[{"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-398":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},1205687,1561,"Chapter 398: With Our Shunxiang Army Here, Who Could Break This City?","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-398",398,"\u003Cp>\"The west gate is being fought over fiercely.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gusts of cold wind still came one after another. In this bitter cold, a man standing on the city wall for a moment would freeze stiff all over. At the northwest corner of the North Pass wall, Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu both raised their spyglasses to gaze toward the west gate of Luoyang. The rumble of cannon fire came from that direction, and shouts of battle shook the heavens — the ferocity of the fight was plain to see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plumes of smoke drifted from the west all the way inside North Pass, mixed with the pungent smell of saltpeter and sulfur, and what seemed like a faint, elusive scent of blood. Looking out, the western wilderness appeared to be covered with the Chuang army's battle formations blanketing the earth, while on the outer edges, mounted troops in groups of three or five rode howling back and forth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About two li outside North Pass, on the flatlands to the east, north, and west, one Chuang army formation after another was arrayed, seemingly numbering in the tens of thousands. These Chuang troops surrounded North Pass without attacking; their purpose was to pin down the forces inside, preventing them from leaving the pass to relieve the soldiers and civilians of Luoyang city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed that although Li Zicheng lacked strategic vision, he was still adept at the various tactical methods of deploying troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Wang Dou's words, Chen Yongfu beside him responded thoughtfully, \"Indeed. But Luoyang city has my vanguard battalion and three thousand elite troops of the Shunxiang Army defending it together — holding the city should be no problem.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression remained steady and unchanged; only a faint trace of worry flickering deep in his eyes betrayed the unease within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shouts of battle could be heard from the east, south, and west gates of Luoyang, but the west gate was by far the fiercest — clearly the main direction of the Chuang army's assault. In truth, the Chuang troops had also tried attacking the north gate, but with Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu holding North Pass, and North Pass being only two li from Luoyang's north gate, it lay within the striking range of the cannons on the city walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When over ten thousand Chuang troops attacked Luoyang's north gate, the Shunxiang Army gunners at North Pass immediately opened fire. The Shunxiang Army's ten Hongyi cannons, together with the thirty captured Grand General Folangji cannons, fired in unison, forming an extremely dense rain of shot. In less than a quarter of an hour, the Chuang army attacking Luoyang's north gate collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, when the Shunxiang Army gunners at North Pass opened fire, the Ming gunners at the north gate also responded with cannon fire. Caught in a pincer attack from front and rear, the Chuang troops assaulting the gate suffered even more terribly, hastening their collapse. Finally, Li Guangheng led his cavalry charging out from North Pass to pursue and cut them down for a spell, sending them fleeing in utter disarray like wolves and wild boars. From then on, they dared not entertain any designs on Luoyang's north gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The advantage of having one main city plus four small passes lay precisely here. If coordination was proper, that kind of layered, three-dimensional defensive firepower could multiply the city's defensive strength several times over. But if the defenders lacked fighting spirit, even the most impregnable city would be useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou raised his spyglass and gazed out a while longer. It was the beginning of the shen hour, roughly three o'clock in the afternoon. He reckoned the Chuang army's offensive for the day should be about done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, a report came back: a personal guard from beside Army Preparation Vice Commissioner Wang Yinchang had rushed over to request reinforcements, saying the bandit troops were attacking relentlessly, wave after wave without pause, and their cannon fire was fierce. He hoped General Wang and Military Governor Chen would send more reinforcements, and further hoped Wang Dou would transfer those thirty Grand General cannons to the west gate for use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu exchanged a glance, sneering inwardly. It seemed Li Zicheng's resolve was great indeed — he actually wanted to take Luoyang in a single day. But with them here, he was destined for tragedy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>North Pass had over a thousand men from Chen Yongfu's vanguard battalion, plus the Shunxiang Army's Wen Fangliang, Gao Shiyin, Li Guangheng, Gao Xun, and others — its troop strength was extremely ample.