The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 484 Going into battle
6:30 AM (卯正两刻)

The main force of the Jingnan Army has arrived at the pre-arranged front line.

The green fields outside the eastern suburbs of Jining City were completely swallowed up by the surging red.

As far as the eye could see, the entire battle line was a dazzling crimson.

A raging torrent of red flags, red armor, and crimson tassels filled everyone's vision.

The massive formation moved with perfect coordination to the sound of horns and drums, their thunderous footsteps sounding like muffled thunder, even causing the ground beneath their feet to groan and tremble continuously.

The soldiers of the Ninth Division of the Jingnan Army deployed one by one under the command of the flags and drums in the central formation, and successively entered their respective combat positions.

The Jingnan Army's main formation was divided into two lines.

The first line of defense.

It is a battle line constructed with Balapu as the left wing fulcrum, starting from Balapu and stretching southeast to Sishui, facing Qiaoheji across the water.

After observing that the Qing army was gradually beginning to retreat and regroup.

Chen Yongfu also led his troops out of the Balapu area and completed the handover of the city's defenses with Liu Wenxiu.

Liu Wenxiu led 8,000 soldiers to garrison Balapu.

The Fifth and Sixth Divisions, led by Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi, along with the remaining troops of the Seventh Division left behind by Liu Wenxiu, totaling nearly 20,000 infantrymen, were placed in the central position.

Among the three divisions, there were also more than 2,000 cavalrymen who were responsible for reconnaissance, pursuit, and cover, serving as cover cavalry for the line infantry divisions.

However, these three divisions were just ordinary infantry divisions because they originally belonged to the Western Army.

The infantry consisted of musketeers, equipped only with the prototype of the Sea Oath Gun, which was a flintlock musket without a bayonet.

The other 50% were spearmen, existing as close-combat troops, responsible for engaging the enemy in close combat when they approached, and protecting the musketeers.

The Second Division of Henan Town, led by Chen Yongfu, and the Third Division, led by Gao Qian, together had more than 14,000 infantrymen.

All personnel were equipped with the Type II Sea Oath Gun, which is a flintlock musket with a bayonet.

To distinguish this unit from the old army, it was called a line infantry division in the Jingnan Army's order of battle.

There were also two thousand cavalrymen providing cover.

The two divisions were placed on the two flanks of the main formation.

Both divisions' infantry were line infantry equipped with bayonets, which could effectively defend against possible attacks from Qing cavalry.

The five divisions together had a strength of 40,000 men, and more than 200 artillery pieces of various sizes on the field front.

As an important stronghold and forward position, Balapu was equipped with more than fifty medium and small artillery pieces for defense.

Chen Wang also moved the heavy artillery positions that were originally located east of Jining City to Balapu.

Set up six cannons weighing 24 jin each and eighteen cannons weighing 18 jin each.

The second line of defense.

The left wing consisted of 13,000 men from the First Division of Huguang Garrison, led by Zhou Yumao, including 11,000 infantrymen and 3,000 cavalrymen.

Zuo Guangxian's Fourth Division of Hanzhong Town formed the right wing, with 17,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry.

Chen Wang personally led the Imperial Guard Division, consisting of 10,000 infantrymen in the Imperial Guard Line and 3,000 cavalrymen, and sat in the center of the army.

It had a total of 47,000 soldiers and more than 300 cannons of various sizes.

In the center of the two lines of defense, there was also a bastion serving as a fulcrum.

To be precise, this bastion was a massive gun emplacement.

The siege artillery camp, originally located in the south of the city, was moved here to serve as an important fire support point.

The number and scale of the heavy artillery deployed were the same as those in Balapu.

The two lines of troops totaled 87,000 men, including 72,000 infantry and 15,000 cavalry.

In addition, on the outer flanks of the main force.

To the west, Cao Bianjiao led a main force of 10,000 cavalry, primarily composed of the cavalry of the Third Division of his own Huguang Garrison, mixed with elite cavalry from various divisions.

To the east, Chen Gong also led over ten thousand elite cavalry from various divisions, positioning them west of the Si River, between two lines of defense.

To the east of Sishui, Qiaoheji was garrisoned by 12,000 battalions of the 8th Division of Henan Town, led by Hu Zhili.

In the eastern suburbs of Jining, the total strength of the Jingnan Army participating in the battle was 120,000.

The army of 120,000 stretched from Balapu in the west to Qiaoheji in the east, an endless expanse as vast as the sea.

……

It was 3:45 AM.

One after another, watchtowers were erected amidst the Qing army's ranks.

The plains offer a panoramic view, making it difficult to see the whole scene.

Therefore, Qing army officers and soldiers needed to use lookout towers to observe changes in enemy formations and troop movements.

At the forefront of the Jingnan Army, there were also many watchtowers.

