Chapter 258: Countermeasures

Everyone looked toward the Qing army’s side. The bulk of their forces had withdrawn two li away, still densely massed there, their war carts, banners, and formations arrayed in stern order — neither attacking nor retreating into their camp stockade. Perhaps they were resting and reorganizing, or perhaps they were discussing countermeasures.

By now it was nearly noon. Lu Xiangsheng issued orders to clear the battlefield; the central army headquarters lit fires to cook meals and reward the officers and men.

Dense swarms of Xuan-Da troops came out to clear the battlefield, and among them some Qing sentry riders also appeared. But they feared the Xuan-Da army’s firearms, and the Xuan-Da army also had many cavalry and night scouts scattered outside. Those Qing riders seemed unwilling to stir up trouble and did not dare approach too close.

The troops of Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, and Hu Dawei each cleared their own positions, collecting Qing weapons and banners scattered on the ground, severing heads, and stripping off armor. After the fierce morning battle, Wang Dou ordered Wen Fangliang’s unit to take over Han Zhong’s defense line and let his men go out to clear the battlefield.

The soldiers under Han Zhong’s command all carried the joy and pride of victory as they cheerfully cleared the battlefield.

“What a pity — so many heads were smashed.”

Even as Han Zhong brimmed with high spirits, he kept muttering to himself.

His troops were densely packed among the low walls and trenches, hauling Qing corpses and casually finishing off wounded Qing soldiers who were not yet dead with a blade or spear thrust. The Qing corpses between the low walls and trenches were manageable, but on the several passageways many Qing bodies had been blasted to pieces, heads included.

On the passageways lay puddle after puddle of flesh-and-blood fragments that could not be verified as Qing heads — a considerable loss of battle merit that made Han Zhong bitterly regretful. Accompanied by several bodyguards, he patrolled everywhere, shouting orders for his men to work faster.

The biting cold pressed in, carrying wave after wave of foul, cloying stench of blood. The acrid smell of gunpowder smoke had not yet fully dispersed; inhaling it into his lungs made Han Zhong sneeze several times in succession. All around, the clatter of armor plates rang unceasingly. Though the weather was bitterly cold, every soldier exhaled thick white breath and labored with fiery enthusiasm, while excited chatter rose from all sides.

“Company Commander Han, the Tartar corpses in the trenches are hard to move!”

Several soldiers whose hands and feet were swollen and purple from the cold complained to Han Zhong. The Qing corpses between the first low wall and trench were packed quite full; although the bodies were stiff and congealed with frozen blood into solid clumps, moving them was still relatively easy.

But the remaining trenches had high, slippery walls. Below, there were still many sharp wooden spikes; jumping into the trenches was clearly not a wise choice. Everyone could see the many Qing corpses sprawled every which way between the trenches, dead in various postures — some shot dead by firelocks, others fallen into the trenches and skewered like meat skewers.

“Stupid! Can’t you find some long hooks? Or borrow some hook-scythe spears from the brother units.”

Han Zhong cursed, furious at their failure to live up to his expectations, while inwardly marveling at his own cleverness.

Those soldiers came to their senses and scrambled off to find long hooks.

Accompanied by his various officers, Wang Dou stood quietly on one of the passageways. Beneath his feet were Qing soldiers’ entrails and bloodstains, along with scattered thighs, calves, palms, arms, and the like. Without exception, all had frozen rock-hard in the bitter cold, mixed with blood and firmly frozen to the earthen ground.

The cold wind sighed. Wang Dou stood motionless on the blood-and-flesh battlefield, silent, no one knowing what he was thinking, only the cold wind now and then lifting the edges of his bright red cloak.

All around, the elated voices of soldiers clearing the battlefield rose from time to time. They hauled Qing corpses one after another inside the earthen wall defense line, collecting every weapon and banner. The wrecked war carts on the various passageways were also pushed inside the earthen wall.

In any case, those broken war carts could be chopped up for firewood to keep warm. Keeping the passageways clear to facilitate another Qing charge was also a consideration.

Qing corpse after corpse was carried inside the earthen wall, gradually piling up like a small mountain.

“There should be several hundred heads, over a thousand sets of armor…”

Wang Dou heard the murmurs of the officers beside him. He walked a circuit outside the defense line, then returned inside the earthen wall. Beside the corpse pile, many logistics soldiers from Zhong Diaoyang’s supply unit, wielding short axes like butchers chopping pigs, were severing the Qing soldiers’ heads one by one and stripping off their armor.

The battalion’s military disciplinary officers, meanwhile, held record books and registered the heads and captured spoils.

