[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army":3,"chapter-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-257":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Little Soldier of the Late Ming Border Army",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1205546,1561,"Chapter 257: Sea of Blood (Part 2)","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-257",257,"\u003Cp>It was as if surging ocean waves had struck solid reefs. Seen from the air, the densely packed Qing soldiers were all blocked in front of the long earthen wall and trench line of the Shunxiang Army. Around this earthen wall, thick gunpowder smoke hung heavy; firelocks roared in volleys, and the deafening thunder of cannons sounded without pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In front of the Shunxiang Army's formation there were only five relatively wide and flat passageways, and these passageways were crammed with men. Wave after wave of Qing heavy armor charged forward holding large shields. Their greatest enemy, first of all, was the breech-loading swivel guns and the red-barbarian six-pounder cannons at the gaps in the earthen wall, which would fire at any unknown moment — that was the worst nightmare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next came the firelocks, and they were firing from the right flank. The Qing soldiers had heavy armor and large shields, but they could not stop the heavy shot of those Ming firelock soldiers. In the dense crowd, at a distance of a few dozen paces, those Ming firelock soldiers hardly seemed to need to aim. As soon as they fired, a large mist of blood burst from the body of a Qing heavy armor soldier, who would stagger and fall to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the Ming firelocks firing from the right were exactly on the Qing soldiers' left hand side. Each man tightly gripped his large shield, shielding his own body. Although these large shields could not provide much protection, they at least offered some psychological comfort. However, on the left-hand side of every gap in the earthen wall, there was at least one large row of Ming firelock soldiers shooting at the exposed parts of their bodies. They also simultaneously attacked the Qing soldiers who were climbing the wall and crossing the trench in front of the earthen wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each passageway was only a dozen or so paces wide. No matter how densely the Qing soldiers packed together, each charging row could only consist of twenty or thirty men. The rows of men following behind, no matter how anxious they were, could not squeeze forward — unless the men in front died. Although the Qing army had superior numbers, they simply could not deploy them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On these narrow passageways, crammed with these men, they had to face the irregular volleys of the Ming breech-loading swivel guns, and also face dozens of Ming firelocks, as well as crouching-tiger cannons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After they risked death to charge within twenty or thirty paces, suddenly a crouching-tiger cannon roared. The few men charging at the very front were directly blasted flying backward. The men following behind were all likewise a mess of torn flesh and blood, blood streaming in torrents. Or perhaps, charging a few more paces, the Ming breech-loading swivel guns or red-barbarian cannons would suddenly fire canister shot, and these packed charging Qing soldiers would be directly blasted into a bloody alleyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the Shunxiang Army's position, the two passageways at the front were the widest. Each was twenty-five paces wide, which converted to later-era meters was roughly close to forty meters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On these two passageways, just as the Ming cannons at the gaps in the earthen wall had finished a volley, a company commander of the Plain White Banner commanding operations there barked orders for a large number of support troops and camp followers to push forward about ten specially constructed assault carts — five in the front, five in the rear. Behind each assault cart followed large groups of Qing archers and heavy armor soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had to charge through the passageway before the Ming cannons fired again, so every man shouted battle cries and charged. Those support troops pushing the carts exerted every ounce of strength, pushing the carts forward at flying speed. Beside each cart, those archers wielded powerful bows and sharp arrows, continuously suppressing the Shunxiang Army firelock soldiers behind the earthen wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two sides exchanged fire for quite a while. Those Qing archers were indeed formidable. After they charged within forty or fifty paces, many Shunxiang Army soldiers only exposed their upper bodies or a head. Moreover, having fought the Qing soldiers many times before, they also knew how to dodge arrows and protect themselves. Yet still many soldiers were struck in the face or eyes by arrows, screaming and never emerging again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But from behind the earthen wall, Ming firelocks still fired continuously. The closer the assault carts pushed, the fiercer the firepower became. It seemed they had added reinforcements. Their firelocks fired from the flank, and continuously, unprotected cart-pushing support troops and archers were shot down to the ground, making their cart-pushing slower and slower. Added to this, the corpses of Qing soldiers from the previous charging wave left on the ground further obstructed their advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a moment of inattention, a long time had