The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

The battle at Huamachi fell into a stalemate.

This was something that neither the Ming border troops nor the Tatars had expected. Obviously, before the battle started, everyone thought that the battle would have a quick outcome, either the Ming side would win and the Tatars would flee, or the Ming border troops would retreat to the pass and watch the Tatars wreak havoc.

But unexpectedly, Liu Jin sent out his four groups of troops to fight back and forth with the Tatars.

A few days later, the battle report was clearly conveyed to Wang Qiong, who then convened a military meeting. At this time, the imperial order from the court to send him as the commander-in-chief of this battle had not yet been conveyed to Yansui, which means that Wang Qiong was not yet responsible for the outcome of the battle of Huamachi.

At the military meeting.

Many generals and officials in Yansui were looking at the giant map hanging behind Wang Qiong, while the clerk next to him was conveying the news of Liu Jin's defeat.

That's right.

Liu Jin lost the first battle against the Tatars, and lost miserably.

"...Huamachi led a surprise attack with a thousand cavalrymen, intending to cut off the Tatar cavalry. On the way, they encountered and clashed with the main force of the Tatar central army. Both sides fired artillery at each other, and we lost more than 400 soldiers and horses. We had no choice but to withdraw from the battlefield and flee to Huamachi. The Tatars continued to pursue us, killing and capturing dozens of our border soldiers..."

The generals present were a little frightened after hearing this.

They also didn't understand. Huamachi clearly had a garrison of over 10,000 troops, so why did they send out a team of 1,000 men for a surprise attack, and still suffer such a huge defeat, with nearly half of their troops killed?

The loss of four or five hundred soldiers would not be worth mentioning in the Chenghua or early Hongzhi years, but it was already the fifteenth year of Hongzhi, and the Ming soldiers had been invincible in the northwest for three years, yet such a thing could happen?

It's simply unreasonable.

Lieutenant General Cao Wei said: "If we are defeated, the troops of Huamachi will have no choice but to retreat. Then the Tatars may march straight in. All three sides may encounter a surprise attack by the Tatars. We should send out elite troops to fight them."

This was to remind Wang Qiong that if Huamachi suffered a military defeat, it would be foreseeable that the Ming army in Huamachi would hide in the city and not come out.

Most of the Tatars would not attack those military fortresses. Their goal was to rob. They would definitely rush in from Huamachi, then rob everywhere on the three sides, and finally escape while the Ming soldiers were avoiding the battle.

This was very common in the past.

But after the border army reforms in recent years, this situation is no longer intolerable.

Huamachi is not under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Sanbian, but the area outside Huamachi is under the jurisdiction of Wang Qiong. There is no reason for you, Wang Qiong, to stand idly by.

Shen Ying said, "That being said, the intelligence we have received so far says that this battle was dispatched by the eunuch Liu who was stationed there, and the troops were dispatched by him. The troops were dispatched from Huamachi and divided into four groups, each with only a thousand men."

Now all the generals and officials present looked at each other in bewilderment.

Originally they thought it was just an ordinary sneak attack, but it was discovered by the Tatars, which led to their defeat.

It turns out that this battle was deliberately designed by the defenders of Huamachi?

It's quite fancy.

They actually split the troops into four groups, each with a thousand men? What kind of high-end tactic of breaking the whole into smaller groups is this? It's incomprehensible.
Cao Wei said: "According to what we know now, the Tatars have gathered at least 20,000 soldiers in Huamachi. Even if we send out 4,000 troops, it will be difficult to fight them. The troops are divided into four groups, but I don't know what the purpose is? Is it to cut off the food supply, or..."

Not to mention that a general like Cao Wei who had served in the northwest for many years could not understand it, no one present could understand Liu Jin's intention.

It feels very high-end.

What about breaking the whole into small pieces, what about attacking with superior forces...it's all nonsense.

Under the absolute pressure of military numbers, it is impossible for you to achieve the same effect as Cui Yuan's sudden attack with a scattered army of 4,000.

Wang Qiong said: "The Tatars were well prepared, and this battle was indeed a bit rash."

Shen Ying said: "At the moment, it seems that the chaos in Huamachi is inevitable. In the absence of troops dispatched to the Xuanda front, the war in the Ningxia defense zone must be remedied by dispatching troops from Yansui."

This is telling Wang Qiong again.

The battle of Huamachi had been messed up by Liu Jin. Liu Jin suffered a military defeat and was impeached. He was probably no longer qualified to lead troops. In other words, Liu Jin's military career had basically come to an end. The defense of Huamachi had to be taken care of by Wang Qiong, and he might even be fully responsible for it.

