Chapter 168: Section 25: Overstepping Authority

Orders flowed out like running water. The entire Changsheng Island main camp buzzed with noise, and Huang Shi’s great tent now seethed like a boiling cauldron, a clamor of voices.

Just as Huang Shi, Jin Qiude, Zhao Manxiong, and the other officers were arguing around the map, a messenger soldier flew in: “Reporting to my lord, Mobile Corps Commander He has already crossed the ice. He met no resistance from the Jianzhou slaves and is now sweeping the enemy camps on the eastern shore.”

This report from the messenger struck Huang Shi’s ears like a thunderclap, and the tent instantly fell silent. The staff officers all looked ashamed and together dropped their gazes to the ground.

The several soldiers who had brought word from Jinzhou said in unison, “Just like it was at our Jinzhou.”

Only moments before, Huang Shi had just roughly grasped the situation when He Dingyuan had requested orders to go reconnoiter. When he returned to the main camp, he rode at full gallop right up to the entrance before flinging himself from the saddle. He charged into the tent, met Huang Shi’s grim stare, and shouted, “My lord, those Jianzhou slaves building siege equipment — that thousand or so unarmored auxiliary soldiers loafing around outside every day — seem to be the bulk of the force on the opposite shore. The moment they saw our cavalry move out, they all fled back into the fort. Every camp I encountered was empty. Before I raced back, I already had the lads set them on fire.”

“Hmph.” Huang Shi let out a humiliated and furious grunt. In his chest surged an urge to smash everything in sight to pieces — but as things stood now…

“As things stand now, our Liaonan Ming army is already in peril as precarious as a pile of eggs. It could be completely wiped out. Those cunning Jianzhou slaves!” What infuriated and galled Huang Shi the most was that he clearly knew the history, yet he had still been completely deceived by the enemy’s dispositions.

He Dingyuan stared blankly at these words: “The Lushun army…”

“Not the Lushun army!” Huang Shi cut He Dingyuan off with a yell and slammed his fist onto the map. “I am talking about the Liaonan Ming army — and that includes my Changsheng Island. All of it is as precarious as a pile of eggs! As precarious as a pile of eggs!”

That roar made He Dingyuan shrink his neck. He said nothing more and came over to study the map as well.

There were quite a few soldiers from the Lushun army who had come to deliver the news. The moment they disembarked, they scattered in all directions looking for people. Because most of the population of Changsheng Island had already been shipped away and martial law was in effect, it took them a long time before they found their way here one after another. Huang Shi pointed at one of them. This soldier was a subordinate of the Jinzhou garrison commander. “At their Jinzhou, it was the same as with us. Several days ago they were surrounded by a large Jianzhou slave force. Only yesterday did they discover the camps were empty.”

Ever since detecting the large enemy force, Jinzhou had kept its four gates tightly shut. It was not until yesterday, when routed soldiers from Lushun Fort arrived by boat to report, that they realized the truth. One of those men had also come to Changsheng Island — that was the second soldier to find the main camp.

Over these past few days, the Later Jin army had set up false banners and standards along the Changsheng Island–Jinzhou line, overawing the Ming forces in both places. Then they bypassed Jinzhou and pressed on toward Nanguan, forcing the Nanguan garrison to likewise shut its gates and look to its own defense. At the time, the Ming army at Nanguan had not been overly worried. After all, without opening the Jinzhou supply route, the Later Jin army could not sustain a long siege and would lack the time to build adequate siege equipment.

Having completed the preliminary work above, the Later Jin army selected its elite troops and drove south, plunging deep into the Lushun army’s heartland. Although Zhang Pan was caught off guard, he still immediately organized a defense. He too understood that if such a long-range raid could not achieve a quick, decisive victory, the Later Jin army would still have to obediently withdraw back to Jinzhou. Just as Zhang Pan had anticipated, the Later Jin army failed to take Lushun Fort in a rapid assault and indeed promptly retreated. Seeing the Later Jin army pull back in haste, Zhang Pan knew their provisions were exhausted, so he hurriedly mustered the Lushun troops inside the fort to pursue — and he succeeded in catching up with the enemy’s rear guard…

The soldier who had escaped from Lushun, choking on his sobs, recounted the fall of Lushun. Although Huang Shi already knew all of this, hearing the tragic account with his own ears still wrenched his heart like a blade twisting.

