Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 319: All Decisions Made

People naturally have different ideas. Some people seek comfort, while others want to realize their ambitions.

Tian Le's plan was indeed brilliant.

If Li Chengliang showed up in Liaodong, it would indeed be a great deterrent to the surrounding ethnic groups.

However, there was an imperial decree saying that he was transferred to the post of Left Commander of the Front Army, and he did not show up in Jiangnan, which was a great deterrent to Jiangnan.

In addition, Shen Yikuan, the former prime minister, suddenly recovered from his illness and came to Nanjing to serve as the chief of staff.

In addition, Prince Su and Prince Chu suddenly went to Nanjing City to drink and have fun, as if they were just bait.

The King of Shu felt that the Emperor was setting a trap for them, but this was actually an open trap.

Although rumors of crisis in Liaodong were rife in Jiangnan, Prince Su and Prince Chu were actively encouraging some dissatisfied or ambiguous gentry in Jiangnan to talk about how to run the newly established military and civilian offices in the future, as if the Ming Dynasty had already secured victory this time.

Isn't this also a hedge against tension?
Shanhaiguan saw more troops being added: previously, fifteen thousand troops from the Tianshu Camp had left Shanhaiguan, and now another ten thousand troops from the Jing Camp were heading for Liaodong.

Time goes by day by day, and autumn comes.

Dai Qing had been lingering in the northwest of Jinzhou for more than a month. He did not wait for a clear reply from the Jianzhou Jurchens, but fortunately, Chaohua of Inner Khalkha and Oba of Khorchin were determined to march their armies south to suppress the Ming army and Yehe tribe who were now defending the Liaohe area in the northeast.

The situation no longer allowed Buyanggu to be in a dilemma. Although he was forced to participate in this action by the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty at least proved that they had the strength to sweep the Liaohe Basin.

As long as the results of this battle are consolidated, the area south of the Liao River will be controlled. Whether to just stay south of the Liao River and near the Laoha River, or to gain a larger territory, or just to resist Khalkha and Khorchin, Yehe has no choice.

Looking around, there is no longer a single ally.

Needless to say, Jianzhou, the Khorchin and Yehe tribes that had helped him in the past had also occupied some of the small tribes and pastures that Yu Zigao had led his men to conquer.

The only one we can rely on is the Ming Dynasty.

"We can't wait any longer, let's try to attack Jinzhou first!"

Dai Qing calculated the time. Even if Khalkha and Khorchin could come, they would have to wait until their tribes finished their winter migration before heading south with their fattened war horses.

The Ming army in Liaodong can create a time difference, after all, they are now in the Liaohe area not far away.

If they were allowed to calmly reorganize the Aohan and Naiman headquarters that were approaching the Laoha River, that would be unacceptable to Dai Qing.

"Only the Ming army that we discovered earlier?"

Dai Qing asked for his answer.

"They are strangers I have never seen before. They look like Han people and Hui people." His brother-in-law replied, "Du Ling, after all, there are only more than a thousand of them, no more than two thousand at most."

Dai Qing looked at the mountains in the southwest with a deep gaze.

That was what the scouts had discovered in the mountains before, and it was unknown how long they had been active out there.

The hiding place is very clever, it is a small valley between three peaks.

When it was first discovered, people thought that it was the people of the Doyan tribe who had hidden there because of the war.

It is not certain even now, because they have made it like a mountain village with the entrance strictly guarded, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Of course, we should be lenient in predicting the enemy's strength. Dai Qing judged from the scouts' report that it was an ambush of Han Chinese, although they looked like ordinary villagers.

But a village with over a thousand people could not have been without dealings with the outside world in the past, and the people here have never heard of so many people there.

Shi Bao suggested that they should clear that place first, but Dai Qing rejected the proposal: before launching formal operations, there should be no unnecessary losses.

The mountain road is not conducive to cavalry attack.

Even if you have to fight, you have to try your best to expand your advantage on the battlefield you have planned.

"Just treat them as Han ambushes." Dai Qing said decisively, "Anda, you take 2,000 people to guard the Nailingao area. I guess the Han people probably ambushed a lot of people when the winter came last year. When the war just started and the small tribes of Kalaqin fled north, they didn't have time to investigate the enemy and secretly transported food and grass. That place is not too far from their Great Wall. Even if they just rely on people's backs and walk along the mountain road, there won't be much movement."

After saying that, he looked to the southeast and said, "We are running out of time. It's snowing, so it's inconvenient for them to transport food, and the same goes for us. Even if we have more horses, we won't be able to move much faster than them. We must attack Jinzhou first! If we take this place, we will cut off their land routes to Liaodong and the south. When the river freezes, their ships won't be able to reach the shore."

He was just convincing himself to make this decision.

The news has been delivered. Khalkha and Khorchin have decided to go south to take back the land that previously belonged to them.

He believed that even if the Jianzhou Jurchens were afraid of the Han people, once the situation changed, they would never be willing to let Hada, Huifa and Ula be taken away!
At least give it a try!
Besides, Lindan Batur's patience was wearing out. He had been waiting for Dai Qing to deliver on his previous achievements: to break a gap in the Han people's Liaodong throat!
Who doesn't know that this gave the Ming Dynasty enough time to attack the north of Yanshan Mountain?
Dai Qing is a minister and cannot put the Khan in an overly dangerous situation.

