Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 473 Fooling
Huang Taiji must have known about the solidity of the Ningjin defense line. He knew that it was unlikely that he could take it by force, so why did he do this?

Could it be that Huang Taiji was really a reckless man? But this was impossible! Looking at the map, Yuan Chonghuan couldn't help but ponder. He stood on the map for a long time with a frown on his face, staring at the terrain on the map, but he couldn't figure out the other party's intentions.

Unconsciously, Yuan Chonghuan gradually shifted his gaze eastward, toward the direction of Pi Island. He wondered in his heart whether Huang Taiji was planning to attack the east while making a feint to the west, ostensibly aiming at the Ningjin defense line in the west, but the real target was Pi Island in the east?
But as soon as this idea came up, it was rejected by Yuan Chonghuan. The reason was very simple, because Huang Taiji would never do that.

Although Mao Wenlong was dead, the various tribes in Dongjiang Town of Pi Island had shown a tendency to split after Mao Wenlong's death. Among the two associations, Chen Jisheng's East Association and Liu Xingzhi's West Association were incompatible, but they had not really fallen out after all.

Once Huang Taiji attacked Pi Island, both Chen Jishen and Liu Xingzhi would rise up to resist. What's more, the new general Huang Long was already in place. Huang Long was Yuan Chonghuan's man, and he was recommended by Yuan Chonghuan to be the general of Dongjiang Town. Before Huang Long went to Dongjiang Town, Yuan Chonghuan had explained to him a few things, that he not only had to maintain the stability of Pi Island, but also had to guard against sneak attacks by Huang Taiji's Eight Banners.

Huang Long is definitely not as good as Mao Wenlong in terms of military talent, and even Zu Dashou, Zhao Lushi and others are not as good as him. However, Huang Long has one good thing, that is, he is obedient. He will do whatever he is told to do without fail, and he is deeply trusted by Yuan Chonghuan. It is for this reason that Yuan Chonghuan recommended him as the general of Dongjiang Town.

In addition, Pi Island is on the sea. Dongjiang Town has a strong navy, while the Eight Banners, although fierce, can only operate on land. If the Jiannu could attack Pi Island from the sea, then Dongjiang Town would have been destroyed as early as the Nurhaci period. How could it have survived to this day?

Huang Taiji was not stupid. He knew that it was not easy to capture Pi Island. The Eight Banners soldiers, lacking a navy, could not do anything to Dongjiang Town even if they were good at fighting. So Huang Taiji's target could not be Pi Island. So what was his real goal in mobilizing the Eight Banners?
Thinking of this, Yuan Chonghuan withdrew his gaze from the east and returned to the area where the Eight Banners soldiers were gathered. Then he moved his gaze to the left and looked towards the west.

Suddenly his pupils shrank, and Yuan Chonghuan seemed to have thought of something. He hurriedly stepped forward, his eyes less than two feet away from the map, staring at one place.

"Isn't he targeting this place?"

The more he looked, the more frightened he became. Sweat broke out on Yuan Chonghuan's forehead because he was staring at Jizhou inside the Great Wall.

Jizhou is located in northern Zhili, northeast of the capital. From the capital to Shanhaiguan, Jizhou is near the middle.

This place was under the jurisdiction of the Shuntian Governor, but Yuan Chonghuan was also aware of the situation there. He knew that although there were Ming troops stationed here, there were not many soldiers, and they were all old, weak, sick and disabled, with extremely poor combat effectiveness.

Judging from the current situation of the Ningjin defense line, Huang Taiji certainly has no way of fighting from Jinzhou and Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan. Yuan Chonghuan is no pushover. Although the Liaodong soldiers under his command are not as good as the Eight Banners in field combat, they are more than capable of defense.

Once the Eight Banners Army attacked like this, Yuan Chonghuan would be confident of holding on thanks to the solid Ningjin defense line, and could even use the advantage of firearms to teach Huang Taiji a severe lesson.

