Chapter 360: The Reward Notice

East of the Huang River at Hezui Fort, the flat river-valley ground had been carved open with trench after trench — this was already the fifth day of the two armies' standoff.

Liu Chengzong raised his telescope and looked toward the opposite bank. The Three Garrisons' border troops had tried sending cavalry forward, only to be beaten back by Yang Yao; they had tried advancing in layered wagon-fort formations, but their light, thin side-board wagons could not withstand heavy cannon.

In the end, they could only dig trenches in day-and-night rotation, advancing in a staggered zigzag pattern with five-chi-deep trenches, consolidating every step.

Liu Chengzong put away his telescope and said to Huang Shengxiao, who was likewise atop the wall observing the enemy lines, "They're modifying heavy wagons."

Huang Shengxiao nodded slightly and turned his gaze to the stone bridge south of Hezui. The Hezui area was ringed by the seventy-to-eighty-pace-wide Huang River; even if the government troops dug trenches, they could only advance on the east bank, and in the end they would still have to risk a direct assault.

So the Ming army made the same choice one makes when facing cannon fire... shield-carts.

Huang Shengxiao said, "They might actually be able to stop cannonballs, but if they want to cross that bridge, shield-carts won't stop bursting shells."

Liu the Lion could never have dreamed that he would hear about shield-carts from Cao Yao, yet the first time he saw them, what he saw were shield-carts in the hands of the Great Ming's government troops.

But when he thought it over carefully, he found nothing strange about it — human brains are all much the same; different weapons develop simply because of the different environments they face.

The Later Jin's early forces were a loose-rein version of the Liaodong Ming army, and when facing the artillery-focused Liaodong Ming army, they chose to use shield-carts to screen against cannonballs and reduce casualties.

The twenty thousand troops east of the river right now were Shaanxi Ming soldiers whose entire upkeep depended on suppressing bandits; facing the artillery-focused Marshal's Headquarters Ming army, they too would naturally choose to use shield-carts to screen against cannonballs and reduce casualties.

At this, Liu the Lion merely chuckled lightly and shook his head. "We don't need to block anything. Rest and build up strength for a few days — we can counterattack soon."

He simply raised his telescope again, perfectly composed, and searched the enemy ranks for the commander's figure.

Liu Chengzong wanted to find his old acquaintance He Huchen, but unfortunately the distance was too great to make anyone out clearly. The day before, however, he had spotted his old superior He Renlong, who was at the front supervising soldiers digging trenches.

According to Ningxia scout-cavalrymen who had surrendered before the lines, He Renlong had contributed greatly to bandit suppression in Shanxi and was now holding a concurrent appointment as an Assistant Commissioner in the Shaanxi Regional Military Commission — a transitional post for a Guard Commander awaiting promotion, not a substantive commission; his next substantive post would be Mobile Corps Commander.

Of course, if he performed well, he might even be directly appointed as a Battalion Commander commanding an entire battalion.

Liu Chengzong wanted to send He Renlong a letter urging surrender, but every day when the government troops dug trenches, they placed Guyuan Garrison's newly recruited musketeers up front. Those fellows fired at anyone they saw, and the scout cavalry could not get anywhere near them.

Though the Three Garrisons' border troops dug trenches with great zeal, for Liu Chengzong it brought no pressure at all.

Because the government troops' furious trenching itself meant they had no other solution to the current situation. Time waited for no one, and on this battlefield was Liu the Lion's good friend — smallpox.

Liu Chengzong was counting the days. It had been seven days since the government troops began their suppression campaign. Basang's Shooting and Hunting Battalion had started variolation a few days earlier, and now the tribal soldiers under his command were already breaking out in pox. The government troops across the river who had contracted smallpox were about due to break out as well.

Huang Shengxiao was still thinking about using bursting shells to blast the shield-carts at the bridgehead when he saw Liu Chengzong hand over the telescope and point toward the enemy lines. "Look at the foot of the hill northeast of the government camp."

Huang Shengxiao looked in that direction, and his face lit up with delight.

The place Liu Chengzong indicated was an area where tents were pitched very sparsely, close to the government troops' artisan camp where they manufactured weapons. No such area existed in a normal military encampment — without a doubt, that was an isolation camp the government troops had prepared.

