Chapter 178: Relocation of the Garrisons

Although the new troops of the Capital Camps had been drilled for over half a year and had taken on the rudimentary shape of elite soldiers, an army that had not been tempered by the fires of war could not yet be called a strong force.

A month earlier, after receiving Zhu Youjian's decree, Xue Lian had drawn twenty thousand men from the Capital Camps, who, under the command of Shenji Camp Regional Commander Mao Yuanyi and Wujun Camp Regional Commander Feng Xun, had marched to the Huguang region to join the campaign to exterminate Zhang Xianzhong and his ilk.

This served two purposes: first, to give Lu Xiangsheng's forces a chance to catch their breath; second, to use war as training, letting the new Capital Camp troops grow through combat.

When leveling up by fighting monsters, of course you start with the small fry; a novice charging straight at the boss on his first outing is pure suicide.

Although Zhang Xianzhong and his men were also veterans of many battles, neither their equipment nor their morale could compare with the Later Jin, making them suitable opponents for the new troops to cut their teeth on.

Early in the reorganization of the Capital Camps, Chongzhen had transferred Mao Yuanyi from the Bureau of Military Equipment to serve as Regional Commander of the Capital Camps.

What he had valued at the time was Mao Yuanyi's insight and acumen in the production, development, and use of firearms, but Zhu Youjian also knew that the man was a capable commander of troops, and the Shenji Camp was the perfect platform for him to display his talents.

Feng Xun was an old hand in the Capital Camps, with several generations of his family having served there; he had originally held the post of Mobile Corps Commander in the army. It was said that he delighted in reading military classics in his spare time and was quite resourceful. He associated closely with Xue Lian and Wei Shichun, and through their strong recommendation secured the post of Wujun Camp Regional Commander.

The Yongwei Camp had now expanded to twenty thousand men, and at Zhu Youjian's request, a new wagon battalion of over five thousand men had been established.

The wagon battalion was equipped with two hundred shielded carts, powered by oxen driven by laborers from the supply camp. Each cart carried a Folangji cannon weighing about three hundred jin, along with five arquebusiers, three gunners, ten spearmen, and eight sword-and-shield men.

The purpose of forming the wagon battalion was for future field battles beyond the pass against the Jianzhou barbarians, to protect the infantry formation from being shattered by Manchu-Mongol cavalry charges.

Both Qi Jiguang and Sun Chengzong had once established wagon battalions, and the Ministry of War retained all manner of archival records on them, so building and organizing one was simple—just follow the old models. Although the shielded carts had not yet been tested in a major pitched battle, their performance in small-scale skirmishes had been worthy of praise.

In later years they had gradually fallen into disuse, chiefly because the court lacked the money to build and maintain them—these things were far too costly.

Now that Zhu Youjian had plenty of silver at his disposal, restoring the wagon battalion became a perfectly natural move.

Powerful firepower output and excellent protective cover were the greatest features of the shielded carts, but their poor mobility was the reason they could not be equipped in large numbers. Zhu Youjian decided to equip one wagon battalion first, then, drawing on past experience, continuously refine the tactics during routine drills until the combined-arms tactics with infantry and cavalry matured before expanding further.

The mother-and-child chamber configuration of the Folangji cannon gave it a rate of fire even faster than the arquebus, with lethality far superior to the arquebus and a longer striking range.

The existence of the wagon battalion gave Ming soldiers an added sense of security. In battle, having a barrier in front was far better than facing the enemy's iron cavalry charge directly.

In the future, pacifying Liaodong would be accomplished by these troops, and the Yongwei Camp in particular was the object of Zhu Youjian's greatest hopes.

As for the rest—whether the Zuo Liangyus or the Zu Dashous—they were not unusable, but they absolutely could not be placed at the very front.

Since the Guanning army was so unreliable, the importance of Shanhai Pass was thrown into sharp relief. As long as this mighty pass was held by trustworthy men, the Jianzhou barbarians could never break through here.

In the original course of history, had Wu Sangui not opened the gates, the Qing army could never have taken this, the greatest pass under heaven.

The Shanhai Pass defense line was now linked in one continuous stretch with Liaodong, and Regional Commander Wu Xiang was a major figure in the Liaodong military clans—this meant that Liaodong's power had effectively extended right up to the capital's doorstep.

This situation had to be changed at once: Shanhai Pass and Liaodong had to be severed from each other in the middle, making it far more difficult for the two sides to maintain their connections.

