Chapter 903: The Great Fire in the Liaoxi Corridor

The bickering messages had just been sent out from the capital when the urgent report from Liaodong arrived: the Jianzhou Jurchen Jin army had already crossed the frozen Liao River and was preparing to attack Guangning.

Guangning Garrison was the pivotal hub of the Liao Defense Zone, the choke point connecting the Liaoxi Corridor and Liaodong, and also a vital route from Liaodong to the Mongol steppe. An attack here was a matter of the utmost urgency.

Ma Liu and his men hastily gathered the information, then sent riders racing toward Xuzhou with the message. News of the war between the Liao Defense Zone and the Jianzhou Jurchens was what Xuzhou demanded most urgently.

After the fall of Shenyang and Liaoyang, the Jianzhou Jurchen army's offensive seemed to have halted. The entire Ming court assumed the enemy could not digest such a vast territory all at once and would need several years to recuperate before plotting further moves. Who could have imagined they were not resting and recuperating, but merely waiting for a convenient moment to march?

In the first month of the year, the ground was hard and solid, ideal for large armies, carts, and horses to move. Meanwhile, the Ming troops in the first month were all celebrating the New Year, and roughly half a year of peace had left the Ming forces in the Liao Defense Zone somewhat slack.

Everyone knew the critical importance of Guangning Garrison. The Jianzhou Jurchen Jin army mobilized in force, and the Ming army likewise dispatched all the government troops from Guangning, with Zu Dashou and Sun Degong as the vanguard, and Qi Bingzhong and Liu Qu as the rear guard, to meet the Jurchens in battle. At such a moment, there was no room for the feud between the supreme commander and the grand coordinator — Liu Qu was a military officer dispatched by Supreme Commander Xiong Tingbi.

This deployment was also sent by express rider to the capital. Everyone, high and low, awaited the outcome of the battle. Zu Dashou and Sun Degong were both from Liaodong military households, and the others were all seasoned veteran generals. Moreover, the government troops from the various routes at Guangning far outnumbered the Jianzhou Jurchen forces. No matter how much the supreme commander and grand coordinator quarreled, Xiong Tingbi had been building up strength in the Liaoxi region for a long time. The Ming army's odds of victory in this battle were not small, and if they could win a great victory, the court situation might well shift.

Soon, the follow-up news arrived. On the twenty-ninth day of the first month of the second year of the Tianqi reign, an express rider from the Liao Defense Zone entered the capital: the Ming army had suffered a crushing defeat. Qi Bingzhong and Liu Qu had died in battle, Zu Dashou's whereabouts were unknown, and Sun Degong and Bao Chengxian had surrendered to the enemy.

The course of the battle was simple enough. At the outset, the Ming army did not yield the upper hand, but Sun Degong, serving as the vanguard, held back and refused to advance, then fled the field before the battle even began, causing the entire army to collapse. Guangning Garrison fell.

From the Guangning Central Left Station all the way to Shanhai Pass along the Liaoxi Corridor, great fires blazed everywhere. The first month in Liaoxi was the bitter cold, bone-dry season. Once a fire started and was left unquenched, it would burn until everything was consumed.

Looking east from Shanhai Pass, even at nightfall one could see the red glow on the horizon. No one knew how long these fires would burn. All anyone knew was that the fuel was the grain and fodder painstakingly stockpiled — no one knew how many laborers and draft animals had been used to transport grain from inside the passes to every fort and village along the Liaoxi Corridor. Yet in just these few days, it had all been set alight and burned.

The very man who gave the order to set the fires was none other than the one who had stockpiled all this grain — Liaodong Supreme Commander Xiong Tingbi. Now, most of the troops in the Liaoxi Corridor had already withdrawn to Shanhai Pass, and every last bit of Ming military stores beyond Shanhai Pass had been burned to ashes in a single blaze.

The soldiers inside and outside Shanhai Pass were cursing under their breath. It was the height of the first month, and they hadn't even had a few decent meals. These officials were ruthless, burning that much grain and fodder outright. And to think they even had the mind to watch such a ruinous act — had they no shame at all?

