Chapter 475: The Battle of Huangtuling (Part 2)

On the third day of the eighth month of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, for several consecutive days the Ming army had been building large numbers of assault equipment for attacking the mountain, such as covered assault carts, pointed-tip rams, observation towers, screen carts, and trench bridges. These devices were essentially replicas of siege weapons, only lighter and more flexible.

In addition, Liaodong garrison troops were massed in great numbers, along with the wagon battalions under each Regional Commander, and a large body of civilian laborers was assembled to collect wheelbarrows, two-wheeled carts, long-bed carts, and the like from every locality, to be used for transporting earth-filled sacks and baskets for future trench-filling operations.

The vast manpower and material resources of the Great Ming were brought into vigorous play, and a steady stream of mountain-assault supplies continuously converged.

The Qing army keenly detected the Ming army's intentions, and in those days the troops and horses being shifted toward Huangtuling noticeably increased. Their scout riders also frequently approached Songshanbao to spy, while Ming elite scout riders resolutely counterattacked, and the two sides engaged in a series of clashes; the smell of gunpowder around Songshanbao grew ever thicker.

At the same time, the final mountain-assault tactics were debated repeatedly among the various officers and generals, and the discussions were not without fierce disputes.

As early as his time on the eastern route, Wang Dou had possessed a rough sand-table map of the Liaodong terrain; after arriving at Songshan and conducting surveys over those days, the mountain contours and terrain features were drawn in ever greater detail. Hong Chengchou and others were full of praise for the Border Pacification Army's sand table; with a detailed sand-table map, armchair strategy became truly possible and realizable.

The Qing army's defense lines were very clear: their heavy cannon — that is, red-barbarian cannon firing shot of ten jin or more — were deployed on the highest summit, arranged around some beacon towers. Cannon firing five- or six-jin shot were placed on the middle tier. There were also some smaller cannon, Frankish swivel guns, and the like, deployed on the forward ridge defense line.

These cannon were then coordinated with trenches and earthen walls, supplemented by some arquebuses, bows and arrows, and so on. On each defense line, it was mainly Han troops and Goryeo troops who manned the arquebuses and three-barreled guns. The regular Tartar soldiers carried bows and arrows, shields, and greatswords, positioned behind them for hand-to-hand combat, which also served the purpose of a battle-supervision detachment.

It seemed that on the mountain ridge there were also some crossbows, stone-throwing trebuchets, lime-pot bombs, and other weapons; it appeared the Qing troops on Huangtuling were defending their stockade walls as if they were a city.

Wang Dou suggested that when assaulting the mountain, the formation could be deployed more loosely, to prevent enemy ricochet shot from causing severe casualties; if the enemy advanced in close formation, then they should tighten their own formation.

This was very easy to accomplish: ordinarily when each army formed up, they used bugles — that is, the sound of the swan-call — to deploy the formation, and between each soldier and each squad a space was left open.

Whenever the bugle blew the single-note deployment call, each squad would be spaced evenly one zhang and five chi apart; if it blew again, they would spread looser or close tighter. Loose or tight, left turn or right turn, all could be accomplished by bugle calls alone. Of course, the speed of deployment also had much to do with the degree of elite training in each army.

Yang Guozhu and the others naturally had no objection to this suggestion of Wang Dou's.

Wang Dou also believed that the large numbers of civilian laborers and cart columns, the mountain-assault equipment, and the wagon-battalion cannon did not need to be concentrated with the forward troops; these were all close-combat weapons, difficult to use at long range.

Especially the Frankish swivel guns and the like in the wagon battalions — could you fire while moving and still hit the target enemy? That would truly be the god of gunnery possessing you, a self-propelled cannon descending to earth. Better to bring them out only after attacking up to the enemy's stockade walls.

Wang Dou's proposal let the officers of each wagon battalion breathe a sigh of relief; thinking of their own side being deployed at the front, advancing under Tartar cannon fire, each man had felt some dread. The Loyal and Brave Count's proposal could not have been better.

Therefore, what moved in the forward troops were the light war carts of each wagon battalion, shielding the soldiers as much as possible. As for the likely casualties, there was no helping it; at present, the Great Ming still had no war cart capable of withstanding red-barbarian cannon, and even if one existed, it would be so heavy as to be nearly impossible to push.

