Chapter 463

"You don't seem too happy? Zhu Guobin just took Fuzhou, and Old Fourth Zhong killed Manggūltai over there — these should be happy things." After coming down, Liu Minyou went to Chen Xin's office and asked Chen Xin with some curiosity.

Chen Xin tilted his head and frowned. Only after finishing the secret letter in his hand did he look up and say, "It's not that I'm unhappy. After all, he was a Grand Beile — it boosts army morale and confidence, and it also strikes a blow to the Later Jin army's confidence. It's just that Manggūltai has always opposed Huang Taiji. Now that this man is gone, Huang Taiji's hands are freed. For the moment, it's still hard to say whether the advantages or disadvantages will be greater."

Liu Minyou smiled and said, "Old Fourth Zhong was promoted by you, wasn't he? So how do we handle the aftermath of this Manggūltai affair?"

Chen Xin raised the letter in his hand. "When Old Fourth Zhong wiped out the Plain Blue Banner, he captured two Han guides. There seem to be traces of Zhangjiakou merchants behind them. Song Wenxian plans to follow the trail and investigate. We can't just ignore this. I can't control them selling goods, but now they're selling out the country. Since the Long Qibing are already in Xuan-Da, we have to teach them a lesson. They've got no respect for the law."

Liu Minyou stood up and said, "Didn't you say combat troops can't do this kind of thing?"

"This isn't robbery. We're catching spies." Chen Xin patted the table. "The last message Zhang Dong sent out said that merchants in Zhangjiakou were buying grain to sell to the Later Jin. The imperial court won't deal with this, but we can't just stand by and watch. I've already decided to authorize Wang Zhangfu to relay orders to Old Fourth Zhong at the right time to strike the Zhangjiakou merchants."

Liu Minyou lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "You're going to Xuanfu to arrest people — is that appropriate?"

Chen Xin leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. "Old Fourth Zhong, that reckless fool — let him go stir up some trouble. He's got extraordinary merit to his name; the court can't do anything to him. But that bastard can't be left out there alone. Once the fighting is over, we'll transfer him back to Dengzhou."

Liu Minyou said with some amusement, "You want to deal with him? His brain isn't like yours. How can a soldier think about so many things on the battlefield?"

Chen Xin shook his head. "This man is like Zhu Guobin — a born soldier, and his talent is even above Zhu Guobin's. But his temperament is far more erratic than Zhu Guobin's. According to reports from the Military Justice Department, Old Fourth Zhong even tried to beat up the training officer and the military judge in Wu'an. The two departments are about to punish him. He's a repeat offender who refuses to change. His nature still needs to be tempered, but you can't temper it too harshly, or his spark will be gone. First, he'll go teach at the military academy for a few months, perfect the drill manuals for the Long Qibing and pure firearms units, and then... I've arranged the most suitable post for him. That place really does need an officer like him."

Liu Minyou didn't ask what the post was. He said somewhat abstractedly, "Many of these Long Qibing were only recruited last year. I never expected them to become such a strong force so quickly. I wonder how those Jianzhou bandits feel now."

Haoge sat on his horse at the mountain pass on the western side of Mount Taixing. Before him stretched wave upon wave of rolling mountains. Behind him stood Degelei, Ajige, Abatai, Ashan, Unage, and others. This pass was the one leading to Zhubokou. Haoge looked at the deep gorge and felt somewhat unnerved.

Degelei pointed at the pass and said in a low voice, "Those Ming troops all retreated this way in the end. Later we blocked the pass. One group of Dengzhou soldiers fled toward Daizhou. The Dengzhou soldiers in the direction of Zhubokou were extremely crafty and never came out again after that. They didn't leave many men outside the mountains. But how many are inside the mountains... no one knows."

Haoge nodded. At that moment, a group of scout riders came galloping out from the pass. They were all elite White Armor Soldiers of the Plain Yellow Banner. The one leading them was Oboi, who had performed excellently lately. He rode straight up to Haoge, dismounted, and said loudly to Haoge, "The Third Beile's head was cut off by them. His body is still hanging from the north gate tower of Zhubokou Pass. The same goes for Tobohui and Darhan."

