Chapter 4: Hong Chengchou

At the Xinyang Prefecture office in Runing Prefecture, Henan, there was a small square in front of the office, with a large banner towering in the center bearing five large characters: "Governor-General of the Five Provinces Hong." On both sides of the gate stood eight fierce soldiers each, clad in helmets and armor, hands resting on their waist swords, eyes constantly scanning the surroundings. They were clearly battle-hardened veterans—these were the standard camp guards of Hong Chengchou, Governor-General of the Five Provinces.

In the main hall of the prefecture office, a middle-aged official with a gaunt face, dressed in a large crimson robe embroidered with a crane rank badge and wearing a black gauze cap, sat upright behind a large desk, stroking his beard in quiet contemplation. Beside him stood a middle-aged staff advisor dressed as a scholar. He was Hong Chengchou, the imperially appointed Governor-General of military affairs for Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan—the Governor-General of the Five Provinces.

Hong Chengchou, courtesy name Yanyan, sobriquet Hengjiu, was a native of Yingdu, Nan'an, Quanzhou, Fujian (present-day Xiamei, Liangshan Village, Yingdu Town). He became a jinshi in the forty-fourth year of Wanli and successively served as Bureau Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, then as Assistant Surveillance Commissioner for the Two Zhe education circuit. In the seventh year of Tianqi, he was transferred to serve as Provincial Administration Vice Commissioner of Shaanxi. Just as the roving bandits were rising in swarms locally, Hong Chengchou displayed his civil and martial talents, vigorously suppressing the bandits with outstanding results.

In the third year of Chongzhen, he succeeded Zhang Mengjing, who had died in office, as Governor of Yansui. After taking office, he directed his brave general Cao Wenzhao to successively exterminate Wang Jiayin, the Lamp Lighter, Wang Zuogua, Bai Ruxue, and other relatively large bands of roving bandits, earning considerable appreciation from the Emperor.

In the fourth year of Chongzhen, he succeeded Yang He, who had been arrested, as Governor-General of military affairs for the Three Borders of Shaanxi, concurrently serving as Vice Minister of the Right in the Ministry of War. In just over a year, the bandits throughout Shaanxi were either exterminated or had fled to other provinces, and Hong Chengchou's reputation soared.

In the seventh year of Chongzhen, he succeeded Chen Qiyu—who had failed in pacifying the bandits at Chexiang Gorge, allowing them to spread—as Governor-General of the Five Provinces, a position of immense power and prestige.

But only he knew his own troubles. As his position rose, the once confident Hong Chengchou felt mounting pressure, and his heart was filled with unspeakable bitterness.

He had thought that once the bandits originating from Shaanxi were exterminated, the remnants and fugitives would be mere nuisances not worth mentioning. Unexpectedly, the bandits grew stronger day by day—the more he suppressed, the more there were—until now they had become a formidable force.

The originally small bandit groups had gradually grown larger and now moved and fought with considerable military skill, with the forces of Gao Yingxiang, the Dashing King, and Tuo Yangkun, the Sky-Toppler, being the most difficult to deal with. He had once submitted a memorial to the Emperor discussing how the difficulty of pursuing and exterminating them was no longer what it used to be: at first, the bandit troops feared the government soldiers and would flee at the mere sight of their banners, basically never daring to engage head-on. Now they dared to face off against government troops, and would lure enemies into traps, set ambushes, and use cavalry for charges.

Among these developments were, of course, the teachings of government soldiers who had defected to the bandits. But it was also not hard to see that the bandits' combat experience was growing ever richer.

Second was the difficulty of pursuit. The bandit troops were primarily cavalry, some even having two horses per rider, and would flee immediately if the battle turned unfavorable. Government troops were mostly seventy percent infantry and thirty percent cavalry, so even if they won on the battlefield, they could only watch the enemy escape, unable to catch up.

Furthermore, after fleeing, the bandits would hide in strongholds deep in the mountains and forests, holding firm behind treacherous terrain. Government troops, on the one hand, could not sustain their grain supplies, and on the other hand, could not carry siege equipment, making it very difficult to break the enemy. Because of the advantageous terrain, attacking was like besieging a city—without siege equipment, were they supposed to fill the gap with human lives?

