Huangming

Chapter 283 Attempting to Steal a Chicken Backfires
Mangultai held the order sent by Huang Taiji, his face very ugly.

"Does this Fourth Prince really think he's the Crown Prince?"

He cursed gruffly, his large, round eyes blazing with fury.

"If it weren't for his clumsy attempt to attack Shenyang with water, which hampered our momentum, Shenyang would have been ours long ago! Now, he's putting on airs of being a commander based on his meager achievement of raiding the grasslands!"

The pale moonlight, reflecting off Mangultai's bulging muscles and the scars on his face, made him appear even more ferocious.

Amin rode on his warhorse, twirling his beard with his fingers, his brow furrowed.

He was more composed than Mangultai, but even he couldn't help but sigh:

“Third Prince, say less. The Khan has clearly entrusted him with an important task by having him lead the raid on the grasslands. We suffered a defeat a few days ago on the outskirts of Shenyang, losing more than two thousand men. The Khan is already furious, so how dare we disobey him now? Besides, according to the scouts, Daban City is ablaze, so Huang Taiji must have won.”

Mangultai suddenly turned his head and glared at him, spitting all over his face.

"If we hadn't held onto Ligdan Khan's left flank tightly at Abagahara Mountain and blocked those fickle scum from the five Khalkha tribes, would Huang Taiji have been able to get away with this in Daban City?"

Those auxiliary troops, the Khorchin cavalry, the surrendered soldiers of Ula, which one of them didn't fight alongside us in bloody battles?
Now they're following Huang Taiji around like shadows; he's only benefiting from our ability to distract the main force!

He got angrier and angrier as he talked.

"If I were given the task of managing Daban City, I could not only destroy Ligdan Khan's stronghold, but also seize back all the Ming army's supplies! Who would dare to give orders from there?"

Looking into his bloodshot eyes, Amin felt a pang of resentment herself.

Unfortunately, he was not Nurhaci's son and could not inherit the Jin dynasty's legacy. Now, he could only swallow his anger.

As for the reason, it's simple.

The battle for succession has long been out in the open.

After the Battle of Sarhu, the brothers Daišan, Mangultai, and Huang Taiji each displayed their talents, all wanting to become the successor to the Khan.

Huang Taiji rose to prominence through his "wisdom and strategy," but this time, despite his strong advocacy for the flood attack on Shenyang, the dam collapsed, nearly flooding his own camp. Wang Han was so angry that he smashed his teacup and cursed "useless" three times. They all thought that Huang Taiji's succession was over.

But who could have imagined that Nurhaci Khan's disappointment with Huang Taiji would be outweighed by his anger over their defeat at the front?

Mangultai failed to defeat the Ming cavalry and lost Degelai. In comparison, Nurhaci felt that Huang Taiji was "still brave despite defeat" and let him lead the raids on the grasslands to win over the hearts of the various tribes.

This is clearly paving the way for Huang Taiji.

But what can be done now that things have come to this?

"go!"

Mangultai slapped his horse's back hard, and the warhorse reared up in pain, pawing the grass with its front hooves and neighing.

"If we can seize the supplies that the Ming army gave to Ligdan Khan, or cut off a few more heads of the Ming dogs, it will still be a great achievement when we return!"

He hated the Ming army for hiding in Shenyang and bullying others with their strong walls. Now, hearing that these Han people dared to step out of their "shells," it stirred up the ferocity in his bones.

Who gave them the guts?
Daring to challenge the Great Jin on the grasslands!

Amin tightened the reins beside him, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

Looting supplies is a minor matter; what's important is to dampen the morale of the Ming army and show Wang Khan the power of their two Blue Banners.

"Pass the order down, speed up!"

Upon receiving the order, the elite troops of the two blue banners immediately accelerated their march.

Abatai and Ajige each led a detachment of the Plain White and Bordered White Banners, closely following behind. The torrent of cavalry surged forward, raising clouds of dust that blotted out the sky.

This army was a sharp blade against the Jurchens.

Mangultai's Bordered Blue Banner was skilled in attacking fortified positions, while Amin's Plain Blue Banner excelled in raids. In addition, the banner soldiers brought by Abatai and Ajige were all veterans who had been through countless battles and whose scimitars were already thirsty for blood.

They galloped along the tracks left by the wheels, their warhorses puffing out white steam, their breaths carrying the scorching heat of the race.

Before half a day had passed, a huge, gray-black shadow appeared on the horizon ahead.

That's the Great Wall.

However, the city wall has long lost its former grandeur. In many places, the bricks and stones have collapsed, exposing the rammed earth inside, like ugly scars. In some places, the wind and sand have even eroded huge gaps, which even children can easily climb over.

"Is this the shield of the Ming Dynasty?"

