Chapter 126: Proper Defense Yields Results

Outside the south gate of Shunxiang Fort, the Qing army’s wooden shields and shield carts had already been pushed to within fifty paces of the city wall.

At this distance, the slowly advancing shield carts came to a halt one after another.

Wang Dou had long since learned the Qing army’s tactics. Looking down from the gate tower, he could see rows of Qing archers massing behind the shield carts and wooden shields — roughly two to three hundred lightly armored, skilled bowmen wielding powerful bows.

Wang Dou issued an urgent order. The standard-bearer beside him waved the signal flags, and at once the voices of picket officers rose one after another from the southern parapet: “Shield-bearers, ready!”

On the parapet, the able-bodied auxiliary soldiers raised their shields in a dense wall. Those without shields hastily propped up the large planks torn down from inside the fort, while others scurried into the straw sheds on the wall. The combat soldiers on the parapet were either covered by the auxiliary soldiers’ shields beside them or shielded by the large planks. Most of them wore iron armor and only needed to protect vital spots like their heads and faces.

The sound of bowstrings being drawn taut rang out. Under the sunlight, a vast shower of arrows came from behind the Qing shield carts and wooden shields, blanketing the southern parapet. The Qing troops below, at fifty paces, had already launched a volley of arcing shots at the wall.

With a series of thuds, the Qing arrows struck the shields of the auxiliary soldiers on the parapet, the planks, and the straw sheds. From time to time, auxiliary soldiers who were too slow or too exposed to take cover grunted as they were hit. Soon after, they were carried down from the parapet on stretchers by medical auxiliaries formed from the fort’s able-bodied men for treatment. For the combat soldiers, these arcing arrows fired by manpower posed little threat — unlike direct shots. Even if some were struck by several arrows, their iron armor kept them from suffering much harm.

The Qing arrow volleys came wave after wave, fierce and rapid. Some arrows flew into the gate tower, embedding themselves in the wooden boards, or entered through the windows and landed right in front of Wang Dou. His bodyguards shielded him tightly with their shields.

The gate tower at Shunxiang Fort’s south gate served as Wang Dou’s central command post. Near the windows, the area all around was covered with thick cotton quilts, soaked with water, providing extremely strong protection. Neither arrows nor fire arrows could do much damage to the gate tower.

In the blink of an eye, the Qing archers had already loosed five or six volleys of arrows, pinning the Shunxiang troops on the parapet and keeping them from moving. Seizing this chance, large numbers of Qing auxiliary soldiers and laborers carrying earth and pushing carts behind the wooden shields and shield carts hurriedly darted out from behind the shield carts, shouldering loads of earth, and rushed toward the chevaux-de-frise, caltrops, and trenches outside the wall.

And those shield carts and wooden shields slowly pushed forward again.

Defending the left section of the south wall was Wen Fangliang’s Forward Picket. Wen Fangliang peered out through a lookout hole in the crenellations. An arrow from the Qing volley hung askew from his iron armor, but he paid it no mind. Seeing large numbers of Qing auxiliary soldiers and laborers carrying earth and pushing carts outside the wall, his handsome face filled with excitement.

He bellowed: “Flying lances and flying swords, ready!”

At once, at the crenels on the left section of the wall, over ten armored arquebusiers wielding large-tube rockets appeared, aiming the rockets low at the charging Qing auxiliary soldiers and laborers. They all steadied their large-tube rockets on forked rests to aim. Beside each of them, one or two auxiliary soldiers held shields to cover them.

“Fire!”

With a thunderous roar, tube after tube of rockets launched, and the parapet was shrouded in smoke.

Hundreds of rockets howled away. Even though their flight was erratic and many flew off who knows where, the Qing laborers below were densely packed and had no protection whatsoever. With over ten tubes of rockets aimed and fired at them in volley, continuous screams rose from below the wall as swaths of Qing laborers were struck.

Propelled by gunpowder, those rockets were tremendously powerful. The unarmored Qing soldiers who were hit had the arrows driven deep into their bodies, and they rolled on the ground in agony.

