The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 95 Mao Wenlong, he is my brother, you know?
"Master, you can't pull it out. It will kill people."

North of Kaiyuan City.

Huang Taiji woke up from severe pain, his eyes were blurred by blood mist, and he could not see anything clearly.

A sharp antler was stuck in the left eye of the Eighth Prince, and his face was densely covered with antler fragments, like a city wall hit by shotgun. A Goshiha was squatting on the ground, carefully pulling out the antler fragments one by one.

He groaned deeply, and with the help of Gosha, he slowly raised his arms, ready to pull out the antlers from his eyes himself.

He heard a scream and tried to open his right eye.

In the dim light, a tall and burly armored soldier stood in front of him, his body covered in blood. Huang Taiji thought he was the Niulu Ezhen who charged into the battle, and was about to ask him about the battle situation at the north gate, but from the sound of his voice, he didn't sound like a Jurchen.

"Who are you?"

Huang Taiji felt relieved when he heard the shouts and sounds of artillery fire, knowing that he was on a familiar battlefield.

In the distance, the warriors of the Zhengbai Banner were still charging towards the north gate, and the sounds of flintlock muskets bursting and bows and arrows whistling echoed on both sides of the moat.

The armored soldier knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Huang Taiji who was lying on the bed.

The several Goshas surrounding him stared fiercely at the armored soldier who suddenly broke in.

"I am a bannerman under Master Bayintu, Niu Lu. I am a Han Chinese who carries the banner. The leader of the Bordered Blue Banner sent my master Bayintu to Kaiyuan to deliver a letter. Master Bayintu was killed by the Ming army on the way. I beheaded three of the Yebushou and have just arrived."

"Eighth Prince, what's wrong with you?"

Hearing that this man had killed three Yebushou, Gosha looked at him with a slightly different look than before.

Huang Taiji raised his hand with difficulty and reached towards his left eye.

"Master, you can't pull it out. It will kill you. I used to be a thug and I've seen people with knives stuck in their eyes. You can't pull it out immediately. You have to apply some medicine first."

Huang Taiji slowly lowered his raised arm, and the wound on his face broke open again, oozing out large streams of black blood.

A Goshkha nearby quickly wiped him with a handkerchief.

The soldier screamed in shock, and there was a cry in his voice.

"Master, who hurt you like this? I will avenge you and kill him!"

Huang Taiji waved his hand at him and said with difficulty: "Go on, tell me what Jirgalang asked you to say."

"Yes, Master. Liu Zhaosun has escaped from Hetuala. The Lord of the Bordered Blue Banner has asked me to tell the Eighth Prince that Hetuala is safe and that he is sending troops to hunt down Liu Zhaosun. He told the Eighth Prince to rest assured and open the plain properly."

Huang Taiji laughed miserably, causing a sharp pain in his left eye. He gritted his teeth and whispered:

"Have a good attack on Kaiyuan, haha."

At this time, the terrible sound of artillery fire was heard again at the north gate, and the Goshas around him all raised their hands to cover their heads.

Huang Taiji struggled hard to sit up. The armored soldier was about to help him up, but a Goshiha pushed him away.

Goshiha held the heavy sword in his hand and stared fiercely at the armored soldier who claimed to be from the Bordered Blue Banner.

Huang Taiji said to the armored soldier as he was dying:

"Go out and see if they have any cannons on the city walls? The kind of cannons you've never seen."

The armored soldier raised his head and walked quickly out of the tent. A shallow scar appeared on his face and he looked towards the north gate with a fierce look.

The big tent where the armored soldiers were located was about four miles away from the north gate. The armored soldiers walked more than three miles to the north, and at this time the bodies of the Later Jin soldiers began to appear on the ground.

He hid behind a shield cart and looked towards the top of the city wall. He soon found a lame man who looked like a civil servant walking around frantically on the top of the city wall.

In front of the civil servant, there was a huge cannon with two gunners loading shells next to it.

He hurried back to the tent and reported to his master.

"Master, there is a cannon on the top of the city wall. It is bigger than the Grand Admiral's Cannon, but it is not a French cannon."

Huang Taiji nodded and said to Ge Shiha beside him:

"Go tell Yabatai that after you capture the city, be sure to keep this cannon and take it to Shenyang to show it to the Khan."

"Eighth Prince."

