Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 178 The Qing Army Suffers Another Setback
With the support of Dorgon, Duoduo continued to send troops and horses, using the lives of thousands of Green Camp soldiers and even more conscripted civilians. He finally pushed the army's siege line to the edge of Jingzhou's moat and had begun to fill the river.

In fact, the last time Dorgon led his troops to besiege Jingzhou City, the Qing army had already begun preparations for the siege under the command of Duoduo, and even formulated a siege plan. However, because Dorgon quickly led his troops south, the siege plan was finally shelved.

Now, the two brothers Dorgon and Dodo are determined to capture Jingzhou, and as urgent military intelligence reports from the north continue to arrive, bad news continues to come, and they are constantly increasing their investment, striving to break the city as quickly as possible.

On the edge of the moat in Jingzhou, the Qing army's musketeers and archers were firing arrows at the earth wall continuously, and the shield carts that were protecting them had been pierced like hedgehogs by the arrows shot by the Ming army on the earth wall.

However, the Qing army musketeers and archers hiding behind the shield carts did not suffer heavy casualties. After the Ming army's counterattack stopped, they immediately launched a fierce counterattack, set up small cannons on the edge of the position, and fired buckshot at the earth wall.

Of course, the Qing army's powerful counterattack did not kill many Ming soldiers. The muskets and bows and arrows did not cause much damage to the shield carts, and the impact on the city walls was also extremely limited.

As for those small cannons, they had little killing power against the thick earthen wall outside Jingzhou City. However, the power of the cannonballs was far greater than that of muskets and bows and arrows, which provided excellent cover for the Qing army's siege.
At this distance, the Red Cannon, the French Cannon, and the General Cannon on the city wall could not effectively strike the enemy below. However, the artillery set up by the Qing army in the positions below could attack the Ming army on the city wall.

However, because the Qing army had dug a large number of trenches outside the moat, it was difficult for them to transport heavy cannons to the front to bombard the city, so they could only set up small cannons for cover.

On the sixteenth day of the siege, after a fierce battle, the smoke from the firearms of the two armies had filled their respective positions. The subsequent musket and artillery fire also became very scattered, and the effectiveness of the attack was greatly weakened.

Seeing that the time was ripe, the Qing army in the trench position immediately pushed the carts carrying soil to the edge of the moat, which were filled with bulging earth bags.

The moat of Jingzhou City is quite wide, with abundant water resources and unfathomable depth. It is almost impossible to fill it up in ten days or half a month, let alone one or two days.

Moreover, at this time, the bridges on the moat had been destroyed by the Qing army. Duoduo could only hope that the more than 100 earth-carrying carts built in advance could speed up the filling of the moat.

This was the second hurdle for the Qing army to capture Jingzhou City. Compared with it, the artillery blockade of the previous ten days was nothing.

After all, under the swift attack of the Ming army, without sufficient cover, it was conceivable how difficult it would be for the Qing army to fill the moat and then cross it safely.

But Duoduo had no time left. The Qing army immediately began the difficult operation of filling the river. Under the attack of the Zhongzheng Camp defenders on the earth wall, casualties continued and the efficiency of filling the river continued to decline, forcing him to finally send the Eight Banners soldiers to directly supervise the battle again.

After paying a heavy price, the Qing army spent another half a month before finally filling more than twenty steps. Even at the narrowest part of the Jingzhou moat, there was still a width of more than ten steps that had not been filled.

During this period, traces of the Ming navy had appeared in Huaibei, Shandong, and even along the Bohai Sea coast. Some Green Camp troops in Shandong even rebelled and joined forces with the Ming army to seize the coastal garrisons.

If the Ming army was just harassing, Dorgon might have had the patience to continue to fight the Ming army in Jingzhou, but the Green Camp army had already escalated the situation in Shandong and Huaibei to another level, and even Ajige had arbitrarily dispatched troops to suppress it.

However, at this time, it was Duoduo who became calm and patient. He saw that his siege strategy was effective and was unwilling to withdraw his troops.

