Chapter 712: Spoils and Dispositions

The army had won a great victory. Wang Dou gave the order to set up camp on the spot, tally the spoils, and continue hunting down the remnants of Guluoge and Hanggao's fleeing forces. By noon the next day, all spoils had been counted, verified, and recorded in ledgers.

According to the report compiled by Army Inspector Chi Dacheng, in this battle the Border Pacification Army had taken over 2,500 heads, captured a tribal population of over 45,000, Guluoge was captured on the spot with severe wounds, Hanggao attempted to flee but was overtaken by the Night Scouts of the Vanguard Reconnaissance Battalion and finally shot off his horse and seized, and quite a few Outer Vassal Mongols from the three Khalkha tribes were also captured.

These three tribes — the Tüsheet Khan, Chechen Khan, and Jasaghtu Khan of the Khalkha — mostly followed the lead of the Tüsheet Khan Wang Gunbu. To aid the Tumed tribe, Gunbu dispatched a trusted Assistant Taiji from the tribe's inner circle, along with Tabunangs from the remaining tribes, Banner Commandants, and other headmen, leading over three thousand troops to the fight.

However, after the Border Pacification Army marched beyond the frontier, they had already suffered considerable losses, and when they charged the formation together with Guluoge, the remaining forces collapsed at the first contact.

That Assistant Taiji of the Tüsheet tribe was captured on the spot. The remnants fled desperately northward, and in the end nearly over a thousand of their men and horses were taken. Several hundred soldiers and headmen from the Chechen and Jasaghtu tribes were also captured. Very few escaped safely back to Mobei.

The Ordos Mongols had long since fled. The Kokonor Mongols came to lend their support; that tribe's Taiji brought over a hundred soldiers and was completely annihilated in the battle. The Taiji was trampled into pulp on the spot by the Border Pacification Army's cavalry formation.

To Wang Dou's surprise, among the captives was the formerly deposed Tumed Khan, Omubu.

In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Yoto led Later Jin troops on a western campaign against Tumochuan. Omubu led his subordinates Guluoge, Tuoboke, and others to rally the tribes and surrender to them. But soon someone denounced Omubu for liaising with the Ming court and the Khalkha, Ujumchin, and other tribes, plotting to send troops against Later Jin. Thus Omubu was deposed, escorted by Yoto to Shengjing, and the Tumed lands were entrusted to Guluoge, Tuoboke, Hanggao, and others to supervise. This was the historical Deposition of the Khan incident.

Moreover, because the following year Huang Taiji proclaimed himself emperor, founded the Great Qing, and changed the Jurchen name to Manchu, Omubu was soon released and sent back. He was merely ordered to be strictly controlled by Guluoge, given four sumu for his upkeep — equivalent to the Manchu Qing's niru population — but this was only nominal. In reality, Omubu was mired in poverty and hardship. In the end, his descendants left behind only the ruins of a single family temple.

When Guluoge fled north, he took Omubu with him. In this battle, Omubu was captured along with him.

Apart from the population, there were the captured weapons, baggage, cattle, sheep, and horses. Wang Dou disdained the weapons, but the cattle, sheep, and horses interested him greatly.

By rough count, this battle yielded about three hundred thousand head of cattle and sheep. The tents and carts also contained large quantities of horsehair, sheepskins, leather coats, as well as salt, tea, silk, and other goods from the Central Plains. No wonder Guluoge and the others fled so slowly — they had far too much baggage.

There were also large numbers of mules, donkeys, camels, and horses, totaling over forty thousand head. Among those horses, many could serve as warhorses. Earlier, when Han Chao went on campaign against Guihua, he had already captured over six thousand horses in total. With these additional ones, all the cavalry of the Central Army Battalion and the Feathered Cavalry in the Border Pacification Army could be fully remounted on warhorses.

What Wang Dou had not expected was that among the captured baggage carts there was also a great quantity of gold, silver, and treasures. By rough estimate, the silver alone was no less than three million taels, the gold was over one hundred thousand taels, and there were nearly a thousand pieces of jewelry and jade. Precious furs, silks, satins, woolen blankets, and the like filled chest after chest.

