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

Chapter 475 The imperial edict arrives

Sun Yuanhua's words immediately made Yuan Chonghuan excited. To be honest, this was indeed a good idea.

From the information we have received so far, the Eight Banners of the Jiannu army that entered the country from Jizhou were led by Huang Taiji himself, and they were the elite and main force of the Eight Banners.

Since Huang Taiji and the main forces of the Eight Banners were in the area from Zunhua to Jizhou, Liaodong was bound to be empty. If the main forces of the Ming army gathered in Liaodong at this time did the opposite and attacked Liaodong, even if the Eight Banners were good at fighting, they would not be able to defeat the powerful Liaodong forces.

With the cooperation of Dongjiang Town in Pidao, the two-pronged attack will directly take Shenyang. Even if Shenyang cannot be taken in the end, it will not be difficult to recover the lost territory. And once this is done, Huang Taiji's old nest will be in danger. Even if Huang Taiji ignores his old nest and attacks the capital, if Shenyang can be taken, the entire Liaodong Jiannu will inevitably collapse. At that time, even if Huang Taiji takes the capital, he will become a rootless duckweed. Let alone 60,000 Eight Banners soldiers, what can he do even if he has 100,000 or 200,000?
Once their old nest was lost, the Jiannu would no longer be a threat within the Ming Dynasty. Once the troops from all directions arrived to support the emperor, they would close the gate to the northern grasslands, making it like closing the door to fight the dog. Huang Taiji and his elite Eight Banners would be caught in a dilemma, and the only possible outcome would be defeat.

Of course, doing so would be equivalent to giving up the rescue of the capital, which is extremely risky. But as the saying goes, the greater the risk, the higher the reward. If we can solve the Liaodong problem in one battle, it is worth taking some risks. Besides, how can the capital be so easy to fight? You must know that there are still three camps in the capital, which are the Beijing camp troops guarding the capital, with more than 100,000 people.

Although Yuan Chonghuan also knew that the three major camps today were no longer the original three major camps, with low combat effectiveness and serious problems of eating empty salaries, but no matter what, a lean camel is bigger than a horse, no matter how weak it was, it would definitely be possible to mobilize 30,000 to 40,000 troops.

Furthermore, there are other garrison troops surrounding the capital, and tens of thousands of people can be mobilized in an emergency. There are 350,000 people in the entire capital, and if the population of the suburbs is included, the total number is 800,000.

With so many people, they could draw on the young and strong to organize an army of tens of thousands. Although these troops could not defeat Huang Taiji's elite Eight Banners in a field battle, they would have no problem defending the city.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the capital has been besieged many times. Not to mention the defense of the capital after the Battle of Tumu, the Mongolian army approached the capital in the 29th year of Jiajing. At that time, the capital was also short of soldiers and generals, but didn't it stop the Mongols?

In addition, Yuan Chonghuan had already received news that the situation in Jizhou and Zunhua was already known in the capital, and Emperor Chongzhen had begun to mobilize troops from all over the country to come to Beijing. By the time the Ming troops from all directions arrived, it would be wishful thinking for Huang Taiji to rely on the Eight Banners to break through the capital.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Yuan Chonghuan seemed to see that his promise of pacifying Liaodong in five years had become a reality. If he followed Sun Yuanhua's suggestion, the possibility of success would be very high. If he could resolve Liaodong in one battle and completely destroy the Jiannu, then he, Yuan Chonghuan, would definitely go down in history.

Just when Yuan Chonghuan was moved and was about to agree to Sun Yuanhua's suggestion, a soldier suddenly came to report that the angel sent by the emperor had arrived.

The meeting was immediately suspended and Yuan Chonghuan hurried out of the residence. When he got outside, he saw several dusty people just dismounted from their horses. The leader of them was a eunuch.

"Where is Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Ji and Liao?" the eunuch asked in a slightly sharp voice, holding the imperial edict wrapped in a bright yellow cloth bag in one hand.

"Your servant Yuan Chonghuan greets the angel..." Yuan Chonghuan hurriedly stepped forward and saluted.

The eunuch shouted, "Your Majesty has ordered!"

Yuan Chonghuan responded. At this time, servants had brought the incense table and other items and set them up on the spot. Yuan Chonghuan and his subordinates knelt down in front of the imperial edict. The eunuch took out the imperial edict and read it in public. The content of the imperial edict was not long and the meaning was very simple. Emperor Chongzhen told Yuan Chonghuan in the imperial edict that the capital had made preparations, and the Ministry of War had dispatched troops from Datong, Xuanfu and various places to rush to the capital. If the invading army was the Jiannu, then Yuan Chonghuan could use the home advantage of "they are tired and we are at ease, they are guests and we are hosts" to annihilate the enemy.

In addition, in order to unify the command, Emperor Chongzhen granted Yuan Chonghuan the authority to dispatch reinforcements from all directions, making sure that the enemy was completely wiped out and no one could return.

