[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army":3,"chapter-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-545":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Little Soldier of the Late Ming Border Army",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1205834,1561,"Chapter 545: Artillery Duel Across the River (End)","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-545",545,"\u003Cp>As a cannonball landed not far from the Divine Machine Battalion's artillery position, the thunderous roar of the Ujen Cooha Battalion's guns erupted after only a brief pause, and wave after wave of large iron balls seemed to blanket the sky as they smashed toward the Divine Machine Battalion's position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their thirty-plus Shenwei Grand General cannons first fired a single salvo in unison, after which they fired in successive rotations of about ten guns each, to ease the heat buildup in the barrels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavy solid iron shot bounced inside and outside the position; smoke, dust, and streaks of blood mingled together, and the screaming cannonballs made it impossible for the Divine Machine Battalion gunners to lift their heads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ferocity of the Qing camp's bombardment exceeded many people's expectations, and from time to time Divine Machine Battalion soldiers clapped their hands over their ears and shrieked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others collapsed into pools of blood, wailing in agony, with the shattered remains of limbs scattered beside them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how densely the earth carts and hemp sacks were arranged within the position, when shot struck the emplacement it would still roll and bounce to some degree, because space had to be left for men to move. And when a cannonball came flying and bouncing, it seemed slow, but that was only the angular velocity the naked eye perceived; in truth it was extremely fast, and by the time a man's body could react, it was already too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Yingchong scrambled up, covered in dust and grime — a moment ago a heavy iron ball weighing a good dozen jin had struck the left side of the circle, collapsing a large section of the protective wall made of thick hemp sacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shredded sack fragments blasted apart by the shot, along with great clods of churned-up earth, flew up and showered down on his head and chest; combined with the gunpowder smoke, this instantly transformed Fu Yingchong from a spruce Divine Machine Battalion Vice Regional Commander into a laborer from a black-sand kiln.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaken, he roared furiously for the position to return fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at that moment only a few guns in the position had been turned; the remaining gunners were still bustling about, and under the enemy's bombardment, everything was already in chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At such a long range, although it was very difficult for the Qing army's guns to score a direct hit on the Divine Machine Battalion's cannons, the shot flew wildly, and even though some incoming balls landed quite far from the earth-bag protective walls in front of each gun, they still terrified many gunners, who could not muster even a tenth of their usual skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The agonized cries of unlucky soldiers inside the position who had been struck down by shot added an even heavier psychological burden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And to be frank, the Divine Machine Battalion gunners were far inferior to the Han Eight Banners' Ujen Cooha gunners in loading speed, accuracy of fire, and range estimation and surveying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this stage, the greater role of the artillery was still to strike at the enemy's morale, to keep applying psychological pressure, or to inflict casualties on their gunners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ujen Cooha artillery position, with only thirty Shenwei Grand General cannons, had already reduced the Divine Machine Battalion to a state where they could only take hits without being able to hit back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was worse, the Qing army's follow-up guns were being hauled up continuously; the number of their Shenwei Grand General cannons was slowly increasing, from thirty to forty, to fifty... to seventy...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their salvos, fired rotation after rotation, grew from ten-plus guns to thirty-plus guns; firing in rotation shortened their cooling intervals, making the bombardment seem almost continuous, and cannonballs fell like raindrops to the front, rear, left, right, and dead center of the Divine Machine Battalion's position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some guns also fired at the rocket position and the Folangji cannon position beside the main battery; these positions were helpless against the enemy's artillery, and as panic spread, their morale sank lower and lower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Kong Youde's follow-up guns were brought forward, they also began bombarding the Jingbian Army's artillery position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeming to consider the Divine Machine Battalion's position no longer a concern, Kong Youde left twenty Shenwei Grand Generals on that side and ordered the remaining seventy Grand General heavy cannons to turn toward the Jingbian Army's position, venting all his pent-up fury in that direction along with the cannon fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the position was very close to the Jingbian Army's side, many of their guns did not even need to be moved as a whole; only some strong soldiers had to push hard on the wooden poles of the millstone-style gun carriages, and amid creaking and groaning sounds, the guns were quickly turned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although such firing might easily damage certain internal components, there was no denying the flexibility it provided on the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thunderous roar of over a hundred Shenwei Grand General cannons on both sides startled the armies on both banks of the Nüer River, and it seemed as if the eyes of the entire battlefield were gazing in that direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the once-rampant Jingbian Army artillery position now so thoroughly suppressed that they could not lift their heads, Kong Youde was satisfied and roared with laughter: \"Well struck!