Chapter 233

On Zhenhaimen Street in Dengzhou, a crowd surged beside a stone bridge. At both ends of the bridge, a spontaneous market had formed, with hawkers of every sort crying their wares. This was Caoqiao, one of Dengzhou's vital transport hubs and the main thoroughfare from the northern city to the city center.

Chen Xin and Zhou Shifa, dressed as scholars, crossed Caoqiao from the south. After the bridge, they turned into an alley. Two of the personal guards providing cover stayed behind to prevent anyone from tailing them. After Chen Xin emerged from the other end, he headed north and entered a southern-goods shop.

The shopkeeper, seeing it was Zhou Shifa, said little and merely led the two men to the rear quarters. In the study, they met Zhang Dong.

"Dengzhou Garrison has mobilized over 3,300 officers and men, with thirty-seven large and small sand ships and war junks. They departed the naval fortress yesterday heading toward Ningyuan," Zhang Dong respectfully invited Chen Xin to sit, then began reporting the latest intelligence.

"So few troops? What is the morale like in Dengzhou Garrison?"

"Desertion is severe. Before Wang Tingshi and the others arrived, Sun Yuanhua strictly ordered every battalion to fill its ranks. All the beggars and refugees in Dengzhou city were rounded up. The battalion officers also spent money to hire a batch of local idlers and street toughs, roughly making up the troop quota."

Chen Xin nodded. Dengzhou Garrison had half its payroll as phantom soldiers; filling the ranks all at once was no easy task.

Zhang Dong continued, "Morale goes without saying. Dengzhou troops are usually lax in training; facing battle, their hearts quail with terror. As soon as the transfer order came, over three hundred men deserted from the main garrison battalion. Kong Youde's Left Battalion and Geng Zhongming's Central Battalion fared somewhat better, but only because most of these Dongjiang men have nowhere else to go. However, according to reports from every intelligence post, these Dongjiang troops are equally full of complaints. They have no wish to go rescue the Guanning Army."

Zhou Shifa frowned. "Those 3,300 being mobilized — are they elite troops?"

"They count as elite, mostly veterans from Dongjiang Garrison. Zhou Ruibao has been checking troop quotas everywhere these past days. As a Supervising Secretary in the War Section, he knows all about phantom payrolls. He uncovered a huge number of beggars and street toughs. Every battalion officer is in a frantic mess. For this troop mobilization, Sun Yuanhua drew only the best from his personal battalion and the garrison's elite. He gave strict orders to Kong Youde and the others to fight to the death in Liaoxi — they must produce battle honors worth presenting."

Chen Xin gave a cold chuckle. "That's driving Kong Youde into a dead end. Any movement from other units?"

"Yes, over a thousand men from Dongjiang Garrison as well. Zhang Dao leads them, but Sun Yuanhua did not have them travel with Kong Youde. Reportedly, it was at Zhang Dao's own request."

Chen Xin thought for a moment. Dengzhou was sending out around five thousand troops in total. It seemed Sun Yuanhua indeed intended to contend for military merit. "How are our deployments in Dengzhou?"

Zhang Dong opened his ledger. "My lord, within the city we have three commercial shops and five residences. Two of the residences are at the Shuqiao bridgehead. From Caoqiao to Zhenhaimen, we have four locations. Two are near the Red Barbarian artillery barracks, and one is at Chunsheng Gate. Inside the naval fortress, there is little commerce or civilian housing. At present, we only have one small incense shop at Sanyuan Palace in the southwest corner. It can conceal a dozen or so men at most."

Chen Xin asked flatly, "If we need to seize the naval fortress, this handful of men is not enough. Do you have a corresponding plan?"

Zhang Dong said nothing, turning his head to look at Zhou Shifa. Zhou Shifa said cautiously, "We do. Although shops and civilian houses are few, the city has many temples. If the situation turns unfavorable, we can have the special operations team pose as pilgrims and donate some merit money to the temples. They could then eat and lodge in the temples for some days. On Dan Cliffs Mountain alone, there are the Sanqing Hall, Tianhou Palace, and Dragon King Temple — three temples. At the foot of the mountain are Sanyuan Palace, Sanguan Temple, and Lord Li's Shrine, all of which can house pilgrims. The only issue is that carrying weapons is somewhat inconvenient."

Chen Xin pulled out his own notebook from his chest and jotted down a note. As he wrote, he told the two men, "I will have the military workshop increase production of short muskets. For swords and other blades, you will have to find your own way to bring them in."

