Chapter 221: Section Thirty-Six: Wisdom and Valor

Back when Nurhaci won the Battle of Sarhu, the Wanli Emperor swiftly promoted Xiong Tingbi to Grand Coordinator of Liaodong. Under Xiong Tingbi’s governance, the Liaodong border army rapidly recovered its vitality. Grand Coordinator Xiong focused on building the army’s field combat capability. During his tenure overseeing Liaodong military affairs, he withstood pressure from both the military and the court to break up the various battalions, and he petitioned the Emperor to draw border troops from across the realm to Liaodong to serve as seed units.

After more than a year, Nurhaci’s raids on Liaodong had largely been checked, and the Ming army even launched counterattacks in some sectors. For instance, Mao Wenlong, the garrison commander of Dingliao Right Guard at the time, recaptured several forts inside the border wall and received a general commendation and recommendation from Xiong Tingbi. It was during this period that Mao Wenlong gradually built up great prestige among the people of Liaodong, and later he formed the Dongjiang Army.

Xiong Tingbi also rigorously enforced an economic blockade policy, using both hard and soft tactics to force the Mongol tribes to cut off trade with the Later Jin regime. In the sixth month of the first year of the Taichang reign, Nurhaci mobilized his entire army to attack Shenyang. His vanguard was defeated twice in three days by Xiong Tingbi in field battles (these were the Ming army’s first and second field victories against the Later Jin central elite after the Battle of Sarhu), and he slunk back to Hetu Ala. The Mongols, originally fence-sitters, saw that the Ming army was shifting from defense to offense and one after another severed their ties with Nurhaci.

But all hopes for the war turned to dust with the death of the Wanli Emperor. While alive, the Wanli Emperor had shelved all impeachment memorials against Xiong Tingbi without issuing them. Even when he was so gravely ill before his death that he could not climb out of bed, he still read Xiong Tingbi’s memorials every day, and he would immediately release funds from the inner treasury to meet Xiong’s requests, so as not to delay any opportunity.

Even before Wanli died, the general view among the court officials was that that foul-mouthed Xiong was nothing special. After some careful observation, they smugly concluded that all Xiong Tingbi did was ask the Emperor for money, drill the troops in his spare time, repair some forts, and occasionally engage in a bit of diplomacy with the Mongols — nothing remarkable at all. Since there was no need to personally brave arrows and stones, most of the civil officials at court believed they could do a better job than Xiong Tingbi, or at the very least no worse than him.

After Wanli’s death, the ascendant Donglin Party, intoxicated by the victories in the Liaodong field battles, lost all sense of proportion. They pinned the label of “Evil Faction” member on Xiong Tingbi and shoved him aside, and then… and then the excellent situation in Liaodong vanished, and the border troops Xiong Tingbi had trained and reorganized vanished with it.

Upon hearing Huang Shi’s question, Xiong Tingbi recalled the Wanli Emperor’s trust and promotion of him, and how his efforts had failed just when success was within reach. For a moment, a tumult of emotions surged through him, and he could no longer utter a single word. He narrowed his eyes and pondered in silence, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down with a gurgling sound, as if he were forcibly choking down a roar of fury in his chest.

“If, if the Illustrious Emperor were still here, still here…” When Xiong Tingbi spoke again, his breath sounded like cold wind blowing from a worn-out bellows, so hoarse and grating it was painful to hear. His speech also became halting and stammering: “If the Illustrious Emperor had, had given me three more years of trust — no, no, not even that long, just two more years — the Jian slaves, even if not exterminated, would have starved to death in the mountains. How could we have come to today’s calamity? How could we still be spending millions of taels in military funds every year?”

Toward the end, Xiong Tingbi grew impassioned and spirited again: “Young man, you must understand that this old man has fallen to his present state not because I am incompetent, but truly because there are treacherous villains at court who have framed me…”

In truth, Huang Shi knew full well that Xiong Tingbi was not an entirely outstanding commander, because Xiong Tingbi’s personal flaws were simply too glaring. He seemed to have no understanding whatsoever of the perils of officialdom or how to get along with colleagues. Thus, once he lost the Wanli Emperor as his patron, in the cutthroat environment of the imperial court, Xiong Tingbi was immediately set upon from all sides.

When Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen were appointed as Grand Coordinator of Liaodong and Provincial Governor of Liaodong respectively, Wang Huazhen submitted a memorial to the court, planning to organize a Guangning Army of 130,000 troops with an annual payroll of three million taels to secure the Hexi region. Xiong Tingbi openly opposed this, saying: If we rely on Wang Huazhen to command the army, we must draw elite troops from across the realm, with an annual payroll of ten million taels, and form a Guangning Army of 400,000 before we can be safe.

Later, based on the fact that Nurhaci had only 20,000 armored troops, Wang Huazhen proposed using 60,000 combat soldiers — a threefold numerical advantage — to invade Hedong, and with a spirit that seemed to swallow mountains and rivers, he raised the slogan “We shall certainly sweep away the Jian slaves in one stroke!” After reading Wang Huazhen’s military plan, Xiong Tingbi did not offer a single word of critique but directly memorialized the Tianqi Emperor, saying: Wang Huazhen and his 60,000 combat soldiers “shall certainly be swept away by the Jian slaves in one stroke!”

When the Emperor appointed Zhang Heming and others of the Donglin Party to take full charge of handling the She-An Rebellion and the Jianzhou crisis, Xiong Tingbi again made snide remarks, saying that Zhang Heming and his ilk were all worthless fools whose only skill was visiting brothels and spouting pretentious poetry, and he predicted that the government troops in both Liaodong and Yunnan would inevitably suffer crushing defeats.

And so on and so forth. In the end, Xiong Tingbi maneuvered himself into a situation where he had enemies everywhere. And that foul-mouthed Xiong was right every single time — everyone he ridiculed did indeed fall from power exactly as he had predicted. Afterward, Xiong Tingbi would always gloatingly kick a man when he was down, repeatedly emphasizing his own foresight. The result was that everyone who worked with Xiong Tingbi hated him to the bone.

In Huang Shi’s private opinion, Xiong Tingbi had keen powers of observation, quick reactions, outstanding strategic vision, was full of confidence and decisiveness — an excellent chief of staff… probably better than the current Changsheng Island chief of staff Jin Qiude. But Huang Shi did not think this man was very suited to be a Regional Commander. Among the famous ministers of the late Ming, what Huang Shi admired most were Sun Chengzong’s breadth of mind and magnanimity, Xiong Tingbi’s strategy and tactics, and Lu Xiangsheng’s valor and courage. But personally, he would certainly still prefer to serve under Sun Chengzong rather than work for Xiong Tingbi.

However, Huang Shi had no intention of wasting time on this issue, because today Huang Shi had come on serious business. No matter how much Xiong Tingbi raged, he absolutely would not argue or quarrel with him. Xiong Tingbi’s current reaction was exactly within Huang Shi’s expectations. After the former Grand Coordinator of Liaodong had finished venting, Huang Shi spoke again softly: “The Illustrious Emperor entrusted the Liaodong affairs to you, Elder Xiong. Tomorrow, when you meet the Illustrious Emperor in the netherworld, how will you account to his venerable self?”

Xiong Tingbi’s face darkened with displeasure: “It is not that I do not wish to repay the Illustrious Emperor’s great grace and extraordinary promotion, but jackals block the way, and treacherous sycophants fill the court. By sunset tomorrow, I shall already be a man on the road to the Yellow Springs. What can I do? What can I do?”

“The unfinished business of Elder Xiong that this young man just spoke of is precisely this matter.” Huang Shi held his helmet in both hands and gently removed it, cradling it in the crook of his left arm. With a solemn expression, he said to Xiong Tingbi: “This young man, though untalented, wishes to take your aspirations as his own. I venture to ask Elder Xiong to impart to me the method of pacifying Liaodong in two years. On the day the great deed is accomplished and the slave chieftain’s head is presented, this young man will personally offer sacrifice to Elder Xiong’s spirit in heaven.”

