Chapter 389: Divergence

Just as Lei Sheng, Assistant Regional Commander of Desheng Fort, was sending fast horsemen with the victory report to Songshan and the capital, the city of Yizhou, a hundred li north of Jinzhou, had already become an ocean of banners both inside and outside its walls.

The Qing Eight Banners ordered south, along with the Mongol Eight Banners, the Han Army Banners, and five thousand Joseon musketeers—over one hundred thousand men in total—arrived at Yizhou one after another. Added to these were the eighty thousand booi bondservants brought by each banner, and the once cold and desolate Yizhou suddenly became bustling and lively.

This time, apart from over seven thousand men of the Two Yellow Banners left to guard Shengjing, Jianzhou could be said to have emptied its nest. All bannermen between the ages of sixteen and fifty from every banner marched with the army. This counted as the largest military operation since the founding of the Great Qing, showing Hong Taiji's resolve and boldness in attempting to seize the fortresses beyond the Pass in one stroke.

The Regional Commander of this Qing army was Prince Zheng, Jirgalang, with Hooge, Dorgon, and Yoto as his deputies. The others—Ajige, Abatai, the various princes of the Mongol Eight Banners, and so forth—though noble in status, could only serve under his command.

Hong Taiji and Prince Li, Daišan, remained in Shengjing, responsible for mobilizing follow-up personnel and preparing grain and supplies to guarantee what the front lines might urgently need.

"Gentlemen, I have received the Emperor's command to serve as Supreme Commander on the southern campaign. When I departed, His Majesty issued an edict ordering me to command the entire army under the strictest military regulations. Whether prince of the first or second rank, Beile or Beise, anyone who violates military orders shall be beheaded! We are all either of the same clan or colleagues serving the same court, so I speak plainly beforehand—if anyone commits a breach of military discipline, do not blame the military law for being merciless!"

In a great tent outside the south gate of Yizhou, Jirgalang was convening the princes, Beiles, Beises, and numerous Meiren Janggin and Jalan Janggin for deliberation. To emphasize the weight of the gathering, he deliberately invoked Hong Taiji's authority before the discussion began.

Dorgon, Hooge, and Ajige all wore looks of utter arrogance, paying no heed whatsoever to Jirgalang's words.

Prince Cheng, Yoto, and the others, however, rose solemnly to acknowledge the command.

Seeing the attitude of Dorgon and the others, Jirgalang burned with anger inwardly.

But the brothers Dorgon and Ajige controlled the formidable Two White Banners, and Hooge was the successor Hong Taiji intended to cultivate. He had no restraining power over any of them whatsoever, and getting angry was useless.

"This time our Great Qing attacks the Ming lands beyond the Pass with the full strength of the nation, all to carve out a rich territory for our descendants and seize more gold, silver, cloth, slaves, grain, and other fine things for our own enjoyment. If this campaign can take all of Songshan, Jinzhou, and Guangning, then after a few years of stability we take Shanhai Pass—the Ming's splendid rivers and mountains will lie before us like a beauty stripped of her clothes, ours to toy with as we please?!"

Just as Jirgalang was about to burst into laughter at this point, a cold snort came over: "Prince Zheng, do not think too far ahead. Shanhai Pass is still a thousand li away and out of sight. Better first find a way to take Jinzhou! As long as Jinzhou falls, this trip of ours will not have been in vain. Otherwise, everything else is idle talk!"

The speaker was Dorgon, seated across from Hooge.

The grand vision Jirgalang cast out held no appeal for him whatsoever.

The enormous city of Jinzhou stood like a great mountain before the Eight Banners. This mountain blocked off western Liaoning completely. Jianzhou had strained every effort time and again to take Jinzhou, but each time returned in defeat.

"Prince Zheng, I believe Prince Rui speaks sense. Jinzhou's walls are tall, and the cannons atop the walls are extremely powerful. With the Eight Banners' current strength, taking it in the short term is nearly impossible. And not just Jinzhou—Songshan, though smaller than Jinzhou in every respect, has no fewer cannons. These two cities, together with Daxing and Xingping forts behind them, all have heavy Ming garrisons. If we cannot find a way to root them out, I fear our army's morale will suffer!"

