Up to this very moment, Ma Xianglin's forces had done almost nothing at all. Not a single arrow had been loosed, not a blade crossed in close combat. They advanced at an almost leisurely pace, maintaining their formations with calm discipline, spreading out to protect the flanks on both the left and right. And yet, despite this restrained advance, the enemy's front line had already crumbled. The marauders defending the so called city wall were in full retreat, their courage collapsing faster than their ranks.
Some scrambled over the wall in panic, managed only a few stumbling steps, and were cut down before they could catch their breath. Others hunched low and sprinted forward, only to be struck down by gunfire after a handful of steps. Still others cowered behind the wall itself, bodies shaking, daring to lift their heads just enough to peek out, only for half their faces to be shattered by a shot that sent them tumbling lifelessly to the ground.
Faced with such a scene, the marauders simply no longer knew how to fight. This was something entirely beyond their understanding.
Even Ma Xianglin himself felt dazed. As he watched the enemy fall apart before him, he could not help but mutter inwardly, Who am I? Where am I? What exactly am I doing here? I am a White Pole Soldier of Sichuan, famed for ferocity and courage. I have not even exchanged a single blow with the enemy, and yet it looks as though we are about to win.
A subordinate ran up and shouted, "General, we are almost at the city wall. Should we continue advancing slowly?"
Ma Xianglin froze on the spot.
For a brief moment, his mind went blank, and he genuinely did not know what order he should give next.
At that moment, Cheng Xu's loud, steady voice rang out from behind him. "General Ma, please take the wall."
Ma Xianglin did not hesitate any longer. He simply passed the order along. "White Pole Soldiers, charge. Take the wall."
At once, the spirits of the White Pole Soldiers from Sichuan surged upward like a rising tide. At last, there was something for them to do.
With a thunderous battle cry, they rushed forward. The temporary wall stood before them, barely reaching waist height. What use was such a wall? The White Pole Soldiers vaulted over it in a single leap. Behind it, the marauders who had been stunned and suppressed by gunfire were still crouching and trembling, desperately trying to dodge bullets. They never imagined that the enemy's White Pole Soldiers would actually leap the wall and fall upon them.
In an instant, the fight turned into a bloody clash at close quarters. And in such fighting, who had the White Pole Soldiers of Sichuan ever feared?
White waxwood spears thrust forward in a furious storm, stabbing into the huddled mass of marauders behind the wall. Those who had barely survived the gunfire found that there was no escape this time. After only a brief struggle, the wall was completely taken.
Ma Xianglin let out a booming laugh. "I have never taken a city so easily in my entire life."
Still laughing, he was about to order his troops to push deeper into the city when he noticed something strange. Cheng Xu's firearm troops were not advancing at all. Instead, they had rapidly dropped to one knee, all crouching behind the low wall.
The wall that had just been seized now served as their cover. The firearm soldiers rested their barrels on the wall, aiming steadily into the streets of the city.
Ma Xianglin turned and asked, puzzled, "You are not advancing?"
Cheng Xu swept his gaze ahead. Before them lay a dense sprawl of houses, tangled streets, twisting alleys, cramped courtyards, and intersections at every turn. How could firearm troops simply march into such a place? If they rushed forward carelessly, it would take no more than seventeen or eighteen old women popping out from side alleys to surround them and cut them down from all directions.
He waved his hand and said, "General Ma, our firearm troops are strongest at long range. These winding alleyways are not favorable terrain for us."
Ma Xianglin nodded. "Then what is the plan?"
Cheng Xu chuckled, though a dull headache was already forming.
At that moment, Gao Chuwu spoke up again. "Do not try to take everything in a single rush. Advance slowly, layer by layer. First, secure all the houses along the first street. Once it is firmly held, set up the firearms there, then move on to the second layer."
Gao Chuwu himself was not issuing orders, of course. Everyone present understood that these words came from Dao Xuan Tianzun. In modern warfare, especially after the appearance of trench fighting, battles were never resolved in a single charge. Progress was slow and methodical, advancing layer by layer, street by street, line by line. Advancing only tens of meters over the course of several hours was entirely normal. There was no need for reckless charges deep into the city like in ancient battles. Such methods were simply unnecessary.
Cheng Xu immediately understood. "Nibbling tactics. General Ma, your men in front, mine behind. We will take the first layer of streets."
Ma Xianglin nodded and waved his hand. The White Pole Soldiers moved out again. Advancing in tight formation, they were far beyond what the marauders could hope to resist. Even in alley fighting, they feared no one.
Whenever marauders dared poke their heads out from rooftops, hoping to loose arrows or hurl stones, sharp gunshots rang out at once, and the marauders were knocked from the rooftops like broken dolls. Before long, not a single enemy dared show themselves above.
With no threats raining down from above, what did the White Pole Soldiers have to fear? With a roaring shout, they surged into the street. After a short and brutal exchange, the first street was firmly in their hands.
The firearm troops followed immediately. They burst into houses, extending their gun barrels out through windows. Some climbed onto rooftops, setting up firing positions at higher vantage points and aiming toward the second layer of streets.
From the rooftops, the firearm soldiers enjoyed wide lines of sight and commanding fields of fire, bringing large stretches of the surrounding streets under their control. The marauders operating in the second street were instantly turned into living targets.
After a flurry of gunfire, the marauders visible to the naked eye were scattered and broken. The White Pole Soldiers advanced once more, pouring into the second street.
At this point, the marauders' defeat was complete, like a mountain collapsing inward. Their carefully planned alley warfare proved utterly useless. They could not even get close to the firearm troops.
Seeing this, Lao Huihui made a swift decision. "Enough. Preserve the strength of the cavalry. We will not take part in this battle." With a single order, his iron cavalry withdrew rapidly to the north. Zijing Liang Wang Ziyong, Chuang Wang, the Eight Great Kings of the South Camp, Fan Shan Yao, and others soon saw their own forces collapse as well, unable to continue fighting.
Marauders were, after all, marauders. When defeat became obvious, they always chose flight. Once they realized there was no hope of victory, they scattered faster than startled rabbits, fleeing Daning County and disappearing into the northern wilderness. Daning County was finally retaken.
Ma Xianglin walked slowly through the streets, occasionally nudging a bandit's corpse with his foot to make sure it was not feigning death. As he walked, he let out a quiet sigh. "Is there truly no one left alive in Daning County?"
His subordinate's expression was grim. "The houses are filled with civilian corpses."
Ma Xianglin's heart grew heavy. He changed the subject. "I truly cannot understand General Xing's way of fighting."
Zhang Fengyi, walking beside him, murmured softly, "Yes. I cannot understand it either. If we were to face such an army, husband, what do you think our chances of victory would be?"
"Chances of victory?" Ma Xianglin did not know whether to laugh or cry. "What chances would there be at all?"
Zhang Fengyi fell silent.
Ma Xianglin continued, "All I can say is that it is fortunate they are not bandits, but government soldiers who accepted amnesty. If they had joined Wang Jiayin's rebellion instead, we would never have been able to stop them."
Zhang Fengyi nodded slowly. "In Puxian, I saw them share half their rations with the common people. They are truly good people, not marauders. That is a great relief."
As they spoke, a White Pole Soldier ran up from ahead and reported, "General, there are still residents alive in the houses ahead."
Ma Xianglin's spirits lifted at once. "There are survivors? Excellent. Let us go and see."
He and Zhang Fengyi hurried toward that street. At the same time, several leaders of the Gao Family Village militia also received the news and rushed toward the same place.