Liaodong Supreme Commander Xiong Tingbi was the first to lead his troops in withdrawing into Shanhai Pass. Liaodong Grand Coordinator Wang Huazhen arrived three days late. At this moment, there was no more talk of feuding between the supreme commander and the grand coordinator.

Both men stood atop the city wall, gazing northeast. In the past, on such occasions, Wang Huazhen would have insisted on standing shoulder to shoulder with Xiong Tingbi, even quibbling over who stood on the left or right. But now, Wang Huazhen merely stood behind Xiong Tingbi.

Sun Degong had first retreated to Guangning, then began spreading rumors and sowing chaos, even attempting to capture Wang Huazhen and deliver him to the Jianzhou Jurchens to claim merit. While the entire city was in turmoil, Wang Huazhen remained in his official residence, knowing nothing, until a brigade commander burst in, threw Wang Huazhen onto a horse, and carried him away. Only two trusted servants followed on foot, and thus they traveled all the way to the vicinity of the Daling River.

Everyone in the entire Liao Defense Zone knew that Mobile Corps Commander Sun Degong was Grand Coordinator Wang Huazhen's trusted confidant. Yet it was this very confidant who first fled the battlefield, causing the entire army to collapse, and then attempted to capture his patron and present him as a gift to claim merit. Strictly speaking, this crushing Ming defeat and the fall of Guangning were both heavily tied to this Sun Degong, and Wang Huazhen could not escape responsibility.

After ascending the city wall, Grand Coordinator Wang Huazhen felt only the biting, bone-piercing wind. He was no muddle-headed man, and he was deeply pained by such a catastrophic situation. But now that things had come to this, what use was there in looking? Had this been half a month ago, with Xiong Tingbi acting this way, Wang Huazhen would have snorted coldly and stalked off in a huff. Now, he could only endure it.

Even so, Wang Huazhen still felt some resentment in his heart. Xiong Tingbi, standing before him, had remained silent since ascending the wall. Wang Huazhen could not help but mutter sullenly, "This grain and fodder cost millions, nearly half the tax revenue of the entire realm. To consign it all to the flames just like that — is it not too great a pity?"

"What pity is there? Would you rather let the Tatar slaves eat this grain and fodder and fight their way all the way to the foot of Shanhai Pass?" Xiong Tingbi said coldly.

Liaodong Grand Coordinator Wang Huazhen was stunned. There was no water route from Guangning Garrison to Shanhai Pass. For a large army to march all the way west, it would need to prepare a colossal amount of grain and fodder. The Jurchens, however, were perpetually short on provisions. If the Ming stores along the Liaoxi Corridor were not burned, the Jianzhou Jurchens could take cities along the way while seizing supplies, easily reaching the foot of Shanhai Pass.

After his initial shock, Wang Huazhen fell silent. He did not want to admit that Xiong Tingbi's words made sense, yet he could find no words of rebuttal.

After speaking, Xiong Tingbi turned and headed down from the city wall. Wang Huazhen paused, then called out, "Brother Feibai, what should we do next?"

This was the first time Wang Huazhen had asked such a question since becoming Liaodong Grand Coordinator and since Xiong Tingbi had been reinstated as Liaodong Supreme Commander. Xiong Tingbi did not turn back, nor did he even slow his steps. He merely sneered as he walked, saying, "What happens next is no longer something Xiong can concern himself with. Next, Xiong must bear the blame for this great defeat. As supreme commander, there is no escaping such a matter."

At this, Xiong Tingbi finally turned his head, a strange smile on his face, and said, "Your turn now. Do a good job — do a good job!"

Ever since the Ming and the Jianzhou Jurchens had gone to war, every outcome had been this unexpected. Before each battle, everyone calculated from every angle — grain reserves, troop numbers, even the timing and terrain. By all accounts, the Ming army held the advantage. Even if they were rotten to the core, they could have relied on their other strengths to fight to a stalemate. Yet every major battle ended in a clean, decisive rout. Often, victory or defeat was determined within a day or two: the great army was annihilated, high-ranking generals surrendered, and cities fell.

