The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 88: Jiannu Invasion
September 11, the 47th year of the Wanli reign.

Tong Zhongkui, Qin Minping and Qin Bangping led 6,000 white-pole soldiers and finally arrived in Shenyang after several months of arduous journey and stationed in the north of Shenyang city.

September 16th.

Generals Chen Ce, Zhang Mingshi, Qi Jin and others led 7,000 Qi family troops to Liaodong and stationed east of Shenyang.

September 12th.

Nurhaci sent a letter to the Ming Dynasty in the name of the Later Jin Emperor.

The content is roughly as follows:

Within fifteen days, all Ming foreign troops must withdraw from Liaodong;
The Ming Dynasty must pay five million taels of silver as compensation to the Jin Dynasty;
The Ming Dynasty recognized the Great Jin as a brother country;

Ming must give up its control over Korea;

After receiving the letter, Xiong Tingbi sent someone to send the envoy's head and the letter from the Later Jin Dynasty back to the capital overnight.

He once again asked Wanli for help, requesting the court to send more food and money, and to increase the Liao salary to two million taels.

On September 30th, we learned that the Ming Dynasty refused to negotiate peace.

Nurhaci sent Dorgon and other young beile to guard Hetuala, while he personally led the Eight Banners Army south.

The Zhenyi army of 80,000 soldiers marched out of Fushun Pass in three groups. The Khorchin, Chaohua and other Mongolian tribes joined the crusade against the Ming Dynasty.

The Mongols had 10,000 cavalrymen and more than 30,000 bannermen, bringing the total strength of the Later Jin army to 120,000.

In fact, in the original history, it was from the eleventh year of Wanli to the forty-sixth year of Wanli.

During the 35 years, Nurhaci's power grew like a snowball.

He successively conquered and occupied the cities of Tulun, Sarhu, Zhaojia, and Barda.

Recruit the Hunhe, Dong'e, Huhe, Zhechen, Wanyan, and Yalu River tribes.

Before the Battle of Sarhu, Nurhaci's military strength had actually far surpassed that of the Yehe and Liaodong Ming armies.

There were 308 Manchu Niulu, 76 Mongolian Niulu, and 16 Han army Niulu in the Eight Banners Niulu, totaling 400 Niulu.

Theoretically, Jianzhou's military strength had reached 12.

Of course, most of the Niulu in the old slave era were probably not fully staffed.

If we calculate based on the 200 people per Niulu in the Huang Taiji era, the total number of Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers at that time was about .

Lao Nu used threats and bribes to coerce Zaisai, who led 15,000 cavalrymen, Nuantu, who led 5,000 cavalrymen, and other leaders of the Mongolian tribes to join him in conquering the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the "dispatching 100,000 Eight Banner soldiers to conquer the Ming Dynasty" in the 47th year of Wanli was not an exaggeration.

The emergence of Liu Zhaosun seriously deviated the trajectory of history.

The Later Jin completed the annexation of Yehe ahead of schedule, completed the integration of the Mongolian tribes ahead of schedule, and recruited and attracted more Han people as bondservants.

Therefore, the strength of the Later Jin Dynasty in this dimension is even stronger than in history.

For a rising ethnic regime, one or two defeats cannot completely curb its upward momentum.

The troops that Nurhaci actually controls now, including Yehe, Huifa, Mongolia, Liaobei... all added up to more than 150,000 people.

The old slave planned to send about 100,000 troops into the Liaoshen battlefield, and with thundering force, annex Liaodong in one fell swoop and crush Liu Zhaosun and other Ming foreign troops.

Between August and September, the Later Jin began to transport food and fodder to the Liaoshen battlefield.

Ox-cart carriages stretched from Hetuala all the way to Fushun Pass.

The journey was hundreds of miles long, with food carts coming and going continuously. Every day, bondservants were worked to death.

Liaozhen abandoned a large area of garrisons in Liaozhong and refused to take joint defense action with Liu Zhaosun.

Therefore, the Later Jin army could calmly occupy a large area around Liaoning and Shenyang, which ensured the safety of their food transportation.

