Chapter 478: Aide

The poison shells and lime shells of the Divine Machine Battalion roared and fired ceaselessly. Along the Qing army's first line of defense at Huangtuling, poison smoke and lime dust spread everywhere, causing wave after wave of panic among the defending Qing troops.

Inhaling the poison smoke made mouths and noses bleed, inflicting severe bodily harm and leaving many lingering aftereffects. Encountering a lime shell was even worse misfortune; caught off guard, one could even risk blindness in both eyes.

The Divine Machine Battalion's lime shells, in particular, contained various toxic substances. The smoke produced after their explosion, if carelessly inhaled into the lungs, caused damage no less than that of the poison smoke shells.

The Divine Machine Battalion also fired Heaven-Shaking Thunder, also known as Ten-Thousand-Man Foe — the Great Ming's version of grenades. Upon exploding, countless iron caltrops and stone shards flew out; anyone struck was invariably reduced to a bloody pulp. In this sweltering heat, with the contents containing toxins, even a tiny wound could cost a man his life.

Under the Divine Machine Battalion's ceaseless mortar fire, the Qing troops on Huangtuling's first line of defense had already been thrown into utter chaos. Men either shut their eyes and scurried wildly about, or wrapped their heads and faces tightly with strips of cloth; many left only a tiny slit exposed for their eyes.

Whenever a shell came flying, everyone shrieked in alarm and fled as far away as possible. Even the officers' shouts and curses were useless — especially since they themselves were running too. How could any defense be maintained like this?

What made it fatal was that the Ming army's red-barbarian cannons now began firing as well. Massive solid iron balls flew in continuously, slamming viciously against every part of the stockade walls.

Poison shells, lime shells, Heaven-Shaking Thunder, and solid cannonballs coordinated in linked salvos. For a time, the Qing troops on Huangtuling's first line of defense — especially the section at the Niangniang Temple tower — were in danger of total collapse!

Not to mention how Huang Taiji and his men on Mount Rufeng were burning with anxiety. Even Dorgon, Dodo, Kim Jajeom, Shi Tingzhu, and the others on Huangtuling's eastern ridge tower were watching with eyes splitting in fury.

Shi Tingzhu roared at Kong Youde: "Prince Gongshun, are you going to hold your cannon camp's fire and just watch idly while the Ming dogs' cannons flaunt their might?"

Like Shi Tingzhu, Liu Zhiyuan — the Han Bordered Red Banner's gūsa ejen — Zu Zerun — the Plain Blue Banner's gūsa ejen — and Wu Shoujin — the Bordered White Banner's gūsa ejen — were all extremely displeased with Kong Youde. They knew that whether to fire or not actually depended on Dorgon's will, but how would they dare shout and yell at Dorgon? All their pent-up fury was vented solely and overwhelmingly upon Kong Youde's head.

Though Kim Jajeom was anxious, he said nothing, merely watching coldly as Shi Tingzhu bellowed his questions at Kong Youde.

Kong Youde was likewise gnashing his teeth, loathing the Ming cannons bitterly, because on Huangtuling's first line of defense there were also gunners from his own Ujen Cooha camp.

But how could Kong Youde tolerate Shi Tingzhu shouting and yelling at him? He replied coldly: "Shi Tingzhu, Prince Rui already stated earlier that we are not to fire until the Ming army enters within three li. Have you forgotten?"

Seeing Kong Youde impervious to reason, deflecting everything onto Dorgon, Shi Tingzhu, though furious, could do nothing. He had no choice but to say to Dorgon: "Prince Rui, we should give the order to fire! Whether we hit or not, at least we can dampen the Ming dogs' arrogance. In warfare, it is better to act than to remain still. Watching them fire while we do nothing — how great is the damage to morale?"

Even Dodo felt it was time to fire and was about to offer his counsel, but he saw Dorgon cast a cold glance at the two men and say grimly: "The cannon camp will not fire — the time has not yet come! Pass the order: the Eight Banners Manchu Plain White Banner's banner commander is to go to the front line and supervise the battle. Anyone who dares disobey military orders and flee in panic — regardless of whether armored soldier or camp follower, regardless of Manchu, Mongol, or Han Eight Banners, or Korean troops — all are to be executed on the spot!"

