Chapter 47: Section Twelve

His subordinates gave Huang Shi a brief account of the situation; they had already gathered information through multiple channels. Although Sun Degong’s coup had been sudden, quite a few low-ranking officers and soldiers had spontaneously begun resisting. Gao Bangzuo, the Prefect of Guangning, had also come to his senses and was attempting to suppress the rebellion. As a result, most of Sun Degong’s forces were also dispersed, mostly operating in squad-commander units to quell resistance everywhere while keeping watch over the Ming troops who had laid down their arms.

Listening to the soldiers’ description, Huang Shi felt that Gao Bangzuo seemed to be a fool — in just half a watch he had lost every storehouse and had even been besieged. One had to understand that at this time, the storehouses were essentially small fortresses; since they had been lost, retaking them would mean the counter-rebel forces would have to storm each one in succession.

After Fei Liguo charged in leading five hundred men, the opponents were all rebel bands of a few dozen each, so the counter-rebel forces’ advance was naturally like hot water melting snow — the rebels everywhere were routed in succession. The counter-rebel troops’ morale soared like a rainbow, and they fought all the way to the front of the Guangning Prefect’s government office. Gao Bangzuo, who had been trapped defending the prefectural office, seized the opportunity to lead his government office runners and constables in a single charge outward, coordinating with Fei Liguo’s operations.

Fang Zhenru, the Liaodong Regional Inspector, could not find Wang Huazhen and, seeing the prefectural office besieged, had originally intended to flee as well. Now, seeing reinforcements arrive, he hastily ordered his household servants organized for battle, and they grabbed every sort of weapon and rushed to link up with Fei Liguo. Following his example, every official in the city organized even their floor-sweeping servants into groups and threw them into the melee throughout the city.

These allied forces, combined with the large numbers of scattered soldiers who had merged with Fei Liguo’s troops, suddenly swelled the counter-rebel forces together with their allies to a full two thousand men. Up to this point, everything matched the strategy Huang Shi had anticipated. But what caught him off guard was that Sun Degong had not seized the roads to flee; instead, he was calmly assembling his troops and attempting a counterattack.

Sun Degong also understood that he could not match the counter-rebel forces in a snowballing contest, so as soon as he had gathered one unit, he immediately launched a fierce assault on Fei Liguo’s main force. At that moment, Fei Liguo was directing the counter-rebel troops in an attack on the Guangning Armory, where the rebel resistance was extremely stubborn. Suddenly struck in the flank by Sun Degong’s regular troops, he was instantly thrown into confusion.

Moreover, Sun Degong first struck the allied forces positioned in the counter-rebel army’s second line. Whether it was the Guangning Prefect’s government office runners and constables or the various officials’ servants and cooks, they all collapsed at the first touch.

The rout of these allied forces nearly threw the counter-rebel ranks into chaos as well. The counter-rebel troops, who had been fighting smoothly, received this sudden blow to the head, and their morale vanished without a trace in an instant. The counter-rebel forces lacked officers and personal guards; at the slightest setback, the men threw down their weapons, stripped off their uniforms, and fled — in the blink of an eye, a significant fraction had scattered.

“Jin Qiude rendered a tremendous service.” These were Fei Liguo’s exact words.

In the midst of the chaos, Jin Qiude led his men in a furious hacking and slashing of the disordered troops, finally managing to steady the battle line. Fei Liguo even felt that more men had died under Jin Qiude’s hand than had been killed by Sun Degong. In this way, the counter-rebel forces, coordinating with their allies and relying on superior numbers, withstood Sun Degong’s initial three-axe onslaught.

Seizing the moment when the rebel assault briefly paused, Fei Liguo hurriedly ordered his men to set fires, igniting the civilian houses on both sides of the street and piling burning fuel in the center of the broad official road. Having temporarily separated the two armies, he quickly gathered his scattered men and reassembled his forces.

When Huang Shi arrived, Fei Liguo was directing a dozen or so soldiers in shouting abuse. Behind them were planted many counterfeit Guan-Ning Army banners, and that fake Assistant Regional Commander sat in a conspicuous spot at the rear with a bold, imposing air, looking very majestic.

“Sun Degong has lost all conscience and will die a wretched death.”

“Sun Degong abandoned his old subordinates for wealth and rank — he wouldn’t even spare his own son-in-law.”

“Grand Coordinator Xiong has smashed the Jianzhou slaves and captured the old slave Nurhaci alive — Sun Degong’s fate is sealed.”

“The Guan-Ning grand army has already returned to Guangning. Surrender early, and you may escape death.”

The shouts from the opposite side also came through without pause:

“Fei Liguo and Huang Shi are two ungrateful dogs!”

“Wang Huazhen has already fled. The Great Jin army will arrive any day now. If you don’t surrender now, the only road left is death.”

