MLMD -Chapter 84 The First Clash with Dodo

The once-peaceful grassland was thrown into turmoil by two forces drawing ever closer. The braying of mules and horses, the drivers’ shouts, the heavy breathing of soldiers, and the low, angry curses of officers all compounded the tense atmosphere before battle. Inside the circular formation, many recruits facing combat for the first time were already shaking so badly their legs could barely support them. Big Ox was one of them.

“Remember this…”
“Hide your bodies behind the wagons. Musketeers, check your ammunition—start loading! Keep your hands steady, don’t panic. Fire only when you hear the command. Anyone who dares fire on his own, I’ll stuff his head down his trousers!”

The officer’s voice rang out loudly behind Big Ox, hoarse and savage. Big Ox recognized it at once—it was the squad leader’s voice. He’d heard that this squad leader had fought bandits in a major battle half a year ago and had personally stabbed two of them to death, which was how he’d earned his promotion.

At that moment, Big Ox felt afraid. For someone known for his courage, this feeling was rare. Back in Wuli Village, Big Ox had always been the boldest and best fighter among his peers; people like Sanbao and Iron Pillar all looked up to him. Yet today, he was uncharacteristically timid.

He stole a glance to the left. Through several soldiers, he spotted Iron Pillar’s slightly thin figure. Iron Pillar was gripping his musket tightly, staring straight ahead, unaware of Big Ox’s gaze.

“What’s wrong with me today? I’m actually scared?” Big Ox cursed his own cowardice inwardly. He glanced to the right and found that the others were no better off than he was—some soldiers’ hands were visibly trembling as they held their guns.

Feng Xiaoming stood just behind the first rank, his heart pounding as he watched the soldiers ahead. This was his first time on a battlefield too—no matter what he said, there was no way he wasn’t nervous. What worried him even more was that the front rank was already showing signs of instability. Many soldiers were pressed flat behind the wagons, their bodies shaking so badly that, forget fighting, they probably didn’t even have the strength to pull a trigger.

“This won’t do. If this keeps up, their morale will collapse before the Tartars even attack!” Feng Xiaoming realized immediately.

He strode up behind one soldier who was shaking especially hard and had even thrown his musket aside. Feng Xiaoming kicked him hard in the backside and shouted angrily,
“You son of a bitch, get up! The Tartars are about to hit us—what are you doing lying here? Waiting for them to chop you to pieces? I’ll give you three blinks of an eye. If you don’t pick up that musket, don’t wait for the Tartars—I’ll execute you right here!”

After that, he kicked the man several more times until the soldier finally picked up his musket. Only then did Feng Xiaoming stop.

This scene didn’t escape Yue Yang’s notice, and his brow furrowed slightly.

Just then, Shunbao, who had been patrolling inside the formation, came up beside him and said in a low voice, “Young master, this won’t work. We’ve got too many new recruits. I’m afraid once the Tartars charge, they’ll collapse.”

“Ah… this is my oversight,” Yue Yang sighed softly. This was supposed to be a wedding escort, and most of the men he’d brought were new recruits who had only enlisted two months ago—some not even a full month. Faced with such a sudden situation, panic was only natural.

“Shunbao, was I too careless?” Yue Yang asked.

Shunbao froze for a moment, then replied, “Young master, this isn’t your fault. We only came to escort the bride. Who would’ve thought that after entering the future father-in-law’s territory we’d run into this kind of mess?”

Yue Yang gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “No matter what, I was careless. If I’d kept my guard up, we wouldn’t be in such a passive position today. This is a lesson. If we hadn’t completely re-equipped with muskets, we’d be finished for sure this time.”

As they spoke, the dust ahead grew thicker. Yue Yang pulled a telescope from the leather case at his waist and looked forward. It was an eight-power high-definition telescope he had specially ordered. Through it, he could clearly see several of their own cavalry scouts in Gothic armor galloping desperately toward the main formation, with several hundred Later Jin cavalry in white armor chasing hard behind them.

“Young master, those are our night scouts—the Tartars are chasing them!” Shunbao shouted, pointing ahead.

“Those bastards!” Yue Yang ground his teeth in anger. These Later Jin cavalry were far too arrogant—only a few hundred of them, yet they dared to chase so brazenly. His own main formation had a thousand infantry, with another thousand cavalry outside the circle. Weren’t they afraid of being surrounded?

