Chapter 394: Countermeasures

With a thunderous boom, a red blaze erupted at the foot of the hill; amid the flaring flames, two figures were hurled into the air. Cannon fire flickered along the earthen wall, accompanied by scattered musket shots, and then someone threw torches out from behind the barrier trench, exposing the silhouettes of Later Jin soldiers, who were shot down by Ming troops inside the trench.

Xing Na lay motionless on the ground. From the hillside came a burst of shouting from the Ming troops; several torches rose up, tumbling end over end through the air as they fell toward the mountainside. Hundreds of Later Jin hunters hid silently in the darkness; no one spoke.

This was West Guan Hill. In truth, Huang Taiji had been watching this place all along, but he deliberately probed it and then let it be, hoping to lull the Ming troops on the hill into relaxing their vigilance. The three Hongyi cannons atop West Guan Hill fired down the slope every day, each gun discharging nearly a hundred rounds daily. From the summit, cannon fire could strike targets within a radius of over two li, forcing the Later Jin troops to extend their camp northward. If West Guan Hill could be taken, Huang Taiji could observe the Ming defenses and troop movements from the summit at close range, and the military camp would not need to be placed so far away.

Taking this hilltop by daylight was nearly impossible, so the night raid was entrusted to these armored soldiers capable of moving in the dark. They were all the finest hunters.

The place where Xing Na lay was a small pit covered with a camouflage layer of branches. Inside were two ambush sentries; if one of them had not been coughing softly, Xing Na would never have discovered this spot. Now one had become a corpse, and the other had been captured alive by him and already sent to the rear.

He passed word to the man behind him: no matter how the Ming troops stirred, no one was to move. The message was relayed back man by man. At the foot of the hill, the fighting raged fiercely. Seizing this opportunity, Xing Na bent low and sprinted a short distance uphill. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his foot — Xing Na knew he had stepped on a caltrop. He endured the pain, pulled out the four-pointed caltrop, then stopped to listen to the sounds around him. He was now only twenty-some paces from the Ming army's first trench. After confirming there were no ambush sentries, he began groping to clear away the other caltrops on the ground.

Just then, a dog suddenly barked nearby. Xing Na's heart sank — he had not expected the Ming troops to even use dogs.

Several sparks immediately rose on the hillside, and a Ming soldier's voice bellowed. The sparks shot into the air; Xing Na thought it was a fire pot and immediately threw himself flat on the ground. But the spark bounced once on the ground, then sprang up again, tumbling past Xing Na and down the slope.

"What is that thing?" Xing Na wondered, puzzled.

With a thunderous boom, the spark burst into a blaze of fire, dazzling Xing Na's eyes into a sheet of white glare in the darkness. Right after, the other sparks exploded as well.

A furious roar came from above, a volley of muskets instantly cracked, and more sparks were hurled down. Xing Na knew they had been spotted by the firelight. Whether to continue the attack was entirely beyond his authority. A horn sounded behind him, and the Later Jin soldiers let out a unified roar, surging up the hill like a tide. The point they were attacking was the tip of a sharp angle.

"Why charge!" Xing Na cried in his heart. The thirty paces ahead were likely strewn with traps — the most dangerous stretch. His eyes, dazzled by the glare, could see nothing clearly. He rolled sideways to let the men behind him pass. In the course of this rolling, he was pierced by several more caltrops that had not been cleared.

A dense crowd surged past Xing Na. Torches and those sparks were hurled down continuously from the hillside, illuminating the figures of the Later Jin soldiers. The sound of Ming bugles rang out from the summit — they too were summoning reinforcements. From the foot of the hill, another kind of bugle answered in response.

Muskets cracked in volley after volley; screams rang out continuously from the Later Jin ranks. The thrown explosives detonated one after another; the densely packed Later Jin soldiers were blasted into flying chunks of flesh and blood. The men behind continued to surge forward; their formation was chaotic, and the glare of the explosions likewise dazzled them, leaving many unable to tell direction.

"Don't charge!" Xing Na finally could not contain himself and shouted in Manchu. By the light of those torches, he could at last make out the figure of a Later Jin soldier ahead. Suddenly, a blaze erupted beneath that man, hurling him into the air. The Later Jin soldiers behind him toppled in swaths.