The men of the Plain Blue Banner stirred in agitation, clamoring one after another to attack Zhubokou together and retrieve Manggūltai's corpse. Haoge knew perfectly well that this was a method the Ming army was using to lure the Later Jin troops. With the terrain of this gorge before them, the Ming army didn't even need to hold Zhubokou firmly. They could just set up two cannons between the cliffs ahead and fire them in rotation. The several thousand men here right now simply couldn't attack through.

But if they turned back now, it would be hard to save face, because Manggūltai's body was still hanging there, and now it had been seen by the scouts. It would also be hard to explain to the men of the Plain Blue Banner.

Moreover, Old Fourth Zhong's deception troops had indeed made the Eastern Route Army see enemies in every bush. Abatai and Ashan had fled rapidly from Guangchang back to Lingqiu, joining forces with Ajige and Degelei at Lingqiu. The entire army had shrunk back to the vicinity of Lingqiu. The scouts they sent out spotted Dengzhou cavalry in many places. And Abatai had only seen infantry at Matou Pass. The scattered armored soldiers who fled back from the Plain Blue Banner also said there was only infantry. Now, judging by the number of scouts, they estimated the Dengzhou troops numbered at least five thousand, very likely hidden in the mountains.

After Haoge arrived, the Eastern Route Army's morale steadied somewhat. At Haoge's request, they sent out capable troops to scout in the direction of Zhubokou.

Finally, yesterday, the White Armor Soldiers of the Plain White Banner captured a Dengzhou scout and forced him to reveal the strength of the Dengzhou forces. Only then did they raise their troops and advance, but they still dared not enter the mountains in force. Haoge, already showing considerable courage, ordered the Bordered Yellow Banner's White Armor Soldiers to enter the mountains and investigate. They cautiously made their way to Zhubokou. The result was beyond his expectations — Manggūltai was still hanging at Zhubokou.

Degelei shouted loudly, "Beile Haoge, the Third Beile died in battle, and that's one thing. But now he's still being hung from the city wall and humiliated by those Dengzhou soldiers. We must take him back and put every one of those Dengzhou soldiers to death by slow slicing."

The officers of the Plain Blue Banner clamored one after another. Haoge waved his hand to make them stop, feeling deeply conflicted. He felt that since they had already driven off the Dengzhou scouts and their main force was cowering inside Zhubokou, the Later Jin army had more or less saved some face. He did not want to enter the mountains, but for the moment he could not find a suitable reason to convince the men of the Plain Blue Banner. He turned his eyes to his seventh uncle, Duoluo Beile Abatai.

Abatai was hanging his head at the back. He had fled on his own at Matou Pass, causing Darhan's entire army to collapse immediately. After returning to Lingqiu, some of Darhan's men who had fled back sought out Abatai for a fight to the death. Degelei and others of the Plain Blue Banner also believed that Abatai had caused the collapse of their rear, which led to Manggūltai being attacked from front and rear. They directly surrounded Abatai's camp. Had the threat from Dengzhou not still been before their eyes, they would probably have seized Abatai long ago. The siege was only lifted after Haoge arrived.

So Haoge thought it over and felt it was inappropriate to have Abatai speak. He turned instead to his twelfth uncle, Ajige. Ajige saw Haoge's gaze and understood his meaning, but he also lacked quick wit and could not come up with anything for the moment.

A voice beside them suddenly asked Oboi, "This slave dares to ask, when you masters were scouting, did you see clearly that it was the Third Beile?"

Haoge looked. It was Fan Wencheng, a clerk from the Literary Office. This man was originally a Licentiate who had defected to Nurhaci as early as the forty-sixth year of Wanli. At first he was quite ordinary, but later he gradually showed some talent. After Huang Taiji ascended the throne, he was first a Licentiate in the Study. Later, when the Study was changed to the Literary Office, he became an official there. During the Battle of Dalinghe, he single-handedly persuaded a watchtower to surrender. Huang Taiji rewarded him with over a hundred people, and he formally became a member of the Later Jin slave-owning class, though his status remained very low.

