Chapter 809: Countermeasures

On the eleventh day of the fifth month, the Chuang camp suddenly issued an order for the entire line to cease combat. By this time, Li Zicheng's old camp had already moved from Shapo to Niutouyuan, a place with a broad field of vision: to the north one could gaze upon the Yellow River, to the south one could overlook Dongyuan, to the west one could see Yuanwanggou, and one could even observe the movements within Tongguan City. Occupying the heights, one could control the overall situation.

On Niutouyuan there were some military forts and garrison forts abandoned by the Ming army. One fort called Lijiazhuang had already been requisitioned as Li Zicheng's personal battalion encampment, and a temple inside had been made into his field headquarters.

The temple was quite large, its perimeter filled with tall locust trees, their branches and leaves luxuriant, bringing waves of coolness to this scorching summer day.

However, the atmosphere inside the temple at this moment was oppressive, and the various people seated throughout the hall did not utter a single word.

Gu Junen bit his lower lip, glanced at Niu Jinxing, whose face was expressionless but whose eyes held a trace of a cold sneer, and forced a smile: "I estimate our army's cannons can arrive today. When the time comes, with the cannons set up and a hundred cannons firing in unison, we can certainly break through the Ming army's defensive line in one stroke."

The hall remained in an awkward silence for a long while before Li Guo frowned and said, "That's what's said, but somehow I still feel it's not certain."

He glanced at Gu Junen, a hint of ferocity in his eyes: "Advisor Gu, the strategy you offered is very problematic. Attacking Shaanxi... too many brothers in my camp have died."

Liu Xiyao then shook his head and sighed: "Indeed, the defenders are tenacious, the defensive line is treacherous, it is truly difficult to break in. I fear even having cannons will be of no avail."

After being appointed as General-in-Chief, he had striven to prove himself on many occasions, and had fought quite strenuously these past days attacking Yuanwanggou, yet reality had dealt him a heavy blow, leaving him somewhat dejected.

Gao Yigong, who commanded the old camp troops as the personal battalion's General of Manifest Might, also spoke: "The terrain of Tongguan is disadvantageous to our righteous army. Just the single Yuanwanggou has cost us so many men and horses. How much longer must we fight... It seems that Prime Minister Niu's strategy of raiding Northern Zhili and Shandong, then striking directly at the capital, is more reliable. Those places are flat and open, their troops are weak, very convenient for our great army to raid."

Tian Jianxiu sighed: "The great army cannot linger long at Tongguan. With hundreds of thousands of men to feed and horses to graze, supplying provisions is truly difficult! Moreover, the surrounding countryside is barren, making it harder and harder for the brothers to forage for grain... The various ravines also lack water; hundreds of thousands of people must go to the Yellow River to carry water back. The soldiers are truly full of complaints."

He was not kicking someone when they were down, but he was speaking the truth.

The various generals of the Chuang camp spoke one after another, all complaining incessantly, their tones filled with dejection.

The difficulty of attacking Tongguan City exceeded everyone's expectations. They had been at Tongguan for ten days now, yet had not even fought past a single ravine, and had lost too many men and horses in front of this ravine.

The fighting had become a brutal back-and-forth war of attrition, with each camp caught in continuous attrition. The first assault on Yuanwanggou had resulted in over ten thousand famine refugees dead or wounded, and the subsequent ceaseless attacks by the various infantry camps had caused another ten thousand casualties over these days, rapidly approaching the extremely dangerous high-pressure line of twenty percent casualties.

Yet even with so many dead and wounded, victory remained a distant prospect. The famine refugees were one thing, but the outer camps leading the assault were full of complaints. If this coercion continued, there was a danger they might mutiny. Although their old camp could supervise and suppress them, there was a bottom line to that too, and its effectiveness was growing worse and worse.

Everyone in the Chuang camp was very perplexed. It was not that they had never encountered a situation with defenders as fierce as those at Yuanwanggou, such as the former Cao Wang New Army. But while those troops were brave, they were either isolated and without reinforcements, or the terrain was not this treacherous, so their human-wave tactics naturally swept all before them.

But a situation like the one before their eyes—treacherous terrain, tenacious defenders who could also receive a continuous flow of personnel and material support—this was the first time they had encountered it. Thus, today they had no choice but to halt the offensive and further discuss adjustments.

Gu Junen secretly harbored resentment. Back then, attacking Shaanxi was something you all approved of. Now, encountering a minor setback, every one of you turns hostile and refuses to acknowledge it. What despicable scoundrels!

But there was no helping it. Forcefully advocating the attack on Shaanxi was the strategy he had offered; he had to persist in his own view, otherwise his standing in the Chuang King's eyes would greatly diminish.

