I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 200: Clearing the Old Site of Jianzhou Zuowei
Huining Mountain on the banks of the Ayeku River (Tumen River).

At the foot of the mountain, Xu Wei held up a monocular telescope and observed the situation of the mountain stronghold.

Meng Zhiguo, commander of the Dingliao Cavalry Division, and Guo Dingdong, commander of the Liaodong Tongyuan Infantry Division, stood on both sides of him, surrounded by a circle of military academy guards.

After watching for half a minute, Xu Wei put down the telescope and turned to look at the two people.

Meng Zhiguo pointed at the stronghold and introduced it to Xu Wei: "Minister Xu, Huining Stronghold was the old city of Jianzhou Zuowei. During the Zhengtong period, Chashan, the son of Mengmuge, the chief of Jianzhou Zuowei, led the main force of more than 500 households of the tribe to move west to Liaodong and merge with Jianzhou Wei.

The remaining 200 households moved north to Tawin City, where the Helan River and the Ayeku River meet, and joined Li Zhuman, the chief of the Left Guard of Jianzhou. In the third year of Chenghua, Li Zhuman's troops were attacked by our Ming army and the Korean army, and all the people were killed and the clan was destroyed.

A hundred years later, another wave of Jurchens gathered here, commanding more than a thousand Jurchen households in the Ayeku River Basin, and another wave of Jurchens gathered in Tawin City, commanding thousands of Jurchen households on the Helan River. "

Meng Zhiguo was from the Taining tribe of Mongolia. His ancestors surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and served as generals in the Liaodong army for generations, no different from the Ming people.

Xu Wei nodded. "Our army has already swept the Ayeku River and captured 600 Jurchen tents. We will move them back to Liaodong first and come back here in the spring of next year to build a city, repair roads and pass through the pass. But before we withdraw our troops, we need to take down this mountain stronghold and Tawin City."

"Yes!"

"Commander Meng, the cavalry will be responsible for the surrounding security; Commander Guo, it is the responsibility of your infantry to attack the city and capture the stronghold. Are you all ready?"

"In reply to Minister Xu, everything is ready. I will send a cavalry regiment to guard the surrounding area, spread out 50 miles. The other two cavalry regiments have been assembled and are ready to fight at any time."

"Okay, Commander Guo."

"In reply to Minister Xu, my artillery regiment is ready. Mortars are the most effective for this mountain stronghold. Sixteen mortars are ready to fire at any time. One infantry regiment has already reached the foot of the mountain and is ready to attack at any time. Another infantry regiment is on guard at the rear and flanks of the mountain stronghold to search for any fish that have escaped the net."

"Okay." Xu Wei said, and suddenly felt a chill on his face. He looked up and saw sparse snowflakes falling in the gloomy sky.

The snowflakes were not big, just like tiny bits of duck down, and melted away in an instant when they landed on the face.

"It's going to snow. The winter in Liaodong is bitterly cold. We must speed up, take down this stronghold and Tawin City, and quickly withdraw the cavalry and infantry troops back to the west of Yagu Pass in Liaodong."

"Yes!"

After two quarters of an hour, the sound of cannons rang out, and the shells fired from the mortar flew toward the top of the mountain in a parabola and scattered in the small mountain village. Fires flickered, black smoke rose, and then one explosion after another came down along the mountain ridge.

The sound jumped among the quiet mountains, forests and valleys of the northeast, and it was exceptionally loud and deafening.

Soon, teams of Ming troops wearing red mandarin duck jackets and holding flintlock rifles with bayonets slowly moved up along the rugged mountain road.

From time to time, when they encountered fortifications built according to the terrain, the Ming army would stop, and then the artillery team would carry three-jin field cannons forward and fire fiercely at the fortifications, first with iron pellets, which blew the simple fortifications into pieces, leaving the Jurchens hiding inside nowhere to hide.

As they fled in panic, the Ming army, which had been waiting for a long time, knelt on one knee on the ground, lined up in rows, and fired dense bullets, knocking them down in the mountains.

Some of the forts were built with stones and were relatively solid, or had tricky angles, making it difficult for the three-jin field artillery to hit them head-on. So the Ming army's infantry changed their tactics and used field artillery and volley guns to bombard them head-on to attract the Jurchens' attention.

Three or five soldiers sneaked up along the ravine, using the cover of the terrain to climb to a place not far from the fortress, and then threw two or three thunder bombs into the fortress.

