Chapter 612: Whom Does Confucius Protect?

The enemy is usually very cunning!

Of course, there are foolish enemies too, but the Qing Imperial Ama Dorgon was certainly no fool. Not only was he no fool, he was even more cunning than the average enemy.

So he had never even considered going to Liaocheng to fight a decisive battle with Zhu Cilang!

Although he now had ninety thousand elite troops, plus forty-eight 3-pounder cannons and forty-eight one-catty cannons, absolutely enough strength to fight a battle with Zhu Cilang's Northern Expedition army.

But what about after the battle? If he lost, the Qing would naturally be finished; if he won, killing ten thousand of the enemy while losing five thousand of his own — would that be acceptable?

Absolutely not!

Zhu Cilang had over a hundred million Han people, while the true Manchus under Dorgon, including the old, weak, women, and children, numbered at most a few hundred thousand. How could Dorgon endure a ten-to-five exchange ratio?

Even with the Regular Green Banner as cannon fodder, he couldn't afford to lose men like that! The current Regular Green Banner troops were also "noble soldiers" now — it had taken enclosing that much land just to produce a hundred thousand of them. If they all died, where was Dorgon supposed to go enclose more land? He couldn't very well take back the land granted to the families of Regular Green Banner martyrs, could he? If he really did that, would the new Regular Green Banner soldiers still be willing to fight to the death?

"Nikan, Bolo, Mandahai," back at the Imperial Ama's temporary residence inside Zhengzhou, Dorgon once again summoned the three of them before him and began giving instructions in person, "We now have heavenly troops capable of defeating the southern army. But defeating them now is not like before — it is no longer killing ten thousand of the enemy while losing only a few hundred of our own. The southern soldiers are no longer that weak. If we fight south of the Huai River, even a one-for-one exchange of lives is not guaranteed."

"But in the north, and in winter, it truly is to our advantage! Still, at best we can trade one life for two, or one for three."

To be fair, Dorgon had a very accurate understanding of the Ming army's combat strength — small-scale engagements between Qing and Ming forces had never stopped over the past two years, and Dorgon had gathered a great deal of first-hand intelligence. He would have been a fool not to know.

Even the garrison troops of the northern six garrisons could at least eat their fill now, and they had good armor, and sometimes they even brought side-cart wagons into battle.

Against that kind of unit, the Regular Green Banner troops had no advantage! Not even if they brought along one-catty cannons.

One-catty cannons could indeed destroy side-cart wagons, but the Ming army also had one-catty cannons!

Moreover, the shields on the side-cart wagons could be taken down and, combined with sand and earth, quickly turned into simple field fortifications. Add one-catty cannons, firelocks, bows and arrows, and long spears all defending together, and the Qing army simply could not break through!

"Imperial Ama," Nikan shook his head, "we cannot fight battles where we trade one life for two or one for three!"

"Then what do we do?" Bolo asked. "Imperial Ama, we can't just walk around the Southern Ming army, can we?"

"Of course we go around them!" Dorgon smiled. "Four-legged creatures must compete in foot strength with two-legged ones. Those Southern Ming armies not only have two fewer legs, some of them are even pulling heavy wagons! When the canal wasn't frozen, they could still move thanks to water transport. Now, with ice and snow everywhere, those wagon-pullers simply cannot move at all!"

Mandahai already had his thumb up. "Brilliant! Imperial Ama is truly brilliant! We'll compete with them in foot strength — just march a thousand or two thousand li first."

"After a thousand or two thousand li, they'll collapse!" Dorgon stroked his beard and laughed. "Nikan, Bolo, Mandahai — which of you three will stay in Zhengzhou to keep an eye on Zhang Xianzhong, and which of you is willing to lead troops to compete in foot strength with the Ming bandits?"

Nikan had been dealing with Zhang Xianzhong for the past two months, so he wanted to finish the job completely, and said to Dorgon: "Imperial Ama, let this subject stay!"

"Good!" Dorgon nodded. "Then Bolo, Mandahai, the two of you will split your forces into two routes — one striking toward Huaibei, one toward Jinan. Remember: do not assault strong cities, do not seek decisive battle with large enemy forces, and do not loot too much in population and goods. If you carry too much, you won't move fast."

the Eastern Depot Prefecture, Liaocheng.

Cannon fire rumbled, blasting the inside and outside of Liaocheng, where the opposing Qing army held firm, into rolling clouds of smoke. Dozens of 12-pounder Hongyi cannons and 24-pounder mortars formed two artillery positions. Even in the dead of winter, the gunners were drenched in sweat, stripped to the waist as they loaded round after round of iron shot and explosive shells into the barrels, then fired them off like thunder and lightning.

