In the middle of February 1618, Nurhachi led his two yellow banners and Dai Shan's two red banners, totaling more than 60,000 men, and left Shenyang to reinforce Jinzhou. Jinzhou originally had 30,000 men under Fei Yingdong, so nearly 100,000 Jurchen troops were gathered in this strategic location.
With such a strong army, they could do whatever they wanted in the entire Liaodong region. But on the day Nurhachi arrived in Jinzhou, two pieces of bad news reached his ears.
One was that after Hezhuo ate Ah Min's Bordered Blue Banner men and horses, after three days of recuperation, he launched a surprise attack on Guangning to the north of Jinzhou, possibly cutting off Nurhachi's path back to Shenyang. The other was that Mangurtai sent a messenger riding a crane to ask for help, saying that he had retreated in front of Shanhai Pass and was currently blocked at Liuzhou River in Suizhong County in Liaoxi Corridor and urgently needed help.
In Jinzhou, Nurhachi gathered the generals in the former Ming Army yamen for a meeting. As the current crown prince of the Great Jin, Dai Shan was very worried. On the way to Jinzhou, he felt that the morale of the Jurchen troops was not high. The reason was simple — in the past, war was very easy, and it was basically armed robbery. Now, war was very difficult, and people would die if they went to war.
The Tianyou army was defeated in front of Shanhai Pass, and they were not of any use at all. They even tricked Mangurtai's 30,000 men. This made Nurhaci very suspicious of the army formed by the Han slaves. This time, he brought all the Jurchens. But the population of the Jurchens was not like the crops in the field, and they would not grow a lot in one go.
Dai Shan gathered nearly 100,000 men in Jinzhou, and this had completely unearthed the potential of the Jurchens. The Jurchens only had about 500,000 people, and now all the young and strong were in the army, including many old and young.
Alas … in the past, when Nurhachi asked everyone to go to war, everyone would fight to be the first. But now, it was different. Many people even became tired of war, and even brainwashing was useless. Tens of thousands of soldiers might seem like a lot, but many of them lacked equipment. They even had to use the crude weapons seized from the Ming Army. How could they win the battle?
"My Jin family's wealth is still lacking." Dai Shan sighed. "Half a year ago, we were strong and well-equipped. But now, after suffering one or two defeats, they immediately lacked manpower and resources. Even if I whip all those Han slaves to death, they will not be able to provide for my army.
However, even if a million of them died, there were still tens of millions left. They lost Liaodong and the Central Plains. They had been robbed of ten million taels of silver and several hundred million taels of silver. After destroying their Daming, now there was an even more powerful 'Revolutionary Army'. We can't keep fighting like this. "
When Dai Shan walked into the Yamen hall, he heard Fei Yingdong trying to persuade Nurhachi. "Great Khan, the situation is not right now. We can't fight anymore. We should ask for peace with the Han people. It would be best to ask them for some money and food, release some Han slaves, and give them a few cities. As long as we can slow down for a year or two, our men will be able to relax. "
Fei Yingdong was about the same age as Nurhachi. He had followed him for many years and had made many contributions. He always dared to speak his mind and had the talent to be a general. He was Nurhachi's right-hand man. It was more suitable for him to say what others couldn't say.
But today, when Fei Yingdong tried to persuade Nurhachi to ask for peace and retreat, Nurhachi's face was full of anger and he did not say a word. Fei Yingdong wanted to persuade him again, but he coldly snorted and said: "I have led the army for decades. Do you think I am inferior to that kid in the south? If you are afraid, go back to Hetuala. I will stay and win a few more battles. "
There were more than a dozen female nobles sitting in the hall. Everyone looked at each other. Dai Shan originally wanted to persuade Nurhachi, but when he came in and saw his attitude, he did not dare to say anything. The older the old slave chief was, the more stubborn his temper and the more suspicious he was. When the war was not going well, he would not listen to advice.
Dai Shan thought that since they were not going to retreat, they had to come up with a plan. So, he mentioned He Zhuo who had attacked and occupied Guangning. He Zhuo was a typical wild horse in the grassland that was difficult to tame. She was decisive and ruthless in commanding battles. Taking down Guangning, which was defenseless, was like stabbing a thorn in Nurhachi's back.
Now the Jin army was divided into three parts. One part was led by Hwang Tae-gil in Liaoyang. It was in a fierce battle with Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix who were defending Haizhou. The other part was led by Mangurtai. It had been defeated by the Han army and was about to be annihilated. The remaining part was led by Nurhachi in Jinzhou. They were ready to help Mangurtai out. In other words, Shenyang was defenseless.
"If He Zhuo attacks Shenyang again, it will cut off the Jin army's retreat. Father, we must guard against this. " Dai Shan did not advise him directly. He just listed out the current predicament and let Nurhachi make his own judgment. "Now our army is not strong enough. Shenyang only has some old and weak people. I'm afraid we can't stop He Zhuo."
He Zhuo's strategy of charging into the grassland and launching a surprise attack from the west was completely out of everyone's expectations. No one expected the Han people to be so bold as to let a woman from Yehe tribe be their commander.
But He Zhuo's attack was so good that it was beyond their imagination. Ah Min's defeat caused a major hole in the defense of the west side of the Jin army. It directly threatened the heart of the Priestess. This move was similar to when Zhou Qingfeng took down Tianjin by sea. By taking the initiative to attack, Nurhachi was forced into a passive position and was attacked from all sides.
Guangning, Shanhai Pass, Haizhou, and even Dandong would be in danger.
Originally, the Jin army was attacking from four directions. Now it was the Han army attacking from four directions.
