weaving

Chapter 1523 A Lifelong Regret!
"According to current military reports, the Tartars attacked the pass in several groups, and finally broke through the pass at Huangyakou and Jielingkou."

Hu Yiwen is now the chief advisor to the Earl of Yongning. He continued, “Shichengxia, Shitangling, Shixiaying, Taitoucheng, Yanhecheng, Shimenzhen and other places have all been captured by the enemy.”

Even major cities like Sanhe, Baodi, and Jizhou were not spared. Liu, the commander of Jizhou, led his remaining troops to retreat to Pinggu County, where they were surrounded by enemy forces and were barely holding on.

Furthermore, Tongzhou, defended by General Chen of the Beijing Garrison, was also besieged twice by the enemy. Only thanks to the city's strong defenses, powerful cannons, and the valiant efforts of the soldiers, Tongzhou was spared from falling to the enemy.

"Do you have any information on the movements of the enemy? Where have their vanguard cavalry gone in the south?" Wang Pu interjected.

Hu Yiwen turned to Wang Pu, the general of Datong, and said, "There are traces of the enemy in several counties, including Wuqing, Dong'an, Yongqing, and Gu'an. The southernmost point of the enemy's army has reached Xin'an Town, and they have almost advanced to the north bank of the Hun River."

As he said this, he got up from his seat and walked to the map of the capital region hanging on the north wall. Everyone got up and followed him, including Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning.

After taking the wooden pole, Hu Yiwen pointed to the Hun River, located at the southern end of Shuntian Prefecture on the map, and said, "According to reports, the newly appointed Governor of Ji, Zhao Guangbian, has ordered the strengthening of the defenses along the south bank of the Hun River to prevent the enemy from crossing the Hun River and heading south."

"Hmph." Lin Fangping blurted out, "Given the ferocity of the enemy and the weakness of the government troops, this defensive line will hardly be able to stop the enemy from crossing the Hun River and plundering southwards."

“That’s right, that’s what I think too,” Wang Pu immediately echoed.

Wei Zhice said with a worried expression, "I'm afraid the defense line is not yet complete, and the enemy cavalry have already crossed the south bank of the Hun River!"

Seeing that the Earl of Yongning did not speak or pay attention to them, but only gave them a polite smile, Hu Yiwen continued to point to the map and said, "Currently, it is known that there are about 50,000 Beijing garrison troops stationed inside and outside the capital, plus reinforcements from various places gathered around the capital, totaling about 30,000 troops. Several thousand more followed Governor Zhao Guangbian of Ji to reinforce Tongzhou, and there are now more than 10,000 government troops in Tongzhou city."

He kept pointing at each city with the wooden stick in his hand, and continued to introduce them: "Changping is garrisoned by Ge Ruzhi, the military commander of Jiangduchen, with 1,500 soldiers; Jiang Xiang, the assistant commander of Datong, with 5,400 soldiers; and Jiang Jianxun, the military commander of Datong, with 2,100 soldiers."

Fangshan was garrisoned by Li Shuai's 5,000 troops from Shanxi; Lugouqiao was garrisoned by Zhou Yuji, the general in charge of suppressing bandits in Huaibei, with 3,500 soldiers; Pinggu was garrisoned by Liu Zhaoji of Jizhou with over 3,000 troops.

Yuan Shizhong had remained silent until now. He stroked his smooth, beardless chin and suddenly said, "We have gathered 100,000 men inside and outside the capital, plus my army of over 20,000. What do we have to fear from the enemy? Why don't we defeat them in one fell swoop?"

Upon hearing his words, everyone looked at him sideways, admiring his boldness but also feeling that Yuan Shizhong's contempt for the enemy was unacceptable.

Only Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, nodded, and his gaze toward Yuan Shizhong held a hint of approval.

…………

He clearly remembered that in that same year, when the Jurchen Tartars invaded, Yuan Shizhong had fought back against the Jurchen cavalry that were invading Shandong and had achieved considerable success. Therefore, what he just said was indeed his true feeling.

Yuan Shizhong was not afraid of the Jurchen cavalry!
While there may have been some opportunistic elements involved, Yuan Shizhong's hatred for the Jurchens and his fearless spirit were real and undeniable.

Before Abatai's invasion of the Ming Dynasty, the slave chieftain Huang Taiji, concerned about the presence of bandits within the Great Wall, gave Abatai and his men the following instructions: "If you encounter bandits, tell them, 'You see the Ming government in disarray, which has provoked you into rebellion. Our country is coming to conquer you precisely for this reason.'"

