Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 539 The Army of the Plain Blue Banner

Two hundred paces is a mere blink of an eye for the speed of the Mongol cavalry; they quickly entered the firing range of the short guns.

The cavalry soldiers halted, flanking the enemy, raising their pistols, aiming forward, hands on triggers, ready to fire at any moment. Many felt uneasy seeing the Mongols' menacing appearance and charging momentum; had it not been for their rigorous daily training, some would have already opened fire.

Ma Wei suppressed his nervousness and estimated the distance between the two sides. He knew that the Mongols mainly used light cavalry and generally did not engage in close combat, but rather made a quick contact and then retreat. Therefore, he wanted to bring the Mongols closer to fight, as the damage would be greater within the optimal range. Moreover, in the current charging mode, the Mongols could not shoot arrows straight ahead with their horses' heads obstructing their view, which was his opportunity.

Little did they know, in the eyes of the Mongol cavalry, this suddenly appearing opponent, abandoning cavalry mobility and standing still like infantrymen, was exactly what they wanted. Both sides believed they had the upper hand, and it was a matter of who would emerge victorious.

When they were a hundred paces apart, Ma Wei shouted, "Fire!" and pulled the trigger of his short gun first.

Normally, a distance of one hundred paces isn't the optimal range even for infantry long guns, let alone short guns. However, a high-speed charging warhorse can shorten that distance instantly. If they waited until fifty paces to fire, the saber would already be at their heads. Ma Wei, being experienced, allowed himself a lead time.

"Bang, bang, bang!" As the cavalry opened fire, the Mongol troops opposite suddenly turned while running at high speed, paralleling the cavalry, and began to fire their arrows. The arrows, propelled by immense inertia, flew towards the opposite side with a "whooshing" sound.

Ma Wei's heart sank; he had forgotten about this Mongol tactic. A near-ninety-degree turn while charging—only the Mongols could pull off such a monstrous horsemanship, instantly transforming a frontal charge into a flanking attack, while maximizing the density and speed of their arrows.

Lead bullets and arrows crisscrossed the air, each heading towards its target. The cavalrymen were struck by arrows one after another, screams rising and falling from their horses. The Mongol cavalrymen on the other side fared no better; the lead bullets were far more powerful than arrows. The hit knights were thrown into the air by the powerful kinetic energy, spraying blood as they crashed to the ground, tumbling forward under the immense inertia before being trampled into a bloody pulp by countless hooves.

The two cavalry forces clashed with firearms and melee weapons, appearing evenly matched at first glance, with both sides suffering losses. However, in reality, the Mongols were at a greater disadvantage. They attacked while on high speed, while their opponents were stationary in defense. The physical exertion and horsepower required were vastly different, and the firearms were far more powerful than the horse bows. Even if a Mongol was hit by an arrow and didn't die instantly, he would be trampled to death by the galloping horses, with almost no chance of survival. Cavalry soldiers, though wounded by arrows, had a chance of survival as long as they weren't hit in the face or heart; they also didn't have to worry about being trampled by horses after falling to the ground.

This disparity in casualty ratio gradually became apparent in the second round of combat. When the Mongol cavalry circled back and launched another attack in the same manner, the cavalry battalion, which had already stabilized its formation, raised a second pair of short muskets to counterattack. Unlike the first round, the Mongols knew that their opponents possessed short muskets capable of firing from horseback and were not defenseless infantry. They were wary, maintained a slightly longer distance, and their arrows were not as decisive and resolute as before.

In the second round of fighting, the Mongols left behind more than a hundred corpses, while the cavalry only had about twenty or thirty men wounded by arrows.

Perhaps feeling that the exchange ratio was not worthwhile, the Mongols stopped at a distance after the second round of attacks, seemingly pondering how to deal with this strange cavalry.

Ma Wei breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they had such sharp short guns, which allowed this cavalry, which had only been trained for about a year, to play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses, and to hold their own against the Mongols, who were famous for their archery skills. In fact, they even had a slight advantage.

Soon, the Mongols finished their deliberation and launched another attack. Their attack pattern was the same as before, but the distance was much greater, from seventy or eighty paces to about one hundred paces, and instead of firing horizontally, they launched projectiles into the air.

"Bang, bang, bang!" The cavalry battalion fired their third short gun. Lead bullets whistled as they flew towards the Mongols; arrows, after reaching their highest point in mid-air, plummeted downwards, heading straight for the cavalry battalion.

Even with the change in tactics, the advantage still lay with the cavalry battalion. The thin cavalry line wasn't a dense infantry square, and their volleys were inaccurate, resulting in few hits. The muskets, however, fired horizontally, making it impossible for the cavalry running laterally to dodge. Once the first cavalryman passed, a second or third would inevitably follow. The cavalry battalion was essentially firing at a continuous wall of men, a much higher hit rate than a stationary formation.

In the third round of combat, the exchange ratio was even more lopsided. Although the range had increased, only about seventy men fell to the lead bullets, but fewer than ten cavalrymen were hit by arrows.

The Mongols stopped at a distance, no longer daring to charge. They had followed the Later Jin army into the pass to plunder, not to die. Losing their lives here for no reason was clearly not what they wanted.

The cavalry, having repelled the previously arrogant Mongols, were brimming with confidence. They excitedly loaded their pistols and whispered amongst themselves. Meanwhile, the bandits in the distance had mixed feelings. Their pursuers, who had driven them to the brink of madness, had actually managed to hold their own against the Mongol cavalry; in a way, this had saved their lives. They didn't know whether to be grateful or frustrated.

Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, dust billowed in the distance, and the sound of thunderous hooves approached. Several flags appeared on the horizon. Ma Wei sensed something was wrong and raised his monoculars to look. In his field of vision, he saw a large square flag with a blue background and a golden dragon. The dragon's head was facing right, and there were four auspicious clouds around it.

"These are the elite troops of the Manchu Plain Blue Banner!" Ma Wei was taken aback. Judging from the dust raised, the enemy force numbered at least tens of thousands. How could the main force of the Manchus appear in Shandong? He had never heard of this before.

However, now was not the time to consider this issue. He turned his horse around and ordered, "The enemy is too strong. We cannot fight them head-on. Let's retreat."

Without him saying so, the cavalry battalion also saw the massive army emerging from the horizon like dark clouds. Feeling uneasy, they quickly retreated in order after hearing the order.

As Ma Wei passed the bandits who stood frozen in place, he hesitated for a moment and said to Kong Lianshun, the leader, "We'll settle our score later. Now that the Manchu Plain Blue Banner has arrived, the best of the thirty-six stratagems is to flee. You should leave quickly too."