Huangming

Chapter 223 Nurhaci, the Battle of Shenyang Begins

"Report——!"

The scout staggered into the general's mansion, knelt on one knee, and his voice trembled:
"The Jurchens set up an ambush twenty miles away, and General Zhong led three hundred cavalrymen into the ambush... The entire army was wiped out!"

"boom!"

Li Bingcheng slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacup to overturn and hot tea to spill like blood.

"Zhong Hong! How dare you!"

His face was ashen, his knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, and his eyes burned with rage that seemed to pierce through the military tent.

He had clearly told all his soldiers that they must not go beyond the 20-mile boundary marker.

The results of it?
Ignore his words as nonsense.

Are you okay now?
The entire army of three hundred cavalrymen was wiped out.

You're dead, fine, but I'm the one who has to take the blame!
Seeing this, Deputy General Wang Shouzhong quickly stepped forward and whispered:
"Commander, please calm down! It was Zhong Hong who disobeyed orders; it has nothing to do with you..."

"Unrelated?!"

Lee Byung-sung abruptly turned his head, his gaze sharp as a knife:

"This town is under the command of General Fengji Fort! Three hundred soldiers have shed their blood on the battlefield. How can I explain this to Minister Sun? How can I apologize to Commander Xiong?!"

The tent was deathly silent, except for the summer breeze that blew into the room, creating a few sounds.

After a long silence, Lee Byung-sung took a deep breath and, suppressing his anger, asked:

"What are the casualties of our troops?"

Deputy General Wang Shouzhong clasped his hands and said:

"Returning to the headquarters, of those who pursued out of the city, only Zhong Hong's three hundred cavalrymen were completely wiped out. Apart from a few who were seriously injured in the pursuit, the rest were unharmed."

Li Bingcheng frowned, tapped his knuckles on the table, and asked again:

"How many fortresses did the Jurchens capture? How many soldiers did they lose on the frontier?"

"Ten bastions fell, and five hundred and thirty-seven men were killed."

"Plus three hundred cavalry..."

Li Bingcheng closed his eyes and did mental calculations, quickly arriving at the answer: "That is, more than eight hundred lives and three hundred warhorses."

He suddenly opened his eyes and asked in a cold voice:

"Where are the Jurchens?"

Wang Shouzhong straightened his back: "Two thousand will be beheaded!"

"Snapped!"

Li Bingcheng slammed his hand down, shattering the teacup, his face contorted with rage.

"You're counting those refugees who filled in the trenches as military merits?!"

Wang Shouzhong was speechless.

The generals in the tent had shifty eyes.

Who doesn't know that those ragged, starving people driven ahead are nothing more than human shields to consume arrows?

but
As long as one can bribe the eunuch in charge, it's not impossible to take these heads and claim the reward.

Judging from Lee Byung-sung's expression, he clearly did not intend to do so.

"This humble general..."

Wang Shouzhong's Adam's apple bobbed, and he could only say with a heavy heart, "Our army has captured 421 Jurchen armored soldiers."

"Eight hundred for four hundred..."

Lee Byung-sung suddenly let out a cold laugh, the sound as grating as a knife scraping rust:
"What a perfect example of 'killing four hundred enemies while losing eight hundred of your own'!"

He turned abruptly, his armor clanging, his eyes blazing with fury that seemed to burn through the tent:
"I am acting on the orders of the Jibao soldiers. When did I ever stoop so low as to offer two for one to the Jurchens?!"

There was dead silence in the tent.

A veteran corps commander who had experienced the Battle of Sarhu stepped forward with a heavy heart:

"General... actually, this result is already quite good."

His voice was deep, carrying the vicissitudes of a veteran of the battlefield:
“Those Jurchen soldiers were all elite Eight Banner troops personally trained by Nurhaci.”

"And what we lost were just new recruits who had only been training for a little over a month..."

"New recruits are easy to replace, but elite Eight Banner soldiers are not so easy to replenish, and..."

The old clerk didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood:
Those heavily armored Jurchen bannermen, skilled in archery and horsemanship, were all war machines that Nurhaci had forged with blood and fire over more than a decade!

It won't be easy to replenish supplies in a short time, and after this battle, Fengji Fort will be a tough nut to crack in the eyes of the Jurchens.

In subsequent attacks, they will either focus on key targets or bypass Fengjibao and launch attacks on other places.

Moreover, the second possibility is more likely.

Lee Byung-sung, however, laughed in anger:

"fart!"

He overturned the table, scattering documents and maps all over the floor:
"The lives of us Han Chinese are a hundred times more precious than those of barbarians!"

"If we can't even gain an advantage in defending the city, won't we just be lining up to die in open battle?!"

The curses echoed in the camp, and the generals fell silent.

After a long silence, Lee Byung-sung suppressed his anger and asked in a deep voice:
"Any movement from the Jurchens?"

Wang Shouzhong immediately reported:
"The Jurchens have already started felling trees and building fortifications, constructing siege ladders and shield carts..."

He swallowed hard and said in a low voice:

"Judging from their stance, they're going to launch a full-scale attack."

storm?

Li Bingcheng looked out at the gloomy sky, his palms unconsciously sweating.

If the Jurchens launch a strong attack on Fengjibao, can Fengjibao be defended?

Li Bingcheng's gaze was cold, and his fingertip pointed heavily at the location of the Hun River on the sand table: "Immediately strengthen the city defenses and dig deep trenches!"

"We cannot cede the Hun River to the Jurchens!"

