[{"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-267":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},1205556,1561,"Chapter 267: See How Much Blood They Have to Spill","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-267",267,"\u003Cp>Dorgon struck while the iron was hot. He said, \"My fellow princes, Lu Xiangsheng and Wang Dou have already lost their edge. So long as our Great Qing troops deliver one more thunderous blow, the Ming Xuan-Da encampment will surely break.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes blazed. \"On this incursion, looking across the entire Ming realm, only Lu Xiangsheng dares to fight, and that Wang Dou is famed as the bravest of the three armies, having killed and wounded many of our Great Qing soldiers. Once these two men are dead, the Ming troops' morale and fighting spirit will be utterly lost, and there will be no army left to resist. Our Great Qing forces will surely sweep all before them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued, \"Once these two are dead, the Ming Xuan-Da forces will be completely annihilated, and our Great Qing troops can plunder to their hearts' content. With the captives and wealth seized, no matter how much each prince has lost, I expect His Majesty will grant you all double in compensation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Dorgon said this, the eyes of every banner lord from the Outer Mongol and Eight Banner Mongol contingents lit up. The General Commanding the Expedition had spoken with great reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only did Dodo loudly voice his agreement, but even Yoto and Jirgalang spoke up in support of Dorgon's argument. Although they resented Dorgon's overbearing manner, as members of the Eight Banner Manchus, seeing their allies the Eight Banner Mongols show hesitation, they had no choice at this moment but to stand on Dorgon's side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With casualties in the army so heavy, each of them was riding a tiger and could not dismount. If they did not break the Xuan-Da encampment and secure the guarantee of smooth plundering ahead, then all the casualties each banner had suffered these days would have been in vain. More importantly, they saw the hope of victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yoto said, \"The Ming Army Supervisor Gao Qiqian has led his troops to Jize for three days now, only a few dozen li from Julu. Might they take advantage of our Great Qing troops fiercely attacking the Xuan-Da encampment to launch a strike at our rear?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorgon said disdainfully, \"Do they have the guts? Our scouts report that Gao Qiqian's Guan-Ning Army is behind high walls and deep stockades at Jize, in a posture of stubborn defense. They are probably more worried that our Great Qing troops will launch a strike at them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the Qing commanders present burst into laughter. Even so, Dorgon still discussed precautions against ambushes with Yoto and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The twelfth day of the twelfth month of the eleventh year of Chongzhen, morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qing army camp seemed to remain still for a very long time today. Not until the beginning of the wu hour (11 a.m.) did movement finally stir in the Qing camp. Amid the sound of horns, they poured out again in dense masses, assembled and formed ranks. After busying themselves for half a shichen, they closed in from three sides in a dark, oppressive tide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike usual, when their dense war wagons advanced to two li, they halted and stopped moving. Wang Dou and the others were shocked to see them push four cannons out from behind their formation. Though they could not see clearly from so far away, they could still make out the immense size of those cannons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou was alarmed and uncertain. Zhao Xuan, his face ashen, came to report to Wang Dou. By his estimate, two of those four Qing cannons were 12-pounder red-barbarian guns, and the other two were 24-pounder red-barbarian guns, all with ranges beyond two li. Their own 6-pounder red-barbarian guns and falconet cannons could not reach them at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Xuan muttered, \"Where did the Tatars get these cannons?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cried out, \"I know! They must have been brought from Tongzhou and Wanping. The Tatars must have gunners from the Capital Garrison over there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gnashed his teeth in fury. The red-barbarian cannons forged under the late Ming court's supervision were of excellent quality, but without competent gunners, mishandling would cause them to burst their barrels, just like the Qing army's cannons a few days earlier. The only ones in the Great Ming with experience operating red-barbarian cannons were the troops of the Nine Frontier Garrisons, the Capital Garrison gunners, and Kong Youde's defected forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there truly were defected Capital Garrison gunners operating them, and those red-barbarian cannons opened fire...