Chapter 488: Shocking News

Watching Ma Ke's state, Tang Tong felt a surge of relief — thank goodness it hadn't been him assaulting the two Manzi artillery positions, or else…

Just thinking back to that scene made Tang Tong shudder with lingering fear. The Qing army's firearms and cannons were simply too ferocious; even cavalry, with all their speed and valor, couldn't charge through.

Truth be told, if they'd forced the charge, they might have broken in — but which Great Ming Regional Commander would willingly make such a losing deal and throw away his own capital?

Ma Ke's regular-soldier camp must have suffered one, maybe two thousand casualties this time? All elite cavalry retainers — a grievous blow to his core strength. Yet the cavalry from his own garrison had all returned safely; truly, he owed thanks to every god, Buddha, man, and horse in the universe.

Watching Ma Ke wail in heartbroken anguish, Tang Tong kept consoling him, straining to keep the gloating in his voice from being detected.

At the same time, his heart was tangled and lost. How was it that the Manzi cannons and matchlocks had suddenly become so formidable? It caught a man completely off guard!

Could it be that, after suffering so bitterly under Wang Dou's firearms and cannons, they had now turned around and were using firearms and cannons to strike at Great Ming?

Would battlefields from now on see both sides simply trading fire with matchlocks and cannons?

Ah, this war was truly getting harder and harder to fight. The Manzi were already fearsome in elite cavalry, and now with sharp firearms and cannons — how was anyone supposed to fight them going forward?

Tang Tong knew full well that in his own ranks, and in those of many Great Ming generals and Regional Commanders, aside from the retainers who could fight, the rest were the sort who bolted at the first sign of trouble.

Both he and Ma Ke were known as "fast runners," and when the superior loves something, the subordinates are sure to outdo him — their troops were naturally and deeply influenced by their commanders. The moment a battle turned even slightly tough and casualties mounted, the result was a rout in all directions. Run fast, and the whole army survives. Fail to run fast, and the whole army is annihilated.

But what future was there in that? Especially with the Manzi growing ever fiercer — trying to run fast was likely to get harder. Could it be that he, too, would have to train a new-model army?

In the past, Tang Tong had looked down on Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen for drilling new troops in Yutian and Zunhua; now, thinking back, he felt some regret.

Back then, he'd only cared about grabbing the court's troop pay and training funds, frantically recruiting men — accepting anyone who came, good or bad, no questions asked. His troop numbers swelled, but he had few who could fight a hard battle, and not a single decent matchlock unit.

Look at Wang Dou's Jingbian Army, and then look at the Qing troops across the way. Ah, the regret. But now, even if he wanted to train a new army, the circumstances were different. Back then, the whole nation was drilling troops — it was legitimate and aboveboard, with full support from all sides. Now? The difficulty had grown immense…

Still, he'd wait and see how Yang Guozhu and Wang Pu fared in their fight before deciding.

No one would have imagined that, in a single instant, so many thoughts had raced through Tang Tong's mind.

Yet even as he consoled Ma Ke, his heart was deeply troubled. The situation before them was grim.

Over nine thousand cavalry from Miyun Garrison and Shanhai Garrison had charged out with overwhelming momentum, only to return utterly dejected, and with heavy losses besides. The blow to their own army's morale and fighting spirit was immeasurably heavy. Looking around at his subordinates, from senior officers down to common soldiers, every face was etched with panic.

Though the Qing cavalry had not seized the moment to strike — a great mercy amid misfortune — the Qing artillery positions still stood. If they opened fire again and the iron cavalry charged, their own forces would likely collapse in a total rout.

"What to do, what to do?"

Tang Tong's mind churned. Should they retreat to camp? But how would he explain that to Viceroy Hong and the army supervisors? Would they be severely punished? He thought, "If the other garrisons fight poorly, I still have a chance. But if the other garrisons fight well, then men like me are finished!"

He considered sending men to scout the Huangtuling area and elsewhere. But this place was quite far from Huangtuling and the other positions — by the time the scouting report came back, the Qing army would already have opened fire again. Too late!

Just as Tang Tong was burning with anxiety and torn between choices, dust billowed behind the hills, and several riders galloped up — they were messengers from Hong Chengchou's central army formation.

Seeing the two Regional Commanders and the miserable, wind-swept state of their two garrisons, the messengers were all startled. Then they heard Shanhaiguan Regional Commander Ma Ke tearfully recount how his army had been bombarded by nearly a hundred of the slaves' red-barbarian cannons, and how his subordinates had suffered heavy casualties. The messengers were even more shocked.

The lead messenger exclaimed in alarm, "The bandit slaves came from the west, attacked your battle formation, and even deployed a hundred red-barbarian heavy cannons?"

