Chapter 507: The Old Ginger Is the Hottest

As they inspected the camps and saw the wounded soldiers wailing in agony, Huang Taiji and his entourage all had livid expressions.

Compared to the Great Ming, the Qing state's medical methods were primitive. The Ming armies at least had some medical officers, while the Qing army had only shamans and a small number of physicians captured from the Ming.

Right before Huang Taiji's eyes, several shamans were leaping and dancing, performing spirit-jumping healing rituals for some wounded armored soldiers.

Those armored soldiers had all been gathered inside a xianrenzhu tent, surrounded by a circle of people chanting incantations. Before the spirit-jumping, they also lit an unknown plant that emitted a faint fragrance, diluting some of the foul odors around them so that the spirits could come.

Shamans had appeared in the northern lands beyond the frontier since the time of the Xiongnu. Among many tribes, any matter of war or other events in a state of indecision ultimately had to be decided by the shaman. In the Qing state at that time, shamanic culture was equally prevalent — healing the sick, sending off souls, praying for game, praying for rain, stopping rain, sorcery, magic arts, divination, spirit-jumping — all fell within the scope of these shamans.

However, this was merely a primitive religious ritual. Perhaps it provided some psychological comfort to the subconscious mind, similar to the hypnotic techniques of a mind-doctor, producing some unknown therapeutic effect. But the agony caused by cannons and firearms was not something these shamans could suppress. Even after they finished their spirit-jumping and applied witch-medicine to the wounded armored soldiers, it was of no help.

Perhaps at that moment the soldiers' emotions would settle somewhat, but afterward they would wail endlessly again, their suffering beyond words.

Huang Taiji watched, grinding his teeth in fury. These wounded men were all warriors of the various banners, yet before the Ming army's firearms and cannons, he could only watch helplessly as they died in agony.

Watching those shamans leap and dance, a look of impatience flickered in Huang Taiji's eyes. Compared to these witch-doctors, he trusted far more the physicians, doctors, and medical officers who came from the Central Plains.

Moreover, after establishing the state, he trusted Han ministers and grew increasingly hostile toward shamanic culture, regarding it as the witch-cult of a petty tribe. Since he had founded a state, he believed it ought to have the rules and rites befitting a state. Indeed, historically, after the Manchu Qing entered the pass, shamanism spread into the Central Plains along with them, but it always remained in folk circulation, never fit for the formal stage.

In addition, after these shamanic rituals were done, they could only perform simple bandaging and apply medicine. The main treatment still had to rely on those physicians and doctors.

But such medical officers were scarce in the Qing army, while the wounded Qing soldiers were numerous — how could those physicians possibly attend to them all?

This was not like treating wounds from blades, spears, bows, and arrows. Dealing with wounds caused by firearms and cannons was an extremely complex and meticulous task. If even a little iron shard, gunpowder residue, or filth like cloth fragments and mud were left in the wound, all manner of septicemia, infections, and high fevers would follow one after another, making the wounded suffer every agony before dying.

Therefore, the medical officers in the Qing army mostly performed amputations on these soldiers struck by bullets. Those hit in the torso could only be left to await death.

But amputation easily led to massive bleeding, as well as infections and the like. With the Qing army lacking medicines, in the end, seventy to eighty percent of those who underwent amputation still died.

After inspecting the various camps, Huang Taiji's face remained dark and gloomy. The banner lords and Qing ministers following behind him all trod with extreme caution, fearful of inadvertently angering the Emperor and bringing misfortune upon themselves.

After this battle ended, in view of the severe losses suffered by the armored soldiers of the various banners who attacked the Jingbian Army, and the fact that Prince Wuying Ajige had died on the spot, Prince Zheng Jirgalang and Prince Su Hooge, who were in command, were both sternly reprimanded. Many others were demoted or executed — quite a number of people were dealt with.

Moreover, among the Qing troops who attacked Wang Dou's division and those defending Huangtuling, the casualties were mostly from firearms and cannons, or from attacks by poison shells and ash shells, making treatment extremely difficult. Huang Taiji had been in a foul mood all along, so no one dared be careless.

It must be known that in his towering rage, even Hooge had been cursed bloody by Huang Taiji and viciously lashed many times. Everyone knew they did not hold the place in Huang Taiji's heart that Hooge did.