He suddenly waved his hand, as if cutting off the flow of water:
"Iron chains block the river, sunk ships to block the way! We cannot allow the Jurchens to transport soldiers and provisions through the Hun River!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals in the tent were startled.

This is an attempt to sever the Jiannu's vital waterway supply!

Wang Shouzhong immediately understood the implications:
Sarhu City is situated on the upper reaches of the Hun River. If the river is not blocked, the Eight Banners cavalry can arrive in a day, and supplies and weapons can be transported downstream. How can the Ming army resist?
Li Bingcheng continued issuing orders, his voice as firm as iron:

"Also, send an urgent message over 600 li to Shenyang and Liaoyang reporting on the movements of the Jurchens!"

He took a deep breath, his armor gleaming coldly in the firelight:

"Our troops, hold your ground and await reinforcements!"

"I will obey my orders!!"

The generals responded with a thunderous roar, their voices shaking the rooftops.

the other side.

The summer wind whistled across the open fields outside the new city of Sarhu.

Nurhaci reined in his horse and stood there, his iron armor gleaming coldly in the twilight.

Although this Khan of Heaven's Mandate has gray hair and beard, his back is still as straight as a pine tree. Every wrinkle etched on his face by time hides the killing intent of decades of battles.

"Snapped!"

The whip cracked in the air, startling the surrounding generals into unconsciously tensing up.

Nurhaci's hawk-like gaze slowly swept over the crowd, and the chilling intent in his eyes made several young Niru Ejen instinctively lower their heads.

Only the three hundred yellow-flag bannermen behind him remained standing tall on their horses like iron statues.

These personal guards, clad in triple iron armor, were all fierce soldiers forged in the crucible of war. Their indifferent eyes seemed to say: In this world, there is no city wall that the Eight Banners cavalry cannot breach!
"master!"

Tongjia Huerhan strode through the crowd, the wax seal on the military newspaper in his hand glowing blood-red in the setting sun.

The veteran general, one of the five ministers, frowned and slowly said, "The military reports from the First Prince and the Fourth Prince have arrived. The Ming army has built a complete bastion defense line around Shenyang. It will probably not be an easy task to attack."

The air suddenly solidified.

The veins on the back of Nurhaci's hand, which was gripping the reins, bulged, and his knuckles turned white from clenching them.

“Li Yongfang’s eight Niru lost more than 400 Zhenyi outside Fengjibao. What’s more troublesome is that the Ming dogs sank 30 grain ships in the Hun River and laid seven iron chains across it. We can’t use this waterway.”

"Snapped!"

"唏伦~"

Nurhaci suddenly lashed his whip at the birch tree beside him, the sound of the bark cracking startling his warhorse into neighing.

The old Khan's temples throbbed with veins, and his white beard trembled violently in the cold wind: "Xiong Tingbi! Li Bingcheng! Sun Chengzong!"

Every word he uttered seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"And that brat Tianqi hiding in the capital! Does he think he can stop the offensive of my Great Jin?"

The sound of armor clashing echoed in the twilight.

The banner leaders exchanged glances discreetly. Amin's lips twitched, while Mangultai subconsciously touched his empty satchel.

Nurhaci took in all these subtle changes in expression.

He knew that these kids were thinking about how much grain and cloth they could seize before winter, not about any grand ambitions or imperial plans.

Now, when faced with even a small setback, they think of retreating.

That's absolutely shameful!

"how?"

The old Khan suddenly sneered, his voice like a dull knife scraping bone.

"A few iron chains have terrified you? Or do you think we can't defeat the Ming army?"

"Back when we started our rebellion with thirteen suits of armor, we weren't this delicate!"

Nurhaci's eyes blazed with fury, his voice as firm as iron:
"Since the Hun River is impassable, let's launch the attack by land!"

"Order Daishan to lead his troops south from Tieling to escort military supplies!"

"The grain and supplies in the Fushun Pass area will be transported after Huang Taiji breaches the city!"

Once Nurhaci gave the order, no one dared to question it or disobey it!

As the founder of the Later Jin dynasty, Nurhaci rose from the Jianzhou Three Guards and fought in the south and north for decades, forging the Eight Banners into an iron-blooded army.

His authority is not to be challenged!
His will is destiny!
There were times when no one tried to challenge him:
Shurhaci, Chu Ying, Adun...

Without exception, these people met the same fate:
That is death!

The great victory at Sarhu not only crushed the Ming army's 100,000 elite troops with the Eight Banners cavalry, but also allowed Nurhaci to annex the remnants of the Yehe tribe in one fell swoop, truly unifying Jianzhou!

The fearsome reputation of the Eight Banners had long since spread throughout the grasslands and even shocked Korea!

Upon hearing this, the princes, ministers, and generals' eyes blazed with fighting spirit, and a contemptuous smile appeared on their lips.

"The Ming army? Nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs!"

"We, the descendants of the Eight Banners, are invincible!"

After the Battle of Sarshu, the balance of power had long since shifted!

The Ming Dynasty feared the Jurchens like tigers, while the Jurchens regarded the Ming army as lambs!
This psychological reversal is far more fatal than the gains or losses of territory.

Nurhaci's military orders thundered down like lightning.

The Later Jin, this war machine forged from iron and blood, roared into action!

The various military units operated like gears, warhorses neighed, armored soldiers stood in formation, craftsmen wielded hammers to forge siege weapons, and provisions and supplies were continuously transported along the post roads...

The Battle of Shenyang has begun!

(End of this chapter)