Chapter 528: Recruiting Officials

After exiting Gulang Gorge and entering the Zhuanglang River valley, during the half-hour march, Liu Chengzong was somewhat distracted.

When he was in He-Huang, he could still get first-hand official gazettes from Gansu officials, but after the Gansu campaign began, that line was cut; the Nine Garrisons' field reports and gazettes at most only reached as far as Ningxia Central Garrison, and he could no longer obtain new intelligence.

And in the earlier Gansu gazettes, there was basically no news of the Central Plains rebel armies, at most a few movements of the Mongol tribes beyond the frontier, so the Marshal's Command's intelligence on the Shaanxi rebels had a significant lag.

In his recollection, people like Zhang Xianzhong should all be in Shanxi right now.

After occupying Ganzhou, his correspondence with his father Liu Xiangyu did mention that a hundred thousand peasant soldiers had gathered in the western section of the Qinling Mountains, but even so, Liu the Lion never imagined Zhang Xianzhong would show up here.

Liu Chengzong seriously pondered his relationship with the peasant armies, and the conclusion he reached was rather awkward.

If both were far away at the ends of the earth, they were good friends who could attack and defend in mutual support — even if they had never met, they were absolutely trustworthy; when close by, Liu Chengzong could also be a solid backing providing military support to others.

Only, in an environment where each side was intermingled with the other, relations between the two would rapidly deteriorate.

After all, times had changed; by this stage of the war, among the rebellions that swarmed up in Shaanxi, the chieftains who had died numbered in the hundreds and thousands, and the small fry of those years who survived to the present were chieftains too — all ruthless characters who staked their heads on rebellion. How many of them were willing to submit to another?

Yet although Liu the Lion had considered the possibility of such a situation arising, the figures he had envisioned were the older generation's Gao Yingxiang, or those from back when their forces were weaker, like Sweeping King Zhang Yichuan, Dashing General Li Zicheng — chieftains with whom he had more or less some past dealings.

But Zhang Xianzhong was a figure Liu Chengzong had never even thought of.

It was just that their first encounter left Liu the Lion with a very poor impression.

Liu the Lion calculated the timing: Zhang Xianzhong had seized the Zhuanglang Garrison city right when Zhang Tianlin routed Bai Guang'en — which meant he knew he himself was about to march south.

Since he knew, not only did he not come to Gulang Gorge to pay a visit, but he also went spouting nonsense in the Zhuanglang River valley about three years of tax exemption.

Three years of tax exemption actually meant nothing to Liu Chengzong; that pittance of tax grain could not even begin to supply his enormous army. The Marshal's Command's grain was all bought through internal trade after monopolizing the market.

But the farmland in the Zhuanglang River valley — exempt or not exempt, was that for you, Zhang Xianzhong, to decide?

Liu Chengzong's reaction was very simple.

At noon on the ninth day of the seventh month, Zhang Xianzhong, who was handling affairs in the Zhuanglang Garrison city's government office, heard a subordinate general report that the Marshal Army's vanguard force thirty li away had moved. Without sending anyone to notify the city, five thousand troops had struck camp and marched south.

Zhang Xianzhong knew Liu Chengzong was displeased.

But knowing was one thing; for him, this tightrope was the unavoidable path for the Western Camp to station troops in He-Huang.

Zhang Xianzhong was different from Liu Chengzong. From the very start, Liu Chengzong's family had established their own small stronghold in Yan'an Prefecture. They needed to store grain and had places to spend it; the cost of building their army was high, the rewards left for soldiers were few, and they also rarely plundered the localities.

But Zhang Xianzhong had never had a stronghold; he went wherever he ended up. He never had a place to spend his valuables, and he was well aware that clear rewards and punishments were the capital that let him survive in chaotic times, so he was exceptionally generous in rewarding his soldiers.

But soldiers must not be sated. Generals, of course, went without saying, but generals were few in number. For the common soldier, if he could be a man of wealth in a stable place, who would stake his head to be your soldier?

In the past, the Western Camp was stable because although the soldiers held large amounts of wealth and goods, they had no place to settle, so they could only follow Zhang Xianzhong as he ran east and west. Now that they had reached He-Huang, many people's minds had changed.

Fortunately, the cohesion built over a long time still held, and the impact of the two armies' differing military laws had not yet been bridged — but this also gave Zhang Xianzhong a tremendous sense of crisis: he could not leave the army.

So showing disrespect or even a challenge toward Liu Chengzong had two benefits for him: first, it strengthened his internal prestige; second, it brought a sense of tension to the army.

