GBP Chapter 572 Shield Cart
Chapter 572 Shield Cart
The cart played a crucial role during the Later Jin and later Manchu conquest of the Central Plains, serving as a secret weapon against Ming army firearms.
However, after the Manchus replaced the Ming Dynasty, in order to ensure the "eternal stability of the empire," the rulers, for reasons of secrecy, tried their best to erase the significant traces of the chariots that had been prominently featured in the Ming-Qing wars in historical records. They consistently promoted horsemanship and archery as "the foundation of the Manchus and the essential duty of the bannermen," with the Qianlong Emperor even claiming to have insisted on practicing horsemanship and archery for decades. In the process of revising historical records such as the History of Ming, the Qing army was described as an army that relied on heavy cavalry and elite infantry to fight, and that it achieved a complete victory over the Ming army by being "skilled in archery and horsemanship" and "fighting bravely and fearlessly."
In actual history, carts were already in use during Nurhaci's reign. In the famous Battle of Hunhe, the Later Jin army relied on carts to approach the Ming army, firing arrows at close range before engaging in melee combat and finally defeating them. Before this, the Eight Banners army's long-range archery, cavalry charges, and mounted archery attacks had failed to defeat the Ming army. Therefore, due to the crucial role of carts, Nurhaci even issued a military order: "Do not engage in battle without carts," and some generals were even punished for not carrying carts in battle.
However, by the time of Huang Taiji, the Ming army's combat effectiveness had declined sharply. There were very few armies that could rely on firearms to fight the Later Jin army head-on. Most of the time, the Ming army could be defeated by bows and arrows and charges alone. The military order that "if there are no chariots, do not go out to fight" was gradually forgotten.
Abatai served in the army longer than his brothers, and during his campaigns alongside Nurhaci, he witnessed firsthand the immense value of carts. These carts, constructed of thick wooden planks covered with cowhide and iron, were described as "impervious to small bricks and stones, causing large bricks and stones to roll away, and unburnt by firewood," possessing considerable defensive capabilities. Even without cannons, these carts could withstand musket fire, covering the army's advance to close range where they could then defeat the enemy with arrows. While the hastily constructed carts lacked cowhide and iron, thus reducing their protective power, they should not be underestimated when covered with water-soaked blankets and piled with sandbags.
Once everything was ready, the attack began.
A desolate conch shell sounded, and a dense array of carts were pushed out, moving towards the opposite side with the rumbling of their wooden wheels. Lightly armored or unarmored archers followed closely behind, followed by armored cavalry, who slowly propelled their warhorses forward with shuffling steps. Finally, heavily armored infantry brought up the rear.
Shi Ying stared at the vehicles. Although it was the first time he had seen them, he could tell at a glance that they were made to block musket fire. He hesitated for a moment, then ordered someone to summon the artillery battalion commander.
The artillery battalion commander of the 1st Regiment was none other than Zuo Wuwei, the former garrison commander of the Guangdong Firearms Battalion. After being captured during the Battle of Bofu, he joined the guard unit at the time. Relying on his excellent artillery skills and with the guidance of Portuguese instructors such as Wu Duowang, he quickly distinguished himself and made numerous meritorious contributions in various battles, rising through the ranks to become the artillery battalion commander.
Shi Ying pointed at the numerous chariots opposite and asked, "The Tartars have changed their tactics. You're an expert with cannons, so tell me, how should we fight them? Can guns and cannons deal with these things?"
Zuo Wuwei raised his binoculars, observed carefully, and replied, "Commander, this thing might be able to stop muskets, but it can't stop cannons no matter what. Let alone a 10-pound cannon, even a 6-pound cannon would be smashed to pieces after two shots. However, our 10-pound cannons are distributed at the four corners of the formation, so the firepower is not concentrated enough. The 6-pound cannons placed in the middle of the formation can only fire exploding shells, which are not as effective as solid shot. You have to be prepared that we can't take all of these things out. The Tartars may take the opportunity to get closer. At that time, we'll have to rely on the infantry brothers' volleys and bayonets..."
Shi Ying replied sternly, "We'll deal with whatever comes our way. What's wrong with letting them get close? We'll still fight them! Go back to your post."
Zuo Wuwei saluted and turned back to his command post.
In the second regiment's formation, Liu Ye also saw the Tartars' movements through his binoculars. He frowned and said, "Abatai is experienced and not stupid. He immediately came up with this plan. It seems that Shi Ying is going to be put to the test."
Liang Xiaoming raised his binoculars and looked at the vehicles, marveling, "These are the Ming Dynasty's 'bulletproof cars'? It seems the Tartars weren't the barbarians of legend after all; they actually have some brains."
Liu Ye snorted: "You overestimate them. This wasn't invented by the Tartars. It's said that Wild Boarskin got the inspiration from the Ming army's wagon camp. Famous generals like Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou developed the 'wagon camp with wagons surrounding the camp and cannons firing at the enemy' to deal with the Mongols. Then the Tartars copied it. This kind of wagon is a weaker, scaled-down version of the wagon camp, and its purpose has also changed. I think it's called a wagon."
Xu Yifan, who was standing nearby, said, "It's a pity that in order to prevent the cavalry from charging, we have to form a hollow square formation. The 10-pound cannons cannot all be placed on the front. Otherwise, two rounds of cannon fire would blast all your vehicles into dust."
"There's nothing we can do. Infantry can't take the initiative on the battlefield when facing cavalry. They can only be in a passive position," Liu Ye said regretfully. "If only we could also field a few thousand cavalry, which could restrain the Tartar cavalry and protect our flanks at the same time, we wouldn't have to worry about so much. We could just form a horizontal formation and bombard them with cannons!"
While Qionghai was complaining about the limitations of infantry, Abatai was having a headache over the tight formation and powerful firepower of the enemy's infantry.
Because the Ming army's fighting strength within the Great Wall was declining, the Later Jin army hadn't used chariots for some time. Abatai was forced to use this "ancestral" secret weapon out of desperation. If a cavalry charge combined with arrows could directly resolve the battle, why would he bother with this extra measure?
However, the opponent's seemingly coordinated triangular formation had a fatal flaw. Abatai looked at the three massive square formations, a sly glint in his eyes. Whether they could defeat their opponents depended entirely on this attack.
After advancing slowly for a mile, the numerous wagons, under the command of the Niru Zhangjing (military officers), began to accelerate. The bondservant men behind the wagons, veins bulging on their foreheads, shouted slogans and pushed the wagons forward in unison, jogging along. The cavalry behind also gradually increased their speed, warming up for the all-out charge to come. The sound of rolling wheels and hoofbeats mingled together, like muffled thunder on the horizon, as they slowly approached the first regiment's position.
The artillerymen of the artillery battalion were already in combat readiness. The charge that had just repelled two thousand cavalrymen was merely a warm-up; this attack was the real test. Zuo Wuwei and the officers of the artillery battalion patrolled the area, checking whether each artillery group was ready to fire as required, and the voices of the officers could be heard from time to time.
"After the first two rounds of firing solid shot, each artillery group checked whether the type of ammunition was correct."
"The enemy has entered within 200 paces and is firing grapeshot. Be sure to replace your shells promptly."