Chapter 444: On the Update Adjustments

Chapter 1 — On the Update Adjustments

A white-armored soldier of the Plain Blue Banner flew into Hooge's main command tent, dropped to one knee in a Manchu salute, and then loudly reported: "Reporting to Prince Su, this slave and the others have discovered that the southern bandits' main force has moved out. More than ten thousand infantry and cavalry have passed through Qingliu Pass, advancing north along the east bank of Qingliu Creek to envelop the eastern side of the main camp."

Hooge clapped his hands heavily and laughed: "Good, good, good! That little Crown Prince of the Zhu family really is a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger!"

"Your Highness," Oboi immediately stood up and requested battle, "give this slave three thousand cavalry, and I'll strike them first!"

"No need," Hooge shook his head. "We've already seen how that little Crown Prince of the Zhu family manages his troops. An army that orderly and well-equipped is not something three thousand iron cavalry can break through. If the first battle goes badly, the battles after will be hard to fight."

He smiled and asked again: "Are the shield carts, the Hongyi cannons, and the musketeers all ready?"

Hooge had originally brought six Hongyi cannons and a small number of Han army musketeers south with him! If those six Hongyi cannons had not moved so slowly, his eighteen thousand cavalry, running free, would have been impossible for Zhu Cilang's infantry to catch! The Eight Banners cavalry were equipped with two horses per man, and could run very well indeed.

As for the shield carts, they were standard equipment in the Qing army at present. The Qing army relied on shield carts to defend against Ming firearms! Even though Hooge's army had two or three horses per man, they still used large numbers of shield carts as wagons, dragging them along on the march.

"Bahana!" Hooge now called the name of Bahana, the Plain Blue Banner's commander.

Bahana immediately stepped forward and saluted: "Your Highness, this slave is here."

"Take the three companies from Prince Raoyu's household, plus two Han army companies, and hold the main camp!" Hooge ordered. "You need not hold it firmly; just delay the southern bandits as much as possible."

"Your Highness—" Bahana was a veteran general who had gone to war at seventeen and fought his way up blade by blade to become a banner commander. Naturally he looked down on the Ming army, so he had some objection to Hooge's order.

But Hooge waved his hand to stop him before he could speak. "Bahana, do not underestimate the enemy. That little Crown Prince of the Zhu family is an opponent even the Prince Regent takes seriously. Do you think yourself greater than the Prince Regent?"

"This slave would not dare!" When Bahana heard Hooge bring up the Prince Regent Dorgon, he had nothing more to say.

Although he was the Plain Blue Banner's commander, he had originally come from the Bordered White Banner and was a trusted man of Dorgon and Dodo, so of course he could not question Dorgon. And precisely because of his background, Hooge had given him the most dangerous task. If he unfortunately died in battle, Hooge would certainly report it to the Prince Regent and give him a grand funeral!

"Oboi!" Hooge called Oboi's name next. "You will fight the first engagement. Take the Bordered Yellow Banner men, and I will give you five more companies. Advance east first and form up on the eastern slope of Daqiang Ridge as the army's left wing."

"This slave receives the order!" Oboi naturally had no objection. He immediately saluted and accepted Hooge's command.

"Ilde!" Hooge then called the name of Ilde, a deputy commander of the Plain Yellow Banner.

"This slave is here!" Ilde was a veteran of the Bordered Yellow Banner who had long followed Hong Taiji, and was naturally a supporter of Hooge.

"I order you to take the Bordered Yellow Banner troops, plus five companies, and advance east behind Oboi's force. Also form up on the eastern slope of Daqiang Ridge as the army's right wing."

"This slave receives the order."

The terrain on the eastern slope of Daqiang Ridge was relatively gentle, but not open, so no very complex formation could be deployed there. Hooge therefore roughly divided the nearly twelve thousand true Manchus under his command, about three thousand booi bondservants, and fewer than one thousand Han Eight Banners troops into three parts.

Oboi led one part as the left wing of the death soldiers, and Ilde led one part as the right wing of the death soldiers. Hooge himself led one part as the elite reserve, the troops who would hold the line and bring up the rear. The several Hongyi cannons and the small number of Han army musketeers were all under Hooge's personal control.

In addition to the above, Hooge also sent out half of the Plain Blue Banner's elite guards to scout the Ming army's movements.