Then there was the problem of being outnumbered. Due to the ongoing drought, more and more starving people were joining the bandit forces, many with the mentality that since death was certain either way, they might as well eat their fill before dying. Because the bandits plundered everywhere, they generally did not lack food. Those who joined the bandits and fought bravely could usually eat their fill—a fatal temptation for starving people whose eyes had turned red from hunger and who had already begun exchanging children for food.

Adding up all the various bandit chieftains, their roving bandits now exceeded three hundred thousand, while the government troops encircling them numbered only slightly over forty thousand—and this gap was widening. Government troop casualties were difficult to replenish, while the bandits could rally followers with a single call, gathering masses with great ease. The current situation was becoming increasingly troublesome, even showing signs of deteriorating.

This time, he had convened a military conference in Ruzhou with his subordinates and staff to assess the current situation and the bandits' movements, and to deploy the next phase of strategy.

Previously, he had submitted a new operational plan to the Emperor and the Ministry of War—having the Governor and Regional Commander of Sichuan move to Kuimen and Dazhou to support Huguang; the Governor and Regional Commander of Huguang move to Xiangyang; the Governor of Yunyang hold his own territory; the Governor of Fengyang move north to Bozhou, also covering Guide and Runing in Henan Prefecture; the Governor of Shandong move to Caozhou and Puzhou to guard against bandits moving south; the Governor of Shanxi move to Puzhou, advancing to reinforce Lingbao and Shanzhou; the Governor of Henan move between Runing and Nanyang for defense; the Governor of Shaanxi move to Shangzhou to support Xing'an and Hanzhong. The purpose of this plan was to encircle and block from all sides, driving the bandits into Henan and exterminating them completely there.

Although the Emperor had already approved the plan, it met with fierce opposition from the officialdom led by Xuan Mo, Governor of Henan, as well as the Henan gentry. Because once the battlefield was set in Henan, such a massive campaign meant the entire province would be smashed to pieces, with most areas reduced to scorched earth. The interests of the Henan gentry would be severely damaged, the common people would be displaced, and the population would drastically decline or flee.

In this era of scratching a living from the soil, what use was land without people? With thousands or tens of thousands of mu of fields lying uncultivated for lack of farmers, most gentry families would go bankrupt. Moreover, once fighting broke out, whether bandit or government soldier, a great household could be destroyed in an instant. "Bandits pass like a comb, soldiers pass like a fine-toothed rake"—this was well known to all, and the reputation of the Great Ming's soldiers was hardly good.

Hong Chengchou understood perfectly the intentions of the Henan side represented by Xuan Mo, but the strategy had already been approved, and changing it was impossible. So he simply played deaf and dumb—the Governor of Henan had sought an audience several times, but each time the Governor-General's office turned him away with various excuses. At this conference, the furious Xuan Mo simply claimed illness and did not come. Hong Chengchou could not be bothered with him anyway, for once the strategy began to be implemented, Xuan Mo, as the top official of Henan, would not dare defy military orders—that would not merely be a matter of losing one's post, but of losing one's life.

Just as he was deep in thought, the sound of horse hooves came from outside the office, along with noisy voices, greetings, loud laughter, and the clanking of armor, followed by the tramping of feet heading straight for the office door. Amid successive announcements, a group of Ming dynasty military officers in full armor entered the main hall.

"Your subordinate Zuo Liangyu, Regional Commander of Changping, pays respects to the Regional Commander! Vice Regional Commander Tang Jiuzhou pays respects to the Regional Commander!"

"Your subordinate Zuo Guangxian, Regional Commander of the Relief and Suppression Forces, pays respects to the Regional Commander!"

"Your subordinate Cao Wenzhao, Regional Commander of Lintao, pays respects to the Regional Commander!"

"Your subordinate Deng Qi, Regional Commander of the Sichuan Relief and Suppression Forces, pays respects to the Regional Commander!"

"Your subordinate You Shiwei, Regional Commander of Ningxia, pays respects to the Regional Commander!"

