Daming Yinghua

Chapter 470: Decisive Battle (VII)

Of course, Nurhaci did not want to withdraw his troops so quickly.

Although they plundered outside Guangshun Pass and reaped a lot of rewards, after returning to Hetuala and dividing the spoils among the various flags, there was not much to show for it.

This time, five banners and more than 20,000 people were pulled out, which must have greatly delayed the farming work of the Jin Dynasty. If Kaiyuan and Tieling were not taken down, it would be a loss.

Fortunately, I tried my best to speak out, and the morale of my children and grandchildren was upheld.

Nurhaci then asked the scout lying on the ground: "Does Ma Lin's team have firearms?"

The scout took out a dirty wig with a bun on it and said, "Reporting to the Khan, I disguised myself as a peddler and approached Malin's army to investigate. There are three-barreled guns, but the Ming army doesn't like to use them. They definitely don't have the long guns and small cannons like our Great Jin."

Nurhaci sneered: "It seems that he really left all the good things in Kaiyuan."

The old Khan turned to Mu Zaohua and asked, "How many of our cannons were destroyed?"

Mu Zaohua said, "Reporting to the Khan, the eleven small cannons we transported can all be used. When I saw the cannons on Kaiyuan City that day, I quickly discussed with General Aobai and pushed our cannons to the side. Although only a few piers in Kaiyuan were blown down, at least the cannons on the city could not hurt our small cannons."

Nurhaci nodded: "So, we just had a bad attack on the city these two days, but if Malin's reinforcements come back, we will start a fight in the wild, with cannons, muskets, bows and horses. I want to see if they can still lift the iron lump on Kaiyuan City and bomb it?"

A group of beiles, both big and small, and Bayala's fierce generals all echoed the sentiment.

Nurhaci listened to the reports of battle casualties from various banners, calculated the total number of white armor, red armor and cotton armor, plus the combat power of Dudu of the Bordered White Banner who had arrived, and without hesitation, ordered each banner to set up camp around Kaiyuan City and prepare to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements.

"Tell the warriors of each flag that the food we brought, the fat sheep we robbed, and the supplies that will be sent by the Yehe tribe are enough to last for a month. It is not the season for harvesting wheat and millet in the Ming Dynasty, so not much food can be sent to the big towns. Kaiyuan City is not small, and there are more mouths to feed. The Ming army will not be able to hold out for half a month and will be trapped to death by us. As long as we cheer up and kill all their reinforcements, Kaiyuan City will belong to our Great Jin. Pass on the order of this Khan, whoever takes Ma Lin's head will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver, five carved saddle horses, and 20 baoyi."

……

In the setting sun, Aobai was gnawing on a deliciously roasted rabbit leg, but his face did not show any sign of satisfaction and joy after eating the delicious food.

His eyes vigilantly followed the two figures, one tall and one short, who were shuttling between the artillery pieces.

Fourteenth Prince Dorgon was closest to the Fourth Prince Huang Taiji among his half-brothers. As the Fourth Prince's family general, the young Aobai had taught Dorgon several times about riding and shooting since last year, and often told him about the fierce battles he had fought with his father in conquering Huluha, which made Dorgon very interested and he even praised Aobai in front of the old Khan.

But during this expedition, Aobai clearly felt that Dorgon was more interested in artillery and muskets, "and he also liked to stick to Zaohua Ezhen and ask him questions.

Aobai threw the rabbit leg bone away, strode to the row of cannons, and asked Dorgon with a smile: "Why don't you go eat, Fourteenth Prince? Is there anything else you want to tell us?"

Dorgon was squatting down, observing the structure of the gun barrel with the clever angle of incidence of the west sun. After seeing enough, he stood up and said to Aobai: "Tomorrow, these guns should not be pushed into Kaiyuan City." "Ah? Why is that?"