The officers of the Border Pacification Army were all dumbstruck. Gao Shiyin murmured, "I never imagined these Tumed bumpkins could be so rich?"

Wen Fangliang said, "It's only their headmen who are rich. The ordinary herders often freeze or starve to death."

Wang Dou nodded. On reflection, it was not strange at all. Even if the bottom-rung herders of each tribe were dirt poor, the tribal headmen and Jasaghtus had never lacked wealth. A starved camel is still bigger than a horse. After all, the Tumed tribe's centuries of accumulated wealth was no small matter. Even after all that wealth had been squandered and divided up by Guluoge and the others, each of them still ate till their mouths dripped with grease.

Wang Dou recalled historical records he had seen in later times. Tibet had always been considered poor, but the monks and nobles there were not poor at all. One famous great noble landowner there, through generations of management, had hidden nearly a hundred million taels of silver in his own cellars — truly staggering.

After the Qing dynasty was established, the Shanxi merchants alone made enormous profits every year just from trade with the Mongol tribes of Monan and Mobei. So one must not underestimate the purses of the steppe tribes. Though they lacked grain, they did not lack silver.

What made Wang Dou not know whether to laugh or cry was that among the captured baggage there were also some Eastern Route silver coins, several large chests of them on display, dazzling to the eye. There were even Eastern Route grain tickets, and many Eastern Route commercial goods, treasured by these headmen as some of their most prized possessions kept at the bottom of their chests.

The abundant spoils made the officers and soldiers exultant. Wang Dou gave the order to slaughter cattle and sheep to feast the three armies, and the troops rejoiced even more. Gao Shiyin and the others, in particular, responded to Wang Dou's decision with great enthusiasm.

During the several days of swift raiding, the soldiers of the Central Army, the Azure Dragon Army, the Vermilion Bird Army, and the rest had each carried only a small amount of rations. They pursued on light cavalry, with all their baggage left far behind. Even Wang Dou had eaten parched rice and fried noodles for days until his mouth was utterly tasteless.

When Han Chao and the others marched north, they likewise carried several days' dry provisions. Sun Sanjie's Baggage Battalion could not quickly keep pace with the two-route army's advance. Fortunately, they found the main lair of the Tumed tribe and could feed themselves on the enemy. Few Han armies throughout the dynasties had such luck, and this was precisely the danger of campaigning beyond the frontier.

Wang Dou gave the order, and the camp was filled with festive cheer as cattle and sheep were slaughtered. The Mongol soldiers of the New Auxiliary Battalion, in particular, sang and danced with joy, and the bonfire revelry continued well into the evening.

By the afternoon, the pursuing troops had all returned. They brought back a few more heads, captives, and the like, but not many. This campaign beyond the frontier had completely drawn to a close.

The army's military staff officers were racking their brains, already composing how to write the victory dispatch. The several accompanying reporters from the Army Gazette and the Xuanzhen Times were likewise pondering how to wield their brushes with flair, to render this campaign beyond the frontier vivid and thrilling.

At the thought that they had the fortune to personally witness and take part in this campaign — though they would not enjoy the eternal fame of a Wei Qing or Huo Qubing — the mere idea of casually mentioning a few lines about it in idle conversation, and the admiring gazes of outsiders that would follow, was enough to make many people tremble with excitement from head to toe.

……

Early in the morning on the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, in the chill wind, tens of thousands of Border Pacification Army troops stood in neat formation. Forests of spears and forests of firearms were densely arrayed, countless sun-and-moon banners billowed in the wind, and directly above the grand formation, a high platform had been erected. On both ends of the platform, dense ranks of Guard Battalion soldiers stood solemnly.

Wang Dou and Wang Pu sat upright at the top, each seated on a large tiger-skin chair taken as spoil.

On either side of the two men stood the officers of the Border Pacification Army: Guard Battalion Commander and Central Army Officer Zhong Diaoyang, Chief Army Inspector Chi Dacheng, Central Army Morale Officer Xie Youcheng, Central Army Staff Officer Qin Yi, Central Army Cavalry Battalion Commander Li Guangheng, Vanguard Reconnaissance Battalion Commander Xie Yike, Azure Dragon Army Commander Wen Fangliang, and Vermilion Bird Army Commander Gao Shiyin.

