Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 899 - 742 What is this?

Chapter 899: Chapter 742 What is this?

After nine days, Jiesheng Ridge.

Jiesheng Ridge originally had no name, Emperor Tai of Jin Dynasty, during the North expedition, passed through this place and named it himself.

Located to the north of Qihu Mountain, it has several streams of sweet and cool spring water, enough to supply more than one hundred thousand troops, making it an important stronghold for expeditions to the north by dynasties of the Central Plains.

Its location is precisely between the Gobi Desert and Ulan Bator, serving as a midpoint between the two.

Thus, not only for the Jin Dynasty, but also during the Tang Dynasty’s campaigns into the desert, this place had been passed several times.

Li Xuan established several simple earthen forts along the few rivers of Jiesheng Ridge, to serve as supply transfer points for the rear.

And on this day, twenty miles east of Jiesheng Ridge, a tumult of ten thousand horses was heard.

The twenty thousand strong Jin Cavalry was racing toward Jiesheng Ridge. In front of them, the sounds of gunfire could be faintly heard.

Zaorigetu, who was a slave herder just over ten days ago, was hurriedly riding back, coming to the front of the Jin Army, looking for the commander of this Jin force, Zongbing Fan Guang of Xuanfu.

"Zongbing sir, the investigation is clear. Those are the troops of Wuliangha’s three guards; I recognize their totem, Black Wolf with Arrows—only the three guards of Wuliangha use it. There are only twelve banners of Qianhu Cavalry attacking the city directly. When I was passing by, they were surrounding the city with horseback archery—very precise shooting and strong war horses.

Besides that, I spotted a hidden detachment of troops in the nearby forest. I didn’t dare to get too close, but I estimated their numbers to be about half of ours—"

Zaorigetu was unclear about numbers beyond one hundred and could only roughly estimate the quantity of Wuliangha’s three guards’ cavalry.

His eyes had a hint of concern, "All of them carry bows and swords and wear black deerskin robes; they must be Wuliangha’s Black Wolf Cavalry, said to be the bravest warriors picked from within ten miles of the three guards."

Zaorigetu was the very person who, more than ten days ago at Erlianhaote, became the first to stab a Qianhu.

This former slave herder originally had no name; it was the County Prince Fenyang who personally named him after the incident, meaning ’courage’.

But Zaorigetu knew he wasn’t as brave as the County Prince Fenyang thought he was, the reason he dared to stand up first that day was primarily driven by deep-seated hatred, and secondly, he thought the risk was minimal.

Even if Jin retreated from the prairie, Zaorigetu could still defect to the interior.

He had heard early on that many Mongols who defected during Emperor Taizong’s time had retreated behind the Great Wall.

These culturally assimilated Mongols lived quite decent lives, although many also died in the numerous battles at Xuanfu and Datong. But at least compared to those slave herders, they lived like human beings.

Of course, if possible, Zaorigetu sincerely hoped that the Jin Army would definitively defeat the Mongols, allowing these herders to continue living on the prairie.

He wouldn’t want to leave the land that bore and raised him unless absolutely necessary, and there were also the grazing lands promised to them by His Highness, Prince Fenyang.

So Zaorigetu willingly joined the army, taking the initiative to become a guide for the Jin Army.

In the past, he had followed his master, the Qianhu Nayan he had stabbed, traveling across MoBei and MoNan, and knew the terrain here like the back of his hand. He also possessed a power in his bloodline that gave Zaorigetu the vision of an eagle.

Yet, the situation ahead today caused Zaorigetu much concern.

The number of Black Wolf Cavalry surpassed that of the reinforcing Jin Cavalry, and in Zaorigetu’s mind.

Jin People are good at infantry battles, having once swept the prairie with their unbeatable infantry formations.

However, when it comes to cavalry, the Jin Army is at a disadvantage. Jin People are not good at horse riding, and no matter what, they cannot match the herdsmen who grew up on horseback.

If they were to fight on horseback, two Jin Cavalry couldn’t match a single herder.

