Chapter 494: Lonely Village

Sun Chuanting was tall and imposing when he stood, but the slight Liu Yuliang remained utterly unmoved. Calm and composed, he stayed seated and said, "Vice General Pang is of no concern here. This official says he is arrogant on account of his merits — after all, a young man winning renown and suddenly occupying high rank. At present the Eastern Invaders are still rampaging; I am merely reminding him to devote his heart to dealing with the bandits, nothing more than a rap on the knuckles, so that hereafter Sun Military Gate may dispatch him more readily."

"This subordinate has no difficulty being dispatched," Sun Chuanting said crossly.

Liu Yuliang shook his head and sighed. "Boya, your frontier talent is remarkable, but this temperament of yours is simply too hasty. Then let this old man ask you: the various officials and the various charges impeached in this memorial — are they true?"

Sun Chuanting was so angry his breathing grew ragged. Whether Border Army or inland troops, if you laid everything out on the table, there was not a single General Officer who could not be convicted. Every one of them practiced ghost soldiering and drank blood money; those who plundered the countryside and murdered innocents to pass off as battle merit were by no means few. Years of accumulated abuses had come to this — you could not impeach them all at once. Who then would fight the war?

Looking solely at the impeachment list, Liu Yuliang was clearly driven by personal spite. On the day of the Wuqiao Mutiny, the Baoding Battalion had been the first to riot; Liu Yuliang had surely borne a grudge against Liu Guangzuo ever since. That at least had a cause. Among the others, Cao Bianjiao and Li Guozheng were both from Shaanxi. He knew perfectly well these two were Sun Chuanting's trusted men, yet now he wanted to impeach them too — a blatant slap in Sun Chuanting's face.

Because of Liu Yuliang's whole preceding string of bizarre behavior, throughout the entire King-Rallying Army, whether civil or military officer, no one truly thought highly of Liu Yuliang. Sun Chuanting outwardly showed respect to Liu Yuliang as Chief Grand Secretary, but in truth his daily manner would inadvertently betray his contempt for him. Liu Zhongtang had not lashed out before, but he had noted it all down in his little book.

Pang Yu was the same principle. Having been betrayed by Liu Yuliang during the mutiny, Pang Yu was bound to gradually gravitate toward Sun Chuanting — including this raid on the south bank of the Yongding River. Pang Yu had hurried back to Wuding County Seat, attended the meeting at Sun Chuanting's main camp, and then left; he never came to Liu Yuliang's Central Army to report. Liu Yuliang said nothing ordinarily, but in his heart he was perfectly clear, and he had noted this down as well.

He had even pulled away Zhou Yuji's Household Retainers in broad daylight, leaving only infantry behind in the Capital Battalion to hold the city. The Household Retainers had set out before dawn, whereas ordinarily when skirmishing with the Jurchen Slaves they would only set out after daybreak. Liu Yuliang naturally believed Sun Chuanting had transferred Zhou Yuji behind his back.

But Zhou Yuji had been assigned to him as a guard by the Ministry of War, and he still had to rely on this Capital Battalion to save his own skin. So Liu Yuliang magnanimously refrained from impeaching Zhou Yuji — but Pang Yu would not escape. This so-called rapping on the knuckles was a rapping for his own sake: on the surface a rap at Pang Yu, but in truth even more a rap at Sun Chuanting.

Sun Chuanting naturally understood this as well. He steadied himself before saying, "Your Excellency Zhongtang sees clearly. Today every camp fought bravely; the Anqing Battalion even cut off the Tartars' main road. If in the next two or three days the ice surface thaws, countless common folk will be saved, and it will be a great victory. Our various camps' morale will be greatly boosted, and the situation may yet be salvaged. Even Liu Guangzuo, leading troops today in skirmishing all day on the North Bank, took one head of a Western Invader. This subordinate begs Your Excellency: this memorial is to be presented for the Emperor's imperial perusal. Once sent up, there will be no room for reversal. Truly this is not the moment for such a matter. For the sake of the myriad common folk, we must not throw our own ranks into disarray."