Dorgon put on the slightly awkward and funny majesty of a young master: "Aobai, didn't you say you had fought many battles? How can you not understand this? Since the Khan has decided to engage Malin head-on, these cannons must be used sparingly. It's so fierce to bombard those piers and earth walls. What if they misfire when bombarding Malin's troops?"

Aobai was a rough and straightforward person. He did not regard the young prince with a half-grown beard as the real authority as he did Huang Taiji. He blurted out, "This cannon is not the three-barreled gun of the Ming army. How can it be broken? Zaohua Ezhen, isn't it made of high-quality Japanese copper?"

Dorgon's displeasure became clearer.

When attacking Guangshun Pass, he discovered that Oboi treated Mu Zaohua like a master treats a bondservant, and did not take Mu Zaohua's titles of Ezhen of the Ministry of Revenue and Deputy Commander of Wuzhen Chaoha seriously.

Dorgon was not familiar with Mu Zaohua at first, but in the spring of this year, after Wuzhen Chaoha's copper and iron cannon was completed, the Khan took several sons to watch the test of the cannon. Mu Zaohua patiently answered the questions raised by Dorgon and did not treat him as a child and fool him casually.

Later, Dorgon went to the artillery range several times and Mu Zaohua asked him if he wanted to go on the expedition with the Khan to see the artillery blow down the Ming army’s walls or the artillery blow up the Ming soldiers’ horses and cause blood and flesh to fly everywhere. Naturally, Dorgon nodded repeatedly.

One day in late spring, when Dorgon returned from hunting outside the city, he heard his mother Abahai say that Zaohua Ezhen was almost fed to dogs by the Khan. He was horrified and thought that this Han female official would become disheartened from then on.

Unexpectedly, Zaohua'ezhen not only mustered up his energy to go to the war, but before setting out, he asked for an audience with Abahai and suggested that Dorgon go along with him. Fortunately, in the crucial battle when the Great Jin Dynasty directly captured the important city of the Ming Dynasty, he, like his several other banner owners, made the Khan notice his heroism and bravery.

Abahai thought it made sense, so she asked Nurhaci to bring Dorgon with him during the wine-offering ceremony.

Zaohua Ezhen was good-natured and trustworthy. When attacking the city, he let the young man stand on his left and right, explained to him the details of loading ammunition and brushing the boring machine to cool it down, and cheered with him for the collapse of the enemy city. Dorgon's closeness and admiration for Zaohua Ezhen, an adult, inevitably increased several points.

At this moment, Dorgon, who thought Aobai was disrespectful and stupid, rebuked him without hesitation: "Aobai, has your sword never cut the enemy's armor? Has your sword never blocked the enemy's mace? A sword will become blunt if you use it too much, and a cannon won't break if you fire it too much. Are you really stupid, or do you just want to bomb a few beacon towers as a military achievement?"

Mu Zaohua stood up beside another cannon and tried to smooth things over, "Fourteenth Prince, General Aobai wouldn't think so. After all, General Aobai has told the gunners today that if our Wuzhen Chaoha can kill more of Malin's elite troops, it will be a military achievement that the Khan will appreciate the most."

Dorgon rolled his eyes at Aobai and muttered, "That's right, this account is not clear."

Aobai was about to get furious, but after hearing Mu Zaohua's words of reconciliation, his fury calmed down and he thought to himself, realizing that it was indeed the case.

He then endured his disrespect for the young prince Dorgon and acted submissive: "The Fourteenth Prince has taught me a lesson. While Yuetuo Prince is busy with his Red Banner troops, we Wuzhen Chaoha have to listen to the Fourteenth Prince."

Dorgon waved his hand to Aobai and said, "You can leave first. I will look at these artillery pieces for a while."

These two Tartars of noble status had no idea that while they were talking, Mu Zaohua, who was nearby, had quietly taken out a glass bottle, and under the cover of the dim twilight, poured a liquid invented by Xu Guangqi, a civil servant of the Ming Dynasty, into the barrel of the cannon.