Chapter Sixteen: To Plan Against A Plan

  Shengjing

  "Haha, great, perfect explosion!"

  Inside the Chongzheng Hall, the lights were shining brightly. Knife Scarface, Zhen Youcai, Big Beard and Little Qi were all gathered in the great hall, chatting and laughing with joy overflowing from their faces. Wang Pu also smiled slyly: "It's not easy to come to Liaodong once, now it's time to leave, there's nothing good to give as a gift, so I'll just give this big firework to Jian Nu as a keepsake, heh heh."

  "General, Jian Nu has suffered a great loss this time."

  "Hmm." Wang Pu nodded, the smile on his face slowly fading away, his expression becoming increasingly solemn. He turned to look at Big Whiskers and said, "Big Whiskers, it's your turn next. Are you ready?"

  The big-bearded man stood up suddenly and said in a loud voice: "I've been ready for a long time."

  Wang Pu said solemnly: "Big Beard, whether you can lure the large group of Jian Nu cavalry outside the city is entirely up to you!"

  "General, you can rest assured, I will definitely get things done."

  Wang Pu nodded and said: "Big Beard, call all the brothers in."

  The big beard turned around and beckoned with his hand, and fifty elite housekeepers had already entered in a file.

  Wang Pu stretched out his hand and said loudly: "Bring wine!"

  Xiao Qi brought people to offer Da Hu Zi and 50 family guards a large bowl of seafood, then poured a full bowl of high-grade liquor into each person's bowl. Wang Pu himself also poured a large bowl, held it high and faced Da Hu Zi and the 50 family guards, saying: "According to military rules, drinking is strictly prohibited when going out on an expedition, but today this general wants to make an exception, using this bowl of high-grade liquor to send you off!"

  Big Beard and Fifty Cent simultaneously raised their wine bowls, their expressions serious.

  Wang Pu's eyes gradually turned sinister, and he said in a low voice: "Tonight, you dozens of people will face the pursuit of several thousand Jian slaves. Whether you can escape the pursuit and return to the Ming Dynasty alive is only known to heaven!"

  The grand hall was silent, with only the heavy breathing of the family members weaving together. To say that they were not nervous or afraid of death would be a lie; anyone who is human fears death. If given the choice, no one would want to die. However, it's also true that fear of death isn't absolute. In this world, there are indeed many people willing to die for their ideals, for their families, and for justice.

  "This general cannot guarantee that you will return to the Great Ming alive, but... " Wang Pu's tone suddenly became high-pitched, "This general can guarantee that the spoils of war (plundered from Shengjing City) will be brought to your families. If you return to the Great Ming alive, each of you will receive an additional 1,000 taels of silver as a reward! If you die in battle, your families will receive an additional 2,000 taels of silver as consolation!"

  Wang Pu said these words sincerely. If he could really come back alive to the Great Ming, he would definitely try his best to fulfill his promise!

  Da Hu Zi and the fifty householders who are about to carry out what can be said to be a suicidal mission, by dawn tomorrow they will become martyrs, Wang Pu does not want to let these martyrs shed both blood and tears!

  As they listened to Wang Pu's extremely provocative words, the eyes of the family guards began to burn with fervor. The majority of these soldiers were rough men who couldn't recognize a few big characters, and they didn't understand the so-called great principles advocated by saints and sages. They only believed in one simple principle: you treat me well, I'll treat you well; you treat my whole family well, and I'll give my life to you!

  "If what I say today doesn't count as keeping my promise, then I'm not a human being born of a father and mother! Let all the brothers who have returned to the Great Ming alive chop me into pieces with their sabers!"

  "General, don't say anything else!" The big-bearded man roared, holding up his wine bowl, "I, Big Beard, believe you. This bowl of wine... I'll drink it!"

  "Yes, we believe too." The other servants also shouted, "We'll drink this bowl of wine!"

  "Alright, good brothers, done!"

  Wang Pu suddenly brought the wine bowl to his mouth, tilted his head and drank it all in one gulp, then threw the wine bowl to the ground with force. A loud "clang" sound was heard, and the wine bowl had shattered into a pile of fragments. Da Hu Zi and the 50th household servant also downed their wine in one gulp, closed their eyes and threw their bowls to the ground as well. The grand hall was suddenly filled with the sound of shattering wine bowls.

  The wine bowl was broken, but the hearts of these fifty or so men were hardened!

  The big bearded man wiped his mouth, turned back to the Ding family of No. 50 and smiled coldly, saying: "Brothers, we've had enough wine, and General Hou has helped us take care of things, now... it's time for us to hit the road, let's go!"

  "Go!"

  "Go!"

  "Go!"

  The strong liquor of Gaoliang wine took effect quickly, and the northerners, who were originally bold and uninhibited, soon threw caution to the wind and began shouting loudly.

  Big Beard walked past Scarface and smiled, saying: "Scarface, during the holidays don't forget to burn a few sticks of incense in front of your brother's memorial tablet, and if there's leftover wine that can't be finished, don't forget to spill two cups, haha!"

  "Big beard!"

  A scarred face and a hot eye socket, two lines of hot tears flowed down.

  As he was leaving the grand hall, Big Beard turned back and shouted loudly to Wang Pu: "General, in eighteen years, I, Big Beard, will be a good man again. At that time, I'll go find you and hang out with you again!"

  ■■■

  Shengjing South Station, Qing army's main camp.

  Emperor Taizong was having a family gathering with Empress Xiaozhuang when Ao Bai suddenly rushed into the imperial tent, knelt down and reported: "Your Majesty, the Ming army is making another move."