already passed. None of them had noticed that the Shunxiang Army cannons up ahead had once again finished loading their ammunition. Because this passageway was wide, the Shunxiang Army had deployed two breech-loading swivel guns and two crouching-tiger cannons. At some point they had also pushed forward one red-barbarian six-pounder cannon, all loaded with canister shot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thirty paces. Those assault carts were still struggling forward, and those Qing archers were also busy exchanging fire with the Shunxiang Army. Unexpectedly, a thunderclap erupted, and it sounded several times in succession, shaking people's ears as if they had gone deaf. Then a vast sheet of bullet rain descended, blotting out the sky and covering the earth. That shockwave overturned and shattered many assault carts on the spot. Behind the ten carts, the Qing soldiers also rolled to the ground in a great swath. Amid the piercing, wretched howls of the men on the ground, the remaining men scrambled and crawled their way back in flight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The besieging Qing soldiers were still too many. There were only five passageways. Like a dammed lake seeking an outlet, the remaining men could not wait and jumped in from the first low wall. The low wall was inconspicuous, but unexpectedly there was a trench behind it. Looking from behind the Shunxiang Army's earthen wall, men climbing and jumping over the wall were densely packed. Many had already fallen into the trench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One careless moment, and below there were already many men at the bottom struggling. Especially those Qing soldiers skewered into meat skewers by the sharp wooden spikes, clutching the wooden spikes that pierced through their bodies, they emitted bursts of inhuman howling. Those who came later, though most would not be stabbed by the sharp wooden spikes again, were clad in heavy armor. Falling into the trench, trying to step on the corpses of their own banner's warriors, or ignoring the shouts of the still-living warriors beneath them to climb out of the trench, was no easy matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trench was quite deep, and it seemed water had been splashed on both sides, making it very slippery. The fresh blood of those who had first died had already rapidly frozen in the bitter cold weather, further increasing the slipperiness of the trench walls. Climbing out was very difficult. Each man also had to be careful of someone above falling down and crushing him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, there was more than one low wall and trench. Even if they exerted themselves and laboriously climbed out of the trench, facing them was another low wall, then another trench. They would fall in again, laboriously climb out. Facing them was still a low wall, and again a trench. Those damned Ming people had dug at least seven or eight trenches here and built seven or eight low walls. Almost every ten paces there was a trench and low wall. And the distances were cunningly calculated. Even if one exerted all one's strength to leap from behind the low wall, nine times out of ten, one would still fall into the trench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those heavy armor soldiers, after climbing over several trenches and low walls, even if they did not die, were each panting and gasping from exhaustion. Moreover, the Ming army would not leisurely allow them to climb the walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the earthen wall, the dark mass of gun muzzles continuously spat flames. One after another, Plain White Banner Qing heavy armor soldiers, panting and struggling to climb the walls, were shot down to the ground by bullets. They emitted various howls, either heavily crashing into the trench before them, or falling backward onto the hard ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of these men did not die immediately. Many struggled desperately, crying out loudly in pain. Some extremely fierce and courageous men clutched their wounds, raised their weapons, and once again staggered and stumbled forward. Finally, they lost their strength, either rolling into the trench ahead and lying still, or collapsing onto the open ground by the low wall to die, their bodies occasionally twitching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Papapapa!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid a roar of firelocks and the cheering and whooping of the Shunxiang Army firelock soldiers behind the earthen wall, another swath of Qing heavy armor soldiers was shot down in the spaces between the low walls. This kind of shooting was too wonderful. Those Qing soldiers climbing walls and jumping trenches had absolutely no power to fight back. Now no arrows were flying at them, and each firelock soldier was calm and composed, as if shooting at targets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These Qing heavy armor soldiers each carried large shields and heavy weapons, but they carried no bows or arrows on their persons. This was because before the attack, the Qing army largely believed that the heavy armor soldiers would have large numbers of archers behind them providing cover, so they had no need to carry arrows. Only when it came to the moment did each man realize the mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not like assaulting a tall city wall, where the archers behind could shoot arrows upward at will to cover their own warriors' advance. But the Ming army's earthen wall up ahead...