Chapter 158: The Manchu City

Shang Zhixin glanced at Lin Shanzhi, then shifted his gaze to Ban Zhifu and asked, "Has Xinhui sent anyone over?"

Ban Zhifu shook his head. "Zheng Guodong has not sent anyone else. I expect the bandit troops have surrounded the city, and no one can get out."

"That is likely the case."

Shang Zhixin gave a slight nod. Before this old man who had followed his father for many years, he dared not put on the slightest airs, nor was there any need to.

Smiling, he said to Ban Zhifu, "Before we set out, Father told me that on this expedition to relieve Xinhui, I, as heir, am nominally the commander, but in military matters I must rely entirely on Uncle Ban.

He told me to watch more and learn more, to ask when I do not understand, and not to worry about the face of the heir apparent.

Heh, in truth, even without Father's instructions I would do the same, for I have never before led troops alone, and my experience in battle is far inferior to Uncle Ban's.

If some mishap occurred through my negligence, not only would I, the heir apparent, lose face, but I would have even more trouble answering to Father. So on this relief expedition, I must ask Uncle Ban to take great pains."

The heir apparent called him "Uncle" at every turn, and hearing it warmed Ban Zhifu's heart. In the eyes of outsiders, this heir apparent was certainly a man of martial vigor, but he was also young and hot-blooded, with a temper not particularly good.

Yet before him, the heir apparent was still the child of years past, showing the same respect to his elders as he had then.

For this alone, Ban Zhifu was determined to back Shang Zhixin with all his strength, rather than, like certain men under the Prince of Pingnan's command, set his sights on the second son, Shang Zhixiao.

To establish the eldest and the legitimate son has been the tradition of China for a thousand years. To set aside the eldest son and legitimate heir and sidle up to the second son — what sort of business was that?

It must be known that the Prince of Pingnan had privately told these old retainers that once the Southern Ming was pacified, he would send his second son, Zhixiao, back to Beijing to seek a post as a Han Banners Regional Commander, rather than leave him in Guangdong to be an eyesore alongside his elder brother.

Since the old prince had long had such intentions, what were the underlings still stirring up trouble for? If it truly came to brothers contending over the princedom, the ones to profit would hardly be those under the Prince of Pingnan, but rather the court in Beijing.

If the quarrel grew beyond control and the court intervened, the Prince of Pingnan's household would truly be left with nothing but scattered feathers and broken eggs.

The affair of the old Prince of Jingnan, Geng Zhongming, was only a few years past — that boy Geng Jimao nearly failed to inherit the title.

With the Prince of Jingnan's overturned cart as a warning still close at hand, the Prince of Pingnan's household could not afford any more mischief.

"Your Highness may rest assured. This general will exert himself to the utmost. The Taiping Army is nothing but a clownish rabble; with Your Highness personally leading the troops, these bandits will surely collapse at the first blow."

Ban Zhifu was never a man of many words, but every word he spoke was never wasted. Spoken with such ringing force, his words made Lin Shanzhi, standing nearby, look up at him.

Yet Lin Shanzhi felt no thought that the man was speaking arrogantly; on the contrary, he deeply agreed: the Taiping Army was, after all, a motley mob — it would be a wonder if they could not win this battle.

Now that Ban Zhifu had spoken thus, Shang Zhixin naturally would not say more about the war with the Taiping Army. He turned to Lin Shanzhi and asked, "Are all military matters properly arranged?"

Lin Shanzhi hastily gave a slight bow. "Reporting to Your Highness, this humble officer has arranged everything properly."

"There is nothing more for you here. You may return first. As I said clearly just now, on this relief expedition everything is to follow Commander Ban's orders. Commander Ban's orders are my orders. Do you understand?" Shang Zhixin deliberately stressed the latter half of his words.

Lin Shanzhi cursed inwardly. He too was a Regional Commander of the first rank — why should he have to obey Ban Zhifu's orders?

Moreover, his own troops outnumbered Ban Zhifu's. But with the heir apparent instructing him thus, and Ban Zhifu being the old retainer the Prince of Pingnan trusted most, this Regional Commander, however unwilling, had to obey obediently.

He answered in a booming voice, "This humble officer understands!"

"Very well. You may withdraw. We set out in half an hour."

Shang Zhixin waved his hand, signaling Lin Shanzhi to leave.

"Yes, sir!"

Lin Shanzhi stepped back lightly three paces before turning to depart. Once he was gone, Ban Zhifu spoke to Shang Zhixin with some concern: "The top ranks of the Guangzhou Green Standard are all southerners, all roving idlers, none of them battle-tested.

Year after year the western rebels have invaded, and local bandits have risen everywhere. Troops have been used in many places, and losses have been heavy.

The Guangzhou Green Standard alone has lost over a thousand men in these past few years. Now in Guangdong the Ming and Qing stand face to face, bandits swarm the hills, and the coast is full of sea pirates.

With only our Pingnan and Jingnan garrison troops here, I fear our forces cannot hold out long. Your Highness might consider asking the Prince to petition the court to send another three thousand Mongol troops to Guangdong to assist in the fighting.

That would relieve the shortage of troops and prevent a repeat of last year's affair."