Niu Jinxing still remained expressionless, but inwardly he sneered unceasingly. You wanted to attack Shaanxi, now you know what it tastes like, don't you? Yet at the same time, a sudden feeling of sympathy for a fellow in misfortune arose in his heart. When Gu Junen had proposed the strategy of attacking Qinchuan, every general in the Chuang camp had jumped to support it. Now, after a slight setback, he was being discarded like a worn-out shoe.

Among the major generals, only Liu Zongmin had not spoken. This Master Liu, the Chief Sentinel, a man of high prestige and respect in the Chuang camp, was rubbing his own cheek, lost in thought. Usually irascible, he now displayed calmness. He turned to Li Zicheng, and though his voice was soft, to others' ears it was like a thunderclap: "What does the Chuang King mean? Old Liu here wants to hear it."

Gu Junen also looked at Li Zicheng with eager eyes. The strategy of raiding Shaanxi absolutely could not be abandoned.

Li Zicheng sighed: "Now that the battle has reached this stage, how can we abandon it just like that? However, as for how to fight past the ravine, we still need to carefully devise a plan... Advisor Gu, speak."

Liu Zongmin slapped his own thigh with loud smacks: "That settles it then. Since the Chuang King has this resolve, Old Liu here supports it! Don't be afraid of men dying. For the great cause of our righteous army, what does the death of some men matter? If famine refugees aren't enough, just go capture more."

His tone was heroic yet carried a trace of bloodiness. Indeed, to Liu Zongmin, who was accustomed to seeing mountains of corpses and seas of blood and had crawled out from piles of the dead, what did death and killing matter? Back when he and Li Zicheng were trapped in the mountains, convinced that Li Zicheng would survive great disaster and surely achieve great things, he had killed his wife to demonstrate his resolve, swearing his allegiance.

For the great cause, even his wife could be killed, so he cared even less about the deaths of unrelated people.

A chorus of cheers and howls erupted from everyone in the Chuang camp: "Master Liu is heroic!"

"Truly worthy of being Chief Sentinel Master Liu, so heroic!"

Li Zicheng, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, pointed at him and said, "Jiexuan, you and your temperament."

Gu Junen, wearing a forced smile, waited until the Chuang camp members finished their laughter, then steadied himself and said: "The only plan now is to commit the cannons... It happens that our army's cannons are about to arrive... I have also observed the southern end of Yuanwanggou. The ravine there is gentler, the bottom broader, just right for pulling cannons up close to bombard their low wall. No matter how brave the New Army is, they are still flesh and blood; we can certainly break through!"

Liu Xiyao frowned and said: "The government troops also have cannons. They are set up high on the plateau. Every time our righteous army masses in formation, we are scattered by their bombardment; they are truly lethal. I fear that before our cannons can even be moved up and brought close, they will be destroyed by their cannon fire."

The others in the Chuang camp also shook their heads. It was not that they were unaware of the situation at the southern end of Yuanwanggou; it was precisely because the government troops' cannons were so formidable that their troops could not deploy formations there at all. Otherwise, why attack other parts of Yuanwanggou? They would have concentrated their forces and attacked from the southern end long ago. This Gu Junen...

Seeing the questioning looks from the crowd, Gu Junen remained calm and unhurried. He smiled, confident and assured: "That is indeed the truth, but I have continuously observed the battle. I discovered that the Ming army's cannons on the opposite plateau are surrounded by earthbags and earthbaskets, which seem capable of blocking cannonballs!"

As if clouds had parted to reveal clear sky, everyone in the Chuang camp suddenly saw the light. Liu Zongmin slapped his thigh loudly again: "Why didn't Old Liu think of that? It seems that back when we attacked Luoyang, our righteous army's cannons were protected by many stacked earthbags. The protection was quite effective then; the Ming army's cannons on the city wall bombarded fiercely, but most shots were blocked by the earthbags!"

Li Guo shouted: "We can order the famine refugees to pile up earth, stacking mudbags and earthbaskets at the bottom of the ravine, and then we won't fear the government troops' cannon fire."

Yang Shaofan, who had been silent all along, spoke at this moment: "We can use earth carts!"

Seeing everyone look at him in surprise, he said: "I have fought the Tatars before. At that time, their cannons were also very lethal. Later, the government troops used earth carts, placing mudbags and earthbaskets on the carts, and the effect of defending against cannons was very good. During the Battle of Zhuxian Town, the Ming army also used earth carts for cannon defense."

The crowd was even more delighted and full of praise. This earth cart was indeed better than piling mudbags and earthbaskets at the bottom of the ravine, because those were static, while this was mobile.

