Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 112 Traditional Arts of the Ming Army

More than thirty shells of various sizes whizzed through the air and slammed heavily into the Qing army formation on the shore. With such overwhelming force, they left several bloody trenches and brought up countless broken armors and limbs of soldiers and horses.

At the same time, when the shells landed, soil and stone chips flew up, causing the Qing cavalry that had just assembled to scatter in an instant. The neighing of war horses and the shrill howling of armored soldiers mixed with the clinking sound of countless broken armors colliding, making a loud noise.

Not only that, several shells hit the lakeside due to the shooting angle, stirring up several towering water columns. The splashing water was scattered on the waves surging on the lake surface, like a huge wave, and the scene was very spectacular.

Faced with such an attack, the thousands of Eight Banners cavalry in the plains had no way to fight back. They were completely passive and helpless, with no way out.

The Ming army's navy equipment in northern Jiangxi was not actually very sophisticated. Compared with the two main naval forces deployed in Huai'an and Zhenjiang at that time, it was just a dozen broken ships.

But when they faced the cavalry led by Oboi, they had a complete crushing advantage, especially the latter's double armor and the mobility that they should have as cavalry, which could not be brought into play at this time.

"Boom! Boom! Boom——"

The artilleryman at the bow of the ship held a ignition fork and quickly ignited the primer in front of him. Amid the rumbling sound of the cannon, smoke rose into the sky, orange-red flames flashed, and one shell after another was fired towards the Qing cavalry on the plain.

Dozens of iron bombs flew out of the smoke wall that had just formed on the lake surface with a loud explosion and slammed fiercely on the shore. Several of them hit the Eight Banners soldiers who were fleeing in panic, making a bloody path for them again.

After several rounds of artillery bombardment by the Ming army, the Qing army in the plains on the shore was in chaos. Amidst panicked shouts, many Eight Banners horsemen fled to the hills to the north.

At the same time, the artillery on the warships continued to attack. They moved closer to the shore and began to adjust the angle, concentrating the firepower on several points in the center of the plain in order to prevent these Eight Banners vests from gathering.

The navy organized by Zuo Liangyu and He Tengjiao has all been dispatched at this time. Not only are the dozen or so large warships outputting firepower, but the small boats loaded with French cannons are also approaching the shore rapidly. They will attack the Qing cavalry approaching the shore.

The effective range of the French cannons was mostly between two and four miles, depending on the model. The range of the Eight Banners horse bows was more than sixty steps, so they had almost no killing power. The firepower of these approaching small boats could cover most of the plain, and the killing density was far greater than that of the thousand-jin cannons on the large ships.

In other words, if Oboi could not break out quickly at this time, the more than 1,500 Eight Banners vests who could easily sweep away tens of thousands of Ming troops in a field battle would fall in large numbers under the artillery of the Ming navy.

Those cavalrymen could not go into the water, and the Ming army on the lake was not worried about the enemy's surprise attack at all. Instead, they welcomed it. The closer the Eight Banners cavalrymen got, the more widespread the damage they could do to the enemy.

Abahai looked at the Ming army ships that were approaching rapidly and in increasing numbers, and he couldn't help but gasp, especially when he saw that two of the warships had more than a dozen cannons loaded on one side of their hulls, and were now approaching at an angle, which was beyond his cognition.

The Eight Banners cavalry that had originally gathered on the plain were now almost in a panic and fled in embarrassment under the intensive artillery bombardment. Oboi could even hear shrill screams from their expressions.

The Eight Banners' cavalry, helmets, weapons, armored horses, and even broken limbs that were hit by the shells flew everywhere, and the blood mist splattered, further increasing the fear. Many people fled in panic like headless flies.

At this time, the attack plan of Oboi and Zhuobutai had been completely disrupted. They could only watch as the ambushing Ming army at the three mountain passes completed their preparations for troop deployment, and even built breastworks, set up cannons, and dug trenches in the passages of the mountain passes.

Under the howling orders of the two men, the Eight Banners officers in the queue dodged the artillery shells that might hit them at any time in the air, while quickly gathering the vests under their command that had just dispersed.

