Chapter 173: Cannon!

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Yang Yanchang was deeply grateful to Ma Shilong, the Supreme Commander of the King's Service Army.

Ma Shilong had long since noticed this elite force under Wu Zimian's command.

The troops dispatched for King's Service were all elite soldiers from the various garrisons, and especially after the great mutiny of the Western Army, those who remained were diehard crack troops.

In battle, their individual martial skills were all outstanding among men, but the elite character of the Yan'an Battalion lay in a rather different direction.

A regional fierce general like Yang Yanchang, once outside Yan'an Prefecture, could be beaten black and blue by any government army unit.

In terms of arms, armor, and morale, they were no good; in terms of strict discipline and obedience to orders, they fell far short too.

But on one point alone — discipline toward the common people — none of the King's Service units that had rushed from the frontiers, from Changping and Ji Garrison, Baoding and Shanhai, Shanxi and Guyuan, Yansui and Lintao, Ningxia and Gansu, could compare with the Yan'an Battalion.

Supreme Commander Ma Shilong discerned the Yan'an Battalion's special trait: no matter where they were stationed, they never committed the slightest offense against the local populace. After much deliberation, he approached Wu Zimian to have this unit detached, and made Yang Yanchang the Militia Recruitment Commissioner, responsible for recruiting militia in the capital region.

There was only one requirement: find a way to make the common people bring their own rations and enlist — recruit as many as could be recruited.

This order from Ma Shilong saved Yang Yanchang.

Otherwise, the troops under his command from Yan'an Guard would have mutinied.

The Yan'an Battalion's discipline did not come from Yang Yanchang's strict control. Below the rank of Thousand-Household Commander, among the five hundred men, the Hundred-Household Commanders, Platoon Commanders, and Squad Leaders — seventy percent were surnamed Liu, and the vast majority of the rank-and-file soldiers were also surnamed Liu.

In other words, while the frontier troops on King's Service had generally endured starvation for over half a year, the soldiers of this Yan'an Battalion unit had gone hungry for only a few days.

They had always been accustomed to self-sufficiency, so they had never plundered the common people, and they disdained even petty thievery.

But while encamped in Ji Garrison, they were simply too hungry.

In this respect, they were worse off than the King's Service Army. When a man is starving, he thinks of a warm home. The frontier soldiers basically had no warm home — going home meant starving just the same. These men were different.

In their Yan'an Guard, Fourth Master Liu supplied ample provisions and fodder, so everyone was thinking: if it's no good, why not just go home?

Yang Yanchang dissuaded them again and again, and just when it seemed he could hold them no longer, Ma Shilong's transfer order arrived, making him overjoyed.

He sought out Wang Ziyong, and Wang Ziyong was also very pleased, saying the matter was easy to handle. He went alone to Tongzhou.

Tongzhou was the terminus of the canal grain transport. In a matter of days, Wang Ziyong, that old Shaanxi hand, produced a register half a man's height tall — members of the Canal Gang's Luo Sect, followers of Xu Hongru's Smelling-Incense Sect — and in the blink of an eye, he recruited over three thousand men.

Then, through these people, he stirred up the common folk across Northern Zhili and Shandong.

In barely half a month, just as Yang Yanchang had finished building a camp west of the Liusha River in Yutian, Wang Ziyong arrived with a vast, mighty host of nearly twenty thousand men, bringing their own spears, staves, and provisions, and set up eight great encampments outside.

Monk Wang had already donned a shoulder-baring Daoist robe over his battle armor, a Purple Gold Crown on his head, and casually produced a talisman paper, sticking it onto Yang Yanchang's green-tinged face.

"What kind of people have you recruited?!"

Wang Ziyong knew these men like the back of his hand. Raising a hand, he muttered quietly: "Camps One, Four, and Five are canal workers, disciples of the Luo Sect — honest and reliable. Camps Two and Three follow the Yellow Heaven Way — Daoist figures. Camps Six, Seven, and Eight are refugees from Luanzhou — they're the best fighters."

Seeing Yang Yanchang's disbelief, Wang Ziyong sighed and said, "Fine, I'll tell the truth. Camps Six, Seven, and Eight contain not only people from Luanzhou but also from Shandong, mostly followers of the Smelling-Incense Sect."

Yang Yanchang felt like killing himself.

