Chapter 392: The Battle of Shenyang

After breakfast, Xiong Tingbi stood atop the city wall.

Military banners snapped in the chilly morning breeze, carrying a grim, killing intent.

Xiong Tingbi gazed into the distance at the wild boar-skin army, his expression grave.

Every time battle drew near, Xiong Tingbi was in such a state — he truly could not afford to be anything less than serious, for he was genuinely afraid something might go wrong.

In fact, ever since only the lone city of Shenyang remained, Xiong Tingbi had been in this state constantly.

The reason was simple: if Shenyang fell, Liaoyang certainly could not be held either, and then they would have to fall back to the Guangning–Jinzhou line — the entire Liaodong would be lost, and there would be no way to stop the wild boar-skin from doing other things. For instance, if the wild boar-skin wanted to attack Joseon or push westward, the Great Ming would have no way to stop them.

Only with Shenyang standing here could the wild boar-skin be blocked from going west, and only then would the Great Ming's westward passage not be completely swept away. So Xiong Tingbi knew Shenyang's importance — and of course, the wild boar-skin on the opposite side knew it too.

Nurhaci had harassed Shenyang constantly over the past year, but had never managed to take it.

Xiong Tingbi truly dared not let a single thing go wrong; he had been treading on thin ice, trembling with caution all along. That was how he was even in peacetime — how much more so on the eve of battle?

If anything went wrong in the fighting and Shenyang fell, Xiong Tingbi felt he would have no face to return and see His Majesty. After the current sovereign ascended the throne, he had promoted Xiong Tingbi and had shown him great trust in Liaodong.

Whether Xiong Tingbi asked for money or supplies, His Majesty supported him in everything. Even when he made excessive demands, His Majesty supported them all; when people impeached him, His Majesty never took it to heart.

Such trust was something Xiong Tingbi simply could not betray. Even if he had to lose his life, he would hold fast upon the walls of Shenyang.

Xiong Tingbi's gaze was resolute, his right hand pressing the long blade at his waist, as he spoke slowly to Li Guangrong beside him: "This battle is crucial. Whether Shenyang can be kept safe depends on this coming fight."

"If I fight this battle well, Liaodong will be secure for at least several years. Pass down my order — we must be of one mind, and strive to win a great merit this time. Tell those people at court that we are doing fine work here in Liaodong, and His Majesty's silver has not been wasted! Also tell the officers and men that if we win this battle, I will petition His Majesty for rewards on their behalf — then there will be silver for those who want silver, and official rank for those who want rank."

"Rest assured, Marshal — the brothers have all been holding in a breath of anger. This time we'll teach them a lesson!" Li Guangrong said with a laugh. "We absolutely won't let them gain a single bit of advantage. Even if they bite off a piece of our flesh, we'll knock out one of their teeth!"

"Good, that's the spirit to have!" Xiong Tingbi said with a smile.

Though war clouds hung thick, after finishing breakfast, the wild boar-skin did not attack.

Xiong Tingbi knew that right after a meal, battle was certainly not possible. But the wild boar-skin were not idle either — they kept brandishing their might, and some who feared not death even cursed beneath the city wall.

"Xiong Tingbi, you turtled-headed coward!"

"Xiong the barbarian, you craven!"

"Weakling! Afraid to die!" — words like these kept ringing out beneath the city wall.

Xiong Tingbi stood atop the wall, deaf to such words. The only response to the wild boar-skin's taunts was the occasional stray arrow shot down at them.

Xiong Tingbi's temper was famously explosive, widely told throughout Liaodong. Many said he did not seem like a civil official, but rather more like a military general.

In truth, how a person appears outwardly is always a choice. Xiong Tingbi's manner was, in large part, a way to blend in with the officers and soldiers of Liaodong — it was not that he was naturally so hot-tempered.

Only such behavior could win the trust of the rank and file; only crudeness could make soldiers understand him; only a violent temper could make people fear him.

Such things were common in history — Cao Cao's claim of "I kill in my sleep" was also a form of self-protection.

But many civil officials found it hard to stomach, feeling that Xiong Tingbi's conduct was an affront to scholarly decorum, and this became a point of attack against him. Xiong Tingbi did not care in the least — as long as His Majesty trusted him, nothing else mattered.

As for the curses beneath the walls, Xiong Tingbi paid them even less mind. On the contrary, such abuse only confirmed to him that the enemy dared not attack, and instead wanted to lure him out of the city. How could he play into their hands?

When the sun was three poles high, the wild boar-skin finally stopped their cursing.

Li Guangrong stood beside Xiong Tingbi, his expression extremely ugly.

Xiong Tingbi had not been angered much, but Li Guangrong certainly had been. When the Marshal was insulted like this, how could his men bear it?

"They're coming." Xiong Tingbi said slowly. "Have everyone ready."

"Yes, Marshal." Li Guangrong quickly acknowledged.

The Ming troops atop the wall had long been arrayed in full readiness.

In truth, the two sides had fought more than once already, and the basic tactics were familiar to each other.

Xiong Tingbi had placed wooden barricades below the wall to slow the enemy's advance.

On the wild boar-skin's side, they had set up wagon formations.

This device was originally invented by Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou — a wooden pushcart that moved forward, its front wrapped in iron plate to block arrows, while also being usable to surround and trap the enemy.

