The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

"Huang Taiji, he's here..."

The wind on the watchtower swept past the crimson plume of Chen Wang's bright helmet, causing the still-wet ink on the documents to tremble slightly.

Chen Wang slowly closed the military report that had been urgently sent to the central army by night watchmen. With a flick of his fingers, the thin report was crumpled into a ball in his palm.

On the northern horizon, plumes of smoke rose one after another, appearing particularly dazzling under the blazing afternoon sun, as if a colossal beast from ancient times had torn the sky apart with its claw marks.

The rising smoke signals confirmed that the urgent military intelligence sent by the guerrillas at night was indeed true.

Huang Taiji has arrived...

He led all the Qing troops capable of fighting in the north southward from the direction of the capital.

Chen Wang turned to look northeast. In the distance, the city wall of Jining looked as if it had been gnawed by a giant beast, revealing jagged gaps. Lead bullets had carved honeycomb-like craters into the wall.

The most severely damaged section was a section of the city wall located in the southeast of Jining City. After three layers of bricks peeled off, the exposed rammed earth core was forcibly shaved away by half a zhang (approximately 1.3 meters), forming a huge depression.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom boom boom!"

The deafening roar came again, and Chen Wang subconsciously looked north in the direction of the sound, where the artillery positions were located east of Jining City.

The red flag that had been held high had disappeared from view.

Twenty-four heavy cannons spewed out smoke and roared loudly, making people feel suffocated even from miles away.

East of Jining City, the artillery positions slid three feet backward under the recoil, and water immediately seeped into the pine wood tracks on the muddy ground.

Before the sharp whistling sound of lead bullets piercing the air had even faded, countless bricks and dust had already been blown up on the walls of Jining.

The city wall trembled with a dull thud, bricks and stones shattered and crumbled, revealing the loosened loess core inside.

With continuous crashing sounds, the breach in the city wall grew larger and larger.

The rammed earth, already battered by heavy artillery fire, exploded again, sending flying bricks and sand raining down. Several Qing archers who were hiding behind the wall to avoid the shelling were caught off guard and were hit on the head by the flying debris, falling to the ground and howling in pain.

Under repeated heavy blows, that section of the city wall finally succumbed to the pressure and collapsed with a deafening cracking sound.

next moment.

Dust rose like waves, soaring into the sky.

The collapsed bricks, rubble, and rammed earth poured down like a flood breaking through a dam, forming a ramp at the foot of the city wall that allowed the attacking forces to ascend smoothly.

The rapid sound of horses' hooves rang out again from below the central command's watchtower.

Not long.

A weary messenger had already reached the observation tower.

"Report!"

The messenger clasped his hands together, bowed deeply, and said urgently.

"Hauge's forwards have arrived at the western part of Jining City, on the western bank of Machang Lake, near Jiuwanpu!"

Chen Wang turned his head westward, his gaze passing over thousands of banners and landing on the main camp of the Third Division in Huguang Town, at the far west.

In the camp of the Third Division of Huguang Town, three plumes of smoke stood out conspicuously against the blue sky.

"Haug is here too."

Chen Wang sneered, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Where is Zuo Guangxian now? Is there still no news?"

Upon hearing Chen Wang's question, Dai Zhenglin, who was standing to the side, immediately stepped forward and replied.

"The vanguard cavalry of the Fourth Division of Hanzhong Garrison, led by General Zuo, has reached the encampment at Shilipu. The following infantry is thirty li away from the encampment and is expected to arrive by dusk."

Thirty miles is nothing to the soldiers of Hanzhong Town.

If forced to march, the garrison troops of Hanzhong Town could travel a hundred li in a day.

In this battle, Chen Wang gathered 130,000 troops for a northern expedition.

These 130,000 soldiers were all combat soldiers.

To ensure the soldiers' physical strength, Chen Wang conscripted nearly 200,000 civilians.

Of these 200,000 laborers, some were used as auxiliary soldiers, whose main duties were to carry armor for the soldiers and cook and do odd jobs.

The other part involved transporting supplies, provisions, weapons, gunpowder, and so on.

