Chapter 836: A Nation Poured Forth

On the fifteenth day of the second month, after two days of silence, Dorgon made the decision to march the army into the Central Plains.

He also decided to personally lead the great army, commanding the campaign himself.

On the sixteenth, he offered sacrifices and announced to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, reporting to Taizu and Taizong. The sacrificial text stated that since last year the Great Qing had won a series of victories, occupying Korea and attacking Japan — all of which had been the long-cherished ambitions of Taizu, the Martial Emperor — and thus he made this declaration to comfort the spirits above. Now he would personally command the great army to punish the Ming, vowing to fulfill the long-cherished will of Taizu, the Martial Emperor, and humbly beseeching the imperial ancestors' spirits in heaven to bestow their silent blessing.

On the seventeenth, he presided at the Ducong Hall and appointed Prince Duoluo Raoyu, Abatai, as Grand General Obedient to the Mandate, and Prince Zheng, Jirgalang, as Grand General Pacifying the Distant. He ordered them to seize Xifengkou, Lengkou, Jielingkou, and other key fortresses of the Ji Garrison, tying down Yang Guozhu's Ji Garrison army.

He also appointed Prince Yu, Dodo, as Grand General Pacifying the South, ordering him to personally press Ningyuan and Shanhai Pass alongside himself, tying down Wu Sangui and the others' Liaodong army.

He appointed Prince Li, Daišan, as Grand General Stabilizing the Realm, charging him with defending Shengjing and guarding the rear.

He personally conferred the Grand General seals upon each of them, saying: "My imperial ancestors initiated the great foundation, and my imperial father secured the grand enterprise, entrusting this weighty responsibility to my humble person. Now Mongolia, Korea, and Japan have all submitted, and the walled cities and lands of the Han people are increasingly conquered. At this time of founding the enterprise and establishing the succession, the undertaking of punitive expeditions is of the utmost importance. I hereby specially appoint you as Grand Generals; in all matters of reward and punishment, act as expedient. You shall unite your hearts and combine your strength to strive for advance."

Each man received his seal and edict, performing the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows.

Dorgon bestowed upon each Grand General one yellow parasol, two great banners, as well as black fox-fur hats, sable robes and sable jackets, sable sitting cushions, summer hats, python robes, and the like. He also bestowed clothing, saddles, and horses in varying degrees upon the various princes, beile, beizi, and dukes accompanying the campaign.

That day, the Qing state mobilized the entire nation.

In the forty-third year of the Wanli reign, Nurhaci formally established the Eight Banners system, with each niru set at three hundred ding. Of course, these three hundred did not mean three hundred individuals, nor three hundred men; much like a Ming military household, it was more a representation of three Company Commander heads.

The father dead, the son succeeds; the elder brother deceased, the younger brother takes his place — there must always be a representative.

These men all had wives, children, parents, and brothers; generally, one ding corresponded to five to eight people.

The Eight Banners combined military and civilian roles, a system of universal conscription: laboring in peacetime, campaigning in wartime, providing their own weapons and provisions, somewhat similar to the fubing system.

And these three Company Commander-head representatives were called banner ding; whether they could don armor depended on their ability.

However, after the rise of the Eight Banners, a strong martial ethos prevailed, and assessments began from the age of ten, held once every three years, progressing from foot armor to horse armor, to bayara. If by the age of sixteen, upon reaching adulthood, one still could not serve as foot armor and hold the right to don armor, one would be greatly scorned and reviled.

These three Company Commander-head representatives per niru were the banner ding; the remaining brothers and descendants were temporarily not on the military rolls. Ordinary households were called "surplus ding," while households of officials and officers were called "idle and dispersed."

After the rise of the Eight Banners, every campaign generally yielded considerable plunder, so surplus ding and the idle and dispersed also eagerly went to war. Manchu historical records contain numerous accounts of some "idle and dispersed" person dying in the assault of some city.

