Chapter 820: Fierce

The pounding of hooves trampled like thunder, a dark mass surging forward, merging into a thunderous, uniform roar.

Countless banners fluttered, layer upon layer of spear forests advancing with the flags. The vast Qing army formation pressed forward; though the colors of their armor varied, the red tassels fluttering atop their helmets were all a blazing crimson.

The Japanese army opposite likewise formed ranks and pressed forward. Their signal drums carried a strange rhythm, drifting and lingering like the music of the Han and Tang. A forest of bamboo spears and bamboo swords, a canopy of various family crest banners covering like clouds, layers of ornate armor — even their bamboo armor was painted with bright red lacquer, looking as splendid as cherry blossoms.

Amidst the gongs, drums, and shouted orders, the two sides slowly drew closer.

This was a basin in the Kurume domain, surrounded by mountains on three sides and the sea on one, with a plain in the center — truly an ideal location for a field battle between the two armies.

They continued to close in. The Qing state, since the annihilation of the Uzhen Hachao artillery camp, had been slow to rebuild, and this expedition against Japan had brought no cannons.

Japan, though skilled in various arquebus tactics, had always lagged in artillery use. While the country possessed a small number of "great tubes" and "nation-breakers," these were mostly placed in the castle towns of various daimyo. The historically significant Battle of Sekigahara employed only three cannons, and those were small breech-loading swivel guns. Thus, the Japanese army in this formation had likewise brought no cannons.

Therefore, they only halted when they had closed to within one li of each other.

The Qing infantry and cavalry stood in solemn formation. On a hillock, Duoduo took out the telescope bestowed by Dorgon, which he treasured like a precious jewel, and looked toward the Japanese army's position. Abatai beside him also had a telescope, but the rest, even the Gushan Ezhen of each banner, the beile and beizi, did not possess such a crucial military tool.

The opposite side was a clamor of noise. They seemed to be forming a crane-wing formation, with archers and arquebusiers placed at the very front, and the left and right wings composed of various sonae forming the first strike force and second strike force. The formation looked like the outstretched wings of a crane, balanced in both offense and defense.

Their main camp was situated on a hillside. Duoduo saw figures who appeared to be the domain lords, the daimyo, each wearing armor of red, green, or purple, exceedingly resplendent. Many also wore helmets adorned with horns, some with masks on their faces, quite ferocious and terrifying, while others held folding fans in their hands.

They sat on horseback, surrounded by various deputy generals, military advisors, scribes, army commissioners, and inspectors — a host of staff officers. Yet it was impossible to tell which one was the overall commander, or perhaps the various daimyo made decisions jointly.

Around them were arrayed elite samurai in brightly colored attire. Each of these men bore a conspicuously large ball on their back, either red or black. Duoduo knew this object was called a horo, made of a bamboo frame stretched with cloth; besides decoration, it seemed to serve as a defense against stray arrows.

These men were the so-called horo-shu, divided into black horo-shu and red horo-shu. If mounted, they were called horse-return squads. They were the most elite guards of each daimyo, each wielding either a naginata or an oversized katana. Among them were some who belonged to the hatamoto samurai.

Around the hillside were numerous banner-bearers, each holding a family crest flag that fluttered in the wind. The Japanese army seemed exceedingly fond of using flags; with flags held in hands and stuck on backs, their position was a sea of banners, very showy and colorful.

Besides military banners, there were all sorts of uma-jirushi, tall poles bearing strange objects — flags, paper cutouts, hats, fans, feathers. Duoduo even saw a large lantern, which gave him a peculiar feeling.

Finally, arrayed in various positions were the corps and sonae formed by the vast ashigaru. Samurai commanders, spear commanders, arquebus commanders, ashigaru commanders, bow commanders, and beneath them the arquebus squads, long-shaft squads, bow squads, and mounted squads were densely massed. Between each battle unit, messenger runners dashed back and forth.

A single sonae comprised roughly six hundred and twenty-eight men, and a squad had twenty-five. Aside from the sickle-bearing commissioners and small flag bearers, the rest were essentially combat ashigaru.