Xiong Tingbi stared at the solemn-faced Huang Shi for a moment, then murmured: “Pacifying Liaodong in two years — that was before the Jian slaves had entered Liaodong territory. Now the Jian slaves have already grown into a force to be reckoned with; two years probably won’t be enough. Although Grand Secretary Sun has lofty aspirations, he excels at planning and strategy but falls short in military command. I fear the troops he trains will not be fit for great use.”

“Elder Xiong, your insight is clear. This young man has gained some modest insight in the area of training troops, but I am not adept at employing them.” Seeing the skeptical look on Xiong Tingbi’s face, Huang Shi paused for a moment and then said: “Tomorrow, Elder Xiong will no longer be a man of this world. This young man dares not deceive you. In the Battle of Fuzhou, when I withstood the seventy niru of the Jian slaves with five battalions, it was no empty boast.”

After saying this, Huang Shi straightened his chest forcefully. Xiong Tingbi pressed his lips tightly together and narrowed his eyes, weighing Huang Shi up. Huang Shi looked back without a trace of fear. The two men, one standing and one sitting, stared at each other like two motionless stone statues.

The furrow in Xiong Tingbi’s brow gradually relaxed, and his eyes began to move again. He looked Huang Shi up and down, then slowly withdrew his hands, propped himself on the bed, and shifted his body to the edge. With a sigh, he swung his legs down to the floor. Huang Shi stood to the side, holding his helmet, and watched as Xiong Tingbi fumbled to put on his cloth shoes. Once Xiong Tingbi was seated upright, he rested his left arm on the small table beside the bed and pointed with his right hand toward the guest seat on the left: “Young man — sit.”

…

After briefly recounting the course of several battles, Huang Shi began to talk about his insights on training troops. This was something Huang Shi took great pride in, and as he spoke, his face became animated with enthusiasm: “After every battle, this young man mixes the veterans and the new recruits together, one veteran leading one new recruit. The combat effectiveness of the new battalions formed this way is quite impressive.”

Upon hearing this, Xiong Tingbi furrowed his brow and stroked his beard, saying: “Mixing new recruits with veterans — this seems to be this old man’s method.”

In recent decades, especially in the Liaodong region, only Xiong Tingbi had indeed done this. So he believed Huang Shi was clearly copying his method. Huang Shi did not argue, but merely nodded with a smile: “Exactly Elder Xiong’s brilliant stratagem. This young man has copied it; I hope Elder Xiong does not take offense.”

These words immediately smoothed the furrow in Xiong Tingbi’s brow. He waved his hand magnanimously: “No offense, no offense. General Huang has copied it well — by all means, take it and use it. However, there are a few key points in this. Let this old man give General Huang some pointers!”

Huang Shi smiled and lightly clasped his fist in salute: “Thank you for your magnanimity, Elder Xiong. Please bestow your instruction.” After half a day of conversation and exchange, he now felt he was beginning to grasp the temperament of the man before him. Xiong Tingbi had a fair bit of petty vanity and rather enjoyed playing the teacher.

“Of course it’s correct to break up the veterans and have them lead new recruits, but one veteran leading one new recruit is far too wasteful, and having all fifteen infantry companies across three battalions do this is simply too foolish. The correct method is for a new battalion to have one veteran lead five new recruits, while the old battalions receive only a very small number of new recruits. This way, you can quickly form crack troops and large numbers of new units that dare to fight. Besides, whether one veteran leads one new recruit or five, there’s no great difference in the new recruits’ development.” As he spoke, Xiong Tingbi waved his arms in the air, and at the most animated moments, his hand clenched into a fist. He keenly caught a flicker of incomprehension on Huang Shi’s face and immediately barked: “Young man, is there something you don’t understand?”

Huang Shi indeed was somewhat puzzled by what he heard. He hastily asked: “Elder Xiong, wouldn’t that leave some units with very weak combat effectiveness? What if the enemy strikes at these…”

“What a fool,” Xiong Tingbi rudely cut Huang Shi off. He loudly retorted: “You know perfectly well in your own mind which units are strong and which are weak. Based on the battlefield situation, you send the strong ones to attack the enemy and have the weak ones provide cover — isn’t that enough?”