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice was drowned out by the deafening cannon fire; the screaming shot and rolling clouds of thick smoke swallowed Kong Youde's figure, while beside him the Ujen Cooha gunners frantically swabbed the barrels after firing and reloaded the charges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They likewise had a full complement of observers, loaders, and barrel swabbers, and they too used cloth-bag powder charges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their observers also had spyglasses — though few — as well as complete sets of square and circular instruments, and many of them moved with practiced skill. After all, back in the day, Sun Yuanhua had spent an incalculable amount of time and energy on this artillery unit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These Han army gunners knew that this was the capital on which they would build their fortunes, and every one of them performed with the utmost zeal — especially the Portuguese gunners, who fired both fast and accurately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Setting aside the disparity in the number of guns, the Divine Machine Battalion gunners were simply no match for them in terms of training alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the Jingbian Army's artillery position, because its guns lacked the range, could only watch helplessly as they were bombarded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The steam from swabbing the barrels hissed and sizzled; amid Kong Youde's loud laughter, another rotation of twenty-plus guns, with a thunderous crash, spewed blazing flames forward in sequence, and rolling white smoke once again swiftly blanketed the Ujen Cooha artillery position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bombardment of nearly a hundred Shenwei Grand General cannons, each firing shot of ten jin or more, produced a truly terrifying spectacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cannonballs fell like rain, and the shuddering impact of the heavy solid iron shot seemed enough to split a man's heart and lungs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom! Boom! Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Again the deafening roar from the opposite bank rang out; great billows of white smoke erupted from the position over there. Zhao Xuan and some of the artillery battalion officers hurriedly pressed their bodies tightly behind the bamboo baskets, while shouting for the other artillery battalion soldiers to take cover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Zhao Xuan's main artillery position had twenty-three red-barbarian six-pounder cannons, twenty-five red-barbarian three-pounder cannons, and twenty-five Grand General Folangji cannons; the battalion's remaining guns were deployed in the small battery to the left of the small pontoon bridge, while the medium and small Folangji guns were supporting the fighting at Yangxing Ridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of these guns, only the red-barbarian six-pounders could reach a little over two li; all the rest could only fire a little over one li, so they could only watch helplessly as the other side fired at will, utterly powerless to retaliate, which left Zhao Xuan seething with frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His artillery position was spread out along certain raised slopes by the riverbank, forming a long line. In general, the Grand General Folangji cannons were placed at the very front, the red-barbarian three-pounders in the middle, and the red-barbarian six-pounders at the very rear, on the highest points of some high ground, creating an artillery position of considerable length and depth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the left and right of these guns, multiple bamboo baskets taller than barrels and filled with earth were used as cover. This was something Zhao Xuan had discovered: tall bamboo baskets filled with earth could withstand the impact of red-barbarian cannon shot better than hemp sacks filled with earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, if a bamboo basket was hit, the flying and slashing bamboo splinters could also cause considerable casualties, so the outside of these baskets was also piled with a layer of earth bags as a buffer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, it would have been best to use rattan baskets filled with earth, but at this time there was no rattan in the north — even Qi Jiguang's long-sword and rattan-shield troops back then had to use lightweight wood as a substitute for rattan shields — so they had to make do with bamboo baskets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the probability was small, to prevent cannonballs from directly hitting the guns, or some shot from bouncing over and causing damage to the guns and gunners, a few hemp sacks were also piled in front of each gun, not reaching the height of the muzzle, so as to protect against cannon fire without obstructing the gun's own fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Xuan was sheltering behind a bamboo basket beside a six-pounder cannon; he heard the sharp screaming of cannonballs as heavy shot after heavy shot landed in the position, constantly hurtling and bouncing sideways. They brought an intense sense of menace; no matter how brave a man was, if he was struck or grazed by a cannonball, the result was instant death or injury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Xuan covered his ears and kept his mouth open; when the cannonballs hit the ground, they seemed to bring a tremendous concussive force, especially when they landed close by, making his ears ring and buzz, and it felt as if his internal organs were about to rupture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From time to time a bamboo basket was hit, or was struck and jolted by a ricocheting shot; flying mud sprayed and showered down onto the helmets of the gunners sheltering behind, quickly covering them in dust and grime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some Qing cannonballs struck the river water in front of the artillery position, sending up great columns of water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others hit the open ground