Chapter 104: Volume Three: Defender of Shunxiang Fort, Chapter 104: Bloody Battle on the City Wall

Volume Three: Defender of Shunxiang Fort, Chapter 104: Bloody Battle on the City Wall

The siege ladder was already firmly secured against the city wall. Zhong Xiancai, the Left Sentry A Squad Commander, saw clearly through the observation hole in the adjacent crenellation that several Qing soldiers in heavy armor, holding sabers and shields, had already mounted the ladder and were climbing steadily upward. Zhong Xiancai bellowed, "Gold juice — pour!"

Immediately the two auxiliary soldiers used an iron rod to lift the large cauldron, straining to raise it high over the crenel. The cauldron tipped violently, and the boiling dung-juice within instantly poured outward, cascading down like a waterfall, gleaming with a golden-yellow radiance under the sunlight.

An extreme stench spread everywhere, and screams of utter human misery rang out. The three or four Qing armored soldiers climbing this ladder, along with several unarmored Qing soldier-servants holding the wooden ladder steady below, were drenched head to face in the boiling dung-juice. They instantly shrieked and crashed to the ground, rolling back and forth on the earth, howling with sounds barely human.

Even raising their large shields was useless for those armored soldiers; the boiling dung-juice poured down over their heads and faces, sparing no one. Each of them fell with skin split and flesh bursting open. Even the cotton armor on their bodies sizzled and smoked, scalded to the point of exposing the iron plates within. As for the unarmored soldier-servants below who had no shields for protection, their fate was even more wretched — the skin on their hands and faces was entirely scalded away, revealing the white bone beneath.

These men rolled on the ground, shrieking to heaven. The dung-juice drenched their bodies, inflicting severe burns everywhere. Even if they did not die on the spot, in such sweltering weather the dung-juice would corrode deep into their wounds, which would become severely infected and fester. There was absolutely no chance of survival.

The foul stench of the gold juice emanating from these men and from beneath the ladder made the nearby Qing soldiers retch uncontrollably.

In that single instant, six or seven Qing soldiers at this ladder position were gravely wounded, all beyond any hope of rescue.

Seeing their ghastly state, even the death-defying Qing soldiers below the wall or beside the trench, who were about to storm the city, looked up at the towering wall with hesitation and fear written on their faces.

Not only that, but rolling stones kept crashing down from this section of the wall. Though their accuracy was not high, they continuously inflicted casualties on the Qing soldiers scaling the city — especially those unarmored soldier-servants or those wearing only cotton armor, many of whom were crushed to death or maimed by the stones.

Some of the massive rolling stones smashed down with tremendous force; even when those death-squad armored soldiers raised their shields, arms and legs were still shattered.

Qing soldiers kept collapsing with screams below the wall. This tiny patch of ground was truly a zone of death.

Seeing his Qing soldiers falter and refuse to advance, the Niru Zhangjing commanding from beyond the trench flew into a rage. The hornman beside him immediately sounded the drums to urge them forward. At the same time, some of the Heavy Armor Soldiers beside him drew their bows and loosed sharp arrows — not aimed at the city wall, but at their own comrades below.

Among the Qing troops, the Heavy Armor Soldiers, besides waiting for opportunities to provide support, also served the role of supervising the battle line. The moment the vanguard showed cowardice or tried to flee, these Heavy Armor Soldiers would execute them. Under such compulsion, those death-squad soldiers summoned their courage once more. After two more siege ladders were leaned against the wall, they again took up sabers and shields and began climbing the ladders toward the city.

But as soon as the ladders were in place and a few Qing soldiers had climbed up, more boiling, foul-smelling gold juice poured down from the city wall, sending those Qing soldiers plummeting with shrieks, rolling on the ground and howling in utter misery. Fortunately, after the defenders on the wall had poured three cauldrons of gold juice in total, no more came — presumably the Ming army inside the city had exhausted its supply of gold juice. Even the rolling stones crashing down were greatly reduced.

The Qing soldiers below were greatly heartened. In the following moments, over twenty more death-squad soldiers climbed up the three siege ladders.

But just at that moment, from the left-side wall bastion and from the barbican on the right, the Ming firearm soldiers who had long since vanished from the crenellations began to reappear. They thrust out several blackened firelocks and attacked from both flanks. Their firelocks were ferocious; every time flame and powder smoke belched from the muzzles, the Qing soldiers who were struck, even those clad in multiple layers of heavy armor, died on the spot with their armor shattered, screaming as they tumbled from the ladders.