On this point, Xuanfu Garrison Regional Commander Yang Guozhu and Shanxi Regional Commander Li Fuming had both considered it, and merely nodded with somber expressions.

In war, there are casualties; this is something that cannot be helped.

However, Wang Dou's next suggestion made Fu Yingchong, Vice General of the Shenji Battalion's Forward Camp, somewhat hesitant.

Wang Dou's suggestion was that the Shenji Battalion's cannon be pushed forward as close as possible to support the friendly troops assaulting the mountain.

Of course, the first wave of the offensive was to first seize the Qing forces' first ridge defense line, a defensive position composed of some enemy towers, beacon-fire platforms, and stockade walls.

The Great Ming had built large numbers of beacon towers in Liaodong, typically one beacon every three li and one tower every five li; the enemy towers in particular were mostly two-story hollow enemy towers. They were generally three to five zhang high, with a circumference of twelve zhang or seventeen to eighteen zhang. The middle story was hollow and spacious, with arrow windows on all four sides; the upper story had a tower with battlements, ringed with crenellations, and was mostly built of large dressed stone blocks, making it extremely sturdy.

On the mountain ridges around Songshanbao there were also many such beacon towers, normally garrisoned by a Company Commander or a tower chief. However, when the Qing army besieged Jinzhou and the Songshan area, the fire-beacon towers and enemy towers near Songshanbao had long since been captured by the Qing army and were instead occupied and used as part of the Qing defense line.

When attacking this defense line, the Shenji Battalion's cannon would face no danger whatsoever; they could simply bombard from a great distance, and the Qing cannon on the main ridge could not reach them. Even if they could, at a distance of several li, what threat could they pose?

After capturing this defense line, however, Wang Dou suggested setting up the mountain-assault command post there, and a portion of the Shenji Battalion's artillery camp could also be deployed there.

He said: "The tower at the Temple of the Goddess is no more than a little over two li from Huangtuling, and on the main ridge there is also an enemy tower, used by the enemy chieftain as his headquarters. If we set up an artillery camp there, we can threaten the bandit slave defenders within range and provide the greatest support to the friendly troops assaulting the mountain."

Of course, there was a problem here: for the artillery camp to be pushed to that position, along the entire route it would face bombardment from the Qing cannon on the mountain. Moreover, once positioned at the former eastern-slave first ridge defense line, it would also engage in counter-battery artillery duels with the Qing troops on the main mountain ridge.

Looking at Fu Yingchong's expression, Wang Dou reassured him: "Rest assured, their red-barbarian cannon that fire shot of over ten jin can reach at most three or four li. But what can they hit at three or four li? Unless it is a dense military formation. So the cannon will be safe along the entire approach. Even though this position is a little over two li from the mountain ridge... it would be difficult for their cannon to hit our artillery position. So deploying the Shenji Battalion's artillery camp there is nothing to worry about. Besides, if sharp weapons like the divine-fire flying crows and mortars are not deployed there after ascending the mountain, they won't be able to hit the bandits either."

Yang Guozhu and the others were extremely tempted, and Hong Chengchou stroked his beard and said: "The Loyal and Brave Count's proposal is highly feasible."

Seeing that Fu Yingchong's expression was still shifting, Wang Dou said: "If the situation proves unworkable, my Border Pacification Army's artillery camp will come up to provide support."

As for the Border Pacification Army's cannon, the army's red-barbarian six-pounder could reach a little over two li. The red-barbarian three-pounder could also reach nearly two li. Pushed to that artillery position, they could contend with the red-barbarian twelve-pounders in the Qing camp.

At this, the Vice General of the Shenji Battalion's Forward Camp finally made up his mind: in fighting a battle on the field, if one wanted military merit, how could one not take some risks? He would go for it!

With the final dispositions complete, early in the morning of the third day of the eighth month, the Ming army's main mountain-assault force, its supporting armies, and the mountain-assault equipment continuously converged on the open fields and hills east of Songshanbao.

Men shouted and horses neighed; scout riders whistled and called. The sound of drums and bugles was unceasing. Yang Guozhu's Xuanzhen Army, fifteen thousand strong, deployed the greater part of its force, totaling four thousand cavalry and eight thousand infantry.

