Chapter 403: Fort by Fort, Advancing Step by Step

Gao Hongtu listened quietly as Shi Kecheng painted a rosy picture of three hundred thousand troops encircling and annihilating Dodo, his face betraying no change of expression. Only when Shi Kecheng had talked himself dry and had nothing left to say did he sigh softly and speak: "This official has just received a dispatch from Regional Commander Li of Caozhou. The eastern barbarians' main army stormed Yutai County on the eighth day of the fifth month, entered Xuzhou territory on the ninth, and on the tenth took two county seats in a single day — Pei County and Feng County!"

Shi Kecheng was taken aback and quickly pressed: "Were the people of Yutai, Pei County, and Feng County evacuated? Did Commander Gao and Commander Li engage the enemy?"

Gao Hongtu said: "Yutai, Pei County, and Feng County are rather far from enemy territory, so no evacuation was carried out. However, the county seats of these three counties had small populations to begin with — altogether only three or four thousand households — and the surrounding countryside was not prosperous. Though they suffered calamity, the losses are not too great after all.

As for engaging the enemy — given the strength of Regional Commander Li and Regional Commander Gao, being able to protect themselves is already good enough. Would they dare to block the Tartars' spearhead?"

"The Tartars' spearhead is not unblockable," Shi Kecheng said. "In the Battle of Qufu, did we not block it?"

"Qufu is a strong city, so naturally it could be held." Li Dakai, Gao Hongtu's Vice Regional Commander, interjected. "If the eastern barbarians dared to attack Pizhou, where heavy troops are garrisoned, Regional Commander Gao would certainly be able to drive them back."

"But the Tartars did not storm Qufu's strong walls," Shi Kecheng said with a smile. "A mere earthen fort outside Qufu left the Tartars at their wits' end. Even with Hongyi cannon they could not take it!"

Gao Hongtu said in astonishment: "What? An earthen fort withstood Hongyi cannon?"

"That's right!" Shi Kecheng said. "This earthen fort was built with logs as the core, earth in the middle, and the exterior piled up with earth-filled hemp sacks. No rammed earth was used, so the labor was not great.

After the Battle of Qufu, my elder brother had the militia test this outside the city and found that with two thousand able-bodied men, equipped with shovels, hemp sacks, and rush mats, a fort capable of withstanding Hongyi cannon bombardment could be built in just two or three days. If a little more time were spent, it could even be built into a multi-angled bastion like Qufu's main city. Then, supported by strong bows, fire lances, and crouching-tiger cannon, two thousand men defending such a fort should be enough to hold off more than ten thousand Tartar troops!"

Li Dakai wore a look of half-belief, half-doubt: "If that is truly possible, then we could use the method of advancing step by step, consolidating each position, to contend with the Tartars. In the past, Hong Chengchou used this very method to lift the siege of Jinzhou. It is only a pity that back then no one knew the method of piling earthen bastions — otherwise the affairs of state would not have come to this."

Seeing that Li Dakai still seemed somewhat doubtful of his claims, Shi Kecheng said to Gao Hongtu with a smile: "Governor Gao, is there any Hongyi cannon here in Jinan? If so, we could put it to the test. Build a section of earthen wall according to the method used for Qufu's No. C support fort, bombard it with Hongyi cannon, and you will know that what this humble official says is true."

Gao Hongtu shook his head and said: "There are no Hongyi cannon here in Jinan, but Dengzhou does have them. This official will send a directive to the Shandong Regional Commander's office, ordering them to bombard an earthen-packed wall with Hongyi cannon and see whether it can hold."

A look of anticipation suddenly appeared on his face as he stroked his beard: "If it truly holds, then we could divide our forces into several columns and, using the method of fort-by-fort advance, encircle the eastern barbarians' Gold-Touching Prince Dodo's force — and annihilate them in one stroke!"

"Boom — boom —"

These were two three-pounder battalion guns firing. Fist-sized solid shot was hurled forth, turning into two black specks that flew at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow toward a row of wooden targets three hundred paces away. In an instant, two or three of the wooden targets were smashed to splinters!

"Good! Good! Nicolau, excellent!" Seeing the effect of the bombardment, the Crown Prince Zhu gave a thumbs-up to a foreign officer with a hooked nose, black hair, and a full beard.

