Chapter 99: Section Seven

Li Yunrui and Bao Jiusun were still Squad Commanders. The real reason Huang Shi lost his temper was that his subordinates had tried to question his decision. If he considered the matter on its own merits, Huang Shi also felt these two still needed to be tested — after all, they had followed him for too short a time, and he had not yet finished digesting and absorbing them.

The medal reform was ultimately not implemented, because his stockpile of prestige had basically been spent, and there was no hope of recovering that capital before the reforms brought benefits. Since Huang Shi was not prepared to push through the new policies at all costs, the military system reforms had to be put on hold for the time being.

At this time, along the thousand-li coastline of the Liao Sea, the Ming army’s island Regional Military Commissioners were all straining every sinew to produce supplies and gather manpower. After some deliberation, Mao Wenlong concluded that after this period of recuperation and rebuilding, the Liaodong Ming army once again possessed offensive capability.

In the seventh month of the second year of the Tianqi reign, the Ming army captured Yingtaowo and burned Xianshan Fort to the ground.

In the eighth month, the Ming army recovered Wozhan Fort.

In the ninth month, the Ming army retook Changcheng, and immediately afterward defeated the Later Jin army at the Battle of Manpu, forcing the Later Jin to voluntarily abandon the fort.

“My lord, Army Commander Mao is certain to launch a major offensive.” He Dingyuan was in high spirits; three months of successive Ming victories had greatly boosted morale throughout Dongjiang, and Changsheng Island was no exception: “Our unit must be the first to kill the slaves and seize the highest honors.”

He Baodao vigorously advocated launching an attack on Fuzhou, but Huang Shi did not think much of this kind of military gamble. The patrol reports indeed painted a picture of universal success, and the Liaodong Ming army estimated enemy casualties at ten to twenty thousand. But Huang Shi had no such confidence; although he was not entirely clear on the specifics, he felt that figure was fine for boosting morale inside the passes, but absolutely could not be used as a basis for military planning.

Huang Shi convened an emergency military conference on the matter, summoning all four Company Commanders to discuss it. If the clamor to request battle was too strong, then Huang Shi planned to use a small force to raid Fuzhou as a training exercise.

“Army Commander Mao has about five thousand combat soldiers. Does the number of enemies killed over these past months seem a bit high?” At the conference, Huang Shi expressed his doubts with carefully chosen words: a total tally of nearly twenty thousand in three months — “That averages out to three Jianzhou slaves killed per soldier. A bit much, isn’t it?”

“What of it? Your subordinate alone can kill seven or eight in a day,” He Baodao said dismissively. The other three Company Commanders remained silent, each trying to parse the meaning behind Huang Shi’s words.

“Under the old practices of the Han and Tang, battlefield kills were reported with tenfold exaggeration — to overawe disloyal elements abroad and reassure the people at home.” Huang Shi had no wish to be seen by his subordinates as a pessimist, so he was extremely careful in both his wording and tone: “I fear the various unit commanders, and Army Commander Mao himself, may have such considerations in mind?”

Although Huang Shi’s words were very tactful, He Baodao was already somewhat displeased. “Then the Jianzhou slaves must have suffered heavy losses too! My lord, if we don’t hurry up and seize some credit, your subordinate fears there will be none left to seize.”

Zhao Manxiong finally stepped in to help; he felt he had already grasped the superior’s intent: “The Jianzhou slaves have roughly thirty thousand combat soldiers, plus Han troops and unarmored soldiers — their strength is still more formidable than our army’s.”

Mobile Corps Commander warfare is generally a tactic used by the weaker side; once strength grows, there is a natural inclination toward pitched battles. Thus, after more than half a year of consolidation, the Ming forces on the various Liaodong islands had begun shifting to the counteroffensive one after another. But Huang Shi worried that everyone in Dongjiang had already grown hotheaded. History told him the Later Jin were not such soft persimmons to squeeze. It was more likely that the various unit commanders were watering down the battle reports, and then mutually influencing each other to create a culture of competitive exaggeration, leading to collective errors in judgment.

“How goes the training of the new recruits?” Without waiting for He Baodao to speak again, Huang Shi asked Yang Zhiyuan.

Yang Zhiyuan cast an apologetic glance at He Baodao: “Reporting to my lord, your subordinate is incapable. Our unit has fewer than five hundred usable soldiers.”

“It’s not your fault.” Huang Shi waved his hand magnanimously; he had already had a rough idea of this answer in his heart: “We lack military equipment; there’s nothing to be done about it.”

“Your subordinate is incapable.” This time it was Jin Qiude’s turn to beg forgiveness.

Although nominally the tasks had been divided among several men, Zhangshan was a new settlement, and with only a thousand-odd people on the island, Huang Shi had to attend to everything personally. Leveling the land, building boats and fishing, constructing the harbor, erecting tents and barracks — after all this work was done, very little time remained for manufacturing weapons and organizing training.

Over these past months, Huang Shi had finally managed to reclaim five thousand mu of land and planted it entirely with sesame, thoroughly suppressing the weeds. At the same time, he had also manufactured some weapons — two hundred oak long spears. He had originally intended to make some wooden bows as well, but those bows had little power and the craftsmanship was complex, so he abandoned the idea.

“That is how things stand. Our unit lacks the strength to go on campaign.” Huang Shi looked at the deeply disappointed He Baodao and mercilessly vetoed the proposal: “The proposal to attack Fuzhou — this general does not permit it.”

Not going to Fuzhou to throw away lives did not mean undertaking no military action at all. After careful assessment, Huang Shi felt that dispatching three hundred soldiers would pose no problem. The key was that the operation must preserve his own forces and weaken the enemy.

“First, the operational objective.” One of Huang Shi’s newest regulations was to conduct mission briefings, striving to ensure every officer understood the operational purpose and the broad plan.

All the officers — four Company Commanders and eight Squad Commanders — waited in silence. Huang Shi cleared his throat: “The target of this sortie is a village, with a total of twenty-two households. Our army is to relocate all the villagers to Changsheng Island, and bring away all their grain, fodder, farming tools, livestock, and furniture.”

Huang Shi’s veterans were basically equipped with iron weapons, and also had twenty strong bows. The two hundred farmer-soldiers each had a long spear, and every two new recruits were led by one veteran. The three hundred soldiers were divided into four squads, each led by one Company Commander. For this operation, the Fire Rescue Battalion was deployed in full force.

“The village we are going to is twenty li from the coast and forty-eight li from Fuzhou Guard. Our army’s vanguard is Company Commander He, and the arrival time should be at the second ke of the shen hour. The remaining troops will also arrive shortly after.” Huang Shi had no intention of using vague terms like “dusk” or “twilight.”

“Do everything possible to prevent anyone from escaping to report the news, but even if someone does, it doesn’t matter — they cannot possibly reach Fuzhou before the city gates close at nightfall. Complete the operation tonight, return to the coast before daybreak, and depart by ship. Our army has no reconnaissance capability, so everything must proceed strictly according to plan.”

Changsheng Island had only three horses; its land reconnaissance capability was extremely poor.

The order Mao Wenlong issued to all units was that civilians must be treated well, and Huang Shi fully understood this: “In this operation, harming civilians is not permitted. They will become part of our army — your future subordinates.”

At this point, Huang Shi gave a sly smile: “Of course, there is no need to explain this to the villagers in advance. If anyone is extremely frightened, you may reassure them, but do not say it is my order. Instead, have the soldiers say, ‘We will not harm you.’ In short, use the soldiers’ personal names to offer reassurance. Do not let the villagers resist out of excessive fear, but also do not let them become utterly unrestrained.”