Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 96 Duoduo's plan
On the flickering earth, the sound of military bugles continued. The Qing army soldiers rushed towards the earthen wall that kept spitting out tongues of fire like a tide. The armor plates rubbed and collided, making dense clinking sounds.

At this time, they had no choice. Even if they were discovered in advance, even if they faced fierce firepower attacks from the Ming army, they could only continue to charge.

The Ming army's muskets and artillery could kill them, and so could the fierce-looking Bayala soldiers who were supervising the battle and holding swords and guns behind them.

After the dozens of Qing army vanguards left behind more than twenty corpses, the remaining armored soldiers who reacted quickly were all crawling on the ground, and the ladders they were holding were also pressed under their bodies.

After suffering the first round of attacks from the Ming army's guns and artillery, the main force of the Qing army's night attack quickly rushed up again.

At this time, speed is the key to victory. The Qing army must attack the earth wall before the main force of the Ming army in the city arrives to support.

Thousands of Eight Banners soldiers drove almost the same number of surrendered soldiers and launched a swift attack on the Ming army on the earth wall. The surrendered soldiers that Duoduo had gathered earlier were still at the forefront.

These surrendered soldiers rushed to the front holding shields, using their bodies to clear away the caltrops, ghost arrows, traps, and the first three most fierce rounds of artillery fire from the Ming army for the Eight Banners soldiers behind them.

Duoduo and Tulai had previously made careful estimates that these troops could at least cover the Eight Banners soldiers in the rear and rush to the edge of the trench on the earth wall. Under the sudden attack, the Ming army would definitely not be able to exert its full strength.

In the darkness, fierce gunfire continued to erupt from the earth wall. The Red Cannon, the French Cannon, the General Cannon, and the musketeers who had not been involved in the battle all rushed to the top of the wall. The gaps in the breastwork and the battlements were filled with flashes of fire and the sound of gunfire.

Under the threat of swords and guns from the Eight Banners soldiers behind them, these more than a thousand surrendered soldiers charged forward like crazy. Most of the people holding shields in the front had fallen.

During the day, they assisted the Eight Banners soldiers and the Baoyi soldiers, forcing the innocent civilians to ambush and charge. Now that the Qing army has to race against time and the civilians are useless, it is their turn to act as human shields.

However, even though these thousands of surrendered soldiers who served as human shields were holding shields and wearing armor, they were quickly wiped out under such fierce artillery attacks.

Bai Yintu, the general defending the country of the Qing Dynasty, looked at the helmets, swords and guns falling down in front of the front line in the flashing fire. His expression remained indifferent, without even a fluctuation. He then waved his hand to signal the Eight Banners soldiers to continue charging forward.

Like Tulai, he was a veteran who had experienced many battles. He had previously followed Nikan and led troops in Wuhe to contain the Ming army in Huaidong and Huaixi. Nikan was able to endure Hu Maozhen's provocation because of him.

Seeing the crackling flames still flickering on the earthen wall, Baiyintu sent out a Bayala beside him, ready to personally lead a team of Eight Banners armored soldiers to support the battle and concentrate their forces to break through one of the points.

At this time, because the more than a thousand surrendered soldiers blocked most of the Ming army's attacks, hundreds of Qing army armored soldiers had stepped on the corpses on the ground and successfully rushed through the dozens of steps in front of the trench. Even those caltrops and traps that had not been removed were almost all covered and filled by the corpses of the soldiers who fell under the guns of the Ming army.

Etuhun had already dodged to the side by this time. Dense armored soldiers carrying ladders were rushing towards him from behind. Even those armored soldiers charging in the front had begun to rush past him.

He was very good at hiding his tracks, which had almost become an instinct. Looking at his own soldiers falling in groups, Etuhun became even more afraid of this extraordinary powerful Ming army and did not dare to rush to the front.

After another fierce burst of artillery fire, dozens of Ming army musketeers and archers jumped out from the earth wall amid the sound of armor plates rubbing and vibrating. They coordinated with the artillery whose attack power gradually weakened after several rounds of volleys, and jointly attacked the charging Qing army.