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Zhong, Wen Fangliang, and the others all gathered anxiously around Wang Dou. Wang Dou watched the crowd of men bustling around the cannons on the Qing side, busily loading ammunition; it seemed firing was not far off. Wang Dou suddenly bellowed, \"Pass the order to the logistics troops in camp: quickly fill sacks with earth and place them within the defense lines. If there are wooden crates or the like, fill them all with earth and arrange them the same way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou suddenly recalled the later-era methods of defending against solid round shot. The greatest fear against the cannons of this time was ricocheting shot and the like. As for the earthen walls and trenches, let them bombard as they pleased — if they could even hit those low earthen walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Wang Dou's orders, all the logistics troops in camp sprang into urgent action. Wang Dou simultaneously sent men to inform Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Guozhu, and the others, asking them to send men to assist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Wang Dou also ordered all soldiers in his own camp to take cover behind the two earthen walls. Immediately, Wang Dou and his central army staff hid behind the second earthen wall, while all the soldiers under Han Zhong and Wen Fangliang hid behind the first earthen wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Wang Dou's urging, Lu Xiangsheng also dismounted from his command chariot and hid with him behind the second earthen wall. The auxiliary troops of each battalion, upon receiving Wang Dou's message, also frantically dug earth and filled sacks. Any crates and the like in the camp were all found and filled with earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a tremor as if the earth were shaking and mountains swaying, a cannonball came howling over from the Qing side and slammed heavily into the open ground of the Shunxiang Army's first defense line. The great iron ball, weighing over twenty jin, struck the hard ground, bounced up with force, shot straight forward, and smashed a huge gap through the second section of earthen wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The iron ball, its force not yet spent, rolled and bounced back, snapping the lower legs of several Shunxiang Army pikemen and arquebusiers densely clustered behind the first earthen wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miserable, piercing screams rang out. Wang Dou clenched his teeth and ordered the medical officers of his central army staff to carry them away for treatment. After waiting barely half a ke, they heard a succession of cannon reports from the Qing side, and then saw dozens of iron balls come one after another. The Qing red-barbarian cannons had actually used grape shot: each large ball accompanied by a dozen or so smaller balls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These cannonballs came howling in, incessantly smashing into the Shunxiang Army's front and rear earthen wall defense lines, as well as the various low walls and trenches. The dense iron balls bounced and rolled across the ground, and from time to time Shunxiang soldiers were struck by the shot. The Qing projectiles also struck into the tents, smashing the tents inside into utter chaos. Some tents even caught fire. In the core defense line, several war wagons were shattered by the hits, and some of the medical officers inside were killed or wounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The auxiliary troops of each battalion inside the camp, busy filling earth into sacks, were also continuously struck and knocked down by the rolling cannonballs. They fled in panic, screaming, only to be struck again by the ricocheting shot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Zhong huddled tightly behind the earthen wall. Seeing the unceasing Qing cannon fire, he cursed, \"These fresh goods, are they ever going to stop?...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words had barely left his mouth when a great iron ball weighing over twenty jin smashed into the earthen wall beside him. A large chunk of that hard earthen wall immediately collapsed. Han Zhong, his whole body and face covered in dirt, scrambled away, only to see that a guard beside him had half his body blasted away by the cannonball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a thunderous boom, a 6-pounder red-barbarian cannon set up on a passageway was struck by a 12-pounder red-barbarian cannonball. That cannon was instantly smashed into a wreck, iron ball and all, sending the gun carriage and wheels flying in all directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The slave rebels' barrage is so fierce; our officers and men are suffering no small casualties...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dozens of large and small iron balls from the Qing army came in three successive waves before temporarily stopping. Clearly, the cannon barrels had overheated and needed to pause to cool for a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou and Lu Xiangsheng stood up. The scene before them was like hell on earth. The ground of the two defense lines was everywhere covered in blood and severed limbs, the screams of soldiers rising one after another. Those wounded soldiers who had been struck by the iron balls had all suffered broken bones or death; their injuries were horrifically severe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that the Qing army had long-range, high-power cannons, it seemed this battle was growing harder and harder to fight. Wang Dou estimated that just these few salvos of Qing cannon fire had already caused one to two hundred casualties among their own troops, with the auxiliary troops of the other