Chapter 249: Ningyuan

The official road outside the pass was not wide but was fairly level, allowing four horsemen to ride abreast. On both sides of the road stretched vast tracts of reclaimed farmland, and in the far distance to the west, one could faintly make out the rolling mountain ranges.

In the fields, many farmers in short jackets were busy at work. The season had already reached Grain in Ear, and the thriving wheat in the fields had begun to yellow—by the look of it, it could be harvested in about ten days. Every ten li or so, a small village of one to two hundred households stood on either side of the road, inhabited by Han Chinese who had fled from eastern Liaodong and by some hereditary military households.

After fording several rivers of varying width and depth, including the Daughter River, the vast mounted column arrived around the hour of wei at Ningyuan—the key town of western Liaoning and the hometown of Zu Dashou, who held the titles of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, Grand Commissioner-in-Chief, Bearer of the Vanguard General's Seal, and Regional Commander of Jinzhou.

Ningyuan's city wall stood three zhang two chi high, with battlements rising another six chi, and the wall's foundation was three zhang wide. It had been built by Yuan Chonghuan in the third year of Tianqi with his men. In those days, when the entire court trembled at the mention of the barbarian chieftain and regarded the land beyond the pass as a road to ruin, the "Yuan Barbarian" had still displayed extraordinary courage.

In the first month of the sixth year of Tianqi, Nurhaci led over a hundred thousand men to attack Ningyuan, while Yuan Chonghuan defended the city with fewer than ten thousand. The disparity in strength was immense. Yet it was precisely under these circumstances that the world-famous Great Victory of Ningyuan was born.

According to the personal memorial reporting victory that Yuan Chonghuan submitted, the barbarian chieftain Nurhaci had been struck by fire from the red barbarian cannon on the city walls beneath Ningyuan, forcing the Jianzhou barbarians to retreat in full, and the old chieftain died of his wounds several months later.

But after this so-called great victory, only some two hundred corpses of Jianzhou barbarians were found on the battlefield. Moreover, the Jianzhou barbarians subsequently took advantage of the frozen Bohai Sea to march across the ice on foot and strike directly at Juehua Island, slaughtering over fifteen thousand soldiers and civilians on the island, burning more than two thousand vessels of various sizes, and seizing countless grain and supplies. Clearly, the actual results of this so-called great victory fell far short of the glorious picture painted by the civil officials' pens.

What raised even more doubt was that after "Wild Boar Skin" led his army back from Ningyuan to Shengjing, he had also campaigned against the Khalkha Mongols, and his death came eight months after the so-called cannon wound at Ningyuan.

Given the medical conditions and standards of that time, even a musket ball wound—let alone a cannon strike—would have killed a man within days from infection. So it is hard to say with any certainty what truly caused Nurhaci's death.

"Your subordinate, Li Zhiyuan, Defense Circuit Intendant of Ningyuan, pays respects to the Supreme Commander!"

"Your subordinate, He Qian, Assistant Regional Commander of Ningyuan's defense, pays respects to Supreme Commander Hong!"

"Your subordinate, Li Lu, Mobile Corps Commander of Ningyuan, pays respects to the Supreme Commander!"

Having received advance notice, the Defense Circuit Intendant of Ningyuan and the two garrison commanders awaited Hong Chengchou's arrival outside the south gate.

"Gentlemen, please rise! Intendant Li, as a court-appointed official who has come so far to western Liaoning, your efforts are truly commendable! I shall rest here tonight and proceed to Jinzhou tomorrow; you two commanders shall immediately have your men vacate the barracks and gather provisions so the army may be quartered!"

Hong Chengchou dismounted, accepted their salutes, and gave his orders in a calm tone. He saw at a glance that Li Zhiyuan's standing in Ningyuan was far below that of the two military officers, so he offered a deliberate word of encouragement, while saying little to He Qian and Li Lu.

Having spent ten years suppressing bandits and commanding countless proud and fierce generals, Hong Chengchou held no particular regard for the military clans of western Liaoning—especially for officers at the level of Assistant Regional Commander or Mobile Corps Commander, who were as numerous as ox hairs in Ningyuan and Jinzhou.

"What airs this official puts on! Let him throw his weight around for now! Once he's here in our western Liaoning, there will come a time when he finds himself in an awkward spot!"

He Qian, nearing forty, was deeply displeased with Hong Chengchou's official bearing. Though he had heard of the new Supreme Commander's reputation, He Qian felt little respect for him.

Having served in Ningyuan and Jinzhou for many years, He Qian had witnessed the likes of Sun Chengzong, Wang Zaijin, Wang Huazhen, Yuan Chonghuan, Xiong Tingbi, Gao Di, and many other senior court ministers. Having personally experienced the successes and failures of these civil officials, any fear he once held toward the court and its civil servants had long since vanished. In his eyes, no matter how grand an official came to Ningyuan or Jinzhou, they all ended up slinking back to the capital in disgrace. Ningyuan and Jinzhou had always been the territory of military officers like themselves who held real power over troops.

After rising, He Qian brushed the dust from his clothes and shouted at Wu Sangui, who stood not far away after dismounting: "Second lad! Why haven't you come over to pay respects to your Uncle He and Uncle Li? I hear you've made something of yourself! You've even climbed to Vice Regional Commander! We old bones can't compare anymore! How is Regional Commander Wu keeping?"