This situation was extremely dangerous.
Humph …!
Nurhachi did not care about it at all. In response to Dai Shan's reminder, he only replied with one sentence, "No matter how many directions he takes, I'll only take one. First, I'll destroy the Han army that is obstructing Mangurtai's retreat. Then, I'll go back and deal with He Zhuo. Finally, I'll gather the troops to attack Haizhou and destroy Zhou Qingfeng's foundation in Liaonan. "
Everyone was in an uproar after hearing this.
Fei Yingdong was dumbfounded, and so was Dai Shan. Others such as Erdeni, Anfeyangu, and even the younger generation such as Du Du and Yue Tuo were extremely surprised. This way of fighting was too bold. If they did not defend themselves, their base would be gone. However, Wild Boar Skin was so confident and courageous.
Once the Khan decided on something, there was no possibility for others to change it.
"How many troops does Mangurtai have now?" Nurhachi asked Fei Yingdong.
"According to the previous battle report, there are more than 25,000 people. But the heavy weapons such as cannons have all been lost, and the provisions are insufficient. If we don't hurry to save them, it will be a disaster. "Fei Yingdong said.
"How many people do the Han army have to intercept them?"
"The intercepting Han army is divided into two groups. One group is in Suizhong. About 5,000 people set up cannons on the north bank of the six prefectures and blew up the floating ice in the river. The Third Baylor wants to lead the troops across the river, so they open fire on the north bank. Now the river is bone-chilling and the riverbed is wide. The Third Baylor has pursuers behind them. Although they are very anxious, they can't cross the river.
In addition, there is a surprise attack that has captured Ningyuan City. There are about 10,000 people. I've already sent 20,000 people to attack Ningyuan, but the Han army has many cannons and firearms. They have built high walls and deep trenches in the city, but they don't come out to fight with us. We want to save them, but we can't rush over. "
The Third Baylor's life is getting harder and harder. I'm afraid they won't be able to hold on for long. If the Great Khan wants the army to press forward, we must first take Ningyuan and save the Third Baylor. "Fei Yingdong couldn't argue with Nurhachi, so he could only go along with what he said.
Nurhachi immediately ordered, "Leave 10,000 people to guard Jinzhou. The rest of the troops to push toward Ningyuan."
"Cha …!"
The Nuzhen higher-ups in the hall had no choice but to accept their fate and shouted.
Jinzhou's army was also more than one hundred and twenty li away from Ningyuan. The majestic army marching out of the city was naturally seen by the Flat Hair who was flying in the sky. Tens of thousands of people were rushing toward Ningyuan. It was like a decisive battle. When the news of the battle reached the capital, Zhou Qingfeng asked, "Which troops are guarding Ningyuan?"
"The newly formed 12th Infantry Brigade and the temporarily mobilized Tianjin Militia Brigade." The staff officer reported.
"Did anyone go to support them?"
"A few days ago, the navy was busy cleaning up the fake Ming Dynasty ships that entered the Bohai Sea. They temporarily stopped supporting the blocking troops. Now the fleet will set off from Tianjin again. It will take two or three days for them to arrive."
"Two or three days? Then they'll have a hard time."
Zhou Qingfeng sighed that his troops were going to suffer. He Zhuo, who was far away in Guangning, saw an opportunity. She was now far away from the logistics line. It was difficult for her to defend Guangning. But this woman was born to oppose Nurhachi to the end. She originally planned to attack Shenyang and cut off the Nuzhen's way of returning to her hometown. But when she learned that Nurhachi was leading an army to attack Ningyuan …
"This old servant is going to attack Ningyuan without caring about anything else? Is he sure that I won't attack him from both sides? "He Zhuo looked at the route on the map and felt inexplicably excited. The 30,000 people she led lacked supplies. It was impossible for her to take down Jinzhou alone. "Let the Mongols come. Aren't there more than 100,000 Mongols in Qingcheng? Let those fence-sitters transport supplies for us. "
He Zhuo calculated the route. She glared and gritted her teeth as she made a decision. "If Nurhachi wants to gamble, I'll gamble with him. I'll immediately lead troops south to attack Jinzhou and block the slave chief in Liaoxi Corridor. Let the Mongols send supplies directly to Jinzhou from our logistics point in Mount Yanshan.
Tell those cowards that it's time to choose a side. Don't think about standing on the sidelines and watching the show. If they agree, the 'revolutionary army' will reward them handsomely. But if they don't agree, I'll go back and wipe out their tribes. "
He Zhuo spoke with a murderous and high-spirited tone. But at the top of Ningyuan's walls, the officers and soldiers of Tianjin's 2nd Militia Brigade were frowning. Sang Quanlai, who was a platoon leader, was busy dismantling the houses in the city to build wind barriers at the frontlines. He turned them into small half-enclosed houses with slender shooting windows. This was the only way they could use their muskets against the Gale Angels.
In front of the defensive barriers, the engineers were using explosives to create trenches to prevent the enemy's cavalry from charging quickly. They had also buried many grenades, each of which was five kilograms of explosives. The explosives were also covered with large amounts of gravel to increase their lethality.
Ningyuan's walls were very short, only three to four meters high. Naturally, their defensive capabilities were low. There weren't many cannons on the walls. The main reason was that there weren't many cannons shipped over. There were only twenty or so in total. The militia, in particular, only had small cannons with limited range and power.
Sang Quanlai frowned as he looked at the Nuren who was surrounded outside the city. He thought to himself uneasily, "We've hit the jackpot. We actually encountered the slave chief's personal expedition. I wonder if we'll be able to return home. "
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