Wubizhi Volume 5: Military Equipment and Logistics – Defense – Forts 1

41. Enclosure Walls (Continued)

The height should be two zhang Approx. 20 feet or 6 meters., with the addition of five chi Approx. 5 feet or 1.5 meters. for the battlements original: 陴堄 pini, the parapet walls atop a rampart with openings for observation and fire., totaling two zhang and five chi. Compared to ancient standards, this is roughly half-height. The width at the top should taper inward accordingly; this is the moderate, practical approach.

42. Enemy Towers (Bastions)

Once the enclosure walls have been established, the enemy towers original: 敵臺 ditai, projecting bastions or watchtowers that allow defenders to fire along the face of the wall. must be discussed. The decision to hold or abandon a wall depends entirely on the presence of these towers. Even if a wall is square and straight, if there are towers, it can be defended. Even if a wall is winding and curved, if there are no towers, it is as good as abandoned. Furthermore, enemy towers should be numerous; if they are many, protecting the wall is easy. They should be high; if they are high, then striking in all four directions is unobstructed.

Ancient regulations stated that the height of an enemy tower should be equal to that of the wall, because in those times walls were five zhang Approx. 50 feet. high. Today, since walls only reach half that height, the towers ought to be made higher than the wall. In years past, our Lord Xiao Mingong Xiao Daheng (1532–1612), a high-ranking Ming official and military strategist renowned for his "Records of the Northern Barbarians." discussed the enemy towers of the frontier walls, suggesting one tower every li A traditional Chinese mile, approx. 500 meters. because the reach of firearms is no less than three hundred paces. However, even if the firepower can reach that far, how can one ensure that every single shot hits its mark? If the gap between towers is too wide, the strength of the back-and-forth support becomes weak. Therefore, it is better to have even more towers. In the civilian forts of today, the enemy towers...