Chapter 89
Those transporting the Red-coated Cannons were all the elites from Wuzhen Chao-ha. Zhu Ci paid no mind to strategy or tactics, leading the charge directly, while the Kunpeng Squad and Jiao Long Squad used Exploding Arrows, the newly recruited soldiers were given some grenades to throw forward.
After all, throwing grenades was relatively simple; with training, there were always people suited for it, while those who were unsuitable and hadn't been assigned grenades stayed in the rear to provide support.
Zhu Ci lowered his body, riding his horse as he spoke, "Aim at the cannon barrel!"
Those Wuzhen Chao-ha had already picked up their birdlock guns and adjusted the positions of the cannons.
The Wuzhen Chao-ha commander's intelligence might have been a bit delayed, as he did not yet know that the Ming army possessed new firearms; the first round of Exploding Arrows combined with grenades left him dazed.
He did possess some ability, as he immediately reorganized his men; however, those cunning Ming cavalrymen continued to linger just outside the range of the Birdlock Guns.
As it happened, their arrows were quite special, capable of dealing heavy damage with every strike; most importantly, their target was to destroy the cannons.
The Wuzhen Chao-ha commanders had already done their utmost to protect the cannons, yet flesh and birdlock guns were incredibly fragile in the face of firearms.
Their cavalry was indeed formidable and could charge straight ahead, but before they could even reach the front, those infantrymen would throw out something very strange that would blow them all away.
Finally, it forced them to bring out the Red-coated Cannon for use.
However, Zhu Ci was not afraid of them deploying the Red-coated Cannon. This thing weighed two tons; whether moving or aiming, it required a vast amount of time. That was why it was called a powerful siege weapon, but in daily use, especially against a flexible unit like Zhu Ci's, it was difficult to be effective.
Wuzhen Chao-ha only wanted to force Zhu Ci and his group to retreat; however, what they didn't expect was that the opposition not only failed to retreat, but instead brought out new things, each of which was something they had never even seen before.
What Zhu Ci brought out this time was a Single-shot Rocket; he had been holding back just now because he was afraid that if he revealed it, the Qing Army would not dare to bring out the Red-coated Cannon.
Now that the Hongyi Cannon has appeared, he truly intends to start blowing up the cannon barrels this time.
It was impossible to expect a Single-shot Rocket to blow a Red-coated Cannon to pieces directly, but if even a single rocket entered the barrel, it would certainly destroy the interior of the Red-coated Cannon. Even if the damage wasn't visible from the outside, it would be very easy for it to explode when actually used.
Zhu Ci actually hoped the Qing Army would continue using these Hongyi Cannons that had been hit by rockets, so once he saw the timing was right, he simply led his men away.
Wuzhen Chao-ha could not abandon the Hongyi Cannons to pursue them, the people they sent for reinforcements.. those heading toward Huaian were intercepted and killed by Zhu Ci, while those fleeing toward Yangzhou were beyond help.
When the news that Wuzhen Chao-ha had been ambushed arrived, Dodo was having a meeting with his subordinates; the arrival of the flood had disrupted all the deployments, leaving him somewhat irritable.
However, he was a veteran of many battlefields and knew that any accident was possible. After repairing the dam and setting up a temporary pier, he waited single-mindedly for the arrival of the Red-coated Cannons.
So now he was being told that several of the Red-coated Cannons had been destroyed by the enemy, leaving only two?
Dodo frowned, "Where on earth did this army of Pseudo-Ming come from?"
Mm, the Qing Army referred to the court in the south led by Zhu Yousong as Pseudo-Ming. They only recognized the Great Ming's Emperor Chongzhen; after this emperor died, the Great Ming ceased to exist, they were now the legitimate nation of this land.
Originally, they had planted many people within Pseudo-Ming, they had indeed succeeded in causing division. Their southward advance had also been smooth; any Ming generals they encountered along the way surrendered immediately upon hearing of their arrival. Everything had been under control, but now, unexpected variables had emerged.
Dodo had already investigated and learned that the one who had previously launched a sneak attack on the military camp and forced them to retreat was the Pseudo-Ming Crown Prince, but why had he never heard before that this Crown Prince possessed the ability to lead troops?
Was it not said that this Pseudo-Ming Crown Prince, just like his father, knew nothing but indulgence and pleasure?
No one could answer Dodo, but anyone with eyes could see that after this Ming army destroyed the Red-coated Cannon, they would either retreat to Yangzhou or head to Huaian.
Then.. where will the Pseudo-Ming Crown Prince go?
Huaian!
Alna said, "He will definitely go to Huaian."
