Chapter 527: Merits

"I'm leaving soon, heading back to Nanzhili."

Outside Qingshan Pass Pass, Pang Yu raised a telescope and observed the Qing troops on the pass fortifications. Near the city wall, discarded wrecked carriages and other objects lay everywhere, almost completely blocking the road.

A cannon boomed outside the city, and an iron shot struck the wall. A few fragments splintered off a city brick, but the Qing soldiers atop the wall didn't even poke their heads out to look.

Pang Yu lowered the telescope. The Ming Army outside the city was scattered along the road, no one preparing an assault. Only a few cannons kept up sporadic fire, among them the Anqing artillery. This was probably the easiest combat they'd seen since rallying to the king. Pang Yu's order to them was simply to lob a shell at the pass city at irregular intervals — don't let the Relief Expedition's final battle get too dull.

The Qingshan Pass Pass fortifications were quite sturdy. The terrain here wasn't dangerously steep cliffs, but it did choke the road along the river channel's bank. To the northwest and northeast of Qingshan Pass lay Xifengkou and Qingshan Pass respectively, both critical passes of the Great Wall.

The Qing Left Wing exited the border via Qingshan Pass, while the Right Wing used Qingshan Pass. The two locations weren't far apart. Since the Left Wing moved first, they had already fully exited the border by now. They even dispatched a cavalry detachment to the vicinity of Qingshan Pass to help the Right Wing pin down the Ming Army.

The Ming Army had mobilized a large number of garrison camp heads, concentrating most of the north's mobile forces here. But no major battle broke out between the two sides, because the Ming Army did not block the retreat route.

The two sides once again reached a tacit understanding. The Ming Army left the mountain pass in front of Taiping Fortress unblocked and merely harassed the scattered camps at the Qing army's rear.

The two armies reverted to a state of cavalry skirmishing. The Qing army's defensive perimeter was too vast, and preventing Ming harassment was no easy task for their now-exhausted troops. The Ming Army's various battalions all achieved some results, mainly recovering commoners and seizing rations and pay. Head-hunting merits were scarce.

This fell far short of the emperor's demand for several grand slaughters and another three to five thousand heads. Sun Chuanting could only gloss over it with Spring and Autumn Annals-style wording, saying at one moment the Qing army would exit via Qingshan Pass, and the next that they were moving from Jianchang Camp through Lengkou, implying he had led the Relief Army to block the Jianchang Camp direction, only for the Qing army to change course to Qingshan Pass.

But Shen Xun was at Santun Camp. He asserted that an army of the Qing's size lacked such flexibility and couldn't possibly dart east and west. If Sun Chuanting couldn't even ascertain the direction of such a massive force, then that was a question of Sun Chuanting's competence. On this point, Sun Chuanting had no rebuttal. No matter how the documents were written, they couldn't conceal the embarrassment.

Yang Sichang concluded that Sun Chuanting was passively avoiding battle. Enraged, Sun Chuanting quarreled with Yang Sichang all day, demanding the Ministry of War adjust the objectives. But no matter how much expectations were lowered, this outcome was impossible to justify.

Once the Qing army's tail had passed the mountain pass, the Ming Army finally massed together. Under pressure from Sun Chuanting, they launched a small-scale pitched battle, clashing fiercely with the Qing rearguard at Taiping Fortress.

Though intense, this kind of trailing battle wouldn't lead to a death struggle, because both sides had an escape route. The major fighting these past few days had centered on two hilltops around Taiping Fortress. The Ming Army hoped to crush the Qing rearguard, secure a certain number of head-hunting merits, and drive the routed troops into the marching column on the road, thereby recovering more commoners and supplies.

The main assault force this time was Cao Bianjiao and Zhou Yuji. Pang Yu also participated in the hard assault. On the second day, the Liao Garrison sent some cavalry to join in, but the terrain was unfavorable for the Ming Army. Heavy Armor Soldiers, once fully armored, found an uphill attack extremely difficult. Unwilling to throw his few remaining Heavy Armor Soldiers into such a pointless fight, he only dispatched the artillery to add their firepower from the base of the hill.

