Chapter 33: His Majesty Leads the Campaign in Person! Great Ming, Ten Thousand Victories!

By now the sky had brightened. The Internal Depot agents keeping watch here came back to report: inside the Jianzhou barbarians' camp, everyone from top to bottom was currently relieving themselves.

Only a few dozen barbarians who had been off violating women and had not eaten were spared the uncontrollable diarrhea.

No matter how disgusted Lu Xiangsheng and the others were, in the end they still had to enter the Jianzhou camp and fight the barbarians blade-to-blade.

After a brief council, a roar of battle cries erupted, and the Tianxiong Army charged as one toward the Jianzhou camp.

Dorgon, who had long been stuck on the latrine, knew something was terribly wrong. If only some of the soldiers had diarrhea, that was possible.

But if the entire army, top to bottom, was stricken at once, there was definitely foul play. It was highly likely that those Shanxi merchants had already betrayed the Great Jin and colluded with the southern barbarians to scheme against the Great Jin!

However, the Eight Banners troops of the Jianzhou barbarians at this time were not yet the double-barreled soldiers of the later Qing dynasty. Under such strict military law, even if Dorgon wanted to abandon the army and flee alone, he had the desire but not the courage.

What was more, if he abandoned this ten-thousand-strong army of the Plain White Banner and fled, even if Hong Taiji could forgive him, would the Plain White Banner still support him in the future? The families of those abandoned barbarians would probably wish to flay his skin and devour his flesh!

Growing more fearful the more he thought, Dorgon dispatched a few barbarians who had escaped disaster by not consuming the wine and meat to ride swift horses and seek reinforcements from Hong Taiji and Amin.

At the same time, he ordered the remaining barbarians who had not yet eaten or drunk to organize the defense in separate groups.

But under the effects of that secret palace formula of croton divine medicine, even if the Jianzhou barbarians had ten parts of strength, they likely could not muster even two.

Now, hearing the battle cries rising outside the camp, Dorgon held no more illusions. In the end, he decided to contract the camp's defense and await the arrival of reinforcements. Yet in his heart, he held not a shred of hope that they could hold out until the Jianzhou relief force arrived.

Leaving aside Dorgon's grief and despair for the moment, the Tianxiong Army soldiers charging into the Jianzhou camp to kill and set fires were having a grand time.

Whenever they spotted a Jianzhou barbarian, one slash of the blade was all it took. Most of the barbarians facing them had no strength to resist; first their weapons clattered to the ground, then their heads followed.

Who keeps boasting that 'Eight Banners, if not ten thousand strong, are invincible once ten thousand'? Today, your old man here can finish off a dog barbarian in basically two strokes! After today, the dog barbarians will probably flee at the mere rumor of their grandfathers' names!

The soldiers of the Tianxiong Army declared today an extremely happy day.

Killing was immensely satisfying, their own casualties were basically zero, and after returning to report their merits, every man would receive a reward — Lu Xiangsheng had promised that one Jianzhou barbarian head was worth two taels of silver!

The only downside was that the dog barbarians' camp stank to high heaven! Were the Jianzhou barbarians always this foul?

Lu Xiangsheng, who had originally intended to lead the charge personally, ended up simply standing grandly on the periphery with Chiliarch Gao and Head Officer Wu to observe the battle. All three, however, held their sleeves over their noses in utter disgust.

But happy matters are never too plentiful — or rather, these dog barbarians before them were not fated to be utterly exterminated.

Just as the three were enjoying watching the battle, scouts sent far out came racing back to report that a large Jianzhou army was approaching in the distance, now less than ten li from Xuanfu.

Lu Xiangsheng's expression turned solemn. He asked, "How many troops?"

The scout replied, "Around twenty thousand or more. Judging by the banners, they are the Plain Yellow Banner and the Bordered Yellow Banner."

Lu Xiangsheng and the other two were puzzled. The Plain Yellow Banner and the Bordered Yellow Banner were personally commanded by the Jianzhou slave-chief Hong Taiji.

If these two banners appeared nearby, did that mean the dog barbarian Hong Taiji had come as well? Had he not gone to besiege the capital?

