Chapter Twenty-Nine

The surrender of Dezhou was somewhat dramatic. From the perspective of the Shandong army, the original intention had been to hold the Dezhou line for a while, give the Han army a taste of their own medicine, and then negotiate peace. Fairly speaking, this plan seemed quite sound. Judging from historical precedents, when an enemy arrived and local forces surrendered unconditionally without a fight, they rarely fared well—at least they would be despised and ignored within the new regime. Therefore, once the Han army besieged the city, the resistance put up by the Dezhou garrison was remarkably stubborn.

However, the later development of the war far exceeded expectations. When one hundred and fifty red-coat cannons were deployed, this game completely lost its fairness. Various circumstances clearly indicated that the army had lost its will to fight, plunging the pro-war faction inside Dezhou almost instantly into a desperate plight. At this juncture, probably only Wang Chengye, the Shandong Military Commissioner, was capable of making a correct judgment of the current situation. Yet, regarding a matter as grave as surrender, he could not make the decision alone. Taking advantage of the brief window before the Han army could launch a full-scale assault, he hurried to the official residence of the Shandong Provincial Administration Commissioner, who was overseeing the defense, to discuss the matter. Upon arrival, however, he quickly discovered that His Excellency Yao Wenran had long since vanished. The usually bustling residence now resembled a ghost town, with even the guards at the gates having fled completely.

When the news of the highest official's flight spread, the panic-stricken city of Dezhou immediately experienced a violent chain reaction. Prefect Lu Yishan was not particularly surprised by this development, as he had already completed the transfer of his property and the relocation of his family before the battle. The only reason he had remained in the city until now was out of a lingering shred of wishful thinking. Thus, upon learning that the Provincial Administration Commissioner had slipped away, he calmly took a few family members, changed into plain blue clothes and small hats, and blended into the crowd, henceforth seeking solace in nature and living a carefree life far from the worldly turmoil.

At such a perilous moment, Military Commissioner Wang Chengye displayed exceptionally noble qualities. Although his aides and personal guards repeatedly urged him to "protect himself and preserve his standing," they were invariably refused. Outside the city, artillery thundered incessantly; inside, hundreds of thousands of citizens plunged into a state of hysteria. Yet the highest military commander resolutely walked to the frontline, braving the gunfire to personally raise the white flag of surrender. To be honest, this scene possessed a truly shocking impact. Many officers and soldiers under his command had originally made up their minds to flee, but upon witnessing such a touching spectacle, they all decided to stay and share the responsibility of the war alongside their commander-in-chief.

This astonishing scene was not halted until they reached the territory of Zhengding Prefecture by the imperial commissioner dispatched by the Han King. Lin Feng truly admired Zhao Shenqiao's astonishing imagination from the bottom of his heart. At that moment, he deeply realized that in the realm of "showmanship," those so-called super girls and internet celebrities of later generations were simply like street performers selling martial arts tonics under a bridge compared to the level of seventeenth-century officials.

Under such circumstances, Lin Feng had almost no room for choice regarding his attitude toward Zhao Shenqiao. In fact, Zhao Shenqiao had seized the initiative from the very beginning of this affair. This act of "carrying a burden of thorns on one's back to plead guilty" was derived from the famous "Harmony between General and Prime Minister" in the *Records of the Grand Historian*. Reasoning from this perspective, Zhao Shenqiao's opposition to the Great Han central government could not be politically categorized as a "crime," but rather as a "mistake." Now that he had made such a grand display of carrying thorns all the way from Jinan to Zhili, showing utmost sincerity, and given that the Han King was "heroic and spirited" as the "lord of the world," surely he could not be outdone by蔺相如 (藺相如)'s magnanimity?

Accompanying Zhao Shenqiao to the capital was former Shandong Military Commissioner General Wang Chengye. According to customary conventions, the list of officials entering the capital should have also included the Provincial Administration Commissioner and the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner. Unfortunately, apart from Zhao and Wang, none of the other Shandong officials seemed to possess the courage to face the Han King; they had fled far away long before the Han army occupied the territory. The only comforting aspect was that Zhao and Wang represented civil and military affairs respectively, thus keeping the two major functions of the government relatively complete.

