Chapter 718: Yang Shaofan Offers a Plan

Li Zicheng, He Yilong, Luo Rucai, Sun Kewang, and others stood among the formations gazing forward. The resilience of the government troops exceeded their expectations. They had assumed that after Cao and Wang’s crushing defeat, the Kaifeng forces would surely be terrified by the news, yet to their surprise, they did not yield an inch and faced their million-strong army without flinching.

They patrolled everywhere through the roving camp. Where they now stood was a famine victims’ encampment that had just withdrawn. The area was filled with all kinds of makeshift shelters and mat sheds. The famine victims who had survived by luck were gulping down the wild-vegetable soup and corn buns distributed to them.

In many places, tall sheds resembling opera stages had been erected. Some performers were singing operas in drawn-out, lilting voices. The famine victims gathered nearby ate and drank noisily while cheering loudly. Many had tears amid their laughter, grieving for their dead and wounded families while rejoicing that they themselves had survived.

For these famine victims in battle, the usual practice was to drink a bowl of thin gruel or eat a corn bun before the fight. Then, spurred on by a frenzied atmosphere, they would drag their frail bodies forward in a charge, fighting to the death without retreating. Only when the gongs sounded to withdraw could those who fell back be rewarded with a few flatbreads or corn buns. As they withdrew, buckets of these were placed before them.

Those who had fled in collapse beforehand, cowardly and unwilling to fight, would have their heads chopped off row by row. For instance, during siege battles, anyone who failed to seize the required quota of wall bricks was to be beheaded.

For the sake of these corn buns alone, many famine victims were willing to fight. Women and children were the same. Although the roving camp generally organized men into units and allowed women and children to remain in the rear, after all, one more person meant one more share of food. Families staying together could also look after one another, increasing combat strength.

Left in the rear, refugees driven mad by hunger were capable of anything. Exchanging children to eat was merely a common phenomenon in this era.

Of course, if manpower ran short, or under certain circumstances, women and children would be forced to take the field.

Li Zicheng and the others watched these famine victims indifferently. Their joys and sorrows, their partings and reunions, were but ripples on water in the hearts of these leaders. Drawing lessons from the battles against Cao and Wang’s new army, these famine victims who had withdrawn after battle were also kept separate from the hungry soldiers who had not yet fought, so as to keep the vast mass of famine victims’ morale from falling.

Li Zicheng was even observing the behavior of these famine victims. Those who grieved and shed tears could continue to slowly endure their suffering among the famine victims. Those who showed the opposite, even those who were jubilant, needless to say, were ideal candidates for the infantry battalions, and even for the future cavalry units and the old camp.

He gazed toward the Ming army’s side, his mind solely calculating this battle.

Hu Dawei and Chen Yongfu’s side was not easy to attack. Their new army likewise had sharp firearms and strict formations. Even if they could not compare to Cao and Wang’s new army, they were not far off. Against them, whether the righteous army launched cavalry charges or refugee assaults, they all returned with broken wings.

Moreover, compared to Cao and Wang, who were isolated and trapped, men like Hu Dawei held an immense advantage.

The Ming army’s center was equally hard to assault, and Zuo Liangyu’s side likewise exceeded Li Zicheng’s expectations; the fighting there was also quite arduous.

How to break through? Every commander in the roving camp was pondering this.

Yang Shaofan followed at Li Zicheng’s side. Gazing at the Ming army’s position, he too seemed lost in thought.

In the afternoon, the roving bandits launched several waves of fierce attacks on the Ming army’s position. Each wave consisted of at least tens of thousands of men, and each wave was further divided into several tides. Seen from afar, the human sea surged endlessly, but the government troops still resisted stubbornly.

Famine victims were famine victims after all. Even if they attacked desperately for food and drink, their frenzy came quickly and faded just as fast.

Especially when they encountered firearms. A volley of gunfire sounded from the opposite side, and then, inexplicably, people around them collapsed in swathes. Amid flying flesh and blood, before they could even glimpse the enemy’s firearms, this sense of unseen death deepened everyone’s terror. Often, shortly after the Ming army’s guns sounded, the attacking hungry soldiers at the front would collapse in waves.

