Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

On his first day outside Qianshan City, Jin Shenghuan only deployed his troops and set up camp, without launching an attack on the city.

The next day, the attacking army brought out cannons and moved to within 500 meters of the city gate. They had just begun to build the gun emplacements when the Restoration Army artillerymen on the city wall calmly fired their new cannons at the unfinished emplacements, sending sand and stones flying everywhere!

The salvo from the Restoration Army terrified the attacking troops, who pushed their heavy cannons back and dared not enter the 500-meter range again.

Upon seeing this, Jin Shenghuan, who was standing behind, turned ashen with rage and said in a deep voice, "What kind of cannon is that? How can it shoot so far and so accurately?"

Wang Deren chimed in, "The strength of the Restoration Army is probably due to their superior firearms. We already found out that they were able to defeat the Zheng army because of their firearms."

Jin Shenghuan nodded gravely: "If I hadn't known all along that the Restoration Army would be so troublesome, I wouldn't have needed to send out 50,000 troops."

Jin Shenghuan continued, "Give the order to send two thousand men to quickly rush to the city wall. That way, their cannons won't be able to hit them. Then, use thick wooden planks to block the arrows and muskets on the wall. This time, we must breach the wall!"

Wang Deren hesitated for a moment, then asked, "General, two thousand men... isn't that too few?"

Jin Shenghuan glared fiercely at Wang Deren, who trembled at the sight, as if he had thought of something.

Jin Shenghuan then said meaningfully, "Let your two thousand men go!"

Wang Deren recalled how some of his generals had even laughed gleefully when the artillerymen were retreating in disarray.

After Wang Tizhong was killed, his former subordinates nominally surrendered to Jin Shenghuan, but in reality they were under the control of Wang Deren. In that mutiny, a small number of high-ranking generals benefited, but the middle and lower-ranking officers did not. They had no choice but to surrender to Jin Shenghuan, but they were also dissatisfied with Jin Shenghuan and looked down on Wang Deren, who had betrayed his former master.

So when Wang Tizhong's old subordinates saw that the artillery unit that Jin Shenghuan had placed high hopes on had suffered a setback, they were secretly pleased.

Wang Tizhong's former subordinates had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty out of desperation, but after hearing rumors that Li Zicheng was not dead, Wang Tizhong and his men began to consider defecting.

Now that Wang Tizhong is dead, and many of his generals who were loyal to Li Zicheng have also been killed, the middle and lower-ranking officers have no choice but to surrender to Jin Shenghuan.

For many of Wang Tizhong's former subordinates, the Restoration Army was not their mortal enemy, nor did they have any direct conflict of interest. Whether Jin Shenghuan or the Restoration Army won the battle, it didn't matter.

Even Wang Tizhong's former subordinates would prefer to see the Restoration Army win, and then surrender to the Restoration Army, which would be better than having to deal with the whims of Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren.

Jin Shenghuan was able to command an army of over 100,000, so it was no surprise that Wang Tizhong's former subordinates were dissatisfied with him. In order to appease Wang Tizhong's former subordinates and to avoid causing further turmoil, the plan to reorganize and reorganize the army had been temporarily suspended.

Jin Shenghuan had hoped to use this great victory to reorganize Wang Tizhong's old troops, but before the battle even began, Wang Tizhong's old troops dared to publicly disrespect Jin Shenghuan. This enraged Jin Shenghuan, who decided to send two thousand of Wang Tizhong's old troops to serve as cannon fodder as a warning to others.

Although Wang Deren knew Jin Shenghuan was furious, he still had to advise him: "General, you can send them up, but two thousand men are still too few. Moreover, given the Xingfu Army's superior firearms, two thousand men won't achieve much..."

"Four thousand men!" Jin Shenghuan knew that he couldn't be too emotional when it came to military affairs. If he insisted on sending two thousand men to their deaths, it would displease Wang Deren and be a loss.

