Chapter 43: Breaking Out in Separate Directions, Falling Back to Defend Ningwu

"What are you doing here?"

Zhou Yuji's hand was on his saber hilt as he spoke, his hostility plain to see because of Bai Guangen's earlier defection to the enemy.

Bai Guangen had originally been a bandit, later won over by Hong Chengchou, and had accumulated no small number of merits over time, rising by merit to the post of Regional Commander of Jizhou. In those days he had some achievements resisting the Tartars and was known for his valor.

After the defeat at the Song-Jin campaign, Hong Chengchou, on whom the Chongzhen Emperor had placed great hopes, surrendered to the Qing, causing an uproar throughout the court. After Bai Guangen fled south, he won the appreciation of Sun Chuanting, Governor-General of the Five Provinces, and was given the title of Bandit-Suppressing General to command the Qin army's Fire Cart Battalion in a decisive battle against Li Zicheng at Tongguan.

Bai Guangen and Gao Jie had long borne a grudge against each other. At first, when Gao Jie fell into Liu Zongmin's ambush, Bai Guangen saw it and did not go to his rescue. Later, when Bai Guangen fought desperately at Tongguan, Gao Jie likewise deliberately stayed away, sitting by and watching the outcome.

No one knew the details. Zhou Yuji had only heard that Bai Guangen had been defeated after fighting hard, and had later retreated to Guyuan, where for reasons unknown he had ceased resisting and surrendered outright.

But whether or not it was truly a "defeat after hard fighting," such a man who surrendered back and forth was a petty villain who absolutely could not be spared. Zhou Yuji had just formed the intent to kill and had not yet given the order when he saw Bai Guangen kneel to the ground and shout at the top of his lungs:

"Heavenly envoy above, this humble general, Bai Guangen, recently strayed into the bandit camp, truly forced by others — an act of helplessness! Now I have seen the error of my ways and returned to the path, bringing my entire camp's officers and men back to the court, and presenting the bandit army's strategist Li Yan to ease His Majesty's mind. Guangen does not seek restoration to my former post, only hopes to keep this useful body of mine to continue serving the court!"

Bai Guangen's words were somewhat clever — he avoided Zhou Yuji and appealed directly to Li Fengxiang, a subtle reminder that Zhou Yuji should not act rashly.

But Zhou Yuji was not having any of it. He waved his hand broadly and shouted:

"Men, fire—"

"General, you must not!"

Zhou Yuji had only spoken half his sentence when he was cut off. Hasty footsteps sounded from behind — it was Li Fengxiang, who had heard the news, and his face immediately fell.

"Eunuch Li, did His Majesty not order you not to meddle in military affairs? Are you defying the imperial decree?"

Assistant Regional Commander Du Hu, also afraid of repeating the disaster of the Tianxiong Army, quickly chimed in:

"Indeed, that day you yourself said, Eunuch, that this time you were not here to serve as army supervisor!"

"Regional Commander Zhou, General Du, the two of you truly wrong me." Li Fengxiang leaned against the city wall, looking at Bai Guangen as he said:

"Bai Guangen is of no consequence, but if the bound man truly is that Li Yan, this person may prove useful."

In truth, by military merit alone Bai Guangen was stronger than many. In the Song-Jin campaign the Ming army had collapsed utterly, and Bai Guangen had no choice but to withdraw. At Tongguan the defeat was likewise already sealed, with all the government forces routed — Bai Guangen's surrender was also an act of helplessness.

To be fair, before his surrender Bai Guangen had repeatedly distinguished himself and was a rare valiant general. Li Fengxiang was mainly interested because he had heard news of Li Yan; otherwise he would not have cared about the life or death of this traitor.

Seeing Zhou Yuji's pensive expression, Li Fengxiang added:

"I ask for little. Whether the man bound upon entering the city is Li Yan or not, so long as Regional Commander Zhou wishes to kill Bai Guangen, I will not stand in the way!"

Zhou Yuji had also heard of Li Yan's reputation. If the man Bai Guangen had brought truly was him, then he really should let him in first and see. Even if he was not, he could kill him after entering the city — no delay.

"Since the heavenly envoy is so inclined, it would seem rather ungracious of me to obstruct." So saying, Zhou Yuji set his saber aside and shouted down to the foot of the wall:

"Have your men lay down their arms!"

Bai Guangen's heart pounded wildly. This was a great gamble for him as well. By the court's intent, the Ningwu Army was directly under the Ministry of War — even Li Fengxiang, brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, had no jurisdiction over the Ningwu Army.

If Zhou Yuji was determined to kill him, Li Fengxiang truly could not stop it.

Bai Guangen felt as if pardoned from death, kowtowing repeatedly.