With a decree from Zhu Youjian, the various armies received a directive from the Ministry of War: Wu of Shanhai Pass, the Regional Commander, was promoted to Commissioner-in-Chief of the Left and ordered to lead his forces to take up the post of Regional Commander of the Ji Garrison; Wang, the former Regional Commander of the Ji Garrison, was to move his forces to Baoding and serve as Baoding's Regional Commander; and Zhang, Vice Regional Commander of the Yongwei Camp, was to lead ten thousand men into Shanhai Pass and be promoted to Regional Commander of Shanhai Pass. All three forces were required to complete their relocations before year's end, on pain of being punished for delaying military operations.

Whatever Wu Xiang and Zu Dashou might think in their hearts, at least on the surface they dared not defy the court's orders, and so a vigorous three-army relocation got swiftly underway.

Fortunately, the distances involved in the three armies' relocation were not great, and the camps were all already in place. As long as the commanding generals made proper arrangements and the soldiers obeyed their superiors, completing the move within twenty-odd days was no difficult matter.

Wang Guowei, Regional Commander of the Ji Garrison, was the most indifferent of the three.

His force numbered over six thousand men, and its combat power was not formidable. Sandwiched between Shanhai Pass and the capital, the Ji Garrison served more as a second-line reserve force, having long since lost the awe-inspiring prestige it had enjoyed in the Wanli era when Qi Jiguang served as its Regional Commander.

Upon receiving the Ministry of War's directive, Wang Guowei said not a word of complaint. He immediately dispatched his Assistant Regional Commanders, Mobile Corps Commanders, and other officers, ordered the soldiers to pack up their various belongings, and within three days the entire army struck camp and marched west, arriving in Baoding within ten days.

Wu Xiang was utterly reluctant in his heart. He had already realized that once he went to garrison the Ji Garrison, maintaining contact with his several brothers-in-law would become extremely difficult.

To reach Liaodong, Shanhai Pass was the only route. Because the surrounding area was all impassable towering mountains and ridges, if some urgent matter arose, by the time one climbed over one mountain after another, the daylily would have long gone cold.

After receiving the Ministry of War's directive, he immediately rode through the night to Jinzhou, over three hundred li away, to discuss the crux of the matter with Zu Dashou.

After discussing for half a day, the two guessed Zhu Youjian's intent: the Emperor, or the court, had grown wary of the Liaodong military clans.

In truth, Zhu Youjian's approach was less a conspiracy than an open stratagem and a display of political skill—anyone involved could hardly fail to see through it.

But even if the two judged correctly, they were utterly helpless to do anything about it, unable to devise any good countermeasure.

Liaodong was still Ming territory, and the Guanning army was still a Ming army, receiving millions in military pay from the court each year—what objection could there be to a relocation order? And on top of that, Wu had been given the title of Commissioner-in-Chief of the Left, a first-rank position, the very pinnacle a military officer could reach.

Left with no choice, Wu Xiang rested one night before hurrying back to Shanhai Pass, where he immediately ordered the entire army to pack their gear and reach the Ji Garrison within fifteen days.

Zhang Kui, Vice Regional Commander of the Yongwei Camp, was also a valiant general who had long served under Sun Yingyuan. Recommended by Sun Yingyuan, he had gradually risen to the post of Vice Regional Commander—a loyal and courageous man worthy of trust.

With this deployment accomplished, Wu Xiang's force was now wedged between the capital and Shanhai Pass, with elite troops watching it from both the north and south; at the slightest sign of trouble, it would be caught in a pincer.

This was merely preparing for the worst-case scenario, not an assertion that Wu Xiang harbored treacherous intentions.

Historically, even by the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, Wu Xiang and his son Wu Sangui had never committed any great act of treason.

But as Emperor, Zhu Youjian's measures were perfectly normal—especially toward the vacillating Liaodong military clans, one had to be extra vigilant.

The intent to harm others one may harbor, but the guard against being harmed one must never lack.

This saying applies only to emperors; ordinary people are better off being kind.

The chief effect of this move was to weaken Zu Dashou's strength.

Wu Xiang's force currently numbered over three thousand cavalry and over five thousand infantry. After Wu Sangui returned with his troops from Shaanxi, the father and son together commanded over five thousand cavalry—a force not to be underestimated.

With these five thousand-plus men coming inside the pass, Zu Dashou had lost no small measure of support, and with the ten thousand elite Yongwei Camp troops behind them, it was to be hoped he would restrain himself considerably.

With the arrival of the twenty-third day of the twelfth month, the Little New Year, the court officially began its holiday, which would not resume normal operations until the eighteenth day of the first month after the New Year.

