latelenovela Chapter 538 Shared hatred and hatred
Chapter 538 Shared hatred and hatred
Ma Wei was furious when he heard that the prefectures and counties along the route in Qingzhou were unwilling to provide supplies.
"Although we are soldiers from Dengzhou and Laizhou, eliminating this band of bandits will also benefit Qingzhou. Otherwise, if they wander into Qingzhou, they will be a scourge to them. How much can our thousand cavalrymen eat, even if we eat our own food and the horses eat their own food? If they gather their own troops to eliminate this band of bandits in the future, it will cost at least ten times more money and food—the magistrates of these prefectures and counties are all pig-brains! Now I finally understand why Kong Youde rebelled halfway when he went north to reinforce Dalinghe."
Despite his grumbling, Ma Wei decided to continue the pursuit: "We're exhausted, and so are the bandits. Let's grit our teeth and try to wipe them all out. We've already chased them for a hundred or two miles; it would be a shame to give up now."
After a short rest, the cavalry battalion swallowed some dry rations with water and then continued their pursuit along the large expanse of hoofprints ahead.
After chasing for several miles, Ma Wei noticed that the dust ahead was getting thicker and thicker, and he became puzzled: he had killed fewer and fewer bandits, and some had even fallen behind along the way, so why was the dust suddenly getting thicker? Could it be that there were reinforcements in Qingzhou?
The bandits quickly gave him an answer.
Kong Lianshun led his men back in a disheveled state, followed by a thunderous hooves that shook the earth. A large group of cavalrymen wearing felt hats and leather armor, brandishing scimitars and whistling, caught up with them.
Ma Wei, a former border soldier, had dealt with many such people and immediately recognized them as Mongols. The armor indicated they were not ordinary herders, but invading Mongol cavalry. His hair stood on end: the Mongols were far weaker than before and never ventured deep into the Central Plains alone; they always came with the Liaodong Tartars. Therefore, there must be a large number of genuine Tartars behind them.
Faced with a large force of Tartars and Mongols, what should one do with only a thousand cavalry?
At this moment, the bandits saw the cavalry camp blocking their way, and despair appeared on their faces. They were being pursued from both the front and the back, with no way to escape. Were they all going to die here today?
The Mongol cavalry also spotted Ma Wei's cavalry battalion and hesitated, glancing left and right to see if there were any ambushes, thus slowing their pace.
Kong Lianshun glanced at the cavalry camp, then back at the Mongols. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth, drew his saber, and shouted, "Brothers, we can't please either side. We're going to die either way, so let's fight it out. It's better than dying a cowardly death."
The bandits, showing a certain recklessness, shouted upon hearing this, "Let's fight! We'll take a few down with us even if we die!"
Kong Lianshun was, after all, a soldier from Jiangdong, having fought the Tartars to the death. The hatred between them ran deep in his bones. To him, the cavalry battalion were government soldiers, all Han Chinese, and it was an internal conflict. The Mongols and the Tartars behind them, however, were mortal enemies. Compared to that, fighting the cavalry battalion to the death, even if it meant dying with the stigma of being a bandit, was far better than turning around and fighting the Mongols. After being a bandit for so long, at least he could die with a good reputation.
He turned his horse around, brandished his sword, and shouted, "There's no way out either way, so why don't we all kill a few Tartars and leave behind a reputation as heroes?"
In the eyes of the bandits, the cavalry battalion's "kiting" tactic with short guns was more terrifying than the Mongols. Since they couldn't win against either side anyway, they might as well do as their leader suggested and earn a good name for themselves after death. So they all raised their sabers and turned to charge at the Mongols.
Unaware of any ambush ahead, the Mongol cavalry, out of caution, did not charge forward. When they saw the bandits turn around and launch a counterattack, they all took out their bows and arrows, turned their bodies to the side, aimed, and fired their arrows.
"Buzz buzz buzz," a volley of arrows flew straight at him, and the galloping bandits fell to the ground, horse and rider alike, struck by arrows. Kong Lianshun, his eyes red, ignored the arrows flying past his ears and charged forward recklessly.
After firing a volley of arrows, the Mongol cavalry did not give their opponents a chance for close combat, and calmly retreated. After creating some distance, they fired another arrow while running, and hundreds of bandits fell to the ground, struck by the arrow.
Only elite Mongol cavalry could shoot arrows backwards with such accuracy from the back of a galloping horse; this was the authentic "Mangudai" tactic. Genghis Khan and his descendants used this tactic all the way to the Danube. Although the Mongol tribes have declined in strength, they are still formidable forces, easily capable of dealing with bandits and other scattered, disorganized groups.
Seeing this, Ma Wei made a plan. He raised his loaded pistol and said to his soldiers, "Listen up, everyone. Although the bandits are our opponents, the Mongols on the other side are our Han enemies. The bandits rob passing merchants, while the Mongols and their masters entered the pass to kill and burn, leaving nothing but desolation in their wake. Since the bandits have the guts to fight the Mongols head-on, what should we do?"
The cavalrymen raised their pistols and shouted, "Let's fight the Mongols!"
Ma Wei led his men forward at a moderate pace to conserve their strength. After approaching the two entangled groups of men, he shouted, "Listen up, bandits in front! You can't beat the Mongols. Turn back and retreat behind us. We'll fight them!"
Kong Lianshun and his men were rendered helpless by the Mongols' tactic of shooting while running. Upon hearing this, they felt as if they had been granted a pardon and quickly ran back.
The Mongol tactic was "if the enemy chases, we run; if the enemy runs, we chase." This mindset was ingrained in their bones and had become a habit, just like eating and sleeping. When they saw the enemy retreating, they would spontaneously turn around and chase after them without giving any orders.
Ma Wei raised his pistol and shouted to the approaching bandits, "Run to the sides, don't disrupt our formation!"
The bandits obediently ran to both sides, but they weren't Mongolians raised on horseback, and changing direction at high speed was very difficult. Many slipped and fell due to inertia. After the chaos, most of the remaining bandits crossed the cavalry's line and retreated to the rear. With a common enemy, the two sides, who were originally hostile, formed a tacit understanding. The cavalry exposed their rear to the bandits, and the bandits didn't take advantage of the situation but stayed far behind to cover their retreat.
Ma Wei had fought the Mongols in Xuanfu, suffering more defeats than victories. Now, with new weapons and tactics, his confidence had increased somewhat, but the shadow of past defeats still lingered, leaving him uneasy. He licked his dry lips, suppressing his nervousness, and instructed his soldiers: "Although the Mongols are skilled horsemen and archers, their horses' heads obstruct their path, preventing them from shooting arrows head-on. This is our opportunity. We'll deal with them as before: hit and run. Remember, don't be greedy and chase them; if they turn around and shoot arrows, it will be deadly."
The soldiers responded, "Yes, sir!"
At that moment, the sound of hooves thundered, and the Mongols charged forward, only two hundred paces away from the cavalry camp. A battle was about to break out.