Chapter 388: Torment

ps: Went to the hospital today for a check-up; taking "medicine" left me in poor spirits, so the update is late — my apologies. Thanks to everyone's support, we held onto the top six in the category last month. Once again asking for guaranteed monthly tickets. Thank you all.

With a thunderous boom, a plume of white smoke rose ahead. Clods of earth and small stones rained down everywhere, scattering as far as several dozen paces away. The cavalry behind reined in one after another and turned their horses around to keep the horses' eyes from being injured by the stones. A brief spell of minor chaos rippled through the ranks.

After things calmed down a little, a group of Bayara escorted over ten mounted yuding from various banners forward, making them clear the path ahead. This was human minesweeping. The moment anyone paused even slightly, an arrow would come whistling past. The yuding had no choice but to pick up speed and press on along each road.

Two hundred paces back, Yoto watched the scene before him with an expressionless face. He was the commander of the vanguard army, which included over five hundred Bayara from various banners. These elite troops, clad in gleaming silver-white armor, were highly conspicuous. Dispersed throughout the ranks, they wore back-banners of different colors or had small flags tied to their lance shafts, marking their respective banner affiliations. These elite soldiers were the source of Yoto's confidence.

Hong Taiji's plan was to secretly conceal troops at Fuzhou, then send a decoy force toward the Xiuyan area to lure the Jinzhou cavalry eastward. Suddenly, five thousand cavalry would mass and race toward Jinzhou, cutting off the Ming cavalry north of Jinzhou. Then the Later Jin main army would follow and arrive at Jinzhou, digging in and besieging it as they had at Jinzhou, forcing Chen Xin to come to its relief. Depending on the situation, the vanguard could also launch a surprise attack on Nanguan and seize the army provisions stored there.

Yoto had thought at the time that trapping them would likely be difficult. The area between Fuzhou and Jinzhou was full of mountainous terrain, and that region had practically become Dengzhou troops' territory — they would certainly encounter blocking actions. So far, no word had come from Xiuyan of Ming cavalry moving east. Yoto believed the Ming army had probably already seen through this stratagem and would not rashly sally forth at this time. So Yoto no longer waited for the Ming army to take the bait. Instead, he struck out directly from Fuzhou, racing at high speed straight for Jinzhou.

But what he had not anticipated was that the enemy would use landmine cannons, delaying him by an entire day. Moreover, fear was spreading through the ranks; everyone was terrified that the ground beneath them might suddenly explode. The Dengzhou landmine cannons used pressure fuzes, ignited by a flintlock mechanism, which was far more reliable than the steel wheels and coiled-incense fuses used by the Ming army. Because they were single-use, the workshops did not even bother with bolts to secure the flint; instead, a small iron box with one side open was mounted atop the cock. The army's accompanying blacksmiths then fixed the flint inside it.

Flintlock ignition could also be unstable at times. Sometimes the front rank would pass and trigger it, but the rear rank would take the blast. This unpredictable triggering only caused greater panic. For a moment, nowhere seemed safe. The Later Jin had come surging forward with overwhelming momentum, yet before these little landmine cannons, all their might was utterly lost.

Yoto was unprepared for this and had no idea how many landmines the Ming army had actually laid, which hampered his decision-making. He dared not risk the armored soldiers of the various banners by forcing a passage. In the end, he decided to make a detour. After the detour, he discovered that the number of landmines was not that great. In order to reach Jinzhou as quickly as possible, he ordered the yuding to march ahead and clear the path.

Columns of wolf-smoke rose in the eastern direction, and Yoto felt a growing anxiety. His plan had been to march for one day; now it looked as if they might not arrive even in two. If they could not achieve a surprise attack, many of the subsequent deployments would be difficult to unfold. The Dengzhou garrison fought with flexibility. If they withdrew to Lushun, the Later Jin main army would have to march over a hundred li more, and Lushun could not be completely besieged anyway.

Such a full-scale expedition with the entire army was a major military strategy, not something Hong Taiji could undertake on a whim. This time, merely unifying internal thinking had taken a month, followed by the drawing of troops and marching provisions from each banner. If this operation failed to achieve a decisive victory, then the next time an attack on Lushun was proposed, the various banners would be even more beset by doubts and misgivings.