Liu Yuliang sat up straight and adjusted his official robes, then spoke with righteous solemnity: "Sun Military Gate speaks too gravely. Impeaching cowardly and dallying generals is precisely for the sake of the myriad common folk. This old man passed the Presented Scholar examination just as Military Gate did. In frontier talent I may be your inferior, but this heart for the people — I am not beneath any man."

"This subordinate did not mean that." Sun Chuanting, seeing Liu Yuliang's tone turn hostile — even his form of address had shifted from Boya to his official title, and he had deliberately used his old post as Grand Coordinator, demoting him a full rank — hurriedly softened his tone. "This subordinate means that these next two or three days are a critical juncture. Morale should be boosted, not deflated. At present the King-Rallying troops are cobbled together. In the months since the Jurchen Slaves entered the frontier, each general has had his own prior blunders and offenses of varying severity, and there is already dread in their hearts. If at this moment you impeach any Camp Head officer, suspicion will flare up in every camp, and the soldiers' minds will be filled with fear and uncertainty. We will be defeated without even fighting."

Having spoken, Sun Chuanting looked earnestly at Liu Yuliang, hoping this Chief Grand Secretary of the Cabinet would show mercy — at least delay until the Jurchen Slaves left the frontier, or at the very least choose another time.

"Sun Military Gate says these two or three days are a critical juncture. This old man says every single day is a critical juncture! Before this you fretted over this and that — when did you ever impeach a single General Officer? And did they then devote themselves to fighting the Tartars? Look at what they have done. Sun Military Gate has been boosting morale the whole way — and what solid battle results have you gained? The Tartars are already near the border wall. If we do not strictly press them now, then when!" Liu Yuliang's tone was not harsh; he still spoke unhurriedly. "To be frank with Sun Military Gate, within the Cabinet the various Grand Secretaries have long been murmuring about the King-Rallying troops sitting idle and watching the Eastern Invaders return north. This old man has been helping to explain things all this while, but I truly have nothing left to tell the Cabinet. Now the Cabinet insists on knowing the situation in each camp — which are diligent and which are perfunctory, which are domineering and which are arrogant and reckless. In the end we must hand over the most intolerable one. This old man can truly no longer cover up on their behalf. May I ask Sun Military Gate again: which man named in this memorial has been wronged?"

Hearing Liu Yuliang invoke the Cabinet, Sun Chuanting felt fury surge up from his heart. Liu Yuliang himself was the Chief Grand Secretary of the Cabinet — which Grand Secretary in the Cabinet could possibly coerce him?

The most severely impeached in Liu Yuliang's memorial was Baoding Regional Commander Liu Guangzuo, accused of falsely claiming troop numbers, sitting idle and nurturing bandits out of cowardice and lawlessness, plus murdering innocents to pass off as battle merit — a long string of charges. This Liu Guangzuo had been impeached multiple times in the eleventh year of Chongzhen; the Emperor was already displeased with him, and Liu Yuliang knew this very well. Since this Qing army incursion, Liu Guangzuo had fought poorly, had led the mutiny at Wuqiao, and most importantly his strength was weak. The Baoding Regular Troops camp had a paper strength of 3,500, but when mobilized from Baoding there were only 350 men — not 350 Household Retainers, but only 350 men capable of being deployed to fight. The impeachment charges were not, in fact, unjust.

Baoding did not belong to the Border Army system. Analyzed from every angle, Liu Yuliang's choice of him to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys was the most appropriate — it had been carefully considered. Then the memorial went on to impeach Li Chongzhen and Liu Qin. These two were Camp Heads under the Xuan-Da Governor's Standard Army, one in the Central Battalion and one in the Right Battalion — both had been with Lu Xiangsheng at Jiazhuang. Once Lu Xiangsheng died, these two men's culpability was clear, and they had no backing; impeaching them carried no risk. The charges against them were also copious, mainly avoiding battle, nurturing bandits, and idling on divergent paths. For Li Chongzhen it was not unjust, but Liu Qin at Jiazhuang had been sent by Lu Xiangsheng to relieve other cities; strictly speaking, that did not count as idling on divergent paths.

