Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 471 Disturbance (Part 1)

July 2nd, 6:20 AM, Liaodong Bay.

The thin mist, like a crumpled gauze, was spread on the water, and the pale light of dawn was gradually swallowing up the remaining darkness of the night.

Zhou Chengping, battalion commander of the 2nd Mixed Battalion of the Xinhua Army, stood on the deck of the Fujian ship, feeling the cool morning sea breeze brushing against his face.

He raised his binoculars, and through the dissipating fog, he could vaguely see the outline of the distant coastline.

"The wind is from the northwest, at level 2, and the tide is receding," a navigator from the Liaohai Fleet reported in a low voice. "The waves are less than two feet high. You're in luck; the landing conditions are good."

Zhou Chengping nodded, then turned to the messenger behind him and said, "Order all ships to proceed with the landing operation according to the pre-arranged plan."

"First wave of landing troops, prepare!"

With the order given, the fleet began to operate in an orderly manner.

The two Fujian-style ships slowly adjusted their course and anchored about a mile from the coast.

The sailors skillfully lowered the small boat, and the soldiers of the Xinhua Army boarded the ship one by one.

They were dressed in dark blue military uniforms, carrying new flintlock rifles on their backs, with bayonets and ammunition pouches hanging from their waists, and their movements were clean and efficient.

On another fleet not far away, Fan Hualong, the deputy commander of Liaonan Town, was frowning as he observed the movements of the Xinhua Army ahead.

Left Battalion Commander Shang Zhiyi (son of Shang Kejin, Shang Kexi's elder brother) leaned closer and whispered, "Sir, these Xinzhou people are quite efficient, but with such a small force, can they really take Gaizhou?"

"How many Tartars do you think there are in Gaizhou?" Fan Hualong glared at him, then turned to look at the fleet behind them. "At most, a hundred or two hundred men, just a Tartar outpost."

"Oh, if they go first, won't they steal our credit?"

"No need to worry!" Fan Hualong smiled. "The people of Xinzhou don't count merits based on beheadings. No matter how many Tartar heads we cut off in the end, they will all be attributed to our Liaonan Town!"

"Hehe, that's a good deal for us!" Shang Zhiyi grinned immediately upon hearing this. "If we win this battle, we'll get all the credit. If we lose, we'll have a good chance to escape later."

"Bullshit!" Fan Hualong suddenly got angry and slapped him on the head. "Didn't your uncle tell you that we came here this time to protect the Xinzhou people from any mishaps? If we let those Xinzhou people die, our thousands of brothers in Liaonan Town will probably go hungry!"

Shang Zhiyi shrank back and smiled ingratiatingly: "Sir, I'm not just saying this, I don't really mean to leave someone to die! ... We have more than 800 people here, we're not just here for nothing."

At this time, the first batch of landing troops of the Xinhua Army had already set off for the shore in small boats.

The sea was calm, with only the sound of oars cutting through the water.

A lieutenant, the company commander, personally led the team. He sat at the bow of the ship, his right hand gripping his command sword, his eyes fixed on the approaching coastline.

"Be on guard!" he whispered a reminder. "Once ashore, do not scatter. Gather together immediately and establish a beachhead."

When the small boat touched the shallows, the soldiers quickly jumped into the knee-deep water, raised their muskets high, and carried several columns of soldiers toward the shore.

In the morning mist, their figures appeared and disappeared, like a group of dragons emerging from the sea.

"Reporting to the company commander, the beachhead is safe!" The scouts' voices came from behind the bushes, their bayonets still covered with dewy thorns.

The lieutenant looked around. The beach was flat, and there was a dense, low-lying forest not far away, making it an ideal landing spot.

He looked up at the sky; it was almost dawn, and he needed to hurry and land to assemble.

Otherwise, if the patrolling Qing scouts discovered them, the element of surprise in the battle would be lost.

"Establish defensive positions, arrange two firing lines to cover the landing of subsequent troops."

"The scattered troops will advance out of the woods to further scout out the enemy situation in the vicinity!"

Just as the Xinhua Army was carrying out its operations in an orderly manner, the troops in Liaonan Town also gradually reached the coast and began to land.

Compared to the cautious demeanor of the Xinhua Army, the Ming Army's actions appeared chaotic and even somewhat noisy.

They jumped off the ship noisily, some even accidentally falling into the sea, which drew laughter from their companions. They didn't care at all that it would attract the attention of Qing scouts, which alarmed the Xinhua soldiers watching from the side.

How can they be so casual about fighting a war?
We followed the landing operation manual exactly, and we practiced it countless times on New Zealand Island, yet we were still so cautious.

But you Ming soldiers, you brazenly disembarked from the ships, making a ruckus as you rushed ashore.

If there were Qing troops patrolling nearby, they would probably have discovered the commotion here long ago.

"These Xinzhou people are just putting on airs," muttered one of Fan Hualong's personal guards disdainfully.

