[{"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-556":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},1205845,1561,"Chapter 556: Volley Fire by Ranks (Part 1)","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-556",556,"\u003Cp>Cheers echoed across the distant sky. Countless Ming troops and horses surged from the encampment, crossing their own former trenches, then crossing the trenches of the former Qing encampment, and reached the open wilderness ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They formed battle arrays by garrison unit. The left wing was the Jingbian Army and the Xuanfu Garrison new army; the right wing was the bulk of the cavalry from the various garrisons and battalions; the center was the Viceroy's Personal Battalion and the infantry of the various garrisons. They deployed a great formation stretching over ten li from east to west and several li wide from north to south.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great formation stretched on and on, from east to west seeming to stretch beyond sight, its dense red flags snapping and rustling in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the central army position, Wang Dou gazed ahead. He rode a tall blood-red steed, surrounded entirely by the various commanders of this northern-bank main-force battle: Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Fu Yingchong, Li Fuming, Zuo Guangxian, and others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind each great commander, in turn, stood the dense ranks of their garrison officers, at least of Mobile Corps Commander rank and above, every one helmeted and armored, exuding the aura of armored warhorses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vast formation slowly advanced forward. Horn calls, low and deep, drifted from the distant Qing camp from time to time, faintly audible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ji-Liao Viceroy Hong Chengchou rode stirrup to stirrup with Wang Dou. He too was fully armored, an armored surcoat over all, riding a spirited white horse and wearing a cloak, his refined manner now touched with a hint of martial authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Army Supervisor Zhang Ruoqi still wore his official robes. He sat his horse with a stern expression, a look of utter determination on his face, though his faintly trembling hands betrayed the tension within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Imperial Envoy Wang Dehua also accompanied the army into battle this time. Originally, he could have returned to the capital yesterday to report on his mission, but he suddenly felt: would a great and surging battle like this lack something if he himself did not take part?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, he calculated in his mind: a battle of this magnitude, one that concerned the fate of the realm — if he took part, not to mention the conversational capital for the future, even on his record it would add a weighty stroke. An Imperial Envoy personally joining the fray would boost army morale and fighting spirit beyond compare, and needless to say, it would lodge him firmly in His Majesty's heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having thought it through, Wang Dehua disregarded the dissuasions of Hong Chengchou and the others, and at the very least settled for the next best thing — rejecting the request that he and Wang Chengen hold Songshan Fort — and instead procured a suit of armor, which he draped over his corpulent frame, then, with the assistance of his attendant eunuchs, laboriously climbed onto a horse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To increase his protection, he had chosen bright helmet and bright armor: a cloud-wing helmet plus bright-shine armor, quite heavy, and he seemed unaccustomed to wearing helmet and armor, for once mounted he kept twisting and shifting nonstop…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the decisive clash of great armies, the magnificent atmosphere before battle, infected him. From the moment Eunuch Wang mounted his horse, heroic sentiment filled his chest. Gazing at the boundless troops and horses around him, the banners and pennants unfurled, he declared with deep feeling: \"I raise my head and roar toward heaven, my mighty heart ablaze… eight thousand li of cloud and moon — do not idle away, lest a young man's hair turn white…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Pu loudly cheered: \"Fine verse! A mighty heart ablaze, fervent and impassioned — a pity there is no wine at hand, or I would drink three hundred cups in one go.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Yingchong also offered his critique: \"Where emotion carries one, to roar thus into the sky — what utter release, what heroic abandon…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eunuchs great and small around him likewise poured out praise like a tide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dehua looked somewhat embarrassed: \"That was composed by Yue Wumu…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Wang Dou, Hong Chengchou, and the Regional Commanders of the various garrisons, Wang Dehua here was purely a burden. Not only could he not fight, his status as Imperial Envoy required troops to be diverted to protect him. Still, Wang Dehua's courage was commendable, and his presence in the army as Imperial Envoy visibly boosted morale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou gave a faint smile and said to Wang Dehua: \"With you here, Eunuch, the royal army will surely raise its banners to victory and crush the slave rebels in one stroke!