Next came the Shaanxi Provincial Commander's Standard Troops and Lintao Camp, plus Pang Yu of Anqing — these were all done in passing. The impeachment charges were neither painful nor itchy: the two Shaanxi men were domineering and reckless; Pang Yu was arrogant on account of his merits. Even if sent to the Cabinet, they could hardly be convicted of any major crime — at most an imperial edict of reprimand. But this was plainly meant to irritate Sun Chuanting.

In the King-Rallying Army, Wang Pu was the most domineering and the most ruthless at murdering innocents for merit, but his strength was the greatest; Liu Yuliang dared not touch him, and the memorial did not mention him at all. Yang Guozhu had the most seniority and considerable prestige in the Border Army; Liu Yuliang did not touch him either. The others who came from Yansui and other garrisons were all low-ranking officers, not worth wasting ink on.

On the surface this memorial impeached only Military Officers, but in reality it would hint to the Cabinet and the Emperor that Sun Chuanting was incompetent at managing the army. With both the Emperor and Yang Sichang already dissatisfied with Sun Chuanting, believing he was leading a large army but letting the enemy go without fighting, the consequences of this memorial could be very serious.

Sun Chuanting had been both a Capital Official and a military commander. He could see through Liu Yuliang's calculations at a glance. From Sun Chuanting's personal impression, he also detested Liu Guangzuo intensely. But now the issue was not whether anyone had been wronged — it was that the timing was wrong.

This was precisely the moment for military action. Sending up this memorial would certainly shake the army's morale. If the Cabinet truly intended to make an example of a Military Officer to kill the chicken and warn the monkeys, given the current state of the King-Rallying Army, it might well backfire.

"This subordinate's meaning is this: the troops available to the Capital are exactly this number. The accumulated abuses in the army are longstanding — it is not as though the circumstances in this memorial arose only today. At this moment when we need men, having previously ordered them to redeem themselves through service, now to suddenly send up a memorial to fix their guilt — everyone in the army will instantly fear for themselves. How then are we to fight? If another mutiny breaks out, this official fears he will not be able to talk them down!"

Liu Yuliang's expression remained mild. He tilted his head in thought for a moment, then said unhurriedly, "This memorial I must send up. If Sun Military Gate has objections, you are most welcome to send up a separate memorial to argue your case. We shall see whose reasoning holds."

Sun Chuanting stared at the Liu Yuliang before him, breathing rapidly for a moment. He finally suppressed the impulse to slap Liu Yuliang across the face. After calming his emotions for a moment, he said, "This subordinate does not wish to oppose Your Excellency Zhongtang. However, the matter is of great consequence. If Zhongtang insists on sending up the memorial, this subordinate will also send up his own. You and I will each state our views and leave it to the Emperor and the gentlemen of the Cabinet to decide. I ask Your Excellency Zhongtang to wait a moment; once this subordinate has drafted it, he will first present it for Your Excellency Zhongtang's perusal."

Liu Yuliang gave a Slight Smile and sighed, but said nothing more.

A King-Rallying Army with a Chief Grand Secretary as Imperial Inspector added on top — the command structure was chaotic and inefficient. Sun Chuanting, as Regional Commander, had always found the position awkward, but ordinarily he would not openly defy Liu Yuliang. The man was, after all, the Chief Grand Secretary of the Cabinet; the gap in their status was considerable.

Just now Liu Yuliang telling him to send up a separate memorial had originally been an expression of displeasure. But Sun Chuanting's temper flared, and he truly intended to send a separate memorial to the Cabinet, its content opposing Liu Yuliang's opinion. This was giving Liu Yuliang no face whatsoever, making the conflict between them public — and public before the Cabinet.

With today's eruption of conflict between the two, their faces were essentially torn. Their Advisors were all in the Second Hall; everyone could see clearly. The atmosphere in the hall was awkward; not a single person dared speak.

