Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The Ming army's firearms were formidable, a fact known to all the Eight Banners soldiers.

However, no one can say for sure just how powerful it is.

In the Battle of Daning, Ajige's entire army was wiped out; around Niuzhuang, Ming warships unleashed a rain of arrows as if by magic...

This led to an exaggeration of the power of Ming firearms among the lower ranks of the Jurchens, while the higher ranks remained somewhat skeptical.

After all, the Battle of Daming resulted in too many casualties, and the survivors could not give a clear account of the power of the Ming Dynasty's firearms.

Huang Taiji and his men, of course, did not believe, or rather, did not want to believe, the incoherent words of these people. They were more inclined to believe that it was a mistake in Ajige's command, rather than that the Ming Dynasty's firearms were too powerful.

As for the arrow-shaped shrapnel shells, which were rumored to be a form of sorcery, they had seized unexploded warheads and knew how these shells worked. They didn't consider them sorcery, but simply powerful weapons.

As a result, the high-ranking and low-ranking members of the Eight Banners had a distorted understanding of the Ming army. The lower ranks were generally fearful, while the higher ranks were hesitant. This was also why Huang Taiji insisted on fighting this battle, wanting to ascertain the combat strength of the Ming army's firearms.

Now, outside Haizhou City, they finally witnessed the power of the Ming Dynasty's new firearms army.

Regardless of their rank or position, everyone was speechless upon seeing the situation.

Everyone knew that the Ming army's firearms were powerful, but no one expected them to be this powerful.

From the moment they entered the range of the Ming Dynasty's cannons, Dorgon's troops were subjected to unilateral fire from the artillery.

After entering the three hundred steps, one is subjected to a rain of death.

The Ming army's mortars, rifled guns, and cannons fired with shrapnel meant that many soldiers fell with every step they took forward.

This wasn't a war at all; it was just a one-sided massacre.

Even with Dorgon leading the Bordered White Banner troops to reinforce the rear, the Han and Korean soldiers could not withstand the losses.

They fled in disarray, and the Jurchens, despite their past ferocity, were unable to suppress them.

Seeing this scene, Huang Taiji felt a chill in his heart. At this moment, he no longer cared about the Han soldiers' thoughts or intentions regarding setting up the Eight Banners Han Army.

His biggest thought now is to rescue the two red flags from Haizhou City and then run far away.

The Ming Dynasty's firearms army had evolved to a level he couldn't comprehend, let alone break through firearms battle formations.

"This is a replay of the Battle of Dalinghe."

"The Ming army has already applied its city defense tactics to field battles."

Muttering to himself, Huang Taiji could only interpret it this way.

Otherwise, he simply couldn't explain why the Ming army had become like this.

After the mention of Dalinghe, the Eight Banners high-ranking officials, who had been stunned into silence, finally began to understand.

This battle was indeed similar to the Battle of Dalinghe; the Ming army used concentrated firepower and avoided close combat.

The only difference was that the Ming army had cities to defend, giving them a greater advantage.

The Ming army is currently surrounding the two Red Banners, and they must be constantly on the verge of the two Red Banners breaking out of the city.

However, judging from the appearance of the Ming army, they were not afraid of the two red flags, and even regarded them as turtles in a jar, intending to devour them both.

If the two red flags cannot be rescued this time, then only destruction awaits them.
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Daishan clearly understood this as well, so when Dorgon organized the third wave of the offensive, he had already ordered the Bordered Red Banner to prepare and rush out from the west gate of Haizhou City.

Du Du, who temporarily led the Bordered Red Banner, took the lead and charged ahead of everyone with his more than a thousand men.

Yang Yufan, who was guarding the west gate and originally intended to support Tian Jianxiu, immediately ordered his troops to form ranks and used the fortifications he had dug some time ago to fire at the outstretched red flag.

As soon as Dudu led the Bordered Red Banner soldiers out of the city, he felt the same pressure that Dorgon was under at that moment.

Especially since the city gate was narrow, the Ming artillery, which had already completed its calibration, bombarded the city gate fiercely.

Sometimes, a single cannonball could strike right through the city gate and strangle an entire column of Jurchen soldiers leaving the city.

The Jurchens were beaten so badly they cried out for their parents, and the city gates were blocked.

Daishan and Sahalian looked pale as they watched this scene.

Sahalian, in particular, was even more grateful that his father had used the excuse of punishing him to allow Dudu to lead the troops into battle.

Otherwise, how could he be alive now? Rushing out would have meant certain death.

