The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 15 Changes in the sky
"Liaodong is about to change. Over the past twenty years, Li Chengliang and his sons have raised the Jiannu to this state. They've raised a tiger to cause trouble! This will bring disaster to our descendants!"

On March 6, the 47th year of the Wanli reign, at the beginning of the morning hour, at the Shajianzi camp, General Liu Jing looked at the Blue Banner troops all over the mountains in the distance, and couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.

Liu Zhaosun followed behind his adoptive father, and Pei Dahu and his servants guarded him on all sides. The servants held rattan shields and looked vigilantly in the direction of the Later Jin army, always on guard against sudden arrows.

Under the threat of the white-armored soldiers, the Ming army retreated continuously at night and was suppressed near its own camp. It was not impossible that a team of white-armored soldiers suddenly appeared and shot arrows to kill the general.

"Foster father, I wonder if Li Rubai is dead or alive now. Is Liao Zhen really going to watch him die without helping him?"

As a time traveler, Liu Zhaosun knew Liaozhen's final choice, but when he personally experienced this period of history, he still felt a little sentimental. Although the hope was slim, he still wanted to confirm whether Li Rubai really wanted to escape and abandon the southern soldiers.

Adoptive father Liu Jing stroked his beard gently. His gray beard became increasingly sparse, and the bun on his head looked like a bunch of dry grass. His head trembled uncontrollably when he spoke.

"Thirteen, I'm over sixty years old. When I was thirteen, I followed my father to pacify the chieftains. I've been fighting all my life. It's a blessing to die on the battlefield. I'm content to die here today, but..."

The old general looked at the young adopted son in front of him, and suddenly burst into tears with a sad expression.

Seeing this, Liu Zhaosun quickly advised:

"Foster father, don't say that. It's not like we don't have a chance of winning. I've already sent servants to contact the Yehe tribe. They should have already set out and will arrive in the next few days. The Yehe tribe's elite soldiers are brave and will surely defeat the enemy. I've also sworn an alliance with the Koreans..."

Liu Jing slowly raised his hand, signaling Liu Zhaosun to stop talking, with a look of fatigue unique to an elderly person on his face.

Twenty years have passed since I left Liaodong after the Imjin War.

When Liu Jing was conquering Korea, he had never met Nurhaci, and his knowledge of the chief's strength was limited to various rumors.

Before coming to Liaodong, Liu Jing's impression of the Jianzhou Jurchens was that they were just a small tribe that plundered and looted on the border of the empire.

It was not until Du Song suffered a crushing defeat and Ma Lin fled the day before yesterday, and Liu Jing witnessed the powerful force and might of the Bordered Blue Banner today, that he realized Nurhaci's true strength.

"Li Rubai won't come. Liaozhen is still hoping that all the southern troops will be wiped out. We can count on the Yehe tribe, but how long can we hold out?"

Liu Zhaosun felt that Liu Jing was too pessimistic, but as a time traveler, his grasp of historical details was certainly not as comprehensive as Liu Jing's. Whether the reinforcements that his adoptive father was worried about could arrive in time was the key to victory or defeat on the battlefield.

"Do you remember the song 'Binding the Barbarians' that Jiang Hongli sang before he died?"

"Remember, why did godfather say this?"

Liu Zhaosun was greatly surprised. Although his adoptive father had some knowledge of writing, he did not look like a Confucian general who wrote poetry and prose. He had no idea what his adoptive father was up to.

"At the border between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, there was a mixed population of Han Chinese and indigenous people. The local Han people's lifestyle and customs were similar to those of the Tubo people. A general, while campaigning against Tubo, passed through this area and captured a Han Chinese man, mistaking him for a Tubo man. This Han Chinese man later escaped and told others his story, which led to the creation of this poem."

When Liu Jing said this, his cloudy eyes suddenly brightened up and he looked at his adopted son with a sharp gaze.

"Do you really think there's only one Li Yongfang in Fushun?"

"what."

Liu Zhaosun was speechless. He never expected Liu Jing to say this. As a time traveler, he had not thought of this.

Liu Jing's ability to analyze the situation in Liaodong in this way is inseparable from his observations and experiences when he was leading the troops.

In the early years of the Wanli reign, the Toungoo Dynasty of Myanmar continued to expand, attracting the attention of the imperial court.