Wang Qiong said: "According to the date, the news of the Tatar invasion has reached the capital a few days ago, and your majesty should have issued a military order. But until now... there is no news."

Shen Ying asked, "Are you waiting for His Majesty to make arrangements for the military affairs in Huamachi?"

Wang Qiong sighed, "Even if the emperor had issued an order and the Ministry of War had made arrangements, we could not have imagined that Huamachi would be in such a situation. It is not impossible to send troops in a scattered manner, but it is too risky. The Tatars dared to come this time, obviously because they have attached importance to the casting of artillery. This also reminds us that the Tatars will use firearms in this battle."

"Yes."

The generals and officials present were also somewhat worried.

The first group of troops sent by Liu Jin suffered a defeat, even a disastrous one, but it let the Ming Dynasty know that the Tatars' combat thinking was different from before.

In the past, they relied on cavalry assaults and iron cavalry to confront the Ming army, relying on the hard power of cold weapons.

But now the Tatars also began to pay attention to hot weapons such as artillery, and artillery bombardments even occurred on the battlefield.

Wang Qiong asked, "Did Liu Jin ever directly report the results of the battle?"

"Not yet." The clerk at the side said, "The current results of the battle are all reported by Ye Bushou, but the results are the same. The Huamachi defenders have begun to withdraw, and the Tatars have entered the pass in full force, and have caused many disturbances and looting incidents within the pass."

Wang Qiong sighed and said, "We can no longer wait for the court to dispatch us. We should indeed dispatch troops to respond. Gather troops from the east of Yansui, Guyuan and other places to Huamachi. We must guard against the Tatars leaving the defense area of ​​Ningxia's rear guard. The local troops in Yansui are also ready to be dispatched at any time."

"Yes."

……

……

Just when Yansui learned that Liu Jin had suffered his first defeat, the four armies sent by Liu Jin had actually fought four or five head-on battles with the Tatars.

Every time the two sides seemed to be evenly matched, it was always the Ming side that suffered the loss. And in the first battle, just as Yansui had learned, the Ming Dynasty lost nearly 400 soldiers. The first route of troops had the most sophisticated weapons and equipment, but had to retreat to the second line.

Liu Jin led the third army and was about to go to support the first army, but was told that Xu Shen had been defeated and retreated.

Fortunately, the Tatars were also afraid of the Ming's artillery and did not pursue them for a long distance. When Liu Jin's third army joined forces with Xu Shen, Zheng Sui's second army was still dealing with the main force of the Tatars.

"Father-in-law, I am incompetent!"

Xu Shen originally wanted to achieve great things and earn himself a title or something.

The dream was big, but the actual situation was very bad. When he met Liu Jin with a dusty face and knelt before Liu Jin to apologize, Liu Jin could hardly recognize that the man in front of him was the vigorous General Xu who swore to go to war three days ago.

Liu Jin walked over, helped the man up, and asked nervously, "I heard that more than 300 brothers were killed?"

"There are over 400 of them," Xu Shen said. "There are quite a few injured. I estimate that half of them can no longer fight."

When Liu Jin heard this, his heart sank instantly, and he asked, "How many casualties did the Tartars suffer?"

Xu Shen shook his head helplessly and said, "We also fired cannons, but our terrain was low and we were suppressed by them. We don't know how many people died on the other side after we fired. After all, we retreated. The Tartars are still chasing us... It seems that the situation has little impact on them." Liu Jin almost slammed the table when he heard it, and said angrily, "In other words, they didn't bring back even a single head?"

Xu Shen said: "It's not that there is none. We brought back four heads and one prisoner."

"Very good, very good." Liu Jin seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw.

If we bring back the heads of the Tartars, we will have something to write about. But how to report the results of the battle is a technical job.

Xu Shen said: "The soldiers have no desire to fight anymore. Eunuch, why don't we quickly retreat back to the pass? We are thirty miles away from Tucheng now, and the Tartars are only thirty or forty miles away from us."

"Why are you panicking?" Liu Jin said, "There are soldiers blocking the way in front of us, and reinforcements behind us. I have elite soldiers guarding here. Are you too cowardly? Where did the courage that brought you a few hundred soldiers to charge at tens of thousands of elite Tartars go?"

Xu Shen said with a sad face: "The Tartars used to rely only on bows and crossbows, but this time they rely on artillery."

Liu Jin sighed, "Aren't their artillery the same ones they stole from us before? They shouldn't have too many fire bombs, don't worry, don't worry."

Although he said this, Liu Jin began to worry in his heart.

If the results of this battle were not reported properly, not only would his position as the eunuch guarding the city be in danger, but even his life might be in danger.