Prince Cheng, Yoto, spoke up to steer the topic back on track and spare Jirgalang embarrassment.

Last year he had led the Two Red Banners, the Mongol Eight Banners, and the Han Army Banners south, suffering considerable losses at Daxing Fort and Songshan. With his troops decimated and generals lost, he had no choice but to slink back to Shengjing.

After Yoto reported the two battles in detail, Hong Taiji did not blame this rising star of the Eight Banners overly much. He neither stripped his title nor reduced his bannermen, merely refraining from assigning him any major matters thereafter.

This time, serving as Jirgalang's deputy, Yoto had consulted with his father Daišan and brought the full main strength of the Two Red Banners to Songshan and Jinzhou, preparing to seize the opportunity to avenge last time's defeat and also let others witness the might of the Two Red Banners.

Jirgalang's topic just now had clearly strayed too far. Though meant to boost morale, for this group of battle-hardened veterans in the tent, such empty grand schemes held no meaning whatsoever.

Land, population, and wealth were seized through war, not won through talk.

"Heh heh, what Prince Cheng says, His Majesty has already considered. That trench-digging tactic you used last time—we shall employ it again this time!"

Jirgalang replied with a chuckle.

"I say, Prince Zheng, digging trenches to besiege the city and luring the enemy to strike at reinforcements sounds well enough, but I fear it won't work this time!"

Dorgon, off to the side, could not help interjecting.

"Oh? What wisdom does Prince Rui have to offer? Why do you say this strategy won't work? And in Prince Rui's view, what should be done instead?"

Jirgalang asked with a smile.

"To be honest, though our Great Qing has massed a great army here and made a fine show of force, grain has become the most troublesome matter! With a hundred thousand troops plus those slaves, how much do we consume daily? And how long can we sustain it? The Ming has such abundant resources—Jinzhou city has few soldiers but ample stores. How could they fail to outlast us? If time drags on and we gain nothing, then aside from wasting countless supplies and retreating to Shengjing once more, what advantage is there? And when the grain is spent, what is Jianzhou to do next?"

Dorgon had never approved of Hong Taiji's gambling-style move of concentrating heavy forces southward, but since most of the Eight Banners' high command had agreed to the strategy, he had no choice but to obey.

Yet he had been nursing a grievance in his heart all along, and this time he finally found the right moment to voice his doubts.

Dorgon's words struck a chord with many in the tent, and acquaintances began murmuring among themselves.

"Old Fourteenth speaks truly! The Emperor's thinking is far too simple! It's true that our Jianzhou lacks grain and supplies, and robbing the Ming is proper—but he picked the wrong place! Without a plan to breach the cities, he sends over a hundred thousand men to besiege and fight a dull war—we simply cannot afford the waste! Why not use the method that breached the wall the last two times, instead of squandering grain and supplies in this place for nothing? What is the Emperor thinking?!"

The hot-tempered Ajige barked in exasperation.

He, Dorgon, and Dodo had also privately discussed raiding the Great Ming, and all agreed that breaching the border wall was the best path.

With two successful precedents already on record, even if the Ming army had strengthened its defenses, it was easy to imagine that the garrison troops could not compare with the Ming forces on the Songshan-Jinzhou line in either firearms or numbers.

Moreover, the advantages of attacking the border wall were obvious.

Once a breach was made, they would directly face the Ming's capital region—a vast area with numerous towns and extremely weak defenses. The Great Qing's elite troops could range freely, defeat the Ming's various forces one by one, then storm the towns, plunder heavily, and return—that would be the optimal strategy.

But this time Hong Taiji insisted on using clumsy methods to clash head-on with the Ming, even deluding himself into thinking he could seize the Ming's lands beyond the Pass—this was simply wishful thinking.

"Prince Rui, Twelfth Beile, calm yourselves! How could His Majesty not have thought of what we have? This time we are not engaging the Ming by the old methods—we have another way!"