Chapter 31: The Human Wall

Over ninety percent of the soldiers in the First Expeditionary Force were veterans with at least a year of service. All the NCOs and officers had participated in the initial island-wide pacification campaign on Hainan or the riverine operations in the Pearl River Delta. Although there was a slight stir under the sudden bombardment of two shells, they maintained their formation. The officers drew their command swords and ran to the front, shouting orders:

“Hold the line!”

“Hut, two, three, four! Hut, two, three, four!”

“Eyes front!”

Every officer entitled to wear a command sword did their utmost to display fearless courage. At that moment, a third cannon shot rang out from the city wall, and a 24-pound cannonball came screaming towards the formation. A chill ran down Shi Zhiqi’s spine, and sweat beaded on his forehead. But he knew that if he showed the slightest sign of fear, morale would plummet. After all, in recent years, the Transmigrators had been mythologized to a great extent; the naturalized citizens regarded them as gods.

He absolutely could not fail at this critical moment. Shi Zhiqi pulled a pipe from his pocket and tried to light it with a match, but his fumbling hands couldn’t grasp the matchstick. He clenched the pipe between his teeth and tilted his head. “Light it!”

His orderly, seeing his commander’s composure, was filled with admiration and quickly lit the corncob pipe. Shi Zhiqi took the pipe, waved his riding crop with feigned nonchalance, and strode to the very front of the formation. He faced his soldiers and raised his pipe high. The eyes of the soldiers and officers immediately turned to him.

Just then, the third cannonball landed on the beach not far away, kicking up a lot of sand. It was a solid shot. The soft sand of the beach limited its ability to ricochet, greatly reducing its secondary destructive effect.

Shi Zhiqi slowly, deliberately, put the corncob pipe to his lips, took a calm puff, and said loudly, “The first man to enter Zhongzuosuo gets to take a puff from this pipe! Whoever captures that son of a bitch Zheng Zhilong, I’ll give him this pipe as a reward!”

A burst of cheerful laughter erupted from the ranks of the marines. At that moment, the fourth cannonball tore through the line, killing three soldiers. Sand and blood splattered everywhere, yet the marine line stood firm as a rock, a forest of bayonets. The First Expeditionary Force continued its slow advance in line formation across the beach towards the city.

Matos had been observing the fall of the shells through his telescope. Although the accuracy and range of these two cannons far exceeded his expectations, and four consecutive shots had torn through the enemy’s line, there was no sign of the enemy breaking and fleeing. They continued to advance on the city in perfect formation, without fear.

“Continue firing!” The line in his telescope advanced at a steady, uncompromising pace, putting pressure on even the battle-hardened Matos. Since arriving in China, he had rarely seen an army that could remain so calm under fire.

“Excellent training, as good as the best German infantry,” Matos praised. “Everyone, reload quickly!”

As they were busy, a messenger from the Zheng army ran up from below the wall. “The General’s order! For hitting the enemy with the cannon, each gun crew is rewarded with one tael of silver! From now on, for every enemy killed, another tael will be rewarded!”

“Thank the General for his reward!” Matos shouted, spreading the news of the reward. He knew that General Zheng was putting everything on the line this time.

Hearing that Zheng Zhilong was offering another reward, the black and white gunners, their blood boiling, let out wild roars. Some were escaped slaves, others were veteran European mercenaries who fought for money; the silver in their pockets was the most important thing. After firing a few shots, they were all sweating. They stripped off their shirts and frantically scrubbed the cannons with vinegar to cool them down as quickly as possible. Matos had heard from that Kirishitan that these two cannons could maintain a rate of fire of one round per minute for a considerable time. If cooled with vinegar, the sustained rate of fire could be even faster. Therefore, he had spared no expense in preparing a large amount of vinegar.

At that moment, the sound of a cannon shot came from the air, followed by the whistle of a shell, like the coming of the god of death. The three 70mm battalion guns fired in sequence. The first shell hit the beach in front of the city gate. The second scored a direct hit on the city wall, shattering the bricks. The third screamed over the wall and exploded inside the city, instantly killing several civilian laborers who were moving siege equipment.

The three Experimental Type 32 Battalion Guns opened fire at a distance of 1,500 meters. For a rifled cannon, direct fire at a large, fixed target from this distance was practically a guaranteed hit. All the current battalion gun crews had been personally trained by Ying Yu’s training team. Although they lacked modern sights and other observation equipment, they achieved excellent results with mechanical sights.

After the first ranging salvo, the gunners corrected their aim based on the fall of the shots.