Of course, all this was built on one premise: Zhang Xianzhong judged that, because of the hundred thousand rebels in the Qinling Mountains, Liu Chengzong would have a very high tolerance and forbearance toward him.

Zhang Xianzhong's way of dealing with the more powerful chieftains had always been this style of screwing them over and then running, because those chieftains, in order to display their magnanimity, would not immediately send troops to beat him.

Zhang Xianzhong's skill at warfare, to be honest, was a bit lacking — he himself knew it was a bit lacking, so he had always been trying every way to learn. If you don't learn you don't know; once he started learning, he realized: damn, I really am freaking smart!

Old Zhang was clear-headed about the world; he had long since figured out one problem: the Great Ming's realm was clearly on its last legs. Never mind how happily the various chieftains were forming joint camps and allied armies right now — in the end, they would all have to turn their swords on each other.

Everyone was staking their heads on rebellion, but under heaven there could only be one emperor.

If that emperor was me, then in the end I'd definitely have to kill you, so what damn use is it to get on good terms with a dead man?

If that emperor is not me, then I am that dead man — dead and done with, so what damn use is it to care about you bunch of dumbasses?

Letting my generals and soldiers feel involved in the process of screwing people over, reaping real benefits while strengthening internal cohesion — that is what I ought to be doing.

However, even though he had long since calculated all this in his mind, Wei Qian'er leading the main camp to march south in silence without a word of greeting still put enormous pressure on Zhang Xianzhong.

In his heart, he felt Liu Chengzong would not attack the city — it was probably just to scare him — so he in turn scared his soldiers.

He said, "We're in trouble — it must be that you lot seizing horses made Liu Chengzong unhappy. He's coming to kill you. All of you, up on the walls and get the defenses ready for me!"

Wei Qian'er, having received Liu Chengzong's orders, marched extremely slowly. Only after three hours did he cover twenty-some li, leisurely arriving three li north of the city, whereupon he halted. Without greeting Zhang Xianzhong's troops in the city, he pitched camp on the spot and began digging trenches.

Zhang Xianzhong on the wall saw that he did not attack the city and thought to himself that Liu Chengzong had no real nerve. As evening approached, cooking smoke rose from the camp outside the city. This Marshal Army unit was going to make camp and rest; they were on guard, and digging a trench outside the camp was nothing remarkable — it was merely a show of force.

Zhang Xianzhong's suspended heart settled. Even if it really came to a fight, he was not too afraid.

In truth, during this period, the elite forces of every rebel army were all former Ming troops, some strong and some weak. Everyone knew what cards the other side held; marching speeds were roughly the same, equipment and tactics were basically identical. In a fight, no one feared anyone else — it all came down to whose organization was stronger, whose army morale was steadier, and whose strategy was superior.

Although the Marshal's Command had more men, on the Zhuanglang Garrison battlefield, no one could deploy twenty or thirty thousand troops anyway. At worst, he would just run east — he had eaten and drunk his fill in the river valley, after all.

But Liu Chengzong's army was truly different from the rebel armies.

He was more like a royal army than the government troops. The rebel experience had made the Marshal Army adept at mobile warfare, and after the Marshal's Command was established, when their battlefield support was no less than the government troops', they were equally accustomed to positional warfare.

The Marshal Army carried many tools and their earthworks were exceptionally excellent. Zhang Xianzhong merely ate a meal on the wall; after a moment of inattention, when he raised his telescope again to look outside the city, his face immediately filled with shock.

North of the city, they had already dug a three-li-long trench connecting the Zhuanglang River on the west to Qinglong Mountain on the east. The Marshal Army was not digging a camp trench — it was a siege trench.

The most outrageous thing was that behind that trench, cannons had already been set up!

Only at this moment did Zhang Xianzhong realize why Wei Qian'er's unit had marched so slowly — Liu Chengzong's main force had also arrived at Zhuanglang Garrison city by evening.

A massive mixed force of infantry and cavalry was advancing rapidly along the western bank of the Zhuanglang River, bypassing Zhuanglang Garrison city. After a brief rest and reorganization southwest of the garrison city, they immediately spurred their horses across the river. Soldiers either stood balanced on horseback or clung to manes and gripped tails to swim across. Very quickly, the cavalry that had crossed formed two assault formations, while the follow-up troops directly began digging trenches along the riverbank.

Inside Zhuanglang Garrison city, Zhang Xianzhong's army also panicked. Western Camp generals Wang Ziqi, Liu Tichun, and others urgently gathered together, every face written with disbelief.

