Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 530: Tactical Victory, Strategic Failure
"You have far-sightedness in your management." Liu Qu bowed and praised.

Xiong Tingbi waved his hand slightly and asked Chen Ce, "How is the defense line?"

"Don't worry, General. The front line is under full martial law," Chen Ce was very confident in the defense line under his feet. "The reserve troops will be assembled within a quarter of an hour. Even if the enemy attacks with siege equipment, they will never be able to break through our formation." Chen Ce also had several independent sources of intelligence. Being on the front line, he received the report of the Jin army's massive attack even earlier than Xiong Tingbi.

"Xiong Jinglie." Gao Bangzuo, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

"What does General Gao think?" Xiong Tingbi turned around.

"I wonder if this is another case of seduction and provocation, but in reverse?" said Gao Bangzuo.

"The other way around?" Xiong Tingbi didn't quite understand for a moment.

"Attack me and lure Shen." Gao Bangzuo said.

"You mean," Xiong Tingbi said after a moment's hesitation, "that the enemy wants to make a show of attacking us by fleeing south, so as to lure Shen Zhen out of the city to rescue us?"

"That's exactly what I mean!" Gao Bangzuo nodded heavily, thinking as he spoke: "Xiong Jinglue, generals. The enemy camp has at least 40,000 elite cavalry. Now, without even siege equipment, they've only sent over 10,000 cavalry to our front. This is definitely not an attempt to storm the camp. If, as General Liu said, I want to make a feint to the east and attack the west, I should have crossed the river and feinted, pretending to 'make a feint to the east'. But these enemy cavalry are now all gathered on the other side of the river, not pretending at all, and clearly have other intentions. If Shen Zhen rushes out of the city to rescue because of the enemy cavalry heading straight for our camp, I will send another large army to form a double encirclement with this army, consuming Shen Zhen's reinforcements in one fell swoop, and even taking advantage of the collapse to capture the city and take Shenyang in one fell swoop."

"Encircle from both sides?" Xiong Tingbi listened carefully, his face thoughtful. "Old Wild Boar Skin, aren't you afraid of being surrounded from both sides by our army? Nurhaci is a very cunning wild boar."

"Our reinforcements will take time," Gao Bangzuo pointed at the three pontoon bridges from the embrasures. "If the enemy can just detach some of their cavalry to defend the bridges, they can significantly hinder our crossing. Furthermore, the Shenyang garrison is primarily infantry, with only two cavalry battalions in the city: those under General He and those under Deputy General You. These two battalions each have three divisions, but combined they only have less than 7,000 men. Even if the enemy withdraws 10,000 troops, they still have at least 30,000 elite cavalry available. Furthermore, the enemy is attacking the unprepared with preparedness. Even if our army were to act according to the situation, it would only be a temporary solution, and certainly not as organized as the enemy. In short, it would be easier for the enemy to attack the Shenyang army from both sides than for our army and the Shenyang army to pincer them."

"What do you think?" Xiong Tingbi looked at the generals.

"If this is what the enemy really intends, then we should at least find a way to rescue them," Zhang Shenwu said immediately.

Gao Bangzuo then said, "If our army sends troops to rescue and the river is blocked, the enemy may send troops to attack us, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the encroachment on Shen's army to devour our army!"

"As long as," Chen Ce turned and patted the thick, black barrel of the heavy artillery, "as long as we are determined to bombard the pontoon bridges, the enemy will never be able to attack us. We have already tested it with the cannons. A three-gun salvo will definitely destroy the pontoon bridges. At most, it will take a quarter of an hour to knock all three pontoon bridges into the river."

"It's nothing more than a willingness to die," Zhang Shenwu understood Chen Ce's implication. "I'm willing to lead the troops there myself!"

"Even if they dare to die, it's hard to save them," Liu Qu turned and looked at the Jin army. "The bandits are now close. Whoever crosses the river will be in a passive position."

"I don't think it's necessary," Liang Zhongshan interjected. "Judge Zhang and Commander Liu are right. Sending reinforcements now would easily cause the pontoon bridge to become blocked, making it impossible to cross. Furthermore, General Xiong's strategy has always been to concentrate and hold. The Shenyang troops are well aware of our situation and may not even come. Even if Commander He and his men really do as the thieves imagine, and come to support us simply because of the cavalry deployment, we only need to find a way to stop the Shen army from getting close before they break through."

"How to stop it?" Zhang Shenwu asked.

"Send out smoke signals, light fireworks, and have a few brave cavalry units circle around to the rear and wade across the river." Liang Zhongshan then declared, "I'm willing to personally lead the troops across the river, take the risk, persuade the Shen army to return, and notify Shenyang."