Also present were Loyalty Battalion Commander Shen Shiqi, New Auxiliary Battalion Commander Zeng Jiuyi, Wang Pu's personal officer Wang Zheng, and others. They all stood solemnly, each having arranged his armor in perfect order, their cloaks and greatcoats continuously billowing in the wind.

Behind Zeng Jiuyi also stood a middle-aged Mongol with a tiger beard and the ruddy complexion of the high plateau — it was Le Miege, the Company Commander of the New Auxiliary Battalion.

Having heard that it was the Grand General himself who had personally named him to be on the high platform, seeing the galaxy of generals assembled there while he himself had the honor of sharing the same space, Le Miege felt both glory and trepidation, unease and bewilderment. He did not understand why he was so fortunate.

Like Le Miege, though young in years but aged to look like a little old man, the former Tumed Khan Omubu stood on the platform equally flustered and uneasy. Although Wang Dou had given him a large tiger-skin chair, he dared not sit at ease. His current experience still felt utterly like a dream.

Beside Omubu stood some equally uneasy lamas. Looking down at the solemn military formation of the Border Pacification Army below the platform, each of them trembled with fear and terror. Those tens of thousands of men all clad in armor, their dense killing aura like a boundless sea, made one feel suffocated and stricken with dread!

Even without mentioning these soldiers, the Datong Main Battalion, the Border Pacification Army's New Auxiliary Battalion, and the Loyalty Battalion soldiers arrayed nearby had already struck them as supremely elite. With such a Han army massed on the steppe, Guluoge and the others had not lost unjustly.

For Wang Dou's part, considering that Omubu and these captured lamas would be of great use in the future for stabilizing Monan and dealing with Mobei, he had kept them and even offered them some gentle words of reassurance. At this moment, besides unease, Omubu's face also showed some excitement and anxious anticipation.

The bleak north wind swept across his face. Gazing into the distance, the land was vast and indistinct, the mountain ridges seeming both near and far. This land beyond the frontier always gave one a sense of secluded emptiness, desolate loneliness. Wang Dou slowly exhaled. He looked toward the fierce warriors below the platform and shouted in a deep voice, "Bring them forward."

Wang Pu sprang to his feet, his eyes widening to their fullest, and roared angrily, "Bring them forward!"

"Bring them forward!"

The officers on the platform either shouted in deep voices or wore expressions of equal fury. Gao Shiyin, Xie Yike, Shen Shiqi, and Zeng Jiuyi in particular all pointed and bellowed, their brows furrowed in rage. Wang Zheng kept one hand on his sword hilt, his eyes, like Wang Pu's, glaring to their widest.

"Bring them forward!"

The tens of thousands of soldiers below the platform roared in unison, startling Omubu and the others even more.

Very soon, a clamor arose, mixed with wailing and the sounds of struggle. From the guarded camp where the captured Tumed were held, the seized Hanggao, the severely wounded but still alive Guluoge, nearly a thousand veteran tribal soldiers and headmen, as well as captured headmen and soldiers of all sizes from the three Khalkha tribes — a dark mass of them were dragged and escorted forward.

The main force doing the escorting was the Mongol soldiers of the New Auxiliary Battalion, along with a portion of the Loyalty Battalion and Wang Pu's Main Battalion soldiers.

The disposition for them was this: all headmen, officers, and soldiers who had committed atrocities were to be killed. Not a single one who had over the years invaded the Central Plains and slaughtered Han people would be spared. To this end, Wang Dou ordered them to denounce each other's past crimes for screening.

Those with lesser crimes could be spared death, but though the death penalty might be remitted, punishment in life would be hard to escape. All were to be reduced to slavery. After all, even the women and children on the steppe had enjoyed the fruits of their men's plunder, bearing and raising children who in turn became generation after generation of warriors — warriors who were the source of troops for invading the Central Plains. So in terms of guilt, they were all guilty.

In the future, they would need to accumulate a certain amount of merit points or redemption silver before they could buy freedom for themselves and their families, just like the family of Wulunzhurige back then. However, there was a fast track for them: having the able-bodied men of the tribe join the army, like the Mongol cavalry of the New Auxiliary Battalion.