These eight thousand infantry were all New Army troops, each with a solemn expression, uniformly wearing cloud-wing helmets. The pikemen all wore red waist-length armor, the red and blue-green contrasting with stirring visual effect. The arquebusiers carried Eastern Route precision-made arquebuses and all wore red cotton armor, looking from a distance like clouds of fire.

His grand army was arrayed directly at the front of the great formation.

Shanxi Regional Commander Li Fuming also led his subordinate army and arrayed it beside Yang Guozhu, totaling about over ten thousand men.

His own core troops numbered about five thousand, including three thousand cavalry, along with troops of some Assistant Regional Commanders and Mobile Corps Commanders within the garrison, with infantry-to-cavalry ratios of three to seven or four to six. Some of these troops had even fought alongside Hu Dawei and Wang Dou in years past.

Perhaps because they had been in Liaodong for a long time, the dress of their soldiers and horses somewhat resembled that of the Liaodong troops.

The cavalry wore long outer-jackets with embedded armor plates, with arm-guards and iron helmets; the infantry wrapped their heads in folded kerchiefs or wore red felt hats, and wore waist-length armor or short outer-jackets. These short armors basically had no armor plates inside, only some armor studs nailed to the surface.

Wu Sangui, the Ningyuan Militia Regional Commander, also arrived leading his subordinate troops. In Liaodong, the troops under his command totaled over twenty thousand, more than even Liaodong Regional Commander Liu Zhaoji, and among them were a full two thousand retainers. With infantry and cavalry split four to six, he also had several thousand cavalry under his command.

After setting out from Ningyuan with Ji-Liao Viceroy Hong Chengchou, he had left behind a portion of his forces, but the troops he had at Songshan at this time still numbered nearly twenty thousand.

For this great battle, he also pulled out the greater part of his troops, leaving only a small portion to guard the camp. With the Viceroy's troops, the Loyal and Brave Count, and Zuo Guangxian's reinforcement-suppression armies guarding the inner area of Songshan, plus Ma Ke and Tang Tong deployed west of Songshanbao, and Wang Pu deployed north of Songshanbao, there was naturally no worry, and the frontline troops could fight with peace of mind.

In this great battle, Wu Sangui was not without thoughts of achieving great merit.

His troops were arrayed on the right flank of the great formation, and Ji Garrison Regional Commander Bai Guangen led his army and drew up beside Wu Sangui.

He likewise had several thousand core troops, the remainder being the troops of various Vice Regional Commanders, Assistant Regional Commanders, and Mobile Corps Commanders within the garrison, totaling twenty thousand troops. Of course, eating empty pay-rolls and drinking the soldiers' blood was the norm in their armies; how many troops there actually were was each man's secret, and even superior officers tactfully refrained from probing to the bottom of it.

Wang Pu's thirteen thousand men were arrayed on the left flank of the grand army. The Wang family had long been wealthy in Datong Garrison; not to mention the three thousand cavalry of his main battalion, even the three thousand New Army troops under his command uniformly wore cloud-wing helmets and long outer-jackets. Each New Army soldier also had a horse or mule, and the opulence of their equipment could almost compare with Wang Dou's Border Pacification Army.

Of course, the officers within the garrison could not compare with Regional Commander Wang.

This was the Ming army formation for assaulting Huangtuling and guarding against attacks by Qing cavalry from Songshan Ridge: nearly eighty thousand troops. This was not to say that all the troops would be committed at once, but they could fully launch wave after wave of continuous offensives. From this, one could see the Ming army's determination to seize Huangtuling.

Fu Yingchong, Vice General of the Shenji Battalion's Forward Camp, also led the Shenji Battalion troops and converged at the central grand formation.

His Shenji Battalion, with banners and pennants standing like a forest and gleaming helmets and bright armor, went without saying. Their equipment: every man wore a cloud-wing helmet, a long deep-red outer-jacket, fine arm-guards, a brass belt at the waist with trimmed edges, and two bright red pompoms flaring up at the shoulders — their attire somewhat resembled that of the Border Pacification Army's A-class troops.

What they carried in hand were uniformly Rumî arquebuses, and flintlock ones at that.

