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

Chapter 474 Sun Yuanhua's Plan

There was no follow-up to Yuan Chonghuan's memorial, and even the selection of the commander-in-chief of the Zunhua militia was dragged out by the court and eventually came to nothing.

In the blink of an eye, the days passed one by one. As time went by, the war situation in Liaodong remained stalemate. Small-scale conflicts and wars broke out from time to time between the two sides, but large-scale wars had never occurred. This made Yuan Chonghuan feel a lot more relieved.

Sometimes Yuan Chonghuan wondered if he was being too suspicious or if his guess was wrong. Seeing that there was no unusual movement on the Jiannu side, Yuan Chonghuan did not urge the capital and put the matter aside for the time being.

But Yuan Chonghuan didn't know that just as he was gradually relaxing, Huang Taiji had already made preparations. Just as Yuan Chonghuan had imagined, Huang Taiji had been secretly holding back a big plan, and his plan was just as Yuan Chonghuan had expected.

Between the two options of attacking the Ningjin defense line head-on and attacking the Ming Dynasty via a detour, Huang Taiji finally chose the latter. After mobilizing troops and letting part of the army continue to attack Jinzhou, while making an appearance of forcibly attacking Ningjin, Huang Taiji had already privately sent people to contact the Mongolian tribes.

Because of his previous alliance with the Mongolian tribes, Lin Danhan was driven out of Chahar. Now the relationship between the Mongolian tribes and Huang Taiji is in the honeymoon period, and the relationship between the two sides is very good.

Especially the Kalachin tribe. Yuan Chonghuan sold the military rations to them in name, and after receiving the military rations, the Kalachin tribe gave them to Huang Taiji. This shows how good the relationship between the two sides was. Now that they had to attack the Ming Dynasty by a detour, the Kalachin tribe was the best partner. For this reason, Huang Taiji sent people to contact them and promised them a lot of benefits. The Kalachin tribe not only had benefits, but also could follow the Eight Banners to attack the Great Wall and plunder the Ming Dynasty. After hearing this, the leader of the Kalachin tribe agreed without hesitation and sent a guide to lead the way for Huang Taiji.

This time, Huang Taiji invested a huge amount of money and mobilized almost all the main forces of the Eight Banners. Except for leaving a few thousand people to garrison Shenyang and continue to attract Ming troops in Liaodong, the more than 50,000 elite Eight Banners as the main force were led by Huang Taiji himself and went directly westward into the Mongolian grasslands, all the way west to meet up with the people of Kalaqin, and led by the guide of Kalaqin, they went all the way west to bypass Shanhaiguan, and then turned south and headed straight for Jizhou without anyone noticing.

The Mongolian and Kharchin people joined forces, and the two armies, with a total of more than 60,000 people, marched directly into the Great Wall when the Ming army was unprepared.

Just as Yuan Chonghuan had worried before, Jizhou was simply unable to hold on. After a brief encounter, they were defeated by Huang Taiji's Eight Banners. The Jiannu army broke through the pass directly. In just a few days, the Longjing Pass, Da'ankou, Hanerzhuang, Malanyu, Hongshankou and other fortresses under the jurisdiction of Jizhou Town were successively conquered, and the Ming army in Jizhou was completely defeated.

When Huang Taiji led his troops to the Great Wall, Yuan Chonghuan was still in Ningyuan. After receiving reports from his subordinates that there was a beacon fire on the Great Wall and something might have happened in the direction of Jizhou, Yuan Chonghuan was not sure whether Huang Taiji had really taken a detour to attack, because the Eight Banners were still active in the direction of Jinzhou, and conflicts of varying sizes had never stopped.

Faced with this situation, Yuan Chonghuan decided to send Zhao Lujiao to lead troops to rescue for the sake of safety. To be honest, this move was very hasty, because Zhao Lujiao had only a few thousand infantrymen under his command. If such a small number of people encountered Huang Taiji's main force, it would be extremely dangerous. Logically speaking, Yuan Chonghuan's best response at this time was to send out his elite Guanning Iron Cavalry, plus the main forces of Zu Dashou and He Kegang, and gather the garrison at Shanhaiguan to quickly move towards Jizhou. Once it was clear that it was indeed the main force of the Eight Banners invading, then with the Guanning Iron Cavalry, the Ming army would at least be able to ensure a battle.

However, he only sent Zhao Lujiao to rescue, and the troops he brought were not many. If they encountered Huang Taiji's main force head-on, the risk would be extremely high.

