Chapter 306: The Great Qing's Greatest Scourge

"Two Excellencies, honored generals, let us properly discuss how these gold, silver, and valuables should be divided."

To the surprise of Wang Dou, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Tingchen, Abatai actually dared not give battle, and his entire army fled in haste. They gathered all the laborers and troops from inside and outside the city, struck camp, and hurried away. Fearing pursuit by Wang Dou, they placed their baggage train in front and their elite cavalry in the rear. They also set fires inside and outside the city, which Wang Dou's army quickly extinguished.

Abatai was, after all, a renowned general of the Great Qing. That he withdrew so readily made Wang Dou and the others somewhat suspicious and paranoid. They sent several thousand cavalry to tail him for a long while. Only after confirming that Abatai had truly retreated did the entire army erupt in wave after wave of cheers.

Who would have thought? Including the laborers, the Qing army at Pinggu numbered at least twelve or thirteen thousand men, yet they lacked even the courage to face battle.

The sheer might of Wang Dou's army, which made every Qing force they encountered flee at the mere rumor of their approach, filled Cao Bianjiao and the others with endless emotion. In the past, never mind over ten thousand Qing soldiers — even a thousand Qing soldiers would often chase tens of thousands of Ming troops and attack fiercely. A victory so smooth, achieved at so slight a cost, was an eye-opening experience for both Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen.

Abatai and his men left in such haste that not only all the captured civilians, but also the vast majority of the gold, silver, valuables, cattle, sheep, grain, and rice inside and outside the city fell into the hands of Wang Dou and his allies. With his experience from Zhuozhou, Wang Dou smoothly dispatched men to tally the valuables and to comfort and provide relief to the captured commoners.

Along the banks of the Dule River east of Pinggu City, just as in Zhuozhou, the area was densely packed with dilapidated, crude shelters. Nearly one hundred thousand captured civilians were penned in this area. Lacking clothes and food, they had suffered the same torments as those in Zhuozhou.

After being rescued by the Shunxiang Army, they felt as if they were in a dream, each weeping with joy. Especially when the Shunxiang Army's logistics soldiers transported large quantities of grain and rice for relief, and gave them clothes, quilts, and robes to ward off the cold, these commoners broke down into loud wails.

That very day, the Shunxiang Army's logistics soldiers directed the commoners at each shelter to dig ditches for drainage, dig latrines, and clear away garbage and corpses from the shelter areas. The commoners were extremely cooperative. Drinking steaming hot rice porridge, they asked with endless gratitude which division the royal army that rescued them belonged to, and who the commanding general was.

Very quickly, the great name of Mobile Corps Commander General Wang of Baoan Prefecture, Xuanfu Garrison, spread among these one hundred thousand captured commoners. No one knew how many people remembered the name Wang Dou, thinking to set up longevity tablets for General Wang when they returned home.

Wang Dou, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Tingchen entered Pinggu City and took up residence in the Garrison Commander's mansion inside. Just yesterday, this had been the headquarters of Abatai and the other Qing commanders; now it became the temporary command post of Wang Dou and his allies.

By evening, all the gains from inside and outside the city had been tallied. Wang Dou recalled that when he was in Zhuozhou, the captured Plain Red Banner account books recorded that Tongzhou had over one hundred thousand captured civilians, over seven hundred thousand taels of gold and silver, eighty thousand shi of grain and rice, and over one hundred thousand head of cattle, horses, pigs, and sheep.

The captured civilians and valuables from Tongzhou had been transported to this Pinggu, but the account books and other items had already been taken away by Abatai. A rough tally at this moment showed: approximately one hundred and three thousand civilians, over sixty thousand shi of grain and rice, no gold, no jewels or silk, three hundred and fifty-seven thousand taels of silver, over eighteen thousand six hundred horses and mules, over seven thousand head of cattle, and over eighty-eight thousand pigs and sheep.

Aside from the civilians, the amount of valuables at Pinggu was somewhat less than the figures Wang Dou had seen in the account books at Zhuozhou, presumably taken away by Abatai. However, since they left in haste, the majority of the valuables still fell into the hands of Wang Dou and his allies.

The haul was so abundant that Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, and the others were all beaming, rubbing their hands together, unable to close their smiling mouths.

However, upon hearing Wang Dou propose dividing up these valuables, Cao Bianjiao hesitated for a moment: "General Wang, this battle is a great victory. Should we report the spoils to the imperial court and see how the court wishes to dispose of them?"

