Chapter 145: The Battle of the Four Cities (V)

On the third day of the fifth month, a squad of night scouts from Wendeng Camp patrolled outside the western wall of Luanzhou, constantly taunting the Jianzhou Bandits atop the wall.

After receiving the military order from the Ministry of War in Jizhou, Chen Xin followed the main force of the Jizhou loyalist army as it set out. Ma Shilong took Cao Wenzhao and Zuo Liangyu as the vanguard, advancing through Yutian and Fengrun toward Luanzhou. Those two had already coordinated many times in the second month and no longer feared field battles against the Jianzhou Bandit cavalry. After passing Zhenzi Town, they clashed several times with the Jianzhou Bandit scout riders, steadily pushing the enemy's reconnaissance line backward.

It had now been a full half-year since the Jianzhou Bandits first entered the pass. The Great Ming's various armies had gathered in force, and the number of retainers among the various forces exceeded that of the Jianzhou Bandits. Although the over one thousand Jianzhou Bandits in Luanzhou sent out many roving riders to harass, they could not make up for such an enormous disparity in numbers.

Chen Xin accompanied Zhang Fengyi's personal battalion as part of the central army. Because Cao Wenzhao and Zuo Liangyu were ahead, along with the retainers of the various Regional Commanders from Yansui, Shaanxi, Lintao, and other places, the central army was almost entirely unharassed. After a brief stop in Fengrun, they advanced smoothly to the walls of Luanzhou. It was in these retainers that Chen Xin finally saw the ferocity of the Ming army.

The main force of the Guanning Army set out from Funing County and approached Luanzhou via Changli. The Jianzhou Bandits were forced to contract entirely back into the city. They sent out scouts to Amin, who was stationed in Qian'an, to appeal for urgent help. But almost simultaneously, Amin received military intelligence reports from Zunhua, Yongping, and Luanzhou. A Ming force had also appeared near Qian'an, cautiously approaching. For the moment, Amin could not determine which city the Ming army truly intended to attack, so he temporarily held back any reinforcements.

After arriving at Luanzhou, Chen Xin encamped close to the Western Gate. Ma Shilong placed him at the very front. Chen Xin asked the earlier-arriving Cao Wenzhao and confirmed that there were no Hongyi cannons on the walls of Luanzhou. He then established a solid encampment two li from the city, digging two deep trenches around it filled with sharpened stakes. The excavated earth was piled behind the trenches to form an earthen wall. Below the wall, he set up chevaux-de-frise, strings of iron caltrops, and devil arrows. At intervals, he placed a crouching-tiger cannon. On each of the four sides, he built one gate. Wooden watchtowers were constructed on either side of each gate, the towers and gates all made from tree trunks. Trenches were also dug in front of the gates, with wooden planks laid over them for passage; these were removed at night to prevent surprise attacks.

At that moment, the western gate of Luanzhou opened, and a force of over a hundred cavalry emerged, sending out many roving riders around them. They headed straight for Chen Xin's camp, likely intending to harass and reconnoiter. The Wendeng Camp night scouts were in the process of withdrawing. From atop the watchtower, Chen Xin waved a hand downward. Zhu Guobin led the rest of the Wendeng Camp cavalry out over the trenches. Chen Xin's order to him was to face the Later Jin soldiers directly as much as possible. Even if it was just a standoff, it was a form of training for the soldiers. At the same time, such small-scale engagements could maintain the army's morale.

From the right came the sound of hoofbeats. A red Assistant Regional Commander's banner, twelve chi long, fluttered in the wind. Cao Wenzhao personally led over three hundred cavalry straight toward the enemy. As was his custom, Cao Wenzhao attacked the moment he saw the enemy. He was utterly fearless toward the Later Jin army. His personal martial skill was extremely formidable. Chen Xin had seen him shoot arrows — both fast and accurate, likely even more formidable than the Bayara. The cavalry he led were also quite fierce. Though numbering less than a thousand, they dared to launch offensive attacks every time they saw the Later Jin army. Zuo Liangyu, who often partnered with him, was no weaker; he could draw a bow with either hand and fire over twenty arrows in a single continuous volley.

