Chapter 521: Peace Talks

Outside Caohe Fort, a river flowed past — this river was the Caohe from which the fort took its name. Along the Caohe river channel ran an old road that led straight to Fenghuang City. The routes from Liaozhong into Korea were Lianshan Pass, Tongyuan Fort, Fenghuang City, and Zhenjiang; Caohe was not a main thoroughfare here. Since the Later Jin seized Liaodong, the area had become sparsely populated, all the good farmland had been abandoned, and the roads were swallowed by wild grass.

Two companies of Dengzhou soldiers formed up in ranks along the riverbank. The Caohe river valley was relatively open at this point. The Later Jin cavalry spread out their battle line, totaling around twelve hundred, but Huang Taiji's Khan banner was already gone.

Zhong Laosi raised his telescope and observed for a while. The Later Jin troops had used the cavalry's short-range mobility to pull back and open distance, completing their formation on the opposite bank of the crossing, screening those Later Jin soldiers who were fleeing on foot.

The troops Zhong Laosi had brought consisted of three companies plus two Mandarin Duck Formation squads. Apart from the one company serving as the vanguard, the First Battalion also had one company left behind at Tongyuan Fort, two companies deployed — Shang Kexi and Mao Chenglu's troops could not keep up with the Dengzhou Garrison's pace, so the bulk remained at Tongyuan Fort and another portion stayed at Caohekou.

Liu Yue stood beside Zhong Laosi. After observing, he said to Zhong Laosi, "That's the main banner of the Bordered Blue Banner's Banner Lord — it's Jirgalang. Zhu Feng said Huang Taiji was also at this location, but he should have already withdrawn."

"Jirgalang is blocking the river crossing precisely to let Huang Taiji withdraw. The Jianzhou bandits have lost their nerve too."

Liu Yue hesitated and said, "This Later Jin force has suffered heavy losses along this route and can only retreat now. Even if they return to Liaozhong, they won't be able to reinforce Gaizhou. We should tie down the troops at Lianshan Pass, so the Jianzhou bandits won't have enough strength in the Gaizhou direction."

Zhong Laosi stared at the Later Jin troops on the opposite bank without speaking. Liu Yue continued, "This Later Jin force hasn't collapsed. They're all mounted, so we can't catch Huang Taiji. If we pursue them all the way, our supplies may run short."

At that moment, a relay horse galloped swiftly from the direction of Caohekou and reported to Zhong Laosi, "Sir Zhong, the Jianzhou bandits at Lianshan Pass are fiercely attacking Caohekou. Shang Kexi requests that you, my lord, send troops to reinforce."

"Who is leading them?"

"There are banners of Bordered Yellow, Bordered Red, and Plain White. It's not yet clear who is in command."

Zhong Laosi thought for a moment, then said, "Leave one company to cut off the crossing. The other two companies will return with me to Caohekou."

…

Five days later, in the outskirts of Shenyang City, a column of Plain Yellow Banner troops advanced slowly — these were the defeated Later Jin soldiers falling back. The Dengzhou Garrison's Second Guard Battalion had chased the tail of the Later Jin force all the way to Caohekou. Most of the Later Jin soldiers who had not seized horses were beaten to death or fled into the old-growth forest. If they could not travel the main roads, they would not be getting out of those places any time soon. Without supplies, many would likely be unable to make it past Samaji Fort.

On Huang Taiji's route, two thousand Han troops had been brought along. Six of their square formations suffered heavy blows. During the flight, they had been at the rear, so quite a few managed to escape the Dengzhou pursuit. After Huang Taiji withdrew past Caohe Fort, he used the widening terrain of the Caohe river valley to check the Dengzhou infantry's advance with cavalry, while at the same time Yoto at Lianshan Pass launched an attack to tie down the Ming troops. Huang Taiji retreated ahead of Jirgalang and returned smoothly to Liaozhong.

After this battle, Later Jin army morale was extremely low. Even Huang Taiji's Khan banner seemed somewhat wilted. Outside Shenyang City there were no welcoming crowds. Most of the Later Jin's armored soldiers had already been mobilized and dispatched to various places to deal with the Ming army's spring offensive. Only the old, the weak, and family dependents remained in Shenyang City. Shenyang had not faced a war threat for many years, but this time, under the Ming army's offensive, none of the Later Jin forces on any route had gained the advantage. Gaizhou's supply line was cut off by the Ming army; Dengzhou infantry had already assaulted the city multiple times; Ming scout riders appeared outside Haizhou City; Ming cavalry appeared on the Liaozhong plain for the first time. This was a severe blow to Later Jin's rule.