Despite this, Nurhaci still dispatched ten Niulu armored soldiers from each banner and ambushed them on the road from Kaiyuan to Shenyang.

This was to prevent Liu Zhaosun from sending troops to cut off the army's food supply, and at the same time to further compress Kaiyuan's defense space.

Among the four great beiles, except Huang Taiji, the others all advocated attacking Shenyang.

Huang Taiji repeatedly persuaded the Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty to let Nurhaci mobilize heavy troops to attack Kaiyuan first, and take advantage of Liu Zhaosun's severe injury to destroy him in one fell swoop.

In order to convince his father Khan, Huang Taiji cited the stories of Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi in the Song Dynasty.

The Zhao brothers took the easy route at first and then the difficult, first the south and then the north, and unified the country, but in the end they lost the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.

Unexpectedly, Nurhaci replied coldly:

"Liu Zhaosun is not the Great Jin, I am! He is just a weak Song!"

The last bloody battle in Kaiyuan had left psychological trauma on all four flags. Except for Huang Taiji himself, no other flag leader supported opening the original plain first.

Later Jin scouts began to appear around Liaoning and Shenyang, continuously compressing the Liaoshen defense line.

The brave Yebushou in Liaozhen rushed out of the city and engaged in several fierce battles with the Later Jin scouts, with casualties on both sides. With the intervention of generals such as Ding Bi, this proactive attack was quickly stopped.

Tens of thousands of Liaozhen troops hid in the city, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

On September 20th, Liu Zhaosun sent Qin Jianxun, Yuan Chonghuan and Qiao Yiqi to Shenyang.

They will contact friendly forces in Shenyang and ask for some food supplies from the two guest troops. According to General Liu's plan, it would be best if reinforcements could arrive.

Before leaving, General Liu gave Qiao Yiqi instructions in person and told General Qiao the important secrets of Kaiyuan, including but not limited to troop deployment, food supply, number of war horses, water sources, and the location of the arsenal.

Liu Zhaosun reminded Master Qiao that once he arrived in Liaozhen, he must not tell these secrets to anyone.

"Don't worry, General Liu. I've always kept my mouth shut. If you don't believe me, you can ask Supervisor Kang."

Liu Zhaosun smiled and nodded, asked Qiao Yiqi to leave, and then summoned Qin Jianxun to meet alone.

Liu Zhaosun handed the prepared letter to the young general and instructed him to personally hand it over to his father Qin Minping when he arrived in Shenyang.

Qin Minping was a general of the White Spear Army. Historically, he and his brother Qin Bangping died in a bloody battle at Hunhe River.

Finally, Liu Zhaosun called Yuan Chonghuan and told him to boldly ask for food from the two foreign troops when he arrived in Shenyang without any hesitation.

After hearing this, Yuan Chonghuan looked embarrassed. Although he was very brave, it was really shocking to ask two powerful armies for food and money.

"General Liu, I'm afraid this isn't appropriate. It's fine if we don't support Shenyang, but we're asking them for money and food..."

Liu Zhaosun patted Yuan Chonghuan on the shoulder and encouraged his men:
"Don't be afraid. Just do as I say. Qiao Yiqi and Qi Jin are good friends. I have a close relationship with Xiong Jinglüe. Qin Jianxun is a former White Spear Soldier. Lord Xiong and the Qin brothers will make the decision for you."

"I'm at ease with you doing the work, go ahead."

Under the escort of a team of soldiers, the three envoys led a convoy towards Shenyang. These carriages were used to transport grain to Shenyang.

On September 23, Liu Zhaosun ordered the closure of all mines around Kaiyuan, the withdrawal of all miners, and the abandonment of some ores that could not be transported back in time.

On September 25, the Liao people rushed to harvest crops such as rice and sorghum. Liu Zhaosun ordered all the grain in the fields that were too far away to be burned and all the soldiers guarding the fields to be withdrawn.

Starting from September 27th, people were only allowed to enter Kaiyuan City but not leave.

On September 28, the envoys sent by Ligdan Khan finally arrived in Kaiyuan City after many hardships.

