Chapter 514

On the ninth day of the eighth month in the fourteenth year of the Chongzhen reign, at Jinzhou, during the si hour (full text of "I Am Reborn"). Free e-book download

Jinzhou City lies on the north bank of the Xiaoling River. In the twenty-fourth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming, Guard Commander Cao Feng renovated the old county seat of the Yuan Yongle period; at that time its circumference was five li, with an earthen interior and brick exterior (full text of "Living as a Third Wheel at My Sister's Place").

In the twelfth year of the Chenghua reign, Regional Military Commissioner Wang Kai expanded the city walls, making the circumference over six li, and built four platforms at the four corners of the walls. In the seventeenth year of the Hongzhi reign, Assistant Regional Commander Hu Zhong of Jinzhou City again expanded the city fortifications. After the expansion, the city was as round as a plate, hence Jinzhou City was also called Plate City.

At that time, Jinzhou had a circumference of seven li and over five hundred paces, with a moat, and the city walls were nearly ten meters high. Outside the southern wall, there was also a short section of wall. On all four sides of the city, two-story double-eaved gate towers were built. At the same time, on the east, west, and north sides of Jinzhou, small auxiliary walled suburbs were established.

After the completion of Jinzhou City in the Hongzhi years, its general layout remained unchanged until the final years of the Chongzhen reign (the city site lies in the later Guta District). However, due to the great Ming-Qing war, Jinzhou was on the front line and repeatedly experienced the flames of battle; the city walls were destroyed and repaired again and again, already filled with the smoke-scarred traces of war.

Now Jinzhou City once again faced the flames of war. Looking out beyond the city to the east, west, and north, countless Qing troops were arrayed in formation. Cannons boomed, and numerous howling cannonballs continuously struck the city walls. Heavy iron balls shot forth, and from time to time the rumbling crash of city bricks shattering and collapsing could be heard.

Under the fierce bombardment of the Qing army, on the city walls and the three auxiliary walled suburbs, those Jinzhou defenders wrapped in folded headscarves and wearing short-body armor all dodged in terror. Some even shouted and yelled, panicking into chaos.

The Ming artillerymen on the city walls also desperately fired back with their cannons. However, although Jinzhou City had many firearms, it had only seven Hongyi cannons and fewer than twenty Folangji general cannons. Facing the Qing army's long-range heavy cannons, their spirit was willing but their strength was weak.

The Qing army's cannon fire came wave after wave without pause, seemingly never-ending. Under such fierce fire, there was no foothold left atop the walls, and those defenders had to descend the walls and take shelter in the troop-hiding caves beneath.

No one knew how long it had been before the Qing army's cannons slowly ceased. Before the defenders on the walls could breathe a sigh of relief, the sound of horns immediately followed. From the great Qing formations on several sides, war cries surged skyward and earthward, and dense rows of shielded carts were pushed out.

They were arrayed layer upon layer. Behind each layer of shielded carts was sandwiched a layer of archers. Some of these shielded carts even resembled the Ming army's earth carts, used to defend against Ming firearms (latest chapter of "Center Forward"). Behind the multiple layers of shielded carts and archers came another great wave of small carts, loaded with earth and hemp baskets, used to fill in trenches. At the very rear were dense formations of cavalry.

Seeing the Qing troops so densely packed, seemingly boundless, their banners like an ocean shimmering under the sunlight, the Jinzhou defenders on the walls all gasped in cold shock, many faces drained of color.

"Have the Tartars gone mad?"

In the southwest corner of Jinzhou City stood Guangji Temple and the thousand-year-old Liao Pagoda. This pagoda, thirteen stories high and situated atop a hill, could be considered the commanding height at the center of Jinzhou. Standing on the pagoda, one could take in all movements around at a glance. During the battles over the years, the defending generals within the city had all occupied the pagoda and used it as their command post.

At this moment, on one of the stories of the ancient pagoda, stood a group of Great Ming officers in helmets and armor. At their head was a great general over sixty years of age: none other than the Junior Tutor to the Heir Apparent of the Great Ming, Left Viceroy, and Regional Commander of Jinzhou, Zu Dashou, the core figure among the Guanning Army generals.

The Zu clan, with every branch holding office, was the preeminent great family of Liaoxi. Zu Dashou's elder and younger brothers Zu Dale, Zu Dacheng, and Zu Dabi, and his sons and nephews Zu Zeyuan, Zu Zepei, Zu Zesheng, Zu Zefa, Zu Zerun, Zu Kefa, and others, all held military ranks from Regional Commander down to Vice Regional Commander, Assistant Regional Commander, and Mobile Corps Commander.

