Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 164 The Transmission of the Court and the Restoration of Liao: Taiji's Detour (Part 2)

In early April, the ice and snow in Liaodong finally melted.

Under the warm spring breeze, tender green shoots have unknowingly spread across the black soil.

At this time, the area between the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River seemed to be peaceful, and there was no sign of the Ming army and the Jurchens engaging in a major battle.

In fact, this is just the calm before the storm.

Around dawn that day, when it was still pitch black, the vast Liaohai New City was illuminated by a blaze of light, like a sky full of stars.

As commands rang out, the flames gradually coalesced into long dragons, and then into square formations.

Under the firelight, the soldiers of Liaodong were filled with anticipation, eager to immediately reclaim their homeland, while the soldiers of the Beijing garrison showed a hint of excitement, wanting to kill the Jurchens and achieve great deeds.

At this moment, on the command platform in the city's main training ground, Sun Chuanting stood side by side with a group of generals in front of a huge map, with Lü Zhi, dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Guard, also prominently among them.

Sun Chuanting pointed at the map with a long wooden pole and gave a series of instructions. The generals bowed and took their leave, quickly heading to where their troops were gathering.

As dawn broke, hundreds of wheeled boats and ships slowly departed from the southern port, forming a long line. They filed in from the mouth of the Liao River along the western riverbank, heading swiftly towards the Xiaohai River.

Dozens of warships of various sizes from the Liaodong Navy followed suit and entered the Liao River.

At this moment, chariots filed out of the north gate of Liaohai City and headed north to where the Liao River narrowed, more than ten miles away.

They did not make a big fuss, and with the fog swirling around them in the early morning, the situation on the other side of the Liao River was completely obscured. Therefore, the Jurchens on the other side did not react at all.

As dawn broke, the chariots of the Beijing garrison and the warships of the Liaodong navy had already gathered at the narrowest point of the Liao River, which was only a hundred feet wide.

Four 800-ton centipede boats pulled on the prepared iron chains and sped towards the opposite bank, while dozens of 400-ton small warships swam between the four iron chains, quickly took out the thick wooden planks that had been prepared, and began to hammer them in.

The pontoon bridge was extending towards the opposite bank at a speed visible to the naked eye, and a thunderous sound of horses' hooves echoed through Liaohai City.

By this time, it was too late for the Jurchens on the opposite bank to react, because the four 800-ton centipede ships had already rushed directly onto the opposite riverbank, and hundreds of musketeers on board had jumped down like dumplings being dropped into a pot, quickly forming rows of gun formations.

Even if thousands of Jurchens charged over at this moment, they would all be taken down by the musketeers. Moreover, the Jurchens were already few in number, so there was no way they could have so many troops stationed on the plains outside the city.

The pontoon bridge was quickly erected, and 40,000 cavalrymen rode across the river, splitting into four groups and heading straight for Haizhou Garrison City, Gaizhou Garrison City, and the densely packed villages in between.

Immediately following were the chariot troops. After crossing the river, thousands of chariots split into three groups: one headed north, heading directly to the western half of the south bank of the Xiaohai River; another headed northeast, diagonally into the eastern half of the south bank of the Xiaohai River; and the third headed straight for Haizhou Garrison City.

Meanwhile, the Jurchens in Haizhou Garrison City had already received the news.

However, it was already useless, because tens of thousands of Liaodong cavalry had chased after the messenger horse. The news had just reached Haizhou Garrison City when tens of thousands of cavalry arrived. If they hadn't closed the city gates quickly, the cavalry would probably have charged straight into the city.

Cao Wenzhao did not intend to lead his cavalry into the city. Instead, he ordered his cavalry to line up in three rows on the southeast, west, and south sides of Haizhou City, waiting for the chariot troops to arrive.

Before the hour of Si (9-11 AM), Sun Chuanting and Sun Yingyuan led over a thousand chariots, carrying 20,000 soldiers, to about five li west of Haizhou City.

Sun Chuanting raised his binoculars and scanned the Jurchens on the city wall. He then decisively said, "Yingyuan, speed is of the essence in war. Haizhou Garrison City must be taken as soon as possible. Quickly set up the chariot formation and prepare to attack the city."

