Chapter 621: The Great Confucian Shi's Counterattack

"One, two, three, four."

When the Qing army's red-barbarian light cannons were being hauled one by one to a point a li and a half directly south of the Ming army's wagon formation, the great Confucian Shi Kefa on Turtle Mountain began counting.

A military man, after all, must understand mathematics!

"Thirty-five, thirty?" Very quickly, the great Confucian Shi had finished counting. Worried that he had not counted carefully enough, he turned his head and asked.

"My lord, you did not miscount. It is thirty-six."

"All red-barbarian light cannons?" Shi Kefa pressed.

"Yes, all Tartar red-barbarian light cannons — what we call three-pound battalion guns."

"How many cannons does one of their red-barbarian light cannon niru have?" Shi Kefa asked again.

"It should be six." Shi Dewei replied. "It seems Dorgon means to use every red-barbarian light cannon to pound our front center. My lord, we could pile up the rush-mat sacks filled with rice, flour, and dried sweet potato — they can hold out for a while."

Shi Kefa, still observing the front, nodded slightly: "That is one way. Go and arrange it."

Dorgon was now employing the tactic of concentrating fire to batter a single point, massing thirty-six red-barbarian light cannons against the central stretch of Shi Kefa's wagon wall due south — a section of wagon wall only a little over a li wide.

The red-barbarian light cannon's rate of fire was not slow. Even with the Qing gunners' mediocre skill, one cannon could fire over seventy rounds in a two-hour period; thirty-six cannons meant more than 2,500 rounds. If all of them landed on a five-hundred-meter-wide front, the density of fire was easy to imagine.

Moreover, because the range was so close, there was no problem of missing — and even a miss could still do the Ming army some harm, because the Ming troops, to counter the Qing cavalry, were drawn up in tight formation. As long as a shell landed anywhere inside the Ming army's great formation, it could cause damage.

Conversely, the Ming army's counter-battery fire could hardly inflict much loss on the Qing. The Qing were deployed in loose order, spread across a broad front of more than twenty li, their cavalry and mounted infantry arrayed in clusters, and they were not stationary either. If they truly came under bombardment, they would fall back and dodge.

So the Ming counter-battery fire could only target the Qing gun positions. But the Qing artillerymen had also used rush-mat sacks stuffed with flour to build a breastwork for every red-barbarian light cannon, making it hard for the Ming counter-battery fire to achieve good results.

As for sending infantry and cavalry to assault the Qing artillery positions, Dorgon had long been prepared: more than twenty niru of Eight Banners troops were deployed two hundred paces behind the Qing gun line, ready to charge at any moment.

In addition, Dorgon had transferred six old Eight Banners Han army matchlock niru to deploy within his own gun line (placed in the gaps between the great cannons) to cover the artillery.

Watching the Qing artillery, infantry, and cavalry deploy in perfect order, Shi Kefa knew that having his wagon formation simply stand and take the beating would not do. Thirty-six red-barbarian light cannons concentrated on one stretch of the wagon formation would certainly open a breach within two or three two-hour periods at most — even if Shi Kefa's men used the grain-filled rush-mat sacks as sandbags, they still could not hold.

Then the Qing infantry and cavalry would storm the breach.

Shi Kefa finally lowered his telescope and quietly ordered those around him: "Go and invite Governor Gao, Militia Commander Zuo, Commander Huang, and the two Commanders Li."

Gao Hongtu, Zuo Maodi, Huang Degong, Li Chengdong, and Li Shiyuan were quickly brought before Shi Kefa, and a council of war followed on the spot.

"The eastern barbarians seem to have concentrated all their great cannons directly in front of us," Shi Kefa said. "We cannot just take the beating — we must counterattack!"

"Supreme Commander," Huang Degong agreed with Shi Kefa. "This general has observed that the eastern barbarians' formation is loose and their front overly broad. On their right wing, the strength around Li Village and Niujia Village looks somewhat thin. If we can send out more than ten thousand picked infantry and cavalry, with towed artillery, and rapidly swing around to Niujia Village to drive back the eastern barbarians there, this battle will hold great promise."

When one could not endure bombardment, one took the initiative and attacked — this was a very common tactic in the age of pike-and-shot formations, and it appeared in many battles.