The Qing rearguard troops had very high combat effectiveness. After three days of fierce fighting, the Ming Army gained not the slightest advantage. The General Officers of the various battalions gradually fell silent and withdrew. The Qing soldiers weren't actually made of wild boar hide either. Both armies, utterly exhausted, had no desire to continue the engagement.

Fighting and pausing all the way like this, the Qing army's tail reached Qingshan Pass. By the conventions of both sides, the border pass was the final place of battle. Once the Qing army departed, this border incursion campaign would be considered over. Everyone could enjoy a spell of quiet days before anything else.

The last Qing Armored Soldier detachment held the pass, waiting for the column to move far away. Both sides could then consider their duties discharged.

With no Ming Army assaulting below, the Qing troops on the pass fortifications gradually dwindled. Pang Yu knew they were about to withdraw. After that, the Ming Army would retake the empty city, and this Qing border incursion would officially end.

"Young master, Li Chongzhen has sent someone again, still asking if we have any spare heads on hand. He says he understands it's being bought for the Liao Garrison."

"For Zu Kuan?"

Pang Yu frowned. They were now at the final stage, and the deadline for reporting all merits was about to close. Gao Qiqian's route had been avoiding battle all along, so naturally they had no military merits. If Sun Chuanting's side also had none, that would be fine, but after the battle at Yongding River, the Liao Garrison's situation was looking a bit awkward.

This incursion had seen over fifty cities and towns breached, including a major city like Jinan, and a prince had fallen into enemy hands. Someone would definitely be held accountable. Of the two routes, the Xuan-Da route originally had the major defeat at Jiazhuang, making it the worse one. But then the Anqing Battalion emerged, filling the gap with the victory at Chiping, while Yongding River yielded a large number of heads and the rescue of over ten thousand commoners.

The Liao Garrison also got some heads at Yongding River, but they were all from commoners whose heads had been shaved. Liu Yuliang, who had been dragging the Relief Army's feet, also held no favor for the Liao Garrison. Only a few of their heads were recognized, a number far below the Relief Army's count.

When the court conducted its investigation, it would naturally start with the worst performer. Only then did the Liao Garrison start to panic, especially the few involved with Jinan, among them Zu Kuan. When they reached Ji Garrison, Zu Kuan did want to go and collect some heads, but the rest of the Liao Garrison was unwilling, and Zu Kuan was helpless.

Before the Tartars left Qingshan Pass was the last chance to report merits. Li Chongzhen and Zu Kuan both hailed from the Liao Garrison and had once fought bandits together under Lu Xiangsheng. It was only to be expected that Zu Kuan would come begging to Li Chongzhen.

"Ni Chong also sent word through someone. He's willing to pay four hundred taels per head and wants to buy fifty. We still have ninety on hand, half Eastern Invaders and half Western Invaders."

Pang Yu shook his head. "Don't sell to Ni Chong. He even robbed my grain. For the Liao Garrison side, leave some room for negotiation, but they can't get more than the Relief Army side. Tell Li Chongzhen: twenty thousand taels for fifty heads, half Eastern Invaders, half Western Invaders, all sold under his name. I'll only take cash. Whether Zu Kuan lives or dies is none of my concern."

Pang Ding acknowledged the order. Just then, the sound of hoofbeats came from the official road behind them. Pang Ding watched for a moment and said, "Young master, Xu Strengthening is here."

Pang Yu turned to look and saw a cavalry squad approaching from the south. The man at the front sat tall on his horse, his eyes flashing with sharp light. It was the Wusong Regional Commander, Xu Strengthening, who had slimmed down a full size.

A dispatch bulletin had come through earlier. The forces coming from Nanzhili included Xu Strengthening, Chen Yuwang, Jiang Ruolai, and others. In the original history, after the Qing army moved south, the Ministry of War sent orders to Shi Kefa, telling him to organize troops for the defense of Xuzhou. Shi Kefa had to mobilize troops and supplies, which took considerable time. By the time he led his forces to Xuzhou, it was already late in the second month. By then, the Qing army had long since returned to the border, over a thousand li from Xuzhou, and ultimately served no purpose whatsoever.