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief discussion, Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu decided to send the company-commander-level force under Gao Xun, along with the thirty Grand General Folangji cannons, into the city to support the fighting at Luoyang's west gate. As for the sub-chamber ammunition for those thirty Grand General cannons, the city would naturally have to supply it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the cover of Li Guangheng's cavalry, Gao Xun led his troops, along with the relevant gunners under Zhao Xuan, escorting the thirty Grand General Folangji cannons out of North Pass's south gate, and proceeded along the official road through Luoyang's north gate into the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the Chuang troops outside North Pass detected the movement within, they were too far away and feared the cannon fire and cavalry of North Pass, so they could only watch helplessly as this relief force entered the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Receiving this reinforcement of Wang Dou's forces, both Wang Yinchang and Garrison Commander Yang at the west gate were overjoyed, and morale on the wall was greatly boosted. After the defenders there had repelled that wave of Chuang troops with fire pots earlier, they had also beaten back yet another Chuang assault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, however, it had been quite strenuous. After all, unlike lime pots and rolling stones which could be used freely, the stock of ten-thousand-man bombs and fire pots inside the city was not large and had to be conserved. The moment the density of these bombs and pots thrown decreased, that wave of Chuang troops nearly fought their way onto the wall. The dense mass of attacking Chuang soldiers was simply too great, wave after wave seemingly without end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, they had still been beaten back, and now with the support of the Shunxiang Army's cannons, Wang Yinchang and the others were even more confident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as soon as Gao Xun entered the city, the troops under his command were reassigned to the south gate. The Chuang assaults on the east and south gates were now growing fiercer by the moment. Although the south gate defenders had the support of a thousand men from Chen Yongfu's vanguard battalion, they were still struggling. The addition of Gao Xun's fresh troops came just in time to relieve the crisis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gunner squad commander under Zhao Xuan directed his gunners to haul the thirty Grand General Folangji cannons up onto the west wall. Without pausing to exchange pleasantries with Wu Zhengchun and the others, they immediately threw themselves into the battle, for the horns from the Chuang army positions behind the earthen platforms had sounded again — another wave of attack was about to begin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As was customary, before each wave of Chuang troops attacked, the cannons on their earthen platforms would put on a thorough performance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yinchang and the others on Luoyang's west wall had suffered greatly from these Chuang army cannons. The hundred-plus Chuang cannons bombarded incessantly; each time, not only did they force the defenders on the wall to keep their heads down, but they had also collapsed sections of the sturdy wall and battlements several times. If they were not suppressed, the wall would eventually be breached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time was different. Those Chuang cannons had met a formidable opponent. Shortly after the Chuang cannons outside the west wall opened fire, the Shunxiang Army on the wall had already set up their guns. Using their gunner's sights and spyglasses to search, they successively found their targets and launched a fierce counter-barrage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thirty Grand General Folangji cannons firing in unison perfectly demonstrated what was meant by a rain of shot, what was the flawless fusion of speed and accuracy, and what constituted classic artillery fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps a skilled Folangji gunner could fire one shot every twenty seconds, but most of the original government artillerymen on the west wall could only manage one shot a minute, and their accuracy was another matter entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet every shot the Shunxiang Army gunners fired took less than twenty seconds. They fired, reloaded the sub-chamber, fired again — accurate and deadly. Their flawless gun drill was an eye-opener for the government troops on the wall; so cannons could be fired this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tempest of cannonballs rained down upon the various earthen platforms. At a distance of only two hundred paces, the Shunxiang Army gunners' accuracy was astonishing, and the Chuang cannons were fixed in place, unmoving. Once the angle was set, they did not even need to adjust; firing from an elevated position, it was like target practice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shrieking five-jin cannonballs smashed one after another onto the earthen platforms, sending gun carriages tumbling wildly, severed limbs and bloody flesh flying everywhere. The Chuang soldiers who survived scrambled about in chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wall also concentrated its Grand General cannons to