These ashigaru wore jingasa and ashigaru chest armor. Their armor was crude, mostly made of bamboo or leather, with only a small amount using iron. But because Japanese armor favored lacquer, either red or black, they looked quite imposing and extraordinary.

Duoduo also saw some mounted men within the army formation, though clearly those small Japanese horses could hardly be considered warhorses. The Japanese "cavalry" of this time should rather be called mounted infantry.

In fact, based on Duoduo's understanding of Japanese cavalry during this period, although many "cavalry" would appear when the army moved, when it came to actual combat, except for commanders who were absolutely forbidden to dismount, the remaining "cavalry" all had to dismount to fight. Some horo-shu and hatamoto samurai could also be considered true cavalry.

Although the Great Qing cavalry also liked to dismount and fight, that was purely a tactical consideration; they could still conduct true cavalry charges if needed. In Japan, it seemed there was no record of a ten-thousand-horse charge.

His gaze swept particularly over those arquebusiers. He knew the reputation of Japanese firearms. The Ming bird guns had originally been introduced from Japan, and their firearms were especially powerful.

Back when the Great Qing was still the Jianzhou Jurchens, the Korean registrar Shin Chung-il visited Jianzhou on a diplomatic mission. The chieftain Ma Chen inquired of Shin Chung-il about the situation in Japan. Shin Chung-il stated: "The Japanese arquebus can pierce two layers of solid wooden shields plated with thin iron; penetrating this helmet is nothing worth mentioning." The Jurchens standing to the left and right all looked at each other in astonishment.

This powerful bird gun was merely the three-mace powder bird gun used in the Ming army, which was the three-monme arquebus used by the Japanese arquebusiers. And according to their powder charge classification, they ranged from one-and-a-half monme to fifty monme, with some samurai even using ten-monme arquebuses.

The power of this arquebus, at a distance of about twenty paces, could penetrate hardwood over half a chi thick. It could be said that very few shields or shield carts could withstand their bombardment.

Fortunately, samurai using ten-monme arquebuses were still few; most arquebusiers still used three-monme arquebuses, with a small number using six-monme ones.

What reassured Duoduo even more was that, combined across the many daimyo, their entire army's arquebusiers were estimated at just over two thousand, fewer than their own side's bird gun troops. After all, firearms were not something any minor feudal lord could casually afford. The historically famous Oda Nobunaga, with only three thousand arquebusiers, had awed all of Japan.

Moreover, Japan had enjoyed peace for far too long. Over forty years had passed since the Battle of Sekigahara. Now the various domains had neglected their military preparations, and the shogunate continuously suppressed the southwestern domains. Many samurai who had suffered attainder became ronin, and the various daimyo had even less money to support troops, especially arquebusiers, who were extremely expensive.

That they could now muster two thousand arquebusiers already surprised Duoduo.

What made Duoduo frown was that, seemingly aware that this side had a large number of firearms troops and archers, and that their power was considerable, the Japanese army had prepared a large number of bamboo bundles and infantry shields in their position.

Their arquebus tactics were practiced and fierce, so for mutual protection against bullets, they had developed the bamboo bundle as a bulletproof tool. Bundles of old bamboo, possessing toughness and elasticity, were tied together to a thickness of over one chi and arranged in rows, effectively stopping the impact of bullets.

Duoduo had tested this; the bulletproof effect seemed no worse than their own side's meticulously crafted shield carts.

If holes were cut into the bamboo bundles, arquebusiers could hide inside and shoot.

The infantry shields were similar, made of hardwood several cun thick and taller than a man, effectively protecting against arrows. Archers could also use them for cover while shooting.

In particular, the Japanese army had come well-prepared this time. Not only was their formation filled with ordinary bamboo bundles and infantry shields, but the front of their formation also had a large number of wheeled bamboo bundles and wheeled infantry shields. These were not only easy to push and move, but also had loopholes inside, allowing soldiers to hide within whether shooting arrows or firing arquebuses.

Duoduo watched with a slight frown. The Japanese army's two wings were flanked by the sea on one side and mountainous terrain on the other. His own cavalry could not easily attack from the flanks and could only force a breakthrough from the center. That would mean facing the Japanese wheeled bamboo bundles and wheeled infantry shields, leading to heavy casualties.