The final tally came out: “General, in this battle our army has taken five hundred and seventy-five heads and one thousand and thirty-one sets of armor…”

After all, many of the dead Qing soldiers had been heavy-armored troops; besides their iron-studded cotton armor, most wore chain mail underneath. Though these armors had been broken by firelocks and cannons, they could still be used after repairs. By now, Wang Dou had already captured over four thousand sets of armor from Qing hands.

Everyone around beamed with delight, especially Han Zhong, who grinned from ear to ear. A single battle and already such spoils and battle merit — it was truly a huge profit.

His own front defense line alone had taken this many heads. Wang Dou estimated that the Qing army’s actual casualties were even greater; after all, the flanking armies must have reaped their own harvests. Moreover, in the long-range fighting, many Qing soldiers had been killed or wounded by cannon fire and rockets. But those wounded and dead had surely been snatched back by the retreating Qing troops.

As for the captured armor and weapons, Wang Dou ordered them stored in the armory. At the same time, he instructed Zhong Diaoyang to select a portion of the previously repaired armor and issue it to all the army’s firelock soldiers to wear, increasing their defensive capability.

…

All of Wang Dou’s firelock soldiers, cavalry, and logistics troops, because they wore breastplates, could put on a red cotton-wool overcoat on top. The fully armored pikemen each had a warm red cotton-wool cloak.

Perhaps out of aversion to Tartar armor, or perhaps fearing friendly fire during fierce combat, when the firelock soldiers chose additional armor, most picked chain mail. After all, although the Manchu army’s armor and uniforms followed Ming styles with slight modifications, there were still distinctions. In particular, the white or red borders inlaid along the outer edges of each banner’s armor were unmistakable markers of Tartar soldiers.

Chain mail could effectively defend against bow and crossbow fire and also protect against slashing weapons, though it could not stop the fierce thrust of sharp swords or long spears. But the greatest threat to the firelock soldiers was still Qing archery. In close combat, they had the pikemen brothers to protect them — nothing to worry about.

Moreover, after donning chain mail, they could still wear the red cotton-wool overcoat to keep their bodies warm in the bitter winter. If they wore other kinds of Tartar cotton armor — since the army’s supplies carried few wool cloaks and they lacked the Shunxiang Army’s own insignia — who knew whether, in the heat of battle, their brothers in arms might strike out fiercely at these comrades clad in Tartar armor?

The army’s firelock soldiers gleefully collected chain mail and other armor. The army’s casualty figures were also tallied: in this battle, the Shunxiang Army had suffered over one hundred and twenty casualties in total. Most were arrow wounds; the Qing had loosed a great volley of rockets. Caught off guard, many firelock soldiers wearing breastplates were struck in the arms by arrows. Most of these were lightly wounded.

However, during the battle, when Qing war carts fiercely assaulted the passageways, over a dozen firelock soldiers were struck in the face by arrows, their wounds more serious. Worst of all were the Qing cannon shots: over thirty pikemen or firelock soldiers were struck by bouncing, tumbling cannonballs — some killed on the spot, others losing hands or legs.

In such bitter cold, many of those severely wounded and maimed would likely not survive. After Wang Dou led his officers to visit the wounded and the dead, his heart was heavy with grief. Once the Qing siege ended, who knew how many more soldiers would die.

Cooking smoke curled upward. The logistics soldiers of each battalion had prepared meals. After the great battle, waves of laughter and cheerful voices rose again from the Xuan-Da defense line. Everyone gathered around the fires, eating and drinking the steaming hot food with hearty appetites, while excitedly discussing the battle just fought.

Wang Dou was summoned to Lu Xiangsheng’s central army command tent. Here, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, and the others had already arrived. Everyone’s face was alight with joy; clearly, in that morning’s engagement, each had reaped considerable spoils. The moment he saw Wang Dou, Guo Yingxian, Yang Guozhu’s central army personal general, called out: “General Wang, my main-force battalion took two hundred and thirty-four heads. How many did your Baoan Army take?”

Wang Dou smiled faintly. “I took five hundred and seventy-five heads.”

Guo Yingxian sucked in a breath and muttered, “Good heavens…”

Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei exchanged a meaningful glance.

…

Inside the tent, Lu Xiangsheng looked over the battle results reported by each battalion, his face full of smiles. The three sides of the defense line had reaped considerable spoils. Wang Dou had taken five hundred and seventy-five heads, Yang Guozhu two hundred and thirty-four, Hu Dawei two hundred and twelve — already over a thousand heads here. Lu Xiangsheng estimated that the Qing army’s actual casualties were even higher.

Although the battalions combined had also suffered over five hundred casualties, including more than two hundred killed in action — after all, under the Qing cannon and rocket fire, each battalion had been somewhat caught off guard. But now that each battalion had defensive awareness and a solid earthen-wall defense position, holding the position was entirely without problem.