He watched their changing expressions and gave a cold laugh: "Even if the Ming army breaks through the first line of defense, so what? We still have many more lines. Even if they take it, can they be certain to hold it?"

He turned to Kong Youde and said icily: "Prince Gongshun, the Ujen Cooha cannon camp will follow my command. When the Ming army begins its assault on the hill and enters within three li, then give the order to fire!"

……

Under the suppression of the Eight Banners Manchu Plain White Banner's bayara soldiers, the Qing troops on Huangtuling's first line of defense were somewhat calmed. Numerous camp followers and bondservants fetched damp cloths and covered the faces and mouths of the front-line armored soldiers. But this could only lessen the harm from the Ming army's poison shells and lime shells; it could not provide complete resistance.

Moreover, many who had previously inhaled the poison smoke, unless they immediately took antidote medicine, would be left with lifelong aftereffects — pain and illness accompanying them for the rest of their lives.

But only the Ming army possessed the antidote; how could they have any? Even within the Ming army, not every man could have the antidote. Perhaps only in the Jingbian Army were antidotes for the poison smoke shells somewhat more plentiful.

The effects of the poison shells and lime shells fired by the Divine Machine Battalion's mortars were evident. After successive waves of attack, combined with the earlier red-barbarian cannon solid shot, in the Niangniang Temple tower section alone, Qing troops — Manchu, Han, and Korean alike, armored soldiers and camp followers — suffered casualties reaching several hundred men.

Although, apart from those struck directly by red-barbarian cannonballs, few died on the spot from the poison and lime shell attacks, these wounded men would impose an enormous logistical burden on the main Qing force.

Furthermore, among the senior officers, the Manchu Bordered White Banner's niru ejen Ning'erjia was severely wounded, losing his left arm. One fende bošokū was struck by a lime shell and blinded in both eyes. One Han Plain White Banner niru ejen inhaled an excessive amount of poison smoke, convulsed all over, and died — his expression twisted in death, clearly having endured extreme agony.

Several deputy lieutenants and staff lieutenants of the Korean army also had hands or feet severed, or were struck by poison and lime shells, rendered utterly immobile.

Not counting the lightly wounded, the four thousand Qing troops defending the Niangniang Temple tower section nearly lost their combat effectiveness. It was only through Dorgon's emergency reinforcement of an additional five hundred men that they were shored up.

The miserable state of the defenders below the hill was witnessed by the Qing troops on some of the other ridges, and they could not help but tremble with fear and chill, growing deeply uneasy about the Ming army's artillery fire. For things to be like this just as battle commenced, one could imagine how much more brutal it would become in the days ahead. These poison shell attacks also filled them with dread.

"Lord, please forgive these sins, cleanse the wicked souls of these heathens, and guide them to the path of Heaven!"

Near the eastern ridge tower, a vast Qing artillery position had been established here. Dozens of pitch-black heavy cannons were aimed directly at the Ming army's great formation below the hill.

Here, thirty of the one hundred Shenwei Grand General Cannons within Qing territory were deployed — cannons that fired balls of ten jin and above. There were also ten Tianyou Zhuwei Grand General Cannons from the Tiancong era, positioned in the middle of Huangtuling. Those cannons weighed five thousand jin, but fired only eight-jin balls, and were used alongside some red-barbarian cannons that fired five-jin balls.

The man praying at this moment was a red-haired barbarian nearing forty, named Eduardo Filipe de Menezes Lopes. "Eduardo" meant "guardian of wealth." Because his name was too long, no matter whether he was among the Ming or the Qing, he was simply called "Aide" (Short Virtue).

Eduardo was Portuguese, but at that time, regardless of which Western nation one came from, all were uniformly called "Folangji" (Franks).

Eduardo had once been a lieutenant in Macau. Back then, he had followed Commander Gonçalo Teixeira, Assistant Regional Commander Lu Weilue, along with officers like Cordeiro and Rodrigues, and four hundred soldiers, serving as mercenaries for the Great Ming court.

After Kong Youde's rebellion, many died in battle. However, the Great Ming court treated them well: Commander Gonçalo Teixeira was posthumously promoted to Assistant Regional Commander, Assistant Regional Commander Lu Weilue was posthumously promoted to Mobile Corps Commander, musketry instructor Fulang Yalanda was posthumously promoted to Garrison Commander, and attendants such as Fangsigu and Ehonglue were each posthumously given the rank of Squad Commander. The rest also received rewards of silver taels.

