Chapter 272: Hands Tied

The Eight Banner troops outside Songshan city encountered a situation similar to Shang Kexi's at Daxing Fort, and suffered even heavier losses than the Qing forces there. Facing the five thousand Yongwei Camp soldiers arrayed outside the city, Yoto employed the same tactic: a thousand Mongol Eight Banner cavalry divided into five squadrons, charging the Ming army's flanks in turn to open a gap for the Han Banner infantry—but likewise returned fruitless under the dense fire of the Folangji cannons on the Ming city walls, leaving behind over a hundred corpses instead.

Though Yoto was among the elite figures of the Eight Banners, it wasn't just him—for the entire Eight Banners, including the old bandit Wild Boar Skin and his successor Hong Taiji, they all relied on brute force and personal valor to defeat opponents in wild field combat, rather than winning through prior planning. Rich combat experience gave them keen instincts and judgment on the battlefield, allowing them to adapt to circumstances in formation, and the extremely generous rewards after victory were enough to spur the Eight Banner soldiers to fight fiercely—this was how they repeatedly triumphed against the Ming army.

But facing a fortified city and this Ming force with extremely strong fighting will, fine equipment, and rigorous training, even a so-called wise general like Yoto lacked effective means to break the enemy.

"Your Highness, better to wait until the red barbarian cannons are brought up before attacking. As long as we use artillery to knock out the Ming cannons on the walls, the Ming infantry formation can't stop our Eight Banner cavalry from charging. This slave thinks we should concentrate our forces for now—Your Highness had best send men west to check on the situation at Wise Prince's position. If they've succeeded there, we can just wear the Ming down here, since they won't dare attack us proactively, and wait for Wise Prince to obtain supplies before joining forces. If they've hit a tough nut too, then simply pull them over—more hands make for easier deployment!"

Seeing the Eight Banner troops looking like a dog trying to bite a hedgehog—nowhere to sink their teeth in—against the Ming army's ironclad defensive formation, Kong Youde on the side suggested to Yoto.

The cannons carried by the Han Banner troops were inconvenient to transport and couldn't keep up with the main force's marching speed, so they had fallen behind.

Yoto and the Eight Banner generals were all somewhat contemptuous of the enemy, assuming that the Ming's main forces were all inside Jinzhou city and that the defensive strength of forts like Songshan wouldn't be too great. So with thoughts of a quick victory, they came lightly equipped to the foot of Songshan city.

Unexpectedly, Songshan not only had cannons to assist its defense, but its garrison was extremely formidable—the Ming army even dared to march out of the city and array for battle. Yoto ordered a fight based on past experience, and only then suffered a minor setback.

"Very well, Prince Gongshun, take two niru of men to the rear and escort the artillery battalion. I'll send men west right away to scout the situation!"

Atop Songshan city wall, Hong Chengchou and others were watching the enemy formation from the gate tower. Seeing several hundred men split off from the Eight Banner formation and head to the rear, Hong Chengchou decisively ordered: "If this official's guess is right, the Jianzhou barbarians are sending men back to escort their red barbarian cannons here to attack the city. Pass the order—the troops arrayed outside the city are to withdraw into the city in sequence, lest they become targets for the enemy. Our army need only defend the city!"

With the order issued, the city gates opened wide, and the Ming troops arrayed outside withdrew into the city in alternating companies covering one another. Though the Eight Banner side saw the Ming army retreating into the city, fearing the power of the cannons atop the walls, Yoto did not order a pursuit, and could only watch helplessly as the Ming troops withdrew into the city in batches.

"Once the Jianzhou barbarians' cannons arrive, the gate tower may not be very safe. A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall—the defensive arrangements on the walls are all in place, so the Supreme Commander should descend and return to the headquarters to wait. With your subordinates here, the Jianzhou barbarians can never break Songshan city no matter what!"

Mao Yuanyi clasped his hands and bowed as he spoke.

"Very well, this official staying on the wall serves little purpose—the defense is left to Zhisheng!"

Hong Chengchou, readily accepting good advice, clasped his hands behind his back and walked off the gate tower with official strides, Shen Shiyu and Zhang Dou following closely behind. A large crowd of personal guards outside the tower gathered around to escort the men back to the headquarters.

After bathing and changing clothes, Hong Chengchou stepped into the second hall of the headquarters, where Shen Shiyu was quietly conversing with Zhang Dou.

"Kungang, Yuheng—what are you discussing?"

Hong Chengchou, clad in a loose Daoist robe, sat leisurely in the seat of honor as a servant brought a bowl of hot tea and withdrew.

"Lord Hong, your student and the army supervisor were just discussing the enemy situation. Lord Hong will surely see that the Jianzhou barbarians' infantry and cavalry outside the city are nothing to fear, for their numbers are few and pose little threat to our forces. But their red barbarian cannons alone are extremely formidable—truly the greatest threat to our army. If our forces can find an opportunity to destroy their cannons, that would greatly weaken the Jianzhou barbarians' strength!"

"Do I not know what Kungang says? Indeed, at present the only great threat from the barbarians outside the city is their cannons—with those cannons present, our army cannot leave the city to fight them in formation. The red barbarian cannons were brought by Kong Youde when he betrayed Ming and surrendered to Qing; their gunners were all instructed by Folangji men, and their marksmanship is extremely skilled. But destroying them is no easy matter. I know you two wish to use a night raid to destroy them, but the Jianzhou barbarians are not like the ragtag roving bandits within our borders—they will certainly have taken precautions against our army. If we send men out for a night raid, I fear it will be difficult to succeed!"

