Chapter 546: Northward

In mid-August, beacon fires already blazed across Liaodong. Every niru of the Eight Banners had been drained of its able-bodied men, leaving only the old, weak, and women to guard the village forts. Ming offensives swept in like an overwhelming tide. The Dongjiang army besieged Hetu Ala and Lianshan Pass in succession. More and more Dongjiang scout riders appeared around Sarhū and Jiefan, and some even crossed Sarhū into the plains. Later Jin abandoned the northern line, leaving a two-thousand-man cavalry force to hold Shenyang and wait for the Dongjiang army to enter the plains. Later Jin faced enemies on all sides—even Liaoxi, which had always been quiet, now posed a threat.

On the twentieth day of the eighth month, outside the old walls of Xiping Fort, a Ming army in bright armor and uniforms formed ranks beyond the ruined fort. Three banners faced them: Bordered White, Plain Yellow, and Bordered Yellow. But scout riders reported back to Zu Dale that the Plain Yellow and Bordered Yellow were all Han Banner troops, while the Bordered White was led by Ajige. Ajige commanded fifteen niru, but this banner had suffered repeated heavy blows from Dengzhou, so only about seven niru had come to Xiping Fort this time—roughly six to seven hundred men.

In the past, if Zu Dale had encountered seven or eight hundred Tatar soldiers, he would have fled directly. But now the Tatars had only six hundred true Jurchen, plus around two thousand Han Banner troops. Zu Dale had a thousand Liaozhen cavalry, over two hundred retainers, and two thousand infantry. He had also calculated that the Tatars could not send a large force across the river. With only this many Tatar soldiers now, he felt there was nothing to fear.

Zu Dale glanced to his right. There stood two men from Dengzhou—so-called liaison officers who had only arrived in Liaozhen this year. Zu Dashou had invited them on this campaign precisely so they could bear witness that Liaozhen had indeed gone to fight at Sancha River.

The Tatar troops opposite finished forming their ranks—infantry in the center, cavalry on the wings. Zu Dale said to the retainers beside him, "Beat the drums. Infantry, strike straight at the Jianzhou bandits' center. Wipe out every last one of these Han Banner soldiers. Let those Dengzhou soldiers watch—our Liaozhen can fight too!"

The great drums of the central army boomed. The Liaozhen infantry began advancing slowly. The front ranks all wore armor or carried shields; the rear ranks used long spears. Their formation looked quite orderly and imposing.

The Han Banner troops on the Later Jin line had no pike formation this time—they seemed to be entirely musketeers. Zu Dale saw the two Dengzhou liaison officers constantly whispering to each other, and inwardly he felt great disdain. A formation made up entirely of firearms—Zu Dale himself looked down on firearms. Those things often malfunctioned and lacked real power in battle. One charge from his infantry and they would break.

Two cannon shots boomed. Two small cannons on the Later Jin line began firing. Zu Dale remained unmoved. The great drums continued beating. The Liaozhen Ming troops clamored and surged forward. On the Later Jin line, shouts rose from all sides as muskets were raised in dense rows.

"Lads, charge for your commander!" Zu Dale bellowed, spurring his horse forward with his retainers.

On the twenty-second day of the eighth month, Guo'erpu, south of Gaizhou, had been transformed into a large military camp. Two battalions of the Guards Army were stationed here, forty-five li from Gaizhou. Ahead, the Liaonan Second Brigade at Guotoupu served as the vanguard. This was the forward command post of the Dengzhou garrison.

"Liaozhen was routed by the Ujen Cooha?" Chen Xin raised an eyebrow at the battle report in his hand and looked at Liu Pojun and Wu Jianzhong standing before him. This report had not come from Liaozhen but had been gathered by the Dengzhou Special Operations Unit.

The Later Jin troops had made a small movement at Niuzhuang. When they crossed the Sancha River, they were spotted by Dengzhou fast boats patrolling nearby. The Special Operations Unit had tracked them to investigate and learned of this.

Liu Pojun said in a deep voice, "Liaozhen suffered over a thousand casualties. The infantry sustained heavy losses."

Chen Xin set down the report and tapped the table twice. "The Ujen Cooha have trained for a year. It seems they've made some progress."

