Chapter 399: Deploying Defenses

"Your humble servant has a clever plan! I say, Li Sanwa, that first bout today wasn't bad at all! All that nonsense about the Jianzhou barbarians being invincible—if you ask me, it's just a bunch of cowards from Liaoxi who scared themselves silly and made it up! Once the muskets roar, even the invincible fall flat! Hey hey hey, Li Sanwa you greedy fool! That's my food—leave some for me! If you want more, go make your own!"

Seeing Li Sanwa bent over, stuffing fistful after fistful of rice balls from his own helmet into his mouth, Zhang Yuan leapt up, dashed over in a few strides, and began fighting with Li Sanwa over the food.

Before the two had finished eating, the military discipline officer Qian Jie, Battalion Commander Liu Shun, and Hu Dabang arrived one after another at the camp tent.

By now, the Ministry of War's measure of stationing military discipline officers in various units had been fully rolled out—every officer at the Mobile Corps Commander level and above who commanded an independent force had been assigned a discipline officer drawn from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, serving to impeach wrongdoing and supervise military discipline.

Qian Jie, not yet thirty, had originally been a Squad Leader in the Southern Provost Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In the ninth year of Chongzhen, he had been dispatched along with a dozen or so officers drawn from various Chiliarch offices to serve as a military discipline officer in the Qin army.

These discipline officers varied in age, but their common trait was literacy and solid arithmetic skills, so that they could supervise the accurate distribution of grain and supplies in their assigned camps and prevent the officers in charge of logistics from embezzling.

The discipline officer's most important duty was assessing merit and recording deeds—compiling the daily and wartime performance of officers and soldiers, then reporting it to the Ministry of War after consulting with the camp's commanding general.

In truth, the commanding generals knew full well that these so-called discipline officers were simply agents the court had specially sent down to keep watch over them, the military men, to prevent them from building up personal power through their troops.

For although these discipline officers held rank only equivalent to a Battalion Commander, they still belonged to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the imperial bodyguard, and no one had the authority to issue them orders.

"Since everyone's here, let's first sum up the gains and losses of today's battle, then figure out how to deal with the Jianzhou barbarians' next offensive. Li Sanwa, have the Jianzhou barbarian corpses been disposed of? The weather's getting warmer by the day—the battlefield must be cleaned promptly to prevent the spread of plague! Remember this well!"

After instructing that a seat be offered to Qian Jie, Zhang Yuan, seated in his chair, spoke up.

"Reporting to the Vice Regional Commander, the Jianzhou barbarians left in the camp stockade—we cut off their heads and threw them out. Those dead and wounded outside the camp gate were dragged away by the barbarians' conscripted laborers. Your subordinate has already had men use iron shovels to turn over the ground, covering all that blood beneath the earth! These shovels issued by the gentlemen of the Ministry of War are truly handy—they dig into the soil without any effort. If only we could use such implements for farming once we return home! Tsk tsk! They're remarkably convenient!"

After Li Sanwa finished his report with clasped hands, he drifted off on a tangent.

The shovels issued to the various armies by the Ministry of War were modeled by Zhu Youjian on the entrenching tools of later generations, forged from fine iron by the Ordnance Directorate. This era-defining implement was a true marvel for digging earth—saving both time and effort—and was greatly beloved and well-regarded by the soldiers.

"Enough, enough, you fool—stop your rambling! Camp Officer Qian, have the roster of soldiers who distinguished themselves in today's battle been properly recorded? Have our casualties been properly settled? Are the weapons and equipment fully prepared?"

Zhang Yuan raised his hand to stop Li Sanwa's nonsense, then turned his gaze to Qian Jie and asked politely.

"Reporting to the Vice Regional Commander, this battle saw thirty-five casualties in our unit—thirteen killed, the rest wounded. After the army's Bureau Director treated the wounded, they were all sent to the baggage camp. The roster of soldiers who distinguished themselves in this battle has been duly recorded, and the weapons you mentioned, Vice Regional Commander, are fully prepared—they can be transported to the front of the camp by the conscripted laborers at any time!"

The Qing army's heavy arrows were astonishingly lethal—though the Ming spearmen had withdrawn within a short time, many still fell to the Qing arrows.

