stubborn thief

On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, Mafuta and Dodo, leading three hundred vanguard cavalrymen disguised as merchants, crossed the frozen Yalu River.

The four counties and six towns of the Joseon Kingdom, which were "strictly guarded," were deserted on the official roads, with no soldiers in sight.

Dodo, who was leading the troops, felt the same way Liu Chengzong had when he cautiously entered Liaodong.

Dorgon divided his troops into three waves, a deployment specifically aimed at the Kingdom of Joseon.

The tactics were very clear: the most capable vanguard cavalry of the Eight Banners would lead the way, bypassing the important border towns of the four northwestern counties and six northeastern garrisons of Korea, carving out a passage, and pushing the army to its capital Hanyang before the Korean armies could react.

They quickly wiped out several armies in three waves.

For troops under a thousand, the vanguard of three hundred elite soldiers overwhelmed them; for troops under five thousand, the left wing of four thousand Manchu cavalry defeated them; forcing the Korean capital Hanyang to close its gates and hold out, the siege was launched directly when the right wing army arrived.

To be precise, the goal of this campaign was not conquest, but to capture the King of Joseon on the battlefield or by storming Hanyang, thereby forcing the entire Joseon Kingdom to surrender.

Outsmarting and outmaneuvering the air.

It's no wonder he and Ma Futa were so cautious. Earlier, King Injo of Joseon had already informed the eight provinces and the military and civilians that the whole country should resist the Jin.

Anyone would have thought that the Eight Banners army would face a fierce battle once they crossed the Yashui River.

After all, although the Joseon Kingdom was not good at fighting, it still had some army, and as an independent kingdom, it was a tough nut to crack.

Moreover, some time ago, after the Battle of Yeongdong ended, the cavalry of the four towns and six counties in northern Korea cooperated with the Ming army to cross the border and captured and killed many deserters who wanted to defect from the Jin Dynasty.

Suddenly, the Eight Banners thought that Korea had returned to what it was like decades ago.

The army of the Joseon Kingdom was actually not very weak.

Before the Imjin War, the border troops of the four counties and six towns in the north could pull out tens of thousands of well-armed archer cavalry, who were responsible for suppressing the Jurchen tribes, and they were quite successful in doing so.

Until the Japanese invasion, the Six Garrisons were transferred south. Lacking supplies along the way, they were repeatedly dispatched to Japanese positions that were unfavorable to cavalry, and used to launch strong attacks on musket lines, resulting in the annihilation of the entire army.

After that, the strength of the Six Garrisons Border Army was difficult to recover, which also provided objective conditions for Jianzhou to annex the Haixi Jurchens and infiltrate the armed forces in the lower reaches of the Tumen River.

This cannot be explained simply by the fact that the Jurchen army was strong and the Korean army was weak.

Because of the sheer military disparity, they could be wiped out in a single operation.

Only when the military gap is not significant, but there are major political problems, will a series of military defeats occur.

In other words, soldiers risk their lives to support the kingdom, which is why the kingdom can survive even after repeated defeats.

At this time, the Joseon Kingdom was still politically recovering from the wounds inflicted by the Imjin War.

Nearly forty years have passed since that war ended, but North Korea still hasn't recovered.

Before the Japanese invasion, King Seonjo of Joseon was unwilling to appoint an heir because his eldest son had a bad reputation and his youngest son was also incompetent. He intended to appoint his fourth son, who was neither the eldest nor the legitimate heir, as the crown prince, but he was too young.

During the Japanese invasion, Joseon suffered a crushing defeat and its eight provinces fell to the Japanese. King Seonjo was determined to flee Hanyang and abandon the country, fleeing north to Liaodong for refuge. He was forced to appoint his second son, Yi Hun, as crown prince and regent during the war, who later became Prince Gwanghae.

Prince Gwanghaegun led the righteous army against the Japanese pirates on the front lines. After the war, his achievements overshadowed the king. Since he has been made crown prince, he should inherit the throne.

However, the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty, as the suzerain state, disagreed. Joseon requested the Ming Dynasty to appoint him as Crown Prince five times, but was refused each time.

It wasn't Gwanghae-gun's fault, he was just unlucky.

Normally, the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty would not care at all who the Crown Prince was.