In other words, before the fierce battle later known to posterity as the "Battle of Blood-Flow Creek" began, Hooge's total strength was about eighteen thousand, and the force he brought to the Blood-Flow Creek battlefield was only sixteen thousand—not a small number either!

The other side in the Battle of Blood-Flow Creek consisted of two new-model Ming infantry divisions plus part of Zhu Cilang's guard battalion. The two divisions did not march out in full, either; only the combat troops moved, leaving the baggage troops behind. In all, more than twenty-two thousand men marched out.

They set out in sequence around sunset, moving very briskly. The great army of twenty-two thousand, battalion by battalion, one after another, formed columns that could at any moment convert into Maurice-style squares, and marched out of camp at forced-march speed.

They hurried along the whole way without the slightest hesitation or delay. Even after night fell, they did not slow their pace.

The weather tonight was quite fine. A bright moon hung in the sky, and the firmament was densely studded with starlight. Moonlight and starlight fell together, enough for the hardship-enduring new army soldiers, accustomed to moving at night, to advance quickly without falling out of line.

Another reason they did not fall out of line was that this army's morale was extremely high. From top to bottom, everyone believed they owned a small share of the Great Ming. Some of those who had already received land and become landlords were thinking of earning more merit so they could get a few more acres of reward fields. Those who had not yet received land were even more eager, counting on trading Tartar heads for their own wealth and rank!

In the darkness, the column of more than twenty thousand men had only two lanterns lit, one at the head and one at the tail of each battalion column; everyone else advanced in the dark. Although no one had wooden bits in their mouths or cloth wrapped around horses' hooves, the fast-moving army was still unusually quiet. Accompanied by the sound of Qingliu Creek's waters, there was only the dense but low sound of footsteps.

Zhu Cilang and Wu Sanfu were both not riding, but walking on foot through the night, leading their horses. They were not on foot to share hardship with their subordinates, but to guard against surprise attacks from Qing scouts who might be lying in ambush in the woods to the right of the official road.

The official road running north from Qingliu Pass was built along the east bank of Qingliu Creek. It had just been repaired this spring and was very smooth, making walking effortless. To the west of the road was Qingliu Creek; although it could be forded, it was no place for an ambush. To the east of the road was a stretch of woods. Because of years of cutting, it was not particularly dense, and it was not close to the road either, about thirty or forty paces away. But there were still some Tartar scouts and roving riders who had been driven off by the large force of Ming cavalry clearing the way, hiding in the woods and occasionally loosing a few cold arrows.

In fact, Zhu Cilang, wearing a suit of "Anping plate armor" sent as tribute by Zheng Zhilong, was not afraid of any cold arrows. But his warhorse was not armored, and if it was shot down he would fall and crack his head open, so he simply dismounted and walked.

The Anping plate armor was a knockoff modeled on the European three-quarter plate armor. Plate armor in Europe was very cheap these days—a suit of Antwerp-made plate armor sold for less than three taels of silver!

If not for the high shipping costs and the inconvenience of transport, Zhu Cilang would long ago have equipped his entire hundred-thousand-man army with three-quarter plate armor.

Still, relying on long-bodied armor and cloth-faced armor, the hardship-enduring new army marching through the night was sufficiently protected against most arrow attacks.

So although the Qing elite guards lying in ambush in the woods occasionally loosed cold arrows, Zhu Cilang's troops still maintained a fairly fast marching pace.

Three cavalrymen wearing pieced-together half-plate armor hurried over from the front. By the blurred outline of the banner reading "The Great Ancestor, the Lofty Emperor, Reborn," raised high beside Zhu Cilang, and the outlines of the six dragon banners symbolizing the Ming Crown Prince, they located where Zhu Cilang was. They reported their names and unit numbers to the guards who stopped them at the perimeter, gave the password, and only then were brought before Zhu Cilang: "Reporting to Thousand Years, the eastern slope of Daqiang Ridge is just ahead!"

They had finally arrived!

Zhu Cilang let out a breath of relief. He had led the army out since nightfall, and the ten-odd li had taken more than two hours. Although they had concealed themselves as much as possible, the Tartars on Daqiang Ridge could not have failed to notice them entirely. The fact that no large Tartar force had come charging down meant tonight's operation still had the element of surprise!

Just as he was thinking this, Wu Sanfu suddenly shouted: "Tartars! The Tartars are coming down the ridge!"