Chapter 242: The Ji Garrison

Ten li outside the city of Sanying Camp on the official road, Wu Xiang and his son Wu Sangui, along with several Assistant Regional Commanders and Mobile Corps Commanders under the Ji Garrison Regional Commander, waited by the roadside with their personal guards to receive the arriving Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion and Imperial Commissioner Governor-General of Ji and Liaodong, Hong Chengchou.

Wu Xiang and the others did not wait long. With the rumbling of hooves, a cloud of dust rose from the official road in the distance, and Wu Xiang and the others hurriedly stepped from the roadside into the middle of the road.

Sixteen colorful banners of vermilion, blue, yellow, white, and green, embroidered with designs of flying tigers, five stars strung in a line, auspicious phoenixes soaring through clouds, and flying fish, came into view. The riders bearing the banners all wore black lamellar armor and phoenix-winged helmets, their glances bristling with killing intent.

Following them, a tall vertical banner with a white field, black characters, and a blue border, bearing the seven large characters "Imperial Commissioner Supreme Commander of Ji and Liaodong, Hong," emerged from the dust kicked up by the vanguard cavalry, held aloft with both hands by a tall, imposing central-army banner officer clad entirely in black armor. A dozen or so paces behind the banner, Hong Chengchou, wearing a crimson robe with the crane rank badge and a black gauze cap, rode forward with a composed bearing. Behind him and on either side were several hundred personal guards in black lamellar armor, long spears and great sabers stored in their saddlebags, longbows slung across their backs, and quivers hanging at their waists. These five hundred personal guards had been transferred to Hong Chengchou's side from the Yongwei Camp by imperial decree of Zhu Youjian.

The riders bearing the ceremonial banners began to slow their horses a hundred paces from Wu Xiang and the others. Wu Xiang took the lead, and the Ji Garrison officers knelt in the middle of the official road. The banner bearers guided their horses to either side of the road, and the central-army banner officer holding the vertical banner stepped aside. Hong Chengchou urged his horse forward at a walking pace until he reached Wu Xiang and the others.

"Your subordinate, Left Commissioner-in-Chief of the Five Armies Command, Ji Garrison Regional Commander Wu Xiang, pays respects to Supreme Commander Hong!"

"Your subordinate, Guangning Vice Regional Commander Wu Sangui, pays respects to the Supreme Commander!"

"Your subordinate, Sub-area Assistant Regional Commander under the Ji Garrison Regional Commander, Wang Xingzhen, pays respects to the Supreme Commander!"

"Your subordinate, Assistant Regional Commander under the Ji Garrison Regional Commander, Ma Cheng, pays respects to the Supreme Commander!"

"Your subordinate, Mobile Corps Commander under the Ji Garrison Regional Commander, Li Fan, pays respects to the Supreme Commander!"

"Your subordinate, Ji Garrison Mobile Corps Commander You Kewei, pays respects to the Supreme Commander!"

As the Ji Garrison officers finished loudly announcing themselves, Hong Chengchou dismounted and walked slowly to stand before Wu Xiang and the others. A nearby personal guard took hold of Hong Chengchou's mount's reins and led it aside.

"Left Commissioner-in-Chief, please rise! Changbo, I never expected that you and I would meet again so soon! Hehehe! All officers, rise!"

Hong Chengchou addressed Wu Sangui familiarly by his courtesy name, speaking warmly.

Wu Sangui had served under Hong Chengchou's command for nearly two years, and after the bandits of northern Shaanxi had been wiped out, he had been ordered to return. Barely three months had passed, and yet the two met again.

"This young one feels deeply honored to once again serve under the Supreme Commander's banner! Might I ask whether Lord Shen has accompanied the Supreme Commander to the Ji Garrison?"

After Wu Xiang and the others had risen, Wu Sangui clasped his hands in salute and spoke with a respectful demeanor.

"Kungang is transporting military pay and provisions in the rear and will arrive shortly. I have long heard of the Left Commissioner-in-Chief's reputation, and seeing you today, your bearing is indeed extraordinary! The Left Commissioner-in-Chief has raised his son well—to have such an outstanding son as Changbo, the Wu family's wealth and honor for generations to come is assured. Truly enviable! Hehehe!"

Praising the father is not as good as praising the son. Hong Chengchou, with ulterior motives, made no attempt to hide his appreciation for Wu Sangui, and directly placed a tall hat of flattery on the Wu father and son in front of everyone.

The words "the Wu family's wealth and honor for generations to come is assured" carried deep meaning: with such a good son, there was no need to rely on the Zu family—your Wu family would have no problems for several generations.

Everyone loves to hear good words, whether true or false.

Wu Xiang's fair face glowed with delight. He clasped his hands in salute and said, "The Supreme Commander flatters me! My worthless son is fortunate to serve under the Supreme Commander's banner, and it is only through the Supreme Commander's generous instruction that he has achieved what little he has today! The kindness of the Supreme Commander's patronage, both I and my son will never forget! The Supreme Commander has traveled far from the capital and is weary—this is no place for conversation. I beg the Supreme Commander to mount his horse, and I will lead the way to the Regional Commander's residence for rest!"

After the hour of shen that day, Hong Chengchou, having bathed and changed into a Daoist robe, sat in the seat of honor in the rear courtyard reception hall of the Regional Commander's residence, with Wu Xiang and his son seated below in the guest positions.

