The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 131 The Great Victory at Zhenjiang
at the same time.

On the stern deck of the St. Anna on the Yalu River, Lin Qian couldn't help but sigh slightly when she saw the Zhenjiang West Gate Tower on fire.

Chen Liangce was determined to defend Zhenjiang to the death, and Lin Qian could not persuade him otherwise. So, during their last meeting, she proposed the plan to bombard Zhenjiang.

Specifically, Chen Liangce used himself as bait to lure the Tartar soldiers to gather in front of Tong Yangzhen's residence, and then used firecrackers and gunpowder as signals to fire cannons, killing as many Tartar soldiers as possible.

In order to lure the Tartars into a trap, one must avoid their scouts and informants.

Lin Qianming ordered the Santa Ana to anchor in a bay within Joseon territory, leaving only a small boat on the Yalu River to monitor Zhenjiang's movements.

What Chen Liangce needed to do was to delay as much time as possible before the Santa Ana arrived.

Therefore, Lin Qian gave Chen Liangce all the carbide she had brought on this trip, and also gave him a barrel of gunpowder mixed with lead bullets.

Although the Santa Ana had conducted numerous practice runs to accurately bombard Tong Yangzhen's residence, there were simply too many factors that affected the hit rate of naval guns in that era, and the shells were all solid iron balls with limited destructive power.

Lin Qian could not guarantee that the Tartar commander would be killed with just one or two rounds of artillery fire, so he devised a plan to set fire to the city tower.

Lin Qian instructed Chen Liangce to block the city gates with flammable materials and to hide a soldier in each of the four city towers before retreating into the city. The soldier was to set fire to the city gates with carbide as soon as the cannons fired in the city.

If you see the Tartar commander fleeing, set the city gate on fire.

This was Lin Qianliu's last trump card.

At this point, it became clear that the Saint Anne's fourteen cannons on a single side ultimately had too low a rate of fire; they failed to kill the Tartar general on the spot, and he managed to escape to the west gate.

Although Simon was within artillery range, he was a full kilometer away from the Santa Ana, which was already at the limit of the range.

Whether the target can be hit within this range is basically entirely up to luck.

Lin Qian did not update the order, and the gun deck continued to fire at the western gate at its maximum range.

The distance was too far, and it was dark, so even with binoculars, Lin Qian couldn't see where the shells were landing.

After five more rounds of shelling, Lin Qian finally gave up her illusions and ordered Lei Sanxiang to fire cannons into Zhenjiang City.

Even if we can't kill the Tartar general, it would be good to kill some of the Tartar soldiers.

At this moment, all four gates of Zhenjiang City were ablaze with raging fire. The Tartar soldiers were trapped in the city with nowhere to go, making it the perfect time to close the gates and beat them.

On the cannon deck, Lei Sanxiang kept urging the soldiers to load and fire. The bronze cannon was frighteningly hot; you could feel the heat if you were close enough to touch it. If you accidentally touched it, you would probably get a layer of skin off.

Some artillerymen used cotton swabs soaked in fresh water to wipe the cannon barrels and found that the water droplets could not stay on the barrels at all. They slid back and forth with a sizzling sound and were evaporated in no time.

The artilleryman immediately reported, "Chief, the gun barrel is overheating!"

Lei Sanxiang, whose head was burning with rage and eyes were red, was startled by what he heard. He hurriedly ordered a halt to the firing and personally tested the cannon by placing his hand over the barrel. In just a moment, his palm was burning painfully.

If the gun barrel is heated to this temperature, loading gunpowder could easily ignite it and cause the barrel to explode.

Lei Sanxiang hurriedly shouted to the upper deck, "The gun barrel is overheating!"

Bai Langzai relayed the situation on the artillery deck to Lin Qian.

Lin Qian: "Order the ship to turn, starboard to face the enemy!"

The orders were relayed down the chain of command, and after a little over half an hour, the large sailing ship completed its turn, and the starboard cannons roared.