The Later Jin troops that Zhang Pan had caught up with were all Han soldiers. Those men claimed they were civilian laborers forcibly conscripted. Most of the Han troops had originally been village self-defense militias.

Zhang Pan accepted this explanation without the slightest doubt. Seeing that the Later Jin army had heartlessly abandoned them during the retreat only deepened his conviction. So he spoke kindly to reassure them and enrolled them into the Lushun military households…

Huang Shi recounted what he had already heard to He Dingyuan: “Who could have known that these Han troops would seize the chance to suddenly rise up, bind General Zhang Pan, and leave the Lushun army leaderless. The main Jianzhou slave army turned back around. In one stroke they annihilated the Lushun army and then went on to smash Lushun Fort.”

The soldier who had come to Changsheng Island to deliver the news, along with several companions, had found a boat and raced desperately to Jinzhou to report. Only then did the Jinzhou garrison realize they had been tricked. Upon hearing that General Zhang Pan’s fate was unknown, the Jinzhou army was already thrown into chaos.

“Thanks to them, we are not still kept in the dark.” As Huang Shi spoke, he offered another word of encouragement and praise to that soldier. But in his heart he understood that, given the actual strength of the Liaonan Ming army, they should never have suffered such a catastrophic defeat in the first place.

In the final analysis, a rift had still formed between Huang Shi and Zhang Pan. When the Later Jin army had advanced on Changsheng Island in force, not a single person from Huang Shi on down had been willing to even consider sending word to Zhang Pan. What if Zhang Pan led his troops to reinforce Changsheng Island and repelled the Later Jin army? Then Huang Shi would lose face, and he would also owe Zhang Pan a debt of gratitude.

By the same logic, when Jinzhou detected the Later Jin army, the Lushun side had kept it hidden from Changsheng Island the entire time. Zhang Pan, like Huang Shi, had his own little calculations. He believed the existing situation was fairly favorable and that there was a good chance he could independently drive back the Later Jin army. In fact, his dispositions had no major flaws. Had he not been betrayed by the Han troops, the Later Jin army would ultimately have been forced to assault Jinzhou head-on and be dragged into a war of attrition.

Zhang Pan, of course, would absolutely never surrender. By now he must have already given his life for the country. Huang Shi gave a bitter assessment: “General Zhang was simply too merciful. He was always saying that circumstances could be excused. The battle of Lushun, the two captures of Jinzhou, the battle of Heishan, and the two years of back-and-forth fighting in Liaonan — General Zhang always let captured Han troops off with a warning. As long as they moved their lips and said they repented, General Zhang let them go. That is why the Jianzhou slaves calculated with certainty that General Zhang would trust these beasts again this time.”

The assembled officers listened in silence. He Dingyuan burst out cursing: “Shameless Jianzhou slaves! Unable to win in open battle on the field, they resort to such underhanded tricks.”

Would Zhang Pan, at the moment he met his end, be filled with fury, or would he still feel no regret or resentment for his past leniency? Huang Shi sighed inwardly. When facing a war of kill or be killed, he knew he himself could not manage the slightest mercy. “This kind of scheme could only work on General Zhang. If it were used on me, I would kill them all and exchange their heads for reward silver.” Huang Shi looked at Wu Mu, who seemed lost in thought, and said with a cold laugh, “Eunuch Wu, this is why I leave no one alive. With Han army traitors, there is no reasoning to be had!”

Although Wu Mu, out of self-interest, had always been locked in scheming and rivalry with the Lushun side, upon hearing that the Lushun Army Supervisor, Eunuch Wang, had also died at his post, a feeling of mourning for a fellow creature rose in his heart. He responded in a low, somber voice: “General Huang speaks with lofty insight.”

