Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 205 Massacre of the city!

One day ago,
The first round of troops of the Ming Dynasty, carrying three large ships and more than 200 small boats, transporting 8,000 soldiers, appeared in the waters of Incheon, Korea.

Because according to the intelligence of the Jinyiwei, the Tartar and Korean troops settled in Incheon after returning from Dengzhou.

Incheon is very close to Seoul, the capital of Korea, only eighty miles away. It had developed into a city during the Ming Dynasty. Porters were constantly loading and unloading goods at the dock.

"This time, we dispatched troops to massacre a city of the Ming court and captured tens of thousands of people. This can be regarded as revenge for Prince Yu."

"Yes, it's a pity that we didn't take Pi Island in one fell swoop, otherwise Prince Yu's spirit in heaven could rest in peace."

"The Ming court now has powerful ships and artillery. Should we also make some preparations for the next step?"

"The freezing period is coming soon. It won't be too late to make preparations in the spring of next year. The woman snatched from the Ming court will also be just in time...haha~~"

Two Manchus and several Koreans were talking in a warship when suddenly a horn sounded, freezing the hideous smiles on their faces.

When they ran out of the warship, they found that hundreds of Ming court warships appeared on the sea and were rushing towards them at a very fast speed.

"Navy, all aboard!"

"Everyone aboard!"

With loud roars, several Manchus and thousands of Korean soldiers entered the boat. The oars moved, and the ship finally started to move, heading towards the Ming warships.

After the last World War I, four turtle ships of Korea sank. Now there is only one turtle ship at Incheon Port, and the rest are all tower ships.

They spread out in a straight line.

"What...what is that black thing?" The Korean soldiers on the ship looked in the direction of the Ming Dynasty warship and pointed in horror.

Ming Dynasty ships!

The same giant ship they saw last time was different this time, with three ships now instead of just one, and they were so tall that they blocked all the sunlight.

On the Ming side, Deputy Admiral Zheng Hongkui ordered, "Aim and fire!"

As the flag bearer waved the flag in his hand.

Rumble~
There was a deafening roar of thunder.

In an instant, wood chips flew several feet high from the North Korean warships. One warship after another was smashed through and then exploded. The violent explosions made the originally gentle sea water boil and roll continuously.

Among the artillery ammunition brought by the Ming Dynasty this time, part of it was the newly produced smokeless gunpowder.

Its power is more than twice that of black powder?
Boom... Boom~
The North Korean warships still followed their previous fighting style, parking many ships together. Every time a flame exploded, it would cover more than one ship, and sometimes even three ships.

The huge force caused by the explosion caused violent collisions between ships and the explosion of gunpowder on the ships.

Between the ships, between everyone, for a moment... screams, panic, roars, and cries, mixed in the loud noise, one after another.

As soon as the shells hit the North Korean warships, a huge hole was created, and seawater immediately poured in.

The Tatars on the Korean warship ordered the Korean officers to ram the Ming ship, but before they got close, they were hit by a cannonball.

The entire ship was broken in the middle, and the mast fell down with it, smashing the Tartars into a pulp as they were stunned.

The scarlet sunset is far less desolate than the sea.

On the sea, broken flanks, bows, sampans... can be seen everywhere.

……

Faced with the Ming Dynasty's artillery, the Korean ships had no ability to fight back at all.

However, the Ming Dynasty's ships did not slow down at all. They ran over the heads of the Korean soldiers who fell into the water and were crushed on the Korean ships like millstones.

First, the Ming Dynasty's small boats landed, and the soldiers from the five major camps jumped down, raised their muskets, and "bang bang bang~" shot down the Korean soldiers who came to surround them one by one.

Then seize the advantageous terrain.

They set up artillery and "served" the North Korean soldiers.

Incheon is not a big city and the population is not large. The troops of the five major camps were equipped with elite equipment. For the Korean troops, they had no time to react and were stopped by the Ming army.

