Chapter 412: Do Not Keep the Enemy Alive

The group rode out from the north gate and ran into soldiers of the Fourth Battalion returning to the city. They were singing their rest song all the way — these were the night-duty units coming back to their barracks inside the city to rest during the day. The soldiers' tired faces still held a trace of excitement; they had just dealt the Jianzhou bandits a heavy blow the day before, and that fierce emotion had not yet faded.

Chen Xin stepped aside to let the column pass before continuing out of the city. It was mealtime, and the aroma of flatbread, steamed buns, and mixed-grain cakes drifted everywhere. Chen Xin picked up two cakes at the Dragon Cavalry Battalion headquarters by the gate and gnawed on them as he walked with Liu Pojun and the others. If not for the mountain-pattern armor he wore, he would have looked no different from an ordinary soldier.

After they passed the second earthen wall, soldiers were coming and going along the defense line, and many auxiliary troops were still piling earth bags onto the damaged sections of the wall. From the Later Jin side, horns sounded as usual, and occasionally a few light arrows fell. The guards beside them kept a careful watch on the sky.

Chen Xin headed west toward one of the places where the fighting had been fiercest the day before — the sector facing the Plain White Banner. Along the way he stopped to talk with some soldiers who were standing by, and wherever he went, bursts of cheering followed. Morale was extremely high.

As he walked, Chen Xin said to Liu Pojun, "Huang Taiji has split up his two Yellow Banners and mixed them with the two White Banners, the Plain Blue, and the Plain Red — those banners are all rather unenthusiastic. Once fighting breaks out, everyone will take losses, and the proportions will be about the same, so the balance of strength won't change much. I reckon Huang Taiji thought about it for a long time before making this decision."

Liu Pojun reported in a low voice, "Jianzhou bandit fatalities should be above three thousand. We captured over three hundred genuine barbarians, and among the prisoners there are more than a hundred wounded. Our garrison lost four hundred and thirty men killed, over two hundred seriously wounded, and about five hundred lightly wounded. The main casualties were in the sectors facing the Plain Blue Banner and the Plain White Banner — those were the two places the Later Jin troops chose as their main points of attack."

"The Plain White is a large banner. That young Dodo hasn't even grown all his hair yet and has no real ideas about fighting — he's bound to have taken heavy losses this time." As he ate, Chen Xin pictured Dodo's expression and felt a surge of satisfaction. After entering the passes, that little bastard hadn't fought much of any battle along the way, but he had presided over many city massacres, including the ten days at Yangzhou, and was later touted as a famous general.

Huang Side chimed in to amuse him, "He's probably still choking with rage. Last night I had that barbarian soldier curse them all night long, going on about how Huang Taiji forced Abahai to be buried alive with Nurhaci. Those three brothers face their enemy every day but don't dare lift a hand to avenge their mother, and they still have to call him Great Khan — I don't know what kind of virtue that's supposed to be."

Chen Xin was in a good mood and laughed heartily at that. Liu Pojun's performance the day before had earned Chen Xin's high praise, and the way Zhu Guobin, Dai Zhenggang, Huang Side, and the others looked at him had clearly changed. This respect did not come from his rank, so he was also in fine spirits today. He came over and said with a smile, "It's true that the Plain White Banner lost more men. Even when launching a general attack, Huang Taiji still has to calculate these things — it's hard on him too."

After hearing this, Chen Xin pondered and said, "If the Jianzhou bandits have lost a few thousand, Huang Taiji won't be able to keep fighting. These are all estimates — how many heads have actually been taken?"

"The ones already cut off are roughly over nine hundred genuine barbarians, seven hundred Mongols, and the number of bondservants who died in battle is large — we can't get an accurate count for the moment…"

Chen Xin said quietly, "Cut off the heads of those bondservants who died in battle as well. When the time comes, report them all as Ujen Cooha and Tianyou Army."