battalions suffering an unknown number more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In particular, this kind of bombardment dealt a tremendous blow to morale. Fortunately, the Shunxiang Army's usual training was strict; though the officers and men had suffered considerable trauma, this round of shelling was not enough to make them collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Lu Xiangsheng's words, Wang Dou was silent for a moment, then said, \"The slave rebels have red-barbarian cannons. Though our army was caught off guard, we need only place earth-filled sacks and crates everywhere to block their cannonballs from rolling, and we can still prevent the casualties from mounting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiangsheng slowly nodded. The two of them quietly watched the field. The dense mass of auxiliary troops from each battalion had already ceased to care about rescuing the wounded. Under the shouted orders of their officers, they were racing against time, placing earth-filled sacks and crates throughout the defense lines. Those who could not find sacks or crates even tore down tents to bundle and hold the earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With lives at stake, everyone moved with extreme speed. Very quickly, the flat ground between the Shunxiang Army's two earthen walls was covered with earth-filled sacks and crates large and small. Not only that, behind the army's second earthen wall, it was likewise covered with earth-filled sacks large and small. The cannons along the passageways were also pushed behind the earthen walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over on Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei's side, though they had not yet come under cannon fire, they prepared a large quantity of earth-filled sacks and crates as well, ready for any contingency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after, the Qing army's cannons came howling again. Immediately, everyone hurriedly crouched down once more. The logistics troops and the auxiliary troops of each battalion, in particular, pressed their bodies tightly behind each earth-filled sack and crate. Wave after wave of large and small iron balls came in succession, incessantly smashing sections of the front and rear earthen walls into rubble. Those large and small iron balls ricocheted across the open ground before and behind the earthen walls, sending cloth scraps and mud flying. Screams of alarm rose continuously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a good while, the Qing cannon fire ceased. Fortunately, with the buffering of those earth-filled sacks and crates, the projectiles could not bounce up. Although the Qing cannonade was fearsome, so long as one was not struck directly by a cannonball, the number of dead and wounded in the army was greatly reduced compared to before, and the soldiers' morale quickly stabilized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou exhaled and felt relieved. Lu Xiangsheng, still shaken, was also much reassured. Thank heaven for these earth-filled sacks and crates; the power of the enemy's fierce cannon fire had been greatly diminished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Numerous medical officers came out to rescue the wounded. Watching them carry one bloodied, mangled casualty after another into the camp, Chen An and the others behind Lu Xiangsheng all wore expressions of unbearable pity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The field was utterly silent, broken only by the piercing wails of the wounded as they were carried in. In this bitter winter weather, those struck by cannonballs would probably... Many soldiers clenched their jaws tight. To only take a beating without being able to strike back was truly infuriating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cold wind still howled, bringing a bone-piercing chill. The weather grew ever colder. Many soldiers had their heads and faces wrapped tightly, yet still shivered all over from the cold. In this severe freeze, the temperature must have been dozens of degrees below zero?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dry, frigid air, thick waves of blood scent drifted from time to time, along with a faint smell of gunpowder smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the silence, Lu Xiangsheng, who had been staring motionlessly ahead for a long time, suddenly said, \"Guoqin, it seems the security troops will have to withdraw to the second defense line.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou immediately understood the issue. On the Shunxiang Army's first defense line, the space between the two earthen walls was now filled with earth-filled sacks, the ground full of obstacles. Apart from the arquebusiers, the Shunxiang Army's proud formation fighting had lost its effectiveness...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"The Viceroy is absolutely right. We shall open the first defense line and let the slave rebels enter. With the ground full of sack obstacles, their charge will be slowed. Our troops will fire from behind the walls...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was filled with rage from the pounding of the Qing red-barbarian cannons and gave a cold laugh. \"The slave rebels have cannons; we have arquebuses. Let's just see, once they charge in, how much blood they have to spill.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiangsheng looked at Wang Dou. \"When the slave rebels charge in from the front, we must prevent them from rushing into our flanks to attack.