Dodo looked at him: "You know him?"
Alna immediately stood up: "This general has fought this person before. He is bold yet meticulous, his movements are unpredictable, his subordinates are all elite, capable soldiers equipped with firearms I have never seen before. Therefore, I judge that the person who attempted to ambush Wuzhen Chao-ha must be him."
Dodo let out a huff. "He certainly has quite the nerve. Since his target is Huaian, then let us dispatch a troop of soldiers to Huaian."
The generals looked at one another, none of them wanting to turn back. Yangzhou was clearly within their grasp; why would they abandon such certain military merit to go to Huaian? If they could save Huaian, they would be rewarded with great merit, but if they lost it.. then..
After a long silence in the tent, Alna stood up and said, "General of State Stabilization, this subordinate is willing to lead troops to Huaian to provide support."
Everyone looked at him with surprise. This man fought with such ferocity and could predict the enemy like a god; none of them had expected him to volunteer to go to Huaian.
However, no one said anything. With Alna gone, it was as if one competitor had been removed. This kid had been on a massive upward trend lately, showing signs of potentially overtaking his superiors, many of Dodo's subordinates were already feeling some dissatisfaction.
Dodo watched Alna with a hint of hesitation. Alna was someone he had recently promoted and was carefully cultivating; he could be considered one of his confidants. If he were to lead troops to Huaian, it would inevitably mean losing a portion of his military merits.
He only took a glance; since the others remained silent, he found it difficult to act. His title as General of State Stabilization sounded imposing, but when it came to actual military campaigns, he still had to consider the Eight Banners Balance.
“Good, take three thousand troops and head there. You must ensure that Huaian does not fall!”
Alna immediately accepted the command: "Yes! Rest assured, General, this subordinate will surely take the head of the Pseudo-Ming Crown Prince!"
Good!" Dodo said. "If you can capture the Southern Ming Prince alive, this General will surely credit you with a great achievement!
Alna lowered his head; he was afraid he wouldn't be able to claim this credit.
The Pseudo-Ming Crown Prince must die!
It was a pity that neither Dodo nor Alna would see their wishes fulfilled for the time being, because Huaian had already changed hands.
Zhu Ci originally lacked some confidence regarding the siege. Although the walls of Huaian were not as formidable as those of Yangzhou, they did not seem like something a rocket could blast through. The city gates would be easier, but the enemy also had bows and arrows, while they lacked one thing: shields.
A miscalculation.
Zhu Ci looked at Huaian. In truth, if he truly wanted to take Huaian, it wouldn't be impossible; he would only need to cut off Huaian's supplies. After all, the surrounding county towns had already fallen into his hands; he had truly mastered the art of using the countryside to encircle the cities.
But if the supplies were truly cut off, what would happen to the people in the city? When that happened, the Qing Army would first resort to plundering the people. He wanted to fight the Qing Army, but he did not want to involve the common folk.
Zhu Ci hesitated for two days, knowing that indecisiveness was the greatest taboo in war, but in the end, he still gave the order: "Try a forceful assault first!"
If the assault fails, then we can discuss other options!
On the day of the assault, Zhu Ci also followed Dodo's example by sending people to persuade them to surrender, but ultimately, it was a regrettable failure.
It wasn't that his persuasion techniques were lacking, nor that the benefits he promised were insufficient, but rather that neither he nor any of his subordinates knew a single word of Manchu!
When Dodo tried to persuade Shi Kefa to surrender, he used the Han Chinese subordinates under his command to write the surrender letters; where was he supposed to find Manchus? Every Manchu he encountered was killed by him!
Fine, surrendering was never an option for him!
Zhu Ci could only lead his men in a forced assault and personally lead the charge to scale the city walls. Nowadays, the city gates were reinforced with metal like iron in addition to wood, so forcing them open was no easy task. Therefore, it would be best to scale the walls first, then have his own men open the gates from the inside.
Climbing the city walls was not an easy task either; the Qing Army were not dead men, their archers were all incredibly skilled. By comparison, the troops led by Zhu Ci were far inferior in this regard.
Zhu Ci turned to Jiang Quan and said, "We don't have shields, so we can only choose to harass them and wear them down; otherwise, their archery will be enough to cause many of us to die."
Jiang Quan immediately patted his chest and said, "Rest assured, Young Master, leave it to us. The Kunpeng and Jiao Long squads are quite formidable at running."
Zhu Ci's training of the troops was basically the same few things. After all, counting from the beginning to now, it hadn't even been half a year, so the things that could be trained were limited; he could only find ways to increase their physical fitness.
Of course, this also had something to do with the lack of equipment.
