Chapter 716: The Eruption at Zhuxian Town

Like a nightmare — the moment the great army collapsed, watching the bandit cavalry charge in wave after wave, infantrymen and cavalrymen beside him falling one by one, Cao Bianjiao’s heart ached as if dying. Yet he fought madly on, repelling group after group of bandit soldiers who tried to outflank and intercept him, until he saw Wang Tingchen’s great banner…

But afterwards, those harrowing experiences — even now, recalling them still feels like a nightmare. Many times he would wake at midnight, and before him were soldiers with bloodstained faces crying out to him.

Several thousand New Army troops were nearly annihilated. Their casualties were so grievous, their ordeal so wretched. These soldiers regarded him as a father, all relying on him, never abandoning him — yet he lacked the ability to save them. The promise not to abandon a single soldier — he had failed to keep it.

Thinking of those familiar faces, one after another, Cao Bianjiao felt every time as if a knife were slicing his heart, guilt gnawing at him. And his own personal general, Yang Shaofan, who had followed him for years, through life and death, like his own blood brother — he did not even know whether he was now alive or dead.

Looking at Wang Tingchen before him, he too had grown haggard and aged, utterly devoid of his former hearty spirit, his eyes holding grief he could not conceal. Though he had apologized many times, seeing Wang Tingchen’s expression, Cao Bianjiao still could not help but say again: “Brother Wang, I, Cao, have let you down…”

Wang Tingchen only shook his head. In a muffled voice he said: “Why should General Cao feel guilt? How can this be blamed on you? If blame there must be, blame only the roving bandits.”

This burly man sighed more and more often now. He sighed: “I only do not understand — after all these years of campaigning, how is it that the roving bandits grow more numerous the more we fight?”

He said: “Count how many times the Chuang bandits have been routed by government troops. I recall in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Grand Coordinator Yang used the Four Fronts and Six Flanks, Ten Nets strategy and dealt the roving bandits a great defeat. Li Chuang fled into the mountains with only his remnant force. At the end of the thirteenth year, he was again routed by the Marquis of Yongning and fled once more into the mountains… Now the Chuang bandits are resurgent again. How long has it been in between? I cannot fathom it…”

Cao Bianjiao said slowly: “Not only that — in the sixth, ninth, and eleventh years of Chongzhen, the Chuang bandits suffered crushing defeats everywhere, escaping death by the narrowest of margins through trickery. In that eleventh-year campaign, I, Cao, followed Viceroy Hong and Marshal Zuo and the others, personally laying ambushes and giving chase. The Chuang bandits were reduced to Liu Zongmin and a mere handful of others.”

Wang Tingchen said: “Indeed. So little time has passed, yet the more we kill, the more numerous the roving bandits become — many of them women, children, and starving people. I, truly, am weary at heart from the killing.”

Cao Bianjiao murmured: “Yes, the roving bandits cannot be exterminated. Though called bandits, those dying are mostly common folk. Once this matter is settled…”

Wang Tingchen said: “Let us return to Liaodong. Go kill the Tartars.”

Cao Bianjiao said: “We shall go back and kill Tartars. This land of the Central Plains — I wish never to come again.”

The two men murmured to each other. The roving bandits grew stronger the more they were fought, more numerous the more they were killed. It left them feeling lost.

They stood atop the city gate tower, watching the roving bandits outside Guide City pass by in vast, surging waves. Among them, great masses of starving people followed, supporting the old and carrying the young, ceaselessly, day and night.

Every gate of the entire city was tightly shut. Now and then, barely suppressed cries of terror and weeping could be heard. Watching the bandits spread across the land like locusts, both men felt a sense of powerlessness welling up in their hearts — as if any effort was futile. Perhaps it would be better to simply fight Tartars at the frontier garrisons, guarding the Great Ming’s border walls.

Looking at the garrison soldiers beside them, these warriors who had survived by luck no longer possessed their former spirit and vigor either.

Once this matter is settled, return to Liaodong — both men sighed inwardly, thinking this.

…

The roving bandits surged on in vast waves, their encampments stretching for dozens of li as they pressed toward Kaifeng. Kaifeng City was thrown into alarm three times a day. Every kind of scout rider came and went in constant streams. Grand Coordinator Ding Qirui summoned all officials and generals for council day after day. With the roving bandits pressing right up to their heads, a battle would certainly have to be fought.

Moreover, the Kaifeng leadership had already received strict orders from the Emperor and the Ministry of War: they must deal the roving bandits a severe blow beneath the walls of Kaifeng, reverse the demoralizing decline of the Central Plains government troops after the defeat of Cao and Wang, and above all ensure that Kaifeng did not fall and that the Prince within the city was safe.