The Ming army also had many cavalrymen. They frequently sortied to drive off the routed famine victims. On one occasion in particular, they caused over ten thousand famine victims from the roving camp to be unable to regroup, vanishing to who knows where.

No matter how they attacked, it seemed difficult to break through the Ming army’s battle lines. Li Zicheng thought of breaking through from Zuo Liangyu’s side, but although Zuo’s troops were motley, they were also numerous. Bird guns, three-eyed guns, and bows and arrows from the various garrisons fired together, still sending the famine victims collapsing back in waves. As long as they were willing to fight, the government troops’ combat strength was still considerably greater than the famine victims’.

Near the hour of You, Li Zicheng had no choice but to order a withdrawal. Even with the roving camp’s cavalry covering the rear, the government cavalry still pursued and killed them all the way to the very front of their camp stockade, prancing about and flaunting their might. The roving camp’s morale sank low, while the government troops’ morale soared.

That day, after withdrawing the troops and returning to camp, Ding Qirui gave orders to slaughter pigs and sheep to reward the soldiers. The various officers also gathered in Ding Qirui’s command tent to celebrate.

The officers abandoned all restraint, drinking and eating with gusto. In the past, such crude behavior would certainly have displeased Ding Qirui and his ilk, but now it seemed agreeable. Those who could eat and fight were the bold heroes who roamed the battlefields and sang mournful songs.

Of course, compared to the military officers, civil officials like Yang Wenyue still maintained their dignity and were not so boorish, but without realizing it, they too had drunk quite a bit of wine.

Zuo Liangyu suddenly slammed the table and stood up, the smell of alcohol heavy on his breath. He walked up to Hu Dawei and said loudly, “Grand Commander Hu, Zuo must toast you! Those earth carts you had people rush to build have helped Zuo and the others immensely!”

Yang Dezheng and Fang Guoan both said, “Indeed, they helped us greatly too. We should toast Commander Hu!”

In the afternoon, the Chuang camp had also deployed over a dozen cannons. Although only a few of them were Great General Frankish cannons, they still killed and wounded some men and horses on the left flank under Zuo Liangyu, Yang Dezheng, Fang Guoan, and others. It happened that there were some wheelbarrows and plank carts—makeshift earth carts—that Hu Dawei had hurriedly built inside the camp. Ding Qirui quickly ordered them transported over and deployed on the position.

By now, Ding Qirui had sobered up. Indeed, the earth carts Hu Dawei had arranged had proven useful. Although he believed the Chuang camp’s artillery capability was just so-so and that the suggestions of Wen Shiyan and others were making a mountain out of a molehill, reducing some casualties among the soldiers was still a good thing.

He laughed heartily and said, “Excellent! General Zuo and the others speak rightly. We should all toast Commander Hu, in honor of General Hu!”

All the officers stood up together, raising their cups and shouting, “In honor of General Hu!”

Hu Dawei raised his cup in his hand. This old general who had campaigned for the nation for many years said loudly, “We should toast the Regional Commander, toast all the officers, and most importantly, toast our Great Ming!”

“To the Great Ming!”

Their voices were like sudden thunder. They drained their cups in one gulp, then all burst into hearty laughter.

Everyone sat down, and the atmosphere grew somewhat more relaxed. Ding Qirui stroked his long beard and whispered with the officials beside him, nodding slightly from time to time. Zuo Liangyu, Yang Dezheng, Fang Guoan, and others were noisily competing in drinking. Hu Dawei and Chen Yongfu and a few others were quietly exchanging words.

During the banquet, Yang Wenyue mentioned that the cart battalions had used quite a lot of gunpowder and that it seemed they needed to economize, lest they run out of powder and the cart battalions lose their combat effectiveness.

The drinking lasted until nearly the hour of Hai. Ding Qirui, slightly tipsy, finally stood up with his cup and declared in a clear voice, “Today’s battle has proven that as long as government troops dare to fight, even if the roving bandits have a million strong, what is there to fear? Gentlemen, the time to serve the imperial court is now. When news of tomorrow’s victory reaches the capital, it will be the day His Majesty’s face brightens with joy. For all of you to leave your names in the annals of history, to have your wives enfeoffed and your sons inherit titles—these will be but commonplace!”

