Chapter 382: Methods to Deal with Wang Dou

"They should be red-barbarian cannons. In Henan, only Luoyang and Kaifeng have them, but those cannons are all for city defense — I've never seen them used in the field."

Yuan Zongdi spoke up. He had been reporting to Li Zicheng on the Luoyang assault, but unexpectedly Liu Fangliang took over the topic. Now he interjected a remark to show he was still present.

He said: "Luoyang has several 'Divine Might Invincible Grand General' cannons that fire three- to five-jin shot and can reach a little over one li. Those red-barbarian cannons should be able to reach over two li, but they weigh three or four thousand jin and are mounted on four-wheeled carts — moving them into the field would be extremely difficult. Wang Dou is a guest army; I hear they came from Xuanfu Garrison. Over a distance of several thousand li, there's no way they could have dragged cannons that heavy here." "Their army might have some lighter red-barbarian cannons…"

Then he added: "Strange, though — how can these lighter red-barbarian cannons shoot so far…"

Liu Zongmin said: "True. Government troops in field battles often use wagon forts, with 256 cannons per fort. The heaviest, the Invincible Grand General cannon, weighs a thousand jin, fires shot of about three jin, and can reach a little over one li. If you're hit, both man and horse end up with a huge bloody hole. But that's the heaviest cannon government troops use in the field; the rest fire shot weighing only a few taels, at most one jin. The firearms Brother Fangliang encountered from these government troops are indeed strange…"

Liu Zongmin was a battle-hardened veteran, and when it came to Ming army equipment, he could recount every detail like counting the treasures of his own house.

Liu Fangliang calmed down and said: "Chuang King, Chief Sentinel, in my view, these may be novel firearms among the government troops. After all, Wang Dou's army comes from Xuanfu Garrison, and Xuanfu is one of the Nine Frontier Garrisons — they fight the Tatars year-round, so it's normal for them to have many novel firearms. The interior government troops can't compare…"

Li Zicheng's fingers tapped lightly on the table beside him. He said: "That Wang Dou has some formidable bird guns and cannons, but that's not really worth worrying about. Mingyuan was caught off guard by them. With preparation and a bit more caution, the coming battles certainly won't turn out like Ruzhou…"

"Our righteous army has fought plenty of government troops. Many of them have very powerful firearms — even the cities we've taken had many fine firearms and cannons on top. But they didn't dare fight, so all those firearms became our righteous army's spoils of war. The key point is that Wang Dou's troops are very elite, with very high combat strength. According to what Mingyuan said, all seven thousand of Wang Dou's men are as elite as their vanguard troops — they seem comparable to our old camp soldiers. To wipe out these seven thousand…"

He shook his head: "Strange — how could such a government army appear in the Great Ming…"

Everyone present sank into thought. They all felt this Wang Dou army was different — none of the tactics they excelled at could be used against them. If they had encountered any other government army, a few ambushes would have finished them off quickly. Or they could have bribed them — other troops wouldn't fight to the death. But this army seemed immune to bribery.

In the past, when facing such stubborn government troops, the Chuang army still had a method: avoid the strong and strike the weak — just steer clear and roam to other prefectures and counties. But now, having attacked Luoyang, they were already riding a tiger and couldn't dismount. Could they only grind it out head-on with Wang Dou?

The Chuang army had never experienced such a head-on clash. The cannon-fodder famine soldiers were one thing, but what Li Zicheng and the others feared most was losing their old camp troops and cavalry — those they absolutely could not bear to sacrifice.

But aside from committing their own core strength, what other troops could they use? Although counting the famine refugees, the Chuang army could now field a hundred thousand men, most of those were famine refugees who had never fought and never trained. The number of truly usable soldiers was very small. Could they defeat Wang Dou's troops?

Everyone had a headache. They felt this Wang Dou was impervious to all persuasion, extremely troublesome to deal with. In truth, everyone present was battle-hardened with rich combat experience. In the past, against other government troops, they could effortlessly come up with a whole pile of countermeasures.