As sons of the capital, they naturally valued outward appearance. For this campaign, each man had adjusted and polished his armor again and again, so that every one of them looked taller, more mighty and imposing, with brilliant attire. Moreover, the military formation and wagon formation they drew up were perfectly straight lines front and back, left and right; as far as martial appearance went, those who did not know better would think they were the Border Pacification Army.

In truth, since the Shenji Battalion had set out on campaign, some men along the way had been unable to endure the hardship and had secretly run back home, dispersing several hundred in total. But those who had persevered to this point all showed a certain tough and fierce look; if they could experience the fire of battle, they might well become a strong army and recover the mettle and heroic spirit of their forebears.

The Shenji Battalion Forward Camp's three hundred rocket carts, two hundred light carts carrying Frankish swivel guns, nearly a thousand large rockets such as divine-fire flying crows, twenty-five Divine Might Grand General cannon, fifty large-caliber mortars, and nearly a hundred small-caliber mortars were all hauled out, and wherever they passed, they drew the attention and cheers of the various troops.

The soldiers of the entire army were full of anticipation for the Shenji Battalion's cannon fire.

Especially those Divine Might Grand General cannon, each one incomparably heavy, each requiring ten, twelve, or fifteen stout oxen to pull it; the massive muzzles inspired awe in many. Looking at these cannon, firing ten-jin shot was mere routine; firing fifteen-jin or twenty-jin shot was also not uncommon.

Most of them were iron cannon, with a few being bronze cannon. Watching the straining manner of those stout oxen pulling the cannon, and the deep tracks crushed into the earth wherever they passed, one could imagine how incredibly difficult it was to transport cannon a thousand li to Liaodong.

In fact, to haul these cannons, the Divine Machine Battalion had worked quite a few oxen and horses to death along the way.

The several thousand Divine Machine Battalion soldiers were only the main combat troops. In truth, to supply the battalion’s baggage and materiel, from the capital onward, a great many civilian laborers had been conscripted with carts to follow as the army’s baggage train, receiving the treatment of baggage troops...

Under the gaze of the multitude, Fu Yingchong led the Divine Machine Battalion soldiers to merge into the central army. He thoroughly enjoyed this attention, nodding and smiling from time to time in all directions.

At the central army position, Loyal-and-Valiant Count Wang Dou, Mobile Corps Regional Commander of Reinforcement Zuo Guangxian, Viceroy of Ji-Liao Hong Chengchou, Army Supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, and Army Supervisor Wang Chengen had already arrived. Seemingly spurred by the command-flag chariots of Wang Dou and the others, Hong Chengchou had also had a great war-chariot built, upon which he mounted his grand command banner; the huge flag bearing the character “Hong” flew high.

In addition, they also had their own command chariots, for use in directing and protection.

Beyond this, the central army position was also filled with wagon camps. Within were war-carts of every type: single-wheeled, two-wheeled, and even side-box carts — war-carts from the era of Qi Jiguang, each weighing up to six hundred jin. On the war-carts, frankish breechloaders, rockets, “barbarian-destroying” cannons, hundred-shot guns, and other small cannons were beyond counting.

Every kind of mountain-assault equipment — assault wagons, pointed-tip rams, mantlet carts, and more — gathered in clouds. There were also tens of thousands of civilian laborers pulling small carts piled high with earth-baskets and sandbags for filling in trenches. Among them were many more carrying hoes and iron picks; they were the ones preparing to dig trenches.

The great army massed thicker and thicker, a sea of people spreading across the great earth. As the morning breeze blew, one could hear the hunting rustle of banners and flags.

At this sight, anyone’s breast would fill with heroic passion. Wang Chengen gazed at the great army, his face full of gratification, murmuring something to himself from time to time.

Zhang Ruoqi stroked his beard and smiled, nodding now and then. Hong Chengchou, surrounded by his staff officers and officials, merely looked ahead with a reserved expression. Beside him, the Provincial Governor of Liaodong, Qiu Minyang, spoke softly to him about something; Hong Chengchou remained impassive, occasionally stroking his beard and nodding slightly.

After the regional commanders of each garrison had led their troops to the assembly, they proceeded to Viceroy Hong Chengchou’s position to report in. At last, all the various combat forces had gathered. The unbroken ranks of the army were utterly silent and solemn. Even the civilian laborers digging and filling trenches, awed by the military presence, each remained silent and mute.

