Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 575 Military Meeting (Part )

A few strands of golden afternoon light leaked through the ramie vents on the tent roof, illuminating the Liaodong-Korea map fixed with deer antler nails.

Amin dismounted, whip in hand. Immediately, a groom came forward, leaning forward to take the reins. As he walked toward the main tent, he unfastened the ruby ​​clasp of his dark blue satin gown, revealing a lining embroidered with moon-white, dark cloud patterns. Needless to say, the entire outfit, including fabrics and embellishments, had been brought to him by Han merchants. Amin preferred this Hu-style garment, crafted from silk and embellished with unusual ornamentation, to the more traditional Hu clothing made of linen and animal hides. This attire made him stand out from the crowd.

The rattan curtain was drawn back from the tent, and the chickens immediately appeared. They were the participants of this meeting.

Inside the tent, Nurhaci's eldest grandson, the eldest son of Guanglue Beile Chu Ying, the leader of the Bordered White Banner, Taiji Aisin Gioro Dudu; the eldest son of Da Beile Daishan, the leader of the Bordered Red Banner, Taiji Aisin Gioro Yuetuo; Yuetuo's younger brother, the Meile Ezhen of the Bordered Red Banner, Taiji Aisin Gioro Shuotuo; and the sixth brother of Er Beile Amin, the Meile Ezhen of the Bordered Blue Banner, Jirgalang, sat on the left and right sides of the large empty desk in the middle according to their status and age.

Behind them, a group of senior generals, including Jiala Ezhen and the son-in-law Guoluo Darhan under the Bordered Yellow Banner, and Jiala Ezhen and the son-in-law Shumulu Yangguli under the Plain Yellow Banner, stood solemnly according to their banners.

The last beile of the Hada tribe, the son-in-law Wuergudai, also had a seat. However, his seat was neither among the royal family nor among the generals. Instead, it was to the side and back of the line connecting the main seat and the first seat. He sat there alone, both inconspicuous and conspicuous.

Seeing that it was the commander of this expedition, Second Beile Amin, who came in, Dudu, Yuetuo, Shuotuo, Jierhadu, Wuergudai and others who were sitting stood up. "Greetings to Second Beile!" They, along with their generals, saluted Amin in unison.

Amin waved his whip at the crowd as a gesture of return. "Thank you for waiting. Please take a seat."

The five people who had seats sat down cross-legged, while the other generals remained standing. Obviously, Amin's "all sitting down" did not include them.

Amin walked straight to the table carved from a single piece of tiger bone and sat down, placing the gold-inlaid whip across the table. Then, he looked up at Shuotuo and said in a serious tone, "Shuotuo! Why is Zhujiabao still in that bird shit state?"

There are numerous places called Zhujiabao in Kuandian, Xindian, and their surrounding areas. However, the Zhujiabao that Amin valued and repeatedly mentioned was the small fort nestled along the Xihe River, with access to Fenghuang to the south and the mountains to Xindian to the east. This small fort was small and, when the Ming army still controlled Kuandian, was not given much attention. But now that the Jin army had entered Kuandian and was confronting the Ming army along the Xihe River from north to south, this small fort became crucial in defending the chokepoint and hindering the Ming army's advance.

At the beginning, Kuandian Lieutenant General Hu Guochen realized this when he was fortifying the city, clearing the fields, burning houses and relocating people. So he directly sent hundreds of people to tear down the small fort made of rammed earth from top to bottom and turned it into a small mound that could not be defended by garrison troops at all.

After Amin led his troops to Kuandian, he inspected the area and quickly discovered the problem. He immediately ordered Shuotuo, who he had assigned to oversee the construction of the defense line, to expedite repairs. However, more than half a month had passed, and Zhujiabao was still in a vulnerable state.

Shuotuo shuddered. "Reporting to Second Prince, we simply don't have enough manpower."

"Enough! I don't want to hear this excuse I've repeated a thousand times," Amin interrupted. "I've asked you several times, and you've always said we don't have enough manpower or building materials. But didn't I tell you last time to focus on restoring Zhujiabao, or at least dredging the moat first? Digging a moat doesn't require building materials, right? Why hasn't it been dug out yet?"

