Chapter 534: Mobilizing Troops, Mobilizing Cannons

At the hour of the Dragon, the Ming army poured out of camp and assembled — from Songshan Fort to Huangtuling, and on to the banks of the Xiaoling River, it was a sea of iron helmets and armor.

Judging by the situation, the Ming army would soon launch an attack; Huang Taiji and the others on Rufeng Mountain City watched with even more intense concentration.

Ying'erdai, the Minister of Revenue, suddenly furrowed his brow and muttered to himself, "Something is not right."

At this moment, the Ming army's disposition below the mountain was such that the forces of Wu Sangui, Ma Ke, Tang Tong, and others were arrayed below Mount Shimen, on the west bank of the Xiaoling River.

The forces of Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Zuo Guangxian, and others were arrayed on the west side of Huangtuling.

Wang Dou's Jingbian Army, which the Qing people paid special attention to, seemed, vaguely, to be concentrated on the flat plain between the south side of Huangtuling and Songshan Ridge.

Also, the artillery of the Ming Shenji Battalion was being hauled out of camp by numerous oxen and horses, likewise arrayed on the west side of Huangtuling. By all reason, if they intended to reach the eastern part of Jinzhou City from Mount Shimen and the river valley, their troops should be arrayed on the east side of Huangtuling — why had they made a detour?

This does not conform to the usual principles of military strategy; neither Hong Chengchou nor Wang Dou are absurd men ignorant of warfare.

Beside Huang Taiji, Daišan, Dorgon, and Jirgalang all felt stirrings in their hearts as they watched the Ming army below and fell into deep thought.

Only Hooge, hearing Ying'erdai mutter to himself, stared wide-eyed: "What is wrong? In my view, the Ming army's movements are perfectly normal."

Huang Taiji also furrowed his brow in thought, raised his telescope, and again peered down the mountain, especially surveying the main army of Hong Chengchou and the location of the Jingbian Army. However, looking down from the mountain city, the bulk of Wang Dou's forces was blocked by Huangtuling, and it seemed Hong Chengchou's main army was likewise positioned not far from the Jingbian Army, making their movements difficult to see.

Why was the Ming army's disposition so strange?

The Qing sovereign and his ministers on the mountain city all vaguely shared a conjecture, but this conjecture was too terrifying. None were willing to speak it aloud.

Just then, the Ming army's horns suddenly sounded, and as their fast riders galloped in all directions, the blaring echoed everywhere through the various Regional Commander army formations.

"The Ming army is moving!"

The Qing sovereign and his ministers on Rufeng Mountain City stirred in commotion, all staring wide-eyed, watching their movements.

They saw that as the horns blared, the Ming army's tide-like masses of men and horses began to slowly surge forward.

The armies of Wu Sangui, Ma Ke, Tang Tong, and others — their main force and rear guard arrayed in formation — surged from Mount Shimen and the river valley toward the Xiaoling River north of Mount Shimen, which was within the expectations of Huang Taiji and the others, but...

The army of Yang Guozhu and the others — why were they heading toward Songshan Fort?

It seemed quite a few troops were heading that way; counting their banners, there were the Ming army's Regional Commanders Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, as well as Li Fuming, Zuo Guangxian, and others. Only the Jingbian Army and the Ming Shenji Battalion had not yet moved.

Yet even these troops were already more substantial than those of Wu Sangui and the others pressing toward the north of Mount Shimen, and their fighting strength was even more outstanding.

Moreover, as their army formations advanced, cavalry were all in front, infantry behind.

What did they intend? Could they be planning to besiege Rufeng Mountain to cover the attack of Wu Sangui and the others?

Or even to cross the Nüer River?

Woooo-woooo!

Suddenly, among the Ming army units on the west side of Huangtuling, the deep, muffled sound of horns rang out once more.

Rumble-rumble!

Following these horn calls, they saw that on the flat plain west of Huangtuling, the cavalry within each Ming army formation accelerated one after another, racing swiftly toward the direction of Songshan Fort.

"Their cavalry is racing toward the west — what is the Ming army doing?"

"The cavalry of Xuanfu, the cavalry of Datong, the cavalry of Shanxi... all have gone, and Wang Dou's cavalry has also raced off!"

"Artillery, the Jingbian Army's artillery is also following behind — their speed is so fast!"

The Ming army's actions caught the Qing sovereign and his ministers off guard, and a wave of panic swept over the mountain city.

Although from the mountain city one could only get a rough view of the flat plain in that direction, the Ming army's numbers were so vast that their movements could still be seen clearly.

In particular, Wang Dou's Jingbian Army, with their distinctively bright armor and banners, were especially easy to identify.

