Chapter 294: Sending the Victory Report to the Capital

On the afternoon of the twelfth, Luoluo Huan fled to Yizhuang, several dozen li from Tongzhou, and encountered the Plain Red Banner army coming from Tongzhou as reinforcements.

By the time Luoluo Huan and the others fled into Daxing territory, several hundred men had gradually gathered around him, including armored bannermen, unarmored bannermen, and some army camp followers. But Luoluo Huan did not dare relax in the slightest, and led these men in a desperate, frantic flight.

The whole way they were haunted by shadows and alarms. After more than a day of fleeing for their lives, they finally met the reinforcements. Luoluo Huan's tension released and he fainted dead away on the spot. The remaining men were all utterly exhausted; many horses foamed at the mouth, collapsed from exhaustion, and died, throwing Buyantu, the Bayara Jalan Janggin leading the reinforcements, and his men into chaos.

On the tenth, Buyantu, under Yue Tuo's orders and carrying his personal handwritten dispatch, went to Tongzhou to seek reinforcements from Heshote, the Plain Red Banner Jalan Janggin guarding the encampment there. When Buyantu set out that afternoon, he encountered some Xuan-Da army picket cavalry intercepting and harassing him on the road, and did not reach the Tongzhou camp until dusk on the eleventh.

After receiving Yue Tuo's handwritten dispatch, the Qing army's main camp at Tongzhou was also thrown into chaos. They had no objection to going to relieve Zhuozhou and Heshote, and dared not oppose it, but Yue Tuo's order commanded him to burn all the wealth, goods, grain, and rice plundered in Tongzhou, which Heshote was utterly loath to do.

Among the Manchu Plain Red Banner, Heshote was known for his greed and love of wealth. In terms of marching and fighting, his rank among the Plain Red Banner officers was unremarkable; it was only because he was skilled at fawning and flattery that he had received the important task of guarding the Tongzhou camp. During his time guarding Tongzhou, he had manipulated things to his own advantage and had long since reaped who knew how many benefits.

He suggested to Buyantu that the wealth and goods in Tongzhou need not be destroyed; they could leave a portion of troops to guard them, and he beat his chest guaranteeing absolute safety.

His Tongzhou encampment contained one thousand armored bannermen, one thousand unarmored bannermen, and five thousand camp followers. Heshote believed they could leave behind two hundred armored soldiers, five hundred unarmored bannermen, and then raise the status of two thousand Mongol and Korean camp followers who accompanied the army. This way, the Tongzhou camp would have nearly three thousand troops guarding it, and the nearby Ming forces would certainly not dare to stir.

As for his venerable self, Heshote, he would lead the remaining four thousand-plus troops to go to the rescue. This way, including the Zhuozhou main camp, they would have over ten thousand soldiers. Although they might not necessarily defeat the Xuan-Da army, holding the camp should be no problem.

After being bribed with wealth and goods by Heshote, Buyantu also agreed with his view and promised that before the Duoluo Beile, he would put in a few good words for Heshote. After tense preparations, on the twelfth, Heshote led his four thousand troops rushing out of Tongzhou.

Expecting that the Zhuozhou camp had ample provisions and fodder, Heshote and the others did not bring large army provisions, only each man carrying several days' dry rations and some simple campaign tents. For the sake of marching speed, these Plain Red Banner bannermen not only each had several horses, but even most of the army camp followers were equipped with mules and horses.

Their march was indeed swift. Setting out at the hour of Si, by the time they encountered Luoluo Huan's fleeing army, they had already reached Yizhuang.

Seeing the wretched state of Luoluo Huan and his men, they were dumbstruck. Then hearing that the Zhuozhou main camp had been breached by the Xuan-Da army, that Banner Lord Yue Tuo had died in battle on the spot, and that the Bayara Banner Regional Commander Luoluohong's fate was unknown, it struck them like a bolt from the blue. They were all speechless and ashen-faced.

They had never imagined that the sturdy Zhuozhou camp, with eight thousand defenders inside and no worries about provisions, where holding out for ten days to half a month was the bare minimum, could be breached in a single day. There was no question of relieving Zhuozhou now, and with Luoluo Huan unconscious, they had no choice but to withdraw the entire army back to Tongzhou first.

As news of the great defeat at Zhuozhou and the Banner Lord's death in battle spread, morale wavered among this Plain Red Banner relief army. Along the way, camp followers slipped away quietly from time to time. By the time Heshote's army returned to Tongzhou, the four thousand troops he had set out with were already short by several hundred men.

After returning to Tongzhou, Luoluo Huan awoke. He remained utterly silent; all banner affairs were discussed and assigned by Heshote and Buyantu. The two men, while gathering the scattered remnants who had fled back from Zhuozhou, frantically sought reinforcements from Dorgon's main force far away in Shandong, and at the same time were ready at any moment, if the situation turned unfavorable, to abandon all the captured people and wealth and flee to Pinggu.