They were stationed separately in the cities of Ningyuan, Dalinghe, and Jinzhou. In this region of Liaoxi, their power and influence were immense, unmatched by anyone. Even the rising Wu family—Wu Xiang and his son Wu Sangui, who possessed several thousand retainers—could only rely on the favor of the Zu clan.

However, after the Battle of Dalinghe, Zu Dashou's sons Zu Zerun, Zu Zepu, and Zu Zehong, his adopted son Zu Kefa, and his trusted generals Zhang Cunren, Li Yun, Han Daxun, Wu Sanfeng, Pei Guozhen, and others surrendered to the Qing. Zu Dashou's power was already greatly diminished from before, especially since Wu Sanfeng was Wu Sangui's elder brother, and Pei Guozhen was his uncle by marriage.

Still, a starved camel is bigger than a horse. In this territory of Liaoxi, Zu Dashou's word was still law, his power and influence vast.

The one speaking was his younger brother Zu Dabi. A man of towering physique with bristling hair and beard, he held a giant wolf-tooth club. Though past fifty, he was still exceptionally fierce in battle, shouting and roaring; he had once dueled the Qing army alone on horseback and earned the nickname "Zu the Second Madman."

Now he was defending Jinzhou together with his elder brother. Watching the Qing troops swarm forward, he could not help but stare dumbfounded and exclaim: "Since yesterday, they've been attacking wave after wave with ferocity. This is... do they really mean to take Jinzhou City?"

Although Jinzhou had been besieged for several months and the Qing army had assaulted the city dozens of times, using every means—bombarding with cannons, blasting with gunpowder, digging tunnels, swarming the walls like ants—it was often evident that their resolve was not firm. As long as the defenders fought to the death and they gained no advantage, they would withdraw (Xu Ziling Brings Beauties to the Three Kingdoms).

But since the day before yesterday, the Qing troops outside the city seemed to have adopted the mindset of not resting until they took the city and achieved their goal. Not only had their attacks become much more resolute and fierce, but they had also brought in many reinforcements.

Previously, only the Tartar Manchu Bordered Red Banner and Plain Red Banner troops had besieged the city; now the troops of the remaining banners had appeared one after another. The cannons outside the city grew ever more numerous, and even Huang Taiji's great yellow dragon umbrella had appeared several times. This made the defenders inside the city sense that the situation was dire.

"These slave-bandits are using the tactic of besieging a point to strike the reinforcements, to compel the relief army to come quickly."

Zu Dashou spoke in a low voice. His tone was deep and resonant, firm and forceful, carrying an air that brooked no contradiction.

This was a habit cultivated from many years standing at the pinnacle of power. After all, in this region of Liaodong, there were too few who could contend with or question him. Even Hong Chengchou, the Viceroy of Jiliao, had always been courteous and polite when meeting him in the past.

With his hand on his sword, he stood steady, seeming not to mind the great strength of the Qing troops.

He continuously issued orders—where defenses should be strengthened, where reinforcements should be sent—directing operations with calm assurance. Jinzhou had auxiliary walled suburbs on its east, north, and west sides, which played a great role in protecting the inner city of Jinzhou. Many times the Qing army attacked, they could only climb onto the outer walls but could not reach the inner city.

Especially on the west and south sides, which for the most part were close to the river and had the ancient pagoda hill, making it even harder for the Qing troops to attack. He hoped they could once again withstand this wave.

Zu Dashou's sharp eyes gazed out from time to time toward all sides of the city. Besides the boundless sea of Qing troops assaulting the city, he could faintly make out the great encampments they had set up around the city, concentrated mostly on the east, north, and west sides.

The south side of Jinzhou City was not far from the Xiaoling River, making it inconvenient to pitch camp or array formations. Therefore, in that direction, there were only some roving cavalry galloping about (full text of "Otherworld Blade Master"). However, crossing the Xiaoling River, not far on the south bank, there were also some camps, but relatively few. That was also a gap deliberately left open by the Qing army to facilitate the approach of Ming reinforcements.

In truth, standing inside the tall pagoda was not safe. The Qing army knew this pagoda was the command center of the defending generals, and many cannons were aimed directly at the pagoda and bombarded it fiercely. Not long before, a Qing cannonball had blown off the top of the great pagoda. His subordinate generals urged Zu Dashou to leave the ancient pagoda, but Zu Dashou refused them all.

