Chapter 314: If Submission Brings a King's Rank, a Provocative Challenge to Battle

"The slave-chief's troops have arrived."

Having previously heard news that Huang Taiji was coming to Pinggu, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen had both been very tense. However, after confirming the Qing army's numbers and routing Oboi's Bordered Yellow Banner vanguard the day before, that tension had already dissipated from Cao Bianjiao and the others' hearts.

They stood together with Wang Dou, gazing westward from the Pinggu city wall toward the Cuoshui River. The riverbank was a dense black mass of Qing banners and warriors; their men and horses, layer upon layer, seemed to stretch to the very edge of the sky. Over twenty thousand men already formed a vast sea of humanity, not to mention the countless horses and baggage trains moving among them.

Wang Dou could faintly make out a great yellow-dragon canopy raised before the Qing ranks, beneath which several figures seemed to stand. Wang Dou knew the Qing Emperor Huang Taiji was there; perhaps he, like Wang Dou himself, was gazing in their direction. But without a telescope, neither could hope to make out the other's features.

"I wonder where the slave-chief's army will encamp at Pinggu."

Cao Bianjiao gazed for a long while, then spoke pensively.

"They will likely encamp downstream on the Cuoshui River, several li from the city."

Wang Tingchen said.

Wang Dou agreed with Wang Tingchen's assessment. The Shunxiang Army and the Guanning troops of Cao Bianjiao and the others were encamped along the banks of the Cuoshui and Leshui rivers, less than two li from the Ying'en and Guanlan gates. Encamping on opposite banks of a narrow river would make both sides feel insecure.

Sure enough, before long they saw some Qing troops and banners moving downstream along the Cuoshui, though the great yellow-dragon canopy remained fixed in place.

"If battle is to come, it will be tomorrow. Our army's morale is high, and we

wait at ease for the exhausted foe; our chances of victory tomorrow are great."

Wang Dou, Cao Bianjiao, and the others were of one mind. Each issued a series of orders: the main army was to hold the banks of the Cuoshui and Leshui strictly and not initiate battle. However, if the Qing army dared cross the river to attack, they were to be dealt a resolute blow.

"The Ming army at Pinggu is indeed different."

Huang Taiji, mounted on horseback, gazed for a long time, taking in the layout of the city and the opposite riverbank. A look of admiration showed in his eyes, and he sighed: "If Wang Dou were willing to lead his troops and submit to my Great Qing, We would treat him with the rank of Prince or Marquis."

He glanced at the assembled ministers beside him, all of whom wore expressions of jealousy and indignation, and said to an interpreter: "Go to Pinggu city and urge their submission. Relay Our intentions to Wang Dou and the others within the city."

The interpreter came forward, was granted an audience with Wang Dou and the others, saluted haughtily, and delivered Huang Taiji's words.

Wang Dou laughed heartily: "I am a descendant of the august Yellow Emperor, a scion of the divine race. How could I bend the knee to serve barbarians?"

He shouted at the interpreter: "Go back and tell Hong Tai: your Manchu tribe were originally wanderers of the northern seas, sojourning in Liaodong, oppressed by the Four Hu. Our late Emperor took pity on you, mercifully taking you in. You do not contemplate kindness and duty, but instead raise rebellion — truly you know nothing of chastity, integrity, or shame. Tell Hong Tai to strip himself, bear thorned branches, and hasten to the capital to beg forgiveness. Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, and this may spare your entire clan from being reduced to ashes and smoke in the days to come."

The interpreter departed, his face ashen. Inside the room, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen both cheered loudly, their estimation of Wang Dou deepening another layer.

Wang Tingchen sighed: "General Wang spoke exceedingly well. I could never have uttered such words."

Cao Bianjiao said: "Nurhaci was once our dynasty's Dragon-Tiger General. Heaven's

grace was high and its kindness profound; he was not treated shabbily. Yet he fabricated the Seven Grievances, raised troops, and rebelled — it truly infuriates one."

Wang Dou said: "Wei Zheng of the Tang once said: 'The tribes beyond the frontier are all beasts in human guise. When strong, they inevitably plunder; when weak, they grovel in submission. They disregard kindness and duty — it is their nature.' Li Chengliang allowed Nurhaci to grow powerful in Liaodong; once his wings were fully fledged, raising troops in rebellion was inevitable."

