Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

The first year of the Tianqi reign, the second day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar.

On the southern coast of Jinzhou, the wind blows from the sea, carrying a damp, fishy smell.

The Dongning military camp is backed by the bay, with a slightly undulating sandy area in front, and the official road leading to Jinzhou to the north.

This place is not a good battlefield, at least not for the Jurchens.

This is the narrowest point on the entire Liaonan Peninsula.

With the sea on both sides and numerous bays and mudflats in the middle, the area that can actually be used for combat is very limited.

For the Jurchens, this greatly reduced their advantage in the mobility of their entire cavalry force.

Although the Jurchens were actually best at infantry combat, they had so many horses that everyone rode one.

Generally speaking, when attacking the Ming army, their specialty was to have their troops ride around on horseback, circling the Ming army to put pressure on them while looking for weaknesses in their formation.

Once a breakthrough is found, the entire force will dismount. Heavy armored knights will approach the enemy lines, then use heavy arrows to pierce through the defenses, and finally launch a charge to reap the rewards.

This method of warfare is actually somewhat similar to the line infantry tactics of later generations.

Both strategies relied on mobility to find a breakthrough, followed by a powerful firepower attack on the enemy's weak points to destroy their defenses.

However, the Later Jin army used horses for mobility, while the line infantry relied on their own two legs and strong discipline.

Well-trained line infantry can switch between line, column, and hollow square formation within a minute. Even when facing a cavalry charge, they can quickly turn 90 degrees into line or form a defensive square.

It can also maintain formation even in complex terrain. Even in rugged terrain, it can move quickly as a company and still maintain its formation.

The Later Jin army used heavy arrows to inflict heavy casualties, while the line infantry used muskets to overwhelm the enemy.

The terrifying firepower that the Later Jin army needed to approach at least 20 or even 10 paces to inflict could be achieved by line infantry at 60 paces. The only drawback was the slow rate of fire.

In comparison, the Later Jin army was more mobile, but had a wider kill radius and required higher archery skills.

The reason why later generations viewed line infantry combat as a series of firing squads is simply because both sides used the same tactics and equipment, so there was no need for them to go around in circles. It was actually easier to just fire them in a line.

Because your speed is definitely not as fast as their spinning in place.

However, when facing such classical armies, once they are arrayed, they are incredibly densely packed in all directions. Furthermore, these armies often lack discipline and coordination, making it impossible for them to freely switch formations during battle. Their weaknesses are easily exploited.

Given the terrain today, neither the Later Jin nor Dongning had the inclination to play any tricks, as the space was too cramped to operate effectively.

The 3,000 men of the First Battalion of the Dongning Guards quickly deployed in front of the camp.

They wore blue military uniforms, covered with cotton armor or half-body iron armor, and wore wide-brimmed hats with iron plates embedded in them to protect against stray arrows.

Each man carried a flintlock pistol, with a gleaming bayonet attached to the top of the muzzle.

There were no spearmen, nor sword and shield formations.

The 3000 men were divided into three groups: two companies with more than 600 men on the left, three companies with more than 600 men on the right, and four companies with more than 800 men in the middle.

The remaining personnel served as reserves and remained under the central command flag.

Accompanying the infantry attack were a total of 600 cavalry on both flanks, along with 16 three-pounder cannons and 6 six-pounder cannons.

Three-pounder cannons were placed in the gaps between the companies, accompanying the infantry as they advanced, while six-pounder cannons were deployed on the flanks.

Lin Er stood on the central observation vehicle, using a telescope to observe the movements of the Later Jin army.

A massive, dark mass of Later Jin troops was advancing from the direction of the ruins of Jinzhou.

Leading the way were three surrendered Ming soldiers from Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Haizhou. Their formation was scattered, their banners were in disarray, and some were still wearing old Ming uniforms. But all of them had newly tied braids at the back of their heads.

They were driven to the front, followed by Jurchen cavalry overseeing the battle.

Further behind were two genuine Eight Banners troops: one carrying a blue flag with a yellow dragon, which was the Plain Blue Banner; and the other carrying a blue flag with a red dragon and a red border, which was the Bordered Blue Banner.

Each banner had approximately one thousand men, one person riding two horses. Most of them dismounted and began walking upon seeing the Dongning Kingdom's camp, with their cloths being led by bondservants at the rear. Only the cavalry on the flanks maintained their mounted formation and maneuvered towards the flanks.

Subsequently, the Dongning Kingdom's cavalry also began to move out and engage the enemy.

"Taiji, the enemy is not easy to defeat," Sangjige whispered to Degelai in the Later Jin army.

The Dongning Kingdom's formation was very well-organized, and Sangjige noticed with his sharp eyes that the enemy could even maintain their formation when passing through the field ridges, despite their large-scale horizontal formation. Such an army reminded him of the unpleasant memories he had not long ago on the banks of the Hun River.

"It's not easy to fight, but as long as we can break through their thin three-row line, they won't be able to stop us at all. Three rows of muskets can't possibly stop us." Degelai saw through Dongning Kingdom's weakness at a glance.

