Chapter 739: Chengzong Respectfully Submits

On the twenty-eighth day of the fifth month.

Outside Liaoyang City, the travel-worn Marshal's Army approached the walls in a thin line.

Liu Chengzong's advancing speed did not appear fast, but in truth this was a deliberately feigned appearance.

The First Brigade had run ten li after waking, and only when they drew within twenty li of Liaoyang, certain that the city walls could make out the outline of their battle formation, did they slowly and leisurely close in on old Liaoyang City.

Because Gao Yingdeng had discovered that Liaoyang was a colossal city, no smaller in scale than Xi'an Prefecture, looking like a giant monster sprawled along the banks of the Crown Prince River.

However, the greater Liaoyang's scale, the steadier the hearts of Liu Chengzong, Gao Yingdeng, and the other commanders grew.

According to intelligence obtained from earlier interrogations, there were only three thousand defenders within the city, which meant that once the assault began, the city's walls would be impossible to hold.

A single crenel can only hold one man — even celestial soldiers and generals could not hold it.

But a large city has the advantages of a large city: its defensive fortifications are more complete, and the preparatory work before an assault is far more complex.

Liu Chengzong intended to break the city in one surge within a few days, and therefore was in no hurry to send Gao Yingdeng charging forward in a probing attack.

Though the army moved slowly, there was more they could accomplish while on the march.

Liu the Lion led by playing a "sudden strike" card, sending out Zhang Xianzhong, the Minister of the Rites Office.

"To assault a city, we need men to fill the moat and build fortifications."

He said to Zhang Xianzhong, "I must trouble you, elder brother, to make a trip. Take the detached battalion under First Brigade Deputy Commander Li Hongsi and sweep a fifty-li radius. Gather as much intelligence as you can and kill as few as possible — I have another use for them."

"The Grand Marshal means to take them back with us?"

"Mm."

Liu Chengzong nodded without elaborating. This was also intelligence brought by Qian Shisheng: the Three Compliant Kings, originating from the Dongjiang Army, had troops proficient in cavalry tactics, were former naval men, and had also received new army artillery training in Shandong — a rare technical branch of arms.

It was just that the Liao people were deeply attached to their land and reluctant to move. This was their homeland, and taking them back to Shaanxi would be difficult to a degree.

Sending Zhang Xianzhong with troops was precisely to cut off the captives' retreat — destroy the fields, tear down the villages and stockades. With nowhere left to go, they would have no path to survival except to be taken away by him.

Zhang Xianzhong, having heard the order, was actually somewhat baffled at heart.

He had entirely forgotten his own origins as a bailiff and constable, and his experiences leading peasant armies on thousand-li campaigns, seizing cities and plundering lands in bloody battle.

He was one of the Grand Marshal's Manor's Six Office Ministers, honored by others with the respectful title of "Ministry Hall." He chatted and laughed with ease alongside the Ming Ministry of Rites Minister. Though limited by the Marshal Manor's national circumstances, saying he lived in brocade and ate jade was still a stretch, but bringing glory to his ancestors — that he had certainly achieved.

So he mused to himself: Old Zhang here isn't some born homicidal maniac. For the Grand Marshal to specially remind him to kill fewer people — what kind of talk was that? It was, to some degree, looking down on him.

But then, as soon as Zhang Xianzhong led his troops away from the main force, in less than half a shichen, the true caliber of the Western Camp's Eighth Great King came flooding back.

What sheer delight it was.

"Burn!"

Across the plain, Zhang Xianzhong loosed the reins and brandished his horsewhip, letting his warhorse gallop unchecked. "The Grand Marshal wants these people taken back to Shaanxi — no need to even come back! Pass my word: trample the fields, tear down doors and windows, plug the wells. Anything that can't be taken — burn it for me!"

Li Hongsi watched, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably. This creature was their Grand Marshal Manor's Minister of the Rites Office?

Being able to come out and run wild like this — every single hair on his body, from head to toe, was cheering and leaping with joy.

His troops, however, clearly had no objection to this kind of order.

Who doesn't love a bit of arson?