Just as Jiang Quan and the others were preparing to move forward to lure and harass the enemy, before they could even get close, a sudden, violent gust of wind swept through. Not only were all the arrows fired by the Qing Army blown right back, but many Qing soldiers were even blown right off the city walls by the wind.
What was strange was that the place where Zhu Ci and the others were located only experienced a light breeze and was not affected at all.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: I've done the math, the Qing Army might be having a bit of bad luck lately. *Cat licks its fur, which has been blown into a mess*. jpg
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock~
Chapter 90
Zhu Ci blinked. Watching the tornado rage, he pondered for a long while before simply squatting down and saying, "Let's wait and see a bit longer."
Everyone agreed completely; they couldn't wait, nor could they afford to. Over there, things were being blown into a complete mess by the wind, they would be blown into a mess too if they went over there.
Once this inexplicable gale subsided, Zhu Ci immediately said, "Go, let's scale the city walls while we have the chance!"
At this moment, the top of the city wall was in total chaos. To Zhu Ci's surprise, the Qing Army officers had not organized their archers to continue firing.
This level of quality is quite poor.
Although the gale caused losses, if you don't quickly organize an effective resistance, the losses will be even more devastating.
However, the incompetence of the Qing Army generals was their good fortune.
Zhu Ci did not attempt to scale the city walls; there was no other way, as his body had not yet fully developed. During these past few days of forced marches, he had already been looking for something to keep him alert, feeling as though he couldn't wake up from his sleep day after day.
With his muscles not yet fully developed, attempting to scale the city walls would be nothing more than delivering himself to his death on a silver platter; he was certainly not about to do such a thing.
Zhu Ci led his men to charge the city gates directly, intending to disperse the enemy's forces; while they attacked the gates here, the Qing Army couldn't simply ignore them, could they?
What surprised him, however, was the city gate.. it didn't even require him to attack. Just as he led his men to the gate and was about to launch rockets, the gate opened a small gap on its own, as if someone inside had intentionally let them in.
In fact, it was indeed the soldiers within the city who let them in.
These people were all forced by the Qing Army to defend the city, they saw their own people arriving.. well, perhaps they weren't exactly their own people.
Any army is merciless when it comes to looting civilians, but by comparison, the Han people's own armies are slightly better, as they do not engage in large-scale massacres.
The Qing Army, fearing that their small numbers would make it impossible to control so many Han people, entered the city and began a indiscriminate massacre.
In such a comparison, the people of Huaian would rather let the Ming Army in—it would be even better if both sides destroyed each other!
What are they waiting for? With the city gates wide open, it would be a disservice to the common people inside if they didn't rush in.
So before they could even reach the city walls, they had already rushed into the city.
After entering the city, the common people fled in panic. Zhu Ci shouted loudly, "Look closely! No indiscriminate killing of innocents!"
The Qing Army did not fall within the category of the innocent.
Taking Huaian was much easier than expected; Zhu Ci wouldn't have dared to dream of such smooth success even in his dreams.
By the time he entered the Huaian Prefecture Yamen, most of the Qing Army within the city had been slaughtered. Since their young master forbade them from looting the common people, they could only loot the Qing Army instead.
Zhu Ci didn't even dare to breathe heavily; he immediately ordered the city gates to be closed, the city's supplies to be inventoried, and, while at it, to search for Liu Zeqing's former subordinates as well as officials and wealthy families who had surrendered to the Qing Army.
Following the customs of the Qing Army, they would never spare the Han people unless they surrendered and offered up vast amounts of wealth. In the case of Huaian having already been occupied, those who managed to retain a portion of their family property were either collaborators or had surrendered in a timely manner.
In reality, the situation was even worse than Zhu Ci had imagined. As he made his way toward the prefectural office, he heard the sounds of weeping coming from many households. Once Jiang Xueyan led people to scout the situation within the city, he discovered that many people had died in Huaian.
Not only were nine out of ten households empty, but at most, only half remained.
He looked at the numbers above and found them shocking; Zhu Ci did not remember any historical records of massacres in Huaian, yet even so, the casualties were so heavy.
Then how tragic must the recorded Ten Days in Yangzhou, the Three Massacres of Jiading, the Eighty-One Days in Jiangyin have been.
He had just put down the documents when Jiang Quan came over to report, "Young Master, all those who surrendered to the Qing Army have been apprehended. Among them, thirty-two resisted arrest and were killed on the spot."
“Hmm?” Zhu Ci was somewhat surprised. “Didn't I say to arrest them first?”
Jiang Quan pursed his lips, his eyes turning red, his expression filled with resentment.