They were all thinking: what we did — you could say it's a big deal, or you could say it's a small one. We're all Shaanxi countrymen; no matter what, it shouldn't come to surrounding the city and outright killing us, right?

Zhang Xianzhong was also dumbfounded by Liu Chengzong's move of silently surrounding the city. He could not gauge Liu Chengzong's intent — this seemed to have already gone beyond the scope of intimidation and saber-rattling.

Zhang Xianzhong had only wanted to smash a bowl — how come, from the looks of it, Liu Chengzong was planning to flip the whole table?

An arrow cannot be nocked without being loosed; mobilizing an army is the same. Now, with over ten thousand troops surrounding three sides outside the city and the trenches already dug, it meant Liu Chengzong had first put himself in a position he could not back down from.

Having set up such a posture, if Zhang Xianzhong did not bow his head, Liu Chengzong would most likely have no choice but to attack the city.

Zhang Xianzhong's sworn brother Liu Tichun had a gentle temperament. He saw that Zhang Xianzhong was trapped by the situation with no way to step down gracefully, so he stepped forward and said, "Elder Brother, shall I send someone to make contact on the north side? Whether it's war or peace, there must be some word — we can't just be surrounded like this."

Given a way out, Zhang Xianzhong cursed and swore to save face, then agreed to let Liu Tichun send someone to parley with the Marshal Army.

Although on the surface he was taking the opportunity to climb down, in reality Zhang Xianzhong took this matter with extreme seriousness, and the envoy ultimately chosen was his sworn brother Liu Tichun.

Because the relationship was close enough. The origins of Zhang Xianzhong's men were different from all the other chieftains. When others rose up, they more or less relied on fellow townsmen, but Zhang Xianzhong was born in Liushujian beneath the border wall, a place that belonged to the Anbian Defense Thousand-Household Station — there were not many fellow townsmen in his army.

In his youth, he had served as a constable in Yan'an Prefecture, but there were not many men from the Fushi and Ansai area in his army either. His main force came from Wubu and Jiazhou in the northern border region between Shanxi and Shaanxi — the Wubu men were border troops, while Jiazhou was dominated by clansmen surnamed Wang.

Because when Zhang Xianzhong first rose to prominence, he was not an independent leader, but a contingent of troops under Wang Jiayin.

This was also why, in Zhang Xianzhong's mind, he believed Liu Chengzong would not attack him directly.

Liu Chengzong felt he had no ties whatsoever to Zhang Xianzhong, but Zhang Xianzhong did not see it that way — never mind that the two brothers had been soldiers, Old Zhang had also gone to Black Dragon Mountain for heavy drinking.

Just speaking of the year the four routes entered Shanxi, during the Qingjian council, Hengtian King Wang Jiayin had issued Liu Chengzong, seated fourth in rank, a gold seal of Hengtian Marshal.

Although the timing was different, after that, Zhang Xianzhong had also received a silver seal from Wang Jiayin. When all was said and done, you were still a leader from another division; some petty rivalry was one thing, but it shouldn't come to brandishing blades and spears and harming goodwill.

To be honest, Zhang Xianzhong himself no longer took Wang Jiayin, who had stayed behind in Shanxi fighting the Ming army, seriously at all. But there was no helping it — Old Zhang had no education. The moment he came over, Liu Chengzong struck Gansu, and neither the soldiers nor the civilians of Hehuang ever brought up the matter of the Qinghai Marshal's Office again.

So he had always believed that this Marshal's Office of Liu Chengzong's was the Marshal's Office of the Hengtian Marshal.

Now, when it came to finding someone to make contact, the most suitable candidate in the Western Camp was Liu Tichun — born in Yan'an, surnamed Liu, and mild-tempered.

Only, all of Zhang Xianzhong's preparations went completely to waste. Not long after Liu Tichun took his guards across the moat north of the city and entered Wei Qian'er's camp, Zhang Xianzhong saw from the city wall the Northern Camp's troops rushing about, moving toward the opposite bank of the Zhuanglang River west of the city.

At the same time, the Marshal's Army's mounted scout squad in the southern part of the Zhuanglang River valley also began to contract, likewise leading several riders into the great camp west of the city. This confirmed for Zhang Xianzhong on the wall the location of Liu Chengzong.

Messengers from south and north were all racing into the great camp to the west — Liu Chengzong had to be there. But knowing that was useless; separated by the river channel, even if he wanted to launch a surprise attack, there was no chance... What's more, Zhang Xianzhong's original intent was never to fight Liu Chengzong.

