Chapter 196: Section 13: Setting the Plan

Manggultai’s gaze drifted again. Although his Plain Blue Banner had recovered its strength thanks to the Mongol households and livestock Huang Taiji had allocated to him, he had been thoroughly unwilling when Huang Taiji came to pull him into attacking Liaonan. Manggultai always believed they should fight the Mongols — those Mongols were the weakest and they could always seize some households and livestock. Next, he believed they should lure out the Guanning Army; those fellows had not fought a battle in nearly five years. If they could just be drawn into the open, Manggultai felt they would be the fattest pig of all.

As for Liaodong and Liaonan, he, Manggultai, had no desire to attack them at all.

When Huang Taiji came to persuade him, Manggultai had dismissed Chen Jisheng and the others in Liaodong as a pack of beggars, with Mao Wenlong as the Beggar Clan chief. In fact, Mao Wenlong had also incorporated many of the old and weak into his field armies, and Manggultai had always suspected Mao Wenlong was sending them to their deaths to save a little grain. Over the years, neither Manggultai nor Amin had ever taken the initiative to attack Mao Wenlong; on the contrary, the Dongjiang Army had always been the one actively attacking, because even if they beat Mao Wenlong once, they might not seize ten suits of armor or a hundred dan of grain, so if by chance they were defeated by Mao Wenlong, the loss would be enormous. Manggultai’s Plain Blue Banner had fought Mao Wenlong in Liaodong for so many years that they understood each other very well. In Manggultai’s words, although the Later Jin army was poor, that scoundrel Mao Wenlong was even poorer. Korea was already full of barren mountains and foul waters, and now year after year of drought and frost had struck; the Ming army in Liaodong had reached the point where if they did not come and plunder the Later Jin army, they could not even feed themselves.

Nor did he wish to come to Huang Shi’s Liaonan. By now, Manggultai always referred to the Changsheng Army as a porcupine — very fat, but with no place to sink one’s teeth in. He felt that rather than risk his life against the porcupine in Liaonan, he would be better off going to Mongolia to plunder the current Genghis Khan.

Seeing Manggultai’s expression, Huang Taiji knew exactly what he was thinking. Manggultai’s line of thought was much the same as Nurhaci’s: “We must first smash Liaonan and Liaodong, so that when we go to plunder the Mongols and the Great Ming, we will have no worries behind us.”

After he finished speaking, Huang Taiji saw that Manggultai still wore a half-dead look, and inwardly he could only sigh. Nurhaci and the Later Jin high command had always opposed attacking that penniless wretch Mao Wenlong. Huang Taiji was the only one who insisted on dealing with Mao Wenlong first — preventing him from plundering them, and then going off to plunder in peace. But his words carried very little weight now, and few people listened. He could only rely on political bargaining to rope in a fool like Manggultai.

Seeing that Daišan also had little enthusiasm for fighting Huang Shi, Huang Taiji was even more disappointed. This time his northern expedition against the Mongols had been a great victory; not only had it freed up the two Yellow Banners, but they had also seized quite a few households and livestock. Relying on this victory, he vigorously advocated attacking Liaonan again, but most of the banner lords, from Nurhaci on down, opposed the idea. Only by distributing the spoils to Manggultai and Daišan had Huang Taiji managed to win their support.

The field forces concentrated in Liaonan this time consisted of forty niru drawn from the two White Banners, the Bordered Red Banner, and the Plain Blue Banner. Nurhaci, unable to override the opinions of the three beile, had also reluctantly lent them thirty niru from the two Yellow Banners; the remainder still had to be sent to Liaodong to assist Amin’s Bordered Blue Banner in defending against the Dongjiang Army.

With a great battle imminent, Manggultai and Daišan still looked like shilly-shallying fence-sitters. Ever since they had heard the scale of Huang Shi’s offensive, the two of them had again lost the will to fight to the death. But if he could not persuade them, he had to persuade them. Huang Taiji suddenly asked Manggultai, “Is there any news from Amin? How many people have fled to Mao Wenlong’s side?”

Manggultai and Amin were the respective lords of the two Blue Banners, both stationed in Liaodong to guard against the Mobile Corps Commander captain Mao. The two had always been on good terms and had not broken off contact these days. Manggultai wagged his head as he recalled: “From the beginning of this year to the end of the fifth month, roughly five thousand able-bodied men fled, of which fifteen hundred were in the fifth month alone.”

Daišan let out a cry of alarm: “So few?”