“For example, that Battle of Fuzhou you just mentioned,” Xiong Tingbi said as he snatched up the papers from the table and pointed at the battlefield sketch Huang Shi had just drawn. “You used a foolish circular formation. When you used the circular formation, one battalion broke through while another provided cover, correct? Then half of your veterans were just standing around watching, not fighting. If you hadn’t made every infantry company into this sorry state, you could have deployed a long formation and then committed over seventy percent of your veterans to the first assault, while also launching diversionary attacks on both flanks of the official road. Once you pierced the Jian slaves’ central defense line, you could have swiftly enveloped both flanks. If this old man had been commanding that battle, the Jian slaves would absolutely never have had the chance to turn it into the kind of messy fight it became later.”

Huang Shi hesitated for a moment, then still asked: “Elder Xiong, what if the Jian slaves had attacked exactly where this young man’s weak units were?”

“You anticipate,” Xiong Tingbi’s eyes widened. His finger jabbed repeatedly at the simple map on the paper with such force that it seemed he wanted to poke holes through the table. “Based on the terrain, the time of day, comparing my troop strength and troop types, you anticipate the enemy’s formation, their possible lines of advance, their points of attack, and the forces they can commit each time. Then you can make deployments that match them tit for tat.”

“Could Elder Xiong explain to this young man how to make such anticipations?”

Xiong Tingbi’s beard practically bristled. He stared at Huang Shi as if looking at a complete stranger, and a look of disdain reappeared on his face as the corner of his mouth curled mockingly: “General Huang truly does not live up to his great reputation! Do you even know how to fight a battle?”

Huang Shi’s face instantly flushed bright red. For a long time, Huang Shi had always relied on sheer strength to win, and he knew his own command was indeed very crude. But he had long since given up on the idea of matching the command skills of the great generals of antiquity.

But before he could speak, Xiong Tingbi’s brow furrowed again: “That’s not right. Just now, this old man heard you briefly recount the Battle of Jinzhou, and I felt your anticipation was clearly very accurate.”

As he spoke, Xiong Tingbi pulled out the sketch of the Battle of Jinzhou from underneath. The Battle of Jinzhou that Huang Shi had described to him was the true account, not some “eight hundred routing six thousand” tale. Xiong Tingbi furrowed his great brow and began to meticulously question Huang Shi on the course of the campaign. This time, Xiong Tingbi repeatedly scrutinized every detail of the several battles, his brow knitting tighter and tighter as he muttered under his breath: “Fool, truly a fool.”

But after questioning him on the three battles of Jinzhou, Gaizhou, and Nanguan, Xiong Tingbi raised his head, his eyes full of bewilderment: “Young man, your Battle of Jinzhou was fought with great brilliance — it could stand shoulder to shoulder with the famous generals of old, and even this old man feels a sense of unworthiness in comparison. How did Gaizhou and Nanguan end up being fought like this? It’s simply… simply the difference between heaven and earth. Hmm, after the Battle of Jinzhou, did you, young man, suffer some serious illness?”

Huang Shi inwardly muttered a word of shame. In the Battle of Jinzhou, when he ambushed that group of fleeing Later Jin troops, he had taken advantage of his knowledge of history, knowing in advance every move the enemy would later make. Strategically, he had of course been absolutely one step ahead. But by the time of the Battle of Gaizhou, Huang Shi was completely in the dark, and by the Battle of Nanguan, Huang Shi’s opponent was a first-rate military mind of the era. Each time, Huang Shi had relied entirely on brute force to win.

Xiong Tingbi shot another suspicious glance at Huang Shi, who was dripping with cold sweat, then lowered his head to look again at the Battle of Nanguan, still muttering softly to himself: “Truly a fool… but young man, your strength is truly immense, to be able to turn the tables in such a situation. This old man does not recall the Jian slaves being this poor.”

“Alright,” Xiong Tingbi set this paper aside as well. He gave the sketch of the Battle of Fuzhou a rough once-over: “Let us discuss this battle again!”