The Qing army appeared on the east side of the earth wall like a tide. As the Qing army entered a position thirty steps below the earth wall, some Qing army archers charged and shot at the earth wall. Although their arrows were not accurate at all, they still provided some cover.

The Ming army archers and musketeers who had originally jumped out of the earth wall had to retreat temporarily and find a place to take cover, and their attack power was greatly reduced.

Under the command of the officers, the musketeers and archers fired a volley at the Qing army emerging from the darkness below. The lights of the muskets flashed one after another, and the sound of the gunpowder explosion completely covered up the vibration of the bowstrings.

Not only that, the Ming army behind the earth wall continued to throw out torches, and a burst of military bugles sounded. It was obvious that the Ming army on the wall was estimating the strength of the Qing army by the light of the fire while calling for reinforcements.

Suddenly, a trumpet sounded from behind, and Etuhun knew that the main attack was about to be launched. The Qing soldiers rushed towards the earth wall, but every place they attacked was actually a protruding horse face.

Etuhun had no idea about these strange-looking city walls. He first saw them when he was in Xuzhou City, but the army was not attacking the city at that time, so he didn't know the purpose of these city walls.
In fact, it was not until he reached the wall two days ago that he realized the power of these jagged walls. He finally realized that it was not only the Ming army above that was powerful, but also these bizarre-shaped walls.

But what impressed him most were the Ming soldiers on the wall. They were so powerful, completely different from the Ming army that could be easily defeated when they first entered the pass.

The attacks on the earthen wall continued, and the muskets kept firing, but they were no longer as orderly as at the beginning. From time to time, some cannonballs in bamboo baskets and clay pots were thrown down from above and directly hit the Qing army's surging troops.

With a few loud "bangs", these homemade bombs with amazing lethality exploded almost simultaneously in the surging crowd of Qing soldiers trying to break out. Fire filled the air, and the ceramic jars were blown into countless pieces, flying everywhere. Then, earth-shaking screams erupted in the area centered on several dots.

Dozens of Eight Banners armored soldiers fell down screaming. Some of them were scratched by fragments or even had their eyes pierced by them. They began to run wildly, crashing into and trampling on the surrounding Qing soldiers.

Other Eight Banners soldiers had their armor pierced by the broken stones, and those who were hit in the vital parts also fell down screaming, with blood oozing out of the holes.

Etuhun had experienced the power of this kind of artillery shells two days ago. On that occasion, he was leading a group of civilians and was about to rush to the edge of the trench. As a result, the Ming army on the wall directly threw down two bamboo baskets filled with artillery shells. The exploded rubble directly broke the protective plate of the shield car and killed and injured more than 20 civilians.

One of his armored soldiers was also killed by this thing. The broken tiles and the stones inside, with the help of gunpowder, could directly injure people around it.

Fortunately, these bamboo baskets and earthenware jars are quite large and look very heavy, so they cannot be thrown far by manpower alone.

At the same time, the Eight Banners armored soldiers who were in the front fell one after another under the attack of muskets and arrows. The armored soldiers behind them were chasing them with swords and guns, and kept rushing forward. Many people were pushed and squeezed into the trench before they could set up ladders, and died on the sharp wood.

Under such a fierce attack, the first batch of hundreds of Qing soldiers who charged were quickly wiped out. Screams continued to be heard on the ground, and the formation and command became even more chaotic. The people who rushed in the front were immediately pushed down by the scattered ladders set up in front of the trench.

At this time, Etuhun was also frightened by the fierce counterattack of the Ming army. Through the flashes of fire produced by the gunfire, he saw the densely packed Ming army attacking with weapons on the earth wall. He was even more horrified and still lay on the ground, in the name of waiting for an opportunity to fight, but in fact he did not dare to get up at all.

But those Qing troops who actually charged had no choice. As long as the attack bugle sounded, they had to continue moving forward.

