Chapter 56

When the two Later Jin soldiers fell to the ground, their blood gushing out and staining the earth red, a deathly silence fell over the surroundings.

Aobai first showed an expression of disbelief, then immediately turned fierce. He could hardly believe that someone had just killed the brave warriors of the Later Jin right in front of him. At first, he found it unbelievable, but soon a surge of hot blood rushed to his head, and he immediately howled.

Seeing this, some might find it hard to believe, but historically, Aobai's character was just like this. Once he became impulsive, he would forget everything else.

Seeing the two Later Jin cavalrymen turned into pincushions by the repeating crossbows, Aobai had long forgotten the instructions given by Daisan. He yanked out the heavy tiger-headed spear from the saddle and shouted loudly, "Sound the horn to gather the troops, everyone, charge! Kill those despicable Ming dogs!" With that, he led the charge toward Yueyang and the others.

Seeing the two dead Later Jin cavalrymen, Yueyang knew that things could not be resolved peacefully. He immediately blew the sharp whistle around his neck.

"Whoo... Whoo..."

"Beep... Beep..."

The sound of the horns and the sharp whistles echoed across the grassland, the loud and sharp sounds rousing the entire camp.

Taking advantage of this moment, Yueyang and Hu Laosan quickly retreated behind dozens of soldiers. Hu Laosan lowered his face mask and said to Yueyang, "Young Master, it seems we can't resolve this peacefully with the Tartars today. When the fighting starts, you and Shunbao should leave first. I'll lead the brothers to cover your retreat!"

"Leave?" Yueyang smiled bitterly and shook his head. "This is all Tartar and Mongol territory. Where can I go? I'd rather fight and die here with my brothers than run away in disgrace."

In modern society, Yueyang was a homebody, but he had a tough streak in him. Now that he had no place to run, he became resolute. He drew a goose feather saber from his waist and shouted, "Brothers, today we fight to the death. We are all good men of the Great Ming. Even if we die in battle, we must not tarnish the name of the Great Ming men! Everyone, listen up! The pikemen, raise your spears! The sword and shield men, load the crossbows! Everyone, prepare for battle!"

The soldiers, who had been anxious seeing over a hundred Later Jin soldiers charging on horseback, gradually calmed down upon hearing Yueyang's words. Once an army knows it must die, it often becomes filled with the courage to fight to the death. The pikemen planted their spears diagonally in the ground, the spear tips pointing forward, while the sword and shield men quickly reloaded their crossbows and aimed them at the charging cavalry.

Soon, the distance between the Later Jin cavalry and Yueyang's small formation shortened to about a hundred meters. Yueyang shouted, "Fire!"

"Thud thud thud..."

Another rapid volley of arrows flew toward the charging cavalry.

"Swish swish swish... thud thud..."

The sounds of arrows piercing armor and flesh mixed together. Under the dense barrage, over a dozen leading Later Jin cavalrymen, along with their horses, fell to the ground, making their final sounds in this world.

Even Aobai, who was at the forefront, could not escape the dense arrow rain. Although he was wearing two layers of strong cotton armor, there were still areas not covered. A steel arrow with a triangular bleeding groove pierced his left arm, causing Aobai to feel a sharp pain, and the longbow he was holding fell to the ground.

However, Aobai was also brave. Despite the arrow in his left arm, he still shouted, "Brave warriors of the Later Jin, fire!"

The Later Jin cavalry, who had already drawn their bows, immediately released the arrows.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

The dull sound of bowstrings rang out as nearly a hundred long arrows flew in an arc toward Yueyang and the others.

Seeing the arrows flying through the sky, Hu Laosan, standing behind the formation, quickly noticed. Without time to speak, he pulled Yueyang off his horse and threw himself on top of Yueyang. Yueyang, not knowing what was happening, heard a series of metallic clinks and occasional dull thuds.

Being pulled off the horse, Yueyang felt a sharp pain. After a while, he felt Hu Laosan release him and heard him shouting orders, "Pikemen, engage the enemy! Sword and shield men, move forward to assist!"

As Hu Laosan's words echoed, the sound of impact and the roars of the soldiers and the clashing of weapons followed.

Yueyang struggled to his feet and looked around. The Later Jin cavalry had already engaged the front line of over a dozen pikemen, and the sword and shield men had rushed forward to fight the subsequent waves of Later Jin cavalry. Soldiers were being cut down and falling in pools of blood, but surprisingly, most of the fallen were Later Jin cavalry.

"How can this be? How can this be!"

At this moment, less than four hundred meters away, Daisan, the instigator of this incident, was riding a horse and watching the battle with surprise. His expression was not good, as the situation had already exceeded his expectations.

The arrow rain from the Later Jin cavalry had not caused much damage to the pikemen. The arrows that should have brought death and fear to the pikemen were deflected by their armor. This situation was beyond the understanding of the Later Jin cavalry, but regardless, they eventually collided with the well-prepared pikemen.

Surprisingly, in this collision, over a dozen Later Jin cavalrymen were impaled by the pikemen and fell from their horses. They were then trampled by the subsequent waves of cavalry and soon engaged in battle with the sword and shield men.

In what should have been a one-sided slaughter, the cavalry did not gain much advantage. Many of the pikemen who were knocked down by the Later Jin cavalry, except for a few who were killed or severely injured, managed to get back up and rejoin the fight. This situation left Daisan, the mastermind, speechless.

In Daisan's plan, Aobai was only supposed to provoke and test the combat capabilities of the Ming guards, especially the effectiveness of their armor. That was Daisan's true intention.

However, the situation quickly spiraled out of his control. The attitude of the Ming merchant was as stubborn as a stone in a latrine, and Daisan had clearly overestimated Aobai's abilities. He now realized that Aobai's intelligence was not much higher than that of the pigs he raised at home. Such an animal was suitable for charging, but plotting and scheming were beyond his capabilities.

What was supposed to be a simple provocation and test quickly escalated into a large-scale conflict.

"This Aobai is a complete failure, unable to handle even such a small task!" Daisan's face was as red as the buttocks of a certain tree-climbing primate.

Daisan was now in a difficult position. The situation had already exceeded his control, and he noticed that Zaisang had appeared beside him. Not far away, the Mongols were quietly gathering.

"Daisan, don't you think you should give me an explanation for this?" Zaisang looked at Daisan with a hostile tone.

Although Zaisang was straightforward like a Mongol, a man who had been the leader of the科尔沁部落 for decades was certainly not a fool. He knew without a doubt that this was Daisan's doing. Attacking a merchant caravan coming to do business in Mongolia could be a minor misunderstanding, but it could also severely damage the reputation of the科尔沁部落.

Reputation may not seem valuable, but sometimes it can be a matter of life and death. If word got out that the科尔沁部落 incited others to attack merchants doing business in their territory, the科尔沁部落's reputation would be ruined. No one would dare to do business with a tribe that couldn't protect its own merchants.

Seeing Zaisang's face, which looked as if his mother had been violated a hundred times, Daisan had already cursed Aobai's female relatives dozens of times in his heart...

PS: Requesting recommendations and votes for the Three Rivers!

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