In particular, when the King of Joseon abandoned his country and fled, Gwanghaegun led Joseon government troops and militia to assist the Ming army during the war. He was personally appointed by the Wanli Emperor as the Governor-General of the Army and the General of the Army, and was greatly admired by the Ming officials.

His succession was a matter of course.

However, at that time, the Ming Dynasty was going through a struggle over the succession, and Wanli also wanted to depose the eldest son and establish the younger son. The Ministry of Rites would never set a bad precedent of establishing the second son in a vassal state.

This also sowed the seeds for Gwanghaegun's later disobedience to the Ming Dynasty, his evasion of Ming conscription, and his correspondence with the Later Jin. He also promoted a group of noble officials who held a neutral stance between the Ming and the Jin.

Or rather, a traitor.

After Wanli Emperor aided Korea, his lack of closeness to the Ming Dynasty was itself a betrayal.

The current King Injo of Joseon overthrew Gwanghaegun and seized power in a coup. As a result, the nobles in the country are still divided into two factions: one loyal to the Ming Dynasty and the other close to the Later Jin.

Earlier, the Former Jin forced Joseon to form a brotherhood alliance, and then declared itself emperor. After suffering a defeat in Yeongdong, the Joseon king also issued a proclamation to the eight provinces, and the kingdom prepared for war to avenge the previous humiliation, but in reality... it did nothing.

When news of Liu Chengzong's great victory over the Jin army in Lingdong reached Korea, it polarized the already somewhat roused Korean monarch and his officials.

Some who were pleasure-seeking believed that since the Later Jin had suffered a major defeat, the kingdom would naturally be able to rest easy.

Another group of ambitious individuals felt that Huang Taiji's Eight Banners army was no match for the military officers of a superior country, and there was nothing to fear.

The term "military officer" is not intended to belittle Liu Chengzong; on the contrary, it is the most fitting title among the many others, such as "bandit leader" and "rebellion leader."

Korea was separated from the Ming Dynasty by mountains and seas, and had limited knowledge of the massive rebellion that broke out in Shaanxi.

They had no idea of ​​the famous names of Wang Erge of Baishui, Wang Jiayin of Fugu, Gao Yingxiang of Ansai, etc., and only knew of Liu Chengzong.

The Korean Kingdom is now severely polarized.

After King Yi Jong of Xian issued his decree to the eight provinces, he ordered the construction of many mountain fortresses. A strong war sentiment permeated the people, and the kingdom received petitions every day for war against the Later Jin.

However, Li Zong did not actually want to go to war with the Later Jin. He had an ostrich mentality of avoiding war and did not believe that Huang Taiji would really use force against them soon. This sentiment also infected the Yangban nobles.

The official appointed as Grand Marshal was Kim Ja-jeon, a meritorious official during King Injo's coup.

He went to defend the four counties and ordered all localities to withdraw their troops.

The Ping'an Province withdrew its troops to Baekmasan Castle near Uiju, and the Hwanghae Province withdrew its troops to Jeongbangsan Castle near Hwangju. The army and civilians repaired the mountain castles in preparation for defense after the start of the war.

These mountain towns are all more than 30 miles away from the official road, and some are even a two-day walk away.

This deployment is not foolish or stupid, but rather a last resort.

The Korean army, which relied on cavalry to resist the Jurchens, had been almost entirely depleted in previous wars, and could only depend on firearms.

Unfortunately, firearms require gunpowder, which has historically been supplied by the Ming Dynasty. However, the Ming Dynasty is currently refusing the Later Jin's requests for gunpowder because it is supplying them with supplies.

Under these circumstances, engaging the Later Jin army in open battle would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock. Therefore, their core tactic was to learn from the Japanese soldiers during the Japanese invasion and defend mountain cities against the Ming army. They built mountain cities in places that were easy to defend and difficult to attack, hoping to delay and wait for changes in the war.

To put it bluntly, after the Wanli Emperor, the parachute deployment of heavenly troops remained an important part of the Joseon Kingdom's war plans.

This is also why Dodo led his troops into Korea with great care, and the large contingent traveled along the official road without encountering any obstacles along the way.