Kim Ja-jeom, following behind the various Qing ministers, also dared not speak much. At the same time, the ghastly sight of those wounded and dead Qing soldiers made his heart tremble with fear.

Toward the prospect of facing the Jingbian Army in the future, he also felt deep dread.

In his heart, he felt some regret. He had known earlier that he should not have, in order to curry favor with his master, led ten thousand Korean troops to come as reinforcements. Given the current situation, how many of his soldiers would be able to return home in the future?

Of course, he dared not let such thoughts show. Outwardly, he wore an expression of grief.

Among the ministers of the Eight Banners, only the Han ministers like Kong Youde, Ma Guangyuan, and Geng Zhongming had visible smugness in their eyes.

In today's battle, only their Han banners had fought with distinction. In particular, their bombardment and musket fire against the Ming forces of Ma Ke's division and Tang Tong's division had achieved the glorious result of inflicting several thousand enemy casualties with zero deaths or injuries on their own side, which greatly pleased Huang Taiji.

The Ujen Choo artillery battalion had also performed outstandingly on Huangtuling. The Three Obedient Kings had already said privately, "Henceforth, when the Great Qing fights wars, it will be up to us."

Returning to *** Mountain Fortress with a dark face, Huang Taiji sat upright on his broad imperial throne, swept his gaze over the assembled ministers in the room, and said flatly, "Since the tallies are all done, then tell me — what are the casualty numbers for each banner?"

His gaze first fell upon Dorgon. The battle had begun first at Huangtuling, so the first report naturally started with Dorgon.

Dorgon cleared his throat lightly, stepped out of line, and said, "In reply to His Majesty, in the battle of Huangtuling, our Great Qing defending forces comprised the Manchu Eight Banners' Plain White Banner and part of the Bordered White Banner, the Han Eight Banners' Plain White Banner, Bordered White Banner, Bordered Red Banner, and part of the Plain Blue Banner, along with Korean troops and other units. In total, there were over 6,500 armored soldiers and over 11,300 laborers. In this battle, our army suffered a total of 1,363 casualties, with 835 killed in action and the remainder wounded."

"Among these casualties, 538 were armored soldiers. Also, Niu-lu Janggin Ning'erjia of the Manchu Bordered White Banner was severely wounded and died in battle; Fende Boshiku Hunaohe of the Plain White Banner was severely wounded; Niu-lu Janggin Lai Yuangao of the Han Plain White Banner died in battle; Korean Vice-Commandants Kim Hee-cheol and Kim Jeong-jung were severely wounded and died in battle..."

Huang Taiji nodded slightly. The defense of Huangtuling had actually been adequate. Had it not been for the defeat on the southeastern flatlands, Huangtuling could have held out all along. The casualties among the banner warriors defending the ridge were also within the range he could mentally accept. Distributed among the various banners, the numbers were actually not that many.

Ashan, lord of the Manchu Eight Banners' Plain Yellow Banner, and Bayintu, lord of the Bordered Yellow Banner, reported that their troops had attacked Wang Pu's Datong Army, suffering over four hundred casualties, including over eighty armored soldiers, with the remaining casualties being laborers. Huang Taiji nodded even more. The two Yellow Banners were his foundation; the low casualty numbers brought him inner relief.

Next, Kong Youde reported on behalf of the Han banners: the Han Eight Banners' Plain Yellow Banner, Bordered Yellow Banner, Plain Red Banner, and Bordered Blue Banner, along with a portion of Korean troops, had attacked the Ming forces of Ma Ke's division and Tang Tong's division west of Songshanbao, suffering zero casualties.

Huang Taiji was even more approving, lavishing considerable praise upon Kong Youde and the others.

And seeing the self-satisfied looks of Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, Geng Zhongming, and the rest, all the Manchu and Mongol ministers in the room burned with jealousy in their hearts. They thought to themselves, "It's just that you had good luck. Let's see if you were sent to attack Wang Dou's Jingbian Army!"

Finally, everyone's gaze fixed upon Jirgalang and Hooge. Huang Taiji's expression was also extremely dark.