This short and stocky Mongolian with sallow skin stood in front of the moat at the north gate of Kaiyuan, looking at the carts of grain, timber and ore being transported into the city. He felt surprised and asked the military supervisor who received him about the military situation in Kaiyuan.

Kang Yingqian rode on a skinny mixed horse. All the good horses in Kaiyuan City were given to the cavalry, and these horses were left for the civil officials.

General Kang looked at the envoy of Ligdan Khan in front of him with a smile. Yesterday, General Liu specifically instructed that the Mongolian envoy should be treated well.

A dozen or so black-clad, burly Liao miners walked past the two men. The Mongolian envoy, Bu Shang'e, couldn't help but ask:
"On my way here, I heard that the miners in Kaiyuan are very fierce. Not only can they mine, but they can also fight against the Jiannu. Aren't your miners prisoners? How can you let them fight?"

Kang Yingqian smiled and asked Bu Shang'e to avoid the horse pit:

"They are not prisoners. They are all Liao people who followed General Liu. They are very loyal. If we give them weapons and armor, they can defeat Bayala."

"Oh."

Bu Shang'e nodded, followed Kang Yingqian on horseback through the corridor, and entered the Kaiyuan city wall. The two dismounted and continued walking.

"Hutuktu Khan sent me here to contact General Liu to launch a joint attack on the Jianzhou Jurchens. We would have 400,000 troops at the gates of Shenyang, ready to annihilate the Later Jin in one fell swoop. However, what I saw today was a retreat."

When Kang Yingqian heard about the 400,000-strong army, his lips trembled slightly.

Originally, according to history, it was not until the fall of Shenyang that Ligdan Khan sent 10,000 cavalry.

According to this descendant of Genghis Khan, the remaining troops were trapped by heavy snow and were still on the road.

In the end, Lin Danhan, who didn't even see the shadow of the Later Jin soldiers, extorted a considerable amount of silver from the Ming Dynasty.

"Kaiyuan's soldiers are in a fierce battle, and the city only has enough food to last a month. The imperial court has been in arrears with Kaiyuan's military pay of 300,000 taels. General Liu is willing but unable to reinforce Shenyang. Therefore, the soldiers and miners have been recalled. General Liu is also unable to participate in the battle of Shenyang, but you can tell Hu Dun Tu Han (Lin Danhan) that if there is a chance in the future, we can attack the Later Jin together. I hope to keep in touch."

Bushang opened his mouth wide and was speechless for a long time, because what he heard in Chahar was completely different from what the military supervisor had just said.

Temujin, the first Mongol Khan, once said: The greatest joy in life is to defeat the enemy, hunt down the enemy, seize his horses and everything he has, take the enemy's wives and daughters into your tent, and see them crying all day long.

General Liu, following the rules of the grassland people, put Temujin's famous words into practice. Not long ago, this Han Chinese suddenly robbed the Khorchin tribe and took away Manggus's granddaughter. Afterwards, the Khorchin people dared not retaliate. General Liu's heroic deeds caused a huge sensation among the various tribes on the grassland.

It was precisely because of this that the Khan had high hopes for this Han general. Moreover, it was said that this man had recently led the Ming army to kill three or four thousand Later Jin soldiers, making him one of the most capable generals of the Ming Dynasty.

This time, Hutuktu Khan led a large army to the east, hoping that General Liu could delay the Later Jin army in Shenyang. Then Hutuktu Khan could lead the warriors of the Golden Family to teach the traitors such as Khorchin and Kharachin a lesson.

If there is a chance, teach Nurhaci a lesson as well.

But now it seems that this Han general, who was highly expected, seems unwilling to participate in the battle against Liaoyang at all.

"Your Excellency, General Liu has sent people to Shenyang to ask for help, requesting food supplies from the two supporting armies, and perhaps even reinforcements. Your Excellency has made it here with great difficulty, so there is no need to leave in a hurry."

Kang Yingqian saw that Bu Shang'e was in a low mood, so he smiled and patted him on the shoulder:

"Your Excellency, tonight we will have a banquet with singing and dancing by beautiful Khorchin ladies!"

He pretended to be mysterious:
"General Liu will meet with you tonight. Don't worry, your trip won't be in vain."

(End of this chapter)