Chapter 316: Section 61: A Heavy Burden (Part One) (I)

A land of no one. From Jimen to Sanhe, across the vast expanse of earth, every village along the road was burning — by day, thick smoke billowing straight into the clouds; by night, sky-filling flames reddening the darkness, proclaiming to the common people in every direction around the capital that a great calamity had arrived. On the fourteenth, after the Later Jin army occupied Sanhe, they opened the gateway leading to the Imperial City.

And at this very moment, Yuan Chonghuan reported that he had only just learned that the Later Jin army had "stealthily bypassed" Jixi, defending his own failure to intercept or raise the alarm.

The natural barrier at the Jimen line had an opening roughly three li wide. The flat central passage suitable for warhorses and handcarts to pass through ran approximately from the foot of the Western Hills to the lake on the eastern side — a stretch about one thousand meters wide. The walls of Jizhou County seat faced this thousand-meter-wide opening directly. The distance between the two was no more than two li. If the Guanning Iron Cavalry had moved outside the city to block the opening, they could have stationed twenty men per meter on average.

Therefore, before Yuan Chonghuan arrived, the five thousand Zhengding troops commanded by Liu Ce had been firmly bottling up the Later Jin army's main force east of Jizhou. After all, Liu Ce commanded his troops to go outside the city to defend, and even at an average of five men per meter, the Later Jin had never found an opportunity to "stealthily bypass." Before Yuan Chonghuan arrived, Liu Ce had always been very confident about blocking the Later Jin's route of advance.

After the Guanning Iron Cavalry arrived, it is unknown whether they abandoned the camps and fortifications of the Zhengding troops outside the city. But even if they dared not go out to meet the enemy in battle, standing on the walls they surely could have seen the Later Jin army passing by two li away — after all, this was an army of tens of thousands, not one or two petty thieves. Without a special reason, there is certainly no way to explain why the Guanning troops did not light the beacon fires to raise the alarm.

Yuan Chonghuan's trusted confidants, Cheng Zhiben and Zhou Wenyu, later both defended Yuan Chonghuan in their capacity as witnesses. Cheng Zhiben said that the twenty thousand Guanning Iron Cavalry had been locked in a standoff with the Later Jin army the entire time — a standoff lasting five full shichen — so it was entirely understandable that the Later Jin main force "stealthily bypassed" Jixi.

Zhou Wenyu seconded Cheng Zhiben's account. He said that Yuan Chonghuan had bravely ordered twenty thousand troops out of the city, intending to fight earnestly and defend honestly, just as Liu Ce's five thousand Zhengding troops had done before. But unfortunately, the Later Jin army employed a stratagem akin to a diversionary trick, sending two hundred cavalry to stand off against the twenty thousand Guanning Iron Cavalry.

According to Cheng Zhiben's account, it was these two hundred cavalry who stood off against Yuan Chonghuan outside the city for five shichen, and then, after Yuan Chonghuan ordered the cannons to fire, this cavalry unit departed. Zhou Wenyu further lamented that after these two hundred cavalry withdrew from before the twenty thousand Guanning Iron Cavalry, "for the entire day, not a single rider returned, leaving us desiring battle yet with none to fight."

Probably it was because Yuan Chonghuan focused his attention too intently on this small unit of Later Jin troops. The Later Jin main force of tens of thousands seized the opportunity to "stealthily bypass" Yuan Chonghuan and the twenty thousand Guanning Iron Cavalry, passing just a few hundred meters away. While Yuan Chonghuan, Zhou Wenyu, Cheng Zhiben, and the others were wondering why the Later Jin troops did not "return," leaving them "desiring battle yet with none to fight," the Later Jin army had already begun to plunder and ravage the area around Sanhe, setting beacon fires ablaze across the sky. Zhou Wenyu explained to the imperial court that it was only at this point that Yuan Chonghuan "then scouted and discovered that the slave horde had stealthily bypassed Jixi," and thereafter "commanded the Liao troops to pursue westward."

Tens of thousands of enemy troops passed by a thousand meters away. Whether Yuan Chonghuan and the twenty thousand Guanning Iron Cavalry genuinely did not see them due to gross negligence, or for some reason contrived not to see them, or saw them yet pretended not to — in any case, Huang Taiji had once again accomplished a military miracle, flying past a heavily defended natural barrier with horses, baggage, and large numbers of small carts.

……

Fifteenth day of the eleventh month, the Imperial Capital.

A eunuch rushed in, shouting: "Your Majesty, beacon fires have been sighted in the direction of Tongzhou!"

Chongzhen, Sun Chengzong, and Cao Huachun all instantly changed countenance.