Bai Guangen was no fool. He naturally understood that with Li Fengxiang mediating, in that instant he conceived the desire to serve the court. His men were also clean and efficient — without a second word they cast their weapons outside and followed him into the city.

After entering the city, the Ningwu Army stood in strict readiness and quickly brought Bai Guangen's subordinates under control. When they saw that the man bound hand and foot truly was Li Yan, expressions varied — could Bai Guangen truly be surrendering in good faith?

When Zhou Yuji saw Li Yan himself, half his killing intent had already dissipated. He knew full well that by acting this way, Bai Guangen had effectively burned his bridges with Li Zicheng completely — his only remaining path was to throw in with the court, and so he was naturally no longer a threat.

Zhou Yuji and Bai Guangen conferred briefly, both knowing that at dawn the next day Li Zicheng would surely seek revenge, and the badly damaged city of Daizhou could hardly be defended any longer.

Bai Guangen knew his own soldiers well — apart from a small number of household retainers, most were useless in battle, with no real fighting ability at all.

Even Bai Guangen was not certain these subordinates would follow him in a fight to the death. Continuing to hold Daizhou would be no different from digging his own grave, so the two men jointly decided to break out under cover of night, abandoning Daizhou to fall back and defend Ningwu Pass.

Ningwu Pass occupied a strategically perilous position — one of the three great passes of Shanxi — easy to defend and hard to attack. The Ningwu Army's main base was also at Ningwu Pass, and many soldiers' families lived within the pass.

Ningwu Pass was the gateway to Datong. Zhou Yuji calculated that if Li Zicheng passed through Xuan-Da, Ningwu Pass was a place he was certain to pass through.

Before departing, Zhou Yuji and the surrendered general Bai Guangen broke out on separate routes.

It was rather unexpected, to be honest. Zhou Yuji had held little hope for Bai Guangen, and separating their movements was also out of concern that Bai Guangen would hold him back.

Just after leaving the city, the Ningwu Army was ambushed by the old camp of the Dashun Army under Li Guo's command. Even Assistant Regional Commander Du Hu was cut down in battle by Li Guo. As they struggled to hold on, it was Bai Guangen who arrived in time with his household retainers to lift the siege.

Bai Guangen urged Zhou Yuji to hurry on ahead, while he himself led his troops in a fighting retreat.

On the third day after withdrawing into Ningwu Pass, Bai Guangen led his battered remnants back through the pass, himself bearing light wounds.

Bai Guangen's force had originally numbered five or six thousand men. After Zhou Yuji counted, he found fewer than two thousand had returned — and these men also brought bad news.

On the morning of the second day after the two of them had broken out of Daizhou, Li Zicheng, having received word, flew into a rage and let his troops pillage Daizhou wantonly, venting his anger on all the sons of hereditary military households.

On the same day, the important town of Ninghua fell, marking the complete collapse of Zhou Yuji's Daizhou defense line. All lands beyond Ningwu Pass had fallen into the hands of the Dashun Army, and Li Zicheng was now bearing straight down on Ningwu.

On another front, Li Fengxiang's actual mission of leaving the capital to help distribute pay to the Ningwu Army had already been completed. The day before Bai Guangen retreated back to Ningwu, he had already departed with his mounted escorts, taking the bound Li Yan toward Beijing, saying he would deliver Li Yan to the Chongzhen Emperor for judgment.

Since the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the Chongzhen Emperor's manner had grown ever more ruthless. The common people saw in him the shadow of the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and of Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di, but the court officials did not — what they saw was only a tyrant and a fatuous ruler to rival Jie and Zhou.

The Chongzhen Emperor, emerging from his former state of being deceived as if parting clouds to see the clear sky, seemed to realize his days were numbered and began sweeping reforms.

The situation of the "Three Depots and One Guard" from the Zhengde era reappeared. After the Chongzhen Emperor dealt with Luo Yangxing and Gong Dingzi, he stripped Luo Yangxing's partisans of their positions down to the last man, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard was replaced from top to bottom.

Those hereditary Embroidered Uniform Guard officers had drawn their salaries while living in idle comfort all day — historically, when the city fell, they had basically all fled clean away. Now the Chongzhen Emperor had replaced them all with Embroidered Uniform Guard officers of lowly origin from the Southern Town Fu.

The Northern and Southern Town Fu of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had originally been responsible for different areas. Serving in the Northern Office carried higher status, so when the two were suddenly swapped, naturally some rejoiced and some grieved.

This transfer was truly a pie falling from the sky for those Embroidered Uniform Guard officers of the Southern Town Fu. They were deeply grateful to the Chongzhen Emperor and threw themselves wholeheartedly into their work.

Those Embroidered Uniform Guard officers in the Northern Town Fu did not understand what they had done wrong to be transferred to the Southern Town Fu. With their resentment having nowhere to vent, they actually stirred up no small disturbance in the capital.