Ignoring Liu Yuliang, Sun Chuanting strode over to his own Advisor and said, "The war has festered; every official and every general has offenses punishable by law. But when the state is deploying troops, regardless of prior culpability, they should be ordered to redeem themselves through service. At this moment, with the fighting at the Yongding River at its fiercest, we must not throw our own ranks into disarray now. It remains appropriate to order them to redeem themselves through service. Draft it along these lines first. This official is going to eat."

Having spoken loudly, without so much as a glance at Liu Yuliang, he turned and strode out of the Second Hall.

……

Fifty li from Wuqing County Seat lay Yangcun. Although called a village, it was in fact a major town on the Grand Canal. Besides hugging the canal, its land routes extended in all directions, with multiple Official Roads converging here on both banks. Its scale and prosperity had long since surpassed the concept of a village.

Yangcun had never had a City Wall. The Qing army's Left Wing had swept through the town with ease; now the Right Wing was also converging on Yangcun from multiple roads, then crossing the river from here.

The Right Wing's Central Army was set up in a large residence on the east side of Yangcun. In the seat of honor in the main hall sat a middle-aged man of about forty — none other than the Right Wing Army's commander, Dudu. He was Chuying's eldest son and Nurhaci's eldest grandson.

During Nurhaci's reign, Dudu had once been one of the Four Junior Beile and the Banner Lord of the Bordered White Banner. In the later years of the Heavenly Mandate he was stripped of his Banner Lord position and subsequently transferred to the Plain Red Banner. Although he still had some personally controlled company, his status had plummeted; his title was Duoluo Anping Beile.

After Huang Taiji ascended the throne, he too disliked this nephew and assigned him only inconsequential posts. For instance, on this incursion, he had made him Deputy Commander of the Right Wing — but no one expected that the commander, Yoto, would die at Jinan.

Dudu, the Right Wing Deputy Commander, had to shoulder the commander's duties. Because his own status was not high, he was especially cautious the entire way. Although they had lost time at Jinan, after heading north things had gone smoothly overall. The Ming armies shadowing them were numerous, but could only be counted as causing a bit of trouble.

After reaching the vicinity of Tianjin, they were no longer far from the Left Wing. Dudu had been feeling rather relieved — he never expected the winds and clouds to shift so suddenly. The Ming army had launched a fierce attack, cutting off the main road the Plain Red Banner was using to pass through. Du Lei reported that it was that same Southern Troops unit that had ambushed them at Thirty-Li Post that day. Relying on the Plain Red Banner alone, they probably could not take it.

Seated in the room were the Banner Commanders of each banner, including the Banner Commanders of the attached Mongols, as well as the generals of the Outer Vassal Mongols, the captured Chahar, the Tianyou Army, the Tianzhu Army, and other auxiliary forces.

Among the Right Wing's four banners, the Plain Yellow Banner and the Bordered Blue Banner had marched normally during the day; most had already crossed the river, with only small portions of each still on the South Bank. The Bordered Red Banner, though tied down, had not had its road cut off — only its march delayed. After the Ming cavalry were driven off, most company could continue marching; a small number had their progress delayed by burned camps, but even so, half their troops had crossed the river today.

The slowest was the Plain Red Banner. More than half their entire line of march had been raided, multiple camps had been overrun, and they had already lost many men, livestock, and supplies. Because most company had to turn back to help, even the portion north of Wangzhuang had its march delayed — they had barely moved from their original positions.

The Banner Commanders of each banner wore varied expressions. They had been out of Liaodong for half a year and inside the frontier for five months. The army was utterly exhausted, yet their plunder was exceedingly rich. Everyone was hoping to leave the frontier and go home.

This time the force being blocked was not the whole army, only a small section of the Plain Red Banner. Originally this ought to have been the Plain Red Banner's own affair. In every other banner, from top to bottom, no one was willing, at this final juncture, to go launch a high-casualty assault.

Because of the ambush at Thirty-Li Post, everyone in the Right Wing Army knew that the Southern Troops in that village were not easy to fight. Fiyanggū had asked several times, but no one volunteered to transfer troops for the attack. The council fell into an awkward silence; Du Lei's expression was rather grim.

