Chapter 495: The Line of Defense

"Tan Tai took the light cavalry and the elite guards to the North Bank — that is, to screen and reconnoiter the Wuqing Southern Barbarians. The one who came from the Plain Yellow Banner is Meile Zhangjing Babuhai, who brought only two hundred Armored Soldiers, plus three hundred Banner Mongols and five Company Commander retainers. They are already in position on the south side."

Dudu listened expressionlessly. The one reporting to him was Ye Chen, the Banner Commander of the Bordered Red Banner. Fiyanggū had gone to the opposite village entrance to supervise. Dudu himself belonged to the Bordered Red Banner, so Ye Chen, the Bordered Red Banner's Banner Commander, had become his deputy.

Tan Tai was the Plain Yellow Banner's Banner Commander. Although not a Beile, he was a Deliberative Minister and, more importantly, Huang Taiji's trusted confidant; he did not fear Dudu, the nominal commander. Yesterday, when tasks were assigned and the Plain Yellow Banner was ordered to deal with the Ming cavalry, Tan Tai took all the elite guards with him — clearly unwilling to commit his best troops to a grinding assault.

The Ming cavalry that came raiding yesterday were numerous and required the Plain Yellow Banner to handle, so even though Tan Tai was half-hearted about attacking the village, Dudu could hardly say much. The Plain Yellow Banner's attack position was on the south side, where there were many depressions and field ridges, offering limited ground to advance. This number of men was probably sufficient.

"Ailixi came on his own; he's attacking the west side with Beizi Fiyanggū."

Ye Chen finished and said no more. Dudu and he were both from the Bordered Red Banner, so the deployment of their own banner was clear. The remainder was the Plain Red Banner — needless to say, the main attack force. The Bordered Red Banner and part of the Plain Red Banner would assault the eastern village entrance; the Bordered Blue Banner and the remaining Plain Red Banner would assault the western village entrance.

Although the chance of these Ming troops escaping was slim, the due-north direction was still left open. The main attack axes remained the two village entrances, and the force bearing the brunt of the assault was still the Plain Red Banner.

Dudu was a low-ranking Beile, holding only the nominal title of temporary commander. He lacked Yoto's standing and authority, and the best he could do was get all four banners to show up. This was not like attacking the Xuan-Da army at Jiazhuang — after routing the Xuan-Da forces, they could plunder freely, which was a matter for the entire Right Wing. Now they had only blocked the Plain Red Banner. Although he had barely managed to summon them all, it was inevitable that each banner had its own calculations, especially with departure from the passes imminent. Having seized money, grain, women, and children, they could look forward to a good year ahead — no one wanted to die storming a fortified position.

When they set out, Huang Taiji had ordered the Qing army not to attack strong cities, but the village before them could hardly be classified as a strong city. If they let it go without a fight, the Plain Red Banner's losses would have been severe, and Du Lei would go back and lodge a complaint with Daišan. That Second Beile held very high status and was rather harsh with people; Dudu feared he would be unable to account for it. So this village still had to be attacked.

Dudu could clearly observe Wangzhuang's defenses. This was an ordinary northern village. Along its edges, because of the need to guard against bandits, sections had been built with adobe walls. These Ming troops relied mainly on the houses and earthen walls to construct their defensive line.

On the official road, three trenches had been dug within thirty paces. Probably because the ground was hard, none of them were deep, but they had cut the road. If the shield carts were to pass, they would need to be filled in.

Around the village's perimeter, using those adobe walls and houses as the main framework, a continuous rampart had been piled up with grain sacks. The ground in front of the rampart was thickly staked with wooden posts — no telling how deep they were buried. In front of the posts lay wrecked cart frames, their wheels mostly smashed, just lying there collapsed on the ground, forming a barrier of broken carriages.

Ye Chen beside him was more worried, because the scene he saw when he arrived yesterday was completely different from now. This Ming force was not large in number, yet to accomplish so much in a single night indicated a very high degree of organization. In one night, the outskirts of this small village had changed appearance. The rampart in front of the eastern village entrance had also been lengthened, with several new gaps added, but no cannons were visible.

