Chapter 285: Preparations for Battle

After settling matters in Zhending and Baoding Prefectures, the Chongzhen Emperor could not say he was fully at ease, but it was still far better than doing nothing at all—in the end, it came down to four words: peace of mind.

Time came to the nineteenth day of the eleventh month. Entering the borders of Zhending Prefecture, the power of both the local government and regional magnate clans had already been toppled by Li Zicheng the previous year—apart from the impoverished common folk, there was hardly any power left to speak of.

If one insisted on asking what power remained, there was only the force of over five thousand men under Regional Commander Hou Tianxi, whom Chongzhen had just appointed to garrison Zhending Prefecture city.

What the capital troops saw was a scene of utter desolation. Thinking back to the prosperity near the capital, they all sneered in contempt. In Chongzhen's words: "The fine Central Plains, a land even the barbarians beyond the passes yearn for—who would have thought it could be ruined into this ghostly state."

Seeing this, it was no wonder that after the Qing entered the passes, the north offered barely any resistance—both the roving bandits and the government armies had ravaged it thoroughly. Those who could flee had fled, those who dared stay and fight to the death had died, and what remained were naturally the spineless ones wanting to surrender.

The capital troops were after all a new army, recruited from able-bodied men already settled in the capital region with families. While in the capital, aside from drill and training, they mostly just maintained order within the city. They were all sons of their own households, so they had never seen the common people so terrified.

Since coming to the provinces, the other government soldiers—what they wore, what they carried, and their very spirit—were worlds apart from the capital troops. Yet the common people were all the same: they fled from government forces bearing the imperial banner as if avoiding a plague.

The capital troops could not understand it. They were government soldiers, not bandits.

According to the scout cavalry Zhang Shize had sent out ahead, the area ahead normally had plenty of inhabitants, but the moment Chongzhen led the main army through, it became desolate and empty, not a single person in sight.

Chongzhen did not quite understand either. Though Zhending and Baoding had just been recovered from bandit hands, it should not have come to this. The two prefectures actually had decent locations and fertile fields—if properly managed, they could even become one of the capital's key defensive bulwarks.

But the scene before him was truly too miserable. In his later life, whenever Chongzhen the Emperor searched online and saw how tragic the late Ming was, it had remained merely an impression on paper.

Thinking back, it had been two years since that little yellow-haired fellow had knocked him into this world. Aside from the previous imperial campaign and a few incognito inspections, he had hardly left the palace at all.

At this time, the government armies could barely protect themselves—plundering the people was no longer something they could do. The Hou family's troops had always been elite and strong, and had never harmed the common people.

According to reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Eastern Depot, the local officials were all honest and obedient, and no bandits remained anywhere. Add to that the local magnate clans having been carved up and devoured by Li Zicheng—where exactly did the cause of the people's destitution lie?

In truth, the banner of the imperial government army was the most terrifying thing at this time.

The common folk, upon first hearing that the imperial army was coming, their sole thought was to pack their valuables and flee at once—otherwise, when they arrived, they would be plundered all over again. Especially those with pretty wives or daughters would even flee through the night.

The Chongzhen Emperor did not know whether to laugh or cry. Thinking of how the Ming emperors of old were surrounded by throngs when they set out on imperial campaigns, and then looking at his own situation now—it was simply too shabby and embarrassing.

Though the capital's ceremonies had been grand enough, after leaving he had barely encountered any common people at all—it could be called the most miserable imperial campaign in history.

Regardless, the capital troops still advanced slowly and grandly through Zhending Prefecture's territory, soon arriving at the Jingxing area. The Prefect's yamen staff and various Depot and Guard secret agents all began bustling about continuously, reporting the latest intelligence from all directions to the main army.

Countless lessons had taught the Chongzhen Emperor that at times like this, few other armies could be relied upon. Even Gao Jie and Bai Guangen, in a certain sense, were the same.

The Chongzhen Emperor held high hopes for this new army under his command. This force was built with all available resources to best match the ideals in his heart—what it currently lacked was only the tempering of blood and flesh.