Fan Hualong glared at him: "Shut up! Be on your guard when we attack the city later!"

At 9:30 a.m., all landing troops had completed their assembly.

Zhou Chengping and Fan Hualong met on a small earthen slope.

"General Fan, according to the scouts, there are about two hundred Qing troops guarding Gaizhou Fort. They are mainly Han Chinese Eight Banners Plain Blue Banner troops, with less than one hundred combat soldiers. The rest are bondservants and captured Han slaves."

As Zhou Chengping spoke, he held a small wooden stick and drew a rough map of the city's defenses on the ground: "The city is still mainly based on the old fortress walls. Apart from simple repairs to the damaged parts, there has been no reinforcement at all, and there are no defensive weapons such as cannons on the city walls."

"So let's not play any fancy tricks. Let's use the simplest method: place that land gun directly at the city gate, blast it open in one fell swoop, and then advance with the whole army to annihilate the enemy."

“Alright, we’ll proceed according to General Zhou’s plan.” Fan Hualong nodded.
-

At 10:20 a.m., 500 meters southeast of Gaizhou Fort.

A group of Xinhua soldiers, chanting in low voices, dragged a 75mm light marine gun little by little toward the city of Gaizhou.

Two thin battle lines stretched across the open field, advancing slowly at a marching pace to the beat of drums.

A dozen or so stragglers, carrying muskets, cautiously probed the way ahead while keeping a watchful eye on Gaizhou City.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"..."

When they were still several hundred meters away from Gaizhou City, sporadic gunshots rang out, and occasionally a shrill scream came from the city wall.

"Good heavens! What kind of firearms are the Xinzhou people using?... They can actually shoot so far!" Shang Zhiyi was astonished to see that after several gunshots, someone fell headfirst from the top of Gaizhou City, hundreds of meters away. It was clear that he had been killed by the firearms of the Xinzhou people who had approached. He stared wide-eyed in shock.

"The firearms of the Xinhua are truly formidable, and their reputation is well-deserved!" Fan Hualong, who was also observing the situation ahead through binoculars, praised softly. "With muskets capable of firing at such a distance, what need is there to fear the Qing invaders' barrage of heavy arrows!"

“If we had these muskets, we would surely crush the Qing invaders so badly they wouldn’t dare face us head-on!” Shang Zhiyi said sourly. “The various garrisons in Liaodong have no less than 1,500 Xinhua muskets. Do you see them used for field battles, other than defending the city?” Fan Hualong shook his head and said, “How can muskets stop the enemy in the slightest when thousands of Qing cavalry charge? Unless we train our soldiers to be like the Xinhua soldiers, able to charge at close range on horseback without their formation changing an inch.”

"My lord, in the drills, the Xinhua people can naturally charge forward with their cavalry without their formation moving an inch. But if you throw them onto the battlefield of Jinzhou and let them experience firsthand the Qing army's thousands of troops, they probably won't be so calm and composed."

"Do you think they wouldn't dare?" Fan Hualong put down his binoculars and looked at him with a half-smile.

"No way?" Shang Zhiyi was stunned, looking at the Xinhua Army team in disbelief.

"Then why do you think they came to help my Liaonan Garrison recapture Gaizhou?"

"Why?"

"Xinhua is using combat as training, letting their soldiers truly experience the carnage of the battlefield," Fan Hualong said softly. "No matter how well they train on the training ground, it's not as good as experiencing it firsthand on the battlefield!"

"You're right, sir. ... Look, sir, they're setting up cannons!"

The Xinhua army advanced to a point 240 meters from Gaizhou City and stopped. Then, under the watchful eyes of the Qing troops on the city wall, they began to set up artillery positions in an orderly manner.

The gunners moved extremely quickly, and their operating procedures were also very uniform: removing the spade from the gun carriage, placing the gun on the ground, unfolding the gun mount, adjusting the elevation mechanism, adjusting the gun wheels, fixing the breech, and adjusting the direction. The sound of the metal parts colliding was crisp and pleasant, and each step was as precise as the gears of a clock.

The gunner took out a quadrant to measure the elevation angle and made fine adjustments to the gun using the breech screw.

"The target is 240 meters, the elevation angle is 2 degrees and 30 minutes, and a solid shot is to be fired."

"Roger! Scale 240 meters, elevation 2 degrees 30 minutes, solid shot loading!"

Five gunners moved like precision gears. One wetted the barrel with a damp cloth, another put in the propellant charge, another immediately inserted the projectile, and yet another used a loading rod to compact the ammunition. The igniter used an awl to break the propellant charge at the ignition port, then inserted a cotton fuse, and then held the fuse, waiting for the firing order.

The gunner knelt on the left side of the gun barrel, his right eye pressed against the bronze sight embedded in the barrel, and the outline of the east gate of Gaizhou Fort gradually became clear in the sight.