When one seeks to lay charges, what worry is there for lack of pretext? The so-called Seven Grievances were merely an excuse — the age-old trick of nomadic peoples for thousands of years. A famous saying from later ages goes: so long as you have the power, if you set your eye on a piece of land, just go and seize it; a defense lawyer can always be found.

Leaving aside the discussion inside the room between Wang Dou, Cao Bianjiao, and the others — when Huang Taiji on the riverbank received the interpreter's report, every face beside him turned grim.

Hooge flew into a rage: "My imperial father extends grace and goodwill, yet this Wang Dou is so utterly ungrateful."

Dorgon remarked with a note of praise: "A glib tongue — this Wang Dou is no simple man. He cannot be regarded as an ordinary Ming military brute."

Huang Taiji showed no anger, but inwardly he pondered deeply: "This man Wang Dou truly possesses the ambition of a fierce overlord."

He gave the order: "The army is to encamp. Rest and build up strength; we will do battle tomorrow."

That evening, Hooge entered Huang Taiji's great tent. Huang Taiji was carefully reading a Chinese-language edition of the "Hongwu Precious Instructions." On the desk beside him lay a large stack of Central Plains classics such as the "Records of the Grand Historian" and the "Book of Han."

Seeing Hooge enter, Huang Taiji shifted his obese body with difficulty and beckoned Hooge to sit beside him, his doting affection evident in every gesture.

In private, his ministers criticized Huang Taiji as cold-hearted and ungenerous,

not hesitating to harm his own flesh and blood, having successively caused the deaths of several of his own brothers and uncles. But toward his own son, there was nothing to criticize; his series of actions were all made with this son's future in mind.

Hooge, however, was filled with awe and reverence toward his father. After saluting respectfully, he said: "Ama, will our great army truly do battle tomorrow?"

Hooge was originally renowned as a fierce general in the Qing state, but the previous day's loss of troops and officers in the Bordered Yellow Banner's vanguard had given him different thoughts, and he had come specifically to probe his father's intentions.

Huang Taiji remained silent for a long while. Then he set down his book and looked at his son: "Tomorrow when we form ranks, the troops of the Two Yellow Banners and the Plain Blue Banner are not to move. If the Ming cavalry attacks, order Dorgon and the others to meet and intercept them. If the Ming infantry attacks, order Prince Gongshun, Kong Youde, to go into battle."

"Once we have observed Wang Dou's battle formation clearly, we shall withdraw the army and leave Pinggu."

Hooge breathed a sigh of relief: "If Wang Dou pursues, what then?"

Huang Taiji shook his head: "Our army is disciplined and orderly, and Pinggu holds a hundred thousand Ming commoners. They will not dare pursue."

Hooge was still uneasy: "At Tongzhou, there are still tens of thousands of Ming troops..."

Huang Taiji said decisively: "Those are not worth worrying about."

He fell into thought: "Although Wang Dou has seized a great many of our captives, during this incursion our army has still taken two hundred fifty thousand Ming commoners at Tianjin, along with vast amounts of wealth, livestock, and horses. Our Great Qing's enterprise still holds promise."

Hooge grew excited, then recalled another matter: "I only fear that when the Ming army attacks tomorrow, Fourteenth Uncle and the others will make excuses and refuse to fight."

Huang Taiji abruptly stood up: "We are still the Emperor of the Great Qing. Would Dorgon and the others dare defy Our command?"

At this display of wrath, Hooge was terrified out of his wits and prostrated himself on the ground: "Your Majesty, quell your anger, Your Majesty, quell your anger..."

Huang Taiji glanced at Hooge and told him to rise. He paced slowly within the tent, his expression dark: "This uncle of yours has always been unruly and insubordinate, his schemes unfathomable. He has repeatedly feigned compliance before Us while acting otherwise, and now his boldness grows greater by the day — he even dared conceal the news of Yoto's death from Us, and time and again has goaded Us into leading the army against Wang Dou. Hmph, does he think We cannot see through his designs?"

Huang Taiji sank into deep thought. He had not possessed the prestige of the late emperor; when he first ascended the throne, his position had been extremely awkward. In name he was the Great Khan, but in reality he was merely the beile of a single banner — his seniority, strength, and prestige all greatly insufficient. Daišan flaunted his seniority, Amin was unruly and insubordinate, and Manggūltai grew more arrogant by the day.

