weaving

On November 13th, Wang Yongji, the governor of Shandong, had already heard the news that the Jurchens had breached Jieling Pass and invaded the capital region again.

Although he was not entirely certain, driven by a sense of responsibility to defend the territory, he began to make a series of arrangements to strengthen the defenses of various parts of Shandong Province and prevent the tragedy of eleven years ago from happening again.

Wang Yongji transferred Lei Yanzuo, the Assistant Commissioner of Wude Circuit, and Chang Ziying, the Vice Commander, to garrison Dezhou for defense; he transferred Zhou Yi, the Assistant Commissioner of Dongchang Circuit, and Duan Yinglong, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, to garrison Dongchang Prefecture for defense; and he transferred Yang Yuji, the Assistant Commissioner of Jining Circuit, and Zhang Wenchang and Liu Tingbi, the Deputy Commanders-in-Chief, to garrison Jining Prefecture, to provide support to Jinan Prefecture and Dongchang Prefecture at any time.

In order to strengthen the defense of Jinan, Shandong Governor Wang Yongji also transferred 3,000 troops from other places to reinforce the city's defenses.

At the same time, Wang Yongji also dispatched Zhang Guoshi, the Dao of Laizhou, to lead 2,000 Dengzhou and Laizhou troops to assist in the defense of Qingzhou Prefecture. He also sent a proclamation to Wang Weixin, the supervising Dao, to lead 1,000 Henan Dao troops to garrison Yanzhou Prefecture, and to join forces with Ding Wenming and others to block the Jianzhou Jurchens. He further dispatched 1,000 Dengzhou and Laizhou troops to Linqing for defense.

On the same day, Feng Yuanbiao, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, was appointed as the Governor of Tianjin by imperial decree. Upon taking office, he immediately ordered the deployment of 700 soldiers to assist in the defense of Cangzhou, blocking the Jurchens' route south into Shandong.

Feng Yuanbiao also dispatched Guo Tingfan, the guerrilla commander of the Right Battalion of the regular army, to lead 1,000 guards of the canal. He divided 250 men to assist in the defense of Yanshan County, another 250 men to assist in the defense of Qingyun County, and the remaining 500 men to assist in the defense of Cangzhou. In Cangzhou, there were also 1,000 well-trained local militia and local salt workers to defend the city.

…………

The Jurchens, lacking sufficient troops, failed to capture Jizhou on their first attack, but their left and right wings quickly converged.

At dawn on the 15th, the Jurchen general launched a fierce attack on Jizhou. By noon, the defenders of the northwest corner tower of Jizhou panicked and made a mistake, igniting the gunpowder on the city wall. Taking advantage of the chaos in the city's defenses, the Jurchens stormed into Jizhou.

After the Jurchens captured Jizhou, they carried out a brutal massacre for a day and strictly controlled all the streets and intersections. First, the Jurchen Manchu Eight Banners entered the city and looted for three days, followed by the Mongol Eight Banners and the Han Eight Banners entering the city to plunder.

Starting from the 21st, the various Mongol tribes of the outer vassal states were allowed to enter Jizhou City to plunder. After repeated raids, Jizhou was like a dead city. Apart from some young women and girls, almost everyone else was killed. A few were even captured and used as slaves to transport goods.

On the 26th, the Jurchens began dismantling the city again, demanding that each Jurchen remove at least one foot of the city wall. On the 29th, the Jurchens took advantage of the wind to set fires throughout the city of Jizhou.

In the end, the entire city of Jizhou was reduced to ashes by fire!

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Meanwhile, starting from November 13th, reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty arrived one after another.

November 15th.

The reinforcements that have arrived near the capital of the Ming Dynasty include Pi Zhongyao, a guerrilla commander of Xuanzhen Fubiao with 1,400 men; Lin Dengyou, a deputy commander-in-chief with 3,000 men; Xiong Tingrui, a military officer with 2,000 men; Zhang Shijie, the commander-in-chief of Zhenbao Fubiao with 2,500 men; Zhang Ruxing, the battalion commander of Jidu Zhao Guangbian with 800 men; Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief of Mizhen with 8,200 men; Zhong Minggao, the left wing battalion commander of Jizhen with 4,400 men; and Xue Minzhong, the commander-in-chief of Zhongxie with 3,000 men.

On the 16th, Liu Zhaoji, the general of Jizhou, led more than 3,000 remaining soldiers to retreat into Pinggu County and hold out for reinforcements.

On the same day, the Ming court dispatched officials to various prefectures and counties in Beizhili to supervise the defense of cities and the implementation of the scorched-earth policy.