Besides his regular duties, Qian Jie also managed the conscripted laborers in the rear camp and a rescue team of a dozen or so men—essentially making him half a logistics camp officer.

"Much obliged, Camp Officer Qian. Though today's battle was a small victory for our army, we must never take the Jianzhou barbarians' fighting spirit lightly! In my view, the barbarians lost today because they were overconfident. If they launch a full-scale assault, even a victory would cost us far heavier casualties. My guess is the barbarians are surely figuring out how to break through our camp palisade, after which they'll launch a fierce attack. The envoy from the Ministry of War instructed that the barbarians always use shield carts as their vanguard—our muskets are formidable, but they can't penetrate the shield carts. So we must find a way to break their shield carts. Does anyone have a clever idea? Speak up and let's hear it!"

Zhang Yuan already had a countermeasure in mind, but he still wanted to hear whether his subordinates had any better methods for breaking the barbarians' shield cart offensive.

"Vice Regional Commander, to break shield carts, only cannons will do. The tiger-crouch cannons in our rear camp lack sufficient power—how about, while the barbarians haven't yet attacked, we send men to the baggage camp to scrounge up a few Folangji cannons and give them a try?"

After pondering for a long moment, Li Sanwa spoke up first.

All Qin army officers above Battalion Commander knew that the baggage camp held the court's elite troops. When Li Sanwa said he wanted to borrow cannons, he actually intended to borrow the gunners as well—after all, everyone served the court, so there was no reason to distinguish between main forces and guest forces at a time like this.

"No, no! Don't even mention it again!"

Zhang Yuan shook his head repeatedly.

As for the Yongwei Camp directly under the Emperor, without orders from the Ministry of War, he didn't have the nerve to borrow troops—and besides, he couldn't bear the shame. Would he be admitting defeat before the great battle had even begun?

"Vice Regional Commander, if you have any dispositions to make, please issue the orders quickly so we can prepare. If the Jianzhou barbarians attack again after noon, we'll be in trouble without a plan!"

Battalion Commander Liu Shun saluted with clasped hands.

"That's not the pressing concern. Barring any surprises, I estimate the barbarians will destroy our camp palisade under cover of night, then only tomorrow will they array their forces for an attack."

Zhang Yuan shook his head in reply.

"Vice Regional Commander, your subordinate suggests we first move the tiger-crouch cannons up from the rear camp, then after nightfall extend the low wall, and place the cannons in front—that should be more than enough to give the Jianzhou barbarians a bitter drink!"

Another Battalion Commander, Hu Dabang, offered his counsel.

"Good idea! Dabang, tonight you'll lead your unit to swap positions with Li Sanwa's unit. Tomorrow, you'll fight a round with the barbarians! Li Sanwa, you'll hold your unit in the rear, ready to support at any moment!"

Seeing that his subordinates had no better suggestions, Zhang Yuan promptly issued his orders.

"Vice Regional Commander, since you're certain the barbarians will destroy our camp palisade, why not take precautions and prevent them from succeeding so easily? Why not station men in advance, ready to strike a crushing blow when the barbarians come at night?"

Qian Jie, who had been hesitating at the side, finally spoke up with his counsel.

According to court regulations, a military discipline officer had no authority to interfere with a commanding general's military command and dispositions. But seeing a bloody battle against a stronger enemy looming, Qian Jie felt he ought to do something.

Take, for instance, the barbarians sending men to destroy the camp palisade—perhaps Zhang Yuan had simply overlooked it and failed to arrange men for defense. In that case, his suggestion might serve to fill the gap.

"Camp Officer Qian need not worry. If the barbarians are determined to destroy it, then the palisade can't be saved. With poor visibility at night, it's hard to defend against. Better to let them have it! I have my own arrangements—I'll make sure the barbarians taste bitter defeat!"

After the noon meal that day, Zhang Yuan had Qian Jie transfer five hundred conscripted laborers from the rear camp. After roughly explaining his plan, he personally directed the laborers as they bustled about under the cover of the camp palisade.

Hu Dabang, who was to fight the next day, followed behind Zhang Yuan with several Company Commanders, listening to his explanations while mulling over how to deploy troops and arrange formations.

Just before the sky had fully darkened, the defensive works—rebuilt and rearranged around the two artillery platforms some thirty-odd paces from the camp palisade—were finally completed.