"Yes, General, you are wise!" Seeing that Jin Shenghuan listened to his advice, Wang Deren was secretly pleased and left without saying anything more.

Jin Shenghuan's army selected four thousand men, all of whom were Wang Tizhong's old subordinates. Most of these four thousand men were from the rebel army and still retained the characteristics of a disorganized bandit. Therefore, when these four thousand men stood together, they looked like a chaotic mess.

Seeing this, Zhou Lei on the city wall said speechlessly, "Are all their armies like this?"

Yan Huidong, who could see the situation more clearly through the drone, said, "This army is quite interesting. Although it is scattered, it is not chaotic either. No matter what kind of army it is, we cannot underestimate it."

Zhou Lei nodded and said, "We'll see their actual combat strength soon. They attack their city, and we defend ours. We've been preparing for this battle for over a month. If we can hold our ground easily, then Qianshan City will be firmly established."

This is the first major battle since the Restoration Army occupied Qianshan City, so this defense must be fought brilliantly!

Zhou Lei was a very self-disciplined person. Even though he knew that with the Xingfu Army's superior guns and strong fighting power, it should not be a big problem to defend Qianshan County, he was still on high alert at all times and dared not relax for a moment.

After inspecting the city's defenses and seeing the relaxed veterans on the city walls and the new recruits who, though somewhat nervous, showed no fear, Zhou Lei breathed a slight sigh of relief. He knew that the four thousand men Jin Shenghuan had dispatched could not defeat Qianshan City.

After the four thousand men outside the city were fully equipped, they charged in from all directions. Although the four new cannons on the city wall were very powerful, their killing power was not as great as expected against the scattered enemy. As long as the enemy was fearless, they could still rush down the city wall.

As expected, the Jin army, undeterred by the casualties from the artillery fire, carried wooden ladders, easily crossed the moat, and then used thick planks on their heads to rush to the city wall.

Whether it's a new type of cannon, a breech-loading cannon, or a crouching cannon, the area below the city walls is a blind spot for them. Apart from muskets and bows and arrows, few ranged weapons can hit them.

Bows and arrows have limited power and cannot penetrate the thick wooden planks above the heads of the attacking troops. Although muskets are powerful, once they penetrate the thick planks, unless the bullets hit the top of the head, they are unlikely to seriously injure the people below.

After the Jin army arrived at the city, they did not immediately begin to dig up the city wall. Instead, they fired arrows at the wall while trying to climb it with ladders. However, the Xingfu Army was not to be underestimated. They used shields to block the arrows and then stabbed down each enemy that came up. Often, as soon as an enemy climbed up, three or four spears would pierce through him.

Seeing that the Xingfu Army on the city wall was formidable and difficult to deal with by concentrating their forces, the Jin army simply gave up on climbing the city wall and instead began to shoot arrows at the city wall while digging at it.

Upon seeing this, Yan Huidong said, "Although the city wall is built of stone blocks, each Jin soldier has a pickaxe. At this rate, the entire wall will collapse in just a few days!"

Yan Huidong participated in the entire defense of Xinzhou City, so he was quite familiar with the enemy's possible siege tactics.

Zhou Lei said, "I think the city defense plan that the captain gave us is also very suitable. We should just follow that plan."

A foul stench wafted from not far away, but neither Zhou Lei, Yan Huidong, nor the other soldiers guarding the city had the time to cover their noses. Or rather, the pervasive stench was so strong that nothing but gas masks could help.

Over time, people got used to it, and apart from feeling that their noses were irritated by the fumes, they didn't experience any other discomfort.

A subordinate reported, "Commander Zhou, the 'golden liquid' is ready!"

Zhou Lei said calmly, "Then what are we waiting for? Pour them all down!"

Then, the Restoration Army carried large pots of boiling broth and poured it down to the crowded area below the city wall.

In an instant, the stench filled the air, and screams of agony echoed from below the city walls!