As the generals discussed military affairs, they ate and drank heartily. Throughout, everyone lavished praise on Wang Dou’s defensive works. With such fortifications, the Qing army’s superior numbers could not deploy at all, and their own troops slaughtered them one-sidedly. To achieve such results on the very first day of battle — as Wang Dou had said, bleeding the Qing soldiers dry before the Xuan-Da camp was entirely feasible.

Lu Xiangsheng also praised Wang Dou a few times, then loudly exhorted the generals: “In today’s first engagement, the slave-thieves’ keen edge has already been blunted. So long as our army firmly holds the position, within a few days the slave-thief host will exhaust its strength and be worn to nothing. At that time, Eunuch Gao will lead the grand army in a thunderous strike, and the tens of thousands of slave soldiers can be swept away in a single stroke. Our Great Ming will be rid of this mortal affliction at its heart, and the eastern crisis will be no more.”

The gathering broke into even greater laughter and cheer. During the feast, Wang Dou took the opportunity to ask Lu Xiangsheng and the other generals for some face masks. In fact, iron face masks worn under the helmet had always been standard Ming equipment; each mask was hideous in appearance, like a demon or monster. Because Wang Dou believed masks obstructed vision, and his own firelock soldiers had experience defending against arrows, he had not manufactured or equipped them. But judging by the present situation, equipping a portion with these iron masks was still necessary.

Lu Xiangsheng and the other generals were generous toward Wang Dou’s request. Now everyone was like grasshoppers tied to the same rope — a time to share a common hatred against the enemy. Thus, when Wang Dou took his leave, he had already secured a total of four hundred iron face masks. The logistics officers of each battalion would soon deliver the masks to Wang Dou’s army.

…

In the Qing grand camp at that moment, however, the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive. Clusters of Qing soldiers lit fires and silently drank water and ate dry rations. Under Dorgon’s gold-embroidered dragon banner, the various banner lords and important figures such as the beile of each banner were gathered around him, none uttering a word.

The casualties of each banner had already been tallied, startling everyone. In just that one battle today, the entire banner force had suffered nearly two thousand casualties, among which the number of each banner’s brave warriors killed in action exceeded a thousand. Many of these were heavy-armored soldiers of the various banners. The losses were truly too great — no wonder everyone’s heart was heavy with grief and no one spoke.

Dorgon’s face was expressionless. Under the reports of the banner lords who had attacked the Xuan-Da camp, a rough sketch map of the Xuan-Da army’s defenses had already appeared before everyone’s eyes. Looking at this sketch, everyone drew a cold breath. Abatai said: “What a vicious battle-formation defense line. I am certain that this camp defense layout was devised by that Ming general Wang Dou.”

Dorgon said: “After our army’s probing, the Ming grand army’s camp defenses are now clear. Three sides are encircled by earthen walls, about the height of a man. There are five level passageways; the rest are all low walls and trenches, difficult to cross. On the front face there are roughly seventy-five large and small cannons; their cannons and firelocks are deadly. Judging by the banners, it must be Ming General Wang Dou defending. The two flanks are Ming Regional Commander Yang Guozhu on one side and Ming Regional Commander Hu Dawei on the other, each with sixty large and small cannons!”

“Of the five front passageways, each is between ten-odd and twenty-odd paces wide. At the gaps in the earthen wall ahead, two or four large and small cannons are placed. For the cannons elsewhere, the earthen wall gaps are each two or three paces wide, and the gunners can take cover at any time in the protective walls beside them. In front of these cannons, no low walls have been set up — only several lines of trenches!”

“Apart from these cannons, in front of the earthen walls elsewhere are line after line of low walls and trenches, with Ming troops posted as firearm soldiers for defense. Because the earthen wall gaps are fixed, their cannons are also fixed. If our army is to attack, we can advance from the low-wall and trench sectors and avoid their cannons!”

Jirgalang, the Bordered Blue Banner lord, had today led his own banner’s warriors, along with the Eight Banner Mongol Plain White Banner and Bordered Blue Banner, to attack the right wing defended by Hu Dawei. Even though they had not encountered the devastating firepower that Wang Dou delivered on the front face, after today’s assault, their hearts still trembled with lingering fear.

He said: “Generalissimo, the Ming earthen walls are low. When our grand army attacks, the archers in the rear cannot possibly cover the charge of the brave warriors in front. If we force a volley, we will only shoot our own soldiers!”

Dorgon said: “Therefore, we must fill in the trenches behind the earthen walls!”

