Chapter 41: Bai Guang'en Rebels Again

Beneath the walls of Daizhou, corpses littered the fields. Zhou Yuji and the Shanxi government troops, relying on their tenacious resistance, once again repelled the frenzied assault of the Dashun army and were now urgently regrouping.

Outside the city, from within a large tent, the sounds of things being smashed and thrown continuously emerged, along with furious roars.

"Idiots, a bunch of idiots! Over twenty days now, and you can't even take a tiny place like Daizhou! Send the refugee camp up to the front again—overwhelm them with numbers!"

Li Zicheng's face was flushed red. As he spoke, he kicked out violently, smashing the wooden chair before him to pieces. Everyone exchanged helpless glances, unable to speak.

A Dashun general, scolded within an inch of his life, felt as if pardoned from death, and hastily withdrew from the tent to organize another assault.

To be fair, ever since issuing the "Denunciation of Ming" proclamation in Xi'an and setting out with his army, the Dashun forces had swept forward with irresistible momentum, taking Fenzhou, Yangcheng, Puzhou, Huaiqing, Taiyuan, Xinzhou, and other places in succession. Government troops along the way had surrendered at the mere sight of them. Yet who could have imagined they would now be stuck at the Daizhou line, unable to advance a single step?

Not only had Li Zicheng's confidence suffered a severe blow, even the generals below all felt they had lost face. With the Dashing King in a foul mood, who would dare step forward at a time like this?

But as it happened, there was one person who truly dared to walk out before Li Zicheng. The others glanced sideways and saw it was the Grand Military Advisor Niu Jinxing—and thought nothing more of it.

"The Dashing King need not worry. I hear that Chongzhen has placed a eunuch named Li Fengxiang in the city as army supervisor. We may be able to work from within."

Li Zicheng was startled at this, then his worry turned to joy. "You mean, Advisor Niu...?"

Seeing everyone else turn their eyes toward him, Niu Jinxing felt immensely pleased with himself. Waving the feather fan in his hand, he gave a contemptuous smile:

"These eunuchs have always been greedy for money and fearful of death. Li Fengxiang, though honored as a brush-holder of the Directorate of Ceremonial, is no exception. The Dashing King need only send someone trusted by both sides, disguised, into the city, and Daizhou will fall without a fight."

Li Zicheng suddenly understood and praised him lavishly: "An excellent stratagem, Advisor. But who to send—that is no small problem."

"Bai Guangen—"

Niu Jinxing had barely finished speaking when a great shout came from behind. Li Yan arrived, travel-worn and dusty. He was still outside, but his voice had already carried in.

"Nonsense! The counsel of a fool!" Li Yan glared at Niu Jinxing and said:

"Does the great Grand Advisor Niu not know the contents of Chongzhen's imperial edict? This Li Fengxiang came specifically to 'issue pay' for Zhou Yuji—the man holds no real power."

Niu Jinxing chuckled at this. "What does that benighted sovereign's edict have to do with this advisor?"

Li Yan walked into the tent, found a seat, and sat down. Paying no heed to Niu Jinxing's sneers and taunts, he caught his breath for a moment, then continued:

"Ever since Chongzhen's edict reached Tongzhou, Zhou Yuji has held the seal of General Who Pacifies Bandits, commanding troops to seize the Zhai family's properties to fill the military coffers. His Ningwu army operates directly under the Ministry of War—well-supplied in both troops and provisions. Even the local Governors-General and Governors cannot form any check on him. What the situation is now—does the great Grand Advisor Niu still not understand?"

Li Yan's words were like a thunderclap that woke everyone from their dreams. Though harsh to the ear, they showed an exceptionally clear understanding of the situation. Seeing the crowd begin to stir in confusion, he continued:

"Dashing King, what Advisor Niu just said is truly the counsel of a fool! Bai Guangen only surrendered to our Dashun reluctantly in the first place. To now force this man into the city—is that not to release a tiger back to the mountains?"

"If I am not mistaken, once Bai Guangen enters that city, it will be a fish returned to the river—he will never come back!"

Niu Jinxing had been slapped in the face 'smack smack smack' by Li Yan before everyone. Though after hearing these words he already understood what the correct choice was, he simply could not swallow this humiliation.

After a moment, Niu Jinxing said in a strange, sarcastic tone:

"Then by Mr. Li's esteemed view, what fine stratagem is there to take the city?"

"There is no fine stratagem to take the city. Zhou Yuji has already received reinforcements, and the crack Ningwu troops hold Daizhou steadfastly. We cannot blunt our edge against them directly. We should abandon Daizhou and Ningwu both, turn toward northern Henan, exit east through Guguan, and enter the southern capital region."

"With our army's vast and awe-inspiring might, Guguan will surely surrender at the mere proclamation. After joining forces with General Liu's troops, a million-strong host can sweep through Zhending, then drive straight for Baoding. There are no elite government troops along the way—in only half a month, the main army can reach the capital!"

