The Ming Army infantry wielded powerful longbows with remarkable range. At such close quarters, quilted armor proved useless against the armor-piercing arrows fired from these bows. A rain of arrows unleashed by hundreds of Ming archers instantly engulfed the Jiannu Cavalry; the air was thick with the sound of whistling shafts, the shrieks of dying men, curses, the frantic whinnying of warhorses, and the dull thud of hooves.
Jiannu horsemen struck in vital spots tumbled from their mounts, only to be trampled beneath the hooves of the charging cavalry. Others, though still in their saddles, found themselves unable to counterattack as their spooked horses bolted in every direction. While these factors were lethal, they were not the most fatal.
The truly fatal blow came from the Ming spearmen charging forward. They carried spears over ten feet long—far outreaching the scimitars of the Jiannu Cavalry. These spears served as both a barrier against the cavalry charge and a tool for piercing armor. As the spears darted through the air, blood sprayed in every direction. The horsemanship and archery that the Eight Banners so prided themselves on were rendered useless in that moment; they fell one by one, wounded or slain. Soon, the ground was carpeted with mangled flesh and shattered armor.
Chapter 232