Chapter 247: Presenting Victory at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Congratulatory Memorials Pour In Like Clouds

After receiving the victory report, the Chongzhen Emperor and the Grand Secretariat at first could not believe it. Not long before, at the great victory of Qingdu, Lu Xiangsheng had reported three hundred and fifty-eight severed Jurchen heads, which everyone considered fairly reliable, and the Ministry of War’s merit-verification officers later confirmed it. But this great victory at Dingzhou, with one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five heads taken — this…

The Grand Secretariat, the Ministry of War, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and a great host of officials were all dispatched by the Chongzhen Emperor’s order to Gaoyang, and afterward it was indeed verified as true. Instantly the entire capital was stirred; storytellers in every teahouse and wineshop gave full rein to their imaginations, spittle flying, describing the great battle in vivid and lifelike detail, exaggerating wildly. In their mouths, the heroes of the great victory, Minister Lu and Mobile Corps Commander Wang Dou, had already become three-headed, six-armed monsters.

The Chongzhen Emperor held court discussions day after day, and congratulatory memorials from the hundred officials poured in like clouds. On the sixteenth, under heavy troop escort, those more than one thousand seven hundred and ninety heads of Qing soldiers from the Plain White Banner were transported to the capital. The entire capital seethed; the crowds of onlookers packed the streets and alleys along the route so tightly that not a drop of water could pass through. The Chongzhen Emperor ordered the severed heads piled into a victory mound beside the original heads at the western market. Every day, the commoners of the capital who came to view it could not even squeeze into a spot to stand unless they queued up from midnight.

On the eighteenth, the Chongzhen Emperor presented the victory at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the whole city erupted in wild celebration…

On the nineteenth, emerging from the warm chamber of the Qianqing Palace and walking to the doorway, the look of delight on Yang Sichang’s face instantly vanished. His expression was dark and gloomy as he murmured toward the sky, “We cannot let Lu Xiangsheng continue like this.”

On the twenty-first, inside the warm chamber of the Qianqing Palace, the Chongzhen Emperor stared at a military dispatch from Shanxi, frowning deeply: “The slave-bandits are veering west toward Shanxi — is Taiyuan in peril?”

He tossed the dispatch onto the desk, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth within the chamber. Yang Sichang stood respectfully below, only his gaze shifting now and then to follow the Chongzhen Emperor’s figure.

After a long while, the Chongzhen Emperor made up his mind and said to Yang Sichang, “Yunzhen is a vital territory and must not be lost. I intend to order Lu Xiangsheng to command the army and rush to its aid. What does Minister Yang think?”

Yang Sichang said respectfully, “Your Majesty, at present the main force of the slave-bandits is moving south toward Zhending; the military situation is urgent. Minister Lu understands warfare and is fierce and courageous. At this critical juncture, he must not leave the central Hebei region.”

His expression seemed to be pondering. After a moment he said, “Under Minister Lu’s command is Wang Pu, Regional Commander of Datong Garrison. Regional Commander Wang is also fairly fierce and courageous in battle; the great victory at Qingdu was won through his bloody fighting. With Regional Commander Wang rushing to aid Taiyuan, I expect it will be absolutely safe and will relieve the panic of the people of Taiyuan.”

The Chongzhen Emperor slowly nodded, but another worry arose: “Under Lu Xiangsheng’s command, there are only a little over ten thousand government troops. After Regional Commander Wang departs, the strength of his forces may be somewhat insufficient.”

After successive great victories, Lu Xiangsheng now held a very important place in the Chongzhen Emperor’s mind, second only to Yang Sichang. After the victory reports arrived, he had already issued successive edicts commending Lu Xiangsheng and Wang Dou. He was also preparing to have the Ministry of War order Lu Xiangsheng to move south, continue intercepting the Qing troops, and win new merit.

Yang Sichang smiled faintly: “Your Majesty need not worry. Under Minister Lu’s command is Wang Dou’s unit, whose valor crowns the three armies, as well as the Regional Commander of Xuanfu Garrison and the Regional Commander of Shanxi Garrison. His elite main force remains intact.”

He said, “This great victory at Dingzhou was precisely General Wang fighting a field battle in open country and routing the main force of the slave-bandits in a forthright manner. With such a fierce general at Minister Lu’s side, Your Majesty may rest assured.”

At the mention of Wang Dou, the Chongzhen Emperor’s face also bore a smile. Since the Qing troops had invaded, the heads taken by Wang Dou’s hand alone had already exceeded two thousand. Such military merit and battle achievements — perhaps since the mid-Ming only Qi Shaobao could be mentioned in the same breath as Wang Dou. He was already calculating how he should reward Wang Dou after this campaign ended. Of course, Wang Dou was still so young, yet already possessed such towering military merit — how to promote and reward him was also a headache for the Chongzhen Emperor.