At this time, three large ships also docked, the rear hatches opened, and infantry and cavalry rushed out continuously from inside.

Eight thousand soldiers and horses were unloaded in just two hours. Zheng Hongkui said goodbye to Li Banghua and chose to go back again because he wanted to go back to transport another eight thousand soldiers and horses.

……

"Commander-in-Chief, just tell me, how should we fight?"

"My idea is to take down Incheon first."

After the Ming warships left, Li Banghua first held a pre-war combat meeting with several generals including Zhang Shize, Ma Xianglin, and Huang Degong.

Now that we have landed, considering that the efficiency of fighting city by city is too low, there are only a dozen days left before the freezing period.

Li Banghua decided to select an elite cavalry as the vanguard, and first divide the main force of recruits into the left and right wings, and then follow up to the Korean royal capital, Seoul.

Quick victory!

"The general will obey the order!"

"The general will obey the order!"

"..."

Just then there was a sudden commotion outside, and a messenger came in, "Commander-in-Chief, the Imperial Guards want to see you."

"Oh? Let him come in quickly."

Since the emperor was preparing to attack Korea, many Jinyiwei and Yebushou who were originally active in Liaodong went south and arrived in Incheon earlier than them.

This is not surprising.

But what surprised Li Banghua and Huang Degong was that the people who came included not only the Jinyiwei, but also several women from the Ming Dynasty.

They were no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, their eyes were filled with fear and terror, their clothes were torn to pieces, barely covering their vital parts, and they were shivering in the cold wind.

"This is?"

The Imperial Guard opened his cracked lips and said, "You are finally here. They are the people of the Ming Dynasty, who were captured by the Tartars. We can only save a limited number of them. In order to save them, Captain Chen..."

"Are you the Ming army?" One of the women was pale, covered in wounds, and very weak. She tried to open her eyes, and when she saw the Ming soldiers in front of her, her eyes instantly turned red and tears fell like rain. "Are you here to save us?"

"..." Li Banghua's eyes also turned red, "Yes, we are here to save you."

"There are still many people from our Ming Dynasty in Incheon." The woman pointed at Incheon City. "They don't treat us as human beings. Many sisters died. I have a younger sister, she...she has a mole the size of a copper coin. Please save her."

"I thought I couldn't go back, but I didn't expect His Majesty still remembered us..." The woman was talking when she suddenly coughed violently.

With shaking hands, she pulled something out from her neck. It was a copper coin strung on a rope. "Chongzhen Tongbao!"

"My brother also has one hanging around his neck. My father said that even if he dies, he must remember that we are from the Ming Dynasty. This is money from our hometown. It's so cold..."

Li Banghua's eyes suddenly got filled with sand. "Okay, I promise you, I will definitely find her back."

"Girl, girl..."

Only then did Li Banghua realize that the woman was exhausted, her neck tilted, and she fell asleep forever.

It is hard to imagine what kind of inhuman torture she went through.

Li Banghua placed the Chongzhen Tongbao coin in her hand and said, "Come here, bury her. The ashes should be brought back to the Ming Dynasty the next time the Ming Dynasty navy comes."

"Let her go home!"

Everyone's eyes were red and moist.

……

"Everyone obey orders!"

Li Banghua gritted his teeth and roared like a volcano, emitting murderous intent, "Except for the people of the Ming Dynasty, as well as women and children, no one will be spared. Blood revenge must be paid with blood!"

"Slaughter the city!"

Following the order, the Ming soldiers stopped resting and began to attack Incheon. Sixty cannons were lined up under Incheon.

"Fire!"

"put!"

The smokeless gunpowder shells landed on the city gate, instantly breaking it open.

The pupils of the Manchu Eight Banners and Korean soldiers in the city shrank sharply and they felt their scalps tingling.

Is this the Ming Dynasty cannon?
Five major camps?
Before, they had only heard that the Five Battalions defeated the Eight Banners of Manchu and the Eight Banners of Mongolia, and beat the Mongols south of the desert to the point where they could not stand up, but they had never seen it.

