Chapter 54: Battle at the City Gate Tunnel

Upon entering the city, army cooks served them steaming hot porridge and handed out two flatbreads to each person. Afterward, they were organized into simple squads based on mutual familiarity: ten men to a team, three teams to a banner. Squad leaders and banner commanders were elected, and the men were then directed to rest in the vacant houses across the city.

The next morning, the Later Jin forces commenced their siege. Leading the vanguard were once again the Liaodong civilians who had failed to escape yesterday, followed by the Han Army troops and the Later Jin armored cavalry. Because Haizhou lacked a moat, the city gates remained the primary target of their assault.

The civilians at the very front hauled massive tree trunks, from which the leaves had been only roughly stripped, charging all the way toward the city gates. Lu Xiangsheng issued a strict command: "Regardless of who they are, eliminate anyone who approaches."

The cannons began to roar. The largest fifteen-pound cannonballs crashed into the throngs of civilians, plowing straight through. A neat line of men collapsed to the ground as agonizing screams echoed continuously. Some artillerymen wept as they watched, yet they were forced to keep pushing the cannonballs into the muzzles, ignite the fuses, and fire.

Lu Xiangsheng ordered, "Cease using anything above nine pounds; switch to the smaller guns."

Not a single Liaodong civilian managed to reach the city gates; every last one of them fell along the path of advance. Following closely behind were the Han Army troops pushing oxhide carts. Because the carts were shielded by one to even three layers of thick oxhide, six-pound cannons could only make them shudder slightly before they continued their relentless advance.

Lu Xiangsheng shouted, "Do not use the light guns against the carts!"

All the light cannons fell silent, while the cannons of nine pounds and above resumed their barrage against the oxhide-covered carts. A direct hit would shatter the vehicle, tearing through even triple-layered oxhide to destroy the cart entirely. Even if the shot missed the cart itself, a bounding ricochet brushing against a man meant certain death.

After about ten minutes of this bombardment, two oxhide carts finally lumbered right up to the city gate. At that moment, two massive boulders plunged from the sky, smashing the vehicles into smithereens. The Han Army soldiers who miraculously survived scrambled desperately into the arched gateway tunnel to evade the ensuing hail of lead shot.

Observing that the Later Jin armored cavalry was still lingering in the distance, Lu Xiangsheng summoned Hu Qinzhai and instructed, "Clear the gateway tunnel." Hu Qinzhai acknowledged the order and led his banner downward. As they approached the gate, they heard the Han soldiers inside the tunnel hacking frantically at the wooden doors.

Although the gate was thick enough that it could not be easily chopped through in a short time, what if they resorted to fire? Hu Qinzhai felt a chill run down his spine and hastily ordered ten soldiers to yank the doors open. The moment the doors parted halfway, a matchlock firearm cracked from within the gloomy tunnel. Hu Qinzhai instinctively lunged downward as a lead ball grazed the left side of his head, spraying a few beads of blood.

Damn it, they actually have matchlocks! Hu Qinzhai experienced a lingering wave of fear. With the entrance now ajar, six Han soldiers stood bewildered inside the gateway tunnel—one gripping a matchlock and five wielding broadswords.

Hu Qinzhai bounded to his feet and roared, "Hold your fire! Use bayonets!" He charged straight at the matchlockman, running him through with a single thrust. The other soldiers rushed forward, swiftly dispatching the remaining five Han soldiers.

Hu Qinzhai ordered his men to drag the corpses inside and prepare to bar the grand gates. Glancing outside the city gate, he spotted Later Jin armored troops charging forward through the gaps in the artillery fire roughly two hundred paces away. A bold scheme suddenly took shape in his mind.

He commanded the heavy doors to be shut, then hurried to Lu Xiangsheng's side, saluting smartly. "Reporting to the Division Commander, the gateway tunnel has been cleared." Lu Xiangsheng nodded and said, "The gateway tunnel is a vulnerability. It is truly troublesome that this city has no moat."

