Chapter 1340 – Plotting for Lushun
"Since you can't get enough to eat, are you willing to follow us?"
"The Master saved my life. The little one is willing to follow wherever the Master leads." Even as he spoke, Mao Shisan thought privately: I'm already on the boat. If I refuse and they throw me back onto the ice—who knows where on the coast—that would be seeking my own death. Besides, following the Master means I won't have to worry about food or drink.
"Good. Rest for now. You may go up on deck for fresh air whenever you like."
After the boy withdrew, Xue Ziliang turned to the medic. "How is his physical condition?"
"Rest assured, Chief. He was simply starving. Young people recover quickly. After two proper meals, he's fine."
"When we dock next, give him a thorough purification."
Parting from Mao Shisan, Xue Ziliang returned to the operations room on the poop deck. Around the map table sat the Senators participating in the reconnaissance of the sea conditions along the Bohai's north coast and the west coast of the Korean Peninsula.
Three days earlier, the Haitian had sailed directly to Jinzhou Bay. Though Xue Ziliang rarely spoke at Senate meetings on matters of strategic decision, he had long been one of the principal advocates for making the LĂĽda Base a cornerstone of the Northeast Asia strategy in General Staff discussions.
In this counterfeit foreign devil's view, LĂĽda enjoyed incomparable strategic advantages. Most importantly, a LĂĽda Base could be held entirely by their own forces, rather than relying on the "militia" model employed in Shandong.
After Operation Engine concluded, Lu Wenyuan had seized the opportunity to occupy the Zhaoyuan area, transforming himself into the preeminent "local tyrant" of the region. Yet Shandong lay in the Ming Dynasty's core ruling zone. Though the Three Prefectures of Eastern Shandong were somewhat peripheral and received less attention from the central government, they remained much closer to the capital than Lingao. Openly flaunting military power there was inadvisable. A subtler approach, akin to the one employed in Guangdong—treating the area as a key infiltration zone—was preferable. Controlling Zhaoyuan, Qimu Island, and several offshore islets, Lu Wenyuan and the Shandong Detachment could maintain an impregnable position.
History showed that the Denglai region would not recover its vitality until the Qing Dynasty. The Ming currently had no ability to attend to this war-ravaged corner. So long as no one raised an overt banner or declared a mountain stronghold, acting as a local emperor for five or six years would pose no problem.
By contrast, the Lushun area offered an ideal base for stationing troops. From there, whether threatening Tianjin and the Ming capital, or the Manchu seat at Shengjing, the striking distance was short—and sea transport was close at hand.
"Old Xue, I agree with you," said Wang Ruixiang. "We'd better move on the LĂĽda area early. The Jinzhou Isthmus defense line along the Fan Mountain ridges is extremely strong. Back in the old timeline, the Russians defended it to the death. Even with nearly three-to-one superiority plus naval support, the Japanese only managed a pyrrhic victory. And that doesn't count our generational advantage in weaponry." As a staunch member of the "Progressive Faction," he had grown deeply dissatisfied with the Senate's longstanding neglect of the northern theater.
"Exactly my thinking. The isthmus at its narrowest is only three times the length of the Willow Palisade on Qimu Island, but the strategic depth is far greater."
Xue Ziliang opened his laptop and displayed photographs taken during the Special Reconnaissance Team's field survey of the Jinzhou Peninsula a few days prior. To avoid alerting the beacon towers at Lushun Fort, the Haitian had refrained from firing its boilers; it had not scouted Lushun Port directly, instead surveying the Jinzhou Isthmus from both Jinzhou Bay and Dalian Bay. The results pleased Xue Ziliang considerably. In the Ming Dynasty, with no land reclamation from the sea, the isthmus was narrower than in modern times—easier to defend. Winter freezing was not severe enough to allow the Later Jin army to sneak across the ice.
"Some of our comrades have grown too conservative," said another voice. The speaker was Huang Hua, a native of Heilongjiang. His aspiration upon joining Intelligence Bureau training had been to serve as station chief deep in Later Jin territory. He had once dealt in cross-border trade, possessing a merchant's instincts and mechanical expertise, familiarity with customs and geography beyond the pass, and competent self-defense skills; he spoke fluent Korean and passable Shanxi dialect. He was passionately committed to developing trade with the Later Jin as a means of infiltrating it.
"It's not so much that they're conservative," Wang Ruixiang laughed, "as that they're unwilling to deal with Later Jin at all. In their view, our desire to establish a stronghold in LĂĽda amounts to wanting to reach an accommodation with the Manchus. Besides, the profit margin isn't that impressive."
"True enough. But the enemy of our enemy is an ally. Only if the wild boar of Later Jin keeps bleeding and making trouble for the Ming can we pursue grand developments in the south. Honestly, making money off trade with Wild Boar Skin is secondary.[1] The key is to strengthen the Manchus so they can enter the passes sooner—and let us avenge what Ming did to us."
"You can say that here, but if the Han Chauvinists hear it, watch out for 'Heavenly Punishment'..."
Huang Hua laughed aloud. "When I used to scalp goods in North Korea and Big Mao,[2] what haven't I seen? I'm not afraid."