The map marked the positions of Changsheng, Jinzhou, Nanguan, and Lushun. Having vented his rage, Huang Shi drew a deep breath. Pointing at Jinzhou, he said, “Jinzhou still blocks the Jianzhou slaves’ supply route. The Jianzhou slave camps around Jinzhou are also all empty and have already fled. The Jinzhou garrison did not discover this before, and from now on they absolutely must not allow siege equipment or supply wagons to pass through Jinzhou Bay.”

Jinzhou had fifteen hundred combat soldiers from the Vanguard Battalion, plus over two thousand auxiliary troops assisting in the defense. It was a stronghold not easily taken by storm. But precisely because of that, Nanguan and Lushun below Jinzhou had been caught completely off guard — far too complacent. Huang Shi shook his head and swallowed. “The Steadfast Vanguard Battalion at Lushun is finished. Together with the Lushun naval battalion and large numbers of auxiliary troops, at least five thousand officers and men have died for the country. The Vanguard Battalion still has five hundred combat soldiers at Nanguan, and inside the town there are another seven thousand auxiliary troops building fortifications. Around Nanguan there are roughly two thousand armored Jianzhou slave soldiers. Because of the encumbrance of these auxiliary troops, the garrison cannot break out, and Jinzhou’s strength is insufficient to relieve the siege. General Zhang had stockpiled ten days’ worth of provisions for Nanguan. Originally that would have been enough.”

At this point Huang Shi sighed again. If the Later Jin army had been unable to take Jinzhou, ten days’ provisions would indeed have sufficed. But now that the Later Jin army had seized the Lushun storehouses, they could sustain a prolonged siege of Nanguan. In a few more days, the seven or eight thousand Ming troops inside the town would begin to starve.

“The Jianzhou slaves aim to destroy us one by one, from the weakest to the strongest. The weakest was Lushun — they have already exploited General Zhang’s weakness and succeeded there. Next is Nanguan — its weakness is lack of provisions. After that, it will be our Changsheng Island’s turn.”

When Huang Shi finished, He Dingyuan asked in astonishment, “How could it be our Changsheng Island? Obviously it should be Jinzhou.”

The soldiers who had come from Jinzhou glared at He Dingyuan with indignation, each of them furious but not daring to speak.

Jin Qiude hastily added an explanation: “It is indeed our Changsheng Island. Once the Jianzhou slaves take Nanguan, they will turn back toward Changsheng Island. If we do not come out to fight, they will besiege our main camp. After the freeze ends, they can also use the Lushun boats to transport supplies and even threaten Zhongdao. Our Changsheng Island is nothing like Jinzhou Fort — that place is a fortress. Here, there are far too many points to defend.”

Hearing this, Yang Zhiyuan interjected, “We can break the ice. How many boats can Lushun possibly have? Quite a few may have already fled or been burned. This general does not believe the Jianzhou slaves would dare land on our Changsheng Island in batches of several hundred at a time.”

Huang Shi slammed the table, sending the brushes and papers on it flying into the air. “How can we pin our hopes on the Jianzhou slaves not having captured the boats? Yang Zhiyuan, you are being utterly foolish.”

The Lushun side’s arrangements required no deep thought to understand. Zhang Pan had surely concentrated the boats at Lushun Fort so that provisions could be continuously shipped to Jinzhou Fort by sea. Moreover, Lushun had always been the hub port for transferring Liaonan refugees to Liaodong and Korea — the number of boats could not have been small.

After that sharp rebuke, Huang Shi exhaled again — This is all my responsibility. Do not vent your anger on others.

He adjusted his tone. “Even if what you say is correct, Mobile Corps Commander Yang, then it would still be Jinzhou’s turn to suffer. And even if the Jianzhou slaves withdraw without attacking Jinzhou, the loss of eight thousand officers and men at Nanguan, added to the Lushun losses, would still be the worst defeat our Dongjiang army has ever suffered.” If Huang Shi stood aloof at this moment, it would inevitably chill the hearts of the Dongjiang troops at Jinzhou and disappoint his Dongjiang colleagues. Besides, to sit and watch nearly eight thousand friendly troops be annihilated — no matter how he looked at it, he could not face them.