The efficiency was extremely high. Liu Chengzong had led his troops barely five li forward when he saw the first column of black smoke rise on the plain. Soon after, more and more black smoke shot up from the earth and surged skyward, spreading toward the distance.

The black smoke was like a signal.

Atop the Wangjing Tower at the southwest corner of Liaoyang City, the Compliant Prince Kong Youde was peering through a telescope, overlooking the Marshal Army's formation as it pressed toward Liaoyang.

Seeing the black smoke shoot up from the ground, Kong Youde's fist clenched the telescope's wooden guard until it creaked.

The niru near the border wall had long since withdrawn toward Shenyang under Emperor Chongde's edict, before the fighting even began.

The watchtower troops Liu Chengzong had seen outside the border wall were all Han-martial niru under his own command. But the troops of the Three Compliant Kings — those who were to shave their heads had all done so back when they surrendered to the Jin, no different from the Eight Banners now.

Kong Youde had long known that this army of Liu Chengzong's wanted to strike the border wall. When they breached the wall and entered three days ago, Kong Youde had likewise received the intelligence.

At the time, however, he had never imagined Liu Chengzong would head straight for him.

The niru janggin guarding that section of the border had watched Liu Chengzong breach the wall with his own eyes. The xiucai beside him wrote the report, saying: Han soldiers destroyed the wall and advanced; ten thousand riders circled out, red-tasseled helmets and crests, wind-driven, sweeping east.

In this era, Mongol soldiers were accustomed to wearing large fur hats with red tassels, so this clearly meant the Han soldiers were responsible for destroying the wall, while the Mongol cavalry swept eastward.

Since they were wind-driven and sweeping east, they must be making a swift raid on Shenyang.

Kong Youde had at the time still intended to dispatch troops to support Shengjing. It was just that Liaoyang's forces, after two earlier rounds of troop transfers, had only three thousand men left — holding the city itself was a struggle, and there were simply no troops to send east in support. He sent word to Shang Kexi at Haizhou, the gist being: our two households each send a thousand men to reinforce Shengjing.

Shang Kexi ignored him.

It was not until last night, when several night patrols scouting outside the city went missing and men were sent to search, that reports came back at dawn: they had discovered herds of horses and encampments stretching unbroken across the land. A large force was encamped thirty li north of the city, having already crossed the Crown Prince River and positioned itself on the north bank of the Bingma River.

They were coming for him.

Kong Youde was so alarmed he dared not even remain in the northern city, withdrawing directly into Liaoyang's southern city.

Liaoyang was a colossal city clearly exceeding normal specifications — it had not been this large from the start.

The city was divided into a southern and a northern city. The southern city was built in the early Ming, sixteen li and two hundred ninety-five paces in circumference, with walls three zhang and three chi high, and a moat five zhang wide and one zhang five chi deep.

Later, to settle the submitted Goryeo, Jurchen, and Yi peoples, the northern city was expanded outside the northern wall, with Zizai Prefecture to the west of the city and Dongning Guard to the east.

Forming the present-day "sun"-character layout.

After Nurhaci induced Liaoyang's surrender, he occupied the wealthier and more prosperous southern city and drove all the Han people into Zizai Prefecture and Dongning Guard in the northern city. Later, once the hair-shaving decree was issued, resistance and poisonings rose one after another. Nurhaci dared not stay long, and went across the river to build Dongjing City. He barely threw up a city wall and moved over before it was even finished.

Later, as rebellions across the land intensified, Nurhaci recognized that the Later Jin lacked the capacity to use Liaoyang as a base to continue expanding westward. He killed the poor wretches and slaughtered the wealthy households, nearly emptying the Liaodong Peninsula of Han people, then abandoned the territory and moved the capital to Shenyang, further east.

By the time Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming led the Heaven-Blessed Army into Liaoyang, not one in ten of Liaoyang's population remained. But the layout from Nurhaci's era had not changed: the northern city was the Han city, the southern city the Manchu city.

"Still no reply from Old Four Shang?"

The guard beside him, Bai Yunlong, shook his head. Kong Youde did not grow angry, instead laughing as he cursed, "I don't hold a grudge against him, and he still holds one against me."

The "Bai" in Bai Yunlong's name was not a Han surname, but a Bai changed from Bayara.

