latelenovela Chapter 114 Before the Start of the Land War
Chapter 114 Before the Start of the Land War
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South Garden.
Hearing Liang Xiaoming's report on the results of the naval battle, Liu Ye and the others were greatly encouraged. Although they knew their naval power surpassed the level of this era, they were still apprehensive before it had been tested in actual combat. Unexpectedly, the results exceeded expectations: Liang Xiaoming had originally predicted that he could sink one-quarter to one-fifth of the ships, but in reality, more than one hundred ships were sunk on the spot and in subsequent pursuit, which was close to half of the fleet's total number. In addition, more than one thousand prisoners were captured.
According to Liang Xiaoming's estimate, there were at least 5,000 government troops who died or surrendered; in other words, at most 10,000 escaped.
Liu Ye pondered: Adding the three hundred guards recruited from the former prefect's former guards, the expanded guard force would only number around a thousand, a mere ten against the remaining ten thousand government troops—a 1:10 ratio, still a significant numerical disadvantage. Moreover, this time the government troops were all battalion-level soldiers, a considerable portion of whom were elite troops from the governor's and viceroy's standard battalions, far from the ragtag group of garrison troops, peasants, and local militias cobbled together by Qiongzhou Prefecture last time.
"This naval battle was well fought, eliminating 30-40% of the government troops. However, there are still nearly 10,000 men left. What do you all think we should do to counter this?" Liu Ye wanted to hear everyone's opinions.
Shi Ying stepped forward: "Our side has only about a thousand men at most, facing more than ten thousand. The only way to win is to rely on our firearms advantage to defend and wear down the government troops as much as possible."
Yan Guang agreed: "The enemy outnumbers us, Shi Ying is absolutely right. Our firearms are far superior to those of the government troops, which is our greatest advantage. Although I am not clear about the situation of the Guangdong troops, the so-called elite troops in Nanjing only have Hongyi cannons and breech-loading cannons, not many muskets, and they mostly rely on bows, arrows and swords."
Liu Ye rested his chin on his hand and pondered, "My guard is an all-firearms unit with light artillery support. If we are to defend a position, we will have a great advantage. The question is, where will we defend? Lingao County?" At this moment, he regretted it a little. It seemed that the city walls of the county had been demolished a bit too early.
Yan Guang seemed to know what he was thinking and immediately shook his head: "Since you want to take advantage of this great victory to accept the pacification, even if the county walls are still there, it is better not to rely on the defense of Lingao County. This will inevitably raise suspicion of capturing the county, and after reporting to the court, the pacification will be much more difficult. It is best to rely on Bo Fu to give the government troops that are suppressing the rebellion a way out, and give the governor's office a way out. In this way, there will be room for maneuver in the pacification."
"But without relying on the city walls, how can we defend on flat ground? The government troops are coming from all directions. How can we withstand ten times our strength?"
After considering it for a moment, Liang Xiaoming suggested, "Why don't we build a bastion outside Bofu?"
A bastion? Liu Ye paused for a moment, then asked, "Is it one of those star-shaped castles in Europe?"
"Exactly. A bastion is a type of ancient fortress. In essence, it transforms a fortress from a convex polygon into a concave polygon. This way, no matter which point of the castle is attacked, the attacker will be exposed to the fire range of two or three bastion faces. The defender can use crossfire to launch multiple attacks. Compared to ordinary city walls, this defensive method is much more efficient."
"But the government troops must have already arrived at Qiongshan by now. They can rest for two or three days at most. If they are efficient, they can attack within seven or eight days, including the time spent marching. Is it too late to build a bastion at this time? I remember that European bastions are all made of stone or brick. Even if we build a small one, it will probably take several months."
Liang Xiaoming said, "No need. Just build a two-person-high fortification and then pile it up with earth. Then, build a top with red bricks and pour cement to make it easier to deploy artillery."
“Hmm, that’s a good idea. But how do you get in and out of a mud fortress? You can’t exactly hoist it up with ropes, can you?” Liu Ye asked.
Although Li Ergou was a contractor who came to the profession later in life, he had done a lot of infrastructure projects and had considerable experience in civil engineering. He suggested, "We can make a doorway, with the frame made of bricks and stones, the concrete poured, and the top made of sturdy wood placed horizontally. This way, the mud wall can also have a doorway for people to enter and exit."
Everyone praised the method as feasible. In this way, personnel and artillery could be transported into the fortress.
While Liu Ye was deploying countermeasures, in Qiongshan County, within the prefectural city, He Rubin, the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong crossing-the-sea army, was considering how to salvage the situation.
After being attacked at sea, He Rubin escaped the battlefield in a humiliating manner, saving his life and most of his troops. Upon arriving in Qiongshan, he was overwhelmed by the thought of losing so many troops before the war had even officially begun. He felt he had not only failed the governor's trust, but his reputation and future might also be ruined. In a moment of despair, he attempted suicide to atone for his sins, but was stopped by his personal guards and staff at great risk.
His advisors reassured him, "Fortunately, most of our forces have been preserved. General, do not be discouraged. The more the enemy relies on warships, the more it shows that their land combat strength is limited. If we send over ten thousand elite troops to attack them by land, we will surely win."
