Chapter 391: Deployment

Inside the office of the Songshan City Garrison Commander, Hong Chengchou sat idly with Shen Shiyu, sipping tea in a study as warm as spring.

Though the season was nearing early spring in the second month, when Jiangnan was already a riot of blossoms vying to dazzle the eyes, the northeastern lands still lay in the chill of lingering cold, with scarce a hint of tender green on trees and weeds.

"Lord Hong, the eastern barbarians have mustered their main force and driven south in full strength this time—a scale rarely seen. Clearly the barbarian chieftain's ambitions are no small matter! Ever since they began digging trenches and surrounding the city a few days ago, alarm reports have come in rapid succession from the forts south of Songshan. From the look of things, they seem intent on uprooting every fortress beyond Songshan and Jinzhou. If they succeed, Songshan and Jinzhou will be in danger of becoming isolated cities! What is your esteemed view on this, Lord Hong? Why do our troops not sally forth to inflict losses on them? Are we simply to sit by and let the eastern barbarians run rampant unchecked?"

Faced with the surging tide of the great Qing army, Hong Chengchou—as the highest-ranking commander beyond the passes—made no corresponding move to respond, but instead allowed great numbers of Han booi bondservants, under the supervision of the Qing troops, to dig trenches in all directions, thereby restricting the movements of the Ming soldiers within the city.

"Hehehe, Kungang, do be a little patient. While the eastern barbarians' precise intentions are not yet clear, holding the city firm and watching how events unfold is the wisest course. This time the barbarian chieftain has sent his entire main force south, his aim being nothing less than to swallow up all our Great Ming's lands beyond the passes in one gulp—or at the very least to take the fortress cities south of Guangning, especially great cities like Songshan and Jinzhou, which he has already shown a determination to seize! At a time when the eastern barbarians' edge is at its sharpest, our army can only avoid their sharpness and bide our time, seeking out their weak points to strike!"

Having long anticipated the Qing army's southward advance, Hong Chengchou was not worried about it.

Since the latter half of the tenth year of Chongzhen, the defenses of the fortress cities north of Ningyuan had been successively taken over by the Capital Camps or the Qin troops. The original soldiers and civilians within the cities had already been relocated south of Ningyuan, and grain and supplies within the cities had long been stockpiled in quantity, enough to sustain the garrisons for several months.

And judging from past encounters between the Great Ming and the Jianzhou barbarians, the Jianzhou barbarians had always lacked effective means and measures for besieging cities. Moreover, the garrisons within the cities had now been replaced by several elite forces centered on firearms, so Hong Chengchou was quite confident in his ability to hold each city.

As for the Jianzhou barbarians' practice of digging trenches to surround the cities, Hong Chengchou was not in the least concerned.

The operational strategy sent by the Ministry of War had already clearly stated that the purpose of this campaign was to prolong the battle as much as possible, to wear down and exhaust the Jianzhou barbarians through attrition, and then, once the surprise attacks on the eastern and western flanks succeeded and the Jianzhou barbarians' morale collapsed, to seek the moment to break the enemy.

"What Lord Hong says is not wrong, and I too am aware of the court's strategy. But the eastern barbarians' actions this time differ vastly from before—there may be other designs behind them! Previously our Night Scout squad encountered their scouts near Desheng Fort, and the matter reeks of the unusual! Why would the eastern barbarians send scouts deep into our rear to reconnoiter? What is their purpose? Though the matter is small, I feel its implications run deep! I beg Lord Hong to consider it carefully!"

After Cui Xingyun's victory report reached Songshan, Hong Chengchou had it transcribed and dispatched to each fortress city to bolster the morale of the troops.

After all, this was solid military merit—ten Qing scouts killed in battle, including one white-armored soldier. This news was more than enough to greatly boost the confidence of the entire army.

As for why the Qing army had sent scouts deep into the rear of Songshan and Jinzhou, Hong Chengchou had not given it much thought. Now that Shen Shiyu raised the point, Hong Chengchou offered his own answer in passing: "The encounter between the two sides' scouts is, as they say, a matter that can be treated as large or small. The eastern barbarians hail from the deep mountains and dense forests of Tungusic lands, where the entire tribe lives by fishing and hunting. When hunting tigers, leopards, bears, and deer, they always send men ahead to track their quarry before setting ambushes. Thus the eastern barbarians have brought this habit into battle, making a specialty of sending scouts a hundred li or even farther ahead. Speaking broadly, this is their scheme to probe our supply routes; speaking narrowly, this encounter may simply have occurred because their scouts lost their way in the forests."

