Chapter 450: Long Qibing

In late January of the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign, the Later Jin army invaded Xuan-Da in three columns, breaching the border wall at Shanfangbao and Longmen Guard on either flank of Zhangjiakou. Among them, the Longmen Guard could not be taken, so that Later Jin column bypassed the city and plundered toward Bao'an and Huailai.

The Later Jin campaign was hastily mounted, yet the attacks still went extremely smoothly. For Huang Taiji, this was a battle he had no choice but to fight; the window of time he could choose was very limited, and the preparations were extremely rushed, but the current state of the campaign pleased him greatly. Though the Later Jin troops were hasty, Xuan-Da was even more flustered. Zhang Zongheng's headquarters had only just been moved back to Yanghe; the campaign to pursue and wipe out the roving bandits was not yet over, and many remnant bandits still remained in southern Shanxi. Part of the Xuan-Da frontier forces had pursued them into Henan, while another part was still mopping up in southeastern Shanxi.

Because the timing of the Later Jin incursion had changed, Xuan-Da at this moment was even weaker than during the historical Later Jin invasion, for the elite frontier troops had all gone off chasing roving bandits and had not yet returned. Thus, although the Later Jin's own strength was somewhat diminished, the fighting remained entirely one-sided.

The garrison forces everywhere had not the slightest will to fight. These remaining frontier forces were mainly military households; getting them up onto the walls was already considered good enough — expecting them to leave the city and give battle was utterly out of the question. In the original history, there had at least been Cao Wenzhao at Datong, who managed to fight a battle with the Later Jin; now there was not a single unit that dared to fight.

The Later Jin had invaded as always for plunder. Their line of march was planned to sweep as wide an area as possible. Their operational plan itself did not target any military objective; everything was aimed at silver and people. The Later Jin army once again displayed its true nature as horse-riding bandits. Even though Huang Taiji had been in power for eight years, he had still been unable to transform this horde that lived by plunder into a genuine army; it retained its primitive and savage character.

The western column that had entered through Datong Prefecture blocked the official road for those fleeing south. Together with the central column, one south and one north, the central force reached Xuanfu via Shanfangbao, cowed the Ming troops inside the city, then spread out its front and plundered all the way toward Datong. The two fronts, north and south, swept like two brushes, aiming to clean out the vicinity of Datong and seize as many people and as much wealth as possible.

The eastern column's original plan was to link up with Huang Taiji at Xuanfu after the incursion. Huang Taiji's forces were weaker than they had been historically; he had originally intended to forgo the Huailai and Bao'an areas that had been plundered the previous year, and so had eliminated the detached force that was to invade via Dushikou. But as soon as Huang Taiji entered the passes, he received detailed intelligence from multiple channels that Xuan-Da's military strength was hollow, and he also felt that Ming resistance was indeed extremely feeble, so he immediately changed the plan.

After the eastern column failed to take Longmen Guard city, Huang Taiji ordered it to plunder Huailai first, then proceed via Guangling and Hunyuanzhou to Yingzhou, where it would rendezvous with the other two columns. In this way, the three columns would essentially strip Datong Prefecture bare.

By early February, the eastern Later Jin column had already swept the vicinity of Huailai clean. According to the agreement between Huang Taiji and the Eight Houses, the people seized this time would mainly replenish each banner's own losses, with only twenty percent going to the common treasury. Those captured near the border passes were sent back to the border first, where the Eight Houses would receive them and escort them back to Liaodong.

The various Shanxi Garrison forces returning to reinforce Xuan-Da trickled back in scattered groups, hesitating and unable to advance at various points along the Inner Great Wall. These forces were extremely dispersed; even Zhang Zongheng could not locate them, and in their hearts these men greatly feared the Later Jin troops. As it happened, the Later Jin troops had cut the roads to Datong and Yanghe, so they naturally stayed put inside the Inner Great Wall, waiting for orders that would never come.

By this time, Liang Tingdong had already confirmed that the main Later Jin force was in Xuan-Da. Having served as Minister of War for many years, he had been forced to learn a great deal through practice, and his eye was far sharper than that of the average minister. Overriding all dissent, he immediately mobilized troops from various parts of Northern Zhili to hold the passes of the Inner Great Wall, concentrating on the section between Juyong Pass and Daoma Pass. With the defense settled, the next step was relief. Liang Tingdong transferred the elite Liaozhen troops to Xuan-Da, led by Liaozhen Militia Regional Commander Wu Xiang and Shanhai Pass Regional Commander You Shiwei. In addition, he urgently ordered the six thousand troops of Dengzhou Garrison to the capital region to serve as a reserve force for Jingshi. At the same time, he ordered Liaozhen and Dengzhou Garrison to launch diversionary offensives in Liaoxi and Liaonan respectively. Because the Dongjiang Garrison was blocked by ice and unable to land large-scale attacks, Liang Tingdong did not mobilize it. All the military forces of the northern Ming were set in motion around Xuan-Da.

