Chapter 661: The Yulin Plan

Bang!

Liu Chengzong slammed the tiger heavily onto the grass.

This was their third wrestling bout.

Liu the Lion had grown tired of having a translator relay between them; when words could not serve to understand, actions served him just as well.

So he brought the tiger to the soft-grassed courtyard of Huayan Temple, assumed the wide stance of Baoding Prefecture fast wrestling, and began to wrestle with the tiger.

The king of beasts who had run out from the White Mountains and Black Waters showed him no courtesy at all, nearly knocking him flat and throwing him into a dusty, disheveled heap.

With that kind of frame and brute force, anyone else really wouldn't have been able to take it.

But Liu Chengzong had specially learned a proper hand of Baoding wrestling from Cao Yao; wrestling a tiger who hadn't really trained was like child's play — the harder the tiger pushed, the fiercer the throw.

Yet after only three bouts, Liu the Lion no longer felt like playing with the tiger. He turned and called for Bai Wenxuan to fetch several strong bows, and a few of them moved aside to shoot at haystack targets.

There was no other reason — the Later Jin had these fish-skin-clad soldiers like the tiger don armor for battle, so he simply wanted to test the tiger's abilities.

As for wrestling, the tiger clearly had never learned it and relied entirely on brute strength against him; continuing to wrestle held little meaning.

The man's great strength and heavy weight were objective facts; losing to him was merely a disadvantage in technique. Wrestle any longer and the man would learn, and then he'd surely throw him into a dusty, disheveled heap.

After all, Cao Yao had joined the firearms battalion that played with guns and cannons in Baoding Prefecture; learning wrestling was just for fun, a hobby in itself.

And as for Liu Chengzong, he had always looked down on fist-and-foot martial arts.

His family's Old Master Liu had hired martial instructors for him so that in the future he could pass the provincial exams, become a presented scholar, and take up a local post with both civil and military prowess, possessing the authority to overawe the local military officers.

It was certainly not to make him a martial arts instructor.

Besides, he was born in the Great Ming, not the Great Yuan; the court did not ban swords, spears, halberds, or polearms, and they weren't so poor they couldn't afford weapons — what was the point of learning fist and foot?

So he had never been exposed to fist-and-foot techniques at all; what he learned were the flail, the bronze mace, the bow, the horse, the saber, and the spear.

By the time he met Cao Yao and came into contact with wrestling, it was already when his identity had shifted to that of a frontier army vanguard.

The purpose of learning martial arts then was different again — the goal was not confrontation, but practical use.

On the battlefield, if by chance he found himself empty-handed and unarmed, or locked in a stalemate, he could use an unexpected move to throw the opponent to the ground, seize a blade, and stab him dead.

So wrestling, unlike the use of various weapons, was not an area where he was an expert.

Archery — that was the tiger's true skill.

And Liu the Lion could clearly see that the tiger's approach was different from his own.

He cherished the exquisitely crafted war bow and forged-steel arrows deeply.

He drew the bow very slowly, very lightly, with extreme care, even afraid that the bow limbs might make a sound, yet he drew it fully, held it very steady, and shot with extreme accuracy.

He was clearly treating the haystack target as some kind of large prey, every arrow piercing straight through.

Liu Chengzong then had a few of the Feathered Forest Cavalry test the tiger's skill with saber and spear. To be honest, the technique was average, but with that physical constitution, he was still very formidable.

If only the tiger had not been conscripted and sent straight to the Mobei battlefield, but had instead been able to undergo a little drilling in the army, he would have matched a veteran of many years' service.

He had also looked over those three Liaodong hunting hounds. In appearance they resembled the fine hound, but they looked sturdier and had longer fur, clearly evolved with such traits to withstand the cold climate of the northeast.

Liu Chengzong had someone lead the tiger away, to be kept temporarily in the Tiger Guard Battalion to train military dogs, and to pick up the language along the way.

After that, he finally had Bai Wenxuan come over and, bringing his escort soldiers, walk with him along the Shaoling Plateau.

The group rode along the plateau; when the view opened wide and they could gaze far off at the city of Xi'an Prefecture, Liu Chengzong finally asked, "It's merely escorting a few sets of armor and a few men. For Yang Qi to send you on this special trip — it's using a great talent for a small task."

