Chapter 395: War Begins

After several days of round-the-clock labor, long trenches had been dug outside the north gate of Ningyuan city and the east gate of Zhenyuan Fort. These two trenches, over a zhang wide and six chi deep, severed the passage by which the Ming army could send reinforcements from Ningyuan and Zhenyuan Fort to the supply camp.

More than six thousand Mongol Eight Banner cavalry, along with fifteen niru of Bordered Blue Banner Qing troops, pitched camp north of the trenches to keep watch on the Ming forces in the direction of Ningyuan.

At the trench outside the east gate of Zhenyuan Fort, ten niru of Plain Blue Banner Qing troops were encamped on watch.

"Obedient Prince, Wise Prince, are the cannons properly positioned? Tomorrow will be the Han Army Banner's day! Once the cannons blast open the Ming camp palisade, Huili Bu, you will immediately lead five hundred men to break into the Ming camp and fight them at close quarters with all your strength! Udabu, you take three hundred men as the rear force and seize the moment to charge in and slaughter! The Wise Prince will do the same on the west side—Axi Bao leads the charge! Even if the Ming troops have formidable firearms, so what? When it comes to close-quarters combat, our Eight Banner elite are unmatched under heaven! Once the Ming camp is broken, this prince will naturally petition for merit on your behalf!"

"Yes!"

"Your slave accepts the order!"

In the main Qing camp five li north of the Qin army's camp, Yoto was convening his subordinate commanders in the main tent to discuss matters and arrange tomorrow's tactics, assigning each man his task.

After scouting out the layout of the Ming camp thoroughly, Yoto and Kong Youde and the others deliberated and finally settled on tomorrow's battle plan.

Kong Youde and the others knelt on one knee one after another to receive their military orders, each wearing an expression of certain resolve.

In their view, even if the Ming troops opposite were elite new soldiers, the disadvantage of being too few in number was an unchangeable reality.

As long as the Eight Banner elite broke their formation, no matter how formidable their firearms, they could not withstand the cutting and thrusting of blade and spear.

Once these few thousand Ming troops were annihilated, the mountain of grain and supplies behind them would become spoils for the Eight Banners.

"Reporting to Your Highness, your slave has something to say. Your slave cannot shake the feeling—is this all going a bit too smoothly? Such a vital location, yet why does the Ming state have only a few thousand men guarding it? Could there be treachery at work?"

Geng Zhongming, who usually kept a low profile, hesitated for a long while before stepping forward, bowing, and voicing his doubt.

"Heh heh heh heh! The Pacifying Prince worries too much! What you speak of, this prince has also considered. After much thought, I find there is no other hidden concern! Do you know why?"

In excellent spirits, the normally stern and severe Yoto became genial and affable.

"Your slave indeed does not know, which is why I asked. I beg Your Highness to enlighten your slave!"

Geng Zhongming replied with a smile and a bow.

"Hahahaha! 'Enlighten' is hardly the word—let me just share how I see it!"

Seeing merit within reach, Yoto threw back his head and laughed heartily.

"To put it simply, the Ming commander beyond the passes has grown careless! Last year the Ming first won at Yizhou, then had the achievement of holding Songshan, so it is only natural the man harbored contempt for the enemy! This time our great army marches south, and he will naturally assume our forces still target Songshan and Jinzhou. It never occurs to him that we would bypass the cities and drive straight at his vital point! Though the Ming army has no shortage of elite troops, they are now scattered among the various forts and cities, cut apart by us and unable to gather for battle! Even if he now knows our intent, it is too late for regret!"

Even as the Qing army was deploying its tactics, inside one tent of the Qin army camp, Vice Regional Commander Zhang Yuan was likewise convening his subordinate officers to study how to meet the enemy.

