Chapter 1668: The Donglin Army, the Predicament of Western Liaoning

Inside the Ministry of Rites of the Li court, several cups of clear tea were sending up wisps of fragrant steam that shifted and curled in the air. Grand Secretary and concurrent Minister of Rites Li Guo, in his python robe and black gauze cap, sat in the seat of honor, flanked by two other high officials likewise in black gauze and python robes. One was Left Chief Censor Sun Chengzong; the other was Xu Guangqi, just back from the Hall of Literary Splendor. Xu Guangqi's prized student Sun Yuanhua was also present, having pulled up a chair beside his teacher.

The letter in Latin that Zhu Youjian had just given Sun Yuanhua was now in Sun Chengzong's hands, and he turned it this way and that, but simply could not read it. That so learned a man as the imperial tutor, Master Sun, should actually find himself unable to read a single word was truly a loss of face.

Master Sun shook his head, put the letter away into its envelope, and handed it back to Sun Yuanhua. Only then did he slowly speak: "Zixian, are the Portuguese soldiers in Macau truly reliable? And is it proper to recruit as many as four or five hundred at one time?"

Xu Guangqi was in favor of inviting foreign officers and soldiers, and upon hearing this he said with a smile: "Brother Zhisheng, you may set your mind at ease. The mother country of the Portuguese in Macau was annexed decades ago by their neighbor, the Franks, so the Portuguese in Macau are already duckweed without roots and can never become a serious threat. Moreover, this number of four or five hundred includes the black slave soldiers; the actual Portuguese soldiers number no more than forty or fifty, and most of them are musketeers and artillerymen, with no cavalry. Once they reach the flat open country of the north, will they not be entirely at our mercy?"

Sun Yuanhua, at his side, added: "The Portuguese in Macau are limited in number, and most of them are merchants. Those fit to serve as soldiers and officers number only a little over a hundred. If half of them come north, the Portuguese warriors left in Macau will be fewer, which is actually to Guangdong's advantage."

Sun Chengzong stroked his beard and thought for a moment. "Since these Portuguese soldiers are of little use, why bring them to Beijing at all?"

Xu Guangqi said: "The Westerners' methods of firearms are exceedingly ingenious, superior to those of our dynasty. His Majesty has invited the Portuguese warriors north, I believe, because he wishes them to teach the methods of employing firearms to the personal troops before his tent."

Sun Yuanhua added: "His Majesty also wishes to invite the craftsmen of the Macau cannon foundry north, I believe, because he wants to cast Hongyi cannons in Beijing."

Sun Chengzong turned his head and glanced at Li Guo. "Brother Yuanzhi, what do you think?"

Li Guo said with a smile: "The power of the Hongyi cannon was fully displayed in the two battles of Ningyuan. If Brother Zhisheng wishes to build fortresses and advance, to recover Liaodong, he cannot do without the aid of the Hongyi cannon!"

Sun Chengzong nodded. "That is true. It is only that His Majesty's mind is all on the troops before his tent; it seems he will not support building forts and advancing in western Liaoning."

As he spoke, he let out a sigh.

The present emperor was no longer his good student Zhu Youxiao!

"That is not necessarily so," Xu Guangqi said, shaking his head. "Has His Majesty not issued an edict to employ Yuan Yuansu?"

Sun Chengzong said: "But His Majesty did not say he would make Yuansu the Supreme Commander of Liaodong!"

Sun Yuanhua said with a smile: "The various armies of Liaodong are all old friends and followers of the Chief Censor and Yuan Yuansu. If His Majesty wishes to contract the front in Liaodong, he will have to use you, sir, and Yuan Yuansu!"

The great general Man Gui now in the Liaodong garrison army had been promoted by Sun Chengzong, while Zhao Shuaijiao and He Kegang were great generals promoted by Yuan Chonghuan. Zu Dashou and Zhu Mei, though old Liaodong generals, had both received favors from Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan. Zu Dashou in particular, that "long-legged general," had fled all the way to Juehua Island during the Battle of Guangning; had Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan not shielded him, whether he could have kept his head would have been an open question!

Furthermore, after the Battle of Guangning, the surviving soldiers and civilians of Liaodong had all been taken inside Shanhai Pass by Xiong Tingbi. The families of the Liaodong garrison officers and men had likewise entered Shanhai Pass. Had Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan not forcefully advocated "using Liaodong men to hold Liaodong soil," and had they not mobilized three hundred thousand Liaodong people to go beyond the pass and open up farmland, the very roots of the Liaodong garrison warlords would have been gone.

And the "fortress advance" advocated by Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan had brought enormous benefits to this lot of Liaodong garrison warlords.

Thus the Liaodong garrison warlords were indeed close to Sun Chengzong, Yuan Chonghuan, and Sun Yuanhua, these several Donglin stalwarts.

Sun Yuanhua added: "Chief Censor, Yuan Yuansu has his methods. As long as he can be sent to Liaodong again, whether as Governor or as Supreme Commander, he will surely find a way."

Sun Chengzong nodded gently. "That is true. What matters now is to get Yuan Yuansu to Liaodong! Once he is there, the officers and men of Liaodong will have a backbone! Then no one will dare abandon the territory of western Liaoning!"

