Chapter 44: Chongzhen Begins to Pay Attention to Me

Inside the official residence of the Viceroy of Xuanfu and Datong, after the military commanders had eaten and drunk to their satisfaction, the banquet came to an end. The guests left the residence one after another, each returning to their respective encampments.

As they parted ways, many stepped forward to warmly exchange pleasantries with Zhang Cheng, expressing their commendation and admiration.

Wang Pu, the Regional Commander of Datong, wore a particularly warm expression. He patted Zhang Cheng on the shoulder repeatedly, offering soft words of encouragement and praise, and after exchanging a few brief remarks with Yang Guozhu and Zhang Yan, he hurried out of the camp and mounted his horse to leave.

Zhang Cheng followed behind his uncle and Yang Guozhu as they exited the viceregal residence of Viceroy Lu Xiangsheng. Along the way, Regional Commander Yang Guozhu said to Zhang Cheng: "Viceroy Lu has already sent the battle report flying by fast courier to the capital. No doubt the Emperor's commendation will arrive shortly, and my dear brother Cheng will soon become the youngest Major in our Xuanfu garrison."

With that, he exchanged cupped-fist salutes with Zhang Yan, flicked his whip, and rode off first.

His personal commander, Guo Yingxian, said to Zhang Cheng with profound regret: "It is a pity the Viceroy did not allow us wine today. Brother Cheng, another day the two of us shall drink three hundred cups together to the death!"

As he spoke, he landed a heavy fist against Zhang Cheng's chest, then laughed heartily and spurred his horse to follow Yang Guozhu.

The Majors Li Jianming and Wen Hui merely addressed Zhang Yan coldly: "General Zhang, congratulations."

The two men offered perfunctory cupped-fist salutes to Zhang Yan, completely ignoring Zhang Cheng, and rode away with their respective personal guards.

Zhang Yan rode slowly, speaking to Zhang Cheng by his side: "This great victory has indeed made your name renowned across the three garrisons, but it has also stirred up jealousy in the hearts of those two Majors. You must be careful to guard against them in the future."

Zhang Cheng gazed at the figures of Li Jianming and Wen Hui gradually fading into the distance ahead and replied to Zhang Yan: "How can life ever completely fulfill one's wishes? If one is timid and overcautious, how can one survive in such troubled times?"

His words seemed as much a question directed at Zhang Yan as they were to himself.

***

When Zhang Cheng returned to his encampment, several sentry leaders were waiting for him. They eagerly crowded around him, asking one question after another about the Viceroy's celebration banquet.

When they heard that Viceroy Lu had personally bestowed a courtesy name upon Zhang Cheng, they were filled with boundless envy and genuine joy for him. Each of them felt that this brought immense glory to their own standing, thereby solidifying their resolve to follow Zhang Cheng with unwavering loyalty.

In particular, upon hearing that the Regional Commanders of Shanxi and Datong had personally poured drinks to toast their commander—showing how highly regarded their commander was by the various military dignitaries—they looked at one another with delight. Now that their commander's name was celebrated across all three garrisons, everyone walking out would feel a sense of reflected glory.

Zhang Cheng called over Zhang Guangda and said to him: "Guangda, the left sentry performed admirably this battle—brave, tenacious, and securing numerous heads. However, the casualties within the sentry are not insignificant. I intend to have Liu Quan's armored squad temporarily return to Xuanfu."

Zhang Guangda looked at Zhang Cheng and replied: "I shall obey whatever the Commander decides. It's just that He Shihui is making a fuss about wanting to stay."

Zhang Cheng said with a resolute tone: "Everyone wounded in this battle must be sent back to Xuanfu. Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with according to military law."

Wu Zhizhong nearby stared with wide eyes and shouted loudly: "I'm not leaving! This bit of a scratch doesn't count as a wound."

Hu Dake looked at his appearance and laughed: "Haha, old Wu, go back to Xuanfu and prepare celebratory food and wine for me."

Zhang Cheng looked at Wu Zhizhong's fury-contorted face—noticing a fresh, blood-oozing scar still staining his right cheek—and smiled as he said: "That isn't a wound. That's called ruining your looks."

"Hehe, I'm not afraid of ruining my looks. My son is already running all over the ground," Wu Zhizhong said with a wide, toothy grin.

"Let the brothers rest these past few days. When sending out scouts, do not go too far," Zhang Cheng instructed in a deep voice, before turning back to Zhang Guangda: "Come, the two of us will go check on the wounded soldiers."