During the Huang Taiji period, the Qing state had a total of 592 niru, of which the Manchu Eight Banners had 310, the Mongol Eight Banners 118, and the Han Eight Banners 164. At that time, it was basically set at two hundred banner ding per niru, so the Manchu Eight Banners had roughly sixty-two thousand banner ding, the Mongol Eight Banners had twenty-three thousand six hundred banner ding, and the Han Eight Banners had thirty-two thousand banner ding.

The Manchu, Mongol, and Han Twenty-Four Banners thus had a troop strength of roughly one hundred twenty thousand banner ding.

Of course, unless facing a decisive battle of life and death, each banner would not mobilize all its ding, just as Wang Dou's army would not march out in full for every battle.

In the Battle of Yipianshi in history, apart from the Mongol and Han Eight Banners mobilizing all their ding, the Manchu Eight Banners only mobilized two-thirds of their ding. Adding the Outer Feudatory Mongol troops, the armies of the Three Obedient Kings, Korean troops, and other Butha cannon-fodder groups, the total mobilized troops numbered one hundred thirty-five thousand.

It is uncertain how many accompanying surplus ding, household slaves and bondservants, and slave aha there were at the time, but whether fifty thousand or one hundred thousand, these were all ignored. Just as with the Mongol western campaigns, said to be twenty thousand men, but at least ten times that number in auxiliary troops, craftsmen, and slaves were omitted.

In the cold-weapon era, to have one hundred thirty thousand elite combat soldiers was already an astonishing figure.

Xu Da said: "One hundred thousand troops can sweep the realm."

Wang Dou, after many years of toil, had a regular army of only sixty thousand.

However, during the Song-Jin Campaign, the Qing state suffered grievous losses; the Manchu Eight Banners alone had over ten thousand battle deaths, and the losses among the rest — the Mongol Eight Banners, the Han Eight Banners, the Outer Feudatory Mongols, and so on — were equally countless.

In the aftermath, they also lost many Outer Feudatory Mongol forces. Although these men had poor combat ability — only about one in every three to five banner ding could meet the ability standard of an armored soldier — they were nonetheless an important supplement to the Qing state's combat strength, excellent cannon fodder.

For example, the Khorchin tribes, who had the closest ties with the Qing state, possessed 448 niru, over twenty-two thousand banner ding, of whom the number of armored soldiers exceeded sixty-five hundred.

The Outer Feudatory Mongols had 384 niru, over nineteen thousand banner ding, and over fifty-four hundred armored soldiers.

Combined, these two groups had over eleven thousand armored soldiers. Even if the Qing state only mobilized half of them for each campaign, that still meant twenty thousand banner ding and five thousand armored soldiers.

There were also the Outer Jasagh Mongols of the Mobei tribes — the Khalkha, Tüsheetü, and other tribes. Their numbers varied, but their total armored soldiers also amounted to eight thousand. If they contributed troops to assist in battle, the numbers would be very considerable.

Yet now, apart from the diehard Khorchin, the majority had broken away from Qing rule. The Outer Jasagh Mongols of Mobei and the Guihua City Tümed of Monan had submitted to Wang Dou. Even the Tümed Left and Right Wing Banners and the Kharchin tribes near Wang Dou's sphere of influence were somewhat unstable.

At the time, the jasagh of the Tümed Left and Right Banners, Ombu Chuhur and Shanba, had even planned to leave without notice, privately discussing fleeing to join Wang Dou. They were captured and executed by the vigilant Dorgon, who appointed new jasagh for the Left and Right Banners.

But the instability of the Outer Feudatory Mongols was already a fact. Dorgon was keenly aware that the Tümed Left and Right Wings and the Kharchin tribes were all making eyes at Wang Dou, and he could only turn a blind eye, pretending not to know.