"The Jianzhou barbarians have come with ill intent this time! Though we cannot scout exactly how many men they have brought, by the look of things there are at least thirty thousand or more! This will be the hardest battle our Qin army has faced since its founding! Whatever happens, we must not disgrace the reputation of our Qin army! Still less can we make the Governor-General lose face! Even if we all die in battle, not one of us may turn deserter! Tomorrow this commander will personally oversee the battle line—anyone who flees in fear of the enemy will be executed on the spot! You must all make this known to the entire army afterward!"

Zhang Yuan, around thirty years of age, had originally been a Company Commander in the Yongwei Camp brought from the capital. Over these years, through accumulated merit, he had risen to the post of Vice Regional Commander.

Because he had long followed Sun Chuanting in campaigns across many regions, he had always addressed Sun Chuanting as Governor-General.

"Assistant Regional Commander, rest assured! Since we eat the Ming's military pay and provisions, we have already resolved to be loyal to His Majesty. At worst, we die repaying the state!"

Mobile Corps Commander Chen Yong said casually, unconcerned.

"Assistant Regional Commander, we'll fight to the death, that's settled! But once those Jianzhou barbarians set up their cannons, my heart feels a chill, and I reckon the lads under me are rattled too! Fighting the barbarians hand-to-hand isn't what worries us—but dying to cannon fire before we've even seen the enemy, that feels like a real loss! We need to find a way to knock out those barbarian cannons!"

The speaker was Battalion Commander Li Sanwa.

He had originally been a squad leader in Yansui Garrison. After hearing that the Qin army paid its military wages and provisions in full, he had brought a dozen or so subordinates and fled over by night. Later, through fierce fighting and repeated exploits, he had risen step by step to his current position.

Today, watching the Qing forces dig in and set up their positions, with several dozen cannons of various sizes being mounted one after another, their dark muzzles aimed straight at his own camp, Li Sanwa—who had witnessed the power of cannon fire before—felt his heart leap with terror.

"No matter! This commander already knows how to guard against the harm of cannon fire! Don't forget, back in the main camp behind us we also have countless cannons! As long as we endure the barbarians' bombardment and exhaust their gunpowder and shot, in a few days we'll let the barbarians taste the might of our own cannons!"

Zhang Yuan had long since been informed by Sun Chuanting that the court's senior ministers had already taken into account the tremendous damage Qing cannons could inflict, and so had stationed his unit here precisely to exhaust the Qing army's meager stock of ammunition, preventing it from threatening the Yongwei Camp's wagon formation behind him.

To put it bluntly, his few thousand men had been sent here to serve as targets for the Jianzhou barbarians. Whether they survived the ordeal would depend on luck.

The man Sun Chuanting had sent stated frankly that, after two years of comprehensive blockade by the court, Jianzhou was growing increasingly short of all manner of supplies. Even if they had no shortage of cannons, the quantity of gunpowder and shot certainly could not sustain continuous bombardment.

As long as his unit could hold out for a few days—even if the camp were overrun by the barbarians—this battle would still be recorded as a great merit for them.

Because the damage Qing cannon fire could inflict on the government troops had been considered in advance, the Ministry of War had already circulated a simple method for defending against bombardment to all army commanders. So even upon seeing the Qing cannons being set up, Zhang Yuan's heart was not alarmed.

After the combat assignments were handed out, the several officers accepted their orders and departed.

Thereafter, under their superiors' direction, the Ming soldiers filled sacks obtained from the supply camp with earth and built several low walls reaching above waist height within the likely range of the barbarian cannons.

This method had actually occurred to Zhu Youjian by chance and was passed down by him—knowledge he had learned from time-travel novels written by great masters of later generations.

Because at this time the cannonballs used within the Ming realm were not explosive shells, the main harm to soldiers came from balls that struck the ground and bounced several times. So one only needed to find a way to prevent the secondary injury from the bouncing balls. As for those hit directly by a ball—they could only blame their own bad luck.

After several days of intense preparation, at the chen hour proper on the second day, with the blare of clarion horns, two thousand Qing soldiers marched out in formation and arrayed themselves behind the Han Army Banner's cannon battery, awaiting the order to charge.

A great battle between Ming and Qing, long in the planning, was about to begin.