Chapter 674: Establishing the Stockade

"Ah!"

Watching their leader blasted into two halves by cannon fire, veins bulging on his forehead, crawling on the ground with rasping cries, his gaudy entrails ceaselessly spilling from the severed stump, the remaining Mongols on this side all sprang up like startled rabbits, each shrieking in terror.

They never imagined that even two li from the army formation, they could still be struck by Jingbian Army cannon. Those fire-lances of theirs that need no matchcord were already ferociously deadly, and now with these cannons added — are they even letting people live?

Swiftly, the Mongol riders who had been sitting on the ground, some drinking water, some eating dry rations, each leaped onto their horses, whipping them to full gallop, desperate to flee this place. Yet the cannon fire rumbled on, and many shells came screaming with a sharp whistle, smashing down upon them headlong.

Human shrieks, the agonized neighing of horses, severed limbs mingling with misted blood, along with fragments of weapons and armor flying through the air — many luckless, slow-moving Mongol riders were pounded into minced flesh, man and horse together.

The survivors, still in shock, all fled beyond the range of the cannon fire. Some men and horses even ran three or four li, or even five or six li away.

Before they could steady themselves, they saw the Ming cavalry within the formation showing signs of giving chase. After a few strange whistled signals, the massed riders who had originally been besieging the formation in dense swarms instantly scattered in all directions, some dispersing into the hills, some into the woods and mountains, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

They had originally had a whole series of plans, but their terror of the Jingbian Army's cannon fire made them abandon them at once.

When the Mongol riders were routed, Han Chao ordered the cavalry to pursue. But the tactics of steppe cavalry are: "In victory, they harry the fleeing enemy and slaughter, allowing none to escape. In defeat, they scatter and flee in all directions, impossible to overtake." Each of them had many horses and knew the terrain intimately. After a period of pursuit, the kills were few.

Very quickly, this stretch of land returned to calm. Were it not for the traces left by battle, it would seem as if those harassing Mongol riders had never appeared at all — a sense of shadows coming and going without a trace.

In this battle, over two hundred Mongol riders were killed, and over one hundred and sixty fine horses were captured. The Xuanwu Army suffered over fifty casualties. Thanks to their excellent armor protection, most sustained only minor wounds. Only a few were more seriously injured, and a few were killed in action.

This brief engagement also gave the Xuanwu Army a first taste of steppe cavalry tactics. However, having suffered a heavy loss against the Jingbian Army's formation, the Mongols would be far more cautious in the future. Achieving a victory like the one before them might not be so easy again.

That day, the main army reached the designated site for establishing the stockade. Because of the Mongol riders' obstruction, they had expected to arrive at Shen hour in the afternoon, but only arrived at You hour.

This area selected by the Intelligence Division had a broad river valley with flat terrain, broken only by occasional rolling hills. On this side of the river, not far to the northeast, there were mountains and vast expanses of forest, dense with white poplars, conifers, and birches, their leaves golden yellow and fiery red. From time to time, one could spot Mongolian gazelles, roe deer, hares, and other creatures.

Looking across the river, there was an equally vast expanse of flat meadowland, with an open and broad field of view.

Han Chao and the others were very satisfied. While the main army set up camp, he made a circuit of the surrounding area with the army's officers and the officers of the logistics battalion.

"Commandant, this place is uniquely blessed by nature. There is abundant arable land all around, as well as vast grasslands and woodlands. If we could establish a fortress here, everything within a hundred li would be under our control."

Xie Shangbiao said in a loud, shouting voice. People say the lands beyond the frontier are bitter and cold, but from the look of it now, there are quite a few rich and fertile places as well.

"Building a city wall can only wait for later. For now, we can only erect a wooden stockade."

An officer from the logistics battalion accompanying the army shook his head: "Building a fortress takes far too long. Ramming earth, quarrying stone, firing bricks — none of these can be accomplished in a single day. Moreover, the army has no glutinous rice slurry..."

He shook his head. Building a city requires specialized craftsmen. It is not just about timber; the most important thing is stone.

And then there are the grey bricks and so on — the time and labor that would consume is enormous, and the army does not have such craftsmen. Besides, without glutinous rice slurry to fill the gaps between bricks, stones, and other building materials, the city would not be sturdy. Without steel reinforcement, the hardness of cement in this era is also very mediocre, far inferior to rammed earth mixed with egg white and glutinous rice slurry. And at present, cement is not even being produced yet.

