Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 80 What do the Jiannu want to do?
The Qi family army gave Zhu Youjian a lot of confidence. Although he had never witnessed the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty with his own eyes, he did not know whether this pseudo-line infantry could cause a dimensionality reduction attack on the Qing army.

But judging from the performance of the Qi Family Army in their recent military exercise, as long as they deployed their battle formation, unless the Black Armor Army took the lead and more than 20,000 cavalrymen from 3,000 battalions charged together, they would not be able to break the Qi Family Army's formation without considering morale and casualties.

If the number is less than 10,000, it will not pose much threat to Qi's army.

However, the red entry "Modern Infantry" Zhu Youjian was not added.

Although there is no limit on the number of people, the conditions are too harsh.

An all-weather training cycle of over six months alone completely ruled out any troops under his command at this time.

Not to mention that the firearm coverage rate must be above 50%. Even the Shenjiying only has 40% firearm equipment, and this is after multiple entries are added.

If you want to add support to this entry, you can only wait until this war is over and then develop it slowly.

Riding a white horse back to the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youjian immediately wrote a personal letter to Huang Degong.

Although he didn't understand war, he knew that he should let those who understood control the situation.

He had formulated a general plan since the last battle with Li Zicheng.

The capital provides the general direction and is responsible for strategy.

The commander below executes the strategy and is responsible for tactics.

Like now, what Zhu Youjian wants is to delay for more than ten days, waiting for the arrival of reinforcements from King Zhou, the completion of repairs to various cities and the end of spring plowing.

What Huang Degong had to do was to find a way to make up for more than ten days for Beizhili.

Zhu Youjian gave great power to this famous general and loyal minister in later generations.

The entire northern Zhili, including Zhang Shize's troops heading to Chahar, all obeyed Huang Degong's command.

As long as he can complete the established strategy, he will even use the capital as bait.

He wrote thousands of words in a very fluent manner and asked Ye Bushu to send it to Xuanfu as soon as possible.

Zhu Youjian was not idle either. He got up and went to the East Pavilion to discuss the Jiangnan affairs mentioned in Fan Jingwen's secret letter with Ni Yuanlu.

The capital is not far from Xuanfu.

The area of ​​three hundred and fifty to three hundred and sixty miles was all official roads. At Zhu Youjian's request, there was a post station every fifty miles, which was garrisoned by the new army.

The two night guards only changed horses twice and arrived in Xuanfu in the afternoon.

As an important node in the northern defense line of the Ming Dynasty, whether it was the Mongols south of the desert moving south, Li Zicheng moving east, or the Jurchens bypassing Zhangjiakou to enter the pass, they all had to pass through Xuanfu.

Therefore, Xuanfu’s defensive capabilities are extremely strong.

The city wall standards are the same as those of the capital, and because it is a military stronghold, its military attributes have been specially strengthened.

It has everything from corner towers, city walls and artillery batteries.

According to the plan, if 10,000 troops were stationed in Xuanfu and there were sufficient food, fodder and weapons, they could withstand the fierce attack of 100,000 troops. Even if there were more than 200,000 troops, they could be guaranteed not to lose for half a month.

Therefore, before Li Zicheng came, Chongzhen and the ministers in the court showed such disdain.

After all, Zhou Yuji, with thousands of remaining soldiers, managed to kill Li Zicheng's 70,000 troops at Ningwu Pass.

Xuanfu had 50,000 elite troops led by General Tang Tong, and Li Zicheng could not take it down even after a year!

then……

Before Li Zicheng arrived, Tang Tong opened the gate and surrendered.

Fortunately, after Zhu Youjian's operations, Xuanfu finally returned to its correct usage.

Moreover, as the only large city among the four border towns that was still in his hands and had not been destroyed, it naturally became Huang Degong's garrison.

Seventeen thousand new troops, three thousand guards, and Huang Degong can almost ensure the safety of the northwestern area of ​​Northern Zhili.