Both men had spoken only half their meaning — the Liaodong army was a warlord force, and holding the land was the great righteous cause. If that were combined with the Donglin Faction, which controlled public opinion, then whether to withdraw from Ningyuan and Jinzhou would no longer be up to Zhu Youjian and Wang Zaijin.

"Your Majesty, from Shanhai Pass to the fort at Daling River in Jinzhou is about four hundred li. At first hearing that sounds large, but in fact it is only a long strip close to the sea. Because the great mountains of western Liaoning nearby are not in our hands, it is very difficult to defend. Moreover, the land that can be opened for farming is extremely limited. According to the reports of the Liaodong army, it is no more than five thousand qing of fields, yielding one hundred fifty thousand shi a year. The Liaodong army has a strength of over one hundred ten thousand men, and its annual cost in grain and pay runs into the millions. What use is one hundred fifty thousand shi? And the greatest problem in western Liaoning is not even the cost of pay and provisions, but the difficulty of supply! Although western Liaoning lies along the coast, good harbors are very few, and one must also guard against raids by the eastern barbarians' iron cavalry. Thus only Juehua Island and Old Dragon Head at Shanhai Pass can serve as transshipment ports. Grain shipped to Juehua Island must be transferred by small boats to Ningyuan, then sent overland to Jinzhou and Daling River Fort — extremely difficult! Therefore it is very hard to stockpile large quantities of grain in the Jinzhou area, and once Jinzhou and Daling River Fort are besieged, there will be the danger of running out of food.

Therefore, once Jinzhou is trapped, a large army must be sent to its relief. And to advance east from Shanhai Pass requires traveling three or four hundred li, with only one narrow corridor. Once the eastern barbarians cross the mountains and move stealthily, the rear route of the relief army will also be cut off! Even if the eastern barbarians do not cut the rear of our relief army, they can also make a detour through the Bashang grasslands to attack Jizhou, Xuanfu, and Datong."

The man now speaking at length in the Hall of Literary Splendor was the old gentleman Yang Gao. Although he was not much of a fighter, his military experience was still considerable. In his view, Sun Chengzong's disposition in western Liaoning was nothing less than a trap of his own making!

An army of one hundred ten thousand (the actual number was about that) was arrayed in a four-hundred-li long-snake formation, with supply difficult and no strength to continue advancing. Worse still, the line at Jinzhou and Daling River Fort could at any moment be surrounded by a large force of the eastern barbarians!

Because of the terrain, supplying Jinzhou and Daling River Fort was very difficult, so the stored grain would not be much, and they could not withstand a prolonged siege.

And to relieve Jinzhou and Daling River Fort — with the strength of the Liaodong army, that would surely be throwing away lives. At that point troops would have to be transferred from Jizhou, Xuanfu, and Datong inside the passes, or even from Shaanxi.

And over the years Jizhou, Xuanfu, and Datong had already sent many of their finest troops to support Liaodong, leaving themselves somewhat depleted. If they were to send a large force east in relief, they would likely be unable to defend their own lines. And once the eastern barbarians made a detour through Bashang and broke through the passes at the three garrisons of Xuan, Da, and Ji, even the capital region would become a battlefield.

At that point, the days of the Great Ming would truly become hard to endure!

Therefore the defense of western Liaoning must be adjusted, and the defenses of Xuanfu, Jizhou, and Datong must be strengthened as quickly as possible!

"Master Hong, what do you think?" After Yang Gao had finished, Zhu Youjian suddenly called upon Hong Chengchou by name. "If Jinzhou were besieged, how would you break the siege?"

"This..." Hong Chengchou studied a map of the western Liaoning defense dispositions, and the more he looked, the more his head ached — this will not do! Unless the Ming army's field strength surpassed that of the eastern barbarians, it could not be held!

But if the Ming army did surpass the eastern barbarians, why hold western Liaoning at all? Would it not be better to march directly on Liaoyang and Shenyang?

"Your Majesty," Hong Chengchou said, shaking his head repeatedly, "this subject has no way. Jinzhou and Daling River Fort absolutely cannot be held. The western Liaoning defense line can at most reach Ningyuan."

Zhu Youjian nodded, then looked at Yang Gao. "Master Yang, can the troops at Jinzhou be withdrawn?"

Yang Gao shook his head and said: "Three or four million a year in grain and pay — how can it be withdrawn just like that? If it goes badly, it will be a mutiny, a military revolt!"

Zhu Youjian then looked at Chen Qiyu and Lu Xiangsheng.

Chen Qiyu said: "Better to wait until Sun Chuanting returns with his troops. If there are ten thousand iron cavalry, perhaps then something can be done about western Liaoning!"

Lu Xiangsheng also said: "Your Majesty, to move against western Liaoning requires coordination from southern Liaoning. If the eastern barbarians cannot be pinned down, western Liaoning cannot be moved."

Zhu Youjian nodded gently and said: "We intend to restore Yuan Chonghuan to the post of Governor of Liaodong, and have Yuan Chonghuan move against western Liaoning together with Us. What do you all think?"

(End of Chapter)