Another Myriad-Ball Landmine Cannon. The bugle call for the attack still blared. Group after group of armored soldiers advanced over the corpses of their comrades. In a short time, they had lost over a hundred men, but even that could not stop these armored soldiers, because behind them were the equally ruthless Bayara — all who retreated would be killed. After triggering two more landmine cannons, the armored soldiers charged to the bottom of that trench. Many of the first to descend had their feet pierced by the caltrops inside; howling, they hacked furiously at the sharpened stakes within. The armored soldiers who arrived next began trying to climb.

Muskets on both flanks also began firing volleys. Men in the Later Jin ranks fell at any moment, and they could find no blind spot. Rows of scaling ladders were raised; the armored soldiers braved the musket fire to charge upward. Fire pots and ash pots were continuously hurled down from above. The trench was choked with smoke and dust, punctuated by the ceaseless flash of explosions.

The Later Jin troops at the foot of the hill began diversionary attacks. The Hongyi cannons also opened fire on the Ming earthen wall. The largest night battle yet at Lvshun had erupted.

Ahead of Xing Na, the din of battle shook the heavens. One after another, scaling ladders were toppled, then raised again. Agile Later Jin soldiers scrambled upward with desperate effort. The armored soldiers behind began providing covering fire with bows, loosing arrows wildly at the Ming defense line. The first wave of armored soldiers climbed onto the earthen wall on the hill; Ming spears thrust and retracted above, and the impaled Later Jin soldiers fell screaming.

More armored soldiers streamed up continuously. The trench filled with more and more of them, packed tightly inside, yet a breach above remained stubbornly unopened. A sense of danger grew stronger and stronger in Xing Na's heart. That trench surely held more than just sharpened stakes. He hoped to find Jirgalang, who was commanding the attack, and urge him to pull back.

He had taken only a few steps in the darkness when a chain of explosions suddenly erupted at the trench, engulfing that entire section in flames. Countless stones and scrap iron swept across the trench; nearly all the scaling ladders were blasted apart and toppled into it. Screams rose to the heavens. Almost no soldier in the trench survived.

The Ming army's pull-trigger mines — also Myriad-Ball Landmine Cannons. They buried bamboo tubes in the earthen wall, with ropes threaded through them. This bamboo-tube method, also a way of setting landmines recorded in the Huolong Jing, allowed them to pull-trigger the Myriad-Ball Landmine Cannons in the trench from behind the wall. They had been waiting specifically for the Later Jin soldiers to fill the trench.

Dejected, Xing Na listened as the signal to retreat sounded. By now, two to three hundred elite armored soldiers had been lost, half of them in that final round of explosions. Facing the Dengzhou soldiers behind those trenches, Xing Na felt an unprecedented sense of helplessness.

The Later Jin Khan's tent was brightly lit, crowded with the Banner Lords and Gushan of each banner. Huang Taiji held in his hand something like a bamboo basket — one of the objects the Ming troops had hurled down from the hill. This one had not exploded. The gunpowder inside had already been removed. On the table lay a row of small stones and caltrops, all taken from this bamboo basket.

This was a type of Myriad-Man Destroyer. The Ming troops at Changli had used it, and Zhu Wannian at Laizhou had also used it. After the Dengzhou Garrison collected this intelligence, they began experiments. This bamboo-basket-style Myriad-Man Destroyer contained gunpowder and caltrops inside, wrapped in a layer of cloth, then placed in a bamboo basket. The outside of the bamboo basket was bound with hemp rope. It did not easily shatter when thrown, and came with its own caltrop fragments. Its power was no less than the stone Myriad-Man Destroyer. It was especially suited for throwing down from a hill; the bamboo basket's elasticity allowed it to bounce farther. The Dengzhou Garrison adopted this method after experiments. This Myriad-Man Destroyer could be manufactured at the front lines — only the bamboo strips needed to be shipped from the rear — and the gunpowder could also be of the type supplied by the imperial court.

The institutional strength of the Dengzhou Garrison lay in its ability to continuously learn and improve. None of these were proposed by Chen Xin; rather, the Bureau of Military Affairs organized experiments based on intelligence or army feedback, and reported the test results to the Aide Office. Finally, after confirmation at the joint conference, they could be added to the guidelines or promoted at the front lines.

