Chapter 259: Preparations for Battle

Although it was already summer, the broad wilderness between Yi Prefecture and Jinzhou lay between the Greater and Lesser Ling Rivers—rich in moisture and completely unobstructed. The days were somewhat hot, but the mornings and evenings were still quite cool and pleasant.

Less than forty li from Yi Prefecture, the baggage camp that arrived first at around 2 PM that day had already pitched a huge encampment on the wilderness near the west bank of the Greater Ling River. More than twenty thousand men of the Yongwei Camp and Jinzhou cavalry moved into the palisade. The main camp had sixteen gates on its four sides, each guarded by a squad of soldiers, while armed armored men patrolled back and forth inside to prevent the Jianzhou barbarians from launching a night raid or any soldier from acting abnormally.

Around 6 PM, before the sky had fully darkened, the great tent of Hong Chengchou at the center of the Ming camp was already blazing with lamplight—a pre-battle council was underway. Several candles as thick as a child's arm made of beef tallow were placed in every corner of the tent, illuminating the faces of all present down to the finest detail.

At the seat of honor inside the tent, Hong Chengchou in his scarlet official robe sat side by side with Zu Dashou in mountain-pattern armor. Liaodong Governor Fang Yizao and army supervisor Zhang Dou sat in the lower seats on either side, while Shen Shiyu stood at Hong Chengchou's side.

The principal commanders of the Yongwei Camp and the Jinzhou army stood in ranks below Fang Yizao and Zhang Dou. Following established convention, military officers had no seats during wartime councils.

"Regional Commander Zu, you may briefly present the enemy intelligence gathered by today's scouts! Afterward we will discuss matters concerning tomorrow's assault on Yi Prefecture. If any of you commanders have proposals, speak freely. Should anything prove beneficial to the campaign, I will adopt it, to serve as evidence when I memorialize the court after victory, so that the court may later record merits and grant promotions and rewards!"

After clearing his throat once, Hong Chengchou spoke in a solemn voice.

"Reporting to the Supreme Commander: today our Night Scout squads encountered the enemy cavalry and fought a great battle. We beheaded over one hundred Jianzhou barbarians in formation, while our own losses were over fifty riders. Afterward the barbarian main force arrived as reinforcements, and our forces withdrew to our own lines—we had no time to collect the barbarian heads! According to Night Scout squad leader Chen Liang's report, the barbarians' follow-up reinforcement cavalry numbered around five hundred riders. Meanwhile, our scouts in the Guangning direction reported no signs of barbarian reinforcements. As things stand now, the barbarian cavalry seems mainly to be sallying out to harass our army; if matters turn unfavorable they can also withdraw northward. North of Yi Prefecture's north gate lies the Greater Ling River, with a stone bridge spanning it for traffic between city and countryside—the barbarians can also retreat north through that gate. In your subordinate's view, taking Yi Prefecture will not be difficult, but completely annihilating the barbarian forces will not be easy! Whatever the decision, I await the Supreme Commander's judgment!"

Zu Dale stepped forward, clasped his fists, and reported.

In that small-scale engagement that morning, the Ming army's losses had clearly far exceeded the barbarians', yet in Zu Dale's telling it became a great Ming victory.

"Mm, our army achieving such a great victory in its very first battle is truly a cause for celebration. Tomorrow this shall be proclaimed to the entire army to inspire morale! Squad leader Chen is promoted to Battalion Commander! All other officers and men who took part in the battle receive three merit rotations and one rank promotion! Each man receives ten taels of reward silver! The roster of fallen soldiers shall be recorded with the military discipline officer and reported to the court together after the campaign! As for how to encircle and annihilate the barbarians, I have my own arrangements!"

Upon hearing this, Hong Chengchou immediately announced the promotions and rewards for those who had fought in the battle. Zu Dale shot a smug glance at Mao Yuanyi and the other Yongwei Camp commanders across from him, then returned to his place in the ranks after saluting.

Toward the Yongwei Camp that had come to Jinzhou, the entire Liaoxi region harbored deep hostility and unease.

Zu Dashou, Fang Yizao, Shen Shiyu, and the others remained expressionless, while Zhang Dou, Mao Yuanyi, and others had eyes full of contempt and suspicion.

Hong Chengchou naturally knew that Zu Dale was exaggerating the battle results to squeeze more rewards and burial compensation from the court. Judging by the results he claimed, the Jianzhou barbarians were truly no match at all—so why was the Jinzhou army holed up in the city, not daring to fight in the open field? They would have slaughtered all the barbarians long ago.

But with a great battle imminent, there was not only no need to expose this trick—on the contrary, he had to endorse it and vigorously publicize it. The principle that morale must be encouraged, never deflated, was exactly this reasoning.

