Chapter 3, The Surprise Attack on Shenyang
To escape is to die, to stay is also to die; Wang Pu seems to have no way out
Amid the hurried sound of hooves, Zhao Wuzhu, the deputy general of Datong, urged his horse to catch up with Wang Pu and excitedly asked, "General, where are you headed?"
Xiao Qi nodded and proceeded to carry out the order
"Indeed," Wang Pu said in a deep voice, "it will be too late if we wait any longer."
Little Seven, feeling wronged, said: "General, you have forgotten. You mentioned that maintaining these firearms is too costly, so they were left in the warehouse unattended, resulting in more than half of them rusting and becoming unusable"
Seeing over a thousand soldiers, each full of spirit and imposing in demeanor, Wang Pu nodded in satisfaction and asked the young attendant beside him, "Have the firearms and rations been distributed?"
Wang Pu summoned Xiao Qi and asked, "Xiao Qi, approximately how many firearms are there in the camp?"
Seeing the murderous intent in Wang Pu's eyes, Zhao Wuzhu couldn't help but shiver and urged his horse to clear the way. Wang Pu turned his horse's head and rode away. Just before exiting the gate, Wang Pu couldn't resist glancing back, a trace of compassion fleeting in his eyes. Wang Pu did not wish to abandon the more than ten thousand Ming soldiers in the camp, but he had no other choice.
Hong Chengchou still contemplated a decisive battle with the Qing army, but Tang Tong and Wu Sangui would not give him that opportunity at all. Staying behind meant death, and fleeing with Tang Tong and the others also meant death
However, how is it?
In fact, Wang Pu still has another path to take, which is to launch a surprise attack on the capital of the Manchu Qing dynasty—Shengjing, and then take a detour through Korea to seize a ship and return by sea to Dengzhou. As long as Wang Pu can capture the stronghold of the Jianzhou bandits in Shengjing and obtain a certain item, it would be sufficient to offset the grave sin of his defeat at Songshan, allowing Wang Pu to continue to serve as the Grand General of Datong in peace.
Even if Wang Pu could carve a bloody path through the chaotic army and escape back to Shanhaiguan, the fate awaiting him would ultimately be death. Emperor Chongzhen has never shown leniency towards defeated generals. The reason why Wu Sangui in history was able to escape death was that the Ming Empire at that time truly had no one else to rely on, and could only depend on him to support the situation beyond the pass.
There is an even more important reason. Previously, Wang Pu had arbitrarily withheld military pay and exploited the soldiers, leading to longstanding grievances against him within the army. If these soldiers were to learn that Wang Pu intended to lead them to attack the capital of the Jianzhou bandits, it would undoubtedly incite a mutiny. Rather than risking a major setback at that time, it is better to decisively cut through the chaos now and abandon these more than ten thousand troops.
It is necessary to briefly introduce the military system of the Ming Empire here
At this moment, if discovered by the Qing army, it would be the end.
Very well, I shall attend to this matter immediately
However, the ones that are truly usable are only about 1,000 or so
Due to the unbearable exploitation by officers at all levels, an increasing number of military households chose to flee. By the Jiajing period, the shortfall of troops in various garrisons had exceeded 70%. The remaining 30% who did not escape were mostly elderly, weak, sick, or disabled, unfit for battle. The powerful garrison army that Zhu Yuanzhang had painstakingly established had already become a mere shell of its former self
Over a thousand attendants extinguished their torches, then mounted their horses, surging towards the gate under the pitch-black night sky. Such a large-scale military mobilization could not possibly go unnoticed by the soldiers in the camp. More and more soldiers rushed out of their tents, unaware of what was happening, and began to speculate. An atmosphere of unease started to permeate the military.
Wang Pu shouted, "Stop talking nonsense, step aside."
Local commanders who hold military power often embezzle military salaries, and the practice of drawing empty salaries has become widespread. They prefer to allocate funds to their private retinues rather than to the state-owned standing army. Consequently, the standing army of the Ming Empire generally faces various issues such as insufficient personnel, lax military preparedness, and lack of training, which leads to the repeated defeats of the Ming forces.
How is that possible? Wang Pu said in a deep voice, "Does this general need to seek your approval before deploying troops?"
However, it is regrettable that the conscription system also has inherent flaws that cannot be resolved
This is good. Wang Pu said, "Extinguish the torches, let us depart."
Everything is ready, and the horse's hooves are wrapped in cotton cloth. Xiao Qi said, "General, you can rest assured. I am aware that marching at night must be done quietly; this is a basic principle that I understand."
Wang Puda: "You are the Deputy General of Datong Town. If I, the General, were to die in battle or be away, then the more than ten thousand brothers in the camp would naturally be under your command. Is such a simple military regulation something I need to teach you?"
Wang Pu looked around; under the bright light of the flames, over a thousand cavalrymen were staring at him without blinking. All these cavalrymen were Wang Pu's trusted retainers, the elite among the elite. In their eyes, there was only their master, Wang Pu, and no one from the Ming Empire. The retainers were a special group within the Ming army, a distorted product that emerged during the evolution of the Ming military system.
