Chapter 451: The Wagon Fort

North of Zhuanglang Guard, a Ming army surged south with imposing momentum — they were the Gansu Supreme Commander's Biao Battalion, led by the General Staff Colonel Chai Shihua.

Before departure, Yang Jiamo told Chai Shihua that this battle must showcase the prowess of the Gansu border troops, and there must be absolutely no thought of evading combat; otherwise, in the future, they would forever be trampled underfoot by the guest troops from Ningxia.

Chai Shihua understood that Supreme Commander Yang Jiamo was giving him a pointed reminder, afraid he might imitate the armies to the east.

In truth, the habit of selling out comrades was not exclusive to the Liaodong Army; it was tied to the vicious cycle of the court's political situation and the Liaodong theater of war. Once a man arrived there, all he saw was that those who could fight fought to the death, while those who could flee kept on living. Facing a strong enemy, it was hard not to pick up such a habit.

Thus, when Liaodong Army officers and soldiers entered the Central Plains under the command of grand border officials, they became fine generals; but when fine generals from the Central Plains were thrown into Liaodong under the command of the court's Ministry of War, they became long-legged generals.

Chai Shihua had followed his father, Chai Guozhu, into military service since childhood, and after the Battle of Sarhu, he further accompanied his father in garrisoning Shanhai Pass. One could say he had served and seen it all, from the western to the eastern frontiers of the Great Ming.

He understood Yang Jiamo's meaning — to put it bluntly, the army of Ding Shaoyin of Liangzhou Guard must not be annihilated by the Marshal's Manor... Yang Jiamo was the hereditary Commander of Liangzhou Guard. To use a more feudal analogy, all the banner troops of Liangzhou Guard were Yang Jiamo's family, and he was the patriarch of this generation of Liangzhou Guard.

Ding Shaoyin led a wagon fort. A wagon fort was essentially an enhanced version of a great square formation; it possessed all the advantages of a square formation, and all its disadvantages as well.

No one could conquer the realm using only square formations, and no one could conquer the realm using only wagon forts. That was why Liangzhou Guard's wagon fort was assigned nine hundred cavalry.

Yang Jiamo's concern was precisely that those nine hundred cavalry might flee in the face of battle.

After all, men on horseback were different from square formation soldiers. When they met a strong enemy, the mounted troops could charge out at any time, leaving the wagon fort infantry to be encircled and kicked around. Besieged for some ten days, they would collapse without being attacked.

Chai Shihua had heard of such situations many times, and seen them many times. After receiving the Ministry of War's transfer order from the Three Borders Supreme Commander Hong Chengchou, he had hurried along the entire way. Passing forty li beyond Wusheng Post, with only sixty li left to Zhuanglang Guard, he finally allowed his soldiers to rest for a night.

The next day, they had just set out and traveled less than twenty li when the army was stopped by a panic-stricken reconnaissance cavalryman from Liangzhou Guard: "General, please hasten to the rescue! General Ding's wagon fort cannot hold on!"

Chai Shihua's eyes widened, his face full of suspicion. He thought to himself that he had seen no urgent report from the south the previous day, and quickly asked, "They started fighting yesterday?"

The reconnaissance cavalryman shook his head and said, "No. This morning, just as the general was about to assault the city and the ladder troops had already surged to the foot of the wall, a force of tribal soldiers burst out from Qingling Pass to the northwest. Fearing neither guns nor cannons, they charged straight at the wagon fort."

Chai Shihua laughed as soon as he heard this: "Fearing neither guns nor cannons? Then they should be easy to fight. How could the fort not hold?"

Any normal army, given time, could finish off a wagon fort operating alone — but not an army that feared neither guns nor cannons.

Because in this world, there was no army that did not fear guns and cannons, nor was there any army that could fight a wagon fort head-on without relying on fortifications or war wagons.

The Eight Banners were considered masters of field battle. At the Battle of Dalinghe-Changshan, Song Wei and Wu Xiang served as reinforcements — one leading an eight-thousand-man infantry wagon battalion, the other leading seven thousand cavalry.

Hong Taiji's army of twenty thousand, carrying eight Hongyi cannons, eighty Great General cannons, and eighty Second General cannons, split into two wings. The left wing fiercely charged Song Wei's wagon battalion but failed to break through. They then turned, joined the right wing, and routed Wu Xiang, before turning back to surround and bombard the eight thousand men inside Song Wei's wagon battalion.

