Chapter 127: A Myriad of Faces

Outside You'anmen Gate in the capital, Zhang Dahui, carrying a few bricks, hurried into the gate tunnel along with some other pedestrians. The capital had been under martial law since the first day of the month, but it wasn't completely sealed off. He had previously greased the palm of the gate officer here, and the man didn't search him or question him, letting him enter the barbican.

Inside the barbican, bricks and stones had already piled up into a small mountain. Zhang Dahui tossed his bricks onto one of the heaps and cursed under his breath. He didn't know which civil official had come up with this stupid idea—everyone entering the city had to bring a stone, otherwise they wouldn't be let in. It meant every time he came or went, he had to start looking for a stone from far away.

Zhang Dahui walked out of the You'anmen city gate. The gateway was a boiling sea of voices, packed with people trying to leave the city. Officials from the Five Wards Military Command and the patrolling censor were checking people one by one at the gate. Anyone with family members was categorically refused passage. Several women disguised as men were discovered; all knelt on the ground, weeping and begging the gate officials to spare their lives. They seemed already convinced that the Jianzhou bandits would capture the capital in one stroke.

Amid the clamor, soldiers from the capital garrison kept order. Those garrison troops were just as scrawny, and in Zhang Dahui's eyes, far inferior to the soldiers of Weihai. If even the troops guarding the imperial environs looked like this, no wonder the Jianzhou bandits had fought their way to the capital.

Zhang Dahui clutched the money pouch at his waist and desperately forced a path through the crowd. By the time he got out, his hat had fallen off. He cursed a few times but didn't dare turn back to look for it. Bareheaded, he hurried on his way. Along the street, most shops were shuttered, and passersby all walked with urgent, anxious steps. From time to time, he spotted patrols from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Five Wards Military Command.

Zhang Dahui walked across most of the outer city and reached Chongwenmen Outer Street. As he approached the alley entrance, a sudden shriek came from within, followed by the sounds of a fight and cursing. Zhang Dahui stood warily at the alley entrance, not daring to enter. After a moment, three men ran out; one was clutching a sack of rice. Zhang Dahui immediately knew they were grain looters. A woman came dashing around the corner, chasing them and shouting, "Stop the thieves! That's my family's lifesaving grain!"

The three men quickly reached Zhang Dahui. One of them was even holding a knife. Zhang Dahui unhesitatingly dodged aside and watched them flee into the alley across the way. The woman behind ran to the alley entrance, her strength failing. Seeing that the men had already escaped, she slumped against the wall, sat down, and burst into loud wails. The pedestrians around were already inured to such sights and continued on their way without a second glance.

As if nothing had happened, Zhang Dahui skirted around the woman and went straight back to that small courtyard. Song Wenxian opened the door. Once Zhang Dahui was inside and seated, Song asked, "Did you get the message out?"

"Sent it. The eastern route is blocked now, so we can only go via Liangxiang."

Song Wenxian's face also showed some worry. He had been here for several months now, maintaining the relationship between Wen Tiren and Qian Yuanke. In addition, among the capital garrison officers Zhang Dahui had befriended, he had selected a few key ones and cultivated them carefully. Now, just as Chen Xin had predicted, the Jianzhou bandits had come to the capital. He was both shocked and, to some degree, afraid.

"Mr. Song, what's the situation in the capital these past two days?"

"What do you expect? Everyone is panicked. Several of the Grand Secretaries personally inspected the city defenses. There were severe shortages of equipment, and many collapsed sections of the city wall haven't been repaired. Several people in the Ministry of Works were dismissed."

Zhang Dahui, however, was quite relaxed. He laughed and said, "At least we still have all those capital garrison troops and such high walls. Are we really going to be afraid of a few tens of thousands of Jianzhou bandits?"

Song Wenxian shook his head and sighed, "You've been associating with the capital garrison for a long time—don't you know what they're like? On paper, there are over a hundred thousand troops, but after you subtract the empty pay slots, paid exemptions, and soldiers diverted to labor, the majority are gone. Setting aside the question of how many can actually fight, even counting the real ones, I'm afraid there are at most thirty or forty thousand."

