Chapter 265: Setting the Strategy

The Zhaoren Hall on the east side of the Qianqing Palace was a side hall where the later Qianlong Emperor kept his book collection, but now it was the main office where Zhu Youjian received his senior ministers. In the modest hall, apart from an imperial couch placed due north, several brocade stools were set on both sides below for the senior ministers to sit on.

This was also a measure Zhu Youjian had proposed on his own initiative, arranged under the pretext of emulating the Song dynasties' practice of rulers and ministers sitting together to discuss the Way. This act of the Emperor received unanimous praise from the senior ministers, because it fully demonstrated the Emperor's respect for his ministers.

At this time, a sand table stood in the middle of the hall, bearing a model of the mountains and rivers of the Ningjin region, crafted by skilled clay figurine makers from the capital based on maps and on-site surveys commissioned by the Bureau of Operations of the Ministry of War.

Of course, this had been casually thought up by Zhu Youjian and proposed, then completed by the Ministry of War. Though it was only a rough representation, it was at least more intuitive than the impression given by maps.

"Your minister believes that what Hong Hengjiu is concerned about is most reasonable. When the Jianzhou barbarians' main force has not yet returned from its western campaign and they have suffered a heavy setback in the south, in order to reverse their passive situation, concentrating forces to retake Yizhou, and even seizing the opportunity to attack Jinzhou, is already an inevitable move!"

After everyone had passed around and read Hong Chengchou's memorial, Yang Sichang was the first to speak with a cupped-fist salute.

"Then in your view, my minister, is the reinforcement of troops that Minister Hong proposed feasible? If troops are sent beyond the pass to reinforce Yizhou, after defeating the enemy, can we take advantage of the momentum to retake Guangning, so that Jinzhou gains another gateway to its north?"

Zhu Youjian fired off questions at Yang Sichang in succession. If the government army could take Guangning, then Yizhou, Guangning, and Jinzhou would form a triangular defensive zone, making the Jinzhou defense line more solid and giving next year's great army a more forward base for campaigning in the northeast.

"I report to Your Majesty, your minister believes that reinforcing troops is inevitable, but this time we should not only refrain from retaking Guangning—we should even abandon Yizhou!"

The elegant and refined Yang Sichang suddenly uttered startling words, and everyone present, including Zhu Youjian, was greatly astonished.

Zhu Youjian knew that Yang Sichang was not the sort to make grand boasts or seek attention. Whether judged by history or by the present day, Yang Sichang was indeed far-sighted in strategy, possessed of deep plans, and had a very long strategic vision—his words just now must carry profound meaning.

"Vice Minister, why do you say this? Though Yizhou was easy to take, first, the Jianzhou barbarians' garrison strength there was weak, and second, they never imagined our army would strike suddenly, so they lost it through carelessness. On the other hand, the city of Yizhou has the Daling River encircling it on both the east and north sides, while the enemy faces south. With this geographical advantage, placing only a few thousand defenders inside the city would keep the barbarians at the gates. Moreover, recovering lost territory is our duty—how can you speak of deliberately abandoning it?"

Wang Jiazhen, Vice Minister of the Left of the Ministry of War, asked with a puzzled expression. Xue Lian, Wei Shichun, and Sun Yingyuan also looked at Yang Sichang with confusion, and only Zhu Youjian waited calmly for Yang Sichang's forthcoming explanation.

"Yucun, hear me out: Yizhou indeed has defensible terrain. If the enemy launches a fierce assault, five thousand defenders inside the city would make it difficult for them to break through in the short term. But what if the Jianzhou barbarians dig trenches and build walls to besiege it? It is over a hundred li from Jinzhou, and the land between is open plains. If our army wishes to relieve it, we would have to cross that expanse, and open plains are exactly where the Jianzhou barbarians' cavalry excels. Even if our forces outnumber theirs several times over, under constant harassment along the route and with an unstable supply line, even reaching Yizhou would cost us dearly. Moreover, with deep trenches and high walls blocking us, when our army is exhausted from the march, we would fall right into the barbarians' strategy of besieging the city to ambush the relief force—the outcome is truly worrisome!"

Yang Sichang rose and walked to the sand table. A quick-witted young eunuch hurried forward to hand him a slender wooden stick. Taking it, Yang Sichang pointed at the sand table and spoke eloquently, and everyone in the hall showed expressions of sudden understanding.

