Chapter 983: Heavy Cannon Opens the City

The Zhao Camp's main force, which had been quiet beneath the walls of Jining for several days, began to move again. The cavalry increased the frequency of their patrols around the city, while the First Regiment and the Fourth Battalion formed ranks and began advancing. This made the defenders atop the wall intensely nervous once more. In open battle, this Xuzhou army was overwhelmingly powerful — but who knew how they would fare in a siege?

Zhao Jin and his companions were all staring at the cannon. They saw Meng Zhiqi and Louis bustling about there, urging things on. Then Louis waved a flag, someone stepped forward to light the fuse, and everyone near the cannon covered their ears.

A thunderous boom — truly like a sudden clap of thunder from clear ground. Yet having experienced the great battle a few days prior, no one found the cannon's roar particularly terrifying. However, this shot missed. It failed to strike the southeast corner, flying far beyond and crashing into the ground, kicking up dust and smoke.

The very first shot had missed. This somewhat deflated the high hopes of the Zhao Camp crowd, while the defenders crouching low on the wall grew excited. They cheered and jeered, making all sorts of provocative gestures. Louis and Meng Zhiqi paid them no mind. The two stood on an earthen platform, observing for a moment, then conferred with the rangefinding retainers. The cannon retainers then busied themselves once more. This twelve-pounder cannon weighed over a thousand catties, making it extremely troublesome to reposition.

Ji Xiang and Xu Housheng explained things to Zhao Jin from below, saying that the wooden frame, the iron mount, and the chain catches and springs just added to the cannon body were all specially made for this piece. They were also fortunate that Zhao Camp had the Xu family's coal and iron resources; otherwise, it would have been truly difficult to manage on such short notice.

Repositioning the cannon took a very long time, a process that was actually rather tedious. On the Zhao Camp side, apart from the firearms battalion, which was fully on standby and ready for battle, the mounted retainers patrolled ceaselessly, while everyone else was at ease. Meanwhile, the defenders on the wall finally had a moment to hold their heads high. Banners waved, and jeers and provocations rang out. They figured the Xuzhou army had gone to such great lengths to deploy a single cannon, only for the first shot to miss — this was surely a humiliating setback.

Before long, that twelve-pounder cannon was ready again. It was loaded with ammunition, the fuse was lit, and it fired. This second shot did not miss. It struck the southeast corner of the city wall with precision, directly blasting a chunk of it apart. City bricks shattered and tumbled down, and the rammed earth within burst forth in clouds of dust and smoke. After this shot was fired, the defenders on the wall instantly fell deathly silent. So this was the power of that great cannon.

Seeing the result of the bombardment, Zhao Jin and his companions all broke into smiles. Zhao Jin raised his voice slightly and said, "Just keep pounding away like this. No need to rush — take it slow and steady."

The morale of the cannon retainers soared after that direct hit. When the order was relayed, they all shouted their acknowledgment and busied themselves without pause. The task assigned was not difficult. If the cannon's rate of fire got too high, the barrel could easily overheat, greatly increasing the risk of bursting. Moreover, a cannon like this, lacking a proper carriage, required a great deal of time to reset the barrel and base after each shot. If one ignored that, there would be no accuracy to speak of. And Zhao Jin's order simply told them to bombard at their leisure — not tiring, yet earning merit all the while. Who wouldn't be willing?

Once they saw the result of the cannonball striking the wall, there was no further need to keep watching. Zhao Jin and his companions turned back toward the command tent. Just as they neared the tent entrance, they heard another thunderous roar from behind. Looking from a distance, they could see another chunk of the southeast corner of Jining's wall collapse.

"If we keep pounding like this, the wall at the southeast corner can be completely demolished. Once it collapses, there'll be a slope, and we can storm directly into the city," Shi Manqiang said with great confidence.

Zhao Jin, however, shook his head and asked Ji Xiang, "Was that letter shot into the city?"

Only after seeing Ji Xiang's confirmation did Zhao Jin speak: "In the end, we are still few in number. And our Zhao Camp retainers have a huge advantage when arrayed for field battle, but if we storm the city, that advantage disappears. I fear our casualties would not be light. It isn't worth it."

Without waiting for his companions to reply, Zhao Jin continued, "That band of roving bandits inside the city thinks they can rest easy behind these walls. Once we blast the wall down, chaos will erupt within. I want to see whether a change will occur inside Jining. If not, it won't be too late to force the issue then."

The naval cannons Xu Housheng had bought in Macau — the largest caliber among them was the one currently deployed. If they had sixteen-pounder or eighteen-pounder cannons, destroying the wall would be faster and more efficient. Even so, this twelve-pounder naval cannon had already dealt a tremendous shock to the defenders on Jining's wall. The roar of its firing no longer frightened anyone, but watching the southeast corner of the wall crumble bit by bit with each hit — that was what truly struck terror into their hearts.

Only now did the entire Incense-Smelling Sect rebel army understand why the cannon was aimed at a single corner. It was because that spot was the thinnest, the most vulnerable to collapse. If they bombarded the wall head-on, a single shot would at most shatter a few city bricks and scatter some rammed earth, causing no significant damage. But a wall corner was different. And there was no barbican here — once breached, the interior of Jining lay directly beyond.