The cannons deployed outside Liaocheng had all been brought by water, and they were not field guns either (once deployed, they did not need to be moved frequently), so they did not require many oxen or horses to pull. Thus there was no great restriction on caliber or quantity — the only limit was the gunners.

In order to breach the strong cities of the north, Zhu Cilang had ordered the formation of two artillery regiments directly under the Grand Marshal's Office — the First and Second Siege Artillery Regiments!

These two regiments were together equipped with six companies of 12-pounder Hongyi cannons and six companies of 24-pounder mortars. If necessary, they could also draw 24-pounder and 36-pounder heavy guns from the various coastal defense fortresses!

Although Zhu Cilang had brought in many heavy guns to break through Liaocheng, after several days of bombardment he still had not completely collapsed Liaocheng's walls.

This was actually a sin of his own making — the sandbag wall-building technique had been learned by Dodo! After Dodo learned it, he taught it to the soldiers of the Nine Banners.

So now the Qing army also knew how to build fortresses out of sandbags, and they even deliberately built sloped faces. Never mind 12-pounder guns — even if 36-pounders were brought up, they might not be able to damage walls built with sandbag slopes.

However, the large number of 12-pounder guns could still use concentrated fire to suppress the Qing cannons mounted on Liaocheng's walls, keeping the Qing gunners from even lifting their heads. Under the cover of the 12-pounders, those "migrant workers" from the four garrisons of Shandong, so skilled at digging trenches, advanced close to Liaocheng's "moat lake" and dug "parallel trenches," and also used sandbags to build gun emplacements for the 24-pounder mortars.

Before the outer lake of Liaocheng froze over, the Ming army's 24-pounder mortars were already able to lob one enormous explosive shell after another into the small city of Liaocheng, packed full of Regular Green Banner officers, soldiers, and their families!

Kong Youde, the Qing Prince Who Pacifies the South and one of the three banner lords of the Regular Green Banner, was at that moment kneeling in the ancestral shrine inside his princely residence in Liaocheng, facing an image of Confucius with a fierce gaze and a sword in hand, along with a spirit tablet reading "Ancestor, the Ultimate Sage and First Teacher Confucius," muttering incantations under his breath.

"Ancestor protect us! Ancestor, protect your unworthy descendant Kong Youde from cannonballs! Protect this prince's residence from the southern bandits' shells. Namo Kong the Ultimate Sage and First Teacher, namo the Ultimate Sage and First Teacher..."

Well now, Confucius had gained yet another function — cannonball warding! No one knew who started it, but it was said that as long as you enshrined a Confucius spirit tablet in your home and chanted "Namo the Ultimate Sage and First Teacher" every day, you could guarantee your house would not be hit by the endless rain of explosive shells!

And this matter actually did seem to have a bit of efficacy! In any case, Kong Youde believed it. Ever since the Ming army began shelling, he had been kowtowing, burning incense, and chanting "Namo the Ultimate Sage and First Teacher" in the ancestral shrine of his residence every day. Up to now, his princely residence had only been struck by a single dud explosive shell — this was clearly the protection of his ancestors' spirits in heaven!

The rumbling of cannon fire abruptly ceased once again. Kong Youde, dressed in a long artillery-pattern riding jacket and kneeling on a prayer cushion, let out a heavy sigh — it seemed he had escaped another calamity. Ancestors were reliable after all!

Just as he was thinking of kowtowing a few more times to the spirit tablet of the Ultimate Sage and First Teacher Confucius, the sound he feared most faintly reached his ears: "Confucius the Sage protects us from blade and bullet! Blade and bullet cannot harm us!"

Kong Youde shuddered on the spot — that was the battle cry of the Qufu trained army before launching an attack!

Once they shouted that, nine times out of ten they were about to storm the city!

The reason the Prince Who Pacifies the South's residence had survived the Ming bombardment these past days was entirely thanks to the Sage Confucius's protection. But now, the genuine Kong family troops were attacking — if Confucius's spirit was in heaven, he would surely protect his own descendants!

It was all over now!

At the thought that it was all over, tears streamed down Kong Youde's face. As he wept, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, and then came the shouting voice of Sun Zhixie, the Governor of Shandong.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! Your relatives are attacking the city! Come out at once and take charge!"

It really was the Qufu army attacking! Kong Youde wailed loudly, startling Sun Zhixie, who had just walked in.

"Your Highness, what is..." Seeing Kong Youde's pathetic state, Sun Zhixie's heart skipped a beat.

This was the end! But fortunately, Sun Zhixie thought again: I already defected to the Great Ming on my last mission to Nanjing — I'm an inside agent now!

(End of Chapter)