[{"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-798":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},1206087,1561,"Chapter 798: The Third Blast of the Signal Horn","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-798",798,"\u003Cp>Quite a few merchant caravans had already arrived at Tongguan, encamped outside the western gate and its attached settlement, and among them were many caravans from Xuanfu Garrison. The trade route from Xuanfu Garrison to Shaanxi had been opened. Although the journey was not peaceful, few bandits dared to lay hands on a Xuanfu Garrison caravan. Even if some reckless fellows tried, they could not withstand the armed force of the escort agencies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The goods they sold were diverse, and the small cigarettes they offered in particular were warmly welcomed by everyone in Shaanxi, high and low. Although the Chongzhen Emperor was still strictly prohibiting tobacco at this time, the ban was in fact merely a dead letter; the common people still planted it as they pleased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The approach of Xuanfu Garrison was to levy a heavy tax on the tobacco trade. Mobile Corps Commander Gao very much approved of Marquis Yongning's method: better to channel than to block. Prohibition of this thing had never worked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the profits from the tobacco trade made people envious, but outside merchants could not figure out the manufacturing method for Xuanfu Garrison's small cigarettes. They only knew that the tobacco factories there used a kind of cigarette-rolling device, which seemed to be a combination of small wooden sticks and canvas, an invention originating from Marquis Yongning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, a single tobacco factory could produce at least over ten thousand small cigarettes a month. Beyond that, they knew nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few days earlier, Mobile Corps Commander Gao had gritted his teeth and bought a box of \"Old Squad Commander\" brand, which he treasured like a collector's item and smoked only occasionally. Now, seeing that what he held in his hand were actually Squad Commander brand small cigarettes, he was delighted, thinking to himself that these Jingbian Army men were truly extravagant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the envious gazes of those around them, Company Commander Yang and Mobile Corps Commander Gao took out their fire sticks and lit their cigarettes, then followed behind Han Kaizhi as they walked toward the loess tableland slope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the entrance to the path on the tableland edge were placed two breech-loading swivel guns, with low walls on either side. As they walked down the path, they could see from time to time rows of low walls on the terraced cliffs of the tableland slope beside the road. At this moment, some garrison troops who had rotated in were patrolling, their numbers not large.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any movement on the opposite tableland could be seen at a glance. When the bandit army attacked, it would not be too late for the main body of defenders to enter then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At both ends of some of the paths below there were likewise low walls, with some chevaux-de-frise placed in front. The empty spaces were intended for the placement of crouching-tiger cannons. Behind the low walls on the terraced cliffs, there were baskets of small stones, meant to be used as a defensive rain of stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the New Army came to Tongguan, they had actually brought fifty grand general cannons, one hundred medium and small breech-loading swivel guns, twenty mortars, as well as numerous crouching-tiger cannons, and a large quantity of \"ten-thousand-men-defeaters,\" poison shells, ash shells, rockets, and other lethal weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crouching-tiger cannon was light and handy, weighing less than forty jin, and could be carried on one man's shoulder. Moreover, its power was considerable; it could fire one hundred small lead balls or small stones weighing five qian each in a single discharge, with a large thirty-ounce lead ball or large stone ball tamped on top.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a firearm was most convenient when placed on small paths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The artillery battalion of the Shaanxi New Army had also been trained by artillery officers from the Jingbian Army, using powder bags and fixed-case canister shot, which made their loading speed countless times faster than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the Jingbian Army would not disclose secrets such as the silk powder bags.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to large cannons, the crouching-tiger cannon still held great advantages in mountainous, forested, and paddy field terrain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the crouching-tiger cannon's flaw of poor heat dissipation was hard to change. The crouching-tiger cannon was also too light; when firing, its muzzle needed to be propped up with two iron claws. Each claw had a hole, and an iron spike over a foot long could be driven through the hole to fix it to the ground. This suppressed the problem of the cannon jumping upward, but it also made the firing angle very difficult to readjust. The pros and cons were hard to weigh clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the estimates of the mercenary army's staff officers, the bandit army would generally use famine refugees for the first several waves of attack. Using ten-thousand-men-defeaters, poison and ash shells, rockets, and crouching-tiger cannon balls on them would be too wasteful. It would not be too late to use these lethal weapons when the bandits committed their infantry, or even their cavalry and veteran camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At present, apart from arquebuses and bows, the defenders could hurl small stones. Those famine refugees had little protective capability. If struck on the body or head by a bowl-sized stone, even if they did not die, they would lose half their lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the fighting grew intense, the defenders could also withdraw cleanly and crisply to the upper defensive lines, leaving behind the baskets of stones behind the low walls. If the bandit army wanted to cart them away, let them cart them away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Kaizhi meticulously inspected the defensive line. Company Commander Yang and Mobile Corps Commander Gao followed behind him, both full of admiration for this ruthless defensive arrangement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had heard that this method also came from Marquis Yongning. The two men's attitude toward the propaganda in Xuanfu Garrison that proclaimed the Marquis a sage descended to earth had shifted from initial half-belief to a degree of belief now. Otherwise, how could Marquis Yongning possibly understand so much about every aspect of things?