"It matches our intelligence closely. After being struck by our all-firearms infantry last year, Later Jin also formed and trained three banners of flintlock-armed Ujen Cooha over the winter—Plain Yellow, Bordered Yellow, and Plain Blue. All are under Huang Taiji and his sons."

Chen Xin nodded and smiled. "I heard the Ujen Cooha only trained until early spring, though the two Yellow Banners trained longer—reportedly still conducting concentrated drills in May and June."

Liu Pojun said, "As you say, my lord. Judging from this engagement, the two Yellow Banners may have learned something from the battle at Caohe Fort. Both banners are fully equipped with flintlocks. Their bayonet production is very limited, so most soldiers are issued waist sabers as melee weapons. Your subordinate suspects those bondservants lack the courage for hand-to-hand combat."

Wu Jianzhong added a reminder, "Among the last intelligence reports from Liaodong, one item was extremely important. Our informants observed the Han Banners placing all their musketeers in front of the pikemen to practice volley fire."

Chen Xin said disdainfully, "Blind imitation with ludicrous effect. Still, that Huang Taiji learns things rather quickly—he mastered the red-barbarian cannon in just a few years. The last intelligence said that last winter they cast both red-barbarian cannons and a batch of small bronze cannons."

Wu Jianzhong added, "They lack sufficient craftsmen. The Tianyou Zhuwei Grand General cannons they copied from the red-barbarian cannon have poor power. Last winter they reduced the number of molds. The total number of Later Jin red-barbarian cannons is under ten. The number of small cannons, however, has increased considerably, though their power is inferior to our Dengzhou garrison's, while their weight is considerably greater. Similarly, after years of flintlock production, the Intelligence Directorate's synthesis of various sources estimates roughly five to six thousand guns, with an ignition rate of about sixty to seventy percent. Bore diameter, barrel length, and other specifications are all inconsistent. Many in the Ujen Cooha and Tianyou Army still use matchlocks."

Chen Xin smiled. "But the Jianzhou bandits have taken enough beatings to learn a few moves. Although Liaozhen is also experimenting with flintlocks and small cannons, they lack the tactics and experience to employ them. The Jixiao Xinshu contains nothing on this subject, so naturally Liaozhen has no corresponding training. They always assume flintlocks are just about firing faster. Without matching weapons to suitable tactics, their power is hard to unleash. The few flintlocks Liaozhen produced were only meant as defensive weapons for city walls. This was their first encounter with flintlocks in actual combat, so their defeat is hardly surprising."

Liu Pojun said with full confidence, "According to the battle report, the main Jianzhou formation used a six-rank linear formation, with some three-rank line formations on the wings of the center. They approached the battlefield in six-deep columns. Their deployment time was roughly three to four times ours. After forming ranks, they conducted no battlefield maneuvers from start to finish. At seventy paces, after three volleys, the Liaozhen infantry collapsed. The Jianzhou cavalry pursued and cut them down, while the infantry advanced slowly in formation. After firing, the Ujen Cooha also showed some disorder. Your subordinate's analysis is that the Jianzhou infantry have undergone strict drill training, but their battlefield maneuver capability is very weak, and they lack practical combat experience. They have only learned the surface."

Chen Xin sighed. "Even the Jianzhou bandits have learned the form. Liaozhen has been defeated so many times—how can they still be this way? With this, the diversion in Liaoxi is gone."

Liu Pojun said quietly, "If he had only advanced to the Xiao Ling River and waited for the right moment, he could have tied down a portion of the Later Jin troops at Niuzhuang. But he was too rash. After this defeat, he'll surely flee back to Jinzhou."

Chen Xin shook his head and sat down. "Tell me about the Later Jin army's movements."

Liu Pojun spread out the simple map on the table. "The battle reports from Hetu Ala are still from five days ago. The Dongjiang army is continuing its siege. Between Haizhou and Anshan Station, the banners of the two Yellow Banners, Bordered Blue, Plain Red, and Bordered Yellow have been spotted—over ten thousand men, with more than five thousand Ujen Cooha. Because their scout cavalry has greatly increased, the exact numbers cannot be determined. Among the Later Jin Eight Banners, only the main force of the Plain White Banner has not appeared. Additionally, the main force of the Mongol Left Wing has been detected in the direction of Niuzhuang. The Later Jin army is massed between Liaoyang and Haizhou, deployed in echelons just like us. He is also waiting for us to move first, so the Later Jin main force will not rashly come to Gaizhou. But the Gaizhou sector is already the main focus of Later Jin suspicion. Judging by the numbers, Huang Taiji has not overly divided his forces to Lianshan Pass."