"Tongzhou — but Tongzhou has no troops left." Chongzhen stared fixedly at Tongzhou's position on the map, as if trying to bore through the thick paper with his gaze. But he could only watch helplessly as events unfolded, for the military strength in Beijing was now insufficient. Chongzhen had already ordered the capital under martial law. The twenty thousand troops of the capital's three great battalions and the three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guard had all entered the city defenses to hold fast, but for the long walls of Beijing, a defense relying on just over twenty thousand troops was still far too thin.

"Grand Secretary Sun, what is to be done now?" Chongzhen looked helplessly at Sun Chengzong, as if hoping the latter could conjure up a hundred thousand troops for him.

Sun Chengzong had no particularly brilliant military talent either. He could only kneel and kowtow, saying: "Your Majesty, this old minister is willing to lead my sons and nephews onto the walls to defend the Imperial Capital!"

Chongzhen stood dazed, unable to speak. At that moment, another eunuch ran in and called out to the Son of Heaven: "Your Majesty, your humble servant has been to Master Zhang's residence."

These past two days, Chongzhen had been somewhat disinclined to receive Zhang Heming, and so no longer summoned him to the palace. Old Zhang himself seemed to sense this as well — the day before yesterday he had submitted a memorial claiming illness, and Chongzhen had permitted him to absent himself from court. But with the situation so critical today, Chongzhen had again sent someone to summon Zhang Heming for an audience, treating a dead horse as if it were still alive, wanting to see if Zhang Heming had any solutions at hand.

"Your Majesty," the eunuch said, out of breath from running but still speaking rapidly without the slightest delay, "Old Zhang's leg ailment has flared up — he cannot even get out of bed. It is said that every step is a struggle, and he likely cannot come."

"This wretch…" Chongzhen shouted half a sentence in a burst of fury, his hand raised high, nearly slamming down onto the table. But it was only a momentary lapse; very quickly Chongzhen recovered himself. He coughed somewhat awkwardly. Everyone around kept their heads lowered, pretending not to have heard. The Emperor cleared his throat and said gently to the young eunuch: "Pass on the decree: dispatch an imperial physician to attend to Old Zhang. Also bestow upon Old Zhang two ginseng roots, and convey Our regards on his behalf."

"As decreed, Your Majesty."

This eunuch had just withdrawn when yet another eunuch ran into the great hall: "Your Majesty, the Viceroy of Jiliao has a memorial."

"Present it at once." While ordering someone to help Sun Chengzong up and seat him properly, Chongzhen hastily took Yuan Chonghuan's memorial. His hands trembling, he opened it and read. After finishing, Chongzhen cried out in anger: "No advance reconnaissance or defense, and he actually allowed the slave cavalry to steal a crossing — how could Viceroy Yuan be so careless?"

Sun Chengzong hurriedly asked: "Your Majesty, where are the Viceroy of Jiliao's troops at this moment?"

"Pursuing the slave cavalry day and night without rest." Chongzhen set down Yuan Chonghuan's memorial, somewhat annoyed but also somewhat relieved, and said: "Although the Viceroy of Jiliao has made an error, We believe he will never betray Us. In Our reply, a light reproach will suffice. We grant him the chance to atone for his faults through meritorious service."

……

Sixteenth day, early morning, Shunyi.

"Reporting to the Grand General: Jian slaves have been spotted in the direction of Tongzhou."

The scout's face was full of urgency. The troops from Xuanzhen and Datong were hurrying toward Beijing to serve the King. They had assumed the roads would be full of Ming troops, but as a result, the three thousand troops from Xuanzhen had suddenly encountered the Later Jin army while on the march and lost over a thousand men in an instant.

Upon hearing this, Man Gui's face went blank. He muttered to himself in bewilderment: "The court gazettes never reported that Jizhou had fallen. How did the interior suddenly become filled with beacon fires stretching to the heavens? And how could Tongzhou fall in the blink of an eye? There should be heavy troops there guarding the Imperial Capital."

On the fifteenth, after the Later Jin army breached Tongzhou, that very afternoon they encountered two battalions — three thousand Xuanfu troops — who had come by forced march from the line of Yanqing, Changping, Huairou, and Shunyi to serve the King. The two armies immediately clashed. Facing an enemy force with twelve thousand armored soldiers, the three thousand Xuanfu troops fought a fierce day-long field battle south of Shunyi against the Later Jin army. Only under cover of darkness did they break out of the encirclement and flee back to Shunyi. In that single day, the Xuanfu troops lost nearly half their number and were gravely weakened.