They charged but failed to break through; they bombarded but failed to collapse it. Later, when shielded wagons arrived and protected their guns and cannons, gaining the upper hand in the exchange of fire, they finally defeated Song Wei.

After the battle, those eight thousand men were completely annihilated. Wu Xiang's seven thousand men lost one hundred and thirty-seven.

Chai Shihua did not believe it. He waved his hand and said, "I know these tribal soldiers — they are the Cangtou Army that Liu Chengzong recruited in Duogan. Can they really charge a wagon fort head-on?"

Cangtou was an old term, generally referring to household slaves. During the Warring States period, it denoted troops and close attendants under noble banners, often filled by young men from the same village. After the Han dynasty, it gradually came to mean household servants, though in times of war they could still serve as soldiers. However, after the Wei and Jin dynasties, it essentially referred solely to household slaves.

Chai Shihua knew about Liu Chengzong's affairs in Kangning Prefecture because he had always maintained trade with Turpan in Gansu, and his family also had ongoing trade with Turpan merchants. Turpan was clearer than anyone about Liu Chengzong's situation — their envoys were still residing in New City even now.

"They didn't break through, but General Ding says that without reinforcements, he can hold for one day and night at most."

Chai Shihua did not press for more details. As for further battlefield conditions, even if he questioned him, the reconnaissance rider could not provide more information; he would have to rely on his own eyes to observe. Thus, with great gravity, he ordered the reconnaissance rider to lead the way: "Pass the word to the three battalion commanders. Inform all officers and soldiers that Assistant Commander Ding's wagon fort is besieged. We must make another forced march and reach Zhuanglang as quickly as possible to break the siege."

Ever since Hong Chengchou had entered Gansu at the end of the previous year, the Supreme Commander's Biao Battalion — one of the most combat-effective forces in Gansu Garrison — had been sleeping with their weapons ready, awaiting orders from their superior at any moment, to the point that they could not even return home for the New Year.

When Hong Chengchou's transfer order finally came down, they marched over five hundred li in seven days from Ganzhou to Gulang Gorge. The order to engage was issued the day before yesterday, and yesterday morning the entire army struck camp and left Gulang Gorge, covering a full ninety-two li in a single day. Today, having just set out, they had already marched another twenty li.

The total distance from Gulang Gorge to Zhuanglang Guard was two hundred and twenty li.

Chai Shihua's original intention was to have the soldiers make a rapid one-day march over the relatively safe road conditions, then cover the remaining hundred-plus li over three days, marching thirty to forty li each day with brief rests. This would allow stragglers to recover somewhat physically, while also enabling the vanguard to provide support at any moment should the situation at Zhuanglang Guard change.

But now, with an urgent report from the front lines, Chai Shihua would have to break his word. After finishing twenty li today, they must march another sixty li to reach Zhuanglang Guard city as quickly as possible.

Yang Jiamo was the hereditary Commander of Liangzhou Guard, so many officers and soldiers in this Supreme Commander's Biao Battalion also hailed from Liangzhou Guard military households. The bond between them was closer than that of mere fellow townsmen.

Therefore, despite the extreme hardship of marching day after day, the soldiers had few complaints. Besides, as generations of military men, obedience to orders was etched into their bones. Complaints were useless anyway — the general gave the order, so they marched.

On the northern side of the Zhuanglang River valley, the Gansu Supreme Commander's Biao Battalion raced forward at full speed.

Meanwhile, in the desolate, gravel-strewn farmland north of Zhuanglang Guard city in the middle section of the Zhuanglang River valley, Liangzhou Guard Assistant Commander Ding Shaoyin was locked in bitter combat.

The surprise attack launched by Basang's Western Tribal Battalion while his camp was not yet secure had failed to break the formation. The charging Western Tribal noble cavalry did not fear death, but such tactics had long been thoroughly explained by Batur Hongtaiji: a camel city was a city, and a wagon city was also a city. And if it was a city, there was no principle of riding horses to crash against city walls.

Amid a sky filled with whistling solid iron cannonballs the size of pebbles, Basang launched two fierce assaults in succession, yet never even touched the wooden walls of the wagon city. He could only leave behind over a hundred corpses of men and horses outside the wagon fort and retreat in disarray.