He was not Kong Youde's guard, but Emperor Chongde's guard — his official title was simply "Guard."

Hong Taiji had a longstanding habit of arranging marriages for surrendered generals, sending along a few guards with the match, which served both to win hearts and to oversee the army.

Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi had all accepted arranged marriages after surrendering to the Jin. Kong Youde surrendered early; four years ago, his wife, née Bai, bore him a son and a daughter. Shang Kexi surrendered late; three years ago, he had a son.

Although they all shared experience in the Dongjiang Army, the relationship among the Three Compliant Kings was not harmonious.

Kong Youde came from a family of iron miners in Tieling. He was strong and powerful, skilled in archery and horsemanship, and very familiar with the plains and hilly terrain of Liaodong.

Tieling's specialty was not iron. That place was formerly called Yinzhou, and its specialty was silver mines. In the early Ming dynasty, border issues with Joseon were not settled, so the Tieling Guard originally established at Tieshan was moved inward and took over the name of Yinzhou.

After the disastrous defeat at Sarhu, the Later Jin swallowed up Liaoyang and Shenyang. He followed the refugees from southern Liao and was rescued by Mao Wenlong, who brought him to Pi Island. Because of his extraordinary arm strength, fierce bravery in battle, and being the first to scale the walls in many assaults, Mao Wenlong adopted him as a foster grandson and gave him the name Mao Yongshi.

He was deeply grateful for Mao Wenlong's nurturing kindness of giving him his own clothes and food. Therefore, after Mao Wenlong's death, he was unwilling to continue receiving the military pay issued by Yuan Chonghuan and eventually transferred to serve under Sun Yuanhua in Shandong.

Sun Yuanhua treated him very well, the new army's pay and conditions were also very high, and Kong Youde was very comfortable there.

The Wuqiao Mutiny, which changed the course of his entire life, was actually an accidental mishap for him.

At Wuqiao, he had no intention of rebelling, nor did he have the ability to rebel.

The troops he led were not even his own soldiers, but eight hundred men belonging to the Lushun Deputy General Chen Youshi. Chen Youshi was also a foster grandson of Mao Wenlong, formerly named Mao Youhou.

The situation at the time was that after the Jisi Incident, the interior of the pass was full of suspicion toward the Liao troops, and the Liao troops harbored much resentment toward the interior. Moreover, the new army recruited by Sun Yuanhua in Shandong consisted mostly of the segment of Liao troops most suspicious of the court—the Dongjiang soldiers left after Mao Wenlong's death.

There was no business about a single chicken.

It was simply that Kong Youde was originally going to cross the sea to support Dalinghe. They encountered a typhoon on the Eastern Sea, so they retreated and then led Chen Youshi's eight hundred men by land.

The interior did not trust the Liao troops, so they shut their gates and closed their doors all along the way. During the typhoon, it rained everywhere, the roads were muddy and difficult to travel, the soldiers suffered hardships and lost time, and they felt that the fighting outside the pass might already be over. Resentment toward the court was rampant in the army.

The discrimination from the interior was not surprising. The interior was a peaceful region, while beyond the pass was a war-torn zone. When refugees from a war-torn zone flooded into a peaceful region, their living habits could not be adjusted in a short time, easily causing conflict.

When a normal person misses a meal, they will find a way to earn money to buy food. When a refugee from a war-torn zone misses a meal, before they even go hungry, the moment they see food is scarce, they will find a way to snatch it.

The resentment of the Liao troops from beyond the pass was also quite normal. Not everyone had bad habits. Many people not only possessed good personal morals but also had the public virtue of shedding blood and fighting hard for the country. But being part of a group, a few bad seeds doing a few bad deeds could ruin the group's reputation.

Resettling refugees, let alone in ancient times with low administrative efficiency, can easily lead to major chaos in any era if the slightest care is not taken.

When they reached Wuqiao, some soldiers ate food at Wang Xiangchun's house without paying. The family's servant reported this to Kong Youde.

In reality, both Kong Youde and the Wang family were very restrained in handling this matter at the time.