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But while observing the defensive line and simultaneously watching the ever-increasing number of bandits on the opposite tableland, it looked like there would be a battle today. Mobile Corps Commander Gao was still somewhat uneasy: \"Squad Commander Han, tell me, can Yuanwang Gully be held?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Kaizhi said easily, \"Rest assured, General Gao. Unless we choose to withdraw, the bandits will drain all their blood in front of this gully.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Han Kaizhi was inspecting his own defensive line, Sun Chuanting also emerged from Tongguan city to make a final inspection of the defenses. Seeing the situation on the opposite tableland, the bandits were going to attack today. How could he rest easy without one last look?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surrounded by the Second Regiment's Jingbian Army first-class soldiers and a host of officers and generals, the party marched out in a grand procession.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They rode from north to south, and seeing that everything was in perfect order everywhere, Sun Chuanting nodded with satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Passing a small fortified village called Yangjiazhuang, Wu Zhengchun had long since explained to Sun Chuanting that this place served as the medical treatment and rescue station for the nearby defensive lines, primarily responsible for the central to northern section of Yuanwang Gully. Further south, a fortified village called Dongyingbao was responsible for the medical treatment and rescue of soldiers in the central to southern section of Yuanwang Gully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, both fortified villages had wells and houses inside. When soldiers were wounded, being treated there was naturally better than being placed in tents or makeshift huts out in the open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The treatment of wounded soldiers was also entirely directed by the mercenary army's medical officers. The mercenary army had a great many medical officers; the battalion headquarters alone had one medical squad of fifty men, and each regiment and each unit had varying numbers of medical officers. The local Shaanxi troops, of course, could not compare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Sun Chuanting, when training the New Army, had also recruited physicians on a large scale to serve as army doctors, their numbers were far inferior. Moreover, even if some of those physicians possessed superb medical skills, in terms of military rescue and treatment, they were also far inferior to the Jingbian Army's medical officers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, that was the culmination of the Jingbian Army's many years of medical and rescue experience, which had formed extremely detailed regulations. For example, how to treat arrow wounds, how to treat gunshot wounds, how to prepare before treatment, how to clean the body and the wound — the Jingbian Army had detailed stipulations for all of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the cloth strips used to bandage wounds were mandated to be sterilized by high-temperature steaming and then dried under the sun before use. Certain cutting tools and instruments likewise had to be disinfected with high heat and were ordinarily kept in specially designated boxes that had undergone the same disinfection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These various methods were astonishing to behold. A few days earlier, when some outriders were wounded, Shaanxi physicians had observed the Jingbian Army medics' treatment and rescue. When they saw them use alcohol to wipe away blood clots from wounds, many felt their eyes had been opened, as if a whole new world had been unveiled before them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the crowd heard that the Xuanfu Garrison Military Academy already had a new field of study, military medicine, they all felt a yearning in their hearts and wished to go and study it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So it went without saying: the medical officers of every New Army battalion were directed by the Jingbian Army medical officers. Apart from that, there were also many local military household civilians serving as runners, carrying the wounded, and bearing stretchers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For this military operation, the battalion medical officers had planned in even greater detail: how much medical supplies and wound medicine to prepare, how many bandages, how many stretchers, even how to handle enemy corpses, how many coffins to prepare, and so on. There were detailed plans for everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three Regional Commanders — Gao Jie, Zheng Jiadong, and Niu Chenghu — also accompanied Sun Chuanting. Listening to Wu Zhengchun's continuous introductions, complex expressions flickered in their eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leading their troops to Tongguan, they suddenly realized they had nothing to do. The Jingbian Army men had arranged everything. All they had to do was wait to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the defensive line before them, they also understood why the Jingbian Army was renowned far and wide. With preparations this thorough and this exhaustive, how could they not win battle after battle?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially this medical rescue system. If in the past their own wounded soldiers could have received such meticulous treatment, would they not have exerted all their strength to fight desperate battles?