Cao Wenzhao's unit was almost entirely equipped with cold weapons, mainly horse lances, tangba tridents, saber-staffs, and quick-fire guns. They now slowly deployed, roughly five or six ranks deep, their battle line generally straight, pressing toward the Jianzhou Bandits. Seeing this, Zhu Guobin led the Wendeng Camp cavalry in a northward sweep, preparing to encircle the Later Jin force. The moment that group of Jianzhou Bandits saw Cao Wenzhao's momentum, they turned and fled, dashing back to the city walls in a puff of smoke, relying on the covering fire of archers on the wall. Cao Wenzhao and Zhu Guobin, one to the south and one to the north, halted two hundred paces from the wall. After a brief standoff, the Later Jin commander saw no opportunity and returned to the barbican. The two cavalry units let out loud, strange shouts, their morale soaring.

Chen Xin had by now also ridden up to where Cao Wenzhao was. Together with Cao Wenzhao, he observed the defenses on the western wall. On the gate tower, there were many figures of Later Jin soldiers and commoners, but he did not see any defensive implements such as ramming poles, wolf-tooth racks, or yaksha clubs.

Chen Xin said to Cao Wenzhao, "General Cao, it seems the Jianzhou Bandits do not understand city defense. They have probably only prepared rolling logs and large stones."

Cao Wenzhao laughed. "Those Jianzhou Bandits have never defended a city. Every time they fight our Great Ming, they win in the field. These mountain savages have likely never studied city fortifications."

Chen Xin felt a bit uneasy, for he himself had never studied siege tactics either. There were no strong enemies around Wendeng, so everything he had prepared was for field battles. Fortunately, Cao Wenzhao himself continued, "Chief Coordinator Ma has not assigned General Chen the task of building siege equipment. The other loyalist armies are all out felling trees, making trench bridges, assault wagons, and scaling ladders. The equipment is piled up like mountains. We only await the arrival of the Hongyi cannons, and then it will be time for the Jianzhou Bandits to lose their heads."

A young officer behind Cao Wenzhao said to him, "General, a messenger is coming."

Cao Wenzhao and Chen Xin turned to look. Two messenger riders with back-banners were galloping toward them.

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

Chen Xin and Cao Wenzhao traveled through the military encampments. Sun Chengzong had already arrived south of the city. Today, he was assembling all the commanders. The two of them first went to Ma Shilong's main camp. Once everyone was gathered, they traveled from the west of the city to the south to attend the council. Along the way, they passed the camps of Henan, Yansui, Ningxia, Shanxi, and Lintao troops. Inside, everyone was busily constructing siege equipment. The most conspicuous items were the various tall scaling ladders.

After they rounded the Lintao camp, they saw the great encampment to the south. The southern area had become an ocean of banners and military camps. Further south, a dark mass of humanity was approaching, accompanied by a deafening clamor of gongs and drums and endless cheers. Ma Shilong said to the assembled commanders, "These are the righteous people of Luanzhou and Yongping. They have brought their own rations and weapons, coming to avenge their families. It is said there are twenty to thirty thousand of them."

Chen Xin loudly responded, "The Jianzhou Bandits have done too many evil deeds. Naturally, many people have come for revenge."

The group spurred their horses onward toward the central army headquarters. All along the southern route were the camps of the Guanning Army, similarly busy constructing equipment. When they reached Sun Chengzong's main camp, they entered and arrived outside the central army tent. On the large banner at the entrance was written: Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Hall, Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and Concurrently Minister of War for Frontier Operations, Sun. Chen Xin secretly clicked his tongue at such a long official title.

The first drum roll had just sounded. Though Ma Shilong had come from far away, he was the first to arrive. Chen Xin looked around. All were officers of the loyalist army from Jizhou, with troops from Yansui, Henan, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Lintao, Huguang, and other places. For the moment, no one went inside; they all stood at the entrance chatting and laughing.