Now and then, a few horses’ neighs tore through the empty stillness of the wilderness.

Then Army Supervisor Zhang Ruoqi laughed heartily: “The imperial army is gathered like clouds; we are certain to win victory at the first stroke and take Huangtuling in a single assault.”

Hong Chengchou smiled faintly: “Supervisor Zhang speaks truly.”

At that moment, a staff officer said: “The auspicious hour has arrived.”

Hong Chengchou nodded: “Sound the horns!”

The central-army herald of his personal battalion shouted: “Sound the horns!”

Woooo-woooo, woooo-woooo!

The horns of the central army sounded in unison, and an atmosphere that set the blood surging rippled outward. The entire army looked toward the central army position, stirring slightly.

Hong Chengchou shouted again: “Beat the drums!”

Boom!

Within the central army, the great drum on a drum-cart was struck, and its deep, rich sound instantly spread across the fields in all directions, shaking men’s hearts.

Boom!

The drummer struck three more beats, and suddenly, from the vanguard to the central army, from the left wing to the right wing, the drums and music of the entire army answered in harmony, with horns, gongs, and flutes sounding together.

Hong Chengchou bellowed: “March!”

Spurring his horse, he rode out first. Behind him, the great army of tens of thousands, following the impassioned drum music, marched forward in dense, tramping steps.

The sea of men surged like a tide, and the very earth trembled beneath them.

They watched the grand spectacle of the great army blotting out the sky and sun, the magnificent sight of thousands upon thousands of troops advancing together.

Zhang Ruoqi could not help raising his head and reciting aloud to the heavens, giving vent to the surging heroic passion within him: “Cloud-dragons and wind-tigers all whirl back, Venus enters the moon — the foe can be crushed. The foe can be crushed, the barbarian chieftain’s head destroyed, treading through Hun guts and wading in Hun blood. Hang the Huns in the blue sky above, bury the Huns beside the purple frontier. With the Huns gone, the Han way shall flourish!”

“The Ming army is on the move — they really are going to attack Huangtuling!”

Atop the mountain fortress on Rufengshan, Huang Taiji and the various Qing officials were closely watching the Ming army’s movements. Through their spyglasses, the dense black mass of the Ming sea of men, rising and falling continuously along the mountain ridges and hills, was surging eastward toward Huangtuling.

Over the past few days, scouting riders had continuously reported back on the Ming army’s suspicious activity. From the mountain fortress, he had also seen the Ming army engaged in large-scale construction, building mountain-assault equipment, and guessed they were about to attack the mountains — he just did not know from which direction.

Huang Taiji had hoped the Ming army would attack Rufengshan, as that would make the battle easier to entangle. Unexpectedly, early that morning, he saw the Ming army massing east of Songshanbao. A bad premonition rose in his heart, and he guessed they were going to attack the Huangtuling position — and sure enough, his guess had come true...

Watching the sea of men moving below, Huang Taiji’s heart grew solemn. The Ming army’s momentum was immense. They had mobilized tens of thousands of troops this time. Could the defenders at Huangtuling hold?

First Squad, Ding Platoon, Yi Company, Rear Division, Right Battalion, Jingbian Army.

Looking before him, behind him, to his left, to his right, and even as far as the eye could see in the distance — everywhere was an immeasurable expanse of armor and banners. Some belonged to the Jingbian Army, but more were the troops of allied garrison armies.

Watching the countless surging heads, Squad Leader Zhao Rongcheng, mounted on his horse, sighed with regret. He glanced at Lai Dexiang and Luo Liangzuo from the neighboring squad, and saw the same look of regret on their faces. In this assault on Huangtuling, their own army was merely to observe the battle, boost morale, and serve as a reserve; they would not take part in the mountain assault.

This disappointed him. He wished their own Jingbian Army could quickly go up and attack, but that would mean the allied garrisons’ mountain assault had failed — something he did not wish to see.

For a moment, Squad Leader Zhao’s feelings were complicated.

Amid the impassioned marching drum music, Wang Dou also rode his horse forward. Beside him, Regional Commander of Datong Wang Pu kept sniffing — was there something wrong with his nose? Glancing to the other side, Assistant Regional Commander of the Divine Machine Battalion’s Forward Division Fu Yingchong wore a rather strange expression: sometimes ferocious, sometimes excited, sometimes laughing aloud, sometimes gnashing his teeth and cursing something.

