usatvline Chapter 100 Heaven blesses Chen Boying
Chapter 100 Heaven blesses Chen Boying
Chapter 101 Heaven blesses Chen Boying
Chapter 100 Chen Ying and Lu Jiucheng, the military supervisor of the Da Ning Commandery, arrived at the military camp located north of Shuangchengwei City early in the morning. Lu Jiucheng watched as the soldiers of the Shahe New Army began their training in the cold wind.
As the camp gates opened, the soldiers of the Shahe New Army, fully armed and carrying over 30 kilograms of equipment, lined up in neat rows and began running along the main road. Countless feet lifted and fell simultaneously, creating a highly rhythmic sound, as if each step was striking the heart of the person being run over. It was truly a magnificent sight.
Although Lu Jiucheng had never served as a military supervisor, he had seen the elite troops of the Beijing Garrison while serving Emperor Tianqi. However, the problem was that although the elite troops of the Beijing Garrison were well-equipped, they were all show and no substance.
After the bloody battle of Sanjiang, and especially with the wounded soldiers gradually recovering and returning to their posts, Chen Yingke did not simply wait for the imperial decree to expand the army. In fact, the Shahe New Army was a seriously overstaffed army.
Every time he relocated people to Yongning, he would bring soldiers to escort them. If there were no army following and keeping them in check, there would definitely be trouble. Now, the new army from Shahe has been arriving in Shuangcheng with a total of five or six thousand soldiers.
Although more than two thousand people had never participated in combat, their training lasted for two or three months.
Lu Jiucheng exclaimed excitedly, "Lord Chen, your soldiers are very well trained, very well trained!"
"Eunuch Lu, these are not my soldiers, they are the imperial army!"
"Yes, these are soldiers from the imperial court!"
"Hundreds and thousands of people moved as one, advancing and retreating in unison. The sheer force of their presence was terrifying. I imagine they would advance like a wall on the battlefield, with not a single one acting rashly or retreating. Such an elite force is truly formidable!"
Chen Ying waved his hand dismissively and said, "Eunuch Lu, you flatter me. In fact, they are far from being good enough. If you gave me the three major camps, I would have a hundred ways to crush them!"
Lu Jiucheng could only manage a bitter smile.
As the capital's garrison was the domain of nobles and eunuchs, all important official positions were monopolized by them, making it difficult for ordinary soldiers, even those with exceptional martial arts skills, to rise in rank.
Coupled with prolonged inactivity and lax training, the soldiers gradually developed arrogance and complacency, becoming unwilling to endure hardship and holding themselves in high regard, resulting in a sharp decline in combat effectiveness. By the Tianqi reign, the Beijing Garrison had degenerated into a mere "ceremonial guard" capable only of intimidating the common people.
Although life on the frontier was tough, there was a huge allure: military merit. In the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, although civil officials suppressed military generals, for lower-ranking soldiers, beheading an enemy soldier remained the most direct way to change their social class and achieve a "comeback."
Zu Dashou, Man Gui, Zhao Shuaijiao, He Kegang, and others under Sun Chengzong all climbed up the ranks step by step amidst the flames of war on the border. This expectation that as long as they didn't die, they would have a chance was the real reason why the Ming Dynasty was able to hold onto Liaodong.
A five-kilometer fully armed cross-country run is the basic morning exercise for the soldiers of the Shahe New Army. After completing the five-kilometer run, the soldiers slowly return to camp and begin to eat breakfast.
In Shahewei, Changping, Chen Ying could only provide his soldiers with enough to eat, but he could not provide them with good food. When the Shahe New Army was training, their main food was coarse rice and old grains, and their supplementary food was vegetables, mainly pickled vegetables and preserved vegetables.
However, in Shuangchengwei, they had the opportunity to eat meat. The bubbling mutton soup contained three or four pieces of meat in a bowl. Although the amount of meat was small, it was a rare delicacy for these soldiers.
After a nutritious breakfast, the soldiers began a variety of activities: some practiced marching, some practiced shooting, some practiced firing cannons, and some practiced arm strength and throwing grenades.
More than a thousand arquebusiers are lined up on the parade ground for shooting training.
Lu Jiucheng was immediately captivated by what he saw. Over a thousand soldiers were lined up in three rows, with two drummers in each row playing the drumbeats. The soldiers silently advanced to the light drumbeats. When they were only fifty or sixty paces away from a row of targets, the drummers struck a loud note, and two thousand pairs of feet stopped at the same time. The first row of soldiers squatted down, the second row half-knelt, and the third row stood upright, aiming their firearms at the targets.
An officer shouted, "Fire!"
The first gunner pulled the trigger.
"Bang bang bang—"
After more than three hundred muskets opened fire, they didn't even look back, immediately retreating to the back ranks to reload as quickly as possible. The second rank fired, then retreated again, and the third rank continued firing.
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang——"
Gunshots rang out like popping beans. They were generally equipped with flintlock muskets with a 1-inch caliber, which not only had a long range but also great power. After this round of rapid fire, the target was already reduced to rubble.