"Your subordinate Ai Wannian, Vice Regional Commander of Gushan, pays respects to the Regional Commander!"

The Regional Commanders, Vice Regional Commanders, Assistant Regional Commanders, Mobile Corps Commanders, and Regional Military Commissioners from each province all knelt on one knee, raised their clasped hands above their heads, and announced their names in salute. The prestige of the Governor-General of the Five Provinces was still enough to overawe this group of proud and fierce generals.

"Please rise, gentlemen," Hong Chengchou said in a slow voice.

"Thank you, Regional Commander!" Amid a clatter of armor plates, everyone rose and then arranged themselves on the left and right sides.

The Governor-General of the Five Provinces was primarily responsible for military affairs, while each provincial Governor was responsible for local civil administration. Apart from the Governor of Henan, there was no need to summon the other principal officials to the conference. But since the Governor of Henan's resentment had not subsided and he had claimed illness and stayed away, it did not matter. As for the Prefect of Ruzhou and the Magistrate of Xinyang, they had been assigned to gather provisions for the army.

"Today I have convened this assembly to discuss the strategy for suppressing the bandits. If any of you generals have good proposals, speak freely! Once the discussion is complete, we will formulate the next operational plan. Once the plan is formed, all generals must strictly comply with it—otherwise, military law will be applied!" Hong Chengchou swept his piercing gaze across the assembled generals, his tone extremely severe.

The generals exchanged glances. They could fight, but strategy was not their forte. Besides, the Governor-General's invitation for suggestions was merely a courtesy—who would take it seriously? So Zuo Liangyu stepped forward, clasped his hands, and said, "We await the Regional Commander's orders. We will simply obey!"

"Then I shall announce the military orders!" Hong Chengchou said.

Just as he was about to speak, a guard outside suddenly reported loudly: "Report to the Regional Commander, urgent military intelligence!"

Hong Chengchou was startled for a moment, feeling a sense of foreboding in his heart. He raised his voice and said, "Send them in!"

In the blink of an eye, a guard entered quickly, holding a red box in both hands. He came before the desk, knelt on one knee, and raised the box high above his head with both hands. The scholar beside Hong Chengchou walked around the desk to the guard, took the box, turned back to Hong Chengchou's side, opened it, took out a document from within, scanned it quickly, frowned deeply, and handed it to Hong Chengchou.

Hong Chengchou took it and read it. It was from Yu Yinggui, Regional Inspector of Yunyang. The text was brief and the content clear: Just as the great Governor-General Hong was gathering his forces for a joint suppression campaign, before it could be fully formed, the bandit hordes had entered Qin through Tongguan, Xichuan, Neixiang, and all other routes!

Hong Chengchou's face immediately darkened. The strategy he and his staff had painstakingly formulated over more than a month was completely wasted!

Hong Chengchou was extremely furious inwardly. Damn those roving bandits—they truly lived up to the word "roving"! He had led his troops through arduous campaigns, one could say fighting across a thousand li, before finally driving the bandits to the Henan and Huguang region. He had thought to concentrate and annihilate them there, but unexpectedly, because all the effective military forces in Shaanxi had been brought to Henan by him, the bandits, with their keen senses, had taken advantage of Shaanxi's emptiness and launched a counterattack!

A great army on the march consumed enormous amounts of provisions, and yet he had been toyed with by the bandits—this truly shamed his reputation! It would also displease the Emperor! These damned roving bandits, he swore to slaughter them all! However, the most urgent matter now was to change the strategy and produce a corresponding countermeasure to resolve the immediate crisis. Otherwise, if the roving bandits were allowed to wreak havoc in Shaanxi once more, his own future would be in jeopardy.

With this thought, he instructed: "You shall set up camp and remain here for now. Do not neglect drilling your soldiers in the meantime. Await my military orders!"

The generals acknowledged in unison. Hong Chengchou rose and headed toward the rear hall. The generals watched him disappear behind the screen before departing one after another. Among them, those on good terms could not help murmuring discussions among themselves, while those less familiar remained silent. After leaving the prefecture office and exchanging greetings, their personal guards and household retainers led over their war horses, and the generals mounted and rode back to their camps with their attendants.