Manggultai shot Daišan a baffled look and asked, somewhat puzzled, “Few? That’s quite a lot, and in the last month alone there were fifteen hundred able-bodied men. It’s getting faster and faster.”

Daišan said nothing, but his eyes were full of contempt. Beside him, Huang Taiji smiled and said, “Fifth Brother, you don’t know the situation here with the Elder Beile.” He then put on a sympathetic expression and turned to ask Daišan, “In the Fuzhou area last month, there were probably three thousand able-bodied men who fled, weren’t there?”

Daišan withdrew the gaze that had been fixed on Manggultai and said huffily, “More than that. In the fifth month, not counting Gaizhou, Fuzhou alone had over four thousand able-bodied men flee to Jinzhou. And the sixth month isn’t even over yet, but another six thousand able-bodied men have fled from Fuzhou, and over three thousand from Gaizhou.”

Watching Manggultai become dumbstruck, Huang Taiji said to him with a solemn expression, “After the battle of Nanguan in the second month, the able-bodied men who have fled from Fuzhou and Gaizhou to Jinzhou already number over fifty thousand, including more than four thousand Han troops.”

Manggultai’s face had turned as ghastly as a corpse. The four garrisons of Haizhou, Fuzhou, Jinzhou, and Gaizhou together had one hundred sixty thousand able-bodied men and a population of four hundred thousand. The Later Jin regime had organized nearly twenty thousand Han troops to maintain local order and assist the Later Jin’s two Red Banners in requisitioning grain and corvée labor. These Han troops were also former junior officers from the Great Ming’s military households, and they held relatively more prestige in their respective villages. They were not only the Later Jin regime’s primary tool for suppressing bandits and securing tax revenue, but also the main armed force for countering the Great Ming Dongjiang Army’s intelligence and Mobile Corps Commander warfare. As long as these Han troops remained, a village might lose a few small households or bachelors, but it could not be emptied out in a mass flight.

“You all remember the proclamation Huang Shi issued at the end of the fourth month, don’t you?” At Huang Taiji’s question, Manggultai and Daišan both nodded. After Nurhaci’s massacre order had triggered mass defections of Han troops, the intelligence network Huang Shi had painstakingly cultivated had posted his proclamation pardoning Han troops everywhere from Fuzhou, Gaizhou, and Haizhou all the way into the city of Liaoyang itself, and each time the entire city was plastered overnight. The incident had caused a huge stir at the time and had also infuriated Nurhaci.

“This is a new proclamation…” Huang Taiji flicked his wrist and pulled out a half-worn proclamation; its tattered edges showed it had clearly been torn from a wall. “I, Huang, Left Chief Commissioner-in-Chief of the Great Ming, Regional Military Commissioner of Liaodong, Bearer of the Imperial Silver Arrow of Authority, respectfully inform the elders of the garrisons of Fuzhou, Gaizhou, and Haizhou…”

Huang Taiji had only read a few more lines when Daišan snorted, “I’ve seen it.”

“I haven’t.” Manggultai, who had been listening with rapt interest, quickly said, “Go on. What comes next?”

“Hmph.” Daišan cursed in a muffled voice, “All the days you’ve been here, you’ve done nothing but hunt. Of course you know nothing.”

Huang Taiji smiled and continued reading. This new proclamation had appeared in Fuzhou ten days ago, and it recounted the murder case that had occurred on Changsheng Island. To ensure this propaganda would spread, Huang Shi had deliberately recounted the amorous entanglements in great detail, which was why Manggultai had just been listening so spellbound. To win people’s trust, Huang Shi had written down the native places and full names of both parties in detail. To strengthen its persuasiveness, Huang Shi had also meticulously described the murderer’s merits and hardships, as well as the deep enmity between him and the deceased.

“…I swear by Heaven and Earth: for all who come over to me of their own accord, not a finger shall be laid upon your persons; I shall use all my power to protect you. If I break this oath, may Heaven’s thunder strike me down at once…” Huang Taiji read the proclamation with great emotion, his eyes scanning the page full of Chinese characters as fluent Manchu poured from his lips. “…For all within the three garrisons of Fuzhou, Gaizhou, and Haizhou: he who surrenders a city shall be granted that city; he who beheads a false official shall be appointed to that official’s post. I do not eat my words. I urge you all to consider this deeply, and take care not to bring ruin upon yourselves.”

Daišan had finally waited for Huang Taiji to finish reading. He could not help but snort coldly again: “This was posted inside Fuzhou city by Changsheng Island agents ten days ago. What’s so strange about it?”

