Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 363 Fire Suppression
However, the Qing army's expectations and the Ming army's reactions were completely different.

Just as the shield formation reached a distance of a hundred paces, a deafening explosion erupted from the Ming army. Almost instantly, thick white smoke rose from the Ming army's position, and flames flickered in the smoke. Then, hundreds of small shells poured out from the muzzles like a tide, smashing into the front line of the Qing army.

This sudden burst of firepower broke the rhythm of the Qing army. In the Ming army's artillery positions, dozens of tiger squat cannons and four-pound cannons fired almost at the same time. Thousands of stone bullets and lead bullets flew out from the muzzles and hit the Qing army's shields.

Stone bullets the size of chicken eggs flew through the air, carrying a huge impact force, and almost easily penetrated the Qing army's shields. The originally dense and strict shield formation was instantly severely damaged under this fierce artillery fire.

With dull collisions, dozens of shields were smashed to pieces and fell down one after another. The remaining shield soldiers were shocked to the point that they could hardly stand, and the formation began to collapse immediately.

However, this was only the beginning. The artillery fire had barely ceased when streaks of orange-red fire erupted again from the Ming army's positions. Immediately thereafter, nearly four thousand muskets opened fire almost simultaneously. Lead bullets gushed out of the muzzles of the Ming muskets, rapidly penetrating the Qing lines.

With a burst of fierce gunfire, hundreds of Qing army musketeers fell to the ground, groaning in pain as blood splattered from their bodies. The Ming army's firepower output was so dense and accurate that the Qing army had no chance to react at all.

Although the Qing soldiers wore cotton armor, which provided some protection, the armor was no match for the Ming army's improved muskets and ample ammunition. The Qing musketeers had almost no chance of counterattack, and many Qing soldiers fell in pools of blood before the battle even began.

The powerless wails echoed in the air, and the Baoyi soldiers in front of the battle fell to the ground one after another, their faces grim and their eyes rolled back, their bodies quickly soaked in blood. The second and third rows of the Ming army's musketeers immediately opened fire, and almost at the same time, the violent explosions of the muskets rang out again.

The baoyi soldiers in front of the Qing army fell like wheat in the wind. The Qing archers, standing a little further away, had been prepared to provide cover and long-range strikes from the rear, but their fate was no better than that of the musketeers. Hundreds of precise lead bullets pierced their cotton armor, and even the archers were not spared. The sound of falling bodies echoed one after another, and blood splattered the ground.

The front line of the Qing army fell into chaos for a while, and the soldiers fell in a pile, and the blood stained the ground red. At this moment, the morale of the Qing army suffered a serious blow.

Hermu stood at the rear of the team, tightly gripping the command flag, a flicker of anxiety in his eyes. Once the front-line formation completely collapsed, the Qing army's combat effectiveness would drop significantly, and the hope of victory would instantly become slim.

As a large number of soldiers in the front line of the Qing army fell, Hermu quickly ordered to adjust the tactics, so that the subsequent troops could maintain the formation as much as possible. However, facing the dense and fierce firepower of the Ming army, the front-line commander could no longer control everything.

The Qing army's shieldmen and musketeers no longer had the ability to counterattack normally, their formation became increasingly loose, and panic continued to spread in the team.

In this chaos, the Qing army's Baoyi soldiers had almost no chance to fight back. Many soldiers were knocked down in a very short time, and the blood-stained battlefield became a sea of ​​blood. The offensive momentum that had once swallowed up thousands of miles was now suppressed by the powerful firepower of the Ming army.

At this point, Hermu's mood grew increasingly heavy. The situation before him had become extremely complicated. If he continued to advance blindly, the losses would be even more severe. However, facing the Ming army's firepower suppression, how could the Qing army respond if they wanted to retreat unscathed?
The air on the battlefield almost froze. Hermu's gaze passed through the chaotic lines and stared fixedly at the Ming army's position.

At this moment, he was overwhelmed by an unprecedented shock and fear. The power of the Ming army's firearms could still cause such a huge amount of damage at such a long distance. This sudden attack was like a bolt of lightning, hitting every person in the Qing army.

The formation of the Baoyi soldiers suddenly became loose, and their morale scattered like a broken mirror. Several Baoyi soldiers who had just fallen were still struggling in pain, and more soldiers had begun to retreat involuntarily.