All the officers stood up and roared, “To slay bandits for the nation is our bounden duty!”

While the Ming army was celebrating, on the roving camp’s side, the heads of each camp were also holding council.

In today’s battle, although the strategy set by Li Zicheng and the others was to deal with them as they had with Cao and Wang—using famine victims to exhaust the government troops’ ammunition and morale—it was clear that the situation at Zhuxian Town was different from the situation with Cao and Wang then. If this war of attrition truly continued, it might be the roving camp side that could not hold out first. This made Li Zicheng and the others secretly anxious.

“Why not use the cannons?”

Having experienced the battle that annihilated Cao and Wang’s new army, He Yilong the “Ge Li Yan” had developed a great interest in using cannons and firearms. He suggested concentrating all their cannons to bombard the government troops’ position fiercely.

In today’s battle, although the roving camp had deployed some cannons, they had not committed their full strength. Partly it was a probe, partly Li Zicheng felt it best to use the cannons at the most critical moment, and finally, there was also the consideration of conserving gunpowder.

After all, in the minds of Li Zicheng and the others, cannon powder was far more important than the lives of famine victims.

However, the results of the rough cannon probe left everyone in the roving camp feeling that it had not achieved their prior expectations.

The scouts reported back that Zuo Liangyu and the others had used a kind of earth cart that blocked many cannonballs. It seemed that Cao and Wang had used this kind of earth cart, and now the Kaifeng government troops were using it too. Why were their tricks becoming more and more numerous?

Luo Rucai stroked his two wisps of rat-like whiskers and said, “Cannons can be used, but there are several points to note.”

He extended his fingers: “First, no matter which direction the cannons bombard the Ming army, they can all use earth carts. I fear the power of the cannons will be greatly reduced then. After all, the government troops are not isolated reinforcements; they can leisurely build countless earth carts. This is not something Cao and Wang could compare to.”

“Second, no matter which direction the cannons bombard the Ming army, if the righteous army seizes the chance to attack, the government troops can all leisurely support each other. I fear the righteous army will not achieve the intended ideal objective.”

“Third, they also have cannons. Even if many have inferior range, they can advance and exchange bombardments. Their cavalry can ultimately also seize the cannons.”

Everyone fell silent. What Luo Rucai described was not conjecture, but a certainty when the time came. Liu Zongmin tugged at his own hair and said angrily, “Son of a donkey’s ball, it feels like this battle is being fought more and more differently from the old days.”

Hao Yaoqi gnashed his teeth, also full of hatred. The reason he had earned the nickname Hao Yaoqi was that in the old days he liked to personally raise the banner and charge forward, inspiring his soldiers to follow. But after that battle in the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, he had rarely made such gestures.

Whenever he recalled the charge he had launched outside Luoyang City to cover the righteous army’s retreat, his heart secretly trembled with fear.

The gun and cannon battle formation of the Shunxiang Army had been too terrifying. One by one, familiar people around him fell. More than half of his close subordinates were killed or wounded. Even Li Shuangxi and Zhang Ding, who had charged alongside him, both died. Although he had escaped death in the end and fled with a few riders, that sense of terror had shrouded his heart ever since.

In the old days, the government troops’ firearms were few and poor, allowing him to display his martial valor. But now, with firearms spreading from the eastern route, Hao Yaoqi felt his courage growing smaller and smaller. In the previous battle against Cao and Wang’s new army, he had made no similar move. Fewer and fewer people in the camp called him Hao Yaoqi; his original name, Hao Dayong, was instead brought up again and again.

Hao Yaoqi felt humiliated. He had a feeling that if things continued this way, people like him would eventually be eliminated. How could he not feel both hatred and fear? How could he not hate Wang Dou to the marrow of his bones?

Of course, this was also because the ghost of Oboi, who had similarly been pounded into mincemeat in the twelfth year of Chongzhen, had not informed Hao Yaoqi and the others of the circumstances. Otherwise, he certainly would not have been so rash back then.

