The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 130 The Sun, Moon, Mountains and Rivers Will Live Forever
The Ming soldiers leaned out from the city wall and threw "wooden sticks" down to the city. One end of the stick was connected to a fuse. After landing, the sticks first emitted white light and white smoke, then burned fiercely, and after a moment, molten iron-like liquid gushed out.

The molten iron was extremely hot, and it ignited the ladders as soon as it touched them. Soon, three or four ladders were on fire.

Moreover, the burning wooden sticks seemed to release poisonous smoke, and soldiers who were nearby fainted without being injured.

Upon seeing this, the cavalrymen who were riding guerrillas in front of the city wall drew their bows and shot arrows, pressing down on the city wall.

However, the wooden stick was small in size, and when the Ming soldiers threw it, only half of its body or even just its arm was exposed, so the arrows could not hit it at all.

The Jurchen cavalry could only suppress the enemy by launching volleys at the city walls, but their aim was mostly off target.

Not all the "sticks" caught fire; many of the fuses didn't even light.

However, as the fire spread, molten lead flowed, and even the unlit "wooden sticks" caught fire.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all the Jurchen siege ladders were ablaze. The molten iron was extremely potent; it could not be extinguished by covering it with sand, and splashing it with water would only cause a small explosion, splattering everywhere. If the Jurchens who tried to extinguish the fire got too close, they would inhale the toxic fumes, feel dizzy and lightheaded, and in severe cases, they would even faint and die.

The Jurchen infantry tried for a long time but could not put out the fire, and could only watch as the siege ladders burned down.

The Jurchen infantrymen who managed to climb onto the city wall were swarmed by the Ming army without any help and all died under a hail of swords.

After clearing the ladders and the Jurchens who had climbed the city walls, the Ming army retreated behind the battlements and did not engage in any firefights with the cavalry.

The Jurchen cavalrymen attacking from below the city walls were desperate and helpless.

As the molten lead melted and the siege ladders burned, the fire in front of the city wall grew larger and larger, billowing thick smoke.

On the east bank of the Yalu River, in a lush reed bed, a small boat emerged from the smoke and silently sailed downstream along the river.

……

An hour later, in front of Zhenjiang City, the charred ladders and corpses were mostly burned to death or suffocated, while others fell to their deaths from the ladders.

These soldiers, dressed in blue-trimmed armor, lay haphazardly at the foot of the city wall, gradually being consumed by the flames, sizzling and popping, with a faint smell of burnt meat floating in the air.

Sabing'a, the infantry commander of the Niru Zhangjing, knelt before Amin, his face covered in dust and dirt.

Beside him knelt Akdun, a cavalry officer. He was not covered in dust and looked rather disheveled.

Amin's face turned ashen, his teeth clenched, and he coldly ordered, "Give each of them ten lashes!"

The two men were defeated and had nothing to say. They let the soldiers drag them away, and a moment later, the sound of whips and muffled groans rang out.

One of the officers said, "Banner Commander, the Ming army's firearms are powerful. Why don't we wait for the battering rams and shield wagons to arrive?"

Amin remained noncommittal, secretly pondering that with the power of the Ming army's incendiary weapons, even battering rams and shield carts would likely be set ablaze.

Fortunately, during the recent siege, he had already tested the strength of the Ming army; there were at most two hundred Ming soldiers in the city.

With this small number of people, it is impossible to defend the entire city wall.

Therefore, Amin ordered the entire army to attack the city from the west gate, south gate, and north gate.

In this way, the Ming army inside the city will be overwhelmed and exposed weaknesses.

……

Inside the West Gate tower, Chen Liangce observed the movements of the Bordered Blue Banner.

He said to his subordinates, "It seems the Tartars have divided their forces. Third brother, you take twenty men to guard the north gate; eldest brother, you take thirty men to guard the south gate; and Gou Dan, you take twenty men to guard the east gate."

"Yes!" Everyone clasped their hands in a fist salute.