Before they could react, they heard deafening shouts of killing coming from the city.

Thousands of Ming soldiers rushed into the city roaring, holding muskets in their hands, and shot the Korean soldiers one by one. The Korean soldiers could not even get close to them and were knocked to the ground by the bullets.

When they were far away, they had muskets; when they were close, they drew out the big swords behind them and were invincible.

"The difference in combat power between them and the Manchu Tartars is too great."

The Korean soldiers were grandsons in front of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, and the Five Battalions attacked the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty like beating their sons, so the Korean soldiers were truly great-grandsons in front of the Five Battalions.

Compared with the cities of the Ming Dynasty, cities like that of Korea were not even the size of a county town, and a few hundred Ming soldiers were able to defeat them.

So this cannot be called a siege at all, but a one-sided massacre.

The governor of the Beijing camp, Zhang Shize, suddenly squeezed his horse's belly and rode ahead, "Kill!"

Countless roars burst out.

Thousands of Ming soldiers, like a black tide, entered the city gate.

The Ming cavalry entered first, followed by the musketeers. The three of them attacked alternately, reloaded, and fired. Today's Ming musketeers are more powerful than when they fought against the Mongols south of the desert.

Because the rifling has been thoroughly popularized this time, the accuracy is much higher than before.

Dense swarms of bullets came down and hit the wall, driving into it like nails.

Any North Korean soldier who dared to show his head was killed.

Occasionally a Korean soldier would shoot an arrow, but due to the range problem, it was difficult to cause much damage to the Ming soldiers.

The remaining cavalry of Korea had lost all their fighting spirit after the confrontation with the cavalry of Ming Dynasty. Facing the musketeers of Ming Dynasty, they were unable to form any offensive advantage and were hit and fell off their horses.

This is not a battle, it's clearly a massacre!

Blood and flesh splattered, and the sound of killing shook the sky.

The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty continued to advance in the city, killing people and making deafening noises.

In Incheon, the remaining masters, Tartars, and Korean officers were gradually forced into a corner. One of the officials who could speak the Ming language stood up and pleaded:
"We surrender, please spare our lives!"

"Spare your lives?" Ma Xianglin's tone was as sharp as a ghost, and he said coldly: "Do you know? I, the Emperor of the Great Ming, am merciful. Considering that you have regarded me as your father and ruler, I want to show you mercy.

But you led the Manchu Tartars to invade our Ming Dynasty and massacred more than 30,000 Ming people."

"Kill this ungrateful person!"

Ma Xianglin was holding a bloody sword, his armor was covered in blood, and he charged into the city like a bloodthirsty demon with a gloomy look.

The North Korean soldiers were shaking all over, and my hand holding the knife handle was shaking constantly and I couldn't hold it steadily.

There was despair in the eyes of these North Korean officials.

They could not stop the Qing Dynasty's cavalry, and they could not stop the Ming Dynasty's military offensive even more.

I regret it so much. Why did I attack Dengzhou of the Ming Dynasty just for those 30,000 taels of silver?
……

Li Banghua also walked on the streets of Incheon with a sword.

His face was extremely gloomy, and the sound of shouting and killing was deafening in his ears, mixed with the roars of Ming soldiers. The flash of swords and blood rose into the sky, and countless heads fell to the ground.

Why massacre the city?
Zhu Changgan studied all the wars in the late Ming Dynasty and was trying to figure out why these people were so keen on massacres?
Even Li Zicheng, who was known as the King of Rebellion and refused to pay taxes, would point his butcher knife wherever he went.

If he dug a gap, the Yellow River would flood Kaifeng and more than 300,000 people in Kaifeng would be drowned overnight. The bloodthirsty Zhang Xianzhong would massacre the city and the people in Wuchang would be killed, so many corpses would float for hundreds of miles.

