Daming Yinghua

Chapter 468: Decisive Battle (V)

Liaoyang City.

In the backyards of many wealthy families with wives and concubines, the women sat at stone tables, eating snacks and cursing the court.

April begins, and the climate in Liaodong becomes comfortable. Logically, at this time, there are endless caravans from Liaoyang to Shenyang, bringing all kinds of goods from the interior.

Not to mention Hu silk, Hangzhou brocade, Wu cotton, Su embroidery, and Lu silk and tribute satin, even the hairpins and bracelets worn by the wives of the dukes and the daughters of the ministers in the capital, as well as the wealthy young ladies in the two cities of Liao and Shen, were not lacking in them.

But this year is different from previous years. The caravans have disappeared. It is said that this is because the imperial court owes wages, and the merchants are afraid that they will be robbed by soldiers along the way after transporting their goods out of Shanhaiguan, so they dare not come.

Zheng Haizhu and his fellow bodyguards from southern Fujian were dressed and behaved like servants of wealthy families, and they explored various places in Liaoyang City for several days.

In addition to the news that the merchant caravans from all directions were indeed blocked by General Du in Shanhaiguan, the news that Nurhaci was going to attack Shenyang has also become a hot topic recently.

The men talked about state affairs with great concern: "The court is short of money, the soldiers outside the pass haven't received silver and summer clothes, and there are no foreign troops coming to help from inside the pass."

Zheng Haizhu walked through the noisy waves under the scorching sun and entered the depths of the governor's office through a side door in the shade of the trees.

Yang Lian's attitude towards Zheng Siqing now was the same as when he faced Zuo Guangdou. There was neither false courtesy nor arrogance, and he only talked about business.

"The most capable scouts in my camp have all returned. Minister Xiong is at Shanhaiguan. He must have been on the ship he set out with Du Song yesterday."

Zheng Haizhu stared at the map and said, "The wind is strong this season. It will take one day and one night to travel from Shanhaiguan to Gaizhouwei. It is less than 300 miles from Gaizhouwei to Liaoyang. Therefore, Du Song's vanguard will reach Taizi River in three days at the latest."

Yang Lian continued, "Mao Wenlong followed Minister Xiong in a show a while ago and showed up at Shanhaiguan. If there were any Jiannu spies, they would have seen them. According to the scouts who came back from Dongjiang Town, General Mao should have returned to Pidao by boat five or six days ago, and he can lead the army without any problems." "Where is Qi Jin's chariot camp? Where is it now?"

Yang Lian walked to the sand table and pointed, "We have crossed the Taizi River and are stationed at Fengji Fort. We can't go any further north or east. If we go north, the Jiannu White Banner may find out. If we go east, Ma Gendan is too close to the border wall. Not to mention the Jin scouts, even their ordinary herdsmen may see us. The third scout came from Ma Chengxun and reported that Ma Xianglin's troops had camped on the east bank of the Liao River with General Ma the day before yesterday."

Zheng Haizhu nodded.

After the curtain of the decisive battle was raised, everything was under control. The real experience made her believe that the defeat of the Ming army in the Battle of Sarhu in history was not simply because they were inferior to the Tartars in combat, but had a lot to do with the pre-war mobilization and dispatch, covert strategy, and the choice of the time to start the war.

The Battle of Sarhu in that time and space was fought in the middle of winter with ice and snow. Not only was the march slow and the route easy to be detected by the Tatar scouts, but the several armies encountered different weather and road conditions, and there was no accuracy in their marching. No wonder they were defeated one by one by Nurhaci.

This time, the battle was held between May and June, when the Liaohai Sea was not frozen and the typhoon season had not yet arrived in the East China Sea. Qi Jin's Zhejiang troops, who had the most trouble with baggage, and Du Song's troops, who had the largest number of men and horses, were able to gather near the Liaoyang Command Headquarters quickly and unexpectedly.

"What's the news about your two places in North Korea? How is it going?" Yang Lian asked in a deep voice, pulling Zheng Haizhu back from his brief distraction.

Zheng Haizhu took a small red flag and placed it on the blank space at the edge of the sand table representing the sea. "Yan Siqi and my Zheng Camp's navy are gathering near several small islands outside Chongjin Bay. The new king of Korea is trustworthy and has sent people to contact us. If there is any movement in Huining, two naval divisions will land from Chongjin Bay and march quickly for one day to Huining to attack Daishan. And, more importantly, my people in Yizhou have received a report that after Nurhaci left, Dergelei began to draw the elite troops of the Zhenglan Banner to attack Aiyang."

"Okay," Yang Lian walked to the desk and looked at his seal, "Then I will place the seal and send the troops."

"Yes, General Yang, while Nurhaci and Huang Taiji are still outside Kaiyuan City, they are trying to surround and attack the reinforcements."

(The final 10 chapters of this book coincide with the release of a new book on realism, so the update will be on alternate days or the chapters will be short. Sorry)