Chapter 837: All Sides

In early Chongzhen 16, Jingnan Count Cao Bianjiao and Ningnan Count Wang Tingchen were reassigned to Liaodong. At that time, the two men had only 3,500 cavalry from their main-force battalions and 500 new army troops — 4,000 horse and foot in all.

Now the two were stationed at Yizhou, right on the front line of the fight against the Tatar slaves.

Naturally they paid very close attention to the Qing state’s movements. On the 17th, when the Qing state mobilized the whole country, the two men sensed something and immediately sent out night scouts to reconnoiter. On the 19th, judging that the Tatar slaves were likely to launch a large-scale border incursion, they made a prompt decision and at once dispatched relay riders to warn the Liaodong Provincial Governor, the Liaodong Regional Commander, the Ji-Liao Viceroy, and others.

On the 20th, the Qing state poured out in full force — a movement so huge it could not possibly be hidden from them. They sent out another emergency report, and in the relay dispatch they included their own assessment.

They believed that the number of troops the slave rebels had mobilized this time would be no less than the number at the Battle of Jinzhou.

After the relay riders left, the two counts ordered Yizhou City under martial law. They carefully inspected the city defenses. When they returned to the residence they shared, they found an unexpected visitor in the main hall.

“Generals, my Intelligence Division has definite word: this time the Tatar slaves have emptied their nests. Yizhou is far in the rear. If you stay trapped here, the odds are grim. A true man should preserve his useful body. In these shifting times, there is no need to cling to the gain or loss of a single city or piece of land. The Grand General has also said: if the two generals are willing to come south of the Gobi, he will welcome you with open arms.”

The speaker was an agent from the Protectorate Intelligence Division. He was utterly unremarkable in appearance, the sort of man easily overlooked in a crowd, but his expression was resolute and his tone unwavering, as though he would not change color even if a mountain crumbled before him. Every one of these Intelligence Division operatives sent out as spies and agents possessed a will of steel.

After hearing the agent’s words, both Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen smiled.

Cao Bianjiao smiled at Wang Tingchen. “Brother Wang, what do you think?”

Wang Tingchen laughed heartily. “Little General Cao, I’ll say the same thing I’ve always said: so long as a true man dies in the right place, what does it matter if his corpse is wrapped in horsehide?”

Cao Bianjiao smiled. “I think the same.”

He said to the agent, “Brave sir, please convey to the Marquis of Yongning that Cao and the others vow to live or die together with Yizhou City. We must disappoint his expectations.”

At this, his expression grew somewhat remorseful, and he said softly, “I hope… there will still be a day when I can see Brother Wang again…”

The agent sighed inwardly. This outcome was within his expectations. Respect welled up in his heart, and he said solemnly, “In that case, this humble one takes his leave. Take care, both generals!”

He bowed deeply, turned, and left. Out on the main street, many soldiers were patrolling through the cold wind, rain, and snow, every figure resolute. An indescribable feeling rose in his chest. He gave them a fierce nod of his head, then mounted his horse.

As an elite agent of the Intelligence Division, he had three warhorses. He mounted and galloped out of the city. He glanced at the sky — the clouds were thick as lead; it looked as if the snow would keep falling for a while.

He ascended the Western Mountain. Suddenly his heart seized — he saw several dozen riders howling up from south of the city, their cries like wild beasts even from afar.

Seeing their superb riding skill and gleaming armor, the agent murmured, “Bayara.” He looked at the long line of hoofprints in the snow and dared not linger a moment longer. He cast one last glance at Yizhou City in the wind and snow, spurred his horse away, and soon vanished into the blizzard.

Before long, more and more Qing elite cavalry arrived — all heavy-armor riders and bayara. They scoured the outskirts, hunting down scouts in particular.

Ming army night scouts were their primary targets.

After that relay dispatch of the 20th, Yizhou City’s contact with the outside world was completely cut off.

…

Reports of the Qing army’s massive invasion poured in continuously. In particular, after Yizhou City sent out its relay dispatch on the 20th, the cities of western Liaoning went under martial law one after another. Jinzhou, Ningyuan, Shanhai Pass, and other places all shut their gates and tightened border defenses. Liaodong Provincial Governor Qiu Minyang and Ji-Liao Viceroy Fan Zhiwan sent several reports a day, urgently warning the capital.

On the 23rd, Ming night scouts stationed along the Jielingkou section of the Great Wall discovered that the Kharchin tribes beyond the pass seemed to be stirring. Soon after, they spotted elite scout riders of the Tatar Bordered Blue Banner in the old Yingzhou territory.