After the second drum roll, other officers arrived one after another. Because the Guanning Army was nearby, the first batch to arrive were all men Cao Wenzhao knew. Although Cao Wenzhao was a man of the Guanning Army, he had not fled with Zu Dashou this time and was temporarily placed under Ma Shilong's command. They had not seen each other for a long time and chatted and laughed together for a while. Chen Xin could see that there was some estrangement between those men and Cao Wenzhao, perhaps precisely because Cao Wenzhao had not fled with them back then.

Then Cao Wenzhao introduced Chen Xin to them. When those men heard that he was the commander who had won the great victory at Gu'an, they all showed some jealousy. The Guanning Army received the most funding, yet they could not compare to the previously unheard-of Wendeng Camp. Naturally, it left a bad taste in their mouths.

On the surface, they expressed admiration, but in reality, they were somewhat cold. Chen Xin responded with neither servility nor arrogance. After this incident, the Guanning Army had probed the imperial court's bottom line. As long as their troops were strong and their horses sturdy, even the Emperor could do nothing to them. It was foreseeable that their tendency toward warlordism would only worsen. These men only cared about tangible benefits and could not be won over with a few words.

After chatting briefly, Chen Xin returned to Ma Shilong's side. Everyone entered the great tent together. The interior was very spacious. At the head were several chairs, behind which stood a screen. A central aisle was left open in the hall below, with more chairs lining both sides.

Several soldiers from Sun Chengzong's personal battalion escorted the various Regional Commanders to their seats. Ma Shilong sat at the head of the right side. After a while, the Guanning Army men also entered and sat down, but on the left side. A burly, imposing man in mountain-pattern armor came over, exchanging hearty greetings with Ma Shilong. The two exchanged warm pleasantries for a moment. Then the big man paid his respects to the other Regional Commanders and returned to sit at the head of the left side. This was, without a doubt, Zu Dashou, the core figure of the Guanning military clique. After he sat down, a group of Guanning Assistant Regional Commanders and Mobile Corps Commanders gathered around to fawn over him. A few of them pointed toward Chen Xin. Zu Dashou looked over in the direction they were pointing and nodded slightly. Chen Xin also smiled, cupped his fists, and bowed, while carefully sizing up this Zu Dashou.

This time, Zu Dashou had fled from the walls of Jingshi and ridden straight back to Jinzhou. Chen Xin believed he might have had the intention to surrender if the situation turned dire. But Chongzhen did not punish him. Instead, he sent Sun Chengzong with kind words of persuasion, guaranteeing he would not be punished, and even brought a personal letter from Yuan Chonghuan. Zu Dashou himself submitted a memorial, claiming he had not originally wanted to flee. That night, he had been preparing to launch a night raid on the Jianzhou Bandits' main camp at Nanhaizi. But as they marched, for some unknown reason, the soldiers simply fled, dragging him along with them and delaying his service to the Emperor. When this document was submitted, Chongzhen held his nose and accepted it, even promoting him to Grand Guardian of the Crown Prince. It was truly hard on this young Son of Heaven, who had now finally witnessed the capabilities of these old army ruffians.

These Guanning Army men still had to show some respect for Sun Chengzong, after all. He was their old leader and the Emperor's teacher. Ma Shilong was also an old subordinate of Sun Chengzong, as were the deceased Man Gui and the imprisoned Yuan Chonghuan, all men Sun Chengzong had promoted in his day. Therefore, having him lead all the loyalist armies was the most suitable arrangement.

Besides the Guanning Army, more people trickled in. The personal battalion soldiers guided them to their respective seats. These men seemed to be neither from Jizhou nor part of the Guanning Army. Chen Xin guessed they were loyalist troops who had just arrived. Once everyone was basically present, they all waited for His Excellency Sun to appear.