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Wu Zhengchun and the others, an inscrutable light flickered in Gao Jie's eyes. For him, the Jingbian Army had already transcended the level of mere jealousy. After that battalion of troops arrived in Shaanxi, everything about them struck him as novel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To say nothing else, just the composition of that Jingbian Army battalion gave him a feeling of seeing things anew. A mere single battalion of troops, yet capable of both cavalry and infantry combat. Within it, every branch of service was fully represented. Though the sparrow was small, its five organs were complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the rule in their camp that one only bowed with clasped hands and did not kneel, Zheng Jiadong and Niu Chenghu felt the Jingbian Army soldiers did not understand the hierarchy of status. Gao Jie, however, sighed with emotion at Marquis Yongning Wang Dou's grasp of the human heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He keenly perceived that within the Jingbian Army, the hierarchy of status was very strict. Those soldiers who merely bowed with clasped hands and did not kneel when meeting superior officers did so because every one of them possessed a rank of merit and had the glory of battle achievements upon them. Therefore, they enjoyed corresponding honors and treatment, and exemption from kneeling was one of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People without a rank of merit were still treated as they always had been. This naturally spurred the officers and soldiers to strive and fight hard, hoping to earn the qualification not to kneel. After all, few people enjoyed kowtowing and kneeling at the drop of a hat whenever they met someone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, besides this kind of honor, obtaining a merit badge also came with a great deal of material benefits and tangible gains, which was even more stirring and inspiring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Jie was perverse and unruly by nature, difficult to control, yet he could not help but admire Wang Dou. He recalled that when he first met Wang Dou back then, Wang Dou was merely a lowly Mobile Corps Commander. His current achievements were already beyond Gao Jie's sight, leaving him in the dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This made him sigh with emotion. Even putting aside Wang Dou's ability, his official career luck alone was something Gao Jie could not match.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, like Zheng Jiadong, Niu Chenghu, and the others, seeing that the tidal wave of the New Army replacing their old armies was unstoppable, Gao Jie and the others, even as they felt jealous, also felt panic and bewilderment in their hearts. Where should they go from here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Chuanting and his party reached the southern end of the tableland. The terrain here was gentle and flat. Of the eighteen defensive positions that Yuanwang Gully required, eight were located here. In many places, one could even see the bottom of the gully. The bottoms of those gullies were also very wide, generally over one li wide, and even up to two li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Rongcheng led a unit of troops here to supervise the battle. Twenty grand general cannons were also placed on the tableland, and twenty mortars were deployed here as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the Jingbian Army staff officers, Sun Chuanting believed this area would be the focal point of the bandits' attack. After all, the slopes of the two tablelands were gentle, flat, and broad, capable of accommodating many troops. Even at the bottom of the gully, the bandits would likewise mass many troops here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, using artillery to bombard this area was the most ideal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of Sun Chuanting's fifty grand general cannons, apart from ten deployed at Taojiazhuang and twenty deployed at other locations, the remaining twenty were all deployed here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, just like the artillery positions at Taojiazhuang, the cannons on the tableland were all firing at the opposite tableland. To hit the winding, twisting small paths that were sometimes invisible to the naked eye placed too high a demand on the gunners and would only waste ammunition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, even when firing at the opposite tableland, the effect might sometimes not be very good, because the terrain, with its staggered terraces intersected by gullies and washes, meant that the tableland tops mostly appeared to show only a small strip, which placed equally high demands on the gunners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Placed here at the southern end, it was even more impossible. The distance between the two tablelands was greater, and the grand general breech-loading cannons could not even reach the surface of the opposite tableland. The terrain of the opposite tableland was also slightly higher than this side. Therefore, the Jingbian Army staff officers' suggestion was to concentrate firepower on bombarding the gully bottom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hired Jingbian Army artillery officers had even already measured the elevation positions and the distance from the cannons to the gully bottom. When the bandits' elite troops came over, the gunners would simply fire according to the designated units. Solid cannonballs, poison smoke, and ash shells would rain down like a torrent, certain to make the bandits suffer unspeakably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could only take the beating helplessly. The distance between the two plateaus was too great — even if the bandits had Hongyi cannons, they could not reach this side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Chuanting finally set his mind completely at ease. With this arrangement, although the new army was still incapable of sallying forth from the pass, holding the pass was certainly no problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw a clamorous commotion on the opposite side. The plateau seemed black with a dense mass of heads, and even along the plateau's edge many refugee cavalrymen had gathered, pointing and gesturing toward this side. It looked as if they were not far from launching an assault. Sun Chuanting drew a deep breath and abruptly issued the order: \"Sound the third horn! All troops assemble and enter the defensive line!\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2750,"2026-06-03T14:06:10.567Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","6b59c3dc7df94ebe583484b3bb9bf22268cb35e9cb8b149e32fe8859e8b446f6","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-799","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-797",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]