"How is this possible? The Ming army's firearms can actually shoot so far?" Hermu was almost stunned.

He had heard of the power of the Ming army's firearms and knew that these muskets were extremely powerful, but he always thought that the effective range of firearms was limited and would not cause such huge damage as was happening now, before the Qing army even got close.

The vanguard position had been defeated, and seeing that the formation of the Baoyi soldiers had collapsed, Helmu immediately realized that there might be something wrong with the plan.

The firearms units of the Baoyi soldiers were limited in number and poorly equipped. Just now, the Ming army's musketeers had already caused huge casualties, and almost all of the firearms units of the Baoyi soldiers had been wiped out.

At this point, their defensive strength was practically zero, with no firepower support at all. The Qing army's offensive line seemed to be rapidly disintegrating, with several Baoyi soldiers already unable to resist and beginning to flee in all directions, while many more soldiers simply continued forward mechanically, without any fighting spirit.

Hermu watched the situation with a wave of anxiety. He knew he had to react quickly, otherwise the situation would be out of control. At this moment, his somewhat numbed mind quickly began to return to combat instinct. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to quickly regain composure.

But soon, Hermu's eyes quickly swept over the baoyi soldiers who were confused by the firearms attack. He had already made a decision in his heart. He waved his hand and ordered Bayala beside him to quickly lead his Eight Banners cavalry to come to support.

Upon hearing this, Bayala immediately ordered the cavalry behind him to charge out. At the same time, Hermu himself whispered, "Keep going forward and charge the enemy!"

The value of the Baoyi soldiers does not lie in their combat effectiveness, but in their sacrifice and their role in luring the enemy. The Baoyi soldiers are always cannon fodder.

"Keep going!" Hermu shouted again, "Let them keep charging. No matter how many casualties there are, they are just Han slaves anyway. Their deaths are of no consequence."

The Bayara cavalry arrived quickly and personally commanded 2,000 Eight Banners cavalry to join the battle. Although the morale of the Qing army's baoyi soldiers in front of the formation was low and their formation was scattered, the arrival of the Eight Banners cavalry rekindled a glimmer of hope deep in their hearts.

Under Bayala's strict command, the Eight Banners cavalry ruthlessly cleared the chaos in the formation. Among the baoyi soldiers, hundreds of them had fallen down because they could not hold on any longer, and their screams of pain echoed on the battlefield.

However, it was the fall of these hundreds of men that restored the front line. The Qing army's formation regained some order, and although the soldiers' steps were still heavy, at least they were no longer as completely collapsed as before.

However, while the Baoyi soldiers had restored their formation, their eyes no longer held their former fierceness. Previously fearless in the face of the Ming army, the Baoyi soldiers now paled, their hearts trembling with fear. The power of the firearms filled them with despair, and under Bayala's urging, they could only reluctantly restore their formation and continue their advance.

A sneer flashed across Hermu's eyes, but he quickly suppressed his emotions and calmly directed the subsequent attack. At this moment, the drums of war once again sounded in the Qing army's formation. As the shield soldiers at the front steadily filled the gaps in the line, the Qing army's formation gradually returned to a double-shield defense.

However, due to the Ming army's firearms attack, the originally tight double-layer shield defense line has become loose, and only one layer of shield can barely block the Ming army's rain of arrows and firepower.

Despite this, Hermu ordered the shield soldiers to continue advancing, trying to use the remaining shields to provide as much protection as possible for the spearmen in the back row.

As the shield soldiers in front of the formation advanced steadily, the spearmen in the rear also raised their spears like a forest behind their shields, forming a dense spear formation.

Driven by the Eight Banners cavalry, the baoyi soldiers did not have much fighting will, but they had no choice but to continue moving forward and launch a new round of attacks.

However, this time, Zhu Cilang did not order a counterattack when the Qing army advanced to 120 steps as he had done before, but chose to wait until the enemy army approached about 60 steps.

Zhu Cilang knew clearly that this was a critical moment. The previous firearms attack had already put considerable pressure on the Qing army, but it was not enough to destroy the enemy's overall formation.

Only through further attacks and complete defeat of the Qing army's vanguard can we truly achieve control over them, and then induce the enemy to attack with all their strength, creating the best opportunity for counterattack.