But this time, because Pang Yu had gone to rally to the king early, Shi Kefa, in order not to fall behind, had also made preparations in Anqing ahead of time. After receiving the ministry dispatch, he quickly organized his forces and set out. Upon reaching Xuzhou and confirming the Qing army had already turned back north, he followed Pang Yu's example and proactively dispatched troops to rally to the king.

Shi Kefa himself had a garrison post designated by the Ministry of War and could not go north. The one leading the troops was Xu Strengthening. This force had marched and halted intermittently along the way. After passing Dezhou, they had managed to establish contact with Pang Yu. Pang Yu could guess that this elder brother must have been just like himself when he first rallied to the king — probing for information the whole way, burning through quite a few brain cells, all to arrive at the most opportune moment, one that would avoid the dangers of war while still fulfilling the assignment.

Judging by the final outcome, Elder Brother Xu had arrived during the garbage-time of the Relief Expedition's final days — the equivalent of coming on as a substitute in the ninety-fifth minute of a final. He participated in the Relief Expedition without fighting a single battle. An elder brother was still an elder brother, a cut above Pang Yu in skill. But it was equally useless, and instead left Anqing's military strength depleted.

Pang Yu had been rushing about in the north for half a year, braving death and racking his brains the entire way. He was already more exhausted than the common soldiers. Seeing this familiar face now suddenly stirred something in his heart. The elder brother's tiny flaws no longer mattered.

As Xu Strengthening drew near, Pang Yu put on a face full of smiles from afar, cupped his hands, and said, "Elder Brother, you've rallied to the king across a thousand li. Coming from such a distant place must have been arduous."

"Worthy Younger Brother has endured the hardship. Had your elder brother not made this journey personally, how could I truly appreciate your trials?" Xu Strengthening sighed. "We're brothers, so I'm not afraid to tell you frankly. When your elder brother set out from Xuzhou, six camp heads scraped together five thousand men. Before we even reached Linqing, only half remained. Even so, rations and pay couldn't hold out. Yet you, Worthy Younger Brother, fought and killed your way here against the Jurchen Slaves — your hardship is no less than ten times greater than mine."

Having said this, Xu Strengthening raised his head and looked toward Qingshan Pass. The number of Tartars atop it was already small; anyone could see they were about to withdraw. Xu Strengthening snorted angrily. "You're lucky you run fast. Next time, I won't let you off so lightly."

Pang Yu glanced left and right, then lowered his voice. "Elder Brother, do you need to take some Tartar heads, to use for…"

Before he could finish, Xu Strengthening's whole body shuddered. He whipped his head around, stared at Pang Yu with stern solemnity, and said, "What kind of talk is that, Brother Pang? Those are heads you hacked off on the battlefield, risking life and limb. The court has its rules — how could they be taken under a false name? Your elder brother has been upright all his life. If I truly wanted heads, I must go and hack them off myself. Worthy Younger Brother, you've known your elder brother for so long now — do you not know that I am a man who most abides by the rules?"

Both Pang Yu and Pang Ding were stunned speechless. For half a year, they had dealt with soldiers from every region, constantly hitting new lows. Hearing Xu Strengthening's words now was like encountering a pure stream within the ranks. Had they not known Xu Strengthening for so long, the two of them would have been moved by him.

Xu Strengthening looked around, then had his own Personal Soldiers withdraw. He gestured for Pang Yu to dismount, then took Pang Yu by the shoulder and walked off to one side, not even allowing Pang Ding to listen.

"Worthy Younger Brother, of the five thousand troops your elder brother led, only thirty-five hundred remained after leaving Xuzhou. By Linqing, only twenty-five hundred were left. After Dezhou, there were still fifteen hundred. Further on, too far from home, these soldiers feared they couldn't run back, so the ones who held on to this point number thirteen hundred. The whole way, I've been scooping up refugees and beggars, and even now I can't scrape together twenty-five hundred. At least I haven't failed in my duty — I made it in time for the Relief Expedition's final battle. Not easy, not easy at all."

Pang Yu nodded along obligingly. Xu Strengthening pretended to wipe his eyes, sighed, and continued, "Worthy Younger Brother, on this journey, across a thousand li of road, there wasn't a single li without fear and worry, not a single li without toil and strain. Your elder brother will be honest with you: I don't want to come to this north, and I want even less to stay in this north. Some things — one man holds them as treasure, another holds them as grass. Your elder brother thanks you for your kind intentions."

