Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 393 "New Barbarian Cannons"

March 4th, the twelfth year of Chongzhen's reign (April 8th, 1639).

On the official road twenty miles north of Qingdu County (now Wangdu County, Hebei Province), the setting sun was like blood, reflecting the scattered corpses of the Qing invaders and the strewn baggage carts.

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood, with the occasional neighing of dying warhorses.

The newly appointed Governor-General of Baoding, Sun Chuanting (who was reassigned from the position of Governor-General of the Three Border Regions on the 18th day of the first month and was in charge of military affairs in Baoding, Shandong, and Henan), stood on a low hill surrounded by his personal guards, his cold gaze sweeping across the battlefield.

A group of Ming soldiers were escorting dozens of dejected Qing prisoners of war toward the rear camp.

In the distance, the rescued civilians knelt on the ground, weeping and kowtowing repeatedly to the Ming soldiers.

"Commander-in-Chief, in this battle we have beheaded over eight hundred, captured five hundred, and rescued over ten thousand civilians!" General Zuo Guangxian of Guyuan strode over, his face beaming with undisguised excitement. He pointed his riding whip at the mountain of Qing army heads. "This rear guard of the Tartars is utterly destroyed!"

Sun Chuanting nodded slightly, but his gaze fell on the few Xinyi cannons on the hillside not far away. They were presented to the court by the people of Xinzhou two years ago as a sign of their respect as vassals. The cannons were only four feet seven inches long (modeled after Napoleon's 6-pound cannon, with a barrel length of about 1.52 meters) and weighed only 650 jin (Ming Dynasty jin, about 390 kilograms), yet they could shatter the Qing army's cavalry formation from two hundred paces away.

"If it weren't for these new barbarian cannons and those two new barbarian artillery instructors, we might not have won so decisively today!" Bai Guang'en, the deputy commander of Yansui, grinned as he wiped the blood off his sword. "When the Tartar cavalry charged, one round of artillery fire from us completely stunned them!"

Sun Chuanting was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What is the movement of the main Qing force?"

The scout rushed forward and reported to the commander: "The main force of the Qing army has retreated twenty miles to the north, but... they have not turned back. They have only sent scouts to keep an eye on us from a distance."

Sun Chuanting breathed a slight sigh of relief, his gaze sweeping over the rescued people in the distance. Ragged women and children helped each other up, some kneeling and weeping, others looking around blankly.

"Order all departments to properly resettle the civilians and quickly treat the wounded soldiers!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Sun Chuanting squinted and looked north. On the horizon, the Qing army's retreating column had shrunk into a black line and slowly disappeared into the twilight.

"This battle was merely a minor victory, and the main force of the Qing invaders suffered no losses whatsoever." He sighed. "This invasion of the interior has ravaged the land for months, resulting in the massacre of dozens of prefectures and counties, and the displacement of countless people. Once the Qing invaders learn the details of what happened inside the interior, they will surely return in due time!"

"What's there to be afraid of!" Gao Jie, the deputy commander of Shaanxi, said dismissively. "If they come again, we'll block them inside the pass, surround them with our army, and kill them all. With such land-based weapons, we can bombard as many Tartars as they come! Commander-in-Chief, why don't we write to the court and get more of these cannons?"

Bai Guang'en nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right. This cannon is lightweight and easy to carry. It can be easily dragged around by one or two horses. It also has a long range, making it especially useful for bombarding bandits!"

Sun Chuanting's gaze was deep as he slowly nodded: "Yes, I will certainly report this to His Majesty. If this item can be mass-produced and deployed to the army, it may be able to turn the tide of the war..."

Previously, when he succeeded Lu Xiang-sheng as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and concurrently the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and was in charge of the reinforcements from various garrisons, he firmly advocated that the Qing army should not be fought lightly, but should be strictly defended and counterattacked when the opportunity arose.