Dorgon was naturally unwilling to accept this, and the two hit it off. They quickly subdued the generals in the army and continued to organize the army to attack the city.

In order to speed up the siege, Duoduo immediately ordered the craftsmen in the army to build a batch of wide and long "reinforced trench cars" and put them into the battlefield.

These "reinforced trench carts" were specially customized by Duoduo's military craftsmen based on the actual situation of Jingzhou City. They not only look wide and long, but are also very strong. They can be placed directly on the moat to allow shield carts, pointed wooden donkeys and other siege equipment and soldiers to pass through.

On the Qing army's position, these wide and long "reinforced trench cars" were quickly pushed to the edge of the moat, but under the fierce attack of the Ming army, many of them deviated from their original tracks and fell into the mud.

The wheels of the trench carts that were rushing forward kept squeaking. Dozens of Green Camp soldiers stood on the left and right, pushing the carts forward with all their might under the cover of the front of the carts piled with sandbags.

This place is only a few dozen steps away from the outermost earth wall of Jingzhou City. If there were no sandbags and wooden boards on the front of the cart to protect them, the Green Camp soldiers pushing the carts would have suffered heavy casualties if they had charged forward rashly.

You should know that after the renovation, the outer wall of Jingzhou City has a circumference of more than 20 miles, with six towers, each of which is equipped with a barbican and an arrow tower.

There are nearly 8,000 battlements on the city wall, of which more than 3,000 are newly built on the two outermost earth walls. There are 28 artillery batteries and 7 soldier caves around it.

Not only that, since the city wall of Jingzhou City is nearly three zhang high, the outer earth wall is more than two zhang high, and the base of the wall is also more than two zhang wide.

Faced with such a strong city and the united army of the Loyal Camp, the military technology mastered by the Qing army was not enough to make the siege easy.

At this time, Duoduo was standing on a tall watchtower with a recognition flag about two miles behind the artillery position. He saw several trench carts being pushed by soldiers stuck in the mud. Some trench carts even shifted because they were set up on the other side of the moat, and the other end fell directly into the trench. He was very anxious.

Not to mention the height, width and thickness of the walls of Jingzhou City, the outer earth walls were equally impressive. Duoduo deployed more than 30 red-coated cannons and bombarded the city intermittently for more than ten days, but only managed to knock down a small section of the wall. However, because there were no armored soldiers able to cross the moat, he could only watch as the Ming army quickly repaired the earth wall.

Since Duoduo has asked Dorgon for the command of the entire battlefield, he must assume the responsibility of the battlefield. He must win this battle so that he can re-establish his prestige in the army.

"Your Highness, eight trench bridges have already been built. Do you want to send more troops to cover the soldiers digging the wall? Those Green Camp troops are probably unreliable and may even have difficulty breaking through."

Tunqi was already eager to try at this time. After besieging the city for so long, this was the first time the army had crossed the moat. He didn't want to miss such a good opportunity.

However, he was also very clear that if he wanted to blow down the earth wall, artillery bombardment alone was far from enough. He had to use gunpowder to destroy the base of the wall so that artillery bombardment would be more effective.

"Your Highness, the Ming army in the city will definitely send out troops to launch a surprise attack. If we don't have our elite armored soldiers to provide close cover, it will definitely not be enough to rely solely on the Green Camp troops and the musketeers and archers on the side." Tun Qi continued.

After hearing this, Duoduo nodded. Although the Ming army in the city was not the Ming Emperor's personal army, their fighting spirit was very tenacious. Moreover, they were protected by the city walls and separated by the moat. They were very likely to take advantage of the chaos to attack.

"Tunqi, you will personally lead the charge and send armored soldiers to cover the flanks and rear of those Nikans, giving the Ming army a chance to launch a surprise attack."

Compared with attacking the city, Duoduo actually hoped that the Ming army in the city would go out to harass the city. He had given up the plan to completely undermine the morale of the Ming army defending the city through fierce attacks.