He merely shook his head: "Under the current circumstances, the only viable option is to erect a stockade. Building a fortress takes too long and costs too much — now is not the time."

Building a city is a major undertaking. Back when Lu Xiangsheng repaired the Xuan-Da Great Wall, by comprehensive calculation, every zhang cost thirty taels of silver. Repairing three hundred li of the Great Wall required a calculated sum of one million six hundred thousand taels. During the Wanli era, Garrison Commander Wang Weiping of Qinghe built the new fortress at Gushan. It had a circumference of two li, with walls three zhang and five chi high including the battlements, all faced with brick and stone. The garrison commander's residence and one hundred and seventy-three barracks for the troops together cost seven hundred and seventy taels of silver and six hundred and ten dan of grain. And that was at the prices of that time — now the cost would be even greater.

Han Chao also felt regret, but erecting a wooden stockade was the only thing they could do at present.

By now the sky was growing dark. The logistics battalion had specialized personnel; they surveyed the site through the night and drew up a series of plans. The next day, the entire army set to work together — some felling trees, some erecting huts, some digging wells — laboring with fiery enthusiasm.

In establishing a military stockade, the most important structures are the granary, the fodder yard, the armory, the stables, and the barracks. Water wells are also of considerable importance. Although the stockade was not far from the river, clearly, out of multiple considerations, several wells within the stockade were necessary.

Before building the stockade, the designated site was also set ablaze with torches to burn away the tall, thick grass and shrubs, to prevent pestilence, insects, and the like. In fact, during the burning, quite a number of messy, chaotic things crawled out from the grass and shrubs.

Thanks to professional planning and the large number of men, the stockade was built very quickly. Numerous soldiers went out in all directions, entering the forests to fell trees. After being transported back in a steady stream, the timber was either left as logs or split into planks. Large groups of men also erected dense wooden palisades along the planned perimeter.

The palisade was erected in a sawtooth pattern, with a projection every hundred paces. Outside the palisade, a deep trench was dug. Overall, the stockade was rectangular, long from north to south and short from east to west. Two gates, north and south, were established, with access roads left open and drawbridges installed.

A hundred paces in front of each of the two stockade gates, there was also a triangular palisade. Trenches were likewise dug in front of its pointed tip and along both sides, with the road passing obliquely alongside the triangular palisade.

The western side of the military stockade bordered the water, while the eastern side was likely the point the enemy would focus their attacks on. However, there were some hills on this side. When erecting the palisade here, it was deliberately set along the edges of the hills. On top of the hills, several long, rectangular wooden houses were built.

These wooden houses were two stories tall, all fitted with firing ports. Together with the palisade, they formed three layers of firepower. If the enemy attacked, they would face a terror akin to that of the Changling Mountain defense line. Not only that, but tall watchtowers were also built at the four corners of the stockade and on both sides of the stockade gates.

The Mongols accompanying the army all took part in building the stockade. They felt that this kind of stockade, with its winding, crooked shape, gave off an indescribable feeling — it seemed very formidable, but exactly why it was formidable, they could not put into words.

Lemiege also furrowed his brow. He pondered to himself: even if this stockade were defended by only five hundred men, if he led five thousand, or even ten thousand men to attack it, he might still end up with a broken head and bloody face. At this thought, a chill rose in his heart. This Jingbian Army was truly becoming more and more bizarre, with all sorts of strange things emerging endlessly.

When building the stockade, Han Chao paid close attention to planning it according to the layout of a city. If a fortress were to be built in the future, it would certainly be expanded following this shape. He also took into account the bitter cold of the northern winter, so wooden planks were laid beneath the floors of all the barracks, with some distance left between them and the ground.

In fact, all the structures in the entire stockade were made of timber. The walls were of rough logs, the roofs of planks, and the floors and upper stories were also entirely of planks. Fortunately, they now had iron nails, so the construction of the buildings was still easy and fast.

Many hands make light work. By the morning of the second day, this military stockade, named "Yuanyang Stockade," was fully completed. This was due to the advantage of having a large and strong workforce, as well as the Jingbian Army soldiers' merits of discipline and willingness to endure hardship.

Looking at this stockade, the soldiers of the entire army, drenched in sweat, all felt a surge of pride. In just over a day, a stockade had been finished. Though the stockade was not large and was a bit rough, its strength lay in its solidity and sturdiness. Stout logs, taller than a man, were deeply driven into the earth, tightly linked together to form a dense palisade.

