Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 524 Nurhaci's Fury

"Oh, please do me a favor!" He Shixian bowed and said, "There won't be a next time. Isn't it okay if I don't go out?"

"Of course." Sun Chuanting refused to accept He Shixian's excessive compliment and immediately bowed in return. "But I still won't hide it for you. That wouldn't be helping you, it would be harming you."

"Then you might as well impeach me!" The old man threw in the towel. "Tell the Emperor to dismiss me from office and remove me from my post!" He yelled, almost rolling on the ground.

"That's not the case. After all, Shenyang hasn't been lost yet. Alas," Sun Chuanting sighed softly and said quietly, "If Shenyang were lost, it wouldn't be me who would impeach you. If that happened, I would live and die with you, which would be considered as my recompense for my dereliction of duty."

"Is it necessary to say it so seriously?" He Shixian felt a warm feeling in his heart.

"This is the total ledger from the Experience Department," Sun Chuanting handed over the booklet. "Including those who died from the serious injuries, another 674 lives were lost in and around Shenyang today." As Sun Chuanting handed over the booklet, a personal guard holding a torch immediately approached.

He Shixian's expression changed slightly when he heard the death toll, but that was all. Although He Shixian was not a believer in the saying "one general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers", he was also a ruthless person who did not care about his own life, nor the lives of others.

He took the booklet without opening it. "You've read it all."

"I've seen it." Sun Chuanting nodded.

"Then I won't read it." He Shixian actually handed the booklet back to Sun Chuanting.

"You are the commander-in-chief!" Sun Chuanting seemed to have thought of something and stared at He Shixian in surprise. "You haven't looked at the previous account books either, have you?"

"I can't say I didn't see it, but it wasn't much to see," He Shixian patted Sun Chuanting's shoulder with his bloodied hand. "You know, I've never been fond of paperwork. I'm relieved to have you around." He Shixian cared more about how many Ming soldiers had been killed than how many they had lost. If possible, he would have given Sun Chuanting full authority over Shenyang's defense and then taken his most elite cavalry out to kill the enemy.

Sun Chuanting was so annoyed by the old man that he lost his temper. He frowned and asked with a sigh, "He Zhenshuai, did you hear that?"

"What did you hear?" He Shixian was puzzled.

"Of course it's the sound of digging!" Sun Chuanting pointed to the northeast. "Today during the day, the bandits are still digging and filling the trenches. The offensive is more intense than ever! Yang Shoubei led his men to counterattack, but was shot down by a hidden arrow, and the soldiers who followed him immediately collapsed. If it weren't for Captain Liu's timely intervention to stabilize the morale, I'm afraid they would have opened the city gate and sent in fresh troops to seize the position. This is the first time that the defenders of Shenyang have fought such a tragic battle. Military morale is very important. If you die outside, morale will collapse. I beg you, stay in the city and command the troops, don't go out and grab a few heads! If you really can't spare any time, go out and dig the ground with them!"

The Jin army's method of attacking the city was very simple and violent. They would advance with shield carts, then engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Ming army defending the field, fight their way out of a clearing, and then dig earth to fill the trenches and continue advancing.

Today, the Jin army's offensive was exceptionally fierce. Using this method, they had filled five trenches in the northeast corner of Shenyang, creating a path wide enough for four horses to run side by side. If the Jin army could use this method to fill five more narrow trenches and advance below the moat, they could deploy ladders and begin attacking the city walls. Sun Chuanting couldn't just stand by and watch them continue filling, so, as usual, he assigned soldiers specifically responsible for restoration work to work through the night. These soldiers needed to dig out the soil from the trenches before sunrise.

"Is it appropriate for me to dig the soil?" He Shixian didn't want to fight with the mud.

"Then it makes sense for you to wear someone else's armor and sneak out of the city to fight?" Sun Chuanting seized the opportunity and brought the subject back to He Shixian.

"Okay, okay, I won't leave the city." He Shixian surrendered, but still not convinced. "I'll just stay in the city like a coward with you, a nagging fellow, okay?"

"I hope you can do what you say." Sun Chuanting sighed again.

He Shixian had no idea that the trick he'd used to conceal his whereabouts from Sun Chuanting would actually save his life. As Sun Chuanting ascended a height to observe the skirmish between the two armies, a cold gaze from atop a Ming fortress occupied by the Jin army silently observed everything on the battlefield. As soon as He Shixian's gleaming, custom-made armor appeared, a force of elite Jin cavalry, many times his size, would surge forward to surround and kill him.