In Dali, Jinchi, Lin'an, Yuanjiang and other places in Yunnan, "the barbarians were fickle and the officials were constantly changing, so they couldn't get the hang of it." When Liu Jing led his troops to fight against the Burmese, he found that the local Han people were not interested in the distinction between Chinese and barbarians. Whether in terms of emotions or living habits, the local Han people were more inclined to the "barbarians" of the outside world, and were gradually drifting away from the articles, allusions, customs and etiquette of the central dynasty.

The sound of North Korean bird guns exploding came from the front of the Shajianzi position, crackling like firecrackers set off during the New Year.

Liu Zhaosun looked in the direction of the sound and saw a gray stream of people extending from the north. The mountains and plains were covered with Baoyi Aha, carrying bags of sand on their shoulders and backs, like a dense colony of ants, slowly walking towards the Ming army position.

Behind Baoyi Aha, the blue-bordered Zhenyi people wearing fine armor filled the path, extending all the way to the horizon.

At the end of the sky, a huge golden dragon banner was raised. Under the banner, several senior generals of the Bordered Blue Banner were looking towards the Ming army's position.

"Amin is here! All the Bordered Blue Banners are here!"

Liu Zhaosun murmured to himself that this was the first time he had seen such a large battle. The grand battle in the cold weapon era brought people a visual impact that could not be felt in later movies.

"Zhao Sun, what do you think are the chances of winning this battle?"

Liu Zhaosun didn't expect his adoptive father to ask this question. He looked at the dense crowd of Baoyi Ah Ha in the distance and held up five fingers:

"I should be 50% sure."

The night attack the day before had already destroyed the morale of the Bordered Blue Banner. In addition, the fortifications of the Shajianzi camp were strong enough.

The Ming army's troop deployment is also much more reasonable than in the original historical dimension. At least there will be no such low-level mistakes as smoke blocking the view.

After distributing soldiers' salaries, beheading Jiang Hongli, raiding the enemy camp at night, and providing burial and relief, this Ming army was no longer the muddle-headed army it once was.

At least those who participated in the night attack will fight to the end in the following battle.

Therefore, Liu Zhaosun's statement that there is a 50% chance of winning is considered relatively conservative.

"No chance of winning."

Liu Jing looked down the mountain. The Korean musketeers were firing freely, blasting at the Baoyi. "No chance of winning?"

Liu Zhaosun's eyes widened. He knew the outcome of the Battle of Sarhu. He believed that if he tried his best, he should be able to save his life.

The Ming-Myanmar War lasted for more than 50 years, from the 35th year of the Jiajing reign to the 34th year of the Wanli reign.

Liaodong and Yunnan are so similar, both of them are raising tigers to cause trouble, and both of them have local people colluding with barbarians.

"Liaodong is no longer the Liaodong of the imperial court. The Han people of Liaodong speak the barbarian language. On the surface, they appear to be the people of the Ming Dynasty, but in fact, they have been assimilated by the thieves."

Liu Zhaosun nodded slightly and listened to his adoptive father continue:

"Look at these bondservants down the mountain. Are they all being coerced by slaves?"

As a time traveler, Liu Zhaosun only saw national justice and ethnic conflicts. He did not understand the real situation of ordinary Han people in Liaodong during the late Ming Dynasty.

"This battle may be able to repel the Bordered Blue Banner, but it will be very difficult for the court to recover Liaodong."

Liu Zhaosun suddenly remembered Yuan Chonghuan's boast before the young emperor that he would pacify Liao within five years, and he could not help asking:
"Father, in your opinion, how many years will it take to recover Liao?"

Liu Jing was silent for a moment: "It must be ten years!"

Liu Zhaosun took a deep breath. The situation in Liaodong was far more dangerous than he had imagined. He comforted his adoptive father:
"Foster father, these important matters should be left to the officials of the six ministries to decide!"

Liu Jing looked at his adopted son with satisfaction, thinking that the boy had made great progress in the past few days and his military achievements in the future might be inferior to his own.

"Indeed, you should go to the cavalry camp and be careful of the slave bandits from flanking."

Liu Zhaosun said goodbye to his adoptive father, asked Pei Dahu to protect Liu Jing, and rode his horse to the left wing position of Shajianzi.