Hu Qinzhai spoke cautiously, "Division Commander, General Chen mentioned that there used to be a moat, but the Later Jin filled it in. This subordinate believes that if we station one or two cannons inside the gateway tunnel, supported by a company of infantry, we can successfully hold the position. Furthermore, we can lure the Later Jin forces here to meet their doom, using their corpses to effectively choke the gateway tunnel shut."

Lu Xiangsheng asked, "Having assessed the situation just now, are you certain you can hold it?"

Hu Qinzhai thumped his chest and vowed, "We can definitely hold it. If the enemy manages to squeeze into the gateway tunnel and tries to blast it open with gunpowder, it would actually become much harder to defend."

Lu Xiangsheng pondered for a moment. "That makes sense. I have always considered this city gate a trouble spot, and your suggestion is excellent. However, to ensure absolute safety, let us deploy four cannons and two companies of infantry. That will guarantee foolproof security."

Consequently, Lu Xiangsheng summoned Wang Chengmin, ordering him to personally lead a cavalry troop to guard the city entrance. Two cavalry companies were positioned to face outward with four twelve-pound cannons, while another cavalry company remained inside to deter any potential uprisings within the city.

Han Army oxhide carts continued to be pushed forward relentlessly, followed by Later Jin armored troops charging in their wake. Artillery reload times were inherently limited, allowing a few more oxhide carts to reach the gateway tunnel. Finding the city gates thrown wide open, they were overjoyed, convinced that elite spies embedded among the Liaodong civilians had managed to unbar the portals.

The Han soldiers and armored cavalry surged forward together. Right then, twin flashes of fire erupted from the deepest, darkest recess of the gateway tunnel, followed by a deafening roar of cannon fire. Two iron spheres hurtled outward, screaming across a distance of some three hundred paces before finally coming to an exhausted halt. Everyone caught in the paths of those two lines had already collapsed onto the ground.

Very few managed to escape the carnage by sheer luck, as the gateway tunnel was only so wide. Just as the survivors were celebrating their fortune, a row of Guardsmen armed with muskets materialized before them. A volley of gunfire rang out, plunging those few lucky souls back into despair.

Several Guardsmen then cautiously stepped forward, administering the coup de grâce to each fallen enemy one by one, before stripping away their weapons and armor. Returning inside, they reported to Wang Chengmin, "Battalion Commander, some of their bodies have been reduced to pulp; their armor is too mangled to peel off."

Wang Chengmin chuckled, "Better a minnow than an empty hook; collect whatever we can. Right now, His Majesty is searching everywhere for iron; this is still much better than raw ore."

Those wretched Han soldiers and armored troops first had to endure the baptism of cannonballs descending from the ramparts, then—having finally reached the gateway tunnel—be subjected to a combined baptism of artillery and lead shot, and finally have their very weapons and armor stripped away by the Guardsmen, making them look less like an invading force and more like a dedicated transport unit bringing supplies directly to the enemy.

Realizing there was simply no way to breach the gateway tunnel, Aytu had no choice but to sound the gongs and order a retreat. Astonishingly, during the entire day's combat, the Guardsmen suffered only a single severely wounded soldier and zero fatalities, though they expended massive quantities of artillery shells and gunpowder. The artillery battalion commander reported that one-third of the ammunition brought along had already been consumed.

Yet the spoils were exceptionally rich. Within effective artillery range, the Guardsmen had conducted a massive battlefield clearance. A total of three hundred and fifty Later Jin armored cavalry heads were collected. While Han Army casualties were not decapitated, post-battle sweeps confirmed between seven hundred and eighty enemy deaths. Moreover, a group of Later Jin spies attempting to seize the West City Gate had been exposed, resulting in the execution of eight more spies—the sole severely wounded Guardsman had been hurt during that apprehension.

In just two engagements, the Later Jin lost roughly eight hundred armored troops. Lu Xiangsheng was certain that Aytu would no longer dare to wage such a war of attrition against him, yet the enemy commander equally dared not withdraw his forces. The Later Jin would never tolerate Haizhou remaining in the hands of the Ming army; they would continually pour in reinforcements until Haizhou was captured.

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