The government troops had the same worry, which was why they pressed their attack urgently even at a disadvantage in artillery.

But smallpox was unlikely to give them that much preparation time; it would spread very soon.

The camp on the east bank of the Huang River.

Ming commander-in-chief You Shilu stood on a dirt mound, his eyes wide and fixed dead on the cannons atop the wall on the opposite bank.

You Shilu was a hard man.

Ever since he had personally approached the walls to direct the assault at Liaozhou in Shanxi and been struck below the abdomen by an arrow, You Shilu had known his body was failing.

Though a long time had passed since the wound, it had never fully healed. The arrowhead must have been smeared with filth like fecal matter, for it left him constantly feverish, with unbearable swelling and pain in his lower abdomen.

While recuperating at home, he could still replace food with medicinal decoctions and tough it out with sheer physical endurance, barely suppressing the wound's heat-toxins; but in a battlefield environment, there was simply nothing to sustain his life.

Yet he was an army commander bearing the imperial mandate, and so he had to stand here — even when high fever nearly made him faint.

Facing Liu Chengzong's heavy-cannon advantage, You Shilu had no choice but to have his officers and soldiers rotate day and night, swinging pickaxes east of the river, digging five-chi-deep trench after trench from beyond cannon range, creeping toward the bridgehead by the Huang River's bank.

He did indeed intend to use the same method the Later Jin used against Ming artillery to deal with Liu Chengzong, but at the same time he was making a two-pronged preparation. From the very start of the standoff, he had noticed that the Marshal's Headquarters' cannons far outranged the Frankish breech-loaders, so he had ordered his nephew You Yangkun to return to Lanzhou and bring back firearms that could match them.

Smallpox hung over the Three Garrisons' grand commander like a knife poised above his head. For Liu Chengzong, with variolated tribal soldiers as a control, he could accurately gauge smallpox's transmission timeline; for the Three Garrisons' grand commander, it was not so.

Their provisions could not support spending a month or so on variolation, and You Shilu, He Huchen, and Yang Qi all knew perfectly well that Liu Chengzong would never give them the time to variolate.

They had all made thorough preparations to fight this battle amid a smallpox rampage.

Smallpox is called "heavenly flowers" because, as a heaven-sent seasonal pox, it is Heaven claiming lives. For man facing Heaven's way, nothing is greater than the saying "grasp Heaven's mandate and use it."

In wartime, smallpox does not recognize persons. You Shilu intended to match birth charts with Liu Chengzong and see whose fate was harder.

So it was not only Liu Chengzong waiting for smallpox — You Shilu was also waiting for smallpox. And while waiting for smallpox, he was also waiting for his nephew to bring back cannons to neutralize the Marshal's Headquarters' artillery advantage.

You Shilu's plan had two steps. First, wait for his soldiers to break out in pox, then close to hand-to-hand combat with Liu Chengzong. Second, he had selected troops from the Three Garrisons and formed a Pockmarked Battalion; from its acting assistant commander down to the soldiers, all were men who had either survived smallpox or been variolated.

After the two armies had clashed and pulled back slightly, once Liu Chengzong's troops broke out in pox and their combat strength declined, he would then use the Pockmarked Battalion to smash them.

The following day, the trenches crept closer and closer to the riverbank, and the cannons sent from Lanzhou arrived as well. You Yangkun had escorted the first batch of heavy cannon from Lanzhou to the front line.

"Grand Commander, your subordinate reports back for duty."

You Yangkun ascended the dirt mound. Seeing that He Huchen and Yang Qi were both present, he addressed You Shilu by his military rank. He said, "After comparison, among the cannons currently available in Lanzhou, the only ones that can match the enemy's guns are these eight 'Tian'-grade General Cannons."

With that, he said to You Shilu, "Your subordinate has already dispatched men to Lintao, Jinglu, and Gongchang Garrisons to requisition more. Within twenty days, three more batches should arrive, likely over thirty pieces in total."

"'Tian'-grade General Cannons — as expected, we must still rely on Lord Ye." You Shilu was dazed and groggy from fever. Sitting in a chair on the dirt mound with bloodshot eyes, his expression suddenly changed and he vomited a great mouthful of fresh blood, startling everyone around him into rushing forward.

