Chapter 396: Defense Within Attack

Twenty-three Later Jin red barbarian cannons roared, iron balls flying and hurtling toward Lushun's earthen wall, smashing up clumps of debris. After three volleys, tide-like shield carts surged toward the Lushun earthen wall. The Later Jin troops arrayed two rows of shield carts, with even three layers in the center.

Liu Pojun on the gate tower kept observing through a telescope, issuing one order after another. Once the Later Jin troops entered within one li, the twelve-pound red barbarian cannons on the wall began firing. The heavy iron balls turned those seemingly sturdy shield carts into flying splinters of wood, bouncing through the crowds behind them. The engagement was extremely fierce from the very start.

Dengzhou Garrison's defensive tactics had grown adept after the previous days' practice. At three hundred paces, all field cannons and red barbarian cannons along the line opened fire, smashing shield carts to pieces one after another, leaving them fallen behind.

After entering the pit area, the shield carts gradually halted. Bondservants rushed out from behind, throwing sack after sack of earth into the pits, much faster than their filling work in the previous days. As they filled the pits, they also cleared away the wreckage of shield carts left from earlier days. Their advance was extremely slow. The bondservants pushing the carts behind howled with hoarse desperation, straining to push the shield carts forward with all their might.

Dengzhou's detachment at the top of the horse-blocking trench fired with muskets. The bondservants clearing obstacles suffered terrible casualties, but the archers behind pressed them onward, forcing swarms of bondservants to continue clearing obstacles and filling pits in the unprotected front. The pits were filled one by one, the shield carts inched forward. Dengzhou's cannon fire remained fierce, maintaining a rate of about two shots per minute, continuously destroying those shield carts. The red barbarian cannons on the wall bombarded the Jianzhou Bandit echelon formations behind the shield carts, scattering their formations.

The Later Jin troops endured the casualties and finally advanced to ninety paces from the earthen wall. A conch horn sounded, and thousands upon thousands of light arrows rose into the sky, pouring down toward the earthen wall. Dense thudding sounds rang out on the hanging curtains atop the Ming army's earthen wall. The cotton quilts for arrow defense looked as if instantly overgrown with weeds. The hanging shutters on the earthen wall sheltered the soldiers. Most of the angled arrows were blocked. The reserve soldiers behind the earthen wall hid inside the straw sheds, which likewise had wooden frames with cotton quilts on top, effectively blocking arrows. The defenders' advantages were fully displayed. The auxiliary soldiers and messengers who had to move about began taking casualties. Some garrison soldiers using Banjiu guns and Lumi guns fired back from behind the breastwork, striking the Later Jin troops filling the pits. Both sides entered an exchange of fire.

The northern wall of Lushun was in perfect order. The observation post on West Official Mountain kept transmitting messages, shooting intelligence down with arrows from the mountainside. The messengers below retrieved them and rode swiftly to the northern wall of Lushun. A wooden watchtower was also erected atop the Lushun wall, continuously reporting military intelligence to Liu Pojun.

After receiving the intelligence from West Official Mountain, Liu Pojun said to Chen Xin, "The Jianzhou Bandits' central force has four small bronze cannons, mixed among the rear row of shield carts. I plan to deploy the First Battalion's artillery unit to reinforce the center, positioning them at the earthen wall section marked Yi-12..."

Chen Xin interrupted, "Fight as you see fit. Small-scale movements do not require my approval."

Liu Pojun immediately turned and issued orders to the relay riders. Shortly after, four four-horse wagons hauling cannons passed through the flat ground behind the earthen wall, moving to the Yi-12 area. The artillerymen above swiftly dismounted, unhitched the gun carriages, and moved up a gentle ramp onto the earthen wall. The surrounding auxiliary soldiers all stepped forward to assist, and the gun carriages were quickly in place. The temporary gun positions on the earthen wall were wider than other sections, facilitating gun recoil. This was also experience gained from the Portuguese.

Chen Xin observed the enemy formation through his telescope. Dengzhou Garrison's firepower was fierce. The field cannons were highly accurate at a hundred paces. Along the battle line, shield cart fragments erupted continuously. Clusters of fire flashed on the ground. The myriad-ball landmine cannons flipped over swaths of the bondservants clearing obstacles. Yet the Later Jin shield carts showed no sign of diminishing. When one was hit and stopped, another would circle around from behind to fill the line. The bondservants were also endless. As soon as those in front fell, another batch was driven out from behind the shield carts. Gradually, even Mongols were driven out, dispersing a dozen or so paces in front of the shield carts, shooting arrows directly at the earthen wall.

