Chapter 277: Blotting Out the Sea

"The objective of this Liaodong landing is to secure Lüshun and attack the Southern Four Garrisons, forcing the Jianzhou bandits to withdraw from Dalinghe. The first operational target is Lüshun. Lüshun is divided into a northern and a southern city. The northern city was demolished by the Jianzhou bandits in the third year of the Tianqi reign. Chen Youshi is currently garrisoned in the southern city, which has a circumference of one li and three hundred paces, a moat two zhang and five chi wide, and only a north and south gate. We will enter under the pretext of reinforcing the defense. His Lordship Wang Tingshi will accompany us. To avoid arousing Chen Youshi's suspicion, the first wave entering the city will only be two companies of the Second Battalion. After entering with formal documents, we will seize control of the Vice General's residence. After securing the south gate, we will send a signal, and only then will the remaining personnel disembark and enter the city. After entering, we will disarm Chen Youshi's troops, screen their personnel, and detain everyone above the rank of Company Commander. They will only be released after an investigation by Army Supervisor Lord Lü."

Zhu Guobin pointed at the large map. This map was drawn only from the recollections of some Dongjiang veterans and could only serve as a rough guide. This time, Liu Po's army had been judged to have missed a military opportunity, and he was demoted two ranks to the lowest-level staff officer, and was still confined to quarters. Zhu Guobin was temporarily taking over the military council.

"The second operational target is Jinzhou. This step will be carried out after Lüshun is secured. Jinzhou is one hundred twenty li north of Lüshun, with a city circumference of five li and twenty-six paces, and walls three zhang and five chi high. Since the third year of the Tianqi reign, it has been continuously under Later Jin control. The garrison there belongs to the Jianzhou Bordered Blue Banner. The garrison strength is unknown. Based on scattered intelligence gathered previously, it is estimated that there are about three hundred armored soldiers, with perhaps around five hundred Mongols and bondservants combined. The difficulty of this Jinzhou operation is that there are no cities along the route for defense or resupply, and a siege battle will be unavoidable."

Dai Zhenggang raised his hand and asked, "Along the way, there will always be villages controlled by the Later Jin, and they'll have some grain. We don't need to be polite with these Tatars."

Zhu Guobin explained, "Around the third year of the Tianqi reign, the Han people in Jinzhou and Fuzhou were all slaughtered. According to Dongjiang soldiers who have fled to Wendeng over the years, the one hundred twenty li from Jinzhou to Lüshun is now a ghost realm, and between Jinzhou and Fuzhou, there are only a small number of Mongols herding." (Note 1) Dai Zhenggang said in surprise, "Why would such a large area end up like this?"

Zhu Guobin pursed his lips, seeming slightly agitated. He was from Liaodong himself, having fled to Shandong in the first year of the Tianqi reign. He had heard scattered accounts of the suffering after the fall of Liaodong. Dai Zhenggang, on the other hand, was from Yanggu in Shandong. Although many of his subordinates also came from Liaodong, his feelings were far less personal than Zhu Guobin's.

Seeing this, Chen Xin nodded to Zhou Shifa. Zhou Shifa explained, "In the sixth month of the third year of the Tianqi reign, Liu Xingzuo was defending Fuzhou. Everyone knows this man. At the time, he contacted the Dengzhou and Laizhou Regional Commander Shen Congrong, planning to escape with the people of Fuzhou City. But he was betrayed by a Han traitor named Wang Bingzhou. The old chieftain immediately sent troops to arrest Liu Xingzuo. However, this man was very composed and denied it to the death. In the end, the old chieftain killed Wang Bingzhou instead. After this incident, Liu Xingzuo lost the old chieftain's trust and was kept under guard in Shenyang City until he faked his death and fled to Dongjiang Town. But although the old chieftain spared Liu Xingzuo, he did not spare the Han people of Fuzhou. He ordered Daišan to kill everyone in Fuzhou. In that one incident alone, over a hundred thousand Han civilians were beheaded. Afterwards, using the pretext of too many spies, the remaining people of Fuzhou and Gaizhou were relocated north of Haizhou, resettled in places like Yaozhou, Haizhou, Niuzhuang, and Anshan. Not one in ten survived. Now, the three prefectures of Fuzhou, Gaizhou, and Jinzhou have virtually no Han people left." (Note 2) Dai Zhenggang slammed his hand on the table with a bang, startling everyone in the room. In his momentary agitation, he didn't notice and stood up, cursing loudly, "This old chieftain is worse than a beast."

