Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 512 Ping Liao (6)

The person stationed in Jinzhou City was Wakda, a member of the Qing royal family. After Baiyintu left, Wakda knew that there would be no more reinforcements in Jinzhou.

Wakda was a member of the Zhenghong Banner, grandson of Nurhaci, and fourth son of Daishan. In the first year of Shunzhi, he followed Dorgon into the pass to attack Li Zicheng. In the third year of Shunzhi, he was awarded the title of Third-Class General of the State. He also followed Prince Yu Duoduo to fight against Tengjisi and Tushetu Khan of the Sunite tribe who had defected from Khalkha Mongolia. After returning victorious, he was promoted to Duke of the State. In the fifth year of Shunzhi, he was awarded the title of Prince of a County.

Although Wakda did not have any outstanding military achievements, he was also a veteran who had fought on the battlefield for more than ten years. Moreover, he was a member of the Qing royal family. The Qing Dynasty was now in turmoil and outsiders could no longer be trusted. In Jirgalang's heart, only members of the royal family could be trusted.

When Zhao Yongping was filling the trench, Wakda had thought about leaving the city to attack, but there were only 7,000 soldiers in the city. He might be able to defend the city for a while, but if he left the city, if something went wrong, then the task assigned to Wakda by Jirgalang to defend Jinzhou would fail. Wakda was not afraid of death, but he was afraid that he would affect the state affairs because of himself.

After the city wall was blown down, Wakda stayed up all night and ordered his subordinates to build a one-meter-high wall at the gap with stones and wood. Although this temporary wall was not very strong, it was enough for the defenders to use as a defensive fortification. Moreover, the gap was not a smooth road, and neither artillery nor siege equipment could enter. Wakda was defending against the sudden intrusion of infantry.

At dawn, at the roar of "Attack!" from Hao Yongzhong, his troops moved forward like a raging wave. Amid the sudden and huge sound waves, the overwhelming Qian army was dispatched, and the war officially began.

The defenders at both sides of the gap kept shooting arrows at the Qian army surging in front of them, but the arrows of the Qing soldiers could not exert much advantage on the Qian army which was closely coordinated and protected by shields.

Although there was a gap, Zhao Yongping still built a large number of equipment to fill the gap in the trench. The soldiers would never be exposed to the defenders' firearms, bows and arrows, and rolling logs and stones on a large scale without protection while marching.

Following the front row of siege soldiers were the firearms soldiers. After Meng Jun took control of the interior, the entire country had become Meng Jun's rear base, and the production of many firearms could be freely allowed. Therefore, the proportion of firearms soldiers in the Qian army began to increase year by year.

After reaching the range, the firearms began to suppress the city walls with fire, while the infantry at the front used countless sandbags to form a small slope.

Hao Yongzhong wore heavy armor and went to the battlefield. When drawing lots last night, Hao Yongzhong made a bold statement, saying: "One day! One day I will take down Jinzhou City!"

At this time, more than a dozen Qian soldiers, holding shields, climbed to the highest point of the gap, formed a small formation, shouted killing, and rushed down.

At this moment, there was a crackling sound from behind the gap. It was the Qing army's musketeers who opened fire first.

The ten Qian army soldiers who rushed down first were killed on the spot. Hao Yongzhong urgently ordered to stop the attack and instead gathered more soldiers to rush down again. At the same time, Hao Yongzhong also dispatched musketeers and archers to support the infantry behind them and on both sides of the high point of the gap.

As the assembled infantry began to rush downwards, the battle reached its most intense moment. At this gap, every inch of land witnessed the desperate fight between the two sides. The air was full of smoke and blood, and almost every piece of the messy bricks and stones was soaked with blood.

The brutal battlefield could not stop Hao Yongzhong. After four or five waves of soldiers rushed down, Hao Yongzhong led his personal guards and broke into the battle formation himself. Countless generals followed closely behind him, with great momentum.

Wakda kept shouting, and orders came out one after another, such as shooting arrows, firing guns, firing cannons, or dispatching soldiers to fill the gaps. The continuous shouting made his voice hoarse.

The Qian army was blocked by the Qing army at the low wall. Although it was only one man high, the Qian army soldiers still had no idea where to start. However, human wisdom is infinite. Some Qian army soldiers squatted down, used spears or wood, and used the wood as crowbars in the gaps between the bricks and stones to pry the bricks and stones off the low wall piece by piece.

This low wall was hastily built overnight. It had no glue and was not high or thick. Therefore, it was not long before the Qian army pried, bumped, or pulled at the bricks and stones, and the low wall was full of holes.

The Qian army, armed with all kinds of weapons, crossed the low wall one after another and fought a life-and-death battle with the defenders. Every step forward was accompanied by deafening shouts, and the scene was so noisy that it was enough to make people deaf.

The collision between the two armies produced fierce sparks, the flashing of swords, the whistling of arrows, and the roar of artillery. The Qian army had superior manpower, the psychological advantage of the city being destroyed by artillery fire, and the desire to establish merit, so every soldier in the Qian army was extremely brave.

Wakda has publicized more than once that to defend Jinzhou is to defend the Qing Dynasty and also to defend his own family. Therefore, on the first day of the real fight, the Qing army did not retreat.

"Push forward and drive the enemy troops out of the gap!" Wakda was so anxious that his veins popped out, and the sound coming out of his already hoarse throat seemed even sharper.

The Qian army's muskets and bows and arrows on the high ground were constantly shooting at the rear of the Qing army. Wakda knew that the gap must be the main attack point of the Qian army, so except for the necessary defense on the city wall, almost all the troops were transferred to the southwest.

On the front slope, it was already covered by densely packed Qian army siege troops. They were like ants, with heads surging upward. The Qing army defenders threw logs and stones from the towers on both sides from time to time.

The log could have rolled all the way down the slope, but there were too many people and it was too crowded, so the log could only cause damage once and could not keep rolling down. On the battlefield, the lives of the soldiers on both sides were like firewood, being filled into the melting pot of the battlefield.

On the streets of Jinzhou City, Qing troops gathered in groups behind the low walls, and from time to time large groups of Qing soldiers came forward to fill the gaps on the battlefield.

In this chaotic battlefield, countless brave soldiers emerged. Some bravely rushed into the enemy camp and drew their swords to kill the enemy, while others held shields to block arrows and protect their comrades. Every moment would give the surviving soldiers something to talk about for the rest of their lives.

The battlefield was littered with broken limbs and blood. The cruelty of cold weapons and the suffocating horror were even more frightening than those caused by hot weapons.

"Get out of the way! The cannons are coming!" Just when the situation in front was tense, the Qian army pulled in more than 20 small cannons from the main camp. In Qian Biao's words, this meant that the cannons could also be used in close combat.