Chapter 223: The Generals Are Astonished

Yang Guozhu, Regional Commander of Xuanfu Garrison, led his main-force battalion to set up defenses in the area that later generations would call the old palace garrison boundary. A few li below the Right An Gate, the Ming called this place Meiyuanli, and it controlled an official road there. Yang Guozhu likewise occupied an abandoned small fort for his defense.

Upon receiving the victory report that Wang Dou had taken over two hundred and twenty heads, Yang Guozhu could not suppress his inner astonishment and abruptly rose from his seat. His trusted general of the central army, Guo Yingxian, also said in disbelief: "True or false, General Wang took over two hundred and twenty heads? Old Guo fought a battle with the invading Tartars yesterday and cut down a dozen or so heads, and the Viceroy was full of praise. These two hundred-plus heads…"

He twisted his stocky, square frame, shook his massive head, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

This time Wang Dou had sent his own trusted general Xie Yike to personally deliver the victory report. Seeing the expressions of the two men, Xie Yike's heart was full of pride. He smiled slightly and said: "If my lords the Regional Commander and General Guo do not believe it, you may personally go to the village fort at Fuyuanli, and you will see that this humble general speaks no falsehood."

Yang Guozhu said urgently: "Good, I shall go at once to Fuyuanli, where General Wang is stationed, to see for myself."

He gave a few orders. His trusted general of the central army, Guo Yingxian, summoned several personal guards, and the group rode out of the fort entrance in a rush, galloping toward the village fort where Wang Dou was.

Upon receiving word that Regional Commander Yang Guozhu was arriving, Wang Dou personally led a group of officers, great and small, to wait in welcome at the fort gate.

Yang Guozhu had no time for pleasantries and was impatient to see the fruits of Wang Dou's decapitations.

Wang Dou led him inside the fort. The logistics soldiers in Wang Dou's army were busy using lime to cure the taken Qing soldier heads. Seeing this great pile of heads, the expression on Yang Guozhu's face was very rich, and his trusted general of the central army, Guo Yingxian, kept inhaling and exhaling sharply beside him.

Yang Guozhu rushed forward a few steps, personally grabbed several heads, and examined them. He was seasoned in military affairs and could tell at a glance whether these heads were genuine Tartar heads or killings of civilians to claim false merit. He grabbed a few more heads; every single one was likewise a genuine slave's head.

Yang Guozhu had been a soldier for many years; what had he not seen? Yet at this moment, stirred by emotion, his body still trembled slightly.

Seeing the Regional Commander's expression, the various generals beside Wang Dou were all smug.

After a long while, Yang Guozhu tossed the head in his hand aside, looked at Wang Dou, and laughed heartily: "General Wang is indeed fierce and invincible, taking so many heads, greatly boosting the morale and fighting spirit of our Xuan Garrison officers and men. I imagine when the Viceroy hears of this, he will be utterly delighted."

Wang Dou said: "This was all thanks to my lord's good fortune; only thus could this humble general achieve such a haul."

Yang Guozhu looked at Wang Dou, very satisfied. Not only was this Wang Dou brave and fierce in battle, he was also tactful and knew how to conduct himself. Although these heads were taken by Wang Dou, he, Yang Guozhu, was the Regional Commander of Xuanfu Garrison. He could likewise share a very large portion of this military merit.

Guo Yingxian roared: "General Wang, this time you must not be fussy. At the victory feast, you must drink three hundred cups with Old Guo here."

Yang Guozhu personally took Wang Dou by the hand and drew him to sit down beside him.

Unknowingly, among the various generals of Xuan Garrison, Wang Dou, this fierce and valiant warrior, had already occupied an extremely important place in Yang Guozhu's heart.

Yang Guozhu said: "General Wang, could you tell this Regional Commander about the circumstances of this battle against the bandits?"

Wang Dou roughly recounted the battle situation. Hearing that a unit of soldiers under Wang Dou's command, defending a bridge and a mound, had blocked the advance of two elite Qing soldier units, killing over half the enemy, and then a cavalry unit pursued and took back a large majority of the heads, Yang Guozhu was even more moved: "General Wang actually has such fierce officers under his command! Quickly summon them for this Regional Commander to see."

Inside the room, among the various generals beside Wang Dou, Li Guangheng and Wen Daxing were already accompanying him. Wang Dou also ordered the summoning of Tian Qiming, the bridge-defense unit officer, and Huang Wei, the deputy officer. Looking at the four men before him, Yang Guozhu nodded repeatedly, ceaselessly comforting, encouraging, and praising them.