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The earthen wall was only the height of most Ming soldiers. The Qing soldiers were mostly short and stocky, and the wall height was roughly equal to a Qing soldier's stature. Not counting the Qing soldiers who had fallen into the trenches, at this moment the flat ground between each low wall was already covered with Qing heavy armor soldiers who had climbed over, blocking the line of sight of the Qing archers behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could not see the situation of the Ming army behind the earthen wall several dozen paces away at all. All they could see were the densely packed bodies and heads of their own banner's warriors up ahead. Shooting arrows from behind here would not hit a single Ming soldier, but would one hundred percent hit their own men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside the shield carts at the first low wall, there seemed to be one Qing archer who was too impatient. Taking a captured Ming rocket tube, he fired a bundle of rockets toward the front. Several dozen arrows whistled away, and as a result shot down a batch of Qing heavy armor soldiers climbing the wall ahead. Unexpectedly dying at the hands of their own men, they fell face down to the ground, dying with their eyes wide open. As that archer stood stupefied, he was also angrily hacked down by a Plain White Banner company commander supervising the battle beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Comfortable, comfortable...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking out from behind the earthen wall, the view ahead was clear at a glance. Those waist-high low walls and deep trenches only obstructed the Qing army's advance, but did not affect the line of sight of Han Chao's subordinate firelock soldiers in the slightest. They advanced row after row, each man carefully aiming at the Qing heavy armor soldiers who were densely packed between each low wall yet moving slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finding their respective targets, each man confirmed his aim and pulled the trigger. Very few missed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Target practice!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The firelock soldiers laughed merrily, advancing row after row to fire, then withdrawing, loading their fixed paper cartridge ammunition, and then advancing again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deafening sound of volley fire rang out several times. Behind the earthen wall, streams of gunpowder smoke rose, merging into a dense mass, then quickly thinned by the howling cold wind. Unknowingly, under Han Chao, the four hundred-plus firelock soldiers, including the logistics troops, had already fired four volleys, expending over a thousand several hundred rounds of ammunition. On average, each man had fired three or four shots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, on the flat ground between each low wall, not counting the Qing heavy armor soldiers who had fallen into the trenches, dead or alive, in a short time the ground was already strewn with dense Qing corpses lying every which way. Those dead men all bore different expressions — some eyes wide open, some faces full of unwillingness, some eyes filled with deep terror and disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scarlet blood was shockingly vivid. The hot blood from each man's body gurgled out, warming the dry, icy earth. Then the flowing blood merged into each trench, rapidly freezing and increasing the slipperiness everywhere. The many Qing wounded who were not dead howled piercingly, struggling and crawling everywhere. Suffering severe bullet wounds, and in the bitter cold of deep winter, their pain was further magnified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, those Qing soldiers came to their senses. They no longer charged forward like ferocious demons, shouting and climbing the walls, but instead screamed in terror and ran back. As the saying goes, advancing is easy, retreating is hard. They had to climb over several more trenches and low walls to get back. Many fled in panic without choosing their path, falling and rolling into the trenches, unable to climb out for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shunxiang Army fired a good volley at their backs, so that not one in ten of those fleeing back survived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiangsheng watched in amazement. Standing atop the tall command cart, the situation of the Shunxiang Army's defense line was clear at a glance. The power of the Shunxiang Army's cannon volleys greatly broadened his horizons. What Lu Xiangsheng found even more unforgettable was this kind of defensive fortification of low walls and trenches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked crude and small, yet it exerted unimaginable power. The Qing soldiers surging forward like the tide seemed only to be coming to their deaths. Even their most threatening archers could not exert any effect at all. With such fortifications, he truly did not know how Wang Dou's brain had come up with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His central army personal general Chen An sighed beside him: \"General Wang, truly a rare talent. Such a defense line...