This foreigner was named Nicolau Ferreira, the artillery regiment commander hired for Zhu Cilang by the Governor of Macau, Shi Baoluo. At the end of last year, he had arrived in Nanjing from Macau with over a hundred Portuguese gunners and craftsmen (artillerymen of this era all had to bring their own craftsmen) and joined the Model Army of the Hard-Working New Army.

Zhu Cilang then had Feng Sizhong select more than two hundred quick-witted young clansmen from the Xiaoling Guard New Army, chose another three hundred men from the various New Army regiments, and also selected some craftsmen from the Nanjing Cannon Bureau. Together with the hundred-odd Portuguese gunners, they formed the Model Army's artillery regiment.

This artillery regiment consisted of six battalion gun companies, two heavy gun companies, one engineer company, and one supply company. Each of the six battalion gun companies had three battalion gun platoons under it, and each gun company was equipped with a total of six three-pounder battalion guns — the so-called battalion guns were, of course, meant to be attached to infantry regiments and cavalry regiments.

So for now, the Model Artillery Regiment was merely holding these six battalion gun companies in trust. Once all training was complete, these six companies would be distributed by platoon to the various Model infantry and cavalry regiments.

The two heavy gun companies, on the other hand, were each equipped with only two platoons of 12-pounder Hongyi cannon — one heavy gun company had only four 12-pounder Hongyi cannon, and the two companies together had eight, firepower meant for assaulting fortifications.

What was being test-fired now, however, was a three-pounder battalion gun platoon composed entirely of Chinese. This platoon was personally commanded by the two high officials Feng Sizhong and Xu Ermo. Ferreira had selected Portuguese gunners who could speak a little Chinese to teach them hands-on, and after more than four months of instruction, they could finally be brought out for a look.

What could be shown to Zhu Cilang was not only the gunnery drill, but also the two drills of rapid movement and deployment into firing positions — compared to the 12-pounder cannon, the three-pounder battalion gun's true advantage lay in its lightness and mobility.

"Your Highness, they have only completed the first stage of training. Next they must conduct coordination training with the infantry and cavalry regiments. Coordination is extremely difficult, but General Shi Ruien will certainly be able to satisfy Your Highness —"

Nicolau Ferreira spoke stiff Chinese with a touch of a Guangdong accent — he had spent many years in Macau and could already speak Guangdong Mandarin, which was a bit hard on the ears.

This Portuguese artillery regiment commander was actually from a naval background. Portugal was not a land power like France, Holland, the German states, Sweden, or Spain, and had not participated in the Thirty Years' War. So its army's technical skills were mediocre, and it had no high-quality artillery.

Shi Ruien, though not from an artillery background, had actually fought in the Thirty Years' War and the English Civil War and knew how to employ regimental artillery. He was also at the Grand Parade Ground watching the artillery drill. Hearing Ferreira mention his name, he knew what it was about and said to Zhu Cilang with a smile, in newly learned Shanxi-accented Chinese: "Rest assured, Your Highness — leave it to old Shi!"

This "old Shanxi" accent of his he had learned from Han Lin's nephew Han Liren — this Han Liren had studied for many years under the Italian missionary Gao Yizhi and could speak fluent French. French was the common Western language of this era, and both Shi Ruien and Ferreira spoke it. So Han Liren became the chief interpreter of the foreign officers' corps and was also responsible for teaching a group of foreign officers to speak Shanxi dialect. Thus the foreign officers under Zhu Cilang either spoke Guangdong Mandarin (all learned in Macau) or a mouthful of Shanxi Mandarin; in addition, there were some interpreters who spoke soft Wu dialect, all found for Zhu Cilang by Luo Dagong from the Suzhou and Songjiang areas.

"General Shi," Zhu Cilang beckoned to Shi Ruien, calling the Shanxi-speaking German over, then asked him with a smile: "If the order to march were issued tomorrow, how many regiments of the Model Army could reach the standard of a European army?"

"Nine regiments." Shi Ruien answered with certainty. "If the artillery factor is not considered, nine regiments are already prepared. Your Highness — is war about to begin?"

"War has already begun!" Zhu Cilang said with a bitter smile. "But I still don't know how to win it."

"Your Highness, what is it that worries you?" Shi Ruien asked.

"My enemy possesses powerful light cavalry and dismounted infantry — in fact, one soldier serving two roles. They are both light cavalry and dismounted infantry, skilled in close combat and archery, and can also use fire lances and cannon." Zhu Cilang frowned. "Moreover, they have many excellent commanders and are accustomed to mobile warfare on the northern plains. General — do you have any advice?"

(End of Chapter)