Fortunately, he also had his own fierce firearms troops, and for protection, had prepared a large number of excellent shield carts. They would just charge through from the front!

Thinking this, Duoduo turned to look at Abatai beside him.

Amidst the stirring war drums, the Qing army advanced to the beat. They moved in overlapping layers, pressing forward like a wall. At the very front were the Han banner bird gun troops, then the archers of each banner, then the armored men of each banner. They marched in unison, shields layered, long spears overlapping. Further toward the rear, the long tiger spears grew ever denser, glittering with dazzling light under the sun.

The Japanese side also began their pre-battle mobilization, a continuous sound of "hei hei hu hu." The Qing army continued to advance, maintaining neat battle lines, weapons like a forest, the clatter of armor plates merging into a single sound as they marched, the dense banners fluttering like a tide.

Some bayara cavalry followed behind on horseback. At the very front of the formation were several hundred excellent shield carts pushed by Korean auxiliaries, their protective panels thick and sturdy, covered with cowhide and cotton quilts to effectively defend against bullets. Dozens of Outer Mongol riders galloped past the shield carts, charging to within a hundred-plus paces of the Japanese wheeled bamboo bundles and wheeled infantry shields, but the other side remained utterly silent and still.

Those Outer Mongol riders drew closer, beginning to use their bows to lob arrows, trying to provoke the enemy arquebusiers into firing. But the other side remained silent. Occasional groans of pain were quickly suppressed by stern shouts of command, and most of the arrows lobbed by the Mongol riders were blocked by the bamboo bundles and infantry shields within the Japanese formation.

Those Outer Mongol riders rode even closer, charging to within fifty paces of the Japanese front line, or even nearer, yet their firearms still made no move. However, from behind some infantry shields came melodious commands, the voices quite rhythmic, like opera singing. Then, massive longbows appeared from beside the infantry shields.

Those Japanese archers drew their bamboo bows, taller than a man, pulling them to full crescent, then released the bowstrings.

The whistle of the arrows was extremely fierce. Arrows weighing over two or three taels shot forth; those hit immediately groaned and fell to the ground. Even horses struck by arrows screamed pitifully and collapsed.

Amidst the snapping of bowstrings, Mongol riders were continually shot off their horses. Mostly clad in light armor, how could they withstand such a fierce Japanese bow at close range? Soon, these Outer Mongol riders turned their horses with a thunderous rumble and retreated.

Duoduo shifted his telescope. This coalition of daimyo was not simple at all.

But by this time, the Qing shield carts had been pushed to within a hundred paces of the Japanese front line. Commands echoed in layers from the other side; those archers withdrew, and the dark muzzles of arquebuses protruded from the openings of the bamboo bundles.

All the Qing soldiers crouched low, making the most of the shield carts for cover. The Koreans pushing the carts also kept their heads as low as possible, using both hands to shove the shield carts forward.

One hundred paces, ninety paces, eighty paces, seventy paces. Suddenly, a gong and drum signal rang out from the Japanese main camp. Immediately, the crack of arquebus fire erupted into a continuous roar. Fierce bursts of flame shot from the openings of each bamboo bundle, and then thick white smoke spread, blanketing the space of several hundred bamboo bundles in front of the Japanese formation.

Duoduo felt a sense of alarm. Such fierce firearms — their power seemed hardly inferior to the Jingbian Army he had experienced.

He saw some carts halt; clearly, some of the Korean auxiliaries pushing them had been hit. But fortunately, the shield carts were well-made, and the Eight Banner arquebusiers and archers following behind used the carts for cover as much as possible. Even if some unlucky ones were hit, the casualties were clearly not yet heavy.

Sixty paces. Another volley of arquebus fire, flames and smoke merging into one continuous line at the bamboo bundles. This volley seemed to bring down more men on the Qing side, and some shield carts were also penetrated, likely by those six-monme arquebuses.

Fifty paces. An even more violent volley of arquebus fire erupted from the Japanese side. The space around the Japanese bamboo bundles was now completely shrouded in smoke.