Chapter One, Two, and Three: The Iron Cavalry of the Jianzhou Jurchens

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Datong, East Small Gate.

As Li Yan led his large volunteer army marching north around the city, Wang Pu stood solemnly atop the city wall, surrounded by generals Zhao Xin, Big Beard, and Scarface. Gazing outward from the ramparts, he could just make out the ragtag band of looters forming a barely decent formation as they streamed past not far from the city outskirts.

Before setting out, Li Yan had clearly arranged the looters’ marching order with great care. The more than sixty thousand looters were divided into six massive square formations. The one closest to Datong was composed entirely of light infantry wielding long spears. At the front were two light infantry formations, followed by an archer formation, then the supply train at the rear. A small cavalry unit of around four to five hundred rode in the center.

“This Li Yan,” Wang Pu could not help but shake his head in admiration. “He truly is a talent. It seems he is not only skilled in command but also adept at training troops. To whip such a motley crew into this shape in less than two months is no easy feat—truly remarkable.”

Big Beard and Scarface looked on with displeasure, but since the praise came from Wang Pu, they dared not contradict him.

Zhao Xin also chimed in, “General is right. Li Yan is indeed a talent. It’s a pity he’s a rebel; otherwise, you really should make friends with him.”

Wang Pu smiled silently, thinking to himself, Who says rebels can’t be befriended?

“Why no cannon fire? Why no cannon fire?!”

At that moment, an angry voice suddenly rang out from below the city tower, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps. Wang Pu and the others turned around to see Zhu Chuanqi hastily climbing the ramparts, flanked by two secretaries, Zhang Zi’an, Datong’s prefect Wei Daben, and several local officials.

During the fierce assault on Datong by the looters, Zhu Chuanqi had hidden away in the prince’s mansion, refusing to come out. At the height of the siege, he had even taken refuge in a cellar. But now, as the looters prepared to retreat, the prince’s courage revived, and he dared to openly come to the city walls to oversee the defense.

Today, Zhu Chuanqi wore a golden crown that reached the heavens and donned a princely robe embroidered with four-clawed dragons and eight circular patterns. He appeared dignified and majestic, embodying the noble bearing of royalty. By protocol, the arrival of a prince should be met with deep bows, but since the military officials wore armor, they were exempt from this courtesy.

Wang Pu cupped his fists and bowed in greeting, “Greetings, Your Highness.”

“Wang Pu!” Zhu Chuanqi snapped angrily. “The looters are just outside the city. Why no cannon fire?”

“Cannon fire?” Wang Pu replied. “Your Highness, the looters are out of effective range. Firing would only waste ammunition.”

Zhu Chuanqi retorted, “Then why not sally out and pursue them?”

“Pursue them beyond the walls?” Wang Pu asked incredulously. “Your Highness, you must be joking.”

“Who’s joking?” Zhu Chuanqi shouted. “You said the soldiers wouldn’t fight without silver, so I gave you 500,000 taels. You said the troops lacked strength without food, so I took 20,000 shi of grain from the palace granary. Now the looters are fleeing, and you still refuse to pursue. What’s the meaning of this?”

“Your Highness, do you truly want me to lead the troops in pursuit?” Wang Pu’s tone turned serious. “I can lead the troops out, but then only about two thousand soldiers would remain inside Datong. Whether the city can hold then is no longer my concern.”

“Uh…” Zhu Chuanqi hesitated, frowning. “So we just stand by and watch the looters escape?”

“Your Highness, Prince Consort,” Zhang Zi’an suddenly shouted sharply, “Th-That—what is that?”

“Hm?”

“Eh?”

Everyone turned to look in the direction Zhang Zi’an pointed. On the once quiet northern plain, a vast cloud of dust was rising, spreading across the horizon.

“Cavalry!” Big Beard narrowed his eyes and listened intently before bellowing, “At least five thousand riders!”

“Cavalry?” Zhu Chuanqi asked hesitantly, “Is it our Ming cavalry? Why are they coming from the north?”

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“North? North!” Wang Pu muttered twice, then his expression suddenly turned grave as he shouted, “No good—it’s the Jurchens! Jurchen cavalry!”

“Ah, the Jurchens?”

“Jurchen cavalry?”

Zhang Zi’an, Wei Daben, and the others all paled at the mention.

Zhu Chuanqi’s face drained of color, and he urgently said, “Quick, help me back to the mansion. Wang Pu, I entrust the defense of Datong to you. You must hold the city. We cannot let Datong fall into Jurchen hands...”

With that, Zhu Chuanqi was hastily escorted down from the city wall by the two secretaries.

This time, the prince was truly frightened. Although the looters were numerous, they were not truly fearsome. Zhu Chuanqi trusted Wang Pu to hold Datong against them. But the Jurchens were different. Their threat was far greater than that of the looters. Otherwise, how could the entirety of Liaodong have fallen under their control?

Datong’s prefect Wei Daben asked trembling, “Prince Consort, is this really Jurchen cavalry?”

“Indeed,” Wang Pu replied gravely. “It’s the Jurchen cavalry.”

This newly arrived cavalry was indeed Jurchen!

The Jurchen regent Dorgon and Yuetu led 60,000 Jurchen Bannermen and 30,000 Han Bannermen from Shengjing. After marching for half a month, they joined forces with 80,000 Mongol Bannermen at Sanbula River. Then the army split into two, with Dorgon leading one and Yuetu the other, each breaking through mountain passes at Mituo and Fangshan.