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shook his head, not knowing what to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heavy armor soldiers of each banner who had been charging at the rearmost low walls, but were at the very front when fleeing, after escaping back behind their own shield carts, each still had a blank stare in their eyes, their hearts still trembling with fear. Fortunately, they had those warriors charging at the very front as their cushion, which was why they could escape back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was too terrifying. This kind of Ming army defense line was truly a method only a demon could conceive. The fierce and valiant warriors of each banner had each helplessly become their targets. Only taking hits without being able to strike back — this deep sense of powerlessness was too heart-shaking. Moreover, the Ming army's firelocks were also too formidable. No heavy armor could stop them. In the future, even if beaten to death, none of them would ever charge such low walls and trenches again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flood-discharge gaps of the dammed lake were finally blocked again. Except for the few passageways the Shunxiang Army deliberately left open, the remaining Qing soldiers who had attacked the low walls and trenches, under the farewell escort of firelocks behind them, all fled back with great difficulty in dense masses, continuously falling and rolling in between.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, after they fled back, as if to vent the previous pent-up frustration and terror, these heavy armor soldiers shouted and yelled wildly, ordering the archers behind the shield carts to go out and shoot arrows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arrows whistled, and a great sheet of arrow rain flew toward the Shunxiang Army behind the earthen wall. At the same time, thunderous booms exploded one after another as many Qing archers fired off large tube rockets captured from various Ming prefectures and counties. Against these Qing arrows, the Shunxiang Army behind the earthen wall were all well-hidden. Let them shoot if they wanted to shoot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, if those Tartar soldiers charged over again, the spaces between each low wall and trench would once more be filled with their dense figures. With these men as cover, the Tartar archers behind would lose their effectiveness, and each man could once again leisurely take target practice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arrows flew over the earthen wall, continuously falling into the outer defense line of the Shunxiang Army. The arrows shot by these Qing archers, at this distance of sixty or seventy paces, had long lost their power. Even if they fell from the sky, the armored pikemen in Wang Dou's army had full armor protection. The firelock soldiers either hid behind the earthen wall or raised shields provided by the Xuan-Da camp's support, and were also completely unharmed. As for those rockets, once fired they flew several hundred paces, passing through the Shunxiang Army's defense line from the air, and had long since flown off to who knows where.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou stood on the earthen platform. The guards beside him used shields to block the dense arrows falling from the sky for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching those firelock soldiers using shields for cover, Wang Dou thought to himself that it seemed equipping the firelock soldiers with only breastplates was still insufficient. After the battle, when they returned to Baoanzhou, he would equip the firelock soldiers with full armor. His logistics department had many sets of captured Qing armor. After today's battle ended, he would find more iron armor and chainmail to put on the firelock soldiers again, to reduce their casualties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exhilarating, exhilarating...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front defense line of the Shunxiang Army had already quieted considerably. By the river on the west side of the camp, the soldiers of the Viceroy's Personal Battalion defending the Hao River Bridge watched the Qing soldiers across the bridge warily. They still showed no sign of movement. However, on the two wings defended by Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei in the rest of the Xuan-Da camp, the battle was still fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking down from the air, battle cries were like thunder. Dense masses of Qing soldiers were surging like the tide, assaulting the earthen walls and low-wall trenches on both wings. From behind the earthen walls, the sounds of firelocks and cannons erupted in bursts, and great billows of smoke rose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the left wing defended by Xuanfu Garrison Regional Commander Yang Guozhu, behind the earthen wall, the firearms unit soldiers of the main battalion were densely packed. Yang Guozhu's main battalion had two thousand combat soldiers, of which one company commander led the firearms soldiers and one company commander led the assault team. It seemed that at this time in the Ming army, the concept of keeping a reserve force was not strong. Yang Guozhu committed all of his over one thousand firearms soldiers, though they were divided into five ranks firing continuously. The remaining one company commander's worth of cold-weapon soldiers were all arrayed behind the firearms soldiers, ready to support and fight at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As main battalion soldiers, they were all cavalry, so every man in Yang Guozhu's army had armor — either iron armor or cotton armor. Their armor was coated with lacquer, a mass of fiery red color. Many men also had plumes on their iron helmets, fluttering in the cold wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the heat of battle, every soldier had long forgotten the bone-chilling cold, only shouting and screaming as they fought and killed, while volleys of arquebus and three-eyed gun fire rang out one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Yang Guozhu’s army, there were over three hundred arquebuses; the rest were all three-eyed guns. There was no helping it — except in Wang Dou’s army, the arquebuses in every battalion generally suffered from barrels that burst easily and were hard to ignite and fire in freezing wind. Most importantly, arquebuses were far more expensive than three-eyed guns; buying