In the following hour, the starboard guns fired more than twenty rounds of shelling.

Lin Qian ordered the guns to turn around again and switch to port side firing.

Throughout the night, this turning maneuver was performed three times. The cannons on both sides of the ship took turns cooling down and firing, firing more than 800 solid iron bullets. The crew members who carried gunpowder from the hold to the cannon deck were exhausted.

In fact, Lin Qian knew that after so much time, the Tartars in the city were either dead or had fled. Even if there were still Tartars trapped in the city, they would certainly be scattered, and the damage from forcibly firing cannons would be limited.

However, this opportunity to kill the Tartars was earned by the Ming army at the cost of their lives.

The consumption of mere cannonballs and gunpowder was utterly insignificant compared to the lives of Chen Liangce and his hundred Ming soldiers.

Even if there is only one Tartar left in the city, his cannon fire will not stop.

The sun rises in the east, illuminating the banks of the Yalu River.

In the morning sunlight, it is clear that Zhenjiang Town is riddled with holes and filled with the smoke of war.

The entire eastern section of the city wall has collapsed in large parts, and even the rammed earth beneath the city wall has shrunk considerably.

To the naked eye, there was hardly a single intact house to be seen in the city, and most of the streets were covered with rubble and ruins, truly a desolate wasteland.

Lin Qian took out her binoculars and looked into the city. This place was originally Tong Yangzhen's residence, but now it was just a ruin, almost unrecognizable. Even the corpses of Ming soldiers and Tartar soldiers could not be seen, as they were all covered by ruins and rubble.

Lin Qian looked towards the west gate, which was the limit of the Siren cannon's range and was relatively lightly damaged. The entire gate tower had collapsed, and many limbs and corpses could be seen around it. The barracks and houses on both sides were not badly damaged.

Not a single Tartar soldier was seen in the entire city or the surrounding wilderness.

They must have retreated after a night of intense bombing.

Lin Qian put away the binoculars and looked up at the sky: "Brother Chen, rest in peace."

He then gave a deep order: "Sail towards Guanglu Island."

Bai Langzai, who had taken over as first mate, relayed the order: "Raise the sails, head southwest, port side upwind!"

After leaving the Yalu River, the Saint Anna met up with the fleet at Guanglu Island and sailed together towards Nan'ao Island.

……

Meanwhile, on the post road west of Zhenjiang, a group of remnants of the Bordered Blue Banner were riding forward.

The troop consisted of about a dozen men, their morale low. They marched with their heads down, all covered in dust and dirt, their armor mostly tattered, and some were wounded.

In the center of the army, there was a simple cart pulled by a single horse, with thatch laid on it, and a person lying on the thatch.

This man was bald with a braid, wearing a cotton armor trimmed with blue flags, his face covered in soot, his eyes closed, and his expression serene.

He was Amin, one of the four great princes of the Great Jin Dynasty and the banner lord of the Bordered Blue Banner.

Amin had no wounds on her upper body, but her chest was charred black, and her lower abdomen was completely gone, leaving only half of her body.

The advantage of only having half a body is that it's easy for a horse to pull a cart, and the speed isn't slow.

The downside is that the person is already dead beyond any possibility of dying.

Last night, Amin had already escaped to the West Gate, but his way was blocked by the city gate fire and he was suddenly attacked by artillery.

The entire west gate tower collapsed, burying Amin and his Bayara personal guards beneath it.

Amin was a skilled rider and dodged backward the instant the city wall collapsed, thus avoiding being completely buried in the ruins and remaining half-dead.

The surrounding Tartar cavalry, seeing that their banner lord, Prince, was buried under the ruins of the city gate, rushed to his rescue.

However, Amin had a heavy beam pressing on his chest, weighing more than a thousand pounds, which he couldn't lift at all, and it was also burning with raging flames.

The Tartar soldiers exerted tremendous effort but could only pull out a small part of Amin's body. It was clear that if they did not act decisively, Amin would have to be cremated on the spot.

