Chapter 191

Those who came to join the Taiping Army were a band of Ming army remnants who, after Li Dingguo withdrew his troops, had their route back cut off by the Qing army and were forced to scatter near Xinhui.

Their leader was called Qi Hao, and the men in his unit also called him "Fourth Brother." As it happened, this Qi Hao was not a southerner at all, but a man of Fengyang Prefecture, and a man of no small background, with deep ties to Zhang Xianzhong.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, when Zhang Xianzhong led his army to storm the central capital of Fengyang, Qi Hao, then only eighteen, was starving and could not go on living.

Seeing the peasant army's strength — they had even dug up the ancestral tombs of the Great Ming Emperor — his blood ran hot and he simply joined the peasant army.

After that he followed Zhang Xianzhong's forces from battle to battle, doing deadly work with his head tied to his belt just to earn a mouthful of food.

Because he was young and had learned some boxing and footwork as a child, he not only survived those years of campaigning but gradually rose to prominence in the army.

In the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, after Zhang Xianzhong seized Hubei, he changed Wuchang into his capital and proclaimed himself Great Western King, and his peasant army accordingly became known as the Daxi Army.

That year Qi Hao, now twenty-five, had become an officer in the Daxi Army, commanding several hundred men — a figure of no small consequence.

Later, when Zhang Xianzhong saw that Li Zicheng had already occupied Beijing, he decided to enter Sichuan to build his own foundation, and ordered the Daxi Army to advance into Sichuan. As a member of the Daxi Army, Qi Hao naturally went with them.

In the eighth month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the Daxi Army attacked Chongqing.

In that battle, because Qi Hao charged at the front and was the first to seize and kill the Ming Governor Chen Shiqi, he rendered great merit and was exceptionally promoted by Zhang Xianzhong to be a general of the personal guard camp.

After the Daxi Army occupied Chengdu, Zhang Xianzhong changed Chengdu to the Western Capital, formally established the Great Western Kingdom, changed the reign title to Dashun, made the seventeenth year of Chongzhen the first year of Dashun, established a Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries, and appointed former Ming officials who had surrendered, making Wang Zhaoling Grand Secretary and Left Chancellor, and Yan Ximing Grand Secretary and Right Chancellor.

After the Great Western regime was established, Zhang Xianzhong began to develop Sichuan, recruiting refugees and restoring production.

He harshly suppressed the former Ming officials, gentry, and landlords who had tyrannized the region, and within the Daxi Army he strictly disciplined the soldiers, forbidding rape and plunder, with punishments for violators ranging from "binding and beating" to "public execution."

At the same time, Zhang Xianzhong ordered the release of prisoners from the former Ming jails and used the treasury silver of each prefecture and county to relieve the refugees. These measures brought temporary stability to the hearts of the people of Sichuan.

Servants who had once been oppressed by the former Ming officials, gentry, and landlords either rose in revolt to answer the Daxi Army or reported their former masters' crimes to the local offices of the Great Western regime, bringing them to justice.

That same year, Zhang Xianzhong reformed the Daxi Army's organization, specially dividing it into 120 camps, each with a Regional Commander.

Qi Hao was personally named by Zhang Xianzhong as one of these 120 Regional Commanders, and his direct superior was the Great Western Emperor's adopted son, the General Who Pacifies the North, Ai Nengqi.

While the Daxi Army was developing Sichuan, the Dashun Army led by Li Zicheng was gradually being destroyed under the Qing army's attacks. After the Qing army occupied the provinces along the Yellow River basin, it split its forces and moved south.

In the false Qing's second year of Shunzhi, the Qing court sent men into Sichuan to demand Zhang Xianzhong's surrender, but Zhang Xianzhong sternly refused, declaring that as a Han man he would never surrender to the Tartars, and summoned his civil and military officials to plan resistance against the Qing and the recovery of the Central Plains.

In the eighth month of the third year of Shunzhi, the Qing Prince Su, Haoge, led his troops over the Jianmen Pass into Langzhong. Zhang Xianzhong, hearing the news, personally led the main force of the Daxi Army to meet them.