“With this proclamation, I estimate that next month the Han troops and able-bodied men fleeing from Liaonan to Jinzhou will increase by at least another fifty percent. Once word reaches Haizhou and Liaoyang, the Han troops there will likely take desperate risks as well.” Huang Taiji set down the proclamation with a bitter smile, then a hint of mystery appeared on his face. “But the Elder Beile and Fifth Brother certainly don’t know where I got this proclamation.”

Daišan and Manggultai asked in unison, “Where did it come from?”

“It came from Aita.” Huang Taiji smiled bitterly and sighed again. Aita’s original name was Liu Xingzuo, and he came from a hereditary military family in Liaodong. After the Later Jin broke through Shenyang, Liu Xingzuo surrendered to the Later Jin regime. He had over a hundred retainers and three thousand Han troops under his command, so Nurhaci had raised Liu Xingzuo into the banner rolls. Now the retainers and Han troops under Liu Xingzuo were a critical armed force for maintaining stability around Gaizhou. “A trusted subordinate of Aita tore down the proclamation and urged Aita to surrender, even suggesting that he launch a surprise attack on Gaizhou to present the city to Huang Shi.”

“That Han dog!” Manggultai roared in fury. “Did Aita have him hacked to pieces?”

“Aita never even told me about it.” Huang Taiji smiled bitterly again and brandished the proclamation. “Although Aita was afraid, he didn’t do anything to his trusted subordinate either. He just ordered his personal guards to secretly burn this proclamation. Fortunately, the guard he gave the order to was one of my men. Otherwise I would still be in the dark.”

Daišan and Manggultai both fell silent for a moment. Manggultai said grimly, “Aita is no longer reliable, but we can’t kill him either.”

“Of course we can’t. You don’t need to say that.” Daišan shot Manggultai a displeased look. Nurhaci had already thrown the Han troops into panic with his killings, and had even thrown Li Yongfang into prison and had him flogged. If they killed Liu Xingzuo now, the Han troops in Liaonan would probably scatter in a single rush and flee to Huang Shi.

“Aita, and those Han troops — many of them feel we are finished. Huang Shi has promised to let bygones be bygones, and now the Han troops in Fuzhou and Gaizhou are all completely unreliable.” Huang Taiji had finished all the necessary groundwork. Now, feeling the moment was ripe, he went straight to the point. “So we now have only two paths. One: abandon Fuzhou and Gaizhou, relocate all the Han troops and Han civilians, establish a blockade line at Haizhou, and create a no-man’s-land in between. Once we pull back, we can concentrate our forces and thereby control the southward flight of Han civilians. At present, Huang Shi does not have much cavalry, so he would not dare to venture deep inland.”

The thought of abandoning such a vast stretch of territory pained Daišan somewhat. He pondered for a moment. “Then the other path is to fight a field battle?”

Huang Taiji nodded. “Correct. Fuzhou is too close to the Sha River, and Huang Shi has already repaired the bridgehead. So if we want to annihilate him in one stroke, we must lure him north of Fuzhou. Only by annihilating him can we restore the Han troops’ confidence in us and hold Fuzhou and Gaizhou.”

“How do we lure him?”

“Abandon Fuzhou.” Huang Taiji had long had a well-thought-out plan. He pointed at the map as he laid out his scheme. “Tomorrow morning we abandon Fuzhou, putting on the appearance of a panicked flight, and we sweep up all the Han civilians and carry them off with us, enticing him to pursue.”

Manggultai immediately asked suspiciously, “How do you know he will pursue?”

Huang Taiji smiled faintly. “As I said earlier, he comes out once every three to four months. If I am not mistaken, this time he has again brought new recruits to see the battlefield. Besides, he is a Ming military officer, not a civil official. What Ming military officers want is severed heads, not the merit of recovering cities. This time he has mobilized his forces on a grand scale and will absolutely not accept coming away empty-handed. For both public and private reasons, he is certain to pursue our retreating baggage train.”

“A very sound argument.” Daišan tapped the table. “Should we burn the city? My worry is that burning it might make him shrink back.”

“He will certainly shrink back.” Huang Taiji did not think Huang Shi was a man of great boldness. Moreover, he had another important reason for opposing burning the city. “Not burning the city has another advantage: it will allow us to separate him from his artillery. His artillery is very formidable.”

“Truly formidable.” Manggultai immediately nodded in agreement. He too extended a finger and tapped the location of Fuzhou city. “Leave this city to him, so he can rest easy about his cannons. I believe this will make him leave some troops to protect the city, the baggage, and the cannons, while he himself leads the main infantry force in pursuit.”