By this time, he had already understood that under the rule of Emperor Ming Zhu Cilang, the Ming army, which had once collapsed at the first touch and had no fighting spirit, would never appear again.

Shortly after Tunqi received the order to attack, a military bugle sounded from the Qing army position outside the moat. One shield car after another began to cross the river from the trench bridge built in front of them. The Ming army on the city wall also suffered considerable casualties under the attack of the Qing army's muskets and artillery, and its attack capability was greatly reduced.

Each of the shield carts pushed by these Green Camp soldiers was followed by several Eight Banners armored soldiers supervising the battle, as well as elite Green Camp soldiers holding shields. Together with the shield carts, they were responsible for covering the pointed wooden donkeys that were used to dig walls and bury explosives.

After the shield carts passed, more than a dozen pointed wooden donkeys also began to cross the river. These pointed wooden donkeys were well-made. The triangular structure of the roof was covered with several fireproof felts, and a layer of insulating wet soil was laid in the middle. The lower layer was also specially reinforced to prevent the pointed wood from the trench outside the earth wall.

Under the supervision of the Eight Banners soldiers, hundreds of Green Camp soldiers rushed out quickly and pushed the ladders covered with wooden boards into the trench. More than a dozen pointed wooden donkeys were started again and directly pressed against the earth wall.

Having fought in the Battle of Fengyang, Duoduo was well-versed in the Ming army's defenses and basic deployments, and this time he was even more prepared. Beneath the pointed wooden donkey's triangular roof, the Green Camp soldiers, dug deep into the wall, quickly sprang into action.

Because Jingzhou City was destroyed by Zhang Xianzhong a few years ago, many sections of the city walls were newly repaired. The city foundation had not been squeezed over the years and was not solid at all. In addition, the local soil was moist, which was very beneficial for the Qing army's excavation.

The soldiers of the Loyal Camp who were defending the city immediately launched a counterattack. Pieces of stones were thrown down from the earth wall and hit the roof of the pointed wooden donkey, making a "bang bang bang" sound.

However, Duoduo had also been prepared for this. The pointed wooden donkey's triangular roof was specially reinforced with hardwood as thick as a bowl, and it simply disdained such an attack. The rocks bounced off the roof and piled up in the trench. Inside the vehicle, the soldiers who were busy digging the wall heard such sounds and became even more panicked. But they had no choice but to speed up the excavation and bury the explosives as soon as possible.

The newly laid bricks and stones under the earthen city were not difficult to dig, but if you wanted the gunpowder to have the greatest effect, you needed to dig a big hole and stuff the explosives in.

The soldiers of the Loyal Camp naturally did not sit idly by and wait for death. Seeing that the stones had no effect on the wooden carts, they immediately threw piles of firewood into the trench, intending to use fire to repel the Qing army.

Duoduo was indeed well prepared, but the Zhongzheng Battalion, as the defenders of the city, always had the upper hand and had more means to deal with the Qing army's siege. This was also the reason why the generals of the Qing army gradually lost confidence in the prospects of the siege as the assault continued.

The Qing troops on the moat quickly used muskets and artillery to provide cover, but the effect was not great. In the end, they only killed a dozen musketeers and archers from the Loyalty Camp, slightly slowing down the speed of the Loyalty Camp's fire attack. Six of the pointed wooden donkeys were soon completely covered by piles of firewood.

During the intervals of the Qing army's firearms attacks, the soldiers of the Loyalty Camp on the earth wall quickly poured down fuel to help with combustion, and then threw down a few torches. With a "whoosh", the firewood piled up in the trench quickly turned into a sea of ​​fire.

Not only that, hundreds of mines were thrown out from the earth wall. These mines exploded quickly as they landed on the ground with a "bang", making the Qing army soldiers who were responsible for covering them panic and dizzy.

After the Qing army's vanguard advanced to the earth wall, it has not suffered a severe attack until now. Most of the armored soldiers who were originally on edge breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that in such a blind spot, artillery could not hit them, and muskets and bows and arrows could not effectively attack them, so they were very safe.