On the city wall, Matos soon found that the shells were flying towards his position with increasing accuracy. Suddenly, a shell hit a nearby watchtower. A few pieces of broken brick flew out and struck a gunner. The stout black man let out a short cry and fell from the wall. A shell fragment pierced a vinegar jar next to the cannon, and a large amount of vinegar splashed everywhere, drenching the people nearby.

“Now we’ve all become fish,” a young Portuguese man joked. “According to the Chinese way, we’ll need some sugar…”

Before the men could laugh, another shell flew in and landed right among the gunners. The violent explosion instantly disemboweled several of them. Shrapnel flew in all directions, and the gun position was filled with screams of agony.

Matos was thrown to the ground by the blast wave. He quickly scrambled up, and just as he was about to speak, a hail of 70mm high-explosive shells descended upon them. As a professional soldier, his reaction was swift. Hearing the dense whistling sound, he immediately threw himself behind the parapet and closed his eyes. He heard a massive explosion, and waves of pressure washed over him, momentarily making it impossible to breathe. This was followed by cries and moans. He opened his eyes again and, finding himself still alive, trembled uncontrollably.

His uniform had been torn to shreds by the blast wave. The gun position was shrouded in smoke. All around were the dead and wounded, their bodies torn apart by the explosions and shrapnel. A black gunner lay at his feet, half his head sheared off by a fragment, leaving a perfectly intact, grinning mouth that revealed snow-white teeth. Brain matter and blood splattered all over Matos. He managed to support himself with his sword. Only five other men staggered to their feet around him, all of them blackened and covered in blood.

The two cannons were still intact, but their carriages had been destroyed. One cannon lay tilted on its side. The solid shot piled nearby had been scattered by the blast wave. A gunner was pinned under the cannon barrel, not yet dead, letting out long and short cries for help.

Matos gasped for breath and, in his terror, let out a scream. He scrambled down from the city wall on all fours.

He escaped just in time. A few minutes later, the first salvo of 130mm shells from the First Squadron, called in by Shi Zhiqi via radio, rained down on the city wall. The ten 130mm cannons on the five warships fired in turn, instantly engulfing the gun position in explosions and smoke. The earth trembled. Rubble and dust, mixed with the flesh and blood of soldiers and laborers, were thrown hundreds of meters by the blast waves.

Zheng Zhilong, whose main force was arrayed about a li (500 meters) from the city, could also feel the slight tremor of the earth under the bombardment. The generals beside him watched as the walls of Zhongzuosuo slowly crumbled under the Kunzei’s fire. He could no longer maintain his composure. Seeing the pale faces of his generals and the growing unrest among his soldiers, the will to fight that they had just moments ago had vanished.

The Kunzei soldiers were still advancing. They had crossed a full li of beach, taking cannon fire along the way, yet their formation remained unbroken. Though few in number, they pressed forward like a stone wall, heavy and unstoppable.

The soldiers grew restless. The morale that had been fired up by silver had dissipated. Fighting with swords and spears was one thing; being killed by cannons from a distance was another. They couldn’t fight back, and they couldn’t earn any silver.

The generals desperately tried to maintain order. Soon, the first man was dragged from the ranks and beheaded in front of everyone, but this did not quell the growing panic.

The First Expeditionary Force, advancing at a rate of eighty paces a minute, closed to within 400 meters of the Zheng army. Shi Zhiqi ordered the entire force to halt. The front rank knelt, the rear rank stood.

“Sights at 400 meters! Ready—fire!”

Two hundred rifles simultaneously spewed thick white smoke. The Zheng family soldiers in the front rank fell in swathes, as if cut down by a scythe. As if on a single signal, the entire formation of the Zheng army instantly collapsed. The soldiers scattered and fled. The generals quickly led their personal troops to intercept them, but the rout was like an avalanche. The personal troops and household retainers were instantly swept up by the fleeing soldiers and their own ranks broke.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the generals urged Zheng Zhilong to flee. Zheng Zhilong was not yet ready to give up. The Japanese and black guard units had not yet moved and were still in perfect formation. If the enemy charged and they engaged in close combat, they might still have a chance. But then, a blood-soaked Matos came stumbling towards him, urging him to flee immediately, lest he be hit by the Australian artillery.

“Their cannons can shoot even farther than we thought!” Matos said urgently, a dirty rag wrapped around his head. “They haven’t aimed their cannons here yet. It’s pointless for you to resist here!”

Tōtarō also ran up, pleading with him to flee at once. “My lord, the situation is lost! Please leave quickly! As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no lack of firewood. I am willing to stay behind and cover the rear…”

As he was speaking, the Kunzei halted and fired another volley. Several of Zheng Zhilong’s personal guards fell. Tōtarō gave an order, and a dozen Japanese soldiers immediately ran over and formed a “human pillar” in front of him.