Chapter 299: Selling Out Wu Sangui

In the early twelfth month of the first year of Shunzhi of the Great Qing, a Ming army that had surrendered, its morale at rock bottom and its men trudging with heads hanging low, arrived at the city of Beijing — a city both familiar and strange to them.

This force was the army of Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo. When they had decided to rebel against the Great Ming, the two of them had brought along a total of more than twenty thousand troops — a force that could well be called strong in men and horses.

Yet after a mere ten-odd days, by the time they reached the walls of Beijing, their numbers had shrunk by three-quarters! The whole army now numbered fewer than 5,000 men, and they had thrown away armor and lost great quantities of baggage and supplies.

The reason they had fallen into such a wretched state was that near Liaocheng they had been attacked by 7,000 New Army troops under Li Ruolian's command. It must not be thought that Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo's 20,000 men were all fighting strength — that was their total force, including great numbers of useless rabble and baggage troops. Those who could actually fight numbered only five or six thousand, fewer than Li Ruolian's men!

Moreover, Li Ruolian's four brigades had been reinforced by Su Guansheng, Governor of Denglai, and Shen Tingyang, Minister of the Northern Seas, and were very well equipped. In particular, after Shen Tingyang took office as Minister of the Northern Seas, he had begun to develop the Dengzhou water fortress as his own base of operations, expanding it and linking it to the city of Dengzhou, while also establishing a shipyard and an ironworks within the water fortress.

The former could produce centipede war-junks, while the latter could produce cannon and firelocks — though output was small. The production of turtledove-foot firelocks, for instance, amounted to a pitiful 50 pieces a month; from the start of work in the eighth month to the beginning of the eleventh month, only 150 serviceable turtledove-foot firelocks had been made.

This Minister of the Northern Seas was generous enough to keep none for himself, sending all of them to support the main Dengzhou Brigade under the Shandong Regional Military Commission — that is, the New Army of the Dengzhou Guard (part of the New Armies of the various Guards). The Dengzhou Brigade were the troops guarding the home base of the fleet; if they were defeated by the Tartars, the Northern Seas Fleet would be in dire straits.

As for the possibility of the fleet being defeated at sea by the Tartars, in Shen Tingyang's view it simply did not exist. He had originally possessed two centipede ships, and after becoming Minister of the Northern Seas he had ordered a batch of new vessels. One had now been delivered, giving him a total of three centipede ships, each carrying two 12-pounder Hongyi cannon!

Against the navy of the old Zheng family or of the Westerners they might not amount to much, but against the Joseon fleet and the Tartars' fleet — that would be a mere trifle!

So what Shen Tingyang worried about most was not trouble at sea, but problems on land. Therefore he not only gave all 150 turtledove-foot firelocks produced by his own ironworks to the Dengzhou Brigade, but also purchased 170 more turtledove-foot firelocks at high prices through various channels, and gave those to the Dengzhou Brigade as well.

Thus when Li Ruolian of Dengzhou led the Dengzhou Brigade out on campaign, every banner company in the brigade had a firelock squad equipped with 20 turtledove-foot firelocks (the rest being armed with pikes and saber-and-shield). In the clash with the forces of Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo, these 320 turtledove-foot firelocks truly displayed their divine might!

The firelock troops of the Dengzhou Brigade were all strictly trained, and the quality of their firelocks was reliable. Facing the rebel troops of Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo, and protected by pikemen and saber-and-shield men, the Dengzhou firelock troops could fire at their ease.

Thus all 320 turtledove-foot firelocks exerted their full normal power, volley after volley (the New Army firelock troops of the Overcoming-Hardship force did not yet know rotating fire, only volley fire and scattered fire), knocking the two rebels' troops flat on their backs.

And then the pike charge launched by the Overcoming-Hardship New Army, surging forward with irresistible momentum, dealt them the fatal blow! Had Li Ruolian not lacked cavalry, those two heads would long since have gone to Nanjing to see Zhu Cilang.

Their heads were now preserved, but their capital for being traitors was nearly spent, and their hearts for serving the Great Qing had turned somewhat "gray." The two of them had thought that while they could not beat the Tartars, could not beat the roving bandits, could not beat the various divisions of the Overcoming-Hardship New Army, and could not beat such formidable figures as Huang Degong, Gao Jie, and Zuo Liangyu, surely they could at least beat the various Guard armies?

The foundation of the Guard armies was nothing more than a bunch of hereditary garrison farmers. How formidable could a bunch of farmers be after four or five months of training? Could they compare with battle-hardened household retainers?

In the Battle of Liaocheng, Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo, seeking a quick decision, had thrown their household retainers into the fight from the very start. They had expected to win with a single blow, but instead were met by more than 300 turtledove-foot firelocks firing several volleys from beyond thirty paces, followed by a wave of pike charges. The losses were utterly catastrophic!