In this case, it is impossible to attack Ningjin by force, and it is also impossible to attack Pi Island in the east. Huang Taiji has no navy, and the Eight Banners cannot cross the sea and land at Tianjin Wei on war horses. The only possibility left for Huang Taiji is to go west into the Mongolian territory, then use the Mongolian grasslands to take a detour and attack Ming Dynasty from Jizhou.

This tactic seems unlikely, because if Huang Taiji did so, the risk would be great, which would be equivalent to giving up the confrontation with the Ming army in Liaodong and going hundreds of miles to advance alone from the Mongolian grassland. Most people would not do this, because if something went wrong halfway, or if the Ming Dynasty was prepared, not only would all the previous efforts be wasted, but there might also be heavy losses.

But extraordinary people do extraordinary things. Yuan Chonghuan did not dare to underestimate Huang Taiji. Yuan Chonghuan, who was always proud, had never taken advantage of Huang Taiji since he dealt with him. You think such a person would not do this, but what if he did it? Who can guarantee it?

What if Huang Taiji borrowed the Mongolian route as Yuan Chonghuan judged? As the commander of Ji-Liao, his main battle area was in Liaodong, and his main force was also in Liaodong. The line from Jizhou to Zunhua was not something he could directly manage. In addition, it was just a guess, and he could not take the risk of withdrawing the main force from the Ningjin line to the Jizhou area, because doing so would weaken his deployment of the Ningjin defense line. Once the troops were transferred, Huang Taiji would attack Ningjin with all his strength. If the defense line was shaken due to insufficient troops, he would not be able to bear this responsibility.

Yuan Chonghuan could not sit still as he glanced back and forth between the two places. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He immediately stamped his feet, turned around and went to the desk, found a blank memorial, ground ink, picked up a pen, and wrote a memorial to Emperor Chongzhen.

In the memorial, Yuan Chonghuan expressed his concerns and reminded Emperor Chongzhen to pay attention to the defense of Jizhou. In particular, he wrote: "There is no need to worry about Liaodong. Only Jimen and Lingjing are on the back. If the military force is not increased, if the barbarians use them as guides and invade through the slaves, the disaster will be unpredictable..."

It has to be admitted that Yuan Chonghuan was a capable man. He was keenly aware of what might happen. After warning Emperor Chongzhen, Yuan Chonghuan also suggested that Emperor Chongzhen strengthen the defense in this area and deploy heavy troops, especially in the direction of Zunhua, where it would be better to add a militia commander to just in case.

After writing the memorial, Yuan Chonghuan read it carefully and sealed it when he felt there was no problem. At this time, the sky outside was getting light, and Yuan Chonghuan called his servants to send the memorial out immediately. Two days later, the memorial was delivered to the capital and reached the hands of Emperor Chongzhen.

After receiving Yuan Chonghuan's memorial, Emperor Chongzhen did not dare to neglect it. He quickly called the ministers to ask for advice and solicit opinions from the cabinet and the Ministry of War. After the memorial was passed around in the hands of several cabinet elders and the Minister of War Wang Qia, no one spoke. They looked at each other and kept silent.

"My dear ministers, what do you think about what Yuan Chonghuan said in his memorial?" Seeing that no one spoke, Emperor Chongzhen felt very uncomfortable. He couldn't just let everyone stare at him, so he asked directly.

After the words were spoken, no one spoke, because everyone knew that Emperor Chongzhen was not an easy master to serve. Working under such a master, the faster you get into trouble, the faster you will get into trouble. If you said something wrong, even if you were an important official just now, you might be stripped of your official position by the emperor the next moment, or even dragged out and spanked.

So after a long time, everyone just lies down and feels pain, saying as little as possible and not expressing an opinion if possible.

Seeing these ministers behaving like this one by one, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but feel furious. He glanced at these ministers and finally fell on the Minister of War Wang Qia.

"Wang Qia!"

"I'm here!" Wang Qia secretly complained in his heart. Shouldn't he ask the Prime Minister first? Why did he ask him first? But the emperor called his name, and he couldn't hide, so he had to stand up and salute.