However, most of them were watchtowers built by laborers.

These watchtowers are taller and offer a wider field of vision than the lookout towers, with various command flags fluttering in the strong wind.

Standing on the central observation platform of the second line of defense, Chen Wang had a clear view of the entire Qing army line.

north.

The Qing army's battle line was also nearly ten miles long.

The deep sound of conch shells and the long blasts of bugles rose and fell, as the main force of the Qing army poured into the battlefield.

Through the telescope, a large number of Qing infantrymen were seen marching slowly forward in neat columns.

The Qing army's cavalry had already set up a perimeter.

On the front lines of the two armies, light cavalry scouts kept probing.

In order to control the main battlefield, the Qing army deployed at least 10,000 light cavalry.

These Qing light cavalry units, numbering one hundred men per unit and with one thousand men as their pivot, were deployed in front of the main army.

Behind them was a large-scale cavalry formation of the Qing army.

Nearly 50,000 Qing cavalrymen had already deployed on the front line.

Cao Bianjiao and Chen Gong led their troops to guard the outer perimeter on the east and west flanks, and also dispersed a large number of their cavalry.

More than 20,000 cavalrymen were scattered across the open fields, using the cavalry formations led by Cao Bianjiao and Chen Gong as their base, and confronting the Qing army's light cavalry from a distance.

The Qing army's light cavalry galloped back and forth between the two armies' lines, engaging in pursuit and fierce battles with the Jingnan army's cavalry in preparation for the main force's deployment.

Although the Qing army's cavalry had an absolute numerical advantage, they did not launch a full-scale attack at this time.

The Jingnan Army's artillery range was too wide, and without the coordination of the infantry, not all of their artillery units were able to reach the south bank of the Fu River.

If we were to advance rashly at this point, facing the elite armored cavalry of the Jingnan Army, we could very well end up in a rout after just one defeat.

In the telescope, the Qing army's infantry, upon arriving at the front line, quickly changed from a column to a line, slowly spreading out to cover the entire front.

The Qing army marched and changed positions at an extremely fast pace, and their high level of organization made them invincible on the battlefield.

The Qing army deployed its troops extremely quickly.

Just a quarter of an hour later, more than 60,000 Qing infantrymen had completed their formation.

The Qing army's infantry were also arranged in two lines.

The armored vehicles gleamed in the sunlight, their imposing presence overwhelming.

Between the lines stood three cavalry units, each with a strength exceeding ten thousand men.

On the left and right flanks were cavalry forces with a total strength of over 50,000.

The dark clouds hung low over the fields, silent yet filled with murderous intent.

140,000 Qing troops.

It lies horizontally on the plains of the eastern suburbs of Jining.

Chen Wang slowly put down the telescope in his hand.

The Qing army's massive formation was laid bare before Chen Wang's eyes.

The battle formation of 140,000 Qing troops spread out like the wings of a crane.

Their military bearing was magnificent and their aura intimidating.

A chilling aura swept across the land, as if it were about to pounce down at any moment.

"Ugh——"

A biting north wind, carrying the deep, melodious sound of conch shells, swept across the plains, clearly coming from the north. At the command of the central army, the bright yellow brocade dragon banner fluttered in the wind, its surface billowing like a boulder thrown into water, creating ripples.

Then, a chorus of voices rose from all directions in response.

The command flags of the Qing army's various banners and battalions were raised in turn.

Above the Qing army's battle line, banners of five colors—blue, red, white, yellow, and black—moved in sequence.

Banners fluttered along the entire front, waves of flags advancing in layers, spreading from the center to both flanks, forming a surging wave of flags on the horizon.

The sunlight reflected off the armor flickered and pierced the eyes, as if countless cold stars had suddenly lit up the earth.

Looking back through the gaps in the formation, one could see even more military formations standing behind them, deep and layered, with hidden killing intent.

The entire Qing army line stood solemnly and silently.

Even from four miles away, the oppressive aura of death still pressed down on us.

Chen Wang narrowed his eyes slightly, focusing his mind.

The Qing army under the leadership of Huang Taiji.

Undoubtedly, they are the strongest military force of this era.

The Eight Banners system implemented by the Qing government was essentially an organizational system that unified the people under the banners, combined military and civilian functions, and integrated military and political affairs.

It incorporated all households into various banners, making them soldiers in wartime and producers in peacetime, thus establishing a highly efficient and brutal war machine.

A strict hierarchy and system of rewards and punishments ensured the army's absolute obedience and strong cohesion on the battlefield.

Both the Qing and Yuan dynasties were regimes established by ethnic minorities.

However, there is a fundamental difference between the two.

Before Genghis Khan unified Mongolia and swept across the world.

The Mongol tribes had in fact inherited the cultural, political, and military legacies of many former steppe empires, and they were already a mature regime.