Lin Feng hesitated quite a bit when receiving the two surrendered officials, but ultimately decided to grant them separate audiences. Naturally, due to rank and status, Zhao Shenqiao came first, because regardless of anything else, he was still the highest leader of Shandong, and only a few months ago, he had vaguely held the posture of an independent warlord. Therefore, Lin Feng accorded him immense respect, ordering a banquet to be set in the Qianyuan Palace, where prominent figures in Beijing such as Li Guangdi, Zhou Peigong, and Chen Menglei personally attended to offer congratulations.

Seeing this, Zhao Shenqiao hastily pleaded guilty, saying, "Your subject made inappropriate statements regarding military and political affairs. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me!"

"No offense taken, no offense taken," Lin Feng waved his hand. "You spoke the honest truth. Over the past few years, our Great Han has destroyed the Eight Banners in the east and struck the Mongols in the west. While our military might appears formidable and terrifies the regional lords, the common people at the bottom have indeed suffered a great deal." He sighed, looked helplessly at Zhao Shenqiao, and said sincerely, "However, as you also know, it is not that We necessarily wanted to wage war, but some wars simply cannot be avoided!"

"Yes, your subject understands. Your subject understands Your Majesty's helplessness, and understands the helplessness of the Great Han, but the people of Shandong do not know this," Zhao Shenqiao said with a bitter smile. "The common people are ignorant and unsophisticated; they do not care about who represents legitimacy or the greater righteousness. They only recognize whichever ruler allows them to live a better life."

"Thanks to Your Majesty's trust, this subject will naturally repay it with loyal service!"

"Then it is settled. You may rest in Beijing for a few days, walk around, and relax. Once the Ministry of Personnel makes the arrangements, you shall assume office as the Inspector-General of Ningjin!" He smiled. "This time, I am swapping your position with that of Tang Bin, letting him tour Shandong while you go to Ningjin and the Liao River to teach the refugees how to reclaim wasteland. I presume Your Excellency Zhao will not shrink from this task?!"

Zhao Shenqiao smiled faintly, stepped out of the ranks, and knelt. "I thank Your Majesty for your boundless grace. Encouraging agriculture, supporting commerce, and developing water conservancy are precisely this humble servant's area of expertise. Going to Ningjin, I will strictly perform my official duties to repay Your Majesty's grace of preserving my life!"

Unlike the pacification of Zhao Shenqiao, Lin Feng's reception of Wang Chengye was somewhat unique. Compared to the lavish banquet for all officials in the Qianyuan Palace for the former, the meeting between Lin Feng and Wang Chengye was much more low-key—merely a pot of wine and a few small dishes set up in the study, where the two sat facing each other in conversation.

In terms of monarchical favor, this kind of reception method carried even greater weight in the hearts of subjects and appeared exceptionally intimate and trusting. In reality, before meeting Lin Feng, because he had not participated in the banquet at Qianyuan Palace, Wang Chengye had been feeling anxious and unsettled, unsure of where his fate would lead. In truth, judging from previous precedents, Lin Feng had always treated surrendered officials exceptionally well, and officials of the spurious Qing dynasty from north and south of the Yangtze River had given him high praise. It could be said that the probability of Wang Chengye facing punishment was extremely small. Yet, as the person involved, before matters were made clear, it was inevitable to be somewhat paranoid and let one's imagination run wild. After all, although Lin Feng was known for his tolerance, on the battlefield he was not as courteous as he was in the imperial court. During the Battle of Liaodong not long ago, Qing generals such as Cai Yurong, Yao Qisheng, Pengchun, and Sabusu had all lost their lives, and in the recent Shanxi campaign, he had also ordered the live burial of nearly ten thousand prisoners of war.

"Very well, that is precisely the point," Lin Feng applauded in praise, leaning forward. "Brother Chengye is indeed straightforward and possesses the true demeanor of a famous general!"

"Your Majesty flatters me too much. Your subject stubbornly resisted the heavenly troops, which is truly a capital crime. To receive such generous favor today leaves your subject drowning in shame..." Wang Chengye's face flushed red, and he lowered his head to say softly.

"Let us not speak of this, let us not speak of this," Lin Feng waved his hand, picked up his chopsticks, placed a piece of green vegetable on Wang Chengye's plate, and said, "This matter has nothing to do with you. You are a military man, after all. Whether to wage this war or not was not something you could decide." He put down his chopsticks and smiled, "I brought you here today simply to chat with you about this business of warfare."

"Your Highness may ask whatever you wish, and this subject will speak without reservation!"

