Chapter 236: Pursuing Lu Xiangsheng

Early in the eleventh month of the eleventh year of Chongzhen.

Near Zhuozhou. Across the vast North China Plain, a column of men and horses moved forward. The cold wind cut like a blade — now into the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, the northern lands of the Great Ming grew ever more frigid. Yet this column still marched with high spirits, striding along in great strides.

They advanced in a dispersed skirmish-line formation rarely seen in this world, with Night Scouts fanning out several dozen li to the front, rear, left, and right, galloping and calling out everywhere. Behind them came the central army’s great banner, followed by squadron after squadron of cavalry. Farther back, company after company of infantry marched in orderly ranks — ten men to a file, the bright red flags of the squad leaders and company commanders fluttering at the head of each squad and company. Every man strode with head high and chest out, faces filled with pride, as if no one in this world could block their advancing steps.

Wang Dou rode his chestnut-red steed and gazed around at the desolate countryside. Once beyond the capital region, and with the Qing troops having invaded to plunder, the land all around was nearly devoid of human habitation. Even when they spotted a few hamlets or civilian forts, smoke was either rising from them or the inhabitants had abandoned them and fled.

In these parts, apart from some farmland around the walled cities and villages, all that remained was an endless expanse of dry, flat yellow earth. The rivers they saw were nearly dried up, and whenever the wind stirred, it whipped up sky-filling dust.

In such a place, there was naturally no point in talking about foraging for provisions. Fortunately, on this march his army had brought large quantities of grain, rice, and horse meat, so at least for the next month or so, the several thousand soldiers would not have to worry about food and drink.

He glanced at the dense mass of supply carts and artillery wagons behind the central army division, a satisfied look spreading across his face. These supplies were the lifeline of his army. Of course, with so many additional carts and horses in the army, they inevitably slowed the column’s marching pace.

Moreover, they were no longer moving along interior lines but could be said to be penetrating deep into enemy territory. Therefore, after leaving the capital, Wang Dou’s large force marched only sixty li a day before making camp and resting. The result was that for the one hundred twenty-odd li from the capital to Zhuozhou, his army had taken a full two days.

The main Qing force had crossed past the capital in the last ten days of the tenth month, taken Zhuozhou, then split into three columns to besiege Baoding. After that attack stalled, they bypassed Baoding and split into eight columns to push south. Thus, in the days since Wang Dou left the capital, he had not encountered any large Qing formations on the road. Only occasionally did they meet small bands of Qing cavalry or scouts, who were immediately set upon by the Shunxiang Army’s Night Scouts and cavalry. The march so far had been fairly smooth.

Wang Dou calculated that once past Zhuozhou, they would probably need another two or three days to reach Baoding and join forces with Lu Xiangsheng.

Suddenly a flash of insight struck Wang Dou’s mind. The eleventh month — it was already the eleventh month. A thought came to him in a daze, and he asked Xie Yike beside him, “Yike, what day is it in the eleventh month?”

Xie Yike looked at Wang Dou with an expression that said, “Brother-in-law, are you daft?” and replied, “General, today is the first day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year of Chongzhen. Why do you ask?”

Wang Dou shook his head and said nothing.

At noon the army took a brief rest beside a small river near a place the locals called Songlindian. Wang Dou summoned the Night Scout Company Commander Wen Daxing and said, “Company Commander Wen, there is a task I need you to send a few men to carry out. Pick several brave and reliable men, have them ride at top speed straight to Gaoyang, and wait for an opportunity to protect Grand Secretary Sun inside the city.”

Wen Daxing said not a word, immediately selecting four Night Scouts and bringing them before Wang Dou.

Wang Dou looked at them with satisfaction. These four Night Scouts were Long Er, who had distinguished himself scouting when the Qing troops invaded in the early tenth month; the burly Night Scout soldier nicknamed “Bench”; and the two men the Night Scouts respectfully called Master Hu and Master Qiang. After those men had performed great deeds, Wang Dou had personally received them. Yang Hu in particular — surrounded by ten thousand Qing troops, his expression had never changed, and he had superbly completed the mission entrusted to him — had left a deep impression on Wang Dou.

After receiving Wang Dou’s assignment, the four men thumped their chests and guaranteed they would accomplish the task. Only “Bench” was a bit muddled: “Which one is Grand Secretary Sun?”

A gleam flashed in Master Hu’s eyes. He asked, “General, could it be that former Imperial Tutor, Grand Secretary Sun, who once served as Grand Coordinator in Liaodong?”

