Chapter 136: Seeking the Rebel Army’s Aid

Wang shook his head and said with absolute certainty, "The Jianchu will never launch such a fierce assault like today's again."

Zhen Youcai asked with a solemn expression, "Is the General so certain?"

Wang Pu replied, "Youcai, in your estimation, how many casualties did the Jianchu suffer today?"

"At least forty thousand," Zhen Youcai answered. "However, judging by the banners, the losses were confined to the Han Army Eight Banners and the Mongol Eight Banners. The Jianchu's most elite Jurchen Eight Banners suffered virtually no losses."

Wang Pu said, "Even if the losses were entirely among the Han Army Eight Banners and the Mongol Eight Banners, it is still more than enough to make the Jianchu know when to retreat and give up. The Han Army Eight Banners are mere slaves to the Jianchu; there is nothing more to be said about them—they die simply because they are ordered to die. But the Mongol Eight Banners are not Jianchu slaves; they will not willingly serve as cannon fodder for the Jianchu. If the Jianchu push them too hard, there is a very real chance they will turn and betray them."

Zhen Youcai nodded deeply in agreement. "That is true."

"Furthermore," Wang Pu continued, "Datong is not the primary target of the Jianchu."

Hearing this, a thought stirred in Zhen Youcai's mind, and he lowered his voice to ask, "Does the General mean..."

"Exactly," Wang Pu nodded affirmatively. "The main target of the Jianchu is undoubtedly the capital. Compared to the capital, Datong is merely a small city. How much wealth could possibly be extracted here? Yesterday's battle also made the Jianchu taste our strength; they will undoubtedly realize that the cost of capturing Datong is simply too high—so high that they cannot afford to bear it."

Wang Pu's judgment was entirely correct; the Jianchu truly could not afford the cost of a full-scale assault on Datong.

By the following morning, Dorgon had led an army of one hundred thousand to leave Datong, rushing directly toward the Zijing Pass, while Hooge led the remaining thirty thousand troops to continue the siege of Datong. These thirty thousand men included ten thousand banner soldiers from the Plain Yellow and Bordered Yellow Banners, as well as twenty thousand Mongol cavalrymen from the Tushetu and Jasag banners.

Because the force besieging Datong had suddenly been reduced to thirty thousand, Hooge followed the advice of the Plain Yellow Banner ministers Xifu and Soni—uncle and nephew—to consolidate his forces. He established four major encampments outside the four city gates, stationing five thousand Mongol cavalrymen at each camp. The remaining ten thousand elite cavalry of the two Yellow Banners were stationed respectively outside the North and South gates, remaining on standby to reinforce the East and West gates at a moment's notice.

However, as a result of this deployment, the Jianchu could no longer protect the isolation fences surrounding the Datong city walls.

That very night, the Ming army brazenly sneaked out of the city to tear down the fences. Although the Jianchu dispatched cavalry in an attempt to stop them, they were met with a head-on, crushing blow from the Ming army's firearm division. After losing dozens of cavalrymen, the Jianchu decided to abandon the protection of the isolation fences and focus entirely on defending their encampments. After all, as long as they held the four main camps, they would effectively seal off all four gates of Datong.

Once the four gates were secured, outside reinforcements and grain supplies could not enter the city, and Datong would inevitably fall sooner or later.

Over the next few days, the Jianchu launched no further forms of assault against Datong, nor did the Ming army inside the city rashly launch a counterattack against the Jianchu outside. In truth, even if the Ming army wanted to attack, they lacked the capability; their ammunition reserves had dwindled to critically low levels, making it exceedingly difficult to launch any large-scale offensive. Thus, the military stalemate in Datong temporarily lapsed into stillness.

Inside Datong city, at the Regional Commander's headquarters, Wang Pu was discussing countermeasures with Zhen Youcai and Zhao Xin.

Zhen Youcai said, "It is still difficult to tell whether the roving rebels on Mount Leigong are friends or foes. Although over ten thousand border troops are stationed in Datong Left Guard, expecting them to defeat the thirty thousand Jianchu outside the city is clearly unrealistic. The only thing we can rely on now is the firearm division. Unfortunately, the ammunition reserves of the firearm division are no longer sufficient to launch a major offensive."

Zhao Xin suddenly proposed, "Can we simply defend without attacking?"

Zhao Xin's suggestion was not without reason; Datong city was not short on grain.

In order to repel the Jianchu, Prince Dai Zhu Chuanqi had practically emptied his entire family fortune. Aside from donating two million taels of silver, he had contributed one hundred thousand dan of grain, which, combined with the Wang family's eighty thousand dan of grain and a large quantity of cured meat, would be enough to feed the seventy to eighty thousand people inside Datong city for nearly a year, provided they rationed carefully.