Yoto endorsed Hong Taiji's strategy and was keenly aware of the difficulty of the preparations. Hong Taiji had spoken with nearly twenty high officials individually before finally forming an overwhelming advantage at the Deliberative Council. The victory at the council that day was, in truth, the result of several private compromises and deals made by Hong Taiji. His strategy remained to co-opt the middle tier and suppress the two senior beile. Yoto had repeatedly urged Daišan to voluntarily relinquish his right to sit as an equal, but for now Manggūltai had not yet lost influence, and Daišan was unwilling to give up his status as a senior beile.

Now Yoto could only hope that the Ming army was inadequately prepared or hesitant in its judgment, allowing the Later Jin vanguard to trap them at Jinzhou. This cavalry force at Jinzhou was a scarce branch of arms within the Dengzhou garrison. Trapping them would leave Chen Xin in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.

Yoto grabbed a command banner and handed it to his Bayara commander. "Draw out more yuding. If the ones in front are blown up, the ones behind keep going. The march must not be delayed. Send Bayara to follow behind them. Anyone overtaken by the Bayara is to be executed on the spot."...

Along the route from Pingyang River to Lushun, the beacon towers of the Dengzhou garrison sent wolf-smoke signals in sight of one another. At Jinzhou, Nanguan, Jizhenpu, and Muchangyi, every place was strengthening its defenses and clearing the countryside. The remaining alfalfa had already been harvested. The grass and trees near Jinzhou had long since been cleared away, and now even areas farther outside the city were being set ablaze. Grass and trees were all ignited, and thick smoke billowed into the sky along the route.

The Later Jin troops were just over ten li away. The official road had been sown with landmines by the Dengzhou garrison the whole way. After entering the mountainous area, the Later Jin troops' speed dropped drastically. Still, they were only delayed by about half a day at most. By making detours and forced marches, it was estimated they would reach the walls of Dengzhou by the afternoon. There was also another force coming from the direction of Xiuyan. This force was advancing at a moderate pace, numbering around a thousand men. In fact, they had appeared two days earlier than the Later Jin vanguard from Fuzhou, intending to lure Zhu Guobin into striking eastward, and then...

Inside the city of Jinzhou, thick smoke now billowed everywhere. Every habitable place had been set ablaze, including the grain supplies that could not be carried away. The contamination of the water sources had also been completed. Zhu Guobin had been stationed here for over a year, with staff officers drawing up contingency plans every day. Essentially, nothing had been overlooked.

Zhu Guobin had now arrived before the barbican of the South Gate. This was the very gate they had entered when they first took the city. After holding it for a year and a half, they were abandoning it without a fight. He had long been prepared for this, and leaving this place stirred no sentimentality in him.

On the main street at the city gate, several combat engineers were setting a broken stone slab into place. Beneath it was a dug-out hole, inside which a ten-thousand landmine cannon had already been positioned. There were as many as three flintlock mechanisms below. Several wooden strips were laid across the top of the hole. The stone slab was cracked down the middle. Whoever stepped on it would surely fall through and trigger the mine.

Beneath other stone slabs and along the sides of the street, more landmine cannons had been laid, linked by fuses, all connected to this spot for a chain ignition. This was the largest landmine in Jinzhou, with a gunpowder charge of over fifty jin, enough to fire a four-pounder cannon more than thirty times. This ignition method originated from...

Two companies charged out of Chengen Gate. Six hundred cavalry thundered past. This was the last remaining garrison force of Jinzhou. The Dengzhou cavalry battalion now numbered over one thousand three hundred men. It had two companies and four platoons under its command, and also directly controlled one reconnaissance cavalry squad.

Inside the barbican, a dozen or so mounted scouts set fire to the supplies that could not be moved, then galloped off after the main cavalry force...

The well-rested and energized cavalry of the Dengzhou garrison advanced at a measured pace. Ten li into their march, the first Later Jin mounted scouts appeared behind them. They had come in hot pursuit and were following at a distance from the rear. Zhu Guobin personally commanded the rearguard. The two companies maintained tight formations, withdrawing under mutual cover.

The Later Jin troops, who had been marching for two days, saw fires breaking out everywhere and immediately understood what was happening. Their surprise attack had turned into a blunder. Having been on edge the entire journey, they had long been nursing a bellyful of pent-up fury. Leading the very front was the Bayara commander of the Bordered Red Banner, commanding five hundred Bayara and armored soldiers of the Bordered Red Banner. They had been pressing in close pursuit the whole way. The Dengzhou mounted scouts fanned out to the rear, probing and testing each other with the Later Jin troops.

