Chapter 485: Cooperation

On the third day of the second month, five li southwest of Shunyi County in Shuntian Prefecture, a sprawling camp stretched endlessly across the wild fields.

At the Left Wing Central Army of the Qing forces, Dorgon paced slowly inside his tent; the high-ranking General Officers of the Left Wing's four banners were all present.

Dorgon spoke slowly, "The men sent to contact the Right Wing returned yesterday. They breached Jinan, which delayed them for some time, and only began moving north from Jinan on the seventeenth."

The several commanders were somewhat surprised that the Right Wing had breached Jinan; Tan Tai and the others began discussing it in low voices.

Hooge said with dissatisfaction, "No matter what place he breached, since it was agreed to join forces at the Jinghai Yunliang River on the twentieth of the first month, he should have set his itinerary earlier. Marching to war is no child's play — how can one stop at will."

Most of the Left Wing officers in the tent agreed with Hooge, because the Right Wing's delay had kept the Left Wing in constant fear these past ten-plus days.

The Left Wing had reached Jinghai County on time according to the agreement, but found no trace of the Right Wing. Contact between the two sides was lost, leaving the Left Wing in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.

The border-crossing date set by Huang Taiji was the twentieth of the second month. The Qing forces outside the pass would attack the Liao Garrison as a diversion. Before the ice thaw in early second month, the main army had to cross the two Grand Canals, dense with waterways, in order to reach the Border Wall on time.

But the Right Wing had not appeared. No one knew whether they had been annihilated or had simply gotten carried away with plundering and delayed. If they were completely ignored and the Right Wing fell as a result, there would be no explaining it to Huang Taiji. If they waited indefinitely, once the rivers thawed, even the Left Wing might be lost in enemy territory.

After waiting two days at Jinghai, Dorgon could only send men to make contact while slowly moving north himself.

Because Dezhou held a large Ming Army force, and Sun Chuanting had just dispersed his troops to guard the prefectures and counties, the roads leading to Jinan were thick with Ming soldiers. The several groups of Scout Cavalry sent to establish contact all had to turn back.

Dorgon could only advance north with a heavy heart. After reaching the Xianghe area, they had largely left the water-network region behind. Dorgon dared not continue forward and halted to wait for word from the Right Wing.

The Left Wing's four banners were caught in a dilemma. The officers of each banner were full of resentment toward the Right Wing, and at the same time worried that those four banners had truly been defeated. Nearly half a month after the originally planned rendezvous date, they finally received word from the Right Wing, and only then were the Left Wing banner officers freed from their terror.

"The Yangwu Grand General contracted the epidemic and died. He was gravely ill at Jinan and unable to march, so they kept waiting and delayed the northward movement. Now the Right Wing is under Dudu's command, with Fiyanggū as deputy."

The tent instantly erupted in an uproar. Hooge was so shocked his mouth hung open. They had been separated for only a little over a month; at that time, Yoto had merely been somewhat unwell, but nothing that hindered marching or fighting.

"This matter must not be spread outside, or severe punishment will be dealt without leniency."

After digesting it for a moment, Hooge finally spoke, "Beile Yoto is dead — I fear the news has already spread throughout the Right Wing camp."

"The light cavalry who delivered the message said that only those of Meile Zhangjing rank and above know." Dorgon himself found it hard to believe, and added another sentence, "Exactly how many people know is difficult to guess. Beile Yoto's sudden death is deeply lamentable. Disease is spreading through the Right Wing army. Dudu strictly forbade visiting the Plague Victims, which is how the main force was preserved. Fortunately, nothing major went wrong with the Right Wing. They are now moving north. Our first priority is to join them as soon as possible. The Ming State armies in the surrounding area have also followed us here — we must not be careless in the slightest. Ashan!"

The first person Dorgon called was the Banner Commander of the Plain White Banner. This was his own banner, and it was also a way to avoid Hooge's displeasure. Ashan immediately responded, "Your Slave is here."

"There is a Ming State army encamped at Tongzhou — the Xuan-Da troops left in the Capital, led by the newly appointed Xuan-Da Supreme Commander Chen. I order you to take five elite guards and fifteen Armored Soldiers from each company of the Plain White Banner, along with the Plain White Banner's Mongol troops, to guard against the Ming State forces at Tongzhou."

After speaking, Dorgon turned to the others. "Turge, you will lead five elite guards and fifteen Armored Soldiers from each company of your own Bordered White Banner, along with the Bordered White Banner Mongols, to guard against the Ming State Capital direction. Bayintu will lead three elite guards and ten Armored Soldiers from each company of the Bordered Yellow Banner to scout and cordon the Ji Canal area, and to investigate clearly the distribution of Ming State troops at every section of the Border Wall."