At Mount Fenghuang in Xichong, the Qing troops suddenly appeared. Because of lax precautions, the Daxi Army could not enter the fight in time, and in the confusion, Zhang Xianzhong, who had gone forward in person to observe the enemy, was shot dead by Qing archers.

After Zhang Xianzhong died in battle, faced with the advance of Haoge's great army, the Daxi Army, leaderless, had no choice but to retreat south. At this time the Qing army was in hot pursuit behind them, while ahead lay the Southern Ming army holding the Yangtze.

The Daxi Army had nearly reached the end of its rope. Morale in the ranks was chaotic and low; many soldiers the Daxi Army had recruited in Sichuan deserted, and no small number of officers fled with gold.

Faced with this crisis, Qi Hao firmly believed the Daxi Army would not be destroyed. He did his utmost to keep his men in order, making his unit one of the few camps with no desertions, and earned Ai Nengqi's praise.

To deal with the crisis, Zhang Xianzhong's adopted sons Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi unanimously decided to execute Zhang Xianzhong's empress and Chancellor Wang Zhaoling, who had been interfering with the Daxi Army's command.

The four also each reverted to their original surnames, forming a system in which the Daxi Army was led by the Four Generals.

Among the four, Sun Kewang had the highest standing and prestige, was somewhat older, and could read and write, so he was jointly put forward as leader by Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi, becoming the Regional Commander of the Daxi Army's remnant forces.

After resolving the internal threat, the Daxi Army's remnants, under the leadership of Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi, concentrated at Qijiang in Sichuan, gathered the scattered troops, and reorganized the ranks.

In this reorganization, the 120 camps established by Zhang Xianzhong were disbanded, and Qi Hao's unit was directly assigned to Ai Nengqi's command.

Afterward, under the command of Sun Kewang and the others, the reorganized Daxi Army smashed the Southern Ming Regional Commander Zeng Ying's force holding Chongqing in one blow.

Zeng Ying fell into the water and drowned, his troops fled in rout, and the Daxi Army thereby crossed the natural barrier of the Yangtze and entered Zunyi.

Because troops sent by the Qing Prince Su Haoge were in pursuit, the Daxi Army continued to retreat south, entered Guizhou, and smoothly occupied the provincial capital, Guiyang.

The Ming Guizhou Surveillance Commissioner Zhang Yao, Administration Commission Vice Commissioner Zeng Yi, and Regional Military Commissioner Chen Ruizheng and others fled to Dingfan Prefecture, scraped together a force, and resisted the Daxi Army to the last.

Sun Kewang then sent the General Who Pacifies the North, Ai Nengqi, to lead troops against this remnant Ming force.

In this battle, Qi Hao was made vanguard by Ai Nengqi, and on the twelfth day of the second month he was the first to storm Dingfan, capturing alive the Guizhou Surveillance Commissioner Zhang Yao.

Later, because the occupied region was ruined and desolate everywhere, and the army's grain supply could not keep up, Ai Nengqi was forced to lead Qi Hao and the others back.

While the Daxi Army was resting and reorganizing in Guiyang, the tusi Sha Dingzhou rebelled in Yunnan, forcing the Ming Duke of Qianguo, Mu Tianbo, to flee Kunming. Sun Kewang then sent troops into Yunnan in the name of avenging the Duke of Qianguo.

The Daxi Army marched into Kunming, and the Four Generals jointly proclaimed themselves kings: Sun Kewang called himself the King Who Pacifies the East, Li Dingguo the King Who Stabilizes the West, Liu Wenxiu the King Who Comforts the South, and Ai Nengqi the King Who Pacifies the North.

The troops under each king remained under that king's direct control.

In the fourth year of Shunzhi, Sun Kewang sent Liu Wenxiu on campaign to southern Sichuan. That same year, the Daxi Army and the Southern Ming Yongli court began negotiations for a joint resistance against the Qing.

