Chapter 403: Murderous Intent

"A bunch of useless trash! Our Great Qing has fed you for nothing! Men, drag this dog-slave Jiang Yongzhong out and behead him—then report back!"

Inside the Qing army commander's tent, Yoto, his face iron-blue, pointed at Kong Youde and the others below him, cursing them out.

At Yoto's command, two burly guards strode forward, knocked off the helmet of Vice Regional Commander Jiang Yongzhong—who had led the Han Banner troops in today's attack—grabbed him under the armpits, and dragged him backward out of the tent.

Beside him, Shang Kexi's eyelids twitched several times, and his body shifted slightly, but in the end he suppressed the impulse to step forward and plead for mercy.

A moment later, a guard entered the tent holding a long saber still dripping blood in one hand and Jiang Yongzhong's queue—the money-rat tail at the back of his head—in the other. He knelt on one knee, raising high the severed head still dripping blood from the neck, and announced loudly: "Reporting to my master! Jiang Yongzhong's head is here!"

Yoto waved his hand with disgust, and the guard rose, bowed, and strode out with the head.

Shang Kexi watched his trusted general of many years lose his head in the blink of an eye, and his feelings were exceedingly complicated.

"Obedient Prince, Wise Prince, Cherished Prince—all of you, speak up. Fighting like this won't do! We must find a way to break the Ming army before us as quickly as possible! Otherwise, how am I to answer to His Majesty? With tens of thousands of elite troops under my command, yet unable to take the camp of a few thousand Ming soldiers—if word of this spreads, where will the prestige of our Eight Banners be! Let everyone deliberate—today we must destroy the Ming army!"

The more Yoto spoke, the more agitated he became.

He suddenly rose from his seat, brows furrowed tightly, hands clasped behind his back, and began pacing back and forth in the spacious tent.

He had led his army here for more than five days now, and had failed in both engagements against the Ming army.

The first battle could be chalked up to underestimating the enemy, but today's second defeat had nothing to do with complacency.

If he still couldn't take the position, Jirgalang would likely send the Two White Banners to replace him—and then he'd have no choice but to slink back to the rear lines and watch Dorgon and his brothers win their merits.

In today's battle, the Han Banner troops had suffered over five hundred casualties, the Bordered Red Banner nearly three hundred, and over a hundred shield carts had been almost entirely destroyed—yet they hadn't even had a chance to engage the Ming army in close combat.

This Ming army's firearms were too terrifying.

Watching from a high vantage point in the rear, he had seen the entire process with his own eyes.

Especially the continuous explosions at the end—the Qing soldiers caught in the midst of them had almost no chance to escape.

Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, and Geng Zhongming exchanged glances, then Kong Youde stepped forward and reported: "Your Highness, have you forgotten something? You've forgotten the Mongol Eight Banners at Ningyuan! Given the current situation, it seems difficult to achieve results fighting the Ming army with infantry. It's not that our troops lack courage—it's that we simply cannot get close enough for hand-to-hand combat! This slave believes that rather than keeping the Mongol Eight Banners' iron cavalry at Ningyuan on watch, we should transfer a portion of them here, using the cavalry to charge the Ming camp. The infantry will follow behind, and once the charge breaks through, the rear formations can exploit the opening and slaughter them. This way, the Ming army is sure to lose!"

"This slave believes the Obedient Prince speaks sense! Infantry starting their charge from fifty paces out will need at least twenty breaths to reach the Ming lines—that gives the Ming army ample time to loose their firearms. But cavalry, starting their gallop from two hundred paces, will reach full speed by fifty paces, and the remaining fifty paces pass in an instant—the Ming soldiers' rotating volleys won't have time to respond! Even if there are casualties, they'll be far fewer than the infantry would suffer!"

Shang Kexi continued persuading, picking up where Kong Youde left off.

"Reporting to Your Highness, this slave concurs with the words of the Obedient Prince and the Wise Prince—this plan is indeed the only viable one at present. Additionally, this slave suggests that once the Mongol iron cavalry arrives, before the charge, our army should first use the red-clothed cannons to destroy the Ming fortifications. Once the Ming army has no cover in front of them, then send in the cavalry—this would be even more prudent!"

Geng Zhongming stepped forward, bowed, and offered his own suggestion.

The three of them shared the same thought: if they kept fighting this way, Yoto would certainly send the Han Banner troops to lead the assault again, and the casualties would all be their own men. If their losses became severe, they would no longer be so important in front of Hong Taiji.

Although lost men could be replenished by selecting able-bodied young men from the booi bondservants, war wasn't just about having enough numbers—men needed sufficient training before they could be sent into battle.

Winning merit was secondary for now; first they had to preserve their own strength. After thinking it over, Kong Youde thought of the Mongol Eight Banners.

Let those stinking Tartars be the ones to die in their place.

Yoto, who had long since stopped pacing, found the argument more and more reasonable the more he listened. The gloom on his face turned to delight: "Good, good, good! When it comes to charging into battle, you Han aren't up to it—but when it comes to cunning schemes, you Han have the sharpest minds! I had considered this matter myself, but I feared that with the Ming army's main force at Ningyuan, if our defensive strength there were weakened, the Ming army might seize the opportunity to come to their rescue—that would be troublesome! Very well, I'll give the order this very moment to transfer three thousand Mongol Eight Banner cavalry here. Wise Prince, you will immediately move your troops to Ningyuan with your men, so that our strength in that direction is not diminished!"

