Chapter 257: Marching Out

Inside the Liaodong Governor's yamen in Jinzhou city, Hong Chengchou finally met the long-renowned Zu Dashou.

Zu Dashou, wearing a qilin-patterned mandarin robe, was short and stocky, with a long face, high nose, wide mouth, a neatly trimmed thick beard beneath his chin, and a pair of narrow, elongated eyes that gleamed with sharp light, giving one a feeling of cold-blooded ruthlessness.

"Duke Hong alone props up half of the Great Ming's realm, toiling for ten years, finally bringing clarity to the world — Zu admires you greatly! Today I finally meet you in person, and indeed you are a hero among men! Duke Hong holds the high position of Grand Secretary, and this time you come again as imperially appointed Supreme Commander and Governor. From now on, Zu will naturally defer to Duke Hong in all matters and heed Duke Hong's commands!"

Zu Dashou spoke first, smiling as he clasped his hands in salute.

Hong Chengchou smiled and returned the salute with clasped hands, saying: "Lord Zu, you flatter me! What is called ten years of achievement is nothing more than the wisdom of His Majesty, the support of the court ministers, and the dedication of the officers and soldiers — how would I dare claim Heaven's merit as my own! Lord Zu's family has guarded the frontier for generations, crawling through ice and lying in snow, personally resisting the barbarians, ultimately keeping the barbarian thieves from crossing the border despite their probing — this is what truly merits the state! Before I left the capital, His Majesty specifically instructed me to convey to Lord Zu, upon our meeting, his respect for the officers and soldiers of Liaoxi, and to say: the rumors circulating against Lord Zu are in truth born of jealousy of your achievements and envy of your position; look across the whole Great Ming — what other military commander has achieved what Lord Zu has achieved today? His Majesty's words strike straight at the heart of the matter, and I feel the same. This time, bearing the imperial mandate as Supreme Commander beyond the passes, I have already formed my plans on the road — I will surely cooperate sincerely with Lord Zu to jointly resist the barbarian thieves, to secure our Great Ming's northeastern borders, and ultimately to make those jumping villains bow their heads!"

Hong Chengchou, an official of many years, could spin lies at the drop of a hat, and thus deflected Zu Dashou's insincere words of obedience.

In truth, Zhu Youjian held no fondness for Zu Dashou in his heart, and it was utterly impossible that he would praise Zu Dashou in front of Hong Chengchou. Hong Chengchou's words were merely meant to placate Zu Dashou — after all, Zu Dashou could hardly run to the Emperor's side to verify them.

Zu Dashou naturally did not believe the Emperor would make such a rational assessment of him either. Such words were simply to be heard and let pass. He made a show of clasping his hands in thanks toward the southwest, then respectfully gestured for Hong Chengchou to take his seat.

Zu Dale had once served under Hong Chengchou's command, so he deliberately stepped forward again to pay his respects to his old superior. Hong Chengchou smiled and praised him a few words before turning to sit down.

Because Hong and Zu were of equivalent standing, the two sat facing each other, avoiding the awkwardness of who would take the seat of honor.

Although the Great Ming had always valued civil over military, everyone knew that in Liaoxi, Zu Dashou was the king.

Hong Chengchou sat in the first seat on the right, the guest's side. Below him in order sat Fang Yizao, Governor of Liaodong; Li Qide, Administration Vice Commissioner; Zhang Dou, army supervisor; Mao Yuanyi, Vice Regional Commander of the Yongwei Camp; and then Shen Shiyu.

On the left, on Zu Dashou's side, sat in descending order Zu Dale, Zu Dabi, Zu Zerun, and Wu Sangui.

"Zu has heard that Duke Hong intends to take Yizhou — may I ask if Duke Hong has a good strategy? Though the Yongwei Camp is skilled in battle, the Jianzhou barbarians are fierce and hard to contain, and moreover they have the Tatar iron cavalry to wreak havoc. The Jianzhou barbarians are accustomed to field battles and will likely not defend behind city walls. If there is no certainty of victory, it would be better to be cautious!"

After the servants had served tea and withdrawn, Zu Dashou spoke.

Though they knew the Yongwei Camp had badly mauled Ajige's forces at Changping, all of Liaoxi believed that the Yongwei Camp had only achieved such results by relying on the city walls as their backing. If they met the Jianzhou barbarians on open plains, no matter how strong the Yongwei Camp was, they would hardly escape being slaughtered.

And with this army on the move, the Jianzhou barbarians' scouts would surely learn of it early. Never mind that only fifteen hundred Jianzhou barbarians held the city, with only a thousand cavalry — they would absolutely not defend the city to the death, but would instead ride out to fight a mobile war. Infantry without cavalry cover would likely fare poorly against the Jianzhou iron cavalry; even with superior numbers, there was still the risk of defeat.

"I would hardly call it a good strategy. The Yongwei Camp has brought along a number of cannons this time. Since we are attacking a city, we need only form our ranks and take it by force. After consultation, I have decided: the Yongwei Camp's twenty thousand men will march out of Jinzhou in formation. Upon reaching the walls of Yizhou, five thousand will be split off to attack the east and west gates respectively, while the main force of ten thousand attacks the south gate. As Zhisheng has said, per the Yongwei Camp's usual drilling methods, this battle will not use ladder assaults — we will directly blast open the city gates with cannon fire, after which the infantry will charge straight in! The Ning-Jin cavalry will dispatch five thousand: first, to shield the infantry's flanks; second, to roam the area along the southern bank of the Daling River east of Yizhou, intercepting and killing fleeing Jianzhou barbarians!"