Zhang Dahui agreed, "The Five Armies, Shenshu, and Shenji—the three main camps—are all roughly as you say. If you want troops that can fight, I'm afraid it's only the Four Guards Camp and the Braves Camp under the Directorate of Imperial Horses."

"Even those are barely adequate. I think our Wendeng Camp is far superior to them. Dahui, you've been here a long time now. The way Lord Chen trains the troops these days is even stricter than before."

At the mention of Wendeng Camp, Zhang Dahui's interest was piqued again. "Mr. Song, which route is Brother Chen planning to take? They should have reached Tianjin by now."

"When he first told me, he said he'd come via Liangxiang. I haven't seen him for months, so I don't know if he's changed his plan."

"And I don't know when he'll arrive."

"The timing of his arrival is a delicate matter. According to people in the Ministry of War, the Jianzhou bandits have already reached Tongzhou. Rumors are flying in the city, most of them unfavorable to the Grand Coordinator of Jiliao. The Grand Coordinator can't possibly be unaware, so he must be desperate to clear his name. The best way is to earn some military merit. He's still in overall command of the loyalist relief troops. If Lord Chen arrives too early, the Grand Coordinator might use him to attack the Jianzhou bandits, trading our men's lives for someone else's military merit. If he arrives too late, he'll have less influence."

"Then when does Mr. Song think is best?"

"It's not what I think; it's what Lord Chen decides. He believes that once the Jianzhou bandits reach the capital, Lord Yuan will most likely be thrown in prison. That would be the time to come. But both he and I were oversimplifying things back then. As soon as the bandit cavalry reached Tongzhou, all news from east of the capital was cut off. Judging by this, once the Jianzhou bandits arrive at the capital, news around the capital will also be cut off. How would I be able to relay the timing to Lord Chen then? Moreover, the Jianzhou bandits' scout cavalry are ranging everywhere, as far as several dozen li out. With the few troops Lord Chen has, if they're discovered, how could they possibly escape?"

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On the nineteenth day of the eleventh month, at the Zhenhai Camp in Tianjin, the beggarly soldiers of the Tianjin naval force stared dumbly at the dock. Dozens of sailing ships were continuously disgorging soldiers onto the wooden bridge. These soldiers were all robust, but their spirits were somewhat listless. On the decks of a few large sailing ships, there were also some horses, equally dispirited.

After Chen Xin came ashore, he sent Hai Gouzi with his personal guards to notify Qin Lufang. The camp commander of Zhenhai Camp vacated some barracks to let these loyalist relief troops rest. Chen Xin himself went directly to ask this naval Regional Military Commissioner about the Jianzhou bandits' situation.

The camp commander, full of worry, gave Chen Xin a rough account. The Jianzhou bandits had slipped past Jizhou on the fourteenth, breaking through the Jixi defense line on which the imperial court had placed such high hopes. They were probably heading for the capital. A few days earlier, Lord Yuan had led the Guanning Army back to relieve the capital via Hexiwu. As a result, everyone in Hexiwu thought the Jianzhou bandits were coming and fled in terror toward Tianjin. Even people outside Tianjin city were fleeing south in droves. Nearly half the troops in his own personal battalion and his Zhenhai Camp had deserted.

Chen Xin looked at this listless naval camp commander and figured that if the Jianzhou bandits really came to Tianjin, this commander would slip away too. They had been drifting at sea for eight days before reaching the mouth of the Tianjin Wei River. Some straggling ships had not yet arrived. Both men and horses were utterly exhausted and urgently needed rest and recovery.

Of the over two thousand men from Wendeng Camp, only half could be housed in barracks. The rest had to pitch tents on open ground. Chen Xin himself was also extremely weary, but as the commanding officer, he could only rest later than his soldiers.

