[{"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-442":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},1205731,1561,"Chapter 442: Measures and Actions","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-442",442,"\u003Cp>After debate from all sides, our advantages are great, but we must also take seriously the fact that the Tatar slaves now possess quite a few firearms and cannons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For defense against cannon fire, if we fortify a stronghold and defend it, we will use cloth bags filled with earth and wooden baskets filled with earth to prevent ricocheting shot — this was an effective method during the Battle of Julu, and no one raised any objections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for forming battle lines in the open field, besides bringing the artillery battalions into play, we must also train the soldiers in psychological readiness when facing enemy cannon fire. After the Jingbian Army organized its battalions, it began training for this. First using blank rounds, firing powder only, gradually progressing to live rounds. Of course, the live rounds cannot be fired into our own formations — they will only whistle past the battle lines, letting the soldiers grow accustomed to facing artillery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only that, we must also begin casting heavy cannon ourselves, spending large sums to recruit cannon-founders from every region.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When arquebusiers fight, in assault battles, we make much use of ten-thousand-man bombs, war carts, and such devices, so that we have effective protection. But when both sides exchange fire in open battle...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We can only train medical officers and devote much study to the treatment of cannon wounds and gunshot wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After this matter was decided, a solemn and tragic atmosphere pervaded the hall. With the shift in the tactics of war, the Jingbian Army's era of one-sided victories had become a thing of the past. Casualties that would appear from time to time in the ranks had become a problem everyone must face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at everyone in the hall, Wang Dou said in a deep voice, \"Gentlemen, the coming great battle at Jinzhou is a trial of blood and fire that our Jingbian Army must face! Before our allied forces, before the Tatar slaves, our army will demonstrate what a true strong army is, what true firearms and cannon are! Let them understand how laughable their clumsy imitation cannon and guns are. They may learn some superficial things, but what lies in our very bones, they can never learn!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone's blood ran hot. They all prostrated themselves and roared, \"We follow the General, until all under Heaven is at peace. The land of the Middle Kingdom, a paradise of peace and joy!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"Good. All generals, rise.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked to the sand table and gazed at that stretch of land in Liaodong. The sand table and maps here were rather crude, but that was only relative to the Jingbian Army's standards; compared to maps outside, they were far more detailed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou pointed to the position of Jinzhou and said, \"It is obvious. The eastern slaves' strategy is to besiege the point and strike the reinforcements, repeating their old trick at Dalinghe. The imperial court's strategy is to break the slave-people's siege of Jinzhou. When the time comes, heavy troops will mass together, and a bloody battle is certain. As for what I should do — gentlemen, what counsel do you have for me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone looked at the sand table or the maps. Adviser Qin Yi pondered and said, \"The eastern caitiffs' strategy is to besiege the point and strike the reinforcements, with the intent of pushing south. Our Great Ming's aim is to hold Jinzhou. If we win, we maintain the current situation; if we lose, our finest troops will be utterly lost, and there will be the danger of the great edifice collapsing. The enemy's strategy allows them to advance or retreat freely; our own strategy has fallen into the inferior position.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Chao looked at the Jinzhou terrain and said, \"The slave-bandits have encircled Jinzhou on all sides. Especially the area around Rufeng Mountain is thick with bandits. This mountain is steep and perilous; the flatland between the two mountains is the key route into Jinzhou. To relieve Jinzhou, we must first attack Rufeng Mountain. But this place is hard to assault — our forces must do everything possible to avoid attacking there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Fangliang also agreed: \"We can advance west from Xingshan, then turn north, cross the Nüer River and the Xiaoling River, and follow the flatland to strike directly at the southwest of Jinzhou, bypassing the mountainous terrain to the east.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin disagreed: \"Rufeng Mountain must be taken. Otherwise, when our army advances straight to the southwest of Jinzhou, the Tatars can just as easily attack our forces from Hanwang Mountain northwest of Xingshan, and from the southern and western sides of Rufeng Mountain at Jinzhou. If the main army advances along the Songshan line, we have the walled city as a base to rely on. Moreover, Songshan and Xingshan form a continuous line and can support each other front and rear.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The generals again argued fiercely over the routes of advance and attack. Qin Yi, however, looked thoughtfully at the cities of Songshan, Xingshan, Tashan, and Ningyuan and said, \"I have heard that Military Governor Hong has concentrated the bulk of the provisions and fodder inside the cities of Xingshan, Tashan, and Ningyuan. These cities are rather far apart, and the supply routes wind and twist. We must guard against the caitiffs cutting off the provisions and severing the links between the cities.