He had no choice but to take out his hand axe and cut Amin off from the waist down. He then ran around the city with half of his body in his arms until the fire at the city gates died down, at which point he finally escaped.

Amin's body was escorted by cavalry and traveled quickly, arriving at Nurhaci's camp in Liaoyang in just three days.

After seeing Amin's half-dead body.

The faces of all the princes and ministers in the camp were filled with shock.

It should be noted that among the four great Beile, Amin was known for his ability to fight and his bravery. He was proficient in archery, horsemanship and horsemanship, and was the most outstanding among the Baturu.

In his early twenties, he and Nurhaci's eldest son, Chu Ying, led 5,000 troops to conquer Hanshan City, and at the age of twenty-seven, he annihilated the Ula tribe.

At the age of thirty-three, he decisively defeated the Ming army at places like Sarhu and Shangjianya, routed Liu Ting's forces, and forced the Ming guerrilla commander Qiao Yiqi to commit suicide. In the same year, he followed Nurhaci in destroying the Yehe tribe of the Haixi Jurchens.

His military exploits can be described as numerous.

Moreover, he loved to lead from the front during wartime, often personally leading the Bayara personal guards into battle. He experienced countless battles, large and small, and repeatedly faced danger, miraculously surviving each time.

Such a person should be an eagle soaring in the sky, or a tiger intimidating the mountains and forests.

How could he have died in battle in such a small place as Zhenjiang?
Compared to Amin's brilliant and dazzling first half of life, his death in Zhenjiang is such a stark contrast that it is absurd and unbelievable.

Even the Fourth Prince Huang Taiji, known for his composure and strategic thinking, looked astonished and only accepted the fact after confirming Amin's body twice.

Compared to the shock and panic of the ministers, Nurhaci remained relatively calm. He inquired about the details of the Battle of Zhenjiang, the casualties of both armies, and the movements of the Ming army.

The Jurchen soldiers who brought back Amin's body said, "The Ming army had more than 100 men defending the city, and they have all died in battle. The Bordered Blue Banner suffered casualties... about 500 men, mostly wounded by Ming gunboats."

As soon as the words were spoken, the temperature in the barracks seemed to drop several degrees, and the surroundings became even quieter, with the breathing of the princes and ministers audible.

"After the banner chief was killed in battle, the Bordered Blue Banner army withdrew from Zhenjiang City. According to reports from scouts, the Ming army's gunboats bombarded Zhenjiang City for an entire night. Because the banner chief was killed, there was no commander for each Niru (military unit), so no one knew the subsequent movements of the gunboats..."

The already oppressive atmosphere became even more terrifying.

Not only did the Ming army's gunboats appear miraculously outside Zhenjiang City, but they also mysteriously disappeared. Doesn't that mean that every coastal fortress in Liaodong was now under the threat of those gunboats?
Does this mean that Jinzhou, Fuzhou, and Gaizhou are no longer safe?

After numerous bloody battles with the Ming Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty finally conquered Liaodong and intended to use it as a base to dominate the world.

But before he could even properly hold onto his newly acquired empire, it was already being harassed by Ming troops on all sides.

At this moment, a sense of despair rose in the hearts of all the princes and ministers. The Jurchens were few in number, and their only advantage over the Han people was in archery and horsemanship.

Now that the Han people have such cannons, how will they contend with them in the future?

The scene of the bloody battle at Hunhe was still vivid in the minds of all the princes and ministers. In that battle, the Ming army was already terrifyingly strong even without such cannons. Now, wouldn't they be even more powerful?

Moreover, after winter sets in, the Great Khan will most likely march on Guangning. If Guangning is defended by such cannons, then it's hard to say whether or not it can be captured.

Even defending Liaodong has become a problem.

Nurhaci observed the expressions on everyone's faces and sneered, "No matter how powerful the bow and arrow, in the hands of a monkey, it's just a piece of wood; no matter how smooth the pebble, in the hands of a warrior, it's a weapon that can take the enemy's life!"
The Han Chinese victory relied solely on their navy and artillery. In a real land battle, the Han Chinese would be no match. Isn't the outcome of the Battle of Sarhu convincing enough?

