Chapter 1374: Rash Youth, Frivolous Tactics

The meaning was made very clear. That night, the men from Liaodong wanted to make preparations, but had no way to notify the Zhao Family Army in advance. When their movements were noticed by the Zhao Family Army, they were naturally not interpreted as goodwill. Instead, precautions were quietly taken. Outside, they guarded against the Jianzhou Jurchens; inside, they had men specifically watching them. If they had made any rash moves, they likely would have been slaughtered to the last man before they could even explain their intentions.

"Truly seasoned and experienced. We just need to follow orders and not worry too much!" Before turning in, someone on their side made this remark.

Not only did they know the night's defensive arrangements, they were also watching for internal instability. With such thorough and shrewd planning, there really was no need to worry too much.

The commotion that night happened more than once. Each time, it began with noise, peaked with the roar of firearms, and ended in silence. After four such cycles, it fell completely quiet. Having confirmed that a night raid would yield no advantage, the Jianzhou Jurchens would not waste troops in vain. With every failed attempt, their own morale sank lower and lower.

As soon as day broke and the entire camp began to marshal its forces, Chen Jisheng sent someone to report to Chen Sheng that he wished to request an audience. The previous night's misunderstanding absolutely had to be cleared up; if such suspicions were allowed to accumulate, there would likely be great trouble.

"You are not familiar with the military regulations and rules of the Zhao Family Army. Such incidents are misunderstandings. I will arrange for someone to explain the rules to you. If you break them again after knowing the rules, then there will be no leniency."

When dealing with a surrendering side, especially during wartime, one either shows heartfelt warmth or imposes heavy precautions to ensure absolute safety. Chen Jisheng had not expected Chen Sheng to speak in such a strictly businesslike manner—no suspicion, but also no deliberate effort to win them over. It was simply: these are the rules, and this is how we'll proceed.

This kind of treatment made Chen Jisheng and the others somewhat uncomfortable, but after returning and thinking it over, this seemed the simplest approach.

Fuzhou City and Jinzhou City were both small cities, but they were still walled cities after all. The several thousand troops Chen Sheng had brought this time could not possibly surround them completely, so the main assault was directed at the city's western gate.

The men from Liaodong were all assigned to relatively good positions. The Zhao Family Army did not hide anything from them; after all, observing the battle and the formations this way would allow them to become familiar with the Zhao Family Army's tactics as quickly as possible.

The attack from the west began in the morning, but they were facing directly into the sunlight coming from the east. This was quite inconvenient, though there were still plenty of details to be observed.

"There's smoke and steam on the battlements. They must have boiling oil and boiling water over there. A direct assault will likely run into trouble."

"The Tartars' archery is not bad. If we really go in, we'll probably be treated to a rain of arrows."

The men from Liaodong observed and sighed as they did so. Taking such a tightly defended city would require a huge investment. They wondered how the Zhao Family Army would go about it.

While they were discussing this, the Zhao Family Army had already begun to move. First, the infantry columns and light artillery left the camp, formed up in front of the city, and established their attack positions. Then the heavy artillery, pulled by oxen, horses, and manpower, began to move into place.

There were no cannons on the walls of Fuzhou City. The closest point of the Zhao Family Army's attack position to the city wall was three hundred paces away. This distance left the Jurchen defenders on the battlements in despair. They had no weapon that could reach that far. They could only watch helplessly as the Zhao Family Army's cannons were positioned, like a noose around their necks gradually tightening.

For the Zhao Family Army's heavy cannons of twelve pounds and above, a distance of three hundred paces was like a firelock shooting within fifty paces—it fully guaranteed a reasonable degree of accuracy.

Once loaded, they opened fire. The shells from four sixteen-pounder cannons struck the northwest corner of Fuzhou City's wall. After the deafening roar, a chunk of the northwest corner had already been blasted away. Panicked clamor arose from the battlements. Bombarding at this rate, in just a few more salvos, that northwest corner would be directly breached, turning into a slope that could be climbed. At that point, the city wall would offer no obstacle whatsoever.

The Zhao Family Army's heavy cannons underwent a simple repositioning and then opened fire again. An even larger portion of the wall corner collapsed.

"If it were General Cannons or Grand General Cannons, after firing one shot, trying to hit the exact same spot again would take an eternity of fussing. But these Xuzhou cannons take only a moment. These firearms are truly formidable," someone could not help but exclaim.

"The Tartars' city gate is open! They're coming out to fight!" someone shouted. From below, they could already see the Jianzhou soldiers on the battlements rapidly dwindling in number. Unable to hold there, they had no choice but to come out and give battle.

The Zhao Family Army dispatched one regiment to meet them, with several hundred firelocks and three three-pounder cannons. This single regiment would not be at a disadvantage against the Jianzhou Jurchen troops coming out of the city.

"Why are the Tartars sending out so few men? Isn't this just serving themselves up on a platter?" Chen Jisheng and the others looked over. The Jianzhou Jurchens numbered less than two thousand, while outside the city, the Zhao Family Army had nearly six thousand men, fully equipped with firearms. What use were these two thousand? They had to know that the garrison inside Fuzhou City, combined with the previously defeated troops, totaled nearly ten thousand.

"A group of Tartars is fleeing!" someone else shouted. The Zhao Family Army took it in stride; since landing, the Jianzhou Jurchen troops they had encountered were not much stronger than the Ming army. But these men of Ming army origin were dumbstruck. Although they had witnessed the rout of the Jianzhou Jurchen troops outside Jinzhou City, that had been a retreat, with their unit structure still intact. But now, this was desertion in the face of battle.