If Oboi wanted to break out, he had to gather troops first, especially at this time, the gate of the west tower of Nankang City was being lowered with a "creaky sound", and the Ming army troops in the city were leaving the city.

"Ma Jinzhong, this damn Nikan, actually dared to plot against me!" Abahai looked at the Ming army on the move and couldn't help cursing.

At the same time, the two warships that were sailing obliquely on the lake had their rows of cannons loaded on their sides, and countless small boats equipped with Francois cannons had already approached the lake shore. Under the command of naval officers, the cannons on the bows of these ships and other warships were fired at the same time.

"Boom! Boom! Boom——"

Countless cannons roared, flames lit up, and nearly a hundred plumes of thick smoke rose into the sky, soon forming an unprecedented new wall of smoke on the surface of the river.

Hundreds of shells flew out from the thick white smoke on the river surface, crashing into the gathering Eight Banners with an unstoppable force. The heavy stone bullets fired by the Francois cannons rushed out of the muzzles and then quickly dispersed, fanning out towards the Qing army lines, covering several large areas.

The Eight Banners cavalry on the side of the Qing army near the lake were hit by the shells that rained down like raindrops. The armor on the horses and cavalry was easily broken by these shells of varying sizes, and countless columns of blood sprayed out.

The Eight Banners horsemen on the south side of the plain fell in dozens one after another like grass swept by a violent storm. The artillery shells weighing more than ten pounds were still powerful, carving out bloody trails and stirring up countless flying debris.

Under such a blow, the already frightened Eight Banners soldiers scattered again in an instant, screaming and wailing. Many people were terrified as they looked at their own soldiers lying in a pool of blood and struggling.

They were facing an enemy that they could not hit at all, but the enemy's artillery shells could cause them huge damage. These Eight Banners soldiers were well aware of the power of artillery, and their morale was greatly hit.

Oboi was also extremely anxious. These were not the rebel troops who were willing to surrender. The Nikans were originally weak in combat, so he would not feel sad even if they all died.

But these were genuine Eight Banners soldiers. Not to mention that dozens of them fell at once, even one more death would be a serious matter.

Moreover, seeing these elite cavalrymen under his command in such a miserable state under the artillery attack of the Ming army, and even that he himself might be killed by artillery shells at any time, Abahai could not help but feel panic in his heart.

On the battlefield, confidence is the most important thing. It is not difficult for him to imagine what the other generals around him, including Zhuobutai, are feeling at this moment.

After three rounds of bombardment, the river finally became quiet for a while. The thousand-jin cannons were dissipating heat and could not continue to bombard for a while, but the small Ming army boats near the shore continued to use Portuguese cannons to attack the Qing army near the lake shore.

In Aobai's view, the Ming army's offensive on the south side was already unstoppable. If he did not take immediate action to break out, his troops would soon be killed by those artillery shells.

Oboi calmed down and soon regained his composure. He withdrew his gaze from the south and ordered Zhuobutai in a stern voice:
"Those Nikans were just violent on the water. These shells can scare people, but there aren't many actual casualties. What's more, those ships can't go ashore. Apart from helping to defend the city, they have no other use at all!
Zhuobutai, while the artillery is out, gather your troops immediately and break out through the mountain path we came from. Those Nikan soldiers can't stop us."

Upon hearing this, Zhuobutai bowed and sang a "Zha", then immediately rode out with a few Bayara and began to gather troops again. The Eight Banners cavalry who were originally scattered in the center of the plain had all retreated to the edge of the northern hillside due to the attack of the navy's artillery, where the French cannons could not reach.

The Ming army warships on the lakeshore continued to fire cannonballs, but their accuracy was pitifully low and their range was very limited. As the Qing army retreated north of the plain, they were no longer able to cause sufficient damage to the latter.

At this time, the Ming army had completed its military formations in the mountain passages in the northeast, northwest and southwest directions. Strict formations appeared on the hillsides, and dense spears kept shaking like forest waves.

