The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 264: Jackal Doomsday
On November 21st of the first year of Chongzhen, in the east of Ningyuan City, in the second hall of the governor's residence.

Wang Zaijin, the governor of Liaodong, sat at the head of a group of military generals, followed in order by the eunuch Liu Yingkun, the military supervisor, Tao Wen, Zu Dashou, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan, Wang Zhenyuan, the lieutenant general of Xuanfu Town, Chen Guowei, the deputy commander-in-chief of Shaanxi Town, Wu Zimian, the lieutenant general of Yansui Town, You Shiwei, the lieutenant general of Ningxia Town, He Kegang, the garrison commander of Shanhaiguan, and other generals from the nine frontiers and Liaoxi.

The seat below was vacant, originally belonging to General Man Gui of Jizhou. Jizhen had sent 8,000 troops to aid Liaoxi, determined to quell the Liu rebels. Unfortunately, General Man had suddenly succumbed to a cold two weeks ago and was on the verge of death. He had to hurriedly return to Jizhou, leaving his seat vacant.

This time, in order to quell the rebellion in Liaodong, the elite troops from the nine borders gathered in Liaoxi.

The generals and lieutenant generals originally wanted to deal a thundering blow to the rebels, defeat Liu Ze, the thief at the foot of Guangning City, push him back to Liaodong, sweep the holes and plunder the court, attack the cities in Liaodong, and rob him of all his wealth.

The military leaders in the border towns have been engaged in smuggling for many years. They know that Liaodong has a developed business, abundant wealth and riches, which is far beyond the reach of the poor border towns such as Xuanda and Shaanxi. Everyone is coveting Liaodong.

With 40,000 elite border troops, the support of the court's food and wages, and Zu Dashou's tens of thousands of Liaoxi troops as the vanguard, it should be no problem to deal with the mere Liu thief.

Unexpectedly, Liu Zhaosun mobilized more than 400,000 foreign Liao people, showing an attitude of decisive battle, and marched towards Ningyuan in a mighty force.

The final result was that the border troops not only failed to push back to Liaodong, but were pushed all the way to Ningyuan by the Kaiyuan army and were trapped there.

Fortunately, after several days of bloody fighting, Ningyuan was impregnable and the main city was intact. Only Juehua Island lost some sailors and food, and the main general was captured.

The army's food and fodder were stored in Ningyuan City. Zhao Lushi was from Liaozhen and had no connections with the guest army. No one cared about his life or death.

The day before yesterday, the Kaiyuan army attacked the city and suffered a crushing defeat, with nearly 10,000 casualties. Yesterday, Liu Bei prepared his troops and was probably about to launch a larger-scale attack.

The generals in the room each had their own ulterior motives. The conflict between the guest army and Liaozhen was long-standing, needless to say.

In the past few days of defending the city, it was basically the Zu family army and other Liaozhen troops who were in the front line. The guest army just watched coldly most of the time. Occasionally, when they were urged to do so, they would only send auxiliary troops to the top of the city to make up the number of Liaozhen troops.

It should be noted that standing still like a mountain is a long-standing tradition in Liaozhen.

It was only a few years ago that Li Rubai did not send a single soldier to rescue Du Song and Liu Jing at Sarhu, and watched them be defeated.

Not to mention the bloody battle at Hunhe later, where the White Spear Soldiers and Zhejiang Soldiers were stabbed in the back by Ding Bi and were eventually wiped out.

The guest army has memory.

Since Liaozhen can harm others in this way, treating Liaozhen like this today can be considered as repaying kindness.

Anyway, Liu Zhaosun said that he would only kill Zu Dashou.

Wang Zai Jin wore a first-rank civil official uniform with a crane patch and an ordinary black gauze hat on his head. The wound on his left arm was roughly bandaged with a white cloth, which further showed his decisive temperament.

He was very thin in figure and face. Although he was over sixty years old, his eyes were very clear and bright.

Wang Zaijun waved his hand to call the flag officer to roll the roll. The surroundings suddenly became quiet. As the names were called one by one, the generals answered one after another.

After the flag officer finished counting and reported that everyone had arrived, Wang Zaijin glanced at the officers in the room with a dignified look, straightened up and said:
"The traitor Liu, harboring the heart of a wolf, has wreaked havoc in Liaodong for three years, leaving no fewer than a million civilians dead or fleeing. Who is Liu Zhaosun? He murdered his father and rebelled against his emperor, a tyrant by nature. He abandoned China and willingly associated with the barbarians. He betrayed the emperor's grace and harmed lives. He is guilty of the ten unforgivable crimes! He is worse than a beast! Now he is roaming in western Liaoning, occupying Guangning and slaughtering Jinzhou. He is holding the Liao people captive and making them slaves of the barbarians. He is like an ant attacking a city, destroying lives! Looking at all the great traitors and evildoers throughout history, there is none like the traitor Liu!"

Wang Zaijin threw the teacup to the ground and cursed loudly:
"As long as the traitor Liu is not dead, the Ming Dynasty will not be at peace! You all bear the emperor's grace and are earnestly expected by the people. You must be sworn enemies! Ningyuan has held out for four days, and the traitor Liu has suffered repeated setbacks and is showing signs of decline! Everyone, it's time to make achievements and serve the court!"

All the generals and officers in the hall fell silent, and everyone looked down at their official boots.

Everyone admired this high-spirited general. Wang Zai Jin not only asked the court for a large amount of food and supplies, but also put on armor and went to the city wall to command the defenders to fight. He was not comparable to an ordinary civil servant.