“Furthermore.”

Yang Sichang added, “Army Supervisor Gao has already led tens of thousands of Guan-Ning troops south. Grand Secretary Liu and Viceroy Chen are likewise leading over ten thousand elite troops south. By then, within Zhending Prefecture there will be fifty thousand crack troops. In terms of troop strength, it can be called amply sufficient.”

Hearing Yang Sichang say this, the Chongzhen Emperor was even more reassured. Moreover, Yang Sichang’s words were prudent and indeed the words of an experienced elder planning for the state, taking every aspect into account.

Very soon, two imperial edicts were issued from the capital — one to Lu Xiangsheng, one to Wang Pu.

…

The twenty-third day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Gaoyang.

Gaoyang was traditionally said to be the ancient capital of Zhuanxu. To its north lay Baiyangdian and Anxin County. Most of its territory was flat plain with fertile soil, and it had always been a densely populated area. Only the winter there was especially bitter cold; fortunately there were many hot springs and geothermal sites within the region, which made things less unbearable for the encamped Xuan-Da officers and soldiers.

“Brother-in-law, how about going to Wuying Mountain for a bath today?”

Just as they emerged from Gaoyang County town, a deadly north wind hit them head-on, blowing Wang Dou’s face bluish and his lips purple.

“This freezing, bone-chilling, cursed weather!”

Wang Dou cursed under his breath.

He had just received another invitation from Sun Chengzong to attend a banquet at the Sun residence. Ever since the siege of Gaoyang was lifted, after hearing Lu Xiangsheng speak of Wang Dou’s battle achievements, Sun Chengzong had grown exceedingly fond of Wang Dou. Sun Chengzong had long ago received the goodwill of Wang Dou’s aid; the four Night Scouts — Long Er, Hu Ye, and the others — whom Wang Dou had dispatched had taken many heads during the several days of the defense of Gaoyang and were admired by the entire city.

Yet these men had been sent by Mobile Corps Commander Wang Dou. With this great victory at Dingzhou and Wang Dou accompanying Lu Xiangsheng’s army to the rescue, Sun Chengzong admired Wang Dou even more and had invited him over to talk on many days. Although each time Sun Chengzong also invited Yang Guozhu, Regional Commander of Xuanfu Garrison, and others, everyone knew that the true guest of honor invited by Grand Secretary Sun was Wang Dou, and they all felt both envy and jealousy toward Wang Dou.

After the great victory at Dingzhou, Lu Xiangsheng had led the army to rest and regroup beneath the walls of Gaoyang for many days. Since the spoils captured at Dingzhou were plentiful, even after leaving the greater part to relieve the disaster victims of Dingzhou, the entire army’s provisions were still sufficient for a month’s food. The residents and gentry of Gaoyang also brought daily gifts of food and comfort without cease. Moreover, every few days an imperial edict of commendation arrived. The entire Xuan-Da army, from top to bottom, was in high spirits and took the opportunity to relax thoroughly beneath the walls of Gaoyang.

Wang Dou was the same. Yet he was not idle either. After the battle of Dingzhou, his unit had suffered nearly a hundred casualties. Losing these soldiers made Wang Dou’s heart ache unbearably. The fallen warriors were cremated, their ashes collected, their clothes and caps stored away. The wounded soldiers were properly settled inside Gaoyang City to recuperate.

Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chengzong took this matter quite seriously. Sun Chengzong personally took the wounded soldiers from each unit into his own residence and assigned servants to nurse them with good care. After more than ten days of meticulous nursing, the wounded soldiers of the various garrisons had basically all recovered from their injuries and were lively and fit to fight again.

Toward Sun Chengzong, Wang Dou was also full of admiration. The old man had an iron countenance and sword-like eyebrows, a beard and whiskers bristling like halberds, and a voice like a drum or bell. Nearly eighty years old, he was still hale and hearty. He had long held command in Liaodong, and every conversation with him greatly benefited Wang Dou.

After hearing Xie Yike’s words, Wang Dou was quite tempted. Wuying Mountain lay several li west of Gaoyang City, not far from where Wang Dou’s unit was encamped. It had long enjoyed the reputation that “Heaven above has a pass overlooking a scenic realm; at noon no shadow falls upon the jade altar.” On the mountain were hot springs such as Cangshan and Ximachi, famous far and wide.

In any case, they were idle now, and going to soak in a hot spring bath in such bitter cold weather would be a pleasure.

Hearing that Wang Dou agreed, Xie Yike cheered and leaped with joy. Riding on his horse, he said to Wang Dou, “Brother-in-law, since our Shunxiang Army went to war, we have achieved so many merits. What reward do you think His Majesty will give us after the campaign?”