Pang Yu smiled but said nothing. Xu Strengthening finished speaking and clapped Pang Yu on the shoulder. "I've come all this way and still haven't seen what a Tartar looks like. Let me get a closer look, so I can brag about it later."

He let go of Pang Yu, faced the pass city, and bellowed, "Tartars, don't run! Your Grandfather Xu is coming to take your life!"

Pang Yu watched Xu Strengthening's retreating figure. This elder brother had absolutely no desire to fight, seeking only to achieve nothing wrong and nothing noteworthy. Yet Pang Yu couldn't muster any anger in his heart. He couldn't quite say what the feeling was.

Amid Xu Strengthening's cursing, the last Qing soldier on the wall vanished. Pang Ding let out a long breath. "This battle is finally over."

Pang Yu also exhaled deeply. "We can start preparing for the next one."

Pang Ding stood dazed for a moment before saying, "Young master, Wu Changshi says that Yuetuo's Strike General Merit has passed both the Ministry of War and the Cabinet — the greatest merit since the Eastern Affairs began. This Strike General Merit should be a treasure in our hands, right?"

Pang Yu nodded. "I suppose so."

……

"Chief Clerk Wu, the Clerk Officer and Pacification Commissioner from the Personal Soldiers' Third Company have come to help record your combat account, to serve as the basis for the formal merit evaluation."

In the inner courtyard of a large residence west of the city in Jizhou, Wu Dacai, whose wounds had just healed, lay in bed. He said to the Personal Soldier before him, "Tang Sheng, why is it a Company Clerk Officer who came? Where is the Clerk Officer from their Thousand-Leader Headquarters?"

"They say he's still at Qingshan Pass and hasn't returned. This Company Clerk Officer also just recovered from his wounds."

Wu Dacai sat up, his chest still aching faintly. He paused for a moment, then said, "It's been so long since Yongding River ended. Every other officer's combat account has been recorded. I'm the only one left out, and only now do they come."

"First they said you were too badly wounded to speak conveniently. Then in Jizhou, they said they didn't know which military unit you belonged to and didn't know whom to send to record it."

Wu Dacai said angrily, "So what they mean is, all those people in the Central Army who can't be assigned to a unit don't need to fight? The drum and horn signals from Lord Pang were sent to the northern line — can't that be assessed as a military merit?"

Tang Sheng stood there dumbly, not knowing what to say. Wu Dacai glanced into the courtyard. This was the home of a wealthy family. In the back courtyard, there was a pond with stone benches beside it where one could sit and watch the fish. Only, there was no one there now.

He turned to Tang Sheng and said, "Let me tell you, right now you are the guard of the Deputy Chief… Chief Clerk. When this officer sends you, you're handling the Deputy Chief Clerk's business. When speaking to the people below, you don't need to be so polite. What do you mean, 'didn't know whom to send'? If they don't know, then switch to someone who does. Let those two wait outside a while longer."

Tang Sheng turned and walked out. The Clerk Officer and Pacification Commissioner, who had already stepped into the courtyard, had no choice but to withdraw as well.

Wu Dacai lay back down, his eyes glancing outside from time to time. After quite a while, he finally saw Shen Dafu's slender silhouette settle onto the stone stool.

Wu Dacai kept his composure and said to Tang Sheng at the doorway in a calm tone, "Let them come in."

The Clerk Officer and Pacification Commissioner of the Personal Guard's Third Company carried in a table themselves. The Pacification Commissioner could not write, so the Clerk Officer recorded for his own direct superior, his face full of ingratiating eagerness.

After spreading out the petition paper, he said cautiously, "You may begin, my lord. Start from that day at the Yongding River."

Wu Dacai glanced at the silhouette outside, cleared his throat, and said as loudly as he could, "At Dongcunkou in Wangzhuang, this officer fought at the breastwork south of the village entrance. When the Tartars' shield carts advanced, this officer used a Lumi musket at seventy paces to shoot dead two Armored Soldiers, both struck in the head and killed on the spot."