Chen Liangce instructed, "Listen up, once the city walls are breached, do not linger in battle. Retreat back into the city immediately, and we'll meet again at Ejen's residence!"

"Yes!"

As the sun dipped low, casting a rosy glow across the sky, Chen Liangce watched his subordinates depart, knowing that this parting might be the last time he saw them in his life.

At this moment, two subordinates rushed over and placed two large packages on the ground.

"General, the Han Chinese army's blue flag uniforms and insignia are all here in the city."

"Yes, everyone is wearing them!" Chen Liangce said, then opened the package and selected a blue uniform to put on.

The Eight Banners of the Qing army were mainly distinguished by the color of their uniforms; the uniforms of the Blue Banner were blue with red trim.

Tong Yangzhen belonged to the Han Army Plain Blue Banner, and his uniform was pure blue, which is slightly different from the other.

However, it was getting dark and the light was dim, so the Tartars might not be able to see clearly.

Chen Liangce and his group had all shaved their heads. Being in Liaodong, their armor was covered in various kinds of fur. Most of them also spoke the Jurchen language. When they put on their Plain Blue Banner uniforms, they really looked seven or eight parts similar to the Bordered Blue Banner soldiers outside the city.

After a long while, under the fiery red sky, the Blue Banner army slowly advanced.

The tactics remained the same: infantry carrying ladders and cavalry guerrillas firing from a distance. However, this time, Ximen had taken up most of his manpower.

The carbide that Lin Qian gave us has been almost completely used up.

After barely managing to set fire to two siege ladders, the Tartar soldiers swarmed onto the walls. The west gate could no longer hold out, and Chen Liangce led his men down the city gate, fighting as they retreated into the city.

Before leaving, Chen Liangce gave the remaining carbide to a thin soldier and had him hide it on the beam of the gate tower.

At this moment, the Tartar soldiers had already scaled the city wall. Seeing Chen Liangce leading his men in retreat, they all shot arrows at him in pursuit.

The Tartars were accurate with their arrows. Even with shields for protection, several men were still hit by arrows and fell to the ground. The Tartars caught up with them and hacked them to pieces.

Seeing this, Chen Liangce said to his men, "Spread out and go into the alley. We'll meet up at the Ejen Mansion!"

His twenty-odd soldiers dispersed and turned into a side road, and the Tartars also split up their troops in the same way.

Five or six Tartars were constantly chasing after Chen Liangce.

With the Ezhen Mansion right in front of him, Chen Liangce hadn't even had time to breathe a sigh of relief when his right leg suddenly gave way and he fell to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, a sharp pain came from his calf.

Chen Liangce looked down and saw a light arrow had pierced his calf, his trousers already soaked with blood.

"garrison!"

"Protect and defend first!"

When the soldiers around Chen Liangce saw him fall to the ground, they all helped him up, and two of them rushed directly towards the Tartars to cover Chen Liangce's retreat.

The Tartars had a large number of soldiers, but they were temporarily bogged down by the Ming army, which was threatening them with their lives.

At this time, the debris blocking the city gate behind the west gate had been cleared by the Tartar soldiers to make way for Amin. Under the protection of Bayara's personal guards, Amin rode into the city and witnessed two Ming soldiers fighting to the death.

Amin took out a bow and arrow from the horse's saddlebag, and without even aiming, drew the bow and shot.

With a sharp crack, the arrow struck a Ming soldier squarely in the throat, piercing through the skin and flesh of his neck, blood gushing out like a fountain. The Ming soldier instantly collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Another Ming soldier was momentarily stunned when he was slashed in the back by a Tatar soldier. He screamed and fell to the ground. Then a group of Tatar soldiers surrounded him like hunting dogs, and swords and spears fell, blood and flesh flying everywhere.

A subordinate reported: "Your Highness, the Ming army has changed our uniforms and is hiding in the city. Several officers are currently clearing us out."

Amin put the buffalo horn bow back into the horse's saddlebag and asked, "How are the north and south city gates?"

"The city has been breached, and the remnants of the Ming army are fleeing into the city."