"Your nephew pays respects to Uncle He and Uncle Li! My father's health is still fairly good! My father said that when I returned to Ningyuan and Jinzhou, I should convey his regards to all you uncles! Your nephew's men know this area well, so there's no need to trouble you uncles to send guides—we should hurry and accompany Supreme Commander Hong into the city for his inspection!"

Wu Sangui naturally knew the temperament of these uncles. After greeting He and Li with a smile, he quickly reminded them not to be discourteous and to hurry and accompany Hong Chengchou into the city to rest.

"We're all rough men—the second lad of the Wu family grew up under our watch; in these years apart, we never expected the son of our old friend to rise so high. In our delight, we may have been somewhat remiss in propriety—please forgive us, Supreme Commander!"

Sensing that Hong Chengchou seemed somewhat displeased, Li Lu hastily spoke up to explain.

Li Lu was of the same type as Li Chongjin—humble in origin but outstanding in military achievements, one of the more capable fighters among the military clans of western Liaoning. But because he was not part of the nepotistic inner circle, he had never received high honors, and only reached the rank of Mobile Corps Commander in his thirties. Watching Wu Sangui, barely past twenty, already hold the rank of Vice Regional Commander naturally rankled him, but such things were the norm in western Liaoning, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Defense Circuit Intendant Li Zhiyuan was also displeased with He Qian's boorish behavior. But in his three years of service in Ningyuan, he had been constrained at every turn by these overbearing military men. Nominally in charge of Ningyuan's civil administration and financial authority, in reality Ningyuan had not paid a single tael of tax to the court for years, so his say in matters was virtually nil.

"The Supreme Commander has traveled far and must be weary; the hour is already late. Please enter the city to rest—your subordinate has prepared a banquet to wash away the dust of your journey! Supreme Commander, please!"

Li Zhiyuan clasped his hands in salute, then gestured for Hong Chengchou to enter the city.

Hong Chengchou had long anticipated the arrogance and rudeness of the western Liaoning military clans. Seeing Li Zhiyuan already moving ahead to lead the way, he rode through the south gate without betraying any expression. Shen Shiyu lightly spurred his horse and followed close behind, while several dozen personal guards flanked them on both sides to protect the two men.

After Wu Sangui ordered his officers to lead the troops to the barracks, he, He Qian, and Li Lu followed behind with their own personal guards.

The party passed through the long tunnel of the south gate into the second line of defense—the barbican—and after crossing the square barbican, finally entered the city of Ningyuan proper.

Ningyuan had four city gates: Spring Harmony to the east, Extended Radiance to the south, Eternal Peace to the west, and Awe-Inspiring Distance to the north. A main street connected the east and west gates, and another connected the north and south gates; where they crossed lay the center of Ningyuan, where a bell-and-drum tower stood. In peacetime it announced the hours; in wartime it served as a lookout tower, signal tower, and command center.

Both sides of the broad stone-paved street were lined with shops of every kind, presenting a scene of considerable prosperity. Pedestrians and merchants on the road hastily moved to the roadside upon seeing the column of riders.

Following the wide street for a short distance, a tall stone memorial archway of three pillars, four bays, and five roofs stood in the center of the road.

Hong Chengchou rode up to the archway, dismounted, and looked up. On the topmost horizontal plaque were carved four large characters: "Loyal, Steadfast, Bold, and Wise." On the plaque below were six large characters: "Four Generations of Senior Marshals and Junior Guardians." The lowest plaque bore several lines of smaller text: "Posthumously conferred Grand Master of Glorious Happiness, Superintendent of Liaodong, Left Commissioner-in-Chief and Junior Guardian, formerly Vice Regional Commander of Liaoyang's defense and Assistant Commissioner-in-Chief, Zu Chengxun; Imperially Commissioned Manager of Liaodong, Bearer of the Seal of Vanguard General for the Liaodong Campaign, Regional Commander and Grand Commissioner-in-Chief and Junior Guardian, Zu Dashou."

This was an archway built by imperial decree in the fourth year of Chongzhen, inscribed personally by Sun Chengzong, then Supreme Commander of Liaodong, to honor Zu Dashou's achievements.

"Junior Guardian Zu has long garrisoned western Liaoning, gathering troops in strong cities to block the Jianzhou barbarians from advancing south—truly meritorious service to the state! At this time when our Great Ming's situation improves by the day, I sincerely hope to work in concert with Junior Guardian Zu to achieve new accomplishments! Changbo, I also hope to see such a magnificent archway in your ancestral home someday—apply yourself diligently!"

Hong Chengchou stroked his beard and sighed softly, speaking these words of reflection to Wu Sangui, who had come to his side.

He would not let slip any opportunity to drive a wedge between the Zu and Wu families. This had nothing to do with magnanimity or the lack thereof—it was simply to better win over the Wu family in order to counter the deeply entrenched Zu family in western Liaoning.

Erecting a stone archway in the Great Ming was an extremely solemn and difficult matter. In particular, for one to be honored with a stone archway for high moral character or outstanding military and administrative achievements, the local authorities had to verify the facts and report them up through the ranks level by level, and only after final review and approval by the Emperor—or through direct imperial grant—could construction proceed.

By Zhu Youjian's imperial approval, the Fujian Governor's office was currently building an archway in Hong Chengchou's hometown of Yingdu Town to honor his decade of service to the Great Ming. Similar merit archways bearing the names of their ancestors were also being erected in the hometowns of Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng.

"Your subordinate will strictly follow the Supreme Commander's instruction and will surely devote himself wholeheartedly to His Majesty's service! As for achieving merit—that is not something I dare to presume!"

Wu Sangui clasped his hands in a respectful salute and said.