Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 350 Early Spring Offensive
Although it is already the first month of the year, the snow in the northeast has not melted yet.

On the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, three people came to the outside of Maerdun Village in the Suzi River Valley.

After hearing the message, Liu Jing came out of the camp to greet them personally, and then invited them into his tent.

They had already talked about this on the way, so when he sat down, he asked directly: "Does Admiral Yu mean what he said?"

The person who came was Yu Zigao, who brought Zhang Shenwu and Wang Mingshi with him.

Now he didn't hide it, and said with a bow, "Lord Liu is the bravest of the three armies, and now he is commanding the army closest to Jianzhou's base. I came all the way from Guangshun Pass, so how could it be false?"

Liu Jing looked at him and said with emotion: "Admiral Yu resisted the nearly 40,000 troops of Jianzhou in Hada City with only 4,000 people. He finally held out for half a month before being ordered to retreat to Guangshun Pass. After I arrived here, I heard that if Admiral Yu had not held out for so long, I'm afraid that General Yuan would not have been able to gain a foothold in Sarhu so easily."

"That's not worth mentioning. We still lost Hada City after all." Yu Zigao quickly got down to business. "What do you think of what I said, Lord Liu?"

In the battle of Hada City, although the Tianshu Camp and the Liaodong border troops in Kaiyuan finally held out for half a month, they had the material and manpower support from Guangshun Pass, and the snow was getting heavier in the cold winter, which was not conducive to the attack.

Although Yu Zigao was still able to hold on, he had suffered a lot of casualties. Of the 1,200 Tianshu Camp soldiers left in Liaoyuan, less than 900 were left, and more than 300 of them were injured.

Although the people who had gone to Kuandian Liubao had also arrived at Guangshun Pass to provide reinforcements, Nurhaci recalled the cavalry that Yangguli had taken to the north to join forces with Khorchin. They appeared in Qingheyi Town, northwest of Hada City. Guangshun Pass to Hada City could no longer be secured by just a few guard troops.

This was also the reason why the Ming army inside Guangshun Pass could not provide too much support to Hada City before: strategically, the Kaiyuan area within the border wall was much more important than the newly acquired Liaoyuan Military and Civilian Prefecture in Hada City.

In addition, Yuan Keli had already established a firm foothold in Sarhu with the border troops and the Beijing camp and captured Jiefan Village. Liu Jing was already able to go to the Suzi River Valley. Therefore, Guangshun Pass sent the Tianshu Camp reinforcements and the Kaiyuan border troops out of the pass to resist Yangguli and cover the Ming troops in Hada City and Liuhe Fort to abandon their defenses and return to Guangshun Pass.

The situation became that Nurhaci had to defend Hada City to prevent the Ming army in the Kaiyuan area from moving south through the Xiaoqing River Valley.

Yu Zigao had been resting with the remaining Tianshu Camp in Guangshun Pass for more than a month, but now he has arrived here.

Liu Jing pondered: "You still have 2,000 elite soldiers under your command?"

Yu Zigao nodded and said, "Last year, I brought 467 brothers with me, including 1,500 men. The rest were seriously injured, but there were many others. This time, I only brought 500 men, plus the 1,500 men who were ordered to rush to Kuandian Liubao."

Although all of them were good fighters, among all the armies of the Ming Dynasty, only the troops led by Yu Zigao and Liu Jing had the longest battle distances and participated in the most battles.

I won’t talk about Liu Jing. He first attacked Kaiping, then went to Mobei, and then crossed the Greater Khingan Range to the Laoha River. He also participated in the Battle of Jinzhou, and finally arrived here.

The Tianshu Camp led by Yu Zigao was also the first to go out of the border in Liaodong. They first raided many small tribes in Inner Khalkha and Khorchin, and then were ordered to go to Liaoyuan Military and Civilian Government to guard against the Jurchens. They investigated and guarded Hada City, and now they have arrived at the Suzi River Valley.

Liu Jing looked at him meaningfully: "Two thousand people are at the Nantianmen?"

"That's right." Yu Zigao said, "Since I'm here, it must be that Governor Yuan has agreed. The military rations I brought are not much, only enough for ten days. On the night of the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, they came out of Fushun Pass and sneaked over the mountains. Now they should have reached the west of Nantianmen."

The so-called Nantianmen is a main peak west of Hetuala. Because there is a stone pillar on the top of the mountain, it looks like a chimney from a distance, so it is called Chimney Mountain or Zaotu Mountain by the people, and Hulan Hada is called by the Jianzhou Jurchens.