"Your Highness!" A cavalryman rode up quickly from afar. "We've captured a Ming soldier alive. He says there's a trap. Tell us in exchange for Your Highness's mercy!"

"Bring him up," Amin commanded in a deep voice.

In a short while, two foot soldiers brought a wounded Ming soldier to the front.

The man was dressed in a blue flag uniform, covered in wounds, his face smeared with blood, and he was begging for mercy in Jurchen. As he spoke, blood flowed straight down his horns.

“What do you mean by saying there’s a trap?” Amin asked.

The Ming soldier said, "Gunpowder! The garrison has planted gunpowder in Tong Yangzhen's residence. They want to lure you there and blow you up."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding Jurchen soldiers cursed the Ming army for being treacherous and despicable.

Amin squinted: "The garrison commander? Is this the person in charge of Zhenjiang's defenses?"

The Ming soldier said, "Yes, his name is Chen Liangce. His official position is the garrison commander of Zhenjiang in the Ming Dynasty. He was previously the commander of the central army in Zhenjiang in the Jin Dynasty."

After a moment's thought, Amin said to his men, "Songke, your Niru surround Tong Yangzhen's residence! Remember, do not act rashly, and do not kill that Ming garrison commander."

"Yes!" Songke clasped his hands in a fist salute and led more than a hundred cavalrymen toward the mansion.

Amin asked the surrendered Ming soldier a few more questions, to which the soldier answered without reservation. In the end, the soldier begged Amin to keep his promise and spare his life.

Amin dismissed it like a tattered rag, saying disdainfully, "Kill him."

An hour or two later, the moon rose above the treetops.

In Zhenjiang city, the sounds of fighting gradually subsided.

The Ming soldiers scattered throughout the streets and alleys had been almost entirely wiped out by the Tartars.

Only Chen Liangce remained, leading a dozen or so remaining soldiers, guarding Tong Yangzhen's residence.

The Tartars have completely surrounded the area, but they dare not enter for the time being.

Seeing how cautious the Tartars were, everyone in the mansion knew that the plan to plant gunpowder had been leaked, and they all cursed the person who had leaked the secret.

In the main hall, Chen Liangce's calf had been simply bandaged. He asked the brothers who had escaped from the other city gates, "Where's Lao Geda?"

One of them whispered, "When the city was breached, he was hit by a Tartar arrow, fell off the city wall, and died."

"Where's Dog Egg?"

"On the way to the manor, he was caught up by the Tartars and killed."

Chen Liangce's voice trembled: "Then... what about the third brother?"

"He's dead too..."

These three were his childhood friends, and their deaths one after another in a single day caused Chen Liangce immense heartache. However, the thought that he would soon join his brothers brought him some comfort.

He silently vowed to himself, "You three rascals, wait for me by the Bridge of Helplessness. I'll come find you after I finish this last thing!"

The room fell silent for a moment, the atmosphere extremely somber.

Outside the mansion, more and more Tartar soldiers gathered, but they did not go inside.

Everyone understood that there was no way to escape now. In this desperate situation, they became indifferent to life and death and their faces became calm.

Chen Liangce asked the crowd, "Are there any more fire sticks?"

All his men shook their heads.

Chen Liangce felt somewhat relieved. When Lin Qian gave him this thing, she had instructed him to use it up completely and not let it fall into the hands of the Tartars.

Now I can say that I've finally put one worry to rest.

Thinking about it carefully, he had already done his job well in this battle, killing countless Tartars with the fire stick given to him by Brother Lin.

Chen Liangce had shaved his braid when Lin Qian entered the city. Now, touching the prickly stubble, he thought that his hair had grown back and he could finally go down to see his ancestors.

Those villagers who died tragically, I, Chen Liangce, have avenged you.

And what about those border troops! Chen Liangce thought of the time when he and his brothers served in the Ming army and guarded Zhenjiang. Although life was tough and they couldn't get their pay for months, Liaodong was rich in resources and the brothers were skilled archers. They ate roe deer meat one meal and grilled fish the next, so they were never hungry.