Just as the Qing army launched its second attack on the Qin army's camp, Chen Qiyu inside Zhenyuan Fort was convening the fort's commanders to assign tasks.

The small Zhenyuan Fort currently housed nearly two thousand troops, of which five hundred Capital Camp soldiers formed Chen Qiyu's personal standard battalion, while the remaining thousand-plus were the original Liaoxi regular troops.

This thousand-plus Liaoxi regular force was commanded respectively by He Qian, the Ningyuan Assistant Regional Commander for defense, and Mobile Corps Commander Li Lu—He Qian commanding over five hundred men, while Li Lu led eight hundred.

The two had originally been stationed at Ningyuan, but before Sun Chuanting arrived with the main army, the Ministry of War had transferred them both to Desheng Fort.

The official ranks of Great Ming commanding generals, from high to low, were roughly four grades: Regional Commander, Vice Regional Commander, Assistant Regional Commander, and Mobile Corps Commander.

Although higher-ranking officers held command authority—for instance, a Regional Commander might have Vice Regional Commanders, Assistant Regional Commanders, and Mobile Corps Commanders under him—these officers above the rank of general also had their own jurisdictions and subordinates. Normally stationed at their own defensive posts, the Regional Commander's power to restrain them was, to a large degree, very limited.

Take He Qian and Li Lu for example: although He Qian held the rank of Assistant Regional Commander, he had no jurisdiction or command authority over Li Lu, who was one rank lower as a Mobile Corps Commander.

Ever since learning several days ago that a large Qing force was on its way, Chen Qiyu had immediately dispatched all the Night Scouts under He Qian and Li Lu's command to scout out the Qing army's movements in every direction.

Because too many Qing troops were camped to the east, the Night Scouts could not approach close enough to investigate, so Chen Qiyu did not know the outcome of the Qing attack on the Qin army's camp—but that did not prevent him from making an accurate judgment of the Qing army's overall deployment and intentions.

After instructing the Night Scouts to ascertain the location of the enemy's grain stores outside Ningyuan city, Chen Qiyu decided to select a small squad of dare-to-die men to raid the enemy camp at night, set fire to their grain and supplies, and force the Qing army to withdraw.

"He Qian, Li Lu—have the matters I assigned been properly prepared? This affair concerns the success or failure of the entire campaign; not the slightest negligence can be tolerated. If it comes to nothing in the end, don't blame me for invoking military law!"

Dressed in a bright red crane-rank official robe, Chen Qiyu sat with a dignified bearing in the main seat of the Garrison Commander's office hall. Chen Qizhi stood at his side, while He Qian, Li Lu, and Han Guan, Battalion Commander of the Capital Camps, stood below the hall awaiting orders.

"Reporting to the Grand Secretary, this subordinate has recruited fifty men willing to die from among my eight hundred. We await only the Grand Secretary's command to march to our deaths!"

Seeing that He Qian had not spoken up, Li Lu hesitated for a moment before bending at the waist, cupping his hands in salute, and replying.

"He Qian, what is the situation on your end? Why do you not answer my question?!"

After giving Li Lu a slight nod, Chen Qiyu turned to He Qian with a hostile tone.

"Reporting to the Grand Secretary, this subordinate only recruited three men—not a match for Mobile Corps Commander Li. That is why I dared not reply!"

He Qian shot Li Lu a dissatisfied glance and made a perfunctory salute as he replied.

Li Lu, for his part, remained calm with his eyes lowered, not meeting He Qian's gaze, while Han Guan glared at him with extreme displeasure.

Back when Hong Chengchou had passed through Ningyuan as Supreme Commander of the Ji-Liao region, He Qian—a former retainer of Zu Dashou's household—had shown contempt for him, let alone for this so-called Grand Secretary of empty title before him now.

Chen Qiyu flew into a rage at these words, murderous intent rising in his heart—but not a trace of it showed on his face.

He was not the type like Hong Chengchou who disliked offending people; his decisive and ruthless temperament was one of the main reasons he had earned such distinguished merits in his day.

He had only recently arrived beyond the passes, so he had not yet fully fathomed the backgrounds of He Qian and the others—he had only a rough understanding of the troops in the fort.

But now, seeing He Qian's bearing and demeanor, Chen Qiyu understood at once: this man must have some backing, which was why he put on such an air of having nothing to fear.

"Heh heh, this is after all a matter of nine deaths to one life—ordinary men can hardly be blamed for clinging to life. If the numbers are too few, then we'll just use Li Lu's fifty men! Very well, Assistant Regional Commander He, do rest a while—I still have matters of promotion and reward to discuss shortly. Li Lu, Han Guan, the two of you will follow me inside to discuss the night raid. Ansu, bring Assistant Regional Commander He a chair!"

Having said this, Chen Qiyu rose from his seat, shot Chen Qizhi a meaningful glance, and unhurriedly made his way toward the inner hall.

Han Guan and Li Lu hurriedly followed, while He Qian remained utterly unconcerned. Chen Qizhi quickly brought over a chair, warmly invited He Qian to sit, and then struck up a casual conversation with him, chatting about this and that.