bombard the several large earthen platforms in unison. Those platforms held some of the Chuang army's Grand General Folangji cannons, which had posed the greatest threat to the west wall moments before. After a volley of shot swept over, not only were all those cannons smashed to pieces, but on one platform, every single Chuang soldier was wiped out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before long, the hundred-plus Chuang army cannons that the wall's officers and troops had considered a grave threat were almost entirely silenced, posing no further danger to the wall. Wang Yinchang and Garrison Commander Yang watched, dumbstruck. The Luoyang militiamen and government troops on the west wall also stared at each other in disbelief. Those Shunxiang Army soldiers were truly something else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chuang army camp outside the city also fell silent for a long while. Even the rousing war drums ceased, as if they could not believe the scene before their eyes. Only after a long time did their horns sound again, and another wave of Chuang troops, carrying scaling ladders, surged forward in a dense black mass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merciless cannonballs fell upon their heads. Volley after volley of five-jin shot swept across them head-on. Those charging Chuang soldiers had their bodies torn in two by cannonballs, scarlet flesh and blood flying; or a massive bloody hole appeared in their torsos, the coiled entrails within severed; or entire legs, entire arms were blown off, blood gushing out like fountains. Severed limbs, bloody flesh, a mist of blood hanging in the air — in this frigid weather, it all seemed even more brutally cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was an asymmetrical war. Even though the Chuang army had overwhelming numbers, before such sharp firearms, they appeared just as insignificant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This terrifying metal storm nearly made those Chuang troops collapse on the spot, but under the watch of the veteran horse troops holding the line behind them, they forced themselves to endure the terror and continued charging forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps this was the final assault of the day; perhaps Li Zicheng was set on taking Luoyang city today. That was why the Chuang troops in this wave were especially numerous, and their manner especially frenzied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zhengchun raised his spyglass and looked at the dense black tide of men outside the city. There were Chuang shield-bearers there, but even more were starving soldiers clutching spears and wooden clubs. Apart from the red scarves wrapped around their heads, the clothes they wore were a motley assortment. The only thing they shared was their gaunt, emaciated frames and sallow, thin faces. Their banners and ranks were also chaotic; many flags were just strips of cloth hung on wooden poles, scrawled with who-knew-what — perhaps only they themselves could recognize them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, their expressions were identical: shouting themselves hoarse, faces twisted and frenzied, and upon them a kind of hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps they were all thinking that once they took Luoyang, they and their families could eat their fill and dress warmly. But after they had eaten Luoyang empty, what then? This was something they could not imagine — or perhaps, did not want to imagine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Poor souls.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zhengchun was silent for a long moment, then turned and shouted, \"Prepare for battle!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Guard!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thunderous shout of acknowledgment rang out. All the Shunxiang Army soldiers stood at attention and responded as one. Though they numbered less than a thousand, their presence surpassed that of a mighty host. Their unified shout, like a sudden clap of thunder, also startled the Luoyang garrison troops and the militia and village soldiers beside them, who all looked toward them with awe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shunxiang Army enforced strict discipline. Once Wu Zhengchun's order was passed down, the officers immediately relayed it level by level. Commands rang out one after another along the wall: \"Prepare for battle! Form ranks!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wall was broad. Wu Zhengchun's soldiers assembled and formed ranks on the wall in squads of five: arquebusiers in front, pikemen behind. This tactic had been handed down after the battle against the Qing troops at Shunxiang Fortress back then, and facts had proven it highly effective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each soldier, knowing that this time the Chuang troops were very likely to fight their way onto the wall, gripped his weapon tightly. Their expressions held tension, but even more, excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To them, they did not fear close combat with the enemy. On the contrary, their hearts were filled with eagerness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ethos of the Eastern Circuit held military merit above all else. No matter how wealthy you were, your status in the Eastern Circuit was still lower than that of a common soldier in the Shunxiang Army. Rejoicing at the prospect of battle was the prevailing mood in the Shunxiang Army. The more military merit, the wealthier, the more powerful, the higher one's status would be in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chuang troops surging forward like a tide struck terror into Wang Yinchang's heart. He involuntarily came before Wu Zhengchun and asked, \"Company Commander Wu, the bandits' momentum is ferocious. Can this city... be held?