But Yuan Chonghuan did just that. By doing so, he treated Zhao Lujiao as a test pawn. The reason he did this was of course because Zhao Lujiao had previously reported Yuan Chonghuan for his misdeeds. Yuan Chonghuan had always disliked him and had long wanted to deal with him, so this time he deliberately gave him such a risky task.

Zhao Lujiao did not refuse Yuan Chonghuan's order. He led his troops out of Shanhaiguan overnight and headed west to rescue Jizhou. When they arrived at Santunying, Zhao Lujiao saw that the soldiers were tired and planned to rest here and reorganize his troops. However, Zhu Guoyan, the general of Santunying, refused to let Zhao Lujiao in because he had not received orders from his superiors and asked him to camp outside.

Helplessly, Zhao Lujiao was unable to enter Santun Camp for rest. After spending a night outside, he continued to lead his troops westward the next day, and arrived near Zunhua the following day. Just as Zhao Lujiao had just arrived in Zunhua and had not yet figured out what was going on, the main force of the Eight Banners Army that was already near Zunhua suddenly appeared. The two armies met head-on. Zhao Lujiao was shocked when he saw this. Faced with the situation of being outnumbered by the enemy, he could only fight hastily.

There was no preparation at all for this battle. Zhao Lujiao's troops were not large to begin with, and they had been marching rapidly without rest. The soldiers were exhausted and they were infantry. When the main force of the Eight Banners appeared, the morale of the army plummeted. Although Zhao Lujiao led the troops to meet the enemy, he was no match for the Eight Banners.

Less than half an hour after the battle began, Zhao Lushi, who was leading the charge, was shot by an arrow and fell off his horse and died. With the death of the commander-in-chief, the entire army collapsed instantly and was ultimately destroyed.

Zhao Lujiao's reinforcements were annihilated outside Zunhua City. Seeing this, the defenders in Zunhua City no longer had the idea of ​​resisting. Without reinforcements, how could they withstand the siege of the Eight Banners? Soon, the Ming army in Zunhua City opened the city and surrendered. The governor committed suicide for his country, and Zunhua fell into the hands of Huang Taiji.

After the capture of Zunhua, the Ming army in Jizhou was left with only a solitary force in Jizhou city. Huang Taiji directly controlled the line from Jizhou to Zunhua, and began to rest and reorganize using Zunhua as a base, while sending his troops to burn, kill and loot everywhere.

A few days later, the situation in Jizhou reached Liaodong. After receiving the news of Zhao Lushi's death and the fall of Zunhua, Yuan Chonghuan immediately knew that something was wrong. What he was most worried about finally happened. This could not be a small force of Jiannu and Mongolia, but the main Eight Banners of Huang Taiji.

The loss of the Jizhou-Zunhua line made the Ming army's deployment in Liaodong completely useless. Whether it is Shanhaiguan or Ningjin Defense Line, they are defending against the Eight Banners of Jiannu in Liaodong, and are deployed in the Liaoxi Corridor to block the opponent's main roads leading to the interior. Originally, as long as Jiannu could not break through this defense line, the interior would be safe. But now it is different. Huang Taiji did not fight you head-on, but took a detour through the Mongolian grasslands and broke into the Great Wall directly from Jizhou. This caused the Ming army's deployment in Liaodong to be completely ineffective, and no matter how solid the defense line was, it would not work at all.

In addition, Jizhou and Zunhua are very close to the capital. If you use a fast horse, you can reach the capital in two or three days at most. What does this mean? Yuan Chonghuan certainly knows that since the Mongolian army approached the capital in the 29th year of Jiajing, the capital has once again been under such a serious threat. As the center and heart of the Ming Dynasty, the capital must be saved. If it is destroyed by Huang Taiji, then the Ming Dynasty will be finished.

How could Yuan Chonghuan sit still in the face of such a crisis? He immediately mobilized the main force to rush to Shanhaiguan. When he arrived at Shanhaiguan, Zu Dashou, He Kegang and others had also arrived. Yuan Chonghuan did not delay and immediately held a pre-war meeting to discuss countermeasures.

"Sir, I suggest that we send troops to Shanhaiguan as soon as possible to rescue Jizhou City, stop the enemy in Jixi, and protect the capital!" As the leader of the Liaodong generals and a loyal subordinate of Yuan Chonghuan, Zu Dashou was the first to speak.

"General Zu is right!" He Kegang agreed and said, "I think it is urgent to stop the Jiannu in Jizhou. If the Jiannu continue to move south or head straight for the capital, the capital will be in great danger! I am willing to lead 10,000 soldiers and horses to be your vanguard, march west overnight and stop the Jiannu!"