This time it was Daišan’s turn to look over suspiciously. He first glanced at Huang Taiji, then sized up Manggultai. “Do you two take him for a fool? I recall that the last time, it was you two who lost.”

Manggultai immediately turned red in the face. Huang Taiji, maintaining a faint smile and unruffled composure, turned his head and asked Manggultai, “I did say he was a bookworm, and I did underestimate him that time. But… Fifth Brother, what do you think of Huang Shi’s skill in battle?”

“Methodical and correct, no mistakes, but certainly no spark of brilliance, and his reactions are not the least bit quick.” Although Manggultai had a bellyful of thoughts, he could never quite express them well. “Hmm, he has no feel for the battlefield — that’s the gist of it.”

“Meaning he is a mediocre general.” Huang Taiji smiled faintly again. “We lost to him. Though it sounds bad to say we lost to a mediocre general, it is the truth.”

“Well then, a mediocre general sees small gains and forgets himself.” Huang Taiji clapped his hands, drawing the attention of all three. He then began gesturing on the map again. “He does not have many horses and would never be willing to let horses carry the baggage. So the transport of infantry baggage must rely on manpower pushing carts, and therefore he will absolutely never leave the official road. We let him chase past, and then behind him — that is, at this position — we set an ambush.”

Huang Taiji picked up the brush and drew a black line on the map, then pointed to both sides of the line and said, “Although his pike formation is powerful, it can only deploy on flat ground. Both sides here are hills and forest. I am certain he will not dare charge the flanks.”

Manggultai was now getting into the spirit of it. As he listened, he added, “He definitely hasn’t brought tents or grain. We’ll send out roaming cavalry on all sides, so he can’t disperse his troops to cut wood or forage for food. If we can hold him in a stalemate until nightfall, he’s finished. After one night, his army will be on the verge of collapse.”

“This time he has also brought quite a few allied troops. The combat strength of those allied troops is far, far below his own. As I said, he is a mediocre general, and for a mediocre general, troops with poor combat strength are a burden, not an asset. Huang Shi does not yet have the ability to properly employ allied troops of inferior quality. Therefore, I am certain he will form a circular formation, attempting to use his own core force to protect all the allied troops and baggage. As for his breakout point…” Huang Taiji heavily dotted the intersection of the black line and the official road with his brush. “I am convinced he will only assault this point with full force.” He glanced at Daišan. “Deploy all the treasures we brought right here. He will surely launch repeated fierce attacks until he is utterly exhausted.”

Daišan studied the position carefully and nodded in agreement. “You said he has brought quite a few allied troops with low combat effectiveness.”

“Yes. This time he will certainly fear that the allied troops will disrupt his formation.” Recalling the experience of the last battle, Huang Taiji made his judgment with great confidence. “When he sees he cannot break through the official road, he will probe with attacks here, here, and here…” Huang Taiji pondered and picked out several other positions on the map suitable for attack. “In the end, his core force will be worn down and exhausted, and he will begin to lose control of the panicking allied troops. That will be the critical moment.”

Huang Taiji had staked everything on this campaign to Liaonan. The Later Jin was currently a very poor military group, but Huang Taiji had used the spoils from this expedition to personally forge one hundred sets of horse armor. To save on expenses, he had only made heavy armor for the horse’s face, neck, and chest; the horse’s hindquarters and belly still had to be left bare. Although Huang Taiji had done his utmost to select a batch of larger horses, once fitted with horse armor and heavy armored riders, these one hundred horses could still only launch one powerful charge, and even then they might not break through a dense infantry square. Therefore, Huang Taiji planned to use these “heavy cavalry” at the most critical moment.

“I have inquired about every detail of the battle of Gaizhou. At the critical moment in the fighting, Huang Shi personally took up a blade and joined the fray. Last time at Nanguan, his savage nature also flared up and he wanted to fight me to the death. I believe that deep in his bones there is a streak of ferocity.” Huang Taiji flicked his brush lightly, and a trace of what seemed like regret appeared on his face, but his hand did not pause. The tip of the brush pointed to a hill that looked reasonably gentle. “Here! We will leave him a gap to break through. He will surely, at the final moment, lead his mounted troops in a desperate fight to the death. So this place will be his grave, and the Ming army will collapse right after.”

Manggultai clapped his hands and laughed heartily. “An excellent spot. I completely agree.”

Daišan, however, had a trace of worry. “There won’t be any mishaps, will there? You won’t give him a chance to break through?”

“There will be no mishaps. This is the place where he will be buried.”