But in contrast, Ding Shaoyin's army had sallied out three times, only to be met with fierce head-on counterattacks from the Western Tribal musketeers.

The first sally came when Ding Shaoyin, believing the enemy's morale was shaken after two failed assaults, sent his soldiers out to kill some of their fighting spirit. It indeed achieved decent results.

The mounted troops of Liangzhou Guard routed one horizontal line of Western Tribal musketeers, but were then blocked by the heavily armored southwestern infantry behind that line. Worried that Western Tribal cavalry might outflank and trap his mounted troops outside, Ding Shaoyin sounded the retreat early, failing to expand his gains.

The second sally was prompted by the arrival of another Western Tribal reinforcement unit in the distance. Ding Shaoyin intended to break out, but just as he was about to charge, over two hundred battered soldiers inside the city actually opened the north gate and surged out, pushing cannons. He hurriedly ordered his army to press the attack toward the city gate, but who knew these crafty devils would slip back inside without firing a single shot.

By the time his army turned back around, that tribal reinforcement unit from the mountains had also joined the formation encircling them. The optimal moment to break out had passed, and Ding Shaoyin could only abandon the attempt.

As for the third sally, it was because Ding Shaoyin's control over his army had failed... The banner troops of Liangzhou Guard were all fine men — they endured hardship, bore fatigue, and could fight brutal battles. They were excellent in every way, except they were simply too driven to advance.

Casting thoughts of their own lives and family fortunes aside, enduring hunger without becoming deserters or turning bandits — what were they after? Beyond loyalty to the Son of Heaven and defending the realm, what they sought was to fight their way upward.

A hundred-some paces outside the wagon fort lay a ring of corpses.

No man could ignore such temptation. Those corpses were proof that they had fought this battle.

Even Ding Shaoyin, from the bottom of his heart, wished to seize those heads back. It was just that he clearly understood the risks of doing so. But when this became the shared desire of the entire army, from top to bottom, even as the general, he could not stop it.

A wise general in such a situation would not try to stop it, but could only employ his full talents to command in a safer and more reliable manner, helping his soldiers retrieve the heads.

If only Basang and Buchi, who did not fully understand Ming army behavioral patterns, had been here, Ding Shaoyin would likely have succeeded.

But as it happened, the reinforcing tribal army was led by a living-antiquity rebel under Liu Chengzong's command — former Ming Yongning Tribal Troops Centenar, Grand Liang State Colonel, and Marshal's Manor Yongning Battalion Colonel, General A Liu.

A Liu's Yongning Battalion had originally been left at Qingling Pass to the north, to guard against Gansu sending more reinforcements.

After all, since his youth, he had followed the Ming army as a tribal soldier in the campaign against Yang Yinglong, and he was extremely clear on Ming army tactics and deployments. In his eyes, there were at least two more Ming forces coming from the north.

One was the wagon fort's relief force; once the wagon fort and the relief force captured Zhuanglang Guard city, a supply column would also arrive to establish a defensive line at Zhuanglang Guard.

It was just that A Liu, watching from afar Basang's clumsy methods against the wagon fort — sending troops to blindly ram their heads against it — was pained by the sight. That was why he brought his troops over to offer Basang advice.

But before he could offer any advice, he saw the Liangzhou troops inside the wagon fort preparing to charge out. Scanning the formation encircling the wagon fort and spotting no obvious gaps, he immediately guessed they were after the heads.

A Liu told Basang his guess, and in an instant, the shamans behind Buchi on Basang's side began chanting spells. One military formation after another advanced to meet the charging army.

The two armies clashed in front of the formation for a brief moment, neither able to gain the upper hand. The Liangzhou troops, frustrated, left behind a dozen or so corpses and retreated back into the wagon fort. In the end, the corpses outside the formation were dragged back to camp by the cavalry under Basang.

Regarding the disposal of the corpses, A Liu was very decisive: "Brigade Commander Ba, where is Aba?"

Basang glanced sidelong at the experienced yet somewhat irreverent old general, in no hurry to speak.

Instead, it was Monk Awang, who had been quietly chanting incantations for his subordinates off to the side, who put down his prayer wheel. Brows knitted, he strode over, jabbed a finger at Ah Liu's nose, and cursed in sheer fury: "Aba aba!"

After cursing him out, he cast a pleading look toward Basang.

