Starting from 1618 of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 79 Battlefield Observation

On the eighth day of the seventh month of the second year of the Tianqi reign (1623), outside Yuncheng.

If war is likened to a super project, then "siege warfare" is undoubtedly the most expensive, longest-running, and most accident-prone project among them.

At this moment, Yuncheng was like a giant beast lying on the Luxi Plain, its body riddled with arrows, yet still spewing deadly flames.

The main force of the government army—15,000 soldiers led by Zhao Yan, the governor of Shandong, along with more than 20,000 garrison troops and laborers conscripted from various places—had completely surrounded the county town. The camps stretched for miles, banners blotted out the sky, and the sound of war drums never stopped from morning till night.

But Lu Yan knew that this was just a false prosperity.

As the commander of the "Directly Subordinate Guerrilla Supply Battalion," his camp was set up on a high hill three miles from the North Gate. It was an excellent viewpoint and a perfect place to calm down.

"Master, this is the third day already."

Zhao Changying, lying prone behind the breastwork, held up binoculars, his brow furrowed. "The government troops have already poured in at least two thousand men, and they haven't even filled in the moat. If this continues, how many more will die?"

Lu Yan sat on a military stool, holding a charcoal pencil, and was drawing a defense sketch of Yuncheng in his notebook.

"This is called the 'piecemeal tactic,' a major taboo in engineering management."

Lu Yan didn't even look up, his voice calm, "Zhao Yan was too hasty. He wanted to seize the greatest merit before the imperial edict urging war arrived, so he spared no expense. Unfortunately, Yuncheng's defense system had been modified by Xu Hongru."

He stood up and took the binoculars.

In the footage, the city walls of Yuncheng were raised by three feet, and a thick layer of wet mud was applied to the outside—a makeshift method to protect against artillery fire. Most critically, the moat was dug by Xu Hongru from Liangshan Marsh, making it five zhang wide with a rapid current.

The government troops' offensive appeared clumsy and cruel.

Groups of ragged garrison soldiers, forced at knifepoint by the supervising officers, carried sandbags and ladders and rushed towards the city wall like ants.

"put!"

At a command from the city wall, arrows rained down. Even more terrifying were those homemade "enemies of ten thousand men"—mud jars filled with gunpowder and poisonous smoke, which were thrown down with a deafening roar.

"boom!"

Clusters of fire erupted along the moat. Countless severed limbs flew into the air. The river water had been stained a deep purplish-brown, with floating corpses and sandbags mixed together, emitting a nauseating stench.

Lu Yan adjusted the focus, and the lens fell on the guards on the city wall.

The White Lotus followers were equipped with a motley collection of gear—some wore captured government armor, while others wore only a red cloth as a breastplate. But their morale was exceptionally high; every time they repelled an attack, deafening cheers would erupt from the city walls.

"The Eternal Mother! The Vacuum Homeland!"

"Maitreya has descended to earth! Slaughter all corrupt officials!"

Lu Yan coldly recorded:

"The defending force numbers between eight and ten thousand, with about three thousand being core combatants. While their equipment is outdated, their morale is high, and they rely on the city's fortifications, making them difficult to capture in the short term."

He then turned the camera to the government troops' positions.

The scenery there wasn't as beautiful.

The various groups and their banners were mixed together, including those from Tianjin Town, Shandong Town, Shenji Battalion, and various prefectural garrisons... there were as many as seven or eight systems. They fought independently, without any subordinate to each other, and even their camps were set up separately.

"Master, look over there." Zhao Changying pointed to the southeast.

Lu Yan followed his finger and saw two opposing forces facing off. One side was the cavalry of Tianjin Town, and the other was the infantry of Jinan Guard. The officers on both sides were hurling insults at each other, seemingly over a dispute about a well.

"Damn it! I claimed this well first!"

"Bullshit! This is Jinan Wei's territory!"

Just as the knife was about to be used, several messengers hurriedly ran out of the central command tent to mediate.