Among the Left Wing's four banners, the Bordered Yellow Banner and Plain Blue Banner belonged to Huang Taiji and his son. Dorgon therefore deliberately assigned the more dangerous directions to the two White Banners. Bayintu's scouting of the Ji Canal was in a direction with no large-scale Ming forces, making it relatively easy. That left only the Plain Blue Banner. Since Hooge was present, Dorgon did not directly give orders to Darhan, the Banner Commander of the Bordered Yellow Banner, but instead spoke to Hooge first.

"The most urgent matter now is the rendezvous of the two wings. I ask Beile Hooge to lead the Plain Blue Banner to scout and cordon the Wuqing area to the south, and prepare to receive the Right Wing troops."

Hooge had no Objection. They were encamped between Xianghe and Baodi. Wuqing was not far, but the Left Wing likewise had enormous baggage trains and populations, and there was still the threat of the Ming Army at Tongzhou nearby. They could not mobilize too many troops for the reception.

"Grand General, today the light cavalry from the banner came to report that there are already signs of River Thaw on the Ji Canal. The Right Wing is still south of Tianjin, and the Tianjin and Wuqing area is crisscrossed with rivers and marshlands. I beg the Grand General to send word to Dudu that he absolutely must cross Wuqing before the Ice Thaw. Otherwise, once the thaw begins everywhere, they will be extremely vulnerable to being trapped at Wuqing."

Dorgon nodded. "What Beile Hooge says is absolutely correct. Tomorrow, dispatch Vanguard troops to deliver the message, ordering the Right Wing to cross the river as quickly as possible."

In the afternoon of the sixth day of the second month, at Shijiazhuang Village in Wuqing County, Shuntian Prefecture, soldiers in armor sat along the edges of the Official Road inside a small town. Beside them stretched a long line of wagons. Cannons were positioned throughout the streets of the town.

Cavalry were dispersed in the distance beyond the town. From time to time, they waved the Green Flags in their hands, reporting back to the watch posts facing the town. Even farther away, large masses of cavalry could be seen.

This place was called Ci Prefecture. Because it was not far from the Yongding River Ferry Crossing, it was somewhat more prosperous than an ordinary village.

Pang Yu swept his Telescope across the surroundings. Besides the Anqing Battalion, Wang Pu's Datong Garrison and Cao Bianjiao's Lintao Main-Battalion were also here. According to Sun Chuanting's arrangement, Yang Guozhu and the other Xuan-Da Army troops would intercept the enemy on the banks of the Yongding River. After engaging, they would lure the Qing forces to Ci Prefecture, where the various divisions would encircle and attack them. But after fighting for half a day, there was still no sign of the Qing forces being lured over. Cao Bianjiao, unable to restrain himself, had taken his own men to the riverbank.

A Team of cavalry approached from the south. Pang Yu immediately went to meet them.

At the head was Chen Rulie. He dismounted hurriedly, and the several men immediately crouched on the ground. "The Xuan-Da troops ahead and the Tartars are chasing each other back and forth, but neither side is fighting hard. I made a trip across the surface of the Yongding River. There are signs of Ice Thaw on the river. I captured two locals on the bank. They said that with today's temperature, the river's center will certainly thaw in another two or three days, and then Carriages won't be able to cross."

Pang Yu did not express an opinion, waiting for Chen Rulie to continue.

"Cao Regional Commander crossed the river in pursuit. On the south bank, south of Huanghuadian at Shigezhuang, he encountered nearly a hundred Qing Scout Cavalry. The Tartars are not retreating from that spot." Chen Rulie drew a few lines on the ground with his Short Blade. "There's still over two hours until Nightfall. The Tartars are on the march, so their Scout Cavalry won't be too far from the main camp. Based on what the Captive said about having to return to camp every day, and estimating an hour to reach camp, this camp is about ten li from the River Channel. I think this group of Tartars will cross the river from this Ferry Crossing tomorrow. We don't have to withdraw today — we can just block them right here."

No one asked any questions. When the river channel was frozen, Qing Scout Cavalry could cross the ice from anywhere along the river. But for the army to move as a whole, they still had to rely on Ferry Crossings and bridges, because both sides of a ferry crossing had complete roads. After crossing the river, they could merge onto the roads and continue marching. Other riverbanks could not allow Carriages to pass through.

So if the Qing forces appeared at Huanghuadian, the optional locations where they could cross the river were not many. The most convenient one was Ci Prefecture.