"By that time, no matter how Chongzhen clings to his last breath, the fall of the corrupt Ming is the mandate of Heaven!"

If the Chongzhen Emperor, currently in the Forbidden City, could hear these words of Li Yan, would he break out in a cold sweat and shout 'You're cheating'?

This plan of Li Yan's could directly bypass the Ningwu army on which the Chongzhen Emperor had placed such high hopes, and even bypass the easily-defended Xuan and Da garrisons and Juyong Pass, going straight to join with Liu Fangliang. The great army would be clenched into a single fist, striking the snake at its seventh inch—attacking the capital from its most vulnerable point.

"Big brother, I think Mr. Li's plan is workable!" Liu Zongmin suddenly stepped forward, beginning to bellow boisterously.

Gao Yigong also rose and said: "Dashing King, the brothers have taken heavy losses at Daizhou, and two great generals have died in battle. Ahead still lies Ningwu Pass. If we keep fighting on, the losses will inevitably be severe!"

Seeing everyone's opinions shifting toward Li Yan, Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance exchanged a glance. In their hearts they were extremely unwilling to concede. Niu Jinxing hastily sneered and said:

"This advisor had thought Mr. Li would have some wonderful plan—turns out it's just teaching the Dashing King to flee in disgrace! We of Dashun now have a million mighty soldiers. If we can't even defeat a mere Zhou Yuji, how can we speak of entering the capital?"

"Li Yan, this is spreading heresy and disrupting military morale—a crime!"

Li Yan was about to speak when Song Xiance fiddled with his tortoise shell a few times and, as if by some ghostly prompting, said:

"The flow enters the Shun river's dry bed, trapped among the eighteen shoals. To ascend to the clouds above, one must rise from Ningwu Pass. The Dashing King proclaimed himself king the moment he began his uprising—the eighteen sons shall wield the sacred vessel. If the Dashing King would enter the dragon court, he cannot take any step of retreat."

Song Xiance was skilled in the arts of omens and prophecies, and Li Zicheng believed in him utterly. Even before every battle, or when uncertain and indecisive, he would follow Song Xiance's advice.

To be honest, Song Xiance's hodgepodge of mystical blather had yet to produce any major blunder so far, often giving the Dashun generals the impression of a hidden sage who revealed nothing of himself. Hearing Song Xiance's words, even Gao Yigong began to waver.

Li Zicheng, upon hearing this, took a deep look at Li Yan, then said without hesitation:

"My mind is made up. We rest for one day, and from tomorrow we attack Daizhou again. General-in-Chief shall lead the vanguard—we must take the city in one stroke!"

At this point, Liu Zongmin no longer pressed the matter. He led the generals forward to express their agreement—after all, in his eyes, attacking from anywhere was the same; they simply couldn't lose.

"What? Li Zicheng really said that?"

"Absolutely true, General!"

At nightfall, Bai Guangen heard his trusted subordinate's report inside his own tent and his eyes flew wide in shock. Li Zicheng shouldn't be an idiot—sending him on an obviously suicidal mission. Could it be he wanted to take the opportunity to swallow up his troops?

Zhou Yuji was a diehard loyalist to the throne—that was known to all the world. The Chongzhen Emperor had promised him great advancement, and now in the Ningwu region, whatever he said was military command. Even the local Governors-General and Governors couldn't control him. If he went into the city to negotiate surrender, the chances of Zhou Yuji beheading him on the spot to claim merit were very high indeed.

"Damn it all! Just a few days ago he was eating and drinking with me, spinning sweet words left and right, and now today he wants to kill me by Zhou Yuji's hand! What do you say we do?"

Bai Guangen cursed and grumbled, flinging his wine bowl to the ground in defiance and frustration. His heart was filled with gloom—this truly was disaster descending from nowhere.

That trusted subordinate's eyes rolled for a moment, then he said:

"The only course now is to confess your crimes of your own accord, and turn the scheme against them by surrendering to Li Fengxiang—claiming that your earlier surrender to the bandit rebels was out of sheer necessity."

Bai Guangen slapped his thigh and pointed at his subordinate:

"You're right! I still have several thousand men I can mobilize. If we all go over with that, Zhou Yuji—who can't ignore the monk for the Buddha's sake—should spare my life."

As he spoke, Bai Guangen suddenly seemed to remember something and waved his hand:

"No, no—just bringing these men isn't enough. Best to bind Niu Jinxing or Song Xiance and present them to the court as well, to be absolutely certain."

But the trusted subordinate shook his head slightly and said:

"Binding those two would be of little use, General. Moreover, those two hold great prestige in the camp—it would easily alert the enemy. In this one's humble view, if you must bind someone, bind Li Yan!"

"Li Yan has no reputation to speak of—what's the point of binding him?"

Bai Guangen at first dismissed it outright, wanting to seize Song Xiance or Niu Jinxing to avenge the trap they'd set for him. But after hearing the subordinate's final few sentences, he burst out laughing and waved his hand grandly:

"Fine, so be it. We move tonight!"