Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 312 Hunting Team
The Ming army held its ground, and after half an hour of close combat, the Jin army retreated under the cover of shield carts. As Huang Taiji had requested, they intentionally took away most of the bodies of their allies during their retreat.

"Oh!" After the Jin army went away, warm cheers immediately broke out on the Ming army's position, as if they were seeing off the Jin army that was getting farther and farther away.

At the same time, along with the roar, the Jin army was also sent off by the 3,000-jin Luzon bronze cannons, which could inflict penetrating damage to the shield carts, and the relatively small number of large Portuguese cannons. The large Portuguese cannons ceased firing early, while the Luzon bronze cannons' shells continued to pursue the shield carts until the Jin army was completely out of range, at which point they gave up pursuit.

The Luzon cannon had fired more than a dozen times in a row, and the entire barrel was already very hot. When the artillerymen fished out the debris that had been used to secure the shells in the barrel and cleaned it with a wet brush, the barrel immediately began to sizzle and a puff of white mist emerged.

"Quick! Quick! Lower the drawbridge!" The garrison commander in the northern section hurriedly ran down the city wall along the horse trail and gave orders to the team leader who was guarding the capstan.

"Yes!" The captain received the order and immediately directed his soldiers to move. Two people worked together to hold the handles on both sides of the capstan, and after the other people removed the capstan locks used to fix the capstan, they worked together to operate the handles, causing the noose to slowly move away from the capstan.

"What are you still standing there for? Open the city gate quickly!" Seeing that the soldiers guarding the city gate were still in a daze, the garrison officer walked up to another team of soldiers and shouted orders.

"Okay! Got it." The team leader reacted and took action immediately. He led the others to remove the long and thick wooden bolt, and then pulled inward to open the thick wooden door that weighed a thousand pounds.

"Change of guard!" When the city gate was opened and the drawbridge was lowered, the second group of soldiers responsible for guarding the outer perimeter of the northern section of the city wall immediately marched out of the city in an orderly manner under the command of the captain.

Fengji was a small square city with a walled area of ​​only four li, yet it was crammed with a garrison of nearly 20,000 soldiers. Each section of the wall was garrisoned with one battalion, two divisions, and five divisions, totaling 2,500 fully staffed soldiers, responsible for both defending the city and the surrounding areas. These troops were commanded by a battalion commander.

The division responsible for defending the city consists of ten teams of five hundred people, commanded by the garrison officer himself, while the two divisions responsible for guarding the wild are respectively commanded by two thousand commanders.

When Li Bingcheng, the general, was in the city, these four garrisons were directly under his command, reporting to him directly for any problems or needs. When Li Bingcheng was away, the garrisons were managed by Lieutenant General Zhao Lujiao. Unless ordered by Xiong Tingbi or by the emperor himself, these four battalions, totaling 10,000 men, would not leave Fengji.

In order to maintain morale and combat effectiveness, Li Bingcheng planned a basic strategy of intermittent rotation of defense for the soldiers responsible for guarding the city. That is, when the Jin army retreated for repairs, the city gate would be opened and fresh troops would replace the main force.

At the same time, to prevent the Jin army from sending cavalry to disrupt the formation during the shift, the shift order was first out, then in. Once the second reinforcements were in place, the first main force, which had been fighting fiercely outside the city, would quickly enter the city wall to repair their weapons. As for the main city gate, it would not be opened under any circumstances during the battle. Sporadic personnel transfers could only be carried out on the city walls.

As long as there wasn't a large-scale rout, rotating the troops not only maintained morale but also strengthened the defenders' resolve. After a few rounds of attack and defense, they wouldn't become veterans or elite soldiers, but at least they could transform from drill soldiers who feared blood even when they hadn't seen it into combat soldiers who feared it even when they had seen it.

--------

During the shift at the north gate, Lieutenant General Zhao Lujiao ran along the city wall from the south to the north, and found General Li Bingcheng, who was personally supervising the battle, on the top of the city wall. His mere presence was a boost to morale.

"Greetings, Marshal!" Zhao Luejiao walked up to Li Bingcheng, stood still, clasped his hands together and saluted.

Li Bingcheng returned the greeting and asked, "Have you contacted Deputy General Zhu?"

Yesterday evening, a lookout on the southern city wall spotted several columns of smoke rising from the southeast amidst the dense smoke. Li Bingcheng, upon learning of this, concluded that these might be reinforcements from Zhu Wanliang's forces. However, smoke signals only indicate a general location. Was Zhu Wanliang's troops actually there? If so, what was their current situation? Li Bingcheng had no idea.