Wang Xiangchun, who held the official position of Director of the Bureau of Personnel and was called the leader of the Donglin Party by the eunuch faction, had his home burglarized by soldiers. He did not resort to underhanded tricks or retaliation; he merely sent a servant to seek an explanation from the army commander.

Kong Youde, as the army commander, was also very restrained. He meted out the appropriate punishment, offered the appropriate apology, and even protected the soldiers to a certain extent.

Ear-piercing and camp-parading involved inserting an arrow through the ears and parading around the camp to make a public example. It appeared to be a very severe punishment, as if he feared the powerful and deliberately punished the soldiers for the Wang family to see.

In reality, it was not.

The Ming army used Qi Jiguang's military law. Qi Jiguang's military law was extremely strict. According to the regulations, stealing someone's property was a crime equal to raping a woman, punishable by beheading and public display of the head.

Not only would the offending soldier be beheaded, but if soldiers in the same squad knew and did not report it, even covering it up, all who knew would be punished by association.

Therefore, Kong Youde's ear-piercing and camp-parading was not only a punishment not forced by pressure, but it was also making a major issue into a minor one, reducing a crime that should have been punished by beheading and public display to the level of speaking without permission during a march.

To prevent miscommunication of orders during a march, soldiers were forbidden from speaking casually while moving. If someone spoke of other things while relaying orders, they would be punished with ear-piercing and camp-parading.

The matter should have been resolved at this point.

But that soldier was resentful. He accepted Kong Youde's punishment but vented his anger on the servant who had reported him. At night, he sneaked back and killed that servant.

Wang Xiangchun's son came looking for him, and even at this point, the matter was still fine.

That soldier, after killing the man, did not flee but returned to the military camp. He was simply unafraid of death, coming to accept his death.

The mental state of the refugees from southern Liao was no better than that of the disaster victims in Shaanxi. What hadn't they seen? They had surrendered cities to Nurhaci, registered in the fields of the Jin Kingdom and shaved their heads, and also risen in revolt against the Jin Kingdom when killing the poor and the wealthy households, then followed Mao Wenlong to run off to the sea islands, landing to plunder and harass the rear.

They had long been tired of living.

Come to the interior to suffer this indignity?

What's the big deal about eating without paying? You dare report me? At night, I'll kill you. At worst, I'll pay with my life to the general.

That was all there was to it.

But it was precisely at this moment that the soul of the Wuqiao Mutiny returned. His name was Li Jiucheng.

He was also a former Pi Island officer, with a higher status in the army than Kong Youde. He was famous for his skill with the bird-beak arquebus, a man of fierce bravery in battle, even more formidable than Kong Youde.

He had been ordered by Sun Yuanhua to buy horses. The money was spent, but he had not bought enough horses and was fretting over how to report back when he happened upon Wang Xiangchun's son rebuking Kong Youde. He felt there were too many constraints in the interior and it was not as pleasant as on the sea island.

As it happened, many soldiers were boiling with resentment and all thought the same way.

With Li Jiucheng's instigation, this unit belonging to Chen Youshi coerced Kong Youde into rebellion.

Crucially, Li Jiucheng could fight. He made contact all along the way with former Dongjiang comrades dissatisfied with the court's killing of Mao Wenlong and fought his way toward Shandong.

At that time, Geng Zhongming was still in Dengzhou.

He was a Liao native born in Gaizhou Guard, but in his early years, he served the Jianzhou Jurchens, reaching the official rank of Company Commander. After the Sarhu campaign, Geng Zhongming became a deserter and defected to Mao Wenlong. Under Mao Wenlong, he was similar to Shen Shikui, engaging in smuggling with old contacts in the Later Jin.

In Shandong, Geng Zhongming was still smuggling. As a result, he was reported by Huang Long, who had become the Regional Commander of Pi Island, but Sun Yuanhua was very protective of his subordinates, so the matter went nowhere.

Geng Zhongming's younger brother, Geng Zhongyu, was in Huang Long's army. Using the pretext of a pay riot, he surrounded Huang Long's government office, dragged him to the drill ground, and subjected him to severe humiliation.

