Chapter 461: Emptying the Nest

Just as the Great Ming’s massive relief army surged forth from the capital in majestic waves, in the Qing capital of Shengjing, debate over the Jinzhou campaign raged without pause.

The Qing’s spies within the Great Ming were everywhere, relentlessly funneling intelligence back — the relief army’s numbers, its troop composition, which commanders joined along the route, and more, all streaming into Shengjing.

The Qing had always placed great importance on intelligence, and their information gathering was exceedingly thorough; every major Ming general, every key official, their leanings, their capabilities — all were meticulously recorded and kept on file.

Their intelligence was transmitted primarily via Tianjin, Shandong, and other points into the Liaodong Peninsula.

At present, the Liaoxi region was under strict counter-espionage measures and teeming with troops, making intelligence transmission difficult; coming by sea was by far the best option. These Qing spies also had large numbers of Ming officers and officials providing cover for them, ensuring the smooth passage of information.

Intelligence on Wang Dou’s Jingbian Army, in particular, was a top priority for all Qing agents to collect and monitor.

According to spy reports, Wang Dou’s forces numbered roughly fifteen thousand, including eight thousand cavalry (they counted the Second Battalion’s four thousand first-rate troops as cavalry), along with a massive wagon battalion and artillery battalion; the exact number of cannons within was unclear, but estimates placed them at no fewer than one hundred.

The attitudes of the various relief commanders toward Wang Dou were also detailed at length. The spies’ analysis indicated that Regional Commanders Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Wang Tingchen, and Cao Bianjiao — all marching together with Wang Dou — were on friendly terms with him, forming a tightly-knit Wang-faction bloc.

In particular, regarding Datong Regional Commander Wang Pu, Shenjiying Forward Battalion Assistant Regional Commander Fu Yingchong, and Army Supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, the spies described their attitude toward Wang Dou as: “They all follow that villain Wang as if he were their head horse, fawning like hawks and hounds, mere lackeys.”

“Has Wang Dou come?”

Everyone in Shengjing was saying those very words.

The arrival of the Wang-faction forces was treated with the utmost gravity by the entire Qing court; Huang Taiji summoned his ministers to the Chongzheng Hall for audience after audience.

In the sixth month of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, shortly after Wang Dou had joined forces with the troops of Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao, Huang Taiji urgently recalled Dorgon, Jirgalang, and the others from the Jinzhou front to inquire about the situation there.

As his ministers flattered him that his Jinzhou strategy was proving highly effective, that the Ming had indeed poured forth the elite of the Nine Frontier Garrisons, and that if the siege-and-ambush tactic succeeded and the Ming main force was annihilated, the realm would thereafter be the Great Qing’s to ride at will — Huang Taiji merely waved his hand.

His face clouded with worry, he said: “The Ming army is vast. In particular, the various Xuanda forces, riding on Wang Dou’s momentum, are extremely formidable. When the Jinzhou battle comes, it will surely be a bitter fight. The Ming can afford it, but our Great Qing cannot afford to lose. Defeat would mean the calamity of our clan’s annihilation. How should we respond? Let each of you speak in turn.”

Dorgon and Jirgalang, having long been at the front, knew the local conditions around Jinzhou best. While they were besieging Jinzhou, Ji-Liao Viceroy Hong Chengchou had organized several relief attempts with the Ji-Liao forces. Though temporarily defeated and forced to retreat, watching from Ningyuan, the Qing troops at the front still found handling them somewhat taxing.

Now, with seventy thousand crack troops arriving, and the widely renowned Jingbian Army among them, both Dorgon and Jirgalang felt immense pressure.

Both men hoped His Majesty would dispatch reinforcements as quickly as possible, with total troop strength preferably no less than one hundred thousand. Jirgalang, in particular, went so far as to urge Huang Taiji to lead the campaign in person.

He stated: “Our forces are entrenched around Jinchangbao and Mount Rufeng, with Ming camps ahead and the enemy in Jinzhou behind — we are caught between two fronts. Every time Hong Chengchou attempted a rescue, he would fire cannons southward from Nanshan, while Zu Dashou fired cannons northward from the walls of Jinzhou. Our troops were struck from front and rear, with no ground to shelter on. Yet if we do not encamp in both locations, we cannot maintain the siege. Now the Ming army is coming with the entire nation’s strength; the forces at the front are insufficient for the task, and the situation is extremely perilous! This battle concerns the fate of the Great Qing. Your slave implores Your Majesty to lead the campaign in person.”