One piece of news after another headed for the capital, truly catching Ma Liu and his men off guard. Before the messenger bearing the final report departed for Xuzhou, Ma Liu specifically urged that a few more couriers be sent over, as they simply did not have enough. But the way events unfolded next required no more express riders. The Jianzhou Jurchen offensive had halted. They seemed content with taking Guangning. Yet the vast Liao Defense Zone, stretching from Fushun in the east to Shanhai Pass in the west, save for a few isolated brick forts, was now left entirely open for the Jianzhou troops to roam at will.

"Xiong Tingbi's approach was correct. No matter how fierce and strong the Jurchen Tatar slaves are, they can't just carry dry rations on their backs and fight their way here. Would they take a city and then starve to death inside it, or starve to death on the march back?" After reading the official dispatches from the capital, Zhao Jin actually approved of Xiong Tingbi's actions.

"The first month is the New Year season. The winter grain stores are eaten up, but the spring harvest has yet to come — it's the hardest time of year. The Liao Defense Zone beyond the passes is bitterly cold, with only one harvest a year, making it even worse than inside the passes. The Jurchens chose this moment to march, first because it's suitable for war, and second because their own grain stores are insufficient and they need to seize the government troops' stockpiles. The enormous stores of grain Wang Huazhen amassed at Guangning Garrison would likely all have gone to feed the enemy. Xiong Tingbi, on the other hand, was decisive — he knew to burn it all."

After hearing Zhao Jin finish, Wang Zhaojing shook his head with a rueful smile and said with emotion, "According to big brother's account, this Xiong Tingbi was indeed mindful of the greater good. But as supreme commander, he naturally had to bear the blame for this great defeat. Burning that colossal amount of grain — a significant fraction of the entire Ming realm's output, and all that sky-scraping, earth-scouring Liao tax gathered together — he burned it all in one blaze. The crime will likely fall entirely on his shoulders."

"The more you do, the more mistakes you make; do nothing, and you make no mistakes. Could Xiong Tingbi not see that clearly?" Zhao Jin also remarked with feeling, but then shook his head and said, "Having read so many official dispatches from the capital, I believe Xiong Tingbi must have held a sense of greater righteousness in his heart. He may not have known that doing this was a road of no return, but he had no choice but to do it."

Wang Zhaojing coughed twice and said, "Big brother, this talk of 'greater righteousness' is best kept private. Here in Xuzhou right now, we cannot speak of such things."

A moment of silence fell over the room, and then everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter. Even Chen Sheng couldn't resist laughing a couple of times. When reading the court gazettes and official dispatches, Zhao Jin required all his companions to be present, and the content of their discussions and debates was to be recorded by Wang Zhaojing and Ruhui, then copied for Shi Manqiang, Dong Bingfeng, and Lei Cai.

Just as everyone was laughing, Zhao Jin picked up another sheet of paper, shook it twice, and said, "In this world, fools like Xiong Tingbi are far too few. Those grown accustomed to being officials are the norm. The Tao bandits broke into Shaanxi, slaughtering and pillaging over a hundred thousand people, and the authorities actually wanted to suppress the news. How utterly absurd and laughable."

Because the Zhao Character Battalion had begun operating jointly with Wang Ziyang and had placed men in Wang Ziyang's merchant caravans, news from the Shaanxi-Shanxi region and the steppe had also started flowing in freely.

The Tao bandits were the various Mongol tribes of the Hetao region. This group had countless ties to the Tumed Mongols, that is, the Anda tribe. At the end of the twelfth month last year, several thousand Tao bandits broke through the defenses of the Yansui and Yulin border garrisons and plunged straight into Shaanxi, burning, killing, and looting. The government troops collapsed and retreated. Now, rumors were flying everywhere that the Tao bandits were about to close in on Xi'an Prefecture, and that nearly a million had been killed or abducted in Shaanxi. The confirmed figure, however, was over a hundred thousand.

The merchants from Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi who traveled between Xuzhou and the north had also come to understand the Zhao Character Battalion's habits. They knew the battalion liked to gather information from all over, and that as long as the information was reliable, they would receive all sorts of consideration and conveniences. The news of the great chaos in Shaanxi was brought by them.

Thanks to the two old friends "Yuan Heng Li Zhen" and "Qi San Wen" for their tips. Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. It's the first day of the month — cast your monthly tickets for Great Ming Wufu!