And by this time, the several dozen Qing archers below the wall, having already loosed several volleys earlier, felt their arm strength failing. The suppressing arrows they could provide were greatly diminished, their threat no longer sufficient. Those death-squad soldiers were too busy storming the city to shoot arrows, and the most formidable Heavy Armor Soldiers were far away beyond the trench, powerless against the Ming firearm soldiers on the bastion and barbican.

The advantage of Shunxiang Fort's firearm soldiers now became apparent. Unlike bows, firing their firelocks required no formidable arm strength at all. So long as the firelocks did not overheat and there was a sufficient supply of ammunition, they could keep shooting continuously.

…

"Our brave warriors are suffering no small casualties."

Not far beyond the trench, the Niru Zhangjing stood at the front, heavily guarded by shield carts to his left and right and by the Heavy Armor Soldiers beside him. He simply stared at the city wall, beating his chest in uncontainable grief.

This Niru Zhangjing, acting on the orders of the Jalan Zhangjing, had led two hundred combat soldiers and three hundred auxiliary soldiers to seize the city. Unexpectedly, before they could even approach the fort, over ten men in his force had become casualties, all from the Ming army's cannon fire atop the wall. Among them, several were combat soldiers, and one Heavy Armor Soldier had his lower leg crushed by a fallen warhorse.

During the charge toward the fort, another dozen or so Qing soldier-servants were killed or wounded by Ming firearm fire from the wall.

After pressing close beneath the wall, the Niru Zhangjing divided his force into two routes. On the left side of the city gate, he personally led over one hundred and fifty combat soldiers and more than two hundred auxiliary soldiers to direct the assault. At the wall on the right side of the gate, a Fende Boshoku led over fifty armored and unarmored soldiers from another Niru, along with one hundred auxiliary soldiers, to mount an attack.

Next, while the combat-soldier archers provided cover and the soldier-servants filled in the trench and cleared away the chevaux-de-frise, abatis, and caltrops before the trench, on the Niru Zhangjing's side alone over forty more men became casualties. Among them, more than ten were heavily armored combat soldiers.

Especially those unarmored soldier-servants or those wearing only cotton armor — not only did they have to brave the Ming firearm fire from the wall, but while clearing the caltrops, many unarmored soldier-servants had their feet pierced through by the sharp iron spikes. While carrying away the chevaux-de-frise bristling with iron barbs, not a few also suffered injuries to their hands.

After great difficulty, they cleared the chevaux-de-frise and caltrops before the trench and filled in a section of the trench over a dozen paces wide to make it passable. The Qing soldiers then began raising their siege ladders to storm the city. Here, they again suffered the Ming army's rolling stones and gold juice from above, and also sustained no small number of casualties under the Ming firearm fire from both flanks.

By a rough estimate, nearly thirty more Qing soldiers became casualties here, and in fact over half of them were heavily armored combat soldiers. To suffer such grievous losses before even scaling the city wall — how could the Niru Zhangjing not beat his breast and weep bitterly?

In the stretch from the left side of the south gate wall down to the front of the trench, the ground was now strewn with the bodies of Qing soldiers and the ceaselessly howling wounded. Every corpse had its mouth gaping wide open. Especially those Qing soldiers scalded to death or maimed by the gold juice, or crushed and battered by the rolling logs and stones — the state of their bodies was ghastly beyond compare.

Among the wounded and dead, nearly thirty were Qing combat soldiers. Aside from the harm inflicted on them by the rolling logs, stones, and gold juice from the wall, some had been struck by firelock shots. The two layers of heavy armor they wore had brought them no safety; the Ming army's firelocks on the wall could easily pierce through their double-layered heavy armor, leaving them dead on the ground.

This situation was rarely encountered at other Ming forts and cities, and it caused many Qing soldiers below the wall to develop a sense of dread toward this place called Shunxiang Fort.

Under the scorching sunlight, the smell of fresh blood, the acrid smoke of gunpowder, and the stench of the gold juice pervaded everywhere, nauseating to the point of retching.

The Niru Zhangjing forcibly endured that stench, constantly peering up at the city wall. Beside him, two Niru officer's great banners stood raised high. Around him were all Kabsha soldiers wearing gleaming helmets and armor, with soaring plumes on their helms and flying-tiger back-banners, as well as Baiyala soldiers with tall red tassels on their helms, clad in two layers of shining armor.

