Chapter 372: The State Preceptor

The first day of the fourth month, sixth year of the Chongzhen reign.

Liu Chengzong reorganized the army, dividing the main force into two routes — one he would lead personally, the other placed under Liu Chengzu as commander — and set the objectives for each advance.

Liu Chengzu's force, comprising two thousand Xining Guard banner troops, two thousand Zhenhai Camp soldiers, and two thousand Mongol cavalry, would march from Liancheng in the north northeastward toward Yongdeng Fortress in Zhuanglang Guard territory, seizing a hundred li of grain and fodder along the banks of the Zhuanglang River.

The main army, led personally by Liu Chengzong, would push east to Hekou, attacking in the north while defending in the south, coordinating with Liu Chengzu to secure the grain and fodder of the Zhuanglang River valley, then combine forces and use the hide rafts brought by Chengyun to cross the Yellow River southward.

In a flash the great army surged forth on all fronts; the Marshal's Manor, riding the momentum of a crushing victory, broke through the scouts' blocking lines in an instant. From Hekou to the border wall on the Yellow River's northern bank, wherever government scout eyes could see — whether Lianhua Mountain or the Zhuanglang River — nothing could hinder the Marshal's Manor's troops in the slightest.

They spurred their horses straight up towering ridges and steep slopes, clutched the manes and forded where shallow rivers ran deep, and within a single day pressed close to Shajing Courier Station and threatened Anning Fort, gazing across the river at West Ancient City on the Yellow River's southern shore amid peach blossoms covering the land.

Within two days, urgent dispatches raced along the horse relay stations to the four prefectures of Gongchang, Pingliang, Fengxiang, and Xi'an, until the drum tower of Xi'an city, a thousand li away, tolled the bell for martial law.

The four-year-long bandit-suppression war in Shaanxi had entered its final phase after the autumn of last year — not solely because the five-garrison joint army's tactics of pacification, enticement, extermination, and slaughter had proven effective against the peasant armies, but more importantly because in the fifth year of Chongzhen, Shaanxi's great drought had ended, ushering in rare favorable weather.

To those living in the southeastern provinces of the Great Ming, the times perhaps felt like rain threatening in the mountains while wind filled the halls, but for the common people of Shaanxi, their hearts had long been filled with the weary numbness of war's final stage and the daze of having survived calamity.

Every region had been battered to pieces by the flames of war; before people could even recover their senses, the sudden shocking news of the northwestern five divisions' total defeat arrived, and for a time, everywhere hearts were jittery and nerves stretched taut.

It was not fear that Liu Chengzong would lead the western army charging out of the Hehuang valley, but worry that the bandits who had gone silent and scattered across the land would rise up once more.

Because in the sixth year of Chongzhen, the prefectures of Xi'an, Yan'an, Pingliang, and Fengxiang had yet to see a single spring rain even by the fourth month. With hearts so unsettled, even without news of the government army's defeat, it was only a matter of days before refugees gathered anew and chaos spread in every direction.

Fortunately, Hanzhong Prefecture had received rain. Wang Laohu, the great Zhuanglang chieftain who had led over four thousand roving bandits into the Qinling Mountains the previous year, did not emerge from the mountains, securing the supply route from Guanzhong to Lanzhou.

And it was precisely for this reason that the news of the government army's defeat traveled so swiftly.

On the sixth day after the Yellow River's northern bank fell to Liu Chengzong, Liu the Lion had stationed his command at a hilltop platform outside Anning Fort. Watching the peach groves along the Yellow River burst into bloom everywhere, he read the letter his outpost troops had intercepted — written by the Anning Fort commander to Grand Coordinator Lian Guoshi — and burst out laughing.

The letter said he was slaughtering imperial clansmen and plundering coin and grain, distributing them to the common people and soldiers to beguile hearts and minds.

Just one day earlier, his troops had leveled the Prince of Su's estate below Renshou Mountain, and along the way smashed open two great granaries. Inside were piled the rents delivered from the renamed fields of Ganzhou from last year and the year before — a considerable haul.

So while he had his men distribute relief to the impoverished common folk of the surrounding area, he also sent three cartloads of old grain to the Anning Fort garrison — all stuff that had been stored too long and looked none too appetizing.