When the third drum roll ended, Sun Chengzong strode out from behind the screen, followed by Zhang Fengyi and Hu Fuhong, as well as two personal guards, one of whom carried an Imperial Sword. Two rows of personal battalion soldiers also entered through the main gate and took up positions behind the assembled military officers.

This was the first time Chen Xin saw this famous personage. Sun Chengzong wore a first-rank civil official's robe with a crane rank badge and an ordinary black gauze cap on his head. His figure and face were both very lean. Though already over sixty years old, his eyes were exceptionally clear and bright.

The moment he entered, every military officer present stood up in unison. Once Sun Chengzong and his two companions were seated in the main seats, they all knelt together and loudly declared, "We pay our respects to Grand Secretary Sun!"

Sun Chengzong's expression was calm. He raised his right hand slightly and said, "You have all toiled hard, officers and men. Please rise."

Chen Xin stood up along with everyone else. Sun Chengzong cleared his throat. Before he could speak, a man rushed in hastily and stood at the far end of the right side. Sun Chengzong glanced coldly at the man and said, "Song Sanwei, step forward."

The man who had just entered came forward timidly, his voice trembling slightly. "Grand Secretary Sun, I was out inspecting the camp and learned of the news late..."

Without listening to his explanation, Sun Chengzong waved his hand and said flatly, "Personal battalion, seize him. Tie him up and give him fifty strokes."

The man offered no further argument. Several personal battalion soldiers bound him and dragged him away, administering the beating with military rods just outside the great tent. Listening to the sound of the rods outside, one could have heard a pin drop inside the tent.

Next, Sun Chengzong's warrant officer stepped forward and called the roll one by one. The surname Zu was the most numerous. Chen Xin also heard the names Zhang Chun and Huang Long, two names he had some vague impression of. He had basically never heard of the others.

When the roll reached "Mobile Corps Commander Chen Xin of Dengzhou Garrison," Chen Xin stepped forward and answered. The military officers in the tent all turned to look at him. Even Sun Chengzong, who had remained motionless until now, turned his head to look over. Hu Fuhong beside him whispered something in his ear, and Sun Chengzong nodded repeatedly.

Once the roll call was complete, Sun Chengzong straightened up and swept his authoritative gaze across the military officers in the tent. He began, "The Jianzhou Bandits have entered the pass, wreaking havoc across the imperial domain. For half a year now, the people of the capital region have suffered death and injury in the millions. Every village lies in ruins. To this day, four cities remain occupied by the Jianzhou Bandits, and our people have become the slaves of savages. When our Emperor thinks of this, he finds no sweetness in his food and no sleep at night."

Sun Chengzong slammed his hand on the table, his voice rising several times in volume. "When the sovereign is humiliated, his ministers must die! His Majesty has placed a heavy trust in us, and the millions of commoners eagerly await our success. This old man has come here today to kill Tatars. I will speak only of battle, and I will hear only of battle."

The military officers below were utterly silent. Regional Commanders like Wu Zimian listened obediently, not daring to make snide remarks as they had in Jizhou. Even men like Ma Shilong and Zu Dashou wore solemn expressions.

At this point, Ma Shilong stood up, bowed, and said, "Your Excellency Sun, when can the Guangdong Hongyi cannon unit arrive? If they do not come by the day after tomorrow and we must swarm the walls, I fear our casualties will be heavy."

Wu Zimian also stood and said, "The Hongyi cannons are essential for siege warfare. In my humble opinion, it is better to wait for such a powerful weapon."

Sun Chengzong replied in a tone that brooked no doubt, "This battle is not for Luanzhou alone. There is also Zhu Mei's force attacking Qian'an, He Kegang's force attacking Yongping, and Liu Kexun's force attacking Zunhua. We must make the Jianzhou Bandits see enemies in every tree and bush, leaving them powerless everywhere. Even without the Hongyi cannons, we must still attack at the hour of the dragon the day after tomorrow."

Wu Zimian swallowed his saliva and sat back down.

