Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"Is Lord Dongjiang planning to sneak into the vicinity of Haizhou?"

"Excellent! Excellent!"

Upon hearing the news from Chen Jisheng, Yang Jiamo was initially incredulous, but then overjoyed.

With such a surprise force behind him, his chances of winning are even greater.

Having made up his mind, he immediately dispatched soldiers to prepare for an attack on Haizhou.

In fact, there was no intention to conquer it, nor did the imperial court make such a demand. Instead, they were instructed to kill more Tartars.

However, whether Haizhou was captured or not was crucial to the stability of southern Liaoning and the land along the Liao River. Many soldiers hoped to take this place so they could farm in peace.

Therefore, Yang Jiamo took advantage of this psychology, and although it seemed like a feint attack, the actual fighting was quite realistic.

With all kinds of artillery and muskets deployed, the two Red Banners stationed in Haizhou quickly felt the pressure.

They discovered that the Ming army's offensive was relentless and their firearms were extremely powerful.

In particular, these Ming soldiers didn't climb the city walls at all; they just fired their guns from a hundred paces away, killing them from a distance.

It's better for the soldiers guarding the city not to show their faces, because once they do, they might be sniped.

Daishan was so angry that he said:

"How can we fight a war if we can only take the beating and can't fight back?"

"The city walls are completely useless; they've only restricted us."

His son, Saharan, frowned and said to his father:

"The Ming army is doing this because they know we lack artillery and can hardly threaten them."

"We can only use ballistae to shoot down the Ming soldiers who are close to the city wall."

The ballista had a range of up to 300 paces, which was farther than most firearms.

Theoretically, they could drive away the Ming soldiers, but Haizhou simply didn't have the necessary reserves.

Furthermore, since crossbows had been replaced by firearms, the Jurchen army was not equipped with them at all. If Sahalian had not been well-versed in Chinese studies, he would not have even thought of such a weapon.

For now, they can only endure it and let the Ming army shoot at them from below the city walls.

They sent messengers to the Great Khan for help, requesting that ballistae be made and brought to him. Daišan and Sahalian, among others, realized that:
Compared to open field battles, they were not adept at defending cities. Rather than allowing the Ming army to attack them with weapons outside the city, they decided to take the initiative and fight them head-on.

Soon, Jurchen cavalry charged out and drove away the Ming army outside the city.

Upon seeing this, Yang Jiamo burst into laughter and said to Cao Bianjiao and Ma Ke beside him:

"The head-delivery messenger has arrived; all of you, go and kill the enemy."

He ordered the two men to set out, each leading a large cavalry unit to fight the enemy.

These cavalrymen were all brought by him from the Shenji Battalion. They had been trained for several years and could be considered elite.

In particular, these people were equipped with both long and short muskets, enabling them to fire from horseback.

Cao Bianjiao and Ma Ke were eager to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions, but they did not expect that before they even arrived at the battlefield, the Ming army, which was arrayed outside the city, had already begun to fire their guns.

After a series of cracking sounds, a large number of Jurchen cavalrymen fell. The remaining men tried to charge forward, but the gongs sounded from the city walls.

However, Sahalian remembered the ferocity of the Battle of Daning and did not want to send his men to their deaths again.

The Ming cavalry charged for a while, but ended up empty-handed. They wanted to take advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack, but they also heard the order to retreat.

Helpless, Cao Bianjiao and Ma Ke could only lead their troops back, saying somewhat unwillingly:

"General, why are we sounding the retreat?"

"Maybe if we charge in, we can break into the city."

Yang Jiamo was not particularly interested in whether or not he captured Haizhou; what he pursued was the achievement of killing the enemy.

However, it was inconvenient to say this openly at this time, so he said to Cao Bianjiao:
"The Jurchens are heavily guarded, but it is unknown how capable they are of defending the city."

"Using cavalry to attack the city is too risky. Let the infantry try first."

Turning to Yang Yufan, he said:

"You have rendered meritorious service in defending the city in Korea. Do you dare to attack the city this time and test the Jurchens' defenses?" Yang Yufan loudly said that he dared and immediately led a group of advisors to formulate an attack plan.

