[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army":3,"chapter-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-368":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Little Soldier of the Late Ming Border Army",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1205657,1561,"Chapter 368: First Battle with the Roving Bandits (Part 1)","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-368",368,"\u003Cp>As usual, according to Shunxiang Army military regulations, whenever they neared the encampment site, each unit's cooking carts always arrived ahead of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every Company Commander and Squad Commander in the Shunxiang Army had their own command posts, each equipped with several assigned wagons carrying supplies, tents, and several days' worth of fodder and provisions for the troops under their command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In normal times, transport duties within the unit relied on these wagons, overseen by supply officers responsible for each unit's military provisions and fodder. However, their status was independent, answerable only to Sun Sanjie's Supply Company. Each unit's mess cooks were also assigned here, equipped with specialized cooking carts that allowed meals to be prepared on the move without setting up stoves — a sign that the Shunxiang Army had reached a high degree of professionalization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Shunxiang Army and Chen Yongfu's main force reached Jiaxian and set up camp according to their respective positions, the mess cooks of each unit were already busily at work, kneading and shaping dough that constantly changed form in their hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These dough portions were then divided into roughly equal pieces, rolled into round flatbreads, sprinkled with chopped scallions, minced ginger, salt, sesame oil, and other seasonings, then baked on the flat griddles atop the cooking carts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sizzling sound was continuous, the aroma assailing the nostrils, and one by one, golden-brown flatbreads were finished just like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By portion size, eating just one flatbread was enough to fill a person up, not to mention the dried meat, salted eggs, and other items still on the cooking carts. The drained meat chunks were boiled in water with salt, scallions, garlic, tangerine peel, and other seasonings, then combined with some dried vegetables and brought to a boil. In the bitter cold, drinking a bowl of steaming hot meat soup was exceptionally comforting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These dried meats were packaged in paper bags, well preserved, and could last about three months. Generally, Shunxiang Army soldiers on sudden campaigns were issued fried noodles with dried meat, or flatbread with dried meat. One bag of fried noodles could sustain a soldier for roughly seven to fifteen days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So with idle time on their hands, the mess cooks of every unit were vigorously producing fried noodles. In truth, compared to dried meat, Wang Dou preferred issuing more dairy products like milk powder to the soldiers — higher in nutrition and calories — but dairy supply in the Central Plains was not easy, so that would have to wait for the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mess cooks worked very quickly. Not long after the troops of each unit had set up camp, their meals were ready. All officers and soldiers, regardless of rank, lined up in order to receive their food. This practice had become routine in the several years since the Shunxiang Army was formed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The aroma of the food made the soldiers in Chen Yongfu's army salivate. Following the Shunxiang Army's example, they too lined up to receive their rations. It had been made clear before the expedition that their meals would be supplied by the Shunxiang Army. Over these days of marching together, they had gone from unaccustomed to gradually accustomed to the Shunxiang Army's ways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for their treatment, Wang Dou gave them the rations of lower-grade soldiers: one large flatbread, with more available if that wasn't enough, and one bowl of meat soup with some shredded meat inside, but no salted eggs. Still, the officers and soldiers of Chen Yongfu's army all expressed satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, Chen Yongfu's camp soldiers ate a military ration called \"tafan\" — rice cooked and then spread under the sun to dry, repeated several times, finally yielding some dried rice grains. When eating, they simply soaked it in hot water until soft and cooked, and it was ready.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides this daily ration, the army's marching provisions consisted of mixed grain cakes, steamed cakes, along with some hard salt blocks, dried vinegar, and the like. Horses were issued some dried cheese for emergency thirst relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking across the northern regions of the Great Ming, military rations were basically all like this. These types of rations were convenient to carry, but the taste was of course nothing special. Moreover, at this time, armies frequently ran out of grain and pay, making even the above types of food hard to come by, so soldiers' demands were naturally not that high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shunxiang Army's ability to eat their fill at every meal, with meat soup every day, drew envy even from the officers of Chen Yongfu's vanguard camp, let alone their common soldiers. During these days marching with the Shunxiang Army, many felt that just for these days of eating their fill every day, this expedition was already worth it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Chen Yongfu, everything within the Shunxiang Army exuded novelty. Take these cooking carts, for example — they moved swiftly and provided meals both quickly and well. By his estimate, one cooking cart could provide meals for over two hundred people within a single two-hour period, satisfying the needs of an entire company. This was a powerful shock to his traditional understanding of \"digging in and setting up stoves to cook.