Huang Side quickly urged, "This is a military council. Company Commander Dai, please do not get agitated. The suffering of the Liao people is far more than just this. The old chieftain has done countless evil deeds. In fact, our indoctrination officers have told the soldiers these things many times. Has Company Commander Dai truly never heard them?"

Dai Zhenggang snorted. He had always disliked this Huang Side. Just like Zhong Laosi, he thought indoctrination officers were useless for warfare, always pacing back and forth in front of him, asking about everything. Moreover, under the new military system, officer promotions required the co-signature of the unit's indoctrination officer and Huang Side, which made Dai Zhenggang even more displeased.

This time, regarding Zhong Laosi's matter, he also sided with Zhong Laosi, believing that Zhong Laosi's combat actions at Zhenhai Gate were resolute and effective, only his attitude was poor. He was deeply dissatisfied with Huang Side and Nie Hong joining forces to suppress Zhong Laosi, one of the earliest arrivals. He said irritably, "The indoctrination officer in my company is boring. I don't want to listen."

Huang Side said, puzzled, "The several indoctrination officers of the Second Battalion are all eloquent. How could they be boring?"

At this moment, Chen Xin suddenly laughed heartily and said to Huang Side, "Chief Indoctrination Officer Huang, Company Commander Dai makes a good point. Whatever you teach must be interesting for people to want to listen. Since you're not going to Lüshun this time, put your mind to another task: set up a cultural and arts troupe under the Propaganda and Education Bureau."

"A cultural and arts troupe? This... means storytellers?"

"Opera performers."

Huang Side pondered briefly and immediately said, "I understand your meaning, my lord. Your lordship is truly quick-witted. I have also noticed the drawback Company Commander Dai mentioned in recent days, but after much thought, I could not find a solution. Your lordship has devised a brilliant method in mere moments. This is a heaven-sent talent. I am ashamed of my own inadequacy."

Dai Zhenggang tilted his head away and snorted softly, feeling waves of discomfort. Although he greatly admired Chen Xin too, he could never bring himself to flatter so nauseatingly in public.

Chen Xin smiled at Huang Side and said, "Start working on this immediately. It doesn't have to be opera singing. Find actors to perform, even plain speech is fine. You must make sure everyone understands. Hmm... the actors should be chosen for good looks, but those playing Tatars, bandits, and roving rebels should be ugly..."

Zhu Guobin, seeing the military council veering off-topic, coughed awkwardly. It was his first time leading the briefing. Previously, watching Liu Po do it, he hadn't thought it was so difficult, but now that he was on stage, he still couldn't quite control the room.

Hearing the cough, Chen Xin quickly stopped and said to Zhu Guobin, "Guobin, continue."

"If the Later Jin still does not lift the siege after Jinzhou is attacked, our unit will construct watchtowers near Jinzhou and dispatch troops by both sea and land to attack Fuzhou. The Jianzhou bandits at Fuzhou belong to the Plain White Banner, their numbers also unknown. The forces mobilized for this operation are the Second Battalion of combat troops, the Fourth and Fifth Battalions of the reserve camp, the cavalry battalion, the central army's light cavalry unit, and the fourth squad of the special duty unit, totaling three thousand six hundred men. The Third Battalion of combat troops will remain in Dengzhou as a reserve force, to be deployed to Liaodong depending on the battle situation. The first wave of landing troops will be the Second Battalion, the second wave the Fourth Battalion of the reserve camp. Auxiliary troops are planned to use local laborers from Lüshun..."...

On the morning of the twenty-first day of the second month, the red sun had just risen, casting myriad rays of light. The sea was a blaze of rosy clouds. Amid the vast ocean waves beyond Penglai Pavilion in Dengzhou, warships came, blotting out the sea.

The greater part of the naval forces from Dengzhou and Wendeng set out from the Water City, sailing for Lüshun. Among them were four No. 2 Fujian junks, and over a hundred vessels of types including bird boats, wave-breakers, Haicang ships, and sand ships. They began transporting the Wendeng Camp troops, numbering as many as three thousand men.

The Wendeng Camp troops had been resupplied with a batch of weapons shipped from Wendeng, replacing worn-out cold weapons and firelocks, and were about to embark once more on a campaign in Liaodong.