Ajige chuckled and charged into the nearest breach, his horse's hooves crunching over the broken bricks.

Mangultai followed closely behind, his eyes filled with contempt as he gazed at the mottled arrow holes on the city wall and the collapsed watchtowers.

Back then, the Ming army could hold out against the Great Wall for a while thanks to it, but now it's just a decoration, with no decent garrison left.

It seems those Han people are truly afraid; they can't even defend their own homes.

As we passed through the gap in the Great Wall, the scenery gradually changed.

The withered yellow of the grassland was replaced by the brown of the abandoned farmland, and the outline of the village could be vaguely seen in the distance.

"Let's set up camp here to rest and conserve our strength, while we also investigate the details of Shifang Temple Fortress."

Time flies.

Night soon fell.

Mangultai then led his troops out under cover of night, traveling light and quickly. After running for more than ten miles, the silhouette of an earthen fortress finally came into view.

"It's Shifang Temple Fortress!" the scout shouted from the front.

Mangul Taylor stopped his horse and squinted at the scene.

The fort was not large, with rammed earth walls that were about two zhang high. The figures of Ming soldiers could be vaguely seen moving on the city walls, but there was not much movement.

Outside the city were rows of camps.

He licked his chapped lips, revealing a set of yellow teeth, and the fierce glint in his eyes intensified.

"Ming Gou is inside."

However, Mangultai did not rush to order an attack, but instead squinted at the distant earthen fortress.

Years of fighting have taught him that the easier the prey seems, the more likely it is to hide a deadly trap.

"Wait."

He whispered something to Amin beside him, his gaze sweeping towards the direction of Shifang Temple Fortress.

That was the direction his scouts, whom he had sent out early that morning, were supposed to return to.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, several dark figures darted out from the withered grass. When the lead scout dismounted, his armor was still covered with grass clippings and mud, clearly indicating that he had galloped back all the way.

"Reporting to Your Highness!"

The scout knelt on one knee, his voice filled with rapid breathing.

“Outside Shifang Temple Fortress was a Ming army camp, surrounded by fences and densely packed tents. It was impossible to see how many troops were inside. Only the patrolling soldiers at the camp gate were visible, their armor neat and tidy, not appearing to be lax in their defenses.”

"A camp?"

Mangultai's brows furrowed instantly, his doubts deepening.

According to Huang Taiji's information, the Ming army should have gone to support Daban City, so why is there still a camp outside Shifang Temple Fort?

He turned his horse around, gazing at the earthen fortress protected behind the camp, his mind racing with calculations:

If the Ming army had actually gone to Daban City, Shifang Temple Fort would have been empty, and the camp would have been nothing more than a facade.

But what if you didn't go...

Those hidden in that camp might just be the main force of the Ming army.

"Did they go to support Daban City?" Mangultai asked in a deep voice, cracking his whip in his palm.

The scout looked troubled: "I circled the fort twice and arrested some locals. They said they didn't see any signs of a large group of people leaving, and the smoke from the cooking fires in the camp is thick, so it doesn't look like an empty camp..."

Mangultai's face darkened.

He looked up at the distant horizon, feeling as if a stone was pressing on his heart.

Huang Taiji has already amassed a fortune in Daban City, and the Khan's reward is likely already prepared.

If he leaves empty-handed, not only will he lose out in the battle for the throne, but he might even lose some of his existing title.

The score for the defeat at the front and the deaths of Degerai has not yet been settled, and now they have returned empty-handed again...

He didn't dare to think about it.

"If you grit your teeth, you can always get through it."

Mangultai clenched his fist tightly, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

He turned to look at Abatai (the seventh brother) and Ajige (the twelfth brother) behind him and said loudly, "Seventh brother, twelfth brother, each of you take two Niru and go test the waters of that camp."

"If the camp is empty, we'll charge straight in and see how much supplies are inside; if there's an ambush, we'll fight and retreat, and I'll lead the main force to provide support from behind."

"Why should we go?"

Abatai suddenly reined in his horse, his face contorted in pain.

"If anyone's going, it should be your Plain Blue Banner first! Why should we, the Bordered White Banner, be the trailblazers?"

Ajige sneered and lashed his riding whip at the ground.

"Is the Third Prince treating us like fools? If there were real benefits, would you give them to us?"

Although he was young, he had fought many tough battles with Nurhaci and was the one who protected his own banner the most. He was unwilling to get involved in troubled waters easily.

Mangultai's face instantly darkened, and the ferocity in his eyes almost overflowed.

He already had no patience to argue with his two younger brothers, and seeing them making excuses, his anger flared up instantly: "Stop babbling!"

But he also knew that Abatai and Ajige were right.

Asking someone to take a risk for nothing is something no one would be willing to do. Especially now, when everyone is vying for credit, who would risk their life without some reward?
Time is tight.