"Great Khan, your slave is incompetent! I beg the Great Khan's punishment." Jirgalang knelt on the ground. Over half of the more than five hundred Bayara and armored soldiers he had led were lost, and the bodies of most could not even be recovered.

"You say they also had dogs in front of the trench?" Huang Taiji asked in a deep voice.

"Yes. The ambush sentries along the path were all quietly killed. Xing Na of the Plain White Banner had already crept to within twenty paces of the trench. Suddenly, a dog barked, and then torches and these Myriad-Man Destroyers were thrown down from above."

The other Later Jin nobles all furrowed their brows. Guarding a house in peacetime was one thing, but they had never imagined dogs could be used for this. Thinking about it now, if there really were dogs stationed at the trench, a night raid on the camp would be nearly impossible.

Yoto said to Huang Taiji, "Great Khan, we do not have many men who can move at night. This group has suffered such heavy losses; it would be better to attack by force in daylight."

"Great Khan, your slave begs for battle. Tomorrow I will attack that West Guan Hill."

Huang Taiji turned to look — it was none other than Dodo. He seemed to have no fear whatsoever of the Dengzhou soldiers; on the contrary, he seemed quite eager to test them.

Huang Taiji inwardly rejected the idea of Dodo leading troops. War was no child's play. Even battle-hardened generals had found no solution; how could he entrust Dodo, the youngest Beile, with such a task? The niru under Dodo's command was Nurhaci's strongest niru, the largest having over five hundred adult males, far exceeding those of other banners. Huang Taiji had always wanted to weaken him, but not by this method. The true Manchus were, after all, the mainstay of the Later Jin.

"Erke Chuhu is loyal and brave, worthy of praise. When the time comes to attack West Guan Hill, I will certainly let you lead the troops."

Dorgon, hearing this, understood that Huang Taiji had abandoned the attempt to take West Guan Hill.

Huang Taiji looked toward Abatai. This half-brother, born of a concubine, was actually more reliable in battle — he could be considered both brave and resourceful. But he too seemed to have no good solution, remaining silent and sullen.

"Abatai!"

"Your slave is here."

"You are the Minister of Works. Now that the earthen walls built by the Nikhan at Lvshun are so difficult to overcome, have you devised any method?"

"Your slave... has not." The gray-haired Abatai replied helplessly. The moment he heard "Minister of Works," he felt utterly dejected. He was Nurhaci's seventh son, but born of a proper concubine — a child of a secondary wife. He had never found favor with Nurhaci; good things never came his way. Matters like taking Li Yongfang as a son-in-law — those fell to him.

Even though Abatai had illustrious military achievements, he was only enfeoffed as a Beile. After much difficulty, he had become the Gushan Ejen of the Plain White Banner, but then Huang Taiji ascended the throne, the two White Banners were changed to two Yellow Banners, and he lost his position as Gushan Ejen. His rank was a full tier below the Hoshoi Beile who were Banner Lords. Among them, Yoto and Jirgalang were his juniors. Worst of all, even Dodo, a thirteen-year-old, had become a Banner Lord. Nearing forty, with years of campaigning, he still ranked below this little brother; at banquets, he was seated behind his juniors.

Moreover, he could not even express the slightest dissent. Not long after Huang Taiji had ascended the throne, even two surrendered Mongol Beile were seated ahead of him. Abatai, resentful, made the excuse that he had no fur coat to wear and refused to attend the banquet. Huang Taiji mobilized the crowd to criticize and struggle against him. After that, he dared not disobey again. In the end, Huang Taiji appointed him Minister of Works. Abatai had no idea what this minister was supposed to do. At first, he would go and sit at the office, but later he simply stopped going altogether, for which Huang Taiji scolded him as unlearned and incompetent. The frustration in his heart was imaginable.

Huang Taiji's expression was calm, his tone even, as he said, "Abatai, speak boldly. How do you think we should fight?"