But they never expected that the Zhongzheng Battalion was preparing a big move. After the landmine, several small doors in the earth wall between Zhenliu Gate and Gong'an Gate on the east side of Jingzhou City suddenly opened, and groups of Zhongzheng Battalion soldiers rushed out at the same time.

Despite the fierce Qing attack, the loyal soldiers defending the city remained undeterred and even maintained their fighting spirit. They believed that if the situation turned sour, His Majesty in Yueyang would surely lead his troops to rescue them.

Li Guo had been through many battles and naturally knew that in order to repel the Qing army's attack, relying solely on fire attack was not enough. It was necessary to repel the shield carts that covered the pointed wooden donkey and the Qing army hiding behind the shield carts together.

Otherwise, he could only watch as the Qing army dug holes in the trenches, buried explosives, and then detonated them. As long as the Qing army had not been repelled and was still under the city, they would eventually find a way to deal with the Zhongzheng Camp's fire attack.

The soldiers of the Zhongzheng Camp quickly rushed towards the attacking Qing army. Under the command of Tunqi, the Qing army on the moat immediately fired a volley at the charging Ming army, and dozens of soldiers of the Zhongzheng Camp who were in the front fell down in an instant.

After being attacked by landmines, the Qing army on the edge of the trench was already in chaos. Now they had to face the attack of the Ming army and could not organize a counterattack in a short period of time.

Seeing this scene, the Eight Banners soldiers supervising the battle could only roar and curse, while swinging their swords to kill those Green Camp soldiers who stopped moving forward or even wanted to escape in the face of the enemy.

Under the threat of being driven away by the Eight Banners soldiers, the Green Camp soldiers could only rush to both sides by stepping on the corpses on the ground, but there was no formation at all, and they looked like a chaotic army.

Under the earth wall, the Ming and Qing armies quickly rushed into each other. The distance between the moat and the earth wall trench was only a few dozen steps, and there were many shield carts blocking them. After the two sides fought together, congestion soon occurred, and deaths were constantly exchanged.

The formation of the Zhongzheng Camp was relatively complete, and with sufficient logistical supplies, its equipment was not only on par with that of the Qing army, but was even better.

After all, the troops Li Guo had sent out were veterans of many battles, his elite troops. Meanwhile, the Green Camp, serving as cannon fodder for the Qing army's siege, although many were also elite, were no match for the Loyal Camp, which was fighting outside the city.

At the same time, musketeers and archers from the Loyal Camp continued to emerge from the battlements of the earthen wall and began to fire at the Qing army under the earthen wall and the shield carts on the moat outside the city. The firepower was more intense than at any time before.

Behind those shield carts, Qing army musketeers and archers kept emerging and counterattacked the Ming army that emerged from the earth wall. The two sides kept shooting at each other, and soldiers were hit from time to time, screaming.

As for the pointed wooden donkeys in the earthen wall trench, they had already been covered by the raging fire. Although they had taken sufficient protective measures, after the fire burned for a while, the Green Camp soldiers who were hiding inside and digging the soil could not bear the smoke and rushed out, turning into firemen. They had no time to climb out of the trench and disappeared in the sea of ​​fire with screams.

Tunqi braved the threat of stray bullets and arrows from the Ming army and came to the edge of the shield car line beside the moat. This was the first large-scale attack by the defenders of Jingzhou City, and he was hesitating whether to send reinforcements.

But as the Qing army's vanguard retreated step by step, Tunqi did not dare to hesitate any longer and immediately sent out reinforcements, who crossed the trench bridge under the cover of shield carts to reinforce the vanguard army that had finally managed to attack the earth wall.

Under his command, more than a dozen shield carts on the edge of the moat quickly crossed the river, each followed by dozens of armored soldiers. But before they could all rush across, they were blocked by the fleeing Qing soldiers.

The attack of the Zhongzheng Camp encountered almost no hindrance and the Qing army was quickly repelled. The Qing troops who came to reinforce with shield carts were also quickly defeated by the attacks of the Zhongzheng Camp's musketeers and archers on the earth wall and were unable to provide effective reinforcements.

