Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 631 Confrontation with the Bordered White Banner

Li Mo was also a soldier who surrendered from the Guangdong Firearms Battalion. He had been Zuo Wuwei's deputy and rose to the rank of battalion commander in the Firearms Battalion. Now, he and Zuo Wuwei were respectively the artillery battalion commanders of the 1st and 2nd Regiments, which was considered a significant promotion. He greatly admired his former superior for his great achievements in the Battle of Changyi and had been eager to demonstrate his abilities. Today, he finally had a chance to use his skills. After receiving the order, he immediately directed the mountain guns to be pushed up and positioned in the gap between the four infantry battalions.

Shi Ying once "forced" Zuo Wuwei to stage a spectacular scene of "bayonet on cannon" during the Battle of Changyi. After the war, this emergency tactic was seriously discussed. Zuo Wuwei, Li Mo and other professional artillery commanders unanimously agreed that under certain conditions, this artillery tactic was feasible - provided that the enemy did not have any decent artillery to threaten them.

The soldiers of Datong Town advanced in a painful dilemma. If they went forward, they would be killed by muskets; if they went back, they would be hacked to death by the Tartars. If they ran to the sides, the Tartar archers would bring them back with a hail of arrows. They were like rats in a bellows—suffering from both sides. But soon they would no longer have to worry about this dilemma, because the mountain artillery was already set up and the death knell had sounded.

"Boom boom boom," the sound of cannons echoed across the battlefield for the first time today. The ferocious shrapnel flew towards the nearby soldiers with a whooshing sound. The soldiers, who were still struggling, were swept away by the dense bullets. The shattered pieces of flesh were even carried dozens of meters away by the huge impact, splattering with blood on the heads and faces of the Later Jin soldiers who were driving away the enemy, leaving these guys completely dumbfounded.

This tactic of firing cannons almost to their heads terrified the soldiers of Datong Town. They were afraid of death, afraid of the Tartars' sabers, but the way they would be torn to pieces by a hail of bullets horde them even more. Without any prompting, everyone scattered to the sides like madmen. No amount of arrows could stop the tide of people. The archers responsible for blocking the flanks were scattered and broken, and many were even trampled to death by the soldiers who had no hands.

Liu Ye spat disdainfully, "Do they have to be like this to understand the rules? How despicable!" If they weren't bombarded with cannon fire, the cowardly soldiers would rather die at the hands of their own comrades than turn and fight the Tartars. The Tartars would then use the soldiers as cannon fodder before launching their own attack. This method of attack, though old-fashioned, was very practical, minimizing Tartar casualties during the charge and allowing them to launch a close-range attack with a largely intact force.

After two rounds of artillery fire, the officers and soldiers of Datong Town who were blocking the Qionghai Army and the Later Jin army were either killed or fled, leaving the area between the two armies suddenly empty.

Seeing that they had lost the cover of their cannon fodder, the Later Jin cavalry reacted quickly, dismounting and trotting towards their opponents, grabbing their powerful bows from their backs as they ran. Although the cavalry charges were effective against the thin line of soldiers, the piles of corpses on the ground formed a natural barrier, making it impossible for horses to pass through. Attacking on foot was a better option.

Outside Yongding Gate in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, the first clash between the Bordered White Banner, the main force of the Later Jin invasion, and the Qionghai Army began.

The gunners of the mountain guns raised their torches and relit the fuses, the infantrymen raised their rifles, aimed, and pulled the triggers; the armored soldiers, meanwhile, fired their heavy arrows while running. Within rifle range, at close range where both sides could see the scars on their faces, artillery, rifles, and arrows were all lethal, and both sides launched their attacks using their most effective methods.

The gunner had barely lit the fuse when a heavy arrow pierced his skull, and he collapsed limply onto the cannon barrel; the infantry in the line of soldiers were also struck by arrows as they pulled the triggers, falling one after another. After all, the enemy's attack was launched from too close an angle, and they had closed in to within a few dozen paces with almost no casualties, their morale and fighting spirit were at their peak—all thanks to Wang Pu, that incompetent teammate, whose men had shielded the enemy from most of the bullets, allowing the enemy to approach at their leisure.

Seeing this from behind, Ajige grinned broadly, like a jackal that had caught its prey. In that instant, he imagined himself defeating the opponent who had humiliated Abatai, thus surpassing him and becoming one of the most outstanding generals of the Great Jin Dynasty.

However, his smile quickly froze on his face.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" A dense barrage of shrapnel and lead bullets struck the enemy dozens of paces away. The armored soldiers, running along, were thrown into the air by the immense impact, their bows and arrows torn to shreds, turning into sprays of blood. The densely packed vanguard was swept away like leaves in a storm, leaving only a ground littered with debris.

Ajige's mouth gaped open, unable to believe what he was seeing. Faced with this storm of metal, human strength seemed so insignificant; for the first time, he felt the invincible Jin warriors were so vulnerable. So this was how Abatai had been defeated under such monstrous firepower!

However, he was very experienced in combat and reacted quickly. He immediately regained his composure and ordered: "The entire army should concentrate on one point to break through, and use our lives to make it happen! Send someone back to inform Abatai and Yanguli to bring their armored cavalry and flank them from both sides!"

Although Ajige was arrogant and domineering with an unlikable personality, his military talent was undeniable. This was the most appropriate tactic for a cold weapon force to fight against a fire weapon force in the current battlefield situation.

Thanks to the sandbags used by the soldiers of Datong Town, the Later Jin troops had successfully advanced to within a few dozen paces. Despite having just suffered a head-on attack, the armored soldiers of the Bordered White Banner were still able to launch another attack from very close range, which was extremely disadvantageous to the Qionghai Army.

In past battles, the Qionghai Navy mostly formed square formations or horizontal lines, relying on a combination of artillery and rifles to weaken the enemy's manpower from a distance of thousands of paces. Advancing from artillery range to rifle range, the Qionghai Navy's opponents had to pay an extremely heavy price. Even if they could enter close combat, the staggering casualties and low morale would greatly reduce their combat effectiveness.

In this battle, the Qionghai Navy launched a counterattack while on the move. Their field artillery was unable to keep up and be effective, and while the mountain artillery fired, the distance was too short, exposing the gunners to enemy arrows. Coupled with the enemy's short-range attacks, the Qionghai Navy's advantages were largely negated, while the Later Jin's close-combat superiority was amplified. Facing the strongest cold-weapon force on the East Asian mainland, the Qionghai Navy began its battle against the Bordered White Banner under extremely unfavorable circumstances.