Chapter 156: Hurry Up and Call Me Father

Sun Chanting was right. The Jianzhou Jurchens indeed lacked the strength to attack Beijing at this moment.

On the second day after the imperial audience at the platform, the Jurchens launched a tentative attack toward the Guangqu Gate. However, before they could even approach the moat, several hundred of them were blown to pieces by the Red Barbarian cannons mounted on the city walls.

Dorgon immediately halted the frontal assault and urgently summoned Fan Wencong and Ning Wanwo to discuss countermeasures.

Fan Wencong said, "Master, it seems we have severely underestimated the defense strength of Beijing. The various gates of Beijing are equipped with more than two hundred Red Barbarian cannons, which is almost ten times the number in Ningyuan!"

Ning Wanwo added, "The method of digging tunnels to blow up the city walls probably won't work either. Heh, what on earth should we do?"

"Heh, heh." Dorgon gave a dark smile and said, "Not being able to take Beijing is well within our expectations."

Fan Wencong and Ning Wanwo exchanged glances and blurted out, "Master, did you think from the very beginning that we wouldn't be able to take Beijing?"

"That's right," Dorgon said. "From the very beginning, this Prince never held any hope of taking Beijing. Beijing is the national capital of the Great Ming; how could it be so easily captured? However, not even being able to take Datong is somewhat beyond this Prince's expectations, and we lost over forty thousand troops. Fortunately, the losses were merely bondservants and Mongols; our Eight Banners elite forces did not suffer heavy damage."

Ning Wanwo said, "So all of this was already within your Master's calculations. Your Master is farsighted, and this servant is deeply in awe."

Dorgon said, "This invasion of the Central Plains, capturing Wang Pu and the Chongzhen brat alive was merely a facade. This Prince's true purpose is to reorganize the power of the Eight Banners iron cavalry, taking the opportunity to weaken the two Yellow Banners while strengthening the two White Banners. Then, we will thoroughly ravage the capital region and Shandong, seize a massive population and vast wealth, and cross the sea from Dengzhou back to Liaodong to make up for the losses Wang Pu inflicted upon our Great Qing."

Fan Wencong said, "Hooge was defeated at Datong, and his three hundred thousand troops vanished into dust. The nine nirus of the Bordered Yellow Banner, the thirteen nirus of the Plain Yellow Banner, and the seven nirus of the Plain Blue Banner have already been reassigned to the Plain White Banner of Prince Wuying and the Bordered White Banner of Prince Yu. Your first objective has already been achieved, Master."

Dorgon nodded and said in a deep voice, "Therefore, we no longer need to entangle ourselves with Beijing and the Chongzhen brat. Tomorrow, we will split our forces into ten routes, march along the Grand Canal to Shandong, carry out a ruthless pillage, and then return to Liaodong with the servants, livestock, and wealth we need."

From April to August of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the Jurchens broke through the passes at Datong, swept past the capital down to Shandong, and finally crossed the sea from Dengzhou back to Liaodong. Fighting across thousands of li, the people of Great Ming suffered an unprecedented catastrophe. Over a million souls died miserably under the blades of the Jurchen executioners; nearly a million people were abducted to Liaodong to serve as slaves; countless villages were reduced to ruins, and countless market towns were razed to the ground. The losses in money, grain, and wealth were simply incalculable.

Tens of millions more were reduced to homeless refugees, lacking both food and clothing.

Having suffered this catastrophe, the national strength of the Great Ming grew even more frail, while the Jurchens rapidly restored their vitality through bloody plunder.

Amidst the impeachments from the imperial censors and the snowstorm of urgent military reports urging them on from the Ministry of War, Sun Chanting led the three镇 (zhen) of troops under Cao Bianjiao, Bai Guangen, and Liu Zeqing to fight a bloody battle against the Jurchens. In the end, due to a severe lack of provisions and low morale, they were defeated. Not only could they not prevent the Jurchens from poisoning the Central Plains, but they also almost completely wiped out the last remaining sliver of elite frontier troops belonging to the Great Ming.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was September of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen. The weather in Datong had grown warm and then cool again. Chen Yuanyuan had also given birth to a son for Wang Pu. Second Master Wang Hua gave him a rather bizarre name, "Wang Fa" (Law). The spearmen battalion and the logistics battalion had also completed their training; although they had not yet officially set foot on a battlefield, they already looked the part.

This year's harvest was considered quite decent. Under the governance of Wei Daben, Datong Prefecture appeared even more orderly, and the number of people leaving to flee famine was noticeably smaller than in previous years. Under Wang Pu's iron-fisted suppression, highwaymen and bandits completely vanished within the borders of Datong, and public security in the neighboring Taiyuan Prefecture improved significantly as well.

During these past few months, Liu Zongming had been causing a massive uproar in Shaanxi. The three prefectures of Pingliang, Qingyang, and Yan'an had been completely overrun by the roving bandits. Jiang Rang and Jiang Xiang brothers guarded Yulin and Guishun, while Liang Yuhang and He Renlong guarded Xi'an and Hanzhong, idly watching the roving bandits grow in power while refusing to make a move.

These warlords were all profit-driven; unless they saw a rabbit, they wouldn't let loose their falcons. If the imperial court didn't provide them with money, grain, and military equipment, or grant them promotions and titles, they would never proactively march out to risk their lives against the roving bandits. Official documents from the Ministry of War and imperial edicts from the Chongzhen Emperor were worth less than fart in the eyes of these martial brutes—utterly worthless.