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"The Viceroy can rest assured. The two trench walls are only a bit over a hundred paces apart. The slave rebels' charging army will be entirely under the fire of our cannons and arquebuses. They won't be able to rush into the flanks.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of horns rang out. At this moment, besides the enemy to the front, the Qing troops on both wings were already surging forward like the tide from two li away. Lu Xiangsheng urgently summoned Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei to discuss military affairs, informing them of the tactics for the front defense line, lest they think the front line had collapsed and their own troops' morale be affected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides ordering Zhong Diaoyang's logistics battalion to prepare more earth-filled sacks and crates, Wang Dou also summoned Han Zhong and Wen Fangliang to discuss arrangements. He ordered Han Zhong's arquebusiers to defend the first earthen wall, and Wen Fangliang along with the remaining cavalry and arquebusiers to defend the second earthen wall. The pikemen under each of them were also to withdraw entirely behind the second earthen wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Qing army attacked from the front, Han Zhong's arquebusiers would feign resistance for a short while, then all retreat to the second earthen wall. All the arquebusiers in the camp would be concentrated to inflict maximum casualties on the enemy, after which the pikemen and saber-and-shield men would pursue and cut them down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before long, the fierce sounds of cannon and arquebus fire came from both wings. Clearly, Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei had engaged the Qing troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the Shunxiang Army's front defense line, after another round of Qing shelling, their horns finally sounded. Qing troops surged forward like the tide, pushing war wagons and shouting battle cries. Behind the war wagons came another dense mass of Qing army laborers, urgently pushing forward small carts loaded with numerous wooden shields and other items.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the Qing troops charging, Wang Dou felt relieved. He instructed Zhong Diaoyang's logistics team to clear away the earth-filled sacks and crates from behind the second earthen wall, restoring flat ground. Those earth-filled sacks and crates were to be gathered together for use during the next Qing bombardment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following Wang Dou’s orders, on the first earthen-wall defense line, apart from Han Zhong’s unit of arquebusiers, all remaining arquebusiers were concentrated behind the second earthen wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Wang Dou’s army, each Company Commander, including the logistics troops, had four hundred and sixty-six arquebuses; two Company Commanders made nine hundred and thirty-two. The battalion logistics unit had over three hundred arquebuses. The cavalry, including their auxiliaries, also had six hundred arquebuses. Gao Xun’s command had over a hundred arquebuses as well. Thus the entire army possessed over one thousand nine hundred arquebuses in total.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even after deducting the casualties among the arquebusiers just now and over the past few days, the whole army still had over one thousand six hundred usable arquebuses. Once they were concentrated together, they would give those charging Qing soldiers a taste of something fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides the arquebusiers, the pikemen and sword-and-shield men of the two Company Commanders were also drawn up in neat ranks behind the arquebusiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou’s central command was positioned at the rear. Not far behind him was Lu Xiangsheng’s central command. Lu Xiangsheng had again mounted his command chariot to direct the entire Xuan–Da army in battle. Not far from him, the flagman on the observation cart, also standing atop the crow’s nest, continuously relayed the movements of the Qing battle formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apart from this, the Viceroy’s personal battalion had only four Hongyi six-pounder cannons left, while the Shunxiang Army’s fifteen medium falconet cannons, twenty-five small bronze falconet cannons, and thirty crouching-tiger cannons were all hauled back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the first earthen wall, the second earthen wall had four large passageways; in addition, there were just as many small gaps one or two paces wide. These passageways and gaps were all staggered relative to the first earthen wall. After the cannons were hauled back, they were deployed at each passageway and gap along the earthen wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All cannons were loaded with canister shot. Every artilleryman held his fire, calculating that once the Tartar soldiers came in, they would fire a single volley and give them a vicious blow, to see whether they would dare bombard them with Hongyi cannons again.\u003C\u002Fp>",3127,"2026-06-03T14:05:36.780Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","99d52e628c225e93416c691101a308c47c4ae047255f301a2bfa0d1904e59d3c","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-268","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-266",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]