Seeing that no one spoke, Dudu slowly began: "Each banner has its own Master; no one wants to lose their own Household Slaves. We have been inside the frontier for five months; every house has gained Rations and Pay. Everyone hopes to keep their lives and return to Liaodong. This is only natural."

Dudu's voice was steady as he continued: "But we have not yet left the frontier — it is not that there is no more fighting to do. Since we have assembled into the Right Wing, the meaning is that we are one body. When any house encounters a difficulty it cannot handle alone, then all four houses must contribute their strength. This is the principle of marching and fighting wars; this is how we have won so many battles. When the Yangwu Grand General was here, this was the principle; now it is still the principle. Today it is the Plain Red Banner that has met with difficulty, but every house has its time of difficulty. If everyone looks only after themselves, in the end no house will be able to look after itself."

The officers of the Right Wing, great and small, in the room all fell silent. Everyone in the hall listened to him speak. Although they all knew Dudu's status was unexceptional, he was after all the Right Wing Commander. The Qing army's discipline was strict, and the enforcement of military orders was extremely severe. Judging by Dudu's attitude, he meant to take that village. The various officers were somewhat disheartened; they exchanged glances, hoping someone would object, but no one stepped forward.

Dudu, however, did not rush to assign troops. He turned to Du Lei beside him. "Which company lost that village?"

Du Lei hesitated a moment, then said, "Buyan's company. Actually it was two company, but he is in charge."

Dudu said slowly, "Having caused such a huge blunder, Du Lei, what do you think should be done?"

The atmosphere in the hall grew delicate. Everyone watched Du Lei. Du Lei coughed once and leaned in toward Dudu's ear, but Dudu instead pulled his head farther away. "No matter whose Household Slave he is, since he lost a vital place, and the Right Wing's four banners will have to lose who knows how many men to take it back — Du Lei, what do you think should be done?"

In the great tent, you could hear a pin drop. Fiyanggū also said, "He asked you a question."

Du Lei hesitated a moment, then finally said, "At dawn, military execution before the ranks."

Dudu swept his gaze around the hall and said evenly, "Now we will assign the banners."

……

Early morning, the eighth day of the second month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen. The morning sun rose from the horizon, spilling warm golden light across the great earth.

Points of light flickered within Wangzhuang village. Rows of Anqing Heavy Infantry deployed along the earthen wall at the village's edge.

One li from Wangzhuang, a dense black mass of Qing troops assembled in three directions: east, south, and southwest.

"My lord, the Qing troops forming up to the east number roughly two thousand horse and foot, with four hundred Bright Armor Tartars. More troops are still arriving. On three sides the Qing troops now sighted are estimated at around three thousand, with roughly seven hundred Bright Armor Tartars. On the eastern road, five general cannons have been sighted."

Pang Yu followed the lookout's directions and also used a telescope to observe the enemy formation. The lookout said that those in bright armor were not necessarily elite guards; the so-called White Armor Soldiers was a status, and many Qing army Armored Soldiers also wore metal armor.

The Qing army's main battle line was on the east side. Looking over from Wangzhuang, the light was against them, so many details could not be distinguished, but it was clear that the Qing army mixed infantry and cavalry, not a purely infantry assault formation.

Pang Yu used the telescope to see those several General Cannons. These cannons were old-style artillery, with short, thick barrels and low bore pressure, so their range and power were both very limited. Their advantage was being relatively light, but the gun carriages were low and the wheels very small. In Pang Yu's view, they were not suited for long-distance maneuver. Because of their formerly huge production numbers, many prefectures and counties in various places used them on City Walls for City Defense. He did not know whether these few before his eyes had been looted after the incursion or brought all the way in.

Dawn had just broken now, so the Qing army was certainly still assembling its forces. The numbers currently visible slightly exceeded Pang Yu's estimate. Because the Qing army's Camp Ground was vast, Pang Yu believed they needed more troops for Protection. At the current pace, the Qing army would ultimately gather over five thousand men.