And today, their opponents are also a powerful cavalry no less formidable than the Qiexue Army.

"Wuliangha’s Black Wolf Cavalry? By your account, that’s just over twenty thousand, only slightly more than us," Fan Guang’s eyes gleamed ferociously, "Lucky for us, what His Highness Prince Fenyang is most concerned about is this Black Wolf Cavalry. As long as we eliminate them, the three guards of Wuliangha will not be a concern."

"But we’ve been racing for a day, from the fresh water sources in the north to here, covering a thousand miles or more without rest," Fan Guang’s deputy commander, with a wry smile, said, "I fear the stamina of our horses may not be sufficient."

"Tired as they may be, they are enough to defeat the enemy! I reckon those Wuliangha whelps won’t give us a chance to catch our breath," replied Zongbing Fan Guang with his usual calm demeanor, "Why? Do you lack confidence in this battle?"

The deputy commander shook his head slightly, "The subordinate only worries that if we pursue them in retreat, we may not have sufficient strength to annihilate them completely."

"Then we’ll use the terrain to our advantage. Let’s set our formation over there," Fan Guang suggested coldly, pointing to the southern direction with his riding crop, "We can rest there briefly, probably for about half a moment."

The deputy commander of Xuanfu immediately looked in the direction indicated and then slightly raised his eyebrows, "Zongbing is wise."

The place in question was on the high ground beside a riverbed of a rapid stream.

What was fortunate was that the stream was turbulent, with the deepest part being over two meters deep, and the overall shape resembling a ’V’.

If victorious in battle, they could effortlessly trap the fleeing Meng Wu cavalry within the ’V’.

Fan Guang let out a cold laugh, "Issue my orders! Inform the brothers that we will form up over there, everyone is to switch to their battle horses immediately, and load their revolvers!

Also, inform the Jiesheng Forts—alpha, beta, and gamma—to abandon their posts and move out. Have them go to the opposite side of the river and keep watch. No one shall be allowed to escape from the opposite bank later on."

Zaorigetu found it unbelievable, hearing Fan Guang’s military orders, he was actually planning to encircle and annihilate those twenty thousand-plus Black Wolf Cavalry.

And at this time, the twenty thousand Jin cavalrymen had already thundered into motion.

On their way, they had already switched horses.

For this northern campaign, most of the Jin troops used two horses per person. Only the cavalry under Fan Guang’s command, which was responsible for maintaining the supply route, used three horses per person: one warhorse and two pack horses, allowing them high-speed mobility along the supply line.

As they formed their ranks, they also organized their equipment.

After changing their horses, they donned bright breastplates on their chests. They then loaded fixed cartridges into their guns known as ’revolvers’.

During the battle of Tumu Fort, the Khan of Vala captured a large number of the Jin’s three-eyed guns.

Zaorigetu had never seen such guns before; they appeared somewhat similar to the three-eyed guns, both incorporating a beehive-like structure. However, the revolver had only a single barrel at the front.

Moreover, while the three-eyed gun was also lightweight, it could not be held with one hand, whereas the revolver could.

It was when all the Jin cavalrymen were fully prepared that a dark mass of riders appeared in front of them.

Indeed, as Zaorigetu had described, they were all knights dressed in buckskins, with excellent archery and equestrian skills.

Initially, fourteen thousand cavalrymen, comprised of sixteen Qianhu cavalry units with azure hawk tail feathers, appeared from the dense forest on the left flank, kicking up a vast cloud of dust and startling countless birds into flight.

Then another eleven thousand cavalrymen, under twelve Qianhu banners, hurriedly arrived—they must have been rushing here from the nearby earthworks.

Fan Guang laughed heartily, slapping Zaorigetu on the shoulder appreciatively, "Brave man! Your talent in reconnaissance is truly remarkable. Would you be interested in joining my forces as Yebushou? I’ll start you off as a junior banner officer."

The so-called ’Yebushou’ in the Jin army meant scout riders.

Fan Guang had also sent out many men, but none were as swift and accurate as Zaorigetu.

