Chapter 395

After that, the Later Jin troops quieted down for two days. Scattered soldiers from both sides harassed each other at night, but no major fighting occurred.

Dengzhou's scout cavalry reported that the Later Jin troops were felling trees everywhere, mobilizing as many as twenty to thirty thousand bondservants, and even sending out supernumeraries to make earth bags. The Military Command Division believed the Jianzhou Bandits were about to launch an unprecedented assault.

Seeing that Huang Taiji was getting serious, Chen Xin urgently transferred the First Battalion's First Company Command to Lüshun. The First Battalion's First Regiment and the Guard Battalion both assembled in Dengzhou, ready to fill in losses at any moment.

All personnel in Lüshun were mobilized, including all civilian staff there and sailors from non-essential posts on the ships. The breech-loading swivel guns from the naval vessels were also brought ashore, operated by sailors, and deployed on the second earthen wall. Five of Dengzhou's largest twelve-pound red-barbarian cannons were moved onto Lüshun's north wall. The combat engineer company and auxiliary troops worked overtime laying traps and landmine cannons.

On the twenty-eighth day of the seventh month, before Chen Xin's reinforcements could arrive, the Later Jin offensive began. All eighty thousand Later Jin troops in Lüshun were mobilized. They lit fires and cooked breakfast before dawn. Such offensive preparations could not be hidden from their opponent. The Dengzhou Garrison, which had been monitoring the enemy, immediately notified all units. Horns sounded along the Lüshun defense line. Auxiliary troops and cooks also began cooking rice to cope with the Later Jin onslaught.

Chen Xin lodged in the north gate tower of Lüshun. Upon receiving the alert, he rose immediately. The central army sounded the suona. Several chief officers quickly arrived at the gate tower to meet. Chen Xin divided the defense line into three sectors. He assigned Liu Po to oversee the overall situation at Lüshun's north gate, directly commanding the Guard First Division as the first-line reserve. Dai Zhenggang garrisoned the left flank, commanding the Second Battalion's two company commands and one thousand auxiliary troops, with one regiment garrisoning West Guan Hill. Zhu Guobin held the central earthen wall, commanding the Fourth Battalion infantry company command, the Lüshun garrison, the combat engineer company, and one thousand auxiliary troops. Zheng Sanhu defended the right flank, commanding the Third Battalion's two company commands, with one division garrisoning Huangjin Hill. The Dragoons garrisoned the second earthen wall defense line. The cavalry battalion fell under Chen Xin's direct command as the general reserve.

The few of them all knew today would be a great battle. After the discussion, they saluted each other and hurried off to their respective defense sectors. Chen Xin fully delegated command authority to the several battalion officers and led his guard unit toward West Guan Hill.

Everyone on the defense line was busy. Batch after batch of "Myriad-Man Destroyers" and "Sky-Shaking Thunder" bombs were transported from the rear. Auxiliary troops then distributed them to each section of the earthen wall, placing them in bamboo baskets on the reverse slope. Soldiers who had finished eating shouted work chants as they headed to the battle line. Officers of all ranks gave pep talks to the soldiers arriving at their posts. Some non-commissioned officers were setting up arrow-proof cloth curtains. The atmosphere was thick with tension.

By the time he reached the hilltop, it was still not light. The Later Jin camp north of Lüshun was a field of lanterns stretching far into the distance, like stars in the sky. From it came the constant sound of horns, indicating that the Later Jin troops were already assembling their forces.

Chen Xin quietly watched the sea of lanterns before him. Plumes of cooking smoke rose and drifted in the air, casting a hazy veil over the enemy camp. That was his greatest enemy and his greatest pressure. Although the Dengzhou Garrison was developing smoothly now, its strength was still far from unshakable. That advantage of foreknowing history sometimes also brought an inner dread. He did not know if the prophecies in the Tui Bei Tu were immutable. If they were immutable, then he was inevitably the losing side.