The Prince of Zhou inside the city, knowing this was a critical moment, once again dug into his own purse and produced two hundred thousand taels of silver to reward the troops, giving the morale of the soldiers inside and outside the city a boost.

But as to how to fight, the various government commanders could not agree. Zuo Liangyu’s stance remained the same: “The bandits’ edge is sharp; they cannot yet be struck.”

He advocated that the entire army shrink back beneath the city walls, hold firm, and not sally forth to offer battle. Fang Guoan, Yang Dezheng, and others all agreed with his view. Yang Dezheng even proposed requesting more reinforcements, so that ever more government troops would converge beneath the walls of Kaifeng.

For instance, at this very moment, the Regional Commander of the Three Frontiers of Shaanxi, Wang Qiaonian, was leading government troops in encirclement and suppression campaigns across the various parts of Henan Prefecture. The troops under his command were not few — he had He Renlong, Zheng Jiadong, Niu Chenghu, Zhang Guoqin, Zhang Yinggui, and other great Shaanxi generals, with tens of thousands of troops, all regular battalion soldiers.

And earlier, the bandit generals Liu Fangliang, Li Yan, and others had long since been defeated by the New Army and were now merely waging Mobile Corps Commander actions in various parts of Henan Prefecture. In Yang Dezheng’s view, the roving bandits in Henan Prefecture had already been largely exterminated, and the tens of thousands of Shaanxi government troops could very well shift their forces and come over.

Ding Qirui was quite tempted by Yang Dezheng’s argument and urgently dispatched a message to Wang Qiaonian, the Regional Commander of the Three Frontiers, who was in Luoyang.

Yet for Wang Qiaonian at this moment, the situation in Henan Prefecture left him perplexed. It seemed the roving bandits had been wiped out, but he always had the feeling that the moment government troops withdrew, the local bandits would quickly flare up again from the ashes — unless the local population were all slaughtered.

The past experiences of Li Zicheng and others repeatedly flaring up from the ashes made him dare not let down his guard. After all, Henan Prefecture lay right beside Shaanxi, and the threat to Tong Pass and the entire territory of Shaanxi was immense. So he merely led his government troops back and forth in repeated extermination sweeps, declining with evasive words.

Most importantly, the generals under him — He Renlong, Zheng Jiadong, Niu Chenghu, Zhang Guoqin — were all unwilling to go to Kaifeng. A million roving bandits filled their hearts with dread. How could that compare to the satisfaction of being in Henan Prefecture right now, winning both fame and profit?

The will of the various generals was hard to oppose. If Wang Qiaonian insisted on leaving, he might end up a commander with no troops. The various Regional Commanders would not heed his orders; at most he could only bring his personal supervisory battalion of a thousand-odd men to Kaifeng. This was of course impossible, so this line of reinforcement was cut off.

Among those under Ding Qirui, Zuo Liangyu, Fang Guoan, Yang Dezheng, and others counted as having many troops — Zuo Liangyu especially. Ding Qirui relied on him extremely heavily. To put it bluntly, Ding Qirui was utterly helpless before him: “He wavered back and forth in his dealings with him, drafting dispatches for Liangyu’s command, never once issuing an order of his own. Contemporaries called him ‘Zuo’s Staff Secretary.’”

Fang Guoan and Yang Dezheng also followed Zuo Liangyu’s lead, which made Zuo Liangyu’s prestige immense. The opinion that “they cannot yet be struck” made Ding Qirui quite hesitant after hearing it.

But Zuo Liangyu’s “prudence” was in fact unworkable. First, there was the terrain around Kaifeng. It was very difficult to deploy so many defending troops in the surrounding area. Just as now, the various generals pitched camp here and there — some close together, some far apart — making it easy for the bandits to defeat them one by one.

Moreover, the Ming army was publicly claimed to be four hundred thousand strong. To adopt such a posture — was that not fearing the bandits like tigers? Would government troops from now on only be able to defend against the roving bandits? After the defeat of Cao and Wang, had the various generals even lost the confidence for field battles? Had a second Eastern Slave appeared in the Central Plains?

So timid, refusing to fight, shrinking back beneath the city walls — Ding Qirui could well imagine the impression the court officials would then have of him, especially His Majesty’s view of him.

Viceroy Yang Wenyue also did not agree with Zuo Liangyu’s opinion. At this time he had under his command a Baoding wagon corps, as well as Hu Dawei’s New Army battalion and main-force battalion. Though his troops were few, they were quite elite. If they held fast beneath the city walls, his wagon corps would have no use for its strengths. Besides, the court was also demanding that government troops take the initiative and strike.