"He Chenggong, can their cannons penetrate the shield carts?"

Dudu was asking a general officer beside him. He Chenggong was a Meile Zhangjing of the Tianyou Army, roughly equivalent to a Deputy General in the Ming Army. He had followed Kong Youde in the Dengzhou rebellion and later crossed the sea to defect to the Qing army under Ming attack. The other man beside him, Ceng Chuankong, was Geng Zhongming's Deputy General. The Dengzhou army had once received training from Frankish instructors, and their cannoneers could be considered experts within the entire Ming army, especially in the manufacture and use of Red Barbarian cannons. Among the Border Armies, only the Liao Garrison could compare with them.

"To answer my Master's question: if the shield carts were made with care, they could withstand it. These shield carts were thrown together last night — I fear they cannot." He Chenggong first phrased his words very flexibly, then added, "These Southern Barbarians' cannons I have not seen before, but their barrels are both small and thin. They are certainly not Western cannons, and when fired they have no real accuracy. As long as we have many shield carts, we need not fear them."

Ye Chen looked at He Chenggong. "What about your cannons, then? Can they collapse his walls and houses?"

"To answer Master Ye Chen: these general cannons are even more useless."

Ye Chen had actually known this all along. It was just that, knowing this Ming force was tough to crack, he harbored a sliver of hope in his heart.

These Qing general officers were veterans of countless battles and knew every type of Ming firearm like the back of their hands. This kind of general cannon had no accuracy, pitifully low power, and frequently burst its barrel — posing a greater threat to their own side. It absolutely could not be placed where the formation was dense, and one needed to keep well away when it was fired.

What they truly wanted were Red Barbarian cannons. Against the kind of earthen wall before them, one shot could collapse an entire section. But a single Red Barbarian cannon weighed several thousand jin and needed oxen to drag it; its movement speed was extremely slow, making it unsuitable for long-range expeditions.

During this border incursion, Red Barbarian cannons had been used to attack the pass fortifications. To avoid slowing the army's march, the Qing had transported the Red Barbarian cannons three months in advance to Mongol tribes outside the border to await orders. They had been spotted by Ji Garrison point scouts, who reported to the Ministry of War that Tartars were transporting cannons and paving roads outside the border passes. The Chongzhen Emperor even personally inquired about it, but Yang Sichang believed the Qing army could not possibly bring Red Barbarian cannons into a raid, and ultimately it was not taken seriously.

These Red Barbarian cannons were later used to attack the Qingshan Pass Pass fortifications, but they were not carried into the passes afterward, so they were of no help now.

Dudu waved his hand, dismissing He Chenggong and the other man. Ye Chen swept his gaze over the village once more and said, "Reporting to the Beile: back at Tongcheng Post, I already felt this bunch of barbarians was strange. If we don't wipe them out, it will always feel like a loose end. And sure enough, trouble has come of it today. We must annihilate this Anqing Battalion today, or who knows how much trouble they'll stir up next time."

"These past two days, Beile Hooge has sent men three times to urge us to hurry north. The Plain Blue Banner is staying at Hexiwu, which means they won't be coming any further south." Dudu sighed and looked up at the sky. "Tan Tai stayed behind last night and made a point of telling me that no one knows when the river ice will break up."

He stopped there, but the meaning was clear. The river they had to cross was not just this Yongding River; at the very least, they had to cross Shunyi County before the ice thawed. The village before them had to be attacked, but it was not a place to stake their lives.

Dudu could not say these words directly. Ye Chen understood the meaning and said no more.

At that moment, the line was surging with heads — the Plain Red Banner's shield carts were already in position. But these shield carts were all crudely made: the better ones were modified from cart frames, the worse ones were simply pushcarts with planks nailed on.