Eduardo was captured and, along with several Portuguese soldiers, was taken by Kong Youde to what was then the Later Jin.

Eduardo had once been very afraid, terrified that those Tatars would eat him.

But to his surprise, the Tatar chieftain greatly valued him. After inquiring about his official rank, he appointed him a niru ejen, specially tasked with training gunners. Thereafter, Aide rose steadily through the ranks, and was now already a First-Class jalan ejen of the Qing state.

However, out of Huang Taiji's desire to present an image of "all barbarians from the four directions coming to court," Eduardo still wore his Portuguese military uniform.

This time, Aide had accompanied the army on campaign.

Watching the battle below the hill, Eduardo could not help but break out in a cold sweat. He muttered to himself, ceaselessly making the sign of the cross over his chest, continuing his devout prayer: "Lord, I wish to be your lamb. I beseech you, according to the righteousness in my heart and the purity in my hands, to accept me, reward me, and examine me. Guide me to take God's heart as my heart, and God's work as my concern. To seek your kingdom and your righteousness, and to make every prayer of ours pleasing to you, rising like incense before you. Amen!"

At last, Aide let out a breath, feeling much calmer inside. With a kindly expression, he looked at the Qing soldiers beside him — only deep within his eyes flickered a trace of disgust: "Hmph, these savage Tatars, wicked heathens!"

His ancestors were impoverished nobility; Aide had also read books and was a devout believer. After arriving in the Qing state, he had seized opportunities to try to convert a few followers, but after many years, he had not developed a single one. The few who showed reluctant interest ended up worshipping a dozen other gods at the same time, which infuriated Aide greatly.

In hindsight, Aide analyzed that it was because they could not abandon ancestor worship. To revere the Lord, one could not revere one's ancestors. In this land of the East, forgetting one's ancestors and betraying one's roots was an extremely grave offense — true for both barbarians and civilized men alike.

Originally, for the races of the East, worshipping gods was a casual matter; some people worshipped hundreds of gods in a lifetime. But to not honor one's ancestors alone — that was something no one could accept.

Moreover, at this time, both the Ming and Qing sides, though they appreciated the red-haired barbarians' technology, thought little of their civilization. This was also why, despite Aide's years of struggle, he had failed to develop a single believer in the Qing state.

Thus, in his disappointment and fury, Aide was filled with disgust for these Tatars around him — though he concealed it very well.

His gaze shifted toward the Ming army's side, and disgust likewise flashed in his eyes: "Hmph, those Ming people are no good either. All of them are heathens. Their souls should all be cleansed with holy fire!"

However…

He looked at the cannons beside him. These heavy cannons were all mounted on four-wheeled millstone-style carriages. This type of carriage was quite flexible in adjusting elevation, depression, and traverse, solving the difficulty of field deployment. Only that rigid axle needed frequent replacement.

A cautious look flickered in Aide's eyes: "Even the savage Tatars possess wisdom, unlike the wild men of Latin America. To conquer this land of the East — difficult!"

At this time, Spain and Portugal were considered a single state, a composite monarchy called the Spanish-Portuguese Empire. The Portuguese took equal pride in the immense achievements the Spanish had won in the world.

It was not that they had no designs on this land of China, but that they lacked the capability. The Portuguese had repeatedly provoked conflicts in Fujian and Guangdong, only to be defeated by the local garrison troops and naval forces. They had no choice but to adopt the common European approach of the time: toward nations of high civilization, maintain respect and amity; toward those of low civilization — one need only look at the fate of the blacks and the Indians to know.

But by the time of the Manchu Qing, when China had declined, the European armies and missionaries of that era all revealed their true colors, no longer showing the goodwill they had toward the Ming dynasty.

Of course, on the whole, the Ming people felt these Westerners were not bad. In truth, the Europeans had never changed; it was because the Ming themselves were strong that the Europeans treated them well.

At this moment, Aide certainly could not imagine how, centuries later, Europeans would be treated on this land historically. He only prayed inwardly: "Almighty Lord, I hope that one day, on this land of the East, there will be no more yellow-skinned monkeys, and no more heathens!"

In the European books of this era, during the Tang, Song, and Ming periods, the Han people of the East were depicted as white. Only Aide knew that they were, in fact, yellow-skinned.

……

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