In order to find out the situation, prevent the slave chief from confusing the public with tricks, and communicate with the reinforcements as much as possible, Li Bingcheng sent some riders with superb riding skills and courage to go out of the city overnight to communicate.

"Yes." Zhao Lujiao nodded and said, "I've made contact. I just came in from the south gate."

Although the Jin army sent a large number of cavalry to relentlessly drive away the Ming army's scouts, causing great trouble to the messengers and even causing considerable losses, no matter how much Nurhaci thought, as long as he did not surround and lock down Fengji or the reinforcements' base, it would be impossible to completely cut off the Ming army's communication in the Liaohe Plain controlled by the Ming army.

"What's the situation with Lieutenant General Zhu?" Li Bingcheng asked.

"Deputy General Zhu has personally brought 10,000 reinforcements to support us. The defense of Hubi Station has been handed over to Lieutenant General Jiang." Zhao Lujiao replied.

"Ten thousand." Li Bingcheng's scalp itched a little, but he didn't want to take off his helmet, so he just scratched his chin to comfort himself. "How many of them are infantry? How many are cavalry?"

Zhao Lujiao recalled the contents of the letter and said, "8,600 infantry and 2,300 cavalry."

"Where are the Tiger Skin reinforcements now? How long will it take for them to reach Fengji?" Li Bingcheng felt a little irritated as he listened to the garrison officer's almost barking urgency behind him. He thought: If they were all elite soldiers, there would be no need for such urging. They would know what to do the moment the gate opened.

"The location is about twelve miles to the southeast. But it's hard to say when we can get there." Zhao Lujiao said.

"It's only twelve miles, why is it difficult to say?" Li Bingcheng frowned slightly.

"They were held back for a while yesterday by a large force of Nu Chieftain's cavalry. The enemy situation is currently unclear, and they are still conducting reconnaissance. Lieutenant General Zhu has no plans to relocate until the situation is fully understood." Zhao Lujiao added, "The letter also states that if Fengji were in urgent need of assistance, his troops would not sit idly by. Lieutenant General Zhu also hopes that you will hold the city firmly and not rashly risk falling into a trap."

"Hmph. My last name isn't He." Li Bingcheng chuckled. "Let him stay in the camp. He can at least help relieve the enemy's forces."

Upon hearing Li Bingcheng mention He Shixian, Zhao Lujiao asked, "The enemy is already attacking the city. Should we send a message to Shenyang?" "No hurry," Li Bingcheng shook his head. "The enemy is attacking our small city with tens of thousands of men, but they're only attacking the northern section, and most of their forces are unknown. Perhaps it's just a test, or a lure. It could even be a feint, a pretense to lay siege and force reinforcements. Our city isn't in a hurry, and we're not short of food for now, so I won't send a message. Let Crazy He stay in Shenyang until the enemy has launched a full-scale attack on us." Li Bingcheng had received Xiong Tingbi's reply late last night. Xiong Tingbi told him to assess the situation and not to risk fighting outside the city, as reinforcements from Liaoyang and Wujing would arrive soon.

Therefore, Li Bingcheng now possessed considerable strategic fortitude. "Send a messenger to report the current situation of our city and my assessment to the governor. Since Lieutenant General Zhu is stationed in the southeast, send a messenger to the southwest."

"Yes." When Zhao Lujiao received the order and left, the northern section had already completed the change of guard.

--------

Just as deserters often appeared in the Ming army, when the Jin army went on an expedition, there were also many who left the army and went their own way for various reasons.

While the Ming and Jin armies were tearing each other apart with their own flesh and blood under the city of Fengji, in the deep mountains east of Fengji, a group of Jin soldiers who had strayed from their ranks were searching for prey in the dense forest.

"Brother, is it really okay for us not to go back?" A young man dressed in short armor of the Jin army seemed to hear the sound of cannons and roars coming from afar. He couldn't help but feel a little panicked.

The man he called "big brother" was named Hushubu, a member of the Nara clan. Hushubu held a bow in his left hand and an arrow in his right, his sharp eyes scanning the ground, as if searching for something. "What's wrong with that?" His tone told him he was being perfunctory.

"That's right, Erbihe, what's wrong with that? It was your idea to go hunting. You said you'd been living a frugal winter, barely having a full meal, and you wanted to get some meat to satisfy your hunger. That's why my brother and I came with you." There was another person in this "hunting team." His name was Yindahuqi, also from the Nala clan.