Dudu turned his head to look at Ye Chen. "Have Du Lei execute Buyan before the troops. Order each banner to send their Aha to fill the pits and level the ground. He Chenggong and Ceng Chuankong are to advance their cannons and fire lances first, to bait the barbarians into firing."

Ye Chen acknowledged the order and immediately sent a personal guard to relay it. Dudu turned back. At one of the gaps in the Ming army's chest rampart opposite, a new cannon had appeared. The number of cannons at the eastern village entrance had reached five — clearly, the Ming army had confirmed the Qing's main attack axis and transferred them from elsewhere.

Dudu furrowed his brow. He had not directly participated in the fighting at Tongcheng Post and had no firsthand impression of this Ming force. But this was the first time on a battlefield he had seen cannons moved so quickly. These Southern Troops were indeed strange, different in some way from other Ming armies.

Before he could even speak, a second new cannon appeared.

……

A small cannon, pushed by several artillerymen, rumbled through the village path. Wu Dacai stepped aside to let them pass first.

This was the southeast corner of Wangzhuang, a section that was the Second Company's defense zone. Wu Dacai had been following the defensive line from the western village entrance, inspecting the clerk officers of each unit, and had just arrived here.

Amid the continuous sound of horns from outside, Wu Dacai, leaning on his cane, came up to the defensive line. From the Qing army opposite came a roll of drums.

Wu Dacai reached the chest rampart. Across the open field, the Qing army's multicolored banners streamed in the wind. The dense mass of men was truly heart-stopping.

Then he noticed: about twenty paces outside the chest rampart, behind a collapsed cart frame lying on the ground, a person was actually hiding. The person was wrapped in a cotton coat that looked fairly decent, huddled motionless behind the cart frame, with some broken timber arranged around for cover.

Wu Dacai stretched out a hand, and a guard quickly pulled out the extendable telescope and placed it in his hand. Wu Dacai searched for quite a while before spotting the Qing army's command banner. Sweeping his gaze briefly, he happened to see a man being dragged out from the formation array. The man was pulled thirty paces in front of the line and forced to kneel; behind him stood someone bearing a great blade.

Wu Dacai instantly shuddered. He had experienced this kind of scene before. Back when Jiao Guozha was beheaded, he had been right beside him, accompanying the execution. In all the years since, he had seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood in battle, had witnessed beheadings countless times, and had grown nearly immune to all manner of scenes. He never expected that today, watching an execution would still make him shudder.

"The Tartars are getting serious."

Wu Dacai said this and hurriedly returned the telescope to the guard. He turned his head to look at the defensive line. Where there were no earthen walls at the village's edge, chest ramparts had been built with grain sacks and timber. A cannon was deployed here; the shells had all been taken out of their crates and laid on the ground. Several artillerymen were talking in low voices. The Iron Armor infantry around them were all fully armored, sitting and resting against various spots. Some soldiers wearing Cotton Armor stood by the chest rampart, and a few civilian laborers were positioned a bit further back.

A Heavy Infantry Banner Team was deployed at this position: two squads arrayed along the chest wall, one squad held in the rear as a reserve. The Banner Commander was right beside him. Wu Dacai asked him directly, "What's the story with that person outside?"

The Banner Commander recognized him as the Deputy Chief Clerk and hurriedly stood up. "She only fled over last night. The Pacification troops aren't letting anyone into the defensive line — they say they're afraid of spies. This woman can't get in but won't leave, so she's just hiding out there. We tried to chase her off, but she won't go."

Wu Dacai frowned, thinking it over. Jiang Guoyong's arrangement did seem more prudent — who knew what kind of person might come? He decided to drop the matter for now.

"Where is your company's clerk officer?"

"He just went with the Centurion."

"Has he been issued a weapon and cotton cloth?"

The Banner Commander hadn't paid attention. He paused for a moment, then said, "He has."

Wu Dacai stared at the Banner Commander. "Has he or hasn't he?"

The Banner Commander visibly tensed up. Wu Dacai felt even more that the man was just brushing him off. At that moment, there came the sound of hurried footsteps — the clerk officer came rushing over from the neighboring banner team.

