to set the front-line infantry into motion.

They had no real tactics to speak of, merely forming roughly into six ranks. Half of the front rank consisted of mixed sword-and-shield men, followed by four ranks trailing the charge, backed by veteran outlaws keeping order, with archers in the rear preparing to provide overhead supporting fire from a distance.

A crowd of infantry roared and howled, sounding alternately like a threat and a battle cry. The bandits' expressions grew extremely agitated; brandishing swords and spears while shrieking and howling wildly, they looked precisely like a horde of demons dancing in chaos.

Suddenly, letting out a joint battle cry, they surged forward in a swarm toward the wagon barricade from over a hundred paces away.

He Shihui spun around to check his flanks and rear. The front-rank soldiers stood solemnly at attention with bows in hand, maintaining strict military discipline and solemn expressions as they awaited the order to unleash a devastating rapid-fire volley upon the oncoming bandits.

The sixty militia members led by Ma Huijun also remained composed—after all, these men had been personally handpicked by Commander Zhang Cheng, and they stood waiting in nervous readiness.

Conversely, among the able-bodied men stationed on the two flanks, many showed panic on their faces, and some even had their bodies trembling uncontrollably as the attack finally commenced.

He Shihui suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hold your ground! Obey my commands! Anyone who acts disorderly or flees from battle will be executed on the spot without pardon!"

Then he bellowed further, "Bailanzi, assign men to guard the horses! Lead ten soldiers to enforce discipline—anyone who shows cowardice and retreats, execute! Anyone who screams or breaks formation, execute!"

Bailanzi had just split the hundred able-bodied men into two groups to form up on the flanks. Hearing He Shihui's shout, he instantly drew his waist saber, his sharp gaze sweeping the surroundings as he roared in acknowledgment, "Subordinate obeys!"

A chill ran through everyone present. This scholar meant business; he was entirely serious.

Under the leadership of Sun Dashan, the thirty front-rank soldiers shouted in unison, "Fight to the death without retreat! Fight to the death without retreat..."

Ma Huijun and the sixty militiamen followed suit, roaring, "Fight to the death without retreat! Fight to the death without retreat..."

The power of an example is boundless.

Driven by them, the able-bodied men on the flanks and every single person on the imperial highway joined in a unified, furious roar: "...Fight to the death without retreat... Fight to the death without retreat..."

............

The opposing infantry drew ever closer. As they closed the distance, the rising and falling, cruel shrieks grew louder in their ears, heightening the tense atmosphere behind the wagon barrier.

Sun Dashan stationed himself behind the barricade and reminded He Shihui, "Chief He, they've entered seventy paces. Shall we fire?"

He Shihui said in a deep, resolute voice, "Wait until fifty paces, then fire. Volley fire, rapid-fire."

He watched the enemy as the foot soldiers closed within sixty paces.

The sea of black-clad brigands continued to surge forward with overwhelming pressure. Their cavalry in the rear remained in place, stepping back and forth to reform their ranks while watching the infantry's assault.

He Shihui suddenly bellowed, "Archers, draw your bows and nock your arrows! Prepare for rapid-fire!"

Simultaneously, the heavy bow in his own hand slowly drew back, a thick arrow notched upon the string.

He Shihui planted his feet shoulder-width apart, tensing his knees, shifting his center of gravity forward, hollowing his chest while bracing his abdomen. He extended his forward arm, rolling his shoulder downward, and pulled straight back with his rear hand, raising his elbow and sinking his shoulder to draw the bow into a full moon.

Beside him, Sun Dashan anxiously shouted to repeat He Shihui's command.

The thirty front-rank soldiers in unison fitted arrows to their right hands, drawing their bows until the wood emitted a groaning creak.

Thirty-one bows were slowly drawn to their limits, thirty-one arrowheads pointing straight at the advancing mountain bandits, gleaming with a metallic sheen in the biting wind.

Every bow was pulled taut like a full moon, and some men subtly shifted their arrowheads, adjusting their aim.