This gave him at least a half moment’s more time for contingency planning.

Zaorigetu could only offer a forced smile, while tightly gripping the reins in his hand.

He felt a bit uneasy, and at this moment, the only source of confidence was his warhorse beneath him and his equestrian skills honed from childhood.

Meanwhile, on their opposite side, the lord of Doyan Sanwei, ’Alashiri Borzigin,’ was also observing the Jin forces.

"Interesting, do they intend to engage us in direct combat?"

The Wuliangha Department of the Meng Wu was the inherited estate of Emperor Tai of Jin Dynasty’s ’younger brother’ Temugeotcigin Borzigin.

After they submitted to the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Tai of Jin attempted to disperse them.

One part was forced to move south and became subordinate to Prince Ning, also known as Doyan Sanwei.

Another part remained in place, which was the Wuliangha Department.

During Emperor Taizong’s rule, Emperor Tai of the Jin Dynasty conquered the revolting Wuliangha Department and further divided it into Wuliangha, Murita, and Muriji Sanwei.

However, the proud Meng Wu lineage meant that now all three of the Wuliangha Sanwei had returned to the control of the descendant of Wulangha Khan, Alashiri Borzigin.

At this moment, doubt and disdain were mingled on the face of this Khan.

The doubt stemmed from the fact that the Jin Army had not retreated to the nearby earthworks to rest and regroup; the disdain came from his full confidence in his Black Wolf warriors, who could normally defeat two to three times their number of Jin cavalry, let alone now, when his Black Wolf warriors had been resting and building strength for almost a day.

Alashiri Borzigin briefly pondered before decisively ordering, "We can’t give them time to rest and recuperate. This time, my three thousand direct imperial army will be the central force. Flanks spread out, break through the center. I’ll give everyone two hundred breaths to rest, and after two hundred breaths, blow the battle horn!"

His younger brother, Hesar Borzigin, shook his head slightly with a hint of mockery in his tone, "For Yexian’s aspirations of kingship, elder brother, you are truly too desperate. Do you really intend to let that fellow Chrolus of the Borzigin replace us as lord of the prairie?"

But Azhashili remained unfazed, "What of it? In any case, the title of lord of the prairie won’t fall to our family. As long as someone can repel the Jin forces and spare the Wuliangha Department from enduring past humiliations, anyone can be the Khan.

Do you realize what the Jin people are up to on the prairie now? After they seized it, they didn’t hospitably treat our nobles. Instead, they cruelly killed them, and then distributed their cattle and sheep to the herdsmen—"

Just at that moment, Azhashili’s expression froze as he noticed the Jin cavalry opposite them were suddenly thundering into action. More than twenty thousand cavalry spread across a broad front more than three miles wide and charged at them.

Wuliangha Khan Alashiri Borzigin was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, "These Jin people think that by giving up Ulan Bator we’re afraid of them? Blow the horns for me, and tell all the warriors to loosen the reins, control the pace of their horses, and after two volleys of arrows, charge at full speed!"

As the desolate sound of horns echoed across the battlefield, all the Meng Wu horsemen too spurred their mounts forward.

Following their Khan’s command, they started off riding slowly, drawing their bows twice along the way to release dense volleys of arrows.

But this proved ineffective; the Jin commanders had rich experience and repeatedly sped up their mounts along the way, evading most of the arrows.

These two volleys of simultaneous fire only caused slight disarray in the Jin ranks.

At this point, the distance between them was less than twenty yards, and they could already clearly see each other’s faces.

And just when all the Meng Wu horsemen had put away their bows and arrows to sprint at full strength, they saw the great Jin soldiers not drawing swords but raising a strange device, pointing it at them.

Azhashili, protected in the midst of the riding formation by the encircling royal army, was bewildered when he saw this, wondering what these Jin people were up to.

And the very next moment, Azhashili heard a thunderous ’bang bang’ ringing out, as smoke suddenly filled the entire frontline!

In that instant, countless Meng Wu warriors abruptly fell from their horses.