Chapter 461: Rashness

Outside Datong, the Later Jin army was arrayed in strict and imposing order. Within the encampment there were no large crowds of commoners or wagon trains, only crack armored soldiers. Huang Taiji had long since recalled the two detached forces from Shuozhou and Daizhou, preparing to strike Wu Xiang and You Shiwei, who were coming to reinforce Liaozhen.

Only the force that had gone toward Lingqiu remained unaccounted for. The last report was that Manggultai had gone to Guangchang. Huang Taiji had taken the main army and left Yingzhou, heading straight for Datong, and had sent an urgent order to the eastern-route army to return as quickly as possible. Today, what came back was a letter from Ajige and Degelei begging for help.

Huang Taiji sat inside the great tent, silent for a long time, with only Haoge keeping him company. This time Manggultai's whereabouts were unknown. Of the Plain Blue Banner he had led away, only scattered men had fled back to Lingqiu. It was said they had encountered Dengzhou troops, and both men and horses had been routed, but no one knew where Manggultai had gone.

The letter from Ajige and Degelei was somewhat incoherent, betraying their loss of composure. They did not know whether they should stay to cover Manggultai or return directly to Datong, and could only ask Huang Taiji for instructions.

The urgent letter Abatai sent today, however, was very clear. It was a newly appeared Dengzhou troop type, all carrying flintlock muskets with bayonets. According to Abatai's account, the force he saw numbered about three thousand men in total. The entire army had strict and solemn discipline, advancing in orderly ranks even under arrow fire. Every volley of platoon fire was soul-shaking. Abatai had only a few hundred men and could not withstand their assault. He lost everything he had looted in Guangchang. Darhan of the Bordered Yellow Banner was also unaccounted for, and he did not yet know whether there were follow-up Dengzhou forces.

Huang Taiji was about to face a serious defeat. The men he had lost far exceeded those at Lushun. But at Lushun no gūsa ejen had been lost. This time, what might be lost in that vast mountain range could be two gūsa and a grand beile. The political impact far outweighed the loss of strength. The psychological blow to the Later Jin nobility would be no less than the Battle of Lushun, because they only truly felt the sting when it was their own kind. Now it was laid bare before them: in battle with Dengzhou, not only could common soldiers die, but gūsa and grand beile could likewise die at any moment. In future battles, their morale when facing Dengzhou would be greatly affected.

Huang Taiji did not yet fully understand the course of the battle, but he was certain of one thing. When Later Jin faced Dengzhou, their hearts filled with dread. Only a complete army-wide collapse could have caused the loss of a gūsa and Manggultai.

"Imperial Father," Haoge said in a low voice, "if the Third Beile is truly dead, then only the Second Beile remains. Daišan will be a lone tree that cannot stand. What you say, Father, will carry more weight."

"You oversimplify it." Huang Taiji shook his head. "If only Manggultai had died, I would not so much as furrow my brow. But now what is dead are two gūsa and a beile, plus more than half of the Plain Blue Banner. Our own Bordered Yellow Banner has also lost three or four niru. This matter cannot be covered up. Each banner will learn of it sooner or later. When that happens, how many will still dare to engage the Dengzhou army alone?"

Haoge was somewhat tongue-tied. In truth, he too was a little afraid. The Later Jin army, when driven to desperation, was utterly ferocious. But those Dengzhou troops gave off a feeling not of ferocity, but of emotionless machines. What made his heart even more hollow was that Dengzhou Garrison kept producing new things. Their combinations of various firearms were extremely practical, and the Later Jin army had yet to find a suitable way to counter them. Haoge did not fear a ferocious enemy, but he feared an enemy he did not know how to deal with.

"Imperial Father, then what should we do?"

Huang Taiji stood up and silently paced two circles inside the tent, his face so cold that no emotion could be read. Finally he stopped and looked at Haoge. "You will take the entire Bordered Yellow Banner, the Mongol Left and Right Wings, and five niru of the Bordered Blue Banner. Go to Lingqiu to meet and cover the eastern-route forces."

Haoge said in astonishment, "But Wu Xiang and You Shiwei of the Guanning Army have already passed Juyong Pass. If I take away so many men and horses, what if they suddenly advance..."

"You mean Wu Xiang?" Huang Taiji shook his head. "Do you believe he would dare come and attack our main army on his own initiative?"

Haoge shook his head. "But You Shiwei is from Yulin Guard in Shaanxi. I hear that place produces no small number of men who can fight."

Huang Taiji sighed. "What use is he alone? At most it is only the retainers from Qin who can fight, no more than a thousand. As long as Wu Xiang does not move, You Shiwei will not dare move either. You will lead the troops out tomorrow."

"Yes. How should I fight, your son?"

