The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

The tenth day of the second month of the sixteenth year of the Chongzhen reign.

Just as Chen Wang led his troops to Xuzhou and dispatched troops from various garrisons to the north to defend against the enemy.

The Forbidden City, the capital of the northern country, which had been closed for a long time due to the war, finally opened its majestic palace gates again.

However, the emperor who now sits high above the Hall of Supreme Harmony is no longer the Son of Heaven of the Ming Dynasty.

In the Huangji Palace.

The civil officials on the right wore warm hats adorned with red tassels, the peacock feathers on the back of the hats fluttering slightly, and the bird patterns on their official robes still faintly revealed the old style.

The military officers on the left stood tall, their helmets gleaming with bright banners, their armor gleaming coldly. All the officers stood with their hands on their swords.

Whispers rippled through the hall, and glances occasionally met, a subtle undercurrent of tension swirling within.

Just then, a loud crack of the whip rang out, and amidst the resounding of bells and drums, all sounds in the hall came to an abrupt halt.

The officials looked up and saw Huang Taiji, dressed in military attire, striding in with an imposing presence.

The feathers in the hall immediately fell low, and the helmets in the hall drooped instantly.

Guided by the master of ceremonies, shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" resounded like thunder throughout the hall.

Huang Taiji slowly stepped onto the steps of the throne. As his hand brushed against the gilded armrests of the dragon throne, the cool touch on his fingertips made his mind even clearer.

The cold sun shone brightly outside the palace, making the golden throne shine brilliantly.

However, the dazzling light reflected from the dragon throne paled in comparison to the sharp edge in his eyes.

Huang Taiji turned and sat down, his movements so swift as if he had rehearsed them a thousand times. The dragon-shaped cushion under the throne sank as he sat down.

"Stand up."

Huang Taiji did not raise his hand.

As the imperial edict was issued, the assembled military and civil officials in the hall slowly rose, looked up in response, and saw Huang Taiji sitting firmly on the throne like a rock.
Huang Taiji stood upright, his sharp gaze sweeping over the assembled officials, showing no trace of the weakness he had displayed during the Battle of Songjin.

that power.

It truly is the best medicine in the world.

At this moment, Huang Taiji's chest was churning with emotion.

Although there is still lingering sorrow after Hailanzhu's passing.

But more than anything, it was ambition burning like wildfire.

That supreme power was finally in his grasp.

The Eight Banners cavalry crushed the backbone of the Ming court.

Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty hanged himself under the locust tree in Jingshan Park.

The northern lands trembled under the iron hooves.

Even the palaces of the Forbidden City were covered in the snow and wind of Jianzhou.

The Forbidden City, built by tens of thousands of craftsmen over decades, is comparable to a celestial palace inhabited by immortals and gods in the clouds.

It's now in his possession!
Huang Taiji was filled with boundless pride, yet his expression remained calm and composed.

However, the slight trembling of his body beneath his military uniform betrayed the fact that his heart was not at peace.

Beneath his bright yellow military uniform, Huang Taiji's chest rose and fell slowly with his breath as he tried his best to suppress his turbulent emotions.

This attire, which appeared dignified and noble in Shengjing, looked utterly inadequate in the magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Huang Taiji couldn't help but think of the palace in Shengjing.

The low eaves and rough beams and pillars, compared to the ornate and painted Forbidden City before them, looked as dilapidated as a rural village house.

This was the first time the Qing court had held a court assembly in the Forbidden City.

In accordance with the old system of the Ming court, one matter after another was presented to the emperor.

The draft edicts, reports of victories from various regions, and surrender documents were presented in turn in the palace. All of these were preordained matters, and this was merely to announce them to the world, to demonstrate the change of fortunes in the new dynasty.

As the sun gradually rose, all the memorials had been presented.

However, Huang Taiji did not order the court session to end. Instead, he turned his gaze to the ranks of military officers on the left, looked at a burly general, and asked him a question.

"Bayintu".

"Has the deployment of the Jingnan Army not been discovered yet?"

The military officer Baiyintu on the left is in the front row. He was originally a Gushan Ezhen of the Bordered Yellow Banner.

After Tan Tai's death, he succeeded him as the Gushan Ezhen of the Plain Yellow Banner, and now he assists in military and political affairs.

Although the country now follows the Ming Dynasty's system and has established six ministries with ministers, the ministers of the six ministries do not actually have much real power.

Military and political affairs remained in the hands of the banner chiefs and the Gushan Ejen.

"Your Majesty, we received intelligence from Shandong last night. After summarizing the intelligence we have gathered in recent days, we have ascertained the general deployment of the Jingnan Army."

Huang Taiji nodded slightly, signaling Baiyintu to continue.

"Our western army, under the leadership of Prince Su, has captured Zhangde Prefecture in Henan and Daming Prefecture in Beizhili, and has encountered the Ming Jingnan Army in the Kaifeng area."

"The Ming Jingnan Army had two units north of the Yellow River. One unit was stationed at Yanjin and the other at Huaiqing. Both units were troops from the Hanzhong Garrison. The commander of Yanjin was General Zuo Guangxian and the commander of Huaiqing was General You Shiwei."