***

Inside the tent, He Shihui lay resting and struggled to get up. Zhang Cheng hurried over to hold him down, saying: "Shihui, asking you to return to Xuanfu is not to send you home to convalesce; there is an important task entrusted to you."

"Commander, just give your orders. I figured a minor injury like this will heal in the blink of an eye—how can you make me go back?" He Shihui smiled and said.

Zhang Cheng looked at him and said: "I intend to transport the supplies captured in this battle back to Xuanfu along with the wounded and the refugees. The times are chaotic and the roads are unsafe. Liu Quan's injuries are severe; only if you lead the troop can I rest easy."

He Shihui's lips moved, but before he could speak, Zhang Cheng's voice sounded again: "Get ready. We depart tomorrow after the noon meal."

***

The next morning, the Chongzhen Emperor sent a eunuch to deliver thirty thousand taels of silver to Viceroy Lu Xiangsheng to reward the imperial-aid troops of the three garrisons, alongside an additional ten thousand taels bestowed upon him personally.

Viceroy Lu Xiangsheng sent his personal commander, Chen An, directly to deliver three thousand taels of silver to Zhang Cheng as a reward for the great victory at Mafang. Of course, this was a personal reward from Lu Xiangsheng, not an official enfeoffment from the imperial court.

The silver Zhang Cheng had captured at Mafang amounted to over three thousand two hundred taels. Added to the three thousand taels bestowed by the Viceroy, he kept only a fractional remainder of slightly over two hundred taels.

The remaining six thousand taels of silver, over two hundred taels of gold, and ten large carts overflowing with supplies—including captured Tartar armor and weaponry, bolts of cloth and silk, rice, flour, grain, and various sundries—were all sent back to Xuanfu along with the carts and refugees.

The remains of the fallen soldiers had already been encoffined, their ashes placed in individual black urns wrapped neatly in cloth and arranged securely on the large carts. Several other carts carried heavily wounded men who were unable to travel on their own.

Zhang Cheng exhorted He Shihui: "Along the road, you must remain vigilant with scouting and never grow careless. In recent years, the Tartars have repeatedly invaded our borders, leaving the populace scattered, and many have turned to banditry. Although your group is quite numerous, your combat power is limited. If you encounter danger, you have the authority to make prompt decisions on the spot, striving for a swift engagement. Those funds are of the utmost importance; the livelihood and support of our soldiers' families depend entirely upon them."

Pausing for a moment, he continued: "That fellow Shi Zhuzi—I had him select one hundred and twenty stout men, all of whom look promising. You can begin drilling them along the journey; they may prove useful if necessity arises."

With that, he handed He Shihui a pass document issued by Viceroy Lu. With the Tartars currently running amok, all strategic passes had been sealed, and only troops marching to the aid of the capital were permitted passage through the checkpoints upon presenting mobilization documents; ordinary commoners had no way whatsoever of passing. Therefore, Zhang Cheng had taken the risk of requesting this pass from Viceroy Lu.

There was also a letter written by Zhang Cheng to his aunt. According to his wishes, these wounded soldiers and refugees were to be initially settled on an agricultural estate south of the Xuanfu garrison city. The place was sheltered by mountains and near water, with vast tracts of wasteland, making it ideal to use work relief to resettle the refugees first.

Zhang Cheng stood at the camp entrance, watching them leave, while Zhang Guangda was ordered to lead the left sentry to escort them out of Juyong Pass.

A crowd of over a thousand people formed a lengthy procession. The refugees marched in columns, treading over the lingering snow and facing the biting cold wind of late autumn, moving toward a glimmer of hope for their survival.

As they stepped out of the camp gates, they knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Cheng and his men as a token of gratitude. Shi Zhuzi marched at the head of the column calling out cadence, while one hundred and twenty sturdy men, clad in somewhat tattered armor and wielding swords and spears, marched in orderly fashion.

"One... two... one... one..."

The gruff chanting of the cadence faded into the distance. Zhang Cheng watched their uneven footsteps and shook his head with a smile.

It turned out that Shi Zhuzi had pestered Zhang Cheng to teach him how to drill the troops. On a whim, Zhang Cheng had taught him the modern military marching cadence of keeping step to a rhythmic count, but they had botched it into a comical affair full of errors.

Yet Shi Zhuzi remained tirelessly enthusiastic, insisting on shouting "One, two, one" every time he walked.

***

That same afternoon, the Chongzhen Emperor further bestowed upon Viceroy Lu Xiangsheng one hundred imperial horses, one thousand horses from the Imperial Stud, and five hundred iron whips.