However, as the number of musket shots increased, the defensive power of the earth wall seemed to begin to weaken, especially since the reinforcements from the rear had not arrived yet and there was no way to increase the firepower.

The Qing army's armored soldiers, who had been stagnant and had not even climbed the ladders, immediately began a new sprint at this time. They stepped on the bodies of the fallen armored soldiers and quickly set up more than a dozen ladders in front of the trench. They used their hands and feet and rushed upwards while howling.

As the Qing army attacked with ladders, the Ming army on the wall not only fought back with muskets and arrows, but many armored soldiers also began to climb the wall directly to lift the ladders, or attacked with spears.

On the trench, ladders were set up by the Qing army, then overturned by the Ming army, but then immediately put back up. The garrisoned Ming army also continued to throw down wooden planks from above to attack the Qing soldiers who were stepping on the ladders and rushing forward.

Seeing this, Etuhun quickly rushed to the bottom of the ladder. At this time, countless Qing soldiers were crowded at the edge of the trench of the first earth wall, and the shouts of killing were deafening around him.

Armored soldiers kept falling from the ladders with screams, and were killed by the sharp wood in the trenches. The screams, wails, and the sounds of muskets and bows and arrows mixed together.

Thousands of elite Qing troops attacked for so long but still failed to breach the first earthen wall. A night assault on a wall would also be no easy task.

At this time, the Qing army archers in the rear also began to shoot to cover, and the Ming army's long spears kept extending and stabbing at the corners of the earth wall. The Qing army who climbed up the ladder began to fight back, and some Ming army soldiers on the wall began to be stabbed, and then lost their strength and fell into the trench.

At the same time, the huge movement east of Chaoyang Gate also gave a clear signal to the Qing army in other places. They also launched a night attack in an attempt to disperse the Ming army's strength and make the defenders in the city make wrong judgments.

Baiyintu looked at the attack that had finally made some breakthroughs, then dismounted and prepared to lead his subordinate Bayala to personally supervise the battle. The firepower of the Ming army was far less powerful than during the day, and they definitely had not yet reacted.

He did not dare to be careless when dealing with these Ming troops, especially since a night attack had little chance of success. If it were not for the support of Tulai, Bolo, Nikan and others, he would never agree to it.

But now it seems that there is still a chance of winning. At least the defenders on the earth wall have revealed a flaw. As long as they attack in one go before the reinforcements from the city arrive, everything will be possible.

In front of Baiyintu, shouts and cries of killing were deafening, and the sound of gunfire on the earth wall seemed to be much quieter, but there were still flashes of fire from time to time. Most of the Ming army's musketeers had given up shooting in the dark at this time.

Despite their intense training, they were still struggling to reload and reload in the dark, lacking sufficient light. Some even lost their cleaning rods before firing a single shot. Furthermore, with the enemy already within sight, firing with their rifles was far less effective than thrusting with them, so the musketeers all switched to long spears.

After the Qing army lost hundreds of armored soldiers, someone finally climbed up the battlement of the first earth wall, but was soon stabbed by the oncoming Ming army's spears and fell from above with a scream.

The Qing army archers under the wall had already formed their battle formation and kept shooting arrows at the earth wall, but because the Qing army armored soldiers had already rushed up, they did not dare to fire at will.

Under the relentless Qing attack, some armored soldiers began to scale the earthen wall and engage the Ming troops above. Seeing this, Baiyintu dispatched a reserve group of armored soldiers, demanding they continue to intensify the offensive. He had to capture that section of the wall as quickly as possible to truly achieve a breakthrough.

In the darkness, subsequent Qing army soldiers continued to surge up. The Ming army on the first earth wall had fought continuously and suffered heavy losses. There were not many reinforcements behind the earth wall, and they had just climbed up the wall and joined the battle.

Between the two earthen walls outside Fengyang City, in addition to the trenches, there were places for soldiers to rest and wait, and trench passages with thick wooden boards for soldiers and equipment to be deployed. The distance between them was only about thirty steps.

