Chapter 181: Siege

During the retreat, the Qing army feared the Taiping troops in the city would sally out in pursuit, yet there was not the slightest stir from within the city, not the slightest stir from the gate tunnel either — not a single Taiping soldier came out at all.

Truth be told, had the Qing army thrown itself into two more assaults at any cost at that moment, the Taiping Army likely would truly have been unable to hold on. As things stood, they had only enough strength left to defend the walls and none to pursue the enemy.

Moreover, even if Ge Zheng and Jiang He had been bolder, they would not have had the courage to sally out after the Qing army — the impression that the Qing army was invincible in the field was deeply etched in their minds.

Holding the city at all was already cause for boundless gratitude; who would dare play the hero and ride out? Even Zhou Shixiang, had he been there, would not have dared make such a decision.

The Qing army had suffered heavy losses, and the Taiping Army's casualties were no small matter either. It was like two tigers locked in combat, both wounded — at this point neither side could do anything to the other.

The Taiping Army did not dare leave the city to pursue the Qing army, but the cannon on the walls did not rest. Every manner of small cannon roared in unison, reaping the lives of those retreating Qing soldiers.

Once the withdrawing Qing troops entered the range of the red-barbarian cannon, the blade-wielders who had long been waiting impatiently barked orders at the captured Han Banners gunners to open fire.

Round after round of shot tore through them, and several hundred more Qing soldiers were killed or wounded.

In this assault on the city, the Guangdong Green Standard together with the garrison Green Standard under Guangzhou Prefecture had committed more than 4,000 men in all, yet only a little over 2,000 came back down.

The more than 3,000 Han Banners of the Bordered Blue Banner lost nearly 600 men. Qin Guocheng's 600 household troops under his direct command lost a third of their number as well.

Counting the earlier Green Standard assault, the Qing army's casualties over the two engagements came to no less than 4,000 men.

The only force that suffered essentially no losses was Geng Zhongde's several hundred Han Banners of the Plain Yellow Banner, and besides them, the governor-general's and governor's guard battalions, which had not a scratch.

During the retreat, a cannonball burst not far behind Qin Guocheng, very nearly finishing off a full first-rank Han Banners commander on the spot. After picking himself up off the ground, Qin Guocheng's face was ghastly.

He abandoned his helmet and, supported by his goshiha, stumbled and staggered as he ran, only then managing to escape from under the deadly fire of the red-barbarian cannon.

Once he reached safety, Qin Guocheng gave orders to gather the remnants of his troops while he himself went in person to beg Shang Kexi's forgiveness.

By the time he stood before Shang Kexi, he was like a deflated ball — without a word he dropped to his knees, not daring even to raise his head for a glance at Shang Kexi.

"Get up. This defeat is not the fault of your generalship. It is this prince's error — this prince underestimated the enemy."

Shang Kexi showed no intention of blaming Qin Guocheng. He looked at this beloved general, now in such a wretched state, sighed, and then stepped forward to help him to his feet.

"Your Highness..."

Qin Guocheng's face was bitter, flushed red with shame, unbearably mortified. Since the march south, when had he, Qin Guocheng, ever suffered a defeat like this? Instinctively, he could not accept it.

The retreating Qing troops withdrew into camp in successive waves. Officers were already gathering the defeated soldiers and settling them in, while the commanders came one after another to beg the Prince of Pingnan's forgiveness.

To their relief, Shang Kexi did not punish them for the defeat, but instead consoled them with kind words, leaving the commanders both moved and uneasy — moved that after so great a defeat, the Prince of Pingnan, who had always governed his troops with strict discipline, did not hold them to account; uneasy that they had betrayed the Prince of Pingnan's trust and lost so many men and horses.

Gazing at the commanders kneeling across the ground, then at the city of Xinhui where the Taiping Army's banners still flew, Shang Kexi was overwhelmed by a surge of emotion, and for a time he was lost in melancholy.

He thought of his whole life under arms — since surrendering to the Great Qing, through more than twenty years of campaigns north and south, when had he ever suffered a defeat like today's?

Could it be that this little city of Xinhui truly could not be taken, that he, the Prince of Pingnan, was truly at his wit's end?