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yongfu was even more astonished that Wang Dou personally lined up to receive his own meals. His only explanation was that Wang Dou shared hardships with his officers and soldiers, rising early and eating late, which was why his troops were ever-victorious in battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, regarding Wang Dou's practice of not distributing grain and fodder separately for them to manage, but instead having officers and soldiers line up to receive meals, some officers in Chen Yongfu's camp did have their opinions. They felt this risked turning their own army into a dependency of the Shunxiang Army. Their private, unspoken thought was: if the Shunxiang Army didn't give them the grain and fodder, how could they skim off the supplies and line their own pockets?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Chen Yongfu remained silent, and Wang Dou had put it well: having soldiers eat, march, and fight together saved as much time as possible, seized opportunities for battle, and reduced unnecessary losses. Since Chen Yongfu said nothing, they could hardly speak up. Moreover, the Shunxiang Army's cooking carts were indeed convenient, greatly saving them the time of \"digging in and setting up stoves to cook,\" making their marching speed much faster than before, while the soldiers ate better and maintained their capacity for marching and fighting as much as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These past few days, Chen Yongfu had eaten together with Wang Dou, sharing the rations of the army's upper-grade soldiers. Only his son, Chen De, leading their retainers and escorting the rear army's civilian laborers, had fallen several days' march behind the main army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no helping it — the marching speed of those amateur rear-army civilian laborers could not compare with that of the professional Shunxiang Army supply teams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shunxiang Army had many men, so in setting up camp this time, they occupied the west, north, and south sides within Jiaxian city, while Chen Yongfu's vanguard camp occupied the east side of Jiaxian. After dinner, Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu gathered in the Jiaxian county government office to discuss matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The once-imposing government office had been half burned down; fortunately, this main hall was still largely intact, serving as the joint command headquarters for the Shunxiang Army and Chen Yongfu's vanguard camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……………..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under several candles thick as a child's arm, Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu sat side by side in the main seats. The remaining Shunxiang Army officers — Wen Fangliang, Gao Shiyin, Li Guangheng, Wen Daxing, Zhao Xuan, Sun Sanjie, Wu Zhengchun, Shen Shiqi, Gao Xun, and others — sat on the lower right side of the hall. Several Company Commanders and Squad Commanders from Chen Yongfu's camp sat on the lower left side of the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Ming, the left was the honored position; Wang Dou's gesture was meant to show respect for Chen Yongfu. Yet seeing the galaxy of commanders under Wang Dou, each clad in fine armor and wearing warm red-cotton sheepskin-lined cloaks, their equipment so excellent and their sharp fighting spirit faintly pressing upon him — and then looking at his own subordinates...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Chen Yongfu felt inside, only he himself knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shunxiang Army had never crossed swords with the roving bandits and did not know their combat strength or tactics well. On this matter, Chen Yongfu certainly had much to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yongfu was of course very pleased that Wang Dou asked him to first introduce the roving bandits' situation. To be honest, although he was the Vice Regional Commander of Henan, after marching out together with the Shunxiang Army, the limelight had been completely stolen by Wang Dou's troops. His own soldiers were vastly inferior in every respect by comparison, and it was impossible for Chen Yongfu and his men to feel entirely comfortable about it in their hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the Shunxiang Army officers, the Vice Regional Commander sat steadily and spoke slowly: \"The bandits' organization, in broad terms, proceeds in order from Squad Commander, Ten-Man Leader, Picket Commander, Unit Commander, Standard Bearer, to Commandant. The roving bandits excel most at ambushes, laying in wait on both flanks, attacking in successive waves, impossible to guard against.