Chapter 283: It Is Time

On the fifth day of the first month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Wang Dou finished reorganizing the last two thousand-plus new troops.

Accompanying Wang Dou on this campaign were several hundred logistics soldiers in the army, but because Wen Fangliang’s and Zhong Xiancai’s units had suffered heavy casualties, all the logistics soldiers in their units had already been converted into combat troops. The battalion logistics unit originally had over three hundred men; now only a little over two hundred remained. This time they also followed Wang Dou to Liujing Fortress, led by Gao Gui, formerly a Assistant Regional Commander in the main logistics unit.

Although Zhong Diaoyang was still in Zanhuang County, that day Wang Dou issued an order promoting Zhong Diaoyang to Company Commander and Gao Gui to Vice Company Commander, expanding the battalion logistics unit into a combat company. Veteran soldiers were selected from the main unit and various sub-units to serve as officers, with four Squad Commanders under them. Since Zhong Diaoyang was recuperating in Zanhuang, Gao Gui temporarily acted in his stead.

The remaining one thousand-plus new troops were all assigned as logistics soldiers, new officers were appointed, and a new logistics company was formed.

After careful consideration, Wang Dou appointed Sun Sanjie, formerly a Squad Commander in Unit Yi, as the Company Commander of the logistics unit.

Wang Dou also decided that henceforth no separate company-level logistics unit would be established within the battalion; all vehicles in the army would be centrally managed by the battalion. Whenever a unit went on campaign, corresponding vehicles would be dispatched to transport provisions and supplies. An exception would be made only if a company was separately garrisoning a location.

Wang Dou also issued orders promoting Li Guangheng and Wen Daxing to Company Commander, promoting Xie Yike to Squad Commander of the central army, and transferring Night Scout soldier Yang Hu to serve as his own guard unit officer, temporarily taking over Xie Yike’s duties. After the Battle of Julu, Wang Dou’s guard unit had suffered over half its casualties; after several days of reorganization in Zanhuang, he selected personnel from the veteran soldiers of various units and finally replenished his guard unit to its full complement of fifty-five men.

And the day Master Tiger had gone alone into Dudu’s army to parley had left a deep impression on Wang Dou. A man of such courage and insight, he naturally had to be vigorously promoted. Yang Hu’s leap from an ordinary Night Scout soldier to guard unit officer drew a great many envious and jealous looks throughout the army.

Li Guangheng was naturally delighted to be promoted to Company Commander, but after the Battle of Julu, his cavalry unit had lost nearly half its strength. Although all the cavalry auxiliary soldiers had been replenished into the unit, its combat effectiveness had been dragged down all at once. Moreover, replenishing cavalry troopers was no easy matter; perhaps for a very long time to come, his company would have to maintain a state of understrength manpower.

The same was true of the Night Scout unit. Wen Daxing was promoted to Company Commander, fulfilling his long-cherished wish, and was naturally extremely elated.

However, the battalion Night Scouts originally had only two squads totaling one hundred and ten men. Over the months of campaigning, they had suffered considerable losses, leaving only a little over sixty men in the end. During the rest and reorganization in Zanhuang, Wang Dou transferred all the Night Scouts from the original two companies up to merge with Wen Daxing’s Night Scout squad, and further supplemented them with some veteran soldiers, only then filling the vacancies in the battalion’s two Night Scout squads.

Now that the battalion Night Scouts had been promoted to a company-level unit, the originally outstanding Night Scout soldiers Long Er, "Bench," and Qiang Ye had all been promoted to squad officers, though each commanded only a handful of subordinates. As a Company Commander, Wen Daxing currently had only a little over a hundred men under him.

The Night Scouts, cavalry, and artillery in the army were all high-skill branches, and replenishing their manpower had never been easy. The selection criteria for Night Scouts were especially stringent; although the Night Scout unit had a manpower quota of over a thousand, no one knew which year it would finally be filled.

Zhao Xuan was far away in Zanhuang at this time, but Wang Dou likewise appointed him Company Commander. Zhao Xuan had originally been a wagon-fort Company Commander in Baoding Prefecture and had served in Wang Dou’s army as a Squad Commander. Over the months of campaigning, Zhao Xuan’s artillery unit had rendered considerable meritorious service. Wang Dou promoted him to Company Commander as a gesture of respect for technical talent.