in front of the position, sending large amounts of broken stone flying. Now and then a shot would land in the area behind the bamboo baskets, bounce up with force, and happen to slam into the row of earth carts behind, making each cart shudder violently as dust cascaded down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or a solid iron ball would sail directly over the earth carts and hurtle further toward the rear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qing artillery fire came wave after wave; the ground seemed to tremble constantly, the booming crash of cannonballs landing was unceasing, and numerous solid iron balls bounced and rolled in the zone between the earth carts and bamboo baskets, even shooting into the area of the artillery battalion's supply troops behind the slope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the gunners were tightly sheltered behind the earth baskets or the earth carts and hemp sacks, the sheer number of iron balls bouncing and rolling wildly still inflicted casualties on them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A young supply soldier of the artillery battalion clutched his calf tightly without making a sound, but his forehead was covered with large beads of sweat rolling down, and his body trembled from time to time; his right leg was a stark white gleam of bone, severed cleanly at the knee, with only a few strands of bloody flesh still attached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The accident had come very suddenly; probably that Tatar cannonball had struck a raised mound of earth not far ahead, then bounced and rolled back, carrying away his lower right leg.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat on the ground, the blood flowing from his wound staining the earth beneath him red. His face still bore a boyish look; as an artillery apprentice, he had been full of hope for his future when he joined the army, but this sudden, crippling injury meant that the rest of his life would be spent in disability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the pool of blood, the supply soldier's eyes were full of pain — physical, but even more psychological. Everything he had dreamed of was over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the Grand General would take care of his livelihood from now on, this was not what he had hoped for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such accidents were not rare in the artillery position; sometimes luck really was crucial in war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the Qing army's guns were not aiming at any single Jingbian Army cannon, but at the entire artillery position as a target. The shot they fired fell like raindrops into the position, and even if it was a case of a blind cat bumping into a dead rat, it still inflicted casualties on the Jingbian Army gunners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this was when the gunners had not yet gone into action and were all huddled tightly against the bamboo baskets and earth carts for cover; if they had been in action, firing back and forth at each other, with gunners moving to and fro, such casualties would have been far greater. Hemp sacks and earth baskets could only mitigate soldier casualties, not prevent them entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A solid iron ball sailed over an earth basket and slammed heavily into the ground not far behind Zhao Xuan, giving him a start. He ground his teeth in fury — it was too infuriating. This state of being able only to take hits without hitting back, of being completely on the back foot, was something he had never experienced since joining the Jingbian Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And looking across the river, the Tartar artillery position seemed to fire without pause. They divided their cannons into several rotating salvos. Even though each cannon needed a quarter-hour to cool after three or five shots, with multiple rotations, by the time a cannon’s turn came again, the earlier pieces had long since cooled and could resume firing, creating an unbroken wave of artillery fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The disciplined training of these Tartar gunners was also surprising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said bitterly, “I, Zhao Xuan, have roamed the Great Ming for many years… ah, roamed the Great Ming for many years following the Grand General, and have never been so humiliated. Damned second-rate Tartars, just standing still far away. If they have the guts to come forward, this master will certainly give them a show!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The staff officers and advisors of the battalion headquarters were now dispersed behind various earth-filled baskets, sheltering from the artillery fire. Amid the gunpowder smoke, Battalion Commander Yang of the artillery camp, he of the large copper-bell eyes, huddled close to a bamboo basket not far away. He sat on the ground and grunted an “Mm” at these words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Xuan was displeased. “Old Yang, haven’t you eaten? You sound so feeble.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes lit up. “Good, the second-rate Tartar infantry formation is advancing. They’re going to cross the bridge. Hmph, since their artillery is concentrated on this side, we’ll pull those falconets up, right near the pontoon bridge, and give those second-rate Tartars a taste of something fierce!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Battalion Commander Yang said, “Right, we must give those second… second-rate Tartars a taste of something fierce…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice was halting and broken. This Battalion Commander Yang had always had a booming voice, but Zhao Xuan was rather careless and did not notice Battalion Commander Yang’s abnormal state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the roar of cannons and the beat of drums, the Han Eight Banners army began to cross the river. At the same time, from Yang Xingling’s side came heaven-shaking battle cries, and the booming thunder of red-barbarian cannons rolled in without cease. (To be continued.)\u003C\u002Fp>",2657,"2026-06-03T14:05:53.320Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","801484e464618f581677bdcbb66ad5fb43ca4408b799abad4b7b4b30ca277801","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-546","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-544",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]