He gazed into the distance, then looked at the scene before him — it seemed Ma Ke's words were true. He sighed and said, "Grand Commander Yang and Grand Commander Li led troops to assault Huangtuling. Their wagon-fort battle formation, under bombardment from the slaves' red-barbarian cannons, likewise suffered heavy casualties. The Loyal and Brave Count devised a clever stratagem: placing hemp sacks and earth-filled baskets in front of the wagons and troops to defend against cannonballs."

"Yang Guozhu's and the other units suffered heavy casualties?"

A surge of joy rose in Tang Tong's heart — he nearly leapt up on the spot, then forcibly restrained himself and stayed still.

Ma Ke was also stunned. The pain in his heart suddenly eased considerably, and his tears vanished in an instant.

The messenger continued, "When this humble officer set out, by Viceroy Hong's order, I had already informed Army Preparations Official Zhang Dou at Songshanbao. He was to lead civilian laborers, select suitable long wagons, place hemp sacks and earth-filled baskets atop them, and urgently transport them here. It was precisely out of fear that the bandit slaves would imitate the Huangtuling tactic and use cannons to bombard you two generals. I never imagined we would still be a step too late."

As he spoke, he sighed without end.

Although Hong Chengchou's central army formation maintained contact with the various flanking forces via scout riders and messengers, Ma Ke's and Tang Tong's two divisions were far to the west of Songshanbao, so each other's situations could not be learned in just a short while.

The messenger said, "Viceroy Hong strictly orders: you two generals must hold the west side of Songshanbao at all costs. Do not permit a single soldier or trooper of the bandit slaves to cross to the east side of Songshanbao. Otherwise, military law will be enforced!"

"Right behind this humble officer, Army Preparations Official Zhang is already on his way with a large number of civilian laborers, transporting many earth-wagons. I expect that with these earth-wagons, there will be no further need to fear the bandit slaves' red-barbarian cannons!"

Only at this moment did Ma Ke and Tang Tong take note of what the messenger had said — the earth-wagons that could defend against red-barbarian cannons.

Both men were filled with bitter regret. Hadn't they personally toured Wang Dou's Changling Mountain defense line?

At the time, that defense line had been piled high with large quantities of hemp sacks and the like, said to be for guarding against the Manzi cannons. How had they themselves not thought of it? Had they known earlier, why would they have tried to seize the cannons? They wouldn't have suffered such heavy damage to their forces.

The more Ma Ke thought, the angrier he grew. Suddenly he roared, "Wang Dou had this brilliant stratagem — why didn't he say so earlier? Was he deliberately holding back?"

The messengers were displeased. In Hong Chengchou's army, they had always been the objects of flattery from every official and general. For Ma Ke to bellow at them — what was the meaning of this?

The lead messenger was especially angered. He thought to himself, "This Ma Ke loses troops and officers, fails in his defensive duties — when I return to the central army, I will certainly lodge a complaint against him with Viceroy Hong and Supervisor Wang."

Tang Tong thought Ma Ke had lost his head in rage. How could he shout at the messengers like that? As the saying goes, the King of Hell is easy to meet, but his little demons are hard to deal with — offending them was no good thing.

He hurriedly smoothed things over. The lead messenger gave a cold snort, cupped his hands toward the two Regional Commanders, and said, "Viceroy Hong's order — this humble officer has delivered it. Farewell!"

With that, the several messengers mounted their horses and, amid billowing dust, rode off without a backward glance.

Ma Ke, his face grim, watched the direction the messengers had departed. It seemed that faintly, far behind the hills, beside their own main camp, a large number of wagons were being pushed forward — apparently, those were the earth-wagons that could defend against red-barbarian cannons.

Ma Ke's expression grew darker still. These earth-wagons — they hadn't come earlier, they hadn't come later, but had arrived only after he had lost troops and officers.

He turned his head back, gave a sinister, cold laugh, and said to Tang Tong, "General Tang, tell me — was Wang Dou doing this on purpose?"

Unexpectedly, Tang Tong did not pick up his words. His gaze was deep, as if staring into the distant cosmos. Only after a long while did he say, "Marshal Ma has a point, but still… that Wang Dou is no Zhuge Kongming, capable of matchless foresight. He thought of piling hemp sacks and earth-filled baskets on the stockade to defend against cannons — as for piling earth on wagons to defend against cannons, none of us thought of it either, right?"

Ma Ke was furious. That Tang Tong — just moments ago he had been utterly deferential, but the moment he saw Ma Ke's troops had taken losses, his tune changed instantly.

In that moment, he came to hate both Wang Dou and Tang Tong equally.

…

From the mountain city on Breast Peak, Hong Taiji and his entourage watched the battle west of Songshanbao with perfect clarity. Combined with the fighting on Huangtuling, the power of the Qing army's firearms and cannons was displayed in all its devastating glory.

The Qing sovereign and his ministers in the mountain city were all laughter and cheerful talk. Hong Taiji felt joy in his heart: "Cannons — truly the god of war!"