Huang Taiji entered the city through the south gate, entering very quietly. Jirgalang was still in the mountains on defense. At this moment, only his close minister Sonin remained by his side. Oboi, his personal guard, had led the rear guard's armored soldiers during the final round of attacks and had not been seen since. Huang Taiji did not know whether he was dead or alive, but in his heart he felt Oboi's chances were grim.

When he returned to the imperial palace, Bao Chengxian, Gao Hongzhong, Fan Wencheng, and others were already kneeling outside the palace gate. Huang Taiji did not say much to them and went straight inside. Sonin knew these men were Huang Taiji's trusted confidants and beckoned to them. The few men gathered around Sonin and listened as he recounted the attack on Caohekou.

After hearing it, the three men's expressions were equally grave. The combat strength of the Dengzhou army had already exceeded their expectations. In the past, the Dengzhou Garrison could only oppose the Later Jin army under favorable conditions; now there was a trend of them growing ever stronger, daring to confront several thousand Later Jin elite troops with only a few hundred men. The military force Huang Taiji could most rely on was becoming increasingly inadequate.

Sonin led the three men into the palace. After finding Huang Taiji's personal guards, they learned that Huang Taiji had gone to the Dazheng Hall. The four men then went to the Dazheng Hall and stood waiting outside for Huang Taiji to summon them.

They waited a full half-hour. The doors inside opened wide, and a guard came out and beckoned the four inside. Gao Hongzhong walked behind Sonin. He stole a glance upward. On the Khan throne, Huang Taiji looked haggard, his round face seeming to have shrunk a size. Fan Wencheng dropped to his knees with a thud and wept to Huang Taiji, "Your servant begs the Great Khan to take care of his dragon body. A minor setback does not harm our Great Jin's foundation. Perhaps that force is merely Chen Xin's personal retainers. Such combat strength can never number in the tens of thousands; they must be elite soldiers Chen Xin raised by exhausting his military funds. They too have suffered heavy losses this time and will not recover their vitality within a year or half a year."

Huang Taiji waved his hand listlessly for them to rise. He slowly rubbed his nose and said weakly, "Minister Fan need not say more. The Bayara also captured a Dengzhou scout rider and interrogated everything out of him. They are the Dengzhou Guard Second Battalion. The battalion commander is that Zhong Caisheng who beat Mang Gurtai to death. It is not merely a few hundred men. The Second Battalion alone has over two thousand, mostly young men recruited not long ago."

Fan Wencheng was speechless. Huang Taiji let out a long sigh and said, "I have heard that Qi Jiguang was a man of Dengzhou, but even the Zhejiang troops could not withstand our Great Jin's full-force strike. I only wish to know — are the mountain folk of Dengzhou more fierce than our Great Jin's Jushen? Where do so many strong soldiers come from?"

No one present could answer his question. Dengzhou was mountainous, formerly a place so poor that birds would not even shit there. The Provincial Governor had changed several times during the Tianqi years, and no one had ever heard of it producing strong soldiers. Yet the current situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse because of the Dengzhou Garrison.

Huang Taiji sat up straight and asked Gao Hongzhong, "What is the situation in the direction of Lianshan Pass?"

Gao Hongzhong knelt and said, "After Yoto attacked Caohekou several times, he withdrew back to Lianshan Pass the day before yesterday. The Dengzhou and Dongjiang forces attacked once and were repelled by Yoto. The Second Beile has transferred five hundred Plain Red Banner armored soldiers from Shenyang to reinforce Lianshan Pass. That route should be secure. Huang Long reached the old city of Hetu Ala. Beile Dodo has already driven them back. Only at Gaizhou… the Dengzhou troops have already besieged and attacked Gaizhou twice. The city wall has collapsed for several zhang. Dengzhou scout riders have penetrated straight into Haizhou and were driven off by Beile Dodo at Haizhou. Beile Dodo still requests that the Great Khan dispatch troops to reinforce Gaizhou."

Huang Taiji shook his head and said, "We still must not commit our troops into the mountains. Our Great Jin cavalry's advantage cannot be brought to bear in the mountains, and instead they are killed by Dengzhou infantry with firearms and cannons."

Sonin knew that Huang Taiji's confidence had actually been dealt a blow. This Dengzhou offensive was nearing its end, because their supply route in the central direction was not unobstructed. Apart from the incident at Caohe Fort, they had not achieved major results in any direction. Both sides were still primarily engaged in attrition. Because of the difficult supply route, the Dengzhou Garrison's attacks in the direction of Lianshan Pass lacked strength and staying power and could not penetrate directly into Liaozhong, but Dengzhou held the strategic advantage.

