411
Breaking the Reinforcements
The moment Nanchang fell,
Park Seong-jin rode south with the five thousand cavalry led by Yao Zhang.
They turned immediately, cutting east across the plains,
pushing their pace to meet the main enemy force descending from Jingdezhen.
Yao Zhang urged his horse forward and asked,
“Is this the right direction, Captain? There shouldn’t be enemies beneath this ridge.”
Park Seong-jin brushed aside low branches as he rode ahead.
“It’s Master Yun’s judgment. It’s likely correct.”
Yao Zhang frowned.
“They say the enemy numbers forty… fifty thousand.
We have only five thousand.”
Park answered shortly,
“We’re cavalry.”
When Yao Zhang’s expression did not ease,
Park added one more sentence.
“We’re cavalry.”
He spoke as if five thousand horsemen defeating fifty thousand armored troops
were the most natural thing in the world—
as if to say, why don’t you see that?
Yao Zhang clicked his tongue.
He was a veteran commander himself.
He knew the strength of cavalry.
Even so, this calculation did not sit easily.
Better to confirm than to pretend understanding.
“So cavalry alone is enough?” he asked.
Park looked toward the distant gorge.
“They’re food to us. It’s enough.”
He traced again the red line Yun Dam had drawn on the map—
a southeast turn from Nanchang, skirting the lower edge of Poyang Lake,
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through a narrow passage beneath a bent ridgeline,
a gorge leading west of Jingdezhen toward Poyang County.
Yao Zhang asked again,
“If they’ve already heard that Nanchang has fallen,
they might not come at all.”
Without turning his head, Park replied,
“If they don’t come, we make them come.
That’s why we adjusted the timing of the Nanchang assault.”
“…You delayed it on purpose?
Even though you could have taken it sooner?”
“Of course.
They’ll come.
And if they don’t—
we make them.”
Yao Zhang squinted.
“How?”
Park answered simply,
“Provocation.”
“That’s dangerous.”
Park’s eyes curved into a thin smile.
“I can’t very well make others do it and stay behind myself.”
As the sun dipped low,
Yao Zhang sent two hundred riders to sweep the outskirts of Gucheng.
They burned the remaining grain stores
and deliberately showed themselves along the enemy’s expected route.
Soon, the Ming vanguard halted.
At that moment, a cavalryman shouted,
“Nanchang has already fallen!
If you mean to save it—come quickly!”
He wheeled his horse and vanished.
That single line threw the reinforcement camp into turmoil.
Like beasts scenting blood, the army began to move.
Just before dawn the next day,
a scout came galloping over the ridge.
Panting, he reported,
“Enemy cavalry.
The banner belongs to General Deng Yu—
the Eighth Wing.”
Yao Zhang ground his teeth.
“They’ve come to confirm whether Nanchang truly fell.”
Park Seong-jin smiled, almost slyly.
He wanted to believe that sparing that one life
had already begun to pay dividends.
Honestly, what difference did one life make?
Feeling the wind flowing through the gorge, he said,
“They came when called.
General Deng Yu himself.”
Gorge Maneuver Warfare
Five Thousand Cavalry Shatter Fifty Thousand Infantry
The gorge at Poyang County was perfect for an ambush—
exactly as Yun Dam had chosen.
Eight thousand cavalry led the enemy advance.
Behind them, thirty thousand infantry moved along the river road.
Yao Zhang spoke low.
“The vanguard alone is eight thousand.”
Park pointed toward the gorge.
“Which is why this is good.”
“Good?” Yao echoed.
Park tapped the narrow path.
“Five horses can’t ride abreast.
The rear won’t be able to move.”
Yao Zhang nodded.
“We block them and rake the flanks with arrows.”
“We press them until they can’t even turn their horses.”
Park led five hundred mounted archers to the gorge entrance.
From the darkness, a wave of cavalry rolled down.
There was no plan left to speak of.
The two forces collided head-on at the mouth of the gorge.
For an instant, the world froze.
KRAAANG—
Hooves smashed into hooves.
Spears splintered.
Shields cracked.
Horses screamed and fell.
Park loosed volleys from the front—
then immediately withdrew.
Seeing the five hundred flee,
Deng Yu’s cavalry surged in pursuit.
When the pursuing formation stretched thin,
Park yanked the reins.
“Hold here.
Drag in everything that can block them.
Archers—ready. Scatter fire.”
The soldiers moved in a blur.
Enemy riders burst through the choke point into a wider stretch.
“Prepare to fire.”
The signal shrilled.
Fweeeee—
Bowstrings snapped.
Arrows flew in unison.
The enemy vanguard collapsed.
From the sloped ground, arrows poured down like rain.
At that moment,
Yao Zhang’s troops, hidden on both ridges, unleashed their volleys.
The enemy’s long column was severed at the waist.
Cavalry were trapped in the gorge.
Arrows fell from front and flank alike.
Men and horses went down one after another.
The formation never recovered.
Advance was blocked.
Retreat was sealed.
By that morning,
the reinforcement army was completely destroyed in the gorge.
Why this place.
Why this moment.
The enemy never understood.
※ Note
Deng Yu (鄧愈) — One of Zhu Yuanzhang’s founding generals of the early Ming dynasty, later titled Duke of Wei. He commanded over ten thousand troops and played a key role in major campaigns including the Battle of Poyang Lake.
