Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 472 Disturbance (Part Two)

On August 10, 1641, under repeated urging from the emperor and the Ministry of War, Hong Chengchou finally could not withstand the enormous pressure and swore an oath in Ningyuan to set off (half a month later than the original historical timeline), leading his army to advance towards Jinzhou.

On August 13th, the army arrived at Songshan.

That night, Hong Chengchou climbed Rufeng Mountain to observe the Qing army camp, and then ordered the Ming army to occupy Rufeng Mountain and advance on Dongshimen and Xishimen.

The Ming army acted extremely quickly, forming a pincer movement against the tens of thousands of Qing troops stationed around Jinzhou.

On August 17th, the two armies clashed fiercely at Dongshimen and Xishimen. When Yang Guozhu, the general of Xuanfu, led his troops in a charge, he was unexpectedly shot in the throat by a Qing soldier's arrow and fell from his horse to his death on the spot.

The Ming army's offensive was thwarted, but the various units still fought desperately forward, repeatedly vying with the Qing army for every inch of ground.

Just as the two armies were locked in fierce combat, Zu Dashou, who was in Jinzhou City, seized the opportunity to lead his troops out of the city and charge outwards.

The Qing army was immediately caught in a pincer movement, and two of the three lines of defense set up by the Ming army were broken through in succession, making the situation extremely critical.

However, the Qing army commander Dorgon reacted quickly and immediately reinforced the defenses, dispatching a large number of elite Bayara soldiers to fill the gap and block Zu Dashou's troops back, forcing them to retreat to Jinzhou City once again.

On August 23, the Qing army attacked the Ming army's western camp at Rufeng Mountain in an attempt to reverse the passive situation, but was repelled by a volley of fire from the Ming army's muskets.

On August 24, the Qing army held firm in their trenches and fortifications, but ultimately suffered a setback and retreated.

On August 30, the two armies fought again at Xishimen. The Ming army's offensive was disrupted by the Qing army's cavalry flanking maneuver, resulting in over a thousand casualties, and the Ming army was forced to retreat.

On September 1, the Ming army regrouped and launched another attack, using the wagon battalion's firearms to suppress the Qing army's lines. The infantry then advanced, beheading more than 300 enemy soldiers and achieving a minor victory.

Since the outbreak of the war, the Ming army has shown remarkable resilience and courage, repeatedly charging into the Qing army's formation. Even though they suffered heavy casualties and their formations were disrupted, they reorganized and regrouped under the leadership of officers at all levels and launched another attack.

The Qing army's Bordered Blue Banner, Bordered Red Banner, and Plain White Banner suffered a sudden increase in casualties under the continuous attacks of the Ming army, which once made the commander-in-chief Dorgon waver in his confidence and prepare to withdraw his troops and return north.

However, at Jirgalang's urging, Dorgon finally stabilized the battle line and continued the stalemate with the Ming army on both the inner and outer lines.

For a time, a stalemate was reached on the entire battlefield.

The Ming and Qing armies were like two giant pythons biting each other, neither able to devour the other.

From the Ming Dynasty flags fluttering atop Jinzhou City to the mountain of corpses piled up at the foot of Songshan Mountain, and the continuous sound of cannons echoing from the direction of Xingshan Mountain, smoke filled the air for dozens of miles.

The setting sun dyed the sky blood red, and countless people were still fighting on the battlefield. Their shouts, the clash of weapons, and the groans of the dying mingled together and echoed for a long time in the wilderness beyond the pass.

On September 2nd, at Chenshi (7-9 AM), the morning mist, like a wet gray cloth, enveloped Bijia Mountain completely.

Tong Hanbang, the deputy commander of Qiantun, stood on a high watchtower, his left hand on his waist knife and his right hand on his brow bone, looking towards the land to the west.

The blue sea on both sides could be vaguely seen through the mist, but the battlefield further away was swallowed up by the thick fog. Only the occasional cannon fire rolled by like muffled thunder, making the wooden pillars of the watchtower tremble slightly.

"Sir, have some hot tea to warm yourself up." A servant came forward carrying a rough porcelain bowl, the rim of which was still stained with tea.

Tong Hanbang took the teacup, the warm steam blurring the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

This deputy commander of the former garrison is thirty-six years old this year. His face is etched with the marks of time, and half of the ring finger on his left hand is missing.

That was in the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, when it was bitten off by Qing soldiers in its dying moments beneath the walls of Guangning.

He took a sip of tea, his gaze sweeping over the rows of granaries below the stage, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

Bijia Mountain does indeed resemble an inverted pen holder, and the depression between the three small peaks has been turned into a camp for storing grain and fodder.

At this moment, more than a dozen granaries lay like lurking beasts in the mountain valley. Each granary was about two zhang high, with a frame made of thick pine wood and covered with a thick layer of yellow mud to prevent fire.

In the open space between the granaries, more than 50,000 bundles of horse fodder were piled up into small hills. The fresh scent of the fodder mixed with the salty smell of the sea permeated the humid air.