Because Datong was under siege by Shaanxi volunteers, Wang Pu and Zhang Zi’an had ordered all garrisons along the Great Wall to withdraw to the city’s left guard. Thus, the Jurchen army crossed the Great Wall without a fight, and their vanguard cavalry appeared dozens of miles north of Datong. Both the looters outside and the city’s troops inside were unaware of this.

The vanguard cavalry was the elite Two White Banners of the Manchu Eight Banners, commanded by Dorgon’s elder brother, Prince Wuying Ajige. Although the Two White Banners ranked among the lower three of the eight banners, their status and power had soared since Dorgon became regent.

Ajige was appointed vanguard general because Dorgon wanted his elder brother Ajige and younger brother Duoduo to earn glory in this campaign against the Ming.

Ajige was one of the few fierce generals among the Jurchens but had a fatal flaw—he was not very clever.

When scouts reported a tens-of-thousands-strong army advancing north of Datong, Ajige’s brave but reckless nature took over. He ignored his own force of only 8,000 cavalry, disregarded the origin of the army outside Datong, and paid no mind to possible Ming forces inside the city. Without hesitation, he ordered an attack.

At Ajige’s command, the Jurchen cavalry quickly formed an assault formation and increased their pace.

Hooves thundering like waves, the 8,000 riders of the Two White Banners surged forward like a white hurricane, sweeping toward the Shaanxi volunteer army led by Li Yan.

The looters’ center.

The sudden arrival of the cavalry was so swift that just as Li Yan received news from Jing Maocheng, the riders already appeared within sight. Though it was unclear where the cavalry came from, one thing was certain—they were not reinforcements sent by the rebel king Li Zicheng!

Whether Mongols, Ming cavalry, or the rumored Jurchens, these riders were no friends of the volunteers. They were the enemy!

As enemies, they must prepare to meet them in the shortest time possible. If the cavalry broke the formation, the sixty thousand strong army would collapse like a landslide. Then all would be lost!

Li Yan acted decisively and shouted, “Order the entire army to halt immediately and form ranks on the spot!”

“Li Hu.”

“Present.”

“Immediately move all supply wagons of the logistics camp to the north and form a wagon fort!”

“Yes.”

“Huihui Camp, Geli Camp, Gaishi Camp, Luanshi Camp, and Zuo Jin Camp, close in on the central army. Spearmen on the outside, sword-and-shield infantry in the middle, archers on the inside. Form a circular defensive formation at once!”

“Yes.”

“Jing Maocheng, Li Xuan.”

“Present.”

“Crow Camp and Gushan Camp hold position and remain on alert in the center!”

“Yes.”

Li Yan’s orders were clear and methodical. If the Shaanxi volunteers could follow these commands and form a proper defense, their overwhelming numbers might prevent the Jurchen cavalry from gaining the upper hand. Unfortunately, Li Yan’s sixty-thousand-strong force was not a well-drilled elite but a disorderly mob.

When Ajige led his 8,000 strong cavalry charge forward, Li Hu had only just begun moving the wagons to the front and had not yet formed a complete wagon fort.

Although the Huihui, Geli, Gaishi, Luanshi, and Zuo Jin Camps had barely gathered, before the Jurchen cavalry arrived, their formation had already broken. The archers were stuck outside, unable to come in; the spearmen were blocked inside, unable to get out. It was a chaotic mess.

Only Jing Maocheng’s Crow Camp and Li Xuan’s Gushan Camp remained somewhat orderly. Sadly, these two camps were too small. Even after Li Yan added over 3,000 new recruits after last night’s fierce battle, together they numbered only about 5,000.

Datong, East Small Gate.

Big Beard shook his head, his expression conflicted. “The looters… they’re finished.”

Scarface’s expression also grew complicated—not with schadenfreude, nor sympathy, but a low sigh. “Though the looters have absolute numerical superiority, they face the elite heavy cavalry of the Jurchen Two White Banners. To withstand their charge will be extremely difficult. If the looters’ formation collapses, this battle will be a massacre.”

Zhao Xin lamented, “It’s tough on Li Yan. To have this ragtag force form a circular defense in such a short time is nearly impossible. This battle is effectively lost for the looters. Unless a miracle occurs, they can only await slaughter by the Jurchen cavalry.”

“Not necessarily,” Wang Pu suddenly shook his head, speaking gravely. “Though the wagon fort isn’t complete, those two thousand looters at the front seem like well-trained elite troops. The Jurchen cavalry is formidable, but breaking through them won’t be easy. The key now is whether Li Yan can organize the looters’ large circular defense before the Jurchens break through that elite vanguard.”

Zhao Xin suddenly realized something and shouted, “General, there is still a section of looters standing firm here. Why doesn’t Li Yan send them to the front?”

“Those looters are meant to guard against us,” Wang Pu shook his head with a sigh. “Li Yan fears we might take this chance to launch a pincer attack. Even with the enemy at our doorstep, Li Yan’s mind remains clear. He has not lowered his guard against us, which shows the battle is still under his control.”

“Is that so?” Big Beard and Scarface shook their heads skeptically. “We’ll see how long this Li Yan can hold out.”

Outside Datong, the surging Jurchen cavalry clashed head-on with the looters.

Jurchen cavalry differed from Mongol cavalry. Mongols were all light cavalry, skilled in guerrilla tactics. The Jurchens fielded many heavy cavalry—armored riders capable of breaking infantry formations with sheer impact. Of course, Jurchen heavy cavalry armor was quite different from the heavy plate armor of the Western world.

Their armor was not cumbersome solid plates but relatively light yet sturdy chainmail, made of thousands of interlinked iron rings. This effectively resisted slashing blades but was less protective against arrows.

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