Jirgalang stepped out of line. His expression was calm, as if unaffected by the Emperor's reprimand. He said, "Your slaves led the troops in attacking Bai Guangen's Jizhen Army, Wu Sangui's Ningyuan Army, and Wang Dou's Jingbian Army. In this great battle, our forces comprised the Manchu Eight Banners' Plain White Banner, Bordered White Banner, Plain Yellow Banner, Bordered Yellow Banner, Plain Blue Banner, and part of the Bordered Blue Banner; also the Mongol Eight Banners' Plain Yellow Banner, Plain Red Banner, and part of the Bordered Red Banner; the Tumed Left and Right Wings of the outer feudatories; and part of the Inner and Outer Kharchin. In total, there were 21,000 armored soldiers and 13,000 laborers."

"It is estimated that the Ming army committed a total of over 46,000 troops in this battle, including over 15,000 men of the Ming Jingbian Army. Among our army's achievements, we routed Bai Guangen's division, slew one Ming Regional Commander, two Mobile Corps Commanders and Garrison Commanders, five Squad Commanders and Company Commanders, captured 850 officers and soldiers, and seized uncountable supplies and matériel."

He drew a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "In this battle, our army suffered a total of 6,356 casualties, with 4,642 killed in action. Among the fallen officers were: of the Manchu Eight Banners' Plain White Banner, Prince Wuying Ajige; Niu-lu Janggin Hafeng'a of the Plain White Banner; Niu-lu Janggin Ahingga; Bayara Jalan Janggin Maise; Bayara Juangda Aojia. Of the Plain Blue Banner, Jalan Janggin Gioro Guoko; Niu-lu Janggin Chiwuti; Niu-lu Janggin Irgen; Niu-lu Janggin Tuktan; Fende Boshiku..."

Listening to Jirgalang's emotionless voice slowly recounting the names, everyone felt a chill in their hearts. The casualties from fighting Wang Dou's Jingbian Army were far too great.

And after the great battle, although many of the wounded among the banner warriors who attacked the Jingbian Army had been rescued or had fled back, seeing their current agonized state, most of them would also suffer every agony before dying in the days to come. Everyone shuddered with horror — better to have died on the battlefield then and there.

Moreover, so many officers had fallen in battle, and a prince of the blood had died as well — something unprecedented since the founding of the Great Qing. Perhaps there was only one precedent: the battle of Zhuozhou years ago, when Grand General Yangwu Yoto had perished, dealing a grievous blow to the vitality of the Manchu Plain Red Banner.

That damned Wang Dou — truly the bane of the Great Qing!

Among the Qing ministers in the room, only Dorgon wore a complicated expression.

Although Ajige was his own elder brother, Ajige had always been at odds with him and Dodo. Having lost his position as lord of the Plain White Banner, instead of resenting Huang Taiji, Ajige had concentrated his anger on his two younger brothers.

He had also taken a portion of the Plain White Banner's niru with him, which even Dorgon had been unable to touch. Now that Ajige was dead, those niru could soon return to Dorgon's control, greatly increasing his strength — this was cause for joy.

Yet Ajige was, after all, his own elder brother. It was impossible that Dorgon felt no grief in his heart over his death in battle. So at this moment, his heart was torn between sorrow and joy, an indescribable mix of feelings. Dodo did not think as much as Dorgon did; at this moment, he felt only grief.

After finishing his report, Jirgalang prostrated himself deeply on the ground: "Your slave has lost troops and officers. I beg His Majesty to punish me!"

Kneeling beside him was Prince Su Hooge, who had long since lost his former swaggering arrogance. He merely hung his head dejectedly, utterly despondent.

Huang Taiji's face was pale. Catastrophic casualties — in a single day, the various banners of the Great Qing, counting armored men, banner soldiers, laborers, and bondservants all together, had suffered nearly eight thousand casualties. And the overwhelming majority of those casualties had been inflicted by Wang Dou's Jingbian Army.

He suddenly roared fiercely, "Wang Dou, Wang Dou! I wish I could eat his flesh raw!"

Immediately afterward, he broke into a fit of violent coughing, and suddenly two streams of nosebleed flowed from his nostrils.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty..."

All the Qing ministers in the room were greatly alarmed and hurriedly called for the imperial physician. The room descended into chaos for a good while.