Seeing that Shen Shiyu still wore a look of disagreement, Hong Chengchou smiled faintly, took up his teacup for a sip, and continued: "Kungang, this campaign was anticipated by our side long ago. Every fortress city has ample supplies stockpiled. Even if the eastern barbarians cut our supply lines, what of it? With over a hundred thousand of their troops massed, how much do they consume daily? The villages and towns north of Ningyuan have long been cleared and emptied—where will they find grain? In a few more months, when their provisions run short and their rear grows unstable, that will be the time for us to achieve merit!"

In Zhenyuan Fort, over forty li southeast of Ningyuan city, Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion Chen Qiyu was in the garrison office's study, leafing through the latest military intelligence reports sent from the front.

Just last month, after receiving Cui Xingyun's victory report, Zhu Youjian had summoned the relevant senior ministers for consultation. All present agreed that the Jianzhou barbarians' deep scout incursion was meant to locate where the official army stored its grain and supplies, and to assess the possibility of launching a surprise attack on that location.

Chen Qiyu again proposed that the grain depot—a matter of utmost importance—bore directly on the success or failure of the great campaign, and that a senior minister must be dispatched to personally oversee it, lest the rear grow careless and be exploited by the enemy.

Everyone present naturally understood his meaning, but aside from Sun Chuanting and Yang Sichang, none of the others could match this war-wise senior minister in military strategy. And Sun and Yang each bore heavy responsibilities of their own, leaving them utterly unable to spare themselves for such a vital position.

After careful consideration, Zhu Youjian decided to dispatch Chen Qiyu beyond the passes to take command, with sole responsibility for grain and supply matters and full authority to act as circumstances required. His post as Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture was to be taken up by Ni Yuanlu, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and Chancellor of the Imperial Academy.

Sun Chuanting, meanwhile, led over ten thousand Qin troops, and together with the ten thousand White Pole troops under Qin Liangyu, marched out beyond the passes to camp south of Ningyuan and await orders, taking care lest the Jianzhou barbarians detect their movements. Sun Yingyuan led the remaining forces of the Yongwei Camp, having made the corresponding deployments in advance.

Subsequently, Yang Sichang issued orders as instructed by Zhu Youjian, directing all units beyond the passes to assume a posture of withdrawal and contraction, and not to intercept the Jianzhou barbarians' scouts.

After finishing the latest military intelligence report, Chen Qiyu sank into deep thought. Chen Qizhi, who had accompanied him beyond the passes, refilled his hot tea and quietly withdrew from the study, then turned and gently pulled the door shut behind him.

Chen Qiyu understood Yang Sichang's intent—to use the supply depot as bait, luring the Qing army to attack, then massing heavy forces to annihilate the incoming Qing troops.

From his supply depot to the Songshan-Jinzhou front line was a distance of nearly two hundred li, along which stood six fortress cities, garrisoned by a total of nearly twenty thousand official troops. If the Qing army truly dared to risk a dangerous gambit, they would bear the enormous risk of having their retreat cut off.

After reviewing the latest intelligence report, Chen Qiyu concluded in his heart that the Qing army would come with near certainty—and with no fewer than thirty thousand men.

According to the reports of the Night Scouts at Zhenyuan Fort, in the past few days no fewer than three teams of Qing scouts had been spotted around the supply camp, circling the vast grounds of the depot and observing from all directions.

Clearly, the Qing scouts were probing the strength and disposition of the Ming defenders, then deciding how many men to send and from which direction to attack most advantageously.

The Ming army's supply camp lay ten li east of Zhenyuan Fort, backed against the Bohai Sea to the south and abutting dense forests and mountain ranges, leaving only the west and north sides vulnerable to attack.

Guarding the supply camp were only five thousand Qin troops, commanded by Vice Regional Commander Zhang Yuan.

These five thousand men were split into two groups, encamped on the western and northern sides of the supply camp respectively. The entire disposition could be seen at a glance, and no doubt the Qing scouts—beyond leaving men behind to continue observing—had already sent someone back to report, so that their commander could make his decision.

From the scouts' return to the arrival of the main Qing force would take at least five to seven days. Each additional day meant greater consumption for the Qing army's near two hundred thousand men, and this enormous drain would compel the Qing forces to take reckless action.

At this thought, Chen Qiyu could not help but sneer inwardly.

The Qing army would never imagine that what they had reconnoitered was only what lay on the surface—what would truly prove fatal was right before their very eyes.