And if the Later Jin army had captured a large number of boats, the consequences were simply too dreadful to contemplate. Jinzhou’s forces were too few to tie down any significant number of Later Jin troops. For months, the Dongjiang headquarters would be unable to effectively support Liaonan, nor could they pull combat units from the extremely pressured Liaodong front. Although Huang Shi did not believe he would necessarily be unable to withstand a fierce Later Jin assault, the danger was simply too great. The Liaonan war situation was already on the verge of collapse.

Now, to save others was to save himself.

“Mobile Corps Commander Yang.”

“Your general is here.”

“I will lead the entire Firefighting Battalion out on campaign and, together with our Jinzhou comrades, go relieve the siege of Nanguan. I estimate that the enemy force opposite Nanxinkou numbers only about a thousand men, with no more than a hundred armored soldiers. I want you to distribute all the weapons from the armory and hold the Changsheng Island main camp for a few days.”

Yang Zhiyuan bowed with clasped hands. “Your general obeys the order.”

Looking at the room full of silent, hushed men, Huang Shi forced a smile. “The Jianzhou slaves rushed Lushun in a lightning raid — they should already be very fatigued. And to take Nanguan, they need to haul the provisions from Lushun. They may also want to drag the boats away. All this baggage moves slowly. From Lushun to Nanguan is over a hundred li. The Jianzhou slaves also need to mop up the remnants of the Ming army around Lushun Fort. All of this takes time.

So I estimate the main Jianzhou slave force will return to the vicinity of Nanguan in about five days. We will set out in batches tonight. Within two days, we will transport all the battalion’s combat soldiers and equipment to Jinzhou. Jinzhou has two thousand auxiliary troops, so we do not need to transport any. Before the main Jianzhou force returns, we will relieve Nanguan, then withdraw the entire army to Jinzhou. As long as Jinzhou does not fall, the Jianzhou slaves will still have to go back the way they came.”

As long as they could rescue the eight thousand Ming troops at Nanguan, they could still exert considerable pressure on the Later Jin army. The Liaonan Ming forces would have room to adapt, and the Dongjiang headquarters could also carry out diversionary actions or send reinforcements.

First, Jinzhou.

“Tell Jinzhou to be at ease. I am immediately mustering the troops and will rush to reinforce Jinzhou with all speed.” Huang Shi did his utmost to boost the morale of these few Jinzhou soldiers. Their panic and disarray shocked Huang Shi deeply, because it was enough to show that the Dongjiang army at Jinzhou had already fallen into a state of frenzy. He had to make Jinzhou recover its calm and fighting spirit as quickly as possible. The soldiers from Jinzhou immediately set off on a fast boat. Huang Shi exhorted them that they must make the Jinzhou garrison commander stay level-headed — no reckless advances and no fleeing — and also to quickly make all preparations. Time was pressing. The Firefighting Battalion could not transport large numbers of auxiliary troops over, so Jinzhou had to take on all the logistical tasks.

After these Lushun army soldiers departed, Huang Shi immediately summoned his personal guards and gave them separate letters for Guanglu Island and the Greater and Lesser Zhangshan Islands. “Go at once. Have Mobile Corps Commander Zhang Pan of Guanglu and Garrison Commander Mao Kexi of Zhangshan deploy their naval battalions. Use full strength to intercept all boats traveling west from Lushun and then heading north. If they find none, have their naval battalions reinforce Changsheng Island and help me hold the Changsheng Island main camp.”

Zhao Manxiong, who had been listening nearby, said hastily, “My lord, you have no authority to issue orders to Guanglu and Zhangshan.”

Huang Shi nodded. “For both Zhangshan Island and Guanglu Island, I have two letters each. The first letter does not give orders but offers gentle words of reassurance. In my letter to Mobile Corps Commander Zhang Pan of Guanglu, I also included an analysis — his Guanglu will not be in great danger. But the destruction of the former Lushun naval battalion concerns the life and death of our Liaonan Dongjiang army. The Changsheng Island naval battalion cannot be spared right now, so I beseech him to assist me with all his strength.”