Lu Jiucheng watched with admiration, clapping his hands and exclaiming, "Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! Three bursts of fire, a relentless rain of bullets! It's truly brilliant! Even the lightning-fast Jurchen cavalry couldn't get through such a barrage of fire. Commander Chen, you're incredibly clever to have come up with such a brilliant idea!"
Chen Ying was slightly taken aback; he had now changed from Commander Chen to Marshal Chen.
Chen Ying was slightly taken aback, then waved his hand and laughed, "Please don't make fun of me, Eunuch Lu. I am just a Commander-in-Chief, how could I be worthy of the title of 'Commander'?"
"I deserve it, I deserve it!"
Lu Jiucheng waved his hands repeatedly, his eyes full of admiration: "In all my years in the palace, I've seen at least eighty or a hundred generals. But I've never seen anyone train soldiers like Commander Chen. These aren't soldiers, they're practically a group—a group—of killing gods!"
Chen Ying was both amused and exasperated: "Eunuch Lu, you flatter me. These people were just farming households three months ago. The reason they've trained to this level is twofold: first, they are willing to endure hardship, and second, the military law is strict and rewards and punishments are fair. It has little to do with me."
Lu Jiucheng gave Chen Ying a deep look but didn't reply.
He knew in his heart that this Commander Chen was not only good at fighting, but also good at dealing with people. He attributed the credit to the soldiers and kept the hard work for himself. Such a person is rare in officialdom.
After noon, the sky suddenly darkened.
Chen Ying looked up at the sky, his brows furrowing slightly: "It's going to snow."
However, at this moment, the soldiers of the Shahe Army, which should not be the new soldiers of the Daning Army, continued to train on the training ground. They dared not stop unless Chen Ying ordered them to.
However, within half an hour, the world was covered in white snow, which was more than a foot thick. Seeing such a blizzard, Chen Ying dared not show off anymore. If he let the soldiers continue training, they would easily catch a cold.
"Cease training, all units return to barracks, and order the cooks to brew ginger tea so the soldiers can have a hot drink!"
"Yes, sir!"
Training was forced to stop, and the soldiers returned to their barracks.
Chen Ying and Lu Jiucheng hurriedly returned to the city. That evening, Chen Ying took off his cloak and was about to rest when he heard a commotion outside.
"Lord Chen! Lord Chen, save me!"
Chen Ying pushed open the door and saw more than a dozen tribal leaders, including Hamutai, Menggun, and Bomuboguer, stumbling into the courtyard covered in snow. Behind them were dozens of other leaders shivering from the cold.
"What's wrong? Come in and talk to me."
Chen Ying didn't need to ask to know the reason; this sudden blizzard would definitely have a huge impact on all departments.
Hamutai spoke first, his voice trembling: "Lord Chen, this snow is too heavy. More than a dozen of our tribe's tents collapsed, seven or eight elderly people and children froze to death, and a large number of cattle and sheep froze to death! Please, sir, save us—"
Meng Gun added, "Our Gualecha tribe is in a terrible state too! We already didn't have enough food, and with this snow, we can't even hunt. We won't last until spring!"
Although Bomubogor didn't speak, the pleading in his eyes was more genuine than anyone else's.
Whether it was the Solon tribe, the various Haixi Jurchen tribes, or the Wild Jurchen tribes, they were already extremely poor. Although the Shuangchengwei trade had begun, the problem was that they had nothing to exchange. This snowfall was simply adding insult to injury for them.
Chen Ying was silent for a moment, then slowly asked, "What do you want?"
Hamutai hurriedly said, "Food, sir, we need food. As long as we can survive this winter, we will repay you double next spring!"
"Yes! Double the amount!"
"Please, sir, save me!"
The leaders began to plead in unison.
Chen Ying raised his hand to quell the commotion, his gaze sweeping over the anxious faces: "It's not that I won't save you, but there's no such thing as a free lunch. And as you know, the Shuangchengwei's grain reserves are needed to feed the soldiers and civilians of the Shahewei..."
"We need to supply the trade markets and prepare for the military farms to be established next spring. The officials themselves don't have much grain, so they have to tighten their belts."
The leaders looked at each other, their eyes filled with despair.
Chen Ying then changed the subject: "However, I do have a solution."
"What method?"
Hamutai's eyes lit up.
Chen Ying said slowly, "Don't you still have livestock? You can exchange them for grain."
Hamutai panicked: "My lord! Cattle and sheep are our lifeblood! If we kill them, how will we survive next year?"
"I am not referring to cattle or sheep, but to draft horses."
"Horse pulling?"
The leaders were stunned.
Draft horses are ordinary horses used to pull carts and carry goods, not warhorses.
Among the various tribes, draft horses were the least valuable possessions. They were less strong than oxen and slower than warhorses, but they had a large appetite. Every winter, they were the first to be slaughtered.
Chen Ying nodded: "Yes, draft horses. You sell the draft horses to me, and I will exchange them for grain. One draft horse for one shi of grain."
