Chapter 165: Truly Do Not Know the Tartars' Might (Eighth Update, Seeking Monthly Tickets)

At this moment, Dagukou was already on high alert, its four gates firmly shut. On the gate tower facing west, the Right Division command flag and the Right Division commander's flag had been raised, and thunderous drumming rolled out. The walls on the southwest side were packed with dark masses of heads — the soldiers of the Left Division of the Hard-Working New Army all staring in terror at the Manchu troops drawing closer. The officers commanding them held their breath just as tensely. Though the enemy was still far off, an invisible pressure was already bearing down on them.

Most of these men were veterans who had seen many battles, having served in other Ming units before joining the Hard-Working New Army. Even the raw recruits had fought all the way from Beijing to Dagukou escorting His Majesty and the Crown Prince, so they had all picked up some battlefield experience. Yet the sudden appearance of Manchu Tartars beneath the walls of Dagukou still made them shiver with dread.

These were Tartars!

If it had been roving bandits, and only this many of them, everyone would have been clamoring to sally out and earn reward silver.

But facing Tartars — never mind two or three thousand of them, even if there were only two or three hundred, no one would dare speak lightly of going out to fight!

Wu Guoyong, who had personally mounted the west gate tower of Dagukou to direct the defense, stood with one hand pressed on the battlements, staring fixedly at the sea-route wharf four or five li beyond the west gate. He gnashed his teeth for a long while, yet still could not bring himself to order troops out to set up defenses there. There were two important wharves outside Dagukou: one was the sea-route wharf, and the other was the ferry wharf leading to Haisha Island.

If those two wharves were lost, Dagukou would become an isolated city — and an isolated city cannot be held!

Moreover, both wharves had large numbers of wooden structures. Once torn down, that timber could be used to build siege engines, and then Dagukou would be even harder to defend.

But Wu Guoyong turned the matter over and over in his mind and still could not resolve to send troops out to fight. Just as he was frowning in agonized thought, his Vice Regional Commander Qin Mingtao suddenly tugged at him: "Look! Reinforcements!"

"Reinforcements?" Wu Guoyong started. "From where?"

"From the wharf!" Qin Mingtao said. "The sea-route wharf — they must have come from Haisha Island!"

Wu Guoyong raised his head and looked. Sure enough, he saw a fleet of dozens of sand ships and grain transports, led by the two centipede ships Great Dragon Head and Second Dragon Head, sweeping majestically onto the Wei River near the sea-route wharf.

"How is this possible?" Wu Guoyong drew a sharp breath. He took a single-tube telescope from one of his personal guards and began scanning toward the fleet. As he looked, he discovered that the large sand ship at the very front was flying the Crown Prince's six dragon banners, a Commander of the Three Armies banner, and a red banner he had never seen before. There were black characters on the red banner, but at this distance he could not make them out. Only after a while did he manage to read the seven black characters through the lens.

"The Great Ancestor, Exalted Emperor, Reborn," Wu Guoyong murmured. "Why would the Crown Prince fly such a banner?"

"Janggin, look over there!"

A white-armored soldier beside Duolong, the foremost warrior of the Manchus, had also spotted the fleet on the Wei River.

Duolong glanced in the direction the white-armored soldier pointed, immediately reined in his horse, and raised one arm to signal the whole army to halt.

His warhorse came to a steady stop. Then, with a light spring from the saddle, his heavily armored body moved as nimbly as an ape, and he stood rock-steady atop the saddle.

Geng Zhongming, who was riding beside Duolong, now produced his own single-tube telescope and obsequiously offered it up. Duolong took the telescope, extended it, and peered toward the fleet. The moment he looked, he let out a sound of surprise.

"Janggin, what is it?" Geng Zhongming asked.

"I see six dragon banners, a Commander of the Three Armies banner, and another one — a 'Great Ancestor, Exalted Emperor, Reborn' banner!"

Duolong could of course read. How could he have thoroughly studied Romance of the Three Kingdoms without being literate? He was not of the first generation of the Eight Banners, but a second-generation bannerman, and had attended school from childhood.

"Six dragon banners — the Zhu rebel's Crown Prince has come in person? And flying a 'Great Ancestor, Exalted Emperor, Reborn' banner?" Geng Zhongming gave a scornful laugh. "What is the meaning of this? Does the little Zhu prince fancy himself the Ming Great Ancestor reborn? Even if he truly were Zhu Yuanzhang come again, against our Eight Banners' celestial soldiers he could only lose, never win!"

Duolong put away the telescope, parted his legs, and slid down along the saddle to seat himself firmly. His horsemanship was indeed superb, and the Eight Banners soldiers all around cast admiring glances. Duolong smiled smugly: "If it truly were Zhu Yuanzhang come, we might not be certain of victory — the Prince Regent himself would have to take the field to guarantee a win.

