Qi Yuanshan could not let these Tatars escape. He urged his horse, raised his saber, and gave the order: "All soldiers must remember their identities, do not harm our own people, and also the citizens of the Great Ming."
Qi Yuanshan automatically categorized the people of Longcheng and Qilin Town under the wing of the Great Ming.
"Yes." The response was earth-shattering.
"Old Jin, you take your men to circle behind the Tatars and cut off their retreat. The rest of you, charge with me."
"Yes."
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The soldiers of Eaglebeak Cliff had been waiting for this moment for years. Today, they could finally confront the Tatars head-on. Under the leadership of Commander Qi, they charged with unstoppable momentum.
Seeing their excitement, they charged forward as if they were snatching red envelopes.
The Tatars were stunned. Were these Great Ming people endless? This group after group, they outnumbered the Tatar warriors who came to the Great Ming to plunder.
Moreover, they had not even reached the proper territory of the Great Ming, and several groups had already appeared.
By this time, the sky was completely bright, and they recognized the third group to arrive as legitimate border guards of the Great Ming.
Especially the commander leading them, some of them recognized him, and they particularly remembered his saber.
Heh, in a way, they were old acquaintances.
But then again, they hadn't even reached the proper territory of the Great Ming yet. Why had these Great Ming soldiers come out? This was different from their past experiences!
The Tatars' heads were spinning with question marks, each of them trying to figure out where things had gone wrong.
Qi Yuanshan, leading the soldiers of his thousand-household unit, didn't care what the Tatars were thinking, nor did he care that they had already crossed the border of the Great Ming.
They just wanted to beat the Tatars back the moment they appeared, and it would be even better if they killed them.
Their minds were focused on one thought: fight them. If they didn't annihilate this Tatar troop, they wouldn't stop fighting.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The shouts of the Great Ming soldiers reached both sides engaged in battle.
The companions and Lan Tianyao, during brief lulls in their fighting, stole glances.
Their eyes lit up, and inwardly they roared, "They've finally seen the regular army of the Great Ming!"
Although their military uniforms were somewhat worn, their imposing aura was undeniable, and they looked quite formidable.
Although the companions had all seen Qi Yuanshan before, they didn't have time to greet him now.
Lan Tianyao and his group were seeing the Great Ming army for the first time. Their eyes shone brightly, almost emitting sparks.
A regular army was indeed a regular army. A thousand-strong regular army was on par with the Tatars in terms of numbers.
For no apparent reason, they felt a sense of confidence.
Fu Xinci saw the banner of the Great Ming and knew that Uncle Qi and his men had arrived. Her next actions became more restrained, no longer as reckless as before.
Following the captain's subtle hint, the companions collectively put away their individual skills.
This time, it was a fight with real swords and sabers. The companions all fought cleanly and efficiently.
Lan Tianyao watched with envy, almost wanting to hug Longteng and gnaw on him.
From a distance, he discussed with the captain, "Hey, Longteng, after this battle, why don't you come stay with us for a few days and help us with some strengthening?"
The captain was fully engrossed in the fight. He hadn't had such a satisfying battle in a long time. He had no time to pay attention to Lan Tianyao and the Great Ming Dynasty.
Lan Tianyao: He had called out into the void.
Although Qi Yuanshan didn't hear what they were saying, he quickly joined the fray with his soldiers.
With the addition of the soldiers, the tide of the battle immediately turned, and the pressure on the companions' shoulders instantly vanished.
Before, with fewer numbers, they could only rely on clever tactics and quick strikes to avoid being at a disadvantage against the Tatars.
Now, with the Great Ming soldiers joining them, they felt like fish in water.
Everyone also knew how to adapt. Their lives in recent months had gradually integrated them into this land, and cooperating with the Great Ming soldiers was even more seamless.
Qi Yuanshan took a general look and knew that these people were all skilled fighters.
"Ah," he thought, "I'm starting to covet them again."
Longteng felt several gazes following him and wished he could burrow underground again.
However, the battle was not yet over, and he couldn't leave.
An hour later, everyone began to clean up the battlefield.
The several sub-commanders were also very excited, especially Old Jin, who loudly called out to Qi Yuanshan.
"Yuanshan, how should we collect these spoils of war?"
Qi Yuanshan glanced at the neat rows of courtyards on the hillside, then lowered his head to discuss with Old Jin.
"These Tatars were discovered by Xin Ci's friends."
"They also led the charge. And Yuanshan, look, these young men seem to have martial skills, and those women can also fight. I just took a good look, two women took on one Tatar and quickly took him down."
"That's right. Also, this is their territory. And most importantly, they shielded us from disaster."
"Precisely."
"If it weren't for Xin Ci's friends sending word, and Xin Ci having Little He send me a message, we still wouldn't know the Tatars were right under our noses."
"They saved us at Eaglebeak Cliff."
"Then, about these spoils of war?"
"Let's discuss it with Xin Ci and her friends."
"Yes, that's what I think too."
Next, while the soldiers were finding a place to bury the Tatar corpses, Qi Yuanshan, through Fu Xinci, summoned the captain and Lan Tianyao.
Lan Tianyao had already learned from Longteng that this commander was Fu Xiaoniu's future father-in-law.
But when Lan Tianyao truly saw Qi Yuanshan's face clearly, he couldn't bring himself to call him "uncle."
He thought for a moment, his eyes darted around, and he still couldn't say it. He imitated the ancient way and cupped his fists in greeting: "This commoner, Lan Tianyao, pays his respects to Commander."
"Rise."
Qi Yuanshan had been smiling with his lips pursed. Although this was his first time meeting Lan Tianyao, he found the man to be quite agreeable.
If Qi He were here, he would have added to his father's words: "Sister Fu's friends are all agreeable to you."
This statement was not wrong, especially after Qi Yuanshan had witnessed their combat prowess. He wished he could recruit all of them into the Eaglebeak Cliff thousand-household unit right now.
If these people could truly join the border defense army, he dared to say that the Tatar iron hooves would never again tread on the lands of Liaodong.
However, neither Lan Tianyao nor Longteng mentioned this. Qi Yuanshan, having no choice, pinned his hopes on Xin Ci.
Fu Xinci couldn't dig a hole for her companions, so she had to apologize to Uncle Qi.
Thus, Fu Xinci glanced at everyone, then stated the initial thoughts of the captain and Lan Tianyao.
"Uncle Qi, what Qilin Town and Longcheng Town lack most are horses."
Qi Yuanshan had also noticed this point. So many people, yet only a dozen or so horses.