On the sixteenth, the Datong troops led by Man Gui also arrived at Shunyi. At this time, the Later Jin army had detached forces to pursue the Xuanfu troops, and now the Later Jin wanted to seize Shunyi to cut off the Ming army's southern reinforcement route. The remaining seventeen hundred-odd Xuanfu troops resisted on one front while urgently sending men to seek help from the Datong troops to the rear.

"Grand General, how should our forces respond?"

"Need you even ask?" Man Gui pressed his horse's flanks and roared: "Lads, kill the slaves!"

"Kill the slaves!"

"Kill the slaves!"

Man Gui's four thousand personal troops spurred their horses and raised their blades, vying with one another to follow Man Gui as they charged toward Shunyi…

After these four thousand troops joined in, the Xuan-Da army now numbered nearly six thousand men in total. They and the Later Jin army fought a series of fierce engagements around Shunyi. Man Gui intended to break through the Later Jin army's flank and thrust directly ahead of the Later Jin army to block their route toward the Imperial Capital. With such a force present, the Later Jin army could not advance westward at ease either. Huang Taiji was forced to send reinforcements continuously, and they became locked in battle with the Xuan-Da army on the flank.

Afternoon of the sixteenth.

"Grand General, the Jian slaves are growing more and more numerous."

"Indeed." Man Gui nodded. Fortunately, they were fighting on interior lines, and the Xuan-Da army's wounded could be continuously sent to the local government offices for treatment, so Man Gui's burden at this moment was not yet too heavy. Still, after a morning of fierce fighting, the Xuan-Da army had lost several hundred more soldiers.

"But the enemy is many and we are few — we cannot linger long in the open field." Man Gui commanded the Xuan-Da army to fight while retreating, advancing shoulder to shoulder with the Later Jin toward the direction of Tongzhou.

Man Gui took a great gulp of water, casually wiped the droplets from his beard, then drew his saber again and bellowed: "Kill the slaves! Kill the slaves! Lads, we must force our way through from here!"

"Kill the slaves! Kill the slaves!"

The Xuan-Da army tightened into dense combat formations and charged forward with battle cries. The fighting grew even more white-hot.

The nine thousand Guanning Iron Cavalry under Yuan Chonghuan's command reached Sanhe. Hearing reports that the Xuan-Da army and the Later Jin army were fiercely engaged to the west, Yuan Chonghuan immediately directed his main force to continue westward, rushing toward Tongzhou. That night, the Guanning army encamped fifteen li from Tongzhou. At first light the next day, Yuan Chonghuan hastily commanded the Guanning Iron Cavalry to cross the river south of Tongzhou. The moment they set foot on the soil west of the river, Yuan Chonghuan urgently pressed his troops straight toward the Imperial Capital.

At this time, Man Gui was still north of Tongzhou, commanding his several thousand Xuan-Da troops in fierce battle against the Later Jin main force. He exploited the weakness that the Later Jin army had to attend to multiple directions simultaneously, stubbornly conducting a parallel movement with the Later Jin army. Huang Taiji was now deep in hostile territory and had to guard his army's perimeter on all sides; for the moment, he could not draw out his full strength to seize Man Gui. Thus the Later Jin army's pace was slowed by the Xuan-Da army. Both moved at a speed of about ten li per day, advancing shoulder to shoulder toward the direction of the Great Ming's Imperial Capital.

On the night of the seventeenth, Yuan Chonghuan led the nine thousand Guanning Iron Cavalry to Guangqumen outside the Imperial Capital. He immediately requested to enter the city that very night to rest. The Emperor did not grant the Guanning Iron Cavalry's request to enter the city, but once again greatly praised Yuan Chonghuan's miraculous speed — he had covered one hundred fifty li in three days and three nights, racing from Jimen to the Imperial Capital's rescue at an average speed of fifty li per day.

On the morning of the eighteenth, the Chongzhen Emperor dispatched eunuchs to inspect the Guanning army camp. He then ordered the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War to discuss rewards. After the Ministry of Revenue transported army provisions to Yuan Chonghuan's camp, the Chongzhen Emperor further drew from the inner treasury and sent the Directorate of Ceremonial eunuch Lü Zhi to bestow one thousand jin of imperial green salt, one hundred dan of official grain, ten jars of wine, one hundred sheep, and ten thousand taels of silver to reward Yuan Chonghuan's Guanning Iron Cavalry.

Yuan Chonghuan then again requested to enter the city for defense. Chongzhen soothed him with kind words but still did not grant this request.

At this moment, Man Gui was still commanding his five thousand Xuan-Da troops, locked in tangled combat with the Later Jin army. In the afternoon, after Huang Taiji concentrated his forces and frightened Man Gui off, he commanded the central army to cross the river from Tongzhou, drawing closer to the Great Ming's Imperial Capital. Man Gui then came pursuing from behind again, and the two armies once more clashed northeast of Tongzhou.

