Chapter 888: Coverage

(Below is the grand finale. Depending on the plot, it may be divided into two chapters: "Total Annihilation" and "My Homeland." The final chapter's timeframe will shift to a few months later, using Chongzhen's perspective to address some necessary character events and so on. Because I need to carefully review and think, if there is no update tomorrow, then it will be around the evening of the day after tomorrow.)

"Fire!"

The explosive cracks of gunfire merged into a single continuous roar, as if a massive wall of smoke had risen behind the dozens of li of breastworks along the Shenling Mountain defense line. White smoke curled upward, and before it could disperse, another sharp swan-whistle sounded. The muzzle flashes erupting from the smoke once again linked into a solid line, and thick white smoke billowed and hung heavy above the breastworks.

Beyond the outermost low wall seventy paces away, the densely charging slave rebels—whether Han Eight Banners, Japanese Eight Banners, or Korean Eight Banners secondary Tatars—were mown down in droves under these two ferocious volleys of platoon fire, collapsing like grass before a hurricane.

At most, they wore a single layer of crude cotton armor; the Japanese Eight Banners had only bamboo armor. Against the firepower of the Jingbian Army, once hit, how could they possibly withstand it? Fountains of blood mist erupted from each of their bodies as they tumbled to the ground in heaps, letting out heart-rending, lung-splitting howls.

Those who were not hit also frantically threw themselves behind the pitifully few shield carts and bamboo bundles to hide.

Or they dove behind the knee-high earthen walls, sticking their buttocks up like ostriches, stubbornly refusing to rise.

Then came the ferocious roar of Crouching Tiger cannons and Frankish breech-loaders. After the bursts of thick smoke erupted, countless tiny black shadows seemed to fan out and blast across the passageways. Blood mist raged wildly, and countless small blossoms of blood bloomed like splashed ink. The surging crowd collapsed in dense, overlapping rows.

Not to mention the secondary Tatars struck by shot whose miserable screams shook heaven and earth—the power of the canister shot even shattered and toppled some of the bamboo bundles and shield carts being pushed forward.

The Shenling Mountain defense line resembled the old Julu defense line. The twenty-plus li of low walls and trenches had about a hundred gaps left open; each gap held one Crouching Tiger cannon, and at critical points, an additional small or medium Frankish cannon was added. These gap passageways could also be used by the soldiers behind the walls to launch sorties.

The close-range power of the Crouching Tiger cannons was naturally extraordinary, and they were integrated into this defense line—the seventy paces in front of the breastworks, aside from the deliberately left gaps, were entirely a maze of layered trenches and low walls. Right beside the breastworks was a "V"-shaped trench, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, both broad and deep. Crossing it was nearly impossible; the only way was through the passageways.

Then, with dense firelocks aimed from both sides and Crouching Tiger cannons mounted, and the passageways not being very wide, this congested human tide surging forward became a huge, excellent target.

In particular, a single Crouching Tiger cannon could be loaded with anywhere from a hundred to five hundred iron pellets. When this shot was fired, every secondary Tatar struck would roll on the ground, emitting inhuman screams.

Moreover, artillery and rockets were deployed on both Shenling Mountain and Tang Mountain. On the two mountains, there were ten heavy red-barbarian cannons, twenty ordinary red-barbarian cannons, twenty heavy mortars, and a total of ten light rocket launchers. After Sun Sanjie requested them, each of the two mountains was also assigned one heavy rocket launcher, each vehicle carrying ten heavy rocket rounds.

At this moment, these cannons and rockets were firing incessantly, especially extending their bombardment to strike the enemy's rear formations.

From Tang Mountain came the rumbling thunder of cannon fire. Amidst the swirling smoke, a solid iron ball weighing over a dozen jin came howling over, slamming viciously into the ranks of the Manchu Bordered Blue Banner troops overseeing the assault. The metal cannonball bounced and swept across the ground, leaving a trail of heart-rending, lung-splitting screams from men and horses alike.