At the same time, on the right section of the south wall, Sun Sanjie’s Rear Picket likewise erupted with the explosive roar of large-tube rockets. Over there, too, many unarmored Qing laborers were shot dead or wounded. The Qing laborers carrying earth and pushing carts at the very front were the unluckiest — many were riddled like hedgehogs.

This round of rocket fire inflicted heavy casualties on the Qing troops below the wall once again.

Seeing the wretched state of those struck, the remaining Qing laborers who had been lucky enough to escape injury threw down their carts and earth poles in terror and ran for their lives. But then a volley of arrows shot from behind them — the Heavy Armor Soldiers keeping them in line had forced them back.

The Qing laborers had no choice. Some ducked back behind the shield carts, while some of the more reckless ones gritted their teeth and kept pushing their carts forward.

Even as the Shunxiang troops fired rockets outward, the Qing archers’ volleys of arcing arrows continued. Some archers also darted out from the sides of the shield carts, drew their bows, and fired directly at the Shunxiang Fort arquebusiers on the parapet who were launching rockets. Although there were shields covering them, the Qing archers were accurate and deadly. Some arquebusiers and auxiliary soldiers at the crenels were still hit. If the arrow struck iron armor, it was fine, but some were shot in the face and tumbled to the ground screaming.

The Qing shield carts had already been pushed to within thirty paces. At this distance, the Shunxiang troops on the parapet were under severe threat from the Qing archers below. At the same time, the Qing troops below were under severe threat from the arquebusiers and crouching-tiger cannons on the parapet. The fighting was at its most direct and bloodiest.

……

Centered on the ten carefully crafted Qing shield carts arrayed in a line outside the southern wall, beside and behind them were large shields the Qing troops had lashed together from thick timbers, layer upon dense layer. No one knew how many men were hidden behind them, only that they were pushing closer and closer to the wall.

The unarmored Qing laborers, under the shouted orders of Qing officers behind the shield carts, once again hurried out from behind them.

Outside the wall, their dense figures carrying earth and pushing carts reappeared.

“Crouching-tiger cannons, ready!”

From the gate tower came the signal flags of the central command. Compared to the Qing archers outside who kept shooting arrows at the parapet, Wang Dou believed these shield carts and wooden shields posed a greater threat. Only by scattering these shield carts could the Qing troops hiding behind them be left with nowhere to hide and become targets for the Shunxiang troops on the wall.

Fifteen crouching-tiger cannons were set up on the southern wall, all mounted on gun carriages and arrayed in a line.

The crouching-tiger cannon was the most common small cannon in the Great Ming army. The barrel weighed only a few dozen jin, with an effective killing range of twenty to thirty paces. It did not fire large cannonballs, but was loaded entirely with small lead pellets. If the pellets were somewhat larger, the cannon could hold fifty; if smaller, it could hold up to a hundred. It could even be loaded with broken porcelain, stones, and the like.

The crouching-tiger cannons on the parapet had long since been loaded with propellant and projectiles. After the powder train and priming powder were inserted, a small amount of earth was packed in, then a layer of lead and iron pellets, tamped firm with earth, and finally nearly a hundred lead pellets and stones were packed in tight, rammed solid all the way to the muzzle.

The two gunners beside each crouching-tiger cannon on the parapet had long since completed their preparations. Beside each of them, two auxiliary soldiers held shields to cover them from the arrows that kept arcing in from outside the wall.

Upon hearing the shouted order to prepare, the gunners pushed the muzzles on their carriages out to the crenels and aimed at the Qing troops outside. One could well imagine the effect these lead pellets, spraying out in a fan shape, would have on those unarmored Qing auxiliary soldiers and laborers outside the wall.

The Qing laborers outside, busy carrying earth and pushing carts, were still congratulating themselves that there was no movement from the wall. Thanks to their efforts, some of the chevaux-de-frise and caltrops below the wall had already been cleared. But then some of the sharper-eyed among them saw the dark muzzles slowly protruding from the parapet. Some recognized them as the Ming army’s crouching-tiger cannons, and their faces turned ashen.

