Chapter 736: The Two-Faced Zu Dashou

Shen Shikui's Dongjiang Town island troops were plundering in the south.

Liu Chengzong's Marshal Manor army in the north was not about to fall behind — they wanted to enter Liaodong.

But the Liaodong border wall was the first obstacle he had to cross.

The Liaodong border wall was not hard to breach — not because the wall was high. In fact, in this area northwest of Shenyang, the wall was built atop man-made earthen mounds and was not very tall at all.

Even the city walls, in some sections, looked crude — just piled rubble forming a ten-foot-high stone wall, not even rammed earth; you could clamber right over it.

The real difficulty lay in the fact that the border wall was built along the Liao River.

The Liao River itself was a great river one to two hundred paces wide — an imposing width in itself, and crossing it required boats.

All the ferry boats at the crossing had been gathered up by the Eight Banners and taken to the opposite bank. Mounted scouts had ridden along the shore for half a day without finding a single ferry.

And besides the river itself, on both banks there were silt and mud flats nearly a thousand paces wide — these were natural barriers in their own right, which was why the walls in some places had been built so crudely.

This kind of river channel forms because of high silt content; just as the Yellow River constantly shifts its course, as the flow rate changes, river sand accumulates in certain stretches, forming sandbars that raise the riverbed, and the water slips aside and flows elsewhere.

Hence the local saying: the Liao River runs east one year, west the next.

This kind of river behavior was certainly no good thing for the people living on its banks, but for Liu Chengzong it was a good thing.

While the army felled timber in the surrounding area, they dispatched mounted scouts south along the Liao River to search for a shallow ford where horses could wade across.

They found no shallow ford where riders could wade across, but the scout riders, galloping south all the way, came upon a niru village on the bank where the Clam River met the Liao River.

The village's people, livestock, and goods had all been moved away, but at the village crossroads, Liu Chengzong's scout riders ran into Guanning Army outriders.

The two groups — one at the north end of the village, one at the south end — were both inside houses ransacking chests and cabinets. They came out leading horses loaded with whatever usable things they had picked up, and walked right into each other face to face.

The Guanning Army outriders wore blue cloth-faced armor with coiled dragon patterns and iron arm-guards, topped with helmet-bowl headpieces.

The Marshal Army scout riders wore red cloth-faced armor with coiled dragon patterns, also with iron arm-guards and topped with helmet-bowl headpieces.

Both sides were on high alert. The moment they saw each other, they drew bows and raised firelocks, then stared wide-eyed, gaping at the identical uniform patterns and armor. For several seconds no one could speak — their brains had seized up entirely.

The scout rider spoke first: "Guanning Army?"

The Guanning troops opposite immediately drew their bows and shot, their squad forming up to fire three-eyed guns in covering volleys, shouting as they fired: "Fake Tatars!"

Seeing this, the scout riders instantly pulled their warhorses around as cover, raised their three-eyed guns, and fired — bang, bang.

The two sides totaled ten men: five scout riders, five outriders.

The banging of gunfire went on without pause, then they drew blades and maces and fought hand to hand. Nearby scout soldiers, hearing the gunfire, came racing over, and soon, with their advantage in numbers, hammered the five Guanning outriders until they could not get up.

They seized the horses, bound the captives, and not daring to linger in the village, retreated north all the way to the scout-rider centurion's position.

The centurion, seeing the captured Guanning troops, dared not treat the matter lightly either. After a brief interrogation, he ordered his men to quickly strip the armor off the three who could still move and escort them to the main army.

The other two had been struck by lead balls. Left where they were, if they underwent surgery later they might still live; sent to the main army, they would certainly be dead men.

The men were delivered to Liu Chengzong and interrogated again.

The Feathered Forest Tiger Guards of the Marshal Manor's main army certainly gave them a warm welcome.

Soon, Liu Tichun came cheerfully running to the main army with the intelligence gained from the interrogation: "Marshal, two pieces of intelligence. The Guanning Army from Jinzhou has advanced to the Three Forks River, two hundred li away. And those Guanning outriders know where the Liao River is shallow enough to cross — very close to that village."

"Three Forks River?"