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At about the same time, in the Jin army’s Khan’s tent opposite Shenyang City, the Jin army’s commander, Nurhaci, the Great Jin Tianming Khan, was also listening to today’s casualty report.

The person in charge of counting the casualties of each banner was Irgen Jueluo Bayartu, the commander of the Plain Yellow Banner Cavalry. At this moment, he was kneeling in the center of an open space illuminated by four torches, holding a roll of casualty ledger written in the newly-written Manchu script.

"Your Majesty," Bayartu said, unable to make out the words on the ledger in the dim flame of the torch, but he had memorized what needed to be reported and could recite it directly: "The Bordered Red Banner reports 321 killed and 354 wounded. Jala Ezhen Dong'e Sunzabaqiyan was killed in action, and Niulu Ezhen Dong'e Sunjiaqin was hit by Ming army muskets and died of his injuries after returning to camp. The Plain Red Banner reports 233 killed and 196 wounded, and Niulu Ezhen Wuerkun was killed in action. The bodies of Dong'e Sunzabaqiyan and Wuerkun were both recovered intact, and the Ming army spared their heads."

The main forces attacking the city today were the Zhenghong Banner, commanded by the great prince Daishan, and the Xianghong Banner, commanded by the brothers Shuotuo and Yuetuo. The Xianghong Banner focused on attacking Yongning Gate, which faced the Jin army's main camp, while the Zhenghong Banner assisted in attacking Anding Gate in the north and Baoan Gate in the south.

Nurhaci closed his eyes, as if he was resting. After a long time, he waved to the attendant Nianhulu Qierge beside him.

Niuhulu Qierge was the third son of Niuhulu Eyidu and the son of Nurhaci's third sister. In other words, Qierge was Nurhaci's nephew.

Although he didn't look directly at Nurhaci, Qierge's attention was always on his uncle Nurhaci. Seeing Nurhaci wave his hand, he immediately stepped forward, took the casualty ledger from Bayartu's hand, and placed it on the table in front of Nurhaci.

"What about those who are seriously incurable?" Nurhaci spoke without opening his eyes.

"Reporting to the Khan," Bayartu concentrated all his energy, trying his best to keep his breathing steady and his voice slow, but the trembling between his words still betrayed his inner anxiety. "If we add those who were seriously injured in the past and have passed away today, the total number of deaths today is 768." The two armies had been fighting for ten days, and the Jin army had been attacking the city for seven days, but the two red flags had only been attacking for the last two days. Before that, it had been the white and yellow flags that had been attacking alternately. Therefore, the additional 214 deaths were not entirely from the two red flags. Or rather, most of them were not from the two red flags.

"Hiss!" Nurhaci took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

Qierge knew that his uncle was extremely angry. He quickly took a few steps to the side, as if he was afraid of being seen by Nurhaci.

"Go out." Nurhaci opened his eyes and his tone was still as calm as ever.

"Yes." Irgen Jueluo Bayartu felt relieved and immediately kowtowed and stood up.

"Bayatu." Just when Irgen Jueluo Bayartu was about to touch the curtain of the Khan's tent, Nurhaci's cold voice came to his ears again.

"I'm here!" Bayartu quickly turned around and knelt down.

"Go and call Daishan and Yuetuo to me immediately." The leaping orange-red flames reflected on Nurhaci's dark pupils, but could not warm his tone which was as cold as ice.

"Yes! I'll go right away!" After another kowtow, Bayartu crawled out of the Khan's tent.

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When Dabeilu Daishan ran to the Khan's tent, his eldest son, Yuetuo, the leader of the Bordered Red Banner who had taken away half of his power, was already kneeling before Nurhaci's desk. Beside Nurhaci, Niuhulu Qierge stood with his head bowed in fear.

Nurhaci didn't utter a single word during the nearly half-hour he waited for Daishan and Yuetuo to arrive. The only sound in the tent was the old Khan's breathing. The unsteady, rapid contraction and relaxation of his breathing made Cherge feel as if a ferocious, dragon-like beast was brewing a devouring rage beside him.

"Daishan kowtows to the Khan!" Daishan, feeling uneasy, walked to Yuetuo and kowtowed to his father Khan.

Nurhaci did not ask Daishan to get up.

Boom, boom
In a trance, Qierge thought he heard Daishan's heartbeat. But it was actually Nurhaci using his rough, calloused fingertips to heavily tap the crooked Manchu characters on the ledger.

