nucmednet Chapter 556 Siege and Rescue
Chapter 556 Siege and Rescue
Amidst the jeering and jeers of the poorly archer "archers" in the cavalry battalion, the last wounded soldier who was still breathing was finally riddled with arrows by five or six arrows, his eyes rolling back as he died in front of his comrades.
The soldiers dared not speak out in anger, and the several Niru Zhangjing (military officers) could only swallow their grievances. Only the victors had the right to speak; after all, they were no match for the enemy. If they acted rashly and argued further, they might not even be allowed to leave their corpses behind.
Ma Wei looked regretfully at the corpses being loaded onto wheelbarrows and carried away, and sighed, "These Tartar heads are so valuable, what a pity. One real Tartar could easily fetch fifty taels of silver as a reward. If all these heads under the wall were cut off, it would terrify the officials in the court—it's been so many years since the Ming Dynasty killed so many real Tartars..."
“Be content. Even if you exchange these heads for a guerrilla or brigade commander position, you might not earn as much as you do as a cavalry battalion commander,” Su Hongtu said. “Besides, we new recruits are good at defending the city, but it’s very dangerous to fight the Tartars in the field. If we’re greedy for rewards and military merits and open the city gates to go out and cut off heads, the Tartars might take advantage of the situation and wipe out the entire army. It’s not worth it.”
Ma Wei knew this too. Although the Tartars had suffered a defeat, they hadn't retreated. They had set up camp and were watching them intently. Under these circumstances, the risk of going out of the city to cut off heads was too high. The reward and military merit were important, but life was the most important thing. Moreover, Su Hongtu was right. Perhaps with these heads, he could exchange them for a guerrilla or brigade commander position, but in terms of real income, it was still not as good as a cavalry battalion commander (equivalent to a centurion).
After fierce fighting, the attacking and defending sides entered a stalemate, or more accurately, a siege. Abatai, desperate, decided to gamble, convinced that the city's food supplies wouldn't last more than three days. This confidence stemmed from his decision to disobey orders and delay his northward advance. If he could annihilate the starving defenders within five or six days and capture their superior firearms, he would have leverage to defend himself when he returned to Beizhili and joined forces with Ajige. Upon returning to Shengjing, he might even be rewarded and honored by Huang Taiji.
Liang Xiaoming, Su Hongtu, and the others, meanwhile, calmly guarded a month's worth of food supplies, remaining unperturbed. If Abatai were to see the amount of food stored in the castle, he would surely be horrified.
When news of the Tartar army of tens of thousands entering Dengzhou reached the city, officials and common people were terrified. Wealthy families began to consider fleeing to other places by waterway.
Lin Tianming was also startled when he heard the news, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that the Tartars had besieged the new army camp outside the city and that their target was not Dengzhou City. At this moment, he truly appreciated the advantage of having a strong army stationed locally. If it weren't for the strength of Liang Xiaoming's troops, who were able to contend with the Tartars, the Tartars would have headed straight for Dengzhou, and he would have been the one besieged.
At this moment, he remembered that Liang Xiaoming had come to ask for military rations, and he couldn't help but feel fortunate. Luckily, he hadn't given any discounts and had provided a full eight hundred shi of grain, enough to sustain them until the Tartars retreated. In that sense, Liang Xiaoming could be considered a "lucky general."
Chaos reigned in Dengzhou. The people wanted to seek refuge elsewhere. Officials burned incense and prayed to Buddha to prevent the Tartars from besieging Dengzhou. No one even considered sending troops to support the city or coordinating an attack from within. The Tartars' reputation was too great, and no one dared to risk their lives.
The governors of Dengzhou and Laizhou did not send troops, and the prefectures of Jinan, Dongchang, and Gunzhou were even less likely to send troops to rescue them. Abatai's lone army brazenly and arbitrarily began besieging the city while surrounded by enemies on all sides, without any obstruction or harassment. From a military point of view, this was extremely illogical, but it happened just like that.
Rewind to a little over ten days ago. Lingao, Nanyuan.
Newlywed Liu Ye was reading the imperial gazette as usual—in the days before the internet and media, this was the most reliable source of information about the situation on the mainland, and he had to formulate the Qionghai Navy's action plan based on the development of the political situation.
Previously, he would read these official gazettes himself and filter out the information that was useful to him. Now, he can leisurely lie on the armchair and have Tang Yu and Ling Xi'er fan him and feed him fruit and snacks. There are people to read the gazettes for him, so he doesn't need to read them himself.
His newlywed wife, Lin Shiyue, served as his "personal secretary." Lin Shiyue was not only well-read and knowledgeable, but also had a political sensitivity far exceeding that of ordinary men. Last year, Liu Ye made the decision to send troops to Shandong to participate in the suppression of the rebellion, and the mission was successfully carried out thanks to Lin Shiyue. She analyzed the pros and cons for Liu Ye, arrived at the correct conclusion, and used her father's connections to arrange the most appropriate reason for sending troops.
It was most appropriate for her to read the official gazette and select valuable information from it; Liu Ye trusted her intelligence and insight.
After reading several official reports on the war in northern Shaanxi, Lin Shiyue commented: "Hong Chengchou's ability is beyond doubt. He has won several battles, and the momentum of the bandits in northern Shaanxi has been suppressed, and they have fled into Henan."
Liu Ye said lazily, "It's true that he has the ability, but your husband's money also played a role—my loan of 200,000 taels of silver is no small amount."
Lin Shiyue smiled and continued reading the next official gazette.
"After the barbarian chieftains Ajige and Abatai invaded, they successively captured Changping, Dingxing, Baodi and other counties, winning all fifty-six battles. They captured General Chao Pichang, killed the Ming Dynasty's garrison commander of the Zunhua Santun Camp, and captured more than 100,000 people and livestock..."
Liu Ye shook his head: "The Ming Dynasty has millions of soldiers, yet they were swept away by tens of thousands of Tartars as if they were nothing. The officials and soldiers are so corrupt and incompetent that they are truly beyond redemption."
After reading the next paragraph, Lin Shiyue exclaimed in surprise and continued reading: "Currently, only Ajige and the Bordered White Banner have been looting in the Yanqing area. Abatai and the Plain Blue Banner split up and entered Shandong Province, passing through Jinan and Qingzhou. Their whereabouts are unknown, and their intentions are unknown..."
"Abatai has arrived in Qingzhou?" Liu Ye sat up abruptly. "Isn't that very close to Dengzhou and Laizhou?"
Lin Shiyue nodded: "Qingzhou belongs to the three eastern prefectures and is also under Father's jurisdiction. Beyond Qingzhou is Laizhou."
“Wouldn’t Mingzi be in danger?” Liu Ye stood up, his brows furrowed, pacing back and forth. “He’s having this wild idea of building a military camp outside Dengzhou. Given his hands-on nature, he’ll definitely be personally directing the construction on-site. The Tartars are mainly cavalry, swift as the wind. It’s only a few hundred li from Qingzhou to Dengzhou; they can get there in a few days. He won’t even have time to hide…”
"Does my lord want to rescue Master Liang?" Lin Shiyue calmly analyzed for him, "The official report has already taken some time to reach Guangdong. If the Tartars wanted to go to Dengzhou, they would probably have arrived by now. And since my lord set off from Lingao, even if the boat is fast, it's too far to quench the thirst of the people nearby. I'm afraid Master Liang..."