He himself, however, paid it no mind. He simply took a handkerchief and wiped, gave two dry, rasping laughs, and ordered someone to bring loose soil to cover the bloodstains. Shaking his head, he said, "It's nothing. Move the cannons up front and hide them well. Dig another two hundred paces forward — then even the Frankish guns will be able to hit the wall top. When the time comes, we'll bombard from every position at once and catch the rebels off guard!"

The moment You Shilu heard the name, he knew this batch of cannons could be trusted.

The 'Tian'-grade General Cannon could be traced back to when Qi Jiguang served as Commander-in-Chief of Ji Garrison. The original Great General Cannon was an old model standardized in the Yongle era; Qi Jiguang converted it into a Frankish-style rapid-fire cannon, using a cast barrel with a single removable chamber alone weighing two hundred and fifty jin.

But later, Ye Mengxiong was dissatisfied with this cannon — a two-hundred-and-fifty-jin chamber was far too cumbersome — so he simply took the chamber dimensions as the standard and produced forged General Cannons in three grades: Tian, Di, and Xuan, fitted with three-wheeled gun carriages and firing "grandfather-leads-grandson" shot.

These forged General Cannons were further developed and proliferated during the Wanli era, with five grades emerging. The eight cannons You Yangkun had brought were the largest grade among the forged General Cannons.

The cannon was four chi and five cun long, weighed a full one thousand jin, had trunnions, and was reinforced with nine iron bands around the barrel. The gun carriage was a light three-wheeled cart, making the whole piece light, swift, durable, and long-lasting.

When loaded with its dedicated grandfather-leads-grandson ammunition, it could fire an eight-jin "grandfather" ball, a three-jin "son" ball, a one-jin "grandfather" ball, and two hundred "grandson" pellets — all lead shot, with a total weight of sixteen jin.

When loaded with a bore-fitting iron ball, that ball weighed seven jin.

But just as You Yangkun was sending men to move these eight 'Tian'-grade General Cannons into the trenches and stealthily transport them to suitable positions, Liu Chengzong received a letter requesting reinforcements from Wang Wenxiu.

"Grand Commander, an urgent report from General Wang!"

Liu Chengzong frowned and waved for the messenger to be let through. "Report at once."

Wang Wenxiu's courier ran up onto the wall, knelt, produced the letter, and presented it, saying as he did, "Grand Commander, good news from Xining. General Wang has led his troops to defeat the Lintao army and is pursuing the routed forces in the area around Pingrong Relay Station and Laoya Town. He requests that the Grand Commander send reinforcements westward."

The moment Liu Chengzong heard the words "good news," his heart relaxed. He could not help silently blaming the courier — good news is good news, so why shout "urgent report"? He had thought Xining City was under siege.

When he unfolded the letter, he couldn't help but smile — now he understood exactly where Wang Wenxiu's urgency came from.

Wang Wenxiu had sent not only a plea for reinforcements, but also a battle report written by Cheng Yun, detailing how the two crescent-blade polearms had clashed in the river valley and Wang Cheng'en's blade had shattered, leaving him pummeled by Wang Wenxiu's infantry for an entire day as he retreated.

Every time, before his formation was even set, Wang Wenxiu would charge up and beat him senseless, until he lost every last cannon. After three consecutive engagements across the mountain platforms and river valley, his forces finally collapsed.

But compared to hunting down scattered remnants, a pitched battle was actually easier for Wang Wenxiu.

Wang Wenxiu even suspected that Wang Cheng'en had likely scattered his own army on purpose, because in a properly arrayed battle, Wang Wenxiu held an overwhelming advantage — yet once both sides abandoned their grand formations, he couldn't gain the upper hand in small-scale skirmishes.

The main problem was the two scratch-built armies on the flanks dragging him down. Wang Cheng'en's Lintao troops, as a rabble of irregulars, could still trade blows with Wang Wenxiu's infantry battalion.

And the left wing that Liu Chengyun had scraped together — those men were like a pack of dogs off the leash, gone the moment you let go.

In his plea for reinforcements, Wang Wenxiu admitted that his greatest blunder in this battle was not telling the Third General to hold back from pursuit.

That left wing, with so many men in it — the moment the formation broke, it was like a magic trick. They just vanished.