The area around Dengzhou was shrouded in drifting smoke, the field of vision tinged with a haze. Unable to accurately gauge the number of Later Jin cavalry, Zhu Guobin led his troops to accelerate their withdrawal. The Later Jin horses, having run for two straight days, were no match for the Dengzhou mounts. The two sides ran another ten li, one in front of the other.

This place was only about ten li from Nanguan. There were no firebreaks between Jinzhou and Nanguan. Zhu Guobin did not order his soldiers to burn the hills; he hoped the Later Jin troops would follow all the way to Lushun and not turn back at Jinzhou. By now, visibility had improved considerably. The Later Jin troops behind numbered roughly over seven hundred. The Second Cavalry Company, sent from Nanguan to meet them, arrived. The Later Jin troops halted to await reinforcements. The two companies of the Dengzhou garrison covered each other and withdrew to Nanguan. After confirming that the pursuing Later Jin troops numbered only around a thousand, Zhu Guobin maneuvered two battalions of cavalry to launch a counterattack. Facing a slightly larger Dengzhou force, the Later Jin troops did not dare to engage. Zhu Guobin pursued them for five li, and their morale dropped considerably...

When Yoto arrived at Jinzhou, he received word that the surprise attack on Nanguan had failed. After these two days of marching, the vanguard's nerves were stretched taut, and both men and horses were utterly exhausted. He needed to rest and regroup at Jinzhou.

He chose to enter the city from Ninghai Gate on the west side. This section of the city gate was intact. On the main street of Ninghai Gate, two large holes had been blasted open. On the ground lay several corpses of men and horses. The horses' legs were broken and flesh torn, their bellies a bloody mess, entrails and blood mixed with water spilling all over the ground. Inside the city, thick smoke billowed. The houses that had been intact were now engulfed in a sea of flames. The smell of sulfur and kerosene drifted through the air — clearly accelerants added by the Dengzhou garrison.

The meiren-i janggin who had entered the city first accompanied him. The two of them climbed the city wall stairs to the gate tower of Ninghai Gate. As they walked, the meiren-i janggin reported to him, "Master, there isn't half a grain of stored provisions in the city. Any residence of any size has been set on fire, including the Dengzhou soldiers' own barracks. Poisonous substances have been found in wells throughout the city. Two men have already drunk from them and been poisoned. At some street corners, there are ghost-arrows or poison-boiled caltrops. Because the corners block the line of sight, several more have been poisoned. The most despicable thing these Nikan have done... is to lay landmine cannons inside the city as well."

Just as he was speaking, an explosion rang out from the direction of the East Gate. The meiren-i janggin said angrily, "Master, these Dengzhou Nikan dare not fight in an upright, honorable manner. They only use vile tricks like landmine cannons to harm people. Once we break through to Lushun, your slave begs to be allowed to slaughter every last Dengzhou soldier."

"If we can break through to Lushun, you can slaughter them however you like." Throughout this entire journey, the three words Yoto least wanted to hear were 'landmine cannon.' "When has war ever been upright and honorable? Still, the landmine cannons are indeed detestable. We've managed to get through, but when the Great Khan personally leads the main army, with their multitude of carts and horses, they can only travel on the official roads. I wonder how he will clear away all the landmine cannons."

As the two were speaking, a thunderous boom rang out from outside the city and another from within. The sound jangled the nerves of the vanguard troops both inside and outside the city. The meiren-i janggin's face was full of irascibility. He tugged at his collar and gritted his teeth for a long moment before catching his breath.

Yoto consoled him, "Actually, the power of these landmine cannons is quite ordinary..."

Suddenly, a rapid succession of violent explosions erupted at the South Gate, the blasts so dense they were almost indistinguishable. The gate tower where Yoto and the other man stood swayed gently. The two quickly braced their hands against the battlements. When they turned their heads to look at the South Gate, bricks and stones were flying everywhere, and the billowing dust and smoke had completely enveloped the entire gate tower.

"Go quickly and see what happened." Yoto immediately dispatched the meiren-i janggin down from the gate tower. The several goshiha beside him were murmuring among themselves about something. Yoto closed his eyes and gently shook his head. (To be continued...)

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