Chapter 474: An Eye for Discovering Beauty

On the seventeenth day of the third month of the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign, at Clearwater Fort southeast of Suzhou Garrison City, banners and pennants fluttered in the wind, and an unending stream of men and horses came and went outside the fort.

Clearwater Fort was the eastern salient of the Jiuquan Oasis, hemmed in on three sides — south, north, and east — by desert and gobi, separated from Gaotai Camel City by a hundred and fifty li of desert, the two facing each other across the distance.

The Marshal's Headquarters' six battalions were stationed at various points across the Jiuquan Oasis, and Liu Chengzong chose Clearwater Fort, which lay closer to the front lines, to assemble his commanders for a council for one reason alone: this place had no common folk.

At this time of year, far too many commoners were running loose across the Jiuquan Oasis. The Marshal's Headquarters was on the verge of distributing land, and the summer grain was about to ripen; the people were all busy trying to harvest the beans from their own fields before the land distribution. Court spies could also easily hide among them and pass intelligence eastward.

Clearwater Fort's very advantage was its desolation. The military farmlands around it had all turned to desert; even the soldiers were unwilling to stay here, let alone commoners.

By the time Liu Chengzong arrived at Clearwater Fort with his guard company, over two hundred guards had already gathered at this long-neglected loess fortress. The senior commanders of the Marshal's army had all arrived and were waiting outside the fort gate to welcome him.

The group then entered the fort's garrison command office. Everyone knew the Grand Marshal had summoned this council to plan the coming campaign, so every face was stern. Maps and all manner of military instruments had long been prepared inside the office, waiting only for Liu Chengzong to begin the discussion.

Those attending the council included not only Yang Yao, Mo Yujing, Gao Yingdeng, Wei Qian'er, Zhang Tianlin, Feng Rang, and the Scout Cavalry Chiliarch Ma Xiang, but also He Huchen, Yang Qi, Wang Cheng'en, and Li Bei, who served as advisors in the Tiger Guard Battalion.

Also present were Wang Ziyong, leader of the Three Tribulations Society; Hu Zhishen, a surrendered officer from the Suzhou Battalion; Song Xian, the Vice Prefect of Suzhou Garrison; Chao Tu, the Adjutant General of the Chahar Battalion; and Huang Shengxiao, who had been left behind to besiege Jiayu Pass.

"You have all come a long way and are travel-worn. With battle imminent, we shall dispense with all ceremony. Report any shortages of men, horses, or supplies in your battalions."

Liu Chengzong straightened the wooden figurines arranged on the map, then listened as his commanders reported one by one. Among the reports, only those of Ma Xiang and Zhang Tianlin held any meaningful substance.

The Scout Cavalry Chiliarch Ma Xiang reported that they were short of tea, sugar, and salt — essential supplies for scout cavalry. Fortunately, the shortage was not severe, so Liu Chengzong ordered Hu Zhishen and Song Xian to resolve it.

Zhang Tianlin was even more direct, pulling out a list he had prepared in advance and reading it aloud: tent felt, axes and iron shovels, ropes and hemp sacks, cannonballs and gunpowder... This drew a sidelong glance from Liu the Lion, who waved his hand and said, "Stop reading. I know about all those shortages. Go find Han Shipan to allocate them for you; Suzhou has them all."

The most absurd was Wei Qian'er, who claimed he lacked weapons, equipment, and provisions. Liu the Lion rolled his eyes — this kid was just here to flaunt his good fortune.

Wei Qian'er had been ordered to accept the surrender of the various forts in Suzhou and had incorporated a chiliarch's command. His standard 3,600-man battalion had become a reinforced battalion of 4,800 men. With more men, naturally there was a shortage of provisions, but Liu the Lion could not understand the weapons and equipment issue — by all logic, surrendered troops brought their own arms.

Wei Qian'er grinned and explained, "Marshal, the surrendered troops do have weapons and armor, but they're far too shoddy. I'm short four hundred and eighty heavy arquebuses and a hundred and ten jingal guns. If Adjutant General Huang could cast me another thousand-catty Red Barbarian cannon, that would be even better."

Wasn't this just daydreaming?

In a place like Suzhou, where was Liu Chengzong supposed to conjure up complete sets of newly manufactured arms?

He said, exasperated, "Forget about the heavy arquebuses and jingal guns. The thousand-catty cannon is somewhat possible, but you'd best hope you never need it."

