The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 437 Du Du's Hesitation

In mid-September of the first year of Wuding, the Eight Banners of the Qing Army and the Korean Western Expedition Army joined forces to complete control of the area around Shenyang.

The allied forces worked together to cut off the connection between Shenyang and Tieling, Kaiyuan and other cities. The Qi army retreated comprehensively and hid in the two cities of Shenyang and Fuzhou, and only sent a small number of cavalry towards southern Liaoning.

In order to defend the seaport of Chufuzhou, the few elite Qi troops fought several fierce and brutal cavalry battles with the Qing army's Bayala in central and southern Liaoning at all costs. Both sides suffered casualties and it was difficult to determine the outcome.

The main force of the coalition army was stationed at Shoubingtai Village, twenty miles west of Shenyang, where tens of thousands of troops remained motionless for five consecutive days. Du Du's attention was drawn to sporadic fighting in southern Liaoning. Due to the cautious nature of Jurchen hunters, the main force of the Eight Banners held off from launching a substantial attack on Shenyang until after the capture of Fuzhou.

Du Du transferred some cavalry to the south and continuously strengthened the Qing army's offensive in the direction of southern Liaoning. At this time, the flag owner Ai Erli was leading the main force of the Bordered Blue Banner to attack Fuzhou.

The other flags sent out Bayala scouts to kill the enemy cavalry who came out of the garrison south of Shenyang and tried to infiltrate reinforcements in the direction of Fuzhou.

The Korean soldiers, who moved slowly along the way, followed the Qing army for a bite to eat. They were best at robbing local households.

The main force of the Qi army huddled in the main city of Shenyang and the surrounding garrisons. Occasionally, a few cavalrymen would rush out from the garrisons to kill the lone Bayara or Korean soldiers. The Qing army, which had suffered losses, would immediately launch a retaliatory attack on the garrisons.

During this period, Du Du sent Fan Wencai as a special envoy twice to discuss the topic of marriage with the State of Qi.

Fan Wencai tirelessly discussed the details of the Qing Emperor's marriage to the Empress Dowager Cisi with Kang Yingqian and others. The two sides had a very good chat, and the conversation ranged from the amount of the betrothal gifts to the auspicious date.

It may be because Du Du was greedy for the beauty of Empress Cisi and thought that Shenyang was in his pocket and would be the dowry for Jin Yuji's remarriage, so he could not bear to attack suddenly.

It may also be that before Ellie captured Fuzhou, Du Du was unwilling to take the risk of fighting on two fronts. In short, on the Shenyang battlefield in late September, neither side had any intention of a final decisive battle, but the scouts were constantly conducting probing and small-scale battles on the periphery.

However, history took a major turn here.

During the ten days at the end of September in the first year of Wuding (1626), some subtle changes were taking place on the Liaodong battlefield. These changes not only affected the subsequent history of Qi State, but also had a profound impact on the future and destiny of Qing State, Korea, and even the distant Tsarist Russia.

Some keyboard warriors in later generations who claim to be well-versed in the early history of the empire like to express such sentiments in third-rate history forums:
If Dudu had not stopped Dorgon's cavalry corps at Shoubingtai Village (20 miles west of Shenyang) in the autumn of the first year of Wuding;
If Bayala, whom Oboi sent to Sakhalin Island to ask for help from the Cossacks, could have set off a week earlier;
If on September 25, Dudu allowed the artillery of the Zhenghong Banner and Wuzhenhachao to advance to the bank of the Hunhe River and immediately launch an attack on the north gate of Shenyang;
If Dudu had been able to interrupt his ridiculous plan of marrying Empress Dowager Cisheng in time on the eve of the decisive battle between Qing and Qi (referring to the Battle of Shenyang);

If Elli could give up the attack on Fuzhou before September 25th and withdraw all the cavalry of the Bordered Blue Banner to reinforce Shenyang...