Although Liang Tingdong's strength on paper was formidable, the troops were either separated by over a thousand li or had no heart for battle. Many of the soldiers, the moment they set out, had already resolved not to engage the Jianzhou bandits; their movements were more about placating the imperial court.

The government troops resisted feebly. Wolf-smoke rose everywhere across Xuan-Da. The Later Jin army moved as if entering a land without people. The Xuan-Da forces, once famed as the elite of the Nine Border Garrisons, crumbled at the first blow. The three great columns spread a wide net, cavalry galloping and roaring. Tens of thousands of common folk were seized by the Later Jin troops and driven toward the passes in the freezing wind, their corpses strewn along the road and their wails filling the wilderness.

After sending off the bulk of the captured people, the Later Jin's eastern column began moving south toward Datong Prefecture, preparing to join forces with Huang Taiji at Yingzhou.

。。。。。

On the sixth day of the second month, at the northern border of Wu'an, a crude camp was nearly buried by the howling wind and snow. This camp held over a thousand men but very few horses. There were no banners in the center of the camp, so it was impossible to tell where this unit came from.

The cloth flap of one tent opened, and Zhong Laosi emerged exhaling white breath, his head soon covered in snowflakes. A moment later, Zhou Shao'er also crawled out.

The two stood in the snow, gazing south for a while, both somewhat disappointed. Zhou Shao'er hunched his shoulders and tucked his hands into his sleeves, glancing at Zhong Laosi. "The moment the Fifth Battalion crossed the Yellow River, we've had no fixed camp day after day. Our trading company doesn't have many outposts in Henan. Maybe the relay riders never found Zhu Daichun at all. If we can't get the written order, don't you think we all look like a bunch of fools? In this freezing cold, instead of warming ourselves by a fire in Linxian, we're out here drinking snow and chewing wind."

"Damn it. One step across and it's Zhending Prefecture. All because of that one scrap of paper from Zhu Daichun, we're stuck waiting here." Zhong Laosi stood erect in the wind and snow, gazing north for a moment. "Shanxi is my home turf. Even though I'm not from Datong Prefecture, there's no telling where those Tatars will strike. If those people get caught by the Tatars, they'll have entered the eighteenth level of hell. I wonder if the court has sent enough reinforcements."

The Long Qibing, over eleven hundred combat troops, had already been at this spot for two days under the pretext of a training march, just a single step away from Zhending Prefecture. The reserve Qian-command headquarters had even crossed the border and was transporting provisions northward.

At first, the officers and troops of Zhending Prefecture were thrown into panic and sent many men to investigate. They thought the pacified refugees in Linxian had rebelled again. Fortunately, the Intelligence Bureau located the local trading company and explained the situation to the authorities through private channels, saying only that these were Dengzhou troops returning under orders, preparing to pass through Zhending Prefecture to reinforce Xuan-Da. By now, news of the Tatar incursion had already spread. When Zhending Prefecture heard it was Dengzhou Garrison, they were only too happy for Dengzhou Garrison to stay. Even local resistance vanished, but Zhong Laosi was still constrained by the limits of his troop-transfer authority; the combat troops were pinned at the northern border of Wu'an and could not move.

Zhou Shao'er heard this and laughed. "Aren't the court's troops just the ones from Tongzhou and Changping, plus at most the Liaozhen ones? What use are those? It has to be our Dengzhou Garrison that goes. But here we are — why doesn't the Ministry of War just directly transfer us?"

"They've forgotten all about us." Zhong Laosi said discontentedly. "Zhu Daichun dumped us in Linxian. Maybe Dengzhou even thinks we've gone to Henan. As for the Ministry of War, we're even more pitiful — we probably aren't even in the troop registers."

Zhou Shao'er chuckled. "Everything's chaos everywhere right now. It's possible they've forgotten. How about we just don't go to Shanxi? Wouldn't it be nice to just hide in Linxian for the winter? Why do you have to insist on trudging a thousand li to go fight the Tatars to the death?"