Of course, the grain and fodder were mainly transported by waterway.

Water transport is undoubtedly less energy-consuming than land transport.

Zuo Guangxian led his troops to move their camp from the Yangwu area towards Jining. Along the way, laborers assisted in the transportation, so the speed was quite fast.

"Hauge previously dispatched troops to reinforce Jining, with about 10,000 soldiers. Now the main force has returned to reinforce the west of Jining, with a strength of around 30,000."

Dai Zhenglin glanced through the documents in his hand and continued his report.

"The night scouts reported that the Qing army in Jining has completely retreated. The more than 10,000 troops originally stationed in the western camp are moving towards the Guanghe River area south of Jining, presumably preparing to join forces with the main Qing army led by Huang Taiji."

Chen Wang left the front of the observation platform and returned to the side of the sand table set up by the General Staff.

"Our army has now taken full control of the areas south and east of Jining City."

"The Qing army set up a battalion of about 5,000 men in the Yongji Bridge area west of Jining City to contain our troops attacking the city."

"The banks of the Guang River were where the main force of the Qing army was located, with a strong military force of about 30,000 men."

"Based on the calculations of the General Staff, and after deducting casualties, the Qing army that is holding the city of Jining should only have about 10,000 troops left."

"Huang Taiji came from Guan Ning. According to intelligence reports and scout reports, his total number of banner soldiers is about 14,000, the Three Shun Kings' troops led by Kong Youde number 15,000, the Green Standard Army has 15,000, and the outer Mongol cavalry number 40,000, for a total force of 85,000."

Chen Wang nodded slightly. Huang Taiji led his troops to attack Guan Ning, using the Green Standard Army and Han troops such as Kong Youde as the main force. The Banner Army only went out to fight at critical moments, and the Mongolian cavalry from the outer vassal states only served as cover.

Therefore, the casualties among the Banner troops and the outer Mongol vassals were not significant, while the Green Standard Army and the Han army suffered a loss of nearly 10,000 men.

The Outer Mongol vassal originally numbered only 30,000. The extra 10,000 were troops who, after withdrawing from the siege of Ningyuan, detoured through Yipianshi to enter the pass.

The Qing army had completely abandoned its plan to advance into Guan Ning, and the remaining troops retreated to reinforce the Songjin area.

"Eighty-five thousand people..."

Chen Wang looked at the sand table, where the blue military flags representing the Qing army were densely packed south of Jining City.

In Jining City today, Dorgon has more than 10,000 troops in the city.

The troops under Hauge stationed in the west consisted of 30,000 soldiers, mainly from the two Blue Banners.

To the east, there were 30,000 troops, which joined Huang Taiji's forces, bringing the total strength to over 110,000.

Currently, the 5th, 6th, and 7th Divisions of Henan Town, totaling 36,000 men, are defending the western coastline.

Chen Yongfu's troops were stationed in the drill ground southeast of Jining City.

There were a total of 46,000 soldiers in the eastern part of Jining.

There should have been 48,000 men, but due to successive battles, the total number of casualties approached 2,000.

These troops are naturally insufficient to support the overall situation.

Chen Wang's gaze slowly swept across the sand table.

The garrison stationed to the west, guarding Ao Pass, was the Third Division of Huguang Garrison led by Cao Bianjiao, with a total of about 20,000 soldiers.

"Let Liu Guoneng take over Cao Bianjiao's duties as the garrison commander of Aoguan, and lead the infantry to defend Aoguan. Leave all the cannons behind. Cao Bianjiao is to immediately lead his 6,000 elite cavalry to the east of Jining City to join forces with Chen Yongfu."

It is surrounded by rivers to the west of Jining City, and has Machang Lake as a natural barrier.

The Qing army had virtually no navy. In order to block the Jingnan Army's navy from heading north, they sank almost all of their ships along the Grand Canal.

The area east of Jining City was originally the location Chen Wang had reserved for a decisive battle with the Qing army.

Therefore, during the month-long attack on Jining, Aoguan, an important water gate in the west of the city, was able to build a fortified complex capable of protecting the entire western side thanks to the efforts of a large number of laborers.