On the inside of the earth wall, the most important thing is that every twenty steps, there is a trapezoidal slope with a very gentle slope, which ensures that the soldiers under the wall can quickly climb up the wall and engage in battle.

In fact, even if the Qing army attacked the first earth wall, it would be difficult for them to gain a foothold because they were completely exposed to the attack of the second earth wall. If only the Qing army was left on the earth wall, they would be faced with hundreds or thousands of stone bullets.

On the second earth wall, there were more than 20 French cannons produced by the Ming army's "Yingtian Weapons Bureau", general cannons and three four-pound cannons purchased from Guangdong. Together with the musketeers behind the breastwork, it was basically impossible for the Qing army to hold it.

But at this time, more and more Qing soldiers climbed up the first earth wall, and the Ming army gradually began to lose its strength. In the end, they had to retreat according to the plan, fighting and retreating.

Etuhun was at the foot of the ladder, urging the armored soldiers behind him to continue charging, but he himself did not follow and squeeze forward.
Seeing more and more armored soldiers on the earthen wall, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He had never imagined the tenacity of these Han people. Also, these earthen walls looked ordinary, with just a few more horse-faced soldiers, but they were so difficult to conquer, which was beyond his expectation.

However, just when he thought that the seemingly indestructible earth wall had been breached and the siege was about to end with his victory, a series of gunshots suddenly broke out from the second earth wall.

In an instant, many of the armored soldiers who had just climbed up the earth wall had barely stood firm when they fell down screaming amid the sound of gunfire. Many were hit by flying shells just as they reached the top of the wall and fell into the trench behind them. Countless ladders climbing the wall were knocked over by the corpses of the Qing soldiers, and screams rang out one after another.

Under Etuhun's incredulous eyes, the Qing soldiers retreated again and again, and the scene of them falling off the earth wall one after another was repeated.

Under such a fierce attack, the remaining Qing troops who climbed up the earth wall quickly fell into a trench full of corpses, and were then stabbed to death by sharp wooden sticks that were almost five feet long below. After sporadic fighting, the first earth wall was recaptured by the Ming army.

In an instant, the first earth wall that the Qing army had finally conquered with so much difficulty suffered a drastic change.

Hundreds of Qing soldiers who had just rushed up became sitting ducks without any cover and were indiscriminately killed by the Ming musketeers on the second earth wall with guns and cannons. They were then driven back by dozens of spearmen who took advantage of the situation and rushed up again.

At this time, not only Etuhun, but also Baiyintu could not accept it at all.

Duoduo, who was also present at the battlefield, was stunned by the scene, as if he couldn't believe it at all.

He estimated that he had lost at least more than a thousand armored soldiers, most of whom were Eight Banners soldiers. But the earth wall that he had finally captured was taken back by the Ming army. How could this be possible?

Originally, after seeing the battle situation just now, he still held a glimmer of hope, thinking that he could capture the earth wall tonight, but now, he was completely hopeless.

Under such a blow, Duoduo, who always boasted of having experienced many battles and had seen all kinds of storms, felt deeply powerless. His once sharp mind suddenly went blank, as if he had nothing to think about!
Tulai was also standing on horseback at the edge of the moat outside the city, accompanying Dodo and personally supervising the night attack. Seeing the fierce battle before him and Dodo's performance, he realized the seriousness of the situation.

In his opinion, the enemy's strength is not the most terrifying thing. The unreliability of his own commander is more serious than anything else.

"Your Highness, it's time to slowly withdraw Baiyintu. The Ming army is victorious this time and will most likely take advantage of the chaos to pursue us. As long as they catch up, we have a chance of victory."

Seeing that Duoduo didn't say anything and his face was still very ugly, Tulai couldn't help but feel worried, and then he said:

"Your Highness, the Ming army's city walls are not so easy to capture. It's nighttime now, and it's difficult to mobilize troops. If we mobilize unplanned troops to attack, I'm afraid we will lose our composure!"

Tulai was deeply worried that Duoduo might act impulsively and not follow the original plan, and he even regretted supporting his decision. Since the beginning of the southern expedition, he had been very worried about this commander who lacked a firm will.