Hooge rushed forward, crying out repeatedly, "Ama, what's wrong? Ama, are you all right?"

It was a long while before Huang Taiji recovered. Looking at the worried faces, especially his son Hooge, he waved his hand: "I am fine. I am not dying yet!"

He looked at Jirgalang, who was still kneeling deeply, and sighed: "Enough. This matter cannot be blamed on you. Prince Zheng already fought this battle very well. Rise."

His gaze regained its sharpness as he said, "Issue my decree: Prince Wuying fought with all his might and gave his life for the state. I am overcome with grief. Posthumously promote Ajige to Prince Wuying of the First Rank, bestow ten thousand taels of silver for the funeral and burial, establish ten households to guard his tomb, erect a stele to record his merits, and promote his son Hodo to Beizi... For all officers who gave their lives for the state, let the Ministry of War deliberate on rewards, and confer posthumous honors, funerals, and burials one by one..."

After the posthumous honors, rewards, and punishments were decreed, Huang Taiji sighed and said, "Although the Ming army's military might was formidable this time, the fighting strength of their various divisions varied, some strong and some weak. Our Great Qing's various divisions strictly defended the trenches and stone walls. Though it cannot be said to be wrong, it also wasted a great deal of manpower. Looking at it now, many of the dispositions were unnecessary."

Prince Su Hooge perked up somewhat. He had opposed holding the low walls and trenches from the start, advocating open-field battle instead.

At this moment he said: "His Majesty is wise. Among the Ming armies that can fight, there is only Wang Dou alone. Our Great Qing's iron cavalry is unmatched — why should we shrink behind stockade walls to defend? We can concentrate our forces and face them in open-field battle."

Ashan and Baiyintu also agreed with Prince Su's words. In today's battle, part of the troops from their two banners attacked Wang Pu's Datong army. Despite being at a disadvantage in troop strength, they forced Wang Pu's army to only hold tight in defense.

Wang Pu's force, among the various Ming armies in Liaodong, is still considered part of the strong armies, yet it was merely so. If facing Ma Ke, Tang Tong, Li Fuming, Zuo Guangxian, and others, perhaps they could rout these Ming troops just as they routed Bai Guangen.

However, Prince Zheng Jirgalang believed it could not be calculated that way. He felt that even Ma Ke, Tang Tong, and the others, if they truly fought to the death, would actually be quite troublesome. It is not that they cannot fight, but that they do not want to fight, dare not fight. If they had a strong army coordinating with them — for example, the Jingbian Army — they could unleash very strong combat power.

For instance, Wu Sangui: his various wagon battalions, over ten thousand men, when facing ten thousand Qing cavalry, could only hold tight in defense at first. But after Wang Dou moved out, he took the initiative and attacked.

And the Shenji Battalion: if they faced battle head-on, the Great Qing's iron cavalry could rout them in a single clash — perhaps even more easily than defeating Bai Guangen's Jizhen army.

It was only because they hid far behind the Jingbian Army's formation and fired their cannons that they inflicted enormous damage on the various Great Qing banners. A large part of the casualties among the defending troops of the various banners at Huangtuling was caused by them.

Also, the Ming state's Yang Guozhu division — its fighting strength cannot be underestimated. When the Great Qing's iron cavalry faces them with equal troop numbers, their fighting strength may even be somewhat superior.

Then there are, far away at Xingshan, the Ming state's Liaodong Regional Commander Liu Zhaoji, Eastern Coordination Regional Commander Cao Bianjiao, and Qiantun Guard Regional Commander Wang Tingchen. These divisions are also quite tenacious and must be dealt with cautiously.

Dorgon, Abatai, and Ying'erdai all agreed with Jirgalang's opinion.

Seeing that all sides were locked in dispute, Huang Taiji turned his gaze toward Daišan. This old fossil in his eyes coughed once and said: "After today's great battle, our army already has some understanding of the fighting strength of the various Ming divisions — especially the Jingbian Army. Their firearms and cannons are sharp, and their cavalry is equally brave and skilled in battle, even better at coordinating with allied troops. Therefore, when facing them in formation, we must match firearms with firearms!"

