Chapter 802: Change

After the crushing defeat on the third day of the fifth month, the Chuang camp remained completely silent for an entire day, and on the following day they likewise did not attack.

However, early on the morning of the fourth, the defenders still spotted a large force of Chuang camp troops pressing forward. Just as they were bracing for an assault, they discovered that these roving bandits did not intend to attack, but rather to build roads.

A vast number of starving people were driven forward by them, forced to the edge of the Yuanwang Ditch. There, these refugees brandished hoes and shovels, carried earth baskets, and desperately worked to widen the paths. The originally narrow trails, which could only accommodate one or two men, were widened by them into broad roads several zhang across, even over a dozen zhang wide, capable of allowing many men and horses to pass at once.

Not only that, many of the terrace platforms on the loess slopes flanking the roads were also widened and leveled by them, so that more troops could be arrayed on top. By rough estimate, each platform could hold a number of men calculated in the thousands at minimum.

What were these roving bandits trying to do?

The Ming army on this side of the plateau kept a close watch on the enemy's movements. On the plateau near the Chengbeizhai stockade, Sun Chuanting and the others also sank into deep thought.

After the battle on the third, Sun Chuanting immediately summoned all the officials and officers from Shaanxi, as well as the commanders of the Jingbian Army, to a council at his Viceroy headquarters on Mount Qilin, to discuss the possible responses of the Chuang camp after their great defeat.

Everyone believed that after suffering such a major defeat, the roving bandit camp would likely change their tactics. After all, given this kind of terrain and defensive line, they could not deploy their superior numbers, and bringing any more men would be of no avail.

By rough estimate, the roving bandits' casualties in the battle on the third exceeded ten thousand. Even if the Chuang camp did not care about losing men, it still had to have some effect, did it not? So a change in tactics was inevitable; they just did not know how they would change.

The stance of the Jingbian Army was that both sides would likely enter a war of attrition. If the roving bandits attacked again, they would probably rely mainly on Chuang camp infantry with long-range attack capability, interspersed with some starving people as human shields. Gao Jie, Zheng Jiadong, Niu Chenghu, and the other Shaanxi government officers also agreed with the Jingbian Army's opinion.

However, everyone's morale was very high, and they did not fear the roving bandits dragging them into a war of attrition. The Tongguan defensive line was unbreakable. The Yuanwang Ditch line had already inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. Even in the worst-case scenario, if the roving bandits fought past Yuanwang Ditch and entered the Linzhi Plateau, there was still the Jin Ditch defensive line.

The ditches on this side were higher and deeper, with sheer loess walls, and there were very few gentle slopes that could be traversed. There was also the supporting Twelve-Linked-Fort defensive line, further combined with the defenses of Tongguan's city fortifications such as the South Gate, Lower South Gate, Water South Gate, and Shimen Pass. Pinning the roving bandits firmly on the Nanyuan Plateau was an absolute certainty.

The terrain of Tongguan also dictated that the roving bandits could only assault the two ditches head-on. During the offensive on the third, the Chuang cavalry did enter from Jindou Pass and push from Huangtuxiang Slope to the eastern face of Tongguan city, but the result was that they left behind over a hundred riders and retreated in disarray, never daring to enter the East Gate again.

The outcome of the council greatly steadied everyone's morale and filled them with confidence in holding Tongguan.

Now the roving bandits were indeed making a major move. Sun Chuanting raised his telescope and watched for a long time. Seeing the crowd on the opposite side like ants, bustling about without cease, and many troops and horses racing back and forth, he lowered his telescope and murmured, "The Chuang bandits have grown smarter."

Wen Shiyan stroked his beard and said, "Lord Sun speaks truly. In yesterday's offensive by the roving bandits, their large force swarmed in all at once. How could they possibly deploy in such terrain? Not to mention being packed into a tight mass, after being routed they trampled each other even more, resulting in devastating casualties. It seems they have learned their lesson."

Everyone nodded; the situation on the opposite side was very clear. The roving bandits were extensively repairing the roads and widening many of the plateau terraces. To say nothing else, just take the road diagonally opposite. There were perhaps ten terraces on both sides that could be widened. If each terrace held a thousand troops, the roving bandits could commit up to ten thousand men.

Then they could attack in ten waves, one wave from each terrace, in an endless stream...

This was unlike yesterday's offensive, where the roving bandits' large force swarmed down in a single mass, regardless of whether the road could even fit them. With all these ravines and gullies, up on the plateaus and down below, just climbing these slopes already sapped a great deal of their strength. To attack again, they would have to wait for these men to fully withdraw.