Recalling his past experiences of finding joy amidst hardship while standing guard and patrolling, Chen Liangce couldn't help but smile.

In the hall, someone began to hum a song softly, with only a simple melody.

The hall was exceptionally quiet, and even a soft hum could be clearly heard by everyone.

Someone started singing the lyrics along.

"When everyone is of one mind, even mountains can be shaken."

"Only loyalty and righteousness can soar to the heavens." ...

This song is "Triumphant Song" composed by General Qi. General Qi once guarded Jizhou. At that time, the Ming Dynasty was so powerful that all the barbarians paid homage to it, and the Mongol tribes dared not invade for more than ten years.

This song spread over those ten-plus years, and every soldier on the nine borders could sing it.

When this song was sung, the Ming soldiers all felt a unique mix of emotions.

More and more soldiers joined in the singing in the hall, and the military song gradually became more and more magnificent.

"The commands are clear, and the rewards and punishments are justified."

"Facing fire and water, I dare not linger."

The singing grew louder and louder, until the tiles shook, and even the Tartar soldiers outside the mansion could hear it.

"To report to the Emperor above, and to save the common people below."

"Kill all the Japanese invaders, and I'll seek a title! Kill all the Japanese invaders, and I'll seek a title!"

The Tartar soldiers, holding torches and surrounding the mansion, looked at each other in bewilderment. Although they couldn't understand the lyrics, they could hear the heroic and tragic sentiment in the song.

During the bloody battle of Hunhe, the Bordered Blue Banner served as a reserve force, guarding against the remaining enemy forces. They had never directly faced the terror of the Ming army's ferocity and their willingness to fight to the death.

But more or less, I heard about it from the soldiers of the Plain White, Bordered White, and Plain Red Banners who were the main force.

Hearing such a tragic and resounding song now, it's hard not to associate it with the fierce battle of Hunhe River.

Amin noticed that morale was wavering, so he sent his men forward to address the people inside the mansion in Mandarin.

"Listen up, Ming soldiers in the mansion! You are completely surrounded. Come out of the mansion and surrender. The Prince will spare your lives because of your loyalty!"

No one answered, but the military song faded away.

The man repeated the words several times.

In the main hall of the mansion, everyone was gathered around Chen Liangce.

"Sir, what should we do?"

Chen Liangce said, "Say that we are willing to surrender and invite Prince Beile into the mansion to talk."

His men went out and loudly relayed the message.

But the Tartars weren't fools; knowing there was gunpowder inside, how could they possibly get in?

The voices of the man shouting outside the mansion grew increasingly aggressive: "The Prince said that as long as you leave the mansion, you will live, and Garrison Commander Chen Liangce will be appointed as the Zhenjiang Guerrilla. But if you don't come out, we'll set it on fire!"

Hearing this, Chen Liangce knew it was time to make a decision.

He scanned the crowd, finally settling on the youngest soldier, and said softly, "Little Five, are you afraid of dying?"

Xiao Wu, who was sixteen this year and still somewhat childish, replied decisively, "I'm not afraid!"

Chen Liangce took out a tinderbox from his pocket and handed it to him: "Do you know where the fuse is?"

"Know!"

"When the Tartars rush in, you set it on fire!"

"understand!"

Chen Liangce patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "Good lad, let's drink and eat meat together when we get down there!"

Xiao Wu cried and laughed at the same time: "Brother Chen, we made a promise, you have to wait for me when we get down there!"

"We'll wait!" Chen Liangce nodded emphatically, then, with the help of his men, he stood up, drew his knife, looked at his comrades around him, and shouted, "Let's fight them!"

"kill!"

With a shout, the crowd rushed out of the mansion.

Xiao Wu could only hear the incessant sounds of bows being drawn and screams outside the mansion.

In a short while, the weapons fell to the ground, and the shouts of battle ceased.

He kept blowing on the tinder, making it red and hot.

