Chapter 615: Datong, Taiyuan

yī miǎo jì zhù 【】，wèi nín tígōng jīngcǎi xiǎoshuō yuèdú.

lìng ：shíèr diǎn qiánhòu hái yǒu yī zhāng.

In the wind and snow, Zhong Xiancai gazed out at this city of Datong, known as the "Phoenix City." The fortress before him was extraordinarily majestic; he estimated the main city wall to be thirteen or fourteen li in circumference, and the walls rose over four zhang high, densely lined with gate towers, corner towers, enemy-platform towers, wild-goose pagodas, and other pavilions.

Each of the four city gates had a barbican, and surrounding the walls was a deep moat. On each of the city's four sides stood a separate pass fortress, each five to seven li in circumference. The entire city's layout, following the terrain, resembled a phoenix about to spread its wings and soar.

Seeing the dense array of battlements and towers, the formidable and heavily guarded appearance, Zhong Xiancai silently praised it. If the defenders were competent, assaulting such a fortress—even for the Jingbian Army—would feel like a futile effort.

But facts proved that the most critical factor was still the people. Despite Datong's impregnability, historically, whether facing Li Zicheng or the Qing forces, it fell without a fight, the entire city surrendering.

Seeing Zhong Xiancai's entranced expression, Wang Wei beside him could not help feeling proud. The grandeur of Datong City rarely failed to stun a first-time visitor.

At this moment, the Datong Provincial Governor Wei Jinghuan was hurrying to the eastern route and was not in Datong City. And since the fourth year of Chongzhen, when the eunuch Liu Wenzhong oversaw the Datong military, for many years thereafter, the city had no garrison eunuch.

Currently, the highest-ranking persons in the city were the Prince of Dai, the Prefect Dong Fu, and Wang Pu's father, Wang Wei.

After receiving his son Wang Pu's urgent letter, Wang Wei pondered back and forth, and finally gritted his teeth, deciding to cooperate with Wang Dou. Wang Pu now held immense weight in his heart, and he could not afford to disregard his opinions and ideas.

In the past, his son was merely a profligate wastrel in his eyes; he never expected him to become increasingly promising, and now even enfeoffed as a Count, bringing glory to the ancestors. Every time he thought of it, Wang Wei felt his face was full of honor.

As Left Chief Commissioner, having worn the general's seal nine times and served as a regional commander for fifty years, Wang Wei's influence in Datong was deep-rooted and unshakable; few in the city could oppose him. Confiscating the properties of the various great families was a trivial matter.

Upon receiving word that the Jingbian Army was about to arrive, to show his regard, he braved the cold wind early in the morning and personally went outside the Ying'en Gate of the East Pass to welcome them, accompanied by the Wang family head and some Datong merchants and gentry close to him.

Wang Wei, a seasoned military man of vast experience, could not help but marvel when he saw the Jia-Deng troops of the Right Guard White Tiger Battalion led by Zhong Xiancai.

His son's new army had already earned his praise, saying the pupil had surpassed the master, yet compared to the army before him, it was far inferior—no wonder the Jingbian Army swept all before it.

Wang Wei marveled, while the others all changed color. Many were seeing the Jingbian Army for the first time and felt a sense of shuddering dread. They had long heard of the Jingbian Army's fame, and indeed, seeing them surpassed the reputation.

Wang Wei coming out to greet them was a courtesy; given Zhong Xiancai's official rank and commission, he naturally had to dismount and pay his respects. Before him stood a living, breathing older version of Wang Pu, only more robust in frame and slightly squarer in the face, surrounded by a cluster of people.

"Your subordinate pays respects to Chief Commissioner Wang!"

"Hahaha, General Zhong has come a long way and endured hardship; no need for excessive ceremony."

Wang Wei's beard and hair were all white, yet his back remained ramrod straight, and he walked with a brisk, gusty stride, wearing a python robe that displayed his past honors. He strode over, intending to personally help Zhong Xiancai to his feet.

Unexpectedly, before he could touch Zhong Xiancai's hand, Zhong Xiancai stood up on his own: "How dare I trouble Chief Commissioner Wang to move his noble steps?"

Wang Wei laughed heartily, looking Zhong Xiancai up and down. This general before him...