Hong Chengchou said sternly, in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Our Ning-Jin sending out the cavalry is no problem, but can cannon fire really blast open a city gate? This is the first I've heard of such a thing! Zhisheng, can this method actually work?"

Zu Dashou looked at Mao Yuanyi and asked.

Jinzhou's city walls also had red barbarian cannons, but they were too heavy to move at all. Moreover, the Jianzhou barbarians had also used cannons to attack cities before, but they had always fired at the city walls — never had anyone heard of using cannon fire to blast city gates.

"This method has been drilled countless times by our army in daily practice, and its effect is excellent! Last year, when the Minister of War used it at the Battle of Zhushan in Yunyang Prefecture, it further confirmed that this method works! Lord Zu may come and observe the battle in person when the time comes, and see how our army breaks the city and destroys the enemy!"

Facing Zu Dashou, the pinnacle among military commanders, Mao Yuanyi did not offer a salute, but merely replied coldly with a stern expression.

In his early years, he had followed Sun Chengzong, Yuan Chonghuan, and others on inspections of Liaodong, and had personally participated in constructing the Liaoxi defense line. During that time he had met Zu Dashou a few times, but their acquaintance was shallow — merely familiar, nothing more. As for Zu Dashou's various later actions, Mao Yuanyi both hated them and felt helpless about them, so today there was no scene of old friends reuniting in mutual joy.

Zu Dashou, somewhat embarrassed, clasped his hands toward Hong Chengchou and said: "Since Duke Hong's plans are already set, the Liaoxi government troops need only obey orders! May I ask when the army will set out? I can then muster my forces to coordinate in battle!"

"In three days, the Yongwei Camp and the baggage camp will move from Songshan to Jinzhou. In five days, the cavalry and infantry will march out from Jinzhou, with the cavalry advancing ten li ahead and the infantry following. The terrain north of Jinzhou is open — I ask Lord Zu to send scout cavalry ahead to probe the enemy situation, to guard against the unexpected. Five days from now, I will accompany the main army into battle. Would Lord Zu care to accompany me to observe the fighting?"

Hong Chengchou asked with a smile.

"When even Duke Hong, a civil official, dares to face the front lines, what fear does Zu, a mere military man, have? When the time comes, I will naturally accompany you!"

Zu Dashou replied with magnanimity.

Though he had been holed up in Jinzhou city for years, and ordinarily strictly ordered his men not to leave the city to fight recklessly with the Jianzhou barbarians, Zu Dashou also knew that Hong Taiji had already sent his main forces on a western campaign. The enemy at Yizhou numbered no more than a thousand or so, and no large force of Jianzhou barbarians would appear within several hundred li. This battle had almost no chance of being lost — so why not accompany the army into battle? It would also be a convenient chance to see just how formidable the legendary Yongwei Camp really was.

Five days later, on the broad, flat plain north of Jinzhou city on the northern bank of the Xiaoling River, Hong Chengchou — wearing a black gauze cap and a crane-patterned mandarin robe — and Zu Dashou in full lamellar armor sat side by side on horseback. Gazing into the distance, great billows of dust drifted in the air ahead, where large bodies of Ning-Jin cavalry were trotting toward Yizhou.

"Indeed, they bear the look of elite troops! Zhisheng is not only outstanding in literary talent, but can even lead troops superbly! This battle looks extremely favorable for our army! Congratulations, Duke Hong — on your very arrival at Ning-Jin you can recover lost territory. How delighted His Majesty will be when he learns of this!"

Fang Yizao, who sat half a horse-length behind Hong Chengchou, praised.

The Yongwei Camp's twenty thousand infantry faced north, divided into several large square formations neatly arrayed on the northern bank of the Xiaoling River, with the baggage camp and artillery camp arrayed at the rear.

When men pass ten thousand, they stretch beyond the horizon. The great formation of twenty thousand men was impossible to see the end of; even Hong Chengchou and the others on horseback could only see a small portion nearby.

Zhu Youjian had invested heavily in the Yongwei Camp. All the soldiers wore black lamellar armor with shoulder guards, conical iron helmets, iron mesh skirts reaching to the knees, and combat boots. The officers wore full sets of lamellar armor with iron arm guards and helmets, with identifying banners of various colors on their backs, so their men could spot them in battle. Countless banners fluttered gently in the summer breeze. The twenty thousand soldiers, bearing all manner of weapons and firearms, stood in solemn silence, their faces carrying pride tinged with killing intent. Row upon row of soldiers stood tall and silent, giving off an intense sense of pressure.

"March!"

At Hong Chengchou's nod of approval, Mao Yuanyi, not far away, gave the order, and his personal guards waved the red banners in their hands. A dozen or more war drums sounded simultaneously, their booming echoing across the heavens. The spear square formations at the very front, hearing the drums, began to advance in neat, orderly steps under the command of their battalion officers, their target aimed straight at Yizhou, a hundred li away.