Even on the second day of the Lunar New Year, when the Qing army captured Jinan and massacred more than 100,000 people, Sun Chuanting insisted on the established strategy of not launching a reckless attack, maintaining strict defenses, and waiting for an opportunity to strike.

However, Emperor Chongzhen issued one urgent edict after another, severely reprimanding him for his cowardly and refusing-to-fight behavior.

Left with no other option, Sun Chuanting could only lead his army to follow closely behind the Qing army, preparing to intercept and kill their rearguard.

He first launched a surprise attack on the Qing army in Dong'an (now Dong'an Village, Dongli Town, Yiyuan County, Zibo City, Shandong Province) while they were off guard, beheading more than 100 people, capturing more than 20 supply wagons, and rescuing nearly 1,000 abducted civilians.

He then proceeded cautiously, continuing to follow the Qing army's retreat, waiting for another opportunity to act.

When passing through Dezhou, they discovered that the Dengzhou Guard under the command of Shandong Governor Yan Jizu had several lightweight "new barbarian cannons" that were not only easy to carry, but also no less powerful than the "red barbarian cannons" previously provided by the Portuguese. So they requisitioned the cannons along with two Xinhua instructors and used them to pursue the Qing army.

Subsequently, in several places including Wuqiao, Fucheng, Raocheng (now Raoxian), and Dingzhou, they frequently harassed and attacked the Qing army, achieving minor victories in each.

A few days ago, the army pursued the Qing army to Qingdu and found that the Qing army had stopped and rested there, so they monitored them from a distance.

After careful consideration, Sun Chuanting decided to ambush and kill the Qing army's rear guard on the official road twenty miles north of Qingdu County.

In today's battle, Sun Chuanting first ordered Gao Jie's cavalry to charge the Qing army's transport convoy, causing chaos.

When the Qing army organized its elite Eight Banners cavalry to counterattack, the Ming army bombarded the Qing cavalry formation with several "new barbarian cannons" deployed on the high ground, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.

Subsequently, Sun Chuanting ordered Bai Guang'en to lead infantry to flank the Qing army's rear guard, completely cutting off their retreat.

In this battle, nearly a thousand were beheaded and five hundred were captured, making it the most brilliant victory achieved by the Ming army since the "Wuyin Incident".

Inside the large tent, the oil lamp cast a dim light. Sun Chuanting picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and solemnly wrote a few lines on the memorial.

"...I request the court to quickly negotiate the purchase of these cannons with Xinzhou. If we can obtain one hundred cannons, the bandits can be quelled and the Qing invaders can be appeased."

As the sun set, the battlefield gradually fell silent. Ming soldiers began to clean up the battlefield, collect the bodies of their comrades, and the civilians were led to makeshift tents for accommodation.

The night wind swept across the plains, stirring up a few charred fragments of flags, while the "new barbarian cannons" stood silently, their muzzles still pointing north, as if silently proclaiming that the Ming army had finally won a victory in this battle.
-
Twenty miles away, the Qing army camp.

Dudu, the deputy commander of the Qing army's right wing and Beile of Doruo Anping, listened with a gloomy face as several Niru Ejen who had retreated back reported on the battle situation.

"The Ming dogs' cannons are incredibly dangerous!" Sege, the Ejen of the Bordered Red Banner, clutched his shoulder wound and gritted his teeth, saying, "Our armored cavalry had just formed ranks and charged forward when they were blown to bits, their men and horses scattered and their ranks broken!"

"I thought we could bypass the Ming dogs' artillery and break into their formation from their flank, but I never expected that the Ming dogs' artillery would be so agile, changing direction with our every move. No matter where we attacked, we would be bombarded. Moreover, their cannons fired so fast and fiercely that we had no time to dodge."

"General, the cannons that the Ming dogs are carrying this time seem to be different from before! They seem to be able to be mounted on gun carriages and pulled by a horse, allowing for flexible deployment."