What Ban Zhifu meant by "last year's affair" was Li Dingguo's great army attacking Guangdong for the second time.

With no troops to spare, the Pingnan and Jingnan forces had no choice but to pull in all Qing troops from various places and concentrate them at Guangzhou alone, allowing Li Dingguo's army to drive straight in.

Had Xinhui's strong walls not been so hard to take, the Ming army would have been at the walls of Guangzhou.

Pulling troops back to concentrate the defense at Guangzhou looked like the best response to the Ming army, but in truth it exposed to the Ming army the problem of the Qing's insufficient troop strength in Guangdong. If Guangzhou fell, all of Guangdong would fall into Ming hands.

Furthermore, by contracting to Guangzhou, the Qing army effectively abandoned every occupied area outside Guangzhou, which caused the people in those areas to waver toward the Ming army, while the Ming army could also obtain manpower, money, and grain from those regions.

Had Li Dingguo not failed in both attacks, but merely maintained pressure on Guangzhou, that alone would have given the Pingnan and Jingnan forces cowering inside Guangzhou more than enough trouble.

Even for this relief expedition to Xinhui, Ban Zhifu was suffering from a shortage of troops. Xinhui had only a little over a thousand defenders, while the Taiping Army had more than ten thousand.

The relief force, all told, numbered three thousand, but only the banner troops were of any use. The two thousand-odd men of the Guangzhou Green Standard were of no real account.

Most of these Guangzhou Green Standard troops were surrendered soldiers from Fujian and Zhejiang.

On ordinary days they could fight when the wind was at their backs, but if they truly met an opponent stronger than themselves, fleeing at the first sight of the enemy would be the least of it.

It was only because this time it was not Li Dingguo's great army but a ragtag Taiping Army that they had been brought out at all. Had Li Dingguo's great army truly come, they would never have dared bring these surrendered Green Standard troops out.

Ban Zhifu had no doubt about defeating the Taiping Army. Even without those two thousand-odd Guangzhou Green Standard troops, with his eight hundred elite Bordered Blue Banner soldiers alone he could wipe out the Taiping Army in one stroke.

But what commander ever complained of having too many men? The important thing was that the Qing army's overall strength in Guangdong was truly not large, and the troops that could actually fight were even fewer.

On top of that, Li Shuaitai, that imperial kinsman, had forcibly taken two thousand men from them. The elite troops the Prince of Pingnan's household could actually put forward numbered absolutely no more than five thousand.

Compared with Li Dingguo, who came attacking with tens of thousands at the drop of a hat, this was so few as to be somewhat worrisome.

If Li Dingguo came again this year, Ban Zhifu believed the strategy the Prince of Pingnan would adopt would still be to pull in troops from all over and garrison Guangzhou alone. There was no other plan beyond that.

Asking Manchu troops to come and assist was somewhat impractical. The year before last, Hahamu had brought troops but left after only a few months.

Last year Zhumala came and likewise stayed less than three months. If the military situation truly became urgent, the Manchu troops would still have to come, but to have them garrison permanently was simply impossible.

There was no help for it — these Manchu soldiers truly could not stand the heat. If the Manchu troops could not be moved, the next-best Mongol troops might well come.

In fighting strength, the Mongols were slightly inferior to the Manchu troops, but far stronger than the Ming army. The important thing was that the Mongol troops were not as delicate as those Manchu soldiers.

If the court truly ordered them to garrison permanently, would these Mongols dare disobey? In view of this, Ban Zhifu had formed the idea of requesting Mongol troops from the court to assist in the fighting.

Request Mongol troops to assist in the fighting?

Shang Zhixin was taken aback.

He did not immediately respond to whether Ban Zhifu's plan was feasible, but instead raised another matter: "Governor-General Li Shuaitai has sent a memorial to the court, asking that a Manchu city be established in Guangzhou, with Manchu and Han Eight Banners troops garrisoned there permanently, and that the post of Guangzhou General be created..."

Before Shang Zhixin had finished speaking, Ban Zhifu cried out, "Guangzhou must absolutely not have a Manchu city!"

Shang Zhixin nodded and said gravely, "My father and I are of the same mind. The matter of establishing a Manchu city in Guangzhou is Li Shuaitai's opinion alone; the court may not necessarily adopt it."

Ban Zhifu was still somewhat uneasy. "We must guard against future trouble. More activity is still needed in Beijing."

Shang Zhixin said, "Father has already taken action on this matter."

"That is good, then."

Hearing that the Prince of Pingnan had already sent people to Beijing to block Li Shuaitai's proposal for a Manchu city, Ban Zhifu felt somewhat relieved. Gritting his teeth, he added, "Li Shuaitai is no good man.

Proposing a Manchu city is clearly aimed at our Prince of Pingnan's household. That bastard is truly harboring malicious intent — and to think the Prince has been so courteous to him!"

If a Manchu city were established in Guangzhou, what place would there be for the Prince of Pingnan's household? The intent behind Li Shuaitai's move was truly a case of Sima Zhao's heart — known to every man in the street.

Thinking of Li Shuaitai's petty schemes, and then of Geng Jimao's face, Shang Zhixin felt a surge of disgust for no reason. He was about to speak to Ban Zhifu when a personal guard came running over in haste.