Chapter 68: Battle Review Meeting

On the morning of the third day after entering Liangxiang, all post-battle statistics had been completed. Zhu Cilang ordered all officers of the Yongwei Camp above the rank of Company Commander to assemble in the county magistrate's main hall for a battle review meeting.

In the center of the county hall, several long rectangular tables had been pushed together to form a massive conference table. Zhu Cilang sat at the head, while the assembled officers sat on both sides of the long table, filling the entire hall.

The officers found this post-battle review meeting quite novel. At first, they adamantly refused to take their seats, feeling that sitting at the same table as the Crown Prince was a grave disrespect.

Only after Zhu Cilang issued a stern order and Huang Degong took the lead did the rest begin to sit according to their ranks.

Zhu Cilang had summoned them to this battle review meeting to summarize the lessons of this campaign. He knew that a formidable fighting force was not achieved through superior equipment and rigorous training alone—most importantly, it required the baptism of countless battles.

Every battle was a tempering experience. To avoid detours and setbacks, and to let the Yongwei Camp grow quickly, Zhu Cilang needed all officers and soldiers of the Yongwei Camp to work together to raise the army's combat effectiveness as quickly as possible.

Battle review was the best method: Where did we win, and what advantages did we hold over the enemy? Where did we lose, and what advantages did the enemy possess? What caused our failures? How should we play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses in the future, maintaining our advantages and making up for our shortcomings?

All the various problems exposed on the battlefield were precisely what the battle review meeting needed to address.

Zhu Cilang hoped that after every future battle, the Yongwei Camp would hold a battle review meeting, conduct detailed summaries, and maintain this practice until it became a fine tradition of the Yongwei Camp.

Zhu Cilang swept his gaze across the assembled officers and said: "Gentlemen, the great battle at Liangxiang was the first hard-fought engagement since the Yongwei Camp was formed. Our opponents were the elite troops of the Eight Banners of the Jianzhou barbarians, who have long run rampant beyond the passes with few rivals. We won this battle, and in doing so, we displayed the martial might of our Yongwei Camp.

But it also exposed many of our problems. I have convened this review meeting today because I hope you can all speak on what shortcomings remain in our army and how to play to our strengths while avoiding our weaknesses. Speak freely and offer your opinions and concerns—do not be constrained!"

After Zhu Cilang finished speaking, the hall fell into silence. No one dared to speak, and for a moment there was an awkward lull.

Is it really like this? Zhu Cilang was speechless. The pressure of his status as Crown Prince was too great for people. He shook his head and said helplessly: "Report the casualties of this battle."

Sun Yingyuan rose, bowed to Zhu Cilang, and then said: "In the battle to retake Liangxiang, our Yongwei Camp beheaded over seven thousand enemies and captured more than two hundred alive. Combined with the Battle of Shijingshan, the total beheadings amount to ten thousand three hundred and twenty."

"In these two battles, a total of one thousand one hundred and twenty-five officers and soldiers of the Yongwei Camp were killed—four hundred and three cavalry, three hundred and ten spearmen, two hundred and five shield bearers, and two hundred and seven musketeers."

After Sun Yingyuan finished his report, he made another bow to Zhu Cilang and then sat down.

Whispering immediately broke out throughout the hall. Zhu Cilang's heart trembled slightly—while shocked at the number of enemies slain, he had not expected the Yongwei Camp's losses to be so heavy. Over a thousand men—nearly a quarter of the entire Yongwei Camp's strength.

Because the Yongwei Camp's shield bearers and spearmen were at the front, their losses were especially severe. As for the cavalry, the Eight Banners' horsemen were indeed formidable; though they were ultimately wiped out almost entirely, they had still inflicted enormous losses on the Yongwei Camp.

This was also the first time the Yongwei Camp had engaged in large-scale field combat against the main force of the Qing army. The casualty ratio reached seven to one, mainly because the Qing forces were too numerous and ultimately broke into the Yongwei Camp's battle formation, giving them the chance for close-quarters combat.