Watching the scene of flying flesh and blood over there, Jirgalang felt his eyes about to split from rage.

Every time a cannonball howled over, it carved a brutal alleyway of flesh and blood, followed by widespread chaos in the surrounding area.

His own brave warriors stood there alive, taking the beating. Many were elite armored cavalry, even Bayaraa, yet they were dying so pointlessly. The sight of the wounded rolling on the ground, wailing in long, piercing shrieks, made one gnash their teeth in fury, but there was absolutely nothing to be done.

This time, he had led sixty thousand troops straight toward Changping, threatening the Jingbian Army's rear. The army had even brought ten four-wheeled millstone cannons. He had never imagined that as soon as the cannons were pulled out, their heavy cannons, mortars, and those strange, razor-sharp rockets would rain down like a storm.

His ten precious heavy cannons were destroyed in a single breath, causing him to completely lose his long-range firepower. He could only use human lives to fill the Jingbian Army's solid defensive positions.

And then, even his Bordered Blue Banner Manchu soldiers standing in the rear faced the constant bombardment of the Jingbian Army's cannons and rockets. No place was safe; they could only stand there alive and take the beating.

Another piercing howl came, and another solid iron ball weighing over a dozen jin screamed over, slamming into a cluster of men and horses not far from him, accompanied by the sickening sounds of snapping sinews and shattering bones. From the forward areas came even denser howls; three- and five-jin cannonballs roared over from time to time, rampaging unchecked through the crowds.

A chorus of miserable wails and weeping arose. Whether real Tatars or secondary Tatars, all were battered by the cannon fire, crying for their fathers and mothers. Jirgalang's eyes grew increasingly bloodshot with fury, yet he was utterly helpless.

The Jingbian Army's heavy red-barbarian cannons had a maximum range of five li and possessed considerable accuracy at a distance of three to four li; the same was true for the heavy mortars. The remaining ordinary red-barbarian cannons had a maximum range of two to three li and great accuracy at one to two li.

Yet Jirgalang's formations had to be positioned at three or four li, at most four or five li away; otherwise, it would be impossible to supervise and oversee the assault. The Han, Korean, Japanese, and other banners, along with Liu Liangzuo's troops, were positioned even closer, placing them squarely within the bloody swath carved out by the Jingbian Army's metal iron balls.

And there was also...

That unique, fierce howling sound came again. Several more fiery trails shot into the sky, arcing down like falling stars, screaming toward this area.

Amidst the violent explosions, Jirgalang's eyes once again nearly split from rage. His Bayaraa—the most elite warriors of his banner, requiring over a decade, even two decades to cultivate—were sent tumbling in droves by the blasts. Even the three layers of armor they wore were useless.

Some even had their entire bodies catch fire, shrieking miserably. They stumbled and staggered, the flames shooting up from their bodies to twice a man's height. Wherever they passed, everyone retreated in panic. If they were touched by this viscous flame, they too would quickly become a giant fireball.

They screamed pitifully, but no amount of rolling seemed to help; they could only be burned alive.

Watching the horrific state of these comrades and smelling the wafting scent of roasting meat, even the Bayaraa and armored cavalry beside them were gripped by terror and chaos.

The Jingbian Army's rockets specifically targeted the Manchu Bordered Blue Banner armored soldiers overseeing the assault. Earlier, one rocket had even landed directly near Jirgalang's gold-embroidered dragon banner. The dense cloud of small iron pellets splattered like a torrential downpour; a large swath of Jirgalang's guards were knocked down, and several small iron pellets even whizzed past his ears.

Jirgalang no longer dared to stand beneath the great banner. He ordered someone else to hold it while he himself moved far away from the dragon banner.

He watched the chaotic armored soldiers around him with worry, fearing that before the human tide attacking the front collapsed, his own troops overseeing the rear would collapse first.

"Too terrifying."

Liu Liangzuo looked back and felt he didn't know whether it was better to be hit by cannon fire or by rockets.

