Chapter 406: The Charge

"Open fire!"

At the Company Commander of the artillery camp's command, the five Folangji cannons on the left flank let out ear-splitting roars in succession.

The thousand-odd booi bondservants who had been driven up from the rear camp by the Qing army to dismantle the Ming army's chevaux de frise, along with five hundred Qing archers, were struck head-on before they could even approach the barriers.

Five cannonballs landed one after another amidst the densely packed mass of booi bondservants and Qing archers.

Because of the density of the crowd, the killing effect of the cannonballs was extremely pronounced—the five shots plowed out five bloody paths, killing or wounding over forty booi bondservants and archers. Blood and severed limbs littered the ground everywhere, and the agonized screams of the severely wounded who had not yet died were especially bloodcurdling to hear.

Before the Qing army could react, the Folangji cannons, their breech chambers quickly swapped out, thundered again. Five more cannonballs carved five more bloody paths through the terror-stricken booi bondservant crowd, and amid a cacophony of wailing and shrieking, several dozen more booi bondservants fell dead or wounded.

Under this enormous psychological pressure, the booi bondservants on the verge of collapse began scattering for cover or fleeing backward, while the Qing troops on the perimeter spurred their horses, shooting and driving them to keep pressing toward the chevaux de frise.

Amid the ceaseless thunder of the Folangji cannons, Zhou Yuji gave the order, and five hundred shield-and-sword men stepped out toward the left wing, ready to provide cover for the spearmen should the need arise, guarding against the heavy arrows of the Qing archers.

The Folangji cannon used by the Ming army was an iron breech-loading smoothbore gun, composed of three parts: the barrel, the chamber, and the breech block. To fire, gunpowder and shot were first loaded into the breech block, which was then inserted into the chamber, and the touch hole of the breech block was ignited to discharge.

The Folangji cannon employed a mother-chamber and son-chamber structure—the mother chamber being the barrel itself, while each son chamber was effectively a small gun in its own right. Each mother gun was fitted with four to nine son chambers, each pre-loaded with ammunition in advance for use.

In combat, one son chamber would first be inserted into the loading recess of the mother gun; after firing, the spent chamber would be removed and replaced with another. Because the chambers could be swapped in rotation, the time spent loading ammunition on the spot was reduced, greatly increasing the rate of fire—hence it was also called the "mother-son cannon."

The Folangji cannon was also fitted with sights, which both extended its range and improved its accuracy. Clearly, the Folangji already possessed in embryonic form the basic characteristics of a modern artillery piece.

But limited by the casting and technical standards of the time, the Folangji cannon also had a fatal weakness: the tolerance gap between the breech block and the chamber was large, causing gunpowder gas to leak—and therefore it did not possess the long range of the red barbarian cannon.

Under the unrelenting pounding of the five Folangji cannons on the left flank, the booi bondservants, suffering heavy casualties, no longer heeded the Qing troops' furious shouts and slashing blades—they scattered in all directions like a swarm of bees. Several dozen even ran desperately toward the Ming lines by the ditch, but were cut down one after another by the precise shooting of the Qing archers.

Under the Folangji cannons' bombardment, the thousand booi bondservants suffered nearly twenty percent casualties, while the Qing archers also lost over twenty men to the cannonballs.

With the rout of the booi bondservants, the Qing army's first attempt to dismantle the chevaux de frise ended in failure.

"Beile Raoyu, this won't do! The Ming people's cannons are far too powerful! If those booi bondservants press any closer, the casualties will be even heavier! And those chevaux de frise still can't be destroyed!"

Gerileng, a Meiren Zhangjing of the Mongol Bordered Yellow Banner, rode up to Abatai's side and said helplessly.

"This Beile saw that long ago! These damned Nikan are timid as mice! Men, pass my word—execute on the spot every Nikan who fled first just now! Gerileng, do you have a good method to break through the Ming people's chevaux de frise?"

Abatai, his face dark, gave the order, then turned to Gerileng and asked.

