stubborn thief

Chapter 718 Game

Changping is in a very miserable state.

Juyongguan was fine. Ajige's army was still to the west of Juyongguan. They tried to attack the pass but failed to break through. They were basically trapped.

It just so happened that Ajige and Gushan'ezhen of the Twenty Banners were both veteran generals with great courage. Seeing that they were about to be trapped, they began to mobilize the Ming army based on their experience.

Sometimes they took a dozen men and infiltrated the east side of Juyong Pass along the mountain road. Sometimes they gathered their forces and prepared to storm Yuzhou, hoping to break through the Ming army's solid defense line.

The Ming army performed very well during this period because the Ming army on the Juyongguan defense line had fought against the Jin army on the same battlefield two years ago and were very familiar with their tactics.

On the other hand, they were all generals at the level of guerrilla generals and captains of thousands of troops, and the troops they used were also the army such as the Slave Camp that specialized in attacking the Later Jin Dynasty. Ajige could not move them at all.

Just at this time, Changping himself got into trouble.

The defenders of Changping Prefecture were very elite, but many veteran soldiers were transferred away during the suppression of rebellions over the years. For example, the Changping troops under the command of Tang Jiuzhou and Zuo Liangyu all went out from here.

In addition, two thousand surrendered soldiers were settled here earlier, including both captives who surrendered from the border and bandits who surrendered from the Central Plains.

At this critical juncture, this group of people mutinied in Changping City.

General Chao Pichang fought bloody battles in the city, and the garrison troops at the pass also rushed back to provide support, completing the gift to Ajige during the mobilization.

The Ming army and the Jin army did not have obvious advantages or disadvantages at the grassroots level. The battle was a competition of who made no mistakes. The Ming army's defense line was flawed at a mountain pass for only a few hours, and Ajige seized the opportunity and jumped into Changping Prefecture in one fell swoop.

As soon as they entered Changping Prefecture, Ajige immediately divided his troops into several groups. One group pushed various shield carts to besiege Changping, while the rest of the groups went in to plunder and set fire to the surrounding areas.

The Ming army could neither catch up nor stop them.

The worst thing was that the city wall of Changping Prefecture didn’t even hold out for a day.

The Jin army attacked fiercely as soon as they arrived, forcing the civilians to fill the trenches and dig the walls. The elite soldiers used the door panels of shield carts to shield the cannonballs and rained arrows on the top of the city walls. At the same time, they pushed double-decker ladder carts to the top of the city and poked long ladders with gunpowder barrels tied to them to the corner towers of the city walls where the gunpowder was stored.

The city tower was burned down and the people on the city wall were busy putting out the fire. The defense line began to slack off, so a large number of soldiers soon climbed the city walls and captured the Changping Prefecture City.

And at this time outside the border.

The first official confrontation between the Marshal's Army and the Later Jin Army also took place in the southern part of the Khorchin Grassland, east of the Greater Khingan Range.

More than ten days before this, Liu Chengzong and Huang Taiji had been communicating continuously across the Greater Khingan Range.

The content of the letter is not very good, it just presents facts and makes sense.

Even though both of them knew very well that there was no logic in this world, they were both telling their truths to others, so they were very excited to do so.

Huang Taiji said that your tribe and I have no enmity, and we should join forces to attack Ming. Why do you repeatedly invade Mongolia and seize my pastureland, and plunder all the people and livestock of the Kharashen tribe who have surrendered to me? I don't want to bother with you. If you know what's good for you and withdraw your troops, I am willing to restore our friendship. If you insist on not changing your ways, the soldiers who died in the war were not killed by me, but by you.

Liu Shizi's reply was also hypocritical, saying something like "I have always acted with benevolence and righteousness, and accepted the throne from Ligdan Hutuktu Khan because of my virtue. I was elected as the leader of Mongolia by all the tribes. It is the will of heaven and the will of the people. The south of the desert is my territory. You sent troops to covet it last year but failed, and now you are raising troops to come east again this year. Do you really think I won't come?"