Duoduo took a while to calm down, and his expression finally changed. After all, he had fought for so many years, and although he was surprised and powerless, he was not so incompetent that he didn't even have this kind of mentality.

Moreover, the current situation was originally within his plan. After all, he knew it was impossible to capture Fengyang City by relying on a night attack. This was just a bait he threw to lure Zhu Cilang into battle.

"Well, this is the only way now!" Duoduo pretended to be calm, as if he had not been broken by the counterattack of the Ming army, and said in a deep voice:
"By now, Emperor Ming should have climbed up the city wall. Seeing the favorable situation, he would definitely be fooled, definitely..."

When Duoduo, Bolo and Tulai planned this matter, they did not tell Nikan, Tunqi, Baiyintu, Kong Youde, Geng Jimao and others in advance, in order to make things more real, just like the siege of the city a few days ago, so as to avoid being discovered by Zhu Cilang.

They now did not dare to underestimate Zhu Cilang at all. They tried every possible means to make everything foolproof, for fear that Zhu Cilang would see through them at a glance. The two were really scared.

As expected, what the two guessed was correct. Zhu Cilang had already arrived at the top of the Chaoyang Gate and was looking at the light flashing in the east in the dark night.

"Your Majesty, Duoduo has launched a full-scale attack. Large numbers of Qing troops have appeared on the east, south, and west sides. However, except for the east, the Qing troops in other places have not been able to reach the trenches."

Chen Fu is the person in charge of the city defense tonight. He has been staying in the city tower. As soon as the unusual movement appeared in the east of Chaoyang Gate, he immediately began to mobilize troops for defense. He is very familiar with the military situation of all parties.

"Looking at the situation at the East Gate, Duoduo is very likely to use all his strength to try to break through the city by night attack. I have already transferred the 2000th Headquarters of the Tianwu Left Camp. The troops on the second wall are also sufficient, and they will be able to launch a counterattack soon.

Even if the Qing army managed to storm the earthen wall, there is a trench behind them. At a distance of a few dozen steps, the artillery on the second earthen wall is enough to inflict heavy damage. The 2,000th Headquarters of the Tianwu Left Camp is now basically fully staffed and can definitely repel these night raids by the Qing army."

"Duoduo is attacking from three sides, trying to trick me into splitting my forces so I can prepare for the breakthrough I really want!" Zhu Cilang nodded, agreeing with Chen Fu's plan, then smiled and said:
"However, have all troops continue to climb the wall as planned, to experience a true nighttime battlefield. At the same time, have the military judges and the training team provide adequate oversight. I want to see who performs poorly and makes numerous mistakes under these circumstances."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Chen Fu received the order and immediately turned around to give instructions to the messenger beside him.

At this moment, two messengers suddenly rushed back. Chang Denggui saw this and immediately stepped forward. The two messengers reported the latest military situation on the front line to him.

After receiving the report, Chang Denggui realized that this was a rare opportunity to fight. He immediately turned around and bowed to Zhu Cilang, saying:

"Your Majesty, the latest military intelligence has arrived from Chaoyang Gate. The Qing troops attacking the earthen wall to the east were severely damaged by artillery fire and were quickly repelled. However, the Qing troops from the rear are still pouring in. Should we dispatch more troops?"

"The Qing army was repelled so quickly?" Bai Yongfu was surprised when he heard this. Looking at the situation in the east, he thought there would be a tough battle.

"Such important military intelligence should be correct. However, the Qing army is strong, and things are likely to turn around. But they are indeed at a disadvantage now."

Chang Denggui nodded, and then continued to say to Zhu Cilang:

"Your Majesty, I believe we can seize this opportunity to launch a counterattack and expand our victory."

Zhu Cilang raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this, and hesitated. He thought for a moment, then looked up at the generals gathered around him. He found that many of them were eager to try after hearing the news that the Qing army had been repelled.

　Thanks to the book friend "Yuekenlu Dazhuang" for the reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)