Only then did the Viceroy of Ji-Liao, Zhang Fengyi, answer, "The Hongyi cannon unit will definitely arrive tomorrow. I have already dispatched a unit from my personal battalion to escort them. There should be no mishap."

Sun Chengzong continued, "At the hour of the dragon the day after tomorrow, the Liaozhen troops under Regional Commander Zu shall attack the eastern wall. The loyalist troops under Chief Coordinator Ma shall attack the western wall. Zhang Chun, You Shilu, and the Henan loyalist troops shall attack the southern wall. Only the northern gate is not to be attacked. Zu Dashou and Ma Shilong shall each leave a cavalry unit in reserve. When the bandits flee in defeat, pursue and slaughter them immediately. Do not allow them to retreat in good order."

Chen Xin felt that he himself was likely the vanguard for the western wall. He feared that if the Hongyi cannon unit did not arrive in time, his Wendeng Camp would suffer heavy losses. He quickly stepped forward and said, "Grand Secretary Sun, I have a suggestion. I wonder if I may voice it."

"General Chen, please speak."

"Grand Secretary Sun, your strategy is brilliant and your deployments are masterful. I merely feel that since our great army is assembled, we could very well besiege all four sides and annihilate the enemy in Luanzhou completely. After this, the Jianzhou Bandits would surely never dare to lightly harbor thoughts of entering the pass again. I am willing to lead my own unit to guard the northern wall alone." Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall began buzzing with discussion.

Sun Chengzong glanced at Zhang Fengyi. Both shook their heads slightly. Then he turned back and said flatly, "General Chen, I have already made arrangements for your Wendeng Camp. You are to guard the Hongyi cannon unit at the western wall. You must not leave your post without authorization."

"Ah?" Chen Xin looked up in surprise. This way, his losses would be small, but his military merits would also be fewer.

Sun Chengzong was still somewhat patient with this hero of Gu'an and explained, "The number of Hongyi cannons this time is considerable. There are sixty small cannons weighing one thousand jin each from Guangdong (Note 1) and ten large cannons weighing two thousand seven hundred jin each. There is also a unit of Frankish auxiliary troops. Originally, some officials opposed sending the Hongyi cannons, worried that this powerful weapon might fall into the hands of the Jianzhou Bandits, especially the large two-thousand-seven-hundred-jin Hongyi cannons. His Majesty issued a special decree ordering General Chen's unit to provide escort, which is why so many Hongyi cannons have come here. As for siege tactics, we surround three sides and leave one open to prevent the Jianzhou Bandits from fighting like cornered beasts. General Chen, you will still follow Chief Coordinator Ma in the combined assault on the Western Gate."

Hearing that it was the Emperor's request, Chen Xin had no choice but to withdraw helplessly.

Sun Chengzong cast one final sweeping glance over the assembled commanders. "This battle is the focus of the entire realm. There is no room for failure. I hope each of you will fight bravely and with honor, swiftly rescuing our people from their dire plight. Those who render meritorious service will surely be rewarded. Titles of nobility, hereditary ranks for your sons, and a place in the annals of history are all within reach. As for any who shrink back on the battlefield, this old man may recognize you, but the Imperial Sword will not!"

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

Note 1: This batch of Hongyi cannons from Guangdong totaled one hundred and twenty pieces, all Type-2 Hongyi cannons weighing one thousand jin, with shot weighing two to three jin. They were dispatched to Jingshi by Wang Zunde, who also compiled a manual titled "Matters Concerning the Great Guns," specifying the appropriate powder and shot charges for each cannon. There were also ten cannons weighing two thousand seven hundred jin, sent to the capital earlier. These were likely brought by the Frankish mercenary unit led by Gonçalo Teixeira. That is, the batch that Huang Taiji sent the Mongol left and right wings to intercept. After the Jianzhou Bandits withdrew, they escorted the cannons from Zhuozhou, arriving in the capital on the third day of the first month. In the original history, it seems they did not participate in the Battle of the Four Cities due to opposition from a censor.