Chapter 392: Jinzhou

"What's the situation with the Jianzhou barbarians outside? Any sign of an assault on the walls? Tell the lads to keep their spirits up and watch carefully—double the number of officers and men on night patrol, light torches atop the walls, throw firebrands down below, and don't let the Jianzhou barbarians slip through any gap! Second brother, third brother, you two take turns on day watch! Zepu, you brothers sort out your shifts and take turns on the walls at night—make sure you patrol thoroughly! At this critical juncture, anyone who dares to slack off or bungle things, I'll have his head chopped straight off!"

Inside the Zu family's grand mansion in Jinzhou, Zu Dashou, seated in the place of honor, was issuing orders. Zu Dale and Zu Dabi sat at the lower ends on either side, while the remaining Zu nephews and sons stood in two rows, listening solemnly.

"Your son obeys! Reporting to Father, the Jianzhou barbarians have dug trenches and surrounded the city but show no sign of attacking. Only a small force remains outside the four gates; their main strength is nowhere to be seen. Please rest assured, Father—your sons are men who understand reason, and we would never delay matters of military urgency at such a critical moment!"

Zu Dashou's eldest son, Zu Zepu, stepped forward and bowed as he reported.

"Hmph! Understand reason? If you truly understood reason, then what about that business with Changbo? The Zu and Wu families have become enemies because of it! And we let the court squeeze several thousand horsemen out of us in the bargain! A pack of worthless bastards! I should have beaten you lot to death right then!"

At the memory of that fierce clash in his home months ago, Zu Dashou felt as sick as if he'd swallowed a fly.

He glared hatefully at Zu Zehong and the other ringleaders of that disaster, wishing he could strangle these unfilial wretches on the spot.

Zu Zehong, Zu Zeqing, and the others shrank back in fear, their faces shifting between pale and green.

They had learned more than once just how fearsome their own father could be—when he beat someone, he acknowledged no kin at all, and he wouldn't stop until you were thoroughly beaten into submission.

"Enough, enough, eldest brother, don't get so angry. What's done is done; further talk serves no purpose. With a great enemy at our gates, we should be thinking about how to face them. In your view, eldest brother, could it be that this time the Jianzhou barbarians have sent a great army south with the intention of swallowing up Songshan and Jinzhou in one bite?"

Seeing that her eldest brother was again in a mood to start a fight, Zu Dale hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over and steer the conversation elsewhere.

"Mm, judging by the look of things, Hong Taiji's ambitions this time are no small matter! Our scouts report that banners of all Eight Banners have appeared in the Jianzhou army, and with those Tartars and Kong Youde and the rest, the troops must number over a hundred thousand. Hong Taiji has staked everything this time—he clearly means to swallow Songshan, Jinzhou, and the surrounding fortress towns in one go!"

At the mention of the scale of the Qing army coming south, even Zu Dashou, who was usually carefree and easygoing, turned grave.

"Then what should we do to respond? This time is nothing like before—a hundred thousand Jianzhou barbarians and Tartars are more than we can handle! Even if that Hong Hengjiu at Songshan brings the court's new troops, it won't do any good! I should never have let Dakuan and the others go inside the pass—with them here, if things went wrong, we could still fight our way out of the city and flee south!"

Zu Dabi, standing to one side, spoke up with a heavy expression.

"Don't panic now. Isn't Songshan surrounded too? As long as a high official like Hong Hengjiu is there, the court is certain to send someone to rescue us—the only question is whether the relief force will be elite! Right, second brother, send someone out of the city at once to report to the court again. If a relief force does come, tell them not to split their troops and advance hastily—they must come slowly and steadily! We can hold out for half a year or eight months without trouble, but if the relief force rushes in and falls into the Jianzhou barbarians' ambush, it'll all be over! Go quickly, go quickly!"

After speaking a few sentences, Zu Dashou suddenly thought of this important matter and hastily instructed Zu Dale to send men out of the city to carry the message south.

Although the Qing army had dug trenches and surrounded the city, their blockade of Jinzhou was not particularly tight.

Having fought each other for years, the two sides knew each other all too well.

Jirgalang and the others knew that even without besieging the city, Zu Dashou would never send troops out for a field battle. As for whether the city would send men to seek aid—that was exactly what the Qing army most hoped for.

