Southern Ming Rebel Army

The next morning, the rising sun tried to dispel the haze of yesterday's battlefield, but the lingering smell of blood still told of the cruelty of yesterday's war.

As the drums sounded again, the brutal trench-filling operation began again. The laborers ran away carrying sandbags. The tragedy of yesterday was still vivid in their minds, but the eyes of the supervisory team behind them left them with no choice. In just one day, the eyes of these laborers were no longer bright, and were replaced by dullness.

Time passed slowly in the battlefield filled with death. Wave after wave of civilians were engaged in the trench filling operation. Corpses were piled up in front of the trench. The ground was soaked with blood and even became a little muddy.

On the second day, the third day, and until the afternoon of the fourth day, the trench filling operation was finally nearing completion. The trench leading to Batavia Fort was finally filled. Although it was not very smooth, it was enough on the battlefield at that time.

As the horn sounded, the Brunei civilians felt like they were reborn, with joy on their faces, and they ran backwards madly. While running backwards, the Dutch defenders on the bastion, perhaps to save gunpowder, or perhaps because they knew that these were just civilians, stopped shooting after the civilians retreated.

Zheng Chenggong looked at the trench that had become flat ground, with a hint of excitement on his face. Tomorrow would be the day to see the truth. In Zheng Chenggong's view, these barbarians only relied on firearms. If they really had to fight face to face, they would not be his opponents.

On the second day after the trench was filled, the sky was slightly bright and the Qian army camp was already a solemn scene. Following Zheng Chenggong's order, a large number of carefully prepared siege equipment slowly drove towards Batavia Fort.

During the days of waiting, the Qian army did not just eat and drink for free under the bastion city. Zheng Chenggong ordered the felling of a large amount of wood around Batavia to be used as siege equipment.

These equipment were mainly ladders and city towers. Zheng Chenggong knew that the firearms of the Western barbarians were sharp, so the ladders were surrounded by wooden boards. There were a large number of dense forests around Batavia, so there was no shortage of wood.

The shields on three sides of the ladder are five inches thick (about sixteen centimeters), and are covered with cowhide or wet quilts. Although they are heavier and more difficult to move, their protective capabilities are greatly improved.

Although these weapons were still not enough to withstand artillery attacks, Zheng Chenggong believed that they could still withstand musket fire.

Moreover, the bastion was not very high, with the highest point being only three meters and the lowest being only about two meters. Almost everyone in the Qian army felt that if they all rushed forward, they would be able to reach the city in the blink of an eye. As long as the siege equipment was close to the bastion, it would be easy to break the city.

Ru Hansui looked at the densely packed equipment and the huge army. He knew that the war had only officially begun today, and filling the trenches was just an appetizer.

The battle began, with artillery firing first. The Qian army artillery position located on a high ground was the first to fire. One shrapnel shell after another was thrown at the bastion, exploding sparks on the bastion. Many Dutch defenders were affected by the power of the explosion of the shrapnel shells, and the injured but not dead soldiers howled in pain.

Even though casualties had occurred, the defenders in the bastion, under Opdam's command, did not fire back. He was still waiting for the siege equipment to enter the range of the fortress's artillery. Opdam clearly understood that shrapnel shells were not meant to destroy the bastion, and once these devices approached the city, that would be the biggest threat to Batavia.

As the siege equipment gradually approached, the Dutch defenders on the bastion were already holding torches, waiting quietly. Soon, the Qian army's siege equipment entered the optimal range of the fortress's artillery.

Opdam saw this, swung his hand downward vigorously, and shouted loudly: "Fire!"

As the order was passed on, the artillery pieces in the bastion opened fire one after another. Balls of orange-red flames gushed out from the muzzles, and the shells, trailing a trail of gunpowder smoke, whizzed towards the Qian army's siege equipment.

The first to be hit were several ladders. Three solid bullets were aimed at the front ladder and whizzed towards it. Two of them passed by it from the sides, and one solid bullet hit the ladder accurately. The huge impact force immediately broke the supporting column of the ladder.

The ladder was shaken by the hit, and a large hole was blown in the baffle. The Qian army soldiers behind the ladder were also affected by the solid bullet, and more than ten people were killed or injured on the spot.

Zheng Chenggong had prepared a lot of siege equipment, so the defenders' artillery fire seemed to be quite accurate, especially the siege towers, which were located in a wider area and therefore had larger targets. Soon, three siege towers were hit in succession.

The thick wooden structure of the siege tower began to break under the powerful artillery fire. The tower shook violently, and the soldiers inside the tower lost their balance and fell down one after another. Finally, with a heart-pounding "creak" sound, the siege tower slowly tilted and finally collapsed with a loud bang, raising a huge cloud of dust.

The battlefield was filled with gunpowder smoke. The siege equipment of the Qian army was hit by artillery fire and could not fight. However, the Qian army had many equipment and many people. A large number of soldiers pushed the ladders and siege towers vigorously. Everyone's goal at this time was to push these equipment to the wall.

It was already the 9th hour when ladders and climbing towers approached the city walls. The Dutch defenders hurriedly fired at the Qian army with muskets.

Dense bullets fired at the slowly advancing siege equipment, hitting the baffles, the cowhide covering it, and the wet quilt, making a series of "puff" sounds.

The protective wooden boards were thick and heavy, which made it more difficult for the Qian army to push the equipment, but fortunately the effort was not in vain. Most of the projectiles were successfully blocked, and only a few penetrated the protection. In addition, many soldiers were carrying shields, so there were not too many casualties under the long-range shooting of muskets.

Following the order from the frontline officer, the Qian army soldiers shouted and climbed up the ladders. They held a shield in one hand to block the bullets from above or from the side, and with the other hand they held the ladder tightly and climbed up quickly.

The defenders of the bastion were in a dominant position and fired wildly, and from the holes in the middle of the bastion, they would occasionally extend their muskets and shoot at the ladders.

After the elite troops of the Qian army began to climb the city wall, teams of firearms soldiers also arrived under the bastion one after another. They poured bullets towards the places where there were no tools to climb the city wall. Such actions were mainly to cover the soldiers who were climbing the city wall.

For a moment, gunpowder filled the air above and below the city walls. Shouts, screams, and the sound of gunfire were intertwined and deafening. During the climbing process, soldiers of the Qian Army were hit by bullets and fell from the ladders from time to time. In such a passionate situation, almost no one would feel fear. They rushed forward one after another to fill the vacancies.