Basang was not one for words, but backing up his subordinates was non-negotiable. Expressionless, he told Ah Liu, "He says you're the real Aba. He is Awang."

Ah Liu didn't get angry. For him, the tedium of military life desperately needed amusement.

Deep down, Ah Liu had never agreed with Liu Chengzong's appointment assigning him to Basang's command... Basang's brigade, from top to bottom, relied entirely on raw, reckless courage; barely anyone understood military affairs.

The highly intelligent Basang counted as half — always learning but lacking experience. Awang could only count as half too — experienced, but with no tongue.

The quality of the junior officers, represented by figures like LaoShao Qijia, was actually passable.

As for Ah Liu himself, he could only count as half as well. He had experience and a tongue, but he couldn't speak the Western Barbarian tongue fluently, because he wasn't a Western Barbarian.

He came from a native army officer background under the Yongning Tusi. Their people were called the Moxi by the Ming dynasty. Because he had been soldiering and fighting wars from a very young age, he spoke the Han language fairly well.

What he envied most was that Wasi, sent over from Changhexi, got to be a Staff Officer in Xie Erhu's Mongol brigade.

In the Western Barbarian Brigade, Ah Liu felt his situation amounted to frustrated ambition. A frustrated man always needed a diversion, and as it happened, the Moxi custom was that men did not marry and women did not wed. What others saw as the supremely important matters of marriage, childbirth, and continuing the ancestral line held little meaning for him.

Ah Liu was already past forty this year. He had no hope of ever leading troops back to Yongning to practice walking marriage in this lifetime. Promotion beyond Staff Officer to gain rank and wealth held little appeal for a man who had spent his life drifting from place to place.

Being in the Western Barbarian Brigade, when there was no fighting, life was better than that of an immortal. But once battle broke out, with almost no reliable comrades at his side, his odds of survival were very low.

So Ah Liu had long ago set three small goals for himself before death: bickering with Awang, wrestling with Zhao Kebian, and racing against Liu Guoneng.

Today, he had accomplished one of them, and his heart was deeply satisfied. He grinned at Basang and said, "Brigade Commander Ba, this battle can't be fought like this. Leaving the reinforcements aside for now, if you adopt my suggestion for the wagon fort in front of us, I guarantee we'll devour them — not a single one will escape."

Basang nodded, signaling for him to continue.

Ah Liu then said, "First, have Aba cremate the bones of the fallen barbarian soldiers. Do it right here, build the platform just one li from the wagon fort, and let the troops inside the fort watch them burn."

A look of puzzlement crossed Basang's face. He asked, "To boost morale?"

"If Brigade Commander Ba sees it that way, I suppose that's not wrong either."

Cremation with noble rites to produce relics could indeed boost the barbarian soldiers' morale. Ah Liu shook his head and pointed at the encircled wagon fort a li away, saying, "But more importantly, it will kill their morale. When Ming troops go to war, what they want are the enemy's heads. Without heads, this battle is as good as fought for nothing."

As he spoke, it struck Ah Liu that the Western Barbarian Camp was actually a mixed camp composed of barbarian musketeers, noble cavalry, and Han artillery officers. He added, "If Han soldiers die, transport them to the rear and let the Third General decide where to bury them so they may rest in peace. If barbarian soldiers die, cremate them with noble rites. Denying them the corpses is more important than killing their men."

Basang nodded and gestured to his attendants. A squad immediately set out to gather timber, and Monk Awang also began preparing to perform rites to send the barbarian soldiers' souls to the other shore.

Only then did he continue questioning Ah Liu: "What next?"

"I've looked at the wagon fort's cannons. They're all small pieces. Their shot lands at two to three hundred paces, so one li out is safe. Our lion cannons fire flat to one hundred seventy paces, and at maximum elevation reach five hundred paces, but they can't break the war wagons."

As Ah Liu spoke, he drew the small dagger from his lower back and began sketching on the ground. "We have the numbers. Surround the wagon fort at a distance of one li. Dig a trench eight li in circumference. Use the excavated earth to build an earthen wall and gun emplacements behind the trench. Make the trench as wide as possible. Pen them in — even if their reinforcements arrive, don't let them escape!"

"Earthworks — that's something the Western Barbarian Camp excels at." With that, Ah Liu stabbed his dagger into the center of the circle drawn in the dirt. "Destroy the reinforcements, and the wagon fort... will collapse without being attacked."

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Good evening!