Suddenly, a heart-wrenching cry rang out from outside the mansion: "The sun, moon, mountains, and rivers shall live on forever! The Ming Dynasty shall live on forever!"

Xiao Wu recognized Brother Chen's voice and burst into tears.

Then came another burst of rapid arrows.

One of the Tartars said, "Search the mansion, don't miss anything."

Xiao Wu knew it was time. He walked to the main hall and lit the fuse with trembling hands.

A shelf of pyrotechnic flowers was placed in the courtyard. A tinderbox was used to ignite them, and the pyrotechnic flowers gradually shot out.

"Whoosh!"

"Snapped!"

Fireworks soared into the sky, exploding into bright red orbs, a truly beautiful sight. Moments later, another firework shot into the sky, exploding into a kaleidoscope of colors.

Then Xiao Wu returned to the main hall, lit the fuse of the gunpowder barrel, and the power of the black powder explosion engulfed him.

Countless lead bullets exploded from the gunpowder barrel, shooting out in all directions.

The shockwave from the explosion and the impact of the lead bullet reached a distance of two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), knocking seven or eight Tartars near the main hall to the ground, spitting blood.

Outside the mansion, the Tartar cavalrymen's horses were agitated by the sound of the explosion.

Amin reined in his warhorse, glanced into the mansion, and sneered inwardly: "So this is the Ming army's backup plan. They thought they could kill me with this little bit of gunpowder. They're as stupid as roe deer!"

Even if the Ming army had no backbone, he wouldn't easily enter such a mansion before wiping out the entire city's Ming army.

"Whoosh!"

"Snapped!"

The rockets are still being launched relentlessly.

Amin's disdain deepened, and he thought to himself that if the Southern Barbarians had put the same effort they put into making fireworks into horseback archery and warfare, Liaodong would not have suffered such a crushing defeat.

He glanced at the doorway and saw more than twenty Ming soldiers lying dead on the ground, their bodies riddled with arrows. The Han leader, however, was quite tenacious; despite being hit by so many arrows, he was still alive.

This person must be Chen Liangce, the garrison commander of Zhenjiang.

Amin initially thought this man was a talented individual and wanted to capture him alive and give him important responsibilities, at least to extract intelligence about the Ming army. Unfortunately, he was stubborn and insisted on throwing his sword to his death, so Amin had no choice but to grant his request.

The Han people are weak, so even without intelligence, fighting would only require more effort in searching and capturing them.

The only thing to worry about is that Ming Dynasty gunboat.

Wait, a gunboat?
"Whoosh!"

"Snapped!"

Another yellow flower blooms in the sky.

Amin looked up at the sky and suddenly felt that something terrible was about to happen.

At this moment, a scout rode swiftly from the east of the city to report: "Your Highness, on the river..."

Rumble!
Before he could finish speaking, he was silenced by a series of cannon shots.

With a deafening roar, a shell landed right in Tong Yangzhen's mansion. The main hall, now only half intact, collapsed with a crash, and the west courtyard wall was also breached, sending dust and stone fragments flying everywhere.

In an instant, within a radius of ten zhang, there were continuous booming sounds, houses collapsed one after another, and countless dust particles rose up.

On his deathbed, Chen Liangce listened to the sound of cannons and finally relaxed, exhaling his last breath before passing away.

Because Amin was there, the Bayara guards surrounded them in several layers, and the crowd was very dense. At this moment, dust rose, people shouted and horses neighed, and people pushed and trampled each other, creating chaos for a time.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, a cannonball landed squarely in front of Amin, instantly turning five or six Bayara soldiers into a bloody mist. Only bits of flesh and corpses remained on the spot, and the man and horse limbs rained down in the direction the cannonball had come from, creating a truly gruesome scene!
Amin was very close and was splattered with the blood and flesh of the guards, which terrified her.

His warhorse was startled by the falling stones, let out a long neigh, reared up, threw Amin off, and then rode away.

Amin stood up, muttering to himself, "Is this the power of that gunboat?"