On the other hand, the Jianchu's siege of Datong could by no means last for a year. The Jianchu had brought only a small amount of grain and provisions for this massive expedition against the Ming, relying entirely on plundering the Ming populace to sustain their army's logistical supply. Even if the Jianchu were to dig three feet deep into Datong, they would utterly fail to gather the grain required to sustain an army of thirty thousand for a full year.

"No," Wang Pu said decisively. "Defending without attacking is absolutely out of the question."

Wang Pu was clearly thinking further ahead than Zhao Xin; allowing the Jianchu to maintain a prolonged siege was certainly unfeasible. If the siege dragged on for a long time, who could guarantee that the garrison inside the city would not crack? In actual history, were not Jinzhou and Songshan cities both breached by the Jianchu precisely because the defenders within the walls turned traitor?

Who could guarantee that a "Xia Chengde" would not emerge within Datong city?

In orthodox history, it was Xia Chengde who opened the city gates, leading to the fall of Songshan and the capture of Hong Chengchou.

Furthermore, if the Jianchu were allowed to prolong the siege, it would spell an absolute catastrophe for the common people of Datong Prefecture.

To procure military provisions and grain, the Jianchu would undoubtedly launch massive raids to plunder the people of Datong Prefecture. When that time came, it would not only be the common people of Datong who suffered; Wang Pu himself would also be doomed, because he would be forced to provide grain to relieve the destitute and starving populace of Datong. Datong was Wang Pu's foundation, and the people of Datong were the foundation of Datong itself. If Wang Pu stood by and refused to save them, he would be severing his own roots.

Unless Wang Pu could find a brand-new base of operations, otherwise, whether from personal sentiment or rational calculation, Wang Pu could never allow the Jianchu to wantonly slaughter the people of Datong Prefecture.

"That's right, we cannot merely defend and not attack," Zhen Youcai chimed in. "Because this crisis struck so suddenly, many of the people of Datong Prefecture did not have time to move into the city. If we only defend and do not counterattack, the Jianchu will undoubtedly unleash their cruelty upon these people. These common people are the very foundation of Datong Prefecture; we cannot abandon them to be ravaged by the Jianchu."

Zhao Xin said, "Then we have no choice but to find a way to secure ammunition."

Wang Pu asked Zhen Youcai, "Youcai, have you made contact with the craftsmen sent out to gather nitrate soil?"

Zhen Youcai replied, "Contact has been made. A total of more than five hundred thousand catties of nitrate soil has been gathered, and it is currently stockpiled on Mount Kaolao. If we can find a way to transport this batch of nitrate soil into the city, the raw materials for manufacturing gunpowder will be complete. I do not boast; as long as the weather is favorable, within five days we can turn it into tens of thousands of catties of gunpowder."

Wang Pu frowned and said, "It seems we must devise a method to transport that batch of nitrate soil into the city."

Zhen Youcai said, "But that batch of nitrate soil weighs over five hundred thousand catties! Using carts would require at least several hundred vehicles, and using men to carry it on their backs would require a minimum of five thousand civilian laborers. Such a massive operation is simply impossible to conceal from the Jianchu's eyes and ears. What shall we do if the Jianchu dispatch cavalry to intercept them?"

If the Jianchu sent cavalry to intercept, Wang Pu would have to deploy the firearm division to provide reinforcement, which would inevitably lead to a fierce battle with the Jianchu. Yet, the firearm division's ammunition reserves were already critically low; he could hardly order the brothers of the firearm division to engage the Jianchu in close combat with bayonet-fixed muskets.

Although the musketeers might not necessarily lose a hand-to-hand fight with the Jianchu using bayonets, Wang Pu was unwilling to do so.

The remaining four thousand musketeers were his absolute pride and joy; how could he lead them to fight for their lives against the Jianchu unless absolutely driven to the brink?

Wang Pu thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and shouted, "Nenniang."

Nenniang entered the headquarters and responded crisply, "Present."

Wang Pu instructed, "Return to the Wang family courtyard immediately and fetch Xiao Qi."

"Understood."

Nenniang acknowledged the order and departed to execute it.

On Mount Leigong: Although the Jianchu had not launched an assault on Mount Leigong, Li Yan had never relaxed his vigilance against them, while simultaneously closely monitoring the situation in Datong. Spies from the insurgent army frequently operated outside Datong city, continuously transmitting a massive stream of intelligence back to the Mount Leigong camp.

Three days ago, the Jianchu had suddenly withdrawn from the foot of Mount Leigong.

At the same time, spies lurking outside Datong city sent back word that the main force of the Jianchu had already departed from Datong, leaving behind only about thirty thousand men to continue the siege. Unaware of what had transpired, Li Yan hurriedly dispatched Jing Maocheng to scout for information. At that moment, Jing Maocheng had just returned and was reporting his findings to Li Yan at the headquarters.

"Senior Brother, please have some water."

