Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"Da! Da! Da..."

The sound of galloping hooves filled the air as Huang Taiji's army arrived from the north of Haizhou City.

Looking at Haizhou City from afar, Huang Taiji addressed his generals:
"The Ming generals on the other side should not be underestimated."

"They calculated that the two red flags could only leave through the north gate."

With a defensible city and cavalry as the main force, the two Red Banners should have the initiative, whether they wanted to fight or stay.

However, the terrain of Haizhou City and the Ming army's advantage in artillery caused them to suffer losses everywhere.

(Map of Haicheng County streets, 1924, showing that the city walls were largely extended from the Ming Dynasty)
The Haicheng River flows around the west and south of Haizhou City.

To the east are two small hills, suitable for artillery positions.

The Ming army only needed to set up cannons on the mountain and on the opposite bank of the river to easily block the three city gates.

The best way for the two red flags to break out of the city is to go through the north gate.

After clearly understanding the situation facing the two Red Banners, even Huang Taiji found it troublesome. Especially the dense network of tunnels outside the city, which made him realize that this Ming army was not to be underestimated.
"Such a force, how could they be a mere rabble?"

No wonder Dorgon suffered such a great loss!

His mood grew even heavier, and Huang Taiji even considered retreating.

If it weren't for the two red flags in the city, he wouldn't have wanted to fight this battle at all.

Fighting on a battlefield pre-planned by the enemy would be a huge disadvantage.

But given the current situation, he has no choice but to continue fighting.

After observing carefully for a while, Huang Taiji instructed Dorgon:
"You take the white-bordered flag and go to the flank to threaten the Ming army from the west."

"The others will follow me forward to tie down the main force of the Ming army."

Instead of launching a full-scale attack, they first tried to break through from the side.

If he can defeat the Ming army at the west gate, allowing the two Red Banner cannons to burst out from the west, he won't need to fight a major battle in the north, nor will he need to deplete his two Yellow Banners.

Dorgon hesitated slightly when he heard that he would be leading the charge again.

The last battle with the Ming army had already caused him considerable losses. If he were to fight a few more battles like this, he probably wouldn't even have the Bordered White Banner anymore.

He requested of Huang Taiji:

"Great Khan, the Bordered White Banner currently has few troops."

"To achieve a breakthrough, we need more troops."

Where will more troops come from? Huang Taiji has no idea.

His two Yellow Banners are now only half full. If the Plain White Banner is also given to Dorgon, how can the main force of the Ming army be restrained?

In the end, Huang Taiji could only say:
“I will give you the Han soldiers and the Korean soldiers.”

"We must make good use of them!"

Dorgon was somewhat disappointed, but he also knew that the Great Khan could not spare any more troops.

He could only drive the Han and Korean soldiers who were doing logistics to charge into the Ming army's formation.
-
Opposite him, responsible for the western defense, was Tian Jianxiu's guerrilla battalion.

Seeing that the Jurchens had chosen to launch a surprise attack from his side, Tian Jianxiu felt both nervous and excited:
If he can thwart the Jurchen offensive, he will surely be highly regarded in the post-war assessment.

Shouting for the soldiers to prepare, Tian Jianxiu commanded his subordinates:
"Artillerymen, fire! Musketeers, prepare!"

"Pay attention to the level of firepower; avoid unnecessary waste!"

Following Bian Weizhong's explanation of the firepower hierarchy, he ordered field artillery, mortars, artillery pieces, rifles, revolvers, grenades, handguns... to be deployed layer by layer.

Such concentrated firepower was utterly insane. Bian Weizhong, watching this scene, seemed somewhat captivated:

Because what he learned in martial arts was firearms, which was the firearms-equipped army envisioned by the emperor.

The Liaonan New Army was organized entirely according to this concept. Most of the firearms produced by the Tongzhou Arsenal in the past few months were issued to them.

Those artillerymen who required long periods of training were directly transferred from the Beijing Garrison.

Bian Weizhong pondered the teachings of martial arts and knew that the most important aspects of a firearms-equipped army were space and teamwork.

Seeing that Tian Jianxiu had already directed the firing of various weapons, Bian Weizhong instructed the cavalry of the supervising team:
"Pay close attention to the battlefield and see which areas have deficiencies in firepower."

"If any oversight is discovered, urge immediate rectification; if necessary, take up arms and confront the enemy."

Hao Yaoqi responded loudly and led the cavalry away.

They were equipped with revolver muskets, which, although short-ranged, could quickly compensate for any gaps in their firepower.

Knowing that the battle would be costly, Bian Weizhong sent a message to Yang Jiamo, requesting that a reserve team be sent to transport ammunition up the mountain.

Yang Jiamo also observed the battle situation here, especially the Han and Korean people being driven away by the Jurchens.

He knew that the Jurchens were serious this time and were going to use human lives to build the road.

Upon seeing the flag signals displayed by the First Battalion, Yang Jiamo immediately gave the order:
"Have Commander Lu send a reserve team to transport artillery shells."

"Yang Yufan led his cavalry to wait for an opportunity to reinforce."

"Tell Tian Jianxiu to hold the line and not let the two Red Flags escape through the west gate."

The signalman immediately signaled with flags, and the soldiers on the hot air balloon responsible for lookout and communications did the same to relay the order to the various armies.

Lu Xiang-sheng and Yang Yu-fan quickly received orders and mobilized their troops.

Bian Weizhong also received the news, and felt a sense of relief. As long as ammunition supplies were sufficient, he was confident that he could hold off any number of Jurchens who came.
-
Looking at the Jurchens on the other side, they had already launched a second wave of attacks.

The first wave hadn't even reached a hundred paces before being driven back by the Ming army's artillery.

Enraged, Dorgon immediately beheaded dozens of those who turned to flee, displaying their heads to the Han and Korean soldiers.

"This is the consequence of deserting in the face of battle; their families will also be demoted to bondservant status."

"I hereby promise that if you can break through the enemy's formation, your whole family will be carried into the Bordered White Banner and treated as equals to the second prince consort."

The two imperial sons-in-law refer to Li Yongfang and Tong Yangxing, who were the highest-ranking Han Chinese in the Eight Banners.

Dorgon devised this method to provoke the Han and Korean soldiers to fight bravely, while simultaneously using these troops to replenish the losses of the Bordered White Banner.

However, his offer did not achieve the desired effect.

Because the Han soldiers under Li Yongfang's command have been almost completely depleted in the past two years, he is now a completely marginal figure.

Tong Yangxing was highly regarded and was in charge of leading the artillery unit. However, his artillery unit was no match for the Ming army's artillery and had been punished frequently over the past few months.

Before the Eight Banners Han Army was established, no Han Chinese ever thought about achieving a high status.

These people were forced to charge into the Ming army's ranks only because they were threatened by the Jurchen's butcher's knife.

Of course, it wouldn't be accurate to say it had absolutely no effect. Some Han Chinese and Koreans who had had enough began to risk their lives and charge forward, thinking they would either be killed by the Ming army or be raised to the Ming flag alive.

Others were inspired by them and had to be more proactive on the battlefield.

The battle outside Haizhou City quickly escalated after the initial probing.

Whether it was Yang Jiamo and Huang Taiji in the north of the city, or Daishan on the city wall, everyone was watching the battle with bated breath, hoping their side would emerge victorious. (End of Chapter)