The Niru Zhangjing himself wore three layers of heavy armor: innermost a coat of mail, then iron armor, and outermost a layer of iron-studded cotton armor. Although these three layers of heavy armor could effectively protect his safety, in the sweltering heat, wearing several dozen jin of armor made his entire body unbearably uncomfortable, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans continuously rolled down his head.

Fortunately, this Niru Zhangjing was long inured to the hardships of war and could still endure it. He only hoped to capture the city quickly and put an end to everything before him.

Losing so many men under this tiny Shunxiang Fort had already greatly astonished him at the fighting strength of the Ming army within. Fortunately, many brave warriors had climbed onto the city wall. Given his own warriors' battle prowess and the Ming army's negligible close-combat ability, they would surely breach this accursed city very soon.

The enormous casualties within the army at this moment had already exceeded the psychological expectations of many Qing soldiers. If they did not breach the city soon and this continued, his brave warriors would likely soon collapse and retreat.

…

When the gold juice was poured down just now, although Zhong Xiancai heard the screams of the Tartar soldiers outside, he could not see the situation below the wall. Nearby, the brothers in the sentry company over there had also begun pouring gold juice onto the two siege ladders that had been raised against the wall, and more screams rose from below.

Very quickly, the sound of Tartar soldiers climbing up was heard again from the three siege ladders nearby. It seemed that rolling logs and stones could not stop the Tartar soldiers' assault from below. He had only one cauldron of gold juice on his side. His trademark soft, delicate voice rang out urgently: "Prepare the chevaux-de-frise! Long-spear soldiers, prepare to engage!"

Quickly, the same shouts rang out from the brother companies along the surrounding wall.

The stretch of several dozen paces from the barbican to the left-side wall bastion was defended by the Left Sentry A Company and part of B Company's soldiers. In this section, two Tartar siege ladders had been leaned against the wall, and a steady stream of Qing soldiers was climbing up.

Hearing the Squad Commander's order, a group of auxiliary soldiers immediately rushed forward, carrying over some chevaux-de-frise from the inner side of the wall and placing them at the crenels and crenellations where the siege ladders were mounted. These chevaux-de-frise were covered with sharp iron barbs, fearsome to behold. To increase their blocking power and lethality, the auxiliary soldiers, under the Squad Commander's direction, arranged the chevaux-de-frise alternating front and back.

After setting the chevaux-de-frise in place, the auxiliary soldiers swiftly departed this section of the wall. Their task here was complete; the battle to come was now entrusted to the combat-soldier brothers.

Behind or beside these chevaux-de-frise on the wall, the twenty-five iron-armored long-spear soldiers of Left Sentry A Company were now leveling their spears, glaring fixedly at the ladder positions. They were divided into five squads, each standing on a section of the wall, with each squad leader leading four men in combat.

In the pre-battle council held by Wang Dou and the others, it was agreed that when enemy soldiers climbed onto the wall, it would be a good opportunity to inflict mass casualties on them, and at the same time to temper their own soldiers' close-combat ability. Only through life-and-death combat would their new recruits grow quickly!

To reduce casualties, Wang Dou stipulated that when encountering large numbers of Qing soldiers, if they could be shot at with firelocks, the firearm soldiers should first engage them from a distance; only the remainder should be charged and stabbed by the long-spear soldiers.

The Left Sentry and Rear Sentry soldiers of Shunxiang Fort fighting on the city wall had a total of two hundred firearm soldiers. Under two sudden, unexpected volleys of arrows from the Qing, together with some able-bodied auxiliary soldiers and the subsequent exchange of fire between wall and ground, about thirty men had become casualties. Left Sentry A Company also had several firearm soldiers killed or wounded, leaving large patches of fresh blood in this area.

At this moment, aside from leaving one squad of A Company's firearm soldiers to continue firing down from the bastion, the remaining several squads of firearm soldiers, each led by their own squad leader within the platoon, were positioned beside or behind the long-spear soldiers to wait for opportunities to provide supporting fire.

The upper width of Shunxiang Fort's wall was about four and a half meters. Even with these chevaux-de-frise placed at the crenellations, there was ample room behind and beside them to comfortably accommodate these squads.

Finally, the long-spear soldiers and firearm soldiers of each platoon were under the unified command of the platoon leader. The soldiers of the five platoons were in turn under the unified command of Squad Commander Zhong Xiancai. Beside him, his two bodyguards and two flag-bearers and drummers also stood tensely, sabers in hand.

Listening to the sounds outside the wall, the soldiers of Left Sentry A Company all kept their lips tightly pressed, their chests heaving rapidly, staring nervously at the movement around the siege ladders.