But now, by widening the roads and terraces, they could mass troops on the plateau slopes. This conserved their strength, arranged their forces more rationally, and furthermore allowed the first wave to withdraw while the next attacked, employing their most adept wave-offensive tactics, indirectly achieving the goal of human-wave warfare.

Even if the number of men in each wave was smaller than yesterday, it was likely that the pressure on the defenders would be just as great when the time came.

Wu Zhengchun raised his telescope again and gazed for a while, then said, "It is estimated that the roving bandits will attack tomorrow. Lord Sun, the defenses at Yuanwang Ditch must be further reinforced. The Crouching Tiger cannons, the 'Ten-Thousand-Man' bombs, the poison and ash bombs that were not used yesterday must be emplaced within the defensive line today."

Sun Chuanting raised his thick, high eyebrows and laughed heartily, saying, "General Wu speaks truly. If the roving bandits attack, they will certainly commit their infantry, and then these Crouching Tiger cannons, Ten-Thousand-Man bombs, and fire arrows can be put to use... With the roving bandits so powerful this time, it is truly fortunate to have you gentlemen from the Governor's Headquarters advising on military affairs, allowing this Viceroy to rest easy."

Beside him, Gao Xun smiled faintly and said nothing, though as he gazed at the roving bandits opposite, a flash of eagerness passed through his eyes. Wu Zhengchun, however, composed his expression and said, "Lord Sun overpraises us; this is merely our duty."

Sun Chuanting laughed heartily again. Among the reinforcing Jingbian Army commanders, only Wu Zhengchun and Wen Shiyan pleased him the most. Wen Shiyan was well-spoken, while Wu Zhengchun was honest and dutiful. As for the rest, Gao Xun was aloof and proud by nature, and men like Li Zhengjing disregarded hierarchy, all of which secretly displeased him.

As they spoke here, Gao Jie, Zheng Jiadong, Niu Chenghu, and the other Shaanxi government officers listened from the side. With the rise of the New Army and the addition of the Jingbian Army, old-style battalion soldiers like them could only stand by and listen, already excluded from the decision-making circle, each wearing an expression of boredom.

Yet, looking at the Jingbian Army officers, their postures ramrod straight, each brimming with high-spirited vigor, helplessness appeared in their eyes. They simply could not compare.

Dense masses of Chuang camp troops were repairing the road on the opposite side. Watching them dig the mountain paths wider and deeper, regardless of what use this road might serve, it would at least make travel more convenient for the common folk of the two ditches in the future.

Sun Chuanting naturally would not stand idly by watching the roving bandits build roads, allowing them to act unchecked. Although it was very difficult for cannon fire to hit the opposite plateau, and the Chuang camp was clever enough to mostly choose spots far apart at the two ends of the ditch, beyond the reach of the cannons on this side, to widen the roads, and also densely arrayed large numbers of archers on the plateau slopes for protection.

Nevertheless, under Sun Chuanting's orders, some Grand General cannons still opened fire. At the same time, small squads of troops were dispatched to harass them, firing cold shots from a distance to disrupt the roving bandits' arrangements.

However, harassment by small squads could not change the overall situation. A large-scale battle like this ultimately relied on the hard power of both sides. Under the labor of tens of thousands of starving people, on the opposite plateau slopes, one road after another was widened, one terrace after another was leveled, and in the blink of an eye, the terrain was greatly altered.

Sun Chuanting could only sigh that the roving bandits had strength in numbers. However, he also had a bottom line: the Chuang camp could only repair the roads, the small paths on the opposite plateau slopes. If they tried to build and build until they crossed the ditch, they would face a thunderous strike from his own side.

At the same time, defenses on this side were also being urgently strengthened. Large numbers of Ming troops came and went, transporting vast quantities of Crouching Tiger cannons, Ten-Thousand-Man bombs, poison and ash bombs, and the like into the low wall defensive line.

For a time, a tense atmosphere of battle preparations once again filled Yuanwang Ditch. The ant-like crowds on the opposite side toiled until evening before finally stopping. Then night fell, and both ends of Yuanwang Ditch lit a great number of torches, illuminating the entire ditch area brightly. Seen from the air, the night scene resembled the riverside lights of later ages.

Both sides feared a night raid by the other, and so both were extremely vigilant, densely strewing the small paths along the ditch with caltrops and chevaux-de-frise, making it nearly impossible for either side to launch a night raid.

The Ming army in particular had also buried a large number of landmines, putting an end to the roving bandits' harassment by raiding camps. They were loath to waste their elite cavalry in vain; those without night blindness who could carry out night raids were all the finest troops in their army.