Liu Chengzong took the intelligence report and looked it over.

This Guanning Army force was Zu Dashou's troops.

They had marched because Zu Dashou's son — captured at the Battle of Dalinghe and taken to Shenyang — had written him a letter, saying the slave soldiers had gone west to plunder and this was the perfect moment to strike while they were weak.

Zu Dashou was keen to march, but his subordinate commanders were divided. They had also spotted Eight Banners patrols at the Three Forks River where the Liao River mouth lay inside the Liaodong border wall, and had received a letter from Hong Taiji sent from Shenyang. Thus he was wavering.

"Never mind Zu Dashou for now. Have Ma Xiang take the captives to the shallow ford. The Clan Battalion and the Northern Yuan Battalion will follow. The Clan Battalion will set up bridges and tear down the border wall; the Northern Yuan Battalion will stand ready on defense."

He said to Liu Tichun: "Whether we go in or not, we tear down the wall first. Tear open several more breaches."

Liu Tichun immediately left the tent and relayed the orders to the Feathered Forest Cavalry.

Liu the Lion stared at the intelligence in thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up and handed it to Qian Shisheng in the tent. He asked: "Elder Qian, have you ever met Zu Dashou?"

During these days of marching along the border wall, he had been trying to figure out the correct use of a Grand Secretary.

At least so far, it was very easy to draw information out of Qian Shisheng.

The old gentleman was like a human library — widely learned with a powerful memory, versed in all the classics, histories, philosophies, and literary collections. Having served at the center of power, he was deeply knowledgeable about state affairs and personnel matters, truly brimming with talent.

The drawback was a certain stubborn rigidity and self-righteousness; his understanding of local realities was superficial and slightly out of touch.

Qian Shisheng himself thoroughly enjoyed this process of being pumped for information — he felt that Liu Chengzong, the great bandit carving up the realm, was being conquered by his intellect.

Qian Shisheng slowly shook his head: "Zu Zhen is a famed general of the realm, the vanguard of Liaodong. This old man served long in Nanjing, and only once heard someone mention, back in the Ministry of Rites, that Zu Zhen's thumb..."

As he spoke, he glanced at the fingers of Liu Chengzong's right hand but saw no archer's guard, and with a trace of puzzlement continued: "His thumb wears a ring, and the ring and flesh have merged without seam — a clear sign of a life of toil on horseback."

Liu the Lion burst out laughing the moment he heard this.

He understood what Qian Shisheng was trying to express. The "ring" he spoke of was a she — also called a shooting ring, thumb ring, or trigger.

Qian Shisheng's analogy was simply applied in the wrong place.

Liu the Lion reached into his chest and pulled out two tooth-made sloped shooting rings, each with a small hole drilled in the tail and a silk cord wristlet dangling from it. "What Your Excellency speaks of is this — a shooting ring."

The dangling cord was tied around the wrist — partly because a shooting ring could sometimes be hooked and flung off by the bowstring, a common occurrence when one's form warped after exhaustion.

And secondly, shooting rings were mostly made of bone, though there were also jade, porcelain, bronze, and iron ones — but these were all relatively rare.

The Mongolian-style cylindrical thumb ring in particular was just a section of bone or antler, polished smooth and ready to use.

Whatever the material, the function of a shooting ring meant it was always very smooth.

Wearing one of these while wielding a blade, you could only bring out seven-tenths of your full ability.

So Qian Shisheng's words, far from proving Zu Dashou's life of toil on horseback, instead proved to Liu Chengzong that Zu Dashou had worn his thumb ring year-round, had not wielded a blade for many years — so long that the ring had fused with his flesh — and was old and declining.

Perhaps he still shot his bow from time to time, but he certainly no longer danced with blade or spear.

But Liu Chengzong did not say this, because although Qian Shisheng's evidence was wrong, his conclusion was correct.

"Zu Dashou is indeed a famed general."

Liu Chengzong nodded, then looked at Qian Shisheng and asked: "But Elder Qian — is he a famed general of the Great Ming, or a famed general of Daiching? Is the court not afraid he will surrender to the slaves?"

What use was fear? Qian Shisheng thought.

