Chapter 1366: Dazzled Bewilderment on the City Walls

The Jinzhou defenders who heard this sound no longer bothered to dig out the blocked gate. In this situation, no one was concerned with military law; they simply went straight up onto the walls to look.

What they saw were the Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers fleeing in utter disarray, and they could clearly see just how wretched they looked, and that their casualties were considerable. Everyone stared, dumbfounded — not only because of this defeat, but because the rout had happened far too quickly. From the city walls, they couldn't clearly see the scene on the tidal flats, but they could see that not many soldiers had come ashore. How could such a meager force have beaten back a Jianzhou Jurchen army several times their size? Had they used some sorcery?

Next, the troops of the First Brigade's Second Regiment appeared before the city. Scene after scene felt profoundly unreal to the defenders on the walls. A large force of several thousand marching off to a desperate battle was not something that ended quickly, yet the Jurchen troops below the city had gone and returned, their defeat requiring no drawn-out process. Had they not heard those faint, rumbling clamors, no one could have confirmed whether a battle had even been fought...

But after seeing the formation and martial bearing of the First Brigade's Second Regiment, the walls grew considerably quieter. They didn't quite understand why such a neat formation was necessary; it seemed this energy and spirit had been spent not on charging into battle and killing the enemy, but on being orderly. Yet this dense, tight formation truly gave them a sense of pressure. Those officers who had studied some military texts all recalled the metaphor "formation like a mountain."

Watching those soldiers marching in front, holding firelocks in their hands, the defenders on the walls all marveled at their sheer nerve. If the enemy came charging over, you'd be holding a firearm with no handy weapon at all, fated only to be cut down.

The cannons being pushed and dragged by a dozen or so soldiers likewise astonished them. Though requiring the strength of over ten men and clearly quite heavy, compared to the Ming army's great cannons, which needed oxen and horses to drag and dozens of men to field, these were still light and handy enough. But could such light, handy cannons kill and wound the enemy? The government troops here also had small cannons like these — things like mother-and-child guns, things like Frankish breechloaders — but their power was truly not worth mentioning; they were nothing more than oversized arquebuses.

"Good heavens, look at their armor — so many of them are wearing it. Where did they get so much iron!"

What truly made the Ming troops on the walls gasp in admiration was this iron armor. In the battles of these past days, they had already witnessed the advantages of this full-body covering. They had always thought that being impervious to blade and spear was a legend; they never imagined this armor could actually achieve it.

Most of the Jinzhou garrison believed this armor was incomparably precious, that the Pi Island Dongjiang Garrison had struggled to acquire these few dozen sets. As for those visitors saying that every man in the Xuzhou Zhao Family Army could wear such armor, they dismissed it as nothing but absurd tall tales and boasting. Who could have imagined it was actually true? More than half of the thousand-odd men before their eyes were wearing armor just like this, and from the city walls they could hear it clanking and ringing.

Back when the Dongjiang Garrison's men had come and described the extravagance of the small Xuzhou units — their food, clothing, and daily provisions, their equipment and ships, the deadliness of their firearms — it had sounded no different from rustic ghost stories. Seeing it today, however, they had no choice but to believe.

People all say Liaodong is bitterly cold, far inferior to the wealth and splendor within the Pass, but they don't know that the Liaodong territory beyond the Pass has rich, fertile land and is far easier to make a living in than the interior. Many of the Jinzhou defenders had been to the interior within the Pass and could make a comparison in their minds. By their judgment, given the conditions everywhere within the Pass, no matter how they racked their brains, they couldn't imagine where troops like these could have been raised.

The mountain-like iron formation before them needed no further comment. Just look at that enormous fleet on the sea — what kind of power could possess such a fleet? A place so wealthy, with such financial resources — it could only be Jiangnan. Yet the temperament and bearing of these soldiers did not seem like they came from Jiangnan.

Xuzhou? Everyone said Xuzhou was in rebellion, yet every traveling merchant from within the Pass spoke of Xuzhou's desolation. It was only in the last few years that they suddenly began speaking of its wealth and splendor. What kind of wealth and splendor could supply and raise a battalion like this? The Jinzhou defenders were mostly officers and soldiers of Liaodong origin. This Liaodong territory was one vast military colony, so they certainly knew what kind of wealth and supplies were needed to sustain an army. With all of Liaodong's vastness and richness, it had only managed to support a few thousand household retainers and elite cavalry. Yet the soldiers before their eyes were merely infantry, and did not seem to be the top-tier elite. If so, what would the other battalions be like?

Just as they had when they saw the seagoing ships that morning, everyone unconsciously rubbed their eyes. They felt that elite troops equipped like this were simply too unreal. It was impossible for such wealth to exist to supply such a formidable army — and one that came from the sea, no less!

The moment this realization struck, everyone suddenly thought of something else. Their own bitter defense of the city had already lasted over twenty days, yet this relief force had only just landed ashore and had been fighting for just a few hours. And the Tartars had already been beaten into abandoning their encampment and fleeing in rout...

We fought for over twenty days; they fought for a few hours. We toiled bitterly just to scrape together a battalion like ours, and the other side had one of this scale. The defenders on the city walls all felt a sense of unreality. The Great Ming court had never raised a battalion like this, yet the Xuzhou rebels had actually done it. What on earth was going on?

The defenders on the walls truly rubbed their eyes quite a few times that day. Their eye sockets were rubbed red, but no one paid much attention to this detail.