Before Wang Dou could speak, Wang Tingchen had already eagerly said: "Young General Cao, the rescued commoners and the captured cattle, sheep, grain, and rice should naturally be left to the court's disposal. But as for this silver..."

"The officers and men have toiled bitterly to kill the enemy; they cannot have made this trip for nothing."

Cao Bianjiao's Central Army Assistant Regional Commander and his two Mobile Corps Commanders all nodded, their eyes gleaming with fervent light. Cao Bianjiao himself was actually very tempted. Seeing the mood of the group, he went along with the flow.

Wang Dou was not very concerned about that silver. What he cared about were the civilians, the fodder, the cattle and sheep, and such. However, unlike the Battle of Zhuozhou, these spoils at Pinggu could not be hidden from Chen Xinjia and Hong Chengchou in Tongzhou, nor could they be quietly transported away.

Of the tens of thousands of shi of grain and rice, aside from leaving a portion to relieve the commoners, the remainder would probably be confiscated by Chen Xinjia and the others as military rations. As for the cattle, sheep, and civilians — Wang Dou could strive to have the cattle and civilians transported back to Xuanfu Garrison. Those pigs and sheep would certainly be kept by the Tongzhou grand army for their own consumption.

At that moment, the group discussed the division of the valuables. The authority to decide naturally rested in the hands of Wang Dou, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Tingchen.

What could be divided were the mules, horses, and silver. Of the over eighteen thousand six hundred horses and mules, Wang Dou, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Tingchen each took five thousand. The remainder went to the two Mobile Corps Commanders under Cao Bianjiao. All told, it was Cao Bianjiao's army that gained the most.

As for the silver, Wang Dou and the other two each took one hundred thousand taels. The remaining silver was likewise given to the two Mobile Corps Commanders under Cao Bianjiao.

With the valuables divided, every face beamed with joy, and they laughed heartily at one another.

After further discussing how the victory report should be written — Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen were still carefully weighing their words — Wang Dou rose and smiled: "Generals, please remain seated for a while. I shall go and see those captured commoners."

The others hurriedly stood up. Cao Bianjiao sighed: "The General has a heart of compassion. That the Great Ming has a general like you is truly a great blessing for the nation."

Wang Tingchen nodded in agreement. He was calculating in his mind how many troops he could expand in the future after his share of silver, mules, and horses, his heart swelling with satisfaction.

Only Yang Shaofan, the Mobile Corps Commander under Cao Bianjiao, watched Wang Dou's departing back with a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

The third day of the second month, in the twelfth year of Chongzhen.

Upon hearing the news that Huang Taiji had arrived in Baodi, the banner lords of the Manchu and Mongol banners who were far away in Tianjin hurriedly went to pay their respects. By the time Dorgon and the others reached Baodi, Huang Taiji had already personally led the reinforcements of the Two Yellow Banners and the Plain Blue Banner to greet them outside the city. The banks of the Qiu River were filled with warriors of the three banners, all clad in helmets and armor.

From afar, Dorgon saw Huang Taiji's great yellow dragon parasol, surrounded by a host of princes, dukes, and ministers of the Two Yellow Banners. On both sides of them were arrayed the elite soldiers of the Bayara Guard Camp and the Gabsihiyan Superha Camp, their military bearing solemn, their banners and pennants bright and distinct.

Beneath the great yellow dragon parasol stood a fat man not yet fifty years old. Seeing this fat man, Dorgon involuntarily shivered.

That fat man was the Qing Emperor Huang Taiji, notorious for his harshness, ingratitude, paranoia, and irascibility. After ascending the throne, in order to pave the way for his son Hooge, he did not hesitate to engage in repeated fratricidal purges, successively tormenting to death his own elder brothers Amin and Manggūltai.

Among the beile of the Eight Banners — Abatai, Yoto, Ajige, Dorgon, Dodo, Jirgalang, Daišan, and the others — which one had not suffered his persecutions?

Serving the sovereign is like being next to a tiger, and this was especially evident at Huang Taiji's side.

Coming before Huang Taiji, the various banner lords who had gone on the campaign all prostrated themselves on the ground. Led by the expedition's Grand General Commanding, Prince Regent Dorgon, they came forward one by one in turn, knelt on bended knee before Huang Taiji, embraced his fat waist, and swayed their heads left and right twice. At the same time, Huang Taiji loosely embraced each man's shoulders and back.