Sun Yuanhua treated all the new army generals very well. Kong Youde wanted to be granted amnesty, and Sun Yuanhua wanted to pacify him, so he put Geng Zhongming in charge of the pacification efforts in Dengzhou City. But the gentry and commoners of Dengzhou were unwilling to let the Liao troops enter the city, so Geng Zhongming assembled the Liao troops inside the city and handed Dengzhou City over.

To put it bluntly, the mental state of the former Dongjiang generals after Mao Wenlong's death was extremely dangerous. Even without the Wuqiao Mutiny, there would have been a Dengzhou Mutiny or a Lushun Mutiny.

After all, they were all Mao Wenlong's men. They had waited for who knows how many years for someone from the court to come. That person was Yuan Chonghuan, and as soon as he arrived, he killed Mao Wenlong. Everyone was uneasy.

Yuan Chonghuan settled them. Fine, they listened to Yuan Chonghuan. Then Yuan Chonghuan was killed in turn.

Most of the former generals of Dongjiang Garrison were Mao Wenlong's foster sons and foster grandsons. Although they all changed their names after Mao Wenlong's death, with this layer of relationship, they feared the Ming court would hold them guilty.

In their view, their grandfather and this Military Superintendent Yuan were in a hostile relationship. Now that both were dead, at least one of them had to be in the right, correct?

If Yuan Chonghuan was right, the Emperor should not have killed him. If the Emperor killed Yuan Chonghuan, then didn't that mean Mao Wenlong died unjustly?

Mao Chenglu wrote an official document begging the Emperor to redress the injustice.

The Emperor paid no heed. Yuan Chonghuan deserved to die, and Mao Wenlong also deserved to die.

Mao Chenglu now had a clear answer in his heart. As soon as Li Jiucheng's letter arrived, Mao Chenglu mustered seven thousand Dongjiang troops and landed in Shandong to join the fight.

The Wuqiao Mutiny thus evolved into a major event that shook the Great Ming. They were a rebel army that had undergone consolidated training, a force of fifteen thousand men possessing over three hundred General Cannons. By contrast, they had only five Red Barbarian Cannons, which were the new army's weapons.

However, after defeating Yang Yufan's Tongzhou troops, that number became eleven.

After successive battles against Wang Hong's Tianjin troops, Liu Guozhu's Baoding troops, Yang Yufan's Tongzhou troops, Deng Qi's Jimen troops, Wu Anbang's Dengzhou troops, Chen Hongfan's Changping troops, Huang Long's Dongjiang troops, and Liu Zeqing's volunteer troops, the registered troops under Li Jiucheng's command swelled past ninety thousand, and the Red Barbarian Cannons became over twenty.

They struck a posture of being invincible under heaven.

Later, Li Jiucheng seized Dengzhou. Being excessively fierce and brave, he repeatedly sallied out of the city to fight and ultimately died outside the walls, throwing the rebel army into chaos. Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and others fled across the sea one after another, leading their remnant soldiers and defeated generals to defect to the Later Jin, after which the rebellion was quickly suppressed by Ming forces.

When Kong and Geng fled across the sea, Geng Zhongming originally did not want to defect to the Later Jin, because he was himself a turncoat general from the Later Jin. He still wished to surrender to the imperial court, and submitted a memorial proposing to build the Southern Pass and recover Jinzhou for the court to atone for his crimes.

But he had earlier offended Huang Long far too deeply on Pi Island. Huang Long wanted only to kill him, not to pacify him, so he had nowhere to go except to defect to the Later Jin.

Because of this stance, many of the soldiers under Kong Youde's command in the Heaven-Blessed Army who had been forced to surrender to the Later Jin were more willing to follow Geng Zhongming, to the point that a rift developed between them and Kong Youde.

Hong Taiji also did not trust Geng Zhongming, so whenever he went to war he had to take Geng with him, leaving Kong Youde to guard Liaoyang.

Shang Kexi was of a different background, and had feuds with everyone in the Heaven-Blessed Army, including Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming.

He was a hereditary soldier born in Haizhou. His father and elder brother were among the one hundred and ninety-seven warriors who followed Mao Wenlong's lone army into southern Liaoning.

A family of unshakeable loyalty and martyrdom, of pure and noble stock.