Then the two men began to accuse each other, both wanting to prove to the surrounding northern desert tribes and the tribes that were affiliated with both sides that they had always been kind to others, that it was the other side that was at fault, and that they were the patron saints of Mongolia.

After accusing the two letters, Liu Chengzong started to curse.

It is said that the old Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty was a traitor who invaded the Ming Dynasty. As the top beam is not upright, the bottom beams are crooked. When it came to Huang Taiji, he attacked Mongolia for breaking the alliance and seizing the title of Khan, bullying the weak and invading Korea, plundering the Jurchen neighbors and killing each other, and even imprisoning and killing brothers and sisters for power and profit. He was a person who was hated by God and people.

Huang Taiji was so upset by the scolding.

The main reason for the breakdown had nothing to do with the facts, but was because Liu Chengzong had the nerve to say that about him.

Huang Taiji was so angry that he couldn't stop bleeding from his nose in the big tent, and his bowl was full.

Let’s just say, do you, Liu Chengzong, really think it’s a good thing?

The whole family is full of traitors, especially good at stealing.

How many fish-skinned Tartars did my Eight Banners capture, and how many Ming soldiers did you kill in Shaanxi? And you turned around and accused me of killing my neighbors.

The Great Khan Lindan came to Qinghai to form an alliance with you to fight against the Oirat Mongols, but after fighting for a long time, Lindan Khan was killed. Did you get your title of Khan, your queen, and tens of thousands of Mongolian women in a good way?

How can such a treacherous and evil person have the nerve to speak of me like this?

Then they cursed each other and exposed each other's shortcomings.

During the communication process, the main forces of the two armies remained motionless across the Greater Khingan Range, and only some small-scale encounters broke out at the mountain pass outposts in order to obtain intelligence.

Until both of them had run out of words to curse at each other, and had a general understanding of the surrounding terrain and enemy troop deployment, the two armies moved tacitly on the same day.

First, Huang Taiji's army moved away from the Xing'an Mountains Pass and set up an ambush on the banks of the Xilamulun River.

At the same time, Liu Chengzong also issued orders to all his troops to encircle the Xing'an Mountains from two directions.

He knew it was an obvious bait, but he had to eat it even if it was bait.

Because he did not want to engage in a long battle with the Eight Banners of the Later Jin in the mountains, his army had prepared a lot of food and rations, but the total amount was not large and could not withstand the consumption of a long battle.

So he hoped to push the battlefield to the Khorchin grassland. As long as he crossed the Greater Khingan Range, his army would be free to plunder the tribes that were affiliated with the Jin Kingdom and attack wherever they wanted.

It can not only solve the problem of military food, but also seize the initiative on the battlefield.

But the Eight Banners of the Later Jin Dynasty obviously would not let him have his wish.

In a very short time, the Eight Banners withdrew their troops from the banks of the Xilamulun River, and the various troops rolled up their armor and marched quickly in the mountains, covering a distance of eighty to one hundred and twenty miles a day, and joined forces to attack the northern mountain roads to cooperate with the encirclement of the Marshal's army.

When Liu Chengzong learned that the Eight Banners had withdrawn, he was still stuck at the pass of the Greater Khingan Range with his headquarters and the First Brigade. He quickly led his elite cavalry to clear the way and rushed eastward, fearing that the northern route would be lost.

Because the northern detachment was composed of the Mo Nan Army led by Wang Chengen, He Huchen and other soldiers, as well as several scattered camps of the Marshal's Army that were not brigades, it was not as good as the main force in terms of coordination and dispatch.

They didn't even think about cooperating. The mountain roads were difficult to travel on. If they wanted to speed up their advance, they had to disperse. Otherwise, the front army would leave the Greater Khingan Range while the rear would still be stuck in Keshiketeng, and they would definitely be beaten.

Instead of reorganizing them into two brigades, it is better to advance them in battalions. Even if something happens, a small organization can move quickly.

But Liu Chengzong forgot that among the Marshal's Army, he was the only one who was good at escaping.

