Chapter 160: When Tartars Meet Swindlers

"Pikemen, take heed — stand guard inside the gate!"

"Archers, up on the fort — stand guard!"

"Sword-and-shield men, open the gate."

Even with the password matched, the guard inside the wooden fort did not relax much. Some twenty soldiers, under the command of a squad leader named Zhang Wenjue, kept deploying defenses while opening the wooden gate.

What came in through the gate were indeed hidden sentries of the Hard March New Army — not one squad, but two. The squad originally watching the north bank, and the squad that had come to relieve them, had both returned together. The one in charge was a young man surnamed Tian, a Tianjin native who had studied and even passed the xiucai examination. But in these chaotic times even a xiucai was worth little; after the Battle of Tianjin Guard his family had fallen into ruin, and he had followed along to Dagu. He had originally wanted to join the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but because the Guard's rolls were full he had been swept into the Hard March New Army's reconnaissance battalion and made a hidden sentry.

"Scholar Tian, what's going on?"

Yu Daren knew Scholar Tian; he and Scholar Tian's father had been classmates, both academic failures who could not even pass the xiucai exam. But the Tian family had money — they were in the private salt trade — so even without a xiucai degree the father had married, had children, and produced this young fellow named Tian Qingyi, who was a prodigy and passed the xiucai exam at thirteen. A pity he was a xiucai born into chaos. Ill-fated as well; he could not pass the juren or jinshi exams, and ended up only as a scout for the New Army.

"There's a large force of three or four thousand, all mounted, flying the great banner of 'Deputy Grand Marshal of All the Realm's Armies, Prince of Dai,' along with the standard of the Governor-General of Ji-Liao, the banner of Commander of the Three Armies, and a set of royal command flags and tablets."

"What of their uniforms?"

"The uniforms check out too," Scholar Tian said. "From a distance they all look like government troops."

"Then there's no mistake — it must be His Highness the Prince of Dai, not daring to go to Datong and coming our way instead." Yu Daren looked at Scholar Tian. "Why did you bring everyone back?"

Zhu Cilang's enfeoffment of Zhu Cihuan as Prince of Dai was public, published in the Capital Gazette. Yu Daren was a failed xiucai, but he was still a man of letters and naturally concerned with affairs of state, so he knew of it.

"Because the banners are wrong!" Scholar Tian's voice was trembling. "When did His Highness the Crown Prince ever make the Third Prince Deputy Grand Marshal of All the Realm's Armies? That's a title he gave himself. How would he dare fly such banners now?"

"True enough." Cold sweat dripped from Yu Daren's forehead.

How brainless would the Prince of Dai, Zhu Cihuan, have to be to come see his elder brother flying the great banner of "Deputy Grand Marshal of All the Realm's Armies, Prince of Dai"?

"If it's not His Highness the Prince of Dai, then who is it?"

"Who else could it be?" Scholar Tian said. "If not Tartars, then roving bandits!"

"Damn it all," Yu Daren gasped. "They've picked a fine time! Today is the day the Crown Prince takes a concubine — a whole crowd of officials have gone to Sea Sand Island to drink!"

Scholar Tian gritted his teeth. "This is our chance to prove ourselves! If we can delay them even a moment, that's first-class merit. Once we get to Jiangnan, won't there be a reward of several hundred mu of land?"

"True enough — the Crown Prince rewards and punishes with perfect fairness!" Yu Daren rubbed his hands. "But the ones coming are very likely Tartars!"

Tartars!

Enemies like demons — with the brothers under Yu Daren's command, they would not even fill the gaps between a Tartar's teeth.

"No fear!" Scholar Tian gritted his teeth. "Aren't they just Tartars? We can't beat Tartars in a fight, but can't we still swindle them?"

"Swindle Tartars? How?" Yu Daren frowned, thinking: I am a reader of the sages' books — I don't know how to swindle people!

"Listen to me!" Scholar Tian grinned. "Swindling people is my specialty!"

He was a prodigy, a xiucai at thirteen, so his intelligence could not be low; and his family were unscrupulous merchants in the private salt trade, so they were hardly a good household — bragging and lying must have been family learning.

"Then what do I do?" Yu Daren asked.

"You, of course, are in charge of killing Tartars!" Scholar Tian laughed. "We'll have to kill two or three hundred of them, no?"

"Two or three hundred?" Yu Daren rolled his eyes. "Those are Tartars!"

North of the Dagu pontoon bridge, the heavy rain had turned everything into a sea of mud.

More than three thousand men and horses picked their way forward through the rain. The sky grew darker and darker, and they dared not light torches or lanterns. The pace of the march could not be quickened no matter what.