Zhou Shifa's face lit up with delight. Short muskets were extremely useful for the Intelligence Bureau's covert operations, but priority had always gone to equipping the combat troops. Now squad leaders, fire soldiers, and military judges in the Mandarin Duck Formation were all using them. The next step was to equip squad leaders and above in the saber-and-shield and farmer-soldier units. The Intelligence Bureau had only received a dozen or so. Now they could finally get more.

Chen Xin let out a breath. "Tomorrow, I return to Wendeng to accompany Wang Tingshi on an inspection tour. Zhou Shifa will return to Weihai to hold the fort and oversee all intelligence operations. Zhang Dong will be responsible for all actions in Dengzhou and the naval fortress. From this moment on, everyone must be on high alert."

Even now, he still had not said what exactly would happen in Dengzhou. The two men even suspected Chen Xin might be planning to raise troops in rebellion, leaving them somewhat uneasy at heart.

Chen Xin looked at the two of them and decided to offer an explanation. "The Jianzhou Bandits cannot reach Dengzhou. What I am guarding against is internal chaos in Dengzhou, much like what happened on Pi Island. Dengzhou appears calm, but beneath the surface, currents surge. Dongjiang Garrison is an army formed entirely of Liaodong people. Since Mao Wenlong was killed, these men are full of suspicion toward the court and their superior officers. In Dengzhou, they have long been oppressed by the local officials and civilians. My concern is this: once the main army is transferred away, Dengzhou may erupt in internal rebellion."

Zhang Dong's mouth opened slightly. He had no objection to Chen Xin's logic, but if someone said the Liaodong people would rebel, he found it rather unlikely.

Zhou Shifa cupped his hands toward Chen Xin. "My lord has always undertaken extraordinary matters. Your subordinate will simply act according to my lord's deployments."

In mid-September, Ming armies from various regions sent to reinforce Liaodong began mobilizing in succession. The main forces were from Ji Garrison and the various garrisons of Dengzhou and Laizhou. The personal battalions of Changping, Miyun, and Tianjin near the capital region all dispatched their elite troops. The largest contingent was Changping's 3,500 men, led by Zuo Liangyu. Dengzhou and Laizhou sent over 3,300 reinforcements, led by Assistant Regional Commander Kong Youde of the Left Battalion of the Provincial Governor's Personal Troops. Dongjiang Garrison's reinforcements were tentatively set at 1,500, but they had yet to set out.

After more than a month under siege, the Guanning Army at Dalinghe began to feel their hearts pound. Judging by the Later Jin's posture, they did not intend to leave until they had starved the city out. Sun Chengzong and Qiu Jiahe in Liaodong were equally anxious. Most of the watchtowers between Dalinghe and Jinzhou had been overrun. Jinzhou's scout cavalry had also seen with their own eyes that the Later Jin troops were using new-model cannons similar to the Red Barbarian guns, with power comparable to the Ming army's Red Barbarian cannons.

They had calculated the grain supplies at Dalinghe. Before the siege, thirty thousand shi had been transported in, plus some left over from when the city was repaired. The total should be around thirty-two thousand shi. For forty thousand people in the city, at one jin per person per day, that would last over three months. With rationing, it could stretch to four or five months. So the situation was not terribly urgent. However, the appearance of Later Jin's Red Barbarian cannons made them doubt whether Dalinghe could hold out. Once the walls were breached, the tens of thousands inside could not defeat the Jianzhou Bandits in battle.

Moreover, the censors at court kept impeaching them, demanding they lift the siege by a set deadline. Sun Chengzong had no choice but to have Qiu Jiahe send out another relief force. This time, Qiu Jiahe personally led the troops. The military commanders were Liaodong Regional Commander Wu Xiang and Shanhai Pass Regional Commander Song Wei. Wu Xiang was not as famous as his son, but he too had passed the Military Metropolitan Graduate examination. This man was originally a merchant. Even as a Regional Commander, he still acted like a businessman, a master at cultivating connections. There was no corner of Liaodong's official circles he could not worm his way into. Military officers like Zu Dashou were on good terms with him and even married a sister off to Wu Xiang, making him an important member of the Guanning military clique. Even civil officials liked him. It was just that he was a complete disaster in battle.