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the hopeful eyes of those Luoyang soldiers and civilians, Wu Zhengchun said, \"With our Shunxiang Army here, who could break this city?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tone was very calm, yet his words carried an unmistakable, unspoken pride. Hearing this greatly reassured Wang Yinchang. He glanced at the Shunxiang Army soldiers forming ranks on the wall and asked, uncertain and alarmed, \"Company Commander Wu, what is this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zhengchun cupped his fists. \"Military Commissioner, the bandit force is massive this time. In my humble opinion, it would be better to let the bandits onto the wall and slaughter them fiercely here on the wall, dealing them a heavy blow.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yinchang was greatly startled. \"Let them onto the wall?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew his own situation well. If Luoyang's local soldiers and civilians just defended from the wall, that was fine. But if the roving bandits got onto the wall and it turned into a melee, nine times out of ten the city would be breached and lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But seeing Wu Zhengchun's resolute expression, and then looking at the ironclad troops behind him, Wang Yinchang gritted his teeth fiercely. This army was famed throughout the realm. For Wu Zhengchun to say this, he must be extremely confident. Although the government troops and militiamen at the west gate had fought spiritedly in the previous waves, their morale ultimately rested on this very army. Wu Zhengchun was so confident, and the military situation being what it was — he would gamble on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said fiercely, \"Very well, we shall do as Company Commander Wu says.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He passed down the order to defend the city resolutely. If the bandit troops truly proved unstoppable, the government troops and the militia and village soldiers were to fall back to the side of the Shunxiang Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the order was passed down, Wang Yinchang clasped Wu Zhengchun’s hand and said, “Company Commander Wu, Luoyang City must not be lost. You must hold it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zhengchun’s expression was resolute: “Rest assured, Military Commissioner. The city stands as long as the men stand; the city falls only when the men fall.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, this wave of Chuang troops threw everything into the assault. Under their tide-like onslaught, no matter how the defenders on the wall struck with lime pots, rolling stones, ten-thousand-man bombs, or fire pots — whether attacking head-on from the wall face or striking from the flanks of the bastions — the defending troops on the battlements fought back by every means.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dense black sea of men still quickly filled the narrow strip between the rampart wall and the city wall. They frantically raised scaling ladder after scaling ladder. Whenever one ladder was shoved away by a ramming pole or burned to ruin by a fire pot, they swiftly raised another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last, ladder after ladder stood upright, and a dense mass of Chuang soldiers and troops came swarming up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the Chuang army formations outside the city rose a tide-like roar of exultation — the city was about to break.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yinchang’s face was ashen, and beside him stood Garrison Commander Yang, equally ghastly pale. As expected, relying on the city walls alone could not hold them; they could only pin their hopes on the Shunxiang Army. They looked toward the Shunxiang Army soldiers on the inner wall. Those men still stood in steady, silent ranks, seemingly not the least affected by the crisis unfolding before them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the shouts of the Luoyang officers, the soldiers under Garrison Commander Yang’s command fell back one after another to the sides of the Shunxiang troops. The Shunxiang Army’s formations were arranged in sections — after all, they had too few men to cover the entire stretch of wall. These gaps were exactly what the government troops filled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a disorderly hubbub, they imitated the Shunxiang Army: soldiers armed with fire arrows, bows, bird guns, and three-eyed guns in front, and soldiers holding long spears or greatswords behind. As for the village braves and militia, Wu Zhengchun’s intent was to send them down from the wall to clear more space for killing the enemy. Still, some fierce militia and village braves remained, ready to take heads in exchange for reward silver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially those militia members wearing worry-free silk sashes — they were all sons of the city’s wealthy households. In these chaotic times, every family kept all manner of weapons for protection. The weapons they now held — whether greatswords, long spears, or powerful bows and crossbows — were, in many hands, bird guns or three-eyed guns as well. In quality, they were even finer than those used by the government troops. It had always been so in the Great Ming: weapons forged by civilians were often of better quality and more advanced than those used by the military.