But Pang Yu did not dare to be certain, because going east from Huanghuadian, there were still quite a few other ferry crossings available, especially around the Wuqing county seat. And Sun Chuanting had not deployed troops to block them. In the afternoon, a dispatch bulletin from the Scout Cavalry reported that Jurchen Slaves had already crossed the river at the Wuqing county seat, though the number was unknown.

Pang Yu and his men had set out from Dacheng ahead of the others. Sun Chuanting arrived on the fourth day of the second month. To Pang Yu's surprise, Liu Yuliang had also come along. In other words, Sun Chuanting still had not managed to shake off this Chief Grand Secretary.

Liu Yuliang was like a piece of dog-skin plaster, stubbornly clinging to Sun Chuanting and refusing to let go. Because of his constant meddling, the rally-to-the-king army had been delayed at Dacheng for a full nine days. Under normal military command, in those nine days, the rally-to-the-king army should have long since reached Wuqing, or directly pinned down the Qing forces' movements. Instead, the tens of thousands of rally-to-the-king troops had done nothing. Only a few Household Retainers had sortied, collecting scattered heads to report back to the imperial court.

Pang Yu had offended everyone in the rally-to-the-king army, so naturally he had no say in anything. He had simply followed the main group all the way to Wuqing. Today, the rally-to-the-king army had finally, for a rare change, begun engaging the Qing forces, but they still had not seen the Qing troops. Due to his distrust of the allied forces, after noon, Pang Yu had dispatched Chen Rulie to scout the riverbank, and now he had returned with intelligence.

"Two or three days until the Ice Thaw?" Pang Yu rubbed his Chin. Although the rally-to-the-king army was fighting in a complete mess, the Qing forces' movements were also unexpectedly below par. When they had entered Shandong and chased Pang Yu, they had indeed moved like thunderbolts. But the delay of over ten days at Jinan had put them in a passive position.

In previous years, the northern Grand Canal would thaw in early second month. This year would not be much different. As long as the rally-to-the-king army made a slight effort, there was not entirely no chance.

"My lord, the Datong Garrison has left."

Pang Yu looked up in shock. On the flat plain to the east, a large contingent of cavalry was withdrawing. They swiftly passed Ci Prefecture and headed all the way west.

The Anqing officers watched blankly as the mass of cavalry departed. Wang Pu's Recognition Banner passed by outside the town without stopping, and he did not even send anyone to give notice.

The Datong Garrison had a nominal strength of eight thousand. Wang Pu alone had fifteen Company Commander Retainers, making it the strongest force in Xuan-Da. Sun Chuanting normally treated Wang Pu with extreme caution, and for this ambush, he had also made the Datong Garrison the main pillar. No one had imagined they would leave just like that, abandoning all the other divisions on the battlefield.

The backs of the Datong cavalry gradually receded into the distance. A surge of anger churned ceaselessly in Pang Yu's chest, and it took a good while to subside.

He strode back to the spot where they had drawn the map earlier and said to Chen Rulie, "Ci Prefecture is not the only river-crossing point. If the Tartars intended to cross the river here tomorrow, they would have to attack and seize the North Bank today. They wouldn't be playing chase with Yang Guozhu and the others. So holding Ci Prefecture is useless. Sun Doutang forwarded a dispatch bulletin this afternoon — Eastern Invaders have crossed the river at Wuqing. That must be their Vanguard. This is not their crossing point. The Tartars' marching column on this route is several dozen li long. Over these next few days, part of them will be on the North Bank, and part on the South Bank."

Chen Rulie probed, "My lord, do you mean we should attack Huanghuadian?"

"We seize Huanghuadian as a strongpoint. Our cavalry will sortie from there to harass this group of Eastern Invaders marching on the South Bank, dragging down their speed until the river channel thaws in two or three days." Pang Yu tugged at his collar, and only then did the stifled frustration in his chest ease slightly.

"My lord, our cavalry probably can't pin down the Eastern Invaders..."

"That's why we need to find others to cooperate with. Wang Pu has left, but there are still other military units on the riverbank. Let's go find Cao Bianjiao first." Pang Yu arranged for men to ready the horses. He turned his head and asked Chen Rulie, "Who else is on the riverbank?"

"Li Zhongzhen of the Dudao Biao Central Camp. That man is not very reliable. My lord, you..."

"He is unreliable, but if you ask who in the rally-to-the-king army needs Military Merits the most right now, it's Li Zhongzhen. Where there is need, there is value in cooperation. As long as someone is useful, I can cooperate with anyone."

At that moment, the Personal Soldiers brought the horses over. Pang Yu Mounted his Horse and galloped off toward the riverbank.