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In battle, the bandit formation has five layers: the starving people on the outside, then foot soldiers, then horse troops, then elite cavalry, with the old camp and their families at the core. If you break through three of their layers in battle, the elite cavalry will fight to the death. If they cannot prevail, the bandit horse troops, elite cavalry, and old camp will immediately flee. With their elite core intact, they shift to fight elsewhere, and in an instant, they gather tens of thousands more troops.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These elite bandits all have horses, some riding two or three horses each. Government troops, by contrast, are at best three-tenths mounted and seven-tenths on foot, making pursuit extremely difficult. If the pursuit presses too hard, supplies become difficult, and suddenly the bandits' old camp elite cavalry will appear again. Government troops are often routed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yongfu continued: \"The bandits are adept at using spies — some carry medicine bags and pretend to be physicians or fortune-tellers, some are disguised as monks or Daoist priests, some as beggars or street performers, observing the strengths and weaknesses of each city. Others act as internal collaborators among the starving people or starving soldiers. They come and go through the cities by the hundreds and thousands, impossible to tell whether they are bandits or soldiers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at Wang Dou: \"Among those several thousand disaster victims west of the city, it is hard to guarantee there aren't many roving bandit spies among them. We must guard against them strictly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou pondered. What Chen Yongfu said roughly matched what he knew from historical records about Li Zicheng and the other peasant armies. Their general tactic was to avoid head-on clashes with government troops, excelling instead at retreating and luring the enemy — they were masters of Mobile Corps Commander warfare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Chen Yongfu's account, Li Zicheng and his men fought in exactly the opposite manner from the Qing troops: starving people in front, elite troops behind. With this combat style, routing their forces was easy, but annihilating them was difficult. Because the moment things looked slightly unfavorable, Li Zicheng would take his core cadres and flee. In any case, the Central Plains and other regions were in chaos everywhere; with his core cadres in hand, he could easily gather another \"great army\" of over a hundred thousand or even several hundred thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Chen Yongfu's words, Wang Dou understood more deeply that suppressing bandits was a political problem, not a military one. Unless he himself garrisoned Henan and had large quantities of grain for relief, pacifying one area and consolidating it before moving on, the roving bandits could never be completely eradicated, and this fire could never be fully extinguished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Li Zicheng and his men's skill at laying ambushes had been honed over these ten years — this ability was probably ingrained in their very bones. The Shunxiang Army had never fought them before; until they figured out their true capabilities and tactics, it was better to be cautious, advance steadily and strike firmly, and absolutely not speak lightly of rash advances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once they grew accustomed to their tactics, they would find an opportunity to deal Li Zicheng and his men a crushing blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This humble officer has roughly ascertained that the roving bandits in Ruzhou are led by the enemy commanders Li Guo, Liu Fangliang, and Hao Yaoqi. Within, there appear to be several hundred from the bandits' old camp, two thousand elite cavalry, and over thirty thousand coerced followers. However, the bandits' camp organization is chaotic, and the exact details of their formation are truly difficult to ascertain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The roving bandits are besieging Ruzhou with great urgency. The Department Magistrate, Qian Zuozheng, upon hearing that relief troops are about to arrive, is greatly heartened and hopes our army will come swiftly to the rescue and save the people from fire and water.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before every Shunxiang Army operation, military intelligence had to be as thorough as possible, providing detailed considerations for the main army's attack. So after Chen Yongfu, it was Wen Daxing, the Shunxiang Army's Intelligence Division Chief, who reported the Ruzhou military intelligence his scouts had gathered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Night Scout Company, along with Li Guangheng, Sun Sanjie, and others, had reached Jiaxian ahead of time, cutting off the Ruzhou peasant army's mounted scouts from detecting the government troops at Jiaxian. Moreover, one team of Night Scouts had already reached the vicinity of Ruzhou and was conducting detailed reconnaissance of the peasant army there, determined to ascertain the local peasant army's troop strength, as well as intelligence on enemy commanders and other information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Wen Daxing estimated that by the time the government troops reached Changga, Yuzhou, and other places, the peasant army at Ruzhou might already have gotten wind of the government troops coming to the rescue. How they would react would require deduction by the staff officers of the Operations Division.