Under the astonished gazes of Huang Taiji and the others on Rufeng Mountain City, the cavalry of Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Li Fuming, Zuo Guangxian, and others merged into a rolling torrent that shook the very earth. Judging by their objective, it was neither Songshan Fort nor Rufeng Mountain — then it could only be...

Huang Taiji's face turned ashen, and his gaze became extremely sharp: "So, the Ming army's target is the Nüer River — that direction holds their main force!"

The iron cavalry surged, and the earth trembled beneath them.

Following behind the iron cavalry were swathes of Ming infantry formations marching west — a vast army like a sea, surging toward the west.

On the south bank of the Nüer River, Shuangzi Mountain.

Shuangzi Mountain was less than three li from the Nüer River to the north, and less than two li to the northeast lay the Rufeng mountain range, which stretched over twenty li from east to west.

Shuangzi Mountain's two rising peaks were neither tall nor large, yet its terrain was critically important. Between Shuangzi Mountain and Rufeng Mountain lay the post road linking Xingshan, Songshan, and other places to Jinzhou. In later ages, multiple highways would likewise pass below the mountain; this was also a famous fruit tree farm, renowned as Asia's largest orchard.

Rufeng Mountain had always served as a natural barrier protecting Jinzhou City and was also a commanding height for attacking Jinzhou, with a series of beacon towers. Though Shuangzi Mountain lacked the geographic importance of Rufeng Mountain, two beacon towers had likewise been built on its two peaks, standing guard and watching over each other, protecting the road advancing to Jinzhou.

At this moment, occupying Shuangzi Mountain was Weng'adai, Third-class Meiren-i-janggin of the Manchu Plain Blue Banner, leading some soldiers of the Plain Blue Banner in garrison.

He was originally the son of Dajuhū, and had inherited the rank of Jalani-janggin through his father's merit. However, he lacked his father's ability — his father could casually take four thousand or five thousand heads in a single campaign — and it was only years earlier during the campaign against the Hūrha that he had gained half a step of advancement, enough to be promoted to Censorate Deputy and Plain Blue Banner Meiren-i-janggin.

Though Weng'adai lacked his father's ability, his pride was high; he was single-mindedly determined to earn merit in this great battle for Jinzhou, and even more, he yearned to gain the military merit of slaying Jingbian Army soldiers.

It must be known that in the Qing army now, slaying a Squad Commander or even a Squad Commander of the Jingbian Army could earn half a step of advancement.

The Qing state ranked titles by military merit, from First-class Duke down to Bei Yu — how many steps of advancement were there in total? Ordinary men found it very difficult to gain even half a step. In former days, even if Qing generals slew a Ming Assistant Regional Commander or Mobile Corps Commander, it was hard to be granted advancement. The military merit for slaying Jingbian Army troops was so generous — no wonder every man in the Qing state was stirred.

Weng'adai was likewise stirred; he wanted to prove to the world that he was not merely relying on his father's legacy — he had his own ability.

But at this moment, the proud and arrogant Third-class Meiren-i-janggin Weng'adai stood dumbstruck, staring at the wilderness to the south. From that direction came a sound like muffled thunder and a torrent; straining his eyes to look, he saw on the horizon of heaven and earth a vast black line appear.

Then this black line became a red tide — like a surging torrent of iron rolling toward his position.

This was...

Ming cavalry?

Rumble-rumble!

The torrent rolled on; Weng'adai, standing atop the beacon tower on the summit, felt as if the entire tower body was violently trembling under the galloping of iron hooves.

The atmosphere froze. Not only Weng'adai, but even the Qing soldiers garrisoned on Shuangzi Mountain could not believe it — was the Ming army not supposed to be attacking the Xiaoling River near Mount Shimen? How had they come to this side?

Weng'adai's heart pounded. This sudden Ming iron cavalry was like heavenly troops descending; many armored soldiers beside him were stunned dumb by that imposing momentum.

How many tens of thousands were the Ming cavalry charging toward them? The sea of banners stretched endlessly from front to back, and among them were great swathes of Jingbian Army cavalry — their Sun-Moon-Wave banners blood-red, blood-red. And the riders on horseback displayed a fierce and valiant aura far surpassing that of other Ming cavalry units.

Very quickly, the tide-like Ming cavalry surged to the flat wilderness east and south of Shuangzi Mountain.

They divided into three columns; the cavalry of Shanxi Regional Commander Li Fuming raced to a halt two li in front of Shuangzi Mountain, primarily to guard against the Qing troops on Rufeng Mountain.

The Qin cavalry under Mobile Corps Commander for Reinforcement and Suppression Zuo Guangxian moved against the Qing garrison on the Maojiagou ridge, over ten li southwest of Shuangzi Mountain.