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dehua gave a hearty laugh, his plump and genial face showing a trace of sincerity: \"This servant knows his own limits. Planning strategy, charging into battle to kill the foe — in these I am of no use. But this servant at least possesses a measure of heart and gall. To beat the drums and cheer the army on, to shout at the top of my lungs — that, this servant can still do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ruoqi also let out a great laugh and said: \"This Army Supervisor and Eunuch Wang may be said to have hearts that beat as one. Let us together raise the army's mighty spirit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great army advanced slowly forward. On the horizon, a black line likewise surged in this direction. The Qing army opposite was also forming ranks and pressing near. Their infantry and cavalry layered upon one another, like ocean waves and billows, spread across the distant wilderness plain ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The armies of both Ming and Qing moved forward. Seen from above, each great host blotted out the sky and veiled the sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this decisive battle on the northern bank of the Nüer River, the Ming had ninety thousand troops, the Qing one hundred thousand. Who would fall, who would win?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thousand armies, ten thousand horses advanced together. The two sides drew closer and closer, from over ten li apart to, at last, four or five li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the sun suddenly leaped forth, and heaven and earth were instantly filled with ten thousand rays of rose-gold light. A line rose in Wang Dou's heart: \"Upon this vast and boundless earth, who shall master its rise and fall?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He focused his gaze and looked ahead. The great Qing formation ahead spread before his eyes in an arc. Their dense infantry and cavalry stretched from in front of Jinchang Fort all the way to the banks of the Xiaoling River. He could see that a very large portion of their cavalry was positioned directly opposite the Ming right wing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the Ming side, deployed there were the Jingbian Army cavalry, Yang Guozhu's main-battalion cavalry, Wang Pu's main-battalion cavalry, plus the main-battalion cavalry of Li Fuming and Zuo Guangxian — roughly fifteen thousand elite riders. Compared to the Qing cavalry they were somewhat fewer, but all were Ming elite troops, and moreover…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shenji Battalion's several hundred rocket carts, several dozen Shenwei Grand General cannons, several dozen large-caliber mortars, nearly a hundred small-caliber mortars, and a great quantity of Divine-Fire Flying-Crow large rockets — all were deployed on this side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the combat experience at Huangtuling, if the Qing army sought to break through here and then envelop the central army, they would certainly suffer grievously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, given the terrain at this moment — the Xiaoling River on the right, the Nüer River to the rear — there were few places available for the Qing cavalry to maneuver around. The Qing cavalry had no choice but to attack head-on, face to face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they sought to break through the central infantry great formation, that likewise would be no easy matter. On this side, the Shenji Battalion's several hundred Folangji cannon-war-chariots, plus the Folangji cannons of the various garrisons and battalions, together numbered nearly a thousand pieces — firepower could be called extremely fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drawing lessons from the past Ming practice of arranging artillery in a single line, Wang Dou and Hong Chengchou had carefully planned and deployed, arranging these Folangji cannons formation by formation, layer upon layer. Even if the Qing army broke through one formation, they would still face the firepower of the next — likewise more than they could handle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In this battle, the left wing attacks; the center and right wing defend!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the keynote set by Wang Dou and Hong Chengchou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the distance came the howls of the Qing troops, finally merging into a thunderous, orderly roar. Through their spyglasses, Wang Dou and Hong Chengchou saw that on a distant ridge, near Songjiagou, a great yellow-dragon canopy seemed to have been raised. Countless Qing troops were cheering toward their emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Chengchou gave a cold snort and shouted: \"Answer with the banners!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Viceroy's great banner was raised high. At once, throughout the Ming ranks, countless flags waved, and forest-like spears and halberds rose erect. Cries of \"Ten thousand victories!\" and \"Might and power!