At this time, the Ming army had already dug trenches and successfully built breastworks. They also urgently laid caltrops more than one step wide in front of the formation. At the same time, they pushed the artillery to the front and prepared the musketeers and archers to cooperate with the military formation to block the Qing army's attack.

The Ming army formation, which had been slightly shaken by the cannon fire and the gradually growing sound of horses' hooves by the lake, soon returned to its original state under the suppression and restraint of officers at all levels.

Scouts were galloping in the team. On the hillside in the direction of Zhuobutai's attack, Jin Shenghuan's orders were quickly conveyed. The entire northwest Ming army formation quickly became agitated. Officers were shouting continuously, and the sound of armor rubbing and colliding was rustling. Flags were flying in the square formation, and there was a lot of noise. The air was filled with tension everywhere.

Zhuobutai was leading hundreds of Eight Banners cavalrymen and charging towards them aggressively. Although Jin Shenghuan also had more than 300 cavalrymen and nearly 3,000 armored soldiers under his command, he was still a little nervous facing the Tartar cavalry, not to mention the soldiers and generals under his command.

He was originally a military general from Liaoyang. When the Later Jin Dynasty was wreaking havoc in Liaozhong, he defected to Mao Wenlong. He had a close relationship with Kong Youde and others, and had also led troops with Shang Kexi. Naturally, he understood the power of the Eight Banners, especially the infamous Oboi who led the troops to capture Pi Island.

However, the Qing army was now ambushed and at a great disadvantage in terms of manpower. Jin Shenghuan was well prepared to resist the enemy and was confident that he could withstand the first round of the Qing army's charge.

Under his command, the soldiers behind the breastwork of the mountain pass immediately formed up to meet the enemy. At the same time, he sent troops to control the high ground on both sides of the hillside to prevent the Qing cavalry from finding flaws there. He also concentrated the attack direction of seven cannons and a phalanx of muskets on the mountain pass.

At the same time, Jin Shenghuan also sent a deputy general to lead the cavalry that had assembled on both wings of the army to launch an operation, blocking the cavalry in the Eight Banners armor on both wings, covering the infantry behind, and withstanding the first round of offensive of the Qing army.

Soon, the vanguard of the Qing army began to attack. On the plain, after the war horses sped up, a distance of more than a mile was passed in a flash. The charging Qing cavalry looked very imposing.

The scouts Jin Shenghuan had sent to probe the Qing army had already withdrawn, three of them still riddled with arrows in their armor. They were even pursued by dozens of Eight Banners cavalrymen, who didn't stop until they were a hundred paces from the formation. These Eight Banners cavalrymen were extremely aggressive in the face of the Ming army, most of them directly approaching the Ming army's square formation, while continuously firing light arrows into it, attempting to disrupt the Ming army's deployment and create loopholes for the subsequent arrival of the army.

However, as soon as they entered forty steps, archers in the Ming army formation immediately launched a counterattack. Some of the Eight Banners horsemen were so arrogant that they dismounted to shoot, and were directly shot to death in front of the formation by the Ming army archers with armor-piercing arrows.

At the same time, several cavalry teams attacked from both wings of the Ming army. These bold and reckless Eight Banners cavalrymen were quickly defeated by the double-sided attack and were quickly driven back to about a hundred steps.

When the remaining Eight Banners cavalrymen saw the Ming army sending out elite cavalry, they either turned their horses around in a hurry or jumped on their war horses and fled without looking back.

Although these Qing troops were arrogant and domineering, they were definitely not brave but foolish rookies on the battlefield. Once they realized that the enemy was difficult to deal with, they would immediately change their strategy.

But the situation was urgent and they had no time. Under Zhuobutai's command, with the sound of a bugle call, the Qing cavalry group immediately launched an all-out attack.

On the plains in the east, an endless stream of Qing troops kept pouring out like a surging black tide. The Ming army's artillery quickly loaded iron bullets into the seven cannons in front of the army, and the roar like muffled thunder soon approached their eyes.

Looking at the hundreds of Qing cavalrymen in front of him rushing towards him at an increasingly faster speed, the dense armor and swords and guns were dazzling under the sunlight, and the rumbling sound of dense horse hooves kept hitting his eardrums. Jin Shenghuan couldn't help swallowing his saliva, feeling a chill in his heart.