When he led the main force out of the Greater Khingan Range and ordered E'linchen and Sanang Taiji to lead the Mongolian cavalry to the north to cover the battlefield and investigate the situation, they received news that a fighting had broken out there and it was very fierce.

The marching formation of the northern route was Wang Chengen in the front, He Huchen behind, and in the middle were Ding Guodong, Feng Rang and others.

As a result, as they marched forward, Ding Guodong's men reached the front and were attacked by the Later Jin cavalry, which directly broke the general formation into two.

Afterwards, the Eight Banners Army rushed towards the military formation from all over the mountains and plains, and Wang Chengen's troops soon joined the battlefield. In the melee, even Wang Chengen himself was shot and wounded by an arrow. He Huchen's cavalry also joined the battle later, and the fighting on the battlefield was difficult to resolve for a while.

It was not until Feng Rang's chariot camp was deployed, the Eight Banner Mongolian cavalry that was outflanking was dispersed, and the guns and cannons were fired to cover the battlefield, that Wang Chengen, He Huchen and Ding Guodong's troops were able to retreat calmly. Huang Taiji, who was observing the battlefield, was almost regretting it to death.

Although the battlefield situation and the tactics of rapid encirclement were similar to what he had expected, the Eight Banners soldiers also fought very hard and immediately destroyed a battalion of the Marshal's Army with lightning speed and caused great damage to Wang Chengen's cavalry.

But he didn't expect that Liu Chengzong had a chariot camp and placed it in the detachment.

The chariot camp is not scary. In fact, in many cases, the chariot camp is a formation that is hardly of much use.

But in the current situation, the deployment of a tortoise-shell-like chariot camp is enough to render the Eight Banners helpless.

Because it was easy to take down the chariot camp, all it required was manpower and time. They built a wall outside, surrounded it and waited for the enemy to collapse on its own.

But Huang Taiji knew very well that he didn't have time.

The most important thing is the cannon.

His troops were running fast, but the cannons were still behind.

No, to be precise, he has run out of guns.

That was another battle that took place a little later on the east side of the Greater Khingan Range.

A Later Jin army of more than 500 people, carrying 180 oxen and pulling nine newly cast red cannons, encountered more than 700 Ordos cavalry led by Sanang Taiji on their way to the battlefield.

After a wave of attacks, Sanang Taiji's troops exceeded one thousand.

Because the general guarding the artillery was Baishaer of the Plain White Banner.

He had been in the east with Wu Xitui to plunder the wild Jurchens, and had only 170 Eight Banners soldiers under his command, who were responsible for guarding the prisoners and escorting them to Shenyang.

As soon as the people arrived in Shenyang, Huang Taiji had already sent troops. Because the cannons had been taken away by Ajige earlier, he ordered him to carry nine newly cast cannons and send more than 300 wild captives to the battlefield.

These captives were from the Huerha tribe. They had no weapons or armor, and some of them even had no clothes. They were going to be given swords and armor and pushed into the battle line as dead soldiers.

As a result, when the Ordos cavalry on Sanang Taiji's side charged, this group of people first threw stones at the Eight Banners soldiers who were guarding them, and then forced the defenders to flee in panic.

Of course, these Huerha captives did not want to join the Marshal's Army, but took advantage of the chaos to escape and were captured by Sanang Taiji.

Liu Shizi was originally on his way north in a hurry, preparing to fight the final battle with Huang Taiji there.

As a result, after receiving the report from Sanang Taiji about the interception of nine cannons, he suddenly felt relieved and calmly ordered E'erlinchen and others: "March to Shenyang."

He certainly didn't intend to attack Shenyang. In fact, he had no intention of going to Shenyang to attack the city from the beginning to the end.

Although the huge amount of money in the Later Jin base camp was a huge temptation to the Marshal's Office, it was too deep to fight there, and there was the Greater Khingan Range blocking the way, making retreat also troublesome.

Even if you can win a few games, you will inevitably be defeated in the end, and you might end up in a miserable state.

