Chapter 278: Lüshun

Lüshun, called "Shizikou" in the Yuan dynasty, in the fourth year of the Hongwu reign Zhu Yuanzhang dispatched Ma Yun to lead troops by sea from Shandong to guard Liaodong. Because the sea voyage was smooth sailing, Shizikou was renamed Lüshunkou. In the early Ming it was already one of the receiving points for Dengzhou's seaborne military supplies. Later, after Jinzhou established a guard, a Jinzhou Guard Center-Left Battalion was set up at Lüshun.

Lüshun's southern walled city was built in the tenth year of the Yongle reign, encased in brick by Xu Gang. Its perimeter was one li and three hundred paces, the moat one zhang two chi deep and two zhang five chi wide. This small city, barely over one li in circumference, sat beside what would later become the naval port, no more than two hundred paces from the shore. One li to the west lay Xiguan Shan, which later generations called Baiyu Shan — renamed by Li Hongzhang in the late Qing with the phrase "Since there is gold, there must be white jade." Roughly one and a half li to the north was the site of the northern walled city, destroyed by Manggūltai in the fifth year of the Tianqi reign. Afterwards, because the northern city was too far from the sea and they feared they could not hold it, it was not rebuilt.

This place and Dengzhou, one south and one north, controlled the throat of the Bohai Sea. Lüshun was ringed by mountains, and the Tiger Tail formed by the Laotie Mountain extension created a natural breakwater. Only the Lüshunkou channel gave access to the harbor. These uniquely favorable geographical conditions made the site a famous naval port in later ages. The late Qing Beiyang Fleet used it as its home port, constructing sea-facing gun emplacements at Huangjin Shan and other sites, and building a solid landward defense line on the surrounding northern hilltops.

Yet the family-run Manchu Qing, possessing such superb defensive advantages, still could not withstand the Japanese army's assault and easily fell into Japanese hands during the First Sino-Japanese War. Later, Japan and Russia fought a major battle here, while the Manchu Qing calmly declared neutrality. The so-called Japanese war god Nogi Maresuke here made a great display of human-bullet heroism, shocking the world with bloody attack and defense.

However, in this late Ming moment, artillery accuracy and power were insufficient to control the surrounding flatlands from the hilltops. The Western Official Mountain, Huangjin Shan, and Tiger Tail beside the southern city were all undefended. The mountain forests were lush and green, a full expanse of tender verdure.

Around the southern city and on the flatlands south of the Lüshun River were all cultivated fields, with the shacks of some garrison farming households scattered among them. Many people, curious, set down their farm work and gazed toward the wharf.

The naval harbor was full of large ships. Vessels at the wharf came and went without cease, continuously disgorging large numbers of battle-ready soldiers in bright, fresh armor. After assembling at the wharf, these soldiers entered the city through the Tongjin Gate of Lüshun's southern walled city.

Above the Tongjin Gate tower fluttered the Flying Tiger banner of the Wendeng Battalion. Escorted by the Central Army guard, Chen Xin accompanied Wang Tingshi into the city.

The city had only a single north-south thoroughfare, already controlled by the Second Company that had entered the city first. Wang Tingshi had shown considerable courage this time, first sending troops to deliver documents to Lüshun. Chen Youshi had met Wang Tingshi many times on Pi Island. After confirming at the gate tower that it was indeed the Provincial Governor himself, and seeing the massive fleet, he knew it had to be the Dengzhou naval force and therefore suspected nothing. He hurriedly led his officers, high and low, to welcome them at the gate. The moment the gate opened, they were all seized on the spot by Dai Zhenggang and already escorted to the wharf and handed over to Lu Zhi. With Lüshun's dragons leaderless, the Wendeng Battalion battle troops swiftly took control of every key route, dividing up the residential areas within the city. These fierce soldiers left the Lüshun military households utterly devoid of any will to resist.

Wang Tingshi strode proudly down the street. On either side there were almost no brick or tile houses; everywhere the eye could see were crude, simple dwellings thatched with straw. Nor were there any decent shops in the city. This place was purely a garrison fortress. The small amount of smuggling and transit trade was controlled in the hands of the officers. The residents were all Liaodong refugees who had fled from various parts of Liaodong, some first escaping to islands like Pi Island and then making their way here. Because the Dongjiang troop strength was far lower than the actual population, and the grain the farming could produce was scant, they had always been able to maintain only the barest subsistence. Every winter, some would be unable to survive the bitter cold.