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, all these were controlled weapons, and the authorities had always strictly forbidden civilians from using them. But now, in these chaotic times, the government’s laws had long become a dead letter — who was left to enforce them? The sale of all kinds of weapons by officers and soldiers to wealthy households was, moreover, one of their perennial sources of income that no prohibition could stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Luoyang City formed its militia corps at Wang Dou’s suggestion, in theory each she contributed fifty militiamen. Any household with several hundred taels of property had to provide one soldier; any household with a thousand taels had to provide two. Many of these wealthy households had household retainers: when the sons of the family became militiamen, the retainers naturally accompanied them as guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In particular, those leaders who commanded a full she of fifty men — as they were prominent Licentiates or local gentry of standing in the city — had even more household retainers as escorts and even finer weapons. Although Luoyang City nominally had just over three thousand militiamen, the actual number was far greater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This militia corps was, one could say, a classic landlord armed force, utterly incapable of harboring any thought of compromise with the roving bandits. Some of the militiamen, in particular, were landlords and gentry who had fled from the various fallen departments and counties of Henan Prefecture. Their family properties had largely been confiscated by the Chuang army. They bore a bone-deep hatred for the roving bandits outside the walls, so it was no surprise that they stayed behind to kill the enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hush seemed to fall over the city wall. Whether Shunxiang Army, garrison troops, or village braves and militia, all held their breath and concentrated, staring intently toward the battlements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wait was brief, yet to everyone it felt as long as a century. At last, one felt cap after another poked up from the scaling ladders. Beneath those felt caps were faces — tense, vicious, or twisted — the shield-bearing soldiers of the Chuang army, serving as the vanguard dare-to-die shock troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In their hands they held shields, greatswords, short axes, and other weapons looted from the armories of fallen departments and counties, each man poised to leap into the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the wall erupted with the shouts of government troops and village braves and militia. Every ranged weapon they had was fired at the heads of those Chuang soldiers emerging over the top. Fire arrows, bows, crossbow bolts, bird guns, three-eyed guns — for a moment the wall was filled with whistling arrows and the thunderous roar of firearms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under their assault, this first wave of Chuang troops scaling the wall suffered the worst. Many had barely shown their heads before their entire skulls were struck by who knew how many bullets and arrows, and they fell screaming from the ladders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One fellow with a face full of curly whiskers was the unluckiest of all. A government soldier’s fire arrow struck him almost entirely in the head. His whole face and head were densely bristling — like a hedgehog — with a dozen or more fire-arrow shafts, some straight in, some slanting. He could not even cry out, and just plummeted straight down from the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fierce melee on the battlements thus began. Compared to the frantic haste of the government troops and village braves and militia, the Shunxiang Army soldiers under Wu Zhengchun were far steadier. They picked their targets before firing, and waited until the Chuang soldiers had leaped onto the battlements to strike. After all, at such close range, a firearm could hardly miss — the only question was whether it hit the head or the body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crackling reports of firearms rang out one after another, and wisps of white smoke drifted from every part of the wall. One by one, Chuang soldiers howled and fell from the ladders — first the Chuang infantry who had scaled the wall with shields and greatswords, then the Chuang hunger soldiers wielding long spears and wearing red headscarves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though they were new troops, their harsh training still allowed the soldiers under Wu Zhengchun to fight with composure. Every man wore fine, thick armor, an iron helmet on his head, and carried superior weapons. The Chuang soldiers leaped up one after another. Though they held shields, some of those shields were crude ones made by their own army, merely planks of wood lashed together. A fair number were leather shields