Only after a series of countermeasures, and after doing away with Manggūltai and the others, had his throne been stabilized. He had even ascended to the imperial title, and after several incursions and plundering expeditions, his prestige had soared to its zenith. But Amin and Manggūltai were gone, and now Dorgon had risen...

Huang Taiji looked at Hooge. This son of his could fight, but in terms of strategy and tactics, he fell far short of Dorgon and the others, and at critical moments he was even indecisive and irresolute. While he himself was still on the throne, he could suppress Dorgon and the others, but now his own health was deteriorating day by day...

With fierce ministers within and hidden threats like Wang Dou without, it seemed he must make a decisive resolution soon.

He said: "Prince Raoyu once proposed expanding the Han-martial Eight Banners. We have pondered this deeply and have resolved to approve his memorial!"

The eighth day of the second month, the twelfth year of Chongzhen. Morning, the hour of Si.

The weather was gradually warming; spring flowers

were blooming, and the finest season of the year was approaching. Ordinarily, the clamor of battle and slaughter on such a day would be a grievous blight upon the scenery, but contrary to all wishes, it was precisely today that tens of thousands of men and horses of the Ming and Qing armies gathered in the area of Xindian on the southern bank of the Leshui River, preparing to engage in bloody and ferocious combat there.

The previous day, when the Qing envoy had come, Wang Dou had issued a provocative challenge, proposing that both sides concentrate at Xindian for a decisive battle. After the envoy returned and reported, the Qing ministers all suspected a possible ruse; the area east of Xindian was mountainous, and perhaps Wang Dou and the others had ambushed many troops there.

Huang Taiji overruled the majority opinion. If they did not fight, delay would breed trouble; he could not afford to be bogged down at Pinggu. To guard against falling into a trap, he dispatched large numbers of scout riders to reconnoiter the Panshan area, confirming that Wang Dou and the others had laid no ambush there.

From early morning, the main forces of both Ming and Qing surged out of their camps, assembling and forming ranks. Both sides could be said to have turned out in full force, leaving only a skeleton force to guard the camps. On Huang Taiji's side, twenty thousand troops took the field.

On the Ming army side, except for one Mobile Corps Commander left to guard the camp within Cao Bianjiao’s garrison, all the rest were deployed. In particular, Wang Dou’s Shunxiang Army even sent all twelve hundred supply troops into battle carrying firelocks. Including the Viceroy’s personal battalion, forty-five hundred men and horses took the field, with twenty-four hundred firelock soldiers.

Wang Dou and the others had the advantage of terrain, so they reached the battlefield first. Their central command post was set up on a hilly knoll at the foot of Mount Pan. The remaining over ten thousand warriors were arrayed in vast, sweeping formation across the open field below the knoll.

By the old rule, Wang Dou’s infantry took the forward position, Wang Tingchen’s three thousand cavalry were on the army’s right wing, and Cao Bianjiao’s own two thousand

cavalry together with Mobile Corps Commander Yang Shaofan’s thousand-odd cavalry were on the left wing. The remaining one thousand cavalry were led personally by Cao Bianjiao and stationed with Wang Dou in the center to respond as needed.

The dense mass of warhorses, the fiery red armor and banners seemed to stretch beyond sight. The central command’s flag-bearers raised their banners, and from the front, left, and right below the knoll, a host of general’s flags answered in response.

Gazing at his army’s might, Cao Bianjiao’s heart swelled with heroic pride. Laughing heartily, he said to Wang Dou, “Today our Xuan–Da Army and Guan–Ning Army fight side by side. We must give the slave-chief Hong Taiji a lesson he will not forget.”

Wang Dou also smiled faintly. Watching the dense, solemn ranks of his own and allied soldiers arrayed below the knoll, his mind suddenly drifted. Back when he first arrived in the Great Ming, struggling desperately just to survive, could he ever have imagined a day of such martial grandeur as this?

Nearly ten thousand elite troops under his command looked to him alone for direction; hundreds of thousands of common folk worshipped him and knelt before him. Both the Ming and Qing sides trembled in awe at his name. Even Huang Taiji, when he came before him, had to treat him with grave caution. Having fought his way to this point, Wang Dou had reason to be proud. Heroic spirit brimmed in his chest, almost feeling as if it would burst out of his body.