The shield carts halted between seventy and eighty paces. Countless bondservants toiled desperately in front of the shield carts, piling the wreckage of shield carts left from previous days in front of the new shield carts. Behind the shield carts, tens of thousands of Manchu and Mongol archers drew their bows and loosed volleys, rotating after every five or six arrows to conserve strength. Wave after wave of arrow rain seemed as if it would never cease. Even though Dengzhou Garrison had straw sheds and hanging shutters, they still suffered casualties.

Among the shield carts, archers of the Manchu Eight Banners flickered. Their marksmanship was precise, suppressing the detachment at the horse-blocking trench. To reduce losses, the detachment withdrew in sequence toward the earthen wall, climbing up those winding passages and retreating past the trench, entering the breastwork in front of the earthen wall. Using the breastwork, they continued firing at the bondservants and Mongols. Thus the earthen wall had two layers of firepower, able to fire simultaneously without interfering with each other.

The garrison's Frankish guns crackled like popping beans. Lushun had as many as three hundred Frankish guns, all selected from the Dengzhou armory, a number comparable to Dalinghe City. In the previous days of combat, Dengzhou Garrison had concealed half of the Frankish guns. Today, facing the Later Jin general assault, all Frankish guns erupted. As soon as the Later Jin troops entered a hundred paces, they were met with the fire of these cannons. The Frankish guns were all concentrated along the earthen wall line, each gun equipped with nine sub-chambers. Over two thousand small iron balls struck the shield cart line like a rainstorm. Screams rang out continuously in front of and behind the shield carts. Later Jin soldiers struck by the iron balls were invariably torn limb from limb.

Dengzhou Garrison discharged over a thousand firearms. White smoke billowed continuously from gun and cannon muzzles. The sea breeze blew waves of gunpowder smoke away from the battlefield, but soon new white smoke spewed forth. Along the several-li-long earthen wall defense line of Lushun, cannon fire shook the heavens and smoke shrouded everything.

Chen Xin's field of vision was also somewhat hazy. The five large red barbarian cannons on the northern wall fired another volley, striking diagonally at the Later Jin troops on both flanks. The city wall trembled slightly. The muffled thunder of cannon fire shook the eardrums. Chen Xin opened his mouth slightly to relieve the ringing in his ears.

"My lord, West Official Mountain reports they have observed bondservants behind the shield carts piling earth sacks into the shield carts," Liu Pojun said to Chen Xin after receiving the latest intelligence from West Official Mountain.

Chen Xin observed the front. Two four-pound cannonballs had struck a shield cart, shattering its front protective panel and revealing the stacked earth sacks inside. "The Jianzhou Bandits are also building a trench line."

"I also believe so. They are piling earth sacks behind the shield carts, creating an earthen wall. Cannons cannot penetrate it. With this cover, they can station troops behind the wall and need not withdraw at night."

"Are the Jianzhou Bandits trying to use the Dalinghe tactic at Lushun?" Chen Xin asked doubtfully. "But Lushun has a port. If they intend to besiege, they should focus their attack on Tiger Tail or Gold Mountain. Yet the watch posts have not detected them sending additional troops in those two directions."

Liu Pojun thought briefly and said, "Perhaps the Jianzhou Bandits are building an earthen wall, relying on its cover to dig trenches or tunnels day and night, attacking our defense line from close range. Or perhaps once the earthen wall is completed, they will then redeploy troops to assault Tiger Tail."

"Is there any pre-existing plan for dealing with digging tunnels and trenches?"

"During the field exercises at the Military Orders Bureau, a staff officer once proposed digging tunnels. After testing, it was found to be quite difficult. We have a trench nearly one zhang deep blocking them. Their tunnels would have to go over one zhang deep. The ground at Lushun is damp, with much seepage. Tunnels collapse very easily, and moving troops through them is extremely inconvenient. Even so, we have buried a listening jar every few dozen paces, so there should be no worry. The other method is to approach on the surface using trenches. This method is somewhat more effective. However, our earthen wall is arranged in rows of sharp angles. As long as they advance, there will always be one wall face that can fire into the trench. At that time, we will strengthen firepower in the corresponding direction."

Chen Xin nodded. The Jianzhou Bandits' reaction was faster than he had imagined. But forces at war always learn the fastest. After encountering city defense with red-coated cannons, they were able to create the trench siege tactic in this era. Extending that to trench assault tactics was also within reason.