After these people were escorted up, Wang Dou remained impassive. He first had the captives of the three Khalkha tribes separated from the Tumed captives, then coolly regarded Guluoge, who could only gasp for breath, and the dejected Hanggao. He asked, "Guluoge, Hanggao, do you two admit your crimes?"

Guluoge strained to lift his head. It was the first time he had seen Wang Dou's appearance. As his gaze shifted, he saw the deposed Khan Omubu on the platform, saw Omubu staring at him with eyes full of bone-deep hatred and an expression of utter, gratified vengeance.

A gurgling sound came from his throat, but he could not produce a single complete sentence.

Hanggao clenched his teeth and abruptly raised his head, shouting, "The victor becomes king, the loser a bandit, that is all. If you want to kill, then kill. Why waste words?"

"Insolence!"

Wang Pu, who had just sat down, sprang up again. All the officers on the platform cursed angrily. Hanggao, his hair disheveled and his appearance wretched, merely sneered. Unwilling to show weakness, he cursed back, his speech alternating between Mongolian, Chinese, and Manchu.

Wang Dou gave a cold laugh. "Seizing our land, slaughtering our Han people — crimes unforgivable. Whether you beg for mercy or not, whether you confess your guilt or not, there is only one outcome."

He suddenly said, "Le Miege."

Le Miege, who had also been cursing Hanggao, gave a start and hurriedly said, "Your servant is here."

Wang Dou said, "For such criminals, how were they usually dealt with on the steppe in the past?"

Le Miege did his utmost to make his stiff Chinese clear. He said, "In reply to the Grand General, generally for people of relatively high status, the punishment of trampling by horses is applied — that is, being trampled to death by horses. For soldiers who have committed grave crimes, it is much the same."

Wang Dou said, "Very well. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Let it be handled accordingly!"

Hang Gao's face instantly turned deathly pale. He suddenly recalled that when he had ordered the slaughter of all Han people inside and outside Guihua City, one Han commoner had said to him with boundless venom, "You kill me today, but you too will come to a bad end in days to come!"

At the time he had paid no heed — could it be that retribution has come so swiftly now?

Gulu Ge also struggled with all his might, and a great crowd of Tumed serious offenders screamed and shrieked desperately, but without any explanation a large number of Mongols from the New Auxiliary Battalion surged forward. Hemp sacks were pulled down over their heads, muffling their sharp cries, and then the sack openings were tied fast.

Watching all this, the captives from the three Khalkha tribes nearby trembled with terror, not knowing what fate awaited them. They were filled with regret. Had they known it would come to this, why had they come to Monan? Even if their tribal chieftains had forced them, they should have found a chance to flee.

Neigh...

Several hundred riders of the New Auxiliary Battalion Mongol troops formed ranks. The horses beneath them were already snorting with excitement. Galeide and Tabunang, their faces flushed red, sat their horses. They were thrilled — at last they could trample to death tribal chieftains who in former days had seemed so far above them. Even though these were not from their own tribes, the pleasure was just as intense.

Moreover, according to what Battalion Company Commander Lemiege had revealed to them, the ten men in their unit would soon receive commendation from the Grand General, with silver and merit awards bestowed. Their own standing within the unit could also climb a step — promotion, wealth, merit, and glory — how could they not rejoice?

They had already fallen deeply in love with this life — chasing blood, chasing heads, merit always rewarded, fault always punished. This was the army they had dreamed of.

On the platform, Garrison Commander Chi Dacheng was reading something aloud: "In accordance with the statutes of the Imperial Ming, the disposition of war criminals Hang Gao, Gulu Ge, and others is as follows..."

When he reached "war criminals," he paused briefly, clearly somewhat curious and puzzled by Wang Dou's coinage of the term "war criminal," but after only a moment's pause he continued reading, all the way until Galeide and the others grew impatient and Gao Shiyin and the others on the platform stared blankly. At last he finished and bellowed, "Carry out the sentence!"

Galeide and Tabunang gave their horses free rein. The hoofbeats of several hundred warhorses thundered like rolling thunder. Amid the horses' repeated neighing, they charged toward the hemp sacks ahead — within which no one could any longer tell which was Gulu Ge and which was Hang Gao... (To be continued...)