When Goshiha heard his master talking about the cannon in the north of the city, he was furious and said:
"Eighth Prince, while you were unconscious, a cripple was using that cannon to attack us. He was so fierce and accurate that he broke several pontoon bridges and killed many Bayalas. Master Yabatai said that after we capture the north gate, we will skin this southern barbarian alive."

Huang Taiji was stunned for a moment, sighed, whispered something, and then waved his hand to let everyone leave.

The soldiers in blue armor followed the two Goshas out and just as they reached the door of the tent, they heard a faint voice behind them.

"What's your name?"

He hurried back and knelt in front of Huang Taiji.

"My name is Cao Zhongqing."

"Are you Cao Zhongqing, the man who killed five Kaiyuan soldiers?"

Huang Taiji's mood fluctuated slightly and he started coughing violently.

Goshiha quickly brought a coconut ladle and fed his master some water. Huang Taiji recovered a little and his breathing calmed down.

Cao Zhongqing paused for a moment before saying:
"My Lord, last time I was in Kaiyuan, I killed fifteen white-pole soldiers, not five."

"Okay, Cao Zhongqing, you are a good servant. When we return to Hetuala, I will promote you to Niulu Ezhen. From now on, you will stay in the Zhengbai Banner and serve me as a servant."

"I thank my master for the promotion!"

