Chapter 284: Reinforcements

That night the Wendeng battalion set up camp in the open, with three lanterns hung high at the central command post, not covered by any black cloth — clearly showing they didn't take the Jianzhou bandits at Jinzhou seriously at all. In reality, ambush squads and night scouts were posted all around. Those bondservants, torches in hand, toiled through the night, building shielded carts and crude scaling ladders. The Later Jin troops made no harassing raids during the night, and both sides remained undisturbed until daybreak.

Early the next morning, the Wendeng camp resounded with continuous drumming. The battle troops, arrayed in neat formation, filed out of camp one after another and drew up in battle order one li from the city wall.

Outside the northern camp wall sat a dark, dense mass of people, around five hundred in total. They were divided into ten small groups sitting on the ground, fifty to a group, wolfing down the steamed cakes in their hands. Hearing the commotion behind them, they all craned their necks this way and that, sizing up the four-pounder cannons rumbling past.

These were all military households from Lüshun who had been mobilized yesterday to assault the city. Some of them had taken part in the Liaodong raids before and counted as having combat experience. They were all Han people of Liaodong, nursing a deep hatred for the Jianzhou bandits. In the past, when they had no food to eat and no clothes to wear, they would still follow Mao Wenlong on raids, and pick up a little plunder on the side.

In their eyes, this group of Ming troops from Dengzhou was powerfully built, superbly equipped, moved in uniform precision, and marched with formidable toughness — utterly different from any Ming army they had ever seen. Though they couldn't quite put the feeling into words, they knew in the end that this was a rare strong army, and the troops moved with such confidence that they seemed not to regard fighting the Jianzhou bandits as anything serious. So these poor wretches thought maybe they really could beat the Jianzhou bandits at Jinzhou. And so, for the sake of food, they gritted their teeth and signed up as auxiliary soldiers, led by some Wendeng troops seconded to direct them in odd jobs. On the march they too were full of high spirits — until the Later Jin cavalry arrived.

During yesterday's battle, they had been at the very rear of the southern slope. They heard all the commotion from the other side of the hill, and especially after the Later Jin troops began blowing conch horns and bugles, the fear of Later Jin soldiers that had built up in their hearts over many years surged up. Many wanted to turn and flee for their lives, but several dozen Wendeng soldiers stood guard, using blades and spears to threaten anyone who tried to run, holding these men's fragile nerves together.

After only a short while, someone came to notify them to go clean up the battlefield — and then came the scene that Old Fourth Zhong and the others had witnessed.

The fighting power of the Wendeng troops filled these men with the deepest admiration. After arriving beneath the city walls yesterday, some training officers came and announced the rewards for scaling the city, along with the lure of priority conscription in the future. These Dongjiang soldiers all signed up to take part in the city assault, five hundred men in all. The strongest among them donned armor and were placed in the front ranks. Once they got their weapons and armor, they suddenly felt immensely martial and imposing.

After Zhao Xuan finished speaking, Old Fourth Zhong walked up in front of the two groups of men. These one hundred men would be assaulting the section of wall he was covering, and he was to give them the briefing. Before him, a crowd of Dongjiang soldiers wore clothes they had just stripped yesterday from Later Jin corpses — some had snatched gowns, some had grabbed undergarments, a motley assortment of every color and pattern, looking very much like a Beggars' Guild assembly. They sat on the ground, studying Old Fourth Zhong with curiosity, very intrigued by this sort of pre-battle briefing.

Seeing their grimy faces and rope-like strands of hair, Old Fourth Zhong suddenly recalled that five years ago he himself had looked exactly the same — until the day he joined Chen Xin by the Tongzhou riverbank for the sake of a bowl of thin gruel, and his life finally changed. These soldiers fought on sheer bloody courage; their bodies were frail, their combat skills mediocre, and they would be killed all too easily. In his heart, Old Fourth Zhong didn't quite agree with sending them onto the battlefield at this moment. But he himself was still on probationary demotion, and had no way to offer advice to his superiors.