Huang Taiji narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Zuo Guangxian, You Shiwei..."

As an enemy, Huang Taiji naturally understood the Ming court's generals and officers.

Huang Taiji was quite familiar with these two names. You Shiwei had served in Liaodong, and Zuo Guangxian was also mentioned in the reports. The two men were well-known among the generals and officers of the Ming army.

Huang Taiji was always cautious, and he did not underestimate the Ming army's generals and officers like others did.

The Wuyin Incident and the Battle of Songjin both proved that the fighting power of the Ming army in desperate situations should not be underestimated.

Among the five garrisons under the Jingnan Army, the Hanzhong Garrison had the strongest troops.

"Chen Wang".

Huang Taiji murmured Chen Wang's name.

Huang Taiji showed no contempt for Chen Wang.

At the time of the Wuyin Incident, Chen Wang was merely the general of Hanzhong Town, leading no more than three thousand reinforcements.

After its southward advance, it rose like a comet, pacifying the Thirty-Six Camps and defeating the Wanmin Army, its might as fierce as a tiger swallowing up thousands of miles.

In just over four years, they had already occupied the Central Plains and controlled the Jianghuai region.

He commanded troops from the four provinces of Henan, Shandong, Huguang, and Southern Zhili, with over 400,000 armored soldiers under his command.

Although many of the 400,000 troops were surrendered soldiers, their strength should not be underestimated.

Huang Taiji had seen the elite Shun army under Li Zicheng. Although they were not as strong as his troops, they were still a formidable force.

Zhang Xianzhong, who was on par with Li Zicheng, was probably not much worse, and the troops of the southern garrisons, after being carefully selected, were by no means a weak force.

Although Huang Taiji had never faced Zuo Guangxian and You Shiwei, he did not know their backgrounds.

However, since Zuo Guangxian and You Shiwei were appointed as officers in Hanzhong Garrison and served as Chen Wang's direct subordinates, they must have been capable generals.

Chen Wang's 40,000 troops in two battalions in Hanzhong were stationed to defend Henan, and there were also tens of thousands of troops in the heart of Henan to assist in the defense. It was inevitable that he would not find many opportunities.

With this in mind, Huang Taiji already had an idea.

"Send the order to Hauge: on the western front, the priority is to maintain stability. Without my order, no attack is allowed; the main objective is harassment."

After respectfully responding, Baiyintu spoke again to report.

"In the central route, Prince Rui led his troops south and has reached the northern suburbs of Pei County, where they are confronting the Ming Jingnan Army." "The Ming Jingnan Army has three divisions stationed in Pei County and Feng County, with a total strength of over 30,000. Judging from their banners, they are soldiers from Henan Town under the command of the army, originally from the Western Army."

"The three battalion commanders were Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, and Liu Wenxiu."

Baiyintu paused briefly, looked up to observe Huang Taiji's expression, saw him nod slightly, and then continued speaking.

"The Ming Jingnan Army also set up defenses in four places north of the Yellow River: Lüliang Mountain, Pizhou, Suqian, and Shuyang, with one division of troops in each place. The Huguang Garrison had two divisions, and the Henan Garrison had two divisions, with a total strength of about 10,000 to 20,000 troops. The defending generals were Chen Yongfu, Gao Qian, Liu Guangzuo, and Zuo Liangyu."

"What's the situation on the eastern route?"

Huang Taiji raised his hand to stop Baiyintu from speaking and suddenly asked a question.

Baiyintu recalled for a moment and then reported.

"On the eastern route, the two divisions of the Ming Jingnan Army in Shandong have moved their camps to Haizhou and Andongwei, with Gao Jie and Hui Dengxiang as the commanders. Each division has a strength of 10,000 men."

"Chen Wang personally led a large army to garrison Xuzhou. Because it was located in the heart of the country, our army could not obtain intelligence."

"However, based on its frontline troop deployment, it can be inferred that there are three divisions in Xuzhou City: one division from Hanzhong Town and two divisions from Huguang Town, totaling more than 70,000 troops."

"The two division commanders of Huguang Town were Zhou Yumao, a direct subordinate of Chen Wang and the former deputy commander of Hanzhong Town, and Cao Bianjiao, the former commander of Lintao Town."

Baiyintu's voice was low and heavy.

"The Ming Jingnan Army deployed more than 100,000 troops in the central route, nearly 60,000 troops along the river defense line, more than 20,000 troops in the eastern route, and 60,000 troops in the western route, for a total of more than 240,000 troops."

As soon as Baiyintu finished speaking, all the civil and military officials in the hall became solemn.

Beneath the red-tasseled warm hats, faces appeared both light and shadow, and peacock feathers trembled slightly in the cold wind blowing in through the palace gates.

With their helmets lowered, the Qing army officers all wore somber expressions, their helmet flags swaying slightly.

With 240,000 troops, the Jingnan Army's deployment on the front lines far exceeded theirs.

