Chapter 9
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Chapter 9: Great Ming, Invincible Under Heaven!
"Mr. Elliot, I have some good news and some bad news, which one would you like to hear first?"
"The bad news."
"The bad news is that the Third-level Wind Sail Battleship Intrepid, rushing from Dagukou to Beitang, ran aground on the way, causing damage to the ship due to hurried rescue efforts, with some damage to the keel."
"And the good news?"
"The good news is that the Intrepid is currently on a lease, so Prussia should cover the repair costs."
Elliot: puzzled face.
It was a pity that one Third-level Wind Sail Battleship was missing, but it was not a big problem as there were still three others in the expedition fleet, along with cruisers, single-mast boats, armed transport ships, and "Prussia waste" warships, totaling 390 cannons. Among them, 92 cannons of 9-pound could be moved on land as field artillery, while the remaining 18-pound and 32-pound cannons had to stay on the ships.
The warships lined up in a row along the North Bank coast, cannons opened and guns pushed out slightly. Elliot was no longer afraid of the huge Magic Energy Knights of the Ming Empire. As long as he had the warships behind him, the English infantry would not lose.
Commander Elliot proudly boasted about his tactics. He questioned what the Royal Navy was all about, what powerful ships and cannons meant, and what it meant to be an unbeatable maritime power.
The expedition fleet was just a tiny part of the Royal Navy. With Third-level Wind Sail Battleships equipped with 74 cannons, the Royal Navy had over a hundred of them. The mighty English were invincible.
By his side, Hans nodded repeatedly, agreeing that the mighty British Empire was unbeatable. He urged to defeat the Ming Empire quickly so they could go back home.
Elliot looked disdainfully at Hans, asking why he was in such a hurry. He pointed out that Prussia didn’t even send a second-line unit, only a few old ships. He criticized their claim of sending out the entire navy. With so many troops of the English, a decisive battle couldn’t be rushed.
The expedition army formed a formation along the coast, while the Ming army refused to advance from a dozen kilometers away. Both sides were in a standoff, with only occasional skirmishes by scout teams.
On October 22nd, the expedition army achieved a great victory, wiping out a soldier of the Ming army at an unknown burial mound.
On October 23rd, the expedition army won a brutal battle, defeating two enemies at an unknown small mound, with one casualty and one injured on their side.
This standoff lasted for a week, with neither side moving from their advantageous positions.
Elliot started to feel anxious. If the battle continues to drag on for weeks or months, the expedition army won’t be able to endure it. They won’t achieve any victories and it will cost a lot of money to keep supplying them. Queen Victoria will definitely replace him if she finds out about this.
Hans advised him to stay calm and not to attack rashly. They must lure the Ming army over.
Elliot, "You were the one urging me to fight quickly before, and now you’re telling me to stay steady. You’re quite something!"
Hans had thought that the Ming army would blindly rush over, so he thought a quick battle would work. But now it seems the enemy is smarter than that…
Just when the expedition army was worrying about the stalemate in the war, the Ming army was also in distress.
The commander of the Ming army is King Wei Zhuang. His troops include elite soldiers, iron cavalry from Liaodong, and locally trained militia. They also faced some supply difficulties, with delays in the delivery of provisions from the palace and losses in transporting supplies from their own territories.
It’s not a good year either, with poor harvests and various disturbances. Rebellions are happening everywhere. If the troops have a prolonged standoff with the foreigners by the seaside and fail, chaos will break out at home.
The palace has been urging them multiple times. The influential officials in the Forbidden City are nobles from various regions or royal relatives. They don’t want to weaken their power, but they keep pushing King Wei to fight the foreigners in different ways.
Engaging in battle with the foreigners is risky, but it’s also a great opportunity. If they win, King Wei’s prestige will surpass all others, making it easier for him to compete for power and gain benefits when he returns to the palace.
Prince regent King Wei was not in the Forbidden City. Empress Li was in charge, even though she didn’t have real power. She represented the Royal Zhu family at the moment, and the nobles in the court dared not act recklessly.
"King Wei, why are we not fighting?" Empress Li asked.
The nobles spoke in a very respectful manner, using complicated words, but the main point was clear – they criticized King Wei for not taking action.
One of King Wei’s close aides stood up to explain:
"The foreigners are not good at land battles. King Wei plans to lure them to open terrain for a decisive victory with our cavalry."
Empress Li did not say much and continued with the next item on the agenda.
On the frontline.
In the early morning of October 31st, the expeditionary army finally launched an attack. Except for the Polish cavalry moving to the battlefield’s flanks, the rest of the troops advanced head-on.
At one in the afternoon, the two armies made contact. Hans and Elliot were positioned behind the vanguard, their horses standing still while they observed the Ming army’s camp in the distance with binoculars.
The Ming army’s field camp was constructed to a very high standard. The camp of tens of thousands of troops was arranged in blocks, with simple elevated platforms, barriers, and iron caltrops well-placed. The pentagon-shaped camp had ten camp gates, and the gaps between the camps were used for large-scale cavalry movements.
Hans and Elliot both understood that their opponents were not weak opponents like the African Blacks or the feeble natives from America. They seemed to be of Osman’s average level.
