In the seventh year of the Chongzhen era, the Jianzhou forces split into four routes and pushed into Xuanfu and Datong.
They did not bother attacking cities at first, choosing instead to raid villages and fortified settlements.
It was obvious to anyone paying attention that they had no grand strategic objective. They were simply there to loot.
Meanwhile, Emperor Zhu Youjian issued a brutal order. Any official who lost a city would be executed.
With such a command hanging over their heads, which local officials would dare to lead troops out of the safety of city walls to rescue villagers in the countryside?
As long as the enemy did not attack the city, staying inside meant safety. No city lost meant no execution. As for the common folk scattered across villages and forts, they could fend for themselves.
This response, predictable as it was, taught the Jianzhou forces something important.
"If they refuse to leave their cities, why should we limit ourselves to raiding villages? We might as well try attacking cities too."
And so they began to lay siege.
Their first target was Lingqiu. The county magistrate Jiang Bingcai raised troops and defended the city with determination. The garrison commander Shi Qi, along with Chen Yanwu, Ma Ruzhi, clerk Zhang Biao, and instructor Lu Dengfu, all died in battle. When the city fell, Jiang Bingcai hanged himself, and his entire household followed him in death.
Then came Daizhou.
Sun Chuanting stood atop the city wall with his personal retainers, staring grimly at the enemy outside. He wanted nothing more than to charge out and fight, yet he knew perfectly well that his strength was insufficient. With only his household troops, he had no right to challenge the Jianzhou army.
Without support from the court, any attempt would be nothing more than throwing eggs against a stone wall.
The only thing he could do was assist the prefect of Daizhou and defend the city with everything he had.
At that moment, a commotion erupted outside the city.
A massive wave of refugees was rushing toward Daizhou. At the front were strong young men running at full speed, while far behind them lagged the elderly, women, and children. Even further back, closing in rapidly, came the Jianzhou cavalry.
"Open the gates. Let the people in," Sun Chuanting shouted.
The prefect hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded. "Open the gates."
The city gates swung open, and the fastest runners, the able-bodied men, poured inside.
But the slower ones could not make it.
The elderly, women, and children were too slow, and the cavalry too fast. In a short time, more than a thousand of them were intercepted outside the city.
The prefect gritted his teeth and shouted, "Close the gates."
Sun Chuanting's expression changed instantly. "Do not close them. We can charge out, drive off the cavalry, and bring them back."
This time, the prefect ignored him completely. He waved his hand decisively. "Close the gates."
The soldiers turned the winch, and with a heavy thud, the gates slammed shut.
Outside, cries of despair filled the air.
Those who had made it inside climbed onto the walls, weeping as they watched their loved ones left behind.
The Ming soldiers on the walls did not dare fire a single arrow, afraid that doing so would provoke the enemy into attacking the city. They could only stand there and watch.
The Jianzhou cavalry whistled cheerfully as they rode through the helpless crowd, cutting down the elderly one by one. They spared only the women and children, herding them together and driving them northward.
To them, women and children meant labor and future population.
The elderly were worthless.
They did not even qualify as captives.
Sun Chuanting's eyes turned bloodshot. With a roar, he rushed toward the gate mechanism, intending to force it open.
His retainers threw themselves at him from both sides, restraining him with all their strength.
"My lord, you cannot. We do not have the strength to fight them."
Sun Chuanting struggled furiously. "Where is the commander of Xuanfu and Datong, Zhang Zongheng? Why has he not come to reinforce Daizhou?"
One of the retainers answered bitterly, "The enemy split into four routes. At most, he can handle one."
Sun Chuanting threw his head back and cried out, "Is there no one left? Anyone at all, come and save the people."
…
"Report. The Jianzhou forces have looted Chun County."
In Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi, Governor Dai Junen sat in the main hall, his face heavy with worry.
A retainer reported, "The Jianzhou cavalry captured over a thousand women and children in Chun County. When they passed by Daizhou, the captives saw their families on the city walls. They cried out to each other in grief, but the defenders did not dare shoot a single arrow. They could only watch as the enemy carried the captives away. Chun County fell, and the enemy looted extensively, loading more than three hundred carts with goods before leaving. Several days later, once the enemy was long gone, the local officials emerged from hiding and reported to the court that they had successfully reclaimed the city."
Dai Junen let out a cold laugh. "Reclaimed? Glorious indeed. Truly glorious."
"My lord, what should we do?"
Dai Junen shook his head slowly. "What can we do? Nothing. Xuanfu and Datong fall under the jurisdiction of their own commander. As Governor of Shanxi, I can only watch. If I intervene, it would be overstepping authority, no different from rebellion."
He paused, then sighed deeply. "Besides, the troops under my command are little more than decorations. Sending them would only send them to their deaths."
Just then, another retainer hurried in. "My lord, a letter has arrived from Xing Honglang of the Hedong Military Circuit."
"Oh?" Dai Junen straightened slightly. "Read it."
The messenger spoke quickly. "Xing Honglang reports that the gentry of Hedong, upon hearing of the devastation in Shanxi, have grown indignant. They have organized militia forces on their own initiative, prepared firearms and provisions, and are sending these militias north as reinforcements. They will soon pass through Taiyuan Prefecture and ask that you be informed."
Dai Junen could not help letting out a soft sound of surprise.
He remembered clearly his earlier visit to Hedong, when he had brought along the eunuch Lan Xingyang from the palace. At that time, he had praised Xing Honglang's efforts in aiding the people and had even played along in deceiving the eunuch to cover her actions.
Now, seeing that she was sending troops north under the guise of "gentry-organized militia," he could not help but feel a trace of admiration.
"Calling them militia is just a convenient label," he murmured. "In truth, they must be her own forces. She commands many troops, being a former rebel who accepted amnesty. Sending part of her army north disguised as militia to fight the Jianzhou forces is a clever move indeed. Since that is the case, I should not stand in her way."
He gave his order.
"Pass the word. All checkpoints in Taiyuan Prefecture are to allow the militia through without obstruction."
Once the order spread, the officials and soldiers stationed around Taiyuan collectively became blind and deaf. They saw nothing, heard nothing, and treated the approaching force as nothing more than a simple militia heading north.
It certainly was not Xing Honglang's army.
The Gao Village Family militia encountered no resistance at all as they advanced northward.
Within a few days, they passed by the city of Taiyuan.
Dai Junen stood atop the high city walls, silently watching as ten thousand troops from Gao Village Family marched past.
A retainer beside him spoke in a low voice. "My lord, Xing Honglang's forces are growing stronger by the day. This is at least ten thousand troops, and they are well equipped and well armored. If they were ever to rebel…"
Dai Junen cut him off sharply, his voice equally low but firm. "Do not say such things. Do not even think them. We have seen nothing and we know nothing."