Yang Wenyue strongly advocated a great decisive battle with the roving bandits outside the city, to deal them a severe blow. He had already selected the terrain: the broad expanse between Zhuxian Town south of the city and Chenliu. This area was flat and open, enough to accommodate a million-man army fighting simultaneously.

His reasoning was also very sound. Not far behind the government troops was the strong city of Kaifeng — they would be fighting with the city at their backs, with something to rely on. This was not like the two Earls, Cao and Wang, isolated deep in enemy territory, with grain supplies hard to maintain. Even if they could not win, they could at least hold out with composure, in a grinding contest of deep trenches and high stockades, with absolutely no hidden worry of their grain supply being cut. This was the precondition for not losing.

On the broad plains, they could also bring into play the firepower advantage of the wagon corps. Furthermore, the ten thousand Donglu-style arquebuses issued by the Ministry of War had already been distributed to the various armies and battalions. The Ming army’s firepower advantage was far greater than before — these were all advantages for securing victory.

Yang Wenyue’s words stirred Ding Qirui’s heart. If it truly turned out that way — if the government troops routed the roving bandits at Zhuxian Town — he would win renown across the four seas. But for now…

Even taking ten thousand steps back, even if they could not rout the roving bandits, merely maintaining the current situation of neither winning nor losing would restore the demoralized spirit of the Central Plains government troops. In the future, when they encountered roving bandits, they would not be stricken with panic and dread. That too would be a great achievement, one cherished in the Emperor’s heart.

The Henan Provincial Governor Gao Mingheng, the Prefect Wu Shijiang, the Provincial Administration Commissioner Liang Bing, and others were equally stirred. They believed Viceroy Yang’s strategy allowed advance for attack and retreat for defense. Zuo Liangyu and the others’ opinion was overly conservative.

In truth, after the defeat of Cao and Wang, the intelligence Ding Qirui, Yang Wenyue, and the others received was all very vague. Yang Wenyue analyzed the cause of Cao and Wang’s defeat as lying in those four words: isolated deep in enemy territory. Besieged by a million starving people — enough ants can bite an elephant to death. No matter how fierce Cao and Wang were, how could they not be defeated?

Through Hu Dawei, Chen Yongfu, and others, the “Xuanfu Garrison Military Observer Group” had not failed to send intelligence, warning Ding Qirui, Yang Wenyue, and the others of the fact that the roving bandit army possessed large numbers of artillery pieces. But Ding Qirui considered this utterly absurd talk, and Yang Wenyue likewise scoffed at it.

It could not be denied that the roving bandits did have some artillery — after all, they had captured quite a few cities, and all the equipment inside those cities had fallen into the bandits’ hands. But a large-scale artillery corps? That was preposterous. Yang Wenyue believed the roving bandits had some small cannons, but what did he have to fear?

His wagon corps had a full ten thousand troops, with several hundred small falconets and “Barbarian-Destroyer” cannons inside. How could there be any reason they could not outfight the roving bandits’ artillery?

Many officials believed these men from Xuanfu were exaggerating, merely trying to make excuses for Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen, so as to escape the court’s punishment when the time came. After all, Wang Dou was on good terms with the two Earls, was he not?

Although outwardly cordial to Wen Shiyan, in truth these officials all maintained deep wariness toward Wen Shiyan and his group. The various officials were even greatly displeased by Wen Shiyan’s frequent suggestions and meddling. Yang Wenyue once said to his staff aides: “…Are they observers, or military advisors, or is he the Grand Coordinator? Should all the troops of Kaifeng be handed over to a mere advisor from the Jingbian Army to command?”

Ding Qirui likewise complained to his subordinates: “I have heard that Wang Dou is arrogant and domineering. Hearsay is empty, seeing is believing — and this is evident merely from these staff officers he has sent!”

Zuo Liangyu gloated over the discord. Toward Wang Dou, he harbored a bone-deep hatred, and now he seized the chance to fan the flames, further causing Ding Qirui and the others to distance themselves from the “Xuanfu Garrison Military Observer Group.”

Nevertheless, Hu Dawei still earnestly heeded Wen Shiyan’s advice. Whether for defending with the city at their backs or for a decisive battle with the bandits when the time came, he still prepared some earthen carts and the like, to shield the wagon corps when needed. Yang Wenyue frowned deeply at this. The wagon corps’ mobility was already insufficient; with Hu Dawei doing this, his wagon troops would move as slowly as ants when the time came.

But at the moment he had no mind to concern himself with whatever Hu Dawei was doing. The roving bandits were already pressing close to Qixian, not far from Chenliu and Zhuxian Town. The Battle of Zhuxian Town was about to erupt, yet the government side still had no unified opinion. Convincing Zuo Liangyu and the others to agree to his strategy was the most important thing. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)

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