All the civil and military officials present knew that Chen Wang's Jingnan Army was not the weak and cobbled-together troops of the Ming court.

In all the time that the Jingnan Army has been in existence, there has never been a case of embezzlement of military pay leading to a mutiny.

After reporting, Baiyintu stood there with his hands clasped, waiting for Huang Taiji's next question.

Huang Taiji remained silent. He compiled all the information reported by Baiyintu and began to sketch out the situation at the front line in his mind.

After a long silence, Huang Taiji spoke again, breaking the silence in the hall.

"Where has Ajige advanced to?"

Huang Taiji snapped out of his reverie and asked.

"The Prince of Wuying, along with the Princes of Gongshun, Huaishun, and Zhishun, have led an army of 30,000 men into Dengzhou and Laizhou in Shandong. Most of the prefectures and counties along the way have surrendered upon seeing our Qing army, and the few that resisted have been reduced to ashes."

Baiyintu took a deep breath and reported.

“In recent days, the Ming Jingnan Army has been holding its defensive line and has not shown any intention to move north.”

Huang Taiji's fingers tapped unconsciously on the armrest of the dragon throne.

Now on the front lines, their forces are completely outnumbered, and a direct assault will not only fail to achieve anything, but may even expose weaknesses.

Huang Taiji was well aware of his side's advantages.

The only weakness of the Jingnan Army lies in its cavalry.

North China is a flat plain with easy roads.

Chen Wang was clearly aware of this as well.

Although Chen Wang obtained a large number of cavalry from the surrendered Western Army, it was still far too few compared to the Qing army.

Huang Taiji pondered to himself, for although they now occupied the capital and almost the entire northern country.

However, Liaozhen remained like a fishbone stuck in their throats.

Huang Taiji raised his head and looked out of the main hall.

His initial intention upon entering the pass was to plunder, but he changed his strategy later due to the changing circumstances.

The troops that followed Huang Taiji into the pass were mostly banner soldiers from various banners, and they did not have many servants.

Under the Manchu Eight Banners system, bannermen held a noble status, while ordinary people were extremely lowly.

Therefore, the number of banner soldiers in the Mongol Eight Banners and the Han Eight Banners was actually not large.

Historically, the Mongol Eight Banners numbered only around 20,000 men when the Qing army entered the Central Plains.

Although Chen Wang obtained a large number of cavalry from the surrendered Western Army, it was still far too few compared to the Qing army.

Chen Wang was waiting, waiting for them to reveal a weakness.

The weakness lies in Liaozhen...

Liaozhen remained unconquered. When the enemy besieged the capital, Liaozhen did not send troops but instead held its ground in the area below the town.

Although Jinzhou had fallen, Liaozhen still occupied a long stretch of land from Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan.

The estimated troop strength in Liaozhen is around 60,000. Although many of them are just filling in the ranks, conquering Liaozhen will not be an easy task.

Cutting off food supplies was useful for Liaozhen, but its effect was limited.

First, Liaozhen itself has a certain grain production capacity, although it is not enough to feed the entire town, it is still grain.

Secondly, there is still a lot of grain stored in Liaozhen. The condition of this grain is unclear. It may only last for a few months, or it may last for a year. No one knows for sure.

Huang Taiji simply couldn't wait that long.

Liaozhen is now a huge threat, a sharp blade hanging over their heads that could fall at any moment.

Liaozhen alone is not terrifying.

The truly terrifying and threatening force is the Jingnan Army, which is entrenched in the south.

If the Liaodong garrison and the Jingnan army were to attack from the north and south simultaneously, it would not be an easy task for the Qing Dynasty to handle.

The slightest misstep could lead to collapse.

The only good news was that the morale of the Liaodong garrison had been low due to prolonged defeats, and the fall of the capital had caused widespread panic throughout the garrison.

Zu Zepu was not his father, Zu Dashou; he did not have the ability or prestige to govern the entire town.

This is intelligence sent by their spies in Liaozhen.

It was precisely because of this intelligence that Huang Taiji resolutely chose to attack the capital and occupy the northern kingdom without conquering Liaozhen.

Third, and most important.

Liaozhen is not truly isolated at present.

Without the Grand Canal, Liaozhen still had sea transport.

Liaozhen originally had no sea transport.

The reason we have this now is precisely because of Chen Wang.

The annihilation of the Wanmin Army in the Battle of Yangzhou led to the complete defection of the Zheng family along the southeastern coast to Chen Wang.

With Chen Wang's support, Zheng Zhilong's strength increased again, so he accepted Chen Wang's call to action and dispatched a fleet northward to open up a shipping route and begin to provide a continuous supply of resources to Liaozhen.

Huang Taiji is now in a dilemma.

If Liaozhen is left in their heartland, he will be unable to concentrate all his forces on the front line, and he may be attacked from both sides at any time.

However, if troops were to be dispatched to attack Liaozhen, the available manpower would be stretched thin.

Chen Wang, who was currently stationed with troops in Xuzhou, would certainly not let this golden opportunity slip by. (End of Chapter)