Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 172 City Defense Artillery, Cavalry Tactics

Whether defending the city with artillery or using a large square formation of wagons, the most powerful firepower comes from the four sides. This is because if the enemy attacks from the corners of the city, fire from two walls and three corners can be concentrated on them at the same time.

The Jurchens' choice to attack from the front was undoubtedly correct, because at that point they could only attack from one wall and two corners.

Because the Ming Dynasty had a limited number of heavy artillery pieces, the gun emplacements were often placed at the four corners to maximize firepower. Of course, given the size of Beijing, with each side of the city wall measuring twelve or thirteen li (approximately 6.5-7.5 kilometers), it was difficult for the corner cannons to reach the enemy directly in front.

While cities could accommodate more troops, they also faced the challenge of defending large areas and having difficulty maintaining adequate firepower. Of course, these disadvantages were only due to the Ming Dynasty's poverty; if the Ming Dynasty had been wealthy and powerful enough, these would have been advantages.

To avoid the Ming army's artillery fire, Shuo Tuo concentrated his Red Banner soldiers in the center of the city wall, lengthened the ranks, increased the distance between each rider, and divided them into three batches, with "the dead soldiers in front and the elite soldiers behind".

The "dead soldiers," also known as the Jurchen long-armored soldiers, wore double-layered heavy armor covering their entire bodies and were responsible for charging into battle. The "elite soldiers," on the other hand, were short-armored soldiers, with armor only covering their upper bodies. However, this did not mean that the elite soldiers were not elite. The 30,000 cavalrymen brought by Huang Taiji were all elite soldiers by Ming standards.

The elite troops specialize in mounted archery and possess high mobility, providing long-range support behind the armored infantry. These elite troops are composed of specially selected sharpshooters who, in close to medium range (20-30 paces), can shoot arrows through gaps in enemy armor or into the enemy's face at five paces.

During the Battle of Sarhu, Du Song, the commander of the Western Route Army, was beheaded in this way. After Du Song's death, the Western Route Army collapsed. Zhang Xianzhong, the Great Western King, was also shot to death by the Jurchen elite troops. After the dead and elite troops, there were often guards who watched the battle from the sidelines. These guards were the white-armored and red-armored guards, who were responsible for providing support and reaping the rewards.

Most of the time, they wouldn't participate in the fighting, because a battle involving thousands or even tens of thousands of people couldn't be decided in a short time. Even if they fought without rest, it could take one or two days from start to finish, and such extreme situations were very rare. Most of the time, the Jurchens would retreat if they couldn't conquer the city after a prolonged siege.

The Jurchens were few in number and fought with meticulous planning: they would gang up on each other instead of fighting one-on-one, bribe spies to avoid direct assaults, use stratagems instead of actual combat, and send Han Chinese, Mongols, and Koreans to their deaths rather than send Jurchens to their deaths. In comparison, the Ming Dynasty was somewhat less humane.

With the Jurchen white-armored troops about to be surrounded, Hauge abandoned his last chance to escape and turned back to fight the Ming army to the death. Although there was an element of loyalty involved, Hauge had fought many battles and understood that, for whatever reason, Huang Taiji would not abandon them.

To be precise, their Great Jin Dynasty could not afford to lose all of the White-Armored Bayara. No one could bear that responsibility, not even the Great Khan! Their three thousand men were just the vanguard. The Ming army's eight thousand cavalrymen were intimidating, but in reality, they had thirty thousand cavalrymen! The Ming army should be the ones who were truly worried about being outnumbered.

As Hauge had predicted, at the crucial moment, the unique commotion of a ten-thousand-strong cavalry charge awakened both sides from their battle. During their melee, the sound of hooves mingled with shouts of battle, creating a chaotic cacophony; while the charge of the cavalry was like a tidal wave, its momentum so great that it shook the earth.

"Our reinforcements have arrived!" The Jurchen soldiers, who were locked in a fierce battle, breathed a sigh of relief.

The Ming cavalrymen, however, looked extremely grim and began to consider retreating. But now, entangled in a fierce battle, with each side intertwined with the other, how could they possibly escape?

