Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 95 The Tiger and Rhinoceros Generals Emerge from Their Cages
Inside the Qianqing Palace, the light was bright, yet it could not dispel the sluggish, almost tangible heaviness.

Zhu Youjian's eyes were bloodshot and red.

He sat quietly in front of a simple sand table, his gaze fixed on a certain spot on the map for a long time, without moving.

Beside him, various documents were scattered all over the ground, almost obscuring his thin figure.

Gao Shiming stood to the side, his eyes also bloodshot and his mind in a daze.

Since receiving several reports from the local authorities yesterday afternoon, His Majesty has been behaving very differently.

He immediately ordered that all memorials, reports, and official documents concerning Liaodong since the time of Sarhu be brought into the palace.

Then, he led a group of eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs to examine and sort through the information day and night until this moment.

For those written before the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, only a general outline was needed; for those written after the fifth year, every word and sentence was examined in detail.

After reviewing all the documents, His Majesty sat there like a statue, remaining silent for a long time.

He could sense that beneath that silent figure, an unprecedented storm was brewing.

……

Zhu Youjian was indeed going through a storm, but it was just a brainstorming session.

Nothing more—project requirements changed, so what's a little overtime?
He once worked for two days straight without sleep to come up with a solution, and then presented it on stage the next day, securing a client contract on the spot.

This level of information from the feudal era is just a drop in the ocean.

As for why he was in such a hurry, it can only be attributed to a series of unforeseen events that disrupted his plans.

Originally, he was quite methodical and planned to take two days to digest the situation in Liaodong.

But people are not as good as heaven.

Yesterday afternoon, three urgent reports arrived in quick succession, completely disrupting his schedule.

The first document was about Sun Chengzong.

The old man, though old in age, was still young at heart. After receiving the imperial decree, he set off immediately and arrived at the post station in the capital region yesterday.

The other two were pure bad news.

Zhu Youjian's fingers gently caressed a report from Jizhou.

The three feathers attached to it represent the urgent delivery of a 300-li (approximately 150 km) express courier service.

The content of the newspaper was almost comical.

"...The previous report was untrue. Hudun Tuhan (Lindan Khan) is in good health and has been safe ever since. The previous news was a trick by a barbarian from beyond the Great Wall to obtain a reward; the man has already fled without a trace..."

The real bad news came from the second half of the newspaper.

"...The other garrison commander went out of the pass to inquire from various sources. According to the rumors from the Doyan tribes, Hudun Tuhan is gathering archers, claiming to number 100,000, and intends to invade the right wing tribes of Mongolia to the west."

"Harachin Khan and Buyan Ahai have decided to resist and have sent people to contact Bushitu of the Tumed tribe."

"However, the attitudes of the various tribes of Duoyan differed. For example, the Shu tribe's attitude was ambiguous, seemingly unwilling to offer assistance..."

(P.S. For those who are confused about the various Mongol forces at the end of the Ming Dynasty, I suggest you carefully look at the table and diagram below, as they are very important.)
Ligdan Khan's Western Expedition!
If his time travel was a game, then this event was definitely S-class, epic!
This momentous event, which was enough to change the entire landscape of East Asia, actually happened in the late autumn of this year, right after he ascended the throne!
This marked the beginning of Ligdan Khan's ambition to dominate the grasslands, but it was also the prelude to his downfall.

It was also the beginning of the Later Jin dynasty—that imprisoned tiger—escaping its cage!
Zhu Youjian shifted his gaze from the report to the sand table.

His finger slowly traced the mountains and rivers, finally stopping at the northeast corner, on a city marked with a wooden block.

Shenyang.

The present capital of the Later Jin dynasty.

His greatest rival in this life, the man named Huang Taiji, should be in that city right now, plotting his empire.

How difficult was the situation for the Later Jin before Huang Taiji ascended the throne?

In Zhu Youjian's mind, the strategic blueprint of the Ming Dynasty's three-border layout slowly unfolded.

To the west lies the Liaoxi Corridor, stretching from Shanhaiguan to Jinzhou, like an iron arm that connects Mongolia on the left and the Bohai Sea on the right, firmly holding down the arm of the Later Jin and preventing it from advancing westward.

To the south lies Lushun, where they plot to retake Haizhou and Gaizhou, constantly threatening its heartland.

To the east, Dongjiang Town, along with its reinforcements from North Korea, was harassing Kuandian and coastal areas, severing their support.

These three invisible chains tightly bound the Later Jin dynasty to a corner of Liaoshen.