In the fifth month of the second year of Yongli (the false Qing's fifth year of Shunzhi), Ai Nengqi led Qi Hao and other generals on campaign against the tusi rebellion in Dongchuan.

When the army had advanced to within thirty li of Dongchuan Prefecture, it was suddenly ambushed by Lu-clan native soldiers lying in wait on both sides of the road. The vanguard general Qi Hao led his men in a desperate defense, covering the main army's retreat.

But the Lu-clan native soldiers carried large numbers of poison-tipped arrows, and Ai Nengqi was struck by a native soldier's poisoned arrow during the retreat. He was carried back to Kunming overnight, but died of his wound.

After Ai Nengqi died in battle, Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, and Liu Wenxiu were furious and sent additional troops to attack Dongchuan again. In this campaign, the former generals under the King Who Pacifies the North were to redeem themselves through merit.

To wash away the shame of his commander's death, Qi Hao personally led men scaling a cliff-side path, struck the Lu-clan native soldiers from behind in one blow, and completely occupied Dongchuan and the surrounding counties.

Not long after the Battle of Dongchuan, the generals under Ai Nengqi faced a major life choice: they had to choose one of the three kings — Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, or Liu Wenxiu — to serve.

Because Sun Kewang was the King Who Pacifies the East, with the greatest prestige and power, many of Ai Nengqi's former generals chose to submit to Sun Kewang.

But Qi Hao reasoned that too many generals were flocking to Sun Kewang, and Sun Kewang's own forces were already the strongest — one more man like him would make no difference, one fewer would not be missed.

If he joined Sun Kewang, he might not be as highly employed as he had been under Ai Nengqi. On the contrary, choosing Li Dingguo or Liu Wenxiu would be more advantageous for his own future.

With this in mind, Qi Hao expressed to the military officials Sun Kewang had sent his wish to serve under the King Who Stabilizes the West. When Sun Kewang learned of his decision, he did not obstruct it, but from then on harbored resentment toward Qi Hao.

After being transferred to Li Dingguo's command, Qi Hao was not given the important employment he had imagined, but neither was he pushed aside. He was simply not as close to Li Dingguo as Li's original trusted generals were.

In all other respects, his treatment in the army was fair, which disappointed Qi Hao but also gave him some small comfort.

In the following years, Qi Hao served under Li Dingguo in the Battle of Hengyang and the Battle of Guilin. In the Battle of Hengyang, Qi Hao's unit did not fight the Qing army head-on, but instead undertook the task of transporting rear-area grain and fodder.

After Li Dingguo slew Nikan in battle and occupied Hengyang, Qi Hao was appointed Garrison Commander of Hengyang by Li Dingguo.

However, within a few months, because the main Qing force in Hunan had not been badly weakened by Nikan's death, and because Sun Kewang not only failed to give Li Dingguo sufficient support but secretly undermined him, the Qing army, after catching its breath, came sweeping back.

Faced with the Qing army's superior numbers, Qi Hao, with only a little over 2,000 troops, had no choice but to abandon Hengyang and fall back to Wugang.

Though this was not Qi Hao's fault, Li Dingguo nonetheless severely punished him on the charge of lightly abandoning an important place without fighting a single battle, stripping him of his rank of Regional Commander and demoting him to serve in the army with the rank of Assistant Regional Commander.

When Li Dingguo planned the Battle of Guilin, Qi Hao led his men to the main army to receive orders and took part in the attack on Quanzhou. Afterward he continued to carry out rear-area grain and fodder transport, ensuring supplies for the great army attacking Guilin.

Others all did glorious work — charging into battle, cutting down generals, seizing banners — while he was always stuck with the rear-area work of escorting grain and fodder. The credit went to others; the blame fell on him.

As time passed, Qi Hao could not help but feel resentful. Moreover, although Li Dingguo was a rare great general, he had a tendency to exclude troops and officers who were not of his own inner circle, which made Qi Hao somewhat regret his original choice.

One day, after drinking, he let slip a few complaints, which someone reported to Li Dingguo. In the end, Li Dingguo did nothing to him, but from then on employed him even less.