……

……

Less than half an hour after Liu Jin met Xu Shen, the results of the battle on the front line came in like snowflakes.

"Eunuch, something is wrong. General Zheng was defeated immediately after the battle with the Tartars..."

"What."

When Liu Jin heard the words "collapse at the slightest touch", his heart instantly rose to his throat.

The loss of 400 soldiers in the first group was, in his opinion, a failure that was difficult to hide and could now very likely lead to his complete and irreparable destruction.

"General Zheng has already led his troops here, and the distance is only a dozen miles."

Liu Jin said: "Quick, quick! Reorganize the troops and fight the Tartars!"

Liu Jin was now completely panicked.

He really had no experience in actual combat command. He was pretending in front of a group of people before, and it was indeed quite intimidating, but now that it involved a real fight on the battlefield, his true character was exposed.

Xu Shengben was still reorganizing his troops and counting the losses. Upon hearing the news, he hurried to see Liu Jin.

But Liu Jin had already equipped several of his close followers with muskets, ready to engage in a fierce battle with the Tatars.

Xu Shen asked, "Eunuch, why don't we withdraw our troops now?"

Liu Jin said coldly: "Our plan is correct. Do you want us to deny our own tactics?"

Xu Shen was also confused.

He really wanted to say, Father-in-law, what are you insisting on?
Your so-called plan of attacking from four directions has been proven to be nonsense. The Tatars don’t care whether you are brave or not. They are prepared, and their troops and morale are superior to ours. Do we have to jump out of the comfort zone of Tucheng and seek abuse?
It would be fine if you were just looking for trouble, but the lives of the soldiers were real. So many lives were lost just to verify your so-called brilliant strategies and tactics?

Liu Jin said: "Probe again, probe again!"

Xu Shen hurriedly asked, "Then, eunuch, should we send someone to Tucheng to dispatch more troops?"

Liu Jin was also a little flustered at this moment, and there seemed to be a dazed look in his eyes, as if he had lost his soul.

"Report..."

At this moment, the messenger's loud shout made Liu Jin's eyes regain their spirit.

Liu Jin asked, "How?"

The messenger rushed in and said, "The Tatars have retreated five miles. General Zheng's troops are less than five miles away from us."

Liu Jin said: "Deploy defense, deploy defense!"

Xu Shen asked, "Are you sure you don't want to retreat?"

"No retreat! Not even if I die!" Liu Jin was gritting his teeth at this moment.

He seemed to understand at this moment that leading his troops to retreat to Tucheng meant admitting failure, which would also mean that no matter what the final outcome of the battle was, he would not be able to save his life. Someone had to be held responsible for the failure of the four-pronged attack, and that person could only be him.

……

……

Zheng Sui's troops also joined forces with Liu Jin.

Of the four armies, three had gathered together, and only about two thousand five were left out of the three thousand.

After Liu Jin met Zheng Sui, he didn't even dare to ask how many soldiers Zheng Sui had lost... Could it be that... he doesn't even have 2,000 soldiers now?
"Captain Zheng..."

Liu Jin came to the camp gate to welcome him.

When Zheng Sui saw Liu Jin, he jumped off his horse in a panic and kowtowed to Liu Jin.

When Liu Jin saw this scene, his heart sank.

Does this look like they have achieved any results? They are all coming to me to apologize! It's even more cowardly than a meeting!

"General Zheng." Xu Shen walked over towards the setting sun, went up to support Zheng Sui and said, "What's the result? How far are the Tartars from here? Are they going to fight soon?"

Zheng Sui said: "The Tartars rushed at us, and we used artillery, but failed to suppress them! Later, they approached and we beat them back with muskets! The Tartars also lost hundreds of cavalry, but the situation was urgent, so we did not dare to stop and rushed straight here. The Tartars then retreated, but the report from the front did not go far, probably only ten miles away from here."

Liu Jin asked excitedly: "Is it to kill 100 enemies?"

Zheng Sui lowered his head but still nodded.

Xu Shen asked: "How much did you lose?"

"About... 200 people... yes." Zheng Sui said, "The Tartars came with great force. They also had cannons this time, but their cannons seemed different from ours. We also lost a batch of military rations... When the soldiers retreated, they even abandoned their food and stoves."

When Xu Shen heard this, he thought he was even more cowardly than us.

Don’t you want to eat anymore?
He said, "Eunuch, let's withdraw."

Liu Jin cursed: "Retreat, even if you want to retreat, you should first bring back the 100 heads of the Tartars. Otherwise, you will only be punished when you return! Do you think your life is too long?" (End of this chapter)