He Rubin agreed. Although the bandits' ships and cannons were extremely powerful, they couldn't simply move the ships onto land. Once on land, the battle would be decided by who had more troops. Although he hadn't yet taken a headcount, he had at least eight or nine thousand men. If he mobilized the local garrison troops and militia, he could still muster more than ten thousand men.
Thinking of this, his mood improved slightly, and he said to his staff, "I originally intended to stay in Qiongshan for a few days to boost the morale of the local gentry and people and to demonstrate the might of our imperial army. However, after suffering such a calamity at sea, morale has plummeted. We must set off immediately, lest the longer we delay, the more demoralized our troops will become."
Those around him echoed his sentiments. As the saying goes, a desperate army is bound to win. Although the army suffered a setback and its morale was affected, the soldiers were sure to hate the enemy to the bone, and their hearts were with the army.
Under this guiding principle, the army crossing the sea counted its troops and prepared provisions with an efficiency rarely seen in the Ming army. It ordered the Qiongzhou Prefecture to assemble a mixed force of more than a thousand garrison troops and local militia, and set off three days later.
He Rubin led his army from Qiongshan and marched forward along the post road. In terms of warfare, he still prioritized prudence, so as soon as he left Qiongshan, he sent out a large number of scouts and spies to gather intelligence.
Chaozhou Lieutenant General Tong Yizhen led a dozen or so lieutenants and more than two thousand soldiers at the front. At the very front were three hundred cavalrymen led by his centurion He Zhanran, who were prepared to attack quickly if they encountered the enemy on the road, thus covering the deployment of the main infantry and firearms behind them.
Cavalry is a very useful type of soldier, but there are not many cavalry available in Guangdong, so the entire army only brought eight hundred cavalry. He Rubin believed that cavalry would not be of much use in Hainan, and since the main strategy for suppressing the bandits this time was to encircle them, bringing more cavalry would be useless.
Huizhou's military commander, Yan Zungao, led 2,000 soldiers to cover the rear. Prior to them was the General's Firearms Battalion—although its commander, Zuo Wuwei, had been missing after a naval attack, most of the battalion's troops and heavy artillery remained, under the temporary command of Li Mo, a centurion. The heavy artillery was mostly pulled by oxen, and there were many carts, so their movement was very slow, placing them second to last. Before the Firearms Battalion was the Ladder Battalion. This was a specialized unit for attacking cities and capturing strongholds; 600 ladder soldiers carried disassembled ladders and various other weapons, serving as the vanguard in case of a direct assault on a stronghold.
Sun Changzuo, the garrison commander of the Zhenbiao Battalion, and Ye Zhengfang led a dozen personal guards, 1,500 soldiers of the Zhenbiao Battalion, and 500 of He Rubin's personal guards to protect the old camp. He Rubin, with his personal guards and some of the main generals, marched ahead of the old camp. Shouts and neighing horses filled the post road, and dust billowed in the air.
Despite the rains of the past few days, the weather has improved slightly in the last few days, and the sun has become extremely hot. Coupled with the heavy dust on the roads, many soldiers ran out of water in their earthen jars and leather bags after only a short distance. Almost every time they reached a river with clear water, the soldiers and their horses would crowd together to drink, creating a chaotic scene of men pushing and horses neighing.
"Tell all the generals to move quickly," He Rubin urged his officers, not letting the soldiers linger by the river for too long, lest they disrupt the ranks and be caught off guard by the enemy.
However, the enemy clearly had no intention of launching a surprise attack. Even under the highly dangerous circumstances of the entire army wading across the river, the scouts found no trace of enemy activity nearby. The sent-out scouts kept bringing back reports that everything was safe, which reassured He Rubin somewhat.
"Order all troops to not delay!" he commanded.
The distance between Qiongshan and Lingao normally takes only two days to travel, but if the government troops travel at an average speed of 20 to 30 li per day, it would take them four or five days.
However, Qiongzhou was different from other places. Not only were the counties and prefectures along the way sparsely populated, but the rural areas were also very impoverished. Unless there were prefectures and counties like Qiongshan and Danzhou with large granaries, it was impossible to supply a large army. If they continued to march slowly according to the old rules, they would only run out of food supplies ahead of time. He Rubin instructed his generals to urge each unit to advance as quickly as possible.
The post road gradually turned inland from the coast. After traveling for a long time, He Rubin saw that the sun was already setting in the west, estimating that it was early afternoon. He looked around and saw rolling hills and mountains in the distance. Not far from the post road was a small hill covered with lush vegetation. He pulled on the reins and spurred his horse to a small hillside beside the post road. His personal guards and generals quickly followed.
He Rubin rode a magnificent Mongolian horse. The saddle, bridle, and stirrups were all made of brass, polished to a gleaming shine by his personal guards before the journey, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight. With his left hand on the reins and his right hand holding the whip, he watched the endless stream of men and banners advancing beside him. The sense of defeat from the naval ambush had lessened considerably, replaced by a feeling of unwavering determination.
"General Tang..." he called out.
"Your humble servant is here." Qiongya Assistant General Tang Yunwen was also among the army this time. As a local military officer of Qiongzhou, he was familiar with the terrain and local customs of various places. Although he was a naval commander, he accompanied He Rubin and advised him on military matters at any time.