He suddenly paused, then looked thoughtful, and said with a smile, "Allow this old man to make introductions for General Zhong."

He introduced the people beside him. When he introduced the Wang family head, a man who was fat and exuded a thick aura of wealth and nobility, Zhong Xiancai looked at him, his tone soft but his expression stern: "Shopkeeper Wang has abandoned darkness for the light. Our general is very pleased."

The Wang family head said awkwardly, "This humble one is ashamed. It was only through the teachings of Marquis Yongning and Count Dingxing that I suddenly saw the light." Zhong Xiancai continued, "My White Tiger Battalion troops have come to Datong City to apprehend traitors and confiscate illicit properties. For many matters, we will need Shopkeeper Wang to facilitate things."

The Wang family head nodded and bowed repeatedly, saying, "Of course, of course."

According to the resolution between Wang Dou and Wang Pu, the Wang family was guilty, but their crimes were not heinous beyond redemption. Thus, after surrendering half their family assets, their culpability could be pardoned. This naturally pained Wang Dengku and the others, but compared to their lives, family wealth was secondary.

Moreover, after confiscating the others, Datong Garrison, and even Shanxi Garrison thereafter, would be their Wang family's domain. The benefits gained would outweigh what was lost. While Zhong Xiancai spoke with the Wang family head, Wang Wei smiled without speaking, merely stroking his beard and continuously scrutinizing Zhong Xiancai.

Finally, Zhong Xiancai said to Wang Wei, "Our Jingbian Army has encountered many travelers and merchants along the way. I wonder if the traitors near the Huayan Temple and Shanhua Temple in the city have become alert?"

Wang Wei's heart shivered. It seemed this man knew Datong City very well indeed.

Datong's main city had streets and alleys crisscrossing in all directions. The city layout centered on the Four Archways, with four main avenues: east, south, west, and north. The General Garrison Headquarters and County School were in the east; the northwest held the Prefectural Office and Prefectural School, mostly inhabited by literati and scholars; the southwest held Huayan Temple, Shanhua Temple, and the commercial streets of Yuan Alley, mostly inhabited by monks and merchants.

According to Jingbian Army intelligence, the shops of the various great families were mostly located on the streets in the southwest of Datong City.

Like Wen Fangliang, as Zhong Xiancai led his troops near Datong City, he encountered many merchants and travelers along the way. As they scrambled to get out of the way, they thought little of it, assuming it was some guest army passing through. But now that they had arrived at Datong, with pedestrians coming and going and many curiously watching from the vicinity, the many mouths would inevitably leak the news.

Looking at Zhong Xiancai, Wang Wei laughed heartily: "General Zhong, rest assured. Everything is under this old man's control."

As instructed by Wang Dou, upon reaching Datong City, Zhong Xiancai did not enter the main city but stayed in the East Pass encampment, only sending men to supervise when the Datong army conducted house raids.

Accompanied by Wang Wei and others, Zhong Xiancai led his troops into the East Pass.

The East Pass had three city gates and contained fodder depots, parade grounds, encampments, and so on, also teeming with residents and a large population.

Just like the soldiers and civilians of Zhangjiakou, the pedestrians coming and going in the East Pass suddenly saw a strange army appear on the streets.

They all rode uniformly robust horses, wore uniform iron-tipped helmets, and carried a great banner with sun, moon, and waves inside, the White Tiger emblem being larger. Those armored cavalrymen all wore uniform blue winter coats with mandarin collars, the outer hems a mix of red and white...

Their orderly, mounted advance was so terrifyingly imposing that the residents scrambled to get out of the way. Fortunately, seeing the old Regional Commander among them, the commoners felt slightly reassured.

Very quickly, someone recognized this army.

"The Jingbian Army, it's the Jingbian Army..."

Word spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred. Everyone was buzzing with discussion: what was the Jingbian Army doing in Datong?

Many people connected it to the events of the previous days—could it be?

Everyone had a premonition: something was about to happen in Datong.

Sure enough, not long after, suddenly, all the pass fortresses and the main city gates of Datong City were closed...