The various offices in the capital one by one closed their doors and sealed their seals; everyone began bustling about for the New Year. The gift-bearing messengers sent by officials from all over had already departed for home. The examination candidates who had arrived early in the capital to prepare for next spring's metropolitan examination gathered in small groups to drink and chat, and the whole atmosphere of the capital felt relaxed and cheerful.

Far away in Shaanxi, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting, as well as Lu Xiangsheng in Huguang, each received New Year's gifts of honor from Zhu Youjian.

Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng were both elevated to the rank of Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, granted flying-fish robes and jade belts, and each had one son given a hereditary post as Chiliarch in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Sun Chuanting was elevated to the rank of Minister of War, granted a douniu robe and jade belt, and his son was given a hereditary post as Centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

With the addition of the Grand Secretary title, Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng had become major court ministers on par with the Grand Secretaries themselves, no longer merely regional governors of a single province—both now possessed the qualifications to enter the Grand Secretariat.

The years of toil and hardship the two had endured were worthy of this honor, and no amount of envy, jealousy, or resentment among many in the court could change that. They had solid achievements to show for it—since the roving bandits had grown powerful in the second year of Chongzhen, had it not been for Hong and Lu rushing about extinguishing fires everywhere and slaughtering countless bandits, how could the situation have grown as stable as it was today?

Although Sun Chuanting had suddenly risen to high office, his merits were truly in no way inferior to those of Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng.

He had resolutely accepted the appointment to rush to Shaanxi, a place all other officials feared like tigers; within a single year his military farmland and troop training had met with great success, enormously relieving the pressure on the court, and he had defeated and captured Gao Yingxiang, the iconic figure of the roving bandits, indirectly dismantling the two great bandit forces in northern Shaanxi.

Any one of these achievements taken alone would outshine the vast majority of court officials—and the campaign to exterminate Gao Yingxiang in particular could be called the most rousing victory the court had seen during the Chongzhen reign.

The other generals who had taken part in the fighting also received their various promotions and rewards.

Although Hong Chengchou and the others had commanded with distinction, it was still the military officers who had bled and fought on the front lines.

Zhou Yuji, Regional Commander of the Shaanxi army, was promoted to Commissioner-in-Chief of the Left, while retaining his post in the Shaanxi army. His son or nephew was granted a hereditary Centurion post in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he was presented with a suit of armor.

Changping Regional Commander Zuo Liangyu was promoted to the rank of Commissioner-in-Chief, though his post remained at Changping. One of his sons was granted the hereditary position of Centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he was awarded a set of mountain-pattern armor.

Lintao Regional Commander Cao Wenzhao was promoted to the rank of Commissioner-in-Chief. One of his sons was granted the hereditary position of Centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he was awarded a suit of armor and a fine steed.

Qin army Assistant Regional Commander Luo Shifang was promoted to Vice Regional Commander, and awarded armor and a fine steed.

Shaanxi Vice Regional Commander He Renlong was promoted to Regional Commander, and awarded armor.

Gushan Vice Regional Commander Ai Wannian was promoted to Regional Commander, and awarded armor.

Yansui Garrison Vice Regional Commander Zuo Guangxian was promoted to Regional Commander, and awarded armor.

Lintao Assistant Regional Commander Cao Bianjiao was promoted to Vice Regional Commander, and awarded armor, weapons, and a fine steed.

Shandong Vice Regional Commander Huang Degong was promoted to Shandong Relief Expedition Regional Commander, and awarded armor and weapons.

Liaodong Relief Expedition Regional Commander Zu Kuan was promoted to the rank of Commissioner-in-Chief, remaining under Lu Xiangsheng's command. One of his sons was granted the hereditary position of Centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he was awarded armor.

Liaodong Relief Expedition Vice Regional Commander Li Chongjin was promoted to the rank of Regional Commander, remaining under Lu Xiangsheng's command, and awarded armor and weapons.

Jinzhou Vice Regional Commander Zu Dale was promoted to the rank of Regional Commander, and awarded armor.

Guangning Assistant Regional Commander Wu Sangui was promoted to the rank of Vice Regional Commander, and awarded armor.

Sichuan Relief Expedition Regional Commander Qin Yiming was promoted to the rank of Commissioner-in-Chief. One of his sons was granted the hereditary position of Centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

All other officers of Assistant Regional Commander rank and below were promoted one grade, and soldiers were each rewarded five taels of silver in recognition of their merits.

Promoting so many commanders at once could be considered the final summation of the ninth year of Chongzhen — at the very least, it let the soldiers and officers know the Emperor had not forgotten their contributions, allowing them to celebrate the New Year in a mood of universal satisfaction.