Therefore, when Zhu Youjian's secret letter arrived, Huang Degong's first thought was to transfer the Ming army in the northwest to the Shanhaiguan line.

But he was stopped by Jin Xuan, a soldier.

Inside the Xuanfu General’s Mansion.

The two of them were arguing over the map.

The guards outside the door did not dare to enter.

"If the Jiannu wanted to seize Shanhaiguan, they would have taken it last night! How could they wait for the army to arrive?"

"The Jian Nu will definitely not let go of such a good opportunity! Moreover, with General Wang's 10,000-man vanguard leading the way, there's no need to worry about being surrounded and attacked. If we don't send troops at this time, how can we be worthy of the Emperor's grace?!"

"Not supporting you at this time is the best reward for your majesty!" Jin Xuan gritted his teeth and pounded the table with his fists.

Huang Degong didn't dare to show weakness. He stared at Jin Xuan and asked word by word, "Then may I ask, Master Jin, if Shanhaiguan falls, the Jiannu will advance straight into the city along the official road. Jizhen will be completely empty. How can the capital's few thousand troops stop them?"

"Huang Shuai, haven't you figured it out yet? The Jiannu aren't targeting the capital!"

"Humph!" Huang Degong snorted coldly, "Is Master Jin trying to say that the Jiannu want to force the imperial court to move south and then occupy all the northern land?"

Jin Xuan nodded in affirmation. "Northern Zhili's wealth has been plundered by the rebels. Why else would the Jiannu invade now if not to seize territory?"

Huang Degong slammed the table, "The Jiannu's intention is of course to occupy land, but they are not limited to occupying Northern Zhili!"

"Could it be that the Jiannu still want to overthrow my country..." Jin Xuan was disdainful at first, but as he spoke, he suddenly froze in place.

He looked at Huang Degong with horror, "What on earth do the Jiannu want to do?!"

"If the Jiannu want to force the court to move south, they can just march forward with their army. Why should they linger outside Shanhaiguan?" Huang Degong said in a deep voice.

"That's the two yellow flags and the blue flag led by that old villain Dorgon, 60,000 to 70,000 elite Jiannu soldiers. Even without the other flags, they are enough to sweep across the capital."

"You hesitated at this moment, allowing us to build large-scale projects and cultivate fertile land, without fearing the reinforcements from the south."

"Master Jin, what do you think the Jiannu are after?"

After Huang Degong's analysis, Jin Xuan became visibly panicked.

This is indeed the case. Even if he was Dorgon, if he wanted to capture northern Zhili, he could just break through Shanhaiguan and seize the city.

Even if they didn't attack Shanhaiguan, the Jiannu would have no problem taking a detour with their mobility.

There are three flags in total, so there is no reason for them to stay in Shanhaiguan to watch the show.

Unless the Jiannu army is not limited to this route!
Dorgon is waiting for the Jiannu troops from other directions to arrive!

Only this can explain why they were stuck outside Shanhaiguan and couldn't move forward!
If the Jiannu soldiers were divided into several routes, their target would definitely not be such a small piece of land as Northern Zhili!
The biggest possibility is...

North of the Yangtze River!

No matter how strategic these two people were, or how they speculated about Dorgon's ambitions, they would never have thought that Dorgon's goal was to sweep the entire Ming Dynasty.

After all, there are still hundreds of thousands of troops in Jiangnan, as well as the natural barrier of the Yangtze River and the Jiangnan water network.

The Jiannu, or the nomadic peoples in the north since ancient times, could not adapt to the geography and weather of the south of the Yangtze River.

But the fact that the Ming Dynasty was defeated and became like the Southern Song Dynasty was enough to surprise the two of them.

After realizing it, Jin Xuan still couldn't understand why Huang Degong insisted on sending reinforcements to Shanhaiguan.

Now that we know that the Jiannu are attacking from multiple fronts, shouldn't we hold back until we understand the situation?