captured from government troops, or iron-wrapped wooden shields — but they were utterly useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the multiple layers of heavy armor of the Qing troops could not stop the Shunxiang Army’s firearms — how could the Chuang army withstand them? The distance between the two sides was at most a few paces, a dozen or so paces. When the guns blasted them, no matter what shield they held, it was smashed to pieces on the spot. The tremendous force also sent them reeling back, nearly vomiting blood, to crash heavily against the wall behind them, half dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the shield failed to block the Shunxiang Army’s musket and the shot struck the body, the result was even more gruesome — a great hole was blasted straight through them and they were hurled flying. Some Chuang soldiers wore surcoats, but under the Shunxiang Army’s bird-gun fire, those could not bring them the slightest safety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So it was for the Chuang infantry; the hunger soldiers who leaped up fared even worse. These red-scarved men with long spears were even more frenzied, because they wanted to enjoy the infantry’s treatment — their rations had been raised from one meal a day to two. So although they were gaunt and sallow, their clothes tattered, their equipment inferior to the infantry’s, their expressions and eyes were even more ferocious, their howls even more hoarse and desperate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet whether they were ferocious or composed, before such lethal firearms, the outcome was either death or injury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deafening roar of firearms on the battlements rose wave after wave. Watching the Chuang soldiers who leaped onto the wall fall one after another under the Shunxiang Army’s firepower, the nearby government troops and village braves and militia stared dumbfounded. The power of the Shunxiang Army’s bird guns chilled their hearts; every man could not help imagining what it would be like to be struck by such a shot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially that cold, indifferent look on the faces of the Shunxiang troops — like a neat, mechanical killing tool — it sent a chill rising from the depths of their hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yinchang and Garrison Commander Yang, who had long since taken shelter behind the gate tower and handed command to Wu Zhengchun, also watched with hearts turning cold, thankful that this army was not their enemy. They saw, not far from them, a Shunxiang bird-gunner at a distance of perhaps only two paces fire one shot that pierced through two charging Chuang hunger soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those two hunger soldiers, mouths agape, eyes showing disbelief, were hurled heavily backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, as they crashed against the wall, they happened to knock a foot soldier who was just climbing up at a crenel right off his ladder. That unlucky wretch, aside from dying himself, had his falling body act like a wolf-tooth rack or a rolling log, sweeping every one of the dozen-odd Chuang soldiers climbing that ladder clean off to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The formation Wu Zhengchun’s troops deployed was one squad of bird-gunners, with one squad of long-spearmen behind them. Thus they formed two long ranks in front of the inner wall, interspersed with sections of government troops and village braves and militia. After the bird-gunners fired, if any Chuang soldiers who had leaped up to the front, left, or right were not all dead, the long-spearmen would then advance to thrust and kill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cooperating in this way, at first these soldiers fought according to the natural reflexes drilled into them by harsh training. Subconsciously they were still a little tense, and their coordination was somewhat flustered. But they quickly calmed down, and their combat skills grew more practiced. War is the best forge for a man — and for an army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pap-pap-pap-pap!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One squad of bird-gunners from the Fifth Squad, Third Platoon, Second Company calmly raised their bird guns and pulled the triggers at several Chuang infantrymen who had just leaped from a scaling ladder ahead. As the bullets struck, the men’s faces still bore expressions of astonishment; then the immense force hurled them flying backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they lay on the ground or slumped against the wall, they still stared in disbelief at the great holes torn open in their bodies, at the hot blood gushing out like a fountain, even at the large and small intestines spilling forth — and then they screamed loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one paid them any heed. After that squad of bird-gunners had fired their guns, they immediately withdrew, and the squad of iron-armored long-spearmen behind them advanced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These long-spearmen wore fine iron armor, thick and solid, with eight-panel iron-tipped helmets on their heads — gear that in the Great Ming army only squad leaders or even Squad Commanders could possess. In their hands they held armor-piercing, steel-tipped long cone-spears, capable of piercing an opponent’s fine armor — to say nothing of the