Moreover, this area around Dagu had been a key coastal defense point since the Wanli-era war in Korea, and many forts and camps had been built around it. No one knew whether any were still garrisoned. Though this force did not fear them, they had no wish to get tangled up with Ming troops and delay their march. So they detoured the whole way, keeping well clear of these strongpoints.

Precisely because they had to avoid strongpoints that might hold Ming garrisons, this force, after approaching Dagu, had left the relatively better-maintained official road and spent the entire journey wallowing through mud — suffering plenty for it.

And this force was the very unit that Scholar Tian and the others had spotted, flying the banners of "Deputy Grand Marshal of All the Realm's Armies, Prince of Dai."

They were not roving bandits, but Tartars! And not all true Tartars either: eight or nine hundred elite troops of the Plain White Banner, plus a bit over two thousand Han troops of the Plain Yellow Banner. Among them were forty Bayara warriors — champions handpicked from every niru!

They were further divided into White Bayara and Red Bayara — that is, white-armored soldiers and red-armored soldiers. The white-armored soldiers among them were one in a hundred, only ten chosen from each niru! The red-armored soldiers were forty or fifty chosen from each niru, likewise men of outstanding martial skill.

Leading them was none other than the Bayara Banner Commander under Dorgon, the First Warrior of the Manchus, Niuhuru Duolong!

At this moment the First Warrior of the Manchus was not wearing his fearsome white armor, but a long suit of armor such as a great Ming general would wear, and around him were several dozen stout men dressed the same way, riding in the middle of the column.

About half a horse-length ahead of him rode a man in his forties, tall and imposing, dressed in a Ming high official's python robe — this was Geng Zhongming, the Prince Who Cherishes Obedience, one of the Qing's Three Princes of Obedience.

Geng Zhongming was a sharp-witted man. During the uprising at Dengzhou he had used a stratagem to wipe out the force of Sun Yinglong, the Tianjin naval commander who had come to urge surrender, and had absorbed part of Sun Yinglong's troops. Because of this, his force included some men of Tianjin Guard who knew the terrain and understood something of naval warfare. That was why Dorgon had sent him to raid Dagu together with Duolong.

Since Geng Zhongming was a prince, his status was high, so he was nominally the commander; when Duolong rode abreast with him, he still had to yield to him slightly.

A rider dressed as a Guanning Army night-scout came circling back from the front. He was a foster son Geng Zhongming had taken from among the captured officers and men of the Tianjin Guard navy, named Geng Zhongjin. A Tianjin Guard local who knew the terrain, he had been leading the way as pathfinder.

Reaching Geng Zhongming's side, Geng Zhongjin wiped the rain from his face and said with a face full of delight: "Royal Father, Commander Duo, I've found a pontoon bridge, a bit over ten li ahead. The garrison seems small — they've only built a wooden fort north of the bridge."

"Built a wooden fort?" Duolong frowned. He had come on a surprise raid and had brought no siege equipment. How was he to deal with a wooden fort?

"Commander," Geng Zhongming said with a smile, "there's nothing to fear. As long as we raise the Qing banners, the mere sight will scare off Zhu's weak troops."

Duolong snorted. "Is the Prince not afraid of startling away the Chongzhen Emperor and that Army-Soothing Crown Prince too? Will the Prince then sail a boat out to sea to chase them? Manchu warriors are invincible on land, but once out at sea, that's another matter!"

"Commander," Geng Zhongming said, deeply frowning, "if we storm the wooden fort by force, that will alarm them just the same."

"Ah, can't you use a stratagem?" Duolong stroked his beard and laughed. "This First Warrior of the Manchus knows how to use stratagems too. I can recite the greatest military book under heaven, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, backwards from memory!"

Geng Zhongming at once put on a look of admiration and raised his thumb. "Indeed, indeed — the Commander can recite the Romance of the Three Kingdoms backwards from memory."

Duolong burst out laughing. "To deal with one wooden fort of Zhu's, do I even need a stratagem from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?" He pointed at Geng Zhongming. "With the Prince's python robe alone, taking the pontoon bridge by wit is more than enough!"

Would that really work? Geng Zhongming privately had his doubts, but he did not dare offend the face of the wise and valiant First Warrior of the Manchus, Duolong. The man was a favorite before Dorgon!

"Aiyo, aiyo," Geng Zhongming said, all smiles, lifting a corner of his soaked python robe with one hand. "How could I have forgotten — how muddled of me."

Duolong laughed, waved a hand, and said: "Then let's go!" He turned to Geng Zhongjin. "Zhongjin, you came over from the Southern Court too and know the rules. Go announce us first!"

"Ja!"

Today's third update, delivered!

(End of chapter)