"I will go to the north gate and kill that Ming artilleryman! I will avenge my master!"

~~~~
Shenyang North Gate.

"Sir, I want to raise the flag!"

"I'm from Yiyang. I'm most familiar with this cannon. I fire it every day. I'm more accurate than them. Let me fight the Sichuan soldiers!"

A tall and strong Liaozhen gunner pulled the chosen companion back from behind.

He glared at the gunners around him, pushed away the gunner in front of him, squeezed out of the crowd, bent down and walked in front of Manggurtai with a charming smile on his face.

Ding Bi saw this man was so bold and said angrily:

"Dog slave, call me master!"

The man called Manggurtai "Master", and then called Li Yongfang and Ding Bi "Master", his body bent like a bow.

The gunners nearby all looked up and cast contemptuous glances at the man.

The gunner from Yiyang didn't care at all. He looked up at his masters with a smile, his eyes narrowed into lines.

Manggurtai waved his hand generously, saying that the situation was critical and there was no need to worry about these trivial details.

Li Yongfang was overjoyed to see someone finally come forward, and his heart was finally at ease. He said to the gunner:

"Alright, a man who knows the times is a hero. You have surrendered to the Great Jin, and your future is limitless. After this battle, I will promote you to the rank of captain. What is your name?"

"My name is Mao Yunlong. I was transferred to Shenyang by General Xiong. I came here with my brother. I'm not married yet, but my brother is, so our Mao family has an heir. Xiong Tingbi is such a jerk! We've been in Shenyang for over half a year. He's been ordered to fire cannons every day, and he even conducts random inspections. If we miss, we get beaten. Many of my brothers have been beaten with military sticks, and their food and wages are denied..."

Ding Bi swung the scabbard and hit him in the face, saying angrily:

"You little dog slave, you must call yourself a slave in front of your master! Do you hear me? And if you dare to talk nonsense in front of your master again, I will cut off your tongue!"

In the past few days, all Ding Bi could think about was the scene of Kaiyuan soldiers taking away boxes of silver from the cellar. All the gold, silver, jewelry, and food and cloth worth hundreds of thousands of silver coins that he had accumulated over the years were taken away by Liu Zhaosun.

Lieutenant General Ding wanted to return to Tieling immediately and skin Liu Zhaosun alive, but Nurhaci would not let him go. He was filled with anger and had no place to vent it. Even after killing several white-pole soldiers, he was still angry.

He hit the gunner twice, and his nose started bleeding, but he was still grinning foolishly at his masters.

When Ding Bi was about to fight, Manggurtai stopped him loudly.

Li Yongfang stepped forward, pulled the furious Ding Bi aside, and turned to the Yiyang gunner and said:

"Hurry up and fire! The master is waiting for you. Open up that shield formation. I'll reward you with five hundred taels of silver, let you carry the flag, and give you a woman and a house." "Okay. I've been thinking about getting married and starting a family for a long time. I want a woman. I don't want to stay at the East Gate with my brother. I came to the North Gate. Many Sichuan soldiers have died here..."

The gunner walked to a large cannon and started loading it.

Li Yongfang winked at the two armored soldiers, who stood behind the gunner with knives in hand, monitoring his every move.

"You can fire the cannon by yourself?"

Li Yongfang looked at the attentive gunner in front of him with suspicion, feeling that something was wrong.

"Master, of course one person can do it. I've been firing cannons on the top of Shenyang City for several months, usually towards the moat. That way, I can't run too far to pick up the shells. We don't get paid, we don't have enough to eat, and we can't run. Master, you can also ask Lieutenant General Ding if what I said is right."

Li Yongfang was not interested in what he said and suddenly interrupted:
"How do you clean the barrel of a gun by yourself?"

The two armored soldiers pressed their fingers on the scabbard, waiting for the gunner's reply. Li Yongfang's face was gloomy, as if he was looking at a dead object.

The gunners squatting on the ground all looked at the prospective bondman with contempt.

"I've said that I'm most familiar with the Grand General Cannon. Too many people will only get in the way. If the master dislikes me, then the master can change people. Ma Dashan, will you come over and fire the cannon?"

Lieutenant General Ding walked up to Li Yongfang, stared at the suspicious-looking gunner in front of him, and whispered:
"I don't know this person. He looks unfamiliar, but they were all recruited by Xiong Tingbi from somewhere else. They're not ours. If you find them suspicious, I'll kill them all!"

"How about that?"

Li Yongfang was surprised:

"Each gunner operates his gun differently, and each gun has its own unique characteristics. Our gunners are unfamiliar with the charge and dare not fire recklessly. If you kill all of them, who will fire the cannons? What if the Khan blames us?"

Ding Bi wanted to speak, but Manggurtai was already impatient and shouted:

"Stop talking! Tell him to fire now! The Khan has sent someone to urge him to do so!"

Following the Fourth Beile's gaze, two Goshas with yellow pennants on their backs crossed the moat littered with corpses and hurried towards the city wall.

Li Yongfang was interrupted and forgot what he was about to say.

"Get started!"

The gunner held a wooden stick more than three feet long with wool tied to it. He climbed on the barrel of the gun like a monkey and poked the barrel hard with the wool stick. His movements were extremely skillful.

Then, he picked up the long-handled gunpowder spoon leaning against the wooden rack, scooped a spoonful of gunpowder from the large wooden barrel, and loaded five spoonfuls into the barrel of the gun in succession. While humming a little tune, he pressed the gunpowder with a loading pestle. The action was like that of a Korean pickling pickles in a jar with a pestle.

"Slow down! That's gunpowder! If it explodes, I'll skin you alive!"

Ding Bi said angrily from the side.

The gunner smiled at Lieutenant General Ding and continued to push the wooden spacer (the wooden spacer between the cannonball and gunpowder) into the barrel with the loading pestle.