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yongfu expressed admiration for the Shunxiang Army's intelligence capabilities. The current government troops of the Great Ming, whether facing the Qing troops or the roving bandits, were basically blind, which was also the reason they repeatedly fell into ambushes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after hearing Wen Daxing's words, his expression still turned grim. He said thoughtfully: \"Li Guo, Liu Fangliang, Hao Yaoqi? These are all trusted top commanders of the Chuang bandits, who have followed them for many years. Li Guo is the Chuang bandit's own nephew, a steady man. Liu Fangliang is a veteran of many battles, outstanding in strategy. Hao Yaoqi is an especially fierce commander, valiant in battle. Though the Chuang bandits have not come in person, with these three at Ruzhou, General Wang, this will not be an easy fight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Chen Yongfu, he had never witnessed the Shunxiang Army's combat strength. Having long resided in Henan, he had dealt with Li Zicheng and his men many times and knew a great deal about his subordinates' situation: \"The roving bandits in the various areas of Henan Prefecture claim to number over a hundred thousand. By this general's estimate, including the bandits' old camp, their elite cavalry numbers about four to five thousand. The rest are either foot soldiers or coerced starving people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Those starving people are not difficult to deal with, but the bandits actually have two thousand elite cavalry at Ruzhou, several hundred from the old camp, and over thirty thousand coerced followers...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou glanced at Chen Yongfu and saw a rather worried look on his face, clearly concerned about these peasant army elites at Ruzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By Wang Dou's estimate, the most formidable part of Li Zicheng's current army should be the thousand-plus men in his old camp. Those men had followed Li Zicheng in campaigns across various regions, with about ten years of battlefield combat experience, making them professional soldiers. In terms of elite quality, they probably had the fighting power of Qing armored horsemen and Bayara troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apart from these, there were the elite cavalry newly recruited in recent months from surrendered government troops, or from local horse bandits and armed gangs — these counted as the elite riders. Next were all those who had horses, uniformly called horse troops. The remainder were foot soldiers or starving people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the government troops of the Central Plains, Li Zicheng's old camp was far more formidable than the retainers of their own various camps. Those \"elite riders\" now had combat strength on par with ordinary government troops, or even somewhat stronger. Add to that the coerced followers often numbering in the tens of thousands, with their overwhelming numbers, it was no wonder the Central Plains government troops often suffered defeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging from Chen Yongfu's expression, he clearly did not hold high hopes for this relief mission to Ruzhou. His subordinate commanders were all worried as well, never expecting the roving bandits at Ruzhou to number thirty to forty thousand — several times the government troops. This time, things likely boded ill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The commanders in Wang Dou's camp, however, were unconcerned. They had fought ferocious Qing troops before — what were mere roving bandits?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin suddenly stood up, clasped his fists toward Chen Yongfu, then said loudly to Wang Dou: \"General, military intelligence is urgent as fire! This humble officer volunteers to lead his troops to march out first, as the vanguard, to crush the bandits at Ruzhou and rescue the local people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou, however, pondered. Gao Shiyin's style was daring and aggressive; he did not doubt his unit's combat strength. But against roving bandits adept at rapid movement and ambushes, excessive ferocity had both advantages and drawbacks. As vanguard troops, Wang Dou thought Wen Fangliang, Li Guangheng, or even Wu Zhengchun and Gao Xun would be good choices — they were more cautious by nature...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gao Shiyin repeatedly requested it, and considering his soaring morale and fighting spirit, Wang Dou finally agreed to his plea. He instructed Gao Shiyin to advance steadily and strike firmly, not to be overly greedy for achievements. If they encountered roving bandits on the road, routing them was enough; they must not pursue too fiercely, lest they fall into an ambush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin agreed excitedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, Gao Shiyin led his company commanders and set out, advancing early toward Ruzhou. His nearly one thousand men were all veteran soldiers, every man with a horse. The headquarters’ accompanying wagons also carried several days’ worth of fodder and provisions for the troops. Ruzhou was not far from Jiaxian, and Wang Dou’s main army would follow right behind — there was nothing to worry about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Daxing’s night-scout squad was currently operating in Jiaxian, Ruzhou, and even as far as Yiyang and Dengfeng, ready at any moment to provide intelligence for Gao Shiyin’s vanguard force\u003C\u002Fp>",3180,"2026-06-03T14:05:36.780Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","c14817a31caf945bfc3fd6d21ec7215329b207a1643af3ce57cc3daf77a86eb7","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-369","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-367",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]