But the Anning Fort garrison liked it very much.

Liu the Lion loved smashing prince estates most of all, even more than hitting government granaries, because the relief granaries of prefectures, subprefectures, and counties generally held only famine-relief grain, but a prince estate could contain just about anything, able to meet every need of the army beyond weapons and armor.

The Prince of Su's renamed fields in Ganzhou covered over three hundred qing; what was stored in the Renshou Mountain prince estate was merely the rent grain.

According to regulations, the annual levy was 7,373 dan of grain, 6,800 bundles of fodder, 140 carts of firewood, 750 jin of the medicinal herb safflower, 750 jin of hemp, 100 baskets of charcoal, 5 dan of black nightshade purple berries, 8 sheng of shelled melon seeds, 500 brooms, and 1,000 planks of lumber.

However, the amount Liu Chengzong obtained was roughly only a year and a half's worth of inventory. From the ledger, he could see no sign that the Prince of Su's estate had drawn supplies on any large scale — most likely someone had been skimming from both ends.

Liu Chengzong wrote a letter specifically to lecture the Prince of Su, telling him: I had thought your family's household ethos was quite good, but this time I've discovered that all crows under heaven are equally black. You are far too wasteful — the shelled melon seeds were piled in the storehouse until they rotted into oil and still no one ate them.

He also took the opportunity to scold the Prince of Su, saying: According to the rules, your storehouses should have contained this much, yet I only found two-thirds of it. Where did the rest go? You had best investigate the granary rats in your own household thoroughly. Next time I come, it cannot be like this again.

Liu Chengzong only wanted to encircle Lanzhou city; he had no intention of attacking it. The internal and external factors at present did not permit him to continue seizing cities and strongholds.

The internal factor was that the army had far too many surrendered troops in its rear. Morale was already none too stable to begin with; if an assault on the city stalled and the rear erupted in chaos, it would affect the efficiency of grain and fodder collection.

The external factor was that Lanzhou's city defenses were far too solid. Not only was it surrounded by a cluster of seven fortresses, the city itself was also a super-sized great city.

The standard unit for a city's scale is its circumference in li. Generally speaking, a circumference of one to three li is a very standard large fort, covering an area the size of one or two sports fields, able to garrison one or two thousand troops and project power over a radius of ten li around.

A circumference of four or five li makes a county seat; if it reaches as large as seven or eight li, in the northwest where flat land is scarce, that is a prefectural seat. This standard might be relaxed to around nine li in places like Northern Zhili or Henan.

Lanzhou city, however, was screened by multiple small cities of one-to-three-li circumference and was itself a super-sized great city, with an inner city six li in circumference and an outer city eighteen li in circumference. Its west, south, and east sides had moats and defensive ditches, while the north side used the Yellow River directly as its moat.

Capturing a formidable city like Lanzhou would bring Liu Chengzong many benefits, but setting it aside for now brought even more. As long as he leveled all the towns around Lanzhou this time and plundered every bit of wealth and goods outside the city, over the next year or two the wealth and goods of the rich would converge upon Lanzhou city... next time, he could just strike Lanzhou directly.

Meanwhile, on the Yellow River's southern bank, the remnants of the Grand Coordinator's garrison battalions and the three garrisons' routed troops had also made full preparations to defend to the death and never abandon Lanzhou.

Both sides stood off in waiting — the south bank waiting for Liu Chengzong's assault, while Liu Chengzong waited for Chengyun.

Liu Chengyun's arrival lifted the entire army's spirits. Hundreds of cowhide and sheepskin rafts were enough to let the infantry cross the Yellow River swiftly from multiple points, clear the ferry crossings for the cavalry, and seize the Yellow River Iron Bridge.

The moment Liu the Lion saw him, he ordered the soldiers to distribute the rafts to each unit, preparing to bypass the ferry crossings and ambushes to cross the river according to plan — but Chengyun, his expression taut with tension, stopped him: "Brother, the attack can wait. Take me to the central command tent first."

Liu Chengzong saw the strangeness in his expression and nodded at once.

Once inside the central command tent, Chengyun finally let out a breath of relief. Drawing a letter from inside his robes, he said in a low voice, "Brother, trouble has broken out in the west. The Tartars have come."