\" erupted like the heavens splitting and the earth crumbling. The soldiers and officers in every formation shouted with all the strength in their bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sounds of cheering and roaring rose and fell in turn across the Ming and Qing positions, wave after wave without pause, as if to pierce the clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the great battle upon them, the warriors of both Ming and Qing fought desperately to raise their own spirits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great battle was about to erupt at any moment. Scouts reported back that the two Yellow Banners at Baimiao Fort were also forming ranks, but it appeared their objective was not the Ming left wing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pre-battle strategy was already set; the moment had come. The left wing should launch its attack. Hong Chengchou drew a deep breath and looked solemnly at Wang Dou: \"This battle concerns the fate of the realm. The northern bank is the crux, and the left wing is the weightiest of all. Everything is entrusted to you, Loyal and Courageous Count. Please take the utmost care!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bowed deeply in salute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Take care!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Zhang Ruoqi on down, even the Imperial Envoy Wang Dehua bowed deeply to Wang Dou, their eyes full of earnest hope and entreaty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Guoqin, be careful in all things!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Guozhu also gave Wang Dou a grave exhortation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Be careful!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Pu and Fu Yingchong also spoke with sincerity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou looked at each of them in turn — Hong Chengchou, Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Fu Yingchong, Zuo Guangxian…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gave a hearty laugh, his heart brimming with heroic spirit: \"Gentlemen, await my good tidings of victory!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flicked his horsewhip, snapping it crisply in the air, and shouted: \"Hyah!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hoofbeats rumbled as he galloped away. At his side, his adjutant Zhong Diaoyang and the soldiers of his Guard Battalion followed without the slightest hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Chengchou shouted: \"Drums and music sound together — send off the Loyal and Courageous Count in grandeur!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The central army's drums and music blared forth in full splendor, their sound halting the drifting clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Wang Dou's departing figure, Hong Chengchou could not help but raise his head: \"I earnestly beseech Heaven above — protect our Great Ming.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sprawling army formation stretched on; to ride from the center to the left wing took a long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great earth before him was vast and hazy, like a painted scroll. The rivers and mountains were so enchanting — how many heroes and bold spirits had slaughtered one another for them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last, Wang Dou galloped back to the great formation of the Jingbian Army. His ten thousand and more officers and men were arrayed in strict readiness, and the Xuanfu Garrison new army was also drawn up to the right of the Jingbian Army. A cold wind blew; the fiery-red Sun-Moon-Wave banners and the red banners of the Xuanzhen new army all snapped and danced in the cold wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was late autumn now, the chill quite sharp, yet the air was high and crisp, the sky bright and clear — a fine season for slaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Wang Dou return, officers from the army — Zhong Xiancai, Han Chao, Zhao Xuan, Wen Daxing, and others — came forward to meet him, along with the three battalion officers of the Xuanzhen new army: one Assistant Regional Commander and two Mobile Corps Commanders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surrounded by the crowd, Wang Dou arrived at the front of the main army position. This spot was about four li from the Han Eight Banners’ battle line. A hundred-odd paces ahead, the relatively flat plain gradually disappeared, giving way to wheat-field ridges, sparse woods and hilly ground, the terrain rough and uneven. Moreover, this kind of terrain stretched nearly ten li to the left and left rear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In such terrain, the earth carts would find it difficult to screen the advance…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, with enough manpower, the earth carts could be forced forward, but they would inevitably lag and surge, now fast, now slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The marching infantry could not stop and wait; if they could not advance together, with the carts shielding the front of the column, then those earth carts would lose their purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This terrain was disadvantageous to the Jingbian Army, yet it also had its advantages — namely, there was no fear of the Qing cavalry from Baimiao Fort sweeping around the left flank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Galloping across such ground, ninety-nine times out of a hundred a horse would stumble and fall, negating the point of using cavalry. If they attacked with infantry, facing the Jingbian Army’s muskets and cannon, it would be target practice, because they could not even push their shield carts in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou raised his telescope and saw that on the hills from Yijia Ridge toward Songjiagou, the Qing army had already deployed dense artillery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to intelligence, the Han Banners had concentrated all their heavy cannon on this side, even hauling over the heavy cannon originally positioned beneath the walls