Hearing this, the princes and ministers had their hopes rekindled.

Yes, back then, the Great Khan raised an army with thirteen suits of armor, and didn't he annihilate the Ming army, which was armed with firearms, at Sarhu?

The conditions that determine the outcome of a war are not weapons, but soldiers. As long as the soldiers are brave and willing to die for their country, and the generals are strict in rewarding and punishing, what can the Ming Dynasty do even if it has many divine weapons?

Nurhaci said in a deep voice, "Huang Taiji!"

"Great Khan!" Fourth Prince Huang Taiji stepped forward.

"I order you to lead troops to Zhenjiang, firstly to retake Zhenjiang, and secondly to find out about the gunboats and cannons, and find a way to use them for my Great Jin."

"Yes!" Huang Taiji responded loudly. The meeting concluded, and Nurhaci ordered a grand funeral for Amin.

Third Prince Mangultai stepped forward and said, "Great Khan, what should we do with these remnants of the Bordered Blue Banner? They failed to protect their banner leader and should be executed!"

Nurhaci's gaze swept over them, and the Niru Ezhen who had brought back Amin's body trembled with fear.

Nurhaci spoke up: "They are not Amin's personal guards, and they brought back the banner lord's body. Not only should they not be punished, but they should also be richly rewarded for their bravery. Step back and receive your reward!"

"Thank you, Great Khan!" Niru Ejen knelt down and kowtowed.

Nurhaci then said coldly to Huang Taiji, "Go to Zhenjiang, kill all the Han people, and bury them with Amin!"

"Yes!" Huang Taiji replied bitterly.

After the princes and ministers withdrew, Nurhaci returned to the backyard. Finally, unable to hold on any longer, he felt dizzy and his body swayed from side to side before collapsing to the ground.

The attendant quickly stepped forward to help him up.

"Get out of here!" Nurhaci roared angrily, then looked up at the sky and silently made a vow in his heart.

Whoever killed Amin, they will be torn to pieces!

……

A few days later, Huang Taiji arrived in Zhenjiang on a fast horse, protected by more than a hundred personal guards.

He had already learned from his scouts on the way that Zhenjiang was now in ruins and that the Ming army had abandoned the city.

That's why he dared to travel light, with only a hundred or so personal guards.

Even after hearing the report from the Niru Ejen of the Bordered Blue Banner, Huang Taiji was still deeply shocked when he witnessed the destruction that the gunboats caused to Zhenjiang.

He did not agree with the Great Khan's concept of "monkeys" and "warriors".

In Huang Taiji's mind, being backward was simply being backward.

To defeat the Ming Dynasty, in addition to learning their culture and language and winning over their officials and landlords, it is even more important to take control of the Ming Dynasty's advanced firearms!

Huang Taiji immediately rode outside Zhenjiang City, where scouts kept reporting his whereabouts.

“Your Highness, I have traveled a hundred miles north along the Yalu River, and all the Tuokesuo (traditional settlements) along the way have been destroyed. I have not seen any Han Chinese.”

"Go down."

Huang Taiji remained expressionless, but his heart was bleeding.

The fall of Zhenjiang is a minor matter, and the death of Amin is not a big deal either. The destruction of farms along the Yalu River and the loss of population are the real blows to Dajin.

Although Liaodong has fertile land, the weather is bitterly cold, resulting in very little grain production. Coupled with a sparse population, it is even more difficult to supply a large army.

To reduce food losses, the Great Khan even went so far as to launch a campaign to "kill the poor" in places like Liaoyang and Shenyang.

It can be said that these dozens of farms along the Yalu River were painstakingly built by the Jin Dynasty, serving as its main rear base for grain production and crucial for military supplies for the campaign against Guangning next year and the eventual capture of Shanhaiguan.

