Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 345 Blood Night

"It seems the Jurchens have reinforced their troops..." He Ride, the Left Assistant Commander of Pi Island, put down his monocular telescope and muttered to himself.

"What's there to be afraid of! The number of Tartar soldiers has been steadily increasing over the past few months. Judging from the situation outside, they've probably brought those spineless Koreans here too!" Bai Dengyong, the deputy commander of Dongjiang Town, spat towards the outside of the city wall, his heavy Liaodong accent filled with weariness and caution.

He wore a double-sided breastplate provided by Xinhua, and the goose-feather knife that had been with him for many years was tied to his waist, with traces of blood still remaining on the scabbard.

"As long as those Tartars can't climb the city walls, no matter how many come, they're just sending us to our deaths!" Chen Ce, the garrison commander of Tieshan, said nonchalantly. "However, it's a pity we didn't have the chance to go out of the city and get the Tartars' heads. Speaking of which, in these three or four months, we must have killed at least a thousand Tartars."

“Hmm, about right.” Bai Dengyong grinned immediately upon hearing this. “Even if there aren’t a thousand, there must be five or six hundred. Tsk tsk, if we can get the heads of the Tartars and send them to the capital, that would be a great achievement. Damn it, even the Guan Ning Army probably hasn’t managed to kill so many Tartars in one go!”

“Who says otherwise?” Chen Ce licked his lips. “A few days ago, when Pi Island was delivering supplies to us, Lao Zhang was saying that when the Jurchens launched a full-scale invasion of Korea, the Guan Ning garrisons remained holed up in the city, adopting a strategy of holding back their troops, thus wasting such a good opportunity to attack.”

"Hehe, that's because they were scared by Ajige." He Ride said with a smile, "After learning that the Jurchens had launched a large-scale invasion of Korea, Zu Dale, the deputy general of Jinzhou, led 4,000 troops to cross the Daling River to test the Jurchens' strength."

"Unexpectedly, they were ambushed by Ajige, who was stationed near Guangning. In one battle, they lost half of their troops and fled all the way back to Jinzhou. This frightened all the towns in Guanning, and they dared not take any more risks."

"It's true that the Korean army was too lax. They didn't even last a month before they knelt down and surrendered without hesitation," Bai Dengyong said with great regret. "If they had held out for a few more months, and waited for the ice and snow to melt and the rivers to thaw, the Jurchens would have been forced to withdraw."

"At that time, our Dongjiang Town will deploy naval warships to completely block the Yalu River. If the Jurchens want to return to Liaodong, they will have to detour upstream and go deep into the mountains and forests. This will be enough to give them a hard time!"

"Exactly!" Chen Ce echoed, "If the Jurchens dare to be even more arrogant and continue to besiege Namhansanseong, we can even send our navy to the Han River, preventing them from even leaving the territory of Korea."

“Hehe, Old Chen, you’re exaggerating a bit,” Bai Dengyong shook his head and said, “Although our Dongjiang Navy has dominated the Liaodong Peninsula and forced the Tartars to stay out of the water, it doesn’t have the ability to penetrate deep into the Han River and cut off the north-south transportation of Korea. At most, we can send some people from afar to launch a surprise attack.”

“Sigh, speaking of the surprise attack on the Han River, do you think after this battle, we can legitimately plunder Korean territory and attack their coastal towns?” Chen Ce said resentfully. “Before, when we asked them to ‘borrow’ some grain, they always made excuses and were very reluctant to give it to us. Now that these ungrateful wretches have surrendered to the Jurchens, it’s just the right time for us to strike and plunder Korean territory.”

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with joy at first, but then they all sighed in unison.

Since Korea betrayed the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the enemy, Dongjiang Town will inevitably launch a retaliatory attack on them afterward, sweeping through local villages and towns, which will likely bring a lot of benefits to our brothers.

However, if Korea were to be subjugated by the Jurchens, then the entire Dongjiang Town would inevitably fall into a situation of being surrounded by enemies on all sides.

After that, it was no longer as easy as before to requisition manpower and supplies from North Korea.

Perhaps, I'll have to resort to violence and talk to the North Koreans.

Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Dongjiang Town are relying solely on grains from the south that have been smuggled in by Xinhua people. It is uncertain whether they can survive.
"All the generals are here!" A thin man dressed in a light gray Xinhua military uniform and wearing a peaked cap climbed the city wall and greeted Bai Dengyong warmly.

"General Lin..." The generals bowed politely to the newcomer, their eyes filled with enthusiasm.