The Luo Sect Canal Gang and the Yellow Heaven Way were one thing — neither had ever contemplated rebellion.

But this Smelling-Incense Sect — a rebel ringleader like Liu Chengzong, in terms of rebellious seniority compared to the Smelling-Incense Sect, was at best at a prenatal education level.

They had a lineage. The Smelling-Incense Sect leader Wang Sen rebelled in the forty-second year of the Wanli reign.

After Wang Sen's death, his followers split into two branches: one led by his son Wang Haoxian and disciple Yu Hongzhi, building strength in Hejian Prefecture and Zhending Prefecture; the other led by his disciple Xu Hongru, operating in Shandong.

In the second year of the Tianqi reign, the two forces agreed to rise together. Xu Hongru declared himself the Zhongxing Fulie Emperor, seized half of Shandong, cut off the canal grain transport, and stirred up trouble for one hundred and ninety days.

The people Wang Ziyong had now recruited were all disciples of Xu Hongru or his former close comrades-in-arms. For example, Camp Six came from Zhending and was called the Cudgel Society, founded by a man named Zhou Yin, who had also stirred up trouble alongside Xu Hongru back then.

This encampment sent a chill down the back of Yang Yanchang's neck.

He leaned in close and asked in a low, urgent voice, "How did you manage to gather these people together to help the imperial court guard its gates?"

"Ahem, ahem."

Wang Ziyong cleared his throat, straightened up, and raised his chin slightly. "This Wang is versed in the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, has also studied the White Lotus Teachings, and additionally holds an official commission as an Assistant Recruitment Commissioner. Would recruiting manpower be difficult?"

"And you're proud of it? What if these lunatics attack the capital?"

Wang Ziyong waved his hand dismissively. "You don't understand. They're peasants, not fools. The sect followers stirred them up, so they came here to swindle weapons from the court. Once this is over, they'll all go home. Why would they attack the capital?"

"Who knows how many of them are believers — it's all about protecting their villages. Attack the capital? Who do you expect to throw their lives away?"

As he spoke, Wang Ziyong raised a hand and pointed at Yang Yanchang. "They came to swindle weapons. Don't expect to order them around to fight to the death for you — impossible. At best, you can use them as laborers."

A few days later, Ma Shilong arrived at the camp for an inspection, and his face turned green too.

In the eight encampments, some were burning incense and worshipping Maitreya Buddha inside the camp, some were sitting cross-legged in meditation in neat, orderly rows. The only camp that looked normal was drilling with spears and staves, but every man seemed like a fanatic, shouting, "Good tidings are near!"

Ma Shilong was utterly stunned, and wished he could have Yang Yanchang disband the eight camps on the spot.

The Supreme Commander of the King's Service Army looked at Yang Yanchang and found he had absolutely no temper left to lose.

The mission couldn't exactly be called poorly executed.

Ma Shilong's requirement of bringing their own rations — accomplished, no problem. Not only did they bring rations, quite a few had also brought their own weapons.

And it wasn't badly executed either. The several Recruitment Commissioners Ma Shilong had dispatched to recruit laborers had each gathered three to five hundred men — combined, they could barely form two battalions. Yang Yanchang alone had recruited eight battalions.

It could only be said, it wasn't quite accomplished the way he had imagined.

Ma Shilong simply felt that something was off about this Yang Yanchang, but as to exactly what was off, he couldn't put his finger on it.

In the end, the old general Ma could only sigh. "Let it be. Keep them well restrained."

Yang Yanchang chased after him out of the camp. "Grand Commander, when do we march?"

His men didn't have much grain. If they finished the provisions they'd brought, it would be his good luck if they simply dispersed on their own.

"Soon. This matter must await Grand Coordinator Sun's orders."

Watching Ma Shilong's departing figure as he left camp, General Yang glanced back at the clamorous eight encampments, deeply feeling that peace in this world was hard to find.

In the evening on this vast, boundless great plain, he suddenly began to miss the sunsets at Yan'an Guard.

He missed the days when he was still a Probationary Hundred-Household Commander.

Back then, living was truly free of care.

Though he was somewhat poorer, poverty was good — poverty spared him from worry.

How could it compare to now — walking a tightrope in Yan'an Guard, and treading a knife's edge in Northern Zhili.

He didn't want to earn merit; he only wanted this battle to end quickly, so the court would release him back to Yan'an Guard to serve as Commander.