With the battle having gone this way, the two traitors both felt they were unworthy of being traitors, and so on the road to Beijing they discussed winning some merit as a gift for the Tartar Prince Regent upon meeting him.

After much thought, what they could now offer, apart from what they knew of the strengths and weaknesses of the Overcoming-Hardship New Army, was that bit of evidence of Wu Sangui's secret dealings with the Southern court.

But could this bit of "evidence" be a counter-plot by Crown Prince Zhu? That unfilial wretch was a cunning and vicious character! If it was a counter-plot, they would be harming Wu Sangui.

Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo could not make up their minds even after entering the territory of Shuntian Prefecture.

"Commander Liu, something seems off!"

The tall, imposing walls of Beijing were already within sight, and only now did old Xu Dingguo realize something was wrong.

"What's off about it?" Liu Liangzuo glared at old Xu, who was riding abreast of him. "The Southern court has a fatuous ruler and treacherous ministers, and the sovereign's power has fallen into other hands. Sooner or later it will be destroyed by the Northern court. Since ancient times, the north conquering the south has happened nine times out of ten, while the south pacifying the north has happened only once. Our Great Qing has already defeated the roving bandits and will soon pacify the Central Plains, becoming the master of the Northern court. After that, to conquer the south from the north will be like splitting bamboo!"

He spoke with great conviction, but old Xu beside him waved his hands repeatedly. "Not that — I know all that. What I mean is, isn't it a bit too quiet and desolate outside Beijing? We're almost at Chaoyang Gate. The last time I came to Beijing, outside Chaoyang Gate there was heavy traffic and a bustling crowd. Why is it now—"

At his words, Liu Liangzuo also felt something was wrong. The last time he had come to Beijing, outside Chaoyang Gate had not been this desolate.

Although Beijing had changed masters twice this year, there had after all been no great battle fought there, and the Great Qing had held Beijing for more than half a year now — surely it should have recovered some vitality by now?

"Second Brother, why is it so deserted here?"

The man Liu Liangzuo called Second Brother was Liu Liangchen, a company commander of the Han Bordered Yellow Banner. He had surrendered to the Qing along with Zu Dashou after the defeat at Dalinghe in the fourth year of Chongzhen — Zu Dashou himself had only feigned surrender that time, and later found an opportunity to flee back to the Great Ming. Liu Liangchen, however, had surrendered for real, and had now been a traitor for a full thirteen years, deeply trusted by his Manchu masters.

Before Liu Liangzuo rebelled against the Ming and went over to the Qing, Liu Liangchen had been leading troops fighting bitterly at Datong Prefecture alongside Hooge and Oboi!

Because the Ming army at Datong had also carried out a sweeping "land reform," granting every combat soldier at least 100 mu of land, the morale of the Datong army had risen markedly, and its fighting strength had climbed a step higher.

Moreover, Jiang Xiang was no fool, and had long been on guard against the Qing army breaking its alliance. He had therefore very carefully arranged the defenses of Zhenlu Guard and Andong Middle Garrison Guard. The former faced the direction of Xuanfu, while the latter faced Daizhou. In both places, soldiers and civilians alike, under the orders of the Datong Regional Commander's office, had strengthened their walls and cleared the fields, remaining on constant war footing.

Thus the Qing army attacking Datong Prefecture was mired in difficulty from the very start. Their surprise attack failed, and they became bogged down in one bitter siege after another — if they did not storm the strongholds, they could not obtain supplies locally, but storming them cost them troops and officers.

Hooge's proposal to withdraw from Shanxi and shift forces to Shandong was partly due to this factor.

And the Han troops to which Liu Liangchen belonged were the vanguard in storming fortified cities and assaulting hard positions, so their losses were even more grievous! Now, seeing his elder brother arrive in such a wretched state, his mood was all the more gloomy.

So when he heard Liu Liangzuo's question, he gave a heavy sigh: "Elder Brother, have you not heard of the land enclosures, the seizure of houses, and the forced enrollment? The Beijing of today is no longer the Beijing of old. The people living inside have been replaced!"

Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo both drew a sharp breath at these words.

At this point Liu Liangchen spoke again: "Elder Brother, your troops and Commander Xu's cannot enter the city. Have them set up camp outside Chaoyang Gate. They must not leave the camp without authorization, nor disturb the people. Most of the land outside Beijing has now been enclosed by the Eight Banners, and those who farm it are booi slaves. Slaves they may be, but they are still more exalted than Han people!"

What?

They rank below slaves now?

Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo felt a surge of displeasure. In the Great Ming they had been regional lords, yet here they dared not even offend a slave.

Liu Liangchen further instructed: "Also, the Prince Regent of the Great Qing is wise and decisive, a heaven-sent genius. Whatever you two know, you must report truthfully, without the slightest concealment."

Without the slightest concealment — Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo thought to themselves: then we'll have to sell out Wu Sangui!

Wu Sangui, our apologies!

(End of Chapter)