Wang Dou nodded. Historically, on the twelfth day of the eleventh month, Qing troops would attack Gaoyang city. Sun Chengzong would lead the local gentry and his household in a fight to the death, and in the end the city would fall and he would die a martyr’s death — at the age of eighty, together with nineteen of his sons and grandsons, all dying in battle. Because of that event, the Chongzhen Emperor would issue an edict sternly reprimanding Lu Xiangsheng for cowardice and avoiding battle, which would further steel Lu Xiangsheng’s resolve to die on the battlefield. Wang Dou wanted to try his utmost to see if he could prevent all of that.

Long Er and the other three, each man with three horses and carrying the necessary provisions and gear, galloped off at full speed.

Watching their figures recede into the distance, Wang Dou hoped their journey would go smoothly. Perhaps before long, he too would meet them beneath the walls of Gaoyang.

……

From the northwest came another rolling cloud of dust. A Night Scout raced up to Wen Daxing and reported a few words. A look of delight spread over Wen Daxing’s face, and he said to Wang Dou, “General, Shen Shiqi, the Squad Commander of the First Squad, First Company, Second Division, who was left to garrison Liujing Fort in Yizhou, has arrived.”

A smile appeared on Wang Dou’s face. Liujing Fort was the first strongpoint on the route from Baoanzhou to the North China Plain. Wang Dou regarded it as highly important and had left a squad of men to guard it. In the fighting of the previous few days, his army had suffered over forty killed and more than one hundred ten wounded. Over thirty of the more seriously wounded had already been arranged to enter the capital to recuperate; the remaining wounded were still accompanying the army.

Even though their wounds were not severe, the bitter cold and several days of jolting had caused some of their injuries to worsen — high fevers, delirious ravings, and such symptoms appeared. To keep them with the army any longer would be dangerous. Now that they were about to enter the Laishui region, it was a good time to bring in the troops garrisoning Liujing Fort, transfer these wounded to the fort for proper recuperation, and incidentally send back the ashes, clothing, and caps of the soldiers who had died in battle.

Very soon, about two squads — over a hundred men — arrived and formed up in orderly ranks outside the main army. Squad Commander Shen Shiqi, the man who had successfully snatched away Wu Zhengchun’s woman, broke away from the column and strode toward Wang Dou. Beside him were Company Commander Han Zhong and Squad Commander Zhong Xiancai, among others.

Shen Shiqi wore iron armor, with a Squad Commander’s banner stuck in the back. He was tall and brawny, fierce and murderous-looking, his face covered in horizontal creases of flesh — clearly not the kindly sort at a glance. Yet when his fierce, gleaming eyes fell upon Wang Dou, they instantly turned deferential, and he came forward with the utmost respect to pay his respects to Wang Dou.

Wang Dou was very pleased. Since leading his troops into the capital region, he had lost roughly two squads of men. But with these replacements, his force of over three thousand several hundred was once again at full strength.

Wang Dou smiled and bade him rise, then asked about recent affairs at Liujing Fort.

Shen Shiqi answered respectfully, “General, since the last ten days of the previous month, when the Tartar horde plundered Zhuozhou, Yizhou, Laishui, and other places, great numbers of common folk have been fleeing into the fort every day. By a rough estimate, over this past half month, Liujing Fort has already taken in close to ten thousand refugees, all of whom have been sent on into Baoanzhou.”

“Tartar roving cavalry also attacked Liujing Fort but were beaten back by the brothers left to guard it, with over twenty heads taken. After your humble servant received the General’s orders delivered by Night Scout, I immediately reported to Company Commander Han at the prefectural city. When your humble servant set out, Company Commander Han had already transferred one squad of veteran troops from the prefectural city to defend Liujing Fort, with two more squads of new troops assisting in its defense. Another squad of new troops accompanied your humble servant here.”

“Company Commander Han said that in Baoanzhou, he and Sir Lin are drilling the troops day and night, and the five thousand new troops will soon be ready. Also, the Old Madam, the First Madam, and the Young Madam in the prefectural city are longing day and night for news of the General’s victorious return. The Madams also entrusted your humble servant to bring letters to the General.”

So saying, he respectfully handed several letters to Wang Dou.

Wang Dou was kept informed of affairs in Baoanzhou in detail by the Night Scouts, but hearing about Han Chao and the new troops from Shen Shiqi still gladdened him. Once the new troops were trained, together with Han Chao and the others left to guard the prefectural city, he would have six thousand troops in Baoanzhou. Adding the over three thousand men beside him, he would have more than eight thousand men at his disposal — the possibilities were vast.