Li Zicheng tapped his fingers on the table. Slowly, he turned to the surrendered general Yang Shaofan, who had remained silent beside him, and said with a smile, “I wonder if Brother Yang has any good method to deal with the government troops?”

Everyone looked toward Yang Shaofan, their gazes flickering. Yang Shaofan seemed lost in thought; he slowly raised his head and said calmly, "In truth, this battle between the righteous army and the government troops now reminds this junior officer very much of an allusion — Tian Ji's Horse Racing."

He said, "To break the government troops' great formation, this junior officer believes we must still start from Zuo Liangyu's side... This man is a typical warlord, a selfish and self-serving sort. Back then, Yang Sichang sent nine urgent summons to Zuo Liangyu, and Zuo Liangyu simply ignored them. Now Ding Qirui can do nothing about Zuo Liangyu either, often finding his orders unheeded. The reason Zuo Liangyu is willing to fight now is only because he thinks the government troops may win a great victory and he wants to seize some military merit. If in the end he loses troops and officers, making him feel the gains do not match the losses..."

Li Guo cut in, "We fought today's battle as well. Just now Master Cao also said that Zuo Liangyu's side is probably not easy to strike."

Yang Shaofan said flatly, "Indeed. However, the most crucial point is whether the Chuang King and the various chiefs are willing to stake enough capital."

Li Zicheng grew interested: "Brother Yang, explain in detail."

Yang Shaofan clasped his fists: "Yes."

He said, "Just now Master Cao also mentioned that when the righteous army assaults Zuo Liangyu fiercely, the other parts of the government troops may come to his rescue. Therefore, we must first tie down their potential reinforcements... This junior officer's meaning is: all the righteous army's artillery should be aimed at the government troops' central army, and also at Hu Dawei's side and the others. Then..."

A cold, grim look flashed through his eyes: "The chiefs of each camp should concentrate all their cavalry and fiercely assault Zuo Liangyu's left flank. His earth-carts can defend against cannon fire, but can they withstand elite riders?"

Everyone in the roving camp drew a cold breath. Those who knew the allusion thought secretly, "It is indeed Tian Ji's Horse Racing."

Many gazes still rested on Yang Shaofan. Hu Dawei, Chen Yongfu, and the others had New Armies, and Yang Shaofan had once commanded the New Army as well. Yet now, without the slightest hesitation, he was using the most ruthless and vicious methods against them. This man...

Of course, Yang Shaofan's ruthlessness toward the government troops was a good thing for the righteous army. They all pondered Yang Shaofan's stratagem.

Li Dingguo watched Yang Shaofan for a long while, then slowly spoke: "There is one point worth concern. If all our righteous army's cavalry go to deal with Zuo Liangyu, the government troops on the other side might use their own cavalry to assault our army's formation, or even come to seize our artillery during the cannon duel. The final outcome would be hard to call."

Yang Shaofan said, "This junior officer offers this stratagem; its pros and cons require the deliberation of each chief and the Chuang King's decision. What this junior officer proposes is that, in order to break Zuo Liangyu's army formation as quickly as possible, the righteous army should deploy its strongest cavalry at the front. This is also the method of the Tartars beyond the frontier, which has routed government troops time and again."

Hao Yaoqi abruptly stood up, clasped his fists toward Li Zicheng, and cried out, "Chuang King, this junior officer is willing to personally hold the banner and lead the old camp in charging at the very front to break Zuo Liangyu's army formation!"

Li Zicheng pondered in silence. Yang Shaofan's proposal was utterly different from the righteous army's usual style. Normally, they placed the old camp at the very rear, so that even if the starving infantry were routed, their core strength remained intact, and they could quickly rise again — this was also the trick by which he had repeatedly swept up millions. Now Yang Shaofan suddenly wanted him to change that...

His fingers tapped ceaselessly on the table, producing a dull, heavy sound.

The various chiefs of the roving camp had little concept of the Tartars beyond the frontier either; they merely debated noisily among themselves, unable to reach an agreement. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian to cast votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.)

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