This thing was called a shield cart; it could block not only arrows but also fire lances.

Below the wall, ranks of wild boar-skin pushed their shield carts forward — not fast, but advancing very steadily. The bows, arrows, and fire lances atop the wall basically could not break through their defenses; all one could see was them pressing ever onward.

Li Guangrong happened to witness this scene and turned to glance at Xiong Tingbi. Seeing that his Marshal showed no sign of speaking, he could not help but feel anxious inside.

Nurhaci stood on the hillside; his warhorse snorted and pawed the ground from time to time, clearly already excited.

A good horse knows war, and the horse Nurhaci rode was naturally a good one.

"Have them ready the bows and fire lances." Xiong Tingbi said. "Open fire on those below."

"Yes, Marshal." Li Guangrong quickly acknowledged.

As Xiong Tingbi issued this order, gunfire erupted across the city wall — a rain of arrows and a hail of bullets interwove into a net of fire, seeking to reap the wild boar-skin's worthless lives.

The wild boar-skin below the wall did not halt either; they began to counterattack, but mostly they kept pushing their shield carts forward.

Seeing this, Nurhaci's expression grew even more solemn.

His army had already advanced to within one li, and would soon reach the foot of the wall — yet Xiong Tingbi had not chosen to open fire with cannons. This was highly unusual.

One had to know that only cannons could smash the shield carts; muskets and arrows did very limited damage to them.

Suddenly, a bad premonition rose in Nurhaci's heart, but by now it was too late to pull back.

Atop the city wall, Xiong Tingbi said: "Open fire with the cannons!"

At Xiong Tingbi's command, the cannons atop the wall roared.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Flashes of fire instantly blasted toward the enemy opposite.

In an instant, the shield carts below the wall were blown to pieces, some smashed into fragments by solid shot.

Because the firing data had long been calibrated, under the dense blanket of cannon fire, the wild boar-skin army below the wall was instantly stunned senseless.

One had to understand — this was not like before, when cannons fired blindly at random; rather, where every shell would land had already been calculated. The reason they had let the wild boar-skin come close before firing was precisely because they had this confidence.

After the cannon barrage swept over, it produced enormous casualties in an instant.

Seeing this, Nurhaci's face turned even uglier.

He had indeed fallen for it—something had gone wrong!

"Turn our cannons on the city walls and open fire." Nurhaci said with a grim face.

As he finished speaking, cannons were pushed up from several war wagons behind the shield carts, quickly lit, and shells blasted toward the city walls.

The first few shots were not particularly heavy—some solid shot slammed into the walls, while others were explosive shells that landed on the parapets.

Seeing this, Xiong Tingbi said grimly to Li Guangrong: "Check which artillery position that fire is coming from. Have them open fire and knock out those cannons for me."

"Yes, Marshal!" Chen Guangrong answered excitedly.

With his words, the cannons atop the city walls roared once more.

68】 This time, shells screamed into the distance, landing directly behind the Wild Boar Skin army's formation, using nothing but explosive shells.

This time, the cannonballs howled through the air toward the distance, landing directly behind the Wild Boar Skin army's formation, using exclusively explosive shells.

In an instant, the Wild Boar Skin artillery position was engulfed in a sea of explosions.

At the same time, the cannons on the city walls opened fire with even greater intensity, and countless shells rained down into the Wild Boar Skin army's formation.

The Wild Boar Skin army could no longer hold out and began turning to flee, disregarding military orders—there was no way they could keep charging forward now.

"All cannons, open fire! Aim at their army and blast them!" Xiong Tingbi said once again.

In order to let the Wild Boar Skin army get closer, Xiong Tingbi had initially not ordered the long-range cannons to fire. Now that the Wild Boar Skins were fleeing back, those longer-range cannons were just right for opening up.

The barrage instantly extended outward, reaping the Wild Boar Skins who had just glimpsed a chance at survival.

"That cunning Xiong Tingbi!" Nurhaci gnashed his teeth as he watched the scene, shouting in fury.

Meanwhile, atop the city walls, Xiong Tingbi had already arrived before that massive cannon.

Xiong Tingbi looked at Li Yan beside him and asked directly: "Are you all ready?"

At this moment, Li Yan was kneeling on one knee, raising a thumb to measure the distance outside the city.

Upon hearing Xiong Tingbi's words, Li Yan stood straight up and said: "We're ready. Marshal, rest assured—once the cannon fires, I'll send out five shells in the shortest possible time. As for the final result, that will be up to Heaven."

"Good!" Xiong Tingbi nodded and reached out to pat Li Yan on the shoulder.

He turned and said to Li Guangrong beside him: "Haven't you always wanted to charge out? I'll give you the chance. The fifteen thousand cavalry in the city will all be yours in a moment. The moment this cannon fires, you lead the men out."

Upon hearing this, excitement immediately spread across Li Guangrong's face, and he quickly said: "Rest assured, Marshal—I will not let you down!"

Xiong Tingbi nodded and said: "Don't get too happy too soon. If you can't win, then don't come back into the city. Once you ride out, I'll close the gates. If you can't win, just circle around the city and run to the rear."

"If you win, I'll send men to support you. But remember—you may only pursue the enemy for twenty li, no further. Understood?"