Xue Ziliang smiled faintly. Though he was of genuine Chinese descent, he did not regard himself as "Chinese" in any political sense, and the topic held little interest for him. He also knew it was a sensitive political issue within the Senate—best to steer clear. When their exchange subsided, he spoke:
"My greatest concern isn't the commerce. It's that some in the Senate worry our plan is too aggressive—that splitting our forces to open a new base will create a burden. In fact, occupying the Jinzhou Peninsula will not trigger a large-scale conflict with the Manchus. The geography alone is enough to deter a Later Jin counterattack. We need only defend ourselves. The Later Jin's main forces won't come gnawing at our hard bone for nothing. Even with the Dongjiang Army in its present state—and without Kong Youde to guide them—the Manchus wouldn't dare mass for a decisive showdown. Teach the Tartars one sharp lesson, and the Jinzhou Peninsula can enjoy long-term peace. If military danger exists anywhere, it is more likely at Zhenjiang Fort."
"The Dongjiang Army still has over two hundred thousand people. It would be a terrible pity to let them fall into Manchu hands for nothing. Liaodong's population isn't small, either. In a few years, when we advance into Korea, Shandong, and Beizhili, Lüda will be a superb strategic node. All our current nodes sit too far south—Jeju Island's latitude is actually about the same as Jiangsu."
"We're talking merrily, but Lushun is still in Dongjiang Army hands."
"Taking Lushun won't be easy..." Xue Ziliang said.
"Correct." Wang Ruixiang nodded. "But Huang Long is in Lushun now. If we want to take it, Huang Long has to die. According to the historical record, he committed suicide when the Manchus broke the city—he can be considered a hero. Killing him ourselves would be... unattractive."
Though Huang Long's record in administering the army showed few highlights, he deserved the epithet "loyal martyr." If he truly fell at the hands of the Fubo Army, many Senators would find it emotionally difficult to accept.
"No matter," said Huang Hua. "Kong Youde may have failed to surrender to the Qing in this Dengzhou rebellion, but that doesn't mean other Dongjiang generals won't take that path. They're too deeply entangled with the rebels. Once the court investigates, there's only one road for them: defection to the enemy."
"And if the court doesn't investigate...?" Xue Ziliang felt this too speculative.
"Then we give them a push—make the court investigate properly. So many people died in Shandong this time. Can the deeply involved Dongjiang generals really whitewash themselves so easily?"
"Huang Long's life or death isn't the main issue." Wang Ruixiang steered back to the point. "The key is that we want to promote Sun Yuanhua's faction."
Though Sun Yuanhua had been temporarily "retained in office" after the Dengzhou Rebellion, he had already been dismissed. Even with the Foreign Intelligence Bureau's maneuvering and his own efforts, whether he could hang on remained fifty-fifty. Should he fall, the Senate needed to support "one of their own" locally before a new governor took office.
Most of the men in the "Dengzhou Christian Small Group" who had originally followed Sun Yuanhua were unsuitable—especially the civil officials. Though they had washed away the stain of "falling to thieves" with the Senate's help, the charge of "losing territory" could not be escaped. Even if punishment was reduced by one degree and they avoided exile to the frontier army, dismissal and demotion were unavoidable.
Zhang Tao, the former Vice General of Dengzhou Town, offered the greatest hope. Though he had been cashiered, he had "rendered merit" in the defense of Laizhou and, not long ago, had been the first to "break into" Dengzhou. Credit for recovering the city and killing Li Jiucheng in battle now stood under his name.
With the late Ming's endless wars, the court relied ever more heavily on military officers, and the officer corps trended toward warlordism. To spur generals to risk their lives, the old practice of subordinating martial officials to civil ones had softened. So long as a man could fight, even if cashiered for some offense, reinstatement—or even promotion—came easily. Zuo Liangyu and others had been dismissed after disastrous defeats, only to be swiftly restored and elevated. Word from Beijing relayed by the Foreign Intelligence Bureau indicated that Zhang Tao's reinstatement as a Participating General was imminent. With a bit more maneuvering, his promotion to Commander-in-Chief of Dengzhou was not impossible.
Huang Long, parachuted into Lushun from above, held only allies in Dongjiang—no true subordinates he could drive and mobilize at will—apart from his personal soldiers and household retainers. A considerable number of Dongjiang generals were deeply hostile to this outsider. Thus, Huang Long's defense of Lushun was a dead end. Once the Manchus attacked, he would certainly die.
Once Lushun fell, Dongjiang would teeter on the brink of collapse, just as in the original history. Though isolated behind enemy lines and unwelcome to many, Dongjiang remained a heavily funded garrison consuming hundreds of thousands in annual court provisions. Its total destruction would shock both court and countryside.
If, at that moment, Zhang Tao could lead the "Dengzhou New Army trained by Sun Yuanhua" with wisdom and martial prowess—in reality, troops of the Northbound Detachment—to recover Lushun and achieve a second Jinzhou Great Victory, not only would Zhang Tao's succession as Dengzhou Commander-in-Chief be assured, but Sun Yuanhua's retention in office would become far more plausible.
The Expeditionary Army Command was calculating on precisely this abacus: a portion of Dongjiang defects → Qing army attacks Lushun → Lushun falls → Ming army counterattacks → Recover Lushun → Annex Dongjiang's remnants. After that cycle, the ultimate goal—de facto control of Lushun and absorption of Dongjiang—would be achieved, while simultaneously binding Sun Yuanhua's faction ever more tightly to the Senate's war chariot.
[1] Wild Boar Skin: Derogatory term for Nurhaci and, by extension, the Manchus.
[2] Big Mao: Slang for Russia or Russians.