Very quickly, the crowd devised a series of applications for how to assemble and use these earth carts. The members of the Chuang camp might be short-sighted strategically, but tactically they were absolutely no amateurs. Out of three hundred sixty-five days a year, they spent at least two hundred days fighting battles, and their various battlefield experiences were extremely rich.

Gu Junen smiled and said: "General Yang has thought one layer deeper than I have... Indeed, this earth cart is better. My strategy is to use earth carts to shield the cannons, pulling them all the way into firing range to bombard the defenders on their low wall. Then, use several layers of earth carts to shield the arquebusiers and archers, advancing to within a hundred paces to fire. Once their casualties are heavy, we then launch a surprise assault with elite troops!"

He explained in detail: "I have carefully questioned the officers and men. The ladder cliff over there is relatively low, and the trench does not seem very wide, so there is no need to use earthbags to fill the trench. We can order the famine refugees to bring many wooden planks and short ladders. After the firearms troops bombard them, the famine refugees will immediately rush out, lay down the planks, and raise countless scaling ladders. The defenders will naturally be thrown into confusion, and the defensive line can be broken!"

After thinking for a moment, he added: "Of course, we can also order a small number of famine refugees to carry earthbags to fill the trench, drawing the defenders' fire, while our army can seize the opportunity to shoot and kill the enemy. Their low wall is, after all, built on the ladder cliff, high above. Our shooting will not hinder the famine refugees in front. If the defenders ignore the famine refugees, they can take the opportunity to fill the trench, facilitating the raising of scaling ladders later."

Finally, he said: "To ensure the attack and defense, I request that General Yang's arquebusier camp be deployed. When the time comes for the elite troops' surprise assault, I also request the Chuang King to dispatch the old camp's crack soldiers!"

Having said this, he rose and performed a deep bow.

Silence filled the hall. The various generals looked at Gu Junen, then at King Li Chuang. The battle had already reached this stage; was it necessary to commit the old camp?

Li Zicheng pondered deeply, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of the chair beside him. Gu Junen waited with uneasy anxiety. The old camp was the foundation of the Chuang camp. Although the fighting at Yuanwanggou these past days had been intense, the old camp's troops had only been supervising the battle and had not been thrown into the actual fighting.

Now that he was suggesting committing the old camp, which the Chuang King regarded as his foundation, to battle, how would Li Chuang decide? Gu Junen felt immense internal pressure.

Yang Shaofan fell into deep thought, occasionally glancing at Gu Junen. At this moment, Niu Jinxing suddenly said something faintly: "Advisor Gu's strategy is naturally good. I also do not believe that Yuanwanggou ultimately cannot be fought past. But everyone must also understand that Yuanwanggou is only the first line of the traitor Sun's Tongguan defense. Even if we fight past Yuanwanggou and enter Nanyuan, there is still Jingou over there, which is higher and deeper than Yuanwanggou, and above it there are the solid Twelve Linked Forts. Even if we fight past Jingou, there is Xiyuan, full of forts everywhere, and who knows how many men will ultimately have to die... Even if we capture these two places and surround the entire Tongguan City, who knows how long the siege will last? With Tongguan untaken, can our army confidently enter the pass to raid? This is not like Henan, which is flat and open. In this kind of terrain, if we are not careful and Sun Chuanting charges out from the city, our entire rear route could be cut off! Chuang King, generals, you must not be careless!"

Niu Jinxing's words made everyone tremble with alarm, painting a prospect that filled them with despair.

Gu Junen's face was ashen, but he had no words. If this were before, he would certainly have scoffed at Niu Jinxing's alarmist talk. But the iron facts were laid out before his eyes. After these days of bloody offensive and defensive battles at Yuanwanggou, he no longer had any confidence in whether the Chuang army could capture Tongguan.

He could only look at Li Zicheng hopefully, wishing he would heed his proposed strategy.

In the end, Li Zicheng made his decision. He said solemnly: "We shall follow Advisor Gu's strategy. Once the cannons arrive, our army will fiercely attack the southern end of Yuanwanggou!"

Seeing that Li Guo seemed about to say something, he glared and said: "My mind is made up. No need to say more!"

However, after thinking for a moment, as if still somewhat uneasy deep down, he turned to Song Xiance, who had been silent beside him, eyes seemingly half-closed, sitting upright and conserving his energy, and said: "Military Advisor, please cast a divination to see whether the coming attack will be auspicious or inauspicious."

Song Xiance, who looked every bit the charlatan, suddenly opened his eyes, a pair of narrow, squinting eyes flashing with a sliver of cold light.

Li Guo said in a low but excited voice: "Divination, divination time."

The other generals also craned their necks to look, their eyes filled with anticipation and also awe.