The Later Jin shield cart formation halted all along the line. Bondservants behind swarmed like ants, throwing all the pre-loaded earth sacks onto the earthen wall, along with the shield cart fragments from previous days. All became material for this shield cart wall. The distance Abatai chose was between seventy and eighty paces from the earthen wall. This distance was suitable for arcing arrow fire. The most numerous Frankish guns could not effectively penetrate the shield carts. It was clear they had put some thought into it.

At the cost of losing large numbers of bondservants, the Later Jin troops quickly constructed an incomplete earthen wall. But it could effectively shelter their troops, especially shielding them from the most threatening Dengzhou field cannons.

Tens of thousands of bondservants dug trenches behind the shield carts. The excavated earth was piled behind the shield carts, steadily reinforcing the earthen wall. Dengzhou's cannons gradually ceased firing. For the moment, neither side could effectively strike the other. After the fierce battle, a standoff ensued.

Chen Xin asked Liu Pojun, "What is our next response?"

"Blocked by the Jianzhou Bandits' earthen wall, their attack cannot continue in the short term. I intend to take advantage of the fact that their earthen wall is not yet stable, mobilize mobile forces on both flanks, and make a show of flanking, drawing the Jianzhou Bandits to concentrate. I will then concentrate cannon fire on them, killing and wounding their elite true Jurchen troops. Especially on the West Official Mountain side, their shield cart formation is too straight and flat, providing insufficient cover for the flanks."

Chen Xin agreed, "Excellent. Their earthen wall is still very disorderly, and the flanks especially lack cover. They will have to send men and horses out to resist. Execute it. We must mix infantry and cavalry."

Liu Pojun dispatched relay riders with orders. Drums and horns sounded in unison on both flanks. The cavalry serving as the general reserve sortied temporarily, especially numerous in the defile beneath West Official Mountain. The cavalry entered the defile between West Official Mountain and the earthen wall via the wall passage near the sea. This was a pre-designated sortie staging area. Under the converging fire from two directions, if the Later Jin troops could not capture West Official Mountain, they could not attack here. But as a counterattack assembly area for the defenders, it was most excellent.

There was also such an area below Gold Mountain, somewhat smaller than the one below West Official Mountain. Besides cavalry, there was also a battalion of infantry in each, making a show of sortieing.

Because of the threat posed by the Ming troops on West Official Mountain, the Later Jin shield carts could not cover the entire front. The flanks became their weak point. They seemed to want to form an arc, but the fire from the west side was extremely fierce, causing severe losses to their shield carts. At this moment, they only had enough to cover the front. The protection for the right flank was very exposed. After detecting the Dengzhou Garrison's assembly, the Later Jin troops on the west side assembled over two thousand men and horses behind the earthen wall, all troops of the Two White Banners.

A wooden platform on West Official Mountain continuously signaled with flags, using its excellent vantage point to transmit signals to the Dengzhou troops below the mountain. Liu Pojun watched the flag signals through his telescope and read aloud word by word, "One thousand armored cavalry, Area Seven."

Chen Xin was also watching, but he could not understand it. In fact, this was mainly his achievement. When Wang Zheng came to Dengzhou that year, his book "Illustrations of Far Western Marvelous Machines" contained Western letters and pronunciations. On a whim, Chen Xin had Liu Minyou create a phonetic chart, which led to the current standardized flag code. Although still in the experimental stage, it had already shown great advantages for short commands.

All areas faced by the defense line were numbered. The watch posts trained daily with a numbered map, accurately judging enemy positions even without landmarks. Each gun position also had range tables for different areas, calibrated through test firing. Dengzhou Garrison's preparations were far more complete than Huang Taiji could imagine, already beyond his understanding.

Every gun position was adjusting its charge, angle, and range settings. A brief silence fell over the battle line. The Later Jin troops, believing they had the cover of the earthen wall, did not fear the Ming army's cannon fire.

The triangular flags of the gun captains reporting readiness were raised. Beside Chen Xin, the red-bottomed, yellow-edged artillery command flag traced a circle, then waved left and right. The silent Ming army line suddenly erupted. Every gun position within range fired. They fired at maximum speed, reaching three shots per minute. Over a hundred cannonballs swept across the outer formation of the arrayed Two White Banners. The red barbarian cannons on the city wall also struck that position. The mobile forces of the Two White Banners fell into chaos. Armored cavalry and infantry alike scrambled to take cover beside the earthen wall.

Liu Pojun said to the flag signaler beside him, "Order Tan Shen: cavalry assault the Jianzhou Bandits' right flank."

Moments later, over seven hundred cavalry, in strict formation, swiftly entered the battlefield from the Dengzhou left flank's starting point, charging toward the caught-off-guard troops of the Two White Banners... (To be continued...)