This was the most solemn Manchu embrace ceremony. Huang Taiji's eyes were sharp and cold. After Dorgon and the others had each performed the ritual, he said: "My ministers, you have campaigned far from home, and your toils are great. For these weary bodies of yours, my heart feels pity!"

He decreed a reward of ten thousand taels of silver for Dorgon, bestowed wine in a golden cup, and issued an edict to the realm of the Great Qing and the King of Joseon, boasting of this expedition's invincibility. The remaining banner lords were rewarded with silver and horses in varying amounts.

The more Huang Taiji acted this way, the more uneasy Dorgon felt in his heart.

It was at this moment that Huang Taiji seemed to notice for the first time that the figure of Yangwei Grand General Yoto was missing from the crowd. He asked in alarm, and only then learned that Yoto had fallen in battle at Zhuozhou. He could not help but shed tears: "I never imagined that Doroi Beile would pass away like this. My heart is stricken with grief. Pass on my decree: posthumously enfeoff Doroi Beile as Prince Keqin of the Second Rank, bestow five camels, two horses, and ten thousand taels of silver. When the grand army returns home, I shall suspend court for three days to express my mourning!"

Seeing Huang Taiji so grief-stricken over Yoto's death, the various ministers beside him all offered consolation. Huang Taiji then ceased his tears and, with an expressionless face, listened to Dorgon and the others report on the campaign.

"Wang Dou?"

As Huang Taiji listened to Dorgon's report, his face was originally expressionless, his eyes seemingly half-closed, until he heard the series of battle achievements of the Ming general Wang Dou — from Tongzhou to Dingzhou, to Julu, and then to Zhuozhou and Pinggu. Every banner that encountered him suffered heavy casualties under his army. Even Abatai dared not face battle and abandoned all the civilians and valuables at Pinggu to flee.

The Qing army that entered the pass had captured a total of four hundred and sixty thousand civilians, two hundred thousand of whom had been snatched away by Wang Dou. Even Yangwei Grand General Yoto had died for his country under Wang Dou's attack. Hearing this, Huang Taiji suddenly opened his eyes wide and glared fixedly at Dorgon.

The princes, dukes, and ministers of the three banners beside Huang Taiji could no longer contain their inner astonishment and began whispering among themselves.

Huang Taiji said in a deep voice: "What are Wang Dou's battle formation soldiers like? Prince Regent, recount it in detail!"

Not daring to raise his head, Dorgon knelt on the ground and reported meticulously: "Although Wang Dou is but a mere Mobile Corps Commander of the Ming state, his troops number eight thousand. Moreover, each man is well-trained, their battle formations are strict and orderly, and they stand unmoved like a mountain under our army's attacks. Their firearms are excellent, with range and power surpassing our army's strong bows. Our brave warriors cannot advance within arrow range; before their guns and cannons, at seventy paces, one is forced to retreat with heavy wounds."

"Their fighting strength surpasses that of Zhang Chun's troops in Liaodong, and compared to the Zhejiang troops at the Battle of Hunhe, they are superior, not inferior. Given our army's blades, spears, and arrows, unless we surround his eight thousand men with ten times their number of armored soldiers, this slave believes there is no chance of victory!"

Huang Taiji and the others were all visibly moved, especially by Dorgon's mention of the Qi Family Army at the Battle of Hunhe. At the Battle of Hunhe, the Qi Family Army fought to the very last man, inflicting massive casualties on the Eight Banner troops of that time. In the end, it still took surrounding them with ten times their number and using a large quantity of cannons to annihilate those Zhejiang soldiers.

At that time, the Qi Family Army numbered only three thousand men, and the Eight Banner troops already found them extremely difficult to handle. Now Wang Dou's Shunxiang Army numbered eight thousand, and their fighting strength was superior, not inferior, to the Qi Army at Hunhe... Perhaps in the future, the Qing troops facing Wang Dou would not be just eight thousand, but tens of thousands. After all, Wang Dou had rendered such great merit; promotion in rank and office was certainly inevitable.

Huang Taiji straightened his fat body and paced back and forth: "I truly never imagined that the petty Garrison Commander of the Ming state, whom our Great Qing once spoke of in jest and laughter, would become our nation's greatest scourge!"