At last, at the ladder opening a few paces from the first bastion wall on the left, a Qing soldier appeared, holding a round shield in one hand and a short-handled half-moon axe in the right. His head and neck were thick, his cheeks covered in a curly beard, and his face bore several deep scars. Judging by his armor and the banner on his back, he was actually a Juanda squad leader among the Qing armored soldiers.

The moment he appeared on the wall, without even looking carefully inside, he shielded his front with his round buckler to guard against any sudden blade attack from the Ming troops within the city. Gripping his short axe in his right hand, he let out a great roar and vaulted fiercely down from the wall. In the past, this intimidating manner of his had often scared off many Ming soldiers on the walls, and it had never failed him.

This Juanda had the confidence that as long as he could leap onto the city wall, he could open a foothold on the wall for the troops behind him.

Unexpectedly, several chevaux-de-frise had been placed on the wall below the ladder, lying every which way, their sharp iron spikes gleaming coldly. When he vaulted down, he landed squarely on one of the chevaux-de-frise. In an instant, multiple sharp iron spikes pierced deep into his body. He screamed loudly, writhing desperately with his heavy body.

"Kill!"

This crenel position was guarded by one squad of long-spear soldiers from A Company's B Platoon. The several spearmen had long since leveled their long spears, poised and ready to strike. As the Juanda landed on the chevaux-de-frise, the squad leader let out a great shout. From two paces away he lunged, and instantly his long spear pierced through the man's iron-studded cotton armor and the coat of mail within, stabbing deep into his heart.

At the same time, the remaining long spears of B Platoon's spear squad all thrust into the Juanda's body — one spear stabbed into his eye, one into his throat, and two more into his left and right chest.

That Qing soldier Zhuanda was tangled in the cheval de frise, utterly unable to move. He held a round shield in his left hand and a half-moon short-handled axe in his right. He roared furiously, watching helplessly as several long spears stabbed into his body, and just like that, roaring, he died trapped in the cheval de frise. His single eye stared wide open, as if he could not rest in peace even in death!

Immediately after, two more Qing armored soldiers appeared on the battlements. Both held round shields; one carried a scaling-ladder saber, the other a long-bladed broadsword. They had already heard the Zhuanda's roar. After a brief hesitation, their eyes swept the scene and took in the situation inside the wall.

Astonishment showed on their faces. The armored soldier with the long-bladed broadsword leaped onto the body of the dead Qing Zhuanda and shoved hard with the shield in his left hand, actually trying to push aside the several chevaux de frise in front of him.

The squad leader of Squad Yi shouted urgently: "Spearmen, fall back!"

Instantly, the several soldiers of Squad Yi's spear section hastily withdrew their spears from the Zhuanda's body and fell back.

The squad leader of Squad Yi let out a great shout and thrust his long spear fiercely at the Qing armored soldier with the long-bladed broadsword. That armored soldier had just been about to push aside the last cheval de frise before him when, with a sudden whoosh, the spear tip arrived before his eyes with savage ferocity. He hurriedly blocked with his round shield. With a loud bang, the spear was deflected.

The force of that thrust was tremendous. Before the armored soldier could even catch his breath, the squad leader followed up immediately with another heavy thrust. This squad leader practiced the single move of the charging thrust every day; his spear technique was indescribably ruthless and precise. Moreover, the armored soldier was still trapped in the cheval de frise — how could he possibly block this spear?

With a miserable scream, the armored soldier was struck heavily in the throat by the squad leader's spear, the tip piercing through and emerging from the back of his neck.

The squad leader withdrew his spear. Blood sprayed from the armored soldier's throat. His body swayed and staggered for a moment, then collapsed sideways onto the cheval de frise, dead.

The other armored soldier, holding a round shield and a scaling-ladder saber, hurried a few steps along the parapet wall and jumped down from a spot where there was no cheval de frise. Before him stood the spearmen and firearms soldiers of Squad Bing, Left Sentry Company A. He raised his round shield and broadsword, a savage grin spreading across his face. Though it was one against eleven, his expression showed no fear.

With a great roar, he brandished his broadsword and shield and was about to charge forward when several thunderous gunshots rang out. Acrid smoke and the smell of gunpowder spread — all five firearms in Squad Bing's firearms section had fired, every shot striking him.