When Kublai Khan entered the Central Plains and established the Yuan Dynasty, it was not fundamentally different from the unified dynasties of previous Chinese dynasties.

The Qing Dynasty, however, was different.

They leaped from a slash-and-burn, hunter-gatherer society to a time spanning over a thousand years.

The Later Jin regime established by Nurhaci originated from the Jianzhou Jurchen tribal alliance.

They have continued the traditional serfdom economic model, their agricultural production level is extremely weak, and their political structure and social organization form retain distinct tribal bloodline characteristics.

It is very backward in terms of both political structure and social and cultural system.

The former Jin Dynasty did not leave behind much of a decent legacy.

The Chenghua Emperor's purge of the court only compounded their misfortune.

Even though Huang Taiji continued to reform and make progress after taking office.

However, strictly speaking, the Qing Dynasty at this time was still not a feudal regime.

The Eight Banners system implemented by the Qing government was essentially a semi-slave structure under the command of military clans.

After seizing national power, the Qing court established its rule through military force and implemented policies that differentiated between Manchu and civilian populations, such as "separate governance for Manchus and civilians."

Although it largely followed the centralized political system of the Central Plains and superficially maintained a governance structure similar to that of previous dynasties, in reality...

The Qing Dynasty was never a feudal dynasty in the true sense of the word.

This is why, despite China having been at the forefront of the times for thousands of years.

Even at the end of the Ming Dynasty, due to geographical and political reasons, it failed to keep up with the trend of the Age of Exploration.

Even though the Ming Empire was already utterly corrupt at that time, it was still moving forward step by step.

In the late Qing Dynasty, all sorts of advanced technologies were openly displayed.

The Qing Dynasty, however, squandered more than two hundred years of its time, keeping its doors tightly closed, and ultimately developed into a weak and ignorant monster.

Even with the country's gates breached and the capital falling, the Qing Dynasty remained largely unchanged.

In reality, there's no way to change it.

Because change means the end of rule.

but.

This happened a long time later.

Modern times are still a long way off.

In this period.

The Qing Dynasty under the leadership of Huang Taiji.

The path they took was precisely the path most suitable for the Qing Dynasty.

The Qing Dynasty was the luckiest country in this era.

It was not natural disasters that caused the Ming Dynasty such suffering.

It was not factional strife that caused the Ming Dynasty's internal strife to become so severe.

It was not internal troubles that caused the Ming Empire to weaken so much.

Rather, it was because they had produced a great ruler.

There is no Huang Taiji.

The Qing Dynasty will always be a separatist regime, just like any other nomadic separatist regime outside the Great Wall for thousands of years.

Although Huang Taiji never actually captured the Ming Dynasty's capital or truly occupied the area within the Great Wall in history.

However, it was precisely because of Huang Taiji that the Qing Dynasty accumulated the strength to take over the Central Plains when the Ming Dynasty collapsed.

Chen Wang gripped the railing of the observation deck tightly.

His hands were trembling slightly, involuntarily.

An indescribable weight pressed down on his heart.

The fate of the world now rests heavily on his shoulders.

An indescribable indignation slowly rose from the depths of Chen Wang's heart.

That emotion didn't belong to him; it was a deep, unforgettable pain lurking in his heart.

Emotions derived from the original memories of this body.

"Liaodong! Liaodong!"

Relatives and family members were massacred, and the place where they had lived for generations was occupied.

Homes engulfed in flames, relatives perished tragically, and land cultivated for generations crumbled under the iron heel of the enemy.

The humiliation of being forced to leave his homeland and enduring a tumultuous journey to Guangning suddenly pierced Chen Wang's mind like sharp fragments.

That hatred, that anger, was so intense that it burned Chen Wang's throat.

Facing the biting north wind and feeling the chill running through his body, Chen Wang spoke slowly in a hoarse voice.

"Yingqi".

All the emotions in his heart were suppressed to the deepest part of his soul at this moment.

As the commander of an army, he must maintain a clear mind at all times.

On the watchtower of the Jingnan Army, the crimson banner fluttered in the wind.

The high-pitched swan song then soared into the sky and quickly spread throughout the entire battle line.

From Balapu on the west side to Qiaoheji on the east side, along a front stretching nearly ten miles, thousands upon thousands of red flags were raised one after another.

For a moment, a dazzling crimson appeared on the horizon.

And all this.

This was also seen by Huang Taiji, who was at the forefront at the time.

Huang Taiji rode on his warhorse, his face flushed and his expression weary.

He had suppressed all the unease in his heart and the discomfort in his body.

His unwavering will, honed through years of battles, allowed him to remain calm even in such a situation.

Huang Taiji slowly raised his right hand.

The first day of the morning is the engraving. (7:00)

The Qing army went into battle.