This was within Liu the Lion's expectations — Hundun Tu, of course.

Reckoning the time, Hundun Tu had been beyond the Gansu border at the new year; by now he should have roughly crossed northern Suzhou.

Liu Chengzong did not consider this a problem. Patting Chengyun reassuringly, he said, "It's nothing. We grab enough grain from here to fill our bellies, Hundun Tu goes from Suzhou to Haibei, we go from Lanzhou back to Xining — we'll meet him right on the lake."

Who would have guessed that Chengyun's brow would arch upward? "Brother, read the letter. It's not just the Chakhar Tartars — there are also Oirat Tartars coming from beyond the Tianshan Mountains. The northwest is in complete chaos."

Oirat Tartars?

Liu Chengzong unfolded the letter. It was from his father, Liu Xiangyu. The letter said that because the Gansu border army, under the command of Regional Commander Yang Jiamo, maintained extremely tight defenses, Hundun Tu dared not cross through Gansu to go south and had no choice but to take a roundabout route through Jiayu Pass. Along the way he dispatched troops to plunder the Guazhou, Dunhuang, and Hami regions, which brought him into conflict with Turpan.

Subsequently Turpan mobilized troops, and the two sides fought a battle at Hami. According to Gansu border army intelligence, the Chakhar Hundun Tu's forces appeared not to have suffered significant losses.

Liu Chengzong had only read halfway when he asked Chengyun, "What does this mean? The Gansu border army is sharing beyond-the-border intelligence with us?"

"No, no, no, not at all." Chengyun, seeing his second brother's wild fancy, hastily shook his head. "It's Sixteen. There are quite a few Gansu guard officers in the Three Tribulations Society. Whatever Yang Jiamo knows, we can know — just a little later."

Liu Chengzong understood at once — he had forgotten about Wang Ziyong.

He continued reading the letter. His father said that after that battle, Hundun Tu had once again sent men to Ju'er Bay, but this time it was to request aid. The wording remained as arrogant as ever, demanding that Liu Chengzong join him in attacking Hami, saying the Oirat Tartars were assembling a great army preparing to invade Qinghai, that Qinghai could no longer hold a third man, and they must be driven out.

Old Master Liu had initially paid Hundun Tu no heed, saying the claim that the Oirat Tartars were assembling a great army to invade Qinghai was clearly braggadocio.

Do they really take us Lius for unlettered great louts? Our whole family are Great Ming exam-takers who know the heavens above and the geography below — we know where the Oirat Tartars are!

The Tianshan region where the Oirats have settled is five thousand li from Xining city. Have they gone mad, assembling a great army to expedition all the way to Qinghai?

The trouble you stirred up yourself — on what grounds should the Marshal's Manor wipe your backside for you? And more critically, when this letter arrived, Old Master Liu had not yet received word that the court's great army in the east had been crushed. His own household still had a mountain of affairs — who had the leisure to bother with you?

But immediately after, Liu Xiangyu discovered that the matter was apparently not so simple.

Because very soon, another party of envoys also arrived at Ju'er Bay. They declared themselves to have come on behalf of the Oirat League Lord, the State Preceptor Khan, the Khoshut Great Noyan, Borjigin Töröbaikhu.

Old Master Liu said the State Preceptor Khan's envoys were more cultured and more coherent than Hundun Tu's men — more like civilized envoys.

They used the ceremonial rites with which the Oirats had audiences with the Great Ming's grand coordinators to kowtow before Old Master Liu, performing the grand rite of three kneelings and nine kowtows. In their speech they observed every taboo regarding Liu Chengzong, referring to the envoy's audience as "kowtowing at court audience."

These men helped Old Master Liu recall the years when the Oirats, as the Great Ming's loyal allies, had pincered the Tümed, and proposed continuing this relationship with the Great Ming's successor, the Qinghai Marshal's Manor, to jointly pincer Ligdan Hundun Tu of the Chakhar.

Although Old Master Liu stated that his eldest son was to marry Hundun Tu's younger sister, the Oirats considered this no problem at all. After their allied armies thoroughly crushed the Chakhar, the State Preceptor Khan was willing to give all the Chakhar women to the Marshal's Manor.