"Five hundred and fifty-four people," Nurhaci said almost word by word, "Tell me, what did you and your sons get in exchange for these five hundred and fifty-four lives?"

Daishan was mentally formulating his defense, but he wasn't in a rush to speak. For the past two days, his Zhenghong Banner had only been assisting the offensive on the north and south wings. Even if he was responsible, it was only secondary.

Yuetuo glanced at his father secretly. Seeing that the hateful old man didn't seem to want to speak, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and kowtow to Nurhaci and said, "Replying to the Khan, we have filled five trenches in a row under the fierce artillery fire of the Ming army. The dirt road we filled is enough for ladders and shield carts to advance in parallel. As long as we fill four more trenches, we can rush up the city wall and hit the Ming army fiercely."

"Asshole!" Nurhaci shouted angrily, interrupting Yuetuo. "Will the Ming army let you continue filling the sixth trench tomorrow morning?"

"Great Khan!" Yue Tuo hurriedly defended himself, "The method of filling the trenches is effective. Those weaklings can only rely on fortifications to put up a stubborn resistance! Without the artillery support from the city walls, the Ming army would have been crushed by us long ago. Today, although my Red Banner failed to fill all the Ming trenches, we have filled five of them. If we can allow the warriors of the Yellow and White Banners to take advantage of the gaps and launch a fierce attack, we will definitely be able to capture Shenyang!"

"Bullshit!" Nurhaci was furious. "Without the yellow and white flags on the left and right sides, how can you attack the city with peace of mind?" Nurhaci suddenly felt that it was a mistake to let Yuetuo take away the Red Banner.

"Please calm down, Great Khan!" Daishan suddenly interrupted, "After all, this is Yuetuo's first time sitting in the central military tent."

"I can't calm down!" These words were like adding fuel to the fire, making Nurhaci even angrier. Before Daishan and his son came, Nurhaci had already dispersed those people who were not very close to him. So at this moment, he no longer tried to pretend to be a calm and composed hero. He slammed the table and stood up suddenly, like an old madman with hysteria, pouring out his anger crazily: "Fill the trenches, fill the trenches, all you do all day is fill the trenches. Ten days of camping, seven days of siege, and we haven't even touched the corner of Shenyang! Incompetent trash! All incompetent trash!"

Despite knowing the anger wasn't directed at him, Qierge knelt down and gradually retreated into the dark shadows. Qierge had witnessed Nurhaci's anger more than once and knew his uncle was not one to control his emotions. In a rage, regardless of responsibility, if Nurhaci targeted them, they would likely be brought up. While kowtow and admitting guilt might appease the old man, it was best to avoid being targeted.

"Great Khan, the two Red Banners only attacked today and yesterday. The day before yesterday, it was Dudu's Bordered White Banner." Yuetuo was young after all, and he didn't quite understand Nurhaci's beastly temper. Now he was still trying to make excuses. Sure enough, before Yuetuo could finish his words, Nurhaci circled in front of him and kicked his grandson to the ground. "Asshole! You dare to quibble! Over a thousand people died in two days, and you still think you're right?"

"Not a thousand people!" Yuetuo dared to argue, "In two days, only more than 700 people of my Bordered Red Banner died!" Yuetuo did not understand what Nurhaci meant. When he said "more than a thousand people", he was referring to the two red flags.

"That's it?!" Nurhaci's rage was about to soar to the sky. "Say it again, say it again!"

"Grandfather! What I said is true. Even including those who died from the serious injuries, only 722 people of the Bordered Red Banner have died so far." Yue Tuo felt very aggrieved. To show his bravery to his grandfather, Yue Tuo even went to the scene to command the battle, almost braving the Ming army's artillery fire to fight in the trenches.

At this point, Daishan added quietly, "If you don't count the baoyi aha and Tatar refugees who assisted in the siege, the number would certainly be less than a thousand." Daishan understood Nurhaci's meaning, but wisely pretended not to understand. This completely diverted the anger towards Yuetuo.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the two Red Flags suffered only 554 casualties throughout the day, with the number of minor and serious wounded even five fewer than the number of dead. This is a respectable figure achieved without counting the slaves and Tatar refugees who were driven to assist in the siege. If we also include these "humans and livestock," whom the Jurchen nobles considered no different than livestock, the Jin army's casualties would have been two to three times that of the Ming army.

(End of this chapter)