……

On the fifth day of the fifth month, at Jia-5 post, the first low wall defensive line.

Early in the morning, the defenders here were bustling with activity again: transporting ammunition, inspecting weapons, wiping down arquebuses and long spears. Compared to two days prior, they had many new pieces of equipment, such as various Ten-Thousand-Man bombs, and large bundles of fire arrows, "Wasp's Nest" rockets, "Fire Dragon Arrow" rockets, and so on, all loaded with thirty rounds.

There were also some city-defense implements, such as ramming poles and defensive forks. This was in consideration that the roving bandits might use some short ladders and planks, and when the time came, these tools could be used to topple their short ladders.

These implements gave the defenders great confidence. Compared to two days ago, their spirit and morale had also greatly improved, clearly showing that the great victory the day before had given them immense self-assurance.

On the sloping path in front of them, the mountain of corpses and equipment that had been piled up had already been completely cleared away. The weather was growing increasingly hot, and any remaining corpse could cause a plague, so these bodies had to be dealt with thoroughly, buried deep.

Because there were so many corpses, the civilian laborers handling logistics had been busy for an entire day before they finished clearing them away. However, patches of dark red bloodstains still remained on the earthen slope, telling of the brutality of that day. And even now, a strange odor seemed to linger in the air.

The defenders were busy yet expectant. The roving bandits had been silent all day yesterday, only building roads and widening terraces; it seemed they would attack today.

By now, the terrain on the opposite plateau slope had also drastically changed. A broad road several zhang wide was conspicuously laid out before their eyes, winding along the opposite slope all the way up to the plateau.

On both sides of the road, over a dozen fairly large terraces were arrayed, each capable of holding at least seven hundred to fifteen hundred men. It seemed that the good fortune of the previous day, where the roving bandits were routed and the majority trampled themselves to death, would not happen again.

Some roving bandit cavalry units galloped over on the opposite side. The bandit soldiers guarding the ditch began to remove the caltrops and chevaux-de-frise from the various paths. Then more and more roving bandit cavalry appeared. It looked as though the roving bandits were indeed going to attack today. The officers and men of Jia-5 post were expectant yet tense, hoping for another great victory today.

The clamor on the opposite side grew louder. Suddenly, a series of horn and drum calls rang out, and then an endless stream of banners began to flutter. The main force of the roving bandits was encamped two to three li away from Yuanwang Ditch. It seemed they had finished assembling and were beginning their attack again.

The sound of hoofbeats was like thunder. More and more Chuang army cavalry units galloped forward, each man agile and strong, their riding skills masterful. These were their Old Camp troops, holding the line for their main force.

Then came the long, drawn-out sound of horns and drums, and a dense, dark mass of humanity once again began to move toward the edge of the plateau. Looking at that wave-like sea of people, no matter who it was, they would have to draw a deep, cold breath. Compared to other armies, the roving bandits had one point that could never be matched: their troops always seemed inexhaustible.

A boundless tide of people, a boundless sea of banners pressed toward Yuanwang Ditch. The dust kicked up by the human tide treading on the ground blotted out the sky, and the tremendous sound of footsteps seemed to make the entire earth tremble.

Even with the confidence from the great victory the day before, the defenders of Jia-5 post still paled dramatically. Damned roving bandits, no matter how many you killed, there was no end to them.

Under the orders of their officers, they prepared nervously. As they watched the roving bandits draw closer to the plateau ditch, the sound of the central army's bugles rang out from the plateau, and the Jingbian Army's supervisory squads also entered each defensive line.

The defenders behind the first low wall at Jia-5 post were on alert. Hearing the sound of footsteps, they saw that not only had the Jingbian Army supervising that Jia arrived, but also the Jingbian Army Squad Commander Han Kaihui, who was in charge of the entire Jia-5 battle sector. The headquarters' adjutant, morale officer, and provost accompanied him, along with their own Company Commander Yang, Mobile Corps Commander Gao, and others, each with a solemn expression.

Not only that, the defenders also noticed some elite soldiers wearing bowl-shaped helmets and fine long brigandines entering behind the low wall. They carried long muskets, and each had a cold, fierce, and formidable bearing.

The defenders knew that these were the Hunter Cavalry of the Jingbian Army. Each man was equipped with a long musket and a shorter musket, capable of fighting both mounted and on foot. Their marksmanship was extremely superb; they were all sharpshooters.

These important figures had all come down, clearly indicating that today's battle situation was indeed of extraordinary gravity.