This armored soldier wore two layers of heavy armor and was also holding up a round shield. But at such close range, with five firearms firing at once, not only his shield but even the heavy armor on his body was completely breached. Several enormous bloody holes were blasted into him, and the bones in his chest were all shattered.

The immense impact of the several firearms sent the armored soldier's body flying heavily backward. His corpse slammed into the battlements, then rebounded and fell face-down onto the ground.

His head was twisted to one side, his mouth and eyes wide open. A large amount of clotted blood poured from his mouth. He was dead beyond any doubt.

The squad leader of Squad Bing cursed loudly: "Who told you to fire all the guns at once?"

According to the prearranged rules, when facing only a single enemy, generally one firearm was to fire, two at most, leaving the remaining firearms to strike more enemies and support the spearmen brothers in the squad in combat. But just now, the firearms soldiers of Squad Bing had panicked and emptied all their guns. If more enemies came, they would have to rely on the spearmen brothers to fight with flesh and blood.

Hearing the squad leader's rebuke, the several firearms soldiers of Squad Bing all showed expressions of shame. Under the direction of their section leader, they quickly withdrew from this area to reload ammunition. This place was no longer safe; with their guns fired, they were less useful than fire-burned sticks.

In just this short span of time, seven or eight more Qing soldiers had jumped down from the two scaling ladders in this area. On the section of wall past the first bastion on the left side of the wall, several Qing soldiers had likewise jumped down from that scaling ladder. However, the defense of that area beyond was the responsibility of Companies Bing and Ding of the Left Sentry.

By now, over a dozen Qing death squad soldiers in total had jumped down onto the wall, and more Qing death squad soldiers were continuously climbing and jumping down from the scaling ladders behind them.

These Qing death squad soldiers all wore two layers of heavy armor. Aside from some who carried round shields and broadswords, most did not carry shields. Each man either wielded a heavy iron long-handled slicing blade, or a heavy long-handled tiger-tooth saber, or carried tiger spears and Eight Banners long spears, simply jumping down from the battlements in an endless stream.

However, the first few of these Qing soldiers who jumped down from the scaling-ladder openings all, without exception, landed on the chevaux de frise, screaming in pain from their injuries, or were obstructed by the chevaux de frise. Coupled with the heavy armor they wore, their movements were extremely hampered.

Seizing this opportunity, Zhong Xiancai bellowed: "Squad Yi, Squad Ding, firearms soldiers — fire!"

The firearms soldiers of the two squads had long since each aimed at the chevaux de frise areas by the two scaling-ladder openings. Hearing the order, from a distance of a few paces, they pulled the triggers on the four or five Qing soldiers caught in the two cheval de frise areas. The roar of gunfire erupted. The several Qing soldiers before the two cheval de frise areas, weighed down by heavy armor and already difficult to move, were further trapped and struggling in the chevaux de frise. They had no power to resist and could only roar as they were beaten to death on the spot.

As they were dying, these Qing soldiers waved their shields, still hoping the armor on their bodies would protect them. But they were all disappointed. Against the power of Shunxiang Fort's firearms, no matter how thick their shields or armor, without exception they could only watch helplessly as they were shot dead.

In a moment, the areas around the two chevaux de frise were strewn with the corpses of Qing soldiers riddled with bloody holes. Blood flowed everywhere; the sight was utterly gruesome. Some Qing soldiers who had not died immediately were still screaming loudly in agony.

The several Qing soldiers who came after, risking a fall from the wall, scrambled in alarm along the parapet wall and jumped down. Two of them even charged toward Squad Yi's position. One carried a round shield and broadsword; the other had no shield and wielded a heavy long-handled tiger-tooth saber.

"Kill!"

At the squad leader of Squad Yi's command, the five spearmen of Squad Yi charged forward. They split into two waves, each wave engaging one of the two men. Two attacked the shield-bearing Qing soldier, and three attacked the Qing soldier with the tiger-tooth saber. The squad leader stood by, watching with predatory intent.

Five long spears thrust at the two men. Their spear techniques were uniform and sharp, all aimed at vital points like the throat and heart.

The soldiers of Shunxiang Fort had all undergone harsh training. Group spear and group saber tactics, along with the seamless coordination of combat techniques, had been drilled deep into their bones. In daily practice, they trained only one move, repeating it countless times. One spear thrust out — either you die, or I perish!

At their charge and thrust, that ferocious momentum made astonishment flash in the eyes of both Qing soldiers. The combat power of these Ming long-spearmen was even fiercer than many of the retainers beside Ming officers they had seen! A thought flashed through their minds like lightning: this tiny battalion fortress town — where did these Ming troops come from?