The city wall of Haizhouwei was only about two zhang high. The Wugang chariot was already nearly one zhang high. If a platform of about one zhang were added on top, it would be about the same height as the city wall.

They had been preparing for a whole winter, more than five months. The platform, about ten feet high, had already been built, but they made it in two halves to fit inside the chariot.

At Sun Yingyuan's command, a thousand chariots immediately untied their horses' reins, turned around, and lined up in a row facing the eastern city wall of Haizhou.

Immediately afterwards, the soldiers carried two tables, which were like square tables, off the chariot. These two tables were quite tall, about five or six feet high, almost shoulder-high, so they were definitely not suitable for eating.

These two square tables weren't for eating either. The soldiers lifted a table with a tabletop on both sides onto the top of the chariot, and then nailed it in place, thus securing the base of the platform.

They then placed another table-like platform upside down on the base, and then nailed it in place. One by one, the high platforms with railings were assembled.

Seeing that all the platforms were assembled, Sun Yingyuan immediately rode his horse to the front of the chariot formation, raised his hand, and shouted, "Kill!"

"Kill!" the 20,000 soldiers roared in unison, pushing their chariots and charging towards the city wall.

The Jurchens on the city wall of Haizhou were dumbfounded.

Is this a siege engine?

How did it get finished in such a short time?
It would take them at least four or five days to build that many siege engines.

This guy, it seems like he didn't even take fifteen minutes from creation to launching the attack!

The city's garrison commander immediately summoned archers to prepare for a few rounds of volley fire.

As a result, the chariots rushed to the city wall and then stopped a hundred paces away!

With a wave of his hand, Sun Yingyuan quickly dispatched five musketeers to the platform of each chariot.

With a wave of his hand, the musketeers aimed at the Jurchens on the city wall and unleashed a barrage of fire.

At this moment, at least half of the two or three thousand people on the city wall covered their faces and fell to the ground screaming in agony, while the rest were so frightened that they hurriedly hid behind arrows.

Seeing this, Sun Yingyuan raised his hand again, making his palm upright.

Soon, five more swordsmen and shieldmen appeared on the platform of each chariot.

As the musketeers retreated, the swordsmen and shieldmen immediately formed a small shield wall, protecting their front completely. The musketeers then rested their muskets on their shields and continued aiming at the city wall.

Seeing this, Sun Yingyuan waved his hand and shouted, "Kill!"

"Kill!" A loud shout rang out, and a thousand chariots lined up again, rushing swiftly towards the city wall.

The Jurchens on the city wall were helpless. As soon as they showed their faces, they would be shot. The Ming army had too many musketeers, and they could shoot them in the face in an instant!
The chariots quickly scaled the city walls, and the five thousand swordsmen and shieldmen stepped over the railings and leaped onto the walls without hesitation.

Haizhou Garrison was captured by the Beijing garrison!

Upon seeing this, Sun Chuanting immediately put down his binoculars and loudly proclaimed, "Issue the order: Man Gui is to lead 30,000 infantrymen by grain carts to come here immediately. They must arrive before 5 PM today. Zhao Shuaijiao is to lead 100,000 able-bodied men on foot to set off. They must arrive the day after tomorrow."

He had made thorough preparations long ago. Cavalry, chariots, infantry, and even able-bodied men to build the defense line were all arranged. He was just waiting for his order, and more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians started working like gears, coordinating perfectly.

When news of the fall of Haizhou Fortress reached Shenyang, it was already the next day.

When Huang Taiji received the news, he was somewhat stunned.

He really didn't expect that Sun Chuanting would lead his troops to charge over when the river was frozen. The river had already thawed, and he thought that Sun Chuanting would not lead his troops to charge over, but Sun Chuanting actually led his troops to charge over.

By then, it was too late for him to lead his troops there. The south bank of the Xiaohai River was lined with rows of Ming army chariots, and Ming warships were constantly patrolling the river. They simply couldn't build a pontoon bridge to cross the river.

He had no choice but to quickly mobilize infantry to defend Liaoyang to the death.

(End of this chapter)