"Good," Lin Feng nodded. "You fought against the Imperial Guard for nearly half a month. By your account, what do you think of the Imperial Guard as a military force?!"

This question was somewhat abrupt. Wang Chengye was slightly startled, gaping and stuttering for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

Lin Feng waved his hand and said earnestly, "Chengye, I rose through military campaigns, and you too have crawled out of piles of corpses. The two of us are straightforward men; one is one, and two is two. Let's speak our minds." He smiled faintly, "If you hem and haw and utter empty flattery, people will end up looking down on you!"

Wang Chengye's face instantly flushed red, but he quickly regained his composure, wore a solemn expression, cupped his hands toward Lin Feng, and said earnestly, "Reporting to the Han King, since Your Majesty has put it this way, let us lay our cards on the table. If there is any disrespect, I beg Your Highness to forgive me!"

Lin Feng smiled and nodded, pouring him another cup of wine. Wang Chengye expressed his gratitude, drained it in one gulp, and then said, "From this humble general's perspective, the Imperial Guard is indeed formidable in battle. Their minor setback outside the city of Dezhou this time was actually not General Ma's fault!"

"Mm, I am aware of that. Ma Jinliang rose through the ranks and certainly knows a thing or two about fighting." Lin Feng frowned slightly. "That is why when trouble arose this time, the very first thing I wondered was whether something had gone wrong with the Imperial Guard!"

"Reporting to Your Highness, do you know what the strengths and weaknesses of the Imperial Guard are?"

Lin Feng was taken aback and laughed in amusement. "Please enlighten me, General!"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! Please do not put it that way, Your Highness, you will shorten this guilty subject's life!" Wang Chengye hastily declined in panic. "Actually, based on my observation, the main army of the Imperial Guard excels at open-field battles and large-scale warfare on flat terrain. That is precisely where their strength lies." At this point, he paused to think. "This humble general surmises that the Imperial Guard primarily trains in this manner on a regular basis. Their warfare emphasizes neat formations, strict discipline and commands, and every move must follow rigid rules without any deviation. Upon encountering the enemy, junior officers immediately organize the men to straighten the formation, then open fire with artillery—followed by volleys of musketry, then more artillery and musketry, advancing layer by layer, relentlessly pressing and squeezing the enemy until the enemy can no longer hold out. Then they launch a storming charge for hand-to-hand combat with bayonets, while the cavalry simultaneously deploys for a massive pursuit—tell me, is this not their tactical doctrine?"

Lin Feng frowned, pondered for a long moment, and then slowly nodded. "Although somewhat one-sided, that is largely correct!"

"Indeed, warfare is fundamentally conducted through this method. Viewed solely from this aspect, I believe the Imperial Guard officers are well-trained, their artillery fire is exceptionally precise, and their soldiers are fierce and fearless of casualties. They are truly a top-tier elite force under heaven," Wang Chengye said, extending his thumb in praise. "However, matters on the battlefield are ever-changing, and all sorts of bizarre things can happen. The Imperial Guard suffered losses in Dezhou this time precisely because they suffered from being too rigidly well-trained!"

Lin Feng was greatly startled, exclaiming in astonishment, "This... how so?"

"To put it bluntly, there is no great mystery to it," Wang Chengye smiled. "The Imperial Guard's setbacks in Dezhou this time were primarily due to the outer bunkers. It was for no other reason than that their training was far too rigid, and junior officers simply did not know how to adapt—very well, upon encountering a bunker, they would first summon artillery to bombard it for a while, then dutifully charge in formation, finally fighting their way into the bunker for hand-to-hand combat, driving out the enemy, and pursuing them outside!..."

Lin Feng asked in astonishment, "Is there something wrong with that?!"

"Of course there is something wrong," Wang Chengye said, growing animated and slapping his thigh. "Warfare is a matter of human lives; can you fight without using your brains? You say that no matter how powerful a single tactic is, can you just keep using it blindly? Let me tell you, at the beginning of this battle, I had a very difficult time, but later on I figured out their pattern: the Imperial Guard used this exact same trick back and forth without any variation—very well, we devised countermeasures: when they started shelling, I had my soldiers hide behind the fortifications; when the shelling stopped and they charged, my men returned to the parapets. When they got close, we did not engage in a shootout with the Imperial Guard—we avoided a shootout because the Imperial Guard had superior rifles and accurate marksmanship. I gave strict orders that once they got close, everyone was to use heavy matchlocks, fire only three volleys, and immediately fall back. The moment the enemy rushed in, we immediately thrust forward with long spears. If we couldn't hold the line, we fell back because heavy matchlocks had already been deployed in the rear to cover us, and the paths were dug full of sharpened bamboo pits and horse-trapping ditches. They couldn't pursue effectively. Therefore, after every battle, the Imperial Guard always suffered heavier casualties than my troops!"