Around the Ming army camp, the densely packed Baoyi Aha were like chickens with their blood pumped up. They kept pouring sand into the trenches regardless of the Korean bird gun fire. The trenches of the Ming army's outer positions were filled up by these Baoyi at a speed visible to the naked eye.

There were about two to three thousand bondservants, most of whom were young and strong laborers. Liu Zhaosun could not see any trace of sadness on their faces, and many of them seemed quite excited.

Behind the Baoyi, the well-equipped and well-organized dead soldiers formed a square formation, waiting for the order to attack.

“This is the people’s war.”

Liu Zhaosun laughed coldly. The strong fighting power of the bondservants made him feel as if he was in another world.

Who is the righteous side?
He rode his horse to the left wing cavalry position that he was in charge of. When the cavalry saw General Liu coming, they all signaled to him.

"Master Thirteen, should we have the brothers go and kill them? These damn Tartars! They don't even recognize their ancestors!"

Liu Zhaosun looked at the Baoyi Aha who were busy carrying earth and rocks to fill the trench in the distance, shook his head at the angry cavalry under his command, and felt very complicated.

The classic story that the time traveler had originally expected, "the Han people in Liaodong were oppressed by the Later Jin Dynasty, the time traveler raised his arms and rebelled against Nurhaci, and the Baoyi Aha was liberated", did not happen.

Instead, the Ming Dynasty, which they represented, has now become the target of the revolution by the baoyis.

"Is the situation in Liaodong really going to change?"

Liu Zhaosun was in a low mood and waved his hand to stop the cavalry from moving.

Nurhaci was so powerful in Liaodong that it is impossible to say that he did not have the support of some Han people in Liaodong.

He really wanted to know what heinous things Emperor Wanli and his loyal ministers and generals had done in Liaodong that led so many Han people to voluntarily join the Later Jin and become Nurhaci's guides.

Just as Liu Zhaosun was daydreaming, a dull explosion was heard from the trench position, like thunder in the distance. Amidst the screams that did not sound like human voices, several guards who were eager to make a contribution fell to the ground and struggled. The guards around them were also affected by the explosion and rolled around on the ground with their heads in their hands.

Liu Zhaosun smiled coldly, knowing that it was the Baoyi who stepped on the landmine.

During the late Ming Dynasty, various types of landmines came into being. There were more than ten types of landmines used by the Ming army, which were classified according to the detonation method, including incendiary, pull-triggered, trip-triggered, and machine-triggered.

In addition to single-shot grenades, there are also so-called cluster grenades.

However, the most famous one is the steel wheel flint ignition device "steel wheel ignition" made by Qi Jiguang when he was guarding Jizhou in the eighth year of Wanli.

This type of mine has a transmission mechanism installed in the receiver. When the enemy steps on the trigger, the falling stone in the receiver falls, driving the steel wheel to rotate, which causes rapid friction with the flint to ignite and detonate the mine.

Steel wheel ignition greatly improves the accuracy and reliability of mine ignition timing, but due to its high cost and complicated manufacturing, it has not been widely promoted.

The Eastern Route Army carried traditional incendiary mines this time, which were similar in shape to the Wan Ren Di, but much larger in size.

The mines were originally laid to target the Jiannu and Zhenyi people, but no one expected that Amin could mobilize thousands of baoyi to fill the trenches. Liu Zhaosun began to re-evaluate the human resources of the Later Jin.

During the Wanli reign, Liaodong underwent tremendous changes, and the Han people became alienated from the government. All these things were certainly beyond the imagination of the southern soldiers who were thousands of miles away.

The trench-filling team was in a panic for a while, but soon calmed down. As they got closer to the Shajianzi camp, the baoyi soldiers suffered more and more attacks. The Korean gunners were not in any threat and could shoot calmly. Amid the crackling sound of muskets, baoyi soldiers were hit by lead bullets from time to time, and the casualties of the trench-filling team began to increase.

The French cannons placed on the mountainside remained silent. According to the previously formulated battle plan, these precious artillery pieces had to wait until the Zhenyi soldiers entered the firing range before they could start firing. There was no need to waste shells to deal with these Baoyi Ah Ha.

(End of this chapter)