Liu Chengzong did not forget his original intention of raising troops, which was to completely conquer Mongolia south of the desert and try to damage the vitality of the Later Jin Dynasty so that it would be difficult for it to pose a huge threat to the south of the desert in the next few years.

To achieve this goal, the best option is of course to set Shenyang on fire.

But that was too risky, as his soldiers knew nothing about the astronomy, geography, customs and people of the Shenyang area.

Therefore, Liu Shizi's idea was to take the opportunity to cripple the Naiman, Aohan and most important Khorchin tribes near the Greater Khingan Range while attacking the Later Jin's support troops in this battle.

This can achieve his goal to the greatest extent.

But now, his detachment was blocked by the enemy's main force in a terrain where he was unwilling to fight a battle.

Then he must mobilize Huang Taiji.

Anyway, the Later Jin did not have heavy artillery, and would not be able to defeat Feng Rang's people in a short time. If he dealt with Khorchin directly, it might not force Huang Taiji to return, and he might even launch a fierce attack on Feng Rang and others.

But if a Mongolian army of more than 10,000 people rushed towards Shenyang, the situation would be different.

He didn't believe that Huang Taiji could sit still. If he could really sit still, he would catch Feng Rang and others and attack them fiercely, which would make Liu Chengzong feel comfortable.

E'linchen and Sanang Taiji could go north to Khorchin to divide their troops at any time, and he himself could lead his own troops and provide support to the detachment at any time.

This way, no matter how you calculate it, he won't be at a big loss.

But there are always variables on the battlefield.

Huang Taiji's scouts had long discovered that Mongolian cavalry were roaming around the battlefield, which prompted Huang Taiji to intensify his attack on Feng Rang's chariot camp.

In just two days, the Eight Banners soldiers broke through the outer perimeter of the chariot formation three times, tore open the deer horn wooden fence, and even once rushed into the chariot formation, but were repelled by the chariot artillery soldiers who drew their swords.

Huang Taiji saw that there was no possibility of destroying this army in a short period of time, and was worried that Liu Chengzong would encircle him with his superior military strength, so he thought of retreating to another place and waiting for another opportunity to fight.

At this moment, he received a report from scouts that an endless number of Mongolian cavalry were heading towards Shenyang.

Huang Taiji instinctively thought that Liu Chengzong was trying to lure and mobilize him.

Because there are not many poor guys from Shaanxi in the Marshal's Office who work in Guanning. How would they know where it is easy to travel in Liaoze at this season?

Even though it’s only less than a thousand miles away, there’s a 99% chance that these people won’t be able to reach Shenyang at all!

He even made a judgment and asked the scouts to work harder within a radius of 200 miles, believing that Liu Chengzong must be leading his troops to lurk nearby, ready to attack his troops on the march or to outflank and surround the rear guard troops while he was withdrawing.

As a result, Huang Taiji originally wanted to withdraw the siege, but he did not dare to do so due to the threats.

Not only did they not dare to withdraw their troops, they also did not dare to launch another fierce attack on the chariot camp. They focused almost all their attention on exploring and defending the situation nearby.

Liu Chengzong was also puzzled. After two days of no movement, he wondered if Huang Taiji could remain so patient.

Then he received information sent back by E'linchen's men that they were lost on the edge of Liaoze.

Liu Shizi suddenly realized. No wonder they were so patient. They were sure that they could not find Shenyang at all!

However, Liu Chengzong did not even have time to get angry. He had just ordered E'linchen to gather his soldiers and prepare to withdraw to participate in the battle when a letter from the east broke the balance on the battlefield.

The Eight Banners of the Later Jin Dynasty launched a fierce attack on Cheying in the evening and moved eastward that night. Upon discovering the clues, Feng Rang's troops lit a fire to send a message, and then the entire battlefield came alive.

The letter that Liu Chengzong received clearly stated that the lost E'linchen led his troops to encounter more than 5,000 newly recruited enemies from the Khorchin tribes of the Later Jin Dynasty, and annihilated them in the swamps on the banks of the Qing River, winning a great victory!

good evening!