The fall of Bijia Mountain has been confirmed, and the outcome of the Battle of Songshan is already determined
Then, shall we stay and defend Songshan together with Hong Chengchou?
The current General Wang Pu of Datong indeed comes from a rough background; he has never been one to sit idly by or be overly concerned about gains and losses. Once he has made a decision, he will see it through to the end, even if it means facing great dangers.
Since it is a surprise attack, the key lies in the word "surprise". Success depends on achieving victory through unexpected means. To achieve this, one must conceal their movements and advance swiftly. Therefore, Wang Pu cannot bring along the more than 10,000 soldiers from the main camp. The reason is quite simple: bringing these more than 10,000 soldiers would not only make concealment impossible, but it would also severely hinder the speed of the march.
Zhao Wuzhu said: "But ... ..."
Xiao Qi is a trusted aide of Wang Pu, responsible for the military supplies and provisions. He took out an account book from his pocket and replied: "Including bird guns, fire guns, and three-barreled guns, there are actually more than 2,300 firearms in the camp, but..."
Xiao Qi exclaimed, "Now?"
They have all been distributed. Xiao Qi nodded and said, Each person receives double portions of gunpowder and lead balls, as well as three days' worth of rations
After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Empire, he instituted the hereditary military system, integrating the national army into various local garrisons. Land was allocated based on headcount to implement a system of military farming, which not only resolved the supply of food and wages for the army but also provided local defense. In the early stages, the hereditary military system indeed played a significant role. However, as time progressed, the drawbacks of this system gradually became apparent. Some officers indiscriminately seized land and appropriated the public resources of the garrisons for personal use, while the lower-ranking military households gradually became enslaved by the exploitation of officers at various levels.
Certainly, the surprise attack on Shengjing can be described as extremely perilous, and it would not be an exaggeration to characterize it as a matter of life and death, yet there remains at least a glimmer of hope
That is also a dead end! The 130,000 troops under Hong Chengchou are already the last mobile force of the Ming Empire, and Emperor Chongzhen can no longer dispatch many troops to relieve the siege of Songshan.
Wang Pu angrily said: "What is going on? Why are less than half of the firearms operational?"
"Please wait, General."
This is not mere talk; Hong Chengchou is still contemplating a decisive battle with the Qing army tomorrow. However, Tang Tong and Wu Sangui are certainly already thinking about fleeing overnight. Once these individuals escape, the Qing troops will seize the opportunity to launch an attack. By that time, it will be too late to do anything. Therefore, it is imperative to take action before Tang Tong and Wu Sangui make their escape.
The Manchu leader Huang Taiji had already mobilized troops and dispatched multiple elite forces to guard the inevitable escape routes of the Ming army. As the saying goes, a defeated army collapses like a mountain; once the Ming forces began to retreat, the morale of the entire army would plummet, leaving them to lament that their parents had not given them two more legs. Coupled with the Qing troops blocking the front and pursuing from behind, the tragic events of history would once again be replayed
"This..." Zhao Wuzhu said, "Since the General is going to deploy troops, we should be informed. Moreover, General, you left with your personal guards without a word; what will happen to the more than ten thousand brothers in the camp?"
Half an hour later, Xiao Qi gathered over a thousand servants in the training ground and the library
One cannot catch a wolf without parting with the child
"Alright, if it's about a thousand, then let it be a thousand. Immediately send someone to collect all these firearms, and prepare double the amount of gunpowder and lead balls accordingly." Wang Pu frowned and said, "Additionally, gather all the household servants. Oh, and distribute three days' worth of rations to each person."
Little Seven ran a couple of steps and stood in front of the reviewing stand, shouting at the top of his lungs: "The general commands, extinguish the torches, and set off!"
The most typical example is the Battle of Sarhu, where the Ming army claimed to have 200,000 troops, but in reality, there were at most 70,000 to 80,000. The inexperienced scholar Yang Hao, lacking military knowledge, even devised a strategy of dividing forces to attack, which ultimately allowed Nurhaci to take advantage of the situation. In fact, even if the forces were divided into four routes and even if they were at an absolute disadvantage, had it not been for the fact that the Ming army had deteriorated to its core, relying solely on the 50,000 to 60,000 poorly equipped Eight Banner soldiers of Later Jin, Nurhaci, despite his extraordinary capabilities, would not have been able to win the Battle of Sarhu.
Wang Pu led over a thousand attendants away from the main camp, and under the cover of darkness, advanced several miles before turning into a low-lying area to lie in ambush. Not far ahead was the Qing army's main camp, and proceeding further would easily expose them to detection by the Qing forces. This was indeed a critical moment; if Wang Pu's guess was correct, the Qing troops in the camp had likely been on high alert for some time.
Is the bridle already on the horse's mouth
It is night, in Wang Pu's grand tent
In order to supplement the military personnel, the rulers of the Ming Dynasty had no choice but to adopt alternative measures, leading to the conscription system. However, due to the varying quality of the recruited soldiers, the conscription system was soon replaced by the recruitment system. By the late Ming Dynasty, recruitment had become the mainstay of the army