After a long while, he suddenly turned and asked Ban Zhifu, "Who exactly is the commander defending the city?"

Ban Zhifu was taken aback. "It is said to be Zhao Sihai, a man of bandit origins."

Shang Kexi shook his head.

"This man can by no means be of bandit origins!

Everything on the walls is conducted by proper order — one could call the defense measured and methodical. The defending commander is likely someone else, and he absolutely cannot be of bandit origins...

Bandits do not have this ability. This man... who exactly is this man?..."

Shang Kexi's gaze was deep and penetrating as he fixed his eyes on Xinhui, his heart full of bafflement.

Seeing Shang Kexi's despondent expression, Ban Zhifu urged, "Your Highness, since Xinhui cannot be taken by storm today, why not attack again tomorrow? Please, Your Highness, retire to your tent and rest!"

At these words, Shang Zhixin also hurriedly said, "Father, please retire to your tent and rest. Leave tomorrow's assault to your son. Father, rest assured — with today's lesson learned, when we fight again tomorrow, our army will surely break the city!"

His son's fervent assurances only drew a bitter laugh from Shang Kexi. He raised his hand and flicked his riding crop, pointing at the tall walls of Xinhui in the distance, and said in a raised voice to the assembled commanders, "Can you be certain the city will fall tomorrow?"

At these words none of the commanders dared answer. Shang Zhixin did not dare beat his chest and swear the city would surely fall tomorrow either.

After all, everyone had seen with their own eyes how fierce and terrible today's fighting had been. Moreover, storming fortified cities had never been the Qing army's strength.

If the Taiping troops in the city fought tomorrow as they had today, it was hard to say the city would certainly fall. To break the city, the only way was to bring up heavy cannon from Guangzhou.

Relying on human lives alone to fill the breach, the city most likely could not be taken.

Seeing that none of the commanders spoke, and that even his son had fallen silent, Shang Kexi felt all the more weary at heart.

At that moment, however, he saw Assistant Regional Commander Wang Guohui hesitate for a while, then step forward and say, "Your Highness, in this humble officer's view, this city of Xinhui can no longer be assaulted."

"Cannot be assaulted?"

Shang Kexi's expression darkened, and a look of displeasure appeared on his face. He rebuked Wang Guohui angrily: "Are we to simply let Xinhui remain in the hands of the rebel soldiers?

Cannot be assaulted, cannot be assaulted — hah, this prince thinks you have all been frightened out of fighting, that you no longer dare to fight!"

Seeing the Prince of Pingnan's anger, Wang Guohui was startled and hurriedly said, "Your Highness, this humble officer is by no means afraid of the rebels. What this humble officer means is that Xinhui cannot be taken by storm, but it can be besieged."

Besiege the city?

Shang Kexi was taken aback, and his heart stirred, though he then hesitated. The art of war says that a besieging force must be several times the number of the defenders, only thus can a city be completely encircled and the garrison left no possibility of breaking out.

But now, after two assaults, the Qing army had lost perhaps four or five thousand men, and the remaining strength was under ten thousand. In terms of numbers alone, it would be difficult to encircle Xinhui completely.

Yet if they kept up the storm assaults, given the strength of Xinhui's fortifications and the stubbornness of the Taiping Army, how could it be taken? If Xinhui could not be taken, how could he, the Prince of Pingnan, return to Guangzhou, and how would he answer to the court?

For a moment Shang Kexi was in a quandary, unsure whether he should adopt Wang Guohui's proposal of a siege. He turned to his assembled commanders: "What do you all think?"

Ban Zhifu did not think long before nodding. "This humble officer agrees with Commander Wang. This city cannot be assaulted, but it can be besieged!"

Shang Zhixin, however, shook his head.

"Father, your son believes a siege would take too long and involve too much.

At present, within Guangdong, our Great Qing troops are not the only force. If we are stalled before Xinhui for long, there is no guarantee that trouble will not break out elsewhere.

For taking Xinhui, a swift assault is still the best course. Dragging on too long works against us."

"What do you mean?" Shang Kexi looked at his son, neither approving nor disapproving of his words.