Viceroy Lu Xiangsheng felt deeply stirred and grateful within his heart, immediately kneeling to submit a memorial of thanks upon receiving each bestowal.

Believing that Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian were truly the only court officials advocating for peace negotiations, and that the Emperor had merely been momentarily misled by them, he felt the Emperor's resolve had hardened once again. He even secretly reproached himself for having misunderstood the Emperor's intentions.

He distributed all thirty thousand taels of silver bestowed by the Emperor—including the ten thousand taels meant for his personal use—among the imperial-aid soldiers, keeping only one tael and five mace of silver for himself, which he used to commission a silversmith to forge a wine cup as a keepsake.

***

In truth, following his audience at the Platform of Audience, the Chongzhen Emperor's mind remained fraught with contradictions. Upon hearing Lu Xiangsheng's resolute anti-appeasement stance, he too harbored a desire to wait until all the imperial-aid forces converged so as to wage a decisive battle against the Qing forces outside the city walls.

Yet this notion of his constantly wavered, subject to repeated deliberation and hard to resolve.

He summoned Cabinet Minister Yang Sichang and Grand Eunuch Supervisor Gao Qiqian to the Qianqing Palace, instructing them to cease their futile wrangling of pride and stubbornness, yet they spoke in unison to oppose a decisive battle with the Qing forces.

They unanimously maintained that should the court stake everything on a single throw and lightly engage the Jianzhou Jurchens in a decisive battle, the consequences of a defeat would be utterly unthinkable.

On the afternoon of the sixth day of the tenth month, just after he had bestowed silver, imperial horses, horses from the Imperial Stud, and iron whips upon Lu Xiangsheng to reward the troops of the three garrisons, he felt spiritually exhausted and profoundly fatigued.

Cao Huachun, the Palace Eunuch Director of the Eastern Depot, stepped lightly into the warm chamber and reported softly: "Your Majesty, a battle report has arrived from Lu Xiangsheng in Changping."

The Chongzhen Emperor's spirits involuntarily rallied. He hurriedly took the battle report and read through it carefully. The report stated: Viceroy of Xuanfu and Datong Lu Xiangsheng memorializes that a cavalry thousand-man commander under the Xuanfu Regional Commander, Zhang Cheng, has beheaded one hundred and forty-three Jianzhou Jurchen enemies. More crucially, he captured thirty living Jianzhou Jurchen prisoners, along with one captured banner of a Jianzhou Jurchen *bod shku* and four banners of stalwart warriors.

After finishing the report, doubt instantly arose in his mind: "Zhang Cheng? Still a millennial commander? He slew one hundred and forty-three enemy heads and captured thirty Jianzhou Jurchens?"

His mind was filled with a swirl of questions!

Although various military units of the capital garrison had previously reported some combat achievements, those amounted to no more than a few severed heads. At first, he had taken them seriously, but gradually they had grown profoundly tedious to him.

Today, however, was different. This was astonishing not only in sheer quantity, but also in the capture of over thirty living prisoners. Most importantly, this engagement had resulted in the battlefield execution of a Jianzhou Jurchen *bod shku*.

The Chongzhen Emperor asked Cao Huachun: "Have you read the battle report from Changping?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, this old slave has read it. The troops of the Xuanfu garrison are indeed commendably loyal and brave, wholeheartedly serving state affairs," Cao Huachun replied cautiously.

Clutching the battle report in his hands, the Chongzhen Emperor read it through once more and asked: "What manner of man is this Zhang Cheng? Do you know anything of him?"

Cao Huachun had long since prepared his answer and replied carefully: "Reporting to Your Majesty, according to this old slave's understanding, this Zhang Cheng is the personal nephew of Xuanfu Assistant Regional Commander Zhang Yan. He should be in his early twenties. Having personally experienced the fires of war and slain over a hundred Jianzhou Jurchens in battle, his valor is commendable and his loyalty comforting."

"Keep a closer eye on this Zhang Cheng," the Chongzhen Emperor said inexplicably, falling silent thereafter. Knowing his place, Cao Huachun quietly withdrew.

The Emperor summoned a young palace eunuch at his side to grind ink and immediately penned an imperial edict by hand, ordering the Ministry of War to dispatch officials without delay to verify the military merits and severed heads of the Xuanfu garrison. If the verification proved true, they were to promptly deliberate on enfeoffment and rewards so as to encourage the loyal and brave spirit of the imperial-aid soldiers.