All four men were in high spirits. A Regional Commander — someone they had always looked up to from far below — was now speaking to them in a gentle voice, praising them again and again. The four felt their blood boil, feeling only that following their Mobile Corps Commander to kill the enemy and achieve merit was truly satisfying.

The Company Commander of Tian Qiming's unit, Han Zhong, and the Squad Commander, Tian Zhijue, also beamed, feeling deeply honored beside them.

While Yang Guozhu was praising them, he kept looking toward the room on the right where the heads were being cured. When soldiers came to report that those heads had been processed, Yang Guozhu stood up and said: "General Wang, let us go at once to report this victory to the Viceroy and let the old gentleman rejoice as well."

After a pause, he said: "This batch of heads will be immediately escorted to the Viceroy. General, rest assured, no one will dare swallow up your military merit heads."

Wang Dou said: "Everything shall be as my lord commands."

He ordered several horse carts brought out, and all those two hundred-plus heads were loaded onto them. Then Yang Guozhu personally took Wang Dou's hand and led him out the door. The group mounted their horses and galloped urgently toward Viceroy Lu Xiangsheng's camp.

…

Lu Xiangsheng's main tent was located at Zhongxingli, in the area of what later generations would call Yinghai Garrison, not far from Yongding Gate. Following the southern outskirts of the capital northwest for several dozen li, around Lugou Bridge and Wanping City, was where the Army Supervisor-in-Chief Gao Qiqian led tens of thousands of Guan-Ning troops in defense.

Lu Xiangsheng did not occupy any fort for defense; this area was densely packed with trenches, camps, and stockades.

When Yang Guozhu, Wang Dou, and the others arrived outside Lu Xiangsheng's camp, his trusted general Chen An urgently came to report that Yang Guozhu, Regional Commander of Xuanfu Garrison, had come together with Mobile Corps Commander Wang Dou, having taken over two hundred heads, flying in to report a great victory, and had escorted several hundred Qing army heads along with them. Lu Xiangsheng was overjoyed and quickly summoned Yang Guozhu, Wang Dou, and the others into the camp.

Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, and the others arrived outside Lu Xiangsheng's central army tent. Lu Xiangsheng was already waiting there. Seeing the carts carrying the heads, he strode over impatiently. Seeing the cart full of heads, he exclaimed repeatedly: "Excellent."

He immediately ordered his trusted general Chen An to inspect the heads, and from time to time he himself would pick up a head, look it over left and right, carefully examining the teeth, the queue and hair, the face, and so on. He even had his personal guards bring a bucket of water and poured it over them to see.

After an unknown length of time, a look of astonishment appeared on Chen An's face, and he reported to Lu Xiangsheng: "Reporting to the Viceroy, Xuan Garrison has delivered two hundred and twenty-four heads. After this humble general's inspection, every single one is a genuine slave's head."

Lu Xiangsheng's face was full of smiles. He looked at Yang Guozhu and said: "General Yang's tiger-like might has achieved such a great victory."

Seeing the Viceroy's satisfied expression, Yang Guozhu was also delighted in his heart. He looked at Wang Dou and smiled slightly: "I am ashamed. This great victory was entirely achieved by General Wang!"

Lu Xiangsheng was taken aback. He stared at Wang Dou for a long moment and said: "Wang Dou, you have done very well."

Wang Dou saw that Lu Xiangsheng was wearing hempen mourning clothes, and after not seeing him for a few days, he had aged considerably more. Saddened in his heart, Wang Dou clasped his fists in salute and said in a deep voice: "Killing bandits for the country is this humble general's duty. I dare not trouble the Viceroy and my lord with such praise."

Lu Xiangsheng looked at Wang Dou and nodded repeatedly: "You know loyalty and service to the nation. This Viceroy is deeply gratified."

His trusted general Chen An also looked at Wang Dou with envy from the side. He knew the inside story of how Wang Dou had taken over two hundred and eighty heads in the ninth year of Chongzhen. He had not expected that this time, leading troops to reinforce the capital, Wang Dou would again achieve such military merit. And he was still so young — the younger generation was truly formidable.

Yang Guozhu said: "Viceroy, this time our Xuan-Da officers and men have achieved military merit. We should fly a report of this great victory so that His Majesty may hear of it."