And that was it, all gone in one battle...

The Ming army's move to cut off the enemy's supply lines was indeed ruthless!
"Lord Baylor!"

Just as he was lamenting inwardly, another scout came to report: "This servant has found this in the city!"

After speaking, the scout dismounted and took something out of his saddlebag.

Huang Taiji looked closely and saw that it was a round iron lump, about the size of two fists, which he guessed was a cannonball from the Ming army.

Huang Taiji reached out and took it, weighing it in his hand; it was about ten kilograms.

He had seen Ming army firearms at Sarhu, Liaoshen, and Hunhe, but none of them could fire such heavy shells.

Huang Taiji then asked, "Are there any other firearms in the city?"

The scout said, "Zhenjiang City is buried under rubble. This is all I found. If Your Highness commands, I will send more people to search more thoroughly."

Huang Taiji shook his head. The limited manpower of the Great Jin Dynasty had to be used for farming and war. There was no time to dig through rubble. He handed the cannonball to Bayala Zhuangda beside him: "Take this to Liaoyang, find Han generals and craftsmen, and find out what kind of firearm it is."

"Yes!" Bayala Zhuangda obeyed the order and led his men to gallop towards Liaoshen.

Someone beside him reminded him, "Your Highness, the Khan has ordered us to kill all the Han Chinese in Zhenjiang..."

Huang Taiji coldly asked, "Are there still Han Chinese in Zhenjiang?"

His subordinates wanted to say that there were no Han Chinese around Zhenjiang, so they could go and kill people elsewhere. In short, the Khan's orders could not be disobeyed. The Khan only wanted the Han Chinese to die, and he didn't care where they died.

Seeing Huang Taiji's cold face, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

……

While Huang Taiji's troops were conducting reconnaissance in Zhenjiang.

More than ten naval warships quietly landed on Pi Island.

Mao Wenlong, who was ordered by Wang Huazhen, the governor of Liaodong, to recapture Zhenjiang, was completely stunned after seeing the people of Pidao Island, learning of the great victory in Zhenjiang, and witnessing the devastation in Zhenjiang and the scattered Tartar soldiers.

The locals on Pi Island say that General He is sinister from head to toe, inside and out.

First, Liaodong fell in March. Wang Huazhen learned the news immediately, mobilized troops, and sent Mao Wenlong to Zhenjiang.

How could General Manager He have arrived even earlier than him?
It's important to understand that mobilizing ships, preparing crew members, and requisitioning provisions all take time.

Could it be that Commander He possesses the ability to foresee the future?

Secondly, General He claimed to be a subordinate of Xiong Tingbi, the Liaodong military commissioner.

Doesn't Mao Wenlong know whether Xiong Tingbi has such a person under his command?
Moreover, it was common knowledge that the Liaodong governor and magistrate were at odds, and Governor Wang Huazhen was the one who took the lead in attacking the enemy, so he actively sent Mao Wenlong to Zhenjiang.

Meanwhile, Xiong Tingbi, the Liaodong military commissioner, was in charge of defending the region.

This is not just a matter of strategy; it also involves party and government affairs. Wang Huazhen was against the Donglin Party.

In the Ming Dynasty, everything else could be confused, but factional strife was absolutely meticulous and unambiguous.

If Xiong Jinglue had been willing to send someone to Zhenjiang, he wouldn't have been seen as an ambiguous fence-sitter.

Finally, and most shockingly for Mao Wenlong, was...

This Commander He single-handedly turned Zhenjiang into ruins and brought more than 30,000 refugees from Liaodong on the banks of the Yalu River to Pi Island.

Who exactly orchestrated this massive undertaking?

Even Mao Wenlong, a genuine guerrilla general from Liaodong, only brought less than two hundred men with him on this hastily assembled trip!

This so-called Captain He... how could a mere captain accomplish such a great feat? Just who is he?

Now that things had come to this, Mao Wenlong was plunged into deep self-doubt.