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was startled and all turned their eyes to those several cities on the sand table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou had been silently observing the generals' arguments. At this moment, he inwardly praised Qin Yi — his grasp of the overall situation truly went without saying; he had seen the crux of the problem at a glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Historically, Hong Chengchou had vigorously stockpiled provisions at Xingshan, Tashan, Ningyuan, and other places. Each location had at least enough provisions to supply the garrison for half a year, even up to a year. This was where the bulk of the Ming army's provisions truly lay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Bijiashan, how much grain was there? Twelve piles! Twelve piles of provisions and fodder — how many days could they feed over a hundred thousand Ming troops? It was merely a transit station because of the convenience of seaborne transport. Generally, as soon as provisions arrived, they were moved into the various cities. Bijiashan itself did not have much in the way of provisions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Historically, the Ming army's defeat was not because the provisions at Bijiashan were seized, but because Hong Chengchou's overall strategic disposition was fundamentally wrong!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Chengchou deployed ninety percent of his forces in the Songshan area, leaving only meager garrisons at Xingshan and Tashan. Although Hong Chengchou had also set up a defensive line on the southern bank of the Nüer River and the plain between the two mountains northwest of Xingshan, when Huang Taiji led his army in a furious assault, how could it hold? Immediately, the link between Songshan and Xingshan and the other places was severed. After that, was not everything left to Huang Taiji to dispose of as he pleased?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, Hong Chengchou's deployment had its own logic. The defeat at Sarhu back then was precisely because Yang Hao had divided his forces to advance and strike separately, allowing the Later Jin troops to defeat them one by one. That lesson was far too deeply etched into the minds of the civil and military officials of the Great Ming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, Hong Chengchou did not dare to divide his forces. He bunched over a hundred thousand men into a single mass. This way, the Qing troops indeed could not defeat them piecemeal. But with a heavy head and light feet, the head and tail unable to support each other, he himself severed the communication with the rear cities of Xingshan, Tashan, and Ningyuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rear was weak — an obvious flaw and gap lay exposed there. No wonder Huang Taiji quickly saw through it: \"This formation has a forward fist but no rear guard; it can be broken.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No stratagem is more vicious than cutting off provisions. Back when Wang Dou fought the roving bandits, he too seized Li Zicheng's grain mountain, and only then did the Chuang Army's morale waver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So after Huang Taiji cut the link between Songshan and Xingshan and the other places, the hundred thousand-plus Ming troops at Songshan instantly became turtles in a jar — without grain, without fodder. What did a mere twelve piles of provisions at Bijiashan count for? The grain and fodder inside the cities of Xingshan and Tashan were the real stores.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Adviser Qin Yi said this, everyone was jolted with alarm. Wen Fangliang, Gao Shiyin, and the others stopped arguing over the route of advance. All eyes turned to Nanshan north of Xingshan and Hanwang Mountain on the southern bank of the Nüer River to the northwest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Chao pointed to these places and said thoughtfully, \"Before planning for victory, first plan for defeat. As long as we hold these places and keep the supply routes open, our army, at the very least, will be in an invincible position.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin also said happily, \"Quite right, quite right! As long as the provisions and fodder are not lost, whether defending a city or fighting in the open field, our Jingbian Army fears no one!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou watched everyone speak their minds freely and said with a smile, \"Indeed. As long as we secure the supply routes, however we fight, we will be at ease. The slave-bandits have surrounded Jinzhou with heavy troops — we do not necessarily have to go and fight at Jinzhou. We can go straight up to Songshan and make a show of threatening the Dalinghe fort, Guangning Right Garrison, and other positions, even directly threatening their vital grain depot at Yizhou. In short, let them do their besieging; we will do our own fighting. We will not let the caitiffs lead us by the nose!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone grew even more excited, discussing animatedly. Given their Grand General's status, they could completely disregard Hong Chengchou and fight in whatever way the situation favored — the room for maneuver was vast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Xun suddenly said, \"Yizhou is the slave-bandits' key grain and fodder base. We could make something of that!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone looked again toward the Yizhou direction. Even Gao Shiyin grew excited, but then he sighed and said, \"Difficult!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yizhou was the Qing army's critical grain depot; naturally, it would be thickly surrounded by heavy troops. To think of raiding their supply lines — difficult indeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Gao Shiyin, that advocate of aggressive action, felt somewhat dejected when he considered attacking Yizhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly a voice said, \"We can attack from beyond the frontier!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone looked — it was Wen Fangliang's uncle, Adviser Wen Shiyan, who had spoken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou was quite interested and said, \"Attack from beyond the frontier? Adviser Wen, please elaborate in detail.