Of course, infantry and cavalry attacks launched in haste under unfavorable artillery conditions were generally hard to win. But Shi Kefa was not seeking victory now; he only needed to pin Dorgon's main force on the battlefield and hold out until Zhu Cilang arrived with more than thirty thousand men — then a complete victory could be won.

Oh, and there was no need for a complete victory either. A mutual bloodletting would do!

The Great Ming could afford to bleed; the eastern barbarians did not have such deep reserves.

"Can more than ten thousand picked infantry and cavalry move to Niujia Village right under the eastern barbarians' noses?" Gao Hongtu was somewhat worried.

Niujia Village was more than ten li from Turtle Mountain. An army of over ten thousand could not get there in less than one or two two-hour periods.

"This general will lead the troops personally!" Huang Degong thumped his chest. "This general's five thousand picked troops are exactly what is needed."

His five thousand picked troops were organized on the "Maurice formation" model: five hundred men to a battalion, ten battalions in all.

Gao Hongtu glanced at Li Chengdong.

Li Chengdong immediately said: "This general will also send two infantry battalions and two cavalry battalions."

"That makes seven thousand men," Shi Kefa thought for a moment, then added, "The Qufu army will also send one dismounted wagon battalion, plus half an artillery battalion, with eight three-pounder cannons."

The great Confucian Shi's tone had grown heavy: "Commander Huang, you will be overall commander of this force. Li Tingzhen, you will be second-in-command."

Huang Degong and Li Chengdong rose at once and bowed together to Shi Kefa: "This general receives the order!"

The counterattack force Shi Kefa had set in motion was originally the reserve, not part of the wagon formation, so it was quickly put into motion. Almost at the same moment the Qing artillery completed its deployment and began firing, more than nine thousand infantry and eight great cannons, escorted by over eight hundred splint-armored lancers, emerged from behind Turtle Mountain and advanced toward Niujia Village on the seemingly weak Qing right wing.

"Imperial Ama, the southern troops have indeed sortied against our right wing — and in no small numbers!" Shang Kexi had excellent eyesight; without even using a telescope he spotted the Ming army's large-scale sortie and immediately called out.

Dorgon raised his telescope for a look and said to Shang Kexi beside him: "They do have some discipline. A pity they are a pack of blind men and deaf men!"

Shang Kexi said with a smile: "It is all thanks to Imperial Ama's sagacity. Not a single move of the southern army escapes Imperial Ama's divine calculation."

Dorgon laughed heartily and waved a hand: "What divine calculation? It is nothing but ordinary dispositions. Our cavalry can seal off the battlefield, so naturally we can keep a trick or two in reserve and lay a little trap. If they had three to five thousand good cavalry to use, our ambushers would have no place to hide."

"Attend me! Relay Our decree: have Durei send out cavalry to check the southern army's main column. Do not send many — three to five hundred horse will be about right."

"Zha!"

Below the observation tower, red-armored soldiers of the Plain White Banner received Dorgon's order and galloped off to deliver it to Durei, the Plain Red Banner's gūsa ejen, who was responsible for the Qing right wing (Li Village and Niujia Village).

Shang Kexi, standing beside Dorgon, hastily warned: "Imperial Ama, the southern army's armored lancers here in Shandong are no weaklings. They have seven or eight hundred cavalry escorting them. Sending three to five hundred horse against them will mean taking losses!"

By "armored lancers" he meant Li Chengdong's splint-armored cavalry, all of them used as shock cavalry.

Although Shandong was in the north, warfare had been frequent these past two or three years, and the attrition of cavalry and warhorses had been severe. Unable to sustain such losses, the four garrisons of Shandong had been forced to reduce the number of night-patrol cavalry and focus on developing armored lancers — that is, superbly equipped lancers in splint iron armor, whose primary means of combat were the charge and hand-to-hand fighting, and whose main task was to screen the infantry and wagon troops.

Though Li Chengdong had only eight hundred iron cavalry, when fighting in coordination with the "Maurice square," they were still enough to drive off an equal number — or even somewhat more — of Qing cavalry.

Dorgon smiled. "We must let the southern troops gain a little advantage. Otherwise, how would they let down their guard?"

For this Ming force swinging around to attack his right wing, Dorgon had prepared an ambush of twenty-five or twenty-six thousand men! Together with the four or five thousand already deployed at Niujia Village, over thirty thousand picked troops of the Nine Banners were sharpening their blades.

That was a superiority of three to one over the enemy!

(End of Chapter)