He sighed: "Each generation produces its own talents. Wang Dou is no simple man; he has driven the slave-bandits to desperation."

Zu Dabi was taken aback, then said urgently: "What desperation? Elder Brother, right now we are the desperate ones! Never mind whether Wang Dou is simple or not—at this rate of Tartar assault, who can say how much longer Jinzhou City can hold out? If the relief troops don't come soon, we are finished."

Zu Dashou swept a glance at his younger brother, and Zu Dabi immediately fell silent. Though he was fierce in battle, he had feared this elder brother since childhood. Under the weight of accumulated authority, a single glance from Zu Dashou was enough to shut Zu Dabi's mouth.

Zu Dashou shook his head inwardly. This brother of his was brave indeed, but he fell short in overall strategy. He said: "We already know the news from Huangtuling. The Loyal and Brave Count won a great victory, taking nearly two thousand heads, and even blasted that whelp Ajige to death with cannon fire."

"Moreover, they did not follow Huang Taiji's plan, did not fall into their trap. So the Qing army can only start with Jinzhou to press the relief troops to advance. And the fastest route to Jinzhou is to come from the west of Songshanbao. If they come from that direction, they cannot avoid facing the Qing troops on Rufengshan, lest they be flanked or have their rear cut off... But Rufengshan is not easy to attack. To take that mountain, who knows how many will have to die."

Zu Dabi said angrily: "Rufengshan is indeed hard to attack, but with the Tartars assaulting like this, how much longer can our Jinzhou hold out? If the relief troops don't come soon, the city will fall."

Zu Dashou remained silent for a long time, and finally sighed: "Yes, with such fierce attacks, the city cannot hold out much longer."

Jinzhou had been besieged for many months, and the defenders inside the city were already utterly exhausted. Although there were sufficient provisions within the city, firewood was in short supply, so even cooking meals had become a problem, further affecting morale.

He asked: "Have messengers delivered the battle situation of Jinzhou to Viceroy Hong's place at Songshanbao?"

A personal general replied: "Very smoothly. There were not many Tartar troops intercepting along the way. The day before yesterday, they split into multiple groups and left the city under cover of night, and that very night they reached Viceroy Hong's traveling headquarters (txt download of "Million Puppet Soldiers")."

Zu Dashou said: "That was intentional on the Tartars' part."

He asked again: "What did Viceroy Hong say?"

The personal general answered: "The various Regional Commanders are locked in dispute, and Viceroy Hong also finds it hard to decide. No one knows when the relief troops will set out for Jinzhou."

He gritted his teeth, then suddenly said with hatred: "Master Wu was planning to come to the rescue immediately, but he was stopped by that Wang Dou. Now, of the several Regional Commanders at Songshan—Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Fu Yingchong, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, and even the Army Supervisor Zhang Ruoqi—all stand on his side. Master Wu's forces are weak, and he dares not come alone. Liu Zhaoji and Zuo Guangxian waver, and men like Tang Tong and Ma Ke are even more afraid of death... What is Wang Dou trying to do? Can it be that just because he has achieved some trifling merit, he can sit by and watch Jinzhou fall into peril without a care?"

"Exactly, exactly."

As soon as this personal general spoke, the various officers on the pagoda immediately began chattering, all with words of considerable resentment toward Wang Dou.

Earlier, when Wang Dou was at Songshan and forcefully opposed Wu Sangui's immediate rescue, setting the strategy of attacking Huangtuling, the Jinzhou officers had not said anything.

After all, using war wagons to press the Qing army and refraining from rash battle—this was the strategy that Zu Dashou and Hong Chengchou had originally set. They could see, of course, that the Qing forces were powerful; if they acted rashly, the result could be total collapse. At the time, even Zu Dashou felt that Wu Sangui had been somewhat reckless and impulsive.

When the news of the great victory at Huangtuling was brought to Jinzhou by mounted scouts, the soldiers and civilians inside the city had cheered and celebrated, full of praise for Wang Dou. The names of the Jingbian Army and the Loyal and Brave Count stirred the entire Plate City.

But then the Qing army suddenly launched fierce attacks on Jinzhou again, and this time their resolve was firm. The Jinzhou defenders could hardly hold on. Once they received the news that Wang Dou had blocked the relief, everyone immediately came to deeply hate Wang Dou. (To be continued...)