The Yongwei Camp's advantage lay in its devastating long-range firepower. Had the muskets not dealt a fatal blow to the Qing army, and had it all come down to close combat, the Yongwei Camp would likely have been in dire straits.

After a long pause, Zhu Cilang finally spoke: "The Yongwei Camp's compensation standards: for the fallen, each family shall receive two hundred taels of silver in compensation, and their family lands shall be permanently tax-exempt. For the wounded and disabled, each family shall receive one hundred taels of silver, and their family lands shall be tax-exempt for ten years. Whether fallen or disabled, their family members shall each receive one shi of grain per month as support; widows shall be provided for for life, and children until they reach adulthood."

The moment Zhu Cilang finished announcing this, every officer of the Yongwei Camp was shaken to the core. They all felt that the Crown Prince's compensation treatment was extraordinarily generous—better than the treatment of the Qi family army in its day, and at least five times, even ten times, higher than the current treatment of any army in the Great Ming!

Huang Degong suddenly rose and said: "Your Highness is benevolent! The officers and soldiers of the Yongwei Camp will defend the Great Ming with their lives and serve Your Highness with loyalty!"

With a swish, all the officers rose to their feet, and a resounding voice echoed through the spacious hall: "Your Highness is benevolent! The officers and soldiers of the Yongwei Camp will defend the Great Ming with their lives and serve Your Highness with loyalty!"

Even if one fell in battle or was crippled, his family would never worry about food or clothing for the rest of their lives. With such guarantees in place, who among the Yongwei Camp's soldiers would not fight with reckless abandon?

Zhu Cilang waved his hand and said: "Killing bandits for the nation—this is the treatment you deserve. Sit down, and let us continue reviewing the battle."

Before this, many officers of the Yongwei Camp had regarded Zhu Cilang merely as a young Crown Prince, respecting him only out of deference to his status. But ever since Zhu Cilang issued the "Seven Killings Decree" to punish soldiers who had committed offenses, and executed the Duke of Cheng, Zhu Chunchen, many had come to regard this young Crown Prince with awe and reverence.

And after these two battles, many were well aware that the true commander of both engagements was this young Crown Prince. To possess such commanding presence at such a young age—he was surely destined to become a figure like the Chengzu Emperor.

Coupled with the compensation system just announced, the crowd's admiration for Zhu Cilang had nearly reached an unsurpassable level, further cementing their resolve to follow in the Crown Prince's footsteps.

Seeing that everyone still remained silent, Zhu Cilang smiled and said: "Do not be so formal, gentlemen. Say whatever is on your minds—even if you speak wrongly, it does not matter."

At the very end of the conference table sat a Company Commander of only twenty years of age. His name was Zhao Jinglin, and he cut a rather imposing and extraordinary figure. He was a Company Commander of the Yongwei Camp's musketeers, and in the bloody battle at Liangxiang, over half of the soldiers under his command had been killed.

This time, Zhao Jinglin had been invited to attend the Crown Prince's council. To sit at close range at the same table as the Crown Prince filled him with tremendous honor.

Especially the Crown Prince's compensation for fallen and disabled soldiers gave him a feeling of "a scholar would die for one who appreciates him"—though he was not a scholar, merely a military officer.

The opportunity was rare, and Zhao Jinglin listened intently with his bright, piercing eyes. When he heard the Crown Prince ask everyone to speak, Zhao Jinglin felt moved and very much wanted to stand up and offer his own view. But seeing that the several Mobile Corps Commanders ahead of him and the two Assistant Regional Commanders had all remained silent, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

There were plenty of men in the Yongwei Camp with higher military rank than his—at least several dozen. According to protocol, he was not qualified to speak first.

Zhu Cilang swept his gaze across the crowd and noticed Zhao Jinglin, who seemed to want to speak but held back. He thus said: "That Company Commander sitting at the very back—what is your name? What are your views on this battle?"

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Regardless of how this book performs, a million-character complete ending is no problem. When I write historical fiction, what I enjoy most is the feeling of consulting historical materials—there is so much knowledge to be gained.