Shang Zhixin said, "Better to advance by digging tunnels, and select brave men to break the city under cover of night."

The words had barely left his mouth when Company Captain Zhou Bingzheng spoke up: "The heir's method may work elsewhere, but here in Xinhui I fear it will not. Last year Li Dingguo's great army attacked this city.

Digging tunnels, chiseling at the walls, shielded carts — all these methods were tried several times, and many heavy cannon were brought as well, yet not once did they succeed.

There is no other reason: this city of Xinhui is simply too solid, and tunneling is hard to make effective. In my view, since Xinhui is hard to take, we would do better to withdraw the army and return to Guangzhou.

If we sit here besieging it, as time passes the Ming army cannot fail to learn of it. If it truly draws Li Dingguo here, the loss would far outweigh the gain."

Having finished, he cautiously raised his head for a glance at Shang Kexi.

Shang Kexi offered no opinion, but Shang Zhixin said angrily, "Xinhui is the southern gate of Guangzhou — how can it be lightly abandoned? Abandon this gateway, and Guangzhou's south will have no screen at all. If the Ming army attacks Guangzhou from Xinhui, what will we use to stop them?"

Zhou Bingzheng did not dare openly defy Shang Zhixin, but he held to his own view and said in a loud voice, "Your Highness, Xinhui was fortified by us years ago until it was impregnable as a wall of metal. Even Li Dingguo's army of tens of thousands could do nothing against it.

Our army, in haste, will likewise find it hard to take. If we lose too many men at Xinhui, what will our army use to defend Guangzhou, and how will we keep the Ming forces across the region in check?"

Seeing that Zhou Bingzheng still dared to argue with him, Shang Zhixin was furious: "Why do you build up the rebels' prestige and deflate our own spirit?

Since Father marched south, he has taken every city he attacked and won every battle he fought, sweeping all before him across a thousand li. Now after a single failed storm assault, are we to shrink from the enemy and refuse to advance?

If we cannot even take a paltry rebel force like the Taiping Army, how are we to contend with the Southern Ming's armies in the days to come? Tell me — if we do not take Xinhui, then Xinhui is a thorn stuck in our eye.

If we do not pluck it out, and the rebels in the city join forces with Li Dingguo, can we rest easy in Guangzhou? Can we even hold our ground there?"

This speech left Zhou Bingzheng at a loss for words. Indeed — if Xinhui were not taken, what if the Taiping Army joined forces with Li Dingguo's troops and together marched on Guangzhou?

"Xinhui must absolutely not be abandoned. No matter what, we cannot withdraw!"

"If we do not withdraw, how do we fight? Do you have the ability to break the city?"

"If we cannot assault it, then we besiege it to death. Besiege it for a few months, and I refuse to believe this Taiping Army can hold out! When their grain runs out, without us even lifting a finger, they will starve to death on their own!"

"Besiege them for a few months? A joke. In a few months, what could not happen? Besides, do you know how much grain is in the city? If after a few months the rebels still have not starved, then what?"

"We cannot assault it, we cannot besiege it, and we cannot leave — then what are we to do? One of you come up with a plan!"

"......"

Some commanders still wanted to storm Xinhui, but who could keep fighting a battle that spent human lives as filler? Some commanders agreed with Zhou Bingzheng's proposal to withdraw, but what would abandoning Xinhui mean for Guangzhou — could Xinhui truly be abandoned?!

Some commanders disagreed with attacking and also disagreed with withdrawing, and could only endorse Wang Guohui's proposal of a siege. But a siege involved too much — how many troops would it take to encircle the city, and how much grain would be needed?

It must be understood that a siege consumes not only the garrison inside the city, but likewise the provisions of the troops outside it.

Each man argued his own reasoning, each had his own opinion, and none of the assembled commanders could convince the others. The argument grew heated beyond measure.

Amid the quarreling, Shang Kexi suddenly raised his hand and barked, "What is all this bickering? Whether to fight, and how to fight — this prince will decide!"

The commanders hastily fell silent, not daring to say another word.

Sweeping his gaze over the commanders, Shang Kexi steeled his heart. He was not a dithering man, and he made up his mind on the spot: "This prince's decision is made — we besiege the city!"