Just as those men were about to cry out, voices came from the parapet: “Open fire!”

With one thunderous roar after another, thick bursts of flame and smoke rose continuously from the southern parapet. The lead pellets and stones fired from each crouching-tiger cannon swept across the unarmored Qing laborers below like a giant broom, mowing them down in swaths. Many were a bloody pulp, their bodies riddled with gaping holes gouged by the pellets. Some did not die right away, but rolled on the ground shrieking in agony.

As if struck by a sudden violent storm, the Qing auxiliary soldiers below were terrified out of their wits. They turned around and fled backward, howling.

Such was the power of the crouching-tiger cannons. Even when the Qing troops below hid behind those large wooden shields, once the crouching-tiger cannon swept over them, those large wooden shields toppled like blades of grass in a gale. The Qing soldiers behind the large shields — whether elite death squads, lightly armored archers, or unarmored laborers — all bled profusely, clutching their mangled heads and faces as they screamed and rolled on the ground.

At close range, the crouching-tiger cannon’s blast was even more terrifying than arquebuses or rockets. Even the large shields the Qing troops below had lashed together from thick timbers could not stop the sweeping hail of lead pellets.

Only the ten carefully crafted Qing shield carts mostly survived unscathed, but even the thick cowhide wrapped around them and the iron plates covering them were riddled with holes from the pellets. Some of the shield coverings were tottering, about to fall apart.

……

Abatai stood on a high platform at the rear watching the battle situation at the wall. From the Ming army’s rocket fire to the crouching-tiger cannons, he took it all in. Some rockets that flew far even landed right in front of him. Seeing the commotion ahead, especially the aftermath of the Ming army’s crouching-tiger cannon fire, and then hearing his subordinates’ battle reports, his face could not help but twitch. Before they had even stormed the parapet, his troops’ casualties were already this heavy — was it worth it or not?

Beside him, Ombu Chuhur, the Gūsa Ejen of the Tumed Right Banner, his face pale, muttered: “The warriors’ losses are too great, the warriors’ losses are too great…”

Abatai frowned and shot Ombu Chuhur a glance, then bellowed: “Pass the order — beat the drums! Let the officers and men storm the wall with full force!”

The Qing war drums pounded with earth-shaking force. Those Qing auxiliary soldiers and laborers who had fled were once again driven forward by the Heavy Armor Soldiers to fill the trenches. They threw caution to the wind, simply charging forward with loud battle cries. And those lightly armored, skilled archers kept darting out from behind the large shields to cover the advance of the auxiliary soldiers and shield carts.

In particular, those several carefully crafted Qing shield carts, relying on their thick hides and sturdy frames, just kept pushing relentlessly forward.

Battle cries shook the heavens, and gunpowder smoke hung thick in the air. Wang Dou stood motionless by the gate tower, hand on his sword, simply watching the movements above and below the wall. On this southern wall, the two hundred arquebusiers of Wen Fangliang’s Forward Picket and Sun Sanjie’s Rear Picket were already firing ceaselessly at the outside with their arquebuses. The Qing auxiliary soldiers carrying earth and pushing carts were knocked to the ground screaming one after another.

The southern wall of the old Shunxiang Fort had over two hundred crenels, so on average each arquebusier could occupy one crenel to fire. By now the enemy’s intent was clear. The Qing army had reinforced the southern wall assault with additional troops. Wang Dou estimated that, including the Mongol soldiers, the enemy force attacking the south gate numbered around 3,500 men.

Seeing them concentrate their strength on the south gate, Wang Dou also redeployed Han Chao’s unit and Zhong Diaoyang’s unit, which were defending the eastern wall, to join the defense of the southern wall. Han Zhong’s Left Picket remained in place as the reserve force.

Four pickets of four hundred arquebusiers were more than enough to defend one side of the wall. To improve the accuracy of the arquebus fire, within each picket’s two companies of one hundred arquebusiers, one company fired while the other loaded powder and shot. After firing, they took the freshly loaded arquebuses, allowing them to shoot more deliberately, improving accuracy while maintaining sustained firepower.

