Chapter 474: Direct Memorial

At the West Gate Tower of Tongcheng Post, Pang Ding raised a telescope and watched a unit of Qing cavalry moving north two hundred paces away.

The garrison soldiers atop the wall were all pointing and discussing — this was already the third Qing force today, and everyone was guessing whether the Qing army was about to withdraw.

Pang Ding lowered the telescope and turned to look along the wall. Stones, lime pots, fire pots, and coal were piled like mountains on the ramparts. Hanging curtains had been rigged at the arrow crenels, grass depots built along the parapet side, and even ramming beams had been hastily produced. Under the Anqing Battalion's guidance, the community soldiers had drilled continuously for several days and could now be used for city defense operations.

The Boat Dock Master was right beside Pang Ding. He stared open-mouthed at the telescope in Pang Ding's hands and said ingratiatingly, "Xiao Lord Pang, are the Tartars leaving?"

Before Pang Ding could answer, a burly community soldier from Tongcheng Post standing nearby said with some disappointment, "The Tartars are leaving just like that? A few more days of fighting would've been fine..."

The Boat Dock Master turned and shot him a glare. "All you think about is that bit of silver every day. What's good about chaos and war? Lord Pang made the Tartars retreat without a fight — everyone keeping their lives and property safe is what matters."

Pang Ding put the telescope down. The Boat Dock Master hastily reached out to take it, but Pang Ding simply stowed it away. He turned to the community soldier and said, "If you still want to draw soldier's pay, you can go to the Logistics Division and sign up for the Anqing Battalion — fight Tartars, wipe out roving bandits, and carve out a future for yourself."

With that, Pang Ding walked north along the city wall. Every Anqing soldier he passed greeted him, calling him Xiao Lord Pang. Pang Ding responded with smiles all the way, having more or less learned Pang Yu's manner.

He soon reached the North Gate Tower. Out of habit, Pang Ding glanced toward the Horse God Temple — that was where the Tartar central army had been, under the Bordered Red Banner. Today, that banner was gone too.

Inside the gate tower, Pang Yu sat composedly in the seat of honor. Zhuang Chaozheng stood below him, and Tu Dianli was reporting to him.

"Yesterday, mounted scouts from the Second Cavalry Division entered the city through the East Gate. They had followed Battalion Commander Chen in the raid on Boping, and their account matches what the earlier cavalry reported. Chen Rulie was ambushed last night. The Tartar units were small individually, but dozens of them attacked from all sides. Chen Rulie couldn't continue the march, so he broke up the main force into banner teams to break out separately. At present, one group of forty men has reached Tongcheng Post via the West Gate. The other groups should have returned to Dong'e." Tu Dianli flipped through his booklet and continued, "Today, the enemy forces at South City and the West Wall Guanxiang have all withdrawn. Three Tartar units were visually confirmed from the West Wall heading back north, totaling about five hundred cavalry. The North Wall observed the enemy command banner withdrawing. The Advisory Room judges that the Tartars will not attack Tongcheng Post and will soon begin returning to Liaodong."

Pang Yu stood up and addressed the group. "That is because we were fully prepared. Tongcheng Post united as one — a breakthrough point became a fortress. The Jurchen Slaves had no choice but to abandon the attack. If the Tartars do retreat, does the Advisory Room have a follow-up plan?"

Tu Dianli coughed. "These past two days I have repeatedly calculated: a single Tartar banner's cavalry entering the interior can number as many as two thousand. If outer-subject Mongols and bondservant cavalry are counted, the cavalry could reach three thousand. Our battalion's mounted scouts have suffered severe losses. Only seven or eight in the city are still combat-capable, and half of those are wounded. The regular cavalry companies have all taken heavy hits — after regrouping, there is truly no certainty how much combat strength remains."

Zhuang Chaozheng looked at Pang Yu and said, "In my view, the Tartars and the roving bandits are entirely different. Without mounted scouts to reconnoiter, it's like fighting blindfolded. If we rashly pursue and are struck by Tartar Mounted Armor on the march, we'd be unable to resist. Even if we were besieged in the field, we'd freeze to death in this bitter cold."

Tu Dianli agreed. "If we had reliable friendly cavalry, our battalion could fight again."