In those years, when Mao Wenlong's lone army entered southern Liaoning, Shang Kexi also enlisted and joined the Ming naval forces. The following year, when Pi Island was established as a garrison, he went to Pi Island to seek his father. Not long after their reunion, both his father and elder brother were killed in battle against the Later Jin.

He came from the Ming military system and his whole family were martyrs, unlike those southern Liaoning refugee leaders such as Shen Shikui and Kong Youde. Therefore, when the Ming court appointed Huang Long as Chief Military Commander, and Geng Zhongming's younger brother Geng Zhongyu harassed Huang Long while Shen Shikui attempted to seize power, Shang Kexi firmly stood by Huang Long's side and led troops to rescue him.

He thus became Huang Long's trusted confidant, and turned around to suppress the Shandong rebellion, leading the naval forces to a great victory over Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming at sea.

It was just bad luck that Huang Long, his patron, soon after died in battle.

Shang Kexi's father was a founding elder of Dongjiang and a great hero of southern Liaoning, but after all, the great hero died early.

The history of Dongjiang Garrison is a circle. Starting with Mao Wenlong, its power swelled until it was like an external vassal state, beyond the court's reach, with imperial control at its absolute lowest.

The Ming court tried to take control, killing Mao Wenlong and dividing the authority of Chen Jisheng, Liu Xingzuo, and others. The court's power returned, it gained control over Dongjiang Garrison, and accepted the Liaoning refugees landing in Shandong.

Subsequently, Pi Island erupted in a great war over power and profit, which spilled over into Li Jiucheng, Kong Youde, and Geng Zhongming, stirring up a massive rebellion in Shandong.

Until Huang Long died, and Shen Shikui, of southern Liaoning refugee origin, became the overall commander of Pi Island. The court was beyond reach, and its control once again fell to its absolute lowest.

And Shang Kexi was a man who firmly stood on the court's side. He had earlier suppressed the rebellion, fighting against generals and soldiers all from Dongjiang origins. With his patron gone, not only was no one in Dongjiang Garrison willing to accept him, but many were eager to eliminate him as quickly as possible.

Anyone else, in the environment of Pi Island, would certainly have led troops back to seize power from Shen Shikui by force.

But Shang Kexi came from a military family, a house of martyrs. He was loyal, and would not engage in such internal strife. He hid away on his own small island and sent a report to the Ming court, requesting a transfer to the Shandong naval forces.

Shandong had just suffered the chaos of the Liaoning refugees; how could they allow Shang Kexi to land with Pi Island troops again? The court also refused.

After all, loyalty is a dynamic thing.

Mao Wenlong was very loyal when he led his lone army into southern Liaoning. Mao Chenglu was very loyal when he sent a report to the court to clear his adoptive father's name. Li Jiucheng was very loyal when he carried silver to buy horses. Kong Youde was very loyal when he punished soldiers with ear-piercing and camp-parading.

How could the court know whether your loyalty was real or fake?

Letting you into Shandong was one more problem; pretending not to see was one less problem. Better one less problem than one more.

Shang Kexi had no options. Staying in Dongjiang Garrison meant death. When the grain on his small island ran out, he took his naval forces and defected to Hong Taiji, was enfeoffed as the Wise and Compliant Prince, and was settled in his hometown of Haizhou, positioned to block the Guanning forces in front and guard against Kong and Geng in the rear.

Haizhou was only about a hundred li from Liaoyang, much closer than the main Eight Banners force of the Chongde Emperor, who was marching south to suppress Shen Shikui. Moreover, Shang Kexi had naval forces, making him the only army that could reinforce Liaoyang at that moment.

But Shang Kexi completely ignored Kong Youde's pleas for help, and Liu Chengzong's speed of advance was far faster than Kong Youde had imagined.

Although Liaoyang was only a little over a hundred li from the border wall, there were three major rivers in between, and countless smaller streams. It should have taken at least five days to march there.

But Liu Chengzong's army took only two days, and by the third day had already reached the outskirts of Liaoyang. They even deliberately advanced toward the city walls at a leisurely pace, bringing with them a swath of beacon smoke that made Kong Youde's heart tremble with panic.

He of course knew who Liu Chengzong was.