After the Qing army had breached Pinggu, they had left a garrison of one thousand troops inside the city. That place was also close to beyond the passes, making escape back to Qing territory easy.

……

Leaving aside Heshote and the others in Tongzhou, who were in constant terror, on the twelfth day of the first month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, the Xuan-Da army finished executing all the Qing soldier prisoners... Before burying them, they cut off the heads of all the executed Plain Red Banner bannermen. The heads of Mongols and miscellaneous barbarians among the camp followers were also cut off. The heads of Korean and Han Chinese camp followers were spared, as their dental features differed.

From the Battle of Julu all the way to the Battle of Zhuozhou, the Xuan-Da army had reaped quite a number of heads. However, when it came to heads, the more the better; they could not be wasted.

Afterward, the Xuan-Da army grandly turned back to Liujing Fortress, stripping the Qing army camp at Zhuozhou and its surroundings completely bare, as clean as if washed by water. Finally, over one hundred thousand captured commoners, over two hundred thousand pigs, cattle, sheep, mules, and horses, over two hundred thousand shi of grain, rice, and bean fodder, along with a vast amount of captured military equipment and baggage, accompanied them, forming an immensely long procession.

The carts and wagons the Qing soldiers had plundered into Zhuozhou were countless, whether wheelbarrows, large carts, or horse-drawn carriages, probably numbering in the tens of thousands. These vehicles were fully loaded with grain, rice, gold, and silver. Besides that, those commoners, except for the small children, regardless of gender or age, all carried sacks of grain on their backs. In one trip, they took away all the spoils.

The Shunxiang Army dispatched a large number of personnel to supervise and escort the transport, while the rest marched in combat readiness. The cavalry in Yang Guozhu's and Hu Dawei's camps, together with Wang Dou's cavalry Night Scouts, deployed large numbers of men to guard and reconnoiter in front, behind, and on both flanks of the procession, spreading out over a dozen li in all directions to drive off any approach.

No persons whatsoever, whether commoners or personnel from local government offices and guard battalions, were permitted to come near.

Those captured commoners followed the procession in high spirits. According to what General Wang had said, they would first go to Bao'an Department in Xuanfu Garrison, and after things were safe in the future, everyone could make further plans.

The good men under the General's command were right: "Right now there are Tartars everywhere, and it's still not peaceful. Even if you return home, what if you are captured by the Tartars again? Xuan Garrison is extremely peaceful. With our General Wang, whose valor crowns the three armies, here, which Tartar would have the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard to dare attack, wanting to end up like the Zhuozhou Tartars?"

"Besides, after your hometowns were ravaged by the Tartars, they are utterly ruined everywhere. Who knows whether the local government offices will provide relief?"

"You also know the General's benevolence and righteousness; he provides gruel relief daily. If nothing else, at least a mouthful of food is available. Do you want to stay alive or starve to death? You'd better think it over carefully."

"What, homesick? No need to worry about that. When peace comes in the future, you can certainly go back and take a look."

The lords of the Shunxiang Army spoke so well. Following General Wang's procession, if nothing else, at least safety and the problem of eating need not be worried about. In this world of the Great Ming, these were the most important issues. Therefore, most of the commoners did not even think twice and immediately followed in high spirits.

The small portion who wanted to leave were also forcibly taken away by Wang Dou and the others, on the pretext of preventing military intelligence from leaking and that they would be released after a short delay.

The procession was too huge, the supplies too many. The mere few dozen li from the Qing camp at Zhuozhou to Liujing Fortress took the procession nearly two full days to cover.

Upon arriving at Liujing Fortress, the garrison troops were all astir. Soldiers and civilians gathered in this area. The Garrison Commander of Laishui and the Military Defense Circuit of Yizhou, hearing of the arrival of a large army, were both alarmed and uncertain. The Xuan-Da army had screened the battlefield, so they were still unclear about the situation of the Battle of Zhuozhou.

They sent out picket cavalry or dispatched messengers to inquire, but all were blocked outside by the Xuan-Da army, leaving them even more in the dark. Fortunately, these government troops did not plunder the departments and counties, nor did they demand provisions and fodder, so the officials were happy to ignore them and turn a blind eye.

After the Xuan-Da army arrived at Liujing Fortress, they transported grain, rice, wealth, and goods day and night toward the direction of Bao'an Department. Starting from Liujing Fortress alone, along Dongpo, Huangyan, Shuai Shui, and other places, densely packed warehouses and granaries were built. Small encampments were even more numerous, spread throughout the hundred-li mountainous area from Liujing Fortress to Zhaogeqi.