However, as early as the end of November, when the Eight Banners army was gathering on the banks of the Yalu River, Lin Qingye, the prefect of Yizhou who was stationed at Baimashan City, noticed the unusual activity, lit a beacon fire, and sent a messenger to report to Hanyang: "Rebel troops are rampant along the Yalu River." The beacon fire spread from Yizhou to Huangzhou, where it was extinguished by Jin Zidian, who was stationed at Zhengfangshan City.

He did not believe that the Later Jin had invaded, but thought it was a signal that the envoy had returned from Shenyang. Fearing that the signal fire would spread to the capital Hanyang and cause unrest, he cut it off without authorization.

Meanwhile, the messenger from Yizhou, carrying a letter, did not deliver Lin Qingye's urgent report to the capital until the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month.

King Injo of Joseon was puzzled when he saw the urgent report.

Many strange things have happened this year.

The kingdom has been indulging in leisure and pleasure for quite some time, and there's been no real work to be done in government affairs.

The reports he received every day were things like stones moving in Ansan, two groups of ducks fighting in Pyongan Province, white cranes training in formation in Daegu, and the capital Hanyang being struck by lightning twenty-seven times in one day during a rainstorm.

There was a rare memorial that seemed very impressive, yet Li Zong found it both credible and doubtful.

This is not just because there was no signal fire.

Another important reason is that King Injo overthrew King Gwanghaegun through a coup, leaving behind a fierce power struggle between the two parties, and there was a lot of false information.

The high-ranking officials in the court also believed that this was a sign of panic in Yizhou, which is close to the front line, and they all demanded that Lin Qingye, who had given false military information, be severely punished.

On the other side, General Jin Zidian of Zhengfang Mountain City, after cutting off the beacon fires, was also surprised by the fact that the two beacon fires in the north were burning day and night. On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, he sent several officers to investigate.

The first officer to return was Shen Rong. He hadn't even made it to Pyongyang or Uiju. He had only reached the ferry crossing on the Taedong River when he saw the Eastern Barbarian troops and hurriedly ran back to report to Kim Ja-jeon.

Even so, Jin Zidian still didn't believe it, thinking that Shen Rong was lying, and in a fit of rage, he planned to execute Shen Rong.

On the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the vanguard of the Eight Banners had already passed Huangzhou, and the third wave of Han and Mongol troops were pushing heavy weapons across the border. Only then did Jin Zidian realize that the news was true.

But, it's too late.

The Daedong River was the last line of defense for the Joseon capital, only about 400 li (approximately 200 kilometers) from Hanyang. Once the Manchu cavalry crossed the river, they spread out across the south bank, creating a situation where they besieged Hanyang and ambushed reinforcements.

Kim Jae-jeon's messenger, sent to report the urgent situation, was intercepted by Dodo's cavalry, so the Joseon capital was completely unaware of the matter.

On the afternoon of the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Dodo led his troops to Gaeseong, a hundred miles from the capital Hanyang. Only then did the King of Joseon learn of the Jin's sudden attack, and the entire Hanyang was filled with panic.

On the 13th, faced with the invasion of the enemy country, King Yi Jong displayed the cowardice inherited from his kingdom and immediately convened a court meeting, deciding to abandon the capital and flee to Ganghwa Island.

The discussion lasted all day, with officials and nobles going about their own business, busy bestowing official titles upon their sons in hopes of using the opportunity of accompanying the king to escape Hanyang.

The next day, when King Yi Jong was about to set off for Ganghwa Island, Ma Futa and Dodo led three hundred elite cavalrymen to Hongjewon, scaring the king back.

Soon, Dodo met with the envoys sent by the King of Joseon and inquired about their purpose in entering Joseon.

However, Dodo did not appear in person, but instead sent Mafuta to respond: "Your country has broken the alliance without cause. We have come to negotiate peace. Please send your crown prince to negotiate peace."

Dodo himself was eager to ask Yue Tuo and Hauge behind him for reinforcements.

He had already sent people to investigate the intelligence of Seoul. The city was garrisoned by more than 12,000 troops, while he only had 300 men. Even the 300 vanguard cavalrymen personally led by Lausa were somewhat frightened.

Although he didn't know why the enemy wasn't attacking, it was still good news, which is why he used the pretext of peace talks to deceive them—they were there to destroy the country.