In other words, given the current strength of the Great Ming, aside from the already-defeated Northwest Grand Camp, this new army was the final trump card poured out with the nation's full strength.

Now they had arrived before Gu Pass. Since a great battle was imminent, and the situation of the various government forces within Gu Pass was unclear, the Chongzhen Emperor naturally could not be foolish enough to simply walk in and announce his arrival. At the very least, he had to scout out the situation inside the pass and establish a city behind him as a retreat base before he could feel at ease.

Just like Tumen Pass—throughout the Ming dynasty, it had always been an important passage on the tea-horse road between the passes, and moreover the only route from Gu Pass to Zhending Prefecture city. It was one of what later generations called the famous twenty-four passes of the Ming.

According to the local county gazetteer, the last recorded large-scale repair of Tumen Pass's defenses was in the seventh year of Tianqi—not too long ago. The military equipment was not too outdated, and the pass fortress remained sturdy.

After entering the pass, not only were neat rows of cannons placed along the crenellations of the fortress walls, but the buildings, fortifications, and barracks within were all clearly organized. In Chongzhen's view, this local pass was in fact a proper military fortress.

After Chongzhen led the capital troops into Tumen Pass, the first thing he did was order the existing grain and equipment within the pass to be inventoried.

Edible grain was uniformly categorized into the baggage camp. Though the pass's cannons could still fire, most were old and weak in power, so Chongzhen had them replaced with the heavy equipment brought from the capital.

Beyond that, Chongzhen also did not trust the original garrison troops within the pass.

If he wanted to deal with them, it was actually quite simple—the most convenient thing about being emperor was this: directly issue an order, without even needing any reason, transferring the local officers to a position of equal rank and sending them off to Zhending Prefecture city to join Hou Tianxi.

Or even, he could have the Depot and Guard expose the local officers' misdeeds, using a trivial pretext as a mighty warrant, and directly dismiss or demote them—that was not impossible either.

The latter possibility would leave the local officers nursing resentment. At this critical moment of survival, the best solution was the former, which also served to check and monitor Hou Tianxi—after all, the Hou family could not be allowed to dominate the Zhending and Baoding region alone.

After nearly ten days of forced marching, the capital troops were all exhausted. By all rights, they should immediately enter Gu Pass for the decisive battle with Li Zicheng, but strangely, the Chongzhen Emperor waved his hand and had the army rest at Tumen Pass, advancing no further.

The capital troops and the civilian laborers assigned to the baggage camp looked far off toward Gu Pass. Hearing the emperor's decree, from top to bottom they all breathed a sigh of relief—what they had feared was entering the pass directly in this condition.

They were dead tired. If they went straight into battle like this, it would be basically no different from seeking their own destruction. How Sun Chuanting's Shaanxi army had been defeated back then—one of the reasons was precisely this hasty exit from the pass.

After resting at Tumen Pass, the Chongzhen Emperor still did not play by the expected script. He directly transferred the authority for deliberation and command to Zhang Shize, while he himself took a group of personal guards and began strolling about leisurely.

Actually, calling it strolling was not quite accurate—the Chongzhen Emperor was observing the terrain, personally dispatching scout cavalry to reconnoiter the topography of specific locations and report back to him verbally.

Since this was an imperial campaign, there would surely be many occasions of standing shoulder to shoulder with the soldiers from now on. He could not afford to put on airs—he had to cultivate bonds between the officers and men. After all, this was a truth known to later generations.

Gu Pass was right before them. If they truly hurried, they could reach it in half a day, and everyone felt considerably more relaxed.

Zhang Shize, however, did not. The more relaxed everyone else appeared, the more tense he became—after all, he was the one truly coordinating all the generals in this campaign.

After the Chongzhen Emperor went out to observe the terrain, Zhang Shize directly summoned all the nobles and capital troop commanders, began consolidating the intelligence on hand, and discussed a strategy for advance and retreat.