"Lord Hong, your student believes a night raid is feasible! Our army can employ the tactic of feinting east while striking west—send several detachments to attack the barbarians' western and northern sides to disturb them, and once the enemy's forces are largely scattered, send one detachment straight for their cannon positions. In this way, success can be achieved!"

Hong Chengchou stroked his beard and pondered for a long while, then nodded heavily: "Kungang's plan is excellent—if all goes smoothly, there should be a sixty percent chance of success! Someone, go to the city wall and summon Mao Zhisheng!"

By the time Kong Youde finally arrived outside Songshan city with his dozen-odd cannons, it was already around mid-afternoon. By the time the artillery positions were set up, the sky had gradually darkened, and the assault on the city could only be postponed to the next day.

The scouts sent west to contact Shang Kexi returned to report that Wise Prince's attack on Daxing Fort had also met resistance—when the scouts arrived, Shang Kexi was just about to send men to Songshan to request artillery support. Upon receiving Yoto's order to concentrate forces, Shang Kexi gathered his troops and began moving toward Songshan, with the full army expected to arrive the next day.

"Your Highness, it can now be confirmed that this Ming force facing us was transferred from within the passes. Its formation is rigorous and tight, its ranks orderly and disciplined—likely far more difficult to deal with than the Ming troops under Zu Dashou! This slave believes that since the Ming court dares to send elite troops beyond the passes at this time, the various righteous armies within their borders must be in dire straits! What this slave fears is that if the Ming court gradually sends more strong troops beyond the passes, that would be extremely unfavorable for our Great Qing!"

The tallow candles in the tent flickered dimly, and Kong Youde's words made Yoto's expression shift between dark and light.

After the Shanxi merchants were wiped out in one stroke by the Ming court, all of Jianzhou not only grew increasingly short of various supplies, but also lost its sources and channels for news from within the Great Ming's borders.

Now Jianzhou at large only vaguely knew that the rebels within the Ming's borders were in an extremely bad situation, but did not know that the major roving bandit forces had all been completely annihilated. Yet Kong Youde's analysis just now was clearly very reasonable—if the rebels had not been eliminated, why would the Ming court transfer its elite troops beyond the passes?

In the spacious tent with only himself and Kong Youde, Yoto intended to discuss the next course of action with Kong Youde.

Though he had always looked down on Han Chinese, Yoto still held Fan Wencheng, Kong Youde, and a few others in somewhat higher regard.

When it came to marching and fighting, deploying troops and arranging formations, the Han truly were lacking; but when it came to insight, foresight, and strategy, Yoto also admitted that these Han slaves stood out more than the Banner men.

"Could Prince Gongshun's words betray fear of the enemy? The Ming troops encountered today are indeed quite elite, but they haven't yet earned a place in the eyes of our Eight Banners! How many Ming troops are in Songshan city? At most, saying generously, a little over ten thousand. If the Ming army didn't have the city walls to rely on, they would have been routed by our Eight Banners in open battle long ago. In other words, this Ming force still fears the strength of our Eight Banners and dares not face us head-on! Even if this Ming force is hard to deal with, how many such troops do they have? No more than fifty thousand at most! If they had more, would they have let the local bandits within the passes stir up chaos for ten years? Our Great Qing has over a hundred thousand elite troops—how could we fear a mere few tens of thousands of Ming soldiers!"

Yoto gave a cold laugh and spoke.

In his heart he fully acknowledged Kong Youde's judgment and conclusions. But under the fixed mindset formed from years of fighting the Ming army, Yoto still stubbornly believed that the Ming's so-called elite troops were not numerous, and moreover dared not face the Eight Banners in open battle—when confronting the Eight Banner army, they still focused primarily on defense.

"Prince Gongshun must not think too far ahead—better to consider how to handle tomorrow's battle. The Ming are exceedingly cunning; their commander must have guessed our cannons were approaching, which is why he withdrew his troops into the city. Though our army has cannons to assist, the Ming also have many cannons on their walls—breaking the city will not be easy. First the defeat at Yizhou, now failing to take a city—if our army returns empty-handed this time, wouldn't that boost the Ming army's morale and deflate our Eight Banners' prestige? This Ming force must be eliminated. Prince Gongshun, do you have a good plan?"

Seeing that Kong Youde seemed somewhat unimpressed by his words, Yoto changed the subject and spoke of how to break the enemy tomorrow.

Kong Youde gave a bitter laugh: "What Your Highness says is very reasonable. This slave had intended to bring up the cannons and seize the opportunity to shatter the Ming formation outside the city, then our army would pursue and slaughter—another great victory. Who would have thought the Ming commander was too cunning, actually seeing through this slave's intentions—that makes things difficult. Though the Ming troops are few in number, our army is not much larger than theirs. Unless the main forces of our Great Qing all arrive at once, simultaneously digging trenches to besiege both Songshan and Jinzhou cities, waiting until their food runs out to break them—otherwise there is no other way!"

"We'll discuss tomorrow's battle after Wise Prince arrives with his forces! Tonight your unit must add extra sentries and guard against a Ming night raid—the cannon positions need the most protection! I will deploy additional men to assist in your defense. Go!"

Because the Qing army maintained strict vigilance, lighting bonfires every few dozen paces before their camp and sending out multiple night patrol squads to circle back and forth, the Ming army's planned night raid was never carried out.

And the Qing army likewise lacked effective means to assault the city, while the commander Yoto was unwilling to return empty-handed. Neither side could do anything to the other, and a campaign in which the Qing army had marched south in force to retaliate against the Ming ultimately entered a stalemate.