Chapter 258: Scouting

Tanggudai, a Bordered White Banner janggin of the third rank leading troops stationed at Yizhou, was brave in battle, steady and resourceful, and deeply trusted and admired by Ajige and Dorgon. In the fifth year of Chongzhen, when Ajige led forces to attack Guangning and Yizhou, and Zu Dashou abandoned both cities and retreated with his troops to Jinzhou, Tanggudai was ordered to remain stationed here with the regular troops of five niru of the Bordered White Banner.

After succeeding to the Later Jin khanate, Hong Taiji had long coveted the narrow corridor of the Liaoxi passage. In his conception, only by completely seizing and occupying all of Liaoxi, pushing the front line forward to Shanhai Pass, and until capturing that mighty pass, could Jianzhou be said to have fully obtained the capital to contend with the Great Ming.

As long as Shanhai Pass was occupied, the Great Ming would be like a naked beautiful woman exposed to Jianzhou's view, and the supplies and population that Jianzhou lacked could be smoothly obtained from the Great Ming. There would be no need, as now, to detour through Mongolia, emerge from the vast mountains, and then enter the Great Ming through the broken sections of the Great Wall to plunder.

But Hong Taiji also knew that one must eat a meal bite by bite. To take Liaoxi, Jinzhou became a place that must be taken.

After capturing Yizhou, Hong Taiji resolved to make this place the supply base for future campaigns against Liaoxi, gradually storing various grain and supplies within the city, so that when the time was ripe and the main army attacked Jinzhou, various replenishments could be conveniently obtained from Yizhou.

From the fifth year of Chongzhen through the ninth year of Chongzhen, Hong Taiji ordered the construction of more than ten large granaries within the city to store various supplies. He also moved several thousand booi bondservants from Shengjing to cultivate military farmland on the north bank of the Daling River to obtain more grain.

After five years of hard labor by several thousand Han Chinese booi bondservants, the tens of thousands of mu of fields reclaimed on the north bank of the Daling River yielded abundant harvests year after year. Combined with the smuggling operations carried out with Jinzhou, the granaries within Yizhou city were piled full of various supplies. Upon learning of this, Hong Taiji, delighted, ordered an acceleration of the campaigns against the Mongol tribes, so as to gather troops to besiege Jinzhou in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, annihilate the elite Ming relief forces by the method of besieging the point to strike at the reinforcements, and strive to break the backbone of the Great Ming in one battle.

On this day, just as Tanggudai was inspecting the granaries, an armored soldier hurried in to report: fifty li south of the city, a large body of Ming cavalry had been spotted, numbering around five thousand, and judging by their intent, they seemed to be heading for Yizhou.

Upon hearing this, Tanggudai was both startled and found it laughable. He immediately ordered: "Go and relay my orders to Duobi and Bayanga, have the two of them take ten white-armored soldiers and five hundred cavalry to scout ahead and intercept the Ming army. If there's an opportunity, strike; if not, learn the Ming army's details and withdraw! Relay orders to Heige, seal the east, west, and south gates, and have a messenger stand by at the north gate, ready at any time to cross the river to report to Shengjing! Infantry are to take bows and arrows up to the city walls, and all booi bondservant men over fifteen years of age within the city are to await orders at the foot of the walls!"

After the several personal guards beside him dispersed to carry out their orders, Tanggudai mounted his warhorse and, with the remaining personal guards, galloped toward the south gate.

He was not greatly concerned about the attacking Ming cavalry; even if the enemy force was several times his own, he did not fear. Since the Battle of Sarhu, the Eight Banners had almost never lost against Ming troops—a hundred elite Eight Banner soldiers dared to launch an attack against several thousand Ming troops opposite them and ultimately rout the enemy. Such examples were common occurrences.

But what puzzled Tanggudai was that since Zu Dashou had feigned surrender at Guangning and escaped back to Jinzhou, no matter how the Eight Banner troops provoked him, he had always kept his gates closed and refused battle. For years he had allowed the Jianzhou barbarians to do as they pleased right under his nose. Why had he suddenly dispatched a large force to Yizhou this time? What was his intention? To capture Yizhou?

The Ming cavalry numbered around five thousand, which seemed like a considerable force, but cavalry cannot assault a city—were infantry following behind? The Jianzhou main force was currently on a western campaign. Could it be that Jinzhou had received word and, taking advantage of Jianzhou's inability to attend to the south, wanted to come and pick up some easy gains at Yizhou? If the Ming army truly wanted to seize Yizhou, the infantry behind those five thousand cavalry would number over ten thousand. Although his own fifteen hundred men were fierce and brave, defending the city might prove beyond their strength. The supplies and grain in the more than ten granaries within the city were extremely precious. Once the city fell, those supplies would either be captured by the Ming army or destroyed by his own hands—that would be a crime worthy of losing one's head. Given the temperaments of the several masters, his branch would find it very hard to recover afterward.

Thinking of the possible consequences, Tanggudai suddenly felt the pressure on his heart increase sharply.

"Kedehun, take men immediately and return to Shengjing to report to the master, saying that the Ming army has sent tens of thousands of troops north, and Yizhou may not be defensible! Your servant will fight to the death and not retreat, but the Ming troops are too numerous—I beg the master to send reinforcements as soon as possible!"

Tanggudai made the decision on the spot and gave the order. His personal guard Kedehun acknowledged the command and wheeled his horse toward the north gate.

Duobi and Bayanga were both white-armored soldiers from the same niru as Tanggudai. After receiving Tanggudai's orders, the two immediately assembled five hundred cavalry and, together with ten white-armored soldiers from other niru, led the troops out through the south gate, heading straight in the direction from which the Ming army was coming.