The other letter was for Dongjiang Garrison Commander Shang Kexi — his original surname was Shang, but after his father died in battle he was adopted by Mao Wenlong and is now named Mao Kexi. He was currently stationed on Zhangshan Island training the naval battalion. “Mao Kexi’s Zhangshan Island faces no danger whatsoever on land. He has been single-mindedly drilling the Zhangshan naval battalion for over half a year. Now is precisely the moment to use troops nurtured for a thousand days in a single hour. If I do not mobilize his naval battalion, whose should I mobilize?”

“They are all troops directly under Marshal Mao, assigned to defend Guanglu and Zhangshan. What if they refuse to obey your orders, my lord?” Zhao Manxiong’s eyes darted. “My lord just said ‘two letters each.’ What is the second letter?”

“The first letter is merely a request for assistance. But if they do not comply… forced by circumstance, I will have no choice but to use it once.” Huang Shi instructed the messengers that they absolutely must clearly distinguish the two letters. The second letter must be well hidden. If the first letter achieved its purpose, the second must under no circumstances be brought out. This was because both letters were written in the name of a general bearing the imperial silver-tipped arrow of authority. Huang Shi’s silver-tipped arrow already had the authority to command Shang Kexi.

To the man heading to Guanglu Island, Huang Shi gave further instructions: “If Zhang Pan refuses to obey, this letter is a direct order to the Guanglu naval battalion’s brevet Regional Military Commissioner. That officer is only of Garrison Commander rank. Make him obey the command of the imperial silver-tipped arrow and immediately act according to the orders in the letter.”

“As you command, my lord.”

After the personal guards left, Zhao Manxiong said anxiously, “Mao Kexi is not your subordinate, my lord, but directly under Marshal Mao. Using the silver-tipped arrow to pressure him is already bad enough. If Zhang Pan refuses to agree, bypassing the chain of command… this is not even bypassing the chain of command — it is commanding another man’s subordinates. Even Marshal Mao cannot directly give orders to Brother He.”

In theory, of course, Mao Wenlong had the authority to give direct orders to He Dingyuan. But if it ever truly came to that, it would mean that serious problems had already arisen between Mao Wenlong and Huang Shi.

“If Marshal Mao were to dispatch my subordinates without good reason, I could impeach Marshal Mao for overbearing conduct. But in this matter, I am not acting without good reason. I have ample justification for today’s actions, and they can be fully explained.” Huang Shi’s first letter was, of course, an entreaty. But the tone of the second letter was very stern. He warned Shang Kexi that failure to obey orders would be contempt for the Emperor and the imperial court. In the other letter, Huang Shi also warned Zhang Pan not to interfere with or obstruct the naval battalion’s mobilization. Otherwise, Huang Shi would certainly impeach him before the court and the Dongjiang command. Finally, he explicitly told Zhang Pan that if his refusal to obey the orders of Huang Shi, who bore the silver-tipped arrow, led to a deterioration of the Liaonan war situation, then Zhang Pan would bear full responsibility for it.

Zhao Manxiong also understood this was a moment of life and death. The situation was already hanging by a thread, and he followed up by reminding: "It would be best to write a letter to Dongjiang, to first explain things to Marshal Mao, and hope that Marshal Mao can forgive my lord's overstepping of authority."

"Of course I will write immediately, and of course Marshal Mao can reprimand me — after all, I have overstepped my authority — but I believe Marshal Mao will certainly understand. Besides... even if Marshal Mao does not understand and insists on submitting a memorial to impeach me for arrogance, I still have sufficient grounds to defend myself before the imperial court." Huang Shi paused for a moment: "As long as I can rescue Liaonan, everything can be explained. Otherwise... heh heh, otherwise there will be no otherwise."

On the night of the nineteenth day of the first month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, the first batch of Firefighting Battalion soldiers boarded the seagoing ships and set out through the night toward Jinzhou.