Looking at these two, Wang Dou shook his head. Battlefield syndrome — these two were still not seasoned yet.

He then looked at Regional Commander of Xuanfu Yang Guozhu, not far beside him. Yang’s expression was calm, and he simply gazed ahead all the while. Perhaps, for this old general, fighting battles was just a routine matter?

Like Wang Dou, all the regional commanders were at the central army position at this time, following behind Viceroy of Ji-Liao Hong Chengchou. Once they reached the designated battlefield, they would lead their troops and shift one by one to their own positions.

The tide-like great army surged steadily toward the direction of Huangtuling. Wang Dou looked toward Songshan Ridge to the southeast. He had originally guessed that during the army’s march, the Qing troops of the Bordered Blue Banner and Plain Blue Banner over there might come from the flank to intercept them.

But they did not. They remained stationary the entire time. He wondered what scheme they were hatching.

At last, the vast and mighty Ming army reached the front of Huangtuling. It was clear that the Qing soldiers on the mountain were already arrayed in strict formation, awaiting them.

And here, they were no more than two li from the first defensive line of the Qing troops on Huangtuling. Amid the drawn-out sound of horns, the torrent-like grand formation of the Ming army came to a halt.

Hong Chengchou climbed onto his tall command chariot and gazed for a long while toward Huangtuling and Songshan Ridge. Then he looked at Wang Pu, his refined face utterly solemn, and instructed: “General Wang Pu, the left-flank protection of the mountain-assault army is entrusted to you. You must intercept any possible attack by the eastern slaves from this quarter!”

Wang Pu whispered in Wang Dou’s ear: “Watch me.”

Then he roared loudly: “Rest assured, Viceroy. Your subordinate, leading the sons of Datong, will not let a single Tartar soldier threaten the left flank of the mountain-assault army!”

He shook his great cloak, using the wind to make it billow high, then pulled his reins and galloped off with his personal guards.

Amid the thousands upon thousands of troops, his face was as somber as water. He raced all the way through the army formations back to his own main force. Then he drew the lance from his saddle, suddenly yanked the reins to make his mount rear with all four hooves in the air and neigh loudly, and roared: “Sons of Datong, follow me!”

Amid a tidal wave of answering shouts, the Datong garrison army rolled off toward the left.

Army Supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, gazing in the direction Wang Pu had departed, exclaimed in admiration: “General Wang is truly a hero!”

Hong Chengchou smiled and nodded. The assembled officers and officials all echoed the praise. Only Regional Commander of Jizhen Bai Guangen curled his lip. Regional Commander of Ningyuan Wu Sangui also smiled and muttered something under his breath. Reading his lips, Wang Dou thought he seemed to be saying: “All he knows is putting on a show.”

Afterward, Hong Chengchou looked at Regional Commander of Ningyuan Wu Sangui and Regional Commander of Jizhen Bai Guangen, and said gently: “You two generals, the right flank of the great army is entrusted to you. You must guard against a slave cavalry attack from Songshan Ridge. To the greatest extent possible, cover the civilian laborers as they dig trenches between Huangtuling and Songshan Ridge, to sever communication between the slaves at these two positions.”...

Wu Sangui said solemnly: “Rest assured, Viceroy Hong.”

Hong Chengchou, naturally at ease about Wu Sangui, nodded with satisfaction.

Bai Guangen, Regional Commander of Jizhen, said carelessly, "Isn't it just fighting the Tatars? Rest easy, Viceroy. With me, Old Bai, here, digging a trench is a trivial matter."

The two men led the great army, rushing southward, and following behind their troops was also a vast procession of civilian laborers.

As the several Regional Commanders departed, the Ming army in formation at this moment was considerably diminished.

Finally, Hong Chengchou said loudly to Fu Yingchong, Vice Regional Commander of the Divine Machine Battalion, "General Fu, your Divine Machine Battalion's cannon fire is fierce. Bomb them ruthlessly for me, and let the slave bandits have a good taste of our Great Ming's artillery might!"

He spun around abruptly, pointing toward the Qing army positions on the mountain ridge, his eyes opened to their widest.