Qiu Jiahe knew to some extent that Wu Xiang was unreliable, so he also brought along the somewhat more reliable Song Wei. Song Wei was originally from Shanxi. His father had been an Assistant Regional Commander, and he had grown up fighting and killing in the army. In the first year of Chongzhen, he was transferred to Guanning as Vice Regional Commander. After Zhao Lujiao died, he became the Shanhai Pass Regional Commander. During the Four Cities campaign, he had followed Liu Kexun to attack Zunhua. Although Song Wei also pocketed phantom payrolls and squeezed the soldiers, he had risen from the ranks. When it came time to draw blades, he was far more reliable than Wu Xiang. That was why Qiu Jiahe insisted on marching with him.

After leaving Jinzhou, they headed southwest past Changshan. Their movements were discovered early by Later Jin scout cavalry. Barely a dozen li from the city, the army ran headlong into Ajige, who had come out to meet them in battle. The moment the Jianzhou Bandits appeared, Wu Xiang could no longer be bothered to go rescue his brother-in-law at Dalinghe. Without a word, he turned and fled. When the bear leads, the whole den cowers. Faced with such an ally, the Shanhai Pass main garrison battalion, which could have put up a fight, had no way to engage. In a frantic rout, the whole mob fled back to Jinzhou. Ajige cut down over three hundred of them and pursued them right up to the city walls before withdrawing. Fortunately, the Guanning Army had sent out only cavalry, so their losses were not great, but their morale was completely gone.

Qiu Jiahe fled back with the defeated troops, scared out of seven or eight of his wits. But official business still fell to him. He could only use the full breadth of classical learning gained from decades of bitter study to compose a memorial reporting a great victory. He claimed to have routed several thousand Later Jin troops at Changshan, but regrettably, tens of thousands of Later Jin reinforcements were behind them, so they had no time to collect heads before withdrawing to Jinzhou. Nevertheless, they had greatly overawed the Jianzhou Bandits, and it was estimated that the bandits would soon recognize the difficulty and retreat.

Since Dalinghe was besieged, Qiu Jiahe had already reported two great victories. He could fool the court at Jingshi, but he could not fool Sun Chengzong. Sun Chengzong knew that such false reports would one day come due. He personally rushed to Jinzhou, preparing to organize another rescue, only to find that every soldier and officer was terrified of battle. He knew all too well from the defeat at Liuhe back then that relying on these bear-like generals of Liaozhen would never end well.

Yet they could not simply leave the siege unlifted. He pondered back and forth and felt that since there was still enough grain, they could drag things out a bit longer. He then wrote a memorial stating that the Jianzhou Bandits had received additional reinforcements, bringing their total strength to nearly a hundred thousand. The Guanning Army alone was insufficient to lift the siege. He requested that the Wendeng Battalion and the Shizhu troops be transferred to Jinzhou to lift the siege together with the Guanning Army. In his view, troops transferred from Ji Garrison could only defend cities. To truly lift the siege, they could only rely on these two forces. The Zhejiang troops might also be good, but they were too far away.

At the very moment this memorial was dispatched, far away at Number 23 Tunbao in Wendeng, Chen Xin suddenly let out a violent sneeze. He had never imagined that while he was digging a pit for Sun Yuanhua, Huang Taiji and Sun Chengzong were also digging a pit for him. And he had no idea that the grain at Dalinghe was actually three times more than in the original history. Zu Dashou could hold out much longer.

Seeing Chen Xin sneeze repeatedly, Wang Tingshi asked with concern, "General Chen, have you been overworking lately? Though you are young, you must still look after your health."

Chen Xin rubbed his nose, thanked Wang Tingshi, and then pointed at the several tun-farmers before him, who looked like beggars. "My lord, look. These are all the families of fallen heroes. This squad leader joined my Wendeng Battalion over a year ago and gave his life for the country on Shenmi Island. Yet I, your humble officer, cannot even ensure his family has enough to eat. I am ashamed at heart."

Wang Tingshi nodded repeatedly and said to the accompanying Lu Zhi, "At present, grain and the armory are both under Army Supervisor Lu's responsibility for distribution. On behalf of these families, I ask the Army Supervisor to promptly make up the arrears in their grain ration. If the granary has a surplus, Eunuch Lu might also consider issuing a bit more."

Lu Zhi had now taken over the armory and grain supply. He and Chen Xin were thick as thieves. Now that the Imperial Commissioner had spoken, he naturally would not refuse. He immediately agreed and told Chen Xin to send ships to Dengzhou at once to transport the grain.

Chen Xin secretly gloated. He had reported a troop strength of 3,500. The grain ration for retainers and garrison soldiers was five dou per month, six shi per year. With this one stroke, he could bring in twenty thousand shi of grain — far more than the grain tax he had collected this year.