"Yes. I saw clearly." Oboi, not noticing Haoge's hint, said loudly.

Haoge asked coldly, "You saw the brows and eyes clearly?"

"This... no, I saw from a distance. It was the Third Beile's armor."

"It must be a trick of the Dengzhou soldiers." Fan Wencheng lowered his head, thought over his wording, and spoke calmly. "Masters, consider this: the Nikans have killed the Third Beile this time. What a great merit this is. They would certainly rush the body to the Ming capital to claim credit. What remains here is nothing but a suit of armor. They randomly found a corpse, hung it up, deliberately let our White Armor Soldiers see it from a distance, and then lured our main army to go seize it. Their hidden troops would then rise up to deal a heavy blow to our Eastern Route Army. Do not think that because scouts can go in and out, the main army can do the same. These mountains are high and the forests dense. You could hide ten thousand men anywhere and never find them. Once our Eastern Route Army's several thousand men enter, if we are surrounded by Dengzhou Garrison, who will come to rescue us then?"

Ajige, Ashan, and others nodded one after another. Degelei and the others of the Plain Blue Banner looked at each other. Fan Wencheng's words were very reasonable. Such a great merit — indeed, no Ming general would be so stupid as to leave Manggūltai's body at the front line. If it were lost, they would lose an extraordinary achievement.

Haoge nodded to Fan Wencheng in encouragement. Being able to use reason to persuade the men of the Plain Blue Banner was indeed far better than forcing them.

Haoge did not give Degelei and the others time to rebuke Fan Wencheng. He immediately said to them, "What Fan Wencheng says is reasonable. We have been here for several days, and the Dengzhou Garrison has cowered inside without coming out. They must be trying to lure us into the mountains to repeat their old trick of blocking the mountain pass. Our Great Jin excels in field battles and charges. In this kind of gorge, it is hard to deploy. Since the Dengzhou Garrison dares not come out of the mountains, we should also not enter them. Let us first return to Datong and besiege the city of Datong. The Ming Emperor, in his anxiety, will surely order the Dengzhou army to relieve Datong. At that time, our main army will wait at ease for the exhausted enemy and annihilate the Dengzhou and Guanning troops in one stroke, avenging this blood debt for the Third Beile."

In the Western Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, the Chongzhen Emperor was casually eating snacks. Below him, Liang Tingdong was also given a portion of pastries.

"Minister Liang, I hear that this Zhong... Zhong..."

"Zhong Caisheng."

"Right. I hear he is a Mobile Corps Commander of Dengzhou, not a very high rank. What kind of fierce general is he, to be able to slay Manggūltai in battle, that villain who has wrought evil for so many years?"

Liang Tingdong said respectfully, "In reply to Your Majesty, your old minister went to check the Ministry of War's records. This Zhong Caisheng was promoted to Mobile Corps Commander for his merit in seizing the ford during the Battle of Fuzhou. However, he is not in an ordinary mobile corps. He is the Mobile Corps Commander of the main battalion under Militia Regional Commander Liu Minyou. Back then, he once routed Manggūltai and Dorgon and sent them fleeing. This time, he happened to be suppressing bandits in Henan. The one leading the troops was Dengzhou Vice Regional Commander with Regional Commander rank, Zhu Daichun. But at the time, the Ministry of War's directive had not arrived, and he dared not turn the entire army back. He could only separately order Zhong Caisheng to return to Beizhili as quickly as possible to serve the King. His unit is mostly cavalry. They rushed a thousand li to Daoma Pass. The passages through Mount Taixing are narrow. Manggūltai, one might say, was at the end of his wicked rope. The Jianzhou bandits have suffered heavy losses, and our Great Ming has gained another fierce general. Your old minister congratulates Your Majesty."