"The Tartars are unusually quiet today." After exchanging pleasantries with several generals from Dongjiang Town, Lin Heng directly stated his purpose: "I believe the Tartars are likely planning a new attack."

"There's twice as much smoke as usual, but the entire Jurchen camp is eerily quiet." He Ride and Bai Dengyong exchanged a glance, their expressions turning grave. "Moreover, the Jurchens are constantly forging siege weapons. Judging from this, they are indeed preparing for a large-scale attack."

“Also, look at those newly dug bunkers outside the camp…” Chen Ce pointed to several inconspicuous mounds of earth at the edge of the Jurchen camp: “They’re probably hiding troops. If the Tartars really wanted to stop fighting, why would they need to be so sneaky?”

Lin Heng breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

These generals of Dongjiang Town were indeed seasoned veterans; through various unusual phenomena, they discerned that the Jurchens were bound to take action.

"Night raid!" Bai Dengyong uttered two words softly.

"In that case, shouldn't we make some preparations in advance?" Lin Heng nodded and said seriously.

"Our defense of Tieshan against the enemy still relies heavily on your Xinzhou firearms." Bai Dengyong nodded slightly and said solemnly, "In that case, you will have to work hard and take good care of those powerful weapons on the city wall. All other matters will be handled by my Dongjiang Town."

"Our troops have been ordered to come to Tieshan to assist in the battle, to defend the city and repel the enemy. It is our duty!" Lin Heng cupped his hands to the crowd, then turned and left.
-
Night falls, and all is quiet.

Outside the eastern wall of Tieshan City, the moonlight was obscured by thick clouds, and the few remaining torches swayed in the wind, illuminating the city wall intermittently.

The distant pine forest rustled in the wind, as if hiding countless ghostly owls.

"Take a good look at the gunpowder and bullets, make sure they are not lost or damp! Remember, wait until the Jurchens are within thirty paces before firing." Wang Shushan, the Ming army commander of the Left Firearms Battalion, shouted at his soldiers in a low voice.

Their weapons were loaded and the barrels were pointing upwards, but many of the newly rotated soldiers' fingers were still trembling slightly uncontrollably.

The sounds of battle cries echoed from the west side of the city, interspersed with the occasional muffled thunder of cannon fire, all clearly reaching this side. The deafening noise caused the soldiers to frequently tiptoe and peer in that direction.

In recent months, the Jurchens have frequently launched night battles, and their offensives have been exceptionally fierce, enough to terrify even the most valiant veterans.

The Jurchen soldiers seemed to be even more fearless in their sieges because they couldn't see the firearms firing.

Li Sanwa, who had just been rotated from Pi Island, gripped the handguard of his musket so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

The old soldier Zhao Scarface beside him, a blade of grass dangling from his lips, squinted into the darkness and chuckled softly: "What's there to be cowardly about? The Tartars' arrows don't have eyes; the more you tremble, the more they'll find you."

"Don't worry, the layout and structure of our Iron Mountain City were planned and designed by a master. As long as we don't make any basic mistakes, the Tartars won't be able to break in!"

"What's there to be afraid of!" Battalion Commander Wang Shushan continued pacing back and forth in the middle of the ranks, occasionally kicking the soldier next to him. "No matter how fierce the Jurchens are, if they pull the trigger, a small bullet can send them to see the King of Hell. Even if they come tonight, they'll die one by one, or two by two. They'll just be sending us to our deaths."

"Old Scarface, you bunch of bastards, be on your guard. If a fight breaks out, make sure you keep a few charcoal fires burning brightly so the brothers don't have to load ammunition in the dark."

Not far behind them, more than a hundred Xinhua musketeers sat quietly on the ground, making almost no noise.

Some soldiers sat around a sheltered spot on the city wall, using bayonets to pick up potatoes and roast them over a campfire. The potato skins gradually wrinkled, cracking with several charred lines, and a bit of mashed potato seeped out of the golden interior, sizzling in the fire.

The aroma of potatoes mingled with the smell of charcoal, like the warmth of burning dried wheat straw, and also carried the rustic sweetness of baked soil.

Occasionally, a gust of wind blows, and an even stronger aroma wafts from beneath the crispy skin—it's the starch turning into sugar at high temperatures, mixed with a nutty smell similar to roasted chestnuts, filling everyone's nose.

"Damn it, this tastes better than tonight's hard pancakes!" A Ming soldier couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Damn it, why do people from Xinzhou get to eat potatoes after dinner?"

