Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 317 Xiong Tingbi's Counterattack Plan
"Then what do you think should be changed?" In terms of strategy, Xiong Tingbi mainly relied on his own observations and thinking, but in terms of tactics, he respected the opinions of the front-line generals.

"Heavy artillery!" Li Bingcheng said, "It takes at least a dozen people to push it, and it moves like a tortoise. Using heavy artillery to fire solid bullets will easily penetrate this tortoise shell. If ten heavy artillery pieces can be mounted on each wall of Fengji, then even with the protection of chariot shields, it will be difficult for the enemy to approach the outer defense line without sustaining any damage."

Xiong Tingbi raised his eyebrows and thought: You need forty heavy artillery pieces just for Fengji, where can I find them for you?

But when the words came to his lips, Xiong Tingbi said, "I will write down your opinions and demands in a memorial and present it to the emperor."

"Thank you, Zuotang." Li Bingcheng bowed.

"This is a matter of state, no need for formalities." Xiong Tingbi returned the greeting and asked, "Can't a small cannon or a bird gun penetrate this thing at all?"

"We've tried it. Bird guns and small-sized tiger squat cannons couldn't penetrate them even at close range. However, medium and heavy Portuguese and large tiger squat cannons, if loaded with solid bullets instead of scattershot, can still penetrate them. The only difference is that their range isn't as good as the heavy artillery." Li Bingcheng spoke casually, adding, "I think the extermination cannon should also work."

"Okay. I understand." Xiong Tingbi nodded and then looked at Zhu Wanliang. "Deputy General Zhu, tell everyone about your situation."

"Yes," Zhu Wanliang said solemnly. "I have to admit, they arrived quickly and acted decisively. Shortly after the scouts discovered our main force, the chieftain sent a large number of cavalry. At least two thousand. At a glance, they were almost all armored soldiers." Zhu Wanliang paused. "To be honest, I led my cavalry into battle and were almost immediately defeated. Afterward, when we cleaned up the battlefield, we also suffered more casualties from falling horses."

"Only cavalry?" Cui Ruxiu asked.

"There were only cavalry at that time. It was not until early the next morning that the enemy's infantry approached our base." Zhu Wanliang replied.

"So you didn't move forward?" asked the military supervisor Gao Bangzuo.

Zhu Wanliang was visibly taken aback. "Yes. My troops didn't advance, but set up camp nearby."

"Lieutenant General Zhu doesn't need to advance." Xiong Tingbi drummed his knuckles on the table, grabbing everyone's attention. "Having his reinforcements camp there has already relieved the pressure on Fengji. And that night, I gave him orders not to initiate an attack until he received clear orders." He then looked at Gao Bangzuo. "You were already resting at the time, so I didn't tell you."

"Since it is the judgment of the governor, then I have no problem with it." The main responsibility of the military supervisor is to assist the senior civil officials who command the troops to supervise the military officials. Even Gao Bangzuo himself was requested by Xiong Tingbi from the court.

Zhu Wanliang breathed a sigh of relief, and there was a bit more respect in his eyes when he looked at Xiong Tingbi.

"What do you think the reason for this offensive, which started off well but ended badly, is that I launched it?" Xiong Tingbi's gaze wandered around, finally landing on Li Bingcheng's face. Li Bingcheng was the first to respond, "Of course, it was to capture Fengji. But reinforcements from Hupi and Liaoyang arrived just in time, and seeing the siege was hopeless, the chieftain retreated. Just like last year."

Xiong Tingbi remained silent and asked Zhu Wanliang, "Deputy General Zhu, what do you think?"

"Left Hall." Zhu Wanliang stood up and saluted first to Xiong Tingbi, then to the other officials. The officials also returned the salute.

"Sit down and talk." Xiong Tingbi beckoned his finger downwards and said to the crowd, "Whoever is called upon, just sit down and respond."

"Yes." Zhu Wanliang sat down and spoke. "I think the chieftain might have intended to lay siege to the city and attack the reinforcements. But I can't be sure. Today during the day, the enemy infantry approached our base. I expected a fierce battle, but they simply formed up in front of our army, confronting us without launching an attack. So I think it might be like what Marshal Li said. Perhaps the chieftain intended to attack the city, but because reinforcements arrived quickly, he withdrew."

"If we can't capture the city, we'll just besiege it and attack its reinforcements." Xiong Tingbi was silent for a moment. "Are there any living prisoners?"

Zhu Wanliang shook his head. He only picked up a dozen heads.

"Where's Li Zhenshuai?"

"Yes, but not many, just a few," Li Bingcheng replied. "According to reports, one of them is a lieutenant general, but he remains unconscious and cannot be questioned."