The future was always shrouded in a kind of fog, just like the enemy camp in the cooking smoke before his eyes. It always seemed visible, yet never clear. He could not speak of this pressure to anyone. Even to Liu Minyou, he had never mentioned it. In his heart, Chen Xin had envisioned countless endings and countless possible variables. The most likely was that he himself would be killed by a cannonball from who knows where, and then the Dengzhou Garrison would disintegrate, becoming a cake carved up by bureaucrats at every level, ultimately vanishing into thin air under the Great Ming's unwritten rules, or even very possibly turning into a rebel army. That was why, when Liu Minyou reminded him to maintain the unity of the Dengzhou Garrison, he had subconsciously agreed. If the Dengzhou Garrison was to remain cohesive, besides the binding of interests, it also needed a successor who could achieve consensus, someone who could maintain the stability of the main body in case of an accident with him, preventing a situation of fragmentation.

Chen Xin turned to look east. At the junction of sea and sky, a fish-belly white appeared. The morning sun was about to rise.

In the thin light of dawn, Later Jin soldiers in the distance streamed continuously out of their camp. Streams of people merged into an ocean of soldiers outside the camp. Countless shield carts, pushed by bondservants, came toward the front line. Looking down from the hilltop, they were like countless moving toys. They had changed their usual approach. Groups of shield carts moved along the northern foothills toward Huangjin Hill. Follow-up echelons formed up directly on the southern slopes of Greater and Lesser Gu Hills.

Under the direction of various colored banners, the Later Jin troops deployed along the Lüshun defense line, stretching from West Guan Hill in the west to Huangjin Hill in the east, forming a long battle formation. The dense shield carts were like a moving wooden wall. Each unit also arrayed follow-up echelons. From West Guan Hill, one could see very clearly that they would launch sustained attacks.

"My lord, they are indeed going to attack along the entire line," Dai Zhenggang said quietly after observing with a telescope.

Chen Xin let out a breath. Although he had prepared early, truly facing so many Later Jin soldiers still felt very shocking. That the Later Jin could organize such an offensive also demonstrated the effectiveness of their campaign system, primitive though it was.

"Huang Taiji still has too many petty calculations. Look at the positions of the two Yellow Banners," Chen Xin pointed in a direction.

Dai Zhenggang raised his telescope to look. The Plain Yellow Banner was below West Guan Hill, advancing toward the foot of the hill. The Bordered Yellow Banner was in the direction of Huangjin Hill. They also had a small number of shield carts in front, but clearly not in a posture for a forceful assault. After the night raids of the previous days, even a fool knew that one banner alone could not take West Guan Hill, let alone Huangjin Hill. They were merely pinning down the defenders on the two hills. No fierce offensive or defensive fighting would erupt there. The most brutal combat would only be in the center.

Prompted by Chen Xin, Dai Zhenggang carefully observed the deployment of the Later Jin banners. The two flanks were the two Yellow Banners respectively. From west to east in order were the two White Banners, the Black Banner, the Mongol Left and Right Wings, the two Red Banners, and the two Blue Banners. The Manchu soldiers were mostly in the rear formations. The front formations were outer-fan Mongols and bondservants in motley clothing. Most strangely, in the central Black Banner section, there was also a contingent of Bordered Yellow Banner troops.

"My lord, there's a Bordered Yellow Banner contingent in the center. Could it be Haoge?"

Chen Xin watched for a while and shook his head. How could he possibly guess? He turned to the adjutant behind him and said, "Bring that Bakshan here."

Bakshan, whose leg was broken, was confined in the barracks outside the Water City, guarded by the Intelligence Bureau. Several guard soldiers quickly carried him over. Chen Xin had already received him once and set his mind at ease. Bakshan was now very respectful toward Chen Xin.

Chen Xin handed over the telescope, pointed at the Bordered Yellow Banner in the center, and asked, "Who would that Bordered Yellow Banner in the center be?"