"What's wrong? Are you envious? Why don't you go and get a few of these, so we can have some too..."

"The Tartars are sneaking up!" Suddenly, a soldier on the battlements whispered.

No sooner had he finished speaking than an arrow shot swiftly from the darkness and pierced his shoulder.

With a muffled groan, the soldier who had given the warning stumbled and fell behind the wall.

"call!"

"call!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Several torches were thrown down from the city wall, and the light instantly illuminated the densely packed figures of the Jurchens below.

"kill!"

Once their whereabouts were discovered, the Jurchen soldiers no longer concealed their tracks and swarmed toward the city wall, carrying ladders one after another.

"put!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

After the Ming musketeers finished firing, they quickly retreated to the back, leaving the firing positions to their comrades who followed closely behind.

"Load! Load!... Hurry up!" the Ming army captain roared.

After firing a round, the Ming musketeers hurriedly followed the procedures prescribed by the Xinhua military instructors: biting open the pre-loaded gunpowder pack, pouring it into the barrel, inserting the bullet, tapping the barrel lightly, pressing the cleaning rod firmly, turning the hammer to the fully ready position, and then preparing to fire. The entire process was strictly controlled within twenty seconds.

But even in this life-or-death moment, some people's hands were shaking so badly that some soldiers even forgot to remove the connecting rod before firing, and the bullet was fired along with the ammunition.

The Xinhua musketeers, on the other hand, were much calmer, also employing a three-stage firing method: the front rank fired, the middle rank prepared, and the rear rank loaded, proceeding in an orderly manner.

The continuous gunshots echoed through the night, weaving a web of death.

But the Jurchens' offensive intensified, with siege ladders being erected one after another on the city walls.

A valiant Jurchen soldier climbed the ladder, but as soon as he peeked out, he was shot away by a Ming soldier. His heavy armor could not stop the powerful bullet from penetrating his body. With a scream, he fell heavily off the city wall.

But many more Jurchens followed suit, some even impatient to wait for the ladders to climb, directly embedding their bare hands into the grooves of the city wall and struggling to climb upwards.

"Boom!" A cannon located on the enemy platform (horse face) fired a volley of shrapnel. The rain of projectiles, iron filings, and gravel instantly covered the Jurchen soldiers within a huge fan-shaped area in front of the city, immediately halting their charge for several breaths.

Although the Jurchen soldiers, under the command of their officers, surged against the city walls wave after wave, the situation they faced was extremely perilous.

Several prominent watchtowers (bastions) formed a deadly crossfire with the city wall, so that no matter which section of the wall the Jurchen soldiers attacked, they would be hit from several directions.

Bows and arrows, muskets, cannons, and spears and swords caused the surging Jurchen soldiers to fall one after another on the city walls. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, corpses piled up like heaps, and countless people were killed or wounded.

But for some reason, the Jurchen soldiers who attacked today were incredibly resilient, and despite suffering such heavy casualties, they continued to launch attacks.

In an instant, the battle in Tieshan City reached a fever pitch, with close-quarters combat constantly taking place on the city walls, amidst flashing swords, sparks flying, and deafening shouts of battle.

"Master, this won't do."

On a high slope outside the city, Qing army commander Ajige stared in the direction of Tieshan City with a livid face, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, his heart churning with turmoil.

When did the Ming army in Dongjiang Town acquire such fierce firearms?
As a Bayara watched his soldiers fall wave after wave beneath the city walls like wheat being harvested, a chill ran down his spine. He turned to Ajige and whispered, "If this continues, the Plain White Banner will be wiped out... Master, withdraw the troops!"

"Shut up!" Ajige angrily swung his scabbard and lashed it hard at the Bayara man. "You dog slave, who has the right to speak when commanding in battle!"

The Bayara, clad in heavy armor, felt no pain after being struck by the scabbard. However, under Ajige's fierce gaze, he staggered back several steps, then his knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing and begging for forgiveness.

"Hoo..." Ajige kicked the Bayara over and then turned and left.

"……withdraw troops!"

"..." Upon hearing this, the Bayara paused for a moment, then immediately realized something and loudly replied, "Yes! ...Ejenhalehun (meaning the master is wise)!"

As the sharp sounds of horns and gongs pierced the night sky, the Jurchen offensive came to an abrupt halt.

While taking turns providing cover, they struggled to drag their comrade's body away, quickly disappearing into the darkness under the cover of night.
-
(End of this chapter)