"Of course I did. I've already transferred personnel from several surrounding construction sites. But the Ming army sends troops to harass us almost every day, and the scale of the attacks is getting larger and larger each time." Shuotuo was nervous and spoke in a disorganized manner, almost throwing together a number of recent events as an excuse. "In the most recent attack, the Ming army had more troops than the troops I sent to garrison, two or three hundred men, and even brought cannons. They directly overran our outpost in Shicheng. They clearly don't want us to concentrate on building the fort. I've reported all of this to you."

Amin ordered the construction of a fort and a wall in Kuandian, and occasionally sent troops to launch small-scale reconnaissance attacks on the territory surrounding Phoenix City. Meanwhile, Hu Guochen did not sit idly by, waiting for the Jin army to extend its tentacles to him.

When the Jin army was building a fort or wall, the Ming army would send troops to harass them. If the Jin army could no longer bear the harassment and abandoned the site, the Ming army would simply blow up or dig up the Jin fortifications. If the Jin army chose to hold the site, organized Ming troops with field artillery would launch a strong assault on the position until a larger force of Jin troops arrived. However, once the Jin reinforcements retreated, the Ming army would choose the right time to attack again.

The offensive and defensive battle involving two or three hundred people that Shuo Tuo mentioned did not take place within the Zhujiabao that guarded the west side of Xindian, but took place at a Sanshili post station called Shichengpu. This was the second Sanshili post station on the road from Fenghuang to Kuandian, and was almost the midpoint between the eastern wall of Fenghuang City and Zhujiabao.

This battle was fought with great cunning. On the morning of the first day, the Ming army set out from the previous Sanshilipu and arrived at Shichengpu around noon. After fighting for an hour, they turned around and left. When the Jin army reinforcements arrived, this Ming army had almost returned to the previous Sanshilipu. In the evening, other Ming troops that came with the main force but did not launch an attack launched a night raid on the Jin army stationed in Shichengpu in the dead of night. The harvest of this night raid was not great, and no heads were beheaded. However, this night raid successfully put the Jin army into a state of extreme exhaustion. The next morning, another Ming army with more manpower set out again from the first Sanshilipu and repeated the offensive of the previous day.

The Ming and Jin sides engaged in repeated battles near Shichengpu, ultimately forcing the exhausted Jin army to abandon it with superior numbers and firepower. The Ming army then burned the Shichengpu construction site, and the still-wet rammed earth walls were blasted with holes by gunpowder barrels.

Similar offensive and defensive battles constantly occurred in the border areas between the Ming and Jin armies, while beyond these borders, closer to Xindian or the Great Wall, were where spies from both sides, or small-scale guerrilla operations, took place. "Would you like to take a closer look at where Shichengpu is? And where is Zhujiabao?" Amin looked at Shuotuo intently, gesturing at the large map behind him. "The two places are forty miles apart. Even if you were to send troops to Zhujiabao to support the construction, you shouldn't be able to send them to Shichengpu, right? Or are you trying to use the excuse that 'we sent troops from Shichengpu to build Zhujiabao, but in the end, the moat wasn't dug, and the Ming army drove them out of Shichengpu'?"

"No, Second Prince, that's not what I meant!" Shuotuo hurriedly explained, "I certainly didn't withdraw any personnel from Shichengpu, and the fall of Shipu has nothing to do with the construction of Zhujiabao."

"Then why are you rambling so much? I'm asking about the moat of Zhujiabao!" Amin's face grew even more serious. He hated this kind of nonsense and shirking of responsibility.

Shuotuo swallowed nervously, trying to calm himself down as he explained carefully, "Second Prince. What I mean is that the Ming army is attacking everywhere. If we want to build our city in peace, we need to deploy defenses in various locations. What happened in Shichengpu was just an example. As for Zhujiabao, I've already pulled in as many people as I can from the surrounding areas that were less attacked. If I pull in more people from further away, it'll just be robbing Peter to pay Paul. What if the Ming army comes around and burns and kills us? Wouldn't that be a waste of effort, just like what happened in Shichengpu?"

It wasn't just Zhujiabao and Shichengpu; many of the strategic points around Kuandian, which Amin valued, were vulnerable, vulnerable to attack. In other words, aside from the two core forts of Kuandian and Xindian, which were being repaired day and night, the six forts of Kuandian and the area along the Aohe River were all in a similar state.

