Chapter 48: Raid the Royal Court, Ten Thousand Horses Galloping!!

For Aha Chu, it was even more so for the entire Jianzhou Jurchen people.

As a small tribe, they could only depend on larger ones; otherwise, they would have been exterminated long ago in this North Frontier ruled by the law of the jungle.

Compared to other Jurchen tribes, the reason the Jianzhou Jurchens were somewhat more prosperous was due to the support of the Yuan Court.

Even if the Yuan Court was weak, to other ethnic groups, it remained that invincible Yuan Court.

If they offended the Ming, other groups could still migrate north to distance themselves from the Ming, but if they offended the Yuan Court, they would find it difficult to survive in this North Frontier.

As a tribal chieftain, the first priority was the survival of the tribe, and the same applied to Aha Chu.

"Agunu."

"I, your chieftain, will give you one last chance. You must annihilate this invading Ming force."

"And that Zhu Ying."

"You must take him. It is best to capture him alive; if not, tear him into ten thousand pieces," Aha Chu said coldly.

"Your subordinate will not disappoint the chieftain."

"If I fail to annihilate Zhu Ying and the Ming army this time, I am willing to accept death," Agunu promised immediately.

"The Ming army possesses the strength of cavalry. I shall entrust you with the last two thousand elite guards of our tribe."

"I hope you do not disappoint me." Aha Chu waved his hand with a sense of finality.

Currently, the Yuan Court had repeatedly sent people to request reinforcements, demanding he send troops; to refuse would be a crime.

Therefore, this Ming force had to be dealt with.

...

Under the cover of night.

The Jianzhou Jurchen tribal seat was very peaceful.

As the most prosperous tribe within its territory, it was surrounded by multiple smaller tribes that acted as a protective ring around the main tribal seat.

The combined population of these tribes numbered tens of thousands.

In other tribes—especially those being attacked by Zhu Ying's army—the Jurchens had already deployed heavy troops. This was also a trap; they were merely waiting for Zhu Ying to lead his army to attack those tribes again, at which point the prepared forces would immediately form an encirclement to deal with him through absolute numerical superiority.

Although most troops had been sent to deal with Zhu Ying, several thousand soldiers remained stationed at the tribal seat. Outside the seat, many Jurchen infantrymen patrolled under the cover of night, and their sentry system was more complete than that of the Jurchen tribes closer to the Ming.

After all, this was a tribal seat, and its defenses were stronger.

Less than two li away from the tribe.

Under the night sky.

An army, moving like ghosts, had completed its assembly. Surrounding them were tens of thousands of warhorses, though they were kept dispersed.

"Commander."

"Following your orders, the soldiers have driven the horses in batches. The scouts report that the sentries of the Jurchen tribal seat have not been alerted," Wei Quan reported to Zhu Ying.

"Very good."

Zhu Ying nodded, his gaze fixed on the distant tribal seat.

Outside the sentries of the tribal seat, fires flickered, hundreds of watchtowers stood tall, and hundreds or even thousands of Jurchen soldiers patrolled the perimeter.

"Are the brothers ready?" Zhu Ying asked with a serious expression.

"Please rest assured, Commander, everyone is ready."

"Everything that needed to be explained has been explained to the brothers."

"In this battle, even if we die, we shall have no regrets!" the various thousand-man commanders shouted in unison.

Zhu Ying nodded and lifted his precious carved bow.

"Drive the horses toward the Jurchen tribe."

"Ten thousand horses charging together—the momentum of ten thousand galloping horses is enough to smash through all the Jurchen sentries."

"Our army shall charge alongside the horses," Zhu Ying said in a deep voice.

"Understood!" the thousand-man commanders shouted in unison.

Once the commanders were ready and had returned to their respective camps, Zhu Ying did not hesitate. He gave a low command: "Attack!"

"Brothers!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!" the commanders roared.

Immediately following.

"Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!"

The soldiers roared, striking the surrounding warhorses with their whips.

Suddenly, a series of horse whinnies erupted.

Tens of thousands of horses instantly galloped, charging toward the Jurchen tribal seat.

The sight of ten thousand horses charging was magnificent. The entire night seemed to be enveloped by the thunderous sound of their hooves.

"Kill!"

With a low shout, Zhu Ying charged forward with his saber.

"We swear to follow the Commander to the death!"

"Kill!"

All the soldiers shouted loudly, charging toward the Jurchen tribal seat alongside the stampeding mass of horses.

At the Jurchen tribal seat.

The patrolling Jurchen soldiers looked toward the direction of the galloping horses in panic and confusion.

Many soldiers on the watchtowers were also jolted awake.

"Not good!"

"Enemy attack!"

"It is the Ming army! They are coming!"

"They didn't attack our outlying tribes; they are attacking the tribal seat!"

"Quick... quickly report to the chieftain!"

"Set up defenses! Quickly, set up defenses!"

Jurchen soldiers screamed in panic.

At this moment, everyone was in a state of chaos.

The once peaceful Jianzhou Jurchen tribal seat had fallen into turmoil.

However, the Jurchen soldiers stationed at the seat were their elites, trained in combat tactics passed down from the Yuan Court.

At the front lines of the tribal seat.

The Jurchen soldiers on the watchtowers raised their bows, and the Jurchen within the seat gathered, preparing arrows and long spears with extreme caution.

"Fire!"

As the countless horses charged, under the cover of night, one could only see a massive wave of horses approaching, looking as if tens of thousands of Ming cavalry were descending upon them.

On the watchtowers and within the tribal seat behind the closed gates, Jurchen soldiers rained arrows down like a storm, firing frantically into the hazy darkness where the horses were charging.

Amidst the rain of arrows, many horses were pierced through. But horses are not men; after being hit, they let out painful whinnies but could not stop, forced to continue charging alongside their companions.

In the blink of an eye, the mass of horses reached the gates of the tribal seat.

Facing the watchtowers and the gates ahead, the horses were driven forward with reckless abandon.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

A series of heavy impacts echoed.

Many horses crashed directly into the gates, making them wobble precariously, while others slammed into the wooden fences.

If this were a walled city, ten thousand galloping horses would merely be delivering themselves to their deaths. But this was a Jurchen tribe, a Northern Frontier settlement; how could their fences and gates compare to city walls?

"This is bad!"

"These are horses driven by the Ming army!"

"The fences are about to break, and the gates won't hold!"

"Not good..."

Countless Jurchen soldiers inside cried out in terror.

Particularly those Jurchen who were desperately blocking the gates; they were now bearing the impact of countless charging horses.

Finally!

The fences and gates of the Jurchen tribal seat reached their breaking point.

*Boom!*

The gates were smashed open by the sheer force of the horses.

"Ahhh... Ahhh..."

The horses trampled everything in their path.

Countless Jurchen soldiers let out agonizing screams as they were crushed to death under the hooves.

"The Commander is truly brilliant."

"Gathering the horses not only allows for rapid movement but also bolsters the charging power of our army."

"Ten thousand horses charging—this momentum is comparable to the impact of tens of thousands of soldiers."

"In this battle,"

"We shall leave this Jurchen tribal seat without a single survivor!"

"Brothers!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Watching the stampede break through the Jurchen defenses, the Ming soldiers roared with excitement.