As with the logistics unit, Wang Dou likewise decided that henceforth no separate artillery unit would be established within the battalion; all artillery in the army would be centrally managed by the battalion to maximize its power. An exception would be made only if a company was garrisoning a location.

After these two days of reorganization, a large number of men in the army were promoted, and each was naturally delighted. Reckoning thus, under Wang Dou’s command were Han Chao’s Unit Jia, Wen Fangliang’s Unit Yi, Zhong Xiancai’s Unit Bing, Zhong Diaoyang’s Unit Ding, Sun Sanjie’s Unit Wu, Wen Daxing’s Unit Ji, Li Guangheng’s Unit Geng, and Zhao Xuan’s Unit Xin — eight companies in all.

Watching the several Company Commanders in the great hall brimming with high spirits, Gao Shiyin’s mood was somewhat low. Among the old hands who had followed Wang Dou back in Jingbian Fort, he alone was a Squad Commander; all the rest held military ranks one grade higher than his. But there was no helping it — who could he blame for not having gone on campaign this time? Without having rendered military merit, the Mobile Corps Commander had no grounds to promote him.

At this thought, the fierce flesh on Gao Shiyin’s face twitched a few times, and he let out a long sigh.

Wang Dou looked over the hall full of Company Commanders and Squad Commanders. After these two days of reorganization, aside from those Company Commanders, many of the Squad Commanders were unfamiliar faces. The old hands kept departing, new men kept rising — what further changes would there be among his subordinates in the future?

His gaze swept over to Gao Shiyin. This army ruffian’s expression was somewhat dejected. Thinking back, his encounter with Gao Shiyin in the seventh year of Chongzhen had been a curious one. The two could be said to have met through conflict. That ferocious, murderous Night Scout outside Huoludun who had intended to kill innocents and claim merit was now crestfallen, grieving and upset over having no chance for promotion.

Wang Dou instructed each Company Commander to seize the moment to integrate their troops and intensify training. After everyone had dispersed, he called Gao Shiyin to stay.

"Brother Gao, when we attack the slaves at Zhuozhou this time, put on a good show. Once we return to Baoanzhou, you will be just like Brother Wen and the others."

Gao Shiyin stood stunned for a long while, only coming back to his senses after Wang Dou had walked out of the room. He bowed deeply, his voice somewhat choked: "Thank you, General."

From the sixth to the eighth day, during these three days, the flatlands north of the river at Liujing Fortress were filled with the sounds of training commands and arquebus fire. The newly reorganized Shunxiang Army’s eight companies, nearly seven thousand troops, braved the bitter cold and seized every moment to train. The Company Commanders and Squad Commanders of each unit also worked day and night to familiarize and integrate with the soldiers under them.

The Shunxiang Army and the Main Battalion cavalry, along with the Night Scouts, screened the encampment in this area. Neither the government authorities nor the Qing soldiers knew that over ten thousand deadly troops lay concealed around Liujing Fortress. However, the newly arrived reinforcing troops all learned the news that they would be attacking Zhuozhou in a few days.

Many of the new troops could not help feeling uneasy, but seeing the utterly unconcerned demeanor of the officers in their units and squads, they were more or less put at ease. In particular, those Shunxiang Army veterans who had experienced the Battle of Julu were even more dismissive of those Qing soldiers. Driven by their example, the new troops’ fear subsided, replaced by a thirst for victory in battle.

In this reorganization, large-scale exemplars were right before their eyes: countless veteran soldiers had been promoted. The risk of death or injury in battle existed, but the rewards after victory were even greater — all of this spurred the new troops’ confidence in establishing merit and achieving success.

Ninth day, morning.

Hu Dawei, Xu Yue'e, and nearly three thousand men of the Governor’s Personal Battalion, escorting a large quantity of supplies, reached Yizhou. Upon receiving the news, Wang Dou personally led Han Chao’s Unit Jia main force and several Company Commanders. Yang Guozhu likewise led his central army personal general Guo Yingxian and several hundred men to Baimali to welcome Hu Dawei’s party, escorting them to Liujing Fortress, where the two armies joined forces.

Like Wang Dou and the others, Hu Dawei’s journey had gone smoothly. Along the way, the gates of every prefecture and county were shut tight, and the bulk of the Qing troops had headed toward Shandong, so there were no particular mishaps on the road. Only the bitter cold and the escorting of a large number of vehicles made the party travel extremely slowly; fortunately, the entire army arrived safely.