"We have been inside the passes for a month. Dengzhou Garrison still has troops in Liaonan. In winter they cannot return to Shandong, so the reinforcements that come cannot be too many. They should be their cavalry, or that kind of dragoon cavalry of theirs. Conceal your movements on the way. Let Ajige seek an opportunity to engage that Dengzhou garrison force on open ground — Daizhou, Lingqiu, or Fanzhi will all do. Then you spring the ambush, strike down a portion of them, and restore our army's prestige."

Haoge lowered his head in thought, then asked, "Why not simply have the eastern route withdraw directly? Reinforcements from all over Ming are on the march. Especially since Dengzhou Garrison has already appeared, we should not linger long."

Huang Taiji abruptly turned his head and stared at Haoge, his gaze so sharp that Haoge retreated a step in alarm. "We have always told you to use your brain more. Now Manggultai's whereabouts are unknown, and it is not yet clear whether he died in battle or is simply lost. If We were to order the eastern route to withdraw now, which banner lord would still heed the Khan's orders of this Great Jin Khan in the future? At Lushun our Great Jin suffered a great loss of military prestige, but that could still be counted as an assault on a strong city. Now, here at Lingqiu, we have lost a field battle, and we flee in panic without even knowing the enemy's numbers. Which armored soldier would still be willing to face Dengzhou in formation in the future? You would rather lose a thousand armored horsemen than fail to win back this military prestige for me. Moreover..." Huang Taiji shifted his gaze and stared at the ornate tent ceiling. "Manggultai is most likely already dead. In sending you to Lingqiu to rescue them, We are winning the hearts of the Plain Blue Banner's remaining troops."

Haoge's eyes shifted. The Later Jin's consistent custom was inheritance within the family. Even if Manggultai were dead, the Plain Blue Banner should be inherited by Degelei as banner lord. For Huang Taiji to arrange things this way meant that Huang Taiji might be about to break the old rules. And to break the rules, one needed sufficient prestige. This was also why Huang Taiji insisted that he must strike at the Dengzhou army.

"Father, what if that Dengzhou force does not come out?"

"Then the armored soldiers will likewise believe that you rescued them. You will gather up the Plain Blue Banner's men and lead the eastern-route army back in full order. This is an excellent opportunity for you to build your prestige. Remember absolutely: do not attack strong cities. Do your utmost to lure the Dengzhou troops out of the Taihang Mountains."

"Ha!" Zhong Lao Si uttered a low cry and smugly poured a bowl of wine down his throat. Zhou Shao'er set down his wine bowl and grabbed a piece of mutton sprinkled with pepper, chewing with gusto.

Liu Yue ran to the doorway and told the guard, "No matter who comes, say I'm not here."

After the dragoons had wiped out the Plain Blue Banner's main force, they had gathered up the baggage of the Later Jin army at Zhubokou, and the entire force was now encamped in and around Zhubokou. The next day they sent two companies out of Zhubokou, conducting three days of feints and reconnaissance toward Daizhou and Lingqiu. Several small-scale engagements occurred with the Later Jin army at Lingqiu. The Later Jin troops' morale was indeed greatly affected; without absolute superiority, they often fled in panic.

But Zhong Lao Si did not act rashly. The Later Jin troops at Lingqiu had multiple banner designations and their encampments were not in the same place; he could not confirm the enemy's strength. He quickly pulled back the main force. At present, only one company was dispersed beyond the Taihang Mountains. The other three companies and the reserve troops were all concentrated between Zhubokou and Wuwangkou. The rescued commoners were emerging from the mountains one after another, and Zhong Lao Si used them as labor, moving supplies and refugees along the gorge via Wuwangkou toward Fuping County.

Guan Dadi used only one hand to grab meat. His left hand had an arrow wound and he could not yet move it. Today Zhong Lao Si had called him out from his station, and a few of them had gathered in the courtyard where Liu Yue was temporarily staying to drink in secret.

After eating a piece of mutton, Guan Dadi said to Zhong Lao Si in a low voice, "Brother Zhong, if we drink like this and the military judge finds out, we'll all be punished."

Zhong Lao Si rolled his eyes at him. "How much punishment can it be? Damn it, don't be like you were at the Guandi Temple, nagging while you eat."

Guan Dadi shrank his head and continued to deal with the wine and meat before him. Zhou Shao'er, his mouth full of meat, said to Guan Dadi, "What the hell are you worried about? If the military judge asks, just say Zhong Lao Si called you over. Military orders cannot be disobeyed. If there's punishment, punish Zhong Lao Si alone."

Guan Dadi foolishly replied, "Alright!"

"Alright my ass." Zhong Lao Si kicked the leg of Zhou Shao'er's stool and cursed, "I meant well and now it's my fault? You push everything onto me alone — is that how a brother acts?"