Liu Pojun noted it down and said with a smile, "In the past they said bondservant heads didn't count for merit, and the Surveillance Commissioner would take most of the reward for verifying bondservant heads. Fortunately, now we have the Ujen Cooha and the Tianyou Army — those civil officials will have no excuse to say they don't count anymore."

Huang Side clapped his hands and said, "Pojun, you say Huang Taiji has to calculate these things, but doesn't Lord Chen also have to deal with all those civil officials? As for the complications in between, Pojun, you ought to know — they're far more vexing than the affairs among the Eight Banners."

"Lord Huang is right. That Huang Taiji is just a Jianzhou chieftain — he was never comparable to Lord Chen to begin with."

The group talked as they followed the earthen wall west, then exited through a passage near the sea and climbed to the top of West Guan Hill. Dai Zhenggang came over to meet them, and each of them raised a telescope to observe.

From the hilltop, Chen Xin looked down through his telescope. The Later Jin soldiers in the trenches were moving in and out, no different from previous days. Whenever a cannon sounded from West Guan Hill, the ant-like Later Jin soldiers below immediately scattered to hide.

Liu Pojun said quietly, "My lord, two of the Flying Tiger Guns are already damaged beyond use. The remaining two have been distributed to the two wings and can only carry out harassing attacks."

Chen Xin nodded. "The number of Flying Tiger Guns is insufficient — the harassment is more significant than the actual striking power. Look carefully and see whether the Later Jin troops show any signs of withdrawing."

Liu Pojun watched for a long time and then said, "I can't see any signs of withdrawal, but I can't see any preparations for an attack either. There probably won't be an assault today."

Dai Zhenggang also said, "The Later Jin troops suffered heavy losses yesterday, so today they should be resting and reorganizing. Very few men are filling earth bags today. If they planned to attack tomorrow, they would have to make preparations today, so these two days should be safe."

Huang Side had no grasp of these tactical judgments, but since the leadership was right beside him, he put on a show of studying the scene carefully and offered his opinion. "This subordinate agrees with what the two battalion commanders said. The Jianzhou bandits must be afraid of our Dengzhou garrison. If they won't come attack us, then we'll go attack them."

Chen Xin laughed at that and turned to look at Huang Side. "Side, what you said looks simple, but it's actually a fundamental truth. The battlefield isn't much different from a street fight — it's just that judging the opponent's movements may not rely on your eyes. You have to maintain contact and get direct information from that contact, not rely on guesswork. Have the reconnaissance naval units returned?"

Liu Pojun said quietly, "Not yet. Yesterday's assigned mission was a shore reconnaissance. Judging from the past few days, the Jianzhou bandits have tight defenses at key points like Muchang Station and the South Pass. The coastal hilltops are all manned with lookouts, and before a small boat can even reach shore, someone raises the alarm. Jinzhou also has over a thousand genuine barbarians — it can't be taken in a short time."

"Strengthen the reconnaissance on Muchang Station. That's the narrowest point. If the Jianzhou bandits want to withdraw, they'll definitely reinforce the defenses there."

"Understood. Then for today's main arrangements on our defense line, I await your instructions, my lord."

"Transfer the First Battalion's First Brigade into the front line to add manpower and familiarize them with the defenses. The First Brigade of the Personal Guard will use the company as the unit to launch small-scale counterattacks — make a big show of it and try to get the Jianzhou bandits moving. The defense line must maintain contact. You people arrange more observation posts on West Guan Hill and keep an eye on the Jianzhou bandits' movements."

………

After descending from West Guan Hill, Liu Pojun hurried ahead to the walls of Lushun. Chen Xin and Huang Side slowly inspected the encampments and storehouses on the seaward side, focusing on the maintenance of the cavalry's horses. The Jianzhou bandits' decline was already evident, and Chen Xin needed the cavalry to be ready at any moment.

When they were halfway there, Chen Xin had the guards keep their distance and asked Huang Side in a low voice, "Side, yesterday I saw someone hugging a Thunderbolt Bomb and charging the Jianzhou army formation. Did the indoctrination officers ever encourage anything like that?"