Further away in the wooden stockade, there were piles of gunpowder barrels and arrows wrapped in tarpaulins. Squads of soldiers with muskets stood around the stockade, watching the sea vigilantly.

"Give the order: all battalions and units must be on high alert and conduct thorough patrols. There must be no mistakes!" Tong Hanbang handed a teacup to a servant, then instructed the grain officers beside him, "That batch of coarse rice that arrived yesterday must be thoroughly dried before being stored. If it develops a musty smell and the brothers at the front get sick, we'll all lose our heads!"

The grain officials readily agreed and turned to lead a few minor officials to inspect the granary.

Tong Hanbang then looked at the "sky bridge" connecting to the land—a sandbar formed by tidal erosion, submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide, with its narrowest point only wide enough for two horses to walk side by side.

At this moment, it is low tide, and most of the sandbar is exposed. The wet sand is covered with dense antlers, and the spikes are still covered with seaweed brought up by yesterday's high tide.

Several squads of Ming soldiers were patrolling back and forth, carrying swords and bows and arrows. The soles of their boots made a squelching sound as they stepped on the wet sand, startling sand crabs that scurried sideways into their burrows.

Just then, a commotion arose from the direction of the dock.

Tong Hanbang peered out and saw several large boats struggling to reach the shore. The boats were taller than the usual cargo ships and had a deep draft, indicating that they were carrying a lot of grain.

A dozen soldiers dressed in short jackets and trousers came down from the ramp. The brims of their peaked caps pressed down on their brow bones, their belts tightened around their waists, and the scabbards of their short blades gleamed coldly in the mist.

The junior officer stationed at the pier stopped them, seemingly questioning their identities.

Several accompanying Ming generals quickly stepped forward to negotiate, and even took out a document from their pockets to explain the origins of these soldiers dressed in strange uniforms.

Although the dozen or so soldiers were blocked on the shore, they did not panic. No one whispered to each other. They stood in formation and maintained a military posture, which was in stark contrast to the slouching and lazy Ming soldiers around them.

Like a flock of phoenixes standing among a bunch of chickens!
"Where did these soldiers come from?" Tong Hanbang frowned, his left hand unconsciously rubbing his missing ring finger, the pad of his finger grinding against the uneven scar.

Upon hearing this, the guards immediately ran down to inquire.

A moment later, he returned and reported, "General, these are soldiers from Xinzhou. They said they came with the grain transport ships from Dongjiang Town, and they also brought some firearms to bolster our army's morale." Tong Hanbang stepped down from the watchtower. The group of Xinzhou soldiers had already entered the camp. The leader was a sturdy young man, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, without a beard, with a healthy bronze complexion, and sharp, piercing eyes.

Upon seeing Tong Hanbang, he stopped, raised his right hand to the right side of his forehead, and gave a strange salute: "I am Zhou Chengping, Major Battalion Commander of the Second Mixed Battalion of the Xinhua Army. I greet General Tong."

His Mandarin had a strange accent, like a mixture of Liaodong dialect and Shandong dialect.

Tong Hanbang looked Zhou Chengping up and down, noticing the beautiful brass buttons adorning his collar and shoulders, which shimmered in the morning light.

"Well, you've come from afar, what brings you here?" He nodded and asked in a gentle voice.

This Xinhua vassal state is a rare "submissive" vassal state of our Great Ming. Over the years, it has provided our Great Ming with nearly a hundred "new barbarian cannons" and a large number of high-quality firearms, which have greatly helped to maintain the war situation in Liaodong and to suppress the bandits in the interior.

In addition, they set up soup kitchens in coastal port towns to recruit starving people from all over the country, and then shipped them to their home state of New Zealand, which greatly reduced the local security pressure and saved a lot of relief costs.

What is even more remarkable is that this small vassal state frequently sent troops to join forces with Dongjiang Town and Liaonan Town to attack the Qing army's flanks and rear, and even stirred up the rebellious Joseon that had surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, thus indirectly providing some military assistance to our Great Ming.

It is said that the emperor was very "gratified" by the assistance of the new Chinese and repeatedly issued edicts to the local authorities, giving them many conveniences in their efforts to recruit people and do business along the coast, and not to treat them poorly, so as not to disappoint the sincere heart of the vassal state.

It can be said that Xinhua people have a good reputation in the Liaohai area.

Although Tong Hanbang had never had any dealings with them, he was very fond of the Xinhua people because they could provide firearms to the towns in Liaodong.

Therefore, he was somewhat polite during the greetings and conversation.

“General Tong…” Zhou Chengping hesitated for a moment, then got straight to the point: “We want to go to Xingshan to observe your army’s battle against the Qing invaders firsthand.”

The Xinhua soldiers behind him nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with anticipation.

"How can this be used?" Tong Hanbang flatly refused, "Do you know how many troops are on the front line? More than 200,000! This is not like the tribal warfare of your New Continent with dozens or hundreds of people! A single charge of a few thousand iron cavalry can crush you into dust!"