But the dead cannot return to life. The Ming's fortunes are spent; there will be no more heroes of that kind!"

"The janggin speaks truly!" Geng Zhongming nodded. "Not only does the remnant Ming have no hero who can stand against our Great Qing — in all the world, there is no elite force that can face the Great Qing's celestial soldiers.

Janggin, that little prince of the remnant Ming truly does not know the height of heaven or the depth of earth. He surely cannot fight a battle. There is no need for the celestial soldiers to move at all — let this old man lead the Han troops of the Plain Yellow Banner and seize the wharf."

Duolong smiled and waved a hand: "No need to seize the wharf. Let them come ashore! Once they are ashore, we can sweep them all up in one net!"

Geng Zhongming at once raised a thumb, his face full of flattery: "Brilliant, truly brilliant! The janggin's mastery of the art of war is something this old man can only gaze after from afar."

Duolong laughed heartily and waved an arm: "All dismount! Rest a while, eat something, and wait for the Zhu rebel prince to come ashore and seek his death!"

"So those are the Manchu Tartars? Why are they all dressed in the same colors as our Ming army?"

Aboard the Great Dragon Head, Zhu Cilang, fully armored, was likewise holding a telescope and observing the battlefield.

"Reporting to Your Highness, those Manchu Tartars are indeed wearing the battle jackets and armor of our Ming soldiers. Earlier they were also flying the banners of 'Deputy Marshal of All the Realm's Armies, Prince of Dai' and 'Governor-General of Ji-Liao.' It was precisely because they flew the wrong banners that this subject saw through them."

The one reporting to Zhu Cilang was none other than that xiucai Tian. His and Yu Daren's performance in the "Battle of the Pontoon Bridge" had already been reported to Zhu Cilang by Qin Mingtao, and Tian himself had been sent to Haisha Island to report the enemy situation to Zhu Cilang in person.

Zhu Cilang nodded and asked, "Can these Manchu Tartars fight?"

Tian the xiucai said, "Some of them are ordinary enough. When the mad bulls charged, they fell into chaos, and many tumbled into the water and drowned. But some were very formidable — they never panicked, and they hurled spears to kill the bulls. If not for those fearsome Tartars, the pontoon bridge would not have fallen so quickly."

"Thousand Years, those spear-hurling Tartars should be Bayara warriors — that is, white-armored and red-armored soldiers," Wu Xiang put in. "These men are the Tartars' elite, hand-picked warriors, every one of them superlative in martial skill. They are even more formidable than the Guanning Army's Yi cavalry!"

"Heh," Zhu Cilang laughed, and asked Hao Yaoqi, who stood beside him, "Yaoqi, are you afraid?"

"Not afraid!" Hao Yaoqi snorted. "No matter how high their martial skill, they damn well can't block a musket ball!"

Wu Xiang shook his head: "The Tartar soldiers do not fear muskets. If muskets could defeat the Tartars, how would they have grown so rampant by now? Besides, the Tartars have muskets and Hongyi cannons too — all brought over by those traitors Kong Youde and his lot, and they are very formidable! Moreover, Joseon also has musket troops, and they now serve the Manchu Tartars as well!"

Zhu Cilang looked at Hao Yaoqi again. Hao Yaoqi snorted: "None of them are a match for our Center Division Vanguard Brigade!"

"Good!" Zhu Cilang praised. "That is the spirit I want! Yaoqi, it will be up to you in a moment!"

Hao Yaoqi cupped his fists: "Rest easy, Thousand Years. Yaoqi will make the Tartars learn the might of our Hard-Working New Army!"

Beside them, Wu Xiang and his son Wu Sanfu both sighed — this roving bandit Hao Yaoqi truly did not know how fearsome the Tartars were!

After this battle, the whole army would likely be wiped out.

Old Wu shot his son a look, meaning: the Crown Prince must be protected at all costs!

Wu Sanfu nodded. He had long been prepared, having selected five hundred elite troops of superlative martial skill from the Left and Right Brigades of the Center Division. The moment things went wrong on the battlefield, they would escort Zhu Cilang onto a sand ship and flee far away.

"Thousand Years, the Tartars do not seem to intend to seize the wharf." Li Ruolian, commander of the Left Division, was also at Zhu Cilang's side. He had been watching the Tartars' movements and had noticed they had already dismounted to rest.

Wu Xiang said, "They are deliberately letting us come ashore!"

Zhu Cilang smiled: "Then let us go ashore! Yaoqi! Get your men ready!"

"Aye!"

(End of Chapter)