Yue Tuo and Haoge were still two hundred miles away, busy blocking reinforcements from all sides and looting grain and fodder everywhere. Their troops were almost exhausted.

But upon seeing Dodo's plea for help, he immediately mustered 1,200 cavalry to reinforce the vanguard.

Before these 1,200 people arrived outside Hanyang, the Joseon king and his officials did nothing of any use. Some ministers went to Ganghwa Island and urged the king to seek refuge there.

Meanwhile, the ministers remaining in Seoul desperately exaggerated the enemy's strength and the unsafety of Ganghwa Island, advocating instead for them to flee to Namhansanseong Fortress in order to gather another group of officials to evade their duty of defending the city.

Until this point, King Injo of Joseon and his ministers did not know the number of the Eight Banners troops outside the city.

Rumors circulated in the city that Emperor Chongde had led an army of 100,000 to conquer Korea, and that the besieging forces outside the city were ten times the size of the 12,000 garrison in Hanyang.

This caused widespread panic.

Just then, the garrison outside the north city discovered that the cavalry covering the hills outside the city had retreated.

Not only did they retreat, but they also left behind many old, weak, and incompetent livestock, with only a dozen or so riders left to guard them.

This was Dodo's plan to lure the enemy.

The teachings of Ajige were based on their expertise in using small, elite units to conduct devastating small-scale annihilation campaigns, which was the best way to instill fear in the enemy.

It is also an essential tactic for bluffing when outnumbered.

This kind of small-scale warfare has proven effective time and again, and only two armies in the world can defend against it.

One was the Guan Ning Army, which was equally skilled in capturing prisoners with elite cavalry. It was a battle of brutes against brutes, to see who could defeat whom.

The other was the Marshal's Army, whose support from various units was swift; before the vanguard could be defeated, reinforcements had already arrived, rapidly escalating the scale of the war.

However, the North Korean soldiers at this time clearly lacked the ability to counter such tactics.

Outside the mountain city, the general who had set up camp in a favorable location was named Shen Chengli, who led 500 musketeers and formed a battle array against the mountain.

He sensed the enemy's treacherous situation and pretended not to see Dodo's attempt to lure them in, instead engaging them in a standoff on the mountain while demanding gunpowder and bullets from the mountain town.

According to North Korean military law, to avoid wasting gunpowder, each musketeer was only allowed to carry a few rounds of ammunition into battle, and they had to be supplied as needed during combat. Therefore, their troops dared not stray too far from the city.

Moreover, Shin Sung-lip was merely a low-ranking military officer of humble origins, and had no authority to distribute gunpowder.

"Jiannie" was a unique social class in the Joseon Kingdom, not referring to commoners or slaves. Commoners and slaves could not hold official positions. He was the son of a concubine in a noble family, and was considered a lowly person among the nobility. He could not pursue a career in literature or hold the highest rank of official position.

But the Korean soldiers who had taken refuge on the mountain fortress shouted in unison: "If we engage in open battle, we can capture all the enemy's people and livestock left behind, and we can also kill all the fleeing enemy soldiers!"

The actual commander of this battle, Prime Minister Kim Ryu, who was stationed in Namhansanseong, completely ignored Shin Seong-rip's analysis of the enemy situation, believing him to be cowardly and avoiding battle. He gave his follower Yoo Hu a sword and ordered him to go out of the city to supervise the battle and kill anyone he saw.

Knowing that he was doomed, Shen Chengli's troops bid farewell and went down the mountain to gather their livestock. They then engaged in a duel with the returning elite Eight Banners troops.

With three shots fired in the heat of battle, the soldiers ran out of gunpowder, and their formation collapsed. As they ran, they used their muskets to smash the pursuing Eight Banner soldiers. In the end, they were all blocked on the mountain road and were cut down one by one by the Eight Banners, resulting in the annihilation of the entire army.

In this defeat, the blame for the final defeat was placed on the flag bearer of Namhansanseong, who was blamed for not raising the retreating army flag high in the sky so that the troops separated by the fortress could see it. He then ordered the flag bearer to be beheaded and his head displayed to the public.

After this battle, the morale of the garrison troops in Hanyang, Bukhansan, and Namhansan was low, and they had no intention of fighting again. (End of Chapter)