Pang Yu listened to their meaning — they were rather fearful of the Qing cavalry. The Qing army's mobility had shocked them; their overall command was flexible and their reactions extremely sharp. By comparison, the roving bandits were merely fast runners, utterly incomparable in tactics.

Pang Ding added, "In my humble opinion, none of the friendly forces inside Linqing are reliable. If even one or two of their units had put up a fight, the Tartars wouldn't have crossed the river in pursuit so quickly."

This time Tu Dianli nodded repeatedly. There were roughly forty thousand troops inside Linqing. The Qing army had bypassed such a large city from the outer perimeter. If the troops inside had made even a slight attack, the Qing army's movements would have been heavily constrained and they would never have crossed the Grand Canal so swiftly.

Pang Yu nodded. "Without cavalry, we should not pursue the Tartars. If our mounted scouts are insufficient, don't send them out to reconnoiter anymore — at least preserve some seed stock. Maintain vigilance these next few days. First restore contact southward toward Dong'e, gather up scattered and routed troops, complete the combat records, and wait until the situation is clear before deciding the next move. Do not relax the defenses at Tongcheng Post these two days — guard against the Tartars making a feint."

Tu Dianli and Zhuang Chaozheng saluted and left the gate tower. Only then did Pang Ding slowly walk over and say in a low voice to Pang Yu, "If Lu Doutang has indeed fallen in battle, Gao Qiqian will be the highest-ranking official. Once we follow the Tartars north, we'll run into Gao Qiqian sooner or later. The Liao Garrison troops he commands are unreliable. In a fight, he'll certainly send us outer garrison men — if we win, it's his achievement; if we die, no loss to him."

Pang Yu gave a faint smile. "When it comes to fighting, they're even more unreliable in that regard. But Gao Qiqian may not be the highest-ranking official. After all, he's only a eunuch — commanding the Liao Garrison and Shanyong troops is his duty as Army Supervisor. Lu Doutang was an Imperial Inspector with the concurrent title of Minister of War — Gao Qiqian doesn't have the qualifications for that. The court can use Chen Xinjia or Sun Chuanting. Chen Xinjia is Supreme Commander of Xuan-Da — that rank is most suitable for appointment as Imperial Inspector. Sun Chuanting is Grand Coordinator of Shanxi and has more actual combat experience than Chen Xinjia, so he could also be appointed Imperial Inspector. Or Yang Sichang might personally leave the capital to lead the troops. As a Grand Secretary, Yang Sichang leading the army might go more smoothly. We'll wait until the news is confirmed and the rally to the king grand army has assembled before we can go."

"Then we really just wait here at Tongcheng Post?"

"I need to observe for a while. The Ministry of War's directive to me was to go to Jinan. Now the Tartars are moving north, the Liao Garrison is unreliable, and Shandong has no usable troops — going too far north would be inconvenient. As it happens, the Tartars have withdrawn. Send another dispatch report to the Ministry of War. We'll see clearly how the court reacts before deciding."

"We sent relay horses earlier, but there were Tartars in the direction of Dongchang Prefecture at the time. We don't know if they got through smoothly."

"As soon as we confirm the Tartars have withdrawn, immediately send a second wave of relay horses. The Tartars are heading north, so there should be no enemy activity west of Dongchang Prefecture. Have the relay horses cross the river at Dongchang, go around via Zhending Prefecture toward the Capital, and report a few more heads than last time. Once they reach the Capital, notify Zhang Mazi to keep a close watch on any news about me in the Capital, then decide whether to continue moving north."

Pang Ding acknowledged, then let out a long breath. "Young Master, I asked the border troops who came from Xuanfu. Lu Doutang marched all the way from the Capital, and not a single prefecture or county gave him provisions. Chen Rulie fought a battle outside Dong'e City right in front of the County Magistrate and still could only get the wounded soldiers inside the city. If we really do head north later, who knows what it'll be like. We must stockpile plenty of rations."

Pang Yu snorted. "They're just bullying us military officers. Lu Doutang was a civil official, but an outsider civil official. These Zhili prefecture and county civil officials look down on outsider officials. If it had truly been a Vice Minister from one of the Capital ministries, or even a Cabinet Grand Secretary, let's see if they'd dare keep the gates shut!"

……

"By the handwritten order of Chief Grand Secretary Liu Zhongtang: Chen Hongxu, Magistrate of Jinzhou, is to open the city gates, allow the grand army to enter the city and rest the horses, and immediately supply rations. No further delay, or face court-martial..."

