Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 325: The father is unkind and the rebellious sons are everywhere
On September 22, the imperial carriage arrived at Jizhou town.

This is Zhu Changluo's third time here.

The first time he inspected Tianshu Camp, Military Industrial Park and Dagu Zhayang Shipyard, the second time the Jurchens came to pay homage, and this time he was to supervise the battle.

Jinzhou and Yizhou had not yet been captured. Although commercial and civilian exchanges were banned along the Guanjinning line, military intelligence was still transmitted smoothly.

Zhu Changluo moved into the General's Mansion in Jizhou Town. Now You Jixian had led his army out of Xifengkou to take Rehe area, so this place became the temporary residence of the imperial carriage and the Privy Council, and also the general command post of the entire northern border war.

The core of the battle is Jinzhou and Yizhou. The Khanate’s army is attacking fiercely, so the Ming Dynasty should naturally defend it to the death.

In the south, the Ming frontier army was defending the border wall with Shanhaiguan as the core, and a part of the Yongwei Battalion was harassing. In the west, Li Hualong led the Jizhou soldiers to build an encirclement from Rehe to Daning, and the next step was to narrow the encirclement to the Daling River Valley.

However, they needed to have the Liaodong border troops and Yehe servants led by Ma Gui to the north, and the Xuanda border troops and Tumed servants led by Liu Jing to capture the Aohan and Naiman tribes together, and then block them from the north with a large force.

After that, all they had left was to advance eastward into the heart of Liaodong.

What’s more, Li Chengliang is still hiding.

The situation seemed to be very good and was moving forward as planned by the Ming Dynasty's rulers and ministers.

Then the military situation of Tianshu Camp was urgently reported.

"...I'm still unwilling to accept this."

Zhu Changluo slowly walked out of the main hall of the Jizhou General's Mansion and looked far to the northeast.

Behind him, Tian Le said slowly: "He has been preparing for war for many years. Now that he is getting stronger, he will not be satisfied until he is severely defeated again."

Xing Jie has accepted this situation: "Since Your Majesty is determined to fight to the end, then Liaodong will have a long and protracted war, so we should prepare early."

They all agreed with Xiong Tingbi's judgment that Nurhaci was the only one who could persuade him to go north in person to sign an alliance with the Khorchin leaders.

Since he wants to make an alliance, is there any need to think about who he is guarding against and who he is targeting?

"What about time?" Zhu Changluo said softly, "Khorchin and Khalkha have never submitted to the Khanate. Even if the Khanate wins here first, they are still surrounded. If Khalchin and Khalkha have another alliance with Jianzhou, they should have made preparations for both situations, right? They should even use the Khanate's army as a trapped beast to consume as many Liaodong border troops as possible."

"That's too arrogant." Tian Le said solemnly, "I'm afraid it will happen soon. If the Ming Dynasty is exhausted, the chances of victory will naturally be greater. If I were the chieftain of the barbarians, we should have agreed on a date. Once the news arrives, we will immediately start the war."

Zhu Changluo took a deep breath.

This season can be considered early winter, after all, it is the end of September in the lunar calendar.

There was a chill in the air, and he was reflecting on himself.

The arrangement for the various Jurchen tribes was naturally a combination of suppression and favor at the beginning. Nurhaci and Nalinbulu were called to the front, and the results of the surprise attack on the Tianshu Camp were shown to shock them. They were also promised in the future, and various means were arranged, such as sending Li Chengliang to Liaodong.

But Lindan Batur ran to the very nose of the Ming Dynasty, and both the government and the people were terrified.

Zhu Changluo's appetite had grown a little, and he also wanted to rectify the Ming Dynasty and recreate the prosperous scene of abundant martial virtues at the beginning of the country.

At present, the ethnic groups in the northern border are unaware that the Ming Dynasty had already planned to use a "great defeat" to create time and space to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Khan's court.

This is a rare opportunity. After all, the grassland is vast, and it is not easy to find the main force, fight a decisive battle, and win the battle, let alone encircle and annihilate the enemy?
It's impossible not to pay a price.

The price that is about to be paid may become an inducement for all ethnic groups in the entire northern border to change their attitudes.

It was the strength of the Ming Dynasty that made them nervous this time, but Nurhaci's ambition could not be suppressed after all.