The Chongzhen Emperor waved his hand in satisfaction and said, "How should this Zhong Caisheng be rewarded? Tell me the established rules from the Collected Statutes."

This was a rare instance of the Chongzhen Emperor personally inquiring about a reward. Liang Tingdong thought over the Collected Statutes and then said, "According to the ancestral system, military merit is ranked first for the northern barbarians, with the Jurchen of Liaodong second. Since the Jianzhou bandits rebelled, military merit against the Liaodong Jurchen has been ranked first. For every enemy head taken by a battalion soldier, one rank is promoted. If a Squad Commander leads five hundred men and kills five enemies, the Squad Commander is promoted one rank. By this analogy, Zhong Caisheng is a Mobile Corps Commander of the main battalion. His troop strength is fixed and can only be calculated according to the standard mobile corps of one thousand men. Killing ten enemies promotes one rank, with three ranks as the limit. Among these, two ranks are substantive appointments and one rank is an acting appointment. But Zhong Caisheng holds military registration, and his acting appointment is already Regional Military Commissioner of the Shandong Regional Military Commission. According to the regulations approved in the fourteenth year of Chenghua, substantive appointments for Regional Military Commissioners are not promoted further; only two ranks of acting appointment are promoted. It should be Vice Commissioner-in-Chief of the Left Chief Military Commission. However, Zhong Caisheng also has this extraordinary merit of slaying a major Jianzhou chieftain. After much consideration, your old minister proposes that the ministry recommend Zhong Caisheng be substantively appointed as Dengzhou Militia Vice Regional Commander, with the rank of Regional Commander to lead troops, and acting Vice Commissioner-in-Chief of the Left Chief Military Commission. The military prestige rank will be added after the Xuan-Da campaign concludes."

The Chongzhen Emperor nodded and smiled. "Very good. Minister Liang, you must not treat such a loyal and brave man shabbily. In truth, with a man so valiant, the Ministry of War could well transfer him to Jizhen or Xuan-Da. With him guarding the passes, how would the Jianzhou bandits dare to easily cross the border in the future?"

As soon as Liang Tingdong heard that the Chongzhen Emperor wanted to transfer people, he immediately understood what was on the Emperor's mind. The Dengzhou Garrison was producing fierce generals one after another, and the Emperor was somewhat uneasy, hoping to disperse these fierce generals to various places to achieve a certain division. But Liang Tingdong did not know what Chen Xin would think.

Liang Tingdong thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty is wise. Such a fierce general can indeed overawe the Jianzhou bandits. But Manggūltai's head has not yet been verified..."

The Chongzhen Emperor asked in surprise, "I long ago ordered the Ministry of War and the Chief Surveillance Commission to coordinate with the Military Defense Circuit and the Provincial Governor to verify it. Why has it still not been verified?"

"The Vice Military Defense Commissioner of Jingxing, Kong Wenshi, went to Zhubokou to look. The heads are all real. The captured armored soldiers also said it was indeed Manggūltai. However... that Zhong Caisheng said he wanted to use Manggūltai's body to lure the Jianzhou bandits into attacking Zhubokou, so as to kill more of them. And his words were rather arrogant. Kong Wenshi was even cursed at by him. And he has consistently refused to send the head to Daoma Pass. The Regional Inspector of Zhili, several censors of the Chief Surveillance Commission, and the supervising secretaries of the Office of Scrutiny for War are also unwilling to go to Zhubokou. Therefore, the formal military merit verification, on the contrary, the memorials impeaching Zhong Caisheng have already reached the Grand Secretariat."

The Chongzhen Emperor stood up, took two steps, stopped, and said to Liang Tingdong, "This matter of Zhong Caisheng's promotion should wait a while. After the Xuan-Da campaign is over... we will discuss it again. Issue another ministry order, urging Wu Xiang and You Shiwei to relieve Datong as quickly as possible. Also, for Wang Zhangfu's unit coming from Dengzhou, have them not enter the capital. They should take Zijing Pass and Daoma Pass to relieve Datong."