He asked the residents of Pi Island, and all he heard was how approachable He Qianzong was, how he helped those in distress, how extraordinary his demeanor was, and how he was someone people admired.

Useful information is extremely scarce.

The only thing I know is that most of the people under General He's command speak with a southern accent.

This information is basically useless. The nine border regions of the Ming Dynasty were frequently embroiled in wars, and there were often instances of southern troops being transferred to the north.

Leaving aside distant examples, the recent Battle of Hunhe involved Sichuan's White-Spear Soldiers and Guangxi's Wolf Army.

Especially in the navy, there were more people from the south.

Even Mao Wenlong himself was from Zhejiang, and most of his men were soldiers from the south.

In short, General He's identity, origin, and whereabouts are all a mystery. He made such a great contribution and then left without a word, taking only more than three thousand refugees with him. Even his motives are a mystery!
Mao Wenlong was filled with questions and felt incredibly awkward.

After much hesitation, he had no choice but to write a truthful battle report to the governor.

He did have the idea of ​​taking credit for this earth-shattering achievement, but the 30,000 people of Pi Island were all witnesses to Commander He's great deeds, and he didn't have the guts to lie about the military situation.

The battle report was quickly sent to Guangning by ship.

Governor Wang Huazhen frowned deeply upon seeing this, and if Mao Wenlong were in front of him, he would surely have launched into a tirade of curses.

With the factional strife so intense, and his position as governor and the military commissioner already at odds, the arrival of this inexplicable "Commander He" at this critical juncture is nothing short of adding to the chaos.

Therefore, after a brief consideration, Wang Huazhen altered the battle report, attributing all the credit for the great victory at Zhenjiang and the transfer of refugees to Mao Wenlong.

In this way, Mao Wenlong would gain military merit, and Wang Huazhen would also be able to outmaneuver Xiong Tingbi in the struggle between the governor and the governor!
……

mid-July.

When Governor Wang Huazhen's battle report arrived in the capital, it immediately shook the court and the public, sweeping away the huge gloom of the fall of Liaoshen. Officials and common people alike were overjoyed.

This was the only major victory for the Ming Dynasty since Nurhaci raised his army and vowed to attack it.

In his memorial to the throne, Grand Secretary Ye Xianggao compared Mao Wenlong to Ban Chao and Geng Gong of ancient times, praising him as a "peerless hero" whose tactics "particularly captured the essence of military strategy."

Wang Zaijin, the Minister of War, praised this victory as "a sound that resonates in the empty valley," saying that hearing it makes one's heart yearn for it and lose one's appetite.

Even the Tianqi Emperor, who rarely left the palace, made an exception and put down his carpentry work, praising Mao Wenlong as a "loyal minister and good general".

The cabinet immediately followed the emperor's major policies and promoted Mao Wenlong to the rank of deputy commander-in-chief, while ordering the Dengzhou and Laizhou naval forces to meet Mao Wenlong. It also instructed Wang Huazhen, the governor of Liaodong, and Xiong Tingbi, the military commissioner, to "discuss whether to proceed or not."

The phrase "discussing the advance and retreat" is a euphemism for discussing counter-offensive strategies, meaning that the court actually supported Wang Huazhen's strategy.

This means that the anti-Donglin Party forces have become much more arrogant after this battle.

Meanwhile, Wei Jinzhong, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, was deeply favored by the Emperor and was given the name "Wei Zhongxian".

Anti-Donglin Party forces within the government and the public also showed a tendency to gravitate towards Wei Zhongxian, and the term "eunuch party" gradually took shape.

The victory at Zhenjiang was originally a good thing, but due to the resulting strategic shift and intensified factionalism, it brought mixed feelings to the Ming Dynasty court.

However, this deeper crisis was completely overshadowed by the joy of the great victory.

The entire capital was immersed in the fantasy of a "restoration and prosperity".

……

At a time when the officials of the court were celebrating their official appointments.

The Santa Ana returned to South Australia Island at the end of July.

(End of this chapter)