At the Liaoyang camp, he had heard from the defeated soldiers in Zhenjiang about the power of the Ming Dynasty's gunboats and was mentally prepared, but he never expected that the gunboats would be even more powerful than he had imagined when he experienced them firsthand.

These Bayara personal guards who had just died were also known as the White Armor Soldiers by the Han people. They were the strongest warriors selected from various Niru (military units), capable of wearing three layers of heavy armor, wielding two-stone bows, and having experienced countless battles, large and small, making them invincible.

He fought alongside Amin in battles across the north and south, and even when he was at the forefront of the attack, there were few casualties.

Today, five or six of them were blown to pieces by a single cannon shot!
Was the power of the Ming Dynasty's cannons really that great?

If the Ming people all had such cannons, what would be the point of archery and horsemanship?
A storm raged in Amin's heart, and as she looked towards the east of the city, a crazy idea surged into her mind.

"If only such a powerful weapon could be used by my Great Jin!"

The Jurchen cavalry were fierce and brave, unafraid of the Ming army in open battle, but they were not good at siege warfare.

If we could bombard the city walls with such cannons and collapse them, and then send cavalry to charge, would there be any fortified city left in the world?
As he was pondering this, his subordinates braved the dust and rubble to approach him, shouting, "Banner Master, get out of the city quickly!"

Amin pushed his men aside and asked those around him, "How far is that gunboat from the riverbank?"

No one answered. Amin searched among the rubble and found that the scout had been trapped under half a wall and was dead.

His subordinates shouted, "Commander, the Han Chinese cannons are being loaded with gunpowder! Let's leave now, or it will be too late!"

Amin agreed, mounted his personal guard's horse, and retreated westward under their protection. At the same time, he loudly ordered, "Let all the Niru withdraw from the city, and let Songke lead his troops to the riverbank to see if there is any chance to capture that gunboat!"

Then the sound of cannons rang out again, and the area around the mansion seemed to be punished by heaven. The loud bangs of cannonballs hitting the ground continued one after another, and countless houses, alleys, and high-walled courtyards were reduced to ruins.

Countless pebbles were blasted into the sky, and then rained down on the ground.

The densely packed Tartar troops surrounding the mansion were either hit by cannonballs or struck by rubble, and for a time, the surrounding area was filled with screams and cries of agony, with countless dead and wounded.

During the retreat, Amin witnessed a cavalry squad being hit by a cannonball. The entire squad of seven or eight men, along with their horses, turned into blood on the spot.

Even the least injured among them lost an arm and fell off their horse, howling in pain.

Amin no longer cared about the casualties of his men; the command was in complete chaos. He had to retreat to outside the artillery range before regrouping his troops.

Fortunately, once they were far from Tong Yangzhen's residence, the cannon fire gradually stopped reaching them.

Amin and his party rode swiftly to the west gate of the city. Just as they were about to leave the city, they saw that the gate had been engulfed in flames.

The Ming army used flammable wood such as tables, chairs, and cart frames to block the city gates, which, combined with charcoal, created an extremely fierce fire.

At this moment, some Tartar soldiers spotted the Ming soldiers on the city gate tower and shouted, "There are still remnants of the army! Protect the banner lord!"

He then raised his hand and shot an arrow toward the city gate tower.

The Ming soldiers retreated behind the battlements and ignited the remaining charcoal, turning the city gate tower into a giant torch.

Seeing the eerie sight of the fire raging at the city gate, Amin sensed something was wrong. Her fear grew stronger, and she cried out, "No, we..."

Before he finished speaking, a cannon shot rang out from afar, one of which hit the city gate tower squarely.

The plaque above the city gate that read "Returning in Victory" crashed to the ground with a loud thud, and then the entire city gate tower collapsed backward.

The Bayara guards were terrified and their hearts pounded with fear.

Someone shouted, "Banner leader, run!"

Immediately, the flaming city gate tower, like the wrath of Zhu Rong (a mythical fire spirit), crashed down.

(End of this chapter)