By all accounts, Liu Fangliang had fought well — even though the ambush failed, he still trapped Wang Dou's vanguard. In the old days, it would have been like the famous Ming general Cao Wenzhao, who was surrounded on the plains by tens of thousands of peasant troops. Most of his three thousand men were cavalry, yet in the end Cao Wenzhao still died.

Both were surrounded — so why did Cao Wenzhao die, while Wang Dou's vanguard counterattacked and routed their own side? Everyone had a feeling they couldn't put into words, a feeling they had never encountered before.

It was actually very simple: overwhelming strength defeats all tricks. A commander having good strategy is fine, but it must be matched by the quality of the rank-and-file soldiers and the caliber of the junior officers. If the bottom-level soldiers and officers are of poor quality and the overall strength is lacking, then no matter how brilliant the commander's strategy, it will ultimately become empty talk.

There are many such examples. In the late Qing, it wasn't that officials and generals lacked strategy; unfortunately, the soldiers' quality was poor. Once the enemy launched a war, all clever schemes turned to dust. Similarly, during the War of Resistance, tens of thousands of Nationalist troops would ambush one or two thousand Japanese soldiers — they often succeeded in setting the ambush, yet most of the time they were counterattacked and routed. That is the effect of overall strength.

Of course, for Li Zicheng and his men, this feeling could only be vaguely sensed, hard to put into words, because they were still stuck in the mindset that "a thousand troops are easy to get, one good general is hard to find." They could hardly conceive of that kind of open, aboveboard strength that simply pushes forward and overpowers.

Hao Yaoqi cursed: "Donkey balls, his mother's hair! Back in the day, the Guanning troops led by Lu Xiangsheng were already damn formidable — people said they were firmly ranked first among the Great Ming's frontier armies. Wang Dou's troops are even more formidable than them. What kind of freak spawned this…"

His crude cursing jolted everyone awake. As they all came back to their senses, Niu Jinxing furrowed his brow imperceptibly. Li Yan suddenly stood up, bowed to Li Zicheng, and said: "Chuang King, honored generals, this student has something to say, though I know not whether it is appropriate to speak." Li Zicheng said warmly: "Sir, please speak freely…"

Li Yan smiled and bowed again: "This student obeys…"

His posture was extremely graceful, and everyone present brightened at the sight, thinking: "The bearing and manners of a scholar — truly different from us roughnecks…"

Li Yan said: "Speaking of Wang Dou's army, this student is reminded of someone — Qi Jiguang, Qi Shaobao…"

He said: "It is said that an open, aboveboard army is the hardest to deal with, because all stratagems are useless against it. One can only settle matters in a direct clash, meeting hardness with hardness, fair and square…"

He said: "In former years, before Qi Shaobao formed his army, the Japanese pirates ran rampant in the southeast, and the government troops were useless. It was common for several thousand government troops to face a few dozen pirates and be routed. But after Qi Shaobao formed his army, he never suffered a single defeat. He often took over a thousand heads while his own casualties numbered only a few. At the Battle of Huajie, he took over three hundred and eighty pirate heads and captured two pirate chiefs alive, while his own casualties were just three men. At the Battle of Baishuiyang, with fifteen hundred men against two thousand, he annihilated the pirates, with three casualties on his own side. At the Battle of Niutian, he routed over ten thousand pirates, took six hundred and eighty-eight heads, and suffered zero casualties…"

"The heaviest casualties Qi Shaobao ever suffered in the southeast were at the Battle of Lindun, where he took nine hundred and sixty heads and lost sixty-nine men. Looking at his entire career, campaigning against the southern pirates and the northern barbarians, from the southern lands to the northern frontier, he took tens of thousands of heads, while the casualties under his command numbered less than a thousand. Observing the elite quality of Wang Dou's troops and the strict discipline of his camps, they quite resemble Qi Shaobao's style back in the day. Like Wang Dou's army, the Qi family army also had no retainers — yet every soldier was as fierce and brave as a retainer." "Facing such a strict, disciplined, and elite army, our righteous army must not underestimate the enemy, lest we wastefully deplete our own strength…"

Li Shuangxi said in astonishment: "This Qi Shaobao was that formidable…"

His tone carried a note of wistful admiration.