"I have received the imperial command to oversee Ji and Liaodong, the purpose being to strengthen the defense of the capital's northeastern gateway and prevent a repeat of the Jisi Incident. At present, from Juyong Pass to the Ji Garrison line, along the entire border wall, official troops are heavily deployed. The court has already allocated funds and grain to repair the damaged sections of the border wall. For the Jianzhou barbarians to once again breach the wall as before would now be harder than climbing to heaven. Left Commissioner-in-Chief, the key point of your Ji Garrison defense lies on the line from Xifengkou to Zunhua. You must station your main forces in this area and select brave generals to hold it—there must not be the slightest negligence!"

In the Jisi Incident of the second year of Chongzhen, Hong Taiji led a hundred thousand Qing troops on a detour through Mongol territory. On the day of wuyin in the tenth month, they broke through the Great Wall at Xifengkou and captured Zunhua, throwing the capital into alarm and martial law. Chongzhen simultaneously issued edicts summoning troops from all directions to come to the aid of the throne.

The ultimate result of this incident was that Ji-Liaodong Supreme Commander Yuan Chonghuan was executed by slow slicing, and several dozen Ming civil and military officers died in service to the state.

As Governor-General of Ji and Liaodong, Hong Chengchou's secondary concern was rectifying Liaodong; his primary concern was ensuring that such a tragedy could not happen again—otherwise Yuan Chonghuan would be his cautionary precedent.

"Reporting to the Supreme Commander, my command totals over fifteen thousand cavalry and infantry. Of these, Xifengkou and Han'erzhuang are already held by my subordinate Sub-area Assistant Regional Commander Liu Ming with three thousand men. The remaining forces are based on the garrison town of Sanying Camp, deployed to defend northward. Countless deep trenches and waist-high walls have been constructed to prevent their cavalry from galloping, forming several defensive lines to block the Jianzhou barbarians should they break through the border wall. With these multiple measures in place, it would not be easy for the Jianzhou barbarians to stage another Jisi Incident!"

At the time of the Jisi Incident, the Ji Garrison troops had already been too weak to be of use, and several fortress walls meant to intercept cavalry had fallen into disrepair for lack of funds to maintain them. When the Jianzhou barbarian army attacked, the Ji Garrison troops put up token resistance and then scattered.

The Jisi Incident brought the gradually neglected Ji Garrison back into the court's view. After the second year of Chongzhen, the court reorganized the Ji Garrison troops and repaired the damaged fortress walls, gradually restoring the Ji Garrison's defenses.

Although Wu Xiang was timid and cowardly, he had spent many years on the Liaodong frontier, and through constant exposure, he had some knowledge of how to guard against the lightning raids of the Jianzhou Jurchens.

After taking up his post at the Ji Garrison, he submitted memorials to the court explaining the consequences of the Jianzhou barbarians' highly mobile iron cavalry, requesting funds and grain to build deep ditches and chest-high walls to restrict the enemy cavalry from massing for charges, and dispatched his most capable Assistant Regional Commander, Liu Ming, to camp his troops along the Xifengkou line. With these various measures, Wu Xiang was confident that even if the Jianzhou barbarians gathered a great army to breach the pass again, he could hold out until the court could assemble heavy forces to come to the rescue.

"The Left Commissioner-in-Chief is diligent in his duties, and I will naturally report this to the court. The Ji Garrison bears the heavy responsibility of safeguarding the capital's safety. The Left Commissioner-in-Chief and all officers under his command must remain vigilant at all times and must not slacken. When I left the capital, I heard that the Ministry of War has already dispatched inspectors to tour eastward along the Juyong Pass line. Should any dereliction of duty be discovered during these inspections, regardless of the offender's military rank, they will be stripped of their post on the spot and sent to the front lines for service! After I depart beyond the passes, the Left Commissioner-in-Chief should assemble all officers to make this clear, and also dispatch scouts and sentries beyond the wall to reconnoiter, to guard against the unexpected!"

To guard against the Manchu invasion of the eleventh year of Chongzhen that occurred in history, Zhu Youjian issued an edict for the Ministry of War to dispatch personnel to inspect the border wall line east of Xuan and Da, so as to nip hidden dangers in the bud in a timely manner.

"Your subordinate humbly obeys the Supreme Commander's orders! Since the Supreme Commander has come to the Ji Garrison, why not stay for several more days? I and my son still wish to hear more of the Supreme Commander's instruction! I have already prepared a banquet in the flower hall to wash away the dust of the Supreme Commander's journey—I humbly request the Supreme Commander to move there shortly to partake!"

Wu Xiang naturally would not miss this opportunity to curry favor with this important minister. Although the Liaodong military clans had maintained their own armed forces for many years and the court could do nothing about them for the time being, since Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chengzong, the Liaodong military clans had no longer had any spokesperson in the court.

Seeing that the rise of the vigorous, middle-aged Hong Chengchou could no longer be stopped, and that he would surely hold high office upon returning to the capital, Wu Xiang naturally wanted to attach himself to him with all his might while Wu Sangui was on familiar terms with him, to secure a path of retreat for the future.

"Hehe! The Left Commissioner-in-Chief is mature and steady, and Changbo is accomplished in both letters and arms—truly rare among the current generals of the court! Were it not for certain important ministers in the court using other matters as a pretext against him, I would certainly strongly recommend him to His Majesty! A pity, a pity!"

Hong Chengchou said warmly, stroking his beard and smiling, his words pointed directly at the Zu family.