News from the patrol boats was that Kong Youde's troops had already landed at Fuzhou. Some Dengzhou naval vessels had attacked, sinking over a dozen rebel small boats. According to the scout boats, Kong Youde's troops were encamped five li outside Fuzhou City, near the Fuzhou River. It seemed the Jianzhou bandits had not let them enter the city, nor provided them with food. After analysis, Wang Tingshi and Lü Zhi believed they were still awaiting Huang Taiji's decree. Since Li Jiucheng himself was still a vagrant, he naturally had no capital to bribe Chen Youshi. Chen Youshi should not follow him to surrender in the short term.

With this understanding, both Wang Tingshi and Lü Zhi, unexpectedly, wanted to go to Lüshun together. In the third year of the Chongzhen reign, Wang Tingshi had actually had a chance to become the Governor of Dengzhou based on the Wendeng Camp's military merits, but in the end, he was somewhat afraid of the position. At that time, the court's hope was to recover the Southern Four Garrisons. Back then, Dongjiang Town was still in the chaos stirred up by Liu Xingzhi. Wang Tingshi had served as the Intendant of Dengzhou and Laizhou for many years and knew that recovering the Southern Four Garrisons was pure fantasy. A mere two thousand men of the Wendeng Camp were not enough to guarantee he could hold the position securely. In the end, he went to the Ministry of War to serve as a Vice Minister instead.

Now the situation was somewhat different. He did not want Liang Tingdong's position; it was clearly a hot potato. Now Dengzhou and Laizhou had the Wendeng Camp to rely on, and were separated from the Jianzhou bandits by the Liao Sea, offering both safety and the chance for military merit.

In his heart, he decided to make Chen Xin's troops the core, especially by having them garrison Lüshun. This would both pin down the Jianzhou bandits in southern Liao to gain military merit, and intimidate that gang in Dongjiang Town. Wang Tingshi estimated that the Wendeng Camp's current manpower had reached four to five thousand. What Chen Xin told him was that these extra men were all military households trained from the three guards of Wendeng. Chen Xin's ability to train troops gave Wang Tingshi hope. As long as the Wendeng Camp was in Dengzhou and Laizhou, he could achieve the most important frontier merit, and entering the Grand Secretariat in the future was something to look forward to.

Therefore, he submitted a memorial explicitly requesting that the Wendeng Camp be retained and not be transferred to Guanning. The best reason was to detach a portion to garrison Lüshun directly. This way, they would be directly confronting the Jianzhou bandits, which was more advantageous than relocating them a thousand li away to western Liao.

After Wang Tingshi was ordered to temporarily act as the Provincial Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, he sought out Chen Xin and Lü Zhi overnight to discuss. Having spent two years in the Ministry of War, his policy proficiency was higher than before, and he also knew what kind of things the Emperor liked to see. The primary thing was to propose an overall strategy, with specific content both broad and detailed, at least appearing novel and feasible.

After a discussion among the three, they proposed a new three-pronged disposition strategy and sent three consecutive memorials, explaining that Chen Youshi's troops in Lüshun showed signs of instability and required the Wendeng Camp to garrison Lüshun, using it to pin down the Jianzhou bandits in the Southern Four Garrisons. The Guanning Army in western Liao, the Wendeng Camp in southern Liao, and Dongjiang Town in eastern Liao would form the three prongs, with the naval forces of Tianjin, Dengzhou-Laizhou, and Juehua providing support. In this new three-pronged disposition strategy, Lüshun was the core link.

If the Emperor could approve this plan, it was conceivable that over forty percent of the Liaodong military tax would be allocated to Dengzhou and Laizhou, at least no less than the nine hundred thousand taels per year during Sun Yuanhua's tenure. The share of the profits would far exceed what he got as Vice Minister of War, a decent material gain. He was well aware of Chen Xin's relationship with Wen Tiren, and he also knew that Zhou Yanru's prospects were probably bleak, so the political gains were also decent.

The prerequisite for all this was to maintain a good relationship with Chen Xin. In his past years as the Intendant of Dengzhou and Laizhou, he had traveled many times to Dongjiang and dealt with Mao Wenlong long-term. Because Dongjiang's troop numbers had never been accurate for years, every troop audit was a time to reap benefits. Mao Wenlong always seemed like a beggar when asking for military funds. Wang Tingshi, having taken the silver, generally still got things done, reporting back to the Ministry of War that Dongjiang Town's soldiers and horses were well-fed and strong, with no discrepancies in troop strength. Overall, his relationship with Mao Wenlong was acceptable, but he was also impeached by a censor for this, labeled a greedy man.