Zhu Youjian could not help but admire him inwardly: a man of renown never proves hollow—worthy of a famous figure in history, he truly sees things from a different angle than others. Most people, himself included, thought only of how to defend against the Jianzhou barbarians' heavy forces, never considering that if the barbarians did not launch a fierce assault but instead used the method of besieging the city to ambush the relief force, luring the Ming army out from Jinzhou to rescue, then laying large cavalry formations in ambush on the plains to strike the relief troops. By then, no matter how numerous the relief forces, and even with cavalry guarding both flanks, surrounded by enemies on all sides in open terrain favorable to cavalry maneuvering, they would find it hard to advance a single step. Even if they barely reached Yizhou, they would accomplish little. Losing troops and generals was secondary—if a strategic error were made, total annihilation was entirely possible.

"Minister Yang is truly a pillar of the Great Ming! This analysis of yours is indeed far-sighted and incisive! Forethought brings success; lack of forethought brings failure! Whether the battle after our army's relief effort unfolds as Minister Yang described or not, when the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and the safety of western Liaoning are at stake, a commander must make the most thorough preparations! Then in Minister Yang's view, how should we respond to the coming battle?"

Zhu Youjian praised Yang Sichang without the slightest reservation. Delighted to receive the Emperor's commendation, Yang Sichang continued his exposition: "Your Majesty's praise is undeserved—your minister is deeply honored! After much deliberation I have stumbled upon a few ideas, and where they are improper, I hope Your Majesty and my fellow colleagues will correct me!"

The young eunuch who had handed over the stick earlier attentively brought a cup of tea. Yang Sichang took it and sipped a few times, then the young eunuch took the cup back and trotted off to the side.

"Observing the terrain along the Jinzhou line, your minister finds that only Songshan and Xingshan are suitable for meeting the Jianzhou barbarians in battle. The narrowest stretches of western Liaoning fall under these two fort-cities' jurisdiction. The area has numerous hills of varying sizes, favorable for deploying infantry in formation but unfavorable for cavalry maneuvering. After our army abandons Yizhou, the enemy will surely come to attack Jinzhou. But Jinzhou's walls are strong and hard to take, and the Jianzhou barbarians are not skilled at siegecraft. In your minister's estimation, they will focus on besieging Jinzhou, with plundering the surrounding area as a secondary objective. Songshan and Xingshan are easier to take than Jinzhou, so they will likely dig trenches and build walls, then detach troops to bypass Jinzhou and attack Song and Xing. At that time, our army can lay an ambush there in advance, rest while awaiting the weary enemy, and exploit our advantage in firearms to inflict heavy losses on the attackers!"

After finishing his exposition, Yang Sichang saluted Zhu Youjian and returned to his seat. The young eunuch hurried over with light steps to take back the stick and withdrew. The hall fell silent as all present pondered the strategy and plan Yang Sichang had proposed.

"Minister Yang's plan is excellent! This battle against the Jianzhou barbarian relief force shall proceed according to your strategy! But the only troops capable of fighting in the capital region are the Yongwei Camp and the Capital Camps. The Yongwei Camp now has only a little over twenty thousand men at hand, and the Capital Camps barely over thirty thousand. Minister Sun's Shaanxi army is far away in Shaanxi, and the Sichuan army is even farther. Zuo Liangyu and the others do not command very many troops. The capital is a vital ground that requires strong forces to guard, and summoning troops from afar would take too long. Do my ministers have any good proposals?"

According to the estimates of Hong Chengchou, Yang Sichang, and the others, if Jianzhou wanted to send troops to retaliate, the forces they could dispatch would number around thirty thousand—besides nearly twenty thousand from the Han Army banners, the Jianzhou barbarians and Tartars would also number about ten thousand. Considering the Jianzhou barbarians' formidable combat power, the government army would need at least double their numbers to be confident of a great victory; otherwise, with roughly equal numbers, the outcome would be hard to predict. If a strong force like the Yongwei Camp suffered excessive losses, then next year's attack on Shengjing would lose its most powerful fist.

Everyone, including Yang Sichang, had not counted the western Liaoning army in their calculations. The facts were plain: if Zu Dashou and his kind could fight, would they have been passively beaten for so many years?

If the Jinzhou army were forced into battle, they might well drag down the Ming forces inside the pass—such precedents had occurred before.

But if the Shaanxi and Sichuan armies were to be transferred as reinforcements, time would drag on. Perhaps by the time these two strong armies arrived, the Jianzhou barbarians would have already plundered the area around Jinzhou and withdrawn to Shengjing.

From the capital to Xi'an Prefecture by eight-hundred-li express relay took at least three days at best. And from receiving the imperial decree to ordering the assembly of the Shaanxi army scattered across the various prefectures of Shaanxi, then requisitioning grain and preparing various supplies—that process alone would take at least twenty days. After that, leading the army from Xi'an Prefecture across Shanxi and the capital region to Jinzhou, a journey of over three thousand li, at a marching speed of sixty li per day, would take nearly two months—and this did not account for various emergencies along the way, such as torrential rains and flash floods, broken bridges, soldiers falling ill, and so on.

