The Ming Dynasty: A bookstore sells the history of the Ming Dynasty, leaving Emperor Chongzhen bewil

Shengjing.

Although it was late at night, Huang Taiji still sent the official Sony to respectfully invite Fan Wencheng to the palace of the Later Jin Khan.

When Fan Wencheng arrived at the council hall with Sony, Huang Taiji was sitting at the table reading a memorial.

Fan Wencheng stepped into the house, about to bow in respect, when Huang Taiji grabbed his arm, saying, "Sir, there's no need for such formalities!"

As he spoke, Huang Taiji pulled Fan Wencheng to sit beside him and handed him the memorial on the table. "Due to a sudden change in events, I have taken the liberty of disturbing you late at night! This is a memorial sent by our spies. Please read it and we can discuss it further."

Fan Wencheng took the memorial and read it carefully. His expression suddenly changed, and he asked incredulously, "Is this true?"

Sony nodded. "After verification, it is indeed correct."

At this moment, the Great Beile Daishan approached quietly and asked, "Khan, has something unexpected happened?"

Huang Taiji laughed and said, "Mao Hao is dead."

Is Mao Hao dead?

Daishan was taken aback by what he heard, as were the other princes present.

For many years, Mao Wenlong took advantage of the Later Jin's lack of experience in naval warfare, using Dongjiang Town as a base to frequently send troops of several thousand men deep into Later Jin territory to carry out guerrilla warfare. Which of the princes present hadn't suffered losses from this?

Mao Wenlong's guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines kept the Later Jin army constantly on the move, and the Later Jin army compared him to a mouse, thus giving him the nickname "Mao the Mouse".

Huang Taiji said, "Two days ago, Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty personally went to the island and happened to run into the envoy sent by our Jin Dynasty. During the process, Yuan Chonghuan impeached Mao Wenlong. It is said that Yuan Chonghuan listed twelve crimes committed by Mao Wenlong deserving of death and produced a lot of evidence. Chongzhen was furious and had Mao Wenlong dragged away and beheaded on the spot!"

"Hahaha! Good! Well done!"

"Yuan Chonghuan? Yuan the Barbarian? He did us a tremendous favor! With Mao Wenlong dead, the Dongjiang forces are leaderless, and the 30,000 troops on Pi Island collapsed without a fight! There are no more obstacles behind Liaodong!"

"That Emperor Chongzhen was utterly incompetent. He personally went to Pi Island to relieve our worries. Haha, with such a ruler, how could the Ming Dynasty not perish?"

The princes celebrated their new official hats.

"Is there a trap?" Fan Wencheng asked cautiously.

Huang Taiji replied, "No, according to reliable sources, Yuan Chonghuan even went to Mao Wenlong's funeral to pay his respects and weep. It's truly crocodile tears!"

Fan Wencheng nodded: "It is said that Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty was ambitious and eager for quick success. Mao Wenlong had many correspondence with the Khan. Chongzhen happened to run into the envoy we arranged when he came to the island. In addition, with Yuan Chonghuan's impeachment, it was reasonable for Chongzhen to kill him."

After listening to Fan Wencheng's analysis, Huang Taiji couldn't help but be overjoyed. He looked at Fan Wencheng and asked, "Sir, last time you said that the Ming Dynasty was like a towering tree, and we had to chop it down piece by piece. Now we've already chopped down Mao Wenlong with this one stroke. So, sir, where do you think we should chop next?"

Fan Wencheng pondered for a moment and said, "The Guan-Ning-Jin defense line is now under the command of Sun Chengzong. He has already built an impregnable wall outside Shanhaiguan, just waiting for us to crash into it."

"Then we won't crash."

Huang Taiji's voice suddenly became resolute, carrying an unquestionable authority: "Let him build his iron wall, we will go our own way."

Upon hearing this, Beeldorgon seemed to understand something, and his spirits lifted: "The Khan means... to take a detour?"