You must soothe them with kind words, and warn your soldiers not to mistakenly kill even one or two of them, lest you antagonize them. If they wish to send an envoy to see me, bring him here. If they have a letter to present to me, you are permitted to relay it and present it to me in writing. You may also repeatedly convey this decree to the officers and soldiers of the outer vassal states.”

While it cannot be ruled out that Abatai and others followed the instructions of the slave chieftain Huang Taiji to "not kill one or two of them by mistake," and dared not use their full strength against Yuan Shizhong's bandit group, which is a bandit, they retreated after only a brief contact with them, thus creating the illusion that Yuan Shizhong had defeated the enemy cavalry.

But no matter what, it doesn't affect Yuan Shizhong's image as a hero - in such a chaotic era as the end of the Ming Dynasty, he dared to take the initiative to attack the invading Jurchen army, so he was a hero!
…………

Wei Zhice, however, reminded them from the side: "The enemy cavalry are fierce and especially skilled in open field battles, so they should not be underestimated."

Although Yuan Shizhong was not afraid of the Tartars, he had only been a member of the Yongyi Army for a short time. Therefore, after hearing Wei Zhice's words, he did not refute them, but took a step back and remained silent.

Seeing this, Zhang Cheng simply smiled slightly, quite satisfied with Yuan Shizhong's performance. "Where are Lin Dengyou and Xiong Tingrui now?"

Upon hearing the question from the Earl of Yongning, Hu Yiwen hurriedly replied, "Deputy Commander Lin and Lieutenant General Xiong have entered Tongzhou City with Governor Zhao Guangbian of Jizhou."

“The enemy has come only to plunder and has no intention of attacking our heavily fortified city. Now that the two of them have entered Tongzhou, we have nothing to worry about.”

Then, the Earl of Yongning asked another question: "Niu Sheng, has he not arrived yet?"

Zhongjun Zhang Mingyuan hurriedly stepped forward and replied softly, "A message came before noon that Niu Sheng was wounded in battle against the enemy cavalry and will be able to pay his respects to the commander-in-chief later."

Zhang Cheng was taken aback upon hearing this: "Go out and fight the enemy cavalry?"

"The details are still unclear."

Zhang Cheng shook his head and asked again, "Have you made contact with Li Shuai from Shanxi?"

"A fast rider has already been dispatched."

"Also, send someone to contact Zhou Yuji at Lugou Bridge."

"Yes."

"I heard that Cao Bianjiao has also come to defend the emperor?"

"Yes. It is reported that Commander Cao of Shanhaiguan is stationed outside Deshengmen."

"Yes. Send someone to deliver a message to Cao Bianjiao, telling him that I miss him."

"Yes."

Wang Pu then stepped forward with a grin and stood next to the Earl of Yongning, saying with a smile, "Great! All these old brothers have gathered in the capital. It's perfect to recreate last year's Battle of Jinzhou, defeat the Jurchens again, and kill a few of their false kings and generals!"

Zhang Cheng raised his hand and patted Wang Pu on the shoulder, saying loudly, "Shouldn't it be 'kill all the enemy'?"

"Ah..." Wang Pu reacted very quickly: "Yes, yes, yes. Kill all the enemy traitors... it's better to kill all the enemy traitors!"

"Hahaha……"

A series of hearty laughs immediately rang out in the main hall of the city gate tower.

After everyone finished laughing, Zhang Chengcai, the Earl of Yongning, walked up to Yuan Shizhong and said to him, "Shizhong, your patriotic heart makes me feel very comforted; your fearlessness in the face of the enemy and your courage to fight also make me very satisfied."

But then he suddenly changed the subject, saying, “What Zhi Ce said is not without reason. The enemy cavalry are indeed fierce and skilled in open field battles. We must not underestimate them.”

Although our Yongyi Army is fearless, the government troops inside and outside the capital are not as brave as our soldiers. Even if they are not "afraid of slaves like tigers", they are mostly afraid to fight. If we let them hold the fortified city, they can still be of some use.

I dare not even think of using them to fight the enemy. Just like in the eleventh year, when I followed Governor Lu to defend the capital, it was they… In the Battle of Julu, my isolated army was surrounded by the enemy, and my uncle and Governor Lu perished in that battle, a regret I will carry for the rest of my life!”