The assembled commanders roared with laughter. Huang Shengxiao, who was currently besieging Jiayu Pass, had been ordered to cast cannonballs; the purpose of casting cannons was merely to replace old cannons damaged in use. If they ended up needing newly cast heavy cannons, that could only mean the offensive had been checked by the Ming army.

After all this, Liu Chengzong turned to Gao Yingdeng and said, "General Gao should have already briefed you on the front-line situation. Whatever views you hold on the coming campaign, speak freely."

This was the main topic of the military council.

As Liu Chengzong spoke, several guards under Gao Yingdeng were bent over the map, arranging wooden figurines. A defensive line had already been laid out at the position of the Gaotai Chiliarch's Station.

Brigade Commander Yang Yao stared at the map, pondered for a moment, then asked, "Marshal, the enemy's commanding general, Li Hongsi, once held a post in Shaanxi. Should we send someone to parley and attempt to persuade him to surrender?"

Liu Chengzong understood that what Yang Yao was really asking about was the reward.

He meant: if Li Hongsi were willing to surrender, what position could the Marshal's Headquarters offer to settle him in? After all, Li Hongsi was no stranger to many of the Marshal's Headquarters' commanders.

"If he is willing to surrender, the Marshal's Headquarters can grant him the rank of Brigade Commander, still leading his original troops." Liu Chengzong finished, then smiled. "Can anyone here persuade him to surrender?"

Liu Chengzong did not hold much hope for the idea of persuading Li Hongsi to surrender, because while this man was indeed no stranger to the commanders of the Marshal's Headquarters, the problem was that Yang Yao, Gao Yingdeng, and the others knew Li Hongsi — but Li Hongsi might not necessarily know them.

Moreover, it was inherently difficult for former subordinates to go and persuade their former superior to surrender.

But no one expected Yang Qi to suddenly speak up. The man cupped his fists and said, "Marshal!"

"Oh?" Liu Chengzong said, pleased. "General Yang can go and persuade him?"

Yang Qi shook his head like a pellet drum. "No, your subordinate recommends sending General He to persuade Li Hongsi."

He Huchen had been standing to the side, staring blankly at the map, studying the military problem with intense concentration, his brow furrowed, marveling at Yang Jiamo's sharp strategic eye.

Suddenly, he seemed to hear someone calling his name. He looked up, utterly bewildered, only to see every officer in the office casting sympathetic glances his way. "Huh?"

He had no idea what had just happened. Cupping his fists, he blurted out, "Marshal, Yang Jiamo is a wily veteran and hard to deal with. Your subordinate believes this battle calls for a swift decision."

Only after speaking did He Huchen sense something odd about the atmosphere. Why were these people still staring at him?

He saw Yang Qi beside him nudge him with an elbow and whisper, "General He, that's not what the Marshal was asking. Persuading Li Hongsi to surrender — you're close with him."

He Huchen thought to himself, I'm not close with Li Hongsi!

After a stunned moment, he finally realized what was going on. So he'd been volunteered.

Though he had long known that this Yang Qi beside him was a piece of work, He Huchen felt he had still underestimated just how much of a piece of work he was. He Huchen cupped his fists and said, "Marshal, your subordinate and Li Hongsi merely attended councils together — we can hardly be called close. And your subordinate and General Yang Qi are truly not close; we merely happened to become colleagues. He does not know me."

Having said this, he felt his words had come out a bit stiff, so he cupped his fists again and added, "If the Marshal requires it, your subordinate can write a letter urging surrender to Li Hongsi. However, that man has a foul temper and quarrels with everyone; he may not be willing to surrender."

Wang Cheng'en, standing to the side, had been watching the two make fools of themselves. Only now did he speak up: "Li Hongsi indeed has an eccentric temperament, yet he bears court transfers without complaint. I fear he will be hard to persuade. Your subordinate believes speed is the soldier's asset — we should swiftly crush his defensive line to prevent Yang Jiamo from linking up with him."

Liu Chengzong merely smiled at this. He could see that among the three Chief Regional Commanders, Yang Qi had the strongest desire to show off and could be given troops to lead soon, but he was not entirely reliable.

As for He Huchen and Wang Cheng'en, they were the truly reliable ones. However, Liu Chengzong preferred to find an opportunity for Wang Cheng'en to lead troops, while He Huchen was more inclined toward training officers and drilling soldiers.