The court had a set procedure for dealing with generals it did not trust.

Back when Liu Xingzhi of the Dongjiang Garrison killed Chen Jisheng and ran rampant on the island, the court did not say to kill Liu Xingzhi — it only said to have Liu Xingzhi execute the Jurchen soldiers under his command, and let the news leak, triggering a bloody feud among Liu's faction.

Shen Shikui, Zhang Tao, and others automatically joined the match, slaughtering every last one of the Pi Island Lius; only then did the court send Huang Long over to take over.

Later, the same trick was used on Zu Dashou after he fled back from Dalinghe.

Zu Dashou had two Yi-character battalions, both made up of the finest Mongol Yi soldiers recruited over the years.

Those who had assimilated took the surname Zu and were sent to various battalions to help him control the army; those who had not assimilated stayed in the Yi-character battalions as personal troops. Wherever Zu Dashou went, these two battalions went with him.

In the seventh year of Chongzhen, word spread through the Guanning Army of a secret imperial decree ordering Zu Dashou to execute every last Mongol soldier in the Surrendered Yi Left and Right Battalions.

Sang'ang of the Surrendered Yi Left Battalion struck first, secretly plotting to abduct Zu Dashou and defect to the Later Jin.

Because there was no so-called "execute every last one" — that news was something he had planted. The court's secret decree was simply for Zu Dashou to kill him.

In the end, the news that Sang'ang wanted to abduct Zu Dashou was also betrayed by Mongol soldiers, and Zu Dashou learned of it.

For three days, the Yi-character battalions did not remove their armor. A bloody feud seemed unavoidable.

Then Zu Dashou went straight into the Yi-character battalions to clear up the misunderstanding, telling Sang'ang: If I kill you, how do I live? If you kill me, how do you live?

The two sides became a solid block of iron once more, treating the court's secret order as a fart.

The court had absolutely no way to deal with Zu Dashou!

"The Zu garrison — only seeks to preserve itself."

Qian Shisheng phrased it with great artfulness and said to Liu Chengzong with certainty, "The court trusts him."

Liu Chengzong laughed soundlessly.

He nodded. "Then I trust him too."

This caught Qian Shisheng by surprise, and he turned delighted. "Then does the Grand Marshal intend to ally with the Zu garrison to attack Shenyang? If so, this old man can serve as envoy. The Zu garrison is currently advancing to Sancha River and surely intends to attack Shenyang."

The smile on Liu Chengzong's face deepened. He nodded as he smiled and asked, "If we ally, how many troops does Zu Dashou have to coordinate with my attack on Shenyang?"

"One hundred ten thousand Guanning troops. The Zu garrison commands fifty-three battalions, sixty-eight thousand horse and foot soldiers. Not counting garrison forces, there remain nineteen battalions of horse and foot soldiers, over twenty thousand. They will surely give the Grand Marshal wings!"

In that single instant.

Qian Shisheng saw the smile brimming on Liu Chengzong's face freeze in a flash, turning cold and ruthless.

He did not lower his head, but his eyes dropped, as if calculating something, and he murmured, "Twenty thousand — not so hard to fight, really."

The moment those eight words left his mouth, Qian Shisheng's heart seized with great alarm. He had revealed Zu Dashou's troop strength only because he thought Liu Chengzong wanted to borrow Guanning's strength.

Who could have known that from what Liu Chengzong was now saying, he was actually planning to attack the Guanning defense line.

Qian Shisheng was utterly dumbfounded.

This was completely different from everything he had come to understand about Liu Chengzong and the entire Marshal Army during this period!

Although before his mission, he had suspected Liu Chengzong wanted to ally with the Eastern Slaves to attack the Ming, once he entered Liu Chengzong's main camp, he had come to believe that Liu Chengzong had come to fight the Eastern Slaves.

So what was this now?

He could not follow Liu Chengzong's seemingly leaping train of thought at all.

"Th-this, Grand Marshal, Grand Marshal — aren't you going to attack the Liaodong border wall, to fight your way into Shenyang?"

Qian Shisheng could no longer speak smoothly. His hands grasped and waved in front of him. "Those Guanning outriders acted without knowing friend from foe. Let this old man — no, just a single letter — and the misunderstanding can be cleared up."