On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth month, on the official road one li west of the West Gate of Jinzhou's prefectural city in Beizhi, several thousand soldiers sat or lay on the road. Even the central army's great banner drooped listlessly — it was impossible to tell which camp they belonged to.

Two relay horses stood outside Jinzhou's West Gate, looking up at the gate tower, holding a rolled document high in their hands to signal those above to lower a basket and take it.

A row of heads lined the arrow crenels on the gate tower. Some held bows and arrows. The man in the middle wore an official's cap. At the mention of Liu Zhongtang, the people on the tower stirred — that was the highest civil official of the Ming Dynasty, Cabinet Chief Grand Secretary Liu Yuliang, who had left the capital this time as Imperial Inspector to oversee the campaign.

The man in the official cap leaned out from the battlements, looked down at the relay horses below, and shouted, "Go back and tell Liu Zhongtang: since he has received the imperial edict to inspect the troops, his duty is naturally to oversee the battle and resist the enemy. At present, Zhili is overrun with bandits — this is precisely the time to meet them head-on and strike hard. Why instead seek to enter the city and hide? What reasoning is this? If there is a shortage of rations, the responsible officials should be held to account — that is no fault of Jinzhou, and you have no business saying so to the Magistrate of Jinzhou. I and all the gentry and people of this city have sworn a blood oath to defend the city, and have likewise sworn a blood oath not to admit a single soldier. Chen dares not betray the trust of the gentry and people of Jinzhou. I care not whether you are Chief Grand Secretary or Vice Grand Secretary — if you wish to bring troops into the city, Chen dares not obey the order." (Note 1)

With that, he turned and left. Those on the wall and those below stared at one another in awkward silence. After a moment, cheers from the community soldiers rose from the wall.

The two relay horses retreated in disgrace. Reaching their own force, they quietly reported back to Capital Battalion Vice General Zhou Yuji, who was leading the troops. After hearing them out, Zhou Yuji, his face dark, went to report to the Chief Grand Secretary.

"Outrageous! You, Chen Hongxu — simply outrageous!"

Cabinet Chief Grand Secretary Liu Yuliang's face was bright red. His finger trembled as he pointed at the Jinzhou gate tower, unable to speak for a long while.

This highest civil official of the Ming Dynasty usually enjoyed playing with swords and blades and fancied himself possessed of frontier talent. It had backfired — he had nearly replaced Lu Xiangsheng as Imperial Inspector. Fortunately, Yang Sichang submitted a memorial, and the Emperor changed Liu Yuliang's assignment to Imperial Inspector instead, which arguably saved Liu Yuliang's life.

After leaving the capital, Liu Yuliang traveled slowly. He only passed Baoding on the sixteenth day of the twelfth month, and on the road received news of the Xuan-Da army's defeat. He immediately turned back to Baoding.

By the nineteenth, frontline reports gradually arrived, and Liu Yuliang finally confirmed the situation: the Xuan-Da army had collapsed, and Lu Xiangsheng had fallen in battle. By then, Lu Xiangsheng's remains had been recovered by his subordinates and sent to Xinle County in Zhending Prefecture to lie in state.

With the Xuan-Da army destroyed and the Liao Garrison shrinking back into Linqing to hold fast, information about the Qing army was almost completely cut off. All sorts of rumors swirled wildly, and the newly arrived rally to the king forces from various routes were gripped by panic.

The Xuan-Da army's defeat shook all of Beizhi. The Qing army's whereabouts were unknown. Liu Yuliang dared not move from Baoding. Not until the twenty-first did he receive word that Sun Chuanting was stationed at Jinzhou, gathering the routed Xuan-Da battalions, and that Wu Xiang's newly transferred Liao Garrison reinforcements had also arrived.

Liu Yuliang reported the news of the defeat to the Ministry of War piece by piece. By now, the prefectures and counties in Zhending Prefecture that had fallen were largely confirmed. Liu Yuliang grew increasingly alarmed — the Emperor's fury could well be imagined. Lu Xiangsheng, who could originally have taken the blame, was already dead. If he now continued to stay in Baoding and watch, the Emperor's wrath might very well fall on him.