Afterwards, Dorgon used various methods of banner promotion and surplus-ding replenishment to fill the banner-ding numbers of the Manchu Eight Banners and Mongol Eight Banners, and also rebuilt the Han Eight Banners and others. Yet Dorgon knew that the core combat strength of their Eight Banners could no longer compare to before the great Jinzhou campaign.

Fortunately, as long as they did not face Wang Dou's Jingbian Army, the Eight Banners' combat strength was still top-tier in East Asia at this time, as proven by their swift and crushing conquest of Korea and Japan.

Moreover, Dorgon had also established the Eight Banners Korea and the Eight Banners Japan, each with sixteen thousand banner ding, the two combined totaling thirty-two thousand banner ding.

Although Dorgon considered the combat ability of these Koreans and Japanese difficult to guarantee — for instance, in the Eight Banners Japan, only the samurai among them could meet the armored-soldier standard, and most were the lowest-tier foot armor, while the Koreans' combat ability was even lower.

Still, their teppō gunners were not bad, and their ashigaru "spear wall" tactics also had merit.

The Korean archers were also not bad; their arrow speed was extremely fast, and in the efficiency of light-arrow output, they even surpassed the Mongols.

Most importantly, these people swelled the banner-ding numbers. Now, the Manchu, Mongol, Han, Korean, and Japanese Forty Banners had a troop strength reaching one hundred fifty thousand men.

This national war concerned whether the Qing state could advance into the Central Plains, and even the survival of its national destiny, so the Manchu Qing could be said to be committing the entire nation.

Of the Manchu, Mongol, Han, Korean, and Japanese Forty Banners, the Mongol Eight Banners' twenty-three thousand six hundred banner ding were mobilized in full.

The Han Eight Banners' thirty-two thousand banner ding were mobilized in full.

The Japanese Eight Banners' sixteen thousand banner ding were mobilized in full.

The Korean Eight Banners' sixteen thousand banner ding were mobilized in full.

Even the Manchu Eight Banners' sixty-two thousand banner ding contributed sixty thousand men, leaving only two thousand banner ding to defend Shengjing; other forts, villages, and stockades were defended only by surplus ding and women and children.

At the same time, Dorgon sent an edict to his diehard Khorchin tribe, ordering them to mobilize twenty thousand banner ding, including five thousand armored soldiers.

Also, the Outer Feudatory Mongol tribes — the Aohan, Naiman, Kharchin, Tümed, and others — all had to contribute troops, and at least two-thirds of their ding population, totaling roughly ten thousand banner ding and three thousand armored soldiers.

Adding these together, the Qing state mobilized a total of roughly one hundred eighty thousand banner-ding combat soldiers for this campaign.

In addition, there were seventy thousand bondservant aha accompanying the army, transporting provisions and supplies, handling plunder, and dealing with miscellaneous tasks.

This was also necessary; if there was plunder, could they let those armored banner ding push carts and carry rice themselves?

If they encountered a siege, would they even have to make their own shield carts and carry earth to fill moats?

At this time, the Eight Banners were mostly stationed around Shengjing and also practiced a combined military-civilian system, with weapons and provisions mostly self-provided. Once the mobilization order was issued, they assembled with great speed. Especially those Manchu and Mongol banner ding, nearly every household had horses and mules, so their assembly speed was even faster.

Only the Outer Feudatory Mongol tribes would be slower to act; they would gradually assemble at Yingzhou, Shanhai Pass, and other locations.

The accompanying bondservant aha would also slowly assemble, transporting grain and supplies forward under the command of Ying'erdai, the Minister of the Board of Revenue.

During Huang Taiji's reign, he strongly advocated for the regularization of the Eight Banners and implemented some grain and pay systems in the army. Although not much, and most men still brought their own dry rations, considering they might have to wait at Shanhai Pass and other places for several months, Dorgon believed the state treasury needed to cover this grain and fodder expense. The grain and rice plundered from Korea and Japan could just be put to use.

