Chapter 1168: Defending Xuzhou

The momentum clearly pointed straight at Jining — was the court about to move troops against Xuzhou? Only now did the people in Jining realize that those captured and killed in recent days had been government agents planted inside, and that even the unrest here and there might have been stirred up by the authorities behind the scenes.

At this juncture, many in Jining found their understanding slightly scrambled — who exactly were the government troops, and who were the bandits? The Xuzhou Zhao Camp had always acted openly and honorably, with strict discipline, seeming more like a proper government office, while everyone knew perfectly well what the Great Ming's officials and soldiers were like. The scholars and students who had joined those protest gatherings days earlier secretly rejoiced, feeling the clouds had finally parted to reveal clear skies, but it was only the young ones who were excited. The more seasoned men were all worrying — once government troops arrived, soldier-disaster was certain. How could they escape this calamity? The New Year was just around the corner, the Grand Canal was frozen solid, and where could they flee to? There was nowhere to go!

The situation suddenly tensed, but to the surprise of people in Jining and the surrounding areas, the Zhao Camp merely tightened control within Jining city itself — no city-wide lockdown or martial law was imposed. Only the regiments and battalions stationed at various points began assembling near Jining, and Cloud Mountain Trading started inventorying supplies. It was at this point that many in Jining noticed the First Brigade, First Regiment had already arrived and encamped at the farmstead outside the city, though most in Jining had been unaware of the First Regiment's arrival.

Most intelligence, whether by water or land, converged along the Grand Canal and was then relayed along that waterway. What Jining knew was that the Shandong troops garrisoned in Dengzhou and Laizhou had mobilized in force and were heading for Jining. They had no idea that three thousand newly trained government soldiers from Henan had already entered Guide Prefecture, or that the troops of the newly established Daming Grand Coordinator had already closed in on Kong Family Village and were about to cross into Xuzhou in Southern Zhili. Still less would they know that both the Henan and Daming forces were under the overall command of former Caozhou Regional Commander Yang Zhaoji — Yang Zhaoji serving as Daming Regional Commander — while Zhou Baolu, already transferred out of Xuzhou, served as Vice Regional Commander, his own personal troops and household retainers incorporated into the force.

The garrison at the Central Capital of Fengyang numbered over five thousand — four thousand advancing toward Suzhou, one thousand heading east toward Qingjiangpu. Across the various locations north of the Yangtze in Southern Zhili, the Fengyang Grand Coordinator's standard battalions and the Wolf Mountain Vice General's main army had all begun striking camp and moving north, while three thousand troops from Nanjing had also crossed the river, stationing themselves around Yangzhou to serve as reserves for the northbound forces.

Each of these government forces was encamped right at the edge of the Zhao Camp's zone of control, maintaining an uneasy peace all this time. But because they were so close, if they chose to strike, they would not need to amass supplies or make extensive preparations in advance. Moreover, it was winter, and each encampment's winter stores were already ample — if they had laid in a little extra when winter began, it would hardly have drawn much notice.

As reports and movements from every direction converged on Xuzhou, anyone with a grasp of geography could see the situation at a glance: the court was launching a massive encirclement of Xuzhou. The Shandong government troops, reinforced with Liao soldiers, now numbered eleven thousand; the Daming force was nearly six thousand; the Henan troops, three thousand; the Fengyang troops, over five thousand; the Wolf Mountain troops, over thirteen thousand; and the Grand Coordinator's standard battalion elites numbered close to three thousand. In the first wave alone, the court had committed nearly fifty thousand troops. The Zhao Camp's four brigades, plus its various regiments and companies — those who could truly be called household retainers — numbered barely twenty thousand. They would be facing more than double their own number. This was going to be a hard fight.

The Zhao Camp had defeated government forces while outnumbered more than once, but this time, everyone's hearts were in their throats. If one connected the series of events that had unfolded since the Yellow River dike at Xuzhou was breached, the court's plan could be roughly guessed: first, use various schemes to throw Xuzhou and the areas under Zhao Camp control into chaos, even laying a killing trap at Qingjiangpu. But all of that was surface action — behind the scenes, troops were being quietly shifted into position. Or rather, these government forces had been aimed at the Zhao Camp all along; it was only now that they began to move.

The immense effort expended — setting traps and lighting fires everywhere — and then launching the strike at the end of the twelfth month, when people's guard was at its lowest, showed the court's resolve this time. The Great Ming realm had far more than just these fifty thousand government troops, and this year the surrounding regions had all been fairly quiet and peaceful. Whether the Mongol tribes to the north or the Jianzhou Jurchens to the northeast, none showed any sign of pressing further attacks, and the campaign in the southwest was gradually winding down. That meant the court could commit even more troops to encircle and suppress Xuzhou. These first fifty thousand were merely the beginning; more would keep coming in an endless stream.

But what truly threw the gentry and commoners of Xuzhou and Pizhou into panic was not this — it was that Zhao Jin was not in Xuzhou at this moment. With the pillar of their strength absent, how could they meet the government troops in battle? There really were capable men at court after all, managing to lure the ever-wise and valiant Master Jin and the other masters all the way to Qingjiangpu. Now they could not rush back in time, and this could cost them everything.

Unlike the scrambled perceptions in Jining, in Xuzhou and Pizhou, whether gentry, local strongmen, or ordinary folk, everyone was utterly terrified at the prospect of government troops coming to "restore order." They had all benefited from Zhao Jin's favor, but it was not gratitude that drove them — rather, everyone understood that over these years, Xuzhou and Pizhou had become synonymous with Zhao Jin. Everyone, from top to bottom, was Zhao Jin's associate, rebels who would rise or fall with him. This meant that when the government troops arrived, besides plundering the Zhao Camp's wealth, they would also carry out a bloodbath and massacre across Xuzhou and Pizhou — and a massacre conducted openly and righteously at that. Where rebels were found, the practice had always been to root them out completely. This was something the Great Ming had done before.