Bai Wenxuan, riding slightly behind, cupped his fists upon hearing this and said, "The Grand Marshal is too kind. Since the Grand Marshal has appointed this humble officer to serve in Mobei, I do not shrink from hardship in official duties."

Liu Chengzong, however, did not smile. His face remained very serious as he shook his head and said, "It's just the two of us here; no need to call me Grand Marshal. I'm tired of hearing it. I'm a few years older than you — call me elder brother."

Liu Chengzong was not well acquainted with Bai Wenxuan. Back when he had surrounded Zhang Xianzhong at Zhuanglang, the appointments had all relied on Liu Tichun reciting a list of the Western Camp's officers with real power, and so Bai Wenxuan had been placed among the ranks of the Regional Commanders.

But in truth, Bai Wenxuan was even younger than Liu Chengzong.

He had only joined the Western Camp in the fourth year of Chongzhen, and had held a certain status from the very start. Zhang Xianzhong had just promoted him to Company Commander at Hezhou Garrison, only for him to be promoted again by Liu Chengzong to Regional Commander right after.

One could say he was a lucky man.

But Bai Wenxuan's family had been rather unlucky. His background was decent; by all accounts, he was a son of a good family that farmed and studied.

His family were all scholars. His grandfather was not only a certified student of Wubao County, but also a stipend student who received a dan of rice from the court every month.

His father also studied, only he had failed to obtain any examination rank. In fact, right up until the time Liu Chengzong had already raised his troops, Bai Wenxuan's old father was still living off the grandfather's stipend rice, preparing to take the certified student exam in Wubao.

As for Bai Wenxuan, because he only loved playing with blades and staves and refused to study properly, his father had sent him to herd sheep at a friend's house, to experience a life without study.

This family belonged to that type of honest scholars who firmly believed that within books lie houses of gold — in any case, even if the sky fell, scholars would not go hungry.

They had neither much property nor any business sense. The family had few members, and their fields were cultivated just up to the limit of the court's tax exemptions. Whether drought came or not didn't matter much; with so little land, they neither had to pay taxes nor perform corvée labor. Twenty mu of land, whether planted more or less, was enough to eat.

They single-mindedly passed their days in study.

Then in the fourth year of Chongzhen, the emperor abolished the tax and labor exemptions for government students.

The old man of the family, who had received stipend rice his whole life and had never been touched by corvée labor, suddenly learned that his sons and grandsons would have to go perform corvée. He was so enraged that he kicked the bucket on the spot.

His father, who had never been one to shoulder burdens, was suddenly struck by calamity and soon frightened and angered himself into illness.

And then the family collapsed.

Afterward, Bai Wenxuan became an outlaw and joined Zhang Xianzhong, initially even using a false name and giving himself the courtesy name Yugong.

The reason his status in the Western Camp was high was also very simple: he was large and ate a lot, possessed naturally extraordinary physical strength, and more importantly, he was educated. Among the throng of brutes in the Western Camp, he was one of the few intellectuals, which was why he rose through the ranks quickly.

Even so, Bai Wenxuan still seemed far too young among the commanders of the Marshal's headquarters.

Even Ren Quan'er was older than him.

Hearing Liu Chengzong tell him to call him elder brother, Bai Wenxuan stammered and froze: "This... Grand Marshal..."

"What 'this'? Don't worry about it."

Liu Chengzong waved his hand dismissively, then asked, "The Mobei Protectorate — what urgent shortages does it have that need to be supplied by the Marshal's headquarters?"

"Commissioner Yang didn't mention that matter."

Bai Wenxuan was very clever and knew exactly what Liu Chengzong meant by telling him to call him elder brother — it was to win him over. So after speaking, he added, "Mobei lacks everything, but we can get by without. If we're talking about truly urgent shortages... the Protectorate doesn't have enough paper."

Liu Chengzong considered briefly, then said, "I understand. Then when you return and pass through Yan'an Prefecture, deliver a letter for me to Commander Zhang. He can solve this problem. Have him supply gunpowder from there as well."