However, Pang Yu was not alarmed. As long as the All Camps of the rally-to-the-king army began their pinning actions, they would certainly disperse the Qing army's forces.

At that moment, Pang Ding hurried over from the north side enclosure wall. He came to Pang Yu's side and whispered in his ear, "My lord, just now two of Zhou Yuji's mounted scouts rushed in to deliver a message. I received the news. Something has happened over at Wuqing."

Pang Yu turned around to look at Pang Ding. Pang Ding said in a low voice, "Last night, Liu Zhongtang submitted a memorial to impeach six General Officers and had a huge quarrel with Sun Doutang at the county office. Because there were many people present, word spread to all the camps by the latter half of the night. Nearly a hundred men from the Baoding Battalion fled overnight. Liu Guangzuo went weeping before Sun Chuanting's tent. The Shaanxi Provincial Commander's Standard Troops had already started cooking, but upon hearing the news, they shut their camp gates. Following that, the Xuanfu, Datong, and Yansui units all shut their camp gates. The heralds Sun Doutang sent could not get in. Sun Doutang can only go talk to each one face-to-face. No one knows when he can get the various battalions to march."

Pang Yu stood stunned for a long while before reacting. He frowned and said, "From the sound of it, it's possible not a single cavalryman from any Camp Head will come."

Pang Ding nodded. "The lookout on the north side has yet to see a single cavalryman."

Pang Yu smiled faintly. "At least Chen Rulie will definitely come."

Though he said this, the cavalry's movements were also planned. In the original plan, Chen Rulie was supposed to wait until all the battalions assembled, then cross the river together to harass. Otherwise, two Companies coming alone could hardly play any role. Now that the rally-to-the-king army had trouble, Chen Rulie would certainly be delayed as well.

"Young master, you are also among those impeached."

Pang Yu looked up at the morning glow in the east. "I'm not the least bit surprised."

"Why did Liu Yuliang impeach so many people?"

Pang Yu said absently, "What do you think the reason is?"

"On the surface, it seems he has long held grudges against the General Officers of the various battalions, so he impeached this many Military Officers. But in reality, he is only impeaching Sun Doutang alone. This Tartar Incursion breached dozens of cities. Lu Xiangsheng bore the blame for the first half; someone still has to bear it for the second half. Even if this battle at the Yongding River is won, he does not think it can offset the responsibility for the entire incursion. As for this battle at the Yongding River, Liu Yuliang probably thinks defeat is more likely. He has the Military Merits of over a hundred heads we gave him, which may not guarantee his safety. If this battle at the Yongding River is lost, it would actually be a good thing for him. Of the two superior officers in the rally-to-the-king army, ultimately, he has only one opponent, and that is Sun Doutang. Whether your rally-to-the-king army's morale collapses or not, he can disregard it. Submitting a memorial in advance — if by chance we win, it was his exhortation that brought success; if we lose, he spoke beforehand. But win or lose, Sun Doutang cannot escape the charge of poor command. In the end, he can push Sun Doutang into the teeth of the storm to bear the blame for this latter half."

Pang Yu pointed at Pang Ding appreciatively. "A very insightful analysis. But these are all just our thoughts. What a person thinks in their head differs at different times and in different circumstances. What Liu Yuliang truly thought in his heart, only he himself understands. Perhaps the Cabinet forced him to name people, perhaps it was public revenge for a private grudge, or perhaps he was simply out of his mind."

Pang Ding sighed. Whatever Liu Yuliang's purpose truly was, it was indeed illusory and hard to guess, but the difficulties it brought to the Anqing Battalion were very real.

Pang Yu closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then slowly opened them and said, "Go personally and inform the officers above the rank of battalion commander. We likely cannot count on the other battalions; everything must rely on the Anqing Battalion itself. The battalion commanders must not pass this down. Also, do not mention that I was impeached as well."

Pang Ding acknowledged and, after taking two steps, looked back at Pang Yu. "Young master, being a good person is truly hard."

Pang Yu laughed twice, waved at Pang Ding, and when he turned back around, on the eastern plains the Qing army was still ceaselessly assembling.