However, admiration is admiration, but asking everyone to go outside the city and fight to the death with hundreds of thousands of Kaiyuan troops is definitely not an option.

We all came all the way to western Liaoning, but didn't get anything out of it. Isn't that inappropriate?

And if we have to fight hard, Liaozhen should be the first to fight.

The Zu family has deep roots in western Liaoning. Now Ningyuan is surrounded and not even a sparrow can fly in. Zu Dashou is not in a hurry, so why should the guest troops be in a hurry?

Wang Zhenyuan, Wu Zimian and other generals exchanged glances quickly, without saying a word, and looked at Zu Dashou who was sitting next to Wang Zaijin.

Wang Zaijin pretended not to see it and coughed twice. The eunuch Liu Yingkun, who was sitting next to him, smiled and said:

"My fellow generals, allow me to add a few words. The emperor has dispatched you thousands of miles to aid Liao and has given you sufficient food and wages so that everyone can work together to kill the enemy! Together we will destroy Liu Zhaosun. Wang Jinglüe has made it clear just now that the enemy Liu is now at the end of his strength. Attacking now is a good opportunity for you to make achievements. Although the emperor has just ascended the throne, he cannot tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes. I can see who among you is a loyal minister and a good general. You can see it in western Liaoning, and the emperor can see it in the capital as well." When the generals heard this, they were all shocked and groaned. The military supervisor said this, and it was obvious that he wanted to force everyone to fight.

Everyone's eyes fell on Zu Dashou.

Zu Dashou couldn't escape, so he stood up and bowed, saying:
"Sir Wang, may I ask when the reinforcements from Shanhaiguan will arrive? I heard that the Shenji Camp has received a new batch of firearms. Without them, I'm afraid we'll suffer heavy casualties in our siege against the thief Liu."

Zu Dabi also stood up and said:
"The Shenji Camp's firearms are powerful and essential for defending the city. I think it's better to wait..."

Wang Zaijin glanced at the two of them coldly, interrupted Zu Dabi, and said without question:
"Opportunities are rare and will never come again. Even without firearms, we must attack Liu the thief."

Ning County Commander You Shiwei was quick to sense Wang Jinglue's intentions and said sarcastically:
"General Zu, don't you know that Ningyuan has no reinforcements and the road to Shanhaiguan has long been cut off by the rebels? Could it be that you in Liaozhen are waiting for the Divine Fire Crow? I heard that thing is very powerful in defending the city, and when it flies up, it will only attack our own people. Hahahaha!"

The generals in the hall laughed when they heard this.

Zu Dashou's face turned red, his veins bulged, and the scar on his forehead trembled slightly, but he forced himself to hold back and not have an outburst.

In the past, he would have been furious and punched You Shiwei in the face.

However, Liaozhen's power is no longer what it used to be. Liu Zhaosun took half a month to turn western Liaoning upside down. He occupied Jinzhou, Guangning, Fuzhou, Gaizhou, and all the famous cities.

The power of the Zu family has plummeted, and now they can only rely on these arrogant and domineering foreign troops and obey their orders to keep Liaoxi.

The guards of the Standard Battalion stood far away at the entrance of the hall, looking into the hall from time to time.

Another eunuch came out to smooth things over:

"Generals, all of you have served your country in no particular order. It would be better for us to make a plan early on and decide when to defeat the Liu rebels. This way, we can send a victory report to His Majesty."

You Shiwei and others looked at Zu Dashou again.

Wang Zai Jin smiled awkwardly and then looked at Zu Dashou.

"In that case, then please..."

Before he could finish his words, he heard the standard-bearer's scolding coming from the door. The generals looked towards the door and saw a sentry from the Zu family pushing the standard-bearer, clamoring to enter.

Wang Zai Jin was somewhat displeased. He glared at Zu Dashou and waved his hand to let the scout horse in.

The Liaozhen sentry pushed aside the standard-bearer at the door, rushed into the hall, knelt down before the superiors, and shouted:
"My Lords! Liu Zhaosun is dead! Killed by our ambushed musketeers! The Kaiyuan troops have retreated!"

There was an uproar in the room.

Zu Dashou quickly stepped forward and asked carefully. The scout said excitedly:

"Last night, the bandit Liu suddenly set up a tent by the moat. The commander of the musket battalion suspected that a bandit leader might come to listen for the sound of the flute, so he arranged for a team of musket soldiers to lie in ambush at the battlements. When the lights in the opposite tent were lit, we fired our muskets simultaneously. Someone in the tent collapsed, and chaos ensued below the city walls, with many people crying."

"Just half an hour ago, I saw with my own eyes that the Kaiyuan soldiers who crossed the river last night have gradually withdrawn to the west bank. Construction on the west gate's earthen wall has also stopped. Armor and food are scattered around the city walls. They haven't even taken their flags with them..."

Before Shaoma could finish his words, cheers from the defenders were heard outside the courtyard wall.

The generals were all delighted and began to whisper to each other.

Suddenly, the captain of the standard-bearing troops under Wang Zaijin hurried into the living room. Without looking at the generals, he came to the side of the general with great joy and whispered a few words in his ear.

Before Wang Zai Jin could finish his words, his sparse beard began to tremble.

He quickly pushed away his chair, took two steps forward, and knelt three times in the direction of Xi'an Normal University.

"God bless the Ming Dynasty! God bless the Ming Dynasty! It's the end of the jackal. Liu Zhaosun, the jackal, finally died today."

"Hurry up and chase him! Don't let Liu Ze escape back to Liaodong!"

(End of this chapter)