"I don't care about that," Amin said, waving his hand. "Zhujiabao is an important gateway to Xindian. Every day these gates are not sealed is another day of worry for us. If my army marches south to Fenghuang City, but a Ming army detachment burns Kuandian and cuts off our retreat, won't we return in defeat? I'll give you another half month at most," Amin pointed at Shuotuo with his whip and said, "Within half a month, I must see Zhujiabao, Xiaojiabao, Qingyishanbao, and Dadianbao standing tall! Otherwise, I'll send someone else to take over your mission."

Although surrounded by mountains, Kuandian and Xindian were not isolated islands. They offered numerous access points from the four directions: east, south, west, and north. For Amin's detachment, the only safe area was the northern part, near the Kuandian border wall and bordering the former Jianzhou region.

Shuotuo's scalp tingled at Amin's harsh tone, but at this point, he could only bite the bullet and continue to push forward: "Second Prince, construction is underway everywhere in Kuandian, and my men can't possibly build both a wall here and a fort there. You want me to prioritize the gateways, and I will certainly obey. However, this will only allow the Ming army to advance further, and our space for maneuver will be further squeezed. To be frank, given the current situation, we must either shrink the outer defenses and focus on consolidating the gateways you mentioned, or we can only continue construction at the current pace, unless you can send me more manpower."

Amin was silent.

Although Nurhaci had ordered him to lead the Blue, Red, and White Bordered Banners south to conquer Korea, these three banners combined comprised fewer than eighty Niulu, or just over twenty-four thousand registered soldiers. Even including the accompanying relatives and bondservants, the total number was just over fifty thousand. These fifty thousand men had to conduct reconnaissance southward, participate in defense, and assist in construction. Furthermore, they had to hunt in the mountains and fish in the rivers to supplement their rations. Military training was also essential. The sheer weight of the task meant that men were needed everywhere, and there was a shortage everywhere.

Amin once requested Nurhaci to allocate a large number of Han slaves to Kuandian to participate in the construction and land reclamation. In this way, the strong Jurchen laborers could be freed from the physical work of construction and equipment manufacturing and focus on military activities.

However, Nurhaci believed that while Kuandian was desirable, it was too close to Ming territory, and any Han slaves sent there would likely take the opportunity to escape. After all, even if they took the wrong path and simply crossed mountains and ridges, it would take three or four days to reach the Ming border. To prevent further loss of valuable human resources, it was best not to station too many Han people there.

Amin couldn't argue with Nurhaci, and of course he wouldn't argue with Nurhaci at this time, so he just mentioned it, and when he was opposed, he just said "Great Khan, your majesty is wise" and handed it over.

"You asked me for manpower, so I can only transfer them to you from other places." Amin frowned and thought for a long time, and finally cast his eyes on the jala Ezhen Guoluo Darhan under the Bordered Yellow Banner, and the jala Ezhen Shumulu Yangguli under the Plain Yellow Banner: "Darhan, Yangguli. The only ones who have not been assigned to garrison patrol or construction work are the four Niulu you brought. I want to send the Niulu under your command to support Shuotuo and speed up the construction of those key points around Kuandian, so that we can eliminate worries and send troops with peace of mind. What do you think?" Amin was actually talking to the two of them in a negotiating tone.

Guoluolu Darhan and Shumulu Yangguli were considered to be the military supervisors sent by Nurhaci to Amin. In order to show his goodwill and loyalty to Nurhaci, Amin almost always kept Darhan, Yangguli and the four Niulu from the Zhenghuang and Xianghuang banners near his residence, saying that they were training to prepare for the enemy, but in fact they were just idle.

"As you command." Yangguli accepted the order without any hesitation.

Yangguli knew full well that Nurhaci had sent them here to supervise and even monitor Amin. However, Nurhaci had not issued any explicit orders to Yangguli and Darhan to monitor Amin, merely telling them to go to Amin and obey his orders. Now that Amin had assigned them such a legitimate mission, how could Yangguli possibly object?

"I obey your command," Dalhan echoed Yangguli, then took the initiative to propose, "Second Prince, I have a suggestion. May I ask if you would be so kind as to state it?"

"That's what you said." Amin nodded.

"I think that instead of sending more people for passive defense, it would be better to set up an ambush on the road. As long as we can annihilate him and kill one or two hundred of his people, and put an end to his arrogance, it will be enough to deter Hu Guochen and make him dare not send people to invade and harass again!" Dalhan said with a fist salute.

(End of this chapter)