"Is this what it is?" In the Manchu army, Daishan held a bullet casing brought by a soldier, frowned and thought for a long time before instructing, "Keep these safe. When we get back, give them to the craftsmen and see if they can find anything."
“Banner Master.” A messenger ran over quickly, knelt on one knee and reported: “The pursuing soldiers have suffered heavy casualties. The casualties have now exceeded the strength of one Jiala (1,500 men, equivalent to five Niru). We still haven’t surrounded the enemy. The soldiers’ morale is low. Dukang Jiala Ejen requests that the Banner Master send more soldiers.”
"Send another Jala, and make sure he is captured. Tell the soldiers that whoever captures that man will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold and promoted to Jala Ejen, an exception to the usual practice." Upon hearing this, Daishan gave the order without hesitation. It seemed as if sending a Jala of 1,500 men (one Jala is five Niru) was not to deal with one person, but an entire army.
"Father, including this Jiala, we've now sent four Jiala's worth of troops to pursue them. Could this be a diversionary tactic?" Daito said anxiously. Four Jiala, six or seven thousand men, is equivalent to a quarter of their forces, yet they haven't captured a single person and have lost over 1,500. And this has only been a little over half an incense stick's time. This situation is extremely strange, and the enemy keeps circling around, never truly escaping.
“Even if it’s a diversionary tactic by the enemy, a strategy to divide their forces, we must pursue them. Even if it means giving up all the spoils of war, we must capture that man and seize his new firearms. Those weapons are far too important to us.” Upon hearing this, Daishan said without hesitation. Although his heart was bleeding, he saw things more clearly than Daito. Those new firearms would be a tremendous asset not only to the Qing Dynasty, but also to the Ming Dynasty, and indeed to any army. They could absolutely change the course of the war, and even alter the entire political landscape.
Dai Shan even had a worry in his heart: what if the Ming army were to be equipped with this weapon on a large scale? In that case, they would be unable to resist at all. If there was no way to fight back, the entire Qing Dynasty might even be destroyed. He had not forgotten the massacres they had committed. Therefore, no matter what, even if it was a ploy by the enemy to lure them away or divide their forces, no matter how many casualties they suffered, he had to obtain this new type of firearm.
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"What's going on? This strange noise has been going on and on." The Manchu army had stopped, and the prisoners tied together at the back of the Manchu ranks, listening to the continuous echoing of the strange noise, immediately began to whisper among themselves.
"Could it be that someone is coming to rescue us?" a young girl asked hopefully. Heaven help them, what would happen if they were captured and taken to Manchu territory, what kind of miserable life would they endure?
“How could that be? Those people won’t come to save us at all. They only care about themselves and their money. Otherwise, why didn’t anyone come to rescue the people who were captured before?” A craftsman shook his head in rebuttal. He had already given up hope for his future.
"Even if someone comes to rescue us, they can't defeat these Manchu soldiers," a scholar said pessimistically. In the wars between the Ming Dynasty and the Manchus, the Ming Dynasty suffered more defeats than victories, and even when they did win, it was only a minor and insignificant victory.
"Someone must be coming to rescue us! Look, the Qing soldiers are making a big move; it seems there's a battle ahead!" a tall, thin man suddenly exclaimed excitedly. He pointed to the Qing troops in front of him, where many Qing soldiers were already moving about.
"They must have been driven back; these Manchu soldiers are pursuing the defeated enemy." Upon hearing this, the scholar glanced at the scene and shook his head.
"Shut up, all of you! Anyone who talks nonsense will lose their head!" The Manchu soldiers in charge of guarding the prisoners and slaves saw them talking amongst themselves and immediately took their riding whips and lashed some of them. Some were even stabbed. The Manchu soldiers kept cursing the prisoners and slaves loudly in broken Chinese.
Upon seeing these fierce-looking Manchu soldiers, the crowd fell silent once more, no longer daring to discuss anything. Only a few of the bolder ones whispered amongst themselves.
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"Clatter, clatter, clatter..." Maxim's voice echoed continuously. Wang Han rode backwards on his horse, maintaining a certain distance from the pursuing cavalry. He neither shook off the Qing soldiers nor gave them a chance to catch up. Wang Han's senses were like a miniature map, preventing them from encircling him. He didn't go too far, constantly circling the main Qing force. A large number of corpses were left behind along the way.
Hearing the constant, strange gunfire, Daishan and Daito's faces were so grim they seemed to be dripping with gloom. The pursuit had already lasted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn (equivalent to thirty minutes), but the strange noises hadn't truly ceased. Instead, reports kept pouring in about how many soldiers had been lost. Countless warriors had fallen to the ground, yet the enemy remained a single figure. They had already lost nearly three thousand soldiers, yet they were still helpless against the black-armored man. But precisely because of this, they desperately didn't want to give up, and absolutely dared not. Even though they had realized the enemy was using ranger tactics to wear them down, they still hoped the enemy would continue in this manner rather than see them escape.
"Send another one, no, send two more Jala troops to chase after him. Daito, you lead the pursuit yourself, and also send the cavalry of those Mongol vassals who are our vassals. We absolutely cannot let that man escape!" Daishan roared at the messenger again.
"Yes." Upon hearing this, Daito immediately responded.
"Remember, catch him at all costs," Dai Shan instructed.
“Yes, Father.” Daito nodded firmly. He knew that he could not give up on this matter because of his father’s attitude.
Before long, six or seven thousand soldiers and cavalrymen broke away from the main force and rushed toward the direction from which the gunfire came. These six or seven thousand soldiers, together with those previously sent out, were almost half of the Manchu army's strength, and eight or nine out of ten cavalrymen had already been sent out.
After leading his soldiers out into formation, Daito immediately split into several groups of a thousand men each, and they surrounded the enemy from different directions where the gunfire was coming from.
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"That's about enough." After firing another 1,200 rounds from an ammunition box, Wang Han finally stopped. He had emptied more than ten ammunition boxes and fired tens of thousands of rounds. The Manchu soldiers had killed at least two or three thousand men; continuing any longer would be illogical. Wang Han gently stroked the horse's back, infusing the exhausted horse with a bit of life force. The horse immediately picked up speed again, leaving the pursuing Manchu cavalry far behind. Wang Han then used illusion magic to control the horse, guiding it back towards the hillside he had come from.
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