With the arrival of the spring flood season, the water levels of rivers around Jining have risen significantly, greatly increasing the difficulty for the army to build pontoon bridges to cross the rivers.

Cao Bianjiao's Third Division of Huguang Town consisted of five battalions, with a total strength of over 20,000 men.

Even though Cao Bianjiao took away 6,000 elite cavalry, Liu Guoneng still had 14,000 troops under his command. While these troops were insufficient for offensive operations, they were enough to support the entire western front if it came to defense, relying on the previously constructed fortifications.

Dai Zhenglin stood beside Chen Wang and saw that Chen Wang was looking at the area south of Jining City. He understood and began to describe the situation in the south of Jining City.

"The southern and eastern city walls of Jining were mostly destroyed by our army's artillery fire, large sections of the city walls collapsed, and the city gates were also blocked by our army using obstacles, making it difficult to send troops to reinforce in time."

"However, as a city, Jining can still play a certain supporting role."

"Huang Taiji's troops are coming to our aid, but due to the restrictions imposed by our army, they will inevitably stop at the former Qing army camp in the south of Jining, northeast of Jining City."

“Qing reinforcements can enter Jining City directly from the southern camp of Jining City, and then attack the south of Jining City from there.”

"Our army must leave a certain number of troops in the southern part of Jining City to guard against possible attacks."

Chen Wang nodded. The General Staff Department is developing rapidly these days.

In the beginning, the young officers selected by the General Staff from various battalions were only studying and had no ability to offer advice.

Most of the time, Chen Wang would summon the officers and generals, with the General Staff providing intelligence and military analysis, and the officers and generals offering suggestions.

However, as time went on, these young military officers in the General Staff gradually matured.

The General Staff truly began to operate. They learned how to fight, how to formulate strategies, how to plan ahead, how to anticipate potential attacks, and how to develop corresponding plans.

With the General Staff Department on track, Chen Wang had much less work to do and his energy was being depleted.

"What is the opinion of the General Staff?"

Chen Wang did not directly express his thoughts.

Although he had already made up his mind about how to deploy the troops, Chen Wang changed his mind after hearing the report from the General Staff and asked for their opinion.

Dai Zhenglin was slightly taken aback. Under normal circumstances, Chen Wang rarely consulted the General Staff for such large-scale military mobilizations.

However, it was only a brief pause; Dai Zhenglin quickly regained his composure.

"According to the General Staff, the main routes from Jining south of the city are in two places: Caoqiao in the southwest of the city and Jishuiguan directly south of Jining city."

"After the spring flood, the river rises. Destroying these two bridges will make it difficult for the Qing army to mobilize a large force to cross the river and move south."

"Our army only needs to set up defenses and deploy thirteen artillery emplacements at the two passes of Ji'an Bridge and Xiaxin Pass in the rear, which will completely stop the Qing army from advancing south and the threat it poses to our troops in the west and east of the city."

As Dai Zhenglin spoke, the staff officer of the General Staff Department planted flags representing the artillery units in the corresponding places.

"The specific deployment is as follows: the First Division of Huguang Town is ordered to leave 3,000 infantrymen to guard Ji'an Bridge, and the Third Division of Henan Town is ordered to leave 3,000 infantrymen at Xiaxin Pass."

"Thirteen forts were left with thirteen heavy cannons and fifty-two field cannons, with five cannons in each fort, which was enough to support the entire battle and break the Qing army's southward advance."

"The artillery positions on the city walls of Jining, both south and east, have been largely destroyed by our heavy artillery positions and are unlikely to pose a threat to our deployment."

"In this way, the First Division of Huguang Town can mobilize 16,000 troops, and the Third Division of Henan Town can mobilize 8,000 troops, all of whom can be transferred to the east of the city."

Chen Wang's gaze moved around the deployment of the staff officers and military officers around the sand table.

The situation on the battlefield gradually became clearer.

Chen Wang was making plans in his mind.

The four units led by Chen Yongfu, Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, and Liu Wenxiu together had more than 46,000 soldiers.