Zhao Jin's intent to use cannon fire to breach the city and force chaos within was naturally not concealed from Xu Housheng and his subordinates. While that twelve-pounder cannon was still pounding away, the captives who had not yet been sent south were conscripted to dig earth and construct new gun platforms. What made the defenders on the wall tremble with dread was that yet more large cannons were being hauled up from the canal boats. Mounting such cannons onto platforms would take a great deal of time, but looking at the southeast corner of the wall, already on the verge of giving way, no one harbored any illusions.

The several newly arrived cannons all looked smaller than the first one, yet compared to the eight pieces aimed directly at the southeast corner, they were all considerably thicker in the barrel. Many among the defenders lamented inwardly — Jining was finished.

Just as the sun was about to set, the repositioned twelve-pounder fired once more. The cannonball struck the portion of the southeast corner wall that was still relatively intact. This shot proved decisive. The southeast corner of the wall collapsed. Shattered city bricks and pulverized rammed earth came sliding down in a cascade, forming a slope at the corner of the wall.

The moment this slope appeared, the panicked shouts and screams from atop the wall could be heard even below. According to the prearranged plan, as soon as that wall corner collapsed, the Zhao Camp's First Regiment and Fourth Battalion immediately moved into action, beginning a slow advance. This feint drove the Incense-Smelling Sect defenders of Jining into a frenzy. Masses of men rushed toward the collapsed section. They must have made preparations beforehand, for they began hauling earth and stone, trying to plug the breach. If they could seal it, no assault could come through.

But the Zhao Camp's cannons would not permit it. The eight cannons aimed directly at the southeast corner had already elevated their firing angles and were loaded with ammunition, ready and waiting. At that very moment, they fired in sequence, bombarding the top of the wall. At this distance, pinpoint accuracy was not so easy, but landing within the general area was enough. Every cannonball that fell sent shattered bricks and earth spraying, each impact dealing out death and injury. The men trying to seal the wall simply could not approach.

Darkness had fallen. The Zhao Camp did not continue advancing, merely leaving one company on standby while the rest returned to camp to rest. Half the cavalry remained on watch. At this juncture, the likelihood of the Incense-Smelling Sect rebel army charging out from other points was high — they had been driven to a dead end.

The sound of cannon fire continued throughout the night. The several newly emplaced cannons also joined the bombardment. However, the rate of fire for all the cannons remained low, just enough to prevent the defenders from sealing the breach. By daybreak the next morning, everything would be decided. Or rather, the Incense-Smelling Sect rebel army within the city believed that everything would be decided by daybreak. Each successive cannon blast drove the various factions inside the city deeper into despair.

"Larger cannons are what's needed to be truly effective in a siege. Look at the situation now — so many cannons bombarding, yet they haven't actually inflicted much in the way of casualties on the roving bandits on the wall and inside the city. All they've done is open a path for us. In the end, it will still be the retainers with their pikes and firelocks who settle the matter," Zhao Jin said, standing at a distance with his companions, explaining and discussing.

Lei Cai had already been inside Jining for nearly twenty days. Although Zhao Jin had strictly ordered him to remain in Linqing Prefecture, Lei Cai himself was burning with impatience. He was here, tasked with gathering intelligence on all fronts, yet with Shandong on the verge of chaos, he was stuck in a peaceful place, merely scratching an itch through a boot — only able to send rumors and hearsay back to Xuzhou. How could that be acceptable?

At first, when the various branches of the Incense-Smelling Sect were overrunning the prefectures and counties, and the whole of Yanzhou Prefecture and the southern part of Dongchang Prefecture were plunged into chaos, Lei Cai dared not move rashly. Venturing out then would have meant a very high chance of dying on the road. When the various branches of the Incense-Smelling Sect rebel army began to converge, Lei Cai took a few trusted retainers, rode out from Linqing Prefecture, and traveled all the way to Jining. At that time, Jining had not yet fallen, and the city gates still opened on a regular schedule each day.

Seeing Lei Cai and his men arrive on horseback, and noting their attire, the Jining city defense soldiers simply waved them through. Riding horses, dressed in decent and proper clothing, with a healthy complexion — such figures could not possibly be Incense-Smelling Sect spies, no matter how one looked at them. Besides, these few were very generous with their tips. How would those wretched paupers understand such things!

However, once they entered the city, the situation changed abruptly. A large force of government troops arrived, and then that large force suffered a crushing defeat. That Shandong Regional Commander did not even enter the city, fleeing directly with his personal guard and followers. Lei Cai and his men were suddenly trapped inside. What followed was the Incense-Smelling Sect besieging the city once more, using their agents within to spread all manner of rumors, throwing Jining into disarray and forcing those canal transport bosses to rebel and open the gates.

The moment the Incense-Smelling Sect rebel army entered the city, Lei Cai and his men knew they were in trouble. Escaping the city was out of the question. The most urgent matter was simply staying alive amidst the rebel army. And no one knew whether these rebels would conduct searches — that posed an even greater danger. Lei Cai and his men abandoned even their horses, fleeing the inn directly with their valuables and finding a dilapidated temple to hide in.

Although the Incense-Smelling Sect did not run rampant after entering the city and even imposed some discipline on their troops, there were still many deaths and injuries. Those desperate, impoverished rebel soldiers and refugees, upon seeing the wealthy and peaceful residents of Jining, could hardly restrain their murderous impulses. And those core Incense-Smelling Sect troops, who felt they had fought and bled for the sect, arriving in a place as fat with wealth as Jining — they had to indulge themselves somehow.

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