If circumstances truly forced him to earn merit… Yang Yanchang prayed to Heaven: wherever the court sent him, he hoped the Lord of Heaven could make Wang Ziyong stay far away from him.

On the fourth day of the fifth month, Sun Chengzong held a troop oath-taking at Shuangwang east of Luanzhou, summoned the generals and issued military intelligence, assigned He Kegang to hold Shuangwang Mountain to contain the Later Jin army stationed at Yongping, and then the main army, led by Zu Dashou, advanced westward.

Meanwhile, to the west, Ma Shilong's various king-saving armies advanced eastward from Guye, and Yang Yanchang marched with the army at the head of twenty thousand civilian laborers who had brought their own rations.

Their objectives were Zunhua and Luanzhou.

The battle situation had changed. After Huang Taiji returned to Shenyang, west of Shanhai Pass, the four cities of Yongping Prefecture, Zunhua, Qian'an, and Luanzhou still remained in Later Jin hands.

The defending commanders had originally been Abatai and Jirgalang. In earlier fighting, Abatai had repelled Ming troops attacking Luanzhou, then led his forces back to Shenyang.

Replacing him, the Yongping Prefecture defender was Amin, and the Luanzhou defender was Namutai, Banner Commander of the Plain Yellow Banner, commanding the Plain Yellow, Plain Red, and Bordered White Banners in dividing the city's defense.

Wu Zimian and Xie Shangzheng went to Zunhua; Yang Yanchang was kept at Ma Shilong's side. The only difference was that others led troops to occupy siege encampments, while General Yang led troops to build siege encampments.

On the eighth day of the fifth month, the two armies, one east and one west, encircled Luanzhou.

On the city walls, the Jianzhou army's guns and cannons were arrayed in layers; below, the encampments' banners blotted out the sky. Ma Shilong was still assembling his subordinate generals to discuss storming the city when, to the east, Zu Dashou had already launched an assault on the moat.

Amid heaven-shaking battle cries, Yang Yanchang received his assignment.

"Cut down trees?"

Wang Ziyong, wearing a purple-gold crown, was exceptionally displeased with this task: "We have over twenty thousand men, and Old General Ma wants us to cut down trees?"

"With a moat that wide, can you fly across it with Daoist arts?"

Yang Yanchang said irritably, then looked toward the government troops at the distant siege encampment and muttered quietly, "Zu Dashou's side has nearly filled the moat flat already. Learn from it. When we return to Shaanxi and follow General Liu, these tricks will be useful too."

Wang Ziyong had no choice but to order the eight battalions to cut trees and break willows.

That afternoon.

Yang Yanchang personally led the eight battalions in formation outside the city, staring at the pitch-black muzzles on the city wall and sniffing.

Behind him, the eight battalions' militia — whether they believed in Maitreya or the Yellow Heaven — all kept silent, obediently forming ranks, carrying tree branches, earth, and stones on their backs.

When the central army's banner signal changed, Yang Yanchang strode out of camp.

A cannonball struck down not far from his side, making him shudder all over. He cursed the defending troops who had mutinied and gone over to the enemy, then continued stepping forward.

These four cities that Later Jin now stubbornly held had all seen large-scale troop mutinies, because the court, to save on military pay, had carried out massive troop reductions in the three regions of Jizhou, Miyun, and Yongping. This time, Huang Taiji's invasion had practically been welcomed in by the surrendered troops.

The weapons and equipment inside the cities had all become Later Jin's property.

Being bombarded by such cannon fire gave Yang Yanchang an indescribably peculiar feeling in his heart.

At least during the moat-filling process, the Later Jin troops' bows and muskets on the wall couldn't reach him; only these artillerymen could hit him.

So this was a battle fought between Shaanxi government troops who had turned bandit, and Yongping government troops who had turned slave.

Cannons roared. Yang Yanchang took a deep breath, raised his head, puffed out his chest, legs trembling, and with a posture both rigid and cowardly, walked step by step toward the moat.

He didn't dare run, because the men behind him were carrying supplies and couldn't run.

He could only turn his head again and again and roar: "Steady advance! Throw the materials into the moat, then run back from both flanks!"

The siege battle was nothing like Wang Ziyong had imagined. There were no mountains here like in northern Shaanxi — just a single giant city standing alone on a vast plain, yet it had a moat so wide that northern Shaanxi could never compare no matter what.

