1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3898

Ultimately, it wasn't the few reinforcements hastily dispatched by Ding Baoguo that saved Nanchang's defenses, but rather the fleeting passage of time. As night fell, the Haihan army outside the city ceased its artillery barrage, seemingly having no intention of continuing the assault under cover of darkness.

It wasn't that the Haihan generals commanding the battle were being soft-hearted and deliberately giving the defenders a chance to catch their breath. Rather, it was because visibility was limited after nightfall, and the artillery could no longer clearly observe targets and assess the effectiveness of their attacks. The shelling would be much less effective, and continuing to fire would be pointless.

Moreover, the shells used by these heavy artillery pieces were not the solid cast iron shells of the old-fashioned artillery. The manufacturing process was complex, the cost was high, and the production capacity was limited. The number allocated to the Jiangxi battlefield could not be wasted at will.

Of course, for the defenders inside the city, the ceasefire did not mean they could relax. On the contrary, they had to seize the precious time of the ceasefire to repair the severely damaged city defenses overnight.

The city towers destroyed by Haihan's heavy artillery today certainly cannot be rebuilt in the short term. However, the ruins of the collapsed city towers still need to be cleared, otherwise the area above the city gates will remain in a state where no defensive measures can be deployed.

In addition, some severely damaged sections of the city wall also require urgent reinforcement and repair; otherwise, it is difficult to guarantee that they can withstand the next round of bombardment from Haihan.

To prevent a night attack by the Haihan army, the defenders deliberately lowered personnel and small boats from the city walls to the opposite bank of the moat, where they lit several pre-prepared bonfires. This way, if the Haihan army attempted to cross the moat and climb the city walls at night, they would inevitably be exposed by the firelight.

Zhao Mingyu and Ding Baoguo, two high-ranking officials, one a civil official and the other a military official, met again in the city at this time.

For two people who don't have a very good personal relationship to meet twice in one day is almost unprecedented in the few years they've worked together.

However, the situation in Nanchang is critical at present, and everyone needs to work together to resist the foreign enemy. The two can only put aside their past grievances for the time being and sit down together to discuss countermeasures.

The battle reports from the various city gates of Nanchang that had clashed with the Haihan Army were now placed before the two men, and the results were truly shocking.

The most obvious casualty figures weren't actually that exaggerated. Although the artillery bombardment was massive, most of it hit the defensive fortifications, resulting in relatively limited casualties. The current casualty statistics show that the Ming army suffered 347 dead and over 600 wounded, in addition to over 100 civilian laborers who participated in the defensive operations on and around the city walls.

It is worth mentioning that nearly half of the Ming army's casualties occurred during the Haihan Army's first two attacks: the heavy bombs dropped by hot air balloons over Desheng Gate in the north of the city, and the mortar bombardment of the temporary barracks at Jinxian Gate. After the Ming army adjusted its defensive strategy, casualties became significantly more dispersed.

If the two armies had engaged in close combat, the casualty figures would certainly have been far higher. Compared to the relatively abundant garrison strength within the city, this level of losses in a single day was actually insignificant. However, this relatively low number of casualties did not make the two high-ranking officials feel at ease.

Because the entire battle today was a one-sided affair, with the defending troops being on the defensive the whole time and unable to inflict any effective damage on the enemy forces outside the city.

In other words, the casualty ratio is likely to be one-sided, with the enemy possibly ending the battle with zero casualties. This is not good news, and could even be more alarming than the casualties suffered by the Ming army itself.

If more people in the Ming army realized this, it would easily shake morale. Fortunately, news of the battle situation was not shared among different parts of the city, and only a few high-ranking officials, including Zhao and Ding, had a complete understanding of the situation. Zhao Mingyu solemnly said, "Lord Ding, does this mean that we can only hold our ground to the death today, without even the slightest chance to counterattack!"

Ding Baoguo said, "Our weapons have insufficient range to reach the enemy outside the city. If we want to kill the enemy, we have to go out of the city to meet them, but that would be tantamount to suicide and would not be of any benefit to the defense of the city."

Zhao Mingyu said, "But if the Haihan people continue to fight using today's tactics, it won't be long before the morale of the troops in the city is worn down!"

Ding Baoguo said, "The best course of action now is to strengthen the city's defenses. After all, we have the advantage of being on home ground and can wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, while the Haihan people have come from afar and are exhausted from their journey. Every day we attack will wear down their morale. If Nanchang can be held for a month or two, I don't believe they can maintain their current offensive momentum!"

Still uneasy, Zhao Mingyu pressed on, "Lord Ding, with the Haihan Army bombarding so fiercely, do you really think Nanchang can hold out for a month or two?"

Ding Baoguo said, "I ordered people to count the number of shells fired by the Haihan Army today. Nearly a thousand shells were fired in four directions. Such consumption must be a considerable burden for the Haihan Army. If they can maintain this standard every day and bombard the city defenses for a month, then I will accept defeat wholeheartedly. However, they need to transport combat supplies from the rear thousands of miles away, which puts enormous pressure on their logistics. Therefore, I think that today's intensity of combat is unsustainable for the Haihan Army and will not last long."

Zhao Mingyu understood Ding Baoguo's strategy and nodded, saying, "Lord Ding means to continue holding out and see who can hold out longer with the Haihan army. As long as we can get through this most difficult period, the Haihan army may withdraw on its own and abandon the siege of Nanchang."

Ding Baoguo's judgment, from the military's perspective, does indeed have its merits.

Even if the Haihan Army could raise money and grain locally in Jiangxi, it could not produce combat materials on the spot. They would need to be transported to Jiangxi from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River by air, which would put great pressure on its logistical support.

Ding Baoguo believed that Haihan's attack on Jiangxi had lasted for two months, and the demand for supplies in the rear would only increase. Once the logistical supply was disrupted, the offensive at the front would soon come to a standstill.

From the moment Haihan Army began its attack on Jiangxi, the garrison in Nanchang had stockpiled a large amount of supplies in the city well in advance, preparing for a protracted war. They did not need to worry too much about logistics for at least one or two months, which gave them a certain advantage.

Therefore, Ding Baoguo's plan was to stall until the Haihan Army could no longer sustain itself due to logistical problems and had to withdraw on its own.

Of course, there is a prerequisite for this plan to succeed: the defenses of Nanchang must be able to hold out until then.

Whether the walls of Nanchang will collapse first or the logistics fleet of Haihan will crumble first is still hard to say, but it has at least provided a glimmer of hope for the Ming Dynasty's defenders who are in dire straits.

Even Zhao Mingyu, who wasn't very confident about this, had to admit, after carefully considering the battlefield situation, that Ding Baoguo's idea might be the only chance of survival.