He mused: “In this freezing winter weather, those low walls are hard as ice; digging them open will likely be extremely difficult. But the low walls are not high. Once the trenches are filled, our banner warriors, supported by archers, can still breach the Ming earthen walls.”

A chill rose in the hearts of all. Just filling those trenches, they feared, would cost the blood of who knew how many brave warriors of the banners. The first trench was manageable — each banner’s war carts could be pushed right up to the first low wall, and the auxiliary troops could hurl earth sacks into the trench. But the remaining trenches…

Abatai said, “Our army has many wooden shields. Though crude and heavy, if several warriors combine their strength, they can still be carried over each low wall and advanced before every trench…”

Yet even as he spoke, he understood that even so, filling those several trenches in the end would cost the blood of countless banner warriors. After all, the Ming army’s earthen wall had numerous gaps, and behind the wall, gap after gap, all could pour out fire. When the warriors of each banner filled the trenches, no one knew how many casualties they would suffer.

The Yangwu Grand General Yoto brooded for a long while, studying that sketch map of the Xuan-Da army’s defenses, and said, “Apart from the five passages and the low walls and trenches, in front of the Ming army’s remaining gap artillery there are only a few trenches — filling those might be easier.”

Dorgon scrutinized the defense map for a long moment and said, “The passages before these cannons are only a few paces wide, allowing just two war carts or wooden shields to advance at a time. With cannons ahead and arquebus fire coming from both flanks, I fear our warriors’ casualties will also be considerable.”

Everyone fell silent. After a long pause, Duoduo, Master of the Bordered White Banner of the Manchu Eight Banners, shouted, “Why must we fight the Ming army head-on? We can also dig trenches, leave a portion of troops to watch them, and let the rest continue raiding for plunder. Or our main army can besiege them for a few months, trap them, starve them to death!”

Dorgon rebuked his younger brother: “Foolish! If our numbers are few, how can we besiege them? You have tasted the fighting power of Wang Dou and those Ming commanders yourself. Leave ten or twenty thousand men — do you think you can hem them in? What if they seek a decisive battle, or break out? And a months-long siege… where would provisions for tens of thousands come from? Our army has penetrated deep into Ming territory. If we do not fight and decide quickly, after a few months the Ming Emperor will have already mobilized their entire realm’s reinforcements. By then our great army will have lost all its edge before the Xuan-Da encampment. Do you want all our Eight Banner warriors to remain inside the Pass forever?”

He swept a stern glare over everyone: “As long as Lu Xiangsheng and Wang Dou exist, our Eight Banner army cannot plunder smoothly. Never mind their future threat — whether we can even transport this campaign’s spoils out of the Pass is uncertain. Therefore Lu Xiangsheng and Wang Dou must be eliminated. But our sixty-thousand-strong army faces supply difficulties; delay breeds trouble. So we must stake everything on a single battle and seize the Xuan-Da encampment within half a month. Our forces are numerous. Once the trenches are filled and we storm inside the earthen walls, destroying Lu Xiangsheng, Wang Dou, and the rest is only a matter of time!”

Duoduo hung his head dejectedly under Dorgon’s scolding, secretly regretting his earlier outburst.

Buyandai, Master of the Bordered Red Banner of the Mongol Eight Banners, suddenly said, “In truth, filling the Ming army’s trenches does not necessarily require our warriors to take the field. In our army’s various camps, we have seized multitudes of Ming commoners. We can drive them forward to fill the trenches!”

Dorgon gave him a deep look and shook his head: “A disorderly mob. Make them face the Ming army’s cannons and arquebuses — if the numbers are small, it might be manageable, but if we drive thousands or tens of thousands forward, those Ming commoners will certainly collapse in rout. If they come surging back, not only will they block our warriors’ line of advance, they are highly likely to shatter our own formations. Should the Ming army seize the chance to counterattack in full force and pursue, I fear our great army might…”

The banner masters all turned their eyes on Buyandai, as if doubting his motives. Under their collective gaze, Buyandai could only murmur in meek assent.

Abatai pondered a moment and said, “Perhaps we could drive forward a portion of the Ming commoners as a probe — a few thousand people — and observe the Ming army’s reaction. With fewer numbers, our great army can also control them more easily.”

Dorgon nodded approvingly, then said sternly, “This afternoon our great army shall launch the assault. Feint against the front to pin down the Ming commander Wang Dou’s forces, and strike fiercely at both wings. With wave after wave of unrelenting attacks, we shall ruthlessly slaughter their morale. The red-barbarian cannons transported from Tongzhou will arrive soon. I expect within a few days, we shall surely overrun the Ming positions!”

“Every warrior of the Eight Banners must press forward valiantly. Whoever dares shrink back shall be summarily executed without mercy!”