nucmednet Chapter 386 Deadlock
Chapter 386 Deadlock
Wang Qinian's spies successfully infiltrated Dengzhou City. At the same time, the imperial army was getting closer and closer to Dengzhou. The rebels withdrew their scattered cavalry and prepared to defend the city and fight the government troops to the death.
On the first day of the ninth month of the eighth year of Chongzhen (1634), the Ming army from all directions arrived at Dengzhou and began to besiege the city. Dengzhou is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces the sea to the north. In order to avoid being attacked by the enemy at night, the commander-in-chief Zhu Dadian summoned his generals and ordered the construction of a wall with mud and stones, requiring it to be "thirty li long, as high as a city wall, and reaching the sea at both the east and west ends", so as to surround the city of Dengzhou.
Upon hearing this order, Liu Ye inwardly refused. In his view, spending enormous manpower and time to build a wall to surround the city was something only a fool would do. He had never heard of a siege being fought like this, and he felt he might be encountering a fake siege.
The Guan Ning Army also raised questions, arguing that doing so would only waste the soldiers' energy and had little value.
However, Zhu Dadian, as the commander-in-chief, disregarded the objections of his generals and forcefully passed the order. Military orders are absolute; regardless of understanding, they must be obeyed. The soldiers of the various Ming armies had no choice but to roll up their sleeves and begin earthmoving work. Even the Guan Ning Army dismounted, and the Qiongzhou Battalion laid down their guns, picked up hoes and shovels, and became makeshift engineers.
After all, there is strength in numbers. Tens of thousands of troops were mobilized and built a wall in just five days, completely surrounding Dengzhou.
It must be said that Zhu Dadian's foresight was indeed sharp. After the siege began, the rebel army within the city frequently dispatched cavalry, using the cover of over twenty cannons mounted on the city walls to launch attacks. One day they would charge out from the east gate, the next from the south, and the day after from the west, making them impossible to defend against. Apart from the Guan Ning Army, the Ming army was primarily composed of infantry. Without the protection of the thirty-mile-long city wall, they would be completely on the defensive under the bombardment of cannons and the charge of cavalry—infantry, if not in formation, would have difficulty resisting cavalry, and once in formation, they would be bombarded by the cannons on the city walls.
With the cover of the walls, the Ming army was able to calmly deal with the rebel attacks. Both sides frequently deployed thousands of cavalry and infantry, along with artillery, to engage in large-scale field battles between the "walls" and the city walls, with victories and defeats on both sides.
Although the Ming army had Dengzhou completely besieged, they were wary of the city walls' formidable firepower and refrained from launching a large-scale siege. Their only option was to adopt a strategy of holding their ground and siege. Some suggested a night attack to Zhu Dadian, but Dengzhou's defenses were too formidable. The city walls were brightly lit, each battlement was manned by five men at night in shifts, with arrows relayed to alert those sleeping. Patrols were also frequently conducted outside the city walls, and even the main streets were off-limits to non-Liaoning residents, with violators subject to execution. A night attack was simply impossible.
The battle had reached a stalemate, and Zhu Dadian, the commander-in-chief, was at a loss. The central command tent was brightly lit all night, and he had summoned various generals to discuss the matter several times, but they could not come to a conclusion.
One evening, Liu Ye was yawning as he returned to his camp from the central command tent. When he passed by Lin Shiyue's tent, he noticed that the lights were on and he could hear whispering coming from inside. He found it a bit strange; were these two girls still awake so late?
Inside the tent were Lin Shiyue and Shimazu Chiyo. For safety reasons, and because of the difference between men and women, Shimazu Chiyo, who was originally protecting him, was assigned to protect Lin Shiyue personally. No matter how tough Chiyo was, she was still a woman after all, and she could also kill people, so there was no one more suitable than her.
Liu Ye asked curiously from the doorway, "Miss Lin, it's so late, aren't you asleep yet?"
The conversation inside abruptly stopped, and after a while, Lin Shiyue's voice came out: "We were just talking about the stalemate in this war. If General Liu isn't in a hurry to sleep, why don't you come in and discuss it?"
Liu Ye hesitated, "Well... it's late. It's not good for a grown man like me to come in." Actually, following his true feelings, he wouldn't mind going in for a while. Being in a military camp surrounded by rough men, it would be great to chat about life and ideals with two girls late at night—a refreshing change. Lin Shiyue's beauty was undeniable; she was a feast for the eyes. Even the tomboyish Shimazu Chiyo, disregarding her personality, was equally beautiful—with her red lips, white teeth, and athletic figure—she and Lin Shiyue each had their own strengths.
The curtain was lifted, and Shimazu Chiyo stepped out, dressed neatly and showing no signs of being about to retire for the night. She bowed and said, "My lord, neither Miss Lin nor I have slept. There is nothing inconvenient about it. Miss Lin asked me to invite you in."
Since the girl was being so proactive, Liu Ye couldn't be coy and happily stepped into the tent.
After entering the tent, a unique fragrance of a young girl filled the air, making Liu Ye feel refreshed and his mind wandered. So much so that he didn't even hear what Lin Shiyue said after he sat down.
Seeing that he didn't react, Lin Shiyue frowned and said, "General Liu, do you think discussing important military matters with me is child's play and you're too disdainful to answer?"
"Huh?" Liu Ye finally realized. "Not at all, Miss Lin, you have great foresight. I admire you very much. How could you think it's childish?" He replied, but in his heart he was thinking, what did she just say?
Lin Shiyue, unaware of his ulterior motives, continued, "Just now, Miss Qiandai and I were discussing the Battle of Dengzhou, and we both felt that this stalemate wasn't going to work..."
Liu Ye then realized what they were talking about. He found it quite amusing that the two girls were up so late at night, worrying about the governor's affairs. However, he remained very serious and said solemnly, "Yes, there are cannons on the walls of Dengzhou. A direct assault would result in too many casualties, but simply besieging the city without attacking is not an option either. This war has already dragged on for two years. If it continues any longer, I'm afraid the Emperor will issue an edict of punishment."
Shimazu Chiyo interjected, "It's just cannons. Our lord has cannons too! I'll never forget the scene when our lord's fleet first unleashed ten thousand cannons at once, leaving Tsurumaru Castle helpless. Why doesn't our lord repeat that trick?"
Liu Ye's heart skipped a beat, but he immediately rejected the idea. First, Dengzhou was not like Tsurumaru Castle; the coastline was separated from the main city by a water fortress, making the distance considerable. Moreover, the walls of Dengzhou were far higher than those of Japanese castles, so bombarding Tsurumaru Castle would be ineffective against Dengzhou. Second, even if naval cannons could reach Dengzhou, prematurely revealing the true strength of the Qiongzhou naval force to the imperial court would not be wise. If a major city like Dengzhou could be easily defeated, wouldn't the Dagu Forts of Tianjin also be easily razed? Would the capital be completely defenseless?
However, Shimazu Chiyo's unintentional remark inspired Liu Ye, who seemed to have caught a glimpse of inspiration.
"It's not good to use cannons at sea, but it's possible on land! Anyway, the thirty-mile-long wall has already been built, so let's just set up the cannons and bombard the rebels' cannons!"