Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 494 Wedges
On the morning of the tenth day of the eleventh month, the wind and snow finally subsided a bit, and the leaden-gray clouds pressed low over the battlements of Gaizhou City, as if to crush this dilapidated fortress.

As soon as the vanguard of the Xinhua Army entered the city, a cold wind mixed with dust and musty smell rushed in. Zhong Minghui reined in his horse, and the warhorse under his horse pawed restlessly, its horseshoes making a dull "thud" sound on the frozen and cracked bluestone slabs.

He looked up and saw that the city of Gaizhou was in a worse state than when he arrived. The rammed earth on the outside of the city wall was frozen and cracked, and several crenellations had been destroyed by artillery fire, leaving only jagged gaps, like gnawed buns.

The plaque above the city gate that reads "Gaizhou Guard" is broken in one corner, the paint peeling off to reveal the rotten wood underneath, which creaks in the cold wind.

At the foot of the city wall, there were piles of snow half a person high, and broken arrow shafts and rusty armor plates were scattered in the snow, obviously traces left during the previous siege, but there was not a trace of cleaning.

"Sir, the city's garrison has arrived," the staff officer beside him whispered.

Zhong Minghui nodded, his gaze falling on a group of Ming soldiers hurrying towards them on the street ahead.

The leading garrison commander, dressed in a faded, mandarin duck-patterned battle jacket with a saber at his waist, greeted Zhong Minghui with a warm bow and said in a somewhat enthusiastic tone, "This humble general, Li Mao, the garrison commander of Gaizhou City, greets Commander Zhong. You must be exhausted from your journey through wind and snow. The government office has already lit a charcoal fire, and a feast has been prepared on the table. Please come with me."

"Commander Li!" Zhong Minghui dismounted, bowed politely to him, and said in a deep voice, "Don't rush to rest and warm yourself by the fire. I want to know if Gaizhou City has enough food to feed eight thousand people for two days?"

"..." Upon hearing this, Li Mao paused for a moment, then glanced at the Han people who were continuously pouring into the city, and a troubled look appeared on his face. "General Zhong, there is no extra grain in Gaizhou City."

“Take whatever grain you have,” Zhong Minghui said with a wave of his hand, leaving no room for argument. “Consider this grain a loan. Once this is over, I will make up the difference in full. We’ve traveled over a hundred miles in this snowy weather; let’s at least make sure those Han Chinese who were rescued have a hot meal and can catch their breath.”

“General Zhong…” Li Mao shook his head vigorously, “It’s not that I don’t want to help those Han people, but Gaizhou City really doesn’t have enough food to feed eight thousand people for two days.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Minghui's face immediately darkened.

What? You, a mere garrison commander, dare to refuse our request?

You should know that half of the rice and grain needed in your Liaonan Town is supplied by Xinhua. Now, we are only lending you a few hundred shi of grain to help you in an emergency, and you dare to make excuses!
"Commander Zhong, we really have no food in Gaizhou City..." Li Mao panicked when he saw more than ten Xinhua soldiers surrounding him with bayonets at the ready. He stumbled back several steps, his heels hitting the frozen snow, and he almost fell to the ground. "To be honest, Commander Zhong, after General Ma led his troops back to Lushun, only my troops of about a hundred men were left to guard the city. We only have about twenty shi of grain, which is coarse rice mixed with half bran. Even if we give it all out, it won't be enough to feed eight thousand people for two meals!"

“Hmm?…” Zhong Minghui frowned. “Your General Ma only left behind a hundred soldiers and twenty-odd shi of grain? Isn’t he afraid that the Qing invaders will launch a large-scale attack and retake Gaizhou City?”

“Afraid?... How could he not be afraid!” Li Mao cried, his voice full of grievance. “To put it bluntly, General Ma left me with only a hundred men to guard Gaizhou, which is just treating us as expendable pawns! He said he would concentrate all his forces in Lushun and Jinzhou, and as for the fortresses like Fuzhou and Xiong Yue, he would only leave a few people to guard them.”

“I also pleaded with the General, but he said, ‘If the Tartars want to attack, they should first pass through these empty cities and lengthen their supply lines.’ He also said, ‘Only by holding Lushun and Jinzhou can we hold Liaonan!’”