A cannonball fell into the foremost troop formation. Two soldiers were smashed into a pulp of flesh and blood, but the formation did not scatter. These were Xu Hongru's old followers from Shandong; they had fought against the current Tongzhou Vice Commander Yang Yufan.

The neighboring formation was made up of White Lotus followers from Luanzhou. Their homeland had been seized by Later Jin, so their morale was even higher; walking forward, they seemed to want to move even faster than Yang Yanchang.

Two hundred paces from the moat, the cannonballs grew denser. Yang Yanchang began to walk faster, and the entire column's speed picked up.

Facing the cannonballs from the city wall, they pressed on toward the moat, filling the trench with earth, stones, and tree trunks. Then they filed away from both sides of the formation. The city wall began firing volleys of musketry. Some militiamen, just as they threw down their earth and stones, were struck by lead bullets and tumbled into the moat.

Afterward, they carried scaling ladders to assist Ma Shilong in storming the city.

Matters grew even more bizarre, because the assault vanguard Ma Shilong chose was Yang Zhaoji's unit. This unit came from Yizhou City — Yang family retainers and Yizhou local braves.

Guns and cannons like sleet, bows and arrows like rain.

White Lotus followers steadied the ladders below the wall, while Yang Zhaoji's troops, who had once suppressed the White Lotus followers, climbed the ladders to storm the city.

Naturally, they didn't take it. The White Lotus followers would have loved to pull the ladders away.

Back at the siege encampment, Yang Zhaoji cursed Yang Yanchang furiously.

Ma Shilong saw that the situation was bad. At the same time, Zu Dashou's assault had also met with setbacks — his troops had climbed the wall and burned the gate tower, but the eastern wall was Namutai's main defensive direction, and he fought fiercely to smash the assaulting troops, even capturing their assault standard.

The two sides discussed it and swapped the militia units. The western wall would use the militia Zu Dashou had recruited, and the eastern wall would use the militia Yang Yanchang had recruited.

The next day they attacked again. This time the coordination was proper, but they still failed to take the city. The defenders sent messengers who broke through the encirclement and raced to Amin at Yongping to seek reinforcements.

That night, several hundred reinforcements from the Yongping direction broke through the siege and entered the city.

On the twelfth day of the fifth month, the assault grew even fiercer.

The encampments at both cities were filled with wailing. All kinds of rumors and sights reached Yang Yanchang's ears and eyes.

At the western city, Ma Shilong, struck by several arrows, supervised the army's assault while wounded; at the eastern city, Huang Long's unit had suffered over half its men killed or wounded in days of relentless assault, and the entire encampment was weeping.

Below the walls, corpses were piled like mountains. Everywhere, wounded soldiers who had not yet died screamed in agony.

Yang Yanchang was reassigned by Zu Dashou to serve under Huang Long. The general's face still bore traces of tears, his eyes bloodshot, as he gave Yang Yanchang his mission: transport the cannons.

Over sixty heavy cannons, borrowed from various units, were transported by Yang Yanchang from the western city to outside the eastern city. They dug artillery positions through the night.

The next morning, Huang Long did not lead his men to scale the walls again. Instead, he stood in the artillery encampment, divided the cannons into three batteries, and as the infantry carried scaling ladders on their assault path, had the cannons fire directly at one section of the city wall's battlements.

Several heavy cannons fired in unison. The cannon fire made Yang Yanchang's head buzz.

The battlements were blasted to pieces. At the breach, the eastern troops were either dead or wounded, and the nearby defenders retreated to avoid it. Scaling ladders were set against the breach, and the infantry began their storming assault up the wall.

Huang Long issued another order: the cannon batteries were to bombard both sides of the breach.

Volley after volley of cannonballs fired directly at the wall, spreading out to both sides of the assaulting troops, blasting apart battlement after battlement, repelling time and again the eastern troops trying to seal the breach. At last, government troops once more stood atop the city wall.

Then the main army set scaling ladders from every direction.

On the fourth day of the siege, the eastern wall of Luanzhou was declared lost.

Yang Yanchang could no longer hear anything. He simply dragged Wang Ziyong and fled in panic out of the gun smoke.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he pointed at the city wall, mouth wide open, shouting words no one could hear.

He was saying cannon! Assault the city!