Fu Yingchong thumped his chest until it boomed: "Viceroy Hong, just watch and see!"

He spurred his horse to the front of his Divine Machine Battalion soldiers and roared, "Brothers! Our ancestors, back in the day following the Exalted Emperor, our founder, seized the realm from the Tatars' hands. Back then it was Mongol Tatars, now it's Manchu Tatars. Tatars are all the same. Let us show the Tatars properly that we sons of the capital can also fight!"

He bellowed: "Great cannons rise — blast his mother!"

All the Divine Machine Battalion troops cheered, and watching this, Hong Chengchou nodded repeatedly.

Qiu Minyang, Provincial Governor of Liaodong, said softly to Hong Chengchou, "The Divine Machine Battalion's morale is usable."

Hong Chengchou said, "Scions of the ennobled houses have their own base spirit."

……

The Divine Machine Battalion's spotters, holding spyglasses — that is, telescopes — surveyed the Qing positions, then selected several sites for the artillery emplacements.

After Johann Adam Schall von Bell presented a telescope as tribute to the Chongzhen Emperor in the seventh year of Chongzhen, the government at the time organized efforts to copy it. The telescopes produced were naturally issued to the army, and the Divine Machine Battalion, needless to say, was certainly the first priority.

The spyglasses they held were exquisitely crafted, their exteriors of fine brass, gleaming and shining.

The Divine Machine Battalion's main artillery position was laid out on a raised hillock, directly facing the Qing army's Niangniang Temple tower platform.

The terrain there sloped gently and would be the main assault zone for the Ming troops attacking the hill.

Moreover, this spot was over a li away from there. Fu Yingchong was taking advantage of the fact that the small cannons on the Qing army's first defensive line could not reach him, and even the large cannons on the main ridge, over three li away... would also be hard-pressed to hit him.

Still, to guard against any contingency, safety measures still needed to be in place.

After inspecting the Changling Mountain defenses, Fu Yingchong, quite inspired, directed the civilian laborers to stack many hemp-cloth sandbags in front of and on both sides of the large cannons, along with things like earth-filled baskets, forming crenellated protective walls to defend against the ricochet of red-barbarian cannon shells.

At this moment, the great formation of the central and forward armies was not far from that spot. Hong Chengchou, Army Supervisor Zhang Ruoqi and others, along with Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, Li Fuming, and a large group of officers under each man's command, all gathered curiously on the hillock to watch the Divine Machine Battalion artillerymen's arrangements.

Seeing the hemp-sack crenellated protective wall Fu Yingchong had set up, Wang Dou sighed inwardly, "This is a classic case of learning and applying on the fly. Who says the ancients weren't clever?"

Zhao Xuan, the senior artillery general of the Jingbian Army, gazed at those massive red-barbarian cannons, his eyes full of longing and envy, wishing he could seize every one of these cannons and haul them back to his own camp.

However, he also saw that these cannons were excessively heavy. The bronze ones were passable, but those iron cannons were extremely heavy, which was why they all used four-wheeled gun carriages. Firing required digging some pits in the ground and driving stakes to secure them, which naturally made turning the cannons very difficult.

Elevation adjustment, though, was fine, likewise using a screw-type iron handle — though of course, the gunners would labor somewhat harder when cranking the handle.

The technology fanatic Zhao Xuan sank into deep thought. The eastern slaves already had four-wheeled millstone gun carriages that solved the cannon-traversing problem. What did those four-wheeled millstone gun carriages look like?

Amid his contemplation, those heavy cannons of the Divine Machine Battalion had already been hauled up the hillock and set in place. On this high ground, arrayed in a single line, were fifteen Shenwei Grand General cannons and thirty large-caliber mortars, with some additional cannons deployed at other positions. …

As for the rocket carts and such, which fired to three hundred paces or one li, now was not the time to launch them. The large rockets like the Divine-Fire Flying Crows also depended on wind direction; otherwise they could not shoot beyond two li. The small-caliber mortars likewise had a range of less than two li, so they were temporarily not deployed.

According to Fu Yingchong's arrangement, these cannons would fire in several salvos, ensuring the bombardment was continuous and unending. With centuries of heritage, the Divine Machine Battalion's tactics were still mature.