And regarding this punitive expedition against the Ming dynasty, everyone in the Qing state, from top to bottom, was brimming with confidence. Within Ming territory, the only force the Qing army feared was the Jingbian Army. Yang Guozhu, Wu Sangui, and the others could only be said to be worthy opponents, but not ones to be feared.

As for the roving bandits, though their numbers were great, their fighting strength was surely limited — after all, it was said they were mostly formed from surrendered Ming troops, and the Great Qing soldiers knew all too well what Ming troops were made of.

Even better, the bandits' attention might also turn toward Wang Dou, which would tie down the Jingbian Army they so feared.

The Great Qing army would then have no more worries about its rear, so even if they could not seize the Central Plains this time, they could at least have a good plunder. It had been several years, and Ming territory was surely very fat by now. Especially since in a few months it would be the summer grain harvest, and a few months after that, the autumn grain harvest — even more supplies to loot.

Though the Eight Banners received no military pay, every capture brought shares of the spoils — gold, silver, wealth, silks, cattle, sheep, people, tea, rice, oil, salt; the brave were also rewarded with horses, armor, and helmets. Add to that the private stashing of plunder, and every banner man returned from campaign with bulging pockets.

So for this expedition, every household was eager; in every town, village, and hamlet, touching scenes of sons seeing off fathers and wives seeing off husbands were everywhere.

In households with many adult males, the surplus men also enthusiastically enlisted, willingly serving as auxiliary soldiers and laborers, following their fathers and elder brothers into battle.

Though they received no share of the spoils after battle, privately stashing plunder was an unwritten rule. Some even calculated on capturing a few more bondservants to bring back and farm their land in their place.

The entire Qing state was steeped in a fervent, jubilant atmosphere; some zealots even shouted, "The Southern Court is about to fall, the dynasty's founding is this very day!"

……

On the twentieth day of the second month.

These past days, troops and horses had been converging on Shengjing in an endless stream. On the twentieth in particular, the parade ground north of Shengjing city was a sea of banners, with a new batch of troops and horses arriving almost every quarter-hour.

They arrayed themselves by banner: the Eight Banners Manchu Plain Yellow Banner, the Eight Banners Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner, the Eight Banners Manchu Plain White Banner, the Eight Banners Manchu Plain Blue Banner, the Eight Banners Manchu Bordered White Banner, the Eight Banners Manchu Plain Red Banner, the Eight Banners Manchu Bordered Red Banner, the Eight Banners Manchu Bordered Blue Banner.

They formed battle arrays by company, and each company then formed its own smaller array. They stood solemnly, their equipment of excellent quality.

Every common soldier had a helmet and iron-studded cotton armor — all lacquered iron helmets, sweat-stained front-buttoned studded cotton armor, the tall, sharp, black helmet tops with red tassels fluttering. Each had a horse beside him, some even more than one, and on the horses were long and short weapons, all predominantly thick, heavy, and solid.

On the horses were also shields, great Manchu bows, and quivers filled with heavy and light arrows.

Every man's eyes were cruel and fierce, filled with the confidence of a hundred battles.

These were the common foot soldiers. Then there were the mounted soldiers, each wearing two layers of armor — pure iron armor covered by thick cotton armor, their protection even finer. Among them, officers of the rank of squad leader and platoon leader all had black tassels on their helmets and small flags two feet square stuck into their backs.

They wore three layers of heavy armor — that is, besides the cotton armor and iron armor, there was a layer of chain mail innermost.

Finally, there were the elite guards controlled by each banner's elite guard commandant. Each of them had a slant-tipped flame flag stuck into his back, and beside their hands and horses were invariably heavy weapons — wolf-tooth clubs, tiger spears, and the like. The large-tip bows they used were generally twelve-strength bows.

What does that mean?

That is to say, calculated by bow strength, it equates to roughly 158.7 pounds in later generations. If struck by such an arrow, one would certainly be gravely wounded if not killed outright.