Zhou Shao'er kept cursing, "Every time you want me to charge, have you ever thought about whether I'm your brother? Every single time, if I don't move, it's military law."

"That's battle. Without military law, what the hell are we fighting?" Zhong Lao Si poured himself a mouthful of wine. "If I don't force you to fight, more people die later. It's not like you don't know what's at stake."

Zhou Shao'er turned his head away. "I know all that. I just can't stand hearing you talk."

Zhong Lao Si was about to curse when he suddenly remembered something and ran to the door. He opened it and glanced north. Hanging there were several corpses — none other than Plain Blue Banner Lord Manggultai, gūsa ejen Tobohui, and the bayara ejen. He laughed a satisfied laugh, then shut the door and came back.

Liu Yue looked at Zhong Lao Si with a rather bored expression and said, "How many times a day do you have to look? They're just a few Tatar corpses. When we kill Huang Taiji someday, you can take your time looking."

Zhong Lao Si chuckled. "I just love looking. This time we killed Manggultai. How much silver do you reckon Lord Chen will reward us?"

Zhou Shao'er snorted. "Kong Wenshi came asking for the heads. Just give them to him and save yourself the constant trips to look."

"How could I give them to him? Our Dengzhou Garrison fought for them. Of course we wait until Wang Zhangfu comes. How can we let a civil official take the credit?"

Zhou Shao'er spat. "I told you before, Manggultai shouldn't have been killed. He's the one who sings a different tune from Huang Taiji. It was covered in the situation analysis meetings. You just never listen carefully, and once the fighting started you didn't listen to me either. This time we should have chased Abatai and wiped out every last man of the Bordered Yellow Banner."

Zhong Lao Si said discontentedly, "Manggultai is a grand beile. I don't believe Lord Chen won't be pleased."

"Zhong Lao Si... that dog of a talent!" Wang Zhangfu slammed his palm on the table, crumpled the urgent report Zhong Lao Si had sent, and threw it on the floor.

Song Wenxian walked over from the side, picked up the crumpled paper from the floor, smoothed it out, and read it carefully. He shook his head and said, "If Zhu Daichun had been at Daoma Pass, this wouldn't have happened. He would certainly have pursued Abatai, and then gone to Guangchang to strike Ashan of the Plain White Banner."

"Exactly." Wang Zhangfu was so angry his face was bright red. "And on an urgent battle report, neither the military judge nor the training officer signed it. Zhong Lao Si just dared to send it to Dengzhou. If it hadn't run into us halfway, the Military Orders Office would have had to punish him again. The matter of striking Manggultai has been covered in multiple situation analysis meetings. Under equal conditions, priority goes to striking Huang Taiji's trusted confidants. That Zhong Lao Si has never once listened seriously. Right now he's surely still feeling smug about killing a grand beile."

Song Wenxian also sighed. He had come out together with Wang Zhangfu's king-saving army, helping Wang Zhangfu manage relations with local authorities. They had dawdled the whole way and had not yet reached Dezhou when they received this battle report from Zhong Lao Si that barely counted as a victory report.

He had been exposed to a great deal of Later Jin intelligence, and his understanding of Liaodong politics far exceeded that of ordinary officers. From the latest information, Manggultai's constraints on Huang Taiji were extremely pronounced. Moreover, he had consistently been the most brazen in the matter of Liaodong smuggling, taking a very large share of the smuggling trade. One could even say he had been something of an asset to Dengzhou. Now that he had fallen, the Later Jin political situation was bound to undergo a shake-up. According to the Intelligence Bureau's collected analysis of Daišan's character, this man was quite slick. In the past he had always egged on Amin and Manggultai to take the lead. Now that Amin and Manggultai were finished, the likelihood of Daišan backing down was very high. Once Huang Taiji freed his hands to consolidate the Eight Banners, the effect would far exceed the few Later Jin soldiers Zhong Lao Si had wiped out.

Wang Zhangfu's face was red with anger. "Forget it. Dead is dead anyway. Intercept this battle report. I'll write an unofficial urgent letter to Lord Chen, and then send a dispatch to the Military Orders Office in the name of the king-saving army. I'm afraid I'll also have to send a military order to Zhong Lao Si. I just fear that Zhong Lao Si will act rashly again."

Song Wenxian looked at the crumpled urgent letter and suddenly smiled. "I hear he also captured two guides, with the shadow of Shanxi merchants from Zhangjiakou behind them. Since Zhong Lao Si is rash, let him be rash one more time. It just so happens he has the extraordinary feat of slaying an enemy commander since the Eastern Campaigns began. Even if he is rash, what can the imperial court do to him?" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian to cast recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to read.)