After all, according to the court regulations, after the cities were repaired and spring plowing was completed, with the Jiannu's poor logistics, it would be impossible for them to cross the Yellow River and move south by blocking each city one by one.

After asking the questions in my mind, the gap between theorists and practitioners became apparent.

As a veteran general who fought his way up step by step, Huang Degong has much more experience than Jin Xuan.

"Because the Shanhaiguan area is the center of the Jiannu army, no matter how many routes the Jiannu army divides into, they must all revolve around the center."

"As long as we block the central army, there's no need to worry even if a small force of Jiannu crosses the Yangtze River."

"Why is Marshal Huang so confident? Aren't there only 60,000 to 70,000 people outside Shanhaiguan? The Jiannu headquarters plus the Mongolian and Han army flags have a total of 200,000." Jin Xuan asked doubtfully.

Huang Degong nodded and pointed in the direction of Shanhaiguan. "Master Jin is right. The Jiannu army does have a total of 200,000 troops."

"But have you ever thought about this? My Great Ming has a million-strong army, but what is its actual combat strength? Duke Ying's 3,000 battalions, the Brave Guards, the Imperial Guards, and other troops, plus Huang's own 20,000-plus troops, only make up 50,000."

"If Jin is appointed as the commander, the central army will only have 50,000 men."

"Even though the Jiannu army has over 200,000 soldiers, their most elite troops are the upper three banners. Currently, two of the upper three banners, plus the Jiannu's current true ruler, Dorgon, are all outside Shanhaiguan. Even if the remaining 150,000 were deployed, they wouldn't be enough to form the central army."

"And Shanhaiguan is the top priority."

After saying that, Huang Degong extended his fingers to the left and right at Shanhaiguan.

"No matter what the Jiannu want to do, their logistical supplies cannot bypass Shanhaiguan."

"If Huang's guess is correct, then that old scoundrel Dorgon is simply waiting for the remaining detachments to arrive! My royal army will be overwhelmed and unable to send troops north to support Shanhaiguan. If the royal army faces the detachments, Dorgon will lead his army directly to the capital. If the royal army abandons the detachments to join the central army, Dorgon will surely use the Jiannu's superiority in horses to rush to Jizhou and confront the royal army. Meanwhile, the detachments will sweep across both sides of the Yellow River, cutting off the northern Zhili's route to survival. Without food and troops, the imperial court will be forced to move south." "Once the imperial court moves south, the morale of the army will collapse instantly. The Jiannu central army and detachments will surely follow Your Majesty back to Nanjing, and everything north of the Yangtze River will fall."

Huang Degong said a lot, but Jin Xuan still couldn't understand what he meant.

"But what does this have to do with General Huang dispatching troops to the Shanhaiguan front?"

"Of course it is related. Mr. Jin, do you remember what Mr. Huang said just now? Blocking the central army is like blocking the detachment!"

"This plan is indeed unsolvable, but it all comes down to the fact that my royal army is short of troops and weak in combat power."

"However, if we can stop the Jiannu central army at Shanhaiguan, preventing their weapons and food supplies from reaching their detachments, none of them will dare to move rashly, and may even move closer to the capital."

"You should know that Northern Zhili, Henan Province, and other areas have already been plundered by the rebels. Most of the food and fodder are in the capital and the major fortified cities. Only a small force of Jiannu can march thousands of miles south to plunder food and fodder."

"The Jiannu don't have that much surplus food, nor are they that ambitious. General Zuo has a million-strong army in the Huguang area."

"As long as we send troops to Shanhaiguan to block the Jiannu central army before the Jiannu's detachment arrives, we can force the Jiannu into the Northern Zhili war network that Your Majesty has created!"

"Then why didn't the Jiannu just break through the pass and enter the country? After all, Shanhaiguan is useless?" Jin Xuan was puzzled.

"That's exactly what Huang said. The Jiannu are afraid that we will push our heavy troops into the Shanhaiguan area!"