Wang Dou pondered. At present he held an acting Guard Commander post. Even if he was young and his seniority shallow, jumping three or four grades in hereditary rank, being substantively appointed Vice Regional Military Commissioner of the Wanshan Regional Military Commission, and concurrently serving as Assistant Regional Commander of a certain circuit in Xuanfu Garrison should be no problem. His various subordinates would also rise accordingly.

Or perhaps Vice Regional Commander, Regional Commander — Wang Dou shook his head…

Their party rode swiftly and soon arrived before the encampment of the Shunxiang Army, at a place the locals called Zhaojiazhuang. Tradition held that in Ming times a family surnamed Zhao had migrated from Shanxi and founded the village, hence the name. (After the Qing, because it assisted in collecting taxes, the name was changed to Zhaojiazuo.)

To the south of the village there was a river, making it convenient to draw water.

When he arrived before his main camp, he saw that Lu Xiangsheng’s personal general Chen An had long been waiting before the camp gate. He and the several guards beside him were all clad in leather coats, leather trousers, and leather hats, bundled up like zongzi. In the freezing weather, each man’s mouth and the horses beneath them all exhaled thick white vapor. The horses also stirred restlessly from time to time, scraping their iron hooves against the hard topsoil.

Seeing Wang Dou, Chen An’s face was full of smiles. He saluted from horseback and said, “General Wang has returned at just the right moment. By the Viceroy’s order, I was just about to go into the camp to look for you, General!”

Wang Dou also returned the salute from horseback and said, “May I ask what important matter the Viceroy has summoned me for?”

Chen An laughed and said, “The same as before. Viceroy Lu has summoned the officers of the various garrisons and specially requests General Wang to give a lecture and share his expertise.”

Wang Dou smiled faintly. His repeated great victories in taking heads had naturally drawn widespread attention from the various generals. Who would not want the troops under their command to be as fierce and skilled in battle as Wang Dou’s unit, winning merit without cease? At first, each of them paid private visits — especially Yang Guozhu, Regional Commander of Xuanfu Garrison, who had the advantage of proximity and invited Wang Dou to banquets day after day, inquiring after his insights. Then Wang Pu, Regional Commander of Datong Garrison, arrived and likewise warmly invited Wang Dou, making oblique inquiries, all trying to worm out Wang Dou’s secret formula for victory.

Finally, at the strong request of the various generals, Lu Xiangsheng specially summoned them all and invited Wang Dou to come and give a proper lecture.

According to everyone’s speculations, some thought it was the superiority of Wang Dou’s firearms, others thought it was Wang Dou’s strict military discipline and rigorous training — opinions varied. In truth, Wang Dou had nothing much to hide. His methods of warfare were obvious to any discerning eye.

In fact, Wang Dou himself believed that the deadliness of his firearms was part of it, but not the main part. The weapons used in Wang Dou’s army were merely the old stock of the Great Ming from several decades ago. Plenty of Ming armies had weapons more advanced than his — even Lu Xiangsheng’s Viceroy’s Personal Battalion already used self-igniting arquebuses and Luzon arquebuses, which his own army did not have.

The key was that the firearms were reliable in quality. The reasons behind this were complex and involved many relationships, but with the prestige of the various garrison Regional Commanders, there was nothing they could not resolve. As Regional Commanders, having several hundred or even a thousand fine arquebuses manufactured was not actually a problem. Historically, Xu Guangqi had spent vast sums of silver and specially hired Western gunsmiths to produce large numbers of excellent arquebuses and cannons, yet they had played no significant role.

Hindrances from all sides and strategic errors were one factor; the breakdown of discipline within the various armies was also a very important reason. In the main battalions of the various garrison Regional Commanders, at least basic pay and provisions could be guaranteed. Regrettably, their armies had too many old campaigners and slick veterans. The presence of such men made it difficult to achieve the strict discipline and effortless command of the Shunxiang Army.

To say nothing else, take for example the practice in battle of holding fire until the enemy entered range, as the Shunxiang Army did — none of them could manage it. In that case, no matter how fine the firearms, they could not bring their power to bear. To be like the Shunxiang Army, each Regional Commander would first have to dismiss the greater part of his subordinates, which again none of them could do.

In the end, Wang Dou also did not think highly of their armies, which merely drew pay and lacked any sense of belonging. With full pay, there was seven-tenths loyalty; with half pay, three-tenths loyalty; without pay, they fled as soon as battle began — hardened slicksters. Warlord mentality plus arrogant officers and unruly troops — it would be a wonder if they were willing to fight tough battles.