Beside each arquebusier at the crenels stood an auxiliary soldier holding a large shield to provide cover. The arquebusier was responsible for aiming and shooting at the Qing laborers carrying earth and pushing carts below, while the shield-bearer beside him was responsible for watching the movements of the Qing archers below. If arrows came, he would quickly shield them.

In addition to the cover provided by the shield-bearers beside them, the arquebusiers mostly leaned against the merlons beside the crenels. When they fired, they usually picked out a target in advance, made their decision, and only then leaned out from the crenel to shoot. Under this tactic, their hit rate greatly increased, and their own casualty rate greatly decreased.

Smoke shrouded the parapet of Shunxiang Fort, and the crack of arquebus fire resounded through the clouds. Volley after volley of arquebus fire rained down from the parapet, and the Qing troops outside the wall suffered heavy casualties strewn across the ground. Shunxiang Fort’s arquebuses were unlike bows and arrows — if you were hit, you would die if not be gravely wounded. Even the elite Qing death squad soldiers, clad in two layers of heavy armor, could not withstand the Shunxiang troops’ arquebus fire, let alone those unarmored laborers and auxiliaries.

One after another, they were struck and tumbled to the ground, screaming and wailing. Below the wall, the corpses and blood of Qing auxiliary soldiers and laborers lay strewn in disorder, with abandoned earth poles and carts everywhere. The Qing archers desperately provided cover, shooting continuously at the parapet. Some of their marksmen, mixed in among the suppressing archers, fixed their eyes on a single crenel in teams of three or four, shooting the moment any defender showed his head.

But the arquebusiers on the wall had shields for cover and only fired after fixing on a target, then quickly ducked back behind the merlons after shooting. This left the Qing archers below with meager results. Moreover, the Qing archers had the problem of arm fatigue. After about ten arrows, both their accuracy and power fell off compared to the first few shots, whereas the Shunxiang troops’ arquebusiers had no such problem.

Although arquebusiers and auxiliary soldiers on the parapet were still hit from time to time by arrows from below, compared to the Qing troops’ casualties, the losses were far fewer. Compared to the offensive and defensive battles of the previous few days, the casualty rate was also much lower. The lessons the Shunxiang troops had drawn from their offensive and defensive experience were showing excellent results.

Not only that, there were also the crouching-tiger cannons on the parapet. Whenever large numbers of Qing archers or auxiliary soldiers massed below, the Shunxiang troops on the wall used cannon fire to deal with them.

After their muzzles had cooled and they had been freshly loaded with powder and projectiles, the crouching-tiger cannons on the parapet were shifted back and forth on their carriages. Wherever the Qing archers or auxiliary soldiers and laborers were densest below the wall, the cannons were moved there. With one blast, a large swath of Qing soldiers below screamed and were knocked to the ground.

By the hour of Si, around ten in the morning, in that short span of time the Qing troops had already suffered nearly three hundred casualties, yet not a single section of the moat outside the city had been filled. Although most of the casualties were auxiliary soldiers and servants from the various Qing niru, these auxiliaries and servants were likewise valuable manpower in each niru. As long as they were willing to spend them here, Wang Dou would keep them company to the end.

At this moment, Shunxiang Fort’s casualties were only a few dozen men, most of them auxiliary soldiers wounded or struck by arrow volleys or direct fire.

By this point, Wang Dou had also set his mind at ease. Judging from the battle situation, holding Shunxiang Fort was completely without problem. When firearms and cannons were used properly, they were superb weapons for defending a city. He recalled the historical Battle of Yakesa, where eight hundred Russian soldiers withstood a prolonged assault by tens of thousands of Qing troops, and the war only ended when Kangxi ceded vast territories.

Below the city were five thousand Qing soldiers; he had three thousand five hundred men, of whom one thousand three hundred were combat soldiers, and among them five hundred were firearms soldiers. Today, Wang Dou was going to make Abatai suffer more than he bargained for.