As for the Sichuan army, they were even farther away and could not possibly be counted on at short notice.

"I report to Your Majesty, your minister believes that the coming battle need not mobilize excessive troops. Your minister suggests fighting a war of attrition with the enemy, dragging the campaign out, gradually wearing down this invading force, so that the barbarian chieftain is compelled to keep dispatching Jianzhou armies to the Jinzhou-Songshan line. The strong forces like the Shaanxi and Sichuan armies can then arrive beyond the pass at their leisure. When the great army has assembled, our forces will engage the enemy in a decisive battle at Songshan, striving to crush them in a single stroke!"

Yang Sichang rose with a solemn expression and saluted as he presented his proposal.

Zhu Youjian understood in an instant—this was Yang Sichang's fundamental purpose: first, to remain locked in stalemate with the enemy at Jinzhou and Songshan, making the Jianzhou barbarians feel they could win yet unable to win; inflicting casualties on the enemy without terrifying them into flight; the ultimate goal being to drag things out until the Jianzhou barbarians' main force returned from its western campaign. Hong Taiji, in order to destroy the Ming army around Jinzhou and Songshan, would certainly dispatch his entire main force. By then, all the government armies would have assembled on the Song-Jin front line, and the two sides would fight a decisive battle at Song and Jin!

This strategy was viable!

Zhu Youjian could not help but marvel at Yang Sichang's planning. This scheme chose the terrain most suited for the Ming army to exploit its firepower advantage for the decisive battle, avoiding the various unpredictable factors and dangers that might be encountered in a distant march to the central Liaoning plains, steering the war in the direction most favorable to the Ming army. It also left the Jianzhou barbarians' home base empty when their main force marched out in full, greatly increasing the chances of Lu Xiangsheng's flank attack succeeding.

"Minister Yang, if this battle is won, you shall have the greatest merit!"

While praising him lavishly, Zhu Youjian made no promises, but his attitude was already quite clear. Yang Sichang straightened his robes, bowed in salute, and sat down, without the slightest hint of smugness on his face.

"I report to Your Majesty, your minister was commanded along with the Count of Xuancheng to reorganize the Capital Camps nearly two years ago. Thanks to Your Majesty's benevolence and generosity, the Capital Camps have ample military pay and provisions and sharp weapons and armor. We drill every other day and hold exercises every ten days. All the officers and soldiers are grateful for Your Majesty's kindness and have sworn to repay Your Majesty with their lives! The Capital Camps' morale and fighting spirit are now ready for use. Your minister humbly requests that Your Majesty dispatch the Capital Camps beyond the pass to do battle with the Jianzhou barbarians! The Yongwei Camp has already fought two engagements with the barbarians. We are both imperial guard forces—Your Majesty must not show favoritism! Does Your Majesty think the Capital Camps are inferior to the Yongwei Camp? That your minister and the Count of Xuancheng are incompetent?"

Xue Lian, the Marquis of Yangwu, rose, saluted, and spoke with impassioned fervor.

Both were forces guarding the capital. The Yongwei Camp had already fought two great battles against the Jianzhou barbarians at Changping and Yizhou, earning considerable renown, while only some officers and soldiers of the Capital Camps had participated in the campaign to suppress Zhang Xianzhong. This left the Capital Camps feeling aggrieved, and also made Xue Lian and Wei Shichun quite uncomfortable. If things continued this way, until Jianzhou was pacified, it was very likely that someone from the Yongwei Camp, as the main force, would be enfeoffed as a marquis or earl, while the generals of the Capital Camps, which they had personally reorganized, would gain nothing. Continuing like this would be very detrimental to their families' future survival and development.

"Minister Xue, be at ease. How could I not know the loyal and devoted hearts of you and Minister Wei? That the Capital Camps have gone from feeble weakness to their present strength of troops and horses is due to the two of you—I will naturally remember your contributions. That the Capital Camps' morale is ready for use pleases me greatly to hear! This time I shall grant your wish. The two of you return to camp and prepare; the entire Capital Camps shall break camp and march beyond the pass in five days to reinforce the Jinzhou front line. The remaining men of the Yongwei Camp shall stay in the capital for the time being, awaiting orders! The Ministry of War shall hasten to procure grain and supplies, to be escorted by the logistics battalion and follow the main army out of the pass!"

The Capital Camps' thirty-some thousand men, plus the twenty thousand of the Yongwei Camp at Yizhou, with cavalry units of varying numbers from Jinzhou coordinating—these tens of thousands should be more than enough to deal with the southern army Hong Taiji had scraped together.