The accompanying carts and horses of Hu Dawei’s party included several hundred horse-drawn carts and wheelbarrows, as well as a large quantity of artillery, tents, chevaux-de-frise, and other items. The several thousand suits of armor Wang Dou had captured were also loaded onto the various carts; only the tens of thousands of taels of silver had been transported away first. When Hu Dawei’s party set out from Zanhuang and reached Mancheng, they loaded up and transported back the several thousand dan of provisions Wang Dou had stored there. The squad of soldiers left on guard duty was also absorbed into Zhao Xuan’s artillery unit, which made this train of carts and horses exceptionally enormous.

When Hu Dawei’s party arrived at Liujing Fortress, the entire army seethed with excitement. The number of government troops gathered at various points in Liujing Fortress reached over twelve thousand — ample strength for the task. Night Scout intelligence reported that the enemy at Zhuozhou remained utterly unaware, completely ignorant that a mighty foe was spying on them from the flank. It was time to deliver a thunderbolt strike against them.

Wang Dou arranged for these soldiers who had come from afar to rest and recuperate. That afternoon, Wang Dou distributed over four thousand of the seven thousand captured suits of armor, giving one to each of the newly arrived reinforcing troops. Over two thousand several hundred suits of armor still remained in the storehouse.

With every man receiving a suit of armor, those Shunxiang new troops were all exultant. It just felt a bit strange wearing Tartar armor; fortunately, each man had a red cotton wool-lined greatcloak draped over him, which could effectively distinguish friend from foe.

As soon as Zhao Xuan arrived at Liujing Fortress, he received an unexpected delight: he had been promoted to Company Commander, and his artillery unit under his command was renamed the Xin Unit Artillery Company. Not only were the battalion artillery units all under his command, but even the original two company artillery units were likewise placed under him. He was naturally overjoyed.

Like Li Guangheng, Wen Daxing, and the others, he too would face the problem of a shortage of gunners. Originally, the battalion artillery unit plus the two company artillery units totaled three hundred and seventy men, including a number of gunner escorts. After the Battle of Julu, many of the escorts in each artillery unit had died in battle, and only a little over two hundred gunners remained. Many artillery pieces already had no gunners to operate them.

After several months of campaigning, Wang Dou had gained his own insights into the effective use of artillery. He believed that for this attack on the Qing soldiers at Zhuozhou, bringing twenty-five of the army’s medium breech-loading falconets, plus four 6-pounder red-barbarian cannons from the Governor’s Personal Battalion, would suffice. The remaining small falconets and crouching-tiger cannons need not be brought into battle.

With the entire army assembled, it was time to strike. That evening, Wang Dou invited Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei to discuss plans. Among those present were also Xu Yue'e and Yang Guodong, a Company Commander of the Governor’s Personal Battalion.

"My two lords, Company Commander Yang, Lady Xu: our scouts have ascertained that the slave troops of the Plain Red Banner are still garrisoned at Zhuozhou and Tongzhou. Although these past few days the slave bandits have transported a great deal of plundered population and valuables to Tongzhou, a great deal still remains at Zhuozhou. The army’s Night Scouts have already clearly determined that the slaves in these two places total over fifteen thousand troops. Armored and unarmored slave men number less than six thousand; the rest are all camp laborers."

Wang Dou spread out the map: "The slave bandits’ encampment at Zhuozhou is located on the banks of the Liuli River, several li east of Zhuozhou, with the camp stretching from Beixin to Douzhuang. It is personally guarded by the slave chieftain Yoto. Our army’s Night Scouts have captured several slaves from Zhuozhou; under torture and interrogation, they confessed that the slaves at Zhuozhou number about eight thousand, including fifteen hundred armored slave soldiers and twenty-five hundred unarmored slave soldiers. Among the armored slave soldiers, there are also several hundred Bayara troops, commanded by Yoto’s eldest son, the Plain Red Banner Bayara Banner Commander Luoluohong."

"Among the fifteen hundred armored slave soldiers, there are also several hundred men led by the Plain Red Banner Jalangga Banner Commander, his second son Luoluohuan..."

Wang Dou looked at the few men in the hall, his eyes blazing: "Only by slaying Yoto in battle and causing all three of them, father and sons, to perish, can we vent the deep-seated hatred in our hearts for our Viceroy’s death. Therefore, your subordinate envisions..."