Lin Feng nodded thoughtfully. Wang Chengye continued, "Actually, my soldiers were quite well-fed and well-trained on ordinary days, and they could certainly put up a fight. However, if we were to fight a regular field battle against the main force of the Imperial Guard on flat terrain, we would undoubtedly lose without a win. Judging from the offensive and defensive battles on the outskirts of Dezhou, the casualties inside the bunkers between the Imperial Guard and my troops were roughly six to four, and the vast majority of the extra casualties occurred when they fell into traps and ambushes during pursuit." He smiled sheepishly. "Regardless of anything else, the Dezhou garrison was still the local snake, after all, and quite familiar with the terrain. But the major flaw of the Imperial Guard in all this was that despite suffering numerous setbacks, they stubbornly refused to take warning, keeping their tactics rigid and inflexible. Later, after I surrendered, I asked them about it, and they actually claimed that the 'Mazhuang Military Academy' had a drill manual stating that warfare must be conducted this way, otherwise it would violate military discipline—you tell me, is that not treating human lives like a joke?!"

Lin Feng sat in a daze for a long time, and finally shook his head with a bitter smile. "Indeed so. It seems we were truly befuddled by the fighting methods of the Eight Banners and the Mongol troops. We must remember that foreign wars have their own methods of warfare, and civil wars certainly have theirs. Since we failed to understand this, we were indeed treating human lives somewhat like a joke!"

After sighing for a long time, Lin Feng said to Wang Chengye, "Chengye, now that you have also surrendered to our Great Han, and since we hit it off so well today, this King does not treat you as an outsider. How about this: since you are a newcomer, you shall start as a 'Colonel of the Center.' Those tens of thousands of troops in Dezhou must be thoroughly reorganized, and their officers must all go to the Mazhuang Military Academy and Baoding Military Academy for training. I will issue an imperial decree later, conferring upon you the rank of Major General with the military title of 'Mighty Colonel of the Center'—what do you think?"

Seeing Lin Feng assume the bearing of the Han King at this moment, Wang Chengye immediately stepped back from his seat, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed, saying, "I thank Your Lordship for your immense grace! Your subject obeys your command!!"

"General, please rise," Lin Feng stood up, helped him back to his seat, and smiled. "There are still over twenty-six thousand men in the Dezhou garrison. I plan to reorganize them into two armies: one will be designated as the 'Eleventh Infantry Army of the Great Han,' with you as the Army Commander, while the other will be designated as the 'Sixth Infantry Army of the Imperial Guard,' to be appointed separately by myself—how does the Mighty Colonel of the Center find this arrangement?"

"I will strictly obey Your Lordship's command!" Wang Chengye bowed slightly, cupped his hands, and said, "However, apart from the Dezhou frontline, the Shandong army also has other prefectures and commanderies holding some troops, totaling around fifty thousand men scattered about. Although they were hastily formed and lack combat effectiveness, they are nonetheless able-bodied soldiers. I beg Your Lordship to settle them properly!"

"Mm, the General Staff has also submitted a memorandum to me regarding this matter. These regional forces are to be carefully screened, assigned the designation of the 'Twelfth Infantry Army of the Great Han,' and then rigorously trained. As for the rest of the able-bodied men, it would be better for them to return home and farm the land!" Lin Feng smiled. "The people of Shandong are most afraid of me imposing military and corvée labor; we must pacify the public sentiment here first."

"Your Lordship is wise!"

Lin Feng slowly paced around in a circle, thought carefully for a moment, suddenly walked over to Wang Chengye's side, and said in a low voice, "Chengye, after you return, there are two matters you must handle properly: one is to reorganize the troops without causing chaos; the other is to... keep a close eye on Henan. Sooner or later in this campaign, your troops will most likely be our vanguard forces entering Henan!!" He patted Wang Chengye's shoulder. "As the saying goes, 'seeking a marquisate a myriad miles away,' whether a general has a bright future depends entirely on your own ability!"