"That's it." Xiong Tingbi nodded, "Liu Zhenshuai."

"Here!" Liu Qu immediately clasped his fists and waited for orders.

Xiong Tingbi ordered: "I want you to take two thousand cavalry and form a formation in front of the pontoon bridge immediately to intimidate the slave soldiers." At most, only three thousand people could be deployed near the pontoon bridge. If there were more, they would not be able to form a formation.

"Yes." Liu Qu took the order and left.

"Deputy General Liang." Xiong Tingbi looked at Liang Zhongshan.

"Here!" Liang Zhongshan bowed his head and clasped his fists.

"As you said just now, send people across the river immediately. Regardless of whether Shenyang sends reinforcements or not, send someone to notify the city and let the remaining generals defend the city first and not lose it carelessly!" Xiong Tingbi ordered.

"I can go by myself." Liang Zhongshan said sincerely.

"Hmm," Xiong Tingbi hesitated. "If you insist on putting yourself in danger, I won't force you. But before that, I order you to change your armor. Yours is too conspicuous, making you an easy target." Xiong Tingbi was well aware of the purpose of special armor. These unique lacquer patterns could highlight the commander's position in battle formations, allowing his soldiers to rally around him and boost morale. However, this also revealed the commander's position to the enemy, which would only have a negative effect in a small-scale operation like this.

"Yes!" Liang Zhongshan took the order and left.

"General Zhang." Xiong Tingbi looked at Zhang Shenwu.

"exist!"

"Mobilize the battalion immediately and wait for orders." Xiong Tingbi always used the Jinglüe Battalion as the general reserve force.

"Yes." Zhang Shenwu was a little disappointed. After returning to Liao, he had never fought a serious war against the bandits.

Xiong Tingbi finally looked at Chen Ce. "Let's stay here and see what tricks this old wild boar skin has in store for me."

"I swear to protect General Xiong and General Gao!" Chen Ce bowed solemnly.

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As it turned out, neither Xiong Tingbi and Gao Bangzuo on the south bank of the Hunhe River, nor Sun Chuanting in Shenyang, nor any of the other generals leading the troops on the front lines could have anticipated Nurhaci's decisive and orderly retreat. While the attention of Shenyang and southern Hunan was completely captivated by the elite two white banners led by Huang Taiji, Nurhaci had already led most of the six banners opposing Shenyang north up the Hunhe River back to Fushun. By the time Xiong Tingbi realized he had been tricked by Nurhaci, not only had the six yellow, red, and white banners retreated safely, but even the two blue banners, following Nurhaci's orders, had withdrawn their forces from Fengji and Hubi.

The Bordered Blue Banner retreated quickly. When Amin, the second son of Shurhaci, the second prince and leader of the Bordered Blue Banner, retreated to Jin-occupied Fushun with his soldiers, it was not yet completely dark.

Amin was exhausted, completely dejected. Unlike the two yellow banners and most of the infantry under the red and white banners, the blue banner had no one to cover his retreat. During the retreat, he personally led the rearguard, repelling several waves of pursuing Ming cavalry.

However, Amin had no time to rest, because he was still very confused. He just mechanically carried out the Khan's urgent order and did not understand why Nurhaci suddenly asked him to withdraw his troops.

Dragging his tired body, Amin found Nurhaci's residence in Fushun City.

Fushun City is located at the foot of Gaolu Mountain on the north bank of Hunhe River. Its official administrative name is Fushun Qianhu Suo, which belongs to Shenyang Zhongwei. It was established in the 21st year of Hongwu at the same time as Shenyang Zhongwei.

In the fourth year of the Chenghua reign, Han Bin, then Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong, oversaw the reconstruction of Fushun City. The rebuilt city was slightly larger than the old one, but with a circumference of only three miles, it could only be considered a small fortress. After the Jin army occupied the area, they neglected to maintain it. Instead, when they built the new city of Sarhu, they dismantled many of Fushun's buildings and took them away for materials. One family was given a few bricks, another a few tiles. In the end, they came close to stripping away the rammed earth of Fushun's walls.

Therefore, although Nurhaci was the Khan of the Great Jin Dynasty, he did not have a house with tiles to live in and could only continue to live in his slightly dilapidated tent.

In the past, when Amin sought an audience, he would first let the guards inform him and then quietly wait for Nurhaci to summon him. But this time, as soon as Amin arrived at the outer edge of the Khan's tent, he was let in by the guards.

Amin lifted the curtain and entered the tent, and found that in addition to the Great Khan Nurhaci and his personal assistant Cherge, the Great Beile Daishan and the Fourth Beile Huang Taiji were also there.

Seeing Amin come in, Daishan immediately smiled at him. Huang Taiji was stunned for a moment, but soon nodded at him.