Besieging the city to ambush the relief force was the Jianzhou forces' most common tactic against the Ming army, and it had never failed to work.

Zu Dale acknowledged and rose to leave, and Zu Dabi then spoke up: "Eldest brother, do you think Songshan, Daxing, Xingping, and these other fortress towns can hold? Last year the Jianzhou Two Red Banners suffered no small loss at the hands of the court's new troops. Though the Jianzhou barbarians have brought more men this time, taking those fortress towns will still cost them plenty of dead and wounded. I used to look down on those government troops, but now I find myself hoping they can hold out for a good while longer—long enough to last until the court's relief force arrives!"

Last year Yoto's Two Red Banners had marched south and returned in defeat, and combined with the earlier battle at Yizhou, the military families of western Liaoning had gained a far more direct understanding of the new troops' fighting power.

Seeing the elite Eight Banner troops who had once sent them fleeing in panic destroyed before their very eyes, the government troops of western Liaoning felt both joy and shock—and subconsciously, a new fear of the court took root.

It was precisely under the influence of this mood that the Ministry of War's troop transfer orders were carried out so smoothly.

"The Jianzhou barbarians won't attack these fortress towns right away! If I'm not mistaken, they'll surround them and wait until the garrisons inside have run out of food for several days before assaulting. After those two battles last year, the Jianzhou barbarians learned how formidable the government troops' firearms are—this time they certainly won't throw lives at the walls again. But that's not what worries me now. What I fear is whether the court still has such elite troops in hand. If these are all they have, then the great enterprise is lost!"

Zu Dashou replied with a furrowed brow.

"Father, could it be that aside from these new troops, the court has no other strong forces at hand? The roving bandits inside the pass have already been wiped out, and the Ministry of War has no shortage of Regional Commanders and great generals. The nine border garrisons' troops are also quite formidable. Cao Wenzhao, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, Wang Pu, Zuo Liangyu, and the others are all famous generals of long standing—if they all receive orders and come to our aid together, we may well be able to hold against the Jianzhou barbarians!"

Zu Zepu, standing nearby, could not help interjecting.

"Heh heh! Cao Wenzhao is passable, and Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei count as veteran generals with some capable men under them. As for the likes of Wang Pu and Zuo Liangyu—they're fine when the wind is at their backs, but when they run into a tough nut like the Jianzhou barbarians, without a strong hand to keep them in line, there's no telling if they won't be the first to flee! If that truly happens, then this Great Ming is done for!"

By the end, Zu Dashou's feelings had grown extremely complicated. His normally straight back slumped, and he leaned back against the chair, his expression turning lost and bewildered.

At heart, Zu Dashou and most of the generals of the western Liaoning military families still felt a strong sense of belonging to the Great Ming. They did not wish to see the Great Ming replaced by another—this was also an important reason Zu Dashou had heeded the court's orders and sent his cavalry inside the pass to suppress the bandits.

As long as the Great Ming did not fall, the military families of western Liaoning would go on generation after generation sucking blood from the body of the Great Ming, continuing their lives of extravagant luxury.

Though in the eyes of the vast majority of the Great Ming's people they were nothing but a bunch of provincial rich men, Zu Dashou and his kind were already quite content.

"Father, don't worry overmuch. Your son feels that this time the court should not lose! Didn't we hear that the court has produced another formidable figure, one named Sun Chuanting? They say this man is even more capable than Hong Hengjiu. Your son believes the court will certainly send him to lead the relief force this time. With him as commander, won't those Regional Commanders and great generals fall into line obediently? Add in the warning we've sent, and this Sun Chuanting will surely not fall for the Jianzhou barbarians' tricks. When their food and supplies run out, won't they have to slink back to Shengjing?"

Seeing his father looking so dejected, Zu Zepu could not help speaking up to console him.

"Eldest brother, what Zepu says makes good sense! The Jianzhou barbarians may look fierce this time, but I don't think it amounts to much! When it comes to knowledge of Jianzhou, who in the Great Ming can match us? With the court's embargo against Jianzhou these past years, how much do they have left to squander? As I see it, this is just Hong Taiji at the end of his rope, so he sent his army out of desperation! I reckon the food and supplies the Jianzhou barbarians carry won't last half a year! Rest easy, eldest brother—who knows, if we time it right, we might even pick up a nice bargain!"