It was not just Jin Shenghuan. Zuo Menggeng, Ma Shixiu, Hao Xiaozhong, Wang Yuncheng and others who were in another direction at this time looked at the Qing cavalry group with worried expressions on their faces.

These Eight Banners cavalry were probably the most elite and powerful soldiers in the Qing army. In their minds, there were almost no battles that could not be won and no formations that could not be broken.

The Qing army entered the Great Wall many times, and the Eight Banners soldiers often chased thousands of Ming troops with just over a hundred cavalrymen, and defeated thousands of Ming troops with just dozens of cavalrymen.

They were all a little worried that Jin Shenghuan would not be able to hold on, and the army formation deployed with artillery would be directly broken through by the Qing army. They immediately sent out the household cavalry to harass and contain Oboi as planned.

Amid the rumbling sound of horse hooves, the incoming Eight Banners cavalry quickly split into several small teams and spread towards the Ming army formation. The constantly leaping horse heads and densely packed helmets seemed to cover half of the plain.

The bugle calls rang out in the Ming army's formation, and the cavalry squad that had just sent out a counterattack quickly retreated to the two wings of the infantry square formation, and the Qing cavalry quickly entered within a hundred steps.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The roar of artillery firing resounded through the sky and earth. The warships in the lake, which had already finished cooling down, began to fire shells again at the Qing army formation. The rumbling sound of the explosion caused the earth to shake slightly. The Qing cavalry group on the plain had dispersed at this time, but still could not escape the range of the warships' artillery.

Soon, the seven cannons of different models in front of Jin Shenghuan's army all fired powerful iron bullets within a hundred steps, fiercely crashing into the Qing cavalry group that was rushing towards them.

On the river surface in the south, in front of Yamaguchi's army formation, dozens of cannons roared forward, spewing out streams of orange-red flames. Hundreds of iron bullets weighing one or two pounds and dozens of iron bullets ranging from three to more than ten pounds rushed out in the white smoke. The huge driving force generated by the expansion and explosion of gunpowder made these iron bullets carry amazing power. The Qing cavalry groups hit by the shells all fell down in groups, or were blasted out of a bloody path.

The dense and wide formation of the Qing army's charging cavalry led by Zhuobutai made the Ming army's shotgun bombardment extremely powerful, causing large-scale casualties. Thirty or forty cavalrymen in the front row of the Qing army fell in an instant.

As for the cavalrymen who were hit by the gunboats in the lake, often several or even more than a dozen of them, along with their horses, were blown away. The broken armor and weapons, along with broken limbs and gushing blood, flew into the air amid screams, and then fell heavily to the ground.

If it were the Ming army, their formation would have been in chaos due to casualties and panic, but these elite Qing troops led by Zhuobutai were still charging forward, as if they were completely fearless!
The distance of a hundred steps passed in a flash. After the second round of volleys, the Ming army's artillery retreated behind the breastwork. After suffering dozens of casualties, the Qing army's front-row cavalry had advanced to within fifty steps.

Although they suffered a considerable blow, their momentum remained fierce. The cavalry on both wings of the Ming army immediately moved out. At the same time, the musketeers in the front row of the army also immediately launched a fierce volley.

“Bang, bang, bang!!!”

On the Ming army's position, long white dragons rose up, and then immediately merged into a thick wall of smoke behind the breastwork of the mountain pass. Amidst the orange-red flames, the sound of gunfire exploded into one.

Dense lead bullets whizzed across the plain and crashed into the Qing cavalry like hammers. Columns of blood gushed out from the Qing horses and soldiers, and heart-wrenching screams were heard everywhere.

Although the musketeers under Jin Shenghuan were still widely equipped with various old-style muskets, and even a number of three-barreled guns, their power was still considerable within a distance of less than forty steps. The excellent bird guns issued by He Tengjiao could even penetrate two layers of ordinary armor.

In this round of powerful volleys, nearly a hundred Qing soldiers fell in front of the formation, and the cavalry in the front row were almost wiped out by the deadly lead bullets.