Bakshan carefully took the telescope. One look startled him. It took him a good while to get used to this divine device. After watching for a moment, he said, "About five or six niru. It must be Abatai's."

Bakshan explained in detail to the two men. In fact, those were Abatai's personally managed niru. Abatai was originally in the Bordered White Banner and had six personally managed niru. When Huang Taiji changed the banner colors, he became part of the Bordered Yellow Banner. The banner lord was Haoge. This time, to show that the two Yellow Banners were not shirking responsibility, Huang Taiji followed Manggūltai's words and placed Abatai in the center.

Abatai also had grievances he could not voice. The Later Jin had three types of niru systems: personally managed niru, public niru, and bondservant niru. Personally managed niru were those controlled by various nobles themselves. For example, Ajige, Sahaliyan, Degelei, Dudu, and others who were not banner lords all had their own niru. The same was true for the gūsa ejen of each banner. Even the Later Jin Khan could not arbitrarily strip them away. Even if there was a fault requiring confiscation as punishment, it was adjusted among their own traditional relatives and friends. When Manggūltai was punished by losing two niru at Dalinghe, they were given to his full brother Degelei of the same banner, not directly confiscated into Huang Taiji's two Yellow Banners. This was a consistent rule of the Later Jin and one of the foundations of the Eight Banners system.

Under a system where niru were partially privately owned, it was impossible for Huang Taiji to be completely impartial. The struggles within were extremely fierce. Just like Ajige and Dorgon of the Bordered White Banner: although Dorgon was the banner lord, he normally could not control Ajige's personally managed niru. The two men's strength was actually evenly matched. Even someone as rough as Manggūltai normally could do nothing about some niru in the Plain Blue Banner. Degelei and the gūsa ejen in the banner each had several personally managed niru. This private ownership system was like the retainers of the Ming army. When facing the more decadent Ming army, casualties were low for everyone, benefits were plentiful, and there were few schemes; often they even vied to attack in order to gain military merit. Now, facing the formidable Dengzhou Garrison, the drawbacks of this Later Jin system began to show. Abatai was the one bearing the losses on behalf of the two Yellow Banners. In reality, Huang Taiji's core strength suffered no losses, and he could also silence the mouths of the other banner lords.

After hearing this, Chen Xin and Dai Zhenggang both felt some disdain for the Later Jin's primitive tribal system. Dai Zhenggang shook his head repeatedly. He truly could not understand why the Ming army would suffer utter defeat before such a tribal army.

The three red-barbarian cannons nearby began to roar. Facing the mass of targets below, the red-barbarian cannons, whose firing calibrations had long been set, had passable accuracy and always managed to hit a few people each time.

These few casualties were not even a drop in the bucket for the Later Jin's base of over seventy thousand. Huang Taiji's great banner appeared at the foot of the northern hill. Each unit of Later Jin troops, braving the artillery fire from the hilltop, entered their respective attack zones. Wave after wave of Later Jin troops erupted with shouts like roaring mountains and tsunamis.

Chen Xin sent Bakshan away and said to Dai Zhenggang beside him, "The Jianzhou Bandits are staking everything on one throw. I must return to Lüshun's southern city to take command. Zhenggang, you must hold the left flank of the earthen wall steady. West Guan Hill can be abandoned only as a last resort. The Later Jin troops' artillery fire is not strong. The key is Lüshun's city and the waterway."

"Understood, my lord."

Chen Xin turned and descended the hill, inspecting the defensive preparations along the way. Chen Xin did not fly his banner, so the soldiers did not notice him passing by. The indoctrination officers of each unit were all giving speeches. The soldiers cheered fervently from time to time. The most stirred up were the auxiliary troops.