In the seventh year of Yongli (the tenth year of Shunzhi), Li Dingguo, pressed by Sun Kewang, shifted his campaign to Guangdong and led his army against the key city of Zhaoqing.

In this campaign, Qi Hao was ordered first to take part in the attack on Wuzhou, then led troops to occupy Kaijian, and did not directly participate in the assault on Zhaoqing.

The next year, Li Dingguo attacked Guangdong a second time, bypassing the key city of Zhaoqing and driving straight for Xinhui. At first, Qi Hao was not ordered to advance east but remained to guard Wuzhou.

Later, after months of siege without success, Li Dingguo ordered Qi Hao to lead his troops in support of the naval force of General Chen Qice, the General Who Tames the Seas, as it entered the West River and attacked Jiangmen.

In this battle, Qi Hao cooperated with Chen Qice's force to kill Gai Yipeng, the Regional Commander of the Qing Guangdong naval forces, gaining control of Guangzhou's sea outlet and cutting the route between Xinhui and Guangzhou.

Seeing the crisis, the Qing authorities in Guangdong — the Prince of Pingnan, Shang Kexi, and the Prince of Jingnan, Geng Jimao — personally led troops to Jiangmen to strengthen the defenses south and west of Guangzhou, but still did not dare to fight a decisive battle with Li Dingguo's main force.

On the third day of the tenth month, Li Dingguo personally commanded a great army, claimed to number 200,000, in a general assault on Xinhui.

The Ming army successively employed tactics such as mining, cannon bombardment of the walls, and felling trees to fill the moat, but was beaten back again and again by the stubborn Qing defenders, and the attack failed.

During this period, Qi Hao and his troops remained stationed at Jiangmen, engaging in small-scale skirmishes with the Qing forces facing them, with victories and defeats on both sides.

In the twelfth month, the Qing General Who Pacifies the South, Zhumala, led Manchu and Han Eight Banners troops from Beijing to Guangzhou.

Emboldened by the Manchu soldiers, Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao then sent out the main Qing force in Guangzhou to join Zhumala in an attack on Xinhui. Because disease had broken out in the army, the Ming army fought the Qing for four days and was defeated all along the line.

After Li Dingguo's main force withdrew, the other Ming troops scattered in the prefectures and counties near Xinhui to support the main army's operations were suddenly caught in an impossible position.

Except for General Chen Qice, the General Who Tames the Seas, who safely put to sea and withdrew with his naval force, the rest of the Ming troops who had penetrated near Xinhui had their retreat cut off by the Qing army.

Some were annihilated to the last man, most were largely wiped out, and the survivors scattered to operate in small groups.

Among them, the heaviest losses were suffered by the volunteer forces that had answered the call of the Ming Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Lian Chengbi — nearly half of them were caught in one sweep by the Qing army.

Qi Hao learned he had become an isolated force only on the fourth day after Li Dingguo's great army withdrew. At first he tried to break out with his troops, but the Qing army had already sealed off all the roads leading west.

Manchu and Han Qing troops with superior numbers struck everywhere, and news of Ming units being annihilated came from all sides.

After two failed attempts to force a breakout, in which he lost half his men, Qi Hao had no choice but to order his subordinates to break out in scattered groups.

He himself led several dozen old brothers into the mountains, waiting for the Qing blockade to end before withdrawing west.

That wait lasted more than half a year. During that time, Qi Hao and his men kept dreaming that the great army of the King Who Stabilizes the West would march east again, but all that came was the Qing army's ceaseless searching of the mountains.

Of the several dozen brothers who had gone into the mountains with him, half died.

Hiding in the mountains, with nothing to eat or drink, not even a place to sleep, never knowing today what tomorrow would bring, no one knew when he would die. Gradually, Qi Hao's heart grew cold.

Forced by the need to survive, he had no choice but to lead his brothers in banditry, staining his hands with the lives of innocent commoners. Had the Taiping Army not suddenly occupied Xinhui, they might well have truly become outlaws for good.