Amin agreed and walked straight to Nurhaci, knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "Amin greets the Khan."

"Get up." Nurhaci forced a smile.

"Thank you, Great Khan." Amin kowtowed again.

"Amin, you've had your meal, you've come a long way. Have you eaten?" Nurhaci acted like a kind elder.

In August of the 39th year of the Wanli reign, Amin's father, Shuerhaci, Nurhaci's half-brother, died in captivity. That same year, Nurhaci adopted Amin and handed over Shuerhaci's tribe to him. Thus, Nurhaci was both Amin's uncle, his father's murderer, and his adoptive father.

"Thank you, Great Khan, for your care. I've already eaten." Amin bowed again. "I ate wheat cakes and dried meat on horseback."

"Then sit down." Nurhaci pointed to the cushion that Daishan had placed.

"Yes." Amin turned to look at Daishan, hesitated for a moment, and then bowed. "Greetings to the Grand Prince."

"The Khan told you to sit, so just sit down." Daishan glanced at Nurhaci quickly. Noticing that Nurhaci didn't look displeased as usual, he felt a little relieved. He had been very sensitive recently, worried that Nurhaci would interpret others' respect for him as a challenge to the Khan's authority.

"Yes." Amin turned around and sat down, then nodded silently to Huang Taiji.

"Amin, what are the losses on your side?" Nurhaci asked.

"No losses. Fengji's garrison commander, Li Bingcheng, was like a coward, hiding in the city, refusing to fight. I followed the Khan's orders and only held back, not attacking. Only after our army retreated did he send several waves of cavalry out of the city to harass them. I personally led the troops and drove Li Bingcheng back." At this point, Amin couldn't help but yawn. "There were some losses, but not too many. I was in a hurry to see the Khan and pay my respects, so I didn't have time to count the casualties. But I imagine the total number of casualties couldn't exceed a hundred."

"Thank you for your hard work. You did a great job." Nurhaci nodded with a smile.

"Great Khan, Amin wants to ask," seeing Nurhaci was smiling, Amin took the opportunity to ask in the lightest tone possible: "Why do you suddenly want me to withdraw my troops?"

Nurhaci leaned back slowly and said with a sigh, "I asked you and Manggurtai to lead two blue flags to guard Fengji Fort and Hubi Post, simply to eliminate our worries when we attack Shenyang. Now that the army has withdrawn, what are you still doing there?"

"Shenyang," Amin swallowed. "Are you not going to fight anymore?"

"Let's stop fighting." Nurhaci really sighed this time.

"Why? Is the loss huge?" Amin looked at Daishan and then at Huang Taiji.

"If we continue fighting like this, the losses will be huge," Daishan said tactfully.

"Since there isn't much loss, let's try a different strategy." Amin frowned.

"It can't be changed, or rather, there's nothing to change." Nurhaci took over the conversation, his face full of worry. "That old dog Xiong Tingbi is really cunning. He has built Shenyang into an iron barrel. No matter how brave and dedicated the Eight Banner warriors are, human flesh and blood are ultimately no match for gunpowder cannons. If the shield carts are pushed under the wall, a few rounds of heavy artillery on the wall will cripple them and make it impossible to hide. There are 70,000 to 80,000 people in Shenyang. If we fight to the death, I'm afraid even if all our banner soldiers and the remaining men are wiped out, they still won't be able to fill Shenyang."

"Can't we contact the insiders to open the city like we did when we attacked Fushun, Kaiyuan and Tieling before?" Amin turned to look at Huang Taiji who was sitting cross-legged opposite him.

Huang Taiji glanced at Nurhaci and, seeing that he had no intention of objecting, he spoke up, "It would be best if possible, but we don't have such high-level insiders in Shenyang. The Liaodong generals who had dealings with us in the past have either been reported by Xiong Tingbi or transferred elsewhere. The rest are people like He Shixian who, in order to show their loyalty to the emperor, are always thinking about chopping off our heads. Forget about opening the gates and surrendering the city. The remaining informants in Shenyang can't even reach the city gates."

Nurhaci and Huang Taiji had originally intended to use the Tatars who had begged for food at the gates of the Ming Dynasty, hoping to persuade them to revolt and capture Shenyang. However, upon reconnaissance, they discovered that after the city defenses were completed, the Tatars had been transferred to the rear by Xiong Tingbi to cultivate wasteland. There were no Tatars in or near Shenyang.

"Yes, He Shixian! Can't we lure him into battle?" Amin said again, "Isn't it said that He Shixian is the kind of guy who is brave but not wise and can only hit people on the head with an iron whip?" When saying this, Amin thought of Manggurtai for no reason.

(End of this chapter)