Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"For the imperial court, it's just a battle, but for me, it's a decisive battle!"

As Yang Jiamo also looked through the records sent by the imperial court, he sighed.

As the General Commander of Liaonan, he made numerous contributions. After arriving at the Niuzhuang front, he was undoubtedly appointed by the court as a front-line commissioner, with the same power of information and decision-making as other commissioners.

He naturally had a copy of the records issued by the imperial court to the Frontline Committee.

Although he knew that the court did not have high expectations of him, Yang Jiamo did not see it that way.

His only thought was to win this battle, so that the court would not think he was incompetent and replace him with someone else.

Lu Xiang-sheng, who is now the military commander of Liaonan Town, also saw the record.

Looking at the emperor's evaluation of the disposable and new armies, Lu Xiang-sheng understood why the court was in such a hurry to send this army to the front lines:

"This is to test the combat effectiveness of the hastily trained new army and determine the future military system!"

"No wonder the imperial court is so uncaring towards its soldiers, and even appointed Yang Jiamo as commander-in-chief."

Lu Xiang-sheng had a lot of opinions about General Yang Jia-mo.

This man was skilled in warfare, but his lack of concern for his soldiers and disregard for human life made Lu Xiang-sheng, a minister who upheld Confucian ideals of benevolence and righteousness, very dislike him.

Only now, witnessing the conversation between the emperor and his ministers, did Lu Xiang-sheng realize that the emperor and the court officials were no different from Yang Jia-mo. Their selection of Yang Jia-mo as general was simply treating the Liaonan New Army as a expendable resource—

The purpose of this army is to wear down the Jurchens. The court would be satisfied with a one-for-one exchange, and would not mind a two-for-one exchange.

As long as there is no rout, the imperial court will replenish the casualties. After 10,000 are killed in action, the imperial court will send another 10,000.

Treating human life as a mere commodity is something Lu Xiang-sheng cannot accept emotionally, but rationally he knows it is the right thing to do:

The Ming Dynasty's greatest advantage over the Jurchens was its manpower and military equipment.

This strategy maximized the advantages of the Ming Dynasty, using continuous attrition to wear down the powerful Jurchen enemy.

Otherwise, if the Jurchens continue to threaten the border, the Ming Dynasty will suffer even greater losses.

He didn't want to go through the same thing again, where troops were constantly being gathered to defend the Great Wall for the past two years.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Lu Xiang-sheng finally sighed and did not offer any opinion.

I even recalled a saying that the emperor had once said:
"The greatest task of a general on the battlefield is to send soldiers to their deaths more efficiently."

"The greatest mercy is to achieve victory so that their sacrifice will not be in vain."

These words sound harsh, but upon closer examination, they make a lot of sense.

Even generals are not immune to dying on the battlefield, let alone ordinary soldiers.

For soldiers, dying on the battlefield is nothing, as long as they can achieve victory and receive sufficient honor and reward.

At this moment, Lu Xiang-sheng decided that he must do everything in his power to win, so as to be worthy of his dying brothers:

"They say a kind heart cannot command an army, and I am ultimately not a qualified general!"

With a sigh over these words, Lu Xiang-sheng suppressed the slight reluctance in his heart.

At the same time, they realized that under this combat mode, their Tianxiong Army was already outdated and belonged to the disposable army that the emperor had described:
"I recruited the Tianxiong Army from the people of Daming Prefecture. Many of the soldiers in the army are fellow villagers, relatives, and friends."

"They may work together in battle, but if they fail, every family may be in mourning."

"We can't train them like this anymore; we have to separate them."

Thinking of this, Lu Xiang-sheng couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had only brought 10,000 men this time.

If the entire Tianxiong Army were mobilized and wiped out on the battlefield, not only would his hard work be wasted, but he would also have no face to face his fellow villagers in Daming Prefecture.

Having gained a profound understanding of the cruelty of war, Lu Xiang-sheng, the governor who was new to the battlefield, began to undergo a transformation.
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On the other side, the Jurchens also gained a deeper understanding of this battle. In June, Huang Taiji sought a decisive battle with the Ming army to defeat the Guan Ning Army.

However, the Guan Ning army at the Niuzhuang front did not engage in a major battle with him, but instead sent out small groups to fight under the protection of warships and artillery in the camp.

Initially, Huang Taiji sent men to strangle them, but after realizing that the Ming army was rapidly improving its strength through training and small-scale military operations, he quickly stopped this behavior.

By now, there had been no fighting in the Niuzhuang area for a long time. This is also why Sun Chengzong believed that the Guan Ning Army's combat strength was unlikely to improve again.

Both sides have realized that only a decisive battle lies ahead of them; otherwise, continuing the standoff will only result in mutual attrition.

The Jurchens could not sustain such expenditures because they had not managed to plunder enough supplies in the previous two years.

The Ming Dynasty could afford to wait, but Zhu Youjian was unwilling to continue the war.

In another month, we will have to prepare for winter. If we leave 50,000 men at the front, the imperial court will have to transport winter supplies for those 50,000 men to the front before the ice freezes.

That consumed far too much money, and the pressure on production and transportation was immense.

Zhu Youjian preferred to let the Guan Ning Army and the Jurchens fight and wear them down rather than keep them on the front lines for nothing during the winter.

With both sides willing to participate, this decisive battle came about.

Haizhouwei was one of the four guards in southern Liaoning and an important node on the post road.

The journey from here to Liaoyang is only a hundred li.

As long as Haizhou is recovered, the Ming Dynasty can threaten the heartland of the Jurchens from here.

During the Tianqi era, Yuan Keli and Mao Wenlong were stuck here when they tried to recover southern Liaoning.

The Jurchens not only stationed troops in Haizhou, but also sent people to cultivate the land. Yang Guli, the prince consort who was killed in Korea, had some of his troops stationed there.

With the Ming and Jin forces currently engaged in battle along the Niuzhuang line, Huang Taiji naturally attaches great importance to this area. He not only blocked the Haicheng River, making it difficult for Ming warships to proceed, but also assigned Daishan to lead two Red Banners troops specifically to defend this region.

The Guan Ning Army once set out from Niuzhuang and built a fortified camp along the coastal moat towards Haizhou. However, due to the lack of naval gun protection, it was destroyed by the newly cast red-coated cannons of the Jurchens.

Now, Liaonan Town is moving north and threatening this area again.

"Take Haizhou and dredge the Haicheng River."

"The Liaonan region will then be safe and secure!"

Looking at the battle from afar through his binoculars, Yang Jiamo understood its significance.

Once Haizhou is captured and the Haicheng River is dredged to allow warships to pass, the land south of this river can be fully restored.

It includes not only southern Liaoning, but more importantly, both banks of the Liao River—

These lands were given priority by the emperor to the soldiers at the front, and the Guan Ning Army was equally eager for them.

This is also why the imperial court decided to launch the Battle of Haizhou; there was a strong demand from the front lines.

The soldiers in Liaonan were all allocated land and, like the Guan Ning Army, were very enthusiastic about capturing Haizhou.

Yang Yufan, who led the main forces of the First and Fourth Brigades, said:

"General, when should we send out the troops?"

"This humble general requests to lead the charge!"

Yang Jiamo glanced at him but didn't give a definite answer. Instead, he looked at Chen Jisheng, who was leading the main forces of the Second and Third Brigades, and asked the man:

Where is Lord Dongjiang?

"When are you coming?" (End of Chapter)