Mangultai was worried that if he delayed any longer, he might really miss the opportunity.

“I will send two Niru from Zhenglan Banner to go with you.”

He gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice.

Two Niru are two hundred men, all of whom are his elite troops. When he said this, even Amin, who was standing next to him, was stunned for a moment.

Mangultai turned to look at Amin, the meaning in his eyes was self-evident.

Amin cursed "crazy man" inwardly, but knew she couldn't undermine him at this moment.

He coughed lightly and called out to Abatai and Ajige, "My Bordered Blue Banner also has two Niru, both veteran soldiers in armor, who will advance and retreat with you."

With four Niru and four hundred men, plus the original forces of Abatai and Ajige, this probing attack suddenly gained confidence.

Abatai and Ajige exchanged a glance, and the dissatisfaction in their eyes gradually dissipated.

What they want is not fairness, but rather to "not lose out".

Since the Plain Blue Banner and Bordered Blue Banner were willing to contribute, they naturally had no reason to refuse.

After a while.

Abatai and Ajige had already set up their formation on the slope outside the camp. Under the deepening darkness, the two huddled together and whispered their discussion, quickly deciding on the order of attack.

"The suicide squad will go first, sneak into the camp, set it on fire, and disrupt their formation."

Abatai licked his chapped lips and pointed to the fence of the Ming army camp.

“Those Ming people are vigilant during the day, but they will surely be lax at night, which will give us a perfect opportunity.”

Ajige nodded and drew his short sword from his waist: "Let the four Niru of the two Blue Banners be the vanguard. Don't they want to make a name for themselves? Let them test the waters."

Soon, the thirty members of the Great Jin Suicide Squad crouched low and made their way towards the camp under the cover of the withered grass.

They clutched torches soaked in kerosene, daggers at their waists, and moved as lightly as cats. Even their horses' hooves were wrapped in cotton cloth, leaving only the soft crunching sound of grass being crushed underfoot.

The lights in the camp gradually thinned out, and the sentries' footsteps dragged behind the fence, clearly unaware that death was lurking in the shadows.

"Release!" Abatai shouted in a low voice.

The night scouts sprang up, lit torches, and threw them into the tents inside the fence. The oil ignited instantly, licking the canvas and turning half the sky red.

The camp erupted in chaos, with screams and shouts rising and falling. The sentries' warning horns blared sharply, but were mostly drowned out by the cacophony of voices.

"A feint attack from the left, center, and right!" Ajige immediately gave the order.

The Jin soldiers, who had been prepared beforehand, split into three groups and charged toward the fence with shouts.

They weren't really fighting desperately; they were just firing arrows at the city walls to create the illusion of a full-scale attack.

This was intended to draw the Ming army's attention and cause them to disperse their forces to various locations. If the artillery fire was particularly sparse in a certain direction, it would indicate that the defense in that direction was the weakest.

This will provide guidance for the main players going forward.

"That's about enough, let the men from Zhenglan Banner go!"

Seeing that more and more torches were being lit in the camp, Abatai knew that the Ming army had been mobilized, and immediately raised his voice.

The two Niru sent by Mangultai, carrying sandbags and dragging planks, surged toward the trench in front of the camp like a black tide.

These infantrymen were all veterans who had survived countless battles, but they were no match for the sudden sound of muskets blaring from the camp.

The gunshots were particularly piercing in the night sky. The Jin soldiers at the forefront fell like wheat being cut down, and their blood instantly stained the soil red.

"Fill it out! Fill it out for me!"

The centurion leading the team roared with bloodshot eyes, picked up a bag of sand, and charged forward.

The soldiers behind them stepped over the corpses of their comrades, throwing sandbags, planks, and even the bodies of their fallen comrades into the trench. The dull thuds mixed with screams sent chills down one's spine.

At the same time, another group of Jin soldiers, wielding axes and saws, rushed toward the fence illuminated by torches.

The wooden fence, as thick as a bowl, was blackened by the fire. When the axe struck it, it only left a white mark. So they used a saw to slowly cut along the ground. Amidst the flying sawdust, several fence sections finally snapped, revealing a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.

"Ladder! Build a ladder!"

Upon seeing the breach open, Ajige immediately gave the order.

A dozen or so siege ladders were quickly erected on the fence, and the Jin soldiers climbed up like ants, only to be scalded by boiling oil suddenly poured on the city wall. They screamed in agony and fell down halfway up the wall, the sound of their fall on the ground was so dull it was chilling.

Abaterima stood on the slope, looking down at the hellish battlefield below, his eyes cold.

There's no time to think about tactics now.

Huang Taiji's victory report from Daban City is probably already on its way. If they cannot take the camp as soon as possible, let alone achieve any merit, they may not even be able to protect themselves.