Jirgalang, the master of the Bordered Blue Banner, was now in his forties. Throughout the Qing realm, he was known for remaining unflustered in crisis, for being brave and resourceful, cautious and steady. For even him to speak this way, the situation at Jinzhou was clearly dire indeed.

However, his request that His Majesty personally lead the campaign, and his demand that the Jinzhou forces be no fewer than the Ming army, struck the ministers in the hall as boosting the enemy’s morale while undermining their own prestige.

After all, ever since the Qing rose to power, they had always prevailed with inferior numbers — a force of ten thousand routinely facing thirty or fifty thousand Ming troops was considered commonplace. What did he mean by demanding no fewer than one hundred thousand total troops at the front?

Facing the attacks and criticism from the assembly, Jirgalang patiently explained: “The present is not like the past; the Ming army’s combat capability cannot be underestimated. Since our Great Qing troops besieged Jinzhou, we have assaulted the cities of Jinzhou, Songshan, and Xingshan no fewer than a hundred times — bombarding fiercely with Hongyi cannons, digging tunnels, blasting walls with gunpowder — yet the Ming troops have fought to the death without retreat. The Liao people defend Liao soil; their resolve to fight bitterly is no less than that of our Great Qing warriors. Now over a hundred thousand elite troops are arriving, and Wang Dou is among them. How can we treat this as an ordinary matter? You must understand, if we lose, our Great Qing faces the peril of national ruin. How can we be negligent or dismissive?”

Silence fell over everyone in the hall. Even the most vocal critics, such as Hooge, shut their mouths.

Although the Qing had besieged Jinzhou without truly intending to capture the fortress, from the fifth year of Chongde onward they had launched numerous attacks on Songshan and the other forts — sometimes feints, sometimes genuine assaults — and it was evident that the Liao army was vastly different from previous years. Since Hong Chengchou had assumed the post of Ji-Liao Viceroy, he had indeed developed his own effective methods, and now countless elite troops from the Nine Frontier Garrisons were arriving as well…

To Jirgalang’s plea, Huang Taiji merely waved his hand: “I have taken note.”

He then asked: “What I want to know is this: if over a hundred thousand Ming relief troops arrive, how should our Great Qing respond?”

Dorgon said: “As long as His Majesty leads the campaign in person, under that majestic authority, the Ming wretches will surely be scattered like ashes and smoke.”

A cold glint flashed in Huang Taiji’s eyes, and he turned his gaze back to Jirgalang.

Since the previous year, Jirgalang had been ordered to fight the Ming forces in the Jinzhou area, and he had exerted every effort to understand the conditions at every location around Jinzhou, paying very close attention to the movements of the Ming relief army.

He had carefully studied Hong Chengchou as a person and knew that he possessed considerable combat experience, commanded great prestige within the Liao army, and was not an easy opponent to deal with. Now, with the addition of the illustrious Wang Dou, he was even more cautious.

After some thought, he said: “The Ming state has abundant troops and ample provisions. To deal with them, we must proceed with the utmost prudence. While at Jinzhou, your slave also conducted on-the-ground reconnaissance of the terrain at various points around Jinzhou.”

At his request, Huang Taiji had a massive map of Liaoxi unfurled in the Chongzheng Hall. It was equally precise in its rendering, and Huang Taiji, along with all the ministers in the hall, gathered around the map to study it.

Jirgalang said: “Our spies long ago ascertained that Hong Chengchou’s relief strategy is precisely the plan he agreed upon with Zu Dashou: establishing a supply route, advancing step by step and fortifying as they go, fighting while moving forward, to break the siege of Jinzhou. Hong Chengchou is a cautious man. Over the past two years, in his repeated attempts to relieve Jinzhou from Ningyuan, he has always concentrated his forces in one place, pressed forward with wagon battalions, and avoided rash engagements. If, when the time comes, he again concentrates his forces in one place, our Great Qing will have an opportunity to exploit.”

Pointing to the cities of Songshanbao, Xingshanbao, and Tashanbao on the map, he said: “The Ming army’s provisions are mostly stockpiled at Xingshan and Tashan. When the time comes, our Great Qing forces can cut across the main road between Songshan and Xingshan, establishing a continuous encampment. We can, as we did at Jinzhou, dig long trenches to sever the Ming army’s lines of communication, turning Jinzhou, Songshan, and Ningyuan into three isolated fortresses unable to render mutual aid. In this way, the Ming army will surely be defeated.”