The infantry of the expeditionary force advanced in eight battalions. Normally, each battalion would form a front, two wings, and a reserve line of four formations. In case of encountering cavalry, each battalion could quickly transform into a hollow square formation.
The artillery was positioned in the middle and rear of the whole army formation, while the cavalry units were located on both sides of the artillery.
The Poland cavalry led by the dwarf Mantofel was at the easternmost end of the battlefield, waiting on the reverse slope of a small mound for an opportunity.
The Ming army fortified the camp, with light cannons and small cannons set up on the elevated platforms. Over a dozen menacing heavy cannons were placed in the middle of the camp. The infantry stood behind the low walls or barriers holding their guns.
The two Ming army cavalry units appeared in the northwest of the battlefield. One was a light cavalry primarily in blue, with armor only protecting the torso and some officers adding iron arm guards. They wielded curved swords and were known as the Liao Dong Iron Cavalry.
The other cavalry unit was heavy cavalry in red, with full-body armor of red fabric, black base robes, white leg bindings, carrying a bird lance and a long Eastern-style lance. The lance handle was about four meters long, with a sword-like blade of about half a meter, likely belonging to the Imperial Guards cavalry.
The armor rate of the Ming army infantry was very high, wearing predominantly blue three-quarter fabric armor and almost everyone had a helmet. On the other hand, hardly anyone in the expeditionary force was seen wearing armor.
In the 19th century, armor was still important during the era of cold weapons. It could resist bullets from a medium to long distance effectively. However, armor was too expensive. Soldiers were expendable, so they were given a cheap smoothbore gun instead of armor. Smoothbore guns were much cheaper than a set of armor, so hardly anyone equipped their regular troops with armor.
Elliot scanned the Ming army’s formation through the telescope and couldn’t help but admire the wealth of the Ming Empire. They were like rich landlords, outfitting tens of thousands of soldiers with armor. The money spent on armor could have trained another hundred thousand musketeers, his comrades in arms.
Hans remained calm, saying, "We are close to reaching the core of the Ming Empire. It’s normal for Emperor Ming’s elite troops to have such luxurious equipment, just like our Your Highness the Regent’s personal guard cavalry."
Around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, the expeditionary force began the first round of bombardment. The 9-pound cannons, firing from a distance of 1500 meters, were almost completely inaccurate. However, because the Ming army’s camp was so large, hitting something was almost guaranteed.
There was a problem during this first bombardment because some of the 9-pound cannons were naval guns. These guns had smaller solid wheels, and when fired, the entire cannon would recoil, causing the small wheels to get stuck or damaged in the mud. The atmosphere on the scene became awkward.
The strange and unique 5-pound cannons were fired next, and they quickly showed their effectiveness.
Elliot could clearly see the solid iron balls flying out and smashing into a luxurious-looking armor inside the Ming army’s camp, as if targeting a high-ranking general.
The result was…
"Facing a 5-pound cannon head-on? Is this the legendary Sairis War Wolf?" Elliot put down the telescope, looking stunned.
Hans, "Very normal, very normal, Your Highness the Regent of Prussia can even withstand a six-pound cannonball to the face."
The Ming army general was hit on the head by a solid iron ball, but after resisting the magic energy, he did not end up as a headless leader as imagined. He stumbled around a few times, then with the help of surrounding soldiers, he returned to his command position.
King Wei (annoyed), "Who threw that firework!"
King Wei of Great Ming is also a top Magic Energy User, or as they say locally, a cultivator. He was caught off guard and struck in the head by a five-pound cannonball, but only experienced some symptoms of a concussion due to the high consumption of magic energy.
This may have angered King Wei, as he ordered the drums to be beaten, flags waved, and for the army to march forth!
In King Wei’s eyes, foreigners all seemed to be suffering from a cold, unable to step out confidently. They walked intertwined in small steps, apparently not skilled in land battles, so as long as the Liao Dong Iron Cavalry and the Imperial Guards charged forth…
The Ming army’s light and heavy cavalry emerged from the gaps between the camp areas, ran to the front to reorganize their formation, moving gracefully like a school of fish.
The scene that followed left Hans and Elliot in awe. The quality of the Ming army cavalry was excellent, with a well-ordered and structured formation, displaying a beautiful multi-layered V-shaped formation, reminiscent of Western cavalry wall tactics.
Hans originally thought that the Ming army cavalry would use swarm tactics, rushing in chaotically like a swarm of bees. However, he was surprised to see the strict order and disciplined small steps of the Ming army cavalry. Despite the thousands of warhorses, the sound of their hooves was not chaotic.
"Elliot! This isn’t right." Even calm Hans felt a little uneasy.
"Can this be right?" Elliot was even more surprised.
Elliot ordered the artillery to rapidly fire, trying their best to stop the Ming army cavalry, they needed to disrupt their formation or they would be in big trouble if the cavalry charged towards them.
The expedition army quickly transformed from a line formation of infantry into a hollow square formation. The soldiers took out various sharp objects from their pockets, like scrap metal and pieces of rock, and threw them towards the open ground ahead.
The British Irish and Indian cavalry immediately left their formation to join the Polish lancer cavalry, planning to flank and outmaneuver the enemy, instead of charging head-on against the disciplined enemy. They would wait until the Ming army’s momentum was weakened by the hollow square formation before attacking.
So how would the Ming army deal with the hollow square formation?
