Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

"The ancient city of Jingmen has a circumference of about 3,000 meters and a height of 4.5 to 5.5 meters. There is a city gate in each of the four directions: east, south, west, and north. The four city gates are covered with iron sheets, and the city walls are also reinforced with stone strips."

The garrison consisted of surrendered troops from the Shun army who had surrendered to the Qing dynasty. They were said to number three thousand, but after excluding the old, weak, sick, and disabled, there were actually fewer than eight hundred soldiers who were capable of fighting. Even among these eight hundred soldiers, most were poorly dressed and had low combat effectiveness.

To the north of Jingmen was Gao Yigong's troops, to the west was Li Guo's troops, and to the south was Jingzhou City, which was controlled by the Qing army.

After capturing Jingmen, the greatest threat to us comes from Li Guo and Gao Yigong's troops!

Looking at the data brought back by the assault troops, observers, and snipers, Li Chengming summarized: "Therefore, taking Jingmen City shouldn't be too difficult for us, but after taking Jingmen City, we need to act quickly, take away the necessary supplies and able-bodied men, and then retreat eastward."

At the same time, it's crucial to ensure the new army's first combat operation goes smoothly; this is a variable, so strict discipline is essential!

Li Chengming's method for attacking the city was simple and brutal: first, choose the city gate with the fewest defenders, use drones to airdrop and kill the general, use rifles to clear out the defenders on the city wall, and when the defenders dare not show their faces, the demolition team will go forward and blow open the city gate, and then lead the new army into the city to seize key positions.

This tactic is simple and brutal, but this tactic of attacking cities by combining drones and rifles is almost unbeatable in this era!

......

The garrison commander of Jingmen was named Zheng Liuwei, who was the cousin of Zheng Siwei, the general of Jingzhou. Zheng Siwei, who was originally a deputy general of Jingzhou, suddenly launched a mutiny, killed Meng Changgeng, the defense commissioner of Jingzhou of the Da Shun regime, surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and was then appointed as the general of Jingzhou by the Manchus.

After capturing Jingzhou, Zheng Siwei sent his cousin Zheng Liuwei with a forged seal of the Jingzhou Defense Commissioner to trick the city gates of Jingmen and seize the city.

Zheng Liuwei lacked the ability to govern an army. After becoming the garrison commander of Jingmen, he spent his days drinking and making merry, setting a bad example for his subordinates and causing the defenses of Jingmen to become lax.

Especially after hearing the news that Li Zicheng was still alive, and that Li Zicheng and Li Guo had stationed their troops in Yiling, he was filled with fear and panic. So he ransacked the city, planning to abandon the city and flee to Jingzhou, where his cousin was stationed, when Li Zicheng's army attacked.

The only serious thing Zheng Liuwei does every day is to send out scouts to find out the movements of the rebel army, so that he won't be unaware when they attack.

Zheng Liuwei never dreamed that instead of Li Zicheng's rebel army, he would be greeted by Li Chengming's new army.

On this day, just as dawn was breaking, a drone flew over Jingzhou City, scanning every corner of the city.

The drone's infrared radar automatically tracks the distribution of people within the city and transmits the scan data to a tablet computer of an observer in the woods on the outskirts of the city.

The commandos crouched down and looked at the footage taken by the drone on their tablet.

Observer Yan Huidong said, "Although there are two cannons on the east gate, they are very old, and it's questionable whether they can even fire. Moreover, the east gate has the fewest defenders and the most relaxed defenses, so we can consider using the east gate as a breakthrough point!"

Li Chengming stared at the tablet screen for a while and said, "Then let's go to the east gate. None of the officers are on duty on the city wall. Judging from how sleepy these soldiers look, we need to come up with a new strategy."

"What do you mean?" the other commandos asked, puzzled.

"We'd better not disturb the garrison if they're dozing off. Demolition expert, you take a few men and quietly carry explosives to blow open the city gate. The machine gunner and sniper will cover you," Li Chengming said, drawing on paper as he spoke.

"Use a remote-controlled fuse for the explosives. When you retreat, also lower the drawbridge over the moat. Lowering the drawbridge will make a lot of noise, and it should be discovered by then. Detonate the bomb at that time!"