Huang Taiji did not answer directly, but looked at Fan Wencheng: "Tell me again about the road you mentioned last time."

Fan Wencheng understood, walked to the huge map hanging on the side of the hall, stretched out his hand, and pointed to the vast, undulating mountain range west of Shanhaiguan.

"The Great Wall of Jizhou stretches for two thousand miles. Although it has many passes, not every section is dangerous. Especially the areas around Longjing Pass, Da'an Pass, and Xifeng Pass..."

As he spoke, he traced an arc along the Great Wall with his finger, finally pointing to the vicinity of Zunhua and Santunying. "The terrain here is gentler, the walls are low, the soldiers are few, and the garrison commander is incompetent. If we select tens of thousands of elite cavalry to bypass the border from the north of Xifengkou, we can reach the walls of Zunhua within ten days. Once Zunhua falls, we can look towards the capital."

His finger continued forward, past Zunhua, past Jizhou, and finally, gently touched the huge city marker—the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

"At that time, Sun Chengzong was outside Shanhaiguan, having traveled a thousand miles to provide reinforcements, and his troops were already exhausted. We, on the other hand, were well-rested and ready to advance or retreat at will. Whether we attacked the capital or plundered the surrounding areas, it was all up to the Khan."

Daishan Dorgon and the others widened their eyes, staring intently at the route drawn by the finger on the map, as if they could already see the dust and smoke of iron cavalry trampling through the Great Wall.

"Enter the pass...and march straight...to the capital?"

Just hearing those words made them excited.

Huang Taiji stood up, walked to the map, and stood side by side with Fan Wencheng. He gazed at the map, at the winding Great Wall, and at the vast and fertile land within the Great Wall.

"Mao Wenlong is dead."

Huang Taiji said those words again, but this time, his tone lacked its previous calmness; instead, it was filled with a sense of fervor and exhilaration: "He's dead. We have nothing to worry about now. He's dead..."

He reached out and, imitating Fan Wencheng, pressed his fingertips on a point on the Great Wall, slowly applying pressure as if he wanted to puncture the paper border.

"It's time to open this door."

Daishan and the others could no longer contain themselves. They knelt on one knee, clasped their hands, and said in deep voices, "Your Majesty is wise! We beg to be the vanguard and swear to conquer the borders of the Ming Dynasty for Your Majesty!"

……

Shanhaiguan.

When Chongzhen returned here, Sun Chengzong was already waiting for him.

Sun Chengzong had already heard rumors about what happened on Pi Island. He had thought about it a lot, and finally couldn't help but ask Chongzhen face to face: "Wenlong was wrong, but his crime did not warrant death. Why did Your Majesty kill Wenlong?"

Chongzhen replied, "If Wenlong is not killed, how dare the slave chieftain go west?"

This answer surprised Sun Chengzong.

He thought of many reasons, but he never expected it to be this one.

Sun Chengzong suddenly remembered that when Chongzhen first came to Shanhaiguan, he had mentioned to him the possible route of the Jurchen chieftain's advance. Now, killing Mao Wenlong would relieve the Jurchen chieftain's worries about the rear, induce him to mobilize all his forces, detour through Mongolia, invade the Ming Dynasty, and then catch him like a turtle in a jar.

Are you really so sure the slave chieftain will come?

Sun Chengzong felt that he couldn't see the Emperor clearly anymore. Was this the idea of ​​the expert behind the Emperor?

Emperor Chongzhen did not linger at Shanhaiguan. Instead, he transferred Zhao Shuaijiao, Zu Dashou and their troops, along with Yuan Chonghuan, Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangshan and others, leaving only He Kegang, Zhu Mei and Ma Dengyun for Sun Chengzong.

"Sir, please guard Shanhaiguan for me!"

After giving instructions to Sun Chengzong, Chongzhen led his newly formed army to Zunhua.

Suddenly, all the winds of change gathered in Zunhua...