"You are my soldier. Tell me what you think of Yuan Chonghuan's suggestion."

"I...I think that what Yuan Chonghuan said in his letter has no real evidence. It is just speculation and cannot be confirmed. However, I also think that as the commander-in-chief of Ji and Liao, Yuan Chonghuan has always been familiar with the Liaodong Jiannu. Although his words may seem groundless, they do make some sense after careful consideration."

Wang Qia's words do not offend anyone, and there is almost no difference between saying it and not saying it.

Emperor Chongzhen was immediately displeased and asked him how he should respond.

In desperation, Wang Qia could only suggest that they make some arrangements first, just in case.

"Make some arrangements? Lord Wang, you are so arrogant!" At this time, an elder in the cabinet immediately retorted: "Since it is groundless, why bother making any arrangements? Jiannu is in Liaodong, Jizhou is in Zhili, and to the north is Mongolia. The Mongolian tribes are not dead, so how can they let Jiannu borrow the road? No matter how stupid the Mongols are, they know the danger of borrowing the road!"

"Even if the Jiannu use Mongolia as a transit point, how can they march thousands of miles? How can they attack the Great Wall? Are the soldiers of the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty just for show? As for the deployment, if we follow Yuan Chonghuan's suggestion to withdraw heavy troops to garrison Jizhou, then there will definitely be vacancies in other directions. Then won't the Jiannu take advantage of the opportunity to invade? If so, who will bear the consequences?"

"That's well said!" Another cabinet minister agreed and had the same attitude. He thought that since Yuan Chonghuan was in charge of Liaodong, his target should be the Liaodong battlefield. Why did he inexplicably care about the safety of Zhili?

If the Jian Nu really invaded Zhili, then there must be something wrong with Yuan Chonghuan, so he thought that Yuan Chonghuan was clearly using this method to divert the court's attention and to arrange a way out for himself. If he failed to stop the Jian Nu at the Ningjin line, then he could shirk responsibility. We are all officials, so which official doesn't have a few tricks? Everyone knows who.

Of course, some people agreed with Wang Qia's suggestion, believing that Yuan Chonghuan would not attack without a purpose. Since he mentioned this issue, the court should also consider it. What if? What if the Jiannu really attacked Zhili via a detour? Don't forget that Jizhou is very close to the capital. Once the Jiannu broke through here, it would be a big trouble.

For a while, people were saying all kinds of things, and the noise made Emperor Chongzhen feel overwhelmed. He thought what one person said made sense, and he also felt what another person said was correct. But in the end, he should decide whether to believe Yuan Chonghuan or not, and even Emperor Chongzhen himself couldn't make up his mind.

In desperation, Emperor Chongzhen decided to put the issue of troop deployment on hold for the time being and first asked everyone about Yuan Chonghuan's suggestion to set up a militia commander in Zunhua. That should be no problem, right?

But then someone suggested that Yuan Chonghuan's recommendation of Wang Wei as the commander of the Zunhua militia was inappropriate, because Wang Wei had just been impeached by the censor for corruption. A man who was impeached for his personal morality and was still waiting for punishment was asked to serve as the commander of the Zunhua militia? What was this? Wasn't this a disguised way of letting Wang Wei off the hook?
In view of this situation, everyone said that anyone could be selected as the commander of the militia, except Wang Wei. When Emperor Chongzhen asked, who else should be sent besides Wang Wei? Everyone kept silent again, looking at each other, and no one could come up with a suitable candidate. Seeing this scene, Emperor Chongzhen was furious. You didn't say anything when I asked you to speak, and you opposed this and that when others proposed candidates. What's going on? Do I, the emperor, have to make all the decisions? What do I need you ministers for?
In anger, Emperor Chongzhen slammed the table. Seeing that the emperor was angry, everyone apologized quickly. Looking at the ministers below, Emperor Chongzhen was furious and immediately told them to get out. After receiving this "order", everyone was eager to run away as soon as possible. In the blink of an eye, they all ran away, leaving only the emperor who was still sulking.

(End of this chapter)