After all, aside from He Huchen's son being in Qinghai, his family members were all in Baoding. Liu Chengzong had no idea how the Chongzhen Emperor was treating his family — they were probably locked up in prison. If his entire household were executed, then He Huchen could lead troops.

That the campaign required a swift decision was practically their consensus. Gao Yingdeng, Wei Qian'er, Zhang Tianlin, Feng Rang, and the others shared the same view. These men did not care how the fight was waged; they only cared whether they would be allowed to fight.

Because, to some extent, Ming army commanders and Marshal's Headquarters commanders held the same view on strategic choices: whenever there was an opportunity, they would all choose a swift, decisive battle.

Under these circumstances, the way Li Hongsi had come charging over in a rush, then slammed on the brakes and begun building field fortifications on the spot, signified a lack of sufficient conviction for victory, which was why he had turned to passive defense.

Only, Liu Chengzong did not yet know the reason for Li Hongsi's shift to a defensive posture, because there were too many possible reasons: insufficient troops, incomplete arms and armor, low army morale? All were possible.

This era lacked the objective conditions for planning before acting.

Just as Liu Chengzong was about to issue the order for a frontal assault, he noticed Hu Zhishen, the surrendered officer standing at the last seat in the main hall of the office, looking eager to speak.

To be honest, Liu Chengzong held no expectations whatsoever for the surrendered Suzhou officers. The only Suzhou holdover commander with any military talent, Garrison Commander Wang Yanming, had been killed during the uprising, and Hu Zhishen, who came from a hereditary garrison commander's family, had no experience leading troops whatsoever.

Expecting him to solve military problems was basically a luxury.

Still, Liu the Lion figured that since he had called the man here, and seeing this eager-to-speak enthusiasm, he rather wanted to let Hu Zhishen say something to foster a sense of belonging. So he said, "General Hu has something to say? Speak freely."

Hu Zhishen did want to speak, but when it actually came time to say it, as the eyes of all the Marshal's Headquarters commanders turned to him, this useless little pastry from Suzhou Garrison grew nervous again. He stepped forward twice and spent a long time organizing his words.

Liu Chengzong thought to himself, how can someone like this serve as a Battalion Adjutant General?

He reassured him, "General Hu, we are all on the same side. No need for too many misgivings — just say whatever you have to say. It's fine even if you don't say it well."

Having secured Liu Chengzong's guarantee, Hu Zhishen nodded repeatedly and only then said, "Marshal, honored generals, this humble one does not know if this matter should be mentioned — it seems unrelated to the campaign... It's just that this Li Hongsi, the Vice Regional Commander of Suzhou, has never once come to Suzhou since taking up his post. I reckon he doesn't know the way."

Liu Chengzong was dumbfounded. He exchanged glances with the commanders to his left and right; every man wore an expression as if he'd seen a ghost.

The man was the Vice Regional Commander of Suzhou, and you're saying he doesn't know the roads of Suzhou? Isn't this just burning scrap paper at a grave to fool ghosts?

Who could believe such a thing?

Wei Qian'er was already eyeing Hu Zhishen with a dark, sinister look, figuring this man was a rebel.

As the commanders in the Marshal's residence all turned unfriendly gazes toward Hu Zhishen, it was Wang Cheng'en who once again stepped forward to rescue the surrendered officer.

Although Wang Cheng'en also felt the matter was a bit absurd, after careful consideration he still frowned and said, "Marshal, Li Hongsi was on campaign suppressing rebels in Shaanxi the entire time from his posting until we were ordered into Hehuang. It is indeed possible he never came to Suzhou."

With Wang Cheng'en's corroboration, the looks directed at Hu Zhishen were no longer so strange — but in everyone's eyes, this matter seemed even more damnable than Hu Zhishen being a rebel.

Liu Chengzong grinned and gave Hu Zhishen a thumbs-up. "Commander Hu, impressive. Such intelligence is indeed our weak point. This is extremely useful — is there any other news?"

In truth, he had no idea what use Li Hongsi not knowing the roads could be at the moment, but he was unstinting in his praise of Hu Zhishen… In this world, too many who appear powerful have been brought down by harmless-looking nobodies.

Besides, news like this might well prove useful in the battles ahead.

And yet, Liu Chengzong's praise meant something extraordinary to Hu Zhishen. As a hereditary Commander, the military households beneath him were unworthy, and the senior officers above could not be bothered — so much so that in his entire life, hardly anyone had ever praised him.