Against such a continuous, tall, and sturdy wooden palisade, the arrows shot by the Tartars would at most embed themselves shallowly in it. Meanwhile, the palisade was pierced with dense firing ports. The enemy outside could not see what lay within, but the defending troops inside could calmly shoot outward, achieving a highly effective defense.

Not to mention that on some hills or high ground, positions were left for cannon fire — it could be said to be as secure as a golden fortress.

Once this stockade was completed, the rear could continuously transport grain and fodder here for storage. This was also one of the five planned stockades. If all five stockades were established, the expeditionary army would have no more worries about its rear.

Of course, due to the haste, "Yuanyang Stockade" also had many imperfections. For instance, the interior had no gravel-paved roads, nor a mess hall or bathhouse for the garrisoned troops. However, the timber felled within the stockade was now piled up like a mountain, so the garrison could slowly perfect it themselves.

While building the stockade, Han Chao also noticed some Tartar scout riders spying from a distance beyond the main army. They were driven off by the Night Scouts. Or perhaps the battle that day still haunted them, for they did not dare to spy too closely.

In the afternoon, after the entire army had eaten lunch, Han Chao left behind a unit of nearly a thousand second-class soldiers to defend the stockade, along with some grain, fodder, supplies, and five Hongyi cannons. He then assembled the troops and prepared to set out.

It was the eighth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar, not far from the Mid-Autumn Festival. The weather in the Central Plains heartland was just right, but on the steppe, there was already quite a chill in the air. A gust of wind blew, setting the black-edged Sun-Moon-Wave banners flapping loudly, while the surrounding wild grass and woods swayed gracefully in response.

Looking at the densely assembled ranks, Han Chao swept his gaze around them with a solemn expression, raised his hand, and shouted: "My Xuanwu Army!"

"Mighty and formidable!"

The soldiers bellowed the cry, and it echoed across the sky above the steppe.

Han Chao waved his hand again: "Move out!"

"Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble!"

The great earth trembled.

The army's feathered cavalry and the Mongol riders of the Naturalization Battalion surged forth first, like a torrent charging across the steppe wilderness overgrown with wild grass and flowers. Behind them came the large mass of second-class battalion soldiers and the logistics battalion warriors, driving dense columns of horse-drawn carts, along with a vast, mighty procession of wheelbarrows and flatbed carts.

After the battle that day, according to the analysis of the army's staff officers, if they encountered the enemy henceforth, it would likely be mostly cavalry engagements and the like.

The Tartars of Naturalization City would certainly not attack the tightly defended and ferociously powerful Xuanwu Army formation again, but they would undoubtedly cling on like sticky toffee. The Xuanwu Army soldiers on the western expedition naturally could not allow them to harass and entangle at will, slowing their march. Both sides were bound to fight one cavalry battle after another.

Having witnessed the tactics of steppe cavalry, Han Chao was confident that in a cavalry showdown between the two sides, his own forces would not be at a disadvantage, completely eliminating the enemy's designs against his infantry.

Moreover, before leaving the frontier, the Jingbian Army and the Datong Army had made an agreement to rendezvous by the shores of Jining Lake. For this campaign, Wang Pu had committed six thousand troops, over three thousand of his main battalion being cavalry. At that time, the allied forces would have nearly ten thousand cavalry, sufficient mobile strength to detach a portion to guard the supply route.

A fortress strategy without cavalry as a field maneuver force is absolutely unworkable. The greatest lesson is the Guan-Ning defense line: no matter how solidly the fortresses were built, without field combat strength, they could only hole up in isolated cities, watching helplessly as the Qing cavalry roamed freely in the field. Even the most impregnable cities then became isolated, deadly traps one by one.

Especially on the steppe, where one's own side is a guest army, the enemy is intimately familiar with the terrain, and each man has multiple horses, coming and going like shadows — relying on infantry alone cannot guarantee the security of the supply route.

The Night Scouts from the army's vanguard reconnaissance battalion had already scouted very far ahead, even making contact with the Datong Army that had already left the frontier. Now, with a newly established base behind the main army, everyone felt much more at ease.

The vast, surging army pressed forward, their sun-moon-and-waves banners fluttering in the wind. (To be continued...)

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