The Pacification Commissioner shifted his body, but the Clerk Officer, without the slightest reaction, said, "Yes, whatever my lord says."

Wu Dacai paused for a moment, watched the Clerk Officer finish recording, then continued, "When the Tartars toppled the breastwork, this officer shot dead five Bright Armor Tartars at one flank. One of them was later proven to be a Jalan Commander."

"Yes, whatever my lord says."

Wu Dacai kept an eye on the movements of the silhouette outside. After a moment, he turned to look at the Clerk Officer and said, "What do you mean, 'whatever my lord says'? This isn't just talk — I killed them in real combat."

"Yes, yes, all real combat. This humble one follows your lordship's word entirely. However many my lord says he killed, that is how many it was."

Wu Dacai glared at the Clerk Officer. "Plenty of Heavy Infantry from the Personal Guard Division there can bear witness for this officer!"

"My lord, rest assured. This humble one understands. I have already written that all soldiers and officers confirm it. If anyone dares to doubt, this humble one will be the first to take issue with them."

As the Clerk Officer spoke, he hastily finished writing, then raised his head with an utterly earnest expression, waiting for Wu Dacai to continue.

Wu Dacai looked at the Clerk Officer's face, a knot of frustration lodged in his chest, utterly stifled. The silhouette outside had tilted slightly, as if listening to the conversation within. Wu Dacai decided he would finish what he had to say.

"At the east end of the village, this officer fired fifteen shots in total — or was it fourteen? No, it was twelve shots..."

The Clerk Officer said obsequiously, "A few shots either way makes no difference. However many shots my lord says, that is how many it was."

"Write down twelve shots. The self-igniting arquebus is convenient to use and truly excellent for defense. I request that Lord Pang approve the workshop to produce more of them. However, they often fail to ignite. When facing Tartars in close combat, if it fails to fire, that is the most fatal flaw — and I do not mean 'fatal' as a figure of speech, I mean truly fatal. The workshop must make improvements."

"When this humble one returns, I shall convey this opinion to the workshop's Clerk Officer and have him strictly enforce it."

Wu Dacai felt something was off as he listened, but it was not the right moment to lose his temper. He could only continue, "When the Tartars launched a surprise attack on Wangzhuang's northern line, this officer led the Firearms Soldiers to Lord Pang's command banner to await orders. We were commanded to restore the battle line. I took the Fourth Company's Mobile Infantry Skirmisher Team, the Field Artillery Test Team, and one cannon squad. This officer followed the Heavy Infantry into the courtyard where the cannon position was set up and killed one man there. That man was..."

As Wu Dacai reached the crowning moment of slaying the elite guard Standard-Bearer Commander, his face flushed red and his voice gradually rose, determined that it must be heard all the way to the pondside.

The Clerk Officer, however, suddenly raised his head and interrupted, "My lord, your discernment, please. Earlier at the east end of the village, you slew a total of seven Tartars, including one Jalan Commander. To have struck only one man at the north end of the village seems somewhat unreasonable. This humble one believes it would be better to have killed a few more at the north end — that would be more credible. How many does my lord think would be appropriate?"

"Kill a few more? How many would be good to kill?" Wu Dacai did not react at once. He brooded over it himself, and the room fell silent for a moment.

He suddenly looked up — the silhouette of Shen Dafu on the stone stool outside was gone.

Wu Dacai froze for a moment, then abruptly snatched the petition paper the Clerk Officer had been recording on, tore it to shreds in two swift motions, and roared curses from his mouth, "Get the hell out of here! 'How many would be good to kill? How many would be good to kill?' I risked my life and killed every single one of them in real combat! What 'reasonableness' do I need to satisfy? Do you think you're writing some document? Get out! Out!"

The Clerk Officer had never anticipated Wu Dacai's sudden outburst and hastily scrambled backward to dodge. Wu Dacai's rage still unspent, he hurled the shredded paper at him. Caught off guard, the Clerk Officer toppled backward off his chair and crashed to the ground, then fled out in utter disarray together with the Pacification Commissioner.

Wu Dacai flung the remaining petition paper in his hand toward the doorway. "Whose merit it is, it is theirs!"