The party arrived at the Vice Regional Commander's residence, which was built rather imposingly, with a spirit screen and a gatehouse. Upon entering, they found the interior very spacious. Wang Tingshi looked around and said to Chen Xin, who was following him, "This place is a military garrison. General Chen, take direct charge of it."

Chen Xin immediately replied, "Your subordinate has already made preparations and will sort out the situation here as quickly as possible."

Wang Tingshi asked with some curiosity, "General Chen has never been to Lüshun before. How do you plan to proceed?"

"First, secure the city defenses and occupy all key points within the city. Then summon all the private secretaries in the residence, locate the Vice Regional Commander's money and grain registers, and hand them to the quartermaster officers to verify the accounts. Next, from among the detained officers of Company Commander rank and above, select those who are not Chen Youshi's trusted confidants. After that, check the population registers one by one to identify all able-bodied men for use as auxiliary troops, and employ these former officers to command them, so as to settle people's hearts. Further, question these officers in detail about the surrounding terrain and mountain and river configurations; at critical points, your subordinate must personally inspect them…"

Wang Tingshi waved his hand with satisfaction, cutting him off. "General Chen, your reasoning is clear and orderly. This official is now at ease. Is there anything you need this official to do?"

Chen Xin said respectfully, "My lord, you did not hesitate to venture personally into danger to capture Chen Youshi, sparing our troops many casualties. Your subordinate is endlessly grateful. I would normally be too ashamed to trouble you further, but there are indeed two matters."

"This official already said aboard the ship that you and I work together with one heart. There is no trouble. General, please speak."

"Then your subordinate will shamelessly request two things of you, my lord. First, after Lord Lu finishes screening the officers and retainers, I ask you to personally come forward to reassure those officers and men unconnected to Chen Youshi, to settle their hearts. Second, this place has just barely survived the winter; grain and fodder must be in short supply. I ask you to urge the grain shipments once more, otherwise it will be disadvantageous for a prolonged defense."

Wang Tingshi nodded. "Settling people's hearts is this official's own duty. As for the grain and fodder… there is still some stored grain in the Water City. Once the naval fleet returns, it will continue shipping more. Only the follow-up supplies are somewhat more troublesome. Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde have ravaged Deng and Lai terribly. Before we set out from Dengzhou, this official had already urgently ordered grain from the granaries of Ninghai, Laiyang, Qixia, and Laizhou, and also sent a memorial to the imperial court requesting a shipment of grain and fodder from Tianjin. General Chen, please be assured — this official will exert every effort to arrange the grain and fodder and will absolutely not hold the general back."

Chen Xin knelt and said loudly, "With these words from you, my lord, your subordinate's troops will surely make Lüshun as firm as bedrock. As long as Lüshun stands, our Great Ming will always have a piece of soil in Liaodong. On behalf of the million murdered Liaodong people, your subordinate thanks you, my lord."…

In the main hall of the Lüshun Vice Regional Commander's residence, seven or eight tables were set up. More than ten quartermaster officers and Central Army staff officers were jointly examining the registers. Each time one register was tallied, a quartermaster officer would leave to inspect the corresponding storehouse.

Chen Xin walked around once and discovered that in a Vice Regional Commander's residence as large as Chen Youshi's, there was not a single map. Yet there were more than ten literate people in the residence. After a rough inquiry, it turned out they were all Licentiates who had fled Liaodong, all come to work as copyists for Chen Youshi just to make a living.

Chen Xin did not hold a very optimistic view of this clansman's prospects. Zhou Shifa had entered the city with Dai Zhenggang in the first wave and had early on planted those forged letters from Li Jiucheng in Chen Youshi's bedroom. They had just been found by several secret agents, who, as if they had found a priceless treasure, excitedly reported back to Lu Zhi.

In the original history, this Chen Youshi had abandoned Lüshun and rushed impatiently to Dengzhou to join Kong Youde. But he was a nobody, and Chen Xin did not know he would later act this way. In his heart, he still felt a slight twinge of guilt toward this clansman — after all, Chen Youshi was guarding this place that directly faced the Later Jin troops.