Thus, although the Later Jin's momentum was fierce, it was ultimately a desperate struggle like that of a cornered beast.

Though its voice was loud and its momentum fierce, its claws could not ultimately reach far. In the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, Nurhaci, wielding the power accumulated over several years, personally led a large army to launch a fierce attack on Liaoxi, only to suffer a crushing defeat at the walls of Ningyuan and return in disarray.

That battle demonstrated the might of the Ming Dynasty.

In the words of contemporaries: "When the rebellion broke out in Liaodong, all the cities collapsed at the mere sight of it. After eight years, the rebels suffered their first defeat, and we now know that China has men to contend with!"

His elder brother, the Tianqi Emperor, was overjoyed and issued an edict praising him: "This is unprecedented in the past seven or eight years, and it is truly a source of pride for the frontier!"

Meanwhile, the situation within the Later Jin dynasty was further exacerbated.

The country suffered a great famine, and grain prices soared. A peck of rice was worth ten taels of silver, and there were even tragic cases of cannibalism.

Nurhaci, however, coldly issued a cruel order—to kill all those without grain.

At this time, although it cannot be said that the Later Jin dynasty had gone from prosperity to decline, it had indeed reached its lowest point since it started its uprising.

If the Ming Dynasty can seize this opportunity and deliver a fatal blow, perhaps this major threat can be eradicated.

It's important to understand that when trying to achieve big results with small investments, the biggest risk is getting stuck in a stalemate.

The smaller side must rely on a series of victories to maintain morale and prestige. Once the offensive is thwarted and the side is exhausted, defeat is not far away.

—Wasn't a certain war in later generations the same?
But just at this critical juncture, in August of the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, Nurhaci died and Huang Taiji ascended the throne.

He stepped onto this historical stage a year earlier than I did.

Huang Taiji inherited a mess that was beset by internal and external troubles.

Surrounded by powerful external enemies, plagued by internal famine and unrest, and further hampered by the shared rule of the four princes, the country faced numerous obstacles.

However, in this seemingly unsolvable deadlock, Huang Taiji made a brilliant move in just four months.

He defied public opinion and avoided the formidable Ningjin defense line. Instead, he marched eastward, first breaking through Dongjiang and then pressing down on Korea. In one battle, he even forced King Injo of Korea to sign a "brotherly alliance".

Dongjiang Town suffered a severe blow, while Korea, which had been an ally of the Ming Dynasty, became, to some extent, a granary for the Later Jin.

With the Later Jin's food supply problem solved, Huang Taiji's personal prestige reached its peak.

The first chain nearly snapped.

In April of this year, riding high on his great victory, he launched a renewed attack on Ningjin.

As a result, the army was once again bogged down beneath the fortified city.

This seems to prove that as long as the defenses are solid, the Later Jin dynasty remains helpless.

Now, Ligdan Khan's westward expedition has presented Huang Taiji with an excellent opportunity to break the second chain of control.

Historically, Ligdan Khan was ambitious but lacked magnanimity. He conquered various Mongol tribes by force, and wherever he went, they became disloyal and alienated.

Huang Taiji would seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, using the banner of "opposing Ligdan Khan" to unite all the tribes that hated Ligdan Khan and jointly attack the Chahar.

With the balance of power shifting, Ligdan Khan lost support and was ultimately defeated and killed in Qinghai.

Huang Taiji would thus gain the allegiance of the entire southern Mongolia and the right to freely attack along the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty for thousands of miles in the north.

By then, the so-called Liaoxi Chains would only have bound the Guan Ning Corps itself.

The absolute strategic advantage, combined with the Mongol cavalry and the Jurchens' agricultural and iron-smelting technology...

From then on, the tiger and rhinoceros escaped from their cages and were no longer able to be controlled!

Zhu Youjian tapped his fingers lightly on the sand table, producing a dull sound.

None of this has happened yet.

The year was 1627.

Ligdan Khan, 35 years old. Huang Taiji, 35 years old.

Zhu Youjian was seventeen years old.

In this year, three monarchs who would determine the future of East Asia stood at the crossroads of their respective destinies.

Where will their first encounter take place?

Zhu Youjian's gaze swept across the sand table, from Ningjin to Dongjiang, and then to the vast Mongolian grasslands, his eyes distant and profound.

The tide of history, like a surging torrent, is rushing in, inspiring boundless ambition.

And he, this soul from the future, the youngest monarch of the Ming Dynasty, the chess player with the strongest national power in theory, can he make a move that changes the course of the world in this game that he has already played once?
(End of this chapter)