"You think you can hold Gaizhou City with just a hundred or so men?" Zhong Minghui's tone was full of disbelief. "Didn't Ma Degong say what would happen to you 'discarded pawns' if the Tartars really attacked?"

“What else can we do?” Li Mao’s face was filled with grief and indignation. “General Ma said, ‘We who eat the emperor’s food must be loyal to the emperor,’ and that we should be devoted to the Ming Dynasty. But these brothers under my command are also born of parents, why should they wait here to die…”

His voice grew softer and softer until he choked up and couldn't speak anymore. Snowflakes fell on his face and quickly mingled with his tears.

"Since you keep saying you're loyal to the Ming Dynasty, are you just going to leave this city wall in ruins?" Zhong Minghui's gaze swept over the broken crenellations, his tone laced with sarcasm. "You don't even repair the damaged crenellations, and that city gate that was blasted apart by cannon fire is just patched up with a few planks of wood. Are you just going to wait for the Tartars to come?"

"..." Li Mao pointed to the Ming soldiers standing sparsely on the city wall, looking helpless. "General Zhong, you may not know this, but our General Ma has long had the idea of ​​abandoning Gaizhou. Look at this city wall, it hasn't been repaired even once since we captured it two months ago, and not even the damaged city gates have been replaced."

"It's not that I'm being lazy and letting the city defenses fall into disrepair; it's just that the commander-in-chief hasn't provided any food or manpower! Plus, the weather is getting colder every day, and we're powerless to do anything about it!"

"Are you planning to surrender the entire city once the Tartars attack?" Zhong Minghui looked at him coldly.

Li Mao's face turned deathly pale in an instant. His lips trembled as he took two steps back, almost tripping over the frozen snowdrifts behind him: "General Zhong, how dare this humble general... how dare he surrender to the Tartars!"

"Hmph, you think that by surrendering to the Tartars you'll get away with something good!" Zhong Minghui sneered, his voice full of disdain. "In the end, you'll inevitably be treated as slaves and used as cannon fodder, destined to die. Moreover, by submitting to the Tartars in such a subservient manner, you're disgracing your own ancestors!"

"This humble general dares not, truly dares not..." Li Mao waved his hands wildly, shaking his head even more violently, his voice trembling with sobs, "We are the Ming Dynasty's imperial army, how could we do such a despicable thing as shaving our heads and surrendering to the enemy?"

Zhong Minghui stopped arguing with him and turned to the officer behind him, instructing, "Immediately take men to take over the city's defenses, inspect the city walls and gates, and find some firewood to boil some hot water for the Han people so that everyone can calm down."

After saying that, he led his men straight toward the government office.

The Ming Dynasty's government troops are becoming increasingly incompetent. No matter how much support they receive, they are like a pile of mud, impossible to prop up! You say that Haizhou and Yaozhou (now Dashiqiao City), located at the front, are far from the sea, making it inconvenient to send reinforcements. They are easily besieged by the Qing invaders, so abandoning them is understandable.

However, Gaizhou City is less than two miles from the sea. As long as the city walls are repaired, the city gates are reinforced, and a few cannons are set up, it can be fortified and held for several months. Once the sea ice melts, the navy's ships can come to deliver food and troops, which will be enough to turn it into a strong forward outpost...

But Ma Degong, fearing retaliation from the Qing army, actually planned to abandon all the fortresses that had been recovered and to have his entire army cower in Lushun, showing none of the "bravery" of the Ming army.
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The charcoal brazier in the government office was burning brightly, crackling and making the map of southern Liaoning on the wall flicker.

Zhong Minghui was pondering with his arms crossed when a series of steady footsteps came from outside the door, followed by a figure pushing the door open and entering.

Zhou Chengping, the battalion commander of the 2nd Mixed Battalion of the Xinhua Army, stepped forward and saluted him: "Commissioner, the city defense has been handed over properly. Li Mao's men have been concentrated in the West Camp, and their weapons have been collected. The Han people have also started cooking porridge."

Zhong Minghui nodded and pointed to the chair opposite him: "Sit down. Tell me, what should we do next?"

Zhou Chengping didn't sit down. Instead, he walked to the wall and pointed to the map of southern Liaoning: "Commissioner, in my opinion, Ma Degong's abandonment of Gaizhou has given our Xinhua Army an opportunity. Why don't we occupy this city and turn it into a wedge for Xinhua on the Liaodong Peninsula!"