A faint trace of regret lingered in his heart. A pity that in these several engagements, Wang Dou's Jingbian Army had not been the ones fighting — otherwise, under their own heavy cannon bombardment, they too would surely have suffered grievous casualties.

He resolved that, no matter how many difficulties lay ahead, he must expand the scale of the firearms and cannon units.

But soon after, the Ming army deployed earth-wagons, and the Qing army's rampaging cannons instantly lost most of their power.

Even more, right on the heels of that, Yang Guozhu's army broke into the first defense line at Huangtuling. Hong Taiji was enraged and issued an edict to Dorgon and the others at Huangtuling: they must hold the subsequent positions at all costs and watch for an opportunity to retake the first defense line.

Just as Hong Taiji was seething with fury, a piece of tremendously good news reached his ears.

The Great Qing iron cavalry had already routed the Ming Regional Commander Bai Guang'en's division. The battle was proceeding with unexpected smoothness.

And then, thinking again of the utterly battered Ming Regional Commanders Ma Ke's and Tang Tong's divisions under his own side's firearms and cannon fire, Hong Taiji suddenly fell into deep thought.

It seemed the Ming army was not as formidable as he had imagined — only a few units could truly fight. And those troops that had been worthless before now appeared even more worthless and feeble under the combined or separate strikes of his own firearms and iron cavalry.

A cold gleam shot from his eyes. Once he had fully grasped the Ming army's overall fighting strength and the relative power of each division, this entire Songshan-Jinzhou region would still be a place for his Great Qing warriors to gallop at will.

……

Amidst the battle cries, masses of saber-and-shield men surged out from behind the war wagons, clambered through the gaps in the stockade walls at every point, and attacked into the main wall of the Qing forces.

"The Ming army has broken in?"

On the main ridge, Dorgon and the others clenched their fists. A defense line they had regarded as an iron fortress — had it really been breached by Yang Guozhu's troops in a frontal assault?

"Our great army has broken in?"

A smile spread across Yang Guozhu's face. Standing on his command wagon, he watched through his spyglass as his troops poured ceaselessly into the stockade walls. Everywhere was the sound of slaughter and battle cries.

"Marshal Yang's great army has stormed the ridge?"

In the central army's main formation, Hong Chengchou, Zhang Ruoqi, and the others raised their spyglasses to observe the battle situation at Huangtu Ridge, all of them overjoyed.

As the news spread, a wave of cheers swept through the central army's main formation.

Wang Dou was equally elated. He laughed heartily. "Marshal Yang's tiger might!"

At this moment, according to reports from the scouting riders, it seemed that Ming forces on every flank were engaging the enemy.

Among them, Wang Pu's division, positioned closest to the central army's main formation, guarded the northwest flank of the Ming troops assaulting the ridge.

That area was not far from Rufeng Mountain, with undulating terrain full of hills and ridges. Wang Pu formed a wagon camp, defending with war wagons and new army troops. They firmly held off the attacks of a Qing cavalry force, and from time to time led their own cavalry in counter-sorties, achieving considerable results.

The division of Shanxi Regional Commander Li Fuming attacked the left flank of Huangtu Ridge. At first, like Yang Guozhu's division, they suffered considerable losses under the bombardment of the Qing red-barbarian cannons. But after deploying earth wagons, they braved the cannon fire and quickly closed in on the foot of the ridge.

The ridge at that section was relatively steep and treacherous. Li Fuming's army had only been allotted four hundred Eastern Road bird guns and some powerful gunpowder. Although the Qing troops guarding the stockade wall at that section were fewer in number, the assault was still quite arduous.

However, since Yang Guozhu's division on the right flank had already broken in, it was expected that Li Fuming's division on the left would also break in soon.

A few li southeast of the central army's main formation were the armies of Ningyuan Regional Commander Wu Sangui and Ji Garrison Regional Commander Bai Guang'en. The two garrisons together numbered over thirty thousand troops. Although reports had come of a large Qing cavalry force advancing toward them, both garrisons possessed large numbers of war wagons and cannons, and the two generals were seasoned in battle — it was expected they could hold.

The latest news from Ma Ke and Tang Tong's divisions west of Songshanbao was that some slave cavalry seemed to be advancing on them from the west.

Even if the two could not gain the upper hand in open field battle, holding their fortified positions was expected to be no problem.

Wang Dou thought to himself, "Apart from the earlier bombardment by the Qing red-barbarian cannons, this battle has been going smoothly overall!"

But not long after, a shocking piece of news arrived that left the central army speechless and every officer and official staring in stunned disbelief.

Ji Garrison Regional Commander Bai Guang'en's wagon camp had been overrun by the Qing cavalry in a single engagement!

After that, bad news came one after another, too fast for anyone to take in or react to.

In an extremely short time, several of Bai Guang'en's wagon camps collapsed along the entire line, and his central force was surrounded.