On the 24th, Ming night scouts stationed at Lengkou on the Great Wall likewise discovered Tatar Plain Blue Banner bayara operating outside.

The same day, their scout cavalry also appeared beyond the Great Wall at Xifengkou.

On the 25th, Jinzhou, Ningyuan, and other places reported that a sky-blotting, sun-shrouding Tatar host was closing in. Strangely, they merely set up camps and stockades outside each city but did not attack, mostly just keeping the defenders inside under watch. However, their elite cavalry fanned out everywhere, relentlessly hunting down relay riders and night scouts, making it extremely difficult for the cities to get messages through.

The same day, Ji Regional Commander and Jibei Marquis Yang Guozhu received scout reports that a Tatar army numbering no fewer than a hundred thousand was advancing west from Jinzhou, Yizhou, and other points. They were coming from beyond the frontier, and their objective was unmistakably the Ji Garrison defense line he himself held.

On the 26th, night scouts reported that the Tatars Abatai, Jirgalang, and others were encamped in the old Yingzhou Central Garrison territory beyond the pass. They had scout riders spread thickly — from the west as far as Xincheng Guard, and to the northwest as far as Hongyazishan, their scout riders and horses had been sighted.

In particular, they had elite cavalry deployed along the Yixun River, apparently dedicated to keeping watch on Zhenhu Fort — the Jingbian Army’s forwardmost bastion beyond the frontier, over two hundred li from Hongyazishan.

With a great mass of slave rebels pressing in, Yang Guozhu dared not be negligent. He personally led his main army to the border wall, especially to the Lengkou section of the Great Wall, which he judged to be the primary breach point.

He absolutely could not let these beast-like creatures enter the interior.

Qing troops had broken into the interior many times before — in Chongzhen 2, Chongzhen 9, and Chongzhen 11 — each time leaving rivers of blood and the people in unspeakable misery. And besides those large-scale incursions that drove all the way to the capital’s walls, there had in fact also been two more in Chongzhen 7 and Chongzhen 8.

They had raided Xuanfu, Datong, Xinzhou, Dingxiang, and other places, plundering on a massive scale. The Chongzhen 7 incursion was especially disastrous: because Cao Wenzhao was transferred to Datong, the roving bandits Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and others seized the chance to break out, ultimately leading to the great calamity that followed.

At this moment, Yang Guozhu had 15,000 troops — 5,000 cavalry from his main-force battalions and 10,000 newly trained soldiers — all blooded in the bloody battles of Songshan and Jinzhou. Their combat effectiveness had been tested. He was confident he could stop the Tatars from breaching the passes and invading. As Ji Regional Commander, he also believed it was his duty to spare the elders and common folk of the interior from such brutality.

Only…

His main force was thus pinned down.

He was well aware that the roving bandits had founded a state and proclaimed a king in Jinan. By the look of things, they would soon march north as well. When that happened, the capital would be in peril, and he feared he would be unable to bring reinforcements.

Yang Guozhu had received word that the grandees at court intended to send an edict ordering him to defend the capital. But now…

The state’s peril weighed heavily on Yang Guozhu. He could not understand what the court grandees were thinking. The Jingbian Army’s strength was famed throughout the realm. They were also nearby. While the roving bandits were massed beneath the city walls, it was the perfect chance to wipe them out in one pot — after all, the worry was never that the bandits would gather, only that they would scatter.

The most fearsome thing about the roving bandits was how good they were at running. This was a golden opportunity. If the bandits marched north, they could be caught in one net and wiped out, thoroughly resolving the Great Ming’s mortal affliction.

Yang Guozhu reflected that there must be clear-headed men at court. Besides, the capital was strong; it should be able to hold out for a few months. When the situation grew critical, they would surely summon the Marquis of Yongning to come to the defense.

Enough — these great affairs of state were not for him to ponder. What he could do was guard the frontier passes well for the country.

One thing he was certain of: unless he died in battle, he would never let a single Tatar enter the pass.

…

The common people of Xuanfu, Shanxi, and the Anbei Protectorate were all very concerned about the roving bandits’ movements. Compared to the surging tides in Shandong and Northern Zhili, where the people vied to surrender cities and open gates, each one eagerly awaiting the righteous army’s arrival, the popular mood here was indifferent — after all, their lives were, on the whole, still bearable.

Even if they could not get by, they could always emigrate to the Protectorate. That place welcomed immigrants warmly. This was even truer for the people of Xuanfu Garrison, who lived in plenty.