The various Xuzhou generals beside him were also trembling with fear. Witnessing the firepower of the Jingbian Army for the first time, they were dumbstruck and simultaneously filled with regret.

If they had known, they would have taken the initiative to surrender when the Jingbian Army attacked Changping.

"Can we hit that slave chieftain over there?"

Atop Tang Mountain, Sun Sanjie lowered his telescope and asked the observation officer beside him.

Not far from him were arrayed five light rocket launch rails and one heavy rocket vehicle. Beside each rail and vehicle stood observation officers and observers, each peering through artillery scopes.

Hearing Sun Sanjie's question, the observation officer shook his head: "It's very difficult for rockets to hit a specific, precise target, unless we use large-scale saturation coverage."

Sun Sanjie raised his telescope again to look for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said: "Then watch for the right moment, and fire all the rockets in one breath."

Standing on the mountaintop, he had an unobstructed view. The wilderness below was a sea of humanity, stretching from Mount Jundou in the north to the banks of the Shahe River in the south, seemingly carpeted with the figures of Tatars and secondary Tatars.

In front of the breastworks not far below the mountain, dense crowds of secondary Tatars were packed together in a chaotic mass. Some were crouching, some standing. They also fired their guns and shot arrows, but their sparse gunfire and arrows posed no threat to the defenders behind the breastworks.

After firing two volleys, the arquebusiers who had finished shooting retreated to the rear to reload, while the other two ranks crouched behind the breastworks, waiting quietly. Seeing the secondary Tatars seemingly massing to stand up again, preparing to attempt to surmount the low walls and trenches, a swan-whistle horn suddenly blared. One rank of arquebusiers abruptly stood up and pulled their triggers at the secondary Tatars before them.

A ferocious volley rang out, and blood mist flew everywhere among the crowd before them. Another dense swath of secondary Tatars tumbled over.

"Fire!"

Another sharp swan-whistle sounded, and the other rank of arquebusiers stood up. Amidst the horizontal spread of white smoke, they delivered another ferocious volley. The area in front of the breastworks was piled with corpses. After two more brutal volleys, the Han, Korean, Japanese, and other banner secondary Tatars before them seemed nearly wiped out.

Screams shook heaven and earth. Especially those Japanese and Koreans shrieked piercingly, each one gripped by an indescribable terror.

They had entered the Central Plains perhaps thinking of how to spread military might across the land, to make a name for themselves, or simply to loot. They never imagined it would be the beginning of a nightmare.

"Beat the drums, order the pikemen to attack."

Sun Sanjie on Tang Mountain commanded again.

Amidst the urgent drumbeats, dense ranks of pikemen charged out from the passageways. The secondary Tatars retreated like a receding tide; their assault had failed once more.

The earth trembled slightly. Gradually, this trembling grew more and more violent, finally forming a sound like muffled thunder.

A black line appeared on the horizon, slowly forming into a surging torrent of cavalry. They flooded across the land like a tide, the hooves of tens of thousands of horses pounding the earth like rolling thunder.

Rumble!

They galloped across the wilderness by the mountain, amid sky-shaking dust they raced past Niulan Mountain, past the Caohe Camp not far below the mountain, then split into two streams — one crossed the pontoon bridge directly, the other swept along the riverbank straight for the walls of Shunyi.

These were the Vermilion Bird Army's First-Rate Battalion, Second-Rate Battalion, Elite Cavalry, and Hunter Cavalry under Leopard Tao General Gao Shiyin, plus the Central Army's Cavalry Right Battalion and the army's Third-Rate Rear Battalion troops.

Twenty thousand strong, they came sweeping in a massive flanking assault. Though their horses were uniformly matched and their movement swift, the Qing scout riders by the Shahe were not blind to them.

But watching this vast torrent of mounted cavalry, they did not know what to do. With such an immense force bearing straight down on their rear, even if they rushed the intelligence across, could the main army formation on the river's far bank still react in time?