The enemy's formation was too thin, and they didn't even have spears, which was fatal in melee combat.

Long spears arranged in a tight formation are the kings of hand-to-hand combat in this era.

"Have the servants push the shield carts forward, with the armored soldiers providing cover from behind. The enemy's muskets are too slow. Once the enemy has finished firing, immediately move in and shoot them dead with arrows."

Get the cavalry moving, abandon the flanking maneuvers, and once the enemy formation is broken, immediately charge into their ranks.

What's really giving Deger a headache right now is the sheer number of shield wagons.

The Dongning Kingdom emptied the entire city of Jeju, even cutting down all the trees around it.

The Later Jin army had to search for timber in more distant places, and the loss of the most useful door panels greatly slowed down the production of shield carts.

In one night, they managed to produce only thirteen shield vehicles, and their quality was questionable.

After a brief stalemate, both armies began to move again.

The drums sounded at the Dongning army headquarters, and the front ranks of the Dongning army shouted three times in unison.

"Tora! Tora! Tora!"

The voices of 3000 people were perfectly synchronized, creating an overwhelming atmosphere.

The Dongning army then began to advance.

Once they had marched two hundred paces and reached the appropriate position, the central army stopped its drums and flags, and the Dongning army halted and began to reorganize their formation.

The team captains began a final check of the equipment.

"Check that the gunpowder is in the correct position, that there are enough lead bullets, that the bayonet clip is secure, and that the flint has been replaced..."

Wang Guangcai walked among the ranks, constantly giving instructions and checking the equipment of all the soldiers.

He continued making final preparations, while reminding everyone, "Brothers, stay alert! The heads of the Tartars are incredibly valuable."

Furthermore, deserters will be executed without mercy. Even if they manage to escape by chance, they will still be punished afterward. It is better to fight to the death and secure a good future for their wives and children.

I, Wang Guangcai, am standing right here. If I escape, you may take my head.

"Everyone, get ready!" The company commander's voice rang out along with the whistle, and Wang Guangcai immediately took his position on the far left of his unit.

Meanwhile, ahead, a large number of Later Jin troops slowly advanced, pushing shield carts.

Eshuo stood in front of Zhenglan Banner, holding a heavy tiger-tooth knife in his hand.

He was the Niru Ejen of the Plain Blue Banner and had fought alongside Nurhaci for many years. He participated in the entirety of the Battle of Sarhu, the Battle of Liaoyang, and the Battle of Shenyang.

In his eyes, the Han army was divided into many types. One type was the ordinary garrison soldiers, who were no different from beggars. The other type was the retainers of enemy generals, who were almost as elite as his own Bayana.

He didn't quite understand the other one either, since he had just witnessed it near the Hun River not long ago.

In that battle, several of his familiar comrades died in the spear formation, so he had a deep impression of it.

But this army today felt somewhat different to E Shuo.

In terms of formation, they were more organized and compact than the two teams they encountered on the banks of the Hun River.

But they had no spears, which puzzled and disdainful him. How could they stop cavalry without spears? With just the short daggers on the muzzles of their muskets?

E Shuo squinted as he surveyed the Dongning front, where the black flag with a gold dragon on a black background fluttered in the sea breeze.

That flag made him feel very uncomfortable. What kind of class was that? How dare they use a dragon flag just like their Great Jin?

"Bah, this time we're definitely going to cut down this lousy flag and take it back to use as a rag."

A Goshha beside him laughed and said, "Once the camp is breached, this servant will tear down that flag and give it to the master."

Just as E Shuo was about to speak, a cannon shot suddenly rang out from the front.

boom!

A six-pound gun spewed white smoke, and an iron bullet grazed the ground, kicking up dust before bouncing up and carving a bloody path through the Later Jin army.

The shoulder and half of the chest of the Ming soldier at the very front disappeared, and the iron bullet, not stopping there, grazed the waist of the second man, instantly splitting him in two.

Finally, the iron bullet flew past E Shuo.

A splash of blood landed on Eshuo's face. He slowly turned his head and found that the man who had been speaking to him earlier, Goshha, was now a headless corpse.

His head was unfortunately sliced ​​off by an iron bullet, and blood gushed from his neck. His body took two steps forward before collapsing to the ground.

Screams echoed through the Later Jin army ranks. E'shuo's face darkened. Two months ago at the Hun River, the Ming army's cannons couldn't have reached this far.

Immediately afterwards, a barrage of artillery fire erupted from ahead.

The 16 three-pound cannons and the remaining six-pound cannons fired simultaneously.

Countless iron bullets carved bloody paths through the Later Jin army.

E Shuo witnessed a shield vehicle in front of him being blown up instantly, the entire shield vehicle falling apart and becoming unusable.

In the Later Jin army, battle flags waved, and then a large number of Later Jin soldiers carrying bows and arrows began to rush to the front.

They dispersed and charged towards the artillery at the front as skirmishers.

At the same time, the cavalry on both flanks were also forced to begin their charge.