Dudu gripped the riding whip tightly, feeling a tightness in his chest.

He originally intended to send cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the Ming army, reclaiming the people and supplies they had intercepted, but now...

Nearly two Niru were annihilated, more than a thousand Baoyi were captured or killed, and more than ten thousand people and a large amount of supplies were intercepted.

This time, the losses are quite significant!
"General, should we charge again?" a Jala Ejen asked unwillingly. "It's getting dark, and the Ming army might be caught off guard..."

Du Du glared at him coldly: "Charge? Do you want to test how tough the Ming army's cannons are? If we're not prepared, do you think the Ming army are all stupid roe deer in the forest, obediently sitting there and letting us kill them?"

He gazed at the faint firelight to the south and gritted his teeth, saying, "Order the entire army to accelerate their northward retreat first thing tomorrow morning! The Ming army is growing in number; if they catch up with us, it will be difficult to escape!"

"We have already gained enough from this entry into the pass. The best course of action now is to return safely to Shengjing and avoid further entanglement with the Ming army!"

"Whoo!"

Dudu let out a long sigh.

Since September of last year, after their right-wing army broke through Qingshan Pass, they captured nineteen cities, had two cities surrender, defeated the enemy in sixteen battles, killed two governors and more than one hundred Ming Dynasty officials and generals above the rank of garrison commander, captured a prince, a duke, and a general, captured more than 200,000 people, and seized more than 4,000 taels of gold and nearly one million taels of silver.

Although the results of Dorgon's left-wing army are unknown, these dazzling achievements and rich spoils are enough to advance his career and perhaps even grant him a princely title.

In this way, his status among the younger generation of royal family members would not be too much worse than that of Yuetuo, Sahalian (deceased), and others.

The initial stages of their entry into the pass were extremely smooth. They conquered cities and territories, killed generals and surrendered officials, and moved through the Ming capital and Hebei region as if it were their own territory.

After cooperating with Dorgon to kill Lu Xiang-sheng, the army turned its attention to Shandong.

On the second day of the first lunar month, Du Du's right-wing army captured Jinan, which was sparsely defended, captured the Ming Dynasty's Prince De and Provincial Governor Zhang Bingwen, and killed dozens of officials including the Deputy Provincial Governor, Transport Commissioner, Prefect, Judge, Investigator, and County Magistrate.

In order to intimidate the Ming court, the commander-in-chief Yue Tuo ordered the massacre of the city. More than 100,000 corpses piled up inside and outside the city, and Jinan was also burned and looted.

However, perhaps due to excessive killing, Yue Tuo contracted smallpox and died in the city on the ninth day of the first lunar month, which immediately shocked the entire army.

Previously, Yuetuo's younger brother, Ma Zhan, had also contracted smallpox and died in the army.

This was bad news. The army had lost its commander-in-chief during the expedition. Dudu, as the deputy commander, could only temporarily assume command of the right wing army and try to get the news to Dorgon.

Upon hearing the news, Dorgon immediately ordered the entire army to return north, ending the military campaign against the Ming Dynasty.

During the return journey of escorting hundreds of thousands of looted Ming people and countless gold and silver supplies, Du Du immediately felt a sense of pressure.

Various Ming armies began to converge, attempting to cut off the army's return route north.

After several battles, Du Du's army slowly withdrew from Shandong and entered Hebei.

Along the way, although there were constant small-scale harassment battles and nearly a thousand soldiers were lost in bits and pieces, all of this was still within his psychological tolerance.

Unexpectedly, in Qingdu, they were suddenly attacked by a large Ming army. More than 500 armored cavalrymen were killed in battle, and nearly a thousand bondservants also perished in the battle.

Such a huge loss immediately shocked Dudu.

This is still hundreds of miles away from the border wall. If the Ming army continues to suffer losses like this, they will likely lose even more men.

Oops, the road ahead looks a bit difficult!
-
(End of this chapter)