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having gained Wang Dou's attention and seeing everyone's focus on him, Wen Shiyan, speaking for the first time on such a momentous occasion, felt his spirits surge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adviser Wen first gave Wang Dou a solemn salute, then pointed to the large map on the wall and said, \"Loyal and Brave Count, gentlemen, our Jingbian Army long ago captured Mantaoer and established multiple garrison farms there. And nearby are the Tumed Left and Right Banners and other banners of the Eastern Caitiffs' Outer Vassal Mongols, as well as part of the Kharchin tribe. These years, when they see us, they are like mice that have spotted a cat — they pose no threat whatsoever.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Further east are the Chahar, Khorchin, and other tribes. Chahar, and the Outer Vassal Mongol Khorchin, are counted as the Eight Banner Mongols. The eastern slaves are besieging Jinzhou, and the able-bodied men of these Outer Vassal Mongols have all gone to war with the army — inevitably, their rear is empty!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he said this, a cold glint flashed in Adviser Wen's eyes. Looking at the map, everyone understood his meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Fangliang studied the map on the wall and said thoughtfully, \"Can a detached force beyond the frontier strike that far? Outside the passes is not like inside the passes — there is nowhere to replenish provisions and fodder. Many areas beyond the frontier have not been surveyed; the dangers are manifold... Let me think: setting out from the eastern route beyond the frontier to Yizhou in Liaodong would be, I fear, two thousand li? A weary force on a distant expedition, and Yizhou is still heavily guarded...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Xiancai said in his soft, measured tone, \"At present, our Jingbian Army, beyond the frontier, only controls the Mantaoer area and has surveyed some of the surrounding terrain. But as for places like Chahar, our knowledge is limited.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adviser Wen said, \"Who said we are going to strike Yizhou?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shot a displeased look at his nephew Wen Fangliang — for an uncle to speak and have his nephew tear down the stage was truly unreasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Wen Fangliang was an Assistant Regional Commander in the army and the Director of the Staff Department, while he himself was merely an adviser. In the Jingbian Army, there were no distinctions of kinship, father and son, or the like. Wen Fangliang's words were spoken out of public-mindedness, and they also showed everyone that he would not treat Wen Shiyan with special favor just because he was his uncle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This point, Adviser Wen understood as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then his gaze returned to the map, and he said fiercely, \"The able-bodied men of those Outer Vassal Mongols have all gone on campaign with the army — their rear is empty! Our Jingbian Army can raise a force of tigers and wolves, using Mantaoer as a base, and sweep across the surrounding Tatar slave tribes. Wherever we go, kill all, burn all, loot all! Kill every one that can move. Bring back the cattle and sheep if we can; if we cannot, kill them too! Kill, kill, kill! Return the calamities they have inflicted on the Great Ming upon them tenfold, a hundredfold! When those Mongol Tatars hear what has happened in their rear, can they still fight at Jinzhou with peace of mind? Then opportunities will surely arise!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had always been a man of dignified bearing, quite refined and scholarly, but now his face was twisted and contorted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing his expression and hearing his words, everyone felt a chill run straight down their spines. Even Wen Fangliang looked at Wen Shiyan in astonishment, as if seeing his uncle for the first time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking these words, Adviser Wen let out a long breath and resumed his sanctimonious and dignified manner. He saluted Wang Dou and said, \"Loyal and Brave Count, this is my humble strategy for beyond the frontier.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone pondered, looking at the map again and again. Adviser Qin Yi said, \"This student believes it is feasible. Harass their rear, and their hearts will surely be thrown into chaos. A detached force sweeping across the surrounding Tatar slave tribes, merely making a show of threatening Yizhou, can exert immense pressure on the enemy at Jinzhou. At that time, our army will have no few opportunities to exploit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou looked at the map and nodded repeatedly. \"Not bad. For the specific detailed arrangements, the Staff Department can draft several proposals.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded toward Adviser Wen. Wen Shiyan was overjoyed — he had finally entered the Loyal and Brave Count's line of sight. It had not been easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He inwardly calculated how, after the meeting, he would study the various intelligence materials in detail and draft several strategic proposals, so as to win the special regard of the Loyal and Brave Count and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This council of war lasted a long time. The various generals and advisers repeatedly deliberated and formulated plans for the coming battle, settling on a variety of schemes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the meeting, Wang Dou declared that these deliberations constituted the army's highest-level secret. No one was to leak a single word, on pain of court-martial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone answered with awe and deference — the military law of the Jingbian Army was no joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shortly after the meeting, Wang Dou summoned the former generals of the Eastern Route once more.\u003C\u002Fp>",2703,"2026-06-03T14:05:53.320Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","ae192e6d1b2d6f42427f538d43053d949fd94aabace7b48d62c8e8c1163fbfe0","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-443","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-441",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]