Wu Dacai looked him up and down. This company clerk officer carried a Waist Saber and had a pack slung over his shoulder — indeed, fully equipped.

Previously, Wu Dacai had required all clerk officers to study military trauma medicine, mainly bandaging, stopping bleeding, and triage. Whether it proved useful or not, they had to carry weapons and trauma supplies when going into battle.

Following his habit from his Centurion days, Wu Dacai flipped through all the soldier tags. Something still felt off. Finally, he realized: this clerk officer had no armor at all, not even Cotton Armor — far too different from the fully armed Heavy Infantry around him.

"The Tartars are about to attack. If you have no armor, grab a shield for yourself."

Wu Dacai glanced back. A few Heavy Infantrymen who had shields had set them on the ground; hearing this, they hurriedly snatched them up. Wu Dacai didn't dare snatch equipment from combat soldiers. He spotted a large half of a door plank further back. The clerk officer went to wrestle with the door plank himself. Its width made it hard to grip, and he crouched on the ground for a long while without getting up. No one around went to help.

Wu Dacai's gaze swept the circle, his expression cold. "You are the Second Company's clerk officer, an officer of the Second Company, of the same rank as a Deputy Centurion. Everyone here — whether soldier, officer, or civilian laborer — you can command."

The Banner Commander beside him, seeing which way the wind was blowing, hastily called over two Heavy Infantrymen to help.

At that moment, another roll of drums sounded from the east. Wu Dacai turned to look and just happened to see the great blade fall. The kneeling man's head dropped to the ground. Several Qing soldiers picked up the head and rode along the battle line, holding the head high for all the troops to see.

Both sides had witnessed the head-parading ritual. Wu Dacai knew the assault was imminent. Not wanting to linger in this Second Company any longer, he watched as the men propped up the door plank, then turned away in ill humor and headed toward the eastern village entrance. Only when he reached the main road did he stop.

Half a Heavy Infantry Company was waiting along the road as a reserve force. Wu Dacai stepped a few paces aside and said to his guard, "What kind of Clerk Officer is this — does he even fucking know what an officer is! In other companies, do any Clerk Officers act like him? Every soldier who sees a Clerk Officer is respectful. But this Second Company — they all watched him unable to lift it and still dared not help. He's disgracing my Document Team." Wu Dacai, his face full of displeasure, said to the guard, "Next time this Second Company Centurion is up for promotion, I will personally review it. And remind me — as soon as we're back, I'm removing this Clerk Officer."

The guard hurriedly said, "This humble one will remember."

"Huang Wa, remember this: a Clerk Officer in the army is an officer, not just a scribe who writes and calculates. You determine military merits and reward silver ranks — the Pacification Squad writes it up, but the Clerk Officer must sign off too. For promotions, the Clerk Officer also countersigns. You are an officer."

The guard hastily agreed. Wu Dacai's anger subsided a little. He returned to the village road. The livestock and carriages on the road had all been cleared away; only the waiting Heavy Infantry reserve force remained. After walking a few steps toward the west-side exit, he suddenly stopped and said, "I am the Chief Clerk Officer. Once the fighting starts, I need to find some handy weapon."

"My lord, you're wearing a waist saber."

"With these legs, I can't swing or hack — can't kill Tartars. I need something handy. A line spear… that also takes leg strength. Cocking a heavy crossbow takes waist and leg power too. What else is there…"

The guard froze for a moment, not expecting Wu Dacai to truly mean to fight and kill. His eyes darted about briefly, then he said, "My lord could use a fire lance. The Field Artillery Test Team is right at Dongcunkou. This humble one can help my lord load it."

"Will this fire lance burst the barrel?"

"It's made in our own workshop. It hasn't burst once on this expedition."

Wu Dacai thought it over and said, "Then let's try the fire lance."

Before his words had faded, another roll of drums sounded outside, and a tidal roar of battle cries shook the earth.