Banner after banner of sun-moon-and-waves dazzled the eye; one orderly square after another marched in step. They advanced, as monolithic as a mountain, the ground seeming to tremble faintly with every stride.

Li Guangheng narrowed his eyes and glanced that way. Earlier, Wen Fangliang's infantry line here had already shifted into individual squares for swift movement across the open plain, and the ten thousand reserve infantry coming up from the rear had done the same. They moved in order, heavy footfalls merging into a single rhythmic march.

He turned his head to look behind him. Scarlet manes flew like flame, the cold gleam of cavalry lances glittered across the earth — his lance cavalry had already reached Wen Fangliang's position. After a quick council, they formed a cavalry battle array.

They deployed in a wedge formation, with 3,500 horse-lance cavalry as the vanguard. Then Wen Fangliang's First-Rate Battalion adopted the feathered-cavalry tactic, every man wielding a thick-backed saber, while the various Shaanxi-Gansu commanders' mounted retainers and the Loyalty Battalion fighters spread out behind both wings, forming a vast cavalry array.

But before that, let the rockets and cannons teach those roving bandits over there a good lesson first.

They advanced in formation; that blend of lethal intent and soaring spirit could not but bring hot tears to the eyes. You Shiwei, positioned at the front of the right wing, exhaled with deep satisfaction, honored in his heart to join such a high-spirited host. Perhaps after this battle, men like himself would leave their names in the annals of history, held high for a thousand ages.

The great formation advanced. The Azure Dragon Army's First-Rate Battalion was under the primary command of Central Army and Central Battalion officer Yin Yijin, but at this moment Wen Fangliang had also ridden up beside Li Guangheng. Watching the roving bandits' movements over there, Wen Fangliang laughed and said, "It seems the Chuang bandits still haven't given up, trying to put up a desperate last stand."

Li Guangheng said coldly, "They should have fled for their lives long ago."

Yin Yijin said icily, "Ever since the Battle of Tongguan, everything has gone far too smoothly for the roving bandits — especially taking the capital in just two days. They look down on the whole world now. They won't be content until they've smashed their heads bloody against a wall."

Wen Fangliang laughed. "This is what they call 'not shedding tears until you see the coffin.'"

The few of them could see it clearly: large numbers of roving-bandit archers, pikemen, arquebusiers, and other infantry were being urgently rushed over from the rear, and their mounted units also seemed to be massing into formation.

Perhaps in Li Zicheng's view, the cavalry on this side numbered only twenty thousand, while they had forty or fifty thousand — how could they be content without giving battle? And as long as their mounted units kept clear of the infantry squares on this side and did not get entangled with them, they might not be entirely without a fighting chance.

The great formation soon advanced within two li. The roving bandits opposite were still frantically trying to organize their ranks; neither their infantry formation nor their cavalry formation had taken any proper shape. Wen Fangliang gave a contemptuous smile. Perhaps Li Zicheng and his ilk were unwilling to accept defeat, but the performance of the troops under his command laid bare their true quality.

He looked toward the front of the formation. Setting aside the heavy cannons for the moment, all manner of light artillery — especially the rocket battalions: one heavy rocket battalion and two light rocket battalions — were arrayed uniformly at the very front.

"Let these roving bandits have a good taste of rockets! Earlier they were too far away — only their infantry and a few mounted units got a bite. Now we can blanket them. Let them eat their fill!"

"The moment is nearly upon us."

Gazing at the vast military formation opposite — banners like a sea, a mountain-heavy pressure bearing down, as suffocating as Mount Tai pressing on one's head.

Kong San spoke, pulling a box of cigarettes from his bosom and offering one to Old Hu.

Old Hu drew the fire striker from his waist, pulled off the tube sheath, and gave it a fierce shake — the tinder inside reignited.

He lit Kong San's cigarette, then lit his own, took a deep drag, and blew out a great cloud of smoke.

He sheathed the fire striker and stuffed it back, saying viciously, "To catch the bandits, first catch their king. Whether I can become a village head, whether my Old Hu family can produce an official — it all rides on this one job."