Chuang army, among whom very few wore iron armor, not many even had leather armor, and those with cotton armor could count themselves lucky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They stood in silence, spears leveled, holding their thrusting posture. When several Chuang soldiers came howling and brandishing blades and spears at them, they shouted in unison, and their long spears stabbed like lightning into the enemies’ vital points. Though they were one squad, they were actually divided into two teams, each time two men taking on one opponent, while the Squad Commander held his long spear to cover them and direct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chuang soldiers who had gained the wall had no coordination to speak of. No matter how many they were, they could not bring their numerical advantage to bear; every man fought alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One Chuang soldier advanced under the cover of his shield. A long-spearman of that squad thrust like lightning at his right side. The Chuang soldier was a veteran and blocked with his shield, stopping the spear tip — but he never expected another long spear to come stabbing viciously. “Squelch!” The spear pierced straight through his entire skull. When the shaft was pulled back, flesh and blood mixed with yellowish-white brain matter spurted out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As this Chuang soldier fell, his expression was still one of dying with eyes wide open in disbelief. He had originally been a government soldier, and after surrendering to the Chuang army was considered a capable hand. He had fought several battles in his life and was no stranger to blood and fire — yet he never imagined he would die so silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the blink of an eye, the several Chuang sword-and-shield soldiers who had scaled the wall at this point were dead. Following behind them was a group of Chuang hunger soldiers wielding long spears. The moment they gained the wall, what they saw was blood everywhere, corpses in every manner of death, and many of their own comrades screaming in agony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then their gazes were drawn to several soldiers on the wall ahead, their long spears leveled. Those men’s iron armor was already covered in blood, and the row of leveled long spears, like a hedgehog’s quills, dripped blood steadily. But none of this compared to the chilling, bone-cold stares in their eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They just stared at them like that. Before these hunger soldiers, their hearts seized with cold, could even react, that squad of soldiers had already charged forward. The hunger soldiers instinctively tried to swing their long spears, but how could their movements match the speed of these Shunxiang troops?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One long-spearman thrust his shaft forward, the blade driving straight into a hunger soldier’s soft belly. A spray of blood mist burst out, and the blood-drenched blade was swiftly thrust into the chest of a hunger soldier behind him. Several long spears stabbed like bloodthirsty vipers — thrust, and thrust again — leaving several more corpses with eyes frozen open in death upon the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That Squad Commander was a veteran who had fought at the Battle of Julu. Seeing this, he could not help nodding. After this battle, the brothers under his command could be considered seasoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, the bird-gunners behind them had finished reloading their powder and shot, and that squad of long-spearmen withdrew behind them again, awaiting their next cycle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their efficient slaughter, seen by the nearby government troops and village braves and militia, made every man draw a cold breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These Shunxiang troops were simply too terrifying. To an outsider’s eyes, their movements were orderly and even carried a certain beauty. When the bird guns fired, a long bank of smoke spread across the battlements, and then it seemed as if a forest of silver spear points unfolded atop the wall, pressing relentlessly forward until every enemy ahead was devoured and annihilated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Killing the enemy was as effortless as strolling in a courtyard, yet supremely effective. Beautiful as it was to watch, meeting such an opponent was sheer misfortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yinchang and Garrison Commander Yang both thought: “Thankfully they are friendly troops. Otherwise, meeting such an opponent would truly be eight lifetimes of the worst luck. We’ve heard that the men under Company Commander Wu are merely the new troops of the Shunxiang Army. If these are new troops, then how terrifyingly fierce must those veterans who fought through the Battles of Julu and Pinggu be?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, both secretly rejoiced: “Company Commander Wu said he could hold the city — his words were true indeed!”\u003C\u002Fp>",5494,"2026-06-03T14:05:36.780Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","801f5973186201c675abfbc348b5de29c3b0edd07695b3511dc8b2a4a571fdea","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-399","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-397",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]