"Give it your all! Charge in and loot the gold and silver!" Abatai drew his scimitar and roared at the reserve team behind him.

More Jin soldiers surged forward, filling the trenches with their bodies, splitting the fences with axes, and tearing open the Ming army's defenses with their flesh and blood.

In the darkness, the glint of swords and the glow of fire mingled, and the shouts of battle and screams of agony shook the very earth.

No one counted how many people had fallen, nor did anyone consider whether the tactics were appropriate.

In this race against time, human life became the least valuable thing, and was piled up into the Ming army's camp like sandbags to fill ditches.

It didn't take long.

Under the relentless and fearless attack of the Jurchen vanguard.

The wooden palisade at the breach was shattered into pieces, and the trench was filled with sandbags, planks, and the corpses of Jin soldiers, barely creating a few bloody paths that could be traversed by cavalry.

Abatai and Ajige's men were charging along this road, but they were suppressed by muskets fired from deep within the camp, pinned down inside the fence and unable to advance or retreat. The shouts of battle were mixed with the dense gunfire, making everyone's heart clench.

"It's now!"

Mangultai suddenly spurred his horse, and the banner of the Plain Blue Banner was suddenly unfurled behind him, its deep blue surface fluttering in the night wind.

He didn't leave many reserves, only assigning two Niru men to guard the retreat route, while he himself led the main force of the two Blue Banners, like a deep blue torrent, surging towards the bloody mouth.

Not to be outdone, Amin also led his troops forward.

The clanging of armor and the thunderous sound of horses' hooves pounding the earth made the ground tremble.

Mangultai's scimitar was already drawn, its blade gleaming coldly in the firelight. He could even smell the gunpowder and blood emanating from the camp.

That was the taste of victory, at least that's what he thought at the moment.

But as soon as he reached the vicinity of the gap, he realized something was wrong.

The resistance within the camp was far more tenacious than expected.

The Ming army seemed to have been prepared. Behind the palisade, not only were musketeers firing in shifts, but they also threw rolling stones and poured boiling oil down from time to time. The Jin soldiers who rushed to the front had just climbed over the palisade when they were burned and rolled down with screams, or were shot through the chest by lead bullets, and the blood mist exploded in the firelight, like strange flowers.

"what happened?"

Mangul Taylor stopped his horse, his brows furrowed in worry.

He expected that even if the Ming army was prepared, they should have been thrown into disarray by the previous chaos. But the current defensive line clearly appeared to be fully prepared.

Just then, the guard beside him suddenly screamed, "Your Highness! Look at the flanks!"

Mangultai turned his head sharply, his heart suddenly clenching.

Suddenly, countless torches lit up the wasteland on the left and right sides of the camp, like two burning snakes, flanking them!
Under those torches, one could vaguely see the Ming army's flags fluttering in the wind, the reflections of their armor like stars, and their numbers numbered no less than several thousand.

Those are cavalry!

They are Ming army cavalry!

How did they get here?!
Mangultai's mind went blank, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He finally understood.

The Ming army didn't go to support Daban City at all; they had set up an ambush there from the very beginning!

Huang Taiji sent him to rob supplies not to earn merit, but to push him into a trap!

"You son of a bitch, Huang Taiji! How dare you harm me?!"

Mangultai roared out suddenly, his voice filled with shock, anger, and disbelief.

"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"

Mangultai's voice trembled as he abruptly turned his horse around and roared at the people behind him.

"Bring Abatai and the others back! Now!"

But it's too late.

The Ming cavalry on both flanks had already moved, their hooves thundering as they rolled towards their sides and rear.

As if receiving a signal, the Ming troops in the camp suddenly rushed out from behind the fence, unleashing muskets, arrows, and spears to completely block the gap. Abatai and Ajige's men were caught in the middle, their screams echoing everywhere.

Mangultai watched the torches getting closer and closer, and saw the striker being relentlessly pursued; he felt his vision go black.

He knew he had fallen into a trap, into the treacherous scheme of Huang Taiji, that smiling tiger!
Am I doomed tonight?
ps:
Regarding the issue of strengthening the Jurchen's military strength, the author admits there is one point.

However, rather than strengthening the Jurchens, it's more accurate to say that the author weakened Ligdan Khan. If we follow a normal war scenario, Ligdan Khan at this time was still quite capable, and this battle on the grasslands would have been a long one.

However, since this was not a major plot point, it was handled simply.

Of course, the author can also try to justify himself (by being stubborn):
The Chahar troops were mainly stationed at Daban City and Abagahara Mountain. A portion of the troops at Daban City were also sent to receive supplies from the Ming army.

Therefore, Lindan Khan's strength in Daban City was not at its full extent, and with many traitors among him, it should have been no problem for Huang Taiji to plunder it.

That concludes the explanation.

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(End of this chapter)