Most of them came from the former Dongjiang Garrison, the ones left behind by Chen Youshi and others back then. After several screenings, the army loafers had all been purged. Those remaining were mostly ordinary soldiers. After Dengzhou recruited a batch of garrison households, their total number was four thousand, organized into four auxiliary company commands. The limited training focused mainly on discipline and city defense. They usually farmed the land and dug trenches during the agricultural off-season. Besides room and board, they only received five qian of silver as wages. That portion of auxiliary troops from Dengzhou were given priority land allocation in Denglai, to be farmed by their families. The promise Chen Xin gave them was that after recovering Liaodong, each household would be allotted one hundred mu of land. This was where their hope lay.

Those left from the Dongjiang Garrison harbored a hatred for the Jianzhou Bandits as deep as the sea. Daily encouragement from the indoctrination officers sustained their hatred. Although Chen Xin did not give much, it was better than having no food or clothing before. Moreover, Chen Xin also provided a channel for advancement: they could enter the combat troops through outstanding performance, giving them a tangible hope.

They also knew today would be a great battle. They shouted loudly. Even Chen Xin was infected by them, feeling waves of hot blood rushing to his head.

Chen Xin followed the defense line on the southern slope to the foot of the hill, entered the earthen wall through the passage near the sea, and soon arrived at Lüshun's north wall, where he saw the busy Liu Po.

Chen Xin came to Liu Po's position and raised his own great banner. In this battle, Liu Po was the chief of staff. Liu Po had been in Lüshun for a year. Chen Xin believed he would be more professional than himself.

The Later Jin troops finished their formation. Outside Lüshun, horns sounded continuously and banners were like a sea. At the foot of the northern hill, the great drum beneath Huang Taiji's great banner was struck. The entire Later Jin army erupted in a tidal wave of unified shouting, its sound shaking the four fields. Wave after wave of sound assaulted the eardrums. The momentum was extremely terrifying.

Chen Xin nodded to Huang Side beside him. Huang Side immediately had the flag-bearer wave his chief indoctrination officer's recognition flag. The indoctrination officers dispersed among the units all organized the Dengzhou Garrison to sing the Dengzhou military song loudly. The singing gradually rose, transforming from initial disorder into a chorus of ten thousand.

"Yellow sands vast and boundless, no man in sight, only the sounds of battle are heard. A forest of guns, a rain of bullets, heaven and earth are startled. Majestic are our soldiers! A breath darkens the universe, a roar awes ghosts and gods! We pledge a single heroic tear, sprinkled on the battlefield to see bloodstains... Sacrifice this mortal shell, to be the shield and wall of our nation. Since ancient times all men must die, how better than to be a campaigning spirit? The body dies but the name remains renowned, the bones decay but the blood still sounds! Why fear arrows like rain? Our vast spirit crushes the dust of campaign."

The majestic military song rang out. The power of collective outburst infected every soldier. Chen Xin nodded slightly, stirred as he followed the soldiers in a low chant. The orderly organization overwhelmed the chaotic and grandiose howling of the Jianzhou Bandits. The Later Jin battle formation howled hoarsely for a while but could not drown out the orderly voice of the Dengzhou Garrison. The Dengzhou military song was clearly audible on the battlefield. The majestic momentum of over ten thousand men firmly suppressed the great Later Jin army. Finally, the sound from the Jianzhou Bandits' great formation gradually faded, leaving only the Dengzhou military song resounding across the battlefield.

Huang Taiji looked at the Lüshun defense line standing before him with a complex expression. He had seen the tenacious small city of Changli, seen Xiping Fort where men fought to the last in bloody battle, seen the Sichuan troops in the bloody battle of Hunhe. But he had never seen such momentum as before his eyes now. Although it was just a song, the will it conveyed seemed so resolute, containing so much effort behind it. In his heart, he even doubted that no matter what he did, he could never capture this fortress.

"Great Khan... it is time to attack," came the reminder from Yoto beside him.

Huang Taiji closed his eyes for a moment. He knew that his ever-firm will had been shaken by a song. Though it sounded bizarre, that was the fact. When he reopened his eyes, that firmness reappeared in them.

"Begin." (To be continued...)