His Fourth Brigade was entirely organized according to the standards of the new army. It not only had professional staff officers, but also artillery, engineers and other branches of the military.

Soon, these staff officers proposed a tactic: tunnel excavation—

This is one of the tactics summarized by the General Staff, who also recommended that every weaponized army learn civil engineering operations.

Yang Yufan observed the terrain and decided to implement this plan:

"Bring up the engineering corps to dig tunnels and advance."

"Use the underground passage and leave firing ports for firing."

Soon, engineers from various support teams began to arrive with shovels. They skillfully dug tunnels and advanced towards the city wall.

Sahalian, who was on the city wall, could naturally see this. He hurriedly ordered his men to prepare listening urns to hear any sounds from underground.

At the same time, he ordered people to dig tunnels, preparing to connect them to smoke and flood the area when the tunnels were dug through.

However, the tunnels dug by the Ming army this time were not for attacking the city. Instead, they began to expand laterally when they were some distance from the city walls.

Because the excavated soil and rocks were difficult to transport to the rear, the horizontal tunnels were open and should more accurately be called trenches. The soil and rocks were piled directly in front to protect against arrows.

Every so often, a shelter was dug for the soldiers to hide in in order to protect them from the Jurchen artillery fire.

Such comprehensive fortifications were naturally designed to minimize casualties.

For Ming generals today, the casualty ratio is also one of the statistical items.

If casualties exceed those of the enemy, one's achievements may be questioned.

Even when facing the Jurchens, the highest the court could demand was a two-for-one exchange.

Yang Yufan didn't want to be criticized for neglecting his soldiers, so he ordered the engineers to dig the best possible tunnels, without worrying about wasting time.

These tunnels, designed to defend against Ming army fire, were completely ineffective against the Jurchens, who had few and inaccurate artillery pieces. Even if their shells occasionally struck, they couldn't breach the anti-artillery tunnels.

On the contrary, the projectiles of arrows posed a threat to the Ming troops in the trenches. However, once the Ming soldiers raised their shields or laid a layer of planks over the trenches, they quickly lost their fear. They moved freely between the various artillery shelters, even shouting and mocking the enemy.

In just a few days, the Ming army advanced dozens of paces and dug a trench about thirty paces from the city wall.

At this distance, the Ming army's muskets could fire more accurately. Soldiers using smoothbore muskets could easily kill the enemy with shrapnel.

Moreover, the Ming army's grenadiers also began to prove their worth at this distance. Some highly skilled soldiers were able to throw grenades onto the city walls from this range.

Although these grenades used black powder and their explosive power was insufficient, they still terrified the Jurchen soldiers, who constantly feared being blown up.

The soldiers in Liaonan Town became more and more excited as the fighting progressed.

They discovered that attacking the Jurchens in the city was no different from fighting the barbarians in the mountains and forests; neither side had any ability to retaliate.

Their confidence grew, and many even requested that the city walls be breached by cannons and that they be allowed to storm the city.

Yang Yufan, emboldened by the victories of the past few days, was inclined to give it a try, but Yang Jiamo, as the commander-in-chief, rejected the suggestion without hesitation.

Because he doesn't necessarily want to capture Haizhou; everything he's doing now is to lure the main force of the Jurchens to come for a decisive battle.

If the Jurchens are unwilling to give up Haizhou, then they must send reinforcements.

His goal was to besiege the enemy stronghold and eliminate the reinforcements.

Therefore, he ordered Yang Yufan to dig several more trenches to completely trap the Jianzhou Jurchens inside Haizhou City.

At the same time, soldiers with weak combat capabilities were assigned to guard the tunnels, and when the Jurchen reinforcements arrived, they were responsible for separating them from the Jurchens inside the city.

Lu Xiang-sheng then hurriedly built camps to prevent being pursued by the Jurchen cavalry if the war went poorly.

His Tianxiong Army is a safety net, ensuring that there will be no rout even in the event of defeat.

As a military commander, he also had this responsibility, constantly emphasizing the importance of holding assemblies to officers and soldiers at all levels.

If chaos ensues, the soldiers should quickly convene to elect a leader.

Ensure that the military has an organized presence under all circumstances. (End of Chapter)