In the second month, after the roving bandits founded the Great Shun state in Shandong, Shanxi Provincial Governor Cai Maode tightened the defenses at every pass on Shanxi’s eastern side. He reassigned Regional Commander Zhou Yuji, Vice Regional Commander Li Yunshu, and others to defend Gu Pass, Huangyu Pass, Hongti Pass, and other points, strengthening the defensive forces in those places.

So when the roving bandits swept through Zhangde Prefecture and Shunde Prefecture, taking cities and territory with irresistible momentum, and then planned to push westward to plunder Shanxi, they smashed their heads bloody against these stout passes.

Of course, it was not that there were no common folk whose hearts leaned toward the righteous army. For instance, in Yuanshi County, near Shanxi and controlled by Zanhuang Assistant Regional Commander Xu Yue’e, there was a smith surnamed Sun. He secretly forged several hundred arrowheads and wrote a folded note in which he called the roving bandits “Lord Heavenly Soldiers,” intending to slip out of the city and defect to the Shun army.

Unfortunately, as he was leaving the city, the gate-guarding soldiers searched him and found the note. As a result, Xu Yue’e ordered him executed as a warning to others. With inhuman cruelty, he was nailed to the city gate by his four limbs with long spikes — a heroic martyrdom.

At least from that point on, within the several cities under her sphere of influence, no one dared speak again of surrendering to the bandits or defecting.

In late second month, some soldiers and commoners at Huangyu Pass attempted to open the pass and surrender. They were brutally suppressed by the defending commander Li Yunshu. Without regard for age or sex, everyone involved was beheaded. After these several incidents, Shanxi was everywhere peaceful and untroubled.

Precisely because Shanxi was peaceful, more and more princes of the blood fled into its territory. Besides the original Prince of Fu, Zhu Yousong, others such as the Prince of Lu, Zhu Changfang, fled in one after another.

On the first day of the third month, the roving bandits emptied their nests and marched north. When the news reached Shanxi, Xuan-Da Viceroy Ji Shiwei urgently sent orders to Xuanfu Provincial Governor Zhu Zhifeng, Datong Provincial Governor Wei Jingyuan, and Shanxi Provincial Governor Cai Maode. After an emergency conference, Shanxi and Xuanfu declared martial law across their entire territories.

In particular, anyone seeking to enter Xuanfu Garrison was first to be taken into detention camps and subjected to strict screening.

Datong Regional Commander Wang Pu, at the request of Shanxi Provincial Governor Cai Maode, also ordered his trusted commander Wang Zheng to lead his main-force battalion to reinforce Regional Commander Zhou Yuji, who was defending Gu Pass.

As for the roving bandits marching north, the popular reaction in Xuanfu, Shanxi, and the Anbei Protectorate was in fact quite indifferent, because in these people’s hearts, they had a pillar that held up the sky — the Grand General Who Subdues the Caitiffs, the Marquis of Yongning, Wang Dou. Whatever happened, they would just follow his instructions when the time came.

In any case, with the mighty Jingbian Army present, they could not possibly come to harm.

They only debated how long the capital could hold out; in the teahouses and taverns of every city and town, this was a hot topic.

Some said that because of the plague, the capital battalions had suffered heavy losses, and the capital could probably hold out for three months at most.

Most people thought that estimate was too conservative — the capital was sturdy, its walls high and thick, its perimeter reaching sixty or seventy li; whether it could hold for a year was hard to say, but defending it for half a year was still possible.

Moreover, they believed that as long as the lords at court were not blind and summoned the Marquis of Yongning to take the field, the roving bandits would be no problem at all.

The Xuanfu Times was also trumpeting that if the court only called upon Grand General Wang Dou to take the field, the roving bandits would certainly be quelled in one sweep, wiped out in one pot beneath the walls of Beijing, restoring a bright and peaceful Great Ming.

Leaving aside the talk in the newspapers and among the common people, for some gentry, officials, and officers, their feelings were far more complicated: seeing the bandits’ momentum, boasting a million men bearing down on the capital, could the capital hold out when the time came? If the capital fell and the Great Ming perished, where should they go and what should they do?

Some privately discussed whether the Great Ming’s allotted span of fortune had run out, and whether they ought to follow the current and surrender to welcome a new master.

Yet some said the roving bandits could not be trusted — for example, they claimed they would not collect grain taxes, but after establishing a state in Shandong, they ordered every county to send three hundred mules and levy a thousand dan of grain, and even used oversized dou measures, showing signs of going back on their word. And wherever they went, they posted lists plundering great households to support their military funds, which might prove disadvantageous to the gentry in the future.

But others retorted that once the Shun state took the capital and established a new dynasty, things would surely be different — a new dynasty, a new atmosphere.

On the whole, their state of mind was complicated and tinged with a wait-and-see attitude.