MLMD -Chapter 458 Bombardment

Smoke rose, gunfire cracked continuously, and the orange-red flashes of destruction streaked from the muzzles of the soldiers’ firearms. For the five thousand arquebusiers who had already landed, a mere few hundred natives armed with spears and wooden clubs weren’t even enough for each soldier to fire a single volley.

After a few minutes, the gunfire ceased. When the smoke cleared and the firing stopped, the entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence. All eyes were drawn to a spot several hundred meters ahead of the arquebusiers’ formation. There was no one left standing there. The hundreds of natives who had charged toward the formation just moments ago were all sprawled in pools of blood, the ground itself dyed red, with only occasional weak moans carried by the wind.

“God… is this really the army of the Ming? Who said Ming soldiers were just a bunch of uncivilized natives, poorly dressed, armed with rusty spears?”

On the city wall, Overd’s heart sank at the scene before him. Honestly, he had been in Tayuan for three years, but most of that time he spent inside the fort at Helandze. Even when he ventured out, it was only to inspect Prominence City or the surrounding areas within a few dozen miles. His understanding of the Ming came only from missionaries who had been there or information provided by the Zheng family.

In Overd’s impression, the Ming was a vast but somewhat backward and ignorant country. Externally, it faced invasions by the Tatars; internally, it faced uprisings by peasant armies. The country was already stretched thin, incapable of foreign expansion. Their weapons were primitive, still relying on swords and spears—otherwise, the court would not have spent heavily to buy cannons. Yet the army now before him made Overd seriously question whether the Zheng family and greedy merchants had misled him all along. This—this army that was supposedly poor and rusty—was standing before him?

As Overd’s mind swirled with anger and fear, Lieutenant Colonel Bilia strode up and quietly said, “Governor, that Ming man named Zheng wants to see you.”

“Bring him here!” Overd snapped, his lingering anger flaring.

Soon, Zheng Yang arrived on the wall with two attendants. As he walked toward Overd, Bilia and two soldiers blocked his path.

“You… can’t come through. The Governor will only see you alone,” Bilia said in halting Chinese, his tone stiff.

A flash of displeasure crossed Zheng Yang’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. He walked briskly to Overd and said gravely, “Governor, I want to leave here immediately. Please order your soldiers to open the North Gate so we can exit.”

“Deserters, are you?” Overd, already in a foul mood, could no longer maintain his composure and sneered.

Seeing Overd’s scorn, Zheng Yang’s blood boiled, but he forced himself to explain calmly, “Governor, you must understand—we cannot reveal our identities. If the court learns of our involvement, it will surely affect our leader’s standing. Especially now, while your forces are fighting the court’s army, if they find out we are entangled with you, our leader could be removed from office. That would be bad for both you and us.”

Although Overd despised these people wanting to flee in the face of battle, he knew that leaving them here would be more troublesome. If the Ming captured them, the man from Fujian would likely hate him to death. The consequences were entirely predictable.

After some thought, Overd said coldly, “Zheng… think carefully. Once you leave, we can no longer guarantee your safety. If anything happens, it will be on your own head.”

Zheng Yang scoffed, “Rest assured. Once we leave Helandze City, we can take care of ourselves. Whatever happens afterward will have nothing to do with you.”

Seeing the arrogance on Zheng Yang’s face, Overd wanted to punch him, but he forced himself to nod coldly. “Very well, then. I wish you luck. Bilia… escort Mr. Zheng and his men out immediately.”

“Yes, sir!” Bilia had little fondness for the Ming either. He stepped forward, coldly gesturing for them to follow, and soon the group descended from the wall.

“Faster… move faster…”

A squad of soldiers in green uniforms ran north along the walls of Helandze City. They had been ordered to encircle the city; their mission was to complete the siege. Fearing anyone might escape, officers repeatedly urged their men to hurry.

At the front, Daniu carried a Mini-style arquebus. Behind him were dozens of comrades. Having served three years, Daniu was a proper squad leader and had recently been awarded the rank of Second Lieutenant. Though the rank was only recognized in the army and not by the Ming court, it made him immensely proud. Now he commanded dozens of men—when he returned home, he could finally show off to the villagers. He had already decided that after this battle, he would return home with the silver he had saved and ask matchmaker Liu to arrange a marriage—a wife with a big chest, round hips, and the ability to bear children. Thinking of this filled Daniu with energy.

“Is… is that North Gate up ahead?” one soldier shouted after running a while longer.

“That’s it!” Daniu rejoiced. His superiors had explained that Helandze had only four gates. If they could block all four, not a single red-haired foreigner would escape. The North Gate, being the farthest, was a significant achievement to block first. Driven by this, Daniu pushed his men to their limit, reaching the gate before other units.

Seeing the gate closer, he shouted, “Brothers, run! Once we block this gate, the credit is ours!”

The tired soldiers bit their teeth and sped up.

Suddenly, Daniu noticed the gate slowly opening. His heart sank. “Not good… the red-haired foreigners are trying to escape! Hurry, block them!”

Anger surged in Daniu. Just as victory was in sight, the foreigners wanted to run—what nerve!

The gate opened, and more than ten people emerged, followed by several carts. Daniu panicked. If they escaped, their operation would fail. He shouted, “Brothers, fire! Don’t let them escape!”