"What you have to do," Old Fourth Zhong said loudly, "is mount the scaling ladders and get onto the city wall. When you scale the wall, our artillery and musketeers will support you from below. There are six battle-soldier banner units down here. As long as you seize a small section on top of the wall, the battle troops behind will charge up. Then you follow those battle troops and attack the gate tower, and then you must open the city gate. Don't go running around blindly — you must remember to attack the city gate…"

A quarter of an hour later, the ten four-pounder cannons of the three company-commander divisions began roaring all at once. The three-catty iron balls did little damage to the city wall, leaving no more than a shallow pit on impact, but the intimidating momentum rose immediately. After switching to canister shot, not a single Later Jin soldier could be seen on top of the wall.

Several dozen shielded carts creaked and groaned as they slowly advanced toward the southern gate. Pushing them were over two hundred Later Jin bondservants.

These shielded carts had no standardized design. When the Wendeng troops set them to the task, they told these bondservants: whoever builds a cart pushes it himself. So the bondservants worked overtime, not daring the slightest carelessness, and gave full play to their own ingenuity, devising countless reinforcement methods to give themselves a little more chance of staying alive. The most creative among them actually spread a layer of earth on top. But what they didn't expect was that the sturdiest carts were assigned to the front row, and the slightly inferior ones to the rear, to provide cover for the musketeers — which actually greatly reduced the danger. Sometimes, when you don't fully grasp the objective, being too diligent isn't a good thing.

Behind the twenty shielded carts in the front row were the Dongjiang soldiers carrying loads on shoulder poles, the baskets filled with earth. Behind the second row of shielded carts were several hundred musketeers drawn from the Fourth Company-Commander Division; they would cover the Dongjiang soldiers filling the moat.

Seventy paces farther out were the armored Dongjiang soldiers, divided into squads of fifty, each squad equipped with three scaling ladders. These crude ladders had no protective cover for the approach, only iron hooks at the top that could catch onto the battlements to prevent the defenders from easily pushing them over. There was also a support frame in the middle section, allowing more men to climb at the same time. They were waiting for the moat to be filled before launching their assault. In the very last row were six killer-flag battle-soldier units, personally commanded by Dai Zhenggang. The moment an opportunity arose, they would immediately scale the wall in support.

The front row of shielded carts creaked and groaned, soon reaching the edge of the moat. The rear row of carts halted ten paces back, and from behind them dense ranks of musketeers emerged, leveling their gun barrels at the top of the wall.

Jinzhou had originally possessed a broad moat, one zhang seven chi deep and six zhang five chi wide. But after the Later Jin occupation, the surrounding area was stripped of human habitation. The Later Jin garrison was small in number, and the two or three hundred bondservants also had to feed horses and till the land, leaving no capacity to maintain the moat. After years of collapse and erosion by rainwater, the moat had shrunk to only half its original width, with many sections blocked, and the water in it was only a few chi deep.

Jinzhou had four gates in total. The city's internal layout, like most Ming-era cities, followed a cross-shaped street plan, with two main avenues running north-south and east-west connecting the four gates. The Wendeng battalion's main assault targeted the southern gate, named Cheng'en Gate — a name shared with the gates of many other cities.

With a battle cry, the Dongjiang soldiers filling the moat burst out from behind the front row of shielded carts, scrambling over one another to dump earth and stones into the moat, then turned back to fetch a second load. Those two hundred-odd bondservants also began running back, likewise to take part in the moat-filling work.

Hearing the commotion, some figures appeared on the city wall, drawing bows and preparing to shoot. Below the wall, over a hundred matchlocks fired at once, the dense gunfire deafening. The battlements atop the wall were struck, sending stone chips flying wildly. Several archers were hit, struggling and then vanishing from the wall top. Alarmed shouts of the Later Jin soldiers rang out. The musketeers who had fired immediately withdrew, and a fresh batch of gunners replaced them behind the shielded carts.

"Each of you keep your eyes on the battlement directly across from you. Don't worry about anyone else's. Watch for anyone who dares show his head. Each squad fires one volley together — don't you damn well all shoot at once." Old Fourth Zhong paced back and forth among the shielded carts, taking advantage of the lull in the artillery fire to remind the squad leaders.