After a brief silence, seeing that no one else in the tent showed any desire to offer plans, Hong Chengchou glanced at Zu Dashou beside him. Seeing him sitting there like a clay idol or wooden statue, he continued: "Since you gentlemen have no other thoughts, I shall announce the military orders: tomorrow at 7 AM the entire army eats; at 7:15 AM the whole army strikes camp and marches on Yi Prefecture, with cavalry guarding both flanks and the rear against enemy cavalry raids; the entire army arrives at Yi Prefecture by 1 PM, and once deployment is complete, the assault on the city begins immediately—Yi Prefecture must be taken by 5 PM! Anyone who disobeys orders, fears the enemy and refuses to advance, or flees the field will be executed!"

The commanders in the tent roared their assent, saluted, and left to prepare in their own camps. Zu Dashou, Fang Yizao, and Hong Chengchou exchanged courtesies and returned to their respective tents.

By this time, Yi Prefecture city was already a scene of bustling activity. Although the Ming cavalry had driven off and screened the barbarians' scouts, preventing them from knowing how many infantry followed behind the Ming horse, years of battlefield experience told Tanggudai that this sudden, uncharacteristic Ming offensive must mean they had something to rely on. What awaited him would be a hard battle.

After deliberating at length, Tanggudai ordered a storehouse opened and distributed the weapons and equipment inside to several thousand booi bondservants. Then he divided these Han Chinese men and women into groups of five hundred, each group supervised and led by a squad of Eight Banner infantry. Once the Ming army attacked the city, all these bondservants would be sent up onto the walls to fight.

Tanggudai had already prepared himself to hold the city to the death while awaiting relief. Without clear orders from Shengjing, this was all he could do. It was not what he wanted, but a decision forced upon him by circumstances.

Defending and besieging cities was not the Eight Banners' strength, yet Yi Prefecture had to be held. The dozen or so storehouses within the city held grain and supplies accumulated over several years through various channels. This stockpile was of critical importance and could not be lost. Although Tanggudai had also prepared to burn this stockpile, he could not do so unless absolutely necessary.

Tanggudai knew that the fate of Yi Prefecture bore directly on the Eight Banners' planned offensive against Jinzhou next year, and also on Jianzhou's overall strategy against the Great Ming. If it were lost, not only would he himself face severe punishment, but the Two White Banners would suffer along with him. The several masters' voice in the council of eight princes would be greatly weakened afterward—indeed, the Two White Banners' niru might even be stripped away by Hong Taiji on some pretext, and the interests of their clansmen would be gravely harmed.

The five hundred cavalry led by Duobi and Bayanga did not return to the city to join the defense. Tanggudai ordered the two of them to lead their force in roaming the periphery of the Ming army's main body, exploiting cavalry mobility to harass and pin down the besieging Ming forces, slowing their assault so that orders or reinforcements from Shengjing might reach Yi Prefecture sooner.

Tanggudai estimated the Ming infantry would number no fewer than ten thousand, and that the south gate would be the Ming army's main axis of attack. To that end he placed three hundred Eight Banner infantry at the south gate, with one hundred each at the east and west gates. Additionally, he stationed one thousand bondservant males on the south gate's wall to assist the Eight Banner infantry in defending the city.

The remaining five hundred cavalry rested for the moment. When the Ming army swarmed the walls like ants, the south gate would be thrown open, and the charge of these five hundred horsemen would deliver a devastating blow to the Ming troops beneath the walls.

Tanggudai, thoroughly familiar with Ming army combat power and tactics, was filled with confidence.

The only Ming force in Ningyuan and Jinzhou that could match the Eight Banners was their cavalry. As for Ming infantry—whether in morale, fighting spirit, weapons, or equipment—they were utterly no match before elite Eight Banner troops.

Were it not for the several thousand cavalry holding the line this time, Tanggudai believed that whether the Ming infantry came ten thousand or twenty thousand strong, he would long since have led his one thousand horsemen to rout them.

When Ming soldiers armed with firelocks faced Eight Banner troops, they often fired their firearms before the enemy even charged within range, driven by fear and nervousness, then turned and fled—the result being, of course, that they were slaughtered to the last man.

"These cowardly, death-fearing Nikan—where do they find the nerve to come challenge us! Today I will teach these damned slaves that they came but will never return!"

Tanggudai thought to himself.

On the very day the Yongwei Camp's main army set out from Jinzhou toward Yi Prefecture, under Hong Chengchou's deliberate arrangement, Ningyuan Regional Commander Wu Sangui led one thousand cavalry borrowed from Zu Dashou, together with two thousand Yongwei Camp soldiers, eastward out of Jinzhou city. Passing through the abandoned Greater Ling River Fort, they hugged the east bank of the Greater Ling River all the way north, their objective aimed directly at the stone bridge at the north gate that linked Yi Prefecture with Guangning and Shengjing.