West of Taiyuan Prefecture lay Xuan Mountain, northwest was Meng Mountain, east was the Fen River, and southeast was the Dongwo River. In the Ming era, it governed twenty-five counties in total.

Taiyuan Prefectural City was one of the thirty-three largest commercial cities of the Ming Dynasty. It was not only the center of Taiyuan Prefecture but of the entire Shanxi region, long famed as "elegant and lofty in its battlements, its magnificence unrivaled under heaven."

The entire city complex, situated on the east bank of the Fen River, consisted of five walled entities: the Prefectural City, the Jin Prince's City, the South Pass City, the North Pass City, and the New Fortress. It had eight gates in total, a circumference of twenty-eight li, walls six zhang high, and the entire city was faced with brick.

Along the top of the city walls were also four corner towers, ninety-two small towers, and thirty-two enemy platforms. Combined with the outer moat three zhang deep, it could be called more impregnable than an iron jar.

Yet at this moment, the defending troops on the wall were watching outside with hearts trembling and courage chilled.

In the wind and snow, banners outside were like a sea, dense cavalry appearing and disappearing amidst the snowflakes. Sometimes a gust of wind would blow, and they seemed to vanish, but upon a closer look, their military formations were like a boundless, deep ocean.

It was the bitter cold of deep winter, yet the great army outside the city was silent, without a trace of noise, only the occasional neigh of a robust warhorse drifting over.

That harsh military discipline, the dense aura of lethal intent, made one suffocate just to behold it.

"Truly worthy of being the elite frontier army that routed the Tatar invaders."

On the tower of Gongji Gate northeast of the city, Shanxi Garrison Provincial Governor Cai Maode could not help but sigh with emotion.

He had just arrived in Taiyuan not long ago, while the Shanxi Garrison Regional Commander Zhou Yuji was still on the road.

Along his journey, news of the trade war and Wang Dou's troop movements had spread like wildfire. Unlike the sudden raid on Zhangjiakou, where Datong had people guiding the way, the news of the Jingbian Army and other large forces advancing on Taiyuan and other places could not be concealed.

Especially after the various great families spent heavily and exerted great effort to win over the defending troops at Pingxing Pass, and the military forces at Daizhou, Xinzhou, Fanzhi, Dingyang, and other places failed to intercept them, the great families were in constant, unending terror. The interest groups behind them were equally panic-stricken.

News from the front kept coming. The Jingbian Army, the Datong Army, and the Shanxi Army moved swiftly, pressing ever closer. Taiyuan Prefectural City was alarmed several times a day. Since the day before yesterday, the city gates had been closed early, forbidding all entry and exit.

For Cai Maode, although he was honored as Provincial Governor, he had just arrived and was unfamiliar with local governance; he largely had to consider the wishes of the local officials and generals. Moreover, he belonged to the Donglin faction, and in Shanxi and Xuanda, a stronghold of the eunuch faction, he was subtly ostracized by many officials and gentry, making it even more necessary for him to speak and act with caution.

Perhaps because word had spread that Cai Maode had once had dealings with Wang Dou in Liaodong, in the past few days Cai Maode had further discovered that he could no longer command the local officials and troops.

"We are all subjects of the Great Ming. Why must we meet each other with blades drawn?"

Gazing at the great army outside the city, Cai Maode could not help but sigh.

He watched the dense, fluttering banners outside the city, like a silent ocean before a storm, ready to erupt at any moment. Beyond these, squadron after squadron of cavalry raced back and forth along the walls of Taiyuan, their rumbling hoofbeats like thunder, pounding blow after blow upon the hearts of the soldiers on the battlements.

Seeing that every one of these soldiers was terrified and pale-faced, Cai Maode shook his head again. After all, this was a peaceful place in the interior; these garrison troops had rarely been on a battlefield or seen blood. Facing those elite frontier troops who had fought bloody battles against the Tatar captives, their mental state was clearly far from satisfactory.

He observed; the Jingbian Army and others had arrived yesterday, yet they remained motionless, and he did not know what they were waiting for.

Just then, a private secretary came over and whispered a few words into Cai Maode's ear.

Cai Maode's expression was calm. He stroked the Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist and said, "So be it. Let this governor go out of the city and persuade the great army outside to lay down their arms." (To be continued.)