Huang Side thought back for a moment and then said, "Most of them were from the Garrison Defense Unit. The indoctrination officers never encouraged it. Many of them are Liaodong refugees. Does my lord mean that we should give this special publicity?"

"Don't encourage this kind of behavior, and don't criticize it either," Chen Xin said with a soft sigh. He did not like this kamikaze style, but in this era, slaughter was everywhere, and the value of life was not as high as one might imagine. Even if he did not encourage it, it did not seem right to oppose it either.

"Actually… these are all brave men. If we don't publicize them, how will their battle merits be calculated?" Huang Side raised his own question. In his original plan, these people all needed to be given prominent publicity.

Chen Xin said flatly, "The opinions of the military judges and the commanding officers will take precedence, along with the effect on the battlefield. If their attack played a decisive role, then awarding an extraordinary merit is also fine. Pensions and compensation will remain the same as before and cannot exceed those for ordinary battle deaths. In short, everything will still be carried out according to the military merit system. I don't want everyone going to die together with the Jianzhou bandits. We are professional soldiers. Killing is a skill, not a desperate struggle. Preserving yourself and killing the enemy are equally important."

"Then this subordinate knows how to proceed."

"How is the public mood over in Dengzhou?"

A smile appeared on Huang Side's face. "Yesterday the Propaganda and Education Bureau sent word. Many students from the vocational academies and the tun-bao schools are asking to enlist. In the various tun-bao, there are also people spontaneously raising donations, wanting to contribute silver, money, clothes, and such to the army. The public mood is extremely high. Last night I led people to work through the night and wrote up yesterday's report, preparing to put it in the next issue…"

"No need to wait for the next issue. Have the bookshop print a special edition. It can be distributed at any time — no need to wait for the next issue."

Huang Side clapped his hands. "My lord always has such extraordinary insights. This humble one truly admires you."

Chen Xin smiled faintly and did not continue, lest Huang Side's flattery surge like a tide.

Huang Side glanced around to make sure no one was nearby and said to Chen Xin in a low voice, "My lord, the Jianzhou bandits are now running out of strength. Liu Pojun's plan is to pursue and strike with single-minded determination, to make sure the Jianzhou bandits lose a layer of skin. But this subordinate feels that letting the Jianzhou bandits flee for now would do no harm either. That way, the imperial court might regard us as more important."

After saying this, Huang Side lowered his head and followed, stealing a glance at Chen Xin from time to time, waiting for his answer. Chen Xin slowed his steps after hearing it, his expression unchanged as he continued walking. What Huang Side meant was to keep the enemy alive to bolster one's own importance. Given Dengzhou's situation, dealing with the Jianzhou bandits with the court's support was no longer a problem — at least encircling the area south of Jinzhou was feasible. After this battle, the Jianzhou bandits probably would not dare to raise a large army and march south again. The Dengzhou garrison could seize the Jinzhou isthmus and develop its strength — this was something even Huang Side could see. And the meaning behind his words was to let the Dengzhou garrison continue to develop in this overlooked corner of southern Liaodong and watch the shifting situation under heaven. As Dengzhou's power swelled step by step, Huang Side had subconsciously begun to harbor this intention.

They walked in silence for several dozen paces like this before Chen Xin said to Huang Side, "You are thinking of the Dengzhou garrison's future prospects, and that is all correct. But at present, the Jianzhou bandits still have strength left. Attacking from afar may not work for them, but in a field battle, we might not necessarily win — this is far from a time to underestimate them. As the Chief Indoctrination Officer, you must not harbor such thoughts. The calamity of the Jianzhou bandits does not lie in Liaodong but in all under heaven. Between them and me, there is no room for any compromise. As for other matters, we may not need to rely on the Jianzhou bandits. As long as we are strong enough, and with a sound overall plan, things will naturally fall into place when the time is right. You only need to do your own duty well, and I will keep it in mind." (To be continued.)