Lu Yan put down the binoculars and made another note in his notebook:

"The government troops were in disarray, riddled with factions, and their ability to coordinate operations was practically zero. Each unit was only concerned with preserving its strength, and no one was willing to be cannon fodder used to fill trenches."

"Master, isn't that captain leading the team Kong Youde?" Zhao Changying suddenly asked.

Lu Yan raised the binoculars again.

In the footage, a Liaodong man with a face covered in soot is holding a shield and leading dozens of his henchmen in a desperate fight below the city walls. He's clearly a seasoned veteran, knowing how to use the corpses as cover, cursing and firing sneak arrows as he goes.

"It's him." Lu Yan nodded.

He had seen this man on the march. He came from a mining background in Liaodong, later joined Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Town, and retreated all the way to Shandong after the Battle of Sarhu. Although he was only a minor officer, the dozens of guards under his command were all ruthless characters who had crawled out of piles of corpses.

"That man is indeed fierce and brave," Zhao Changying commented. "In that last wave, only his men made it to the edge of the suspension bridge, but unfortunately, the follow-up wasn't enough, and they were knocked back by the rolling logs."

Lu Yan remained silent.

He was observing Kong Youde's tactics.

This Liaodong man was very methodical in his fighting – first, he used bows and arrows to suppress the city walls, then he sent swordsmen and shieldmen to cover the engineers filling the trenches, and finally he used siege ladders to attack the city. Every step was carried out in an orderly manner, far superior to those garrison soldiers who only knew how to use human lives to fill the trenches.

"What a pity," Lu Yan murmured.

"What's a pity?" Zhao Changying asked.

"It's a pity he's just a platoon leader." Lu Yan put away his binoculars. "If he had commanded this siege, Yuncheng would have fallen long ago."

He turned around and looked at his camp behind him.

There, Zhao Tie was leading the craftsmen in maintaining vehicles. Eight hundred militia soldiers were wiping muskets, their expressions indifferent yet focused. They were observers, but also hunters poised to pounce.

"Master, Commander Zhao's personal guards just came with orders." Fan Fu ran over, looking somewhat nervous. "They want us to send another three thousand catties of gunpowder from our stockpile to the Shenji Battalion at the front. Also... the Commander asked if we have any way to cut off the moat."

"A broken river?"

Lu Yan sneered, "The water source of Liangshan Marsh is inexhaustible, unless he's the reincarnation of Yu the Great. Tell the messenger that I can provide gunpowder, but I don't have the method to cut off the river. That's a water conservancy project, not magic."

He knew very well that Zhao Yan was grasping at straws in his desperation.

……

That afternoon, the offensive intensified.

Zhao Yan brought in several large, heavy bronze cannons. These cumbersome, bronze-cast giants were pushed to the front lines, emitting a deafening roar.

"boom--!!!"

Solid iron bullets whistled as they hurtled towards the city wall.

Each cannonball that struck the wall would cause it to tremble and send up large chunks of earth and stone. But against the thick rammed earth wall, it was like hitting cotton with a hammer—the effect was minimal.

Instead, the White Lotus followers on the city wall began to fight back. They brought out several captured breech-loading cannons and bombarded the government troops' artillery positions from their elevated position.

"ah--!"

A shotgun blast swept through, turning several government troops' artillerymen who were loading their weapons into sieves.

Lu Yan had a clear view from the high ground and wrote the last line in his notebook:

"Conclusion: Both sides are disorganized rabble. The government troops are numerous but poorly commanded, while the rebels are brave but lack training. Whoever is more organized will win this battle."

He closed the notebook, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

In this chaotic battlefield, he saw opportunity, and he saw danger. More importantly, he saw the answer to a question—

In this era, what is true power?

It wasn't about numbers, courage, or even firearms.

It is organization. It is discipline. It is the ability to transform a mob into a sophisticated machine.

This thought, like a seed, quietly took root in Lu Yan's heart.