In truth, it was not only Qian Shisheng. Even Zhang Xianzhong and Liu Tichun in the command tent had failed to follow Liu Chengzong's train of thought.

Zhang Xianzhong was also in a dazed state and even chimed in to persuade alongside Qian Shisheng. "Commander, the Guanning Army can still fight a battle. Ally with them to attack Shenyang, and perhaps we could wipe out the Eastern Slave Tartars in one stroke. This..."

Halfway through, the Eighth Great King's face lit up with sudden realization. He pulled off his green hat. "I get it — we can't ally with them. Once the Tartars are wiped out, the Great Ming will turn around and fight the Marshal's headquarters to the death."

"Brother, you understand an egg!"

Liu Chengzong shot Zhang Xianzhong a look of disgust. "You think pretty far ahead. The Great Ming is a sick old man at death's door — no need for you to kick him; he'll trip on flat ground and lose half his life on his own. You think I'm afraid of him?"

"Wiping out Sechen first would certainly be a good thing, but things won't even get to that step."

With that, Liu the Lion also realized that neither of the two men in the tent could follow his thought process.

He took a few steps, casually pulled over a folding chair and sat down, then pointed at Qian Shisheng and said to Zhang Xianzhong, "Didn't Elder Qian just say that Zu Dashou only seeks to preserve himself, and the court trusts him?"

"The Guanning outriders' confession says that Zu Dashou's son in Shenyang sent word that Shenyang is empty, so he brought his troops to Sancha River."

"The Elder also just said that Zu Dashou's archery rings have grown into his flesh."

Zhang Xianzhong and Qian Shisheng exchanged a glance. Both nodded in a daze, still unable to connect these statements.

"I have never met Zu Dashou, but I trust Elder Qian, so I trust Zu Dashou too."

Liu Chengzong spoke with great sincerity, spreading his hands as if this were only natural. "Precisely because I trust him — how could he ally with me to attack the Eight Banners?"

"Zu Dashou is an old general who has not personally taken the field in many years. Advanced in years, his spirit is spent. He has no great ambition — he only seeks to preserve himself."

"His son is in the enemy capital, yet has not been killed, has not been mistreated, and can even send word to tell him Shenyang is empty. He has received extremely good care. Why?"

"After Yuan Chonghuan died, he fled beyond the passes without authorization. The Emperor loves killing people so much, yet he forcibly swallowed his grievance and let him live — did not strip his office but promoted him instead. Why again?"

Without waiting for the two to answer, Liu Chengzong raised a hand and tapped the table where the map lay, giving the answer as he guided them step by step. "Because he is the commander of the Ming army on the Jinzhou front line. So who is his enemy?"

In that moment, Zhang Xianzhong felt, psychologically, an immense sense of kinship with Qian Shisheng.

Because when he involuntarily glanced at Qian Shisheng, their eyes met, and in the other man's dazed and muddled eyes he saw his own dazed muddle.

This proved it was not a problem of his intelligence. These civil officials in high positions — Elder this, Minister that — their intelligence was all on the same level.

Zhang Xianzhong was no longer quite sure. With uncertainty, he asked, "His enemy is... Hong Taiji?"

The expectant look in Liu Chengzong's eyes dimmed.

He sighed wearily, raised a hand, and traced a finger along the Jinzhou line on the map. "If the battle line advances one step, he has no meaning to the Ming court. If the battle line retreats one step, he has no meaning to Sechen."

"There is no second person under heaven who wishes more than he does for the status quo beyond Shanhai Pass to be maintained. The Great Ming, Sechen, the Marshal's headquarters — they have no meaning to him."

He gave the two a moment to digest his thought process. "Whoever breaks the status quo is his enemy. I have come."

"Since Elder Qian wishes to send him a letter, tell him this: I have come to take silver, to go to Shenyang. Let him stay put in Jinzhou. If he dares cross the Liao River by a single step, I will go to Jinzhou to take it."

(The previous chapter didn't advance the plot, so this chapter is free.)

?? Good evening!

? (End of chapter)