They were the most battle-hardened veterans of each banner, each man thick with the bloody aura of slaughter. They wore full bright helmets and bright armor, the iron armor worn on the outside, every armor plate forged of fine iron, extremely thick and gleaming.

To counter the threat of firearms, the Eight Banners had put great effort into armor protection ever since their rise, and the armor they wore was uniformly excellent.

"The helmets, armor, face guards, and arm guards worn by the rebel soldiers are all of fine iron, and their horses likewise."

"The slaves mostly wear bright heavy armor, which the shorter, smaller bird guns cannot penetrate."

"Those in heavy armor with cotton armor over it, and thick cotton caps over their helmets, advance in front holding shields, and stand beneath the mountain city."

"They carry wolf-brush spears, long spears, great swords, and sharp blades; outside their iron helmets are cotton helmets, outside their iron armor is cotton armor."

Around sixty thousand men of the Eight Banners Manchu were arrayed on the parade ground. Their blades and spears were like a forest, their human tide like water. Though their numbers were vast, their formation was orderly and silent, broken only by the occasional neigh of a horse.

They stood in stern array, countless dense helmets and suits of armor towering, a fearsome aura of blood and iron spreading.

And behind the Manchu banners were the corresponding Mongol Eight Banners and Han Eight Banners, the Japanese Eight Banners and Korean Eight Banners, and so on. Though all were called Eight Banners, their status was of course unequal. Among the Eight Banners, only the Manchu Eight Banners had banner lords; the rest had banner commanders, and they were still in a subordinate relationship to the banner lords of the Manchu Eight Banners.

They too stood in silent formation, but their bearing was considerably inferior.

Their equipment also could not compare to the Manchu Eight Banners. Never mind multiple layers of armor — even those with iron-studded cotton armor were few, and many had only an ordinary cotton armor. Especially the Eight Banners Japanese and Eight Banners Korean troops, most of whom were still in the military dress of their home countries, looking somewhat incongruous.

Yet with over a hundred thousand men arrayed, blades and spears like a forest, banners like a sea, countless heads stretching on and on, the overall aura they projected was still astonishing.

……

The Emperor's personal guard, the elite bodyguard soldiers, were not seen on the parade ground. At this moment, these finest soldiers of the Qing state were arrayed outside the Fujin Gate east of Shengjing city, stretching all the way to the edge of the parade ground north of the city.

They were an existence even more formidable than the elite guards of each banner. Each man likewise wore full bright helmet and bright armor, heavy iron armor on their bodies, every plate glinting coldly.

Every man had eagle feathers on his helmet and a flying-tiger back-banner stuck behind him. Among them, those of officer rank had otter tails inserted in their helmet tubes and two-foot flying-tiger fox-tail banners on their backs.

They sat quietly on their horses, motionless in the cold wind, displaying the discipline of battle-hardened veterans.

They were the most skilled warriors in the Qing state, the entire battalion numbering fewer than two thousand.

In the howling cold wind, the hour of dawn arrived. Suddenly, the sound of conch horns rose, and then trumpets and suona horns sounded unceasingly. Amidst the clamor of drums and music, a dense imperial procession emerged from the Fujin Gate.

Yellow umbrellas, great banners, flags, maces, staffs of authority, gongs, drums, painted horns, vertical flutes, mouth organs, carriage drums, transverse flutes, dragon-head transverse flutes, clappers, great drums — dense and numerous. The attendants were all in green robes and yellow jackets, red sashes tied at their waists, wearing six-petaled red velvet hats with yellow feathers inserted in their bronze finials, numbering eighty-four men.

And beneath the yellow umbrella, Dorgon wore a suit of gilded armor. He sat on his horse, his expression solemn.

Behind him were the banner lords and banner commanders of the forty banners — Manchu, Mongol, Han, Korean, and Japanese — as well as the princes of the blood and commandery princes of the realm, beile and beizi, officials of the Six Ministries, academicians of the literary bureaus, and so on. All the hundred officials were assembled, and they would all follow Dorgon on this campaign.