Since he could not remain in Baoding, he could only seek out a strong pillar of support. At this point, the remaining forces in Beizhi were under Sun Chuanting's command: the Grand Coordinator of Shanxi's Provincial Commander's Standard Troops Battalion, Wu Xiang's Liao Garrison troops, Baoding Regional Commander Liu Guangzha's various units, plus the gathered Xuan-Da stragglers — roughly ten thousand men in total.

So Liu Yuliang took over a thousand Capital Battalion troops and left Baoding, marching south in constant trepidation. With great difficulty he reached Jinzhou, only to find that Sun Chuanting had already moved east.

Now the Qing army's movements were uncertain. Barely a dozen days ago they had been rampaging through Zhending Prefecture. On the march, Liu Yuliang was terrified, constantly afraid that Qing troops would suddenly spring out from somewhere. He had hoped to enter the city for safety, and this Magistrate actually refused to open the gates.

Just a few hundred li from the Capital, the foremost civil official of the Ming Dynasty had at last encountered the iron fist of a bottom-tier prefectural civil official, experiencing firsthand a taste of what Lu Xiangsheng had endured. Had Pang Yu been present, he would no longer have felt psychologically unbalanced.

Earlier, Sun Chuanting had stayed at Jinzhou for ten days, also camping outside the city. But Sun Chuanting was, after all, only an outsider Grand Coordinator — taking a loss in Zhili's prefectures and counties was understandable. After all, even Lu Xiangsheng, an Imperial Inspector, had received no good treatment. But no one expected that with the Chief Grand Secretary himself present, Jinzhou's Magistrate Chen Hongxu would still keep the gates firmly shut and even dare to speak with sarcasm.

"I shall submit a memorial of impeachment! Submit it to the Cabinet... submit it to the Emperor for impeachment. Let's see you 'dare not obey the order' then."

Liu Yuliang yanked hard at his collar. This petty magistrate had angered him so much he could barely breathe. Beside him, another civil official was equally indignant. He was the Vice Minister of Revenue in charge of the new levies assessment — an official ordinary local magistrates would never dare offend. Yang Sichang, knowing that local provisioning of rations and pay was always problematic and that such minor matters were beneath the Chief Grand Secretary's personal intervention, had specially petitioned the Emperor to assign a Vice Minister from the Ministry of Revenue. Since the Ministry of Revenue's performance evaluations carried great weight, his word was effective — yet it turned out there were still times when it didn't work.

But no matter what impeachment he threatened, Liu Zhongtang before them was utterly helpless against this minor official of the lower fifth rank. Zhou Yuji could only arrange for the Capital Battalion to set up camp. The soldiers on the official road instantly erupted in complaints, and chaos and noise spread everywhere.

Zhou Yuji found a large residence by the roadside and prepared to settle Liu Yuliang and the other civil officials there to rest temporarily. Liu Yuliang's face was ashen. Today he had not only been publicly humiliated but would also have to spend the night in a dangerous environment — his mood was unlikely to improve.

While he was still waiting, his Advisor drew close. The Advisor was rather tall, while Liu Yuliang was short and small. The Advisor bent over with practiced ease. "My lord, Zhou Yuji's household retainers encountered two mounted scouts on the official road — sent by a Vice General from Nanzhili to the Capital."

Liu Yuliang said crossly, "What is there to say about troops from Nanzhili?"

"They say they routed the Tartars at Tongcheng Post and Dong'e County, taking over a hundred heads, among them a company Zhangjing."

Liu Yuliang showed not the slightest surprise. He had been an official for decades — he knew subordinates would fabricate anything, but he would not actually believe it. As for the so-called great victories Wang Pu and Gao Qiqian had reported earlier, others might not know, but as Cabinet Chief Grand Secretary, he certainly understood the truth.

"They have armor and banners as proof..."

"They have banners?" Liu Yuliang turned his head. The Advisor drew a little closer and said, "They also have live captives."

Liu Yuliang furrowed his brow. If there were live captives, the credibility was very high, because once they were sent to the capital, any false battle record would be easily exposed. The Advisor said quietly, "If it is true, my lord could take this unit into your retinue. With one or two more small victories, my lord's position would be as solid as a fortress of gold."

Liu Yuliang's brow smoothed. Most of the recent bad news had been relayed by him to the Ministry of War. He understood perfectly well what a piece of good news meant to the Emperor and the court right now.