Seeing Zhou Minghua's eyes flicker slightly, he continued, "Commissioner, you see, Gaizhou City is less than two miles from the sea. Although the dock is frozen right now, once the ice melts in the spring, the Liaohai Fleet will be able to deliver grain and ammunition ashore continuously, without any worry about our logistics being cut off."

"Moreover, the city's foundation is still intact. As long as the collapsed city walls are repaired, a few cannons are mounted at each of the north and south gates, and firing ports are built behind the crenellations, the entire city can be transformed into a firearms fortress."

"What if the Tartars prevent our Xinhua ships from landing?" Zhong Minghui asked calmly.

“Then we will build another small fort by the sea to protect the dock and prevent the Tartars from stopping the ships from landing.”

"The Tartars also had cannons."

"The Tartars have cannons, but they can't even breach the Ming army's fortresses, let alone break through the cities defended by our Xinhua Army?"

"Don't be so arrogant!" Zhong Minghui warned, "The Tartars have been fighting the Ming army in Liaodong for many years. Even without inside help, they still have a knack for attacking cities. In addition, the Tartars have an absolute numerical advantage and often besiege a fortress with several times their strength. Are you really confident that you can hold it with just firearms?"

"Commissioner, have you forgotten the battle at Bijia Mountain a few months ago?" Zhou Chengping's eyes lit up, his tone filled with certainty. "That time, the Qing army launched a surprise attack on the Ming army's supply camp at Bijia Mountain with five thousand cavalry. The Ming army, with two hundred muskets, several hundred archers, and the three land cannons we brought, made it impossible for the Qing army to advance an inch. The corpses piled up on the 'sky bridge,' and despite suffering over a thousand casualties, they could not break into the camp even a fraction of an inch. In the end, they could only return in defeat."

He leaned forward, his voice growing firmer: "Of course, the terrain of Bijia Mountain limited the Qing forces from all sides, forcing them to launch an attack through a narrow 'sky bridge,' resulting in heavy losses. But if Gaizhou City is well-managed and reinforced with a large amount of manpower and resources, it can be transformed into an impregnable military fortress."

“Our Second Mixed Battalion has three firearms companies and one artillery company, with more than four hundred officers and soldiers. If we station them all in Gaizhou, and also mobilize two companies of militia, and stockpile enough food and ammunition, let alone a few thousand Qing troops, even tens of thousands of troops would have to grind their teeth and break their teeth under the city walls!”

"At that time, Gaizhou will be a nail we have driven into the Liaodong Peninsula. It will not only allow our officers and soldiers to be tested and tempered by the flames of war, but also receive those Han slaves who are constantly fleeing south, indirectly increasing the source of immigrants for Xinhua."

Zhong Minghui stared at the location of Gaizhou on the map, then tapped the three characters "Gaizhouwei" heavily with his fingertip, the hesitation in his eyes gradually fading away.

He looked up at Zhou Chengping, his tone more approving: "You're right. However, this matter needs to be expedited. The grain and fodder need to be transported from Jinzhou and Kuniang Island, and the Han people need to help repair the city walls. As for Li Mao's group, those who are willing to stay can be incorporated into the auxiliary troops, and those who are unwilling... should all be sent to Beiying Island to farm, so as not to stay in the city and cause trouble."

Zhou Chengping immediately stood up and saluted: "Then I'll go and make the arrangements right away!"

After saying that, he turned around and strode out of the government office, the sound of his footsteps fading into the distance in the cold wind.

Zhong Minghui breathed a sigh of relief, walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, and looked out onto the street.

Soldiers of the Xinhua Army were distributing hot porridge to the Han people. The children held the earthenware bowls and sipped the porridge, their faces gradually regaining color.

In the distance, a group of Han Chinese youths, under the organization of soldiers, were clearing damaged houses and repairing city walls.

"We've really gone to great lengths to prolong the life of the Ming Dynasty!" Zhong Minghui gave a wry smile, closed the window, and kept the cold wind out.

"General, news has come from Jinzhou!" At this moment, a militia captain hurriedly pushed open the door and handed a piece of intelligence to Zhong Minghui. "The Tartars have withdrawn their troops from the Songjin front."
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(End of this chapter)