What was more, Liu Chengzong was praising him right in front of a crowd of fierce, battle-hardened soldiers. It made this useless little morsel from the Suzhou Guard feel a bit light-headed, and he cared deeply about Liu Chengzong's encouragement. He genuinely wanted to offer another piece of useful intelligence, but he himself was not even sure what would count as useful.

Racking his brains, Hu Zhishen carefully mulled it over for a long while before finally speaking with a timid look. "Marshal, there is a matter that perhaps I should not bring up. If I speak out of turn, I hope the Marshal, in his great magnanimity, will not take issue with this humble subordinate."

Liu Chengzong nodded. He guessed Hu Zhishen was probably about to say something military-related. He said, "Speak freely."

Hu Zhishen glanced cautiously at Yang Yao, Wang Cheng'en, and the others, then cupped his hands toward Liu Chengzong and said, "This humble subordinate believes that at this moment, a swift decisive battle is inadvisable — above all, we must not charge the Gaotai defenders and seek victory by storming their fortifications."

Liu Chengzong did not commit either way and did not speak at once. It was Song Xian beside him who grew anxious. "Not seek a swift victory? Will you, Commander Hu, supply the army provisions for twenty thousand men?"

No one wished for Liu Chengzong to strike Ganzhou quickly more than Song Xian.

The whole of Suzhou had no more than ten thousand households and a population of barely twenty thousand. The Marshal's residence had twenty thousand troops plus warhorses and livestock stationed here. Once they had eaten through the army grain, the Marshal's forces might not necessarily collapse, but the Suzhou Guard certainly would. By then it would no longer be a question of forced requisitioning of supplies — people would die.

Hu Zhishen was a hereditary Commander after all, his mettle different from ordinary men. Having gotten past his initial nerves, he now grew quite at ease even under Song Xian's rebuke. Shaking his head with great composure, he said, "I cannot procure army provisions. But Marshal, the watchtowers and forts along the border wall are called watchtower-forts everywhere else — only at Gaotai are they called dams, because Gaotai grows paddy fields, and its special product is rice."

"Gaotai is crisscrossed by rivers and dotted with numerous lakes. There are seven rivers, over thirty main canals, and countless branch channels. The Marshal's forces are massive — there is no room to maneuver there."

No room to maneuver was putting it mildly!

If the Marshal's great army of twenty to thirty thousand men spread out and charged in, they would be carved up by the irrigation channels and trunk canals before the fighting even began. By then, forget a swift victory — at best, a small government force could fight them to a draw and blunt their edge; at worst, they would be driven back, and even the cannons would likely be lost there.

Hu Zhishen had brought Liu Chengzong too many pleasant surprises. He first turned his head to glance at Gao Yingdeng and Ma Xiang. Though he said nothing, the two commanders understood at once, silently clasped their fists, turned, and left the government office to dispatch scouts to infiltrate Gaotai and survey the terrain.

Only then did Liu Chengzong look back at Hu Zhishen and ask, "Since Commander Hu knows the terrain here, do you have a strategy to defeat the enemy?"

"The Marshal thinks too highly of this humble subordinate." Hu Zhishen clasped his fists with an apologetic expression. "I am unlearned and unskilled, possessing only the knowledge of a local native. Ah, Marshal — Tang Mingshi, the Mobile Corps Commander of Zhenyi, he stole my official post."

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Just as Liu Chengzong was wondering why this fellow had suddenly brought up stolen posts, Hu Zhishen explained, "Zhenyi stands isolated at a strategic choke point. In the past, raiders from the steppe often crossed through Zhenyi, making it especially perilous. Now that the steppe captives have been eliminated and the sea bandits no longer appear, when the Zhenyi garrison commander post fell vacant that year, this humble subordinate aspired to it. Yet the court clung to the old ways, saying the Zhenyi garrison commander must be a man of fierce courage and vigor, and chose Tang Mingshi, a Centurion from Liangzhou."

Hu Zhishen's meaning was clear: The court called me a coward — Marshal, you must vent this grievance for me.

"Enough!"

Liu Chengzong clapped his hands. "Commander Hu has just laid out the entire secret to our army's victory. If the terrain of Gaotai and the character of its defending commander are indeed as Commander Hu describes, then when this battle is won, the first merit shall be yours."

With that, Liu Chengzong leaned over and pressed his hand upon the map, addressing the assembly. "The Art of War says: One skilled in warfare controls the enemy and does not let the enemy control him… Gentlemen, let us maneuver them — make them come out of their holes and fight me!"