Although he knew he would not receive a good appraisal, Huang Shi understood this was no time to be concerned with saving face. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and steeled his heart: “Yes, Elder Xiong, your insight is clear. This battle went like this…”

…

Xiong Tingbi’s eyes were glazed, his mouth slightly agape, staring blankly at the map, utterly speechless. Watching him in this state, Huang Shi felt embarrassed on his behalf. His face full of shame, he said in a low voice: “Elder Xiong, this young man knows full well he is indeed a fool and has disappointed your venerable self.”

Xiong Tingbi seemed not to have heard Huang Shi’s words at all, still frozen in that petrified state. Seeing this, Huang Shi called out again softly: “Elder Xiong.”

“Ah,” Xiong Tingbi, as if waking from a deep dream, looked at the map and shook his head with repeated sighs: “General Huang, your innate talent for assessing the enemy and deploying troops, in this old man’s observation, is no more than average — at best, slightly above average. In this battle of Fuzhou, you underestimated the enemy and rashly advanced, you fell into an ambush, you deployed a circular formation that couldn’t bring your forces to bear, you made no diversionary attacks, and you also ran into chevaux-de-frise and crossbow engines. But…” Xiong Tingbi’s finger lightly traced a line along the official road, and he lifted his eyes to fix them firmly on Huang Shi’s face: “With just one infantry company, you simply charged straight through like that, and the Jian slaves just collapsed?”

Huang Shi replied meekly in a small voice: “Yes.”

The face of the man opposite him shifted through a range of expressions, at times inscrutable, at times ferociously contorted — truly bizarre in the extreme…

“A prodigy of the realm!” Xiong Tingbi let out a great cry and leaped up from the bed. He clasped his hands and bowed deeply: “General Huang, this old man is thoroughly convinced.”

…

The sky was already beginning to brighten. Having been long confined in the prison cell, Xiong Tingbi’s stamina was after all failing. He covered his mouth with his hand and yawned heavily. After a full day and night of lengthy conversation, Xiong Tingbi had imparted to Huang Shi the essence of all he had learned and known in his lifetime, hoping that Huang Shi would in the future fall into fewer traps and suffer fewer losses. Xiong Tingbi smiled at Huang Shi, who was still bent over his notes: “General Huang, before we knew it, the sky has brightened.”

Huang Shi had just finished writing the last few characters and set his brush aside. He looked at the several teapots piled on the floor — to stay alert the previous night, he and Xiong Tingbi had truly drunk a great deal of strong tea. Then he glanced again at the light outside, and his heart could not help but feel a deep pang for Xiong Tingbi: “The teachings Elder Xiong imparted last night, this young man will certainly study thoroughly upon his return. I only fear that my innate talent is base and dull, that I am obtuse in matters of wisdom and strategy, and that I will have wasted Elder Xiong’s painstaking efforts in vain.”

Upon hearing this, Xiong Tingbi shook his head: “Not so. General Huang must not unduly disparage himself. When two armies clash, in the final analysis, it is still the military strength of both sides that is pitted against each other. What military experts call valuing wisdom and valuing stratagem is nothing more than using wisdom and stratagem to diminish the opponent’s strength. A wise general is skilled at scheming against the enemy. For the greatly wise, when the enemy has ten parts of strength, he first removes nine of them, and then uses his own intact ten parts to strike the enemy’s one part of strength — thus the wise general fights a hundred battles without peril. A brave general is skilled at scheming for himself. For the greatly brave, one part of his own strength can match ten parts of the enemy’s strength, and ten parts of his own strength can match a hundred parts of the enemy’s strength — thus the brave general is invincible wherever he goes.”

At this point, Xiong Tingbi paused for a moment, and a satisfied smile surfaced on his face: “Wisdom and valor, though different paths, ultimately lead to the same destination. Now I see that General Huang possesses the valor of Han Xin and Ying Bu. The destruction of the Jian slaves is certain. Even in the netherworld, this old man shall have no regrets. Haha, even if the Illustrious Emperor were to hold me to account for the Liaodong affairs, this old man could say that I have entrusted everything to General Huang.”