So the Tartars could feel fear too! So the Tartars would flee too! Chen Jisheng and the others wore expressions mixed with sorrow and joy. Their own performance before the Tartar troops was exactly the same as the Tartar troops' performance before the Zhao Family Army. They themselves had risen up in arms everywhere, fighting desperate, deadly battles against the Tartars, struggling bitterly to hold on. But compared to the scene before them, it was utterly laughable. What exactly did they themselves amount to?

Over there, the Jianzhou Jurchen troops had already engaged the Zhao Family Army. The moment the two sides clashed, firelocks blasted out in a head-on barrage. After clashing a few times, everyone knew this pattern, but there was no way to avoid it. To fight, one had to close in. The range of their bows was shorter than the firelocks, and their lethality was also less. The archers were often the first to be taken out. Then the firelocks could fire another volley, heavily mauling the main force. Next, the long spears and long halberds would be upon them. Armor for protection, long weapons for killing—equally unsolvable.

And this Jurchen force that had sortied to stop the attack had not a shred of fighting spirit or morale. After the volley of firelock fire, they immediately collapsed. One group had already fled earlier, so those behind naturally would not stubbornly hold their ground. They all scattered in chaos.

Watching this scene, the officers and soldiers from Liaodong were all speechless. Even the Third Regiment of the First Brigade, which had prepared for a hard fight, was stunned for a moment before beginning the pursuit and taking prisoners.

At that moment, Chen Jisheng suddenly realized: "The main Tartar force has already fled the city! The city is empty now!"

Chen Jisheng was not the only one to realize this. Just as he cried out in alarm, a regiment of the Zhao Family Army was already charging toward the city gate. Although the gate was tightly shut, something was indeed amiss.

The cannon fire continued to roar without pause. Several cannons had already begun to withdraw from the artillery position. After being hitched to oxen and horses, the soldiers pushed them as they headed toward the city gate.

The corner of the Fuzhou city wall under bombardment could hold no longer and collapsed outright. At this point, one could simply tread over the rubble of the collapse and assault directly into the city. However, the Zhao Family Army's tactics were even more prudent. The three-pounder and six-pounder cannons began to move toward the wall corner. Once in position, they directly elevated their muzzles and opened fire on the battlements.

If the defenders at that moment tried to plug the breach, or prepared to block at this breach, the first thing they would face was this cannon fire. No one could have imagined that the Zhao Family Army's firearms were so swift and fierce, and could adjust their firing angle and direction so quickly. After this round of killing, what followed was a charge with firelocks in front—equally difficult to stop.

There was no one at the breach. The company commander directing the bombardment kept a cautious eye out and did not blindly fire in dense volleys. After the first round, he deliberately paused. Still, no one emerged. There was no reaction from the battlements either. The usual commotion, panicked shouts, and screams were also absent. Suddenly, all was quiet.

More definite news came back from the battlefield at the gate: "There are no defenders left inside the city. The garrison has fled in rout from the north gate." The reason they got this news was that those among the sortie force who had broken away first had already voluntarily surrendered and spilled everything in full detail.

They fled without a fight? This news made Chen Jisheng, Zhang Pan, and the others from Jinzhou sigh with regret. They thought they could have gathered and annihilated them, wiping out these Tartars burdened with countless blood debts. But they still had not fathomed the Tartars' mindset. They had assumed their wild nature was undiminished, that they were belligerent and bloodthirsty, and would fight to the last man in such a situation. They never expected them to flee so quickly.

Thinking of this, they felt only regret and helplessness. Strong as these several thousand men of the Zhao Family Army were, their mobility was somewhat lacking. The effect of infantry pursuit was never good, and moreover, they were separated from the enemy by an entire city. Catching up was impossible.

"We've captured a few hundred Tartars. The Zhao Family Army can do anything, but leave the business of beheading and execution to us!" Liu Xingxian said excitedly. The officers and soldiers from Liaodong, from top to bottom, were all gritting their teeth. For them, the feud with the Jianzhou Jurchens was truly irreconcilable. To kill even one more, or ten more, was worth it.

Just as they were speaking, they heard someone over there shouting at the top of their lungs: "We men of the Haixi Yehe are loyal to the Great Ming! We are not of one heart with those Jianzhou Aisin Gioro mongrels! We are loyal subjects, loyal subjects! We are willing to follow the Great Ming to fight Jianzhou!"

Many people heard this shouting. Waves of laughter rippled through the ranks of the Zhao Family Army, while the men from Jinzhou were left speechless and at a loss. So these Tartars could surrender too.

The troop deployments of the Zhao Family Army's First Brigade were not affected by this interlude. Companies charged up onto the battlements. Fuzhou City was indeed empty. The city gate was soon opened, and the Zhao Family Army's troops entered the city.

"The Second Regiment will garrison the port. The Third and Fourth Regiments will encamp in Fuzhou City. The First Regiment will pursue the fleeing enemy!" Chen Sheng's orders were issued, and the regiments began to move.

Chen Jisheng and the others in the ranks also heard this order. They all looked at each other, sighing and shaking their heads. The distance was already so great; they could not catch up, especially while maintaining formation.

The Jianzhou troops withdrawing from Fuzhou City each carried two days' worth of dry rations. Although the stores inside Fuzhou City were ample, in the rush, this was all they could prepare. The local garrison numbered over two thousand, and the troops who had retreated after the defeat at Jinzhou numbered nearly seven thousand. Now, a little over six thousand were withdrawing. The wounded and disabled who could not be taken, along with the scattered auxiliary troops they could not attend to—this six thousand-odd constituted the core force.