Seeing that Huang Taiji was not angry, Abatai thought for a moment and said, "Great Khan, attacking one place each day like this will not work. Especially between West Guan Hill and Huangjin Hill, the Nikhan have connecting roads. We are slow to deploy troops and form ranks, but they move troops quickly. Your slave has looked carefully; there must be a main road behind their earthen wall. In a moment's time, they can transfer cannons from elsewhere. When we begin moving troops, there may be only five or six cannons; by the time we arrive, there are over ten. How can we take it like this? If we want to attack one point, then strike that watchtower at Tiger's Tail. No matter how many die, we can eventually cut off their retreat. If we want to attack the entire line, then we should spread out our forces, deploy tens of thousands at once, and assault the whole line simultaneously. Do not fear casualties; we must ensure they cannot spare a hand."

Everyone listening hesitated. They all knew Lvshun was difficult to take. The current small-scale attacks were within a controllable range, with casualties not too severe. Once a full-line assault began, it could cause massive losses.

Huang Taiji looked at Yoto. "Is the watchtower at Tiger's Tail easy to attack?"

Yoto shook his head. "The Ming navy is numerous, especially that Dengzhou Naval Battalion; their gunnery is exceptionally accurate. Tiger's Tail is a narrow position. Before our men and horses can even form ranks, the Ming navy on both sides opens fire with cannons and fire arrows. Your slave has tried twice; before the attack even began, our formation was thrown into chaos."

Daišan, who had been silent for a long time, spoke: "Lingering with troops beneath the walls is ultimately unwise. If we are to attack, better sooner than later. If we know we cannot take it, then either withdraw or besiege — either is better than this."

Huang Taiji smiled. "Second Brother speaks rightly. Then how should we attack? We must discuss this."

Hearing the mention of a full-line assault, Dodo jumped up excitedly. "Then we repair the shield carts, send out over a thousand at once, and push them all the way to that earthen wall. Then we dig and collapse it."

Manggūltai said angrily, "What use is reaching the earthen wall? Last night, a shower of baskets was thrown down, blasting over a hundred to death in one go. Your Plain White Banner has many men — you go then."

Jirgalang also advised, "Little Beile, reaching the earthen wall is actually useless. The Dengzhou soldiers spare no gunpowder; those Myriad-Man Destroyers fall like rain. When men and horses pile up in the trench, the Myriad-Ball Landmine Cannons buried on both sides of the trench wall are triggered. Once pulled, stone shot flies everywhere in the trench, and not a single armored soldier survives."

Dodo said discontentedly, "How can we fight a war if we fear casualties? Then you tell me how to fight. Seventh Brother, you're good at war — you speak."

Abatai was silent for a moment, then said to Huang Taiji, "Great Khan, if we are to attack, we must also dig trenches. In truth, it is just as the Great Khan did at Dalinghe."

Huang Taiji raised his eyebrows. "Explain in detail."

"Every day we attack that earthen wall. By day we fill in the pits; after being beaten back, they dig the pits out again. All daytime efforts become useless work. The next day we come again, losing men for nothing. It is all because the Dengzhou soldiers' cannons are formidable, and the shield carts cannot withstand them for long. We must dig trenches there and hold them. The dug-out earth forms an earthen wall. No matter how powerful the cannonballs, they cannot blast through an earthen wall. That way, men and horses can stay behind the earthen wall, sparing us another pointless bombardment the next day."

Dodo asked doubtfully, "Just dig all the way forward like that?"

"Exactly. We too shall learn from the Dengzhou Garrison, digging forward in winding, twisting paths. Then the Dengzhou cannons cannot hit inside the trenches. At night, send bondservants into the trench to step on and trigger those landmine cannons one by one. For the pull-trigger ones, dig out the stones and gunpowder. Even if the Nikhan blow them up, it will only kill some bondservants."

Duoduo asked, "Didn't you just say that going into the trench was useless? So when we get inside that trench, it'll still be the same."

"The Junior Beile has forgotten one point. The Ming army's earthen wall is no more than a zhang or so high, and the trench is only a bit over a zhang wide. The method of attack is naturally different from attacking a city wall. We won't attack from the bottom of the trench. We'll directly lay planks across the trench, then set up short scaling ladders, which are very convenient to carry. Our Great Jin has the advantage in numbers, so naturally we should attack from all sides. As long as a thousand scaling ladders are raised, their firearms will naturally be insufficient."

Manggultai laughed heartily. "That's a good idea. Then let Seventh Brother lead the vanguard tomorrow."