"Shi Bao, follow me!" He looked at his fifth brother, and said to his brother-in-law, "I'm counting on you to take care of my back! From Laoha River to Jinzhou, this road cannot be cut off!" "Leave it to me!" He patted his chest hard.

……

Dozens of riders rushed towards the southeast of Hetuala City.

After meeting He Heli, Nurhaci first asked: "Did the Ming Dynasty really say nothing?"

"...No." He Heli knew what he was talking about. "The elite soldiers of Jianzhou were ordered to go to Korea. The tribe had to leave people to defend. Governor Yuan also said that it was not easy to send out 3,000 people, not to mention that the Fourth Prince was leading them personally."

Nurhaci just frowned.

But no matter what, he is back.

The war in Korea was not going very smoothly. The six border towns were fine at first, but seeing that Jianzhou had so many troops and they were isolated in the northeast of Korea, they did not have much willpower to resist and soon abandoned the city and fled south.

But after entering the heartland of Hamgyong Province, which has been operated by North Korea for many years, it became less easy to conquer the cities one after another.

Jianzhou took great efforts to capture five cities in a row. Although the battle line had been pushed to Changjin and Dingping areas, the Gilzhou City in Hamgyong Province was still holding out.

That is the capital of Hamgyong Province and it cannot be lost.

But I'm afraid it won't be possible to capture them quickly. We can only surround them and slowly wear down their will.

When the Ming Dynasty agreed to send troops to help Jianzhou, Nurhaci decided to return.

After making some arrangements for the war in Korea, he hurried back.

Before that, he had thought it over carefully and decided to let the fourth brother Tang Guda take the men there.

Those who went there were mainly those who surrendered from the Hada, Huifa and Ula tribes.

They were not considered elite soldiers in the army, because most of them were taken to Korea. Otherwise, how could he be assured of leaving them all in Jianzhou? What if someone came to take over his position?
Before Tang Guda set out, he asked Tang Guda to rush to Sanshui, which had already been captured by Jianzhou, and gave him many instructions there.

"Governor Yuan...did he receive it personally?" Nurhaci asked.

"Yes, and he said a few nice things, and said that the price of wood and furs could be raised by 10% this winter."

"How are things going in the three tribes? What about the Yehe tribe? What about the Khanate?"

Nurhaci asked a lot of questions in one breath, he was eager to know the latest situation.

This is all that can be explained in the few words delivered by the messenger; the truth is mostly hidden in countless details.

He Heli explained the situation one by one, and Nurhaci asked: "Is there any news about Li Chengliang?"

"I have this, I just received it today." He Heli replied immediately, "The news came from the merchants in Liubao, Kuandian. It is said that Li Chengliang went to Jiangnan in Daming as early as the end of July and commanded the army of the Front Military Governor's Office of Daming."

"Merchant? Didn't you say that the Ming Dynasty had already closed Shanhaiguan shortly after the beginning of summer?"

Nurhaci looked at him warily.

The merchants who are still in Liubao, Kuandian, either did not go back before and have to stay here this year. How would they know the news at the end of July?
"That sounds reasonable. It's all because of the current war situation that they are worried about and started talking. That merchant has a relative who is a minor official in Shanhaiguan..."

He Heli then told what he had learned: The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had previously taken advantage of the officials and gentry, and the internal situation was not necessarily stable. Now that the Tatar Khan's personal army was approaching the capital, Jizhou Town had been unable to repel the enemy for a long time. As an important tax collection area of ​​the Ming Dynasty, Jiangnan must have enough weight to stabilize it.

As Nurhaci listened, he became more suspicious: Why was he just a merchant who couldn't go home because of the war, still talking about Liaodong being worry-free? Shouldn't he be more worried and dissatisfied?

Besides, his relative was just a minor official in Shanhaiguan. Why did he dare to use such an arrangement by a top official to persuade him not to worry, and give him the confidence to brag about it when drinking with other businessman friends?

What is the inevitable connection between the fact that Jiangnan is not in chaos and the Liaodong border army will definitely not be defeated?
"I think we don't need to worry about these." He Heli expressed his opinion, "Your Majesty, whether to take action or not depends on whether the Tatars can win a big victory first. As long as the Fourth Prince sends the news back, even if Li Chengliang is really in Liaodong, what does it matter? He has been away from here for more than ten years, and all these years, Liaodong has been surnamed Ma!"

Nurhaci thought about it and nodded heavily: "You are right! Besides, we are not invading the Ming Dynasty. Are the wild Jurchen costumes I asked you to prepare ready?"

"We have almost prepared everything. If that doesn't work, we can kill some more wild Jurchen tribes when we go around." He Heli's eyes were bright. "We have already found out about the movements of the Yehe tribe. They want to rely on the Ming Dynasty for their survival. Now we have to guard against the west and the north. The south is also afraid that the Ming Dynasty will abandon them after using them."

Nurhaci's eyes were fierce. "Anyway, the wild Jurchens have always been under the command of Khorchin. If the wild Jurchen army attacks the Yehe tribe, how can he still follow the Ming Dynasty to fight with peace of mind? I won't enter the city. Have you prepared the small items of the Ming army that have been stored in the warehouse over the years?"

"All together!"

"Okay!" Nurhaci gritted his teeth, "Let them be distracted and on guard against each other!"

(End of this chapter)