"If we break through the pass and march straight in without our detachment arriving, causing alarm in the imperial court, we must strengthen the defenses along the Yellow River. If we break through the pass but don't enter, we might attract a large force from Northern Zhili. This is an army of a million, so even if there are only 100,000, it would be enough for Dorgon to worry about!"

After hearing these words, Jin Xuan was full of admiration.

He didn't even figure out the true movements of the Jiannu, while Huang Degong not only guessed the enemy commander's thoughts, but also had a strategy on how to break the deadlock, and the difference between them was immediately apparent.

"I cannot applaud General Huang's strategy enough. I will immediately go to the Ministry of War and Your Majesty to present General Huang's speculation, so that Your Majesty and the officials in the court can prepare early."

"Then I'll have to trouble Master Jin." Huang Degong bowed and added, "Actually..."

"Your Majesty may have guessed it long ago."

Jin Xuan was stunned. "Why does Huang Shuai say that?"

"Your Majesty, even before the Jiannu attacked, you began building the Northern Zhili City Defense War... oh... strategic network. You also urgently dispatched General Wang with the Yongwei Battalion and the Jizhou garrison to reinforce Shanhaiguan. At that time, we didn't even know the Jiannu had no intention of breaking through the pass."

"Your Majesty has given me the authority to mobilize troops throughout Northern Zhili, and 4,000 Zhejiang soldiers are on standby at all times. This is because you calculated that Huang would not stay in a fortified city!"

Huang Degong looked at Jin Xuan with emotion, "If there were no party disputes, with your majesty's ability, the Jiannu might have been wiped out long ago."

Jin Hyun's brows twitched in fright.

"Huang Shuai, be careful with your words!"

How can you, a military commander, say such things?
Even though Your Majesty has raised the status of soldiers, a century-old problem cannot be solved overnight.

If someone with ulterior motives heard it, they would report it to Ni Yuanlu.

Even if Ni Yuanlu is open-minded and doesn't bother with you, if the people from the six ministries make some moves, it will be more than you, a general, can withstand!

Armaments? Waiting, food and fodder? Waiting, new recruits waiting! Wait! Withdraw? Waiting to be executed! Defeat? Waiting to be executed! Small victory? Keeping the enemy at bay, waiting to be executed! Big victory? Returning to the capital, holding the troops and preserving them, waiting to be executed! Not returning? Preparing for rebellion, waiting to be executed!
Especially an emperor like Chongzhen who had no self-discipline, believed whatever his ministers said, and was suspicious by nature.

How many capable generals have been killed?

What are you, a mere Huang Degong?

Huang Degong also knew that this was inappropriate and quickly changed the subject.

He shouted outside the door and called a few messengers.

"Order that the 5,000 Xuanfu Vanguard and Right Guard troops immediately break camp and rush to Shanhaiguan Pass, awaiting orders from General Wang Erhu of the Yongwei Battalion."

"7,000 garrisons from the five guard posts of Huai'an, Huailai, Bao'an, Weizhou, and Yongning will be transferred to Jizhou."

"Xinghe, Yongchang, Longzhou, and Yunmen are joined by the Xuanfu!"

The two messengers received the order and hurriedly turned around and left.

Jin Xuan was writing a report, and Huang Degong always felt that there was something wrong.

There was no one to discuss things with, so he could only stare at the map, talking to himself and calculating.

"Shanhai Pass... Datong... Zhangjiakou... Chahar, Jizhou... Shandong... Shandong?!"

Huang Degong suddenly realized that he had missed an enemy.

That is Shandong, which is adjacent to Northern Zhili, an inconspicuous but crucial province!
Wherever there is, there is still food.

If the Jiannu army attacks Shandong directly, the defenders along the Yellow River will definitely have to return to defend!

If they don't return to defend, the Shandong Road will be lost. Once they return to defend, the Jiannu can rely on their mobility to move along the Yellow River.