Hongniangzi personally poured a bowl of water for Jing Maocheng and presented it to him with both hands. Jing Maocheng gave Hongniangzi a grateful look, took the large bowl, and downed it in a single breath. Only then did he wipe the corner of his mouth with lingering satisfaction and say to Li Yan, "Commander, I have found out everything clearly. The main force of the Jianchu has indeed left Datong."

Li Yan frowned and asked, "Have they truly left?"

Jing Maocheng replied, "They have truly left, heading straight toward Beijing."

"Beijing?" Li Yan nodded and said, "That makes sense. But what is strange is that Datong city has not yet been breached; why would the main force of the Jianchu leave?"

Jing Maocheng said, "Commander, there is a reason for this."

Li Yan asked, "What reason?"

Jing Maocheng answered, "This subordinate captured two live Jianchu prisoners who happened to understand the Han language. Once questioned, I learned that in the fierce battle three days ago, the Jianchu suffered nearly fifty thousand deaths! The Jianchu left only because they felt there was no longer any hope of capturing Datong."

"What?!" Hearing this, Li Yan was greatly shocked and blurted out, "The Jianchu suffered nearly fifty thousand casualties? Senior Brother Jing, you couldn't be mistaken, could you?"

"I am not mistaken," Jing Maocheng said with absolute certainty. "Although those two Jianchu were stubborn diehards, this subordinate has plenty of ways to make them speak the truth. I dare stake my head on the guarantee that what those two Jianchu captives said is the truth."

"Does this mean it is all true?" Li Yan's expression shifted from shock to solemnity as he muttered in a low voice, "To slaughter nearly fifty thousand Jianchu in a single battle—how on earth did this Wang Pu accomplish such a feat? Could it be solely due to his firearm division and that unique set of tactics? Terrifying, simply too terrifying!"

Hongniangzi, standing nearby, felt her heart leap with alarm as well. She was well aware of how formidable the Jianchu were; back then, a mere seven or eight thousand Jianchu cavalrymen had slaughtered nearly sixty thousand rebel soldiers, leaving them utterly incapable of parrying the blows. Yet Wang Pu had wiped out nearly fifty thousand Jianchu in a single engagement—that was far too terrifying!

Although Wang Pu had twice intervened to help the rebel army through major crises, and Li Yan felt that Wang Pu's attitude toward the insurgents was somewhat ambiguous, Wang Pu was ultimately an imperial general, while Li Yan was a rebel leader. Sooner or later, the two of them would cross swords on the battlefield. Given the terrifying combat effectiveness of Wang Pu's firearm division, could Li Yan possibly have any hope of victory?

While Li Yan and Hongniangzi were secretly alarmed, Li Hu suddenly entered and reported, "Big Brother, Wang Pu has sent someone here."

"Oh?" Li Yan's expression stirred, and he urged hastily, "Quickly invite him in."

Li Hu accepted the order and departed, swiftly leading Xiao Qi into Li Yan's headquarters.

This was already Xiao Qi's second visit to the rebel camp. Upon meeting, Xiao Qi cupped his fists in a salute toward Li Yan and said in a ringing voice, "I, Wang Xiaoqi, pay my respects to Commander Li."

"No need for such formalities," Li Yan said with a slight smile. "I wonder what instruction brings Brother Xiao Qi to Mount Leigong?"

Xiao Qi replied, "By order of my General, I have come with a request."

Li Yan said, "Please speak."

Xiao Qi stated, "A batch of nitrate soil is currently stockpiled on Mount Kaolao. We hope that Commander Li can lead the rebel brothers to transport this batch of nitrate soil to the outskirts of Datong city. My General will be endlessly grateful for this."

"Nitrate soil?" Li Yan asked calmly. "Is it for manufacturing gunpowder?"

Xiao Qi answered without the slightest hesitation, "That is correct, it is precisely for manufacturing gunpowder."

Before his departure, Wang Pu had told Xiao Qi that there was no need to conceal anything from Li Yan on this trip. In fact, Wang Pu had never intended to hide it from Li Yan, because with Li Yan's acumen, he would certainly guess that Wang Pu had asked the rebel army to transport nitrate soil for the purpose of making gunpowder, and thereby deduce that the ammunition inside the city had been exhausted.

Since it could not be hidden from Li Yan anyway, it was far better to state it openly and honestly.

Li Hu said coldly, "Big Brother, we cannot help the imperial army transport nitrate soil. Who knows if the imperial army intends to use the manufactured gunpowder against us?"

Xiao Qi said, "My General has stated that this batch of gunpowder will be used solely to kill the Jianchu, and will never be used to fight the rebel army. The only condition is that the rebel army must cease its attacks on Datong! My General also said that once the Jianchu are defeated and driven away, as long as Commander Li leads the rebel army to withdraw from Datong, my General will harbor no hostility whatsoever, and will moreover present generous gifts!"

"Brother Xiao Qi, please wait a moment," Li Yan said. "This matter is of grave importance; I need to consult with the other generals first."