"Let go!" He suddenly swung his arm down.

The cannon suddenly lurched backward, and the iron gun carriage sank slightly into the shallow pit that had been dug beforehand.

The moment the black smoke rose, a muffled thud came from the East Gate corner tower, 240 meters away, and brick fragments fell like sand scattered by a naughty child.

The gunner held up his binoculars, tapping his finger lightly on the edge of the lens: "One foot to the left, correct by half a point, distance unchanged."

Upon hearing the cannon fire, the soldiers in Liaonan Town erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

The Qing troops on the walls of Gaizhou were ashen-faced, because they had no firearms to retaliate and could only watch helplessly as the strangely dressed "Ming soldiers" calmly bombarded the city from close range.

"The people of Xinzhou fight like they're doing embroidery!" Shang Zhiyi muttered to his personal guards, "What if the Tartars in the city rush out..."

Before he could finish speaking, a second shell whistled through the air, this time hitting the metal latch of the east gate with precision, sending splinters of wood and rust flying everywhere.

Shang Zhiyi was so startled that he swayed as he saw the Xinhua Army's gunners reloading at an incredible speed after firing.

The glint of the measuring instrument flashed in the sunlight, and the gunner completed the loading process with just gestures, without even speaking.

"it is good!"

As the third shell pierced the air, he heard an involuntary gasp escape his throat.

The bullet seemed to have eyes, hitting the weakest point of the city gate's tenon joint.

"boom!"

Amidst the deafening explosion, the East Gate collapsed inwards like a wooden crate kicked open by a giant.

Amidst the smoke and dust, Qing soldiers could be seen in disarray within the city, some frantically tying packages onto their horses.

"Prepare for the assault!" Fan Hualong drew his sword and shouted loudly.

"boom!"

The cannon fire resumed, and a shell slammed into the city gate, sending rubble and wood chips flying and knocking down a number of Qing soldiers who were trying to block the gate. The shell continued to bounce and roll into the city with undiminished momentum.

"Kill!" Fan Hualong's roar almost overlapped with the sound of cannons. He swung his sword forward and hundreds of soldiers from Liaonan Town shouted as they rushed towards the breached city gate like a tidal wave.

"Charge in!" With a loud command, three hundred Xinhua soldiers, bayonets at their heels, surged toward Gaizhou City.

The battle inside the city ended quickly. Facing an enemy several times their size, the more than one hundred Han Chinese soldiers of the Plain Blue Banner of the Eight Banners stationed in the city gave up resistance after the city gates were blown up and fled towards the west gate, which had not yet fallen.

However, they were still blocked by more than 400 soldiers from Liaonan Town. After suffering dozens of casualties, they surrendered.

However, five or six people managed to escape the encirclement on horseback and head north to Haizhou.

At noon, inside the Gaizhou Fort government office, Zhou Chengping was reviewing the seized documents when he suddenly stopped on a conscription order.

This is a troop mobilization order sent from Shenyang seven days ago, requiring half of the garrison to be withdrawn to reinforce Jinzhou.

“We got a bargain.” He smiled and handed the transfer order to Fan Hualong, who was counting silver across from him. “The Qing army is short-handed in Jinzhou; they even have to transfer the hundred or so garrison troops from Gaizhou Fort.”

"I heard that the imperial court has issued several decrees to Governor Hong, ordering him to defeat the Qing army as soon as possible so that troops can be redeployed back to the interior," Fan Hualong said. "I reckon that Governor Hong has already begun to gather the elite troops of the eight garrisons and head towards Jinzhou. The Tartars may be feeling immense military pressure."

"Do you think that after receiving the news from Gaizhou, Chieftain Huang Taiji will withdraw troops from Shenyang or the front lines and head towards the Liaodong Peninsula?" Zhou Chengping asked.

"Hard to say!" Fan Hualong shook his head. "If the battle in Jinzhou becomes intense, the Tartars will most likely ignore us. Unless..."

“Unless we march all the way to Liaoyang?” Zhou Chengping laughed.

"Liaoyang is more than 200 miles from the sea. If we try to sneak over there, it would be like feeding a tiger. We would be very likely to be attacked by the Tartar cavalry."

"..." Zhou Chengping nodded, looked at the documents scattered all over the government office, and sighed.

"What, General Zhou, are you planning to take a risk?" Fan Hualong glanced at him mockingly.

"No. I want to go to the Jinzhou battlefield to take a look."

"You're insane!" Fan Hualong exclaimed in astonishment.

“Our Commander Zhong said that the Battle of Songjin will be a strategic battle of decisive significance for your Great Ming.” Zhou Chengping licked his dry lips. “I want to see for myself how your Great Ming and the Qing invaders will wage this great war.”

"..." Fan Hualong stared blankly at the Xinhua officer with a face full of enthusiasm, remaining silent for a long time.
-

(End of this chapter)