Chiliarch Gao suddenly said, "Old Gao here just remembered — there was word earlier that the Jianzhou barbarians had besieged the capital for a long time without success. Most likely, the armies loyal to the throne have all gathered at the capital, and the dog barbarians are about to flee!"

Head Officer Wu said, "Our family is but a eunuch and does not understand the ways of the battlefield. Still, why not send men closer to take a look? Then we would know."

Lu Xiangsheng gave a bitter laugh.

"Damn it all!

Heaven does not grant men's wishes! Whatever the case, once the main Jianzhou army arrives, we must withdraw our troops and return, lest the barbarians turn the tables on us."

He immediately ordered men to go forth and relay the command: behead the already-slain barbarians, set fire to all grain, fodder, and supplies in the camp that could burn, then swiftly return to defend Xuanfu city to avoid being caught off guard by the barbarians.

The roughnecks of the Tianxiong Army were very unhappy. Damn it all, can't a man harvest heads in peace? They had cut down fewer than three thousand barbarians so far — were they just going to let the rest go?

Fortunately, the Tianxiong Army was an elite force personally trained by Lu Xiangsheng, with extremely strict military discipline. Even deeply dissatisfied, they still carried out the orders to the letter.

After the party returned to Xuanfu with over three thousand Jianzhou heads, the main Jianzhou army was also not far from Xuanfu. From the city walls, one could already see the dust cloud raised by the advancing army in the distance.

Lu Xiangsheng suddenly said, "Something is off. There is definitely something fishy here!"

Chiliarch Gao, hearing this, asked curiously, "What is it? What's off?"

Lu Xiangsheng pointed at the Jianzhou army now very close outside the city and said, "Look, the Jianzhou troops seem to be in great haste as they move.

Further behind the main Jianzhou force, there seems to be another army — the dust cloud is even heavier, clearly outnumbering the barbarians. I fear the Jianzhou are in serious trouble this time."

Chiliarch Gao looked carefully. It was indeed as Lu Xiangsheng had said. He said, "Could it be the armies loyal to the throne are in pursuit of the barbarians?"

Without waiting for Lu Xiangsheng to answer, he summoned a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and instructed, "Take some men and circle around the barbarians. See what that dust cloud behind them is all about. Go quickly and return quickly!"

As the Jianzhou barbarians drew closer to the walls of Xuanfu, Lu Xiangsheng suddenly struck the wall with his fist and raged, "Since when could these dog Jianzhou barbarians come and go from our Great Ming as they please?! This is utterly intolerable!"

Chiliarch Gao and Head Officer Wu did not answer. For a moment, the atmosphere grew heavy.

In truth, all three knew in their hearts: the guard-battalion system of the Great Ming was now rotten, the soldiers lax in training, and superior officers mostly pocketed empty pay.

If it truly came to battle, the only hope lay with the commanders' personal retainers and household troops; the guard battalions were entirely beyond hope.

For a moment, the three understood even more deeply why Chongzhen had insisted that Lu Xiangsheng train a separate Tianxiong Army here in the critical post of Xuanfu.

Lu Xiangsheng suddenly said, "The Jianzhou barbarians are indeed fleeing!"

Chiliarch Gao was taken aback and asked, "How can you tell?"

Lu Xiangsheng said, "Look at the barbarians' banners — many are smoke-stained and scorched. Their ranks are no longer orderly, and the rear guard has discarded many items along the way, clearly finding them too heavy to carry.

The army behind the barbarians, whether it is the Guanning Iron Cavalry or the armies loyal to the throne, is doggedly clinging to the barbarians' heels."

Lu Xiangsheng said, "We must still make preparations. If it truly is the armies loyal to the throne, whether supplying them with provisions or joining in the pursuit of the barbarians, it will likely not be something accomplished in a short time."

As the three were deliberating, the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain sent out earlier to scout returned. The moment he ascended the city wall, he shouted in excitement, "His Majesty leads the campaign in person! Great Ming, ten thousand victories!"

Well, Sumalagu bathed only a limited number of times in her entire life. It was said she believed in some faith or other — in any case, she truly stank enough.

(End of Chapter)