But Bai Wenxuan unexpectedly said, "Grand Marshal, Commissioner Yang did think about it before — buying goods from northern Shaanxi and selling goods to northern Shaanxi too. But Yulin Garrison sits right in the middle blocking the way…"

"Originally it was only four hundred li from Guihua City, but you have to detour over a thousand li, and in between there's still the Mu Us Desert — it's even worse than smuggling into Shanxi. But Shanxi isn't our own people either."

"Bear it for now." As soon as Liu Chengzong heard Yulin Garrison, he shook his head. "Those two garrisons, Yulin and Ningxia — we can't strike them this year."

He knew perfectly well that Yulin Garrison's existence would cause enormous trouble for the trade routes between Shaanxi and Monan.

The Marshal's Army was running all over Shaanxi, and the Yulin border troops, short on mobile forces, dared not give battle.

But if the Marshal's headquarters escort squads dared to pass through Yulin, then never mind the border troops in camp — even the banner troops in the forts would probably dare to enter startup mode.

Liu the Lion was afraid of the Yulin border troops too; just thinking of them made his face twist in misery. "Taking Yulin Garrison would be easy. I reckon only Yulin City itself would be tough to crack. The surrounding forts — one battalion sweeping through could bring back twenty thousand surrendered troops."

"It's just that right now the Marshal's headquarters has a hundred forty, fifty thousand grain-fed soldiers. Add another tens of thousands of surrendered troops, and what do we feed them with?"

Bai Wenxuan understood at once — grain-fed soldiers clearly meant the Monan Mongol troops were not counted among them.

He thought for a moment, with more than a hint of wanting to share Liu Chengzong's burdens, and said, "What about attacking Shanxi then? With Vice Commander Fu there, Monan can breach Shanxi's passes very easily."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Liu Chengzong shook his head decisively. "Don't underestimate Fu Renxi. The easiest people in this world to deal with are the upright and rigid — whether their hearts are hard as iron or they've lost all hope, you just assume they'll play it straight and face them as enemies in an open, honorable fight."

"But someone like Fu Renxi, flexible and adaptable — his mind is hard to fathom. You attack his pass, and he curses you for not being a friend. He opens the pass and lets you in, then shuts the gate and beats the dog."

As Liu the Lion spoke, he recalled the hereditary loyalist Fu the Squad Commander of Yanshui Pass from a few years back and couldn't help a wry smile. "That guy's just coasting through life. Doing business with us was just to get by. He's long since grown disloyal to the court. For all we know, the gentry and wealthy households in his jurisdiction have all been robbed by men he sent."

"But if we really treat him as a turncoat and tell him to open the pass and let our troops in? He'll make sure we learn that the old Fu family does have heroes."

Liu Chengzong understood Fu Renxi's twisted mentality all too well.

Back when they were dealing with each other, he hadn't understood it that deeply, but later, after getting to know quite a few dead officials, he gradually came to understand that mindset.

A bad environment, limited ability, faint ideals still lingering in the heart — constrained by objective circumstances, unable to realize any personal worth, with no other choice but to actively coast through life, do the work in hand well, and leave what's beyond that alone.

If all of Shanxi had been conquered and only Fu Renxi's defense sector remained, Liu Chengzong was confident he could take him with a single letter.

After all, he'd still be guarding the frontier as usual — what difference did it make whose frontier he was guarding?

But if the very first place they attacked was his defense sector, then they'd truly be giving him the chance to live out his heroic dream.

"What's more… once we fight our way into Shanxi, there's still the Ming army in Shanxi."

Liu Chengzong broke into a smile. One man's cleverness could never match the collective intelligence of the entire Tiger Guard Battalion.

Whether attacking Shanxi or Henan, the best timing was always at the turn of summer and autumn this year — break in, seize the ground, and capture as much of the grain growing in the fields as possible to supplement military supplies.

But that window was ruined by the plague. This year, they had no chance to enter Shanxi or Henan.

After all, no matter how large the territory, grain still needed time to grow.

Of course, they could gamble — gamble that Shanxi and Henan held enough rations to sustain a two-hundred-thousand-man army. But for Liu Chengzong at this stage, that was completely unnecessary.