Liu Zongmin, however, burst into loud laughter: "Mr. Li, of course Old Liu and the rest have heard of Qi Shaobao's reputation. Back when I was working the forge in Mizhi, I'd wander around the teahouses and wineshops in my spare time — the storytellers talked about Qi Shaobao plenty. But sir, comparing Wang Dou to Qi Shaobao — aren't you exaggerating? No matter how tough he is, he doesn't have three heads and six arms. Old Liu here would like to meet him, find a day, and have a big fight."

As he spoke, he slapped his huge palms forcefully against his knees, as if they were Wang Dou himself.

With such vigorous motion, the chair beneath him began to creak and rock.

Li Zicheng rebuked him: "Jiexuan, how can you speak to the gentleman like that? Apologize at once."

Li Yan hurriedly said: "Chuang King, you are too severe. General Liu is bold and unrestrained, a man of true feeling. This student is thoroughly delighted by it — how could I take offense?"

Liu Zongmin shook his huge head and said: "Old Liu is a rough man — I say what I think. As long as the gentleman doesn't mind."

Being called "General" by Li Yan pleased him greatly. Usually, everyone in the army just called him Chief Sentinel Master Liu, which sounded like marketplace slang. Hearing "General" was far more noble. Moreover, Li Yan was always courteous and well-mannered in the army, unlike Niu Jinxing and the others with their old airs of aloof superiority. The more this was so, the more Liu Zongmin felt goodwill toward Li Yan.

He grinned at Li Zicheng: "See, Chuang King, the gentleman already doesn't mind."

Li Zicheng sighed: "Jiexuan, you're just so straight-tempered — you speak without any filter."

To Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin was his trusted general who had shared life and death with him, the one he relied on most day to day. Li Yan, after all, was an outsider who had only recently arrived. No matter what, the weight of one versus the other — the two simply could not be compared. His earlier manner was merely the posture of a man who humbly seeks worthy men.

Since Li Yan said this, he smoothly let the matter pass. He said: "In the gentleman's view, this Wang Dou indeed cannot be underestimated. Does the gentleman perhaps know more about this Wang Dou?"

Li Yan said: "This student has heard of Wang Dou. In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, when the eastern slaves invaded, his name rose to prominence from then on."

He recounted some details about Wang Dou — mostly information gathered from teahouses and wineshops, literati circles, and various official dispatches. Li Yan habitually paid close attention to current affairs, so he had followed Wang Dou's story. Hearing Li Yan's words, everyone present drew a sharp breath — this fellow had quite the background.

Li Zicheng said softly: "Such great merit, yet in the end only promoted to Assistant Regional Commander — he must be discontent with the court. Is it possible to win him over to our righteous army?"

Li Yan shook his head: "I fear it is impossible."

Li Zicheng pondered for a long while: "Then in the gentleman's view, what countermeasures are there against his army?"

Everyone in the hall looked at Li Yan. Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance were also watching with keen interest.

Li Yan said resolutely: "Use his own methods against him. Their bird guns are sharp — our righteous army can use fire arrows. Even if fire arrows lack accuracy, they make up for it in volume. There will always be hits, which is better than having no way to fight back at all with bows and three-eyed guns."

"Their red-barbarian cannons are powerful — our righteous army can likewise use cannons. Our army has taken many cities and captured numerous cannons. Although their range may not match the enemy's and their power may not be as strong."

"Enough ants can bite an elephant to death — we still have the strength to put up a fight."

Li Zicheng laughed heartily: "Well said, well said! Our great army has taken so many cities in Henan Prefecture — we must have captured several hundred cannons of various kinds. Those artillerymen have all come over to our righteous army as well. Drag out several hundred cannons, and we indeed have the strength to put up a fight."

Liu Fangliang suddenly rose and said: "Chuang King, there is actually another method."

He said: "When I, Brother Li Guo, and Brother Dayong surrounded Wang Dou's vanguard, we did manage to overwhelm their bird-gun soldiers at times and nearly exhausted their pikemen. Wang Dou's army is fierce, but after all, they are few. Our righteous army has a host of a hundred thousand. If we attack them with human waves in continuous, unrelenting waves, there will eventually come a time when they cannot cope."