And as for all spoils of war beyond the women, aside from setting aside a small portion as recompense for the Eastern Chagatai Turpan Great Khan's dispatch of troops, the four Oirat tribes would take not a sliver of the remaining spoils — all would be gifted to the Marshal's Manor.

Even in a marriage alliance, the Oirat could offer better terms — they have many women. The vast majority of chieftains from the Four Oirat Tribes will join the expedition against the Chakhar tribe. They have countless elder sisters, younger sisters, and daughters. One, two, ten, twenty — as long as the Grand Marshal speaks, all can be given.

The State Preceptor Khan only requires the Marshal's headquarters to open the passage into Tibet, bestow a golden register, and permit the Four Oirat Tribes to pay tribute to the Marshal's headquarters.

After Liu Shizi finished reading the letter, Chengzong asked, "Brother, who do we help?"

Liu Chengzong set down the long letter, took two steps inside the tent, and did not answer that question. Instead, he asked Chengzong in return, "What does our father think?"

"Second Uncle says this is a major matter and you must still make the decision. But if you ask him, he feels the Oirat have more propriety, and Khundulen is a barbarian."

Liu Chengzong let out a short laugh and slowly sat down. He placed both hands on the commander's desk, clenched them, and thought for a moment before beckoning Chengzong to sit down as well. Earnestly, he said, "The Oirat have a mastermind. Khundulen is no barbarian — he's just a great fool who can't even sort out his own internal relations yet wants to play at diplomacy."

Chengzong did not quite understand. He sat down and asked, "Then what is Second Brother thinking? Do we withdraw the army and strike Khundulen?"

To be honest, the flattery his father relayed from the Oirat envoy had sent Liu Chengzong's goodwill toward the Oirat soaring. He had nearly floated away, almost believing himself to be a true dragon, Son of Heaven.

Liu Chengzong shook his head. "Not only must we not withdraw, we must follow the plan and empty everything around Lanzhou before returning. Next, you will also build a fortress at Hekou."

Lanzhou still had over ten thousand troops, but they had already lost the ability to accomplish anything. In a pitched battle, they were no match for him.

As long as he methodically pressed this army's mobile forces back into Lanzhou city, with his military strength, he could move whatever he wanted throughout the entire Lintao Prefecture. Then, leaving a strong force to set up defenses at Hekou, withdrawing the entire army would not be a problem.

But if they withdrew in haste now, men like Lian Guoshi, You Shilu, and Zhang Quanchang were no fools. They would certainly guess that trouble had arisen in the rear, and by then, what these ten-thousand-plus government troops could do was far too much.

Moreover, the imperial court still possessed strong regenerative capacity in the northwest. Setting aside everything else, if they pulled together thirty to fifty thousand second-line troops within three to five months, their ability to ruin his plans would be immense.

Having said this, Liu Chengzong raised a hand and tapped the letter on the table. He said to Chengzong, "As for the Oirat State Preceptor and Khundulen, strip away all the useless stuff and analyze it — is there any difference between their demands?"

"Khundulen wants me to dispatch troops to assist. The Oirat State Preceptor also wants me to dispatch troops, and he also wants a passage into Tibet… If there is any difference between the two, it's that Khundulen is stupid. You can see all his intentions — he truly wants to stay in Qinghai."

Liu Chengzong spread his hands. "But can you tell what the Oirat State Preceptor is thinking? You only know he is very courteous, very humble, even very safe."

He patted Chengzong on the shoulder and stood up. "We have two opponents. First, ally with the fool to deal with the clever one. First, ally with the weak to deal with the strong. Compared to the Oirat State Preceptor, Khundulen is both weaker and more foolish."

Liu Chengzong wrote a letter in the tent, telling his father that the barbarian Khundulen could be taught propriety, but the clever Oirat State Preceptor would be very difficult to make stupid.

If Khundulen were defeated and retreated southward, they could provide him some support in Haibei and Haixi. But unless Khundulen were defeated and killed, his tribal followers must not be allowed into Haishang.

Liu Chengzong walked out of the command tent and said to Chengzong, "We go to Lanzhou first and haul the grain and fodder back."

He handed the letter to a trusted guard to deliver back to Ju'erwan, then said to those around him, "Pass the order to the entire army: cross the river!"