At this moment, they too sat on their horses, each face shining with a sacred, fervent light.

Amidst the sound of trumpets and suona horns, the imperial procession entered directly into the tangzi shrine outside the Fujin Gate. This was the sacred temple of the Qing state, and every campaign had to be preceded by a visit to the temple.

The spirit tablets had long been invited and placed within the offering hall. The spirit tablets were those of the Son of Heaven, Shakyamuni Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Great Lord and First Teacher, the Marshal of the Three Armies, and the Sacred Lord Guan.

To worship at the tangzi spirit tablets, every ruler and subject had fasted for a day, purifying heart and curbing desire.

They entered the tangzi, offered cakes and wine, and hung paper money. Then, beginning with Dorgon, they lined up in order of rank, and every man performed the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows. They then went outside the tangzi, arrayed the eight great banners of the guard corps to be carried on the campaign before them, and again blew conch horns and lama brass horns.

Amidst the sound of trumpets and suona horns, they then began to worship Heaven, performing the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows.

After the kowtow ritual, Dorgon rose. He let out a long breath and said silently in his heart, "August Heaven, protect my Great Qing."

He mounted his horse and set off. Wherever his warhorse passed, all the elite bodyguard soldiers dismounted and knelt, quietly awaiting the Emperor's passage. They shouted, "Long live!"

Squad after squad of elite bodyguard soldiers dismounted and knelt. All along the way, the arrayed officers and men knelt, their mountain cries of "Long live" finally merging into an unbroken, continuous roar.

"Long live, long live, long, long live!"

Dorgon rode through the parade ground, moving amidst a host of ten thousand. He saw banners like a forest, blades and spears like a sea, the unbroken battle lines seeming to stretch to the horizon.

Boundless heroic passion surged in his heart. With such a great army, who could stand against him?

In his elation and satisfaction, he burst into loud laughter. He raised his whip and pointed, and three sharp signal cannons boomed.

Amidst the cannon fire, the great army began to march. Their banners were like a sea, a boundless tide of humanity that seemed to cover the entire earth.

On the twentieth day of the second month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the Qing state poured out its entire nation, dispatching two hundred fifty thousand troops to punish the Ming dynasty and contend for the Central Plains!

……

On the first day of the third month, at Jinan.

"The Lord on High observes, truly seeking the people's suffering. The common folk turn to him, longing only for deliverance. The Mandate is never constant, and the people's hearts are especially clear to see. Examining past dynasties, one can know the causes of gain and loss; reflecting on the past to understand the present, one can always discern the reasons for order and chaos. Ah, the Ming dynasty, long enjoying peace and tranquility, has gradually let its laws and discipline slacken. The sovereign is not utterly benighted, yet he stands isolated while flattery and deceit ever multiply…"

The parade ground of Jinan City lay in the city's southeast, at the foot of Thousand Buddha Mountain. Rumor had it that this was the geomantic treasure site of Jinan City, and it was said that Cao Cao had once garrisoned his troops here and built a training ground to drill his soldiers. Through all the dynasties that followed, this place remained a station for troops and martial training.

The parade ground was immense, able to deploy formations of up to a hundred thousand troops. But the Great Shun army was exceedingly numerous — some time ago it had numbered six hundred thousand, and now it might already be seven hundred thousand. Li Zicheng himself did not know the exact figure, nor did any of the high officials and generals under his command, for the surrendered Ming troops were simply too many.

Thus, those who could enter the parade ground were, aside from his Old Camp, the elite soldiers selected from the hundreds of thousands of troops. They formed a colossal military formation — truly a sea of men, a forest of banners — their ranks stretching on without end.