He quickly gathered his focus and fixed his gaze ahead. Amid the low, drawn-out drone of horns, the great Qing formation in the distance was already slowly advancing.

By now the sun blazed fiercely, scattering all mist and haze. The four fields lay clear, and mountains and rivers spread out before their eyes.

They could see distinctly: in the Qing army’s great formation, a tall yellow-dragon great canopy, and immediately behind it countless banners, faintly revealing a dense forest of spears. Layer upon layer, like a swarm of locusts, Qing cavalry followed the banners forward. Their armor varied in color, and the red tassels fluttering atop their helmets blazed like a sea of flame.

The tramp of hooves rumbled faintly like thunder, until at last they pressed forward in a dark, overwhelming mass, merging into a thunderous

uniform roar. This vast, mighty formation halted two li in front of the Ming army, and then from within the Qing ranks rose a sound like the cry of mountains and the roar of the sea — they were shouting: “Ten thousand years!”

Amid the cheering, the yellow-dragon great canopy slowly shifted to a knoll on the right. The enemy command post and their own faced each other from afar across two knolls, while the soldiers of both sides were arrayed on the open field between them.

The massed Qing troops’ roaring cheer was no small show of force, but while such a display might make the Ming army in Tongzhou tremble and quake, to the Ming army at Pinggu it was nothing more than that!

Wang Tingchen gave a dry cough: “The slave-chief’s show of force is not small, but before our great Pinggu army, he will have to fold his wings and retreat!”

Wang Dou studied the scene carefully for a moment, then sneered: “The slave-chief is fierce in appearance but feeble within; he has not the slightest will to fight. This battle, our army is certain to win!”

He saw it very clearly: in Huang Taiji’s battle formation, the troops on the two wings were Dorgon’s various banners that had originally entered the pass, while Huang Taiji’s own two Yellow Banners and the Plain Blue Banner troops were positioned within the central great formation. It was obvious that Huang Taiji intended to deplete the strength of Dorgon and the others’ forces. But would Dorgon and the others obediently let Huang Taiji manipulate them?

Not to mention, they had already been beaten into fear by his own great army.

……

Beneath the yellow-dragon great canopy, Huang Taiji sat astride his horse clad in heavy gilded flying-dragon armor. He scrutinized the Ming army formation opposite, especially Wang Dou’s formation, with exceptional care. Behind him gathered all the princes, dukes, and nobles of the three banners that had accompanied him into the pass. In addition, the various Manchu and Mongol banner lords who had originally entered the pass also sat their horses gathered behind him.

Elite warriors of the three banners’ Bayara guards, and the even more elite warriors of the Gebu Xi Xian Chao Ha camp, densely covered the knoll

on all sides.

Dorgon, Duoduo, Dudu, and the others wore grim expressions. Huang Taiji did not use his own three-banner troops, but instead placed their banner armies on the two wings of the great formation? It was plainly meant to drain their strength. Yet under Huang Taiji’s oppressive authority, they dared not show anger, nor dared they speak out.

Huang Taiji gazed into the distance for a long while, then slowly spoke: “Wang Dou’s firelock-and-cannon battle formation has a notorious reputation far and wide. Is it just these thin few layers of firelocks and spear-forests?”

Although the two sides were quite far apart, Huang Taiji could still see clearly. The Ming army’s two wings and central force were arrayed in a standard, unremarkable fashion. But Wang Dou’s forward force, estimated at fewer than five thousand men, had formed four ranks of firelock soldiers. Behind the firelock soldiers were several more rows of long-spear soldiers. Hmm, and in front of the firelock soldiers there were also some cannons.

In Huang Taiji’s memory, whether following his father Khan or leading the army himself, if the Ming army formed up like this, they could certainly not withstand an assault by his iron cavalry. Why was it that Wang Dou could repeatedly smash the strong troops of his various banners?

※※※

Old White Ox:

Twenty-four-hour subscriptions are over forty-nine hundred. The subscriptions for these recent chapters are rising really fast.

It’s the last day of the month. I’ll post one more chapter tonight. (!)

。