of Jinzhou — around a hundred Divine Might Grand General pieces. Below Yijia Ridge and beyond, layer upon layer, stretched the infantry formations of the Han Eight Banners and the Korean army, rolling with the terrain. Faintly visible were the cold-gleaming barrels and bayonets of their firearms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In front of each block-like Han army position, they had also placed several dozen smaller Hongyi cannon — “small” only relative to the Qing army’s standards; those guns were in fact similar to the Jingbian Army’s Hongyi six-pounder and three-pounder cannon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We need only press close to the front of those Han traitors’ lines, and men like Kong Youde will be no match for our troops. The key is enduring a certain number of casualties during the advance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Chao gazed intently into the distance and spoke these words coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When we march, we can advance in as open an order as possible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Xiancai agreed with Han Chao’s view.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Indeed, in the age of firearms, casualties among a great army are unavoidable. When peace reigns under heaven, how many brave men will still shed their blood on the battlefield and wrap their bodies in horsehide?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou thought silently. He turned to look back at his great army — they were drawn up company by company in battle formation, musketeers in front, pikemen behind. Formation after formation stretched far, far into the distance along the undulating ground…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soldiers in every formation gripped their muskets and pikes tightly. Even the armored cavalry had dismounted and stood silently beside their horses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their expressions were resolute, without fear, without dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the new troops from Xuanfu Garrison were in full martial splendor, their jaws clenched, many grinding their teeth, yet none showed a trace of cowardice. The cold wind now and then lifted the edges of their blue-red padded armor or waist-length coats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officers of the three new Xuanzhen battalions, their expressions grave, rode beside Wang Dou, their faces equally determined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou nodded. Marshal Yang’s new army had been forged as well; tempered by the fires of battle, they were even more outstanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the Jingbian Army, there were also some unfamiliar faces — newly arrived reserve replacements. Since the Liaodong campaign began, the Jingbian Army had suffered several hundred casualties. Not long ago, a batch of reserves from the Eastern Route had arrived, and Wang Dou had distributed them among the understrength companies and squads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the rear of the formations were large numbers of Jingbian Army medics, along with civilian porters carrying stretchers, ready at any moment to treat the wounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These civilians had all previously served the Jingbian Army at Mount Changling or Songshan Fort and elsewhere; for this campaign, the Jingbian Army had summoned them back to work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Full meals with dried fish, wages, and courteous treatment — to these civilians, being able to serve the Jingbian Army was an enviable position that people fought tooth and nail to get. Many had already made up their minds to head to the Eastern Route after the battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Xuan’s artillery battalion — one hundred sixty cannon and two thousand artillerymen — was drawn up in front of the main army. During the advance, they were to push ahead first, either seizing advantageous ground or forming up within the battle line, bombarding the Han Banners’ infantry formations with solid shot or canister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing at the resolute, indomitable expressions of the officers and men — and even the Xuanzhen new troops, when they looked at him, their eyes were full of trust and reverence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou slowly closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. “I firmly believe I will not fail, because I have so many honorable and admirable sons!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly opened his eyes wide and bellowed, “Are you ready?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you ready?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou’s stern query echoed across the hills and fields.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The answer that came back was a mighty roar: “Tiger!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every officer and soldier stepped forward and shouted the response with all their strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dong!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The central army drum beat out, and the entire army stepped forward once more, roaring again: “Tiger!”\u003C\u002Fp>",3012,"2026-06-03T14:05:53.320Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","1bad33e1ac89b7ad855cc6cf81c2680e3dcfb54f525895c7c6283a5f36585998","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-557","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-555",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]