"Summon the Relay Horse rider; this old man has questions." Liu Yuliang stopped his Advisor. "You go write the memorial now — not for the Ministry of War, but a direct memorial from me to the Emperor."

……

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month, late at night in the Forbidden City of the Capital, the lamps in every hall and chamber had gone dark, and the night-watch lanterns drifted like ghostly flames. Snowflakes fell slowly from the night sky, blanketing the square before the Golden Water Bridge.

With a soft puff, a footprint pressed into the snow, then lifted and stepped forward again, leaving a deep mark behind.

The footsteps were very light. The trail of prints stretched on, stopping before a large copper vat.

Lin Dengwan rubbed his hands together, first feeling the copper vat's temperature, then stood on tiptoe to touch the water at the vat's mouth, making sure no ice had formed on top. Then he bent down to check the flame inside the fire hole.

The Forbidden City held several hundred copper vats, mainly for storing water to fight fires. Wealthy households in the south had them too, usually made of stone as Taiping Vats, but in the north the water would freeze in winter. If a fire broke out, it could not be put out, so the vats had to be heated without pause every day to keep the water from freezing. The stoking was the Fuel Office's responsibility. The night shift was the hardest to endure, so newcomers like Lin Dengwan were naturally assigned to it.

They still worked in teams of three, but one team had to tend many vats. The three of them divided the work to lighten the load, though eunuchs came around to inspect. If any vat was found frozen, all three would get a severe beating at daybreak, so no one dared be careless.

He had just finished a round of adding fuel and could rest a moment. Lin Dengwan stamped his feet, bent down to clear out the fire hole, and from inside his clothes took out a small copper kettle. He scooped two burning coals from the fire hole into the kettle, held it in his hands for a moment, then tucked it back inside his clothes.

He had bought this copper kettle from someone for two mace of silver. The Imperial City was a small society of its own, with markets of every kind. This was a necessity for him; otherwise the nights would be even harder to bear. Now, with this little copper kettle, he could feel a steady warmth against his torso.

After stuffing fresh coal into the vat's fire hole, Lin Dengwan crouched on the ground and spread his hands before the opening, feeling the warm heat flowing out. A wave of comfort washed over him.

A crisp ringing of a bell sounded from the dark square ahead, and a trembling female voice called out.

"All under Heaven is at peace!"

Lin Dengwan peered out from beside the copper vat. A lantern was approaching — a palace maid who performed the Beating of the Bell.

The lantern's faint glow lit up the maid's face. She was around twenty, with large, lovely eyes. Her palace attire was plain and elegant, fitting her perfectly. Two teardrops hung on her thin cheeks, glistening translucent in the firelight.

She noticed Lin Dengwan beside the copper vat, turned her face away in some alarm, and hastily wiped her cheeks with her sleeve.

Lin Dengwan stared blankly for a moment, then looked up and said to the woman, "Your voice is trembling as you ring the bell. You'll get a beating if they hear that."

The palace maid's gaze shifted toward him, met his eyes for an instant, then immediately turned away again. Lin Dengwan glanced around — the inspecting eunuch had not yet come. He studied the maid carefully, then took the copper kettle from inside his clothes and held it out to her.

Lin Dengwan said in a low voice, "Hold this to warm yourself. Your voice won't tremble then."

The palace maid stopped walking and quickly waved her hands at him. Lin Dengwan said urgently, "Take it, quick — it won't look good if someone sees."

The maid hesitated a moment, hurried forward two steps, reached out and took it, then hastily retreated two steps and said softly, "Thank you. I'll return it tomorrow. I don't even know your name yet…"

Lin Dengwan was about to speak when suddenly shouts broke out from the direction of the Meridian Gate. The maid jumped in fright, hastily lifted her lantern, and walked away with her head down. Lin Dengwan shrank behind the copper vat and cautiously watched the Meridian Gate. After the palace gates were shut at night, they were not permitted to open. Urgent reports were slipped through the crack of the gate, but only for matters the Emperor was most anxious about.

With the recent Tartar Incursion, what the Emperor was most anxious about was battle reports. Lin Dengwan saw many lanterns light up in the direction of the Meridian Gate, and then a cluster of lanterns hurried swiftly toward the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

……

Note 1: Chen Hongxu, Magistrate of Jin Prefecture, refused Chief Grand Secretary Liu Yuliang entry to the city. After the war, Liu Yuliang impeached him and had him imprisoned.