By transferring Zhou Yumao and Gao Qian's troops to Chen Yongfu's joint camp, the number of available troops could be increased by 24,000, reaching a total of 70,000.

His two battalions of Imperial Guard infantry, along with Imperial Guard cavalry, suffered a total of over 600 casualties during these days of attacks, but still had over 14,500 men.

Chen Wang always deployed the Imperial Guards into the battle at crucial moments.

Therefore, the casualties suffered were not significant.

The main force responsible for the attack from the south of the city was Zhou Yumao and Gao Qian's troops.

The total number of troops lost in these two units has exceeded 1,500.

The offensive over the past month has resulted in total casualties of approximately five thousand men across all units.

The Qing army suffered even greater casualties. Based on reports from various battalions, as well as observations from the front lines and intelligence reports from night scouts, the General Staff conservatively estimated that the Qing army's casualties should be around 10,000.

With a casualty ratio of one to two, and considering it was a siege battle, the Qing army's achievement was remarkable, especially given that they held the fortified city as a stronghold.

"The deployment in the south of the city will be carried out in accordance with the arrangements of the General Staff."

Chen Wang stared at the red and blue banners that covered the sand table.

"Send the order to the central army."

"Move camp immediately."

"I also order Zuo Guangxian to prepare food at the fourth watch tomorrow, break camp at the fifth watch, and move camp to the east of Jining City. By noon tomorrow, I want to see the Fourth Division of Hanzhong Garrison in the east of the city..."

With the addition of 20,000 troops under Zuo Guangxian's command, the number of troops he could mobilize on the battlefield east of Jining was now close to 100,000.

After giving his final orders, Chen Wang turned around and looked again at the smoke signals billowing in the distance in the strong wind.

Now, Huang Taiji doesn't have much time or opportunity left.

With each point gained, the situation became increasingly favorable for the Jingnan Army.

The war potential of the Jingnan Army was something the Qing court could not even begin to match.

Huang Taiji was naturally aware of this as well.

Every bit of delay in the war weakened the Qing army.

The threat from the Mongol vassal states, the continued control of the Guan Ning region over Liaodong, the Jingnan Army's expedition to Shandong, and the threat posed by the Zheng family's fleet at sea to the Liaodong hinterland all caused Huang Taiji considerable headaches.

Some time ago, military reports requesting reinforcements were sent from many areas in the heart of Liaodong.

Zheng assembled a fleet of over three hundred ships and sailed north from Dengzhou and Laizhou in Shandong. They attacked Jinzhou along the coast and then headed northwest, burning, killing, and looting along the way, until they reached Pi Island.

Wherever the warships passed, coastal towns were ravaged.

Zheng Jun divided his troops into several routes, ravaging the coast like locusts.

After landing, they killed anyone they saw and burned any houses they encountered; their cruelty was appalling.

Zheng's fleet even spun off a detachment that reached Korea and headed southeast along the coast.

The landing of the Ming army caused great turmoil in Korea, and the Korean rebels, who had previously been quiet, sprang up again like mushrooms after rain.

The Qing army's situation was already extremely dire.

Therefore, the only option facing Huang Taiji now is to quickly lift the siege of Jining and defeat the Jingnan Army on the main battlefield.

They were just waiting for the army to finish resting and recover from their long march.

Huang Taiji then immediately led his army south to attack.

Everything was no longer up to Huang Taiji to decide.

The tide is like a powerful current, rolling eastward.

A fate swept along by the times.

after all.

They can only rise and fall with the times.

Chen Wang's gaze fell downwards.

With the military order relayed, the various camps were already bustling with activity.

Soldiers from each camp poured out of the camp like a stream.

Squads of soldiers flowed out of the camp gates, converging into streams on the open ground, gradually merging into a large river, and then rolling eastward towards the city.

A strong wind rose.

Banners fluttered in the wind, thousands of pennants billowed, converging into waves of blood-red crimson.
Chen Wang stood on the central command platform, leaning against the railing, letting his python robe flutter in the wind.

(The situation map of the Battle of Jining has been included in the bonus chapter.) (End of this chapter)