At this time, the raging fire under the earth wall was still burning, and arrows and lead bullets were shot from the top of the wall from time to time. Many Qing soldiers who did not hide behind the shield carts had nowhere to hide. Under the attack of arrows, stray bullets and the armored soldiers of the Loyalty Camp, they quickly retreated to the trench bridge.

Tunqi stared at the battlefield in front of him. At this time, many parts of the earthen wall on the east side of Jingzhou City had been blackened by the flames, but the fire at the base of the wall had not been extinguished yet and was still burning. There was no possibility of survival for the soldiers inside.

At this time, the earthen wall and the Jingzhou city wall behind it were crowded with people. He knew that the Ming army still had sufficient troops to defend the city. If they continued to attack, the result would be unimaginable.

Of course, at this time, under the charge of the Zhongzheng Camp's armored soldiers, the Qing army's vanguard and the reinforcements sent by Tunqi suffered heavy casualties, and the defeat was inevitable. Many soldiers had no way to retreat and fell into the moat screaming.

"Sound the retreat!" Tunqi gritted his teeth and gave the order immediately.

As soon as the order was given, a golden sound was heard behind the Qing army's shield cart line, and the Qing army on the other side of the moat accelerated their retreat. The Qing army's musketeers and archers behind the shield carts continued to shoot and cover, but the effect was not good.

Seeing this scene, the officers of the Loyalty Camp on the earth wall shouted loudly. The soldiers who were hiding behind the parapets were encouraged and attacked more fiercely. The Qing army was suppressed by the superior firepower of the Loyalty Camp and could not raise their heads. Screams and wails continued.

New volleys erupted on the city walls one after another, and rows of muskets spewed out furious flames. After such a long and fierce battle, the fire had already been scattered. However, the defeated Qing army was frightened by such noises and became even more panicked. They dared not fight anymore and even jumped directly into the moat, hoping to escape. It was a complete and crushing defeat.

At this time, as kerosene flowed from the bottom of the pointed wooden donkeys that were dug into the wall and caused a fire, the gunpowder brought by the Qing army was immediately ignited. The Green Camp soldiers who had already been suffocated and burned to death were torn to pieces in the explosion along with the wooden donkeys.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Several loud noises like muffled thunder erupted under the earth wall, and the entire ground east of Jingzhou City trembled instantly. Stone and wood fragments torn by gunpowder were ejected and even flew over the moat. Even a part of the moat of the earth wall was blown down.

However, because the explosion occurred in a trench more than ten feet deep, it did not affect other places, and the damage to the earth wall was also very limited.

Amidst such earth-shaking explosions, the Qing army was completely defeated. Under the command of the officers, the armored soldiers of the Zhongzheng Camp quickly pushed down the trench bridges, quickly destroying the achievements of the Qing army in this period.

Duoduo saw that Tunqi had led his troops to retreat, and heard the explosion coming from under the earth wall. He was confused for a moment, but he immediately waved his hand and the soldiers around him waved the flags. On the artillery position, the more than 30 thousand-jin heavy artillery pieces that were ready to fire were soon started with the sound of the bugle.

The rumbling sound of artillery fire resounded throughout Jingzhou City again. On the Qing army's artillery positions, which were filled with thick white smoke, cannon fire rang out one after another, and orange-red flames flashed continuously. After six volleys, it finally stopped. The battlements of the earth wall on the east side of Jingzhou City were damaged again, and khaki smoke and black smoke after the fire continued to float up.

But this could not change the reality that the Qing army's offensive failed again, resulting in heavy casualties and the destruction of the trench bridge. As soon as the Qing army's artillery bombardment stopped, bursts of cheers suddenly broke out in Jingzhou City.

At this time, a group of Tangma came running from the north, some of them had flags on their backs, and they all went straight to Dorgon's central military camp.

When Duoduo saw this group of Tangma, he immediately had an uneasy feeling in his heart - could it be that there was some bad news coming from the north?

(End of this chapter)