Snipers and machine gunners picked off the defenders who dared to peek out one by one, firing until they dared not show their faces. Meanwhile, we led the new troops into Jingmen city and seized key positions!

After Li Chengming finished speaking, the other assault team members looked at each other in bewilderment.

Seeing their expressions, Li Chengming asked, "What's wrong?"

"Captain, Captain," demolition expert Huang Longkun swallowed hard. "In history books, siege battles are always about both sides using their wits and courage to fight hard and go back and forth before finally managing to take down a city. But here, it feels like the strategy and tactics can be determined in just a few words."

"You don't understand!" the sniper said, feigning profundity. "The captain is simply confident and handling things with ease!"

Huang Longkun was somewhat amused and exasperated: "But I'm the one in the most danger. I'm going to blow up the city gate all by myself. Why do I feel like you trust me so much, Captain?"

"That's right. You are the key figure in capturing Jingzhou City. Not only does the captain trust you, but I will also vote for you."

"I'll vote for you too. Once we get to the city, you'll have plenty of women and money!"

"Alright, stop joking around," Li Chengming interrupted everyone's teasing. "You're not going to blow up the city gate alone. You can bring a few more people, not to help you, but so that if you're discovered, someone can share the firepower."

"Drones are watching from the sky, and five or six rifles are providing cover on the ground. Any potential dangers will be eliminated beforehand. Even if I run out of bullets, I'll make sure you get back safely if anything unexpected happens. So go ahead with peace of mind!"

"Uh, Captain..." Huang Longkun seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, "I'm very touched that you used up all your bullets for me, but could you please not say that unlucky thing at the end?"

"Be serious!" Li Chengming said sternly, "The sieges you read in history books didn't involve rifles with an effective range of four or five hundred meters, nor lightweight and powerful high explosives, and certainly no drones!"

So why think so much? Even the generals inside the city probably don't know the city's defenses as well as we do.

"Captain, they're just saying that, don't mind them," said Liang Zicheng, the assault soldier. "But this is our first time attacking a city. As transmigrators, and there are eight of us, if we mess up even taking a small city like Jingmen, wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?"

Li Chengming: "Shaopin, everyone move to the vicinity of the East Gate first, then we'll move out!"

"Tell the men below, I know you've all traveled most of the night and are exhausted, but now is not the time to rest. We need to quickly capture Jingmen City and then go into the city for breakfast!"

......

As dawn broke, a personal guard came to Zheng Liuwei's room and woke him: "General, it's time to inspect the city's defenses!"

According to custom, the garrison commander is supposed to patrol the city walls twice a day, morning and evening. But for Zheng Liuwei, saying he only does it sporadically is an understatement; he's lucky if he patrols the city defenses once every three days.

"What's all the fuss about!" Zheng Liuwei struggled to sit up, rubbing his forehead. He thought to himself that he shouldn't have drunk so much yesterday, which is why he still had a headache today.

Zheng Liuwei looked at the heavily made-up woman sleeping next to him, reached out his left hand, and had a lewd expression.

"General, our scouts brought news last night that the rebel camp is preparing to break camp and launch an attack, seemingly intending to take Dangyang City," the guard outside shouted again.

Zheng Liuwei's drowsy mind immediately cleared up considerably.

He could disregard city defenses because he believed that if Li Zicheng attacked the city, Jingmen would be indefensible no matter what he did.

But he was more sensitive to the movements of the rebel army than anyone else.

"Why didn't you notify me yesterday?" Zheng Liuwei said angrily.

The recruit said, "I did inform the general yesterday, but he was hungover and probably didn't hear me!"

"Useless!" Zheng Liuwei shoved the heavily made-up woman aside and roared, "Hurry up and pack your things, and get the horses ready!"

The guard hesitated, saying, "General, the rebel army might not be able to arrive so quickly..."

Zheng Liuwei said angrily, "It will be too late when the rebel army arrives. Hurry up and pack your things. Report any movements of the rebel army to me immediately!"

Just then, a deafening explosion came from the direction of the East Gate!

The loud noise was like a sledgehammer striking his chest. Zheng Liuwei felt his breath catch in his throat, and his face turned deathly pale.

At this moment, Zheng Liuwei had only one thought left:

"It's over, the rebel army is attacking!"