"Sir, one shi of grain is far too little! At least three shi should be exchanged!"
"Three shi of grain is too much; two shi at most!"
"Two bushels of grain!"
The leaders' eyes lit up. A worthless draft horse, exchanged for two bushels of grain—it was like a windfall.
However, Chen Ying also needed draft horses to reclaim wasteland the following year. Each tribe replaced these largely useless draft horses, which would not only reduce fodder consumption but also provide them with enough food to sustain them.
Hamutai was the first to jump up: "Change them! Change all the draft horses of our Xibe tribe!"
Meng Gun followed closely behind: "Our Gualecha tribe will also change!"
Bomubogor also spoke up: "The Solon tribe—still has over a hundred horses."
Other tribal leaders also reported their numbers, and for a time, the council hall became as lively as a market.
Chen Ying raised his hand to quell the commotion and said sternly, "What I need are draft horses, not warhorses. You can keep the good horses that can go into battle; I don't want them. I only want draft horses that are plump and strong. Sick, old, and thin horses will also be accepted, but they can only be exchanged for one shi of grain! Do you understand?"
"I understand, I understand!"
The leaders nodded repeatedly, fearing that Chen Ying might change his mind.
Chen Ying turned to Su Mei, who was dressed as a man, and said, "I'm leaving this matter to you. Open the granary and prepare for the trade. Anyone who tries to take advantage of the situation will be expelled from the market and never traded with again."
"yes!"
To be fair, Chen Ying is actually taking advantage of the situation. He's exchanging a skinny horse and an old, weak, or sick horse for a bushel of grain. Even the skinniest horse has more than 188 pounds of meat.
However, the problem is that circumstances are beyond their control. Chen Ying has food, but they can only exchange it for food to survive, because a hundred pounds of meat cannot last as long as a hundred pounds of food.
One pound of meat, when boiled in water, will become six or seven ounces of meat. However, one pound of grain, when cooked, can become two and a half pounds of rice. If it is porridge, it can sustain a person for one or two days.
For the next three days, the open space north of Twin City Guard was bustling like a market.
Herdsmen from various tribes drove their draft horses in long queues, waiting to trade. The officials of Shuangchengwei were so busy that they didn't have time to rest. They inspected the horses, registered them, weighed the grain, and handed over the goods in one go. Cart after cart of grain was taken away, and draft horses were led into the temporary stables.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away on the southern edge of the Horqin Grassland, a blizzard even more violent than the one in Shuangchengwei was raging.
The wind and snow howled, and the world was shrouded in chaos.
The snow was already more than three feet thick, turning the once flat grassland into a white death trap. Beneath the seemingly flat snow surface, there might be deep ditches and ice crevasses, and one wrong step could lead to certain death.
Nurhaci stood on a sheltered hillside, wrapped in a thick sable cloak, yet still unable to ward off the biting cold. His beard and hair were covered in frost, and his weathered face was now filled with gloom.
"Report—"
A lone rider struggled through the snow, his horse, Goshha, tumbling to the ground. His voice, torn apart by the wind and snow, cried out: "Khan! The vanguard—the vanguard is trapped thirty li away! The snow is too deep, the horses can barely move! More than three hundred people have already suffered frostbite! And—more than eighty—have not survived!"
Nurhaci gripped the reins tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"What about the five Inner Khalkha tribes?"
"The losses in the Fifth Division are even greater. They are not used to this kind of weather, and more than 500 people have frozen to death! Their cattle and sheep are almost all gone!"
Nurhaci closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cold air.
"Father, the snow is too heavy. Our supplies and provisions are all stuck at the rear, and our vanguard has suffered heavy losses. If we go any further, I'm afraid—"
"What are you afraid of?" Nurhaci did not open his eyes.
Huang Taiji gritted his teeth: "I'm afraid that before we even reach Shuangchengwei, the army will have lost more than half its strength."
Nurhaci opened his eyes, gazed at the snowflakes dancing in the sky, and remained silent for a long time.
He was Nurhaci, the Khan of the Jianzhou Jurchens, and the invincible war god who swept across Liaodong.
He started his rebellion with thirteen suits of armor and remained undefeated for thirty years. He destroyed Hada, swallowed Huifa, took over Ula, pacified Yehe, and wiped out the four tribes of the Haixi Jurchen. He defeated the Ming army at Sarhu and massacred a million people in Liaoyang and Shenyang, making the entire Ming Dynasty tremble with fear.
But today, he was blocked by a snowfall.
"Heaven is not on my side—"
Nurhaci could only smile bitterly. He could have easily defeated Chen Boying of Shuangchengwei with his superior numbers. Without Chen Boying as a link, the various tribes of Haixi Jurchen would still be a disorganized mess.
The problem is that if they retreat now, their morale will be shattered, and they will have to wait until next spring to launch another attack. A winter is enough time for Chen Boying to establish a firm foothold in Shuangchengwei.
Nurhaci was somewhat puzzled: "Is Heaven favoring the Ming Dynasty? Is it protecting Chen Boying?"
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