In the south, whether it was Shi Kefa or the reinforcements from King Zhou, they had to cross the Grand Canal and the Yellow River!

By then, the Jiannu will be attacked halfway across the river, and the food reserves looted from Shandong will be enough to support the small army to move south!

It is also very simple to go to Shandong, just go out of Xifengkou and pass Tianjin!
If the Jiannu army marches out of Xifengkou and attacks Shandong directly, northern Zhili will immediately become an isolated area!
If the court wanted to move south at that time, the entire canal would be unusable and it would have to take a detour via Henan Road.

If I get bitten by the Jiannu...

The consequences could be disastrous.

Thinking of this, Huang Degong suddenly shuddered and shouted towards the door, "Come! Come! Quickly report to His Majesty and order the Zhejiang troops to leave the capital immediately and rush 800 miles to guard Xifengkou."

Under Jin Xuan's questioning gaze, Huang Degong hesitated again and again, but finally stood up and said, "No! I want to go to the palace to see the emperor in person. Master Jin, just follow the established strategy."

"Everything awaits my orders, Huang!"

……

Huang Degong reacted quickly, but he was still a step too slow.

Just as he was rushing to the capital, Duoduo, with two white flags and 50,000 men, also broke through Xifengkou.

Xifengkou is located in Qianxi, Hebei Province today, and the terrain is very dangerous.

On one side is the Luan River Valley, on the other side is the Great Wall defense line, and it is also sandwiched between the two military defense zones of Xuanfu and Jizhou.

In the second year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji led a large army to bypass the two towns of Xuan and Ji, broke through Xifengkou and attacked the capital directly.

It also broke the entire northern defense line in one fell swoop. Since then, the north has been in crisis for years.

Later, after Li Zicheng arrived, the garrison at Xifengkou was transferred away. It was not until Huang Degong sent a thousand households that the pass was restored to normal use.

However, this thousand households were completely defenseless in front of the two white flags.

The beacon towers along the Great Wall were unable to provide any warnings due to insufficient manpower.

The signal smoke was only burning for half an hour before it was extinguished by the Jiannu who invaded Guanzhong.

The speculation of Ni Yuanlu and others was not wrong. Dorgon did not assemble the army so quickly.

If we want to do the same as before, we will definitely not be able to gather a large army before mid-April.

But Dorgon took a different approach and divided the army into three routes.

He led the two yellow flags and two blue flags stationed in Shengjing all year round and headed straight for Shanhaiguan.

The two white flags brought by Duoduo were in the Jinzhou area, closest to Xifengkou.

Arrived in just two days.

Although Daishan is the farthest away, the Eight Mongolian Banners and Two Red Banners along the way do not need to assemble in advance and can just meet up in Zhangjiakou.

Successfully shortened the assembly time.

This led Ni Yuanlu and others to incorrectly predict the time when the Jiannu would enter the pass.

Except Huang Degong, no one could have expected that Dorgon would dare to divide his troops under such circumstances.

Duoduo did not stay in Xifengkou for long.

Instead, they took all available supplies and headed straight for Tianjin.

The rumbling sound of horse hooves is particularly eye-catching.

In order to avoid being discovered, Duoduo took great pains.

They even specially transferred a surrendered general from the Eight Banners of the Han people who was familiar with the situation inside the Great Wall to lead the way.

This person was none other than Geng Zhongming, a general under Mao Wenlong!
However, Duoduo was not as respectful as Dorgon, and treated Geng Zhongming like a dog.

Duoduo rode on his horse, holding a map in one hand and whipping Geng Zhongming with the other. "Slave! Are you sure there are no big cities beyond Tangshan?"

"Your Majesty, I am sure that as long as we bypass Lantian and Tangshan, there will be no big cities along the 300-mile road to Tianjin!" Geng Zhongming covered his face and said with a smile.

Duoduo finally nodded and said, "Come here, report to Prince Rui and tell him that I have broken through the customs and will be in Shandong in seven days!"

(End of this chapter)