Before he had even rebelled, just when he arrived in Dengzhou, Liu Chengzong had already stirred up a huge storm in Shaanxi and Shanxi, and later even became Grand Marshal and led troops into Qinghai. After he defected to the Later Jin, though news from Shaanxi could not reach Liaodong, as the covert struggles of the past two years evolved into open conflict, Liu Chengzong's name had grown increasingly thunderous among the enemy.

Because the three words "Liu Chengzong" were the gilded signboard that the Eight Banners nobles brought out whenever they were dissatisfied with the Chongde Emperor.

The Eight Banners' dissatisfaction with Hong Taiji was manifold.

The Two Red Banners and the Bordered Blue Banner came from the dismemberment of Šurhaci's Black Banner, but Daišan of the Plain Red Banner was marginalized and squeezed out; Amin of the Bordered Blue Banner was imprisoned.

The Yellow and White Banners swapped colors. The current White Banner was the Jianzhou of Nurhaci's time, ranked below the Yellow Banner, while the White Banner of Hada origin became the Yellow Banner, enjoying exalted status.

Along with this war, more and more rumors and whispers spread through Shengjing.

Hong Taiji's claim to the title of Chongde Emperor rested on just three things.

First, he could fight internal struggles, toppling all three of the Great Beile: Daišan, Amin, and Manggūltai.

Second, he could endure. Although the offensives against the Great Ming failed to gain a foothold in western Liaoning, he had, after all, held on.

Third, he crushed the Northern Yuan. Ligdan Khan's Northern Yuan had once pushed the Later Jin's grand alliance line all the way to Guihua City. This was also Hong Taiji's greatest, and only, achievement.

Of course, Hong Taiji's true achievement was not these three, but transforming the Later Jin from a feudal military aristocratic alliance into a bureaucratic system and imperial framework.

But at present, this was not seen as an achievement, but rather as a symbol of his vainglorious extravagance.

With this campaign, Liu Chengzong had advanced triumphantly all the way from the Ordos, through Guihua City, Ulanqab, Xanadu, Khorchin... Not only had he made Hong Taiji's ten years of work come to nothing, he had even squandered the old Khan's foundation of the Khorchin alliance.

Every day he boasted of his ability, tormented his brothers and sisters, executed his elder brother and sliced his sister to death, enfeoffed Han Chinese as princes, and bragged about ruling the Mongols.

Yes, he crushed Ligdan Khan's Northern Yuan, but that barbarian Liu has brought back the Great Yuan, and is at the very gates!

What kind of emperor does that make him?

Regarding this legend Liu Chengzong, Kong Youde had the urge to write a letter, asking how, with no prior enmity between them, he had come leading troops against him.

But with Lady Bai at home and Bai Yunlong at his side, constrained from many directions and his thoughts in turmoil, he ultimately could not bring himself to send a message, and could only make arrangements to defend the city.

He concentrated all the city's cannons and troops on the southern wall, merely recruiting some militia to guard the northern wall, intending to fight a desperate defense from the south.

He never expected that before he could write a letter, several riders came galloping from outside the city, clad in red armor with command flags at their backs. They bypassed the outer patrols all the way to the moat, drew their bows, and shot several arrow-borne letters onto the gate tower of the Suqing Gate, the western gate of the southern wall.

A soldier delivered the letter. Kong Youde saw the envelope, "To be Opened Personally by Brother Kong," and his heart swelled with delight, overjoyed beyond measure.

But when he opened the envelope and saw the words inside, Kong Youde's face turned green.

"I am a Marshal, and you, elder brother, are also a Marshal. The Deng-Lai campaign showed some spirit. If you could not carve out a domain and contend for hegemony because your strength fell short, then so be it. But why shave your head, surrender to the slaves, kowtow, and call them 'Lord'? If you have grievances, summon your old troops, open the city gates, and charge into Shengjing with me. Where under heaven can a true man not go? As for your grudge against the Great Ming, I will avenge it for you later."

"Half a shichen. If you do not surrender, we fight. Liaoyang may be large, but consider how it compares to Xi'an."

"Your younger brother, Chengzong, with respect!"

Good morning!

(End of chapter)