In one company-commander division of the reserve battalion, numbering a thousand men, there were only four hundred pikemen. The six hundred musketeers were divided into three rotating volley groups, alternately covering the soldiers filling the moat. The Later Jin soldiers dared not show their heads, and shot from positions set back from the battlements, greatly reducing their accuracy.

After a little over two hours, the moat was filled to a sufficient width. The Dongjiang soldiers in the rear ranks howled loudly and came swarming forward, carrying the scaling ladders.

A hundred paces away, Chen Xin calmly observed the city wall. Before his eyes, white smoke from the gun and cannon fire hung thick, blurring his vision, but for quite a while now he had seen no figures on top of the wall.

The Dongjiang soldiers had already surged across the moat and were hurriedly hooking the scaling ladders onto the battlements. The top of the wall was eerily quiet. Chen Xin's palms were sweating. He did not know what tricks the Later Jin troops had up their sleeves. These Dongjiang soldiers had a real desperate, life-risking drive; after training, they would all become steadfast soldiers, and Chen Xin was loath to see them die in a city assault.

The first batch of Dongjiang soldiers began climbing the scaling ladders. Chen Xin's heart tightened involuntarily. Although he had already fought quite a few battles, every time battle was imminent, his emotions still fluctuated.

The first Dongjiang soldier neared the top of the wall. The soldiers below let out a tidal roar of encouragement. They saw him pause briefly at the battlement opening, then brandish his short saber and leap into the battlement.

Not far from Chen Xin, Zhao Xuan bellowed at a military judge, "That's the Lüshun soldier I mobilized! His name is Liu Liu! He's still wearing the padded jacket I gave him! He's the only one left in his entire village — he dreams of nothing but killing Tatars! You remember he was the first to scale the wall — don't get it wrong!"

The second and third soldiers also leaped onto the city wall. Below, cheers thundered, yet from the wall top came no sound of fighting. Chen Xin had no idea what game the Jianzhou bandits were playing. Just as his mouth was going dry with tension, a relay rider galloped up at high speed and reported loudly: "Cavalry Battalion Company Commander Zhu Guobin reports to my lord: the Yong'an Gate to the north has been thrown wide open. Over a hundred Jianzhou bandits have fled on horseback, and some have fled on foot. The cavalry battalion and scout riders are in pursuit."

Chen Xin's heart relaxed. These Later Jin soldiers, after being routed yesterday, must have lost their nerve. Perhaps their commander, fearing punishment, had held on for a while longer, but now, seeing that the Wendeng battalion was truly assaulting the city, they could finally hold out no longer and fled.

He promptly dispatched relay riders from his own central command to deliver the news to the front line. Watching those figures still clambering up, he murmured, "Good luck. After training, you won't die so easily."

"Liu Pojun!" Chen Xin shouted.

"Here. Awaiting my lord's orders." Liu Pojun, more cautious and circumspect than ever, hurried over.

"Take my guard squad and the remaining light cavalry of the central command. Scout along Hongzui Fort as far as Guifu Fort, then turn back. You are not to exceed three days. If you encounter a small enemy force, you may attack. If you meet a large force, withdraw."

Liu Pojun looked up in surprise. He was still in a state of disgrace, his prestige in the army having plummeted, yet Chen Xin was once again assigning him a troop command. In the next instant, he understood the intention behind Chen Xin's arrangement. At present, only these comrades of the central command, who spent every day together, could still follow his orders with peace of mind. This was also giving him a chance to restore his reputation.

Liu Pojun lowered his head and said with emotion, "Your subordinate thanks my lord for his trust."

"Pick a few guides who can ride from among those Lüshun military households. They'll prove useful. This time you'll be using roving cavalry to raid enemy territory. Remember, do not get bogged down in a tangled fight. Whether you hit or miss, strike once and withdraw immediately. Coming and going like the wind is the very essence of roving cavalry. Before you act, listen more to the opinions of those veteran soldiers."

"Your subordinate understands!"

"Go make preparations at once. Take a few extra horses from yesterday's captures to carry beans. Usually march on foot more, to conserve the horses' strength. Show those Jianzhou bandits what we're made of."

Liu Pojun saluted forcefully, turned, and left.