"Beile, I have thought of a good idea. The Beile could order his men to find some long ropes, and let us Mongol riders use our most skilled lassoing method—rope the chevaux de frise and drag them away. It will be a bit troublesome, but it is certain to work!"

"A fine method! A truly fine method! But to guard against the Ming cannons' bombardment, send only a few riders at a time to gallop over—that way, even if the Ming open fire, they can't hit us. Go quickly, go quickly!"

Gerileng's method made Abatai beam with joy. He hurriedly ordered his men to the rear camp to find ropes and deliver them to the cavalry on the right wing, and Gerileng likewise wheeled his horse and galloped back to his own unit.

A little less than half an hour later, several dozen long ropes brought from the rear camp arrived. Several dozen eager Mongol Bordered Yellow Banner cavalrymen took the long ropes, looped the ends into circles, and a few riders took the lead, charging toward the chevaux de frise over a li away.

Under the gaze of the Ming army's main force, several Mongol riders galloped up. When they were still a dozen or so paces from the chevaux de frise, the riders simultaneously slowed their horses, raised their ropes, spun them rapidly overhead a few times, and then flung them out.

Since only a few riders had come to the front of the formation, the Ming artillery camp's Company Commander could not figure out what the Qing army was up to—until he saw the ropes land cleanly over several chevaux de frise and drag them away, and only then did he understand what trick the Qing were playing.

But even knowing this, there was nothing to be done. The cannons were meant for hammering dense targets; against these moving individual figures they were helpless.

And so, under the gaze of the Ming army's main force, the several dozen Mongol Bordered Yellow Banner riders galloped back and forth, and in less than half an hour they dragged away every last chevaux de frise on the Ming left wing.

Gazing at the now-exposed Ming spear square formation in the distance, Gerileng inwardly gloated as he issued his orders.

The first company of five hundred riders stepped out from the main force at a trot. At the call of a leading niru Zhangjing, the five hundred riders formed up into a loose wedge and began to spur their horses into a run. The second company of five hundred riders dismounted after leaving the formation and waited in place, ready at any moment for the order to launch the second wave of the charge.

Fearing the damage of the Ming cannons, the Qing archers did not follow along, only watching from afar as the cavalry gradually accelerated and surged forward. Five hundred infantrymen formed up outside the Folangji's range, awaiting orders to attack the Ming army.

At Zhou Yuji's instruction, his personal guards raised a black banner and waved it back and forth a few times. The Ming spearmen on the left wing turned left and swiftly formed four dense squares of five hundred men each. The spearmen in the front ranks planted the butts of their spears into the ground, pinned them with their feet, bent low at the waist, gripped the shafts with both hands, and angled their gleaming spearheads forward.

The spearmen in the rear ranks rested their spears on the shoulders of the men in front and thrust them forward, and the entire square instantly bristled like a hedgehog.

Just as the first company of five hundred Qing cavalry was beginning to build up speed, a thunderous boom shook the fields in all directions—the two red barbarian cannons atop the left city wall fired again, and two cannonballs hurtled from the wall toward the Qing cavalry two li away.

Though the Qing cavalry had long been wary of the Ming cannons and had charged in loose formation, they still could not escape the cannonballs' coverage. The two shots that landed one after another were terrifying in their power, tearing apart or killing outright several galloping war horses in succession. The riders, hampered by their heavy armor and unable to move nimbly, were flung from their speeding mounts—the lightly injured suffering broken bones and torn sinews, the severely injured snapping their necks and dying on the spot.

But after a red barbarian cannon fired, the heavy barrel would shift and slew from the enormous recoil, and before it could fire again, a dozen or more men had to work together to reset the barrel before it could be reloaded and discharged. Thus, though its power was immense, the interval between shots required several hundred breaths, and so it was only suited for defense from the city walls.

The Qing cavalry did not panic over the loss of a few men—instead they pushed their horses to full speed. In the blink of an eye, the leading riders were only a hundred-odd paces from the Ming spearmen, and in another dozen or so breaths they would crash into the square formation.