The shield-bearing Qing soldier hastily parried with the shield in his left hand. A sound like striking rotten leather rang out — one long spear pierced through his shield, while another spear glanced off and slid away.

He quickly shoved forward, using the momentum to close in on the spearman who had pierced his shield, and slashed a saber deep into the man's shoulder and neck. The iron armor split, and the spearman screamed in agony.

A cruel smile appeared on the shield-bearing Qing soldier's face. He wrenched at his saber with force, but to his surprise, the spearman clamped down on the blade with all his strength, preventing him from pulling it out, all the while glaring at him with vicious, hate-filled eyes.

A chill surged through the shield-bearing Qing soldier's heart. On the battlements of Shunxiang Fort, there were actually soldiers so fierce and courageous? This was completely different from the Ming troops in his impression. How had these men come to be?

Suddenly, this Qing soldier heard a loud, clear shout: "Kill!"

He hurriedly abandoned his saber and shield. He had just leaped aside when, with a muffled grunt, he doubled over in agony. It was the spearman whose earlier thrust had glanced off — he had thrust again. The long spear pierced through his two layers of heavy armor and stabbed deep into his lower abdomen.

Large, thick clots of blood poured from this Qing soldier's mouth. He collapsed to his knees. Even as he was dying, confusion still filled his heart: why, after he had killed or wounded that Ming spearman, did the remaining men not scatter and flee in terror? This made no sense!

Just as baffled as he was the Qing soldier wielding the long-handled tiger-tooth saber. He had hacked one Ming spearman to death, but at the moment of death, that Ming spearman's long spear had also stabbed into his body. At the same time, several other long spears had likewise pierced him — in the throat, the heart, the eye, everywhere.

On this section of the wall to the left of the south gate, using the corpses of the earlier Qing soldiers as stepping stones, and with several Qing soldiers desperately using their shields to shove the chevaux de frise aside, the chevaux de frise in the two sectors of Left Sentry Company A were finally completely cleared away.

Qing soldiers continuously jumped down from the three scaling ladders onto the battlements. The fighting grew even fiercer. From time to time, screams of injury or death from both sides rang out.

On the section of wall to the right of the south gate, the defense was held by the Rear Sentry soldiers led by Sun Sanjie. Compared to the left section of the wall, the fighting here was not as intense; the Qing had only set up two scaling ladders.

Yet the battle was equally brutal. Below this section of wall, beside the moat, the ground was strewn with the corpses of Qing soldiers and the wounded, howling in pain.

Sun Sanjie estimated that the enemy's casualties had reached over thirty men, among whom more than ten were combat soldiers. Their own side had also suffered nearly twenty casualties, mostly firearms soldiers and able-bodied auxiliary troops. As the Qing soldiers kept climbing up, the casualties among the spearmen were also increasing.

Sun Sanjie moved back and forth continuously, directing the battle. But at this moment, he was standing at the first bastion on the right section of the wall. Through the observation holes in the parapet wall, and using the peripheral view past the edges of the hanging shutters over the crenels, he coldly observed from the side the Qing soldiers climbing up the scaling ladders.

The Tartar archers below the wall had clearly exhausted their arm strength. They could not even react in time to the obvious movements of the Shunxiang Fort soldiers on the bastion. The arrows they shot were also mostly crooked and weak. By now, they no longer dared to stand brazenly outside the shield carts, but instead frequently had to rely on the protection of the shield carts to avoid being shot by the Ming firearms on the wall.

Sun Sanjie had been observing a Tartar squad leader below the wall for a long time. Surrounded by several Heavy Armor Soldiers and sheltered by a shield cart, the man kept peeking toward the battlements from time to time. It was clear that this man was the commander of the Tartar troops on this section of the wall. If he could be killed, it would surely boost their own army's morale greatly and strike terror into the hearts of the bandit invaders.

"The Buddha said: Living in this world is like being amidst thorns. If the heart is unmoved, man does not move rashly. Without rash movement, there is no injury..."

Sun Sanjie caressed the beloved matchlock in his hands. As a Buddhist, he slightly closed his eyes and murmured prayers, hoping the Buddha would manifest his power and bless him to strike down the enemy.

"If the heart moves, then man moves rashly, injuring his body and aching his bones, and thus he experiences all the myriad sufferings of the world..."

Abruptly, Sun Sanjie threw open the hanging shutter, raised his matchlock, and fired outward. With a crack, a flash of fire erupted.