Lu Xiangsheng also smiled: "His Majesty's heart is troubled by state affairs, restless day and night. Hearing the report of victory, he will certainly be delighted."

He gazed in the direction of the imperial palace in the capital, his heart stirred and spirit transported, imagining the Emperor's happy expression upon hearing the victory report.

After a long while, Lu Xiangsheng turned around. He was in high spirits and said to Yang Guozhu and Wang Dou with a smile: "I shall summon all the generals of Xuan-Da to celebrate this great victory together."

…

After receiving Lu Xiangsheng's order, officers from Xuanfu Garrison, Datong Garrison, and Shanxi Garrison hurried over one by one. Before the central army tent gathered one sturdy, armored officer after another, their iron armor clanging, and all that could be heard were rough, hearty voices.

Although the garrison officers had heard that Viceroy Lu was summoning everyone to celebrate a great victory by Xuan Garrison, the messengers' words were vague, and they could not get any details by asking. Now, having arrived outside the Viceroy's main tent, they all inquired of one another, or asked the Viceroy's trusted general Chen An.

Very quickly, everyone got the definite news: this time Xuanfu Garrison had taken over two hundred and twenty slave heads. After the Viceroy's inspection, every single one was a genuine slave's head.

Everyone drew a sharp breath. Xuanfu Garrison had achieved enormous military merit this time. Take Datong Garrison and Shanxi Garrison, for example: although they had exchanged blows with the Qing soldiers these past two days, the one who took the most heads was Hu Dawei, Regional Commander of Shanxi Garrison, and his subordinates had only cut down a little over twenty Tartar heads.

Wang Pu, Regional Commander of Datong Garrison, had his subordinates cut down a mere eight Tartar heads. In one stroke, they had been outshone by Xuanfu Garrison. No wonder the Viceroy was summoning everyone to celebrate together.

Then an explosive piece of news came from Chen An's mouth: in this great victory by Xuanfu Garrison, all of the over two hundred and twenty slave-bandit heads had been taken by a young Mobile Corps Commander of Xuanfu Garrison named Wang Dou.

"Which one is Wang Dou?"

Immediately, everyone began asking one another.

Zhang Yan, Assistant Regional Commander of Xuanfu, and Mobile Corps Commanders Li Jianming and Wen Hui, who had hurried over, were all surrounded and questioned by the crowd. The three men answered while exchanging glances of mutual shock and doubt. None of the three could bring themselves to believe that the newly appointed Mobile Corps Commander Wang Dou, having only just arrived at the eastern outskirts, had already cut down over two hundred Tartar heads.

But these words had come personally from the Viceroy's trusted general Chen An, so they must be confirmed and beyond doubt.

An Assistant Regional Commander strode over to Hu Dawei, Regional Commander of Shanxi Garrison, and said in a low voice: "My lord, I have inquired clearly. That Wang Dou was formerly a Garrison Commander under the jurisdiction of Xuan Garrison's Eastern Route. This time, with the slave bandits invading, he was appointed Mobile Corps Commander and led three thousand troops to guard the capital."

After a pause, he added: "It is rumored that Wang Dou is quite valiant. In the ninth year of Chongzhen, when he served as a Defense Commander in Xuan Garrison, he once took eighty slave-bandit heads. Because of that military merit, he was promoted to City Defense Drill Officer, and not long after, he assumed the post of local Garrison Commander."

Hu Dawei nodded slowly, as if pondering. Beside him, a stocky Shanxi Garrison Mobile Corps Commander in his thirties said: "This humble general remembers now. That day when the Viceroy at Changping summoned the generals for a council, he was standing right behind this humble general. The man looked fierce and strong, but he… it's truly unbelievable…"

Saying this, the Shanxi Garrison Mobile Corps Commander shook his head in disbelief.

Not far from Hu Dawei and the others, several officers from Datong Garrison were likewise whispering among themselves. Wang Pu, the Regional Commander of Datong Garrison, dressed in magnificent armor, tall and handsome, wearing a bright red cape, looked at the trusted general before him and said in a deep voice: "Is what you have found out true?"

That personal general patted his chest and vowed, “Every word this lowly general speaks is true; I would never dare deceive Your Excellency in any way.”

Wang Pu suavely flicked the red tassel on his helmet. “Such a fierce warrior — I wouldn’t mind befriending him.”

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