The soldiers behind him raised their arquebuses and fired volleys at the emerging people. Lead bullets hit the wall with sharp cracks; seven or eight of the first ten people fell, while the others panicked and scrambled the carts back inside. The gate quickly closed, completing Daniu’s task—the city was now completely surrounded.

Meanwhile, Zheng Yang’s group, attempting to leave, had been blocked at the gate. Yue Yang had also disembarked, and his troops began setting up camp outside Helandze. Tents, chevaux-de-frise, trenches, and wire fences were all arranged meticulously. The army’s discipline and order shocked Overd and the Dutch soldiers on the wall. Any soldier could judge an army’s effectiveness by its demeanor, and this one left little doubt.

But what crushed them further was yet to come. As the sun began to set, the Ming soldiers unloaded cannon after cannon from the ships, gleaming with cold steel. These were at least 24-pound heavy cannons, and in great numbers—Overd roughly counted over 150.

Overd closed his eyes in despair. “God… is the glory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands really going to fall here?”

“Let’s go… there’s no need to watch any longer.” With a long sigh, Overd climbed down the wall.

Half an hour later, the governor’s mansion gathered all the influential figures in Helandze. Apart from nearly a thousand soldiers, over two thousand Dutch, including merchants, clergy, and families, remained inside. Overd summoned their representatives to discuss how to respond to the crisis.

Seeing the silent crowd, Overd said despondently, “Speak up. The Ming army has surrounded us. According to reports, all four gates are blocked. We can’t escape. What should we do?”

The room fell into grim silence. No one had yet recovered from today’s chaos. The Ming fleet had arrived unexpectedly, catching them completely off guard.

After a long pause, a merchant tentatively said, “Governor, Helandze is a strong city. Even if the Ming have the advantage, it shouldn’t be easy for them to break in. We can hold out until reinforcements arrive.”

“That’s impossible!” Lieutenant Colonel Bilia, seated beside Overd, interjected. “It takes five to six months for reinforcements to arrive from home, and our supplies won’t last that long. Remember, the city isn’t just us—there are also many natives and Ming settlers.”

“What’s the problem? Just drive them out, even kill them if necessary.”

The crowd’s expressions immediately changed. The city contained at least four to five thousand Benedictine natives and Han Chinese; killing them all would take a heart of iron.

A cold voice cut in, “Mr. Bobby, don’t forget there are tens of thousands of Ming troops outside. If they find out we’re slaughtering their people, have you considered the consequences?”

The room fell silent. The merchant, startled, forced a laugh. “They can’t get in anyway… killing those savages isn’t a problem.”

“Hmph… what if they break into Helandze? Do you want everyone to die because of your foolishness?” the cold voice continued.

“Uh… fine, just a suggestion, right?” the merchant, Bobby, mumbled, embarrassed.

Overd turned to a man on his right. “Father Elmer Burkdale, any ideas?”

The middle-aged clergyman replied, “Governor, can we not talk to them first? At least find out why they are here and what their intentions are. Only then can we decide.”

“Hmph… isn’t it obvious?” Bilia snorted. “Those Ming people aren’t here to invite us for tea. Their goal is to take Tayuan and drive us back home. Nothing else.”

“Perhaps we can negotiate a conditional surrender,” Father Elmer suggested. For Westerners, surrender was not shameful, and clergy were often treated favorably.

“Impossible… we still have a thousand elite soldiers and a strong castle. I can’t explain surrendering without firing a shot to the king or the company,” Overd shook his head vehemently.

With the room split between conditional surrender and holding out for reinforcements, neither side budged. Overd finally decided, “Enough. Let’s wait until tomorrow to see what the Ming do before making any decision.”

The meeting ended in discord. Overd still relied on the castle’s fortifications and cannons for confidence.

As night passed and dawn broke, the army of Xuan deployed. Cannons were rolled out from the camps, their dark barrels aimed at the fortress.

Overd, at the wall, observed the artillery positions nearly a mile away. He turned to Bilia, puzzled. “Colonel, what are these Ming doing? They think they’re something special, setting up their cannons so far away. Do they really believe this will scare us?”

Bilia shrugged. From their perspective, the most advanced cannons had a range of about a kilometer. These cannons didn’t look like they could reach that far.

Overd ordered seriously, “Colonel Bilia, remember this: as soon as they enter our cannon range, fire immediately. We can’t let them set up in front of us unchallenged.”

“Don’t worry, sir. I’ll make sure these Ming know our strength!” Bilia vowed confidently.

“Boom… boom… boom…”

With that, thunderous cannon fire erupted from the front.

“God… they’ve really opened fire.”

Heavy projectiles, each over ten pounds, flew toward the walls. Overd and the Dutch soldiers watched in terror as they struck, smashing bricks and sending fragments flying. Several soldiers standing nearby were hit, their heads bleeding.

Overd finally realized the danger. He wanted to run but felt his legs weighed down by lead, frozen in place. He wanted to shout but no sound came out. The whistling cannon fire deafened him.

“Governor, move… it’s too dangerous here,” Bilia’s voice rang in his ears. Someone pulled him forward, and he could only go along.

After some time, he was dragged to a hidden corner. Bilia anxiously asked, “Governor, are you alright?”

“I… I’m fine.”

Overd, finally recovering from the panic, gratefully looked at his aide. “Bilia, thank you for saving me.”

“It’s nothing. It’s my duty,” Bilia said, worry etched on his face. “Governor, it seems we’re in serious trouble this time.”

“Yes… we are,” Overd replied, his face darkening.