Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Not to mention the cheers and jubilation of the naval officers and soldiers.

Even after escaping, Tong Yangxing was still filled with lingering fear.

He had never seen such shells before, and the sudden rain of arrows from the sky left an indelible mark on his mind:
Is this sorcery?

"Is it a new weapon from the Ming Dynasty?"

As the artillery commander, he shouldn't have thought that way.

But it was precisely because he knew about artillery that he knew how difficult it was for a shell to explode in mid-air, let alone to unleash a rain of arrows.

This unprecedented event led him to attribute it solely to sorcery—

Otherwise, even if the Khan asked him to make a copy, he wouldn't be able to.

Without even removing the arrows from his body, Tong Yangxing rode his equally wounded horse all the way to Huang Taiji's tent, shouting:
"Magic!"

"The Ming army used sorcery!"

"The entire artillery unit was wiped out..."

He was incoherent and looked terrified. Anyone could see that he had encountered an incomprehensible upheaval.

Huang Taiji was most concerned about the artillery unit, and he was the most incredulous upon hearing of its complete annihilation. He strode up from his seat, grabbed Tong Yangxing, and demanded:

"What kind of sorcery?"

"Explain yourself more clearly."

"How's the artillery position?"

Why did you come back alone?

Without looking closely, he never expected that his grab would actually press down on an arrow on Tong Yangxing's arm.

What was originally just a shallow drop from the sky into flesh was pressed directly into his flesh.

Tong Yangxing gasped in pain, finally regaining his senses and shouting:
"Let go!"

"Great Khan, let go!"

"I still have demonic weapons on me!"

Huang Taiji was startled and quickly let go of her hand and jumped away.

He feared that he might be tainted by the demonic artifact and go insane like Tong Yangxing.

At this moment, Tong Yangxing could no longer bear the pain and called for the traditional Chinese medicine doctor to remove the arrow from his body.

Only then did Huang Taiji and the others realize that Tong Yangxing was carrying many iron arrows, each one small, but after pulling them all out, there were more than a dozen.

Some even burrowed into his flesh through the gaps in his armor.

The deepest wound was the one Huang Taiji caught, where the flesh was penetrated more than half an inch deep.

Looking at these tiny arrows, each about an inch long, none of the Eight Banner generals knew how they were shot. Daishan asked suspiciously:
"How could such a small iron arrow be fired?"

"Where is the arrow shaft?"

Huang Taiji was also unaware, but having seen more of the world, he recalled the divine arrows he had seen in Korea, and holding up the arrowhead, he said:

"Could it be the Ming army's Divine Arrow?"

"How could they possibly damage the artillery?"

He stared sternly at Tong Yangxing, suspecting that he had been ambushed due to carelessness during the march.

Otherwise, given the range of the Divine Arrow, it wouldn't be able to harm the artillery at all.

Tong Yangxing hurriedly explained:
"It wasn't fired from a musket, it was fired from a cannon!"

“The Ming army’s warships each had dozens of cannons, and the six warships fired hundreds of cannonballs. The arrowheads came out of the cannonballs.”

He described the scene, his expression one of extreme fear—

They had always bullied the Ming army with bows and arrows, but they never expected that the Ming army's cannons could now fire a rain of arrows.

What's the point of fighting then? No matter how far their bows and arrows can travel, they're nowhere near as effective as cannons. Not to mention that a single cannonball contains hundreds or even thousands of iron arrows.

Huang Taiji also realized the seriousness of the situation. Although he didn't believe in any sorcery, if the Ming army used these cannons on a large scale, it would be no different from sorcery to them. They currently had no means of countermeasures; even their red-coated cannons, which could exchange fire with the Ming army, had been lost along with their artillery units.

Thinking of this, Huang Taiji felt heartbroken and glared at Tong Yangxing, saying:

"You wiped out all six red-coated cannons in one fell swoop."

"Get back to Shenyang immediately and build more cannons!"

We need to give Tong Yangxing a minor punishment as a warning, and rely on him to forge cannons and train artillery units.

Tong Yangxing survived, and even his rank wasn't demoted. Upon hearing this, he endured the pain and immediately changed horses and rushed back to Shenyang.

He no longer wanted to stay on the front lines; who knew what else might happen?

If the Great Khan asked him to replicate the cannonballs, he wouldn't be able to do it.
-
Tong Yangxing could leave, but Huang Taiji couldn't just slink away.

If the Ming army gains a foothold in Niuzhuang, Haizhou will certainly be lost, and Liaoyang, which is further ahead, will also be in danger.

If Liaoyang were to fall to the Ming army, Shenyang would become the front line, and that would never be allowed.

Just as he was about to discuss the next battle with his generals, one of Ajige's men rode up on horseback and shouted:

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"

"He was under the spell of the Ming army, and iron arrows grew on his body."

Upon hearing the accusation of "sorcery," Huang Taiji angrily rebuked him:
"What kind of Ming army sorcery?"

"They are iron arrows tied together."

"Tell your master to rest and recover properly, and not to talk nonsense."

He ordered the entire army to keep silent and not to utter the words "demonic magic" again.

However, many people are still very afraid, and many more mysterious rumors have spread.

After all, too many people had experienced this battle, and some of Ajige and Tong Yangxing's subordinates had returned one after another.

They didn't mention sorcery, but they regarded the cannons on the Ming warships as demonic weapons, and were terrified every time they saw the Ming warships.

Huang Taiji was unable to stop them, and because of the loss of the Red-Clothed Cannon, he could no longer attack Niuzhuang Village. He could only discuss with his confidants how to break the "sorcerer's spell" and restore the soldiers' morale.

Fan Wencheng had already gained Huang Taiji's trust. He had accompanied the army on expeditions during Nurhaci's time, and this time he was taken along by Huang Taiji.

Upon learning that Huang Taiji was troubled by "sorcery," he offered a suggestion:

"No matter how powerful the Ming army's cannonballs were, they still needed artillery to fire them."

"Once the warships are destroyed, the sorcery will naturally disappear."

That makes sense, but how could a bunch of landlubbers understand naval warfare?
Fan Wencheng said with a smile:

"You can destroy warships even if you don't understand naval warfare? Has the Great Khan forgotten the stories of the Three Kingdoms?"

"First, use iron chains to block the Ming army's warships from passing through the river."

"Then use fire ships to sail downstream and burn the Ming army's warships."

This is a battle tactic that existed as early as the Three Kingdoms period. Upon hearing this, Huang Taiji exclaimed with delight:

"Fortunately, with your guidance, sir, I immediately began preparations."

He ordered Fan Wencheng to participate in command and planning, and to work with Dorgon and Sahalian to deal with the Ming warships.

Soon, Fan Wencheng ordered blacksmiths to forge several large iron chains in preparation for blocking the river.

However, iron chains alone were not enough, because the plan to cross the river with iron chains during the Three Kingdoms period had been thwarted. Fan Wencheng then ordered craftsmen to build ships to be used as fire ships and burned.

These fire ships wouldn't take long to build, and they could be built with some effort. However, finding sailors to operate them was really difficult. Even among the Eight Banners soldiers, few could swim, let alone handle boats and oars, let alone fight naval battles against the Ming army.

Ultimately, Fan Wencheng could only select those who knew how to row from among the Han and Korean people, ordering them to light the fire boats and maneuver them into a surprise attack.

The Eight Banners soldiers, armed with bows and arrows, shot and killed sailors who disobeyed orders.

After several such drills, during which many were killed, the remaining men finally behaved themselves. Even on the burning ship, they remained obedient and steered the boat properly.

Fan Wencheng led his men, preparing to ambush the navy. (End of Chapter)