North Camp of Datong City

Wang Pu was inspecting the newly organized spearmen battalion and logistics battalion on the parade ground.

The organization of the spearmen battalion and the logistics battalion, identical to that of the firearm battalion, adopted the improved camp-sentry system devised by Wang Pu: five men formed a file, led by a file leader; two files formed a squad, led by a squad leader; two squads formed a platoon, led by a platoon leader; five platoons formed a company, led by a company commander; ten companies formed a battalion, led by a thousand-man commander; and five battalions formed a regiment, led by a regimental commander.

According to Wang Pu's vision, both the spearmen battalion and the logistics battalion were auxiliary branches to the firearm battalion.

The primary equipment of the logistics battalion consisted of battle chariots, caltrops, and sabers. Their core task during combat was to construct chariot formations and caltrop arrays on the flanks and front/rear of the firearm battalion, forming the first line of defense to block enemy infantry and cavalry charges. The primary equipment of the spearmen battalion consisted of lances over two zhang in length, and their core task during combat was to establish a lance formation backed by the chariot array, forming the second line of defense against enemy charges.

In the absence of heavy cannons, relying on the combined formations of the firearm battalion, the spearmen battalion, and the logistics battalion, Wang Pu was confident he could shatter the offensive of any army in the world in field combat, let alone the iron cavalry of the Jurchen Eight Banners.

Watching the officers and men of the three armies drilling fervently on the parade ground—marching, forming lines, and shifting formations in an instant—Wang Pu's brows were tightly knitted together. He truly could not feel happy; without an artillery battalion under his command, he always felt something crucial was missing, and deep down, his confidence remained somewhat insufficient.

Yet, how easy was it to establish an artillery battalion?

Cast cannons? Don't even think about it. Throughout the entire Datong, there wasn't a single artisan who knew how to cast a cannon. How could they cast them?

Buy them with silver? Silver was available, but where could one buy cannons? The Ministry of Works of the Great Ming could not be counted upon, nor did Wang Pu trust the quality of their crude native cannons. The Red Barbarian cannons Wang Pu desired could only be purchased in Macau. However, Macau was countless li away from Datong; even if he could buy them, there was simply no way to transport them back to Datong.

Just as Wang Pu was deeply troubled, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Wei Daben running up to the reviewing platform, covered in sweat.

Wang Pu looked startled and said, "Prefect Wei, shouldn't you be handling affairs at the prefectural office? What brings you running to the North Camp?"

Wei Daben panted and said, "Marquis... Marquis, someone... someone is looking... looking for you."

"Someone is looking for me?" Wang Pu was even more astonished. "Who could it be? It actually requires you, Prefect Wei, to come and deliver the message in person?"

Wei Daben took a deep breath, calmed his breathing, and said, "That person is waiting at the prefectural office right now. Once you go, Marquis, you will know."

"Oh?" Wang Pu said with surprise, "Could it be that this person has quite a background?"

Wei Daben smiled bitterly and said, "Marquis, please spare this subordinate."

"Very well, let's go." Wang Pu nodded and said to Zhao Liujin, the deputy brigade commander beside him, "Liujin, continue the drill."

"Yes!"

Zhao Liujin acknowledged the order and took the command flag from Wang Pu's hand.

Wang Pu and Wei Daben mounted fast horses and left the North Camp. Riding at a gallop, they returned to the prefectural office in less than half an hour. In the inner courtyard's side parlor, Wang Pu laid eyes on the fellow who had prompted Wei Daben to run the errand. The man was dressed in ordinary scholarly robes, with a lean face and looking to be around fifty years of age. He looked somewhat unfamiliar, yet vaguely familiar at the same time, as if they had met somewhere before.

Wang Pu scratched his head and said to the man, "It seems we have met somewhere before?"

"You brat," the man laughed, pointing at Wang Pu as he scolded, "Quickly, call me father."

"So it's you, you old fellow?"

Wang Pu instantly recognized the man. Wasn't this his cellmate from the heavenly prison? Overjoyed, he said, "Heh, I never expected that you, old fellow, were Sun Chanting, nor did I expect that you could walk out of the heavenly prison alive."

Wang Pu had long since learned from the military intelligence reports that the Chongzhen Emperor had reappointed Sun Chanting; he simply hadn't known that the old prisoner sharing a cell with him back then was Sun Chanting himself.

Hearing this, Wei Daben clicked his tongue in astonishment, thinking to himself that under the heavens, only Wang Pu dared to address Sun Chanting like this to his face.

"If you, brat, could make it out of the heavenly prison alive, why on earth couldn't this old man?" Sun Chanting frowned in feigned anger and said, "Besides, I am at this advanced age, and right now I am also a proper Viceroy of Five Provinces, Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and Left Censor-in-Chief. Don't go around calling me an old fellow at every turn, brat; you truly have no respect for your elders."

Wang Pu chuckled and said, "Then from now on, I'll call you Old Man Sun."

"Call me father," Sun Chanting straightened his face and said with utmost seriousness, "This old man is your father."

For reasons unknown, Sun Chanting simply felt that Wang Pu suited his temperament perfectly. Back when they were still in the heavenly prison, Sun Chanting had already realized that he deeply admired this young man from the bottom of his heart, sensing that the youth possessed both courage and resourcefulness. At the time, his greatest wish had been to take Wang Pu as his foster son.