"We can only win this battle, not lose." Zhu Changluo thought about the greater price he was about to pay, and slowly spoke, "Send a message to the three armies. If we win this battle, the dukes and marquises will not hesitate to reward us, and I hope the soldiers will be willing to sacrifice their lives!"

Soon, very soon.

Perhaps by early October, or at the latest by the end of October, a full-scale battle may break out at the Liaodong border wall.

On the Jinzhou and Yizhou side, the best thing is to stabilize the situation quickly, and the eastern front can be held firmly for at least one or two months.

How the situation will change afterwards...it all depends on the circumstances.

"Alright." Zhu Changluo turned and walked back. "If Nurhaci is going to go this far, then we should completely eliminate this trouble. Since he has sufficient martial virtue, why should we use him as a vanguard in the future?"

As for Nurhaci, he was ultimately thinking too highly of himself.

If he were Zhu Yijun, perhaps he could use it this way.

But now, the seed of ambition in Nurhaci's heart has long grown into a towering tree, and he really can't stop.

Especially at this moment when they had just gained a larger territory, but were pushed back by him.

At this moment, north of the Liaohe River, the remnants of the Inner Khalkha, the intact left wing of the Khorchin Army, and the right wing of the Khorchin Army that fled north were indeed preparing for a southern expedition.

Nurhaci traveled all the way to the Korean front, but messengers kept coming and going to deliver messages.

Everyone is waiting for news and making preparations.

Changjin City in Hamgyong Province is located south of Changjin Lake. The fighting here has stopped today.

Nurhaci sat upright on his horse, the wind was already very cold.

In another month, the whole area will enter a severe winter, and it will be so cold that people can be frozen to death.

At this point, it was no longer convenient to continue the battle. However, Jianzhou, which had already captured Hamheung, must have enough bargaining chips to negotiate with the King of Joseon.

Nurhaci was impressed by the fact that Li Hui dared to come.

He is indeed the prince who saved the day in the past. Of course, it was probably also because of the letter he sent.

When he left Korea and passed through Jianzhou Jurchen on his way to the north to meet with the taijis of Khorchin, he passed the message to Li Hui.

Time waits for no one. No matter what, the current achievements are already considerable. Hamgyong Province is already very large, and it will take enough time to digest it.

Li Hui, accompanied by his trusted military generals, civil officials and guards, appeared to the west of Nurhaci.

He came from Ping An Road.

The mountains between Pyongyang and Hamgyong are now the front line of North Korea's defense against the Jurchens. The borders of the Yellow Sea, Pyongyang, Hamgyong, and Gangwon are certainly important, but if the Jurchens invade Pyongyang from the Yalu River, the entire north may be lost.

Li Hui had already gone through an extremely tormenting year, and not a single thing went smoothly. The rebels had not yet been quelled, and foreign enemies were invading again. The country refused to give him a decree of order, and even cut off the border market and the sea market.

Now he really wanted to know what the Jurchen chieftain meant by "I had no choice".

But he seemed to want a temporary truce with North Korea. No matter what, Li Hui needed this breathing space.

As they were far away, Li Hui didn't dare to go forward easily.

However, Nurhaci got off his horse and walked towards this side with only one person.

Of course, there was an interpreter who came before him. When he arrived not far from Li Hui, he knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I have no intention of luring you. Now I am being honest, but the matter involves confidential information. Your Majesty, you can bring ten of your followers and guards and the civil and military officials to discuss the matter. The soldiers on both sides should be 300 steps away. How about that?"

Li Hui looked at him and asked: "Have you surrendered to him loyally?"

"Your Majesty...I am also..." The man was afraid that he would die immediately under the arrow.

Li Hui looked at the leader of the barbarians who were moving slowly forward.

He was accompanied by only one guard.

Are you confident that you can defeat ten people alone?

Of course, I heard that the chieftain had been a soldier for half his life and that he was a fierce general, but Li Hui...

Thinking about the current situation, Li Hui gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, let's hear what he has to say about why he wants to invade my territory!"

Nurhaci looked at the movement over there and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Just because the Joseon soldiers were unable to fight well against the Jianzhou soldiers doesn’t mean that the entire Joseon can be easily taken.

The King of Korea did not have to take the risk himself, but the fact that he dared to come here now showed that it was too difficult for him, and that he had become ruthless.