one arquebus could buy several three-eyed guns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike Wang Dou’s army, where all firearms were manufactured in-house, the arquebuses and three-eyed guns of Yang Guozhu and the others were mostly purchased from the Ministry of Works and the eunuchs of the various storehouses — buying one firearm could buy many swords and spears. Gunpowder and the like were also expensive and had to be bought again once used up. So compared to firearms, and given the terrible quality, the troops in every Great Ming battalion at this time generally preferred to use cold weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Yang Guozhu’s command was after all the main-force battalion, so its degree of firearm adoption was still very high, reaching half. Because of cost-effectiveness, it was understandable that the battalion had more three-eyed guns than arquebuses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the earthen wall defense line Yang Guozhu was holding, the Qing troops surging forward like a tide ran into the same problem as the Shunxiang Army. The Qing heavy armor troops climbing over the low walls and trenches blocked the line of sight of the Qing archers behind them, allowing these firearm soldiers to shoot at their leisure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dense layers of three-eyed guns were propped on the earthen wall. The three-eyed gun soldiers of the main-force battalion held smoldering coal in one hand while aiming and firing. They touched the coal to the priming hole at the rear of the gun, and with a thunderous boom, a burst of flame shot out. Another touch of the coal, another thunderous boom — the rate of fire was extremely fast. Some three-eyed guns even shared a priming pan, so that when ignited, the charges in all three barrels fired simultaneously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The effective range of a three-eyed gun was thirty paces. Even though the Qing soldiers climbing over the wall wore heavy armor, at a few paces or a dozen-odd paces, the three-eyed guns could still punch through their armor, sending them tumbling to the ground one after another, as risk-free as shooting at targets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally it took the strength of nine bulls and two tigers to kill a single Tartar soldier, yet now they were dropping so easily before their very eyes — cheers and wild shouts rose without end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the dense gunfire and gunpowder smoke, Yang Guozhu, clad in iron armor and a great crimson cape, personally led a large group of his retainers on an inspection tour. Seeing the tide-like Qing troops stalled before his earthen wall, a look of disbelief spread across his weathered face, and he sighed: “I have never fought such a satisfying battle. I never imagined these low walls and trenches could hold such power!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His central-army personal general Guo Yingxian was also beside him, grinning from ear to ear. At that moment, as everyone stood behind the earthen wall, the artillery squad officer under Wen Fangliang, whom Wang Dou had sent as reinforcement, was ordering a simultaneous volley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the sight of Yang Guozhu and the others, on a passageway not far to the right, a medium-sized Folangji cannon and a Crouching Tiger cannon opened fire in succession, blasting the charging Qing troops until they wailed for their fathers and mothers. After leaving behind a field of severed limbs, the survivors scrambled and crawled back in retreat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guo Yingxian drew a sharp breath and said: “Such fearsome cannons!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Guozhu was also secretly shocked by the volley-fire power of the Shunxiang Army’s cannons. Fortunately, Wang Dou had reinforced him with these cannons, which was the only reason they could firmly keep those Qing soldiers outside the passageways. But soon after, everyone spotted another group of Qing heavy armor troops, holding heavy shields, charging forward madly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, the cannons in Yang Guozhu’s formation had fired several rounds in succession and needed to pause briefly to cool down and have their barrels cleaned. The arquebusiers and three-eyed gunners on both sides of the earthen wall fired desperately at this group of Qing troops, but they could not stop their advance, and very soon they would burst into the earthen wall perimeter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guo Yingxian said with delight: “Good fellows, they’ve finally come up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He loudly petitioned Yang Guozhu: “My lord, your subordinate general requests to lead the officers and men under his command and drive every one of these slave-bandits back outside the wall!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Guozhu looked at his beloved general and also shouted: “Good! General Guo, take several squads of retainers and slaughter these slave-bandits who have charged in — leave not a single piece of their armor behind!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guo Yingxian accepted the order, picked up his long-handled great blade, summoned several squads of retainers, and roared with imposing might: “Officers and men, follow me and kill the slaves!