Such huge casualties had already disrupted the Qing army's formation. Many war horses even became uncontrollable, raising their hooves and stomping the ground violently, refusing to move forward.

The Ming cavalry on both wings attacked quickly, catching the Qing army led by Zhuobutai off guard, and actually gained the upper hand in the melee for a while.

However, the Ming cavalry was not superior in strength, and their horsemanship tactics were far less sophisticated than those of the Eight Banners Cavalry. The Qing officers at all levels in the rear quickly led the Cavalry to attack, and Jin Shenghuan's servants were quickly defeated again.

Once the two armies came into direct contact, the actual combat strength of these so-called elite Ming troops under Zuo Liangyu was fully exposed. After all, their combat strength was still far inferior to that of the elite Eight Banners.

Those Eight Banners officers originally wanted to take the opportunity to break through the Ming army's formation, but a second round of musket fire soon broke out in the Ming army's formation, curbing the Qing army's charge.

Although the second round of volleys from the Ming army was much less powerful than the first round, it still caused considerable damage to the Qing cavalry. In the end, although a few Eight Banners cavalrymen rushed to the front of the formation due to inertia, they were immediately repelled by the infantry waving long spears.

Aobai was furious when he saw Zhuobutai retreating. He had just led two hundred horsemen to repel Ma Jinzhong who was trying to harass him. The latter was not very motivated to fight, and the troops were mainly concentrated behind the moat. Only some cavalry tried to launch an attack.

After Ma Jinzhong was defeated, the Ming army, which had been ready to move in the northeast and southwest directions, immediately calmed down, and the harassing cavalry they sent out even withdrew directly.

Although the Qing army only had more than a thousand soldiers and horses, they had an advantage in manpower, but Zuo Menggeng, Wang Yuncheng, Xu Yong, Li Guoying and others were all very afraid of the Qing army. When they saw Ma Jinzhong's defeat and Jin Shenghuan's servants were also beaten back into the formation, they all became discouraged and each of them used their traditional skills to choose to preserve their strength.

After the previous battle, Oboi had figured out the loopholes in the Ming army's deployment. Although the three mountain passes were easy to defend and difficult to attack, they, together with the Nankang City, divided the Ming army into four parts, making it impossible for them to support each other.

Of course, this was mainly because the Ming army in Nankang was too weak. They might have the courage to guard the mountain pass, but no one dared to take the initiative to attack. This gave Oboi the opportunity to concentrate his forces.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"

On the surface of Poyang Lake in the south, the Ming navy's gunboats began to bombard again. Although the Qing army had lost its initial panic, it still had to disperse its troops to avoid the incoming shells.

Oboi knew that he could not continue to sit and wait for death. Although as long as he concentrated his forces on the plains, the Ming army would not dare to attack, but these artillery shells were enough to tire his cavalry to death and also cause considerable casualties.

As soon as the Ming army's artillery boats finished firing, Oboi immediately organized his troops. This time he planned to lead the charge himself and kill Jin Shenghuan's army.

When he and Junta led their troops across the sea to attack Pi Island, the Ming army was also on high alert, blocking the attack with guns, cannons and arrows. But as long as they could hold their ground, withstand these attacks, and reach the front of the Ming army, engaging in close combat, the Ming army would be vulnerable.

The situation is exactly the same as it is now, and he doesn't have to cross the sea to attack, so he actually has an advantage.

Therefore, after analyzing the current situation, Oboi immediately decided to lead the entire army to attack, and before retreating, he had to kill all the troops deployed by Jin Shenghuan at the mountain pass.

Jin Shenghuan looked at the more than a thousand Qing troops gathering on the plain in front of him, especially the fact that Oboi's recognition flag appeared in the Qing army formation, and was suddenly horrified - were they coming directly towards him?

He turned his head to look at the friendly forces in the other three directions, only to see that they had no reaction at all, and did not even have the intention of sending troops to contain Oboi as he had just done. His heart immediately sank again.

He should have thought of this situation earlier!

(End of this chapter)