The Zhao Family Army had no communication or contact with the Jinzhou garrison. They simply went about their own business — disembarking at the port, assembling personnel, organizing supplies, and then advancing toward Jinzhou City.

Although the Knight Regiment had not come along this time, the ships still carried large draft animals like oxen and horses. These animals were not for riding, but for pulling the large wagons and cannons. The first ships to dock were those transporting the large draft animals. Once the oxen and horses were ashore, they were first briefly calmed and tended to, and then the large wagons were unloaded.

The hundred-plus large ships carried very little in the way of fodder and provisions. They mainly carried troops and equipment, because a supply depot had already been established on the Huangcheng Islands. Transferring supplies from there would take a day at most, so this was not urgent. More critically, the Jianzhou Jurchens had no strength whatsoever at sea, so aside from wind and waves, the maritime transport faced no danger at all.

The oxen, horses, and large wagons were unloaded, and then came the ammunition and armor for each battalion. When the soldiers came ashore using the landing boats, they wore at most a breastplate; otherwise, it was very easy to meet with danger in the seawater. The amount of ammunition the arquebusiers could carry was also very limited.

Apart from gear, weapons, and ammunition, there were also two days' worth of dry rations and cooking pots. The Zhao Family Army had planned for the worst possible scenario, but as long as the port was in hand, there was no need to worry about the supply of provisions, so the margin left for this aspect was not large.

Zhuang Liu's Second Regiment had already set up its positions in front of Jinzhou City. They did not dig new fortifications, but simply seized the Jianzhou Jurchen encampment and secured several key points at Jinzhou City's north and west gates.

By now, more than ten cannons had been delivered. The Jinzhou defenders could clearly see that while some cannons were indeed aimed to the north, the majority of the muzzles were pointed toward Jinzhou City. Even the positions of the Zhao Family Army's various units were all oriented toward Jinzhou City.

The excitement at the arrival of reinforcements and rescuers had gradually faded. The Jinzhou defenders began to grow tense, and a few sensitive individuals were even looking around, hoping to read something in their comrades' faces.

But the tension went no further than that. So far, no one had even walked down from the city walls. Everyone wanted to watch a little longer. After all, those below were Han people. After all, this was the relief force that had driven the Tartars away.

The Zhao Family Army soldiers who had landed began donning their armor. The arquebusiers began equipping themselves with a basic load of ammunition. Oxen and horses began hauling the cannons toward the direction of Jinzhou. All of this was done unhurriedly, in perfect order.

When the cannons, pulled by oxen and horses, arrived beneath Jinzhou City, there were finally those who dared not linger any longer on the city walls. Naturally, they could not tell that these were twelve-pounder and sixteen-pounder cannons. Given the Zhao Family Army's superb forging and casting standards, these large-caliber cannons looked roughly similar to the Ming army's general cannons.

Yet even if they were just general cannons, the fact that they could be pulled forward like this by oxen and horses — anyone who had been on the battlefield knew what that implied. And thinking again of the cannonballs that had come flying from the sea that morning, the power of that made every man feel deep reverence.

One wagon after another entered the Jurchen encampment opposite Jinzhou City. One cannon after another was emplaced. Then one company after another, one regiment after another, began to take their positions.

There was not that much flat terrain outside Jinzhou City, but the Zhao Family Army's strict and tight formations were well suited to it. The First Brigade's four regiments, plus the special companies and the artillery company, were all arrayed. The logistics units were also all in their respective positions. For the moment, only the cavalry company was still over at Dengzhou Prefecture and had not yet boarded the ships.

The First Brigade's battle flag and the four regimental flags all fluttered and snapped in the sea breeze. The formations of the Zhao Family Army's regiments were as if hewn by blade and chisel, impeccably neat. Looking down from the city walls, they were just square blocks arrayed before them.

"Such foot drill, such weapons and armor... that such a thing could still exist under Heaven..." Chen Jisheng murmured, his voice barely audible.

Jinzhou Regional Commander Zhang Pan's face, on the other hand, bore an expression of anger, but his voice was not too loud either. He simply stood there muttering, "With strength this great, why didn't they come earlier, just letting the Tartars..."

The two of them each had their own feelings. The others were different — some were dazzled and entranced, some showed awe on their faces. As for those young men like Kong Youde, they could be described as utterly elated. After all, the impression the Zhao Family Army had left on them was not bad. Seeing such a powerful friendly force drawing near, the hardest times were finally over. Of course, whether they were a friendly force was still not yet certain.

They could see the Zhao Family Army erecting a wooden platform right in front of the assembled troops. A few wagons, unhitched from their oxen and horses, were easily pieced together. A large man clad in heavy armor strode up onto it.

This large man had his back to Jinzhou City, at a distance far beyond the range of any weapon. They could see that from the wooden platform to each regimental square formation, soldiers were standing at intervals in sequence. Everyone understood this routine — it was simply to relay the words of the man on the platform.

"Brothers! Beneath our feet is Liaodong!" the large man shouted, his voice brimming with power. The words were passed outward.

From the city walls, they could faintly hear it. When this simple sentence was finished, an enormous cheer erupted from those orderly ranks. This cheer was not wild shouting and yelling, but a perfectly uniform roar, very much like the formations themselves.

"Zhao Family Army! Ten thousand victories! Ten thousand victories!"

Slogans like "Ten thousand victories" and "Certain victory" were often shouted by the Great Ming's government troops as well. But shouting was shouting, and losing battles was still losing battles. Yet the slogans shouted by those formations across the way made one feel confidence and momentum. They could shout it, and they could achieve it.