From Zhaogeqi, passing through Mashuikou and entering the territory of Bao'an Department, it was the same: encampments and granaries were densely packed, sufficient to store these seized provisions and supplies. When Han Chao and the others first saw Wang Dou vigorously constructing encampments, they did not understand why he was doing so. Now, everyone finally understood, secretly alarmed by the depth of the General's planning.

Among those people, wealth, and goods, the old, weak, women, and children, along with grain, rice, pigs, sheep, and silver, were transported first. After careful consideration, Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei decided that the over ten thousand horses and mules they had been allotted would also be taken back to Bao'an Department first by Wang Dou's subordinates. Given Wang Dou's character, he presumably would not embezzle their mules and horses. Moreover, those mules and horses required large amounts of fodder and water, so it was just right to have Wang Dou look after them on their behalf.

However, the silver they had been allotted they buried themselves in a place they found. Wang Dou did not press them.

After several days of busy work, by the fifteenth day of the first month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, at least those grain, rice, pigs, and sheep had all been stored in safe zones in the mountain area behind Liujing Fortress, and tens of thousands of commoners had also been sent off. Wang Dou breathed a sigh of relief. It was time to send the victory report.

At noon that day, Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, and Hu Dawei were in the main hall at Liujing Fortress, eating boiling hot mutton soup and occasionally slurping a few mouthfuls of scalding hot wine, feeling exceptionally content.

In the freezing weather, Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei, though wearing cotton robes, were both eating until their heads were covered in sweat, bearing no resemblance to Regional Commanders at all.

The three men laughed continuously, their moods delightful, especially so these past few days.

"It's time to send the victory report!"

The three men shared the same thought.

"During the Battle of Julu, our army beheaded a great many, over five thousand heads?"

Hu Dawei, half-drunk, was somewhat unsure.

Wang Dou nodded and said, "Military Lord Hu, this general is certain there were."

In Wang Dou's hands alone were the 3,156 Qing army heads taken at the Battle of Julu; presumably Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei also had quite a few in their hands.

Yang Guozhu said, "In my main battalion, there are nearly a thousand slave rebel heads from Julu. Old Hu should have quite a few there as well."

"Seems like over eight hundred heads."

Hu Dawei remembered.

Wang Dou said, "At the Battle of Julu, our Xuan-Da army beheaded five thousand heads. At the Battle of Zhuozhou, our army beheaded over six thousand more. Removing the heads of Han Chinese and Korean camp followers among them, the heads of Plain Red Banner slave soldiers and miscellaneous barbarians also number over three thousand. The combined beheading count of our Xuan-Da army from the Battle of Julu and the Battle of Zhuozhou thus totals eight thousand heads."

Yang Guozhu said, "Our army also slew the Manchu Plain Red Banner slave chieftain Yue Tuo in battle, and even captured his eldest son, the Bayara Banner Regional Commander Luoluohong alive, seizing their armor and banners, and we have one hundred slave soldiers to present as captives. With such a victory, what reaction will the imperial court have?"

The three men laughed heartily, all filled with the utmost anticipation.

……

After eating mutton soup with Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei and confirming how the victory report should be written, Wang Dou summoned Wen Daxing and handed him several letters.

"Dispatch reliable men. Deliver this letter to His Excellency Ji Shiwei, the Provincial Governor of Xuan Garrison."

"Deliver this letter to His Excellency Chen Xinjia, the Viceroy of Xuan-Da, who is far away in Tianjin."

After Wen Daxing left, Wang Dou gazed at the sky and remained silent for a long time: "Lord Viceroy, we will soon enter the capital."

The morning of the sixteenth day of the first month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen.

Wave after wave of victory messengers from the Xuan-Da Army galloped into the capital, waving the battle reports in their hands and shouting at the top of their lungs: "A great victory, a great victory! The Xuan-Da Army has won a great victory at Julu and Zhuozhou, with over eight thousand enemy slave heads taken!"

"A great victory, a great victory! The Xuan-Da Army has won a great victory at Zhuozhou, slaying the Manchu Plain Red Banner gūsa ejen Yoto in battle, capturing the Plain Red Banner bayara banner commandant Luo Luohong alive, taking one hundred enemy slaves prisoner, and presenting the captives before the palace gates..."

"A great victory, a great victory! The Xuan-Da Army has won a great victory..."

"A great victory..."

Wave after wave of victory riders from the Xuan-Da Army came galloping in, and the entire city was stirred into a frenzy, with countless people running after the riders.

When the victory report reached the Ministry of War, the assembled officials were all struck dumb with astonishment. A Vice Minister came to his senses, snatched up the victory dispatch, and sprinted off toward the imperial city.

Wang Dehua, the Seal-holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, personally received the victory report and, trembling, dashed toward the Qianqing Palace.

In a moment of carelessness, he fell to the ground, but with remarkable agility, he scrambled back up at once and continued his frantic run.