The following officials were appointed: Shi Min, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of War, was sent to Zhengding Prefecture; Li Yongmao was sent to Shunde Prefecture; Gong Dingnie was sent to Guangping Prefecture; Fu Zhenduo was sent to Daming Prefecture; Cao Liangzhi was sent to Baoding Prefecture; Zhou Erchun was sent to Hejian Prefecture; and Hao Gang was sent to Shuntian Prefecture.

On the 18th, Jiang Xiang, the Assistant Commander-in-Chief of Datong, led 5,400 officers and soldiers, and Jiang Jianxun, the Assistant Commander of Datong, led 2,100 officers and soldiers to the city of Changping.

On the 19th.

To resolve the logistical issues of the various reinforcements and to prevent a repeat of the "Wuyin Rebellion" of 1898, the imperial court specifically instructed that the reinforcements must not be divided, lest they be defeated piecemeal by the Jurchens. At the same time, Zhao Guangbian, the governor of Ji, was ordered to lead a portion of the reinforcements to Tongzhou. This would strengthen the defenses of Tongzhou, a vital supply depot, create a strategic pincer movement with the capital, and address the logistical supply problems of the reinforcements arriving in the capital more conveniently.

On the 20th, Ge Ruzhi, the military commander of Xuandu Yangbiao, led 1,500 soldiers to the city of Changping; Li Fuming, the general of Shanxi, led 2,500 soldiers to Fangshan; and Zhou Yuji, the general in charge of suppressing bandits in Huaibei, led 3,500 soldiers to the vicinity of Lugou Bridge.

On the 21st, the imperial court issued another edict ordering Liu Zeqing, the Shandong General Commander, to lead troops to reinforce the capital. It also ordered Tang Tong, the Miyun General Commander, Zhong Minggao, the Left Wing Battalion Assistant Commander, and Xue Minzhong, the Central Army Commander, to join forces and seize the opportunity to recapture Jizhou.

On the 23rd, Commander-in-Chief Hong Chengchou ordered Zhang Dou, the military commissioner, to lead 3,000 elite cavalry under Cao Bianjiao, the general of Shanhaiguan, to reinforce the capital and set up camp outside Deshengmen.

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At this time, the main Jurchen army did not station itself in Jizhou City, but instead split into several groups and plundered in all directions.

Of course, in order to contain the main force of the Ming army and prevent it from fully pursuing and annihilating them in the south, the Jurchens left behind a cavalry unit to plunder around the Ming capital, creating the illusion that the main army was still there, in order to deceive the Ming court.

On the 24th, a troop of Jurchen cavalry crossed Fengrun without attacking, heading straight for Tianxiang River and Baodi.

The Jurchens continued with the same strategy they used when they invaded the Ming Dynasty eleven years ago: whenever they encountered a heavily fortified city, they would simply pass by without attacking, as they did not want to waste their troops.

Of course, just because they have crossed the city today does not mean that they do not want to conquer it. Sometimes they may even return to launch a surprise attack and break through the city a day or two later.

For them, attacking a city by force was too unprofitable; they preferred to lure the Ming army out into the open and annihilate them one by one.

Of course, there are exceptions. If a city has too much grain stored up, or if Ming troops are gathered in the city, they will often launch a fierce attack. After all, the spoils from looting such a city would be much greater.

Tongzhou, for example, is an exception.

The Jurchens had attacked Tongzhou once before, but Chen Jiugao's army entered the city first and defended it tightly. After attacking for two days without success, they retreated. Now, they have gathered more than 20,000 Jurchen troops to prepare for a second attack on Tongzhou.

At this moment, Zhao Guangbian, the governor of Ji, had already entered Tongzhou City and added nearly 10,000 more troops to the city. The Jurchens only launched a probing attack once and had already determined that Tongzhou was difficult to conquer. The next day, they quietly withdrew and went to attack other places.

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On November 15th, Emperor Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen in the Qianqing Palace, "Has Zhang Cheng arrived yet?"

The reply he received was: "Lin Dengyou, deputy commander of Xuanzhen, and Xiong Tingrui, assistant commander, are leading 5,000 border troops to reinforce the area. The Earl of Yongning said that they are currently preparing their troops and will arrive soon."

On the 17th, when Emperor Chongzhen inquired again, the answer he received was: "The Earl of Yongning is preparing his troops and will arrive soon."

When the 20th arrived, Emperor Chongzhen asked again, but the answer he received was: "The Earl of Yongning is preparing his troops and will arrive soon."

Emperor Chongzhen was enraged. He slammed his fist on his desk and roared, "What is Zhang Cheng doing? He'll be here soon... soon again! It's been days! Where is he? Zhang Cheng... what is he doing?!" (End of Chapter)