Although very avaricious, Wang Tingshi turned a blind eye to Chen Xin's spoils of war this time, determined not to show any dissatisfaction even if Chen Xin didn't share a single penny with him. Fortunately, Chen Xin was still sensible and offered thirty thousand taels in a banknote, which greatly satisfied him. The only drawback was that the place to cash it was in Tianjin, and the bank's name was the Four Seas Bank.

Wang Tingshi had learned from Sun Yuanhua's lesson and absolutely did not contend for power with Lü Zhi, fully relinquishing the armory and military supplies to Lü Zhi. But military merit was a stepping stone for advancement and needed to be shared. Therefore, he made a special trip to board Chen Xin's flagship to travel to Lüshun together.

Standing at the bow, Wang Tingshi surveyed the fleet before him, feeling quite high-spirited. He said calmly to Chen Xin beside him, "General Chen, during the Tianqi reign, Dengzhou twice sent ten thousand southern troops to aid Liao. One of those times, they went to Lüshun, which was promptly captured by Manggūltai leading his troops. Men like Zhang Pan and Zhu Guochang died there. This time, with the Wendeng Camp going to Liao, I am quite confident. Whether it's Xiong Tingbi's old three-pronged disposition strategy or Lord Sun's construction of the Guanning defense line, strong troops are needed to execute them. Without a strong army, even if Sun Wu were reborn to devise the strategy, it would be in vain."

Chen Xin said with a solemn expression, "With your lordship's support, I will certainly perform my duties to the utmost. The Jianzhou bandits have at most fifty thousand combat-ready troops. I am confident we can hold our ground at Lüshun and will never disappoint your lordship."

Wang Tingshi nodded with satisfaction. "With those words from General Chen, I am also at ease. The Jianzhou bandits are our Great Ming's primary great enemy. For many years, Dengzhou and Laizhou merely supplied funds to Dongjiang Town. Though a critical location, it was only remembered in times of trouble. If this time Lüshun is truly incorporated into Dengzhou Garrison, then Dengzhou Garrison will become a truly critical place, and His Majesty will also constantly keep it in mind. I have already submitted a memorial requesting the Ministry of War to appoint General Chen as the Regional Commander of Dengzhou and Laizhou. Army Supervisor Lü also agrees. The Ministry of War and His Majesty presumably will not object. In the future, Army Supervisor Lü and I will certainly ensure your troops' pay and provisions are supplied in full. General, you must work in harmony with me to destroy these foes for the court."

Chen Xin bowed, feigning humility. "I thank your lordship for the recommendation. However, the duty of Regional Commander of Dengzhou and Laizhou is weighty. I am quite apprehensive in my heart, fearing I may not do well and bring shame upon your lordship."

Wang Tingshi also knew Chen Xin was merely being polite. He waved his hand magnanimously. "It's just that the Jianzhou bandits are all cavalry. If General Chen sorties to Jinzhou this time, you must be extremely careful. Thorough reconnaissance near and far is indispensable. This mission is a strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao. But that Dalinghe... no one knows the current situation there. General Chen must firmly remember that prudence is paramount. Do not let eagerness for merit lead you into danger. If you discover a large Jianzhou relief force coming, you must quickly withdraw to Lüshun. Even if you only force the Jianzhou bandits to abandon Jinzhou, that is still a merit of recovering territory, and I will be able to speak well in court."

Chen Xin knew he was also hoping for military merit and flattered him, "I will firmly remember your lordship's instructions. The number of Jianzhou bandits in Jinzhou is unknown, perhaps a thousand, perhaps more. When the time comes, I will certainly dispatch many scouts for patrol and reconnaissance, prioritizing prudence."

"Good, good. General Chen is meritorious yet not arrogant. The state affairs are difficult now, with beacon fires everywhere in the north. This is precisely the time for the General to realize his grand ambitions. Your future achievements may be no less than those of Qi Shaobao."

"Qi Shaobao was a heaven-sent genius. I dare not compare myself to him. Qi Shaobao once said, 'A noble title is not my wish; I only desire the sea waves to be calm.' As long as the realm is peaceful and the people live in contentment, I would be content even to be a common soldier."

Wang Tingshi smiled and nodded. At that moment, the sailors on the Fujian junk shouted in unison, and the wide bamboo-ribbed stiff sail slowly rose up the mast. The surrounding vessels, large and small, also raised their sails one after another. The dense mass of ships sailed out of Half-Moon Bay, cutting through the thin, steaming mist and clouds over the sea, heading towards Changshan Island directly to the north, riding the wind.