A buzz of discussion erupted in the hall; everyone felt that the Bordered Blue Banner master’s strategy was highly astute and very feasible.

Huang Taiji merely shook his head: “If the Ming army had only Hong Chengchou alone, this strategy would be viable. But with Wang Dou present, they will certainly place great importance on their supply lines. The Wang-faction forces number seventy thousand. Wang Dou’s intentions will undoubtedly gain the support of the other Ming commanders. This move, I fear, will not work.”

The ministers in the hall sighed in unison. Over the years, everyone had painstakingly studied Wang Dou and knew that this man valued his supply lines to a pathological degree. Even his own baggage battalions often carried a month’s worth of provisions for the army’s use on campaign. Trying to cut his supply lines? Difficult!

Huang Taiji stared long at Xingshanbao on the map and gave a cold laugh: “However, cutting their supply lines is still feasible!”

Seeing that no one understood, he said: “Our Great Qing’s strategy can proceed in two steps. If the Ming army still follows Hong Chengchou’s plan — fighting while defending, massing at Songshan — our forces will seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the rear cities of Xingshan, Gaoqiao, and Tashan, cutting their supply lines. If they divide their forces, stationing them to defend Xingshan, Tashan, and the other points one by one, then our Great Qing shall emulate the strategy of Sarhu and defeat them in detail. Once they are dispersed to defend each location, their troop strength will be thin, and our grand army will have countless opportunities to exploit.”

Huang Taiji’s words ignited the excitement of every minister in the hall. They clamored to offer their ideas, with the various Mongol banner lords proposing relentless night raids and long-range strikes, harassing their supply lines to keep them constantly on the run.

The various Manchu banner lords proposed luring the Ming troops at Xingshan, Songshan, and elsewhere out to fight, then repeatedly setting ambushes to annihilate them piece by piece.

After all, although the Ming army’s combat capability had improved somewhat in recent years, in field battles they still fell short of the Qing troops. After many such back-and-forth engagements, the Ming forces at Songshan, Xingshan, and the other points would surely be utterly exhausted. If they then refused to come out for field battles, their supply line defenses would effectively cease to exist.

Amid the rising enthusiasm on all sides, Huang Taiji looked toward Dorgon and Jirgalang: “Prince Zheng, Prince Rui.”

The two men hurriedly responded: “Your slaves are here.”

Huang Taiji said: “You need not worry about the matter of reinforcements. Return to Jinzhou at once. Construct a fort at the foot of Xiwangbao Mountain, by the banks of the Tanghe River, to serve as a staging point for future attacks on Xingshan and other key troop-concentration areas. You must hunt down and kill Ming scouts, especially those of Wang Dou’s army — do not let them discover our intentions!”

“Once the Ming relief forces reach Ningyuan, you may fiercely assault Jinzhou and the various forts at Songshan, bombarding them day and night without pause with Hongyi cannons. You must force the Ming army to accelerate its advance. When their main body arrives, you may set ambushes at Xingshan and other points, luring their troops into battle. You must blunt their sharp edge!”

Dorgon and Jirgalang respectfully accepted the orders.

In his heart, Dorgon burned with jealousy. Huang Taiji’s strategic acumen was a cut above his own. If Jinzhou ended in yet another victory, he feared there would be no place left for him within the Great Qing in the future.

Thereafter, the Qing sovereign and his ministers deliberated in detail, refining every aspect of the Jinzhou campaign. Huang Taiji felt he had considered every angle. Why, then, did he still feel a trace of unease?

Subconsciously, he glanced at the Mongol tribes of Liaoxi. Would Wang Dou’s army launch a flanking attack from there?

Then he inwardly shook his head. Since the mid-Ming period, the Ming army had rarely possessed the capability to campaign beyond the frontier. Even with the might of Qi Jiguang in his day, they had ventured no great distance from the border.

In the eyes of the Manchu and Mongol tribes, anything a few hundred li beyond the Ming border walls was the domain of the steppe nomads. Beyond the frontier was nothing like within the passes — danger lurked everywhere. Would the Ming army dare to venture out? The Qing sovereign and his ministers had never even considered such a possibility.

And so this thought merely flickered through Huang Taiji’s mind before he set it aside and felt at ease.

From late in the sixth month to early in the seventh month of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Qing reinforcements streamed continuously toward Jinzhou. In the early seventh month, Huang Taiji ordered that all males aged fifteen and above from the Manchu, Mongol, and Han Eight Banners were to mobilize for the campaign. On the twentieth day, he personally led the army forth, emptying the nest entirely.