"This slave thinks: no matter how skilled in battle their soldiers are, they are still flesh and blood — can they withstand cannons and firearms? The key going forward is to see where Wang Dou's army is committed, then concentrate all our cannons, Han troops, and Korean musketeers to tie them down. With Wang Dou's Jingbian Army unable to break free, our iron cavalry can then strike at the other Ming divisions. In this way, the odds of victory are still very high!"

He said: "The crucial point is: Wang Dou does not move, the Han troops do not move, their cannons do not move, and our cannons do not move either. The mountains must still be defended, but defending the mountains with a small force will suffice. The remaining main army can all be drawn out, concentrated, and seek opportunities to engage the other Ming divisions."

"Moreover, in this way, with fewer men defending the mountains and more men in the field, we can also shift more troops to Baimiao Fort. On the Songshan side, we tie down Wang Dou and his forces, and seize the chance to send tens of thousands of iron cavalry across the Nüer River to attack Xingshan — thus cutting off the Ming army's supply route!"

Everyone in the room could not help but nod. The old ginger is indeed the spiciest — in one stroke he balanced the views of all sides, satisfying everyone and fitting reality.

Huang Taiji's gaze flickered, his wariness toward Daišan deepening further.

Dorgon also gave Daišan a deep look, then stepped out from the ranks and said: "The key now is: which direction is the Ming army's main offensive? According to the earlier strategy, our Great Qing judged that the Ming army would attack *** Mountain, so we placed heavy troops at *** Mountain and Maojiagou to block the Ming army's path to Jinzhou, and many cannons were also deployed there!"

"Although given time, the cannons on the various mountains can be moved down, where should the Ujen Choo artillery camp be concentrated? The *** Mountain side, or the Mount Shimen side, or along the Xiao Ling River?"

"Everyone knows that whether going from *** Mountain to Mount Shimen, or from Mount Shimen to *** Mountain, one must cross mountains and ridges — especially passing through the Huangtu North Ridge, which is extremely difficult to traverse. And our Great Qing's cannons are heavy, making movement even more inconvenient. In today's battle southeast of Huangtuling, as you all saw, the Han Banners' cannons were long delayed in arriving, yet opportunities in battle are fleeting. When real fighting breaks out, how can one wait for the cannons to arrive before fighting?"

Kong Youde coughed once and said: "Indeed, the Ming army has the advantage of terrain, and moving their cannons is more convenient than for our Great Qing. Now the flatlands of Songshan Fort are all occupied by the Ming army. For the Ujen Choo artillery camp to move, it can only cross over the mountain ridges — all heavy cannons weighing several thousand jin. Transport alone may take several days."

Prince Su Hooge declared: "The situation is already very clear now. The Ming army intends to attack Mount Shimen, or cross the Xiao Ling River to attack Xiao Ling River Fort, and from Jinzhou's eastern and southeastern sides, break the siege on Zu Dashou!"

Dodo said: "That is not necessarily so. Who knows whether this is a Ming army feint to the east while striking west? Earlier we judged that the Ming army might first attack *** Mountain, so we placed heavy troops at *** Mountain and Maojiagou — and as a result, they went and attacked Huangtuling. If we deploy our cannons over to the Mount Shimen side, and then they go and attack *** Mountain, would we have to haul the cannons back again?"

Hooge was instantly speechless. The Ming army's main direction of attack was not something he could determine in a moment.

If that were truly the case, with the Ujen Choo artillery camp unable to support in time, how long could those Han Banners and Korean troops hold out under the Ming army's cannon fire? Back in the day, Kong Youde had not failed to engage Wang Dou's firearms in battle — and the result was a swift rout.

He frowned and said: "Simply split the Ujen Choo artillery camp into two parts — one at *** Mountain, one at Mount Shimen — both positioned on open ground. That would satisfy both needs."

Dodo again disagreed: "If split into two parts, can our Great Qing's cannon fire match that of Wang Dou's Jingbian Army and the Ming state's Shenji Battalion? With insufficient cannons, there is no certainty of victory in battle. If we cannot tie down Wang Dou's Jingbian Army, our Great Qing's iron cavalry cannot freely strike at the other Ming divisions either."

All the Qing ministers in the room fell silent. Without certainty of the Ming army's next main direction of attack, the Ujen Choo artillery camp was difficult to position.