Section Twenty-three

Following the defeat of the Dzungar eastern army, the Fifth Army’s advance accelerated significantly. The newly surrendered forces stationed in the Dai Prefecture and Baode areas, quick to recognize the shifting political landscape, threw themselves into Zhao Liangdong’s embrace without hesitation. With the full support of these local strongmen, Colonel Mu Chengdong’s vanguard cavalry brigade captured the prefectural cities of Dai and Baode without shedding a drop of blood. As military victory was secured, Ni Yicheng’s intelligence agency coordinated a strengthened political offensive. Having learned from the bloody lessons of the various mountain strongholds in Wuniu Mountain, the gentry and landlords of northwestern Shanxi became much more cooperative. Zhao Liangdong soon understood what it meant to "welcome the royal army with food and drink," and in short, the situation was looking excellent. Under these circumstances, the entry of the main Han army into Shanxi became a natural progression.

Upon entering the Wuniu Mountain region, Lin Feng gained a new perspective on Zhao Liangdong’s military capabilities. This was indeed a positive development for the main Han force, as since Lin Feng first raised his banner, the armed forces of the Great Han Group had maintained an unbroken record of victory. Whether it was the renowned Qing general Tu Hai or the fierce Manchu-Mongol coalition from beyond the passes, all had been thoroughly routed by Lin Feng. Consequently, a sense of arrogance had naturally taken root within the Han army. Given the realities of China at the time, the most formidable forces were the "Eight Banners Iron Cavalry" and the Mongol cavalry. Since these two powerhouses had already been defeated, many within the Han army—including high-ranking generals like Mu Tianyan—analyzed the enemy situation with an air of insufferable conceit. Previously, because military reports were brief, when Zhao Liangdong’s news of victory arrived, the generals celebrated, yet they secretly felt that they could have achieved the same results themselves.

The mobilization for this campaign was massive, with nearly fifty thousand troops—mostly elite cavalry—following the Fifth Army into Shanxi, moving with great speed. Under the protection of Zhao Yingkui’s Second Cavalry Division of the Imperial Guard, Lin Feng marched at the forefront, reaching the Dai Prefecture capital on the sixth day of the advance. By this time, Zhao Liangdong’s main force had already redeployed to Baode, eyeing central Shanxi.

The situation in Shanxi had reached a critical juncture. The original government, the Manchu Qing dynasty, had effectively exited the stage. Across the province, southern Shanxi was controlled by Yang Qilong’s peasant uprising, the Wei River basin east and north of Taiyuan was occupied by Galdan, and the northwestern region had fallen under Lin Feng’s control. The only area remaining in the hands of the Qing government was the city of Taiyuan itself.

Lin Feng was deeply astonished by the defensive strength of Taiyuan. Since mid-January, the city had been tightly besieged by Galdan’s thirty-thousand-strong army. For months, under the personal command of the Western Mongol Khan Galdan, the Mongol forces had launched no fewer than twenty large-scale assaults, not to mention countless minor skirmishes and probes. Yet, these Mongol warriors simply could not crack this hard nut. Despite heavy casualties among his iron cavalry, Galdan remained helpless against the city walls. According to intelligence, the one leading the resistance within Taiyuan was not a famous general, but the Qing provincial governor, Yu Chenglong.

Normally, as a provincial governor, such a task would not fall to a scholarly civil official. Yu Chenglong had been thrust into this military role because the Shanxi provincial commander, E Tai, had unfortunately died in battle—or, more accurately, was killed while ignominiously fleeing. With his officers either dead or having deserted, the governor had no choice but to grit his teeth and take command when the Mongol army arrived at the gates. After the Mongols defeated the Qing forces in the field and besieged Taiyuan, Governor Yu, supported by the city's residents, climbed the walls to organize the defenses. With the leadership united, wealthy families contributed money and grain, while commoners provided labor, reinforcing the city day and night. They turned Taiyuan into an impenetrable fortress, leaving Galdan battered and bloody.

The tenacity of Taiyuan clearly exceeded Galdan’s expectations. In truth, he had no ambition to conquer the Central Plains the previous year; in his mind, unifying the Mongols was far more important. As Genghis Khan once said: "As long as the Mongols are united, I can turn every place under the blue sky into a pasture for the Mongol people."

With the intervention of the Lin-Han military group, the war gradually slipped out of Galdan’s control. Had it been earlier, he might have maintained some battlefield initiative, but with the defeat of his eastern army, his situation grew increasingly dire. His main force was trapped before a fortified city, the gateway to northwestern Shanxi had been breached, and hundreds of thousands of Han troops were flooding into the province like a tidal wave, closing in step by step. With the battlefield situation extremely perilous and his army caught in a dilemma, Galdan was forced to send urgent orders to recall his western army from Shaanxi while simultaneously considering how to secure a face-saving conclusion to the war.

By this time, Lin Feng’s main center force had neared Dai Prefecture. Zhao Guangyuan’s First Cavalry Division of the Great Han moved south along the Hutuo River, uniting with Zhao Liangdong’s Fifth Army at Yuanping. Thousands of elite cavalry pursued the retreating Dzungar eastern army southward, their thundering hooves trampling the mountains and rivers. Xinzhou, the northern gateway to Taiyuan, was in jeopardy, and Mu Chengdong’s vanguard even engaged in minor skirmishes with the scouts of Galdan’s personal camp.

Despite Galdan’s blockades, news of the hundreds of thousands of Han troops marching west finally reached Taiyuan. Upon hearing the joyful news, the battered and dying ancient city miraculously erupted with renewed vitality, once again driving Galdan’s besieging army back from the walls. This was a message that was both embarrassing and surprising. In truth, just a year earlier, the people of Shanxi, under Governor Yu Chenglong, had been deeply hostile to the Lin-Han group. From the governor down, they referred to Lin Feng as a "rebel bandit," grinding their teeth in shared hatred. However, psychologically, this was not necessarily out of heartbreak for Emperor Kangxi. While the distress of a sovereign in trouble was painful, it was manageable. The true hatred for Lin Feng stemmed from the belief that this treacherous villain, for his own selfish ends, had incited bandits like Yang Qilong to wreak havoc, throwing Shanxi into chaos and misery. This was a different matter entirely from the fate of the Emperor. If Xuan Ye—that fool—had his head cut off, people might at most sigh and recite poetry; that was a personal tragedy. But the peasant uprising had genuinely threatened the harmonious society of the Shanxi people, which was a grievance of material interests—a crime that was truly unforgivable.

But now, as the winds of change shifted, the political consciousness of the people of Taiyuan had leaped forward under the threat of the Mongol iron cavalry. The situation was now crystal clear: everyone in the city understood that if the Dzungars won, the Mongol style of warfare meant no one in Taiyuan would survive. Conversely, if the Han army won, the people would likely find salvation.

Fortunately, the Prince of Han, Lin Feng, understood this as well. For this war, the peaceful liberation of Taiyuan was of monumental significance, playing a decisive role in both the battlefield situation and political necessity. Thus, as Zhao Guangyuan and Zhao Liangdong’s forces advanced toward Xinzhou, an envoy personally appointed by the Prince of Han, under the arrangements of Wang Shirong, had already quietly departed. The military intelligence department had arranged for a previously bribed Mongol interpreter to make contact with Yu Chenglong inside Taiyuan.

Just as the Han diplomatic envoy left the main camp, Lin Feng received an unexpected report: an envoy from Khan Galdan, bearing fine wine and fat sheep, was waiting at the gate for an audience.