Later, he attacked Chengdu and massacred the city three times. The entire Chengdu city turned into a lake of blood, and all the people and animals were reduced to ashes.

Later, the Qing army committed the heinous crimes of the Ten Days of Yangzhou and the Three Massacres of Jiading.

As people of later generations, we have never been able to understand this kind of massacre.

Since the stage of the war has ended, why didn't the victorious side pursue the victory or rest and prepare for war, but instead insisted on massacring the city and treating the unarmed civilians in such brutal ways?

But after Zhu Changgan's research, he found that there were actually deeper reasons.

To disintegrate the enemy's strength.

The cities in ancient times were not the industrial and commercial cities of later times, where citizens gathered for industrial and commercial purposes.

The main function of a city is to be a stronghold of a government or an army.

They have another name, called military town and guards.

That’s right, it was the military farm garrison established by the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.

There are also some called Chengguan, which are evolved from military fortresses at border ports.

Those who lived in the city were either scholars, or the families of bureaucrats and soldiers, or those engaged in industry and commerce, serving the first two types of scholars and soldiers.

So they all have a dark history to a greater or lesser extent, and in the eyes of the enemy, they are not pure ordinary people.

Therefore, in war, capturing the enemy's city and fortress not only has military value, but also has great strategic and practical significance.

In the cold weapon era, the most important factor in war was not money and food, but soldiers.

Everyone is fighting in close combat, so naturally whoever has more soldiers and more reserve troops will be more likely to win.

Therefore, the imperial court increased its own population on the one hand, and weakened its opponent's population on the other. For example, the Qin Dynasty's title system was based on the number of enemy leaders beheaded to determine the rank and title.

In the Battle of Changping, Bai Qi killed 400,000 Zhao soldiers in order to completely destroy Zhao's vitality.

Xiang Yu built a Jingguan with the heads of 200,000 surrendered Qin soldiers, which was an ultimate expression of his military prowess by disintegrating the enemy through massacre.

In the era of cold weapons, whenever a war broke out, everyone would become a soldier, and the people in the city were no exception.

Since the goal is to completely destroy the enemy's manpower, we might as well eliminate the enemy's bureaucrats and military families as well.

……

Before this, even though the Ming court knew that massacring a city could undermine the enemy's power, it had never done it. For example, in the case of the Mongols south of the desert, didn't the Ming court know how to simply kill all of them, leaving the Mongols powerless to fight back?
But it didn't.

On the other hand, the more massacres a city suffers, the better. Because if the massacre is too excessive, the soldiers and civilians in the city will know that they will die anyway, so they might as well fight to the death.

But the Tartars massacred the Ming Dynasty cities again and again purely to vent their extreme psychological desires.

The Tatars lived in the bitterly cold land of Liaodong, where they usually had insufficient food and clothing. When the battle broke out, the soldiers surrounded the city walls for a long time without success, and they were freezing, hungry, and exhausted. Their emotions were suppressed to the extreme, so they urgently needed an explosive venting.

The leaders of the Eight Banners also knew the temperaments of the soldiers.

Therefore, when launching a siege, the general would often use the promise of allowing everyone to freely massacre the city after victory as an incentive. After all, it is not difficult to fulfill this kind of incentive.

In this way, the soldiers who are energized will become extremely fierce. If they can really defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, the general will definitely fulfill his promise when he is in a good mood.

When a city is captured, the entire army will be given three to ten days off, and everyone is allowed to massacre the city.

The soldiers, already blood-thirsty, would rush into the city, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of atrocities before the general could even finish his words.

Not only were the Tartars themselves extremely cruel, but Korea also followed suit and invaded the Ming Dynasty.

How can we not avenge such a deep blood feud?

"Cut off the heads of all the Tartar and Korean generals and cast them into a mausoleum!" Zhang Shize rode on a horse, the spear in his hand still stained with blood.

　Just got back, a little late
　　
　
(End of this chapter)