This is a thunder bomb modified by the Firearms Bureau according to Zhu Yijun's opinion. It is more like a wooden-handled grenade. The gunpowder is purified and the power is increased. When the iron shell was cast, grooves were reserved to prevent fragmentation.

The grenade was thrown into the fortress and exploded quickly. The shrapnel swept everything in the narrow space. By the time the three or five Ming soldiers rushed up the fortress with flintlock rifles, the inside was a mess.

The power of today's hand grenades is just so-so. There are only one or two lucky people who were hit by shrapnel and died on the spot. The rest were hit in various parts of the body and lay on the ground injured, wailing.

The Ming soldiers rushed forward and attacked the wounded Jurchens without any courtesy, stabbing them with two or three bayonets each, then waved small flags, followed by the main force to continue the advance.

This is a very experienced Ming army infantry.

Many of their backbone members had fought against Japanese pirates in the southeast and experienced bloody battles.

Many officers and soldiers fought in the Liuhe Campaign and in the Luanhe Campaign to pacify Xin'ai and the Northern Tartar cavalry.

In the past three months, they have been fighting the Jurchens in the dense forests of Liaodong, adjusting their tactics as they fought, and their skills have improved. Soon, the Ming infantry attacked the gate of the mountain stronghold, and more than a dozen three-jin field cannons were carried up, and even two six-jin field cannons were carried up and aimed at the gate.

Xu Wei saw the entire battle situation through the monocular telescope, turned to Meng Zhiguo and Guo Dingdong, and sighed: "The prince is wise. He said that the Jurchens are brave and good at fighting, and they are tough and fierce. They are a first-class source of soldiers.

It is perfect for dealing with the northern barbarians such as Taining and Chahar.

We should wipe out all those who resist stubbornly, and treat those who are willing to surrender well and train them. This will give our army a fresh force to fight in the Black Mountains and the southern and northern deserts in the future."

Meng Zhiguo and Guo Dingdong responded in unison: "The prince is wise!"

"Bang bang--" The sound of artillery fire came one after another from the top of the mountain, shaking the entire Ayeku River Basin.

Black smoke slowly enveloped the mountain village, and then intensive gunfire rang out.

There was the sound of grenade explosions interspersed throughout the night. Half an hour later, a large flag with the word "Ming" in it was flying at the highest point of the mountain stronghold.

"Alright, this place has been razed. We will move to Tawen City immediately and remove the last nail in the old territory of Jianzhou Zuowei!"

"Yes!"

Five days later, Xu Wei stood at the foot of Tawin City, still with Meng Zhiguo and Guo Dingdong beside him.

Although Tawin City is called a city, it is actually just a slightly larger mountain stronghold, where thousands of Jurchen soldiers gathered and their resistance was even more fierce.

The Ming army's attack became more fierce. They fired mortars and three-jin cannons continuously, and they also lifted up six six-jin cannons and bombarded the stone and wood fortress continuously. In less than an hour, the whole Tawin city was filled with smoke and blazing fires everywhere.

Fortunately, the Ming army had already dug two long trenches around it, which not only prevented the Jurchens from escaping, but also prevented the fire from spreading everywhere.

The sporadic flames were quickly extinguished by the Ming army who were on standby at all times.

The mountains here are high and the forests are dense. Once the fire spreads, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Two hours later, the sounds of artillery and gunfire in Tawin City gradually became less frequent. Groups of Jurchens were escorted down the mountain by the Ming army. There were men and women, old and young, wrapped in tattered clothes and furs, with depressed expressions.

"We beheaded 500 people in Huining Mountain Stronghold and captured 2,100 people; we beheaded 900 people in Tawen City and captured more than 4,000 people. Together with the beheadings and captures previously, the Jurchens in the Ayeku River and Helan River basins were wiped out.

It is time for us to return. Let the severe winter take care of the Jurchens who have fled to the mountains and forests. We will come back next spring when the flowers bloom. "

Xu Wei, riding on a horse, waved the whip and said in high spirits.

There was the sound of horse hooves, and three cavalrymen galloped along the mountain road from a distance and soon came to the front.

"Report!"

"what's up?"

"In the Xiguan area ahead, scouts discovered a group of Korean soldiers crossing the Bomen River and attacking the Jurchens across the border."

Xu Wei frowned: "How many soldiers and horses?"

"There are 300 cavalry and 1,000 infantry. According to investigation, they attacked four Jurchen tribes and captured more than 400 people. They are now attacking the Lianku Pass."

"Ambitious thug!" Xu Wei was furious. He whipped his horse whip hard and shouted, "Commander Meng!"

"exist"

"Take your cavalry and follow me!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)