This tunbao was one of the newest batch, all just recently settled. They could barely eat their fill and lived entirely in shacks. Wang Tingshi had first observed the Wendeng Battalion combat troops' drill, then saw the conditions of this tunbao. He concluded that Wendeng Battalion's supplies must be guaranteed at full strength. Chen Xin did not care whether he truly believed it or not. At present, the political advantage in Dengzhou and Laizhou clearly lay with Lu Zhi's faction, and the court's advantage lay with Wen Tiren's faction. Wendeng Battalion was also a concern of the Emperor. Wang Tingshi had to give Chen Xin ample benefits.

Once Chen Xin had figured this out, he made exorbitant demands for iron, ships, saltpeter, sulfur, and other military supplies. Lu Zhi agreed to everything. He then summoned a young eunuch and ordered him to take his personal warrant and accompany Wendeng's naval squadron to Dengzhou to collect the goods.

This was the smoothest Chen Xin had ever obtained supplies. The supplies were not cheap, so naturally, he still had to give Lu Zhi and Wang Tingshi their kickbacks in proportion. After he hinted at this, the two superiors were even more satisfied.

Wang Tingshi's mission as Imperial Commissioner was mostly complete. He had not interfered in Li Sizhong's affair, leaving it directly to the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to handle. With the Eastern Depot involved, those were not profits he could earn. His coming to Wendeng to inspect was also to leave Sun Yuanhua to deal with the Embroidered Uniform Guard alone. He reckoned Sun Yuanhua had already been squeezed for quite a bit of silver.

Judging by the investigation's findings so far, even if Sun Yuanhua had not personally sold military grain, he was still guilty of failing to strictly control his subordinates. Coupled with his mistreatment of Wendeng Battalion and his phantom payrolls, he could hardly escape dismissal from office. Lu Zhi did not belong to either Wen Tiren's or Zhou Yanru's faction. All he wanted was power in Dengzhou and Laizhou. Whether Wen Tiren could bring down the big tiger Zhou Yanru was of no concern to him.

The several censors sent by Wen Tiren hoped to use Li Sizhong's affair to pry open a breach and turn the case into a serious crime of colluding with the enemy. But they could not control the Eastern Depot men. The Eastern Depot men wanted only silver. If Sun Yuanhua could pay enough, the charge of colluding with the enemy could be reduced.

Therefore, Wang Tingshi was unwilling to get entangled in this matter and simply came to Wendeng to inspect. Before leaving, Sun Yuanhua had told him that Wendeng Battalion was engaged in smuggling and had forcibly seized civilian land, asking Wang Tingshi to investigate. Wang Tingshi knew most of these things were probably true, but with Chen Xin now so domineering, how would he dare to interfere? He made up his mind to look after Wendeng Battalion. Wherever Chen Xin took him each day to inspect, he went. He never inquired about any other aspect of Wendeng Battalion.

By now, he had been inspecting for five or six days. He had visited all the poorest places in Wendeng Battalion. Today, with the benefits finally in hand, he at last asked Chen Xin about Wendeng Battalion's departure date.

Chen Xin glanced at Lu Zhi. Lu Zhi stepped forward and said, "Lord Wang, Wendeng Battalion suffered grievous losses on Shenmi Island. More than half the battalion now are new recruits. How can they undertake a long march to Liaodong? They must train for at least another month or two."

Wang Tingshi frowned. "But this matter was personally arranged by His Majesty..."

Chen Xin hurriedly said, "Your humble officer will certainly not make things difficult for you, my lord. We men who follow the army must naturally go forth to face the nation's peril. Even if they are but a bunch of farmers, your humble officer will lead them to Dalinghe. It is only that their grain ration has been insufficient this year. Let them eat their fill for a few more days, and then I shall lead them out."

Wang Tingshi pressed, "A few days?"

Chen Xin feigned a moment of melancholy. His plan was to casually dispatch some auxiliary troops to set sail in early October, then directly report that the Liaoxi coast had frozen over, making landing impossible, and they could return. Based on the past few years, the ice should set in by mid-October. If they took the land route, they could easily drag their feet. With luck, the battle would be over by the time they arrived.

Wang Tingshi naturally knew nothing of these petty calculations. He could not very well keep pressuring Chen Xin, so he agreed to this timeframe. He then asked about the troop numbers. Chen Xin still insisted on one thousand men. The two were in the middle of haggling when one of Wang Tingdong's personal guards came galloping over from the distance.

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