What Yue Yang didn’t know was that this was perfectly normal for the Later Jin. For years, they had won far more often than they lost against Ming forces, breeding extreme arrogance. Against Ming armies, they often charged with only a few thousand men against tens of thousands—and still won decisively. In such circumstances, how could they possibly take Ming troops seriously?

By now, the Later Jin cavalry had closed to a distance of just over six hundred meters. Yue Yang took a deep breath and was about to order the signaler to sound the horn to prepare for firing, when he suddenly noticed that the enemy cavalry had begun to slow—and then stopped altogether.

Among the five-hundred-odd Later Jin riders, Dodo sat at the front. He looked at the circular formation of wagons ahead, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth. He turned and shouted behind him.

“Grutu!”

A niru officer in double-layered padded armor, with a neck-guard banner on his back, rode forward and replied loudly, “Aye… your servant is here! What are your orders, Beile?”

Dodo pointed ahead. “Grutu, that’s the Ming dogs’ formation. Are you confident you can crush them within half an hour?”

Grutu sneered disdainfully. “Your Lordship overestimates those Ming dogs. I’ll tear that shabby formation to pieces in just two quarters of an hour!”

Though jealousy burned in Dodo’s heart, his sense for warfare remained intact. He nodded. “Good. Two quarters of an hour it is. My fourth sister-in-law and Beile Zaisang should be on their way. You must crush these Ming dogs before they arrive—once they get here, things will be troublesome.”

“Leave it to me!” Grutu laughed viciously and quickly began issuing orders…

“Hm? What’s going on? Why aren’t the Tartars charging?” Yue Yang muttered in surprise. To him, it made no sense. At this point, they should have pressed the advantage and smashed the formation outright. Why stop now?

Before everyone’s eyes, the halted Later Jin cavalry quickly formed a wedge-shaped formation. From afar, it looked like a sharp blade ready to stab forward, chilling to behold.

Slowly, the wedge began to move, advancing toward the circular formation. A crushing sense of pressure washed over everyone inside.

“So they’re playing psychological warfare,” Yue Yang sneered. By now, if he still couldn’t see through the enemy’s tactic, he might as well quit. He said quietly, “Shunbao, order the front ranks to prepare. Fire immediately on my command.”

“Yes!”

Shunbao stepped forward and shouted, “Front line! First unit, prepare! Await orders—prepare!”

“Prepare—”
“Prepare—”

Commands echoed around the formation.

“Come on,” Yue Yang thought grimly. “Let’s see whether your Jurchen iron cavalry is fiercer, or my muskets are.” Even he felt uneasy. Though the troops were equipped with Minié rifles, this was their first real combat test. Everything depended on today.

“Thud—thud—thud—”

The thunder of hooves began again. The new recruits’ hearts were in their throats; without the officers’ strict discipline, many would have fired already.

“Hold steady! No one fires without orders!” officers shouted repeatedly.

The drumming hooves grew louder—the Qing cavalry had begun their charge. Grutu, riding at the front, shouted excitedly:

“Warriors of the Later Jin! Charge! Smash the Ming dogs’ pathetic formation and show them the might of our Plain White Banner! Kill them all!”

Big Ox gripped his Minié rifle tightly. At this distance, he could already see the enemy soldiers’ faces—broad, fleshy faces twisted with ferocity. His musket was slick with sweat, and several times, if not for the officers’ constant shouting, he would have pulled the trigger prematurely.

Soon, the leading cavalry closed to just over three hundred meters.

Yue Yang drew a deep breath and said in a low voice to the messenger beside him, “Front—fire!”

“Yes!”

“Fire!”
“Fire!”

The order passed down the line. Finally, Big Ox heard the command he’d been waiting for. With all his strength, he pulled the trigger.

“Bang! Bang! Bang—bang bang bang—”

Amid a rapid series of explosions like beans popping in a pan, thick white smoke began to billow.

Watching from the rear, Dodo clearly saw that every Ming soldier in the formation was armed with a musket. He burst into loud laughter. He’d seen plenty of Ming muskets before—weak power, short range, and prone to bursting. And now these Ming troops were firing from four hundred paces away. Aside from bolstering their courage, he couldn’t imagine it doing any good.

But what happened next made Dodo’s laughter choke off in his throat—like a duck whose beak had been clamped shut…