The father and son exchanged a glance, and Dai Shan said:
“Execute it!”

"Don't think about anything else."

Sahalian nodded firmly and immediately ordered his men to send out a signal.

Soon, fires broke out everywhere in Haizhou City, accompanied by explosions. The Han and Jurchen people in the city were all alarmed.

"The Ming army is bombarding Haizhou! Everyone, run away quickly!"

A commotion arose, and the panicked people in the city began to follow some people to the city gate.

At this time, all five city gates of Haizhou City were open, and some sections of the city wall had collapsed at some point, allowing people to come out.

As the people of Haizhou City fled, the Ming soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment. Should they shoot them or take them in?

Lu Xiang-sheng, who was leading the Tianxiong Army to guard the two southern city gates and was in charge of the rear command, decisively said after seeing this scene:

"Order those leaving the city to raise their hands and move to either side of the city wall."

"Anyone who dares to charge will be killed without mercy and treated as an enemy!"

He ordered the soldiers to shout the order and spread the word to the other city gates.

Upon receiving the information, Chen Jisheng and the others immediately knew what to do.

Those who obeyed the orders of the people who came from Haizhou City would survive, while those who disobeyed or were captured by the Jurchens and forced to fight would be killed as enemies.

The soldiers, who were used to fighting and capturing barbarians, showed no mercy whatsoever.

Ultimately, no Jurchen soldiers managed to break through the defenses from the south or east amidst the chaos.

Because of the large number of troops gathered in the north, no ordinary people with any sense dared to go there.

Moreover, Daishan also dispatched troops to drive any people heading north to the northwest—

This place didn't have city gates before.

However, after Daishan decided to abandon the city, he ordered his men to secretly hollow out the city walls.

The explosion that just happened was partly due to the demolition of this place.

Daishan, who had long been preparing to escape from here, drove the people and cattle and horses out from the northwest corner and filled the moat.

Tian Jianxiu, who was stationed in the northwest of the city wall and fighting against Dorgon, never expected to be attacked from behind.

Even if he left a reserve force, it would be impossible to stop the Zheng Hongqi army, which numbered over seven thousand.

Seeing the promising situation suddenly turn into a desperate situation, Hao Yaoqi, leading the cavalry squadron as the supervisor, shouted:
"Brothers, the time has come to test us!"

"A true man should make his mark today!"

He led his cavalry to meet them at the forefront.

Although his mounted combat skills were good, he did not rely entirely on bravery to fight the Jurchens head-on. Instead, he lay prone on his horse, rising and falling, while firing his musket.

The two sides were very close, so the range of the revolver muskets was not a disadvantage. However, the Jurchens' expertise in mounted archery could also be utilized.

In the blink of an eye, Hao Yaoqi's cavalry squadron fired hundreds of bullets, while simultaneously receiving hundreds of arrows.

Hao Yaoqi, who was lucky enough to escape being hit by an arrow, turned around and saw that dozens of his men had already fallen to the ground, including some of his brothers from his hometown.

His eyes welled up with tears, and he shouted:
"Brothers, follow me!"

"Follow me to kill the Tartars!"

Carrying a long spear, he charged ahead, facing an enemy ten times his size, and whose numbers were growing ever larger.

Bian Weizhong and the others behind him hurriedly took advantage of the time he had gained to organize a defense, and at the same time sent out more cavalry to support Hao Yaoqi.

These cavalrymen were usually treasured in the camp and were never used for close combat charges.

But now is not the time to be stingy. The entire First Battalion is in danger, and they must charge forward.

Tian Jianxiu, who entered the top four in the horse battle with his bravery and became a guerrilla general, also showed courage at this time.

Ignoring the imperial court's order discouraging high-ranking officers from charging into battle, he led his personal guards and was about to charge forward.

The Second Battalion, to the right of the First Battalion, was commanded by Cao Bianjiao, who was facing the main force of the Jurchen army. Upon discovering that the First Battalion was in danger, he led his cavalry to their aid without waiting for Yang Jiamo's orders.

This move was immediately discovered by the Jurchens. Huang Taiji, who had been preparing to support the two Red Banners, immediately ordered Abatai and Dodo to lead troops to threaten the main force of the Ming army from both flanks.

These soldiers dared not enter the range of the Ming army's muskets, but the main force of the Ming army could not ignore them.

Centered around Tian Jianxiu's first battalion, troops inside and outside Haizhou City were mobilized.

Both the Ming Dynasty and the Jurchens seemed to have a chance of victory. (End of Chapter)