Nurhaci needed him to be a little ruthless.

On the shore of Changjin Lake, the two men finally faced each other, more than twenty steps apart, with the interpreter standing in the middle.

Li Hui's eyes were filled with anger, but Nurhaci was very calm.

What Li Hui heard afterwards made him both shocked and even more angry.

"...I know that there are endless rebellions in your country, and you don't have much energy to take care of the north. You can find out what I said by asking someone." Nurhaci looked at him, "My most beloved son has been left in Beijing for eight years, and my daughter has also been sent there. I have given up three large territories, and I must use this battle to prove my obedience."

Li Hui clenched his fists as he recalled the face and expression of the Ming Emperor.

The civil and military officials behind him were even more stunned. Some showed fear, while others were extremely angry.

"Believe it or not, you decide. Ham Gyeong-do, don't even think about taking it back yet. If you are willing to stop fighting, I will send 5,000 elite soldiers this winter for you to command and quickly put down the rebels. But are we going to let the Ming Dynasty provoke us?"

"You want Hamgyeong Dao?" Li Hui gritted his teeth.

"Since we have sent out troops, how can I reward the soldiers?" Nurhaci said as a matter of course, "Now, we Jurchens can choose to continue to attack Korea, or we can choose to stop here. But where Korea will go depends on your decision."

"This is impossible!"

The anger in his heart was building up, but Nurhaci said, "I told you, don't think about taking it back now. But if there is a good opportunity, if the Ming Dynasty can no longer threaten us through Liaodong, then we can discuss it."

Li Hui stared at him: "What are you planning? Do you want North Korea to rebel and attack the upper country?"

"As a vassal state, I just want to hear your opinion." Nurhaci did not say anything final. "I have already told you the intention of the Ming Dynasty. It is nothing more than the lips and teeth are in danger. You are just worried that you will become a running dog to be cooked and killed. For you and me, it is nothing more than a matter of a piece of paper. Why doesn't he give it to me?"

Li Hui thought about the hardships he had endured over the years.

Yes, how much resistance can a piece of paper save him?

That devil was going to play tricks on him!
Zhu Changluo didn't know that they were currently discussing the sufferings inflicted upon them by the benevolent father of the Ming Dynasty.

He may indeed be a devil, but he is the variable of this world.

Now he was determined to eliminate the threat from the north and finally pushed the wheel of history forward.

They began to creak and were about to stir up a storm in the entire northern border of the continent.

Originally, everything was in a state of balance. As long as one party made a firm choice, no other party could stay out of it.

What's more, they were the most powerful party and made a large-scale and resolute choice that touched upon the fundamentals?

When Liu Jing's decision was passed back, the staff of the Privy Council calculated the marching speed and the expected rhythm of the war. It was Sun Chengzong who first said, "Your Majesty, I think it's okay!"

Zhu Changluo turned his eyes away from the hanging map and turned to look at Tian Le and others.

"What do you think?"

"The Tartars are really fighting desperately. I'm sure the situation of Marquis Zhangyong and Earl Ninglu's army attacking from the east and west has been discovered and reported."

"They can only go from Laoha River to Daling River. Ma Gui will go east to reinforce Yizhou. It will take at least ten days to conquer Aohan. Can Yizhou hold out for another ten days?"

It means that after the Khan's army realized that the situation was not right, they could only plunder and then escape north from Yizhou.

"We have to hold on even if we can't." Tian Le said sternly, "No matter how much the casualties are, we must stop them. After this battle, there will be no more major wars with the Tatars!"

"What about Sanchahe and Liaoyang?"

"As long as they are within the border wall, there will be no problem." Tian Le said, "Therefore, we need to preserve some combat power and order the Jinzhou government troops to retreat to the east of Jinzhou as soon as possible to block them. This way, we can let Ningyuan Hou come out as soon as possible and together with them force the Tartars out of the border wall and trap them in the Daling River Valley west of Yizhou."

Zhu Changluo was silent for a while and made up his mind.

"Okay! Let's start!"

Now, the Privy Council was finally going to order the Jinzhou defenders to let them know that the court had already made a plan and that they could choose to abandon the city when the opportunity arose.

After all, they have been holding on for so many days and there are signs that they can no longer hold on.

The Ming Dynasty's Liaodong border wall is about to be breached.

(End of this chapter)