On the muster platform, Li Zicheng, in a felt hat and plain robes, sat upright on the royal chair. Flanking him on both sides were the dense ranks of Shun's great generals, the officials of the Six Government Ministries, and the surrendered Ming officers and officials. Below the platform were the dense ranks of the Old Camp's personal generals and elite warriors, every one of them in neat armor, standing solemnly with blade and spear.

Not far from the platform stood the local gentry and notables called to observe the ceremony, along with prominent figures and key personnel from every prefecture of Shandong. They stood packed together, many of them looking at the movements on the platform, then at the military formation ahead, their eyes filled with shock and awe.

Some among them wore complicated expressions, while others buzzed with excitement.

"Great Shun is indeed mighty in arms and strong in horses."

"Indeed, compared to them, the imperial court's troops are nothing but a motley mob. No wonder they crumbled at a single blow, and the Shun Heavenly King swept all before him."

"Of course. Look at those surrendered officials and Regional Commanders on the platform — which of them did not hold heavy forces? Every one of them surrendered without firing a single arrow. No wonder the Great Ming is about to lose the realm."

"Alas, is the dynasty truly about to change?"

Leaving aside the complicated expressions and buzzing discussions of these notables and gentry, at that moment on the platform, the Shun Chancellor Niu Jinxing, in a cadenced and rhythmic voice, was proclaiming the edict Li Zicheng had issued to the realm for the first year of the Yongchang reign.

Compared to the earlier war proclamation, the tone of this edict seemed somewhat moderated. It stated that "the sovereign is not utterly benighted," opining that the Chongzhen Emperor was not a fatuous and corrupt man.

Then it continued: "…yet he stands isolated while flattery and deceit ever multiply; his ministers all pursue private ends, forming cliques while public loyalty is utterly scarce. Bribery even reaches the palace and government offices, so that the power to reward and punish at court shifts day by day; profit is monopolized by the imperial clan and spirits, so that the fat and marrow of the common folk are utterly drained. Dukes and marquises are all idle gluttons in silken finery, yet they are relied upon as trusted confidants; eunuchs are all swill-eating curs and swine, yet they are borrowed as eyes and ears…"

It explained the reasons why the Ming dynasty had reached its present state. Among the gentry below, some disapproved, while others listened and sighed: "Yes, the sovereign is not utterly benighted, yet he stands isolated while flattery and deceit ever multiply… The Emperor has always been diligent, but there are simply too many treacherous ministers and petty men by his side."

Still others sobbed and wept: "How could the Great Ming have come to this?"

Li Zicheng had already resolved to march on the capital. He would lead five hundred thousand troops north, with Li Guo as the vanguard, striking straight for the capital.

Five hundred thousand — of course, that was an enormously huge figure. Yet though his forces were many, Li Zicheng did not worry about provisions, for on the march north, there were countless prefectures, departments, and county cities. Taking any one of them at random could solve a great part of the army's supply problem.

Especially after entering the key metropolitan region, the wealth, silk, grain, and coin they would gather could not be compared to what was in Henan, Shandong, and other places.

What worried him was that the capital was firmly fortified and had numerous defending troops. Even with a large number of internal collaborators, it might not be taken in a short time.

The result of the discussions among his officers and officials was that attacking the capital would likely require at least three months.

Protracted delay breeds unforeseen trouble.

Moreover, throughout history, striking north directly to take the capital had always been fraught with grave danger. In the historical record, only Ming Taizu, Zhu Yuanzhang, had ever succeeded.

At that time, Ming Taizu's grand strategy for destroying the Yuan was: "First take Shandong, removing its screen. Then wheel the army to Henan, severing its wings. Seize Tong Pass and hold it, occupying its threshold, so that the strategic situation of the realm falls into our grasp. Then advance the troops on the Yuan capital; at that point, its power will be isolated and its reinforcements cut off, and it can be taken without a fight. Once its capital is taken, march westward with drums beating, and Yunzhong, Jiuyuan, and Guanlong can be swept up like a mat."