Everyone in the hall exchanged glances. Li Zicheng grunted in acknowledgment. In his mind, he quickly made a decision: use the famine soldiers to continuously wear down Wang Dou's military strength. However, with several scholars present, and since he also fancied himself a leader of a righteous army, such tactics could be used but not spoken of.

Suddenly someone gave a cold laugh — it was Niu Jinxing who spoke. He bowed deeply to Li Zicheng and said: "Chuang King, honored commanders, the ancients said: 'The Ji clan's worry lies not in Zhuanyu, but within the walls of their own house.' The Ming court is corrupt, the nation's fate is nearing its end. Our righteous army is ordained by Heaven. Though Luoyang's walls are strong and there are reinforcements like Wang Dou, how can they cling to a doomed existence?"

His words were so clouded in classical allusions that every Chuang general present stared blankly, utterly confused. Liu Zongmin stroked his beard: "Mr. Niu, could you speak a bit more plainly?"

Niu Jinxing stroked his beard and smiled: "Very well."

He said: "As you all know, since the Chuang King raised the great banner again, in a few months we have swept across many prefectures and counties in Henan Prefecture, leaving only the lone city of Luoyang. What have we relied on? The hearts of the people! The court is corrupt, natural disasters and man-made calamities come one after another, the people cry out in hunger — only thus has our righteous army been invincible wherever we go."

"Whether taking Yongning, Yiyang, or Lingbao, Xin'an, Yanshi, and the other cities — in every case, righteous citizens opened the gates from within. Our army took all these cities without the slightest effort. To take Luoyang, the key likewise lies in these two words: righteous citizens. No matter how well Wang Dou can fight, when righteous citizens rise up everywhere, open the city gates, and calamity erupts from within, he will certainly be powerless to reverse the situation."

Everyone in the hall murmured to one another. Li Zicheng was also stirred. He asked Yuan Zongdi: "Brother Yuan, how goes the matter of the righteous citizens opening the gates from within?"

Yuan Zongdi had been the first to report the attack on Luoyang to Li Zicheng, and only now continued the topic. He looked somewhat troubled: "The government patrols are very strict. The city is full of trained braves, making it hard for our righteous army's spies to operate. Trying to take Luoyang the way we took Yongning or Yanshi will be difficult."

Li Zicheng frowned: "Does that mean we can only assault it head-on?"

Niu Jinxing smiled and reminded him: "Chuang Wang, do not forget — within the city there are righteous civilians, and likewise there are righteous soldiers."

Yuan Zongdi said: "Chuang Wang, Mr. Niu, in fact our righteous army's spies have also made contact with a unit of mutinous troops that entered Henan Prefecture from Tongguan. They killed their own superior officer over unpaid wages and were called to Luoyang by Henan Regional Commander Wang Shaoyu to assist in the defense. Fearing the government will hold them accountable afterward, they have agreed to raise the righteous banner and act as our inside agents when the time comes. However, their numbers are small, and the positions they are defending are not the city's vital points. I fear they may not be of much use when the moment arrives."

Niu Jinxing laughed: "The men we can use are not limited to that unit. This student has traveled throughout Henan and understands the conduct of the various Ming commanders in Kaifeng Prefecture. Regional Commander Wang Shaoyu is greedy, vicious, and incompetent; he routinely skims military pay, and his subordinates have long been seething with resentment. Luo Tai and Liu Youyi are both cowardly and greedy beyond measure, and the troops under their command amount to less than half their paper strength. Earlier this month they were ordered to reinforce Luoyang. As Brother Yuan said, Liu Jianyi defends the east of Luoyang, Luo Tai defends the south, and Wang Shaoyu defends the north. If we are to break the city, our righteous army must focus on these three men..."

Li Zicheng and the others' eyes lit up. Niu Jinxing suddenly bowed deeply to Li Zicheng: "Chuang Wang, this student is willing to sign a military pledge — to persuade these three, or even just one of them, to surrender the city at the critical moment and join our righteous cause."