As a result, he was now critically short on troops. More than half of his limited infantry battalion elites were tied up guarding prisoners and surrendered soldiers. The ropes from the west still hadn't arrived, and with enemy troops fleeing all over the hills and valleys, he simply couldn't chase them all down or accept any more surrenders.

In his letter, he wrote: "If the Grand Commander still has strength to spare, please dispatch reinforcements westward at once. The routed enemy is scattered all across the river valleys and hilltops. Your subordinate's forces are limited and cannot round them all up. These are all fine soldiers — it would be a terrible shame to let them get away!"

At the same time, Cheng Yun also asked in his letter whether they should set a bounty for the Lintao Regional Commander Wang Cheng'en and see if he could be persuaded to surrender.

Liu Chengzong read the letter and thought to himself, There's such a good deal to be had?

He did a quick mental tally of the grain and fodder in his stores, and halfway through, he slapped his left hand with his right. He immediately gave the order: "Draw three thousand cavalry from Xie Erhu and Ahaidaiching's forces, led by Dai Daozi, to head west and assist Adjutant Wang in accepting surrenders. Those unwilling to surrender, take them prisoner first."

After speaking, he turned to the messenger and said: "Go back and tell Adjutant Wang and all the officers and men who fought — I am recording their merit for breaking the Lintao army now, and when this campaign is over, they will all be rewarded together."

As for the bounty Cheng Yun had mentioned, Liu Chengzong took it very seriously.

This was something they had overlooked in the past — they had never formalized a system of surrender bounties, because before, even Liu Chengzong himself hadn't believed there would ever be a chance to induce a court general to defect.

But now that the Grand Commandant's headquarters had grown considerably in both territory and strength, this was something that needed a dedicated set of rules drawn up in the future. Once properly established, such a system would be a tremendous help in swallowing up court territory.

For this time, however, Liu Chengzong had no intention of offering high office and rich rewards. He simply wrote a letter instructing Cheng Yun to keep the defeated officers under guard until the fighting was over. If Wang Cheng'en was willing to surrender, his clan could be preserved; if not, then set a bounty on his subordinates — five thousand taels of silver for binding him and delivering him over. Capture him first, then talk.

If none were willing to surrender, then so be it — kill those who should be killed, and keep the bounty silver for their own men.

Liu the Lion knew that Wang Cheng'en might well be the first Regional Commander they could induce to surrender. After all, his entire clan had been brought by his father to Xining City, and he had been defeated in a pitched battle — the odds of surrender were high.

He could serve as a model for court generals who surrendered in future campaigns, but Liu Chengzong was in no position to promise high office and rich rewards. The best terms he could offer were nothing more than a hereditary Brigade Commander title.

It wasn't that he was stingy. Given the role Wang Cheng'en could play, even a marquisate would be warranted.

But Cao Yao and Liu Chengzu were still only Deputy Regional Commanders, while Yang Yao and Wang Wenxiu were both stuck at Adjutant. Even if Liu Chengzong were to grant noble titles, the first in line would be the Heaven-Soaring Monkey, Liu Jiusi.

When his old brothers had only received such treatment, granting a marquisate to a defeated general now — never mind whether his officers would understand or feel disheartened, Liu the Lion couldn't even get past the hurdle in his own heart.

After finishing the letter, Liu Chengzong jotted a note in his journal to discuss, once this battle was over, the matter of granting official posts and noble titles to meritorious officers and issuing annual stipends, together with his father and brother. He then turned, handed the letter to the messenger, and assigned additional riders to escort it back.

Afterward, he stood atop the city wall and sighed with emotion. The temptations a man faced in life were simply too many, and resisting them — that was far too difficult.

This was only the Lintao army defeated, and who knew how many veterans would be taken in surrender. Ahead of him still stood two full and two deputy Regional Commanders. If the subsequent battles went smoothly, how many men would he end up accepting the surrender of?

And how many more mouths would he have to feed?

At that thought, Liu Chengzong shook his head, raised his telescope, and cast another glance toward the enemy lines. He hoped the five garrison Regional Commanders had brought plenty of provisions. If it really came down to it, he might have no choice but to cross the Yellow River and seek help from the charitable and benevolent Prince of Su.