The present situation of Great Shun somewhat resembled that time, yet also differed in some respects — for instance, Shaanxi had not been conquered. To avoid unforeseen accidents, securing the Ming emperor's surrender was the most ideal outcome.

Therefore, Li Zicheng issued this edict, urging the emperor to surrender, and formally warning the Ming officials and gentry to assess the times and circumstances, and to surrender and welcome a new master.

When the proclamation of the edict was finished, the military formation below erupted in earth-shaking shouts. At first they were chaotic, then they merged into one: "Long live the Shun Heavenly King!"

"Long live! Long live! Long live!"

The mountain-toppling, sea-sweeping cries of "Long live" rose wave upon wave. The immense roaring sound so overawed the observing gentry and notables that they could not speak; many of them trembled involuntarily from head to toe.

On the muster platform, the great generals of the Five Camps — Liu Zongmin, Liu Fangliang, Liu Xiyao, Yuan Zongdi, Li Guo, and the others — wore expressions of pride mixed with delight.

Yang Shaofan was now all smiles and joy, now again grinding his teeth in fury.

Li Yan's expression was stirred with emotion. He thought: "The new dynasty is about to be established. The atmosphere then will be vastly different. The common people can once again live and work in peace and contentment, no longer suffering the calamities of displacement and chaos."

Niu Jinxing and the other key officials of the Six Government Ministries all wore reserved expressions, stroking their beards and smiling faintly, looking somewhat self-satisfied at the cheering soldiers below.

As for those surrendered Ming officers and officials, such as Liu Liangzuo, Liu Zeqing, Qiu Lei, and others, every one of them was gasping, staring dumbfounded at the roaring formations below. Liu Liangzuo sighed: "Look, the Great Shun army has such imposing momentum. Truly, their discipline is strict and their ranks are orderly. The government troops are far from comparable."

Liu Zeqing also sighed: "Indeed. The righteous army is so elite. It seems the destruction of the Ming dynasty is no longer a problem."

Though they spoke with sighs, every one of them was beaming with delight. Liu Zeqing, even more, grinned broadly and said: "It seems the new dynasty will soon be established. We shall all be meritorious officials who followed the dragon."

A cold sneer appeared in Qiu Lei's eyes: "After we attack and destroy the capital, we should then march west to attack Xuanfu and Shanxi. I hear those places have grown very rich in recent years. We can certainly fill our bowls and basins to the brim."

They all burst into loud laughter.

……

After the expedition's troop-review ceremony, the great army directly broke camp and marched. Men shouted, horses neighed, and banners blotted out the sky — the scene was spectacular beyond measure.

And it was not only the elite troops on the parade ground that were advancing. The Shun forces stationed near Jinan and throughout Shandong likewise began moving north. Each had its own mission — some on the central route, some on the flanks — all to converge at last beneath the walls of the capital.

The great army, like a torrential flood, moved ceaselessly. The sound of horns shook heaven and earth. Li Zicheng, riding a dappled-black horse and surrounded by over a hundred elite cavalry, ascended Thousand Buddha Mountain. Below him, banners were like a sea, and the tide-like flow of men advanced without end. This sight and scene filled Li Zicheng with elation and satisfaction.

Yet amid his excitement, there was also a trace of bewilderment. Was the Ming dynasty truly about to be destroyed?

Old Hu's Mountain Patrol Camp was also within the advancing torrent. They had already been granted the treatment of the Old Camp. In the horse units, every man had a warhorse, and many even had two horses. Even the former foot soldiers now had horses or mules to ride.

Riding on his horse, he looked ahead, then looked behind — everywhere banners were like a sea, and the vast, mighty tide of men stretched on with no head in sight ahead and no tail in sight behind.

Old Hu could not help muttering a single phrase: "A grand spectacle."

Kong San beside him drew a deep breath. They were finally marching north. All of this was nearly over.

On the first day of the third month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the Shun state poured out its entire nation, with five hundred thousand troops, marching north to destroy the Ming!