On the open plain nearly fifty li from Yizhou, two small cavalry forces of unequal size were chasing and fighting each other. More than ten li to the south, a large body of Ning-Jin official cavalry was slowly moving northward.

The two sides in combat were respectively a Ming Night Scout force of around a hundred riders and a Bordered White Banner scouting party of just over thirty men.

After this Eight Banner force sent to scout encountered the Ming Night Scouts, the uksin leader in command saw the great cloud of dust rising in the distance and knew that the Ming army had a large main force following behind. He immediately sent several riders to circle around the Ming squad and continue forward to scout, so as to ascertain the Ming army's numbers. Then he quickly ordered the remaining cavalry to split into three groups—he himself led ten men in the center, while the remaining twenty-odd riders charged at the Ming army from the left and right flanks respectively.

This time the Ning-Jin army had Zu Dale as its main commander, with Zu Kuan and Zu Zerun as Vice Regional Commanders. The five thousand cavalry were composed of household retainers under the three men's command, every one of them armored, and some retainers even had their horses covered in cotton armor—truly elite troops armed to the teeth.

The Ming Night Scout squad of over a hundred riders, advancing twenty li ahead of the main force, had also long since spotted the Eight Banner soldiers opposite. Seeing the small Jianzhou barbarian force several li away charging toward them, the scout officer in command loudly ordered his men to split into three groups to meet the attack separately.

The Eight Banner uksin leader in the center wielded a tiger-fang spear and wore chain mail captured from Ming troops, charging at the very front on his horse. The ten men behind him formed a wedge formation with him as the arrowhead, gripping their weapons and crouching low as they urged their horses on close behind. The Ming cavalry opposite also formed the same formation and charged straight at them. Amid the thunderous pounding of hooves, the two sides drew closer and closer, and with a great crashing sound, they collided. Screams, curses, and the sounds of blades thrusting and hacking into flesh and bone interwove. When the two sides separated from the melee, they left behind more than ten corpses and several riderless warhorses.

The fighting on the other two flanks also ended in an instant. One had to admit that the Eight Banner scouts were more ferocious—in this small-scale cavalry clash, the Ming army suffered over twenty casualties, while the Eight Banner scouts lost only seven men.

During the clash with the Eight Banner soldiers, the Ming Night Scout officer had his ribs grazed by an Eight Banner soldier's long saber, and his lamellar armor was nearly torn open. Although no external wound was visible, his ribs were already aching dully.

After the two sides' riders clashed and exchanged positions, their warhorses wheeled around, and they faced each other from several hundred paces apart, each waiting for their respective commanders to issue the order for another charge.

The Bordered White Banner uksin leader hesitated inwardly.

Although the just-concluded battle seemed to have given the Eight Banner cavalry a great advantage, with a casualty ratio reaching three to one, each elite Eight Banner soldier lost was one gone forever—they could not compare with the vast, numerous Ming army.

Since the Battle of Sarhu, every Eight Banner engagement against the Ming had been an overwhelming victory. Scenes of a few dozen Eight Banner cavalrymen chasing several thousand Ming troops all over the field were common occurrences.

But this small-scale battle between the two sides was completely different from before.

Because both sides were cavalry.

If facing a group of Ming infantry, even if the enemy numbered several thousand, the Eight Banner soldiers could employ the Mangudai tactics learned from the Mongols, killing Ming troops layer by layer until the enemy's will finally collapsed, then use assault tactics to win a great victory.

But cavalry against cavalry—such tactics were simply inapplicable.

Although the Eight Banners were a fishing-and-hunting people famed for their longbows and heavy arrows, the longbow required dismounting and planting one's feet firmly to draw—it simply could not be done while mounted.

Mongol cavalry used soft bows and light arrows while on horseback, able to draw and shoot from the saddle, but the power was weak, the range short, and the killing effect mediocre.

But in a cavalry standoff, would you dare dismount and shoot arrows a few dozen paces from the enemy? Even if you shot a few men dead, the enemy would accelerate and charge over, and you would hardly escape being cut down. So this time the Bordered White Banner uksin leader adopted a hard-hitting, head-on tactic, relying on the Eight Banner soldiers' powerful physiques and rich battlefield experience to achieve a good result.

Just as the Bordered White Banner uksin leader was unable to make up his mind, the Ming scout officer on this side was also inwardly groaning in distress.

Although a large body of cavalry was coming up behind him, and his men were full of confidence at heart—which was why they had dared to clash with the Eight Banner just now—the casualties after that single clash were too shocking. If they did it again, never mind how his men fared—whether he himself would survive was still unknown. But if they tried to flee, being chased down and cut from behind, very likely few would make it back alive.

Just then, the several Eight Banner cavalrymen who had gone south to scout came galloping back at full speed. After reporting a few words to the uksin leader, that Bordered White Banner uksin leader loudly gave the order, and the returning Eight Banner scouts wheeled their horses to one side, circled around the Ming squad, and galloped northward at speed.

By this time neither side had any will to continue fighting. Under their respective commanders' leadership, they slowly moved their horses toward the east and west sides respectively, then each sent out several riders to gather up the warhorses and fallen soldiers, after which they rode off separately toward the south and the north. A small battle that had lasted less than a quarter of an hour came to an end.

When Zu Dale led the Ming main force to the just-fought battlefield, he received a command from Hong Chengchou: the cavalry was to halt forty li from Yizhou, stand guard and scout, and await rendezvous with the infantry before making camp on the spot.