On the ridge there is a natural stone gate that looks like an artificial one, hence the nickname of Nantianmen. The reason why it is called Nantianmen is that in spring and summer, the Zaotu Mountain is often shrouded in clouds and mist, like a fairyland.

But the location is indeed very important, with the Suzi River Valley to the north and the trail from Yahu Pass to Hetuala to the south. Liu Jing couldn't help but praise: "It's worthy of being the Tianshu Camp. I didn't even get a report saying that people had passed through the mountains to the west and south."

Yu Zigao smiled modestly and said, "Since Lord Liu has already attacked here, he should pay more attention to the east."

"...No wonder, you have lost so many talented fighters from the Beijing Camp!" Liu Jing had also been in the Beijing Camp before, and then he cursed, "Four hundred and sixty-seven brothers were killed? Damn it!"

I don't know who he is scolding.

Yu Zigao's expression was slightly gloomy, and then he said: "Therefore, we can't just sit there and watch the Jianzhou thieves escape. Whether it's for revenge for our brothers or for the sake of the court's plan, please make arrangements quickly, Lord Liu. Tianshu Camp has no choice but to defend the city, but surprise attacks are what Tianshu Camp is best at."

After a long circle around Yehe, the Tianshu Camp lost some men, but more were injured. In the battle of Hada City, less than 900 soldiers were left out of 1,200 capable of fighting, and half of them were disabled and could no longer fight. Yu Zigao had been holding back his anger for a long time.

Liu Jing stood up and thought for a moment: "From here to Hetuala, there are still seventy miles, and there are six forts along the way. You have seven days of military rations left..."

He looked at Yu Zigao and said, "If we take one fort a day, Nurhaci will be ready to run away. What will you two thousand people do?"

"So speed is of the essence in war." Yu Zigao shook his head. "Since that villain Nurhaci has established a country and proclaimed himself emperor, what prestige does he have if he doesn't even defend his so-called capital? If Lord Liu is determined, I will rush to Zaotu Mountain tonight and capture Erdao Fort tomorrow. Ten miles away, can the Jianzhou Jurchens sit idly by and watch the front-line defenders of Yagu Pass being cut off from their food supply? As long as the Tianshu Camp defeats the reinforcements again, Yagu Pass will advance at full speed and wipe out the isolated Jianzhou troops along the line first."

"Within seven days, Liu Hou will be unstoppable in the Suzi River Valley. The Jianzhou bandits will definitely withdraw their troops to support Hetuala. As long as the two armies reach the west and southwest of Hetuala respectively, and our Tianshu Camp gets supplies, we will not stop and go to the river valley east of Hetuala. The Tianshu Camp can travel dozens of miles a day and destroy the camp. If Nurhaci wants to escape, he can only go to the Babaogou area. Leave that place to our Tianshu Camp!"

Liu Jing looked at him and Zhang Shenwu and Wang Mingshi behind him, and said after a short while: "Okay! It seems that Governor Yuan has long been wary of the Jianzhou bandits imitating the Tartars and fleeing far away. In this case, while they are still trying to retake Sarhu and cut off our retreat, we should go straight to their lair again and see who will retreat first! Admiral Yu, you can go without worry, I will take down a fort tonight!"

Yu Zigao clasped his fists and said, "Okay! Lord Liu, we'll see you in Hetuala City!"

Liu Jing sent him away, knowing that Yuan Keli asked him to come in person to strengthen his confidence.

After all, ever since the Jianzhou Jurchens recaptured Jiefan Village, the mountains were blocked by heavy snow, and the last time the Ming army that entered the Suzi River received supplies was before the Chinese New Year.

The Ming army here has only enough food left to last less than twenty days.

Once the war starts again, we cannot save food and must let the soldiers eat more.

There is also the greater risk of stretching supply lines.

The Suzi River Valley was not wide, and was a shortcut that the Jianzhou Jurchens had focused their defenses on. They were closer, so supplies were easier to come by, and there wasn't much food stored in the forts, so there wasn't much room for fighting to support the war.

Now that Yuan Keli has asked Yu Zigao to go in person, it is to tell him that he does not need to worry about the safety of the grain route.

It seems that the Jianzhou Jurchens' initial disadvantage and indecision at Sarhu made Yuan Keli determined to counterattack, even though the weather conditions were not good enough.

After returning to the tent, Liu Jing waved his hand and said, "Eat, and organize the army! After eating, we will march. Within seven days, we will reach the outskirts of Hetuala City!"

(End of this chapter)