"Uh..." Zhou Chengping's face immediately showed an embarrassed expression. He rubbed his hands and didn't know how to deal with it for a moment.

That's an underestimation!

However, although what he said was harsh, he wasn't wrong. Apart from a war with the Spanish nine years ago involving a thousand people, our Xinhua has mostly fought tribal sieges with dozens or hundreds of people, just as he said.

Moreover, given the weapons and organization of the indigenous tribes, the fighting was hardly intense at all. Often, a volley of muskets followed by a bayonet charge was enough to easily defeat the enemy in front of them.

How can anything compare to the massive battle before us, a battle raging with mountains of corpses and seas of blood?

It was precisely because the Xinhua Army had no worthy adversaries that, in order to improve the combat effectiveness of the troops, the military headquarters sent their Second Mixed Battalion to Daming two years ago to experience real combat and test the effectiveness of the troops' training.

After resting on Beiying Island for several months, they were transferred to Tamna Island (i.e. Jeju Island), where they landed in Korea with local militia forces. They joined forces with the Korean Restoration Army formed by Gwanghaegun and participated in some low-intensity battles to warm up and familiarize themselves with the battlefield atmosphere.

In April of this year, the Second Mixed Battalion was transferred to Tieshan City, which was under the jurisdiction of Dongjiang Town, to cooperate with the local Ming army in sweeping away the Korean local counties that did not submit to the "Wang's rule" and to expand the Tieshan settlement area.

This unit, along with more than 2,000 soldiers from Dongjiang Town, once attacked the right bank of the Yalu River. Then, they covered Dongjiang Town's reconstruction of Yizhou City (which had been completely burned down after the Ming army captured it), preparing to completely block the lower reaches of the Yalu River and sever the communication between Korea and the Qing Dynasty.

Last month, they were transferred to Lushun again, ready to test their mettle against the nearby Qing outposts and strongholds.

However, as the scale of the Battle of Songjin grew larger and larger, in order to raise more troops, the Qing forces actually transferred all the garrison troops stationed at the forward strongholds such as Gaizhou, Yaozhou, and Xiongyue, leaving only dozens to hundreds of garrison troops, mostly old and weak Han soldiers and bondservants. This allowed the hundreds of officers and soldiers of the Second Mixed Battalion to cooperate with the Ming army to recapture the strongholds one by one at a very low cost without experiencing too intense fighting.

However, wary of the superior mobility of the Qing cavalry, the Xinhua Army did not dare to leave its sea cover and venture deep inland to confront the inland towns and strongholds such as Haizhou and Qianshanwei (now Qianshan District of Anshan City).

So they wondered if they could go to the Songjin front to witness firsthand the fierce battle between the Ming and Qing armies of 200,000 men.

Even if they cannot be on the battlefield in person, just watching from the sidelines can greatly benefit the growth and broaden the horizons of Xinhua officers.

Unexpectedly, when they followed the grain transport ship from Dongjiang Town to the Ming army's logistics camp at Bijia Mountain, they were immediately rejected by General Tong as soon as they made their request.

Zhou Chengping's face showed a hint of reluctance: "General Tong is joking. We brought this..."

As he spoke, he took a tin box from his backpack, which revealed a single-lens telescope. "This can clearly see enemy flags from tens of miles away. If the general forbids us from going to Xingshan, then we can stand on the western slope of Bijia Mountain and observe from afar, never approaching the battlefield. What does the general think?"

Tong Hanbang stared at the telescope; its barrel was gleaming, and its edges were polished smooth, making it even more exquisite than those made by the Ministry of Works.

Seeing the other person's longing expression, he couldn't help but feel a little more relaxed.

Perhaps it wouldn't matter if they just stayed here and observed the situation on land.

Just as they were hesitating, a faint sound of cannon fire came from the west, louder than before, shaking the grass on the ground.

Zhou Chengping's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously stood on tiptoe to look westward.

Tong Hanbang looked at him, then gazed at the battlefield shrouded in thick fog in the distance, and suddenly sighed: "Alright. I'll have my personal guards take you to the west slope. You're only allowed to stay near the lookout post; you're not allowed to wander around freely, and you absolutely mustn't cross the 'sky bridge' to go onto land. Otherwise..."

He patted the sword at his waist. "I will then enforce military law according to the regulations of the Ming army."

Zhou Chengping's eyes lit up, and he raised his hand in salute again: "Thank you, General Tong! We would never dare to act rashly!"

The fog gradually dissipated, and the outline of Bijia Mountain became clearer.

The distant sound of cannon fire continued to roll, like muffled thunder on the horizon.

Tong Hanbang looked toward the west slope, where a dozen or so Xinhua soldiers were climbing up with their personal guards. Their figures moved in the morning light, like a string of moving ink dots, falling on the edge of this blood-red battlefield.
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(End of this chapter)