"Wang Mafu, send relay riders to the west coast to see if the fleet has arrived. If it has, have all ships of 'wave-cleaving' class and above offload their provisions and fodder. After unloading, all ships are to sail north along the west coast, make a sweep past the Fuzhou coast, and return via Chapai Rock northwest of Fuzhou, then anchor at Niangniang Temple to await orders."…

Inside the city of Dalinghe, the scene was one of bleak desolation and ruin. Zu Dashou's face was gaunt and haggard. The city's grain was exhausted. Since mid-second month, the officers and soldiers had begun eating human flesh to stave off hunger — first the commoners who had starved to death, then those who had fainted from hunger, and after that, they scoured everywhere to hunt down merchants and civilians who were hiding.

Inside the city there was neither firewood nor fruits or vegetables. Large numbers of people had contracted scurvy. Dalinghe, which originally held over forty thousand soldiers and civilians, now had fewer than fifteen thousand left. A large body of Liaozhen's finest troops had been trapped to death inside the city by a few encircling trenches. Of the fifteen thousand remaining, fewer than five thousand could still mount the walls to fight. Among them, the retainers and battle soldiers numbered no more than three thousand. The once mighty Zu family army now lacked even the ability to sally forth and give battle.

In the distance, the Later Jin earthen fortifications still stood firm. From the start of the siege until now, the relief army Zu Dashou had been hoping for had never appeared — not even a messenger had shown up. The unchanging scene outside the city made Zu Dashou's brow furrow deeply. He had originally thought the Later Jin troops would be unable to endure the transport difficulties of winter and would withdraw. As it turned out, they had actually maintained the siege through the entire winter.

"Foster father, Huang Taiji has sent another letter." Zu Kefa's voice rang out. Zu Dashou looked at this adopted son. Once a tall, mighty, and imposing stalwart man, he now walked somewhat unsteadily, his eye sockets deeply sunken. His bosom bulged lumpily, with half a human arm sticking out.

Zu Kefa saw Zu Dashou looking at his bosom, glanced down and noticed the human hand exposed, and casually stuffed it back in.

"What does it say?"

"The same words as before. All officers are to be promoted one rank above their current rank…"

"Can the official posts of his Jianzhou bandits be the same as the Great Ming's? What Huang Taiji gives is nothing but an empty title. The Tatars' power all lies in the hands of the banner lords. Even if he enfeoffs you a marshal, it's useless."

Zu Kefa said in a low voice, "But if the siege continues, in a few more days there won't even be human flesh left to eat. Yesterday they already began eating the weak and emaciated soldiers in camp. It seems Huang Taiji won't leave until he's starved us all to death. No one in camp obeys orders anymore. A few more days…"

Zu Dashou knew this was the truth. Huang Taiji had invested such enormous cost, yet had no presentable battle achievements to show for it. If he withdrew empty-handed at the final moment, it would undoubtedly be a fatal blow to his prestige. If no relief army came, Zu Dashou would have no choice but to take the path of surrender — no matter how utterly unwilling he was in his heart.

"What does He Kegang say now?"

"He still says we must not surrender to the Jianzhou bandits. Yesterday a squad commander brought it up, and he cut him down with one stroke of his blade."

Zu Dashou's eyes darkened. He motioned Zu Kefa to lean closer and said in a low voice, "Prepare some retainers. Let them eat their fill. Tomorrow at noon, this official will invite He Kegang…"

Suddenly, a series of signal cannons boomed outside the city. A nearby retainer shouted, "My lord, look! The Tatars' Khan's banner is leaving camp."

Zu Dashou stopped at once and walked to the battlements. Two li away, the Later Jin's gold-brocade Khan's banner was indeed departing camp. Drums and bugles sounded continuously from every camp. Most of the gushan banners and banner-lord banners were on the move. The clamor of shouting men and neighing horses could be heard far and near.

Zu Kefa said excitedly, "They're heading south! Most of the troops have been pulled away. It must be that Lord Sun has sent a great army to rescue us. We're saved!"

Zu Dashou nodded repeatedly, his own mood greatly stirred. After Zu Kefa finished shouting, he turned his head and asked, "Foster father, you just told me to prepare some retainers, but you didn't say what for."

"Mm. Nothing. Let's wait and see first."