He performed the movements quite skillfully. After loading one cannon, he took the initiative to load another one next to it without waiting for his master's order.

He could reload faster by himself than many gunners could do with two men.

Manggurtai and Li Yongfang looked at this capable gunner and nodded slightly. They finally had a reliable servant and they would make use of him in the future.

After finishing the above, the gunner turned to look at Li Yongfang and asked seriously:
"Master, are you shooting shotgun or ball?"

Before Li Yongfang could reply, Ding Bi next to him said angrily:

"Nonsense! Of course it's shotguns. The Zhenglan Banner armored soldiers are right next to the Baigan soldiers' shield formation. Are you trying to hit the master with shotguns?"

The gunner nodded quickly and picked up a three-pound iron ball from the ground.

Then, he stood on the wooden box, struggled to stuff the iron ball into the barrel, and gently poked it inside with the loading pestle.

Next, it was time to aim. The gunner pulled a boomerang-like ruler from a wooden box and measured with it. This instrument, scientifically known as a quadrant, was used by more professional gunners of the era for aiming.

This talkative gunner's gun-handling skills were obviously much better than Mao Yuanyi and the others. He worked while talking and completed all the gun-handling movements very quickly by himself.

"Master, where should we strike?"

Manggurtai, who was getting impatient, came over, pushed Li Yongfang aside, pointed at the white-pole soldiers' shield formation two hundred steps away, and said in stiff Chinese:
"Hit that southern barbarian on horseback. See? He's just to the east of the shield formation. Next to him is a large banner of the general. The Khan said his name is Chen Ce, and he's over sixty years old, a high-ranking official! Aim for him!"

"okay!"

Li Yongfang winked at the two armored soldiers, who understood what he meant. They slowly drew out their heavy swords and stared coldly at the talkative gunner.

"Oh, the shield formation is two hundred paces away, so I have to adjust my shooting angle. We usually shoot towards the moat, which is only a hundred paces away. After each shot, Xiong Tingbi asks us to carry the cannonballs to the river, saying it saves money. If we shoot too far, we can't find the cannonballs, and walking is tiring. By the way, Master, will you let me pick up the cannonballs in the future?"

He kept on muttering, completely ignoring the two malicious real Yi soldiers behind him. After that, he hummed a little tune and suddenly picked up an iron hammer.

The two armored soldiers thought that this man had some bad intentions, so they quickly drew their swords and pointed them at the overly enthusiastic gunner.

The gunner didn't care at all and hammered the small triangular wooden wedge under the gun twice with a hammer.

The wooden wedges are used to adjust the elevation angle of the cannon. The firing trajectories of cannons in this era are basically parabolic, and the elevation angle is closely related to the range. By adjusting the elevation angle, the final landing point of the cannonball can be adjusted.

The gunner ran to the other general gun and hammered another wooden wedge in a few inches.

Then, he pointed his finger at the distant white-pole soldiers' shield formation before finally saying:

"Master, it's time to fire."

Li Yongfang looked at the gunner with suspicion, feeling that something was wrong.

"Fourth Prince, why don't we ask our gunners to come over and take a look? They don't know how much medicine to use, but they know the range."

Manggurtai was very dissatisfied with this suspicious bondservant and said angrily:

"I've been listening to you blabbering on and on, Li Yongfang! It's our turn as the Zhenglan Banner to charge into the enemy line, and without cannons to break through, do you want me to end up like Amin, with all my men dead, and then be crippled by the Khan?!"

Li Yongfang never expected Manggurtai to say this. His face was gloomy. He felt that his enthusiasm for the Great Jin was seriously hurt. He was so angry that he couldn't speak.

At this time, two Goshaha ran up from the top of the city wall. Li Yongfang recognized one of them as Baturu of the Later Jin Dynasty, the Khan's personal guard.

"The Khan has ordered the Blue Banner to continue attacking the White Spear Soldiers' Shield Formation. If they fail to conquer it within an hour, all Niulu Ezhen will be beheaded!"

Manggurtai was upset. He could not disobey the order of the Khan, but he did not want to lead the Zhenglan Banner to fight against the White Spear Army.

He didn't want to lose thousands of men and end up becoming another Amin.

"Go back and tell the Khan that after the bombardment of the city walls is over, I will attack. Don't worry, the Blue Banner will definitely kill all the White Spear soldiers."

The two Goshiha looked at the Fourth Beile coldly without saying a word. They stayed on the top of the city for a while and saw the gunner pouring gunpowder in front of the gun carriage with his back to the crowd. Goshiha had something to do and was too lazy to ask more questions. He turned around and left in a hurry, glaring at Li Yongfang before leaving.

Manggurtai turned around and shouted to the gunner in stiff Chinese:
"fire!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the gunner raised a burning torch and lit the fuse at the rear end of the two general cannons one by one.

Li Yongfang suddenly remembered something and shouted:

"You just said, what's your name?"

"Mao Wenlong, the garrison commander of Yiyang, who are you?!"

The gunner didn't even turn his head, looking at the crackling burning fuse, and said with a smile:

"He is my brother."

"I've told you so many times, you idiots, worse than pigs and dogs, who only know how to kill people. How come you can't understand what I'm saying?"

"Mao Wenlong is my brother. We came to Shenyang to defend the city. He's at the East Gate, and I'm at the North Gate. Do you understand now? Hahaha."

Li Yongfang shouted:
"Hurry up and cut off the cannon wick!!!"

The two armored soldiers were stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward and slashed with their swords.

Mao Yunlong stood there, holding a torch in his hand, laughing at the three people.

Li Yongfang's face showed an expression of extreme panic.

The fuse burned out.

(End of this chapter)