These three men were from the same Niulu clan under the Zhenglan Banner, formerly part of the Huifa tribe. While somewhat related by blood, their generations were unclear due to the successive generations. Therefore, they were addressed simply by age, with the oldest being the elder brother and the youngest being the younger brother. Since Erbihe was the youngest, he was addressed by his first name.

During this mountain march, they encountered numerous wild game and prey. Greedy, they snuck out while the army was encamped in the mountains. Their original plan was to return to camp after securing their kills, but by the time they had shot two snow rabbits grazing on spring grass and were about to return, the main force had already departed. So they decided not to return, immersing themselves in the mountains and concentrating solely on their craft.

"I didn't say I wouldn't go back," Erbihe said with a sad face. "The main force might have already engaged the Ming army, and we're hunting. How can we explain this?"

Yindahuqi chimed in, complaining, "What a ridiculous explanation! You're just bored. It would be strange if Fengji were that easy to conquer. What are we going there for? We're just going to get killed. I think this trip will probably be like the last one, returning empty-handed. We might as well take this opportunity to quietly kill a wild boar. We toiled like crazy in Sarhu for most of last summer, building a house for that Jianzhou family, and now we have to find a way to eat some meat."

Building Sarhu City was not without cost. Without the backing of a large nation, Nurhaci had to reduce the productive population engaged in fishing, hunting, and farming to build a new city. Nurhaci had originally intended to plunder northern Shenyang, namely Yilu, Puhe, and even Shenyang, to replenish supplies. However, his looting did not achieve his intended goal. Yi and Pu cities had long been designated as buffer zones by Xiong Tingbi, who was focused on the Shenyang-Fengtian defense line, and they did not hold much population or supplies. The attack on Shenyang was also urgently halted by Nurhaci himself after reinforcements arrived from Fengji, Liaoyang, and surrounding forts.

This resulted in many people involved in urban construction not receiving adequate compensation.

"What if we're discovered?" Erbihe asked. "Even if we don't return to the camp, we have to go home. How will we explain ourselves when they ask us about it? The Khan has strict military laws. I'm afraid he'll chop off our heads."

"Then don't go back! Go and join the Han people." Yinda Huqi curled his lips.

"Are you crazy?" Erbihe was shocked.

"I'm not crazy. Just say we're from the Yehe tribe. Didn't many Yehe people flee south to Shenyang this winter? How would the Ming people know which tribe we belong to? If they could escape, why couldn't we? Don't be so foolish as to tell the truth and insist on sticking to your guns. Isn't it enough to just say you're from the Yehe tribe?" As a member of another tribe conquered by the Jianzhou Jurchens, Yindahuqi didn't completely submit to the rule of Nurhaci's family. The narrative of Jurchen unification that Nurhaci worked so hard to construct hasn't yet taken hold.

"When they see your head, it's like seeing silver!" Erbihe said, "Isn't it said that the Yehe and Tatars in Nantou were presented to the emperor as trophies by the Ming army to seek rewards?"

While Nurhaci was taking in Mongolian refugees, he was also widely publicizing the "tyranny" of the Ming army. However, the Ming army did not really do what Nurhaci advertised, so the effect was relatively limited.

"You believe that?" Yinda Huqi was one of those who didn't believe this kind of propaganda. He shrugged and said, "Last year, with all the big battles, we only captured a few hundred Han slaves. We're still exaggerating. We talk about conquering cities and attacking countless strongholds, but didn't the Ming army still recapture Yi and Pu?"

"You are not serious, are you? About surrendering to the Ming Dynasty?" Erbihe frowned.

Yindahuqi held his breath in silence for a long moment before shaking his head and letting it out. "Of course not. I just want to hunt a wild boar or a deer and have a few good meals in peace and quiet."

"I'll pretend I never heard you say that. And don't tell anyone else." Erbihe touched his forehead. In fact, he was already a little shaken. Because if he continued like this, there was a high possibility that he would be executed as a deserter.

Erbihe looked at Hushubu. "Brother, how are we going to report this? We need an explanation."

"Just say that you met a spy from the Ming army, and because you were thinking about catching him, you accidentally fell behind." Hushubu's attention was still on finding traces.

"Where did the spy come from?" asked Erbihe.

"Any Han Chinese he captures can become a spy," Hushubu said as a matter of course.

(End of this chapter)