A moment later, a disturbance arose in the great camp west of the city. Then a small squad of several riders galloped across the river. Zhang Xianzhong saw that the one leading was Liu Tichun, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. But then, looking at the young man riding behind Liu Tichun, he could not help feeling something was a bit strange.

That man wore no armor, looked to be in his early twenties, and was glancing left and right with a trembling, fearful air. That instead struck Zhang Xianzhong as odd — what was Liu Chengzong sending a coward like this for?

Not long after, Liu Tichun called for the city gates to be opened. With a rather awkward expression, he saluted Zhang Xianzhong and reported, "Elder Brother, this is the Zhuanglang County Magistrate appointed by the Grand Marshal. He holds a letter of appointment from the Grand Marshal for us."

"A letter of appointment?"

The young man lacked presence. Entering the city alone, he now stood amid the assembled officers of the Western Camp, his legs trembling. Still, he drew a piece of silk from his bosom and, in a quavering voice he could barely control, proclaimed: "By decree of the Grand Marshal: Appoint Western Brigade Brigade Commander Zhang Xianzhong as Second-Rank State-Pacifying General; Western Brigade Vanguard Battalion Commander Liu Tichun as Third-Rank Glorious Resolve General; Rear Battalion Commander Wang Ziyu as Third-Rank Glorious Valor General; Left Battalion Commander Bai Wenxuan as Third-Rank Glorious Valor General; Right Battalion Commander Feng Shuangli as Third-Rank Glorious Valor General; and all officers of each battalion at Battalion Commander rank and above. You are to exit the city immediately and present yourselves before the Marshal."

At this, the officers looked at one another, utterly at a loss.

Of course, Wang Ziyu, Bai Wenxuan, Feng Shuangli, and the officers who had not been granted general ranks were all looking at Liu Tichun... They were baffled — why was your Liu Tichun a Third-Rank Glorious Resolve General, while the rest of us were all Glorious Valor Generals?

And Zhang Xianzhong was looking at that young man. He was mulling it over — I only have troops for two battalions, yet you've appointed me generals for four battalions, and done so blindly at that. The army itself was one battalion he personally led, and one battalion Liu Tichun led.

Now, among these four battalion commanders, Bai Wenxuan had previously been a Squad Commander, Feng Shuangli a Battalion Commander, and as for Wang Ziyu, don't even mention it — he had always been his elder brother Wang Ziqi's deputy. This time, to top it off, Wang Ziqi was left out entirely, and Wang Ziyu was made Battalion Commander instead.

He looked at the young man. "You little whelp, for the sake of this county magistrate post, are you truly not afraid to die?"

But to his surprise, the young man, who had been nervous the whole time, suddenly broke into a grin and shook his head. "I am afraid. But General Zhang, my sister-in-law has given birth — to a baby boy."

Zhang Xianzhong was completely baffled. I'm making small talk with you here — what does your sister-in-law have to do with anything?

Then he heard Liu Tichun urge, "Elder Brother, just accept it..."

Before he could finish, the young man said, "My name is Feng Shilin. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month of the seventh year of Chongzhen, the Ming general Ding Shaoyin attacked the Zhuanglang Garrison City. Marshal's Office garrison commander Jing Xiaoliu led the Eastern Pass garrison troops to defend the city. Officer Feng Shishuang was struck by cannon fire and died in battle. Officer Feng Shicong was burned by fierce fire, descended from the wall, and succumbed to his wounds. The General sent me back to Eastern Pass to serve under the Third General."

"Today, I came on behalf of the Third General to deliver a letter to the Grand Marshal. It happened that the Marshal was recruiting officials in the army. This humble one is untalented, but I hold two letters of appointment in my hand. If you exit the city and present yourselves, each of you will be a brigade commander or general of the Grand Marshal's Office. I will be nothing more than the first seventh-rank County Magistrate of Zhuanglang County."

As Feng Shilin spoke, goosebumps rose on his cheeks, which had yet to grow a full beard, and the quaver in his voice grew stronger. Yet it seemed no longer to be fear, but rather tinged with a hint of excitement. He swallowed and continued with some difficulty, "In one quarter-hour, if no one has exited the city..."

Feng Shilin licked his lips, dry from the mingled tension and agitation, raised his hand, and rudely pointed first at Zhang Xianzhong, then at Liu Tichun. "You are Ox-Head, and you are Horse-Face. You are all the Day-Wandering and Night-Patrolling Black and White Impermanence. Six thousand ghost soldiers will be buried with me — and I will be the fourth-rank City God of Zhuanglang County!"

Good evening!