The cavalry under Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, and Wang Pu crossed directly southwest of Shuangzi Mountain and formed ranks not far from the Nüer River bank.

Behind them, large numbers of Jingbian Army cannons hauled by mules and horses rushed forward, preparing to snipe at Qing troops crossing the river to reinforce.

As with the Xiaoling River, the Qing troops moving between the two banks had also erected multiple pontoon bridges across the Nüer River.

The two most important pontoon bridges were the one on the post road between Shuangzi Mountain and Rufeng Mountain, crossing the Nüer River to reach southern Jinzhou; and another at a bend in the Nüer River several li northwest of Shuangzi Mountain, where the river narrowed and the Qing had laid a massive pontoon bridge.

The first step of the Ming army’s Nüer River strategy was to clear the nails on the southern bank — Shuangzi Mountain and the Maojiagou ridge — but before that, they needed to block the enemy crossing the river to reinforce.

Weng Adai looked at the three sides of his mountain ridge: not far away on every side were layer upon layer of Ming cavalry; only the eastern side toward Rufeng Mountain showed no sign of enemy troops. Though he knew this was the Ming tactic of surrounding three sides and leaving one open, a powerful impulse still surged in his heart to abandon Shuangzi Mountain and flee to Rufeng Mountain.

Right now it was only Ming cavalry encircling them; soon their infantry grand formations would arrive. If he did not leave now, he would lose troops under his command.

But this was only what Weng Adai thought in his heart. Military discipline was strict at the moment; withdrawing without orders was a hundred percent certain to result in execution on the spot.

He looked anxiously toward Rufeng Mountain. It seemed that because the Ming army had come too fast, the other side had not yet reacted; they had received no orders from above and did not know how to respond. The Rufeng Mountain garrison nearest to him — Fei Yangwu, the Plain Blue Banner’s Bayara Jalan Janggin — had only sent out a few scout riders, watching those Ming cavalry from a distance.

Gazing further toward Maojiagou, dense masses of Ming cavalry were already charging toward several points east, south, and north of the ridge, leaving only the west unencircled. That was where the Manchu Plain Blue Banner’s Meiren Janggin Duojili was stationed; it seemed he could barely protect himself and was in no position to come to his rescue.

Still, Weng Adai was not worried about Duojili’s life. The old fox was the slipperiest of them all; he had simply had bad luck. In the fourth year of Chongde, some of his subordinates had mutinied, stealing a large number of fine horses and fleeing. As a result, Duojili was stripped of his hereditary rank, his family property confiscated, leaving him only the bow, arrows, armor, and three horses on his person, yet he still held the post of Meiren Janggin.

That old fox was as cunning as a fox; seeing the situation turn bad, he would surely flee into the mountains to the west, then cross the Nüer River and escape to Baimiao Fort.

Weng Adai gritted his teeth. If things became impossible, he would flee to Rufeng Mountain himself; presumably the Emperor would show leniency.

It was obvious that Great Qing had fallen into a trap this time. Right now the main Eight Banners forces were all concentrated beneath Jinzhou’s walls; redeploying them would take time, while the Ming infantry formations would soon arrive. The result of holding fast here was only a dead end.

Having made up his mind, he actually felt relieved — but then he was startled again. He saw on the northern bank of the Nüer River, in the direction of Jinzhou, billowing dust: Qing troops from the grand camp on the southern bank of the Xiaoling River were charging to reinforce. From the dust clouds, he could not tell how many cavalry were in the vanguard.

Faintly, from the direction of Jinchang Fort, dust seemed to be rising as well.

Looking again at the Jingbian Army artillery in the open fields below the mountain, they had already set up cannons at some riverbank sections. And from the direction of Songshan Fort to the south, the vague forms of a sea of troops were emerging — the Ming infantry grand formations were rushing over at full speed.

Terror gripped Weng Adai’s heart: “This is bad now. If the main army tries to cross the river to reinforce, many will die. And once reinforcements arrive, I won’t be able to withdraw either.”

……

The Ming army’s westward advance had come too fast, too suddenly.

Watching their rolling iron cavalry sweep past Songshan Fort, splitting into several columns and heading straight for the Nüer River, with Jingbian Army cannons following rapidly behind —

Huang Taiji’s face turned ashen. He shouted: “We absolutely must not let the Ming army cross the Nüer River! Pass on Our command: all Eight Banners forces besieging Jinzhou, except the original Bordered Red Banner and Plain Red Banner units, are to reinforce in full! The Han Army Ujen Choo artillery camp is to leave twenty Divine Might Great General cannons to deal with Wu Sangui, Ma Ke, and the other foes; all remaining cannons, large and small, are to be redeployed to the northern bank of the Nüer River.”