Chen Xin looked at the dot marking Hetu Ala. He had ordered Shang Kexi to reinforce the northern line with additional troops. A thousand men wore Dengzhou uniforms, serving as a feint to draw Huang Taiji's forces to support the northern line. During the spring offensive, Huang Taiji had divided his forces to fight on the central line and had been soundly beaten by the Dengzhou garrison on unfavorable terrain. This time, Huang Taiji did not seem to have taken the bait.

He smiled faintly. "It seems Huang Taiji is willing to abandon Hetu Ala, but he cannot afford to lose Lianshan Pass. Send word to Wang Mafu: dispatch the Eighth Battalion's support force and intensify the attack on Lianshan Pass. What are the movements of the Later Jin troops garrisoning Gaizhou?"

"They have sent out a vanguard of about two hundred men to garrison the old fort at Yulinpu, blocking our scout cavalry from reconnoitering. The remaining troops are still holding inside the city. Outside Gaizhou, they have built two earthen walls, connected behind by trenches, similar to our Lushun defense line. An unending stream of oxcart convoys is transporting grain from the direction of Yaozhou Fort."

Chen Xin stroked his chin. Yulin Fort was the forward defense of Gaizhou, captured by the Dengzhou army during the spring offensive and later crudely repaired by the Later Jin troops as an outpost. "An unending stream of oxcart convoys—does Huang Taiji truly intend a decisive battle at Gaizhou? Or is he merely luring us to attack Gaizhou first, bogging us down before strong walls? Have fortifications been built at Haizhou, Shenyang, and Liaoyang?"

Liu Pojun pointed at the map. "Haizhou and Liaoyang are also being fortified. Tens of thousands of bondservants labor every day. Huang Taiji has likely also made preparations for a decisive battle at Haizhou. News from Shenyang has been cut off—currently unknown."

Chen Xin suddenly laughed. "Stop guessing. The Jianzhou bandits naturally want us to go to Liaoyang. Gaizhou to Liaoyang is two hundred seventy li, with only overland supply routes along the way. If I were Huang Taiji, the fortifications at Gaizhou and Haizhou would be feints—Liaoyang is the killing stroke. He masses his main force at Liaoyang. Even if Lianshan Pass is lost, he need not fear. The moment our forces from Lianshan Pass enter the plains, Huang Taiji can at any time exploit his cavalry advantage to swiftly reinforce Shenyang, concentrate his forces to crush one element, and return to Liaoyang within a day. His supply lines would also be very short. Most of the Later Jin Eight Banner villages and forts are distributed across the central Liaoning region. For us, however, it would be a two-hundred-seventy-li overland route. At that point, the Jianzhou bandits could send large cavalry forces to strike our supply lines."

Liu Pojun frowned. "Then why is he using oxcarts to transport military grain to Gaizhou? All the intelligence we've received says the Jianzhou bandits are desperately short of grain this year."

Chen Xin said calmly, "To lure our main army into attacking Gaizhou. Gaizhou has been heavily fortified. The city is mainly held by the Tianyou Army and Ujen Cooha. These firearms troops are quite formidable in defense. They can wear down our main army's strength and dampen our troops' morale. If we besiege the city for a long time without success, Huang Taiji can then lead his troops forward. If Gaizhou is taken by our army, it would only be a flesh wound to him."

Wu Jianzhong said in a deep voice, "That means those grain and fodder supplies may be fake."

Chen Xin stood up. "Very likely, but we can't be certain. It's about time we made a move as well. Apart from Lianshan Pass, have Zhu Guobin attack north toward Yulinpu. The cavalry battalion will advance to Guotoupu, under the command of the Second Brigade. Let's see how the Jianzhou bandits react. If he doesn't come, we'll keep dragging this out and see who can't endure it first."

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