MLMD -Chapter 223 A Blow from the Dark

When Hogg ordered his troops to launch the attack, the Ming forces facing them naturally heard the Jurchens’ attack horn at the very first moment.

The baizong leading the Ming cavalry was drinking water at the time, taking sips while watching the Later Jin cavalry out of the corner of his eye. After several big gulps, he casually stuffed the water skin into his saddle and shouted, “Brothers, the Tatars are coming—let’s move!”

“Move!”

Shouts rang out one after another as the Ming cavalry turned their horses and fled toward the rear.

The moment they ran, Hogg, who was watching the battle from afar, burst into loud laughter.

“I told you—how could these lowly Nikan ever stand up to our brave warriors of Later Jin? One charge is all it takes to scare them into pissing their pants!”

Beaming with pride, Hogg waved his hand and immediately gave the order to pursue. More than two thousand Later Jin cavalry galloped after the retreating Ming troops. Hogg himself followed with over a hundred personal guards, leaving behind only Bahabu, who stood there at a loss.

A rider from the Bordered Red Banner asked cautiously, “My lord, the prince has already gone ahead. What should we do?”

Bahabu let out a long sigh. Though Hogg had just humiliated him, the man was a prince after all, while he himself was merely a minor niru officer. If anything were to happen to Hogg, even nine heads wouldn’t be enough to save him. He sighed and said, “Forget it. Let’s follow. We absolutely can’t let anything happen to His Highness. Otherwise, not only us—even our Beile won’t escape responsibility.”

“Yes, sir…”

Bahabu led over two hundred Bordered Red Banner cavalry in pursuit as well.

About a quarter of an hour passed. Hogg led more than two thousand cavalry in hot pursuit of the Ming horsemen ahead. At this moment, he felt his spirits soaring, a surge of heroism swelling in his chest. He thought to himself, So the way Yueto boasted about how formidable the Yingzhou Army was must have just been an excuse for his own defeat. Father was far too naïve to believe him. Hmph… If these Ming troops really are the Yingzhou Army, then that Yue Yang must be here as well. Once I capture Yue Yang, I’d love to see the look on Yueto’s face.

With that thought, Hogg lashed his horse harder with the whip, his speed increasing even more.

One side fled, the other chased—back and forth in lively fashion—until they soon reached a small hill. At that moment, the Ming cavalry that had been galloping desperately suddenly split apart and fled toward both flanks. Carried away by the chase, Hogg suspected nothing and only spurred his horse faster, charging straight ahead. But when he rounded the hill, the sight before him left him stunned.

Beyond the hill stood ranks upon ranks of soldiers, arrayed in perfect order, calmly watching them from less than two hundred paces away. As Hogg and his men charged forward, he seemed to hear a faint shout from ahead. The soldiers raised the firelocks in their hands, and then a deafening roar erupted.

“Bang! Bang! Bang—”

With a crackling series of explosions like beans bursting in a pan, the hundred or so Bordered Yellow Banner cavalry at the very front toppled from their horses as if dumplings dropping into a pot, only to be trampled into bloody pulp by the comrades charging in behind them.

“Bang—bang… bang—bang…”

After an interval of barely a dozen breaths, the second volley rang out.

When the second round of gunfire sounded, Hogg immediately realized he had fallen into a trap set by the Ming.

Though Hogg had his flaws, as a commander seasoned by battle he still possessed sufficient presence of mind. Seeing the densely packed infantry formations ahead and the countless dark gun barrels pointed at them, he instantly understood that if he did not retreat at once, few of his two thousand men would make it back alive. Terrified out of his wits, he shouted, “Retreat! All units, retreat!”

“Whoa—whoa—”

The cavalry, who had just been chasing with great enthusiasm, hurriedly reined in their horses, wheeled around, and fled back the way they had come. But as they ran, clouds of dust rose on both flanks. Two cavalry units suddenly emerged like specters and charged straight at Hogg’s men.

At this point, even the slowest among them understood that they had plunged headlong into a carefully laid Ming encirclement. Yet the Bordered Yellow Banner lived up to its reputation as one of the Jurchens’ elite Upper Three Banners. Without waiting for Hogg’s orders, two niru commanders each led more than three hundred men to charge toward the Ming cavalry on either side. Their purpose was obvious—to buy time for Hogg to escape.

Wu Chengfeng, who was leading the cavalry in pursuit of Hogg, saw a unit of Later Jin cavalry charging toward him and immediately grasped their intent. With a wave of his hand, he split off five hundred cavalry to surround the enemy, while he himself continued the pursuit with a thousand riders.

Seeing this, the fleeing Hogg waved his hand again, and two more niru, each leading several hundred cavalry, charged toward the Ming on both sides.

This time, it was Wu Chengfeng who found himself in a dilemma. He hadn’t expected the Tatars to repeatedly resort to the “lizard shedding its tail to survive” tactic. Though his forces outnumbered the Later Jin cavalry, the margin wasn’t large. If he kept dividing his troops, he might be the one in trouble in the end. Moreover, the enemy’s main force was close behind and could arrive at any moment—if he happened to collide with it head-on, the consequences would be dire.

Taking this into account, Wu Chengfeng quickly made his decision. He ordered the soldier beside him to sound the horn, commanding the entire force to halt the pursuit and first finish off the fat meat already in their mouths.

Soon, a thousand cavalry closed in around the three hundred-plus Bordered Yellow Banner riders, and a brutal melee began…

As for Hogg, seeing that the Ming cavalry had stopped chasing him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. But once the immediate threat to his life had passed, a surge of humiliation and rage rose within him.

“Damn it! These lowly Nikan dare treat our noble Jurchen warriors this way—I’ll kill them all!”

At this moment, Hogg felt both furious and deeply unsettled. He knew full well that the nearly thousand Bordered Yellow Banner warriors who had covered his escape were likely never coming back. As elite troops of the Upper Three Banners, the Bordered Yellow Banner—along with the Plain Yellow and Plain Blue Banners—formed the very foundation of Hong Taiji’s rule. Yet in less than half an hour, he had lost nearly a thousand men. Who knew how his father would punish him when he returned? That princely title on his head, not even warm yet, would probably be stripped away.

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Hogg spurred his horse onward. Along the way, he encountered Bahabu, who had come to meet him. After regrouping, the combined force retreated back along the route they had come…