According to the pre-battle meeting, Zhao Lüjiao knew that his side also had reinforcements, but the problem was that they didn't know when they would arrive. Now, the main force of the capital's cavalry was under his control, and other armies, if they wanted to provide support, would certainly be slower than the Jurchen cavalry. If another tragedy of "let them come from all directions, I will go in one direction" were to occur, and the Ming Dynasty were to be divided, surrounded, and annihilated by the Jurchens, especially under the walls of Beijing, then the Ming Dynasty would be finished.

Just as the imperial court naturally harbored some distrust towards the Liao soldiers and generals, Zhao Shuaijiao, as a Liao general, also held a skeptical attitude towards the friendly forces within the pass and the officials of the imperial court.

Humans cannot imagine things they have never seen. Although Zhao Shuaijiao was considered one of the more conscientious generals in Liaodong, he had seen too many cases of Liaodong generals betraying their own troops. He was afraid that he would be the one betrayed, so the other gatekeepers ignored him.

However, things had come to this point, and he couldn't very well lead his troops away and run away. Besides, although the soldiers here were under his command, most of them weren't actually his men. Even if he wanted to run, these people wouldn't follow him. Moreover, if Old Zhao wanted to run, he would have done so long ago; there was no need for him to be summoned to the capital.

In order to withstand the charge of the White-Armored Soldiers, Zhao Shuaijiao had no choice but to take the lead and lead his elite troops to the front, and they actually held on. This was one of the benefits of Zhu Youjian parachuting him in to command the troops.

However, after the chaos ensued, the cavalry units no longer received orders from Zhao Shuaijiao and could only follow their own direct commanders in battle. These commanders could only charge forward according to Zhao Shuaijiao's last orders, and what happened after that was another matter.

Soldiers don't know their generals, and generals don't know their soldiers—this is the drawback of temporarily appointing a general. Zhao Shuaijiao couldn't command this mixed cavalry as effectively as he would his own limbs. This was even with the elite troops from various garrisons participating in the battle. If it were an ordinary army, by this point, they would probably have already suffered a defeat beyond defeat and scattered in all directions.

Upon seeing the main Jurchen reinforcements, some Ming generals attempted to intercept them, but ultimately, only a few were willing to do so. Hundreds of Ming cavalry charged out of their main force, only to be quickly overwhelmed by the Bordered Red Banner cavalry. Before the Jurchen cavalry even arrived, arrows rained down upon the Ming cavalry.

The Ming cavalry barely achieved 100% armor coverage. Although the armor coverage was limited, it was at least enough to protect vital organs; the horses were the ones who were injured. The Ming army's formation was too dense in order to encircle the Jurchen cavalry, and now that they had been attacked, chaos broke out. Although an emergency evacuation was underway, it would not be completed quickly given the crowded conditions.

Fortunately, the Jurchens only used arrows; if they used cannons, they could sweep away a large area. Obviously, Huang Taiji also realized this. The Jurchen cavalry in front of the main force dispersed in an orderly manner, and shield carts were pushed out from the rear, pressing towards Desheng Gate. Behind the shield carts were more than a hundred cannon carts.

Shuo Tuo fired three arrows in quick succession, and was hit in the abdomen by a three-eyed gun. Although it felt like being hit hard with a mace, and although it did not penetrate the second layer of armor and was not fatal, the pain was still so intense that he almost couldn't breathe.

"If only my brother were still here," Shuo Tuo couldn't help but think, a sudden wave of sadness washing over him, blurring his vision. Shuo Tuo blinked hard, squeezing out the tears, then lowered his bow and arrows, and took up his spear to fight.

The Jurchen troops were lined up in a single file, numbering only a little over a hundred riders. But behind these hundred-odd riders were countless layers of another hundred riders, forming a long, serpentine line that stretched for miles. They dared to be so arrogant because they were taking advantage of the Ming army's small cavalry force and were certain that the Ming army wouldn't have any extra troops to cut them off.

The slave cavalry surged against the Ming army's formation like a tidal wave, gathering more and more troops in front of them. Then, like the rising tide washing over the rocks, they spread from the front to both sides, seemingly poised to encircle the Ming cavalry from the opposite direction.

(End of this chapter)