After lingering a moment, Chen Xin strolled out of the main hall. Zhou Shifa immediately followed him out. Falling half a step behind, he asked Chen Xin in a low voice, "My lord, your subordinate feels that the matter of screening those officers should not be left to Lu Zhi. At a time like this, it's the perfect moment to grant personal favors. Lu Zhi will certainly take the chance to recruit a great many trusted followers. Then when Lord Wang goes to settle people's hearts, all those hearts will have been won over by them."

Chen Xin smiled. "A place like Lüshun will be a source of military merit in the future. If you try to swallow it all in one gulp, resentment will sooner or later grow between Lu Zhi and Wang Tingshi on the other side. The trusted followers Lu Zhi and Wang Tingshi want to recruit will certainly be of Company Commander rank and above. The habits of these officers are utterly incompatible with our Wendeng Battalion; using them brings no benefit. If they want to recruit them, let them recruit a few. These men will surely engage in some smuggling business later on. Lu Zhi and Wang Tingshi can collect the silver back in Dengzhou. That way they get some benefit. With their people here in Lüshun, we can share some military merit with them. That makes it easier to get along with our superiors."

Only then did Zhou Shifa understand. But he still worried, "Yet with them here, those soldiers will become their tenant farmers."

"Leave the old and weak to them," Chen Xin said without hesitation. "The land belonging to Chen Youshi and his trusted followers all goes to us. There should be several thousand Liaodong people here. We'll recruit soldiers and open garrison farms just as before, and bring all the able-bodied men into our side. Let Wang Tingshi's and Lu Zhi's people idle about and earn their money. Land, people, and silver — right now we are not short of silver, so let them have some. These two superiors have both treated our Wendeng Battalion well. Don't lose the greater for the lesser."

"Your subordinate understands."

"Let's go look at the surrounding terrain." Chen Xin stretched his limbs and shouted, "Wang Mafu!"

"Here!" Wang Mafu ran out from the main hall.

"Have the Central Army light cavalry disembarked yet?"

"Just reported back — the men are off, the horses not yet."

"Your mother." Chen Xin cursed under his breath. The efficiency of transporting cavalry was truly too low. This time, one cavalry battalion plus the Central Army light cavalry totaled just over five hundred horses, yet they had taken up nearly twenty large ships. The horses could only be tethered on the decks, and having undergone no sea transport training, they were extremely ill-adapted to the sea. After just two days of sailing, twenty percent had fallen ill, and the rest were in poor condition and needed time to recover. This time, at least they had disembarked from a wharf. If it had been an amphibious assault, don't even think about it — he estimated that transferring them by small boats would have been an absolute disaster.

Since there were no horses, Chen Xin did not plan to go on foot to look. He had to ask Wang Mafu, "Have the indoctrination officers been dispatched?"

"All dispatched. They are already preaching throughout the city."

Lu Zhi was screening all the officers, so Chen Xin took advantage of the officers' absence to first send indoctrination officers to conduct propaganda and win over the common soldiers. He planned to use the method from the Dengzhou campaign and establish a temporary supply battalion in Lüshun. Life here was extremely impoverished; simply providing enough to eat would buy people's hearts.

"What about the reserve battalion? Is the city defense takeover complete?"

"Both companies of the reserve battalion have fully disembarked and are now assembling outside Tongjin Gate. Renhe Gate is already under the control of the Second Company. Acting Company Commander Dai is currently deploying defenses at Renhe Gate. At the wharf, grain and fodder are currently being transferred off the ships."

"Speed it up. We must set out for Lüshun in two days. Have the Central Army light cavalry horses disembark first. Once they recover, immediately send them ahead to scout in the direction of Jinzhou."

Chen Xin thought for a moment and, finding nothing else, suddenly asked Wang Mafu, "Where is Liu Po?"

"Brought to Lüshun as you instructed, continuing his confinement. He still has three days until his term is up."

Chen Xin pondered briefly and said, "Take me to see him."

Wang Mafu hurriedly led the way, heading west along the main hall. There lay the Vice Regional Commander's grain storehouse and the retainers' quarters. The retainers' living quarters numbered more than ten rooms, all now emptied as everyone had been taken away for screening.

Just as Chen Xin reached the door, he heard someone inside bellowing loudly. He stopped in his tracks and heard the man shouting, "Damn you, say something to your old man! Stop giving me that sour face! Your old man has been following Lord Chen since the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, fought in every battle of the Wendeng Battalion! A broken-down soldier like you, who knows where you even were back then! Say something to your old man — I'm about to die of suffocation!"