If the Zhao Camp fell, everyone would share in the disaster. Once they understood this, Xuzhou naturally united as one. It was not that no one considered switching sides, but Xuzhou had virtually no scholars, so its ties with the authorities were naturally tenuous. Moreover, everyone knew that the Internal Guard, the Patrolmen, and other overt and covert informants were spread everywhere — for all anyone knew, there might be one in their own household. At a moment like this, to rashly reach out to the authorities would be to court certain death.

Their mindset was reflected in the government offices of the one prefecture and four counties. Far from being elated by the news, the various yamens instead grew deserted and forlorn. The clerks and runners all stopped reporting for duty, each staying home to rest. Even the servants of the department magistrates and county magistrates could not buy rice, flour, or groceries outside. No one had ordered the vendors to stop selling, yet no one dared sell to them. Had Zhao Shiyilang not spoken up in time, some officials might have starved to death. As for the officials themselves, they felt not the slightest joy — the magistrates were all cursing the court for sending their entire families to their deaths.

The commanders of Xuzhou Guard and Xuzhou Left Guard all made the same choice: upon hearing the news, they moved their entire families to He Family Village. It was not that they had astutely judged the situation in time, but that they had no other choice. First, they had grown rich doing business with Zhao Jin — the crime of colluding with rebels was inescapable. Second, too many men in the three Xuzhou Guards now stood on the Zhao Camp's side. Without Zhao Jin needing to give any order, plenty of people were already watching the guard commanders' every move. If they made the wrong move, their entire families would likely be slaughtered clean without Zhao Jin even having to issue the command.

The most unexpected were the many merchants in the salt market and the general market. Their roots were not here, yet they were willing to donate their family wealth and even send their own sons and younger kinsmen to join the Zhao Camp or lend a hand. Their reason was simple: they already knew about the ambush and assassination attempt Zhao Jin had faced at Qingjiangpu, and many of their own masters or proprietors had been involved. If the attempt had succeeded, that would be one thing, but it had not — and now they could only await the settling of accounts and the executioner's blade. Once the master was dead, the small operations here in Xuzhou would become their own private property. Of course, all of this depended on the Zhao Camp winning. If they could rise from hired hands to proprietors, why would they not give their support?

The panic and chaos in Xuzhou and Pizhou lasted less than a single day before popular sentiment boiled over. The powerful, the gentry, the clerks and runners, the families of household retainers, and the common farmers — those with money were willing to contribute money, those with strength were willing to lend their strength. Many fighting men who did not qualify as household retainers or militia dug out the weapons stored in their homes. The powerful and the gentry brought out their own grain and supplies, mobilizing their able-bodied young men. The clerks and runners worked every connection, ensuring that all government-held supplies in Xuzhou could be used by the Zhao Camp and that every aspect of Xuzhou still under official control would pose no threat to the Zhao Camp. The families of household retainers sent their second or third sons to enlist.

It was not just the laity — even the monks of Cloud Mountain Temple mobilized. Some set about repairing the main temple complex, preparing it to serve as a fortress encampment for the Zhao Camp. Others urged the able-bodied young monks to serve the Zhao Camp. Everyone's hearts, everyone's actions, all expressed a single purpose: Defend Xuzhou! Defend Xuzhou!

Once this fervor was ignited, it threw the previously methodical work of the Agricultural Reclamation, Trade, and Artisan bureaus, as well as the Zhao Camp's various brigades and regiments, into hectic disarray. Such popular sentiment could hardly be doused with cold water, yet this was no time for everyone to rush in all at once. They could only work overtime to register and catalog everyone, or organize them into units based on their home villages and districts, ready to be deployed at any moment.

It was only then that many learned Wang Zhaojing had been back for several days already, and that everything was running in good order. The reason Zhao Jin had not rushed back was that he needed to oversee the military operations at Qingjiangpu.

The Fengyang Grand Coordinator's standard battalions, the Wolf Mountain Vice General's troops, and the Central Capital Fengyang garrison together mustered over twelve hundred cavalry. The Nanjing Garrison Eunuch added three hundred of his own personal cavalry, making a total of over fifteen hundred horsemen, led by the newly appointed Standard Battalion Mobile Corps Commander Qin Daning, charging straight for Qingjiangpu.

No one expected this mere thousand-odd cavalry to take Qingjiangpu. The Zhao Camp's Third Brigade alone had nearly five thousand troops; add in the Patrolmen, militia, and local defense corps, and the total garrison numbered over ten thousand. A thousand cavalry certainly could not smash headlong into that. But these thousand-odd cavalry could operate as mobile raiders around Qingjiangpu, pinning down the Xuzhou forces there without much trouble. Cavalry was nimble and mobile — as long as they maintained a constant threat against Qingjiangpu, the Xuzhou troops would be unable to budge. Once the main army assembled and moved north, the situation would be entirely different.

This Standard Battalion Mobile Corps Commander Qin Daning had been transferred from Jiangxi. He had always found it baffling — in the Great Ming realm, under broad daylight and clear skies, and in the very heartland of the Metropolitan Region at that, how could rebels be tolerated right under their noses, and occupying the Grand Canal's pivotal hub, the fabulously wealthy Qingjiangpu, no less?

Thanks to old friend Qi Sanwen, and thanks to everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets — thank you all.