In fact, yesterday Li Bingcheng had his men go out of the city to capture and behead prisoners, and they brought back twelve prisoners alive. However, most of them were seriously wounded and died shortly after being captured. Jibu Keda was a little luckier; it wasn't him who was hit by the cannonball, but his fine horse.

"Find the best doctor and try your best to save him. After he wakes up, ask him about Nurhaci's deployment." Xiong Tingbi ordered.

"Yes." Li Bingcheng replied.

"Ask if you can, but don't kill them if you can't. The same goes for the other captives. Send them all to the capital and present them to the emperor in the future." Xiong Tingbi's tone seemed to become more relaxed.

No matter what Nurhaci wanted to do, the dozens of heads he had harvested and the few living captives were excellent trophies. At least they could be used to silence the censors.

In the previous battle between Yi and Pu, both sides deployed a total of 70,000 to 80,000 men. However, over the three days that followed, the two sides hadn't engaged in a direct confrontation.

Although the Ming army suffered relatively few casualties, with only three to five hundred men killed or wounded, its gains were also minimal, with only two beheadings. When the battle report reached Beijing, some accused Xiong Tingbi of falsely reporting the battle and demanded his removal.

Although this trend was suppressed by the emperor who knew the records of both Ming and Jin, the officials in the court, especially the censors, were unaware of the records of the Jin Dynasty, and would occasionally use this matter to poke Xiong Tingbi in the back.

Now, not only did he have some tangible gains, but he also had a military supervisor, a military commander, and two provincial governors accompanying him. With their signatures on the memorials, the court would probably be a little less noisy, and he wouldn't have to receive impeachment letters from the Ministry of Public Administration every month.

"We must remain constant in the face of change. No matter what Old Wild Boar Skin intends to do, as long as the city is not lost, our basic strategy for dealing with the enemy will not change in the slightest." Xiong Tingbi ordered Zhu Wanliang, "Deputy General Zhu, you will lead your men back to Hupi Post tomorrow. Once you return, everything will remain the same."

"Yes." Zhu Wanliang replied.

Xiong Tingbi then ordered Li Bingcheng, "Marshal Li, quickly dispatch troops to disperse the scattered enemy cavalry around Fengji, and recapture and repair the fort." The fort was essentially constructed of rammed earth, and simply surrounded by a wooden fence, it would become a fortification, making it easy to repair. "Yes," Li Bingcheng said, already doing so.

As the civil and military officials gathered, Fengji's elite cavalry had already left the camp and were joining forces with the rangers from the Wujing Camp to pursue the Jin army's scattered cavalry. Unless they encountered a large rearguard, they would continue their advance until the enemy completely left the buffer zone Xiong Tingbi had set up around Fengji.

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Xiong Tingbi glanced at the fading light and suddenly stood up. All the officials thought that the meeting was about to end, so they also stood up and prepared to salute Xiong Tingbi.

But Xiong Tingbi did not declare the army disbanded. Instead, he turned to the map hanging on the wall, pointed to Fengji's location and said, "Since the slaves can attack me, I can also attack the slaves."

When these words were spoken, all the generals were shocked.

Xiong Tingbi had been in Liao for almost two years, but before that he had never arranged an active offensive plan. His previous deployments, whether active or passive, were all centered around defense or "protecting Liao."

The generals had different expressions, but no one interrupted, and they were all waiting for Xiong Tingbi's arrangements.

"Overall, our army remains primarily on the defensive," Xiong Tingbi set the tone for his new strategy. "Shenyang, Fengtian, and Huzhou will maintain their original deployments. Mobile forces will only operate in the buffer zone."

After saying this, Xiong Tingbi looked at Chen Ce, the Sichuan general who was aiding Liao. He ran his finger over the four forts of Fengji, Dongzhou, Qinghe, and Weining in that order, and said, "Now, the plains in this area are in our hands, while the hills and valleys are mostly controlled by the enemy. Dongzhou, Magendan, Sanyangyu, and Qinghe are all captured."

"Do you want my troops to recapture these places?" Chen Ce asked.

"No." Xiong Tingbi shook his head. "Although these places are less than two days' journey from Fengji, the mountains are high and the forests are dense, making it difficult for a large army and its supplies to maneuver quickly. Once surrounded, it would be difficult to provide support. If we force support, the reinforcements will likely be cut off by the enemy and then be surrounded and annihilated like at Sarhu. Then, it would be a true siege against the reinforcements."

"We can't keep it even if we take it back." Chen Ce nodded slightly.

"Yes. At least that's the case for now." Xiong Tingbi's tone was indistinct. "I don't want you to risk retaking these cities. Instead, I want you to continually raid and kill the nomadic Jurchen tribesmen in this area. Don't make any distinction between men and women, young and old, and kill them all. Anyone with the hair ornaments of a slave or thief will be killed, and you will be rewarded."