This war of insults struck Huang Shi as rather amusing, but it was clear that the rebels’ fighting spirit remained vigorous, while the morale of the counter-rebel forces and the large number of allies was flagging. Jin Qiude was still leading a squad of soldiers, each man gripping a blood-dripping blade, their wide eyes glaring as they patrolled back and forth.

The two armies were exchanging arrows, and the sound of firearms could be heard from time to time. Huang Shi, unable to get very close or see clearly, asked Fei Liguo, “How many men does the other side have?”

“Probably two or three hundred.”

“So few?” Huang Shi was greatly astonished. The counter-rebel forces engaged in battle outnumbered them five to one. Yet they had steadied their line but were unable to counterattack.

Fei Liguo gave a bitter laugh. “The other side is all Sun Degong’s old core — personal guards, retainers, that sort. Our side here isn’t made of men who’d share life and death with us. Besides, Sun Degong was fully prepared, with his back to the armory — shields, long spears, everything he needs…”

A thunderous boom cut off Fei Liguo’s words. Several soldiers, drenched in blood, collapsed to the ground wailing. Huang Shi jumped in fright. The soldiers retreated several steps before Jin Qiude drove them back.

“After we reached a stalemate, that villain Sun Degong even hauled over a cannon,” Fei Liguo said, pointing toward the other side of the wall of flame. “Every so often he fires a shot.”

It didn’t seem to be a heavy cannon of great destructive power — Huang Shi guessed it was most likely a small fieldpiece firing iron pellets, otherwise Sun Degong could never have dragged it here — but its effect on morale was enormous.

Fei Liguo then began complaining about Jin Qiude: “It’s true he rendered great service, but what he did was not the work a Company Commander ought to do — it was the work of a personal guard. And your other subordinate, Zhao Manxiong, is even more out of line, always hiding at the very rear shooting arrows. That’s not the work a Company Commander ought to be doing either.”

One was a hunter, the other a spy, and both lacked officer experience — what did you expect them to do? Huang Shi himself still didn’t really know what a Regional Military Commissioner was supposed to do. In principle, it was to command the Company Commanders, but Huang Shi didn’t know what to command them to do either. He looked left and right for a long while, then suddenly asked, “Why haven’t we concentrated our own men? Instead, they’re all dispersed.”

Fei Liguo gave another bitter laugh. “Our own men were never reliable to begin with, but those allied troops are even less reliable. We had no choice but to intersperse our units among the allies, to keep them from all running away.”

“What about Sun Degong?”

“He’s in the rear, directing the war of insults. Just now he personally led a charge and nearly shattered our army. Fortunately, Zhao Manxiong hit him with an arrow — though his armor was thick, he still withdrew.”

Fei Liguo had been carefully watching Huang Shi’s expression and sensed that matters on his end had most likely gone smoothly. He finally asked, “Where is my lord Wang?”

“Waiting just outside the city. I expect he’ll be here very soon.”

“Excellent. Then the great enterprise is as good as accomplished.” Fei Liguo’s face lit up with joy. He rubbed his hands together. “Now I can set my mind at ease with the war of insults. Watch me curse the rebel army into collapse.”

“You’ve been holding back in the war of insults?” Huang Shi asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Of course. I was afraid that if I cursed too fiercely, it would only make Sun Degong fight to the death. But now that my lord Wang has returned, he’ll soon be able to gather the scattered troops and send a steady stream of reinforcements to support us. So what do I have to worry about?” Fei Liguo gleefully called over the soldiers who were shouting insults and began giving them private instructions.

After that, Fei Liguo’s curses were indeed exceedingly vicious. As Sun Degong’s former personal guard captain, he dragged out every affair from Sun Degong’s inner chambers — nothing more than which personal guard had secretly slept with which of Sun’s concubines or maids.

Name after name, place after place, time after time — Fei Liguo cursed with vivid, convincing detail. Beyond that, he also shouted out the private jokes told behind the backs of Sun’s retainers: who had his eye on a certain maid, who had said he wanted to spend a night with a certain concubine — every one-percent truth was blown up into a full ten.

Before long, the topic turned to the wives of the rebel officers and personal guards — in short, it circled entirely around women, and every unspeakable drunken jest was hauled out into the open. Listening, Huang Shi felt a secret admiration: with so many names and so much gossip, it was remarkable that Fei Liguo remembered it all so clearly.

The army on the opposite side indeed began to show signs of disorder. Some men came charging over with furious roars, but the gaps left by the flames were very narrow, and the counter-rebel forces, formed into battle arrays, forced them back. The few fierce warriors who individually burst through the wall of fire and thick smoke were immediately brought down by arrows, stones, and firearms from the soldiers on the rooftops on both sides.

The sound of gongs rose from the rebel side as they struggled with all their might to quell the army’s agitation. The rebels sat there on the other side, passively enduring the abuse, while the counter-rebel forces listened and roared with ceaseless laughter — their morale instantly soaring.