  Hong Taiji grunted and asked: "Speak."

  Ao Bai said: "Just now, a group of Ming army came out of the west gate and rushed to Liaoxi. There were no large vehicles, only cavalry. Because there was no torch, it was difficult to determine how many cavalrymen there were. However, judging from the sound of horseshoes, there should be about 700 or 800 riders."

  Manchu Xi Li looked at Huang Taiji with an expression of boundless admiration and said, "Indeed, it's just as Your Majesty expected. The Ming army is indeed making a show of attacking in the east while striking in the west. Your Majesty's foresight is truly divine, I am deeply impressed, deeply impressed."

  Hong Taiji stood up expressionlessly, as if he hadn't heard Manchu Xili's flattering words at all. He paced back and forth while analyzing: "This Ming army was able to sneak from Songshan to Liaodong without making a sound, their troop numbers won't exceed one thousand. In the process of taking Shengjing, there must have been casualties, leaving seven or eight hundred men is reasonable. Hmm, it seems this time the Ming army really wants to break through."

  "Ao Bai said: 'I'll take the troops to intercept them immediately.'"

  "Go." Huang Taiji nodded, "This time you bring two thousand cavalry, with two thousand cavalry against seven or eight hundred should be able to control the victory, remember to annihilate them completely, absolutely cannot let one escape, especially their commander-in-chief."

  "Ah!"

  Aobai turned around and left, but just as he reached the entrance of the tent, a sudden loud shout came from Huang Taiji: "Halt!"

  "Your Majesty." Ao Bai turned back with some confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"

  "No." Huang Taiji shook his head and frowned, "Still not right."

  "Your Majesty, what's wrong?" asked Manzhu Xili.

  "Cannon!" Huang Taiji pondered for a moment, his tone suddenly becoming resolute. "The Red Barbarian Cannon, the Ming army didn't blow up the Red Barbarian Cannon on top of the city wall."

  "Red Barbarian Cannon?"

  Manchu generals Zhu and Ao stared at each other, clearly unable to keep up with the Emperor Taizong's rapid thinking. They really couldn't figure out what the sixteen red cannons on the city wall of Shengjing had to do with the Ming army's escape.

  Hong Taiji smiled slightly and said, "The red barbarian cannon is difficult to cast, expensive to produce, and has great power. It can be used to defend the city and kill a large number of enemy soldiers, or it can be used to attack the city and destroy everything in its path. If you are the main generals of the Ming army in Shengjing City, and you know that this red barbarian cannon is very powerful, but now you cannot take it away, what would you do?"

  "Needless to say, of course it must be blown up."

  "That's right." Huang Taiji smiled and said, "But now the Ming army doesn't have cannons, so they're still in the city!"

  "Then what about the 700-800 Ming cavalry that came out of the western gate?" asked Man Zhuxi.

  The emperor said, "This is simple. The Ming army only needs to gather the horses in the city, tie wooden dummies on their backs, and drive them forward with a small number of soldiers to create the illusion of a large cavalry force leaving the city. This is just one of the Ming army's tactics to deceive us."

  "Your Majesty, whether the Ming army is still inside the city or not, I'll take some men to scout it out and we'll know soon enough."

  "It's impossible." The emperor shook his head, "If the Ming army has already left the city, by the time you figure out what's going on and go to chase them, it will be too late. If the Ming army is still inside the city, your attempt to probe will only alarm them."

  "Shall we chase or not?"

  "Chase, of course we must chase! What if the main general of the Ming army is mixed in with this suspicious army? If we don't chase, won't we let him escape?" Huang Taiji said, "Bring all 2,500 Mongolian cavalry and make a big show of it with many torches! After chasing for ten miles, divide the troops into two routes. You lead 500 cavalry to continue the pursuit and must annihilate the fleeing Ming army. The other route will be led by Taizhen and Ebilun, extinguish the torches and quietly sneak back to ambush twenty miles outside the east gate of Shengjing."

  "This...," Ao Bai hesitated, "Your Majesty, I've taken all the Mongolian cavalry away. You only have 200 guards left by your side. If the Ming army breaks out from the south gate, it'll be disastrous."

  "He won't," Huang Taiji said decisively, "The Ming army will never break out from the south gate."

  Seeing the puzzled expressions of Yehe Nara and Muzhu Heshuo, Huang Taiji explained: "There are two reasons. First, the Ming army inside the city does not know that I am here. Even if they knew that our main camp was empty, they would absolutely not come to attack the camp, because attacking an empty camp would be of no benefit to them and would also delay their opportunity to break through."

  Man Zhu Xi Li nodded and asked: "Is there anything else?"

  Hong Taiji picked up the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" on the table, flipped through it, and smiled: "The Han people like to use clever plans. The Han people also have an old saying that the most dangerous place is actually the safest. The Ming army's breakout from the east gate has already failed once, so logically speaking, the east gate should be the most dangerous direction, and the Ming army shouldn't try to break out from the east gate again."

  "That's right," Ao Bai said, "I thought the Ming army would break out of the North Gate next."

  "No." Huang Taiji shook his head and said, "The Ming army will never break out from the North Gate. They must break out from the East Gate!"

  "This..."

  Ao Bai still had some misgivings.

  "Go!" Emperor Taizong shouted, "Don't let the Ming army escape."

  "Ah."

  Ao Bai gritted his teeth and set off with the order.

  Hong Taiji turned his head towards Manchu Zhi Li and smiled slightly, saying: "Come on, let's continue our conversation."