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In front of the Shunxiang Army’s position, the shouting and arrow-shooting Qing archers all stopped in dejection. The Ming troops behind the earthen wall did not even show their heads; no matter how many more arrows they shot, they were only wasting their own strength and arrows. Without realizing it, every one of them stopped, looking at each other, not knowing what to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qing soldiers attacking the passageways had also long since halted. Some hid behind war carts, retreating far back; others tried their best to take cover to either side of the passageways. The Ming cannons at the passageway gaps and the firelocks on both sides of the earthen wall were too deadly — they had charged four or five times and been beaten back every time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Directly ahead of the Ming army there were only five passageways, each sixty to seventy paces long and a dozen-odd paces wide. At this moment, every passageway was littered with shattered war carts and the corpses of their own warriors torn apart by cannon fire — severed limbs and broken legs everywhere, along with entrails spilling out of bodies, and patches of dark red bloodstains that made one’s heart quail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On every passageway, many seriously wounded Qing soldiers still lay on the ground groaning, yet no one dared to go forward to rescue them. These men lay in agony waiting for death, and on the wind came wave after wave of their helpless pleas and moans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qing infantry and cavalry still surrounded the Shunxiang Army’s position in dense, packed layers, but they were all silent; the only sound anyone heard was the flapping of their own banners in the wind, along with the occasional shouts of killing and the reports of firelocks and cannons from both flanks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Waves of gunpowder smoke and the choking stench of blood drifted over, especially piercing to the nose in the bitter winter cold. The freezing wind also howled, and many Qing soldiers began to shiver all over — perhaps from fear, or perhaps because the fierce fighting had drained their strength to the extreme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They looked at one another. The Ming army position before them was like a hedgehog — sharp and prickly all over — with no place to get a grip. Though their own side had dense rows of shield carts, they were of little use. If the first day’s assault was already like this, how were they supposed to fight going forward?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These Nikan, too… too…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tan Bai, the Niru Zhangjing of the Bayara camp of the Plain Red Banner of the Eight Banners Manchu, again heard the muttering of the Jalan Zhangjing Buyantu beside him. These Bayara soldiers were holding the rear line and had not yet received orders to advance and fight. But the miserable state of the warriors from every banner also made the Bayara soldiers in the banners increasingly chilled at heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how fierce and brave one was, facing such a Ming army position, could one be of any use at all? The defense and combat methods of the Ming position before them far exceeded anything anyone had ever known. No one knew how to deal with it, no one knew where to start. Their incomprehension of this unknown thing made waves of fear surge within them. The low Ming defense line before their eyes suddenly seemed as impregnable as metal and stone, as if it could never be broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the Qing soldiers outside the Shunxiang Army’s position were at a loss for what to do, suddenly the sharp sound of gongs signaling withdrawal came from Dorgon’s main formation. At once, those Qing soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, pushed their war carts, and retreated like a receding tide from all three sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing them retreat in defeat, a burst of cheering erupted from within the Ming army position. Li Guangheng stood beside Wang Dou and said excitedly: “General, shall your subordinate lead his cavalry in pursuit to strike and cut them down?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou smiled faintly and said: “This was only their first probing attack; they are not yet exhausted. The time to sally forth has not come!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the cheering of the entire army, Lu Xiangsheng also came forward laughing heartily. Accompanied by Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, and the other officers, he inspected the three sides of the Xuan-Da camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone saw that all around the earthen walls and low walls were the iron-hard corpses of Qing soldiers, along with patches of blood already frozen solid in the winter cold. From the pools of blood came, from time to time, the agonized groans of Qing soldiers not yet dead. The bodies of those Qing soldiers who had died thickly within the trenches were caked with mud and blood, each corpse contorted in a different shape, long since frozen into stiff lumps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On every passageway, the scene was even more chaotic — severed heads and feet, scattered limbs and entrails everywhere; one careless step and you would tread on them. Here the bloodstains were even denser, a sight that made one’s heart tremble. Not to mention the shattered war carts and the Qing weapons and banners discarded everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at all this before them, everyone drew a deep breath: “Gruesome…”\u003C\u002Fp>",5079,"2026-06-03T14:05:36.780Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","6e84d483f697f612729048028e0c2cb8db4ffb62a99993c3b78844370fe52044","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-258","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-256",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]