Gazing in the direction of Tianjin Wei, Chen Xin's mood stirred slightly. The neighborhoods inside were still deeply etched in his memory; they were no longer just numbers. He knew the Tatars wouldn't come this time, but Tianjin, after all, would not remain a paradise in these chaotic times.

Liu Pojun quickly arranged the barracks. Many soldiers fell asleep the moment they lay down. Spending seven or eight days on a ship in this era was indeed no easy matter.

The busiest among the officers was Dong Yu. Dong Yu went to the central army and borrowed a company of soldiers to help transport supplies, mainly gunpowder and spare cold weapons, as well as javelins for setting up camp. Wendeng Camp brought its own gunpowder, made strictly according to the formula in the Jixiao Xinshu. Their drill manual's usage standards were also based on their own gunpowder's potency. The Ming army's gunpowder was not suitable for their use.

Zhu Guobin was the second busiest. Their horses had fared extremely poorly on the rocking ships; several had already died, and the others were very weak. He led the veterinarians in diagnosing the sick horses one by one and fed them black beans, hoping they would recover as quickly as possible.

After waiting like this for a double-hour, Hai Gouzi arrived with Qin Lufang. Chen Xin immediately had him and Dong Yu enter the barracks where the central army was stationed. Qin Lufang, having seen the Wendeng Camp troops along the way, was excited yet anxious. He said to Chen Xin, "My lord, the Jianzhou bandits have really come, they've really come!"

Chen Xin took out a rough map of the capital environs and beckoned Qin Lufang over. Without any pleasantries, he asked directly, "What is the strength of the Jianzhou bandits?"

"A few days ago, Mr. Song sent word from the capital. The battle reports received by the Ministry of War were very chaotic. Some said a hundred thousand, some said fifty thousand, some said thirty thousand. But some veteran clerks in the Ministry believe it's around fifty thousand. All Eight Banners of the Later Jin have appeared, but the actual Jurchen won't exceed twenty thousand. There are also the Mongol Left and Right Wings, and various Mongol tribes—the Khorchin, Kharachin, and Tumed. After they breached the border wall, some small Mongol tribes trickled in. The total number shouldn't exceed fifty thousand."

"Don't count the small Mongol tribes. They're just here to loot the flames; they won't follow the main Later Jin army's movements. Huang Taiji wouldn't allow them to tag along and pick up easy gains either," Chen Xin said as he calculated. "The Later Jin has about two hundred forty niru. At one hundred armored warriors per niru, that's only twenty-four thousand. The Dongjiang army is still around, after all, so they can't have sent everyone. Sending ten thousand is probably about right. The Mongol Left and Right Wings have over two thousand armored soldiers, and they can't have all been deployed either. That means the Jianzhou main force's combat troops number just over ten thousand. The subjugated Mongol tribes are hard to estimate, but their combat power is low, so they're not worth fearing."

Qin Lufang said, "I suspect the Ministry of War's estimate included their bondservants. Those people aren't worth fearing either."

"Tell me about the situation these past few days."

Qin Lufang's eyes lit up. Pointing to the location of Jizhou, he said, "The Miyun and Changping armies originally near Jizhou were transferred back to their original posts. As a result, after the Jianzhou bandits took Zunhua, they paused for a few days, then on the thirteenth suddenly bypassed Jizhou and headed toward Sanhe. The Guanning Army didn't engage them, but detoured via Hexiwu to rush back to relieve the capital. To think they even dared bypass Jizhou—these Jianzhou bandits really don't take the Guanning Army seriously at all."

Qin Lufang had been to Jizhou and knew the terrain there, so he was somewhat shocked by the Jianzhou bandits' audacity.

"Lord Yuan is treating the capital environs as if they were Liaoxi. The capital environs are flat, open country—how can just holding a few cities be enough?" Chen Xin had long known about the stealthy bypass and was not surprised at all. Huang Taiji was entirely engaged in a roving crime spree without a rear base; for them, the concept of a strategic location didn't exist. The Eight Banners' powerful field combat capability was his city wall. The Ming army's field combat was too poor; every engagement resulted in total annihilation. They could basically only defend cities. A strategic location with zero offensive power thus lost its function of controlling the surrounding area.