Last year, Xiong Tingbi received a confidential inquiry from the emperor regarding selling bandits into slavery. He expressed his opposition, citing numerous factors, including righteousness, popular support, implementation, and oversight. He believed that if such a policy were implemented, it would inevitably lead to the practice of "using Mongols as slaves" and "plundering Han people as slaves." Losing the court's reputation and public support for a small sum of money was unworthy. However, Xiong Tingbi strongly agreed with one point: finding a way to reduce the core population of the Jurchen tribes and shrink their living space. To achieve this, he had to take proactive action.

To this end, Xiong Tingbi prepared two armies. The first consisted of native soldiers from the southwest. These soldiers originally came from the mountainous regions, and it would be a waste to have them form battle formations on the plains and confront the mixed infantry and cavalry of the Jurchens head-on. The second consisted of Mao Wenlong's troops, who had volunteered to move from Zhenjiang upwards and conduct guerrilla warfare in the Jurchen heartlands of Yiyang and the various forts in Kuandian. While Mao's troops were still training and replenishing their manpower and equipment, the native soldiers from the southwest were readily available and could be deployed immediately.

"Yes." Chen Ce responded immediately without any hesitation.

"If there are enemy soldiers or civilians stationed in the captured city, you may attempt to enter, but do not occupy it; only destroy it." Xiong Tingbi's breath was hot, yet felt cold. "Once inside, poison them if you can, set them on fire if you can, and if you can't kill them, kill their cattle and sheep to cut off their food supply."

"What if someone surrenders?" Qin Liangyu interrupted for the first time.

Xiong Tingbi was silent for a moment, his expression softening slightly. "You can decide for yourself, depending on the circumstances. If conditions permit, you're willing to take prisoners. But don't risk harming yourself by holding them. It's not worth it." The Jurchens could capture Han Chinese as captives or as basic labor for farming, but the imperial court had little need for Jurchen captives. Once captured, aside from presenting them to Beijing for publicity, they served virtually no purpose, practically like sending a human head back. Even worse than a head.

"Thank you, Zuo Tang, for clearing up my doubts." Qin Liangyu bowed.

Xiong Tingbi returned the greeting, then looked at Li Bingcheng and said, "The garrisons and supplies needed by the local soldiers will be provided by Fengji and Weining Forts. They cannot be refused for any reason. Even if you think the soldiers' demands are unreasonable, you must first grant them and then appeal to the headquarters or the military supervisor. In return, Liaoyang will make up for the expenses incurred by the two forts in supplying the local soldiers. Both sides should keep their accounts clear."

"Yes." Li Bingcheng and Chen Ce looked at each other and answered at the same time.

"I know that soldiers from the north and south often clash due to communication difficulties, differing concepts, and different customs, but we are all subjects of the Emperor and citizens of the Ming Dynasty. There's no need to be afraid of conflicts. Officers at all levels should abide by national and military law and mediate impartially. Don't get yourself into disputes and do things that would hurt your loved ones and please your enemies. No matter how big the conflict is, it can't be greater than a life-and-death conflict between the enemy and us, right?"

"Yes." Li Bingcheng and Chen Ce responded again.

"Very good." Xiong Tingbi nodded with satisfaction. "The Tusi troops have two battalions, Shiqu and Youyang. Only one battalion will be deployed to Fengji, Dongzhou, Qinghe, and Weining. Which battalion is willing to fight?"

"Me!" Ma Xianglin jumped up suddenly.

"." Ran Tianyin, who was of the same age as Ma Xianglin, was also eager to try, but he was not the one in charge after all, so he could only cast a resentful look at his uncle Ran Jianlong.

"Good!" Xiong Tingbi clapped his hands in a jubilant voice. "This area will be left to the Shiqu Camp." He then said to Tong Zhongkui, "The detailed planning and arrangements will be left to Lieutenant General Tong and the Shiqu generals."

"Yes." Tong Zhongkui responded first and then asked, "Zuo Tang, what is our army's goal?"

"What do you mean?" Xiong Tingbi asked back.

Tong Zhongkui said, "Generally speaking, both attack and defense must have a goal, just like General Li and Deputy General Zhu's goal was to hold the town. However, although our army is called 'Attack', we don't have a specific goal. So when and where should we stop?"

"If your goal is to defend or capture the city, then you have no goal and no need to stop," Xiong Tingbi said. "Your mission is to disperse and kill until there is no Jurchen left in this area."

"Okay. I understand." Tong Zhongkui nodded in response.

(End of this chapter)