While the Guanning troops were eating their fill and clamoring to enter the city, the Xuan-Da troops were fighting desperately, risking life and death against the Later Jin army near Tongzhou. The Later Jin army had fought all the way from Shunyi to Tongzhou. Across the once prosperous plains of the capital region, smoking ruins now dotted the landscape everywhere, and the corpses of innocent commoners were visible all around.

Seeing the banners of the Later Jin army multiplying before his eyes again, Man Gui hastily led his personal troops to pull back once more. By all reasoning, the Later Jin army should have been an isolated force, but all along this march, Man Gui had seen no friendly troops whatsoever. As a result, he himself had become the isolated force instead. So the Xuan-Da army dared not entangle with the Later Jin main force. Man Gui consistently pursued a strategy of striking and then running, circling back and forth with the Later Jin army. Because the opponent had to protect their own baggage and the captives they had seized, Man Gui, though hard-pressed, could still manage to maneuver.

"Whew, whew — good heavens, we were nearly caught by the Jian slaves just now." After withdrawing several li, Man Gui dismounted to rest. The Xuan-Da army's main force followed behind Man Gui's personal troops, providing them cover and a point of refuge. Man Gui hastily ate his midday meal in a temporary camp tent, then grabbed his horse lance and strode toward a fresh warhorse. Once mounted, he gave his Assistant Regional Commander the next marching destination, the guiding principle still being to maintain a situation neither too close to nor too far from the Later Jin army.

"Still no sign of the King-serving armies. Lads, let us go fight another round." Man Gui called out and set off again. He reckoned the King-serving armies were still on the road, so he exerted himself to the utmost to buy time for the Imperial Capital. Up to this day, the Chongzhen Emperor was still having Yuan Chonghuan exercise unified command over the various King-serving armies. And Man Gui had no idea at all that, even now, the King-serving armies scattered in various places had still not received orders to assemble toward Beijing.

At this time, the twenty thousand troops of the capital garrison nervously guarded the gates of the capital. Two thousand soldiers were placed at each of the nine gates of the Imperial City. The Embroidered Uniform Guard, all in full helmets and armor, patrolled back and forth along the capital's roads. Battalion Commander Zhang Gaosheng looked at the dark mass of the Guanning army camp outside the city and asked uneasily: "Brother Chen, are these Liao troops reliable?"

Chen Ruike asked back in surprise: "What do you mean?"

"Word is that fierce fighting has been going on around Tongzhou. How can they just stand by and watch without going to reinforce?"

"This is the Imperial Capital — we don't have enough troops to defend the city." Chen Ruike had not thought too deeply about it. After the beacon fires came from Tongzhou, the Chongzhen Emperor had ordered the inner treasury opened and recruited the capital's commoners to mount the walls and assist in the defense. But Beijing was so vast — spreading over ten thousand able-bodied men along these walls was like sprinkling a drop of water onto a desert; they vanished in an instant. A few days earlier, someone had recommended a gang leader to the Son of Heaven. Chongzhen had immediately granted him an audience and bestowed upon him the rank of Mobile Corps Commander, ordering him to bring his brothers to participate in defending the walls. This showed how desperately strained the Great Ming's military strength truly was.

"Then why not let these Liaodong troops come in and help defend the city?" Zhang Gaosheng pointed again at the forces below the wall — several thousand Guanning Army soldiers had been clamoring all day to be let inside. "Is there some lord at court who thinks they're unreliable?"

"Surely not? Frontier troops are forbidden to enter the capital; they can only screen the city gates from outside. That's the rule set by Yu Shaobao, and it was followed throughout the Jiajing reign as well." Back then, Yu Qian had refused to let frontier troops into the capital both to prevent them from harassing the populace and to ensure they would not hold back in a desperate fight. As long as the frontier troops camped right against the city gates, not only would Beijing's gates be absolutely secure, but the enemy would also be unable to sever the link between the outer forces and the capital — the troops would always receive supplies and covering fire from the capital.

Zhang Gaosheng pondered this thoughtfully for a moment, then asked Chen Ruike, "If it were Marshal Huang's troops, His Majesty would surely be delighted to let them enter the city, wouldn't he? And the common people would welcome them too, wouldn't they?"

Chen Ruike burst out laughing at that, but his smile quickly turned bitter. "If Marshal Huang were here, would the northern caitiffs even have reached the walls of the capital?"

With that, Chen Ruike gave another cold laugh. "Who knows what the great lords at court are thinking? And who knows how this Viceroy of Ji-Liao is conducting his command — five years to pacify Liaodong, and he's nearly pacified his way right to the capital's walls!"

……