First, the Battle of Caohekou had shattered the Later Jin army's confidence. At least in Sonin's mind, that fluttering Flying Tiger Skull Banner lingered like an inescapable nightmare. Second, the Ming army had occupied the two critical nodes of Xiuyan and Fenghuang City. With forward strongholds like Tongyuan Fort and Caohe Fort, the Dengzhou army could safely stockpile supplies and mass troops at Xiuyan and Fenghuang City. Next autumn, they would be able to launch a more sustained offensive. The Later Jin could not afford a war of attrition with them.

Bao Chengxian said cautiously, "Great Khan, the day before yesterday Niuzhuang reported back that west of the Sancha River there is a force of Liaozhen cavalry. They made a feint at Huangniwa and then turned back toward Jinzhou."

Bang! Huang Taiji slammed his hand heavily on the armrest. He stood up furiously and raged, "Does Zu Dashou not want his son anymore? Does he truly think our Great Jin can be bullied by anyone?"

Bao Chengxian immediately knelt and said, "Zu Dashou did not cross Huangniwa, nor did he build cities at Dalinghe or other places. This time he came perhaps under pressure from the Ming Emperor. Now Dengzhou is our Great Jin's primary enemy. Your servant begs the Great Khan not to quibble with a petty man like Zu Dashou."

Gao Hongzhong also knelt on the ground, listening to Bao Chengxian's words. In truth, he quickly understood Zu Dashou's thinking. Dispatching troops to the Sancha River at this time was a gesture to Dengzhou and the imperial court — more of a going-through-the-motions. Otherwise, if the Liaozhen cavalry had truly raided the Niuzhuang-Haizhou area, the Later Jin's situation would have become even worse.

Gao Hongzhong had established a relationship with Chen Xin at Lushun. After returning to Liaozhong, he had risked passing messages several times. Their message channel went through the Mongol direction, making transmission very time-consuming, but it still counted as a retreat path Gao Hongzhong had kept for himself. Most of Chen Xin's intelligence on the Later Jin high command came from Gao Hongzhong.

Now that the Dengzhou Garrison had displayed formidable combat strength, the advantage the Later Jin had built since the first year of Chongzhen had been almost entirely lost. The balance in Gao Hongzhong's heart had tilted ever more toward Dengzhou.

He lay prostrate on the ground, listening quietly, but his mind had already turned over countless thoughts. While distracted, he suddenly heard Fan Wencheng beside him say, "Your servant, your servant has something to say. I fear the Great Khan's punishment if I speak, but your servant would not dare not speak it even on pain of death."

Huang Taiji's voice sounded from above, "Minister Fan, speak freely."

"Your servant, your servant, your servant begs the Great Khan to reopen peace talks with the Ming State!"

Everyone in the great hall turned their heads in unison. Gao Hongzhong looked at Fan Wencheng and saw him, tears and snot streaming down his face, say, "The Great Khan sees clearly. Chen Xin of Dengzhou possesses great talent and bold vision, yet harbors sinister intentions. He is not only our Great Jin's enemy, but also the enemy of the Ming Emperor. In past years, when the Ming State discussed peace, they demanded that our Great Jin withdraw behind the border walls of the Wanli years — without that, there could be no peace talks. Now the times have changed. Chen Xin trains private troops and raises private funds. Dengzhou dominates Shandong alone, and between it and the capital lies flat, open plain. The Ming Emperor has been increasingly on guard against him this year. Our Great Jin is likewise trapped by the strength of Dengzhou's military. Those who achieve great things do not quibble over trifles. This is precisely the moment for our Great Jin and the Ming State to reopen peace talks. Our Great Jin might as well make some concessions. Presumably the Ming Emperor will understand the meaning in this. The Guanning forces where Zu Dashou is stationed also do not wish to see the Dengzhou Garrison continue to expand. The Dengzhou Garrison has tens of thousands of strong troops and will never tolerate the Guanning Army the way the imperial court does. Your servant believes that Marshal Zu understands this as well. Your servant is willing to go in person to Jinzhou to persuade Marshal Zu. The Liaozhen forces are deeply entangled with the capital officials. With their help, this matter becomes even more feasible. Our Great Jin could renounce our title, and could even promise to help the Ming State exterminate those roving bandits, thereby gaining a period of rest and recovery. When the Ming Emperor falls out with Chen Xin, that will be the moment for our Great Jin to rise again."

Gao Hongzhong stole a glance toward the seat of honor. Huang Taiji was rubbing his nose, seeming to have sunk into deep thought. (To be continued.)

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