As the Qing army's baoyi soldiers gradually approached, Zhu Cilang's vision became sharper. As long as the Qing army's vanguard could be completely defeated, the next battle might be reversed in one fell swoop.

Regardless, showing weakness was not a good strategy when facing the Qing army. Furthermore, it was doubtful whether the other side would believe such a tactic. How could the Ming army's generals be easily deceived?
Zhu Cilang understood this psychological game and knew clearly that if he appeared vulnerable at the beginning, he would be despised by the Qing army and lose all strategic initiative.

A true war is not about feigning weakness to contain the enemy, but about constantly demonstrating your own strength to make the enemy feel uneasy and shaken.

But if, on the other hand, he could display extremely powerful fighting power against those Baoyi soldiers, forcing them to fight with all their might, then the situation would be different. Especially when the Eight Banners cavalry finally pressed forward and he was defeated by them, that would be completely in line with the inertial thinking of the Qing army.

Manchu commanders, accustomed to respecting the strong, considered their defeat by the Eight Banners cavalry to be a common encounter, not even a disadvantageous outcome. Only in this way could the main Manchu generals be convinced that they had completely defeated the Ming army and advance without hesitation, launching a fierce pursuit.

A sneer flashed across Zhu Cilang's eyes. In war, the most dangerous moments are often those seemingly simple decisions. How to convince the enemy that you have been defeated, and how to exploit their psychology to achieve strategic goals, are the keys to ultimately determining victory or defeat.

As the Qing army's formation gradually advanced, it was getting closer and closer to the Ming army's line. Their pace was orderly, and their formation was relatively perfect. The Eight Banners cavalry on the left and right wings had begun to gradually advance forward. Bayala was also in the team supervising the battle, as if they had fully prepared for the next fierce attack.

The Ming army's battle formation remained as solid as a rock, seemingly undeterred by the Qing army's provocations. Faced with this situation, the Qing army gradually changed its initial strategy - long-range arrow attacks were no longer effective, after all, the Ming army's firearms had too long a range and were too powerful to be feared.

The Qing army's pace became faster and faster, and they quickly rushed towards the enemy's front. It was obvious that they intended to win through close combat, and hand-to-hand combat was their ultimate goal.

"Attack!" Hermu's voice penetrated the entire camp, commanding the Qing army's shield line to advance rapidly.

As the shieldmen crossed the sixty-pace mark, Hermu's command resounded like thunder in front of the army: "Ready the tiger crouching cannons! Ready the four-pounders! Ready the musketeers!"

As the flag order was conveyed, the firearms battalion in the front immediately responded in unison. Even in the face of a powerful enemy, the Qing army did not retreat at all.

"Fire!" After Hermu's order was issued, the artillerymen started firing without hesitation.

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

A huge explosion sounded like thunder, and the battlefield was instantly shrouded in thick smoke. Orange-red flames flickered in the smoke, making people feel chilled.

The rolling shells, with overwhelming force, rushed out of the muzzle one after another and fiercely shot towards the Ming army's position. Thousands of projectiles flew out of the muzzle and sprinkled on the Qing army's camp like a rainstorm.

Despite their bravery, the Qing army's Baoyi soldiers were terrified by the powerful artillery. Their seemingly sturdy shields proved vulnerable to the artillery fire. Every cannonball that struck the shields would instantly pierce and shatter them.

After the intense bombardment of artillery, the Ming army's musketeers followed suit and began firing in turns. The shield defense line of the Baoyi soldiers was completely destroyed, and the musketeers' accurate strikes instantly plunged those Baoyi soldiers without shields into disaster.

Groups of bullets penetrated the armor and bodies of the baoyi soldiers, and nearly a thousand of them fell in an instant. The entire Qing army line became fragmented at this moment and fell into chaos in an instant.

More explosions and gunfire followed, the fierce artillery attacks intertwined with the dense fire of muskets, and the roars rose and fell. Under the fierce attack, the Baoyi soldiers lost their original formation one after another, and more soldiers began to retreat in panic.

Despite their best efforts, they were unable to withstand the suppression of the firepower. Especially those Baoyi soldiers who had not yet fallen, watching their comrades lying in pools of blood around them, fear and despair surged in their hearts like a tide.

(End of this chapter)