If any of the above assumptions were true, the fate of the Qing Dynasty would have changed greatly, and the outcome of the Shenyang War would have been very different. Unfortunately, Dudu was too cautious and rejected Dorgon and...

~~~~~~
On September 25, Fan Wencai, Grand Secretary of the Secretariat of the Qing Dynasty, escaped from Shenyang's north gate at night as usual. He was quite familiar with the roads outside Shenyang, so he rode back to the central military tent in Shoubingtai Village in more than an hour.

Emperor Du Du, who had been waiting for a long time, was delighted to see the servant return. He put down the newspaper in his hand and said impatiently:
"Grand Master, how did the conversation go?"

Fan Wencai didn't even have time to drink a sip of water before he hurried to report the latest progress of the emperor's marriage to Du Du.

"Slave, slave..."

He quickly picked up the panting servant and yelled at him:
"Speak quickly!"

Fan Wencai is only forty years old this year, but he is already in very poor health. Unlike his deceased smart and capable brother Fan Wenchen, Fan Wencai has become overweight due to his long-term indulgence in women, and he easily gets out of breath when walking.

He traveled back and forth from Shenyang to Shoubingtai Village every day, and had to bargain with the group of Nikans from Qi State, which almost cost him his life.

"Reply, reply to the emperor, it's almost done. We are discussing the betrothal gift today."

Finally catching his breath, Fan Wencai embellished his account of the perils that befell him during his mission to Shenyang. He portrayed himself as the Zhang Qian of the Western Han Dynasty or the Ban Chao of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and how, with his eloquence, he had persuaded the Empress Dowager Cisheng and the officials of Qi to accept a friendly alliance with the Qing.

Seeing that Du Du was getting impatient, Fan Wencai took out a letter from his pocket. The envelope was coated with sealing wax and a seal with a peony pattern was inlaid on the sealing wax.

Du Du knew that it was Jin Yuji's personal seal.

"Hahaha, this is her seal, I remember it."

Du Du's heart was beating violently. He carefully picked up the envelope that was as thin as a cicada's wing, but it felt like he was holding half of the city of Shenyang.

"Master, be careful, the envelope is poisonous." Du Du was stunned for a moment, then said indifferently:
"That won't happen."

Before tearing open the envelope, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty gently sniffed the peony flower in the envelope. His pair of delicate and bright eyes shone under the oil lamp, and a few whiskers on his lower jaw trembled slightly with his breathing. A satisfied smile appeared on his face. Then he came to the candlelight, carefully opened the envelope, and held the letter paper filled with beautiful handwriting in his hands.

Fan Wencai was very anxious and eager to know what conditions Qi had put forward.

After Du Du read the letter from the Empress Dowager Cisheng over and over again, he stroked his beard and smiled:
"She said that according to Korean customs, she would demand seventy-seven fine horses, seven hundred and seventy dan of grain, and seven thousand seven hundred kilograms of timber as a betrothal gift, and only then would she leave the city to surrender and discuss marrying me."

Du Du glanced at Fan Wencai, who was standing next to him with a fawning smile on his face, and walked forward to bump into the bannerman's shoulder.

"You did a great job, Grand Secretary."

Fan Wencai was flattered. He knew that this was the Jurchen greeting etiquette, which was usually only used among masters.

"Master," Fan Wencai said worriedly.

"This Empress Dowager Cisheng must be treating our Qing Dynasty as fools, asking us to give them food and wood. Now it's October, and there must be a shortage of wood in the city..."

Du Du laughed and patted Fan Wencai on the shoulder.

"Grand Secretary, I know this is a delaying tactic, but we have sufficient food and supplies, and we have plenty of time. Don't be afraid. Let's play with Jin Yuji for a while. Once Fuzhou is captured, we can fully attack Shenyang."

"Will you return the 770 dan of grain?"

Du Du's face changed drastically, and he slapped Fan Wencai on the head, saying angrily:

"What are you going to give me? My Great Qing's grain is not just blown away by the wind! Tomorrow we will continue to go into the city and bargain with them. We can get seven out of seventy-seven horses. The maximum they can give is three hundred kilograms of wood, but no grain."

Fan Wencai was beaten and dared not speak.

Du Du picked up another newspaper, his face beaming with joy, his whiskers twitching happily:
"The Bordered Blue Banner is about to capture Fuzhou. Once their retreat is cut off, the Qi army in Shenyang will be like a rat in a water tank. I want to see what tricks Jin Yuji has up her sleeve."

"I heard of this man when I was in Sarhu, but you were not with me then."

Du Du talked incessantly to his brother Fan Wencheng about all the romantic affairs he knew about Empress Dowager Cisi.

Fan Wencai, who had just been beaten, tried hard to put on a gossipy expression that only middle-aged women in Hetuala could have, and listened patiently to his master chattering about the Korean woman.

"This Empress Dowager Cisheng, Jin Yuji, was the most beautiful woman in Seoul. During the Battle of Sarhu, the Korean governor, Jiang Hongli, encountered this woman in Seoul and tricked her into following him to Sarhu, saying that he would avenge her parents—who were accidentally killed by the old Khan in his early years—so he brought her to Kuandian. Out of nowhere, a man named Liu Zhaosun showed up. Liu Zhaosun was just a small-time captain at the time, a nobody, a mere servant of Liu Dadao. The Korean beauty fell in love with him and fled overnight..."

Du Du talked incessantly, as if by belittling Liu Zhaosun he could erase the past of his devotion to Kaiyuan and serving as a guard.

"Your Majesty, the Commander-in-Chief has requested an audience. He said he has military information to discuss."

The burly Aobai stood at the door, his tiger eyes gleaming brightly.

Du Du's smug look vanished, and as if he had suddenly swallowed a fly, he waved his hand impatiently: "Let him wait, I'm busy with military affairs!"

Oboi, like a bear, agreed once, and without any further expression, turned around and walked out.

Fan Wencai greeted and saw off the strongest master of the Zhenghuang Banner with a fawning look on his face as he left the tent.

Du Du was silent for a moment, then cursed:

"Every time he comes to see me, he says he has something important to tell me. It's nothing more than asking for money and food! Let him in!"

(End of this chapter)