Liu Chengzong looked at Bai Wenxuan and reassured him, "But you in Monan don't need to worry. I have a way to deal with Yulin Garrison. By next summer at the latest, Yulin Garrison won't be a problem anymore."

Liu the Lion had come out of the Yulin border troops himself; he had long since worked out a plan for them in his mind.

Against huge military garrisons like Yulin and Ningxia, he absolutely dared not swallow them whole again — but he could nibble away at them.

His plan was to have Zhang Zhen send men from Yan'an Prefecture to make contact with the troops in the border forts, and in places like Pingliang, Yan'an, and Qingyang, trade farmland and pastureland to turn the Great Ming's border troops into his own small landlords.

He couldn't swallow them in one gulp, but a few dozen today, a dozen-odd households tomorrow — in a few months' time, he could hollow Yulin Garrison out completely.

By next year, one empty border fort after another, with at most Yulin City left standing — those retired old generals inside wouldn't be able to overturn the heavens.

As for what came after, he'd think about that later.

In any case, for the short term, the border wall didn't mean much to him anyway.

But even if he devoured Yulin Garrison, Yulin would still need a garrison force stationed there. The local conditions dictated that even if the border troops were withdrawn, the need to suppress bandits would remain.

"Winter's almost here. Shaanxi will be shipping a batch of cashmere coats to Ordos. When you go back, tell Yang Qi to contact Shuolei's side and do some trading."

Liu Chengzong thought for a moment, then said to Bai Wenxuan, "That tiger from the Black Zhen tribe — keep him here with me. He'll learn the language, and the Tiger Guard Battalion officers will learn their language too. Monan is very important. Sooner or later we'll meet the Later Jin in battle, and the warriors of the various Wild Jurchen tribes are excellent."

To be honest, when Liu Chengzong saw the tiger and learned how the Black Zhen tribes were being conscripted, he wanted to supply the Reindeer and Dog tribes with weapons, armor, and military equipment — even send instructors to help them build an army.

So it turns out it's not just our Grand Marshal's headquarters that's a loose coalition cobbled together from all sorts of factions — the Later Jin's rear is even more scattered than ours. How could we not go cause some havoc?

Putting everything else aside, the idea that the Reindeer Tribe and Dog Tribe, once equipped with iron weapons and armor, could fight the Later Jin to a draw is pure nonsense. But those things could markedly increase the intensity of the fighting and make it impossible for the Later Jin to easily replenish their troops — that alone would be a very advantageous deployment.

The pity is, it's just too far away.

Even the Reindeer Tribe, which is relatively close to the various Monbei tribes, doesn't share a border with Monan.

Not to mention that the Three Monbei Tribes, especially the Chechen Khanate which is closer to the Later Jin, can hardly be described as having a close relationship with the Marshal's headquarters.

Let alone transporting armor to the Khingan Range — they probably couldn't even get past Shuolei's Chechen Tribe before someone robbed and plundered them.

Even if they were robbed, Liu the Lion didn't have the energy to raise an army and march to the Kherlen River to reclaim his honor.

His current thinking was to first set up this idle chess piece in advance. If an opportunity ever arose in the future, even being able to deliver ten thousand forged steel arrowheads to the tiger's homeland would make a huge difference.

Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives.

Just as Liu Chengzong mentioned Zhang Zhen to Bai Wenxuan, a report came from the Feathered Forest Cavalry: "Grand Marshal, the Chief Military Officer of the Yanqing Circuit, Zhang Zhen, has sent a man — he says Zhou Qing has come."

"Zhou Qing…" Liu the Lion narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment, but his mind remained a complete blank. "Who is that?"

A Feathered Forest Guard beside him took out a small notebook and ran his finger across it. "Reporting to the Grand Marshal: Zhou Qing, encamped with Hun Tian Xing, Hui Dengxiang, at Hengshan. His nickname is Man Tian Xing."

"The Grand Marshal once ordered General Zhang to contact him and dispatch skilled men into Baode Prefecture to seek out the family of the Five-Province Supreme Commander, Chen Qiyu."

"Good!"

Liu Chengzong clapped his hands in great delight. "The guest has arrived — now the city of Xi'an Prefecture is within reach. Let's go! We'll go meet Chief Zhou."