When Shen Shiqi mentioned his mother, Madam Zhong, and his wife, Xie Xiuniang, and the others, Wang Dou took the letters and looked at them. The handwriting inside was graceful and elegant. His mother, Madam Zhong, and Xie Xiuniang were illiterate, so at a glance he knew they had been written by Ji Junjiao on their behalf. The contents of Madam Zhong’s and Xie Xiuniang’s letters were relatively plain and simple.

But what Ji Junjiao had written was rather clingingly sentimental. At the end of the letter was appended a short lyric: “By those waters, I saw my lord upon the waters. Thinking of my lord in silence, all day I cannot forget. By that islet, I saw my lord upon the islet. Thinking of my lord in longing, all month I cannot forget. By that sandbank, I saw my lord upon the sandbank. Thinking of my lord in solitude, all my life I cannot forget…”

Looking at the several letters in his hand, Wang Dou could not help but be lost in a daze for a moment.

……

The third day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year of Chongzhen, at the prefectural city of Baoding.

As both a prefectural seat and the seat of the Baoding garrison, the city of Baoding had walls over ten li in circumference, extremely tall and thick. The city had four gates, each with a barbican. Baoding was built as a square, but because the southwestern corner jutted outward several hundred meters in a slight arc, while the northern side ran in a straight line, the shape resembled a boot — hence Baoding was also known as Boot City.

Within the garrison city were stationed a Provincial Governor overseeing Baoding and other prefectures, concurrently in charge of Zijing Pass and other passes, and concurrently managing the river channels. There were also the Baoding Wagon Brigade and several other brigades, totaling tens of thousands of troops, all defending this majestic city famed as “the guardian of the Divine Capital, the most vital strategic town under Heaven.”

But now, beneath those majestic walls, bloodstains lay thick everywhere. Not far from the city, wrecked war wagons and long scaling ladders were scattered all about. The gray-brick walls were covered with scars, and many of the gate towers had been burned down. The villages and towns that had originally surrounded the city had all been razed by the flames of war, their inhabitants fled.

Several li south of the city, not far from Qingyuan County, a camp was pitched. Outside the camp, Lu Xiangsheng stood motionless, gazing at the high walls of Baoding on the horizon, his heart filled with boundless fury. He had led his troops to the rescue and lifted the siege of Baoding. He had never expected that after the Qing troops withdrew, the Baoding Provincial Governor Zhang Qiping would shut the city gates tight, refuse to let a single man of his army enter the city, and, on the pretext that there was no grain inside the city, adamantly refuse to provide provisions — merely ordering men to throw a few thousand taels of silver down from the walls and telling his army to go buy grain for themselves.

Ridiculous. After the Qing troops had passed through, every village and town around Baoding was utterly deserted — where was he supposed to buy grain? He had led over ten thousand officers and men of the three garrisons of Xuan-Da out from the capital. Their provisions had been woefully inadequate to begin with, and the soldiers, starving and freezing, had hoped only for a full meal once they reached Baoding. Yet even this small wish could not be fulfilled.

The provisions remaining in the army now could only provide the soldiers with one meal of thin gruel a day. Today Lu Xiangsheng had already ordered the troops to go out in all directions to dig up tree bark and grass roots. He had never imagined that all his fervent devotion would meet with such a result.

These days, Lu Xiangsheng shared weal and woe with his soldiers every day. Though the men had grievances, not a single one had deserted. The more he thought of this, the more Lu Xiangsheng felt as if a knife were carving into his heart. He had already submitted a memorial to the Ministry of War requesting provisions, but it had sunk like a stone into the sea, with not the slightest response.

Gazing at the distant city of Baoding, a lyric suddenly drifted through Lu Xiangsheng’s mind: “I travel to Baozhou fortress, the Imperial River runs straight to its east. The mountains and rivers still hold spirit, how lush and dense the auspicious air. I look upon my caged carriage, the fierce wind whirls the autumn tumbleweed. I would offer incense and pay homage, yet melancholy faces the vast sky.”

That was the lament of Wen Tianxiang when he was taken by the barbarian Yuan to Baoding city. Baoding was beautiful, with the look of the Jiangnan region, but like Wen Tianxiang in those days, Lu Xiangsheng’s heart was equally bleak.

Just as he was lost in thought, his trusted general Chen An came over and said in a low voice, “Lord Viceroy, Advisor Yang has returned.”

Lu Xiangsheng’s spirits lifted. He had sent Yang Tinglin to Qingyuan County to request grain — he wondered what good news he might bring.