Each of these cannons had many crewmen — spotters, loaders, bore-swabbers, and so on, all in place. Those spotters wore magnificent armor and were clearly scions of ennobled houses, for in their speech and bearing, they all had a flavor similar to Fu Yingchong and Chen Jiugao.

After the red-barbarian cannon was transmitted to China, the Great Ming regarded the red-barbarian cannon's sighting and ranging techniques as a secret military art of the state, permitting only reliable scions of ennobled houses to become proficient in them. Thus, among the capital battalion's gun crews, many were sons of the nobility.

The gun emplacements were set up one by one, and the remaining Divine Machine Battalion soldiers formed ranks around the artillery positions to serve as guards. They held Ottoman muskets, with war wagons arrayed before them, imposing and majestic. There were also large herds of oxen and horses used to pull the cannons, gathered behind the hillock, standing about in idle boredom.

The sun slowly rose higher, its rays shining down. The Divine Machine Battalion's spotters, holding telescopes and also another type of instrument, nervously estimated the enemy's distance.

That instrument was the geometric square, which Ming people called the "square device" — a square brass plate, with sides Yi-Bing and Bing-Ding each divided into twelve equal segments. Then, from point Jia, lines were drawn to each division point, called degrees, and each degree could be further subdivided according to the size of the square.

Besides the many gradations, a plummet hung below the square device. Used in conjunction with the telescope, it could calculate the enemy's distance.

These spotters were perhaps a bit nervous, or perhaps their skills were a bit rusty, for they took quite a long while without calculating the distance to the Qing army's stockade wall.

Red-barbarian cannons, in fact, could not be loaded with ammunition in advance, because you did not know the target's distance. And different distances required different amounts of propellant powder, so it had to be loaded on the spot on the battlefield. This greatly tested the gunners' proficiency and qualification.

Seeing their manner, Zhao Xuan felt scorn in his heart. Such a simple thing, and they had to calculate for ages. Fortunately, this was not a two-sided battle, otherwise these gunners would have died countless times already.

Yet looking around at the others, even Hong Chengchou, the Viceroy of Jiliao, was waiting patiently, without the slightest expression of displeasure.

In the Great Ming, toward the gunners of the artillery battalions, both civil officials and military officers maintained enormous respect, considering them very mysterious — just as commoners of that time respected literati. Because it was not widespread, it was mysterious.

The Divine Machine Battalion's spotters debated for a while and finally settled it. The spotting officer shouted: "Slave-bandit stockade wall, distance seven hundred and twenty paces!"

At once, voices rose one after another: "Distance seven hundred and twenty paces!"

"Gun elevation five fen four du!"

The gunners then used the circular device, that is, the gunner's quadrant, to read the barrel's elevation angle on the arc.

Immediately, the calibrators frantically turned the screw-type iron handles behind each cannon, adjusting the barrels' elevation.

"Distance seven hundred and twenty paces, gun elevation five fen four du, powder charge four jin eight liang."

The Divine Machine Battalion gunners bellowed loudly, ordering the loaders, who held little status in the camp, to swiftly load powder and shot, making the assembled civil and military officials tense up as well.

Amid the shouting, each ammunition handler swiftly took propellant charge bags from the ammunition carts and placed them one by one into the cannon bores. They were all packaged in cotton cloth, with numbers marked on them indicating the charge weight, so they simply took them according to the number.

The loaders used thick ramrods to forcefully push the propellant charge bags into the bore. Then some fellows used sharp iron awls, thrusting them through the touchhole to pierce the charge bag inside. Others inserted fuses made of paper and powder into the touchhole.

If these fuses were pre-installed for too long, they would inevitably cake, and the fuse channel would grow rough and clogged. Yet if loose priming powder was poured on instead, and a strong wind arose, it was easily blown away — truly a dilemma.

Finally, each loader, hugging a heavy cannonball, strained to ram it into the bore of each cannon.

Every cannon was ready; the Divine Machine Battalion's artillery camp was ready.

Under the sunlight, every cannon of the Divine Machine Battalion gleamed, aimed at the Qing army positions on Huangtuling.

And behind them, the hill-assaulting army was arrayed across the hillock and the wilderness, heaven and earth utterly solemn! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to come to (e.) and cast recommendation votes, monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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