Dong Yu looked at the map and asked, "My lord, the Jianzhou bandits have gone west. They must have left garrisons at Zunhua and Santunying. Most of their plunder is probably still there. Do you think we should go to the capital to serve the King or go to Zunhua? If we go to the capital, our two thousand-plus men will be right in the path of the Jianzhou bandits' main thrust. I'm afraid..."

Chen Xin said without hesitation, "To the capital. We came to serve the King. Lufang, what's the situation with supplies along the way?"

"There are grain stores in Tianjin, Dong'an, Yongqing, Gu'an, Liangxiang, and Hexiwu. Two hundred shi at each location, enough for the army's five-day needs. There are small numbers of pigs and sheep at each place."

"Have the dried rations been prepared? What about carts and horses?"

"Prepared. Ten days' worth per man. We bought ten donkey and horse carts in Tianjin."

Chen Xin lightly tapped the table. "Dong Yu, arrange the army provisions. Each soldier carries ten days' worth of dried rations. The supply team takes over the carts and horses and brings another ten days' worth of regular grain."

Dong Yu frowned and said, "My lord, ten donkey carts probably aren't enough. Each cart can only carry a few shi..."

"You and Zhu Guobin take some men and requisition more outside Tianjin city."

"My lord, at a time like this, everyone needs them to flee for their lives. I'm afraid they won't be willing to sell."

Without raising his head, Chen Xin said, "I said requisition. Why worry about whether they're willing to sell or not? Are the knives you carry just for slaughtering chickens?"

Dong Yu gulped and didn't dare ask further. He had always excelled at accounting and logistics; this kind of looting was indeed beyond him. His face was full of distress.

Chen Xin looked at his expression, shook his head, and changed his order. "No need for Zhu Guobin. Let Nie Hong and Zhou Shifa go. You just send men to look after the carts and horses. Let those two handle the requisitioning. Have the carts, horses, and grain ready within two days."

Qin Lufang asked, "My lord, there are many roads to the capital. Do we go east toward Tongzhou, or south via Gu'an, through Liangxiang and Lugou Bridge to the capital?"

Chen Xin looked at the map on the table. The Guanning Army had scurried off to the capital in a puff of smoke. Near Tongzhou, only the Xuan-Da army had any combat power left, and they'd probably been routed by the Jianzhou bandits by now. If he went to Tongzhou, he'd be an isolated force. If he took the Tongzhou route and was discovered by the Jianzhou main force of twenty to thirty thousand, surrounded on all sides in open country, he wouldn't even have bones left. Gu'an, on the other hand, was south of the capital; that route was relatively safer, though he couldn't rule out the Jianzhou bandits moving south for a stretch.

He only knew that the Guanning Army and the Jianzhou bandits would fight a battle beneath the city walls, but he wasn't clear on the specific process of the Jianzhou bandits' attack on the capital. And Chen Xin was in no hurry to rush to the capital's walls. At present, Yuan Chonghuan was still in overall command of the loyalist relief troops. First the breach, then the stealthy bypass of Jizhou—no matter the reasons, both were grave derelictions of duty. Under a modern military system, the commanding officer, intelligence officer, and staff officers responsible for operations against the Jianzhou bandits would all face court-martial. So Lord Yuan must now be desperate to earn merit, at the very least to show he wasn't colluding with the Jianzhou bandits in peace talks as the rumors said. If Chen Xin eagerly delivered himself to his doorstep now, he'd be nothing but cannon fodder.

His plan was this: after Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned and the Guanning Army fled back to Shanhaiguan, the capital would surely be panicked and at a loss. By becoming the first relief army to arrive, he could boost the capital's morale and gain enormous political benefit at minimal cost. Then, if he fought a battle and managed to collect some heads, so much the better. As long as Chongzhen formed a deep, favorable impression of him, he could then ask for many special policies, and the officials below would also give him the green light all the way.

"Take the southern route."