"I am also willing to be the pioneer!"

"My Lord! The capital must be rescued! Please send troops as soon as possible!"

At one time, most generals expressed their attitude, saying that the best way to deal with it now was to quickly rescue Zunhua and Jizhou and block Huang Taiji's troops in the Jixi area. As long as Huang Taiji was not allowed to go south and the Eight Banners were driven back, there would be no problem in the capital. Once the action was too late, when Huang Taiji continued to go south, he would be able to reach the vicinity of the capital in a few days, and the situation would be serious.

Some people also proposed a solution, which was not to save Zunhua, because Zunhua had fallen into the hands of Huang Taiji. Huang Taiji had occupied Zunhua, and it would be difficult to attack Zunhua. It would be better to take a detour southwards before Huang Taiji, and then rush northwards to Jizhou City to cut off Huang Taiji's westward advance. This would give them a better chance of success and force the Eight Banners to withdraw.

Listening to everyone's words, Yuan Chonghuan, dressed in military uniform, couldn't help but fall into deep thought. He felt that the suggestions of his subordinates all had merit, especially the idea of ​​not rescuing Zunhua but taking a detour south to cut off Huang Taiji's westward route. If this could be done, it would not only prevent Huang Taiji from continuing to march towards the capital, but also stop the Eight Banners in the Jixi area.

In addition, Yuan Chonghuan had another plan, which was whether he could take this opportunity to deal a heavy blow to Huang Taiji in Jizhou City. After all, the current situation had exceeded his expectations. As the governor of Ji and Liao, he was responsible for Liaodong military affairs. Although Yuan Chonghuan had reminded the court before the fall of Zunhua that he hoped to strengthen the defense force from Jizhou to Zunhua and set up a militia commander in Zunhua, the court did not follow Yuan Chonghuan's suggestion, which led to this situation.

But no matter what, the incident had already happened, and even if he had warned the court in advance, Yuan Chonghuan still had an unshirkable responsibility. So in order to make up for his mistakes, Yuan Chonghuan had to consider this issue.

"Sir!" Sun Yuanhua, who had been silent, stood up and said to Yuan Chonghuan, "I think it is not a good idea to rescue Jizhou now."

"Oh, Chuyang, what's your opinion? Feel free to tell us." Yuan Chonghuan still valued Sun Yuanhua very much. After all, they were old partners, and it was Yuan Chonghuan who specifically asked Emperor Chongzhen to send Sun Yuanhua to Liaodong. Sun Yuanhua made a great contribution to the Ningjin defense line being so solid.

In addition, Sun Yuanhua was a civil servant, not a military general. Compared with military generals, Yuan Chonghuan, who also came from a civil servant background, was naturally much closer to civil servants. Hearing what Sun Yuanhua said, Yuan Chonghuan raised his eyebrows and asked immediately.

Sun Yuanhua said, "I think it's not a good idea to rescue Zunhua or go south to resist the enemy in Jixi. Zunhua has fallen into the hands of the enemy. If I guess correctly, the Eight Banners of Jiannu have already controlled the eastern line of Jizhou and can march westward at any time. If our army rushes there at this time, it will take at least four or five days to reach Jizhou City even if we are fast. If Jiannu has already marched south to bypass Jizhou, or marched westward, we are not sure we can stop them."

"Sir, don't forget that the Jiannu are all cavalry, and they move as fast as the wind. Most of my troops, except for the Guanning Iron Cavalry, are infantry, and we can't catch up with them at marching speed. If we can't stop them, the Jiannu will definitely threaten the capital. By that time, the land around the capital will be flat, making it easier for cavalry to gallop. With the speed of our infantry, we can only run behind the Jiannu. How can we intercept them?"

"What do you mean...?" Yuan Chonghuan frowned. The problem raised by Sun Yuanhua did exist.

"I think it would be better to attack Wei to save Zhao. We should only send part of the army westward to contain Jiannu, while our main force in Liaodong will turn around and move eastward. Since the main force of Jiannu has taken Zunhua, Liaodong must be empty. Our army does not need to worry too much. We can go all out to attack Jiannu's lair. In addition, we can let Dongjiang Town land at Pi Island and attack Shenyang from two directions together with our main force. As long as we are fast and fight resolutely, Jiannu will not be able to stop us. At that time, Huang Taiji will not sit idly by and watch the loss of his lair. He will definitely withdraw his troops. In this way, the situation in Jizhou can be resolved and the danger in the capital can be solved!"

(End of this chapter)