GBP Chapter 109 The Ming Army's Military Review
Chapter 109 The Ming Army's Military Review
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In May of the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign, after nearly two months of preparation, more than 15,000 government troops gathered at the Humen camp were finally ready for a grand review and flag-raising ceremony. After the ceremony, they would cross the sea to Qiongshan to assemble, and then attack Bofu by land.
Both Wang Zunde and He Rubin were very satisfied with this progress. Although the number of troops mobilized was not too large—the more than 10,000 troops were not among the most important military operations in the history of the Ming Dynasty—it was not easy to raise enough food and supplies, enough money to set off, and get the military equipment ready in just two months.
On the day of the flag-raising ceremony, the main civil and military officials, gentry and celebrities of Guangzhou Prefecture and Haibei Sub-prefecture all came.
On the drill ground, a large number of soldiers had already gathered. The invited local gentry stroked their beards and sighed in astonishment. They whispered among themselves, pointing at the various flags fluttering on the drill ground, none of them able to determine the exact number of troops. Among them, the older ones could still vaguely recall the grand scale of the government troops crossing the sea to suppress the rebellion during the Wanli era. This time, it seemed no less impressive—the government troops crossing the sea were said to number 50,000.
Aside from He Rubin's garrison and retainers, and a portion of his own garrison and military command, the forces gathered here comprised three provincial commanders and one guerrilla unit from the Guangdong Ming army: the provincial commanders of Chaozhou, Qiongya, Leilian, and the Guangdong training guerrilla general. These four generals differed from the increasingly common empty titles of deputy general, provincial commander, and guerrilla general at the end of the Ming dynasty; they were genuine, officially appointed military officers with their own defense zones and titles. Essentially, almost all of Guangdong's main forces, except for the provincial commanders of the East and West Mountains defending against the Yao people, were mobilized. The officials, gentry, and common people of Guangzhou hadn't witnessed such a spectacle for decades.
Suddenly, cries of "Spare us!" rang out. The officials and gentry turned to see several prisoners, stripped naked and bound hand and foot, their bodies covered in torture marks, being escorted by soldiers and driven towards the drill ground. They staggered and shouted as they walked. Someone who had witnessed the flag-raising ceremony explained, "These are all death row inmates, to be beheaded as a sacrifice to the flag."
Several prisoners were pushed and shoved to the flagpole in the drill ground and ordered to kneel. Several guards came over, and with the sound of a cannon, several bloody heads fell to the ground and were placed under the flagpole.
Immediately afterwards, twenty-four large military drums began to beat, and with the sound of drums and the sudden blast of bugles, a red flag was raised on the command platform.
The army, which had been gathering like dark clouds in the distance, began to move slowly. Like the faint rumble of thunder before a storm, their footsteps grew louder. There were swordsmen wielding broadswords, archers carrying bows and arrows, spearmen pointing their spears diagonally to the sky, and firearmsmen carrying muskets and matchlock guns... Squad after squad, each in its own formation, marched in orderly steps, and countless flags fluttered in the dust kicked up by the soldiers.
Bugles wailed, drums thundered, and the troops participating in the grand review were the most elite of the Ming army that had crossed the sea, totaling six thousand men. Their armor was impeccable, their equipment superb, and they possessed an imposing, overwhelming force.
Many officials and gentry were participating in such a large-scale military review for the first time, and they were all very excited, saying one after another, "With such elite government troops, the enemy is bound to be defeated..."
Next came the practice of battle formations. As the drums and flags changed, the thousands of people constantly shifted their formations. The drumbeats rose and fell, and the formations changed again and again, sometimes a long snake formation, sometimes a Yin-Yang formation, sometimes a Tai Chi formation, sometimes a linked formation, sometimes a chariot formation, changing more than a dozen styles in a row.
Several thousand soldiers, fully armored and carrying weapons, ran back and forth through the swirling dust for nearly an hour. Their faces were covered in dust, streaked with sweat, making them look like clowns. On the reviewing stand, He Rubin stroked his beard with satisfaction, pleased with his subordinates' familiarity with the formations.
After the lengthy military parade, the army will cross the sea in three days.
On the day of the crossing, a long, sleek sailing ship was moored on a small island in the Pearl River Estuary of Guangdong, vigilantly monitoring the ships on the sea. This was the Yuanhang.
Liang Xiaoming stood at the bow, gazing into the distance. Beside him were his newly recruited subordinates, Lin Chuanzong and Liu Heizi, both of whom he had trained. Because this operation was so crucial, and Liang Xiaoming's first naval battle, he didn't trust anyone else to carry it out, so he came personally. In any case, given the speed of the Yuanhang, once it detected the government fleet's movements and turned back, there would be enough time for him to re-board the warship and command the fleet in battle.
Lin Chuanzong couldn't see any trace of the fleet from the bow of the ship, so he couldn't resist climbing up the mast in order to spot the target as soon as possible.
Fishing boats occasionally passed by on the vast sea, but no large fleet was in sight. As time ticked by, Liang Xiaoming grew increasingly anxious and asked Liu Heizi, "Are you sure the information you received is reliable?"
Liu Heizi nodded and bowed, saying, "Reliable, absolutely reliable. I personally handed those people over."
This time, it was thanks to the intelligence gathered by Liu Heizi that we learned that the army had held a flag-raising ceremony three days ago and was crossing the sea today. In fact, the movement of the 15,000-strong army at Humen Camp was so great that we didn't need to inquire about it. We could find out when the army would hold a grand review and when it would set sail.
Liang Xiaoming glanced at the angle of the sun; it should be around 8 or 9 a.m. Logically, such a large fleet shouldn't have set off too late. Although the journey from Guangzhou to Qiongshan wasn't far, it would still take a day or two even if they rushed. If they arrived after dark, given the lighting conditions and navigation technology of this era, the landing of up to three hundred ships would be a tragedy.
Could it be that the fleet had slipped past his sight and already sailed past the Pearl River Estuary? Liang Xiaoming became suspicious, then shook his head, dismissing his own thought.
In the past two days, he commanded the Yuanhang ship to patrol the Pearl River Estuary. To avoid reefs, ships navigating normally now pass through the channel between the small island of Neilingding Island and the neighboring Qi'ao Island. The two islands are only 7 nautical miles apart, so the route of the government fleet is only about 3 nautical miles from Neilingding Island. On the vast sea with no cover, the large fleet should not escape his notice.
Just then, Lin Chuanzong on the mast shouted, "They're here! The government army's fleet!"
Upon hearing this, Liang Xiaoming quickly raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight and looked westward. Sure enough, a string of dark dots appeared faintly on the horizon.
"Thank God, we've spotted the fleet!" Liang Xiaoming was overjoyed and immediately ordered, "Set sail and follow them."
After untying the anchor cable, the voyage sped off like an arrow, propelled by the wind, at an incredibly fast speed.
Liang Xiaoming was also very nervous at this moment, after all, it was his first time commanding a naval battle.