"Of course we have to go. Master Chen said that with roving bandits you can sometimes still talk, but with the Tatars there's nothing to discuss — fight until they surrender. First settle the blood debt of millions in Liaodong, then talk about the rest." Zhong Laosi pinched his nose, blew out a wad of snot, and flung it to the ground with his hand. "I just love listening to Master Chen. Master Chen loves fighting Tatars the most. Same with me. The roving bandits are too weak; fighting them has no kick. Last time at Lushun I didn't get to fight. Damn it."

Zhou Shao'er gazed around once more and finally could not help saying to Zhong Laosi, "Forget it. Don't wait out here. You go back to your tent, I'm heading back to my company."

"Go on then…" Zhong Laosi suddenly raised his hand and stared at Zhou Shao'er. "Hoofbeats."

Zhou Shao'er listened carefully for a moment. Sure enough, there was the sound of galloping hooves. The two hurried to the camp gate and saw several relay riders already dismounted at the gate, handing their military tallies to the platoon leader on guard.

Zhong Laosi strode out and addressed them. "Where have you brothers come from? I am Zhong Caisheng, Vice Battalion Commander of the Fifth Battalion. If you have orders, give them to me at once."

The lead relay rider pulled down the scarf covering his face and produced a military order sealed with wax, exhaling white breath. "Urgent order from the Military Orders Department. To be opened personally by officers of Vice Battalion Commander rank and above in the Fifth Battalion. We chased you here from Linxian."

Zhong Laosi hastily took it and opened it. It read: "Dengzhou Garrison Military Orders Department, Seventh Year, Combat Order No. 1. Order the Fifth Battalion troops remaining in Linxian to immediately proceed to the relief of Xuan-Da. Use the Long Qibing to conduct mobile strikes against detached Jianzhou bandit forces, and to pose a deterrent against small detached Later Jin units. It is hoped that the Long Qibing will fully exploit their mobility advantage, seize the opportunity to deal a heavy blow to one such unit, compel them to concentrate their forces, thereby reducing the scope of their plundering, and rescue the people of Shanxi from dire straits. So ordered. Dengzhou Garrison Regional Commander, Chen Xin."

Zhong Laosi let out a strange yell, slapped his thigh, and laughed heartily. "It's actually signed personally by Master Chen! I always said Master Chen would definitely go fight the Tatars. Master Chen is far away in Dengzhou, yet his order has already arrived. That Zhu Daichun is right in Henan and still dragging his feet behind. The difference in caliber is clear. Damn you, military judges and training officers — let's see what you dare say this time."

Zhou Shao'er, standing beside him, hastily reminded, "We should invite these relay rider brothers inside to rest, or find someone to arrange for them to go to Linxian."

"They can go to Linxian on their own." Zhong Laosi waved his hand, turned, and ran toward his command tent. "Zhou Shao'er, get back to your company. We're breaking camp immediately."

Zhou Shao'er shook his head helplessly. The lead relay rider stared blankly at Zhong Laosi's retreating back for a moment before saying to Zhou Shao'er, "May I trouble you, my lord, to tell that Vice Battalion Commander that he needs to sign the lower half of the return receipt and give it to us? I still have to send someone back to deliver the acknowledgment."

Zhou Shao'er hurriedly spoke to the squad leader on gate duty, skipping the registration entirely, and rushed after Zhong Laosi to his tent. Just as he reached the entrance, Zhong Laosi came out already wearing his red cape, his waist sash also tied, and handed the signed return receipt to the relay rider.

"Sound assembly!" Zhong Laosi glanced at Zhou Shao'er and bared his teeth. "The company commander who assembles last gets twenty military strokes."

Zhou Shao'er cursed under his breath and immediately sprinted off. He had only run a few steps when the assembly call sounded behind him. The entire camp instantly boiled over, the shouts of officers merging into a single din.

Zhong Laosi mounted his horse and looked out. All across the camp, infantry were running to and fro. Their mounts had already been sent ahead to transport supplies. The Long Qibing had become infantry.

This camp was a crude one, and the tents were not proper campaign tents, just shelters that the reserve troops had helped put up. So they had very little to pack up, and their provisions were already up ahead. The army of over a thousand men was ready in no time.

Zhong Laosi gazed at the neat ranks standing solemnly in the wind and snow, and a surge of pride welled up in his heart. He swept his hand forward fiercely. "Long Qibing — move out!"