After the imperial edict was read, Yuan Chonghuan kowtowed to accept the order. The eunuch handed the imperial edict to Yuan Chonghuan with a serious face and gave Yuan Chonghuan some instructions, which meant that Emperor Chongzhen had high hopes for Yuan Chonghuan and hoped that Yuan Chonghuan would not let Emperor Chongzhen down, etc.

Then, Yuan Chonghuan sent someone to take the envoy away to rest. After the eunuch and the people who came left, he pondered for a long time holding the imperial edict he had just received in his hand. Finally, he decided to send troops to Jizhou and stop Huang Taiji in Jixi.

"Master Yuan!" Sun Yuanhua was shocked when he didn't expect Yuan Chonghuan to choose his suggestion and lead thousands of troops to Jizhou to fight Huang Taiji. He was about to persuade him again, but was stopped by Yuan Chonghuan's stern look.

Then, Yuan Chonghuan directly dispatched troops and specifically asked Zu Dashou, who he trusted the most, to lead the main force of the Guanning Army from Shanhaiguan and go directly to Jizhou to intercept Huang Taiji's Eight Banners Army. At the same time, Yuan Chonghuan, because he had the imperial edict of Emperor Chongzhen's full command, issued several orders in succession, asking scouts to deliver orders to various troops to reinforce the capital.

Among them, he ordered the Changping General You Shiwei, who had already set out for Jizhou, to return to Changping to protect the imperial mausoleum, the Xuanfu General Hou Shilu to go to Sanhe to defend to prevent the Later Jin from rushing westward, and the Datong General Man Gui to retreat to protect the capital, leaving only the Baoding General Cao Minglei to join the Guanning Army led by himself and Zu Dashou in Jizhou.

After issuing one order after another, Yuan Chonghuan swept his eyes across the crowd and specifically instructed everyone that except for the generals and troops who followed him to Jizhou, the rest of the troops left behind should not move without permission, but should focus on the defense of Liaodong and wait for follow-up orders. If anyone disobeyed, he, Yuan Chonghuan, would not forgive them.

After saying these words, Yuan Chonghuan finally turned his gaze to Sun Yuanhua. Sun Yuanhua's heart sank, and he realized that Yuan Chonghuan's words were apparently meant for everyone to hear, but were actually a warning to himself.

After making all the arrangements, Yuan Chonghuan waved his hand and asked everyone to retreat and prepare. Two hours later, the vanguard went ahead, and the main force set out half a day later. Everyone responded and left the mansion one after another. At this time, Sun Yuanhua, who was about to leave with them, was stopped by Yuan Chonghuan.

"Chu Yang!"

"What instructions does your Excellency have for me?" Sun Yuanhua stopped and turned around to ask.

Yuan Chonghuan waved to him, indicating Sun Yuanhua to sit next to him. Sun Yuanhua walked over and sat down below Yuan Chonghuan.

"Does Chuyang blame me for not adopting your suggestion?" Without outsiders around, Yuan Chonghuan asked softly in a very gentle tone.

Sun Yuanhua shook his head silently but said nothing.

Yuan Chonghuan sighed, "Chuyang, your suggestion is indeed good. If it works, we can not only attack Huanglong directly, but also conquer Liaodong in one battle. But you also saw the imperial edict sent by the angel just now. His Majesty has made a decision and ordered me to rush to reinforce and lead the troops to annihilate the enemy Jiannu. Although I am the commander-in-chief of Ji Liao, Your Majesty is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. As a subject, how can I go against Your Majesty's decision?"

"But Lord Yuan, if we go back to support the capital, let's not talk about whether we can stop the Jiannu from moving south in Jixi. Even if we can barely stop them, given the fierceness of the Jiannu's Eight Banners, our Guanning Army will inevitably suffer huge losses. In addition, the Jiannu will not foolishly wait for our army to cut off their path. Once they move west or south ahead of time and directly enter the capital, the speed of the cavalry is simply beyond the reach of our infantry. At that time, they will definitely be led by the nose by the Jiannu."

"Sir Yuan, you have led the army for a long time and have fought against the Jiannu for many years, so you naturally understand this truth. Now the main force of the Jiannu is in Jizhou. Even if my Guanning Army does not come back to help, it is absolutely no problem for me to defend the capital with the strength of my Ming army in the capital. If the Jiannu come out in full force, Liaodong will inevitably be empty. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! As long as my army takes this opportunity to march eastward, Liaodong will be pacified!"

"I know, I know..." Seeing that Sun Yuanhua still wanted to persuade him, Yuan Chonghuan sighed and nodded. He comforted Sun Yuanhua and said, "Your idea is naturally good, but as a minister, you can't do this. If His Majesty has not issued an imperial decree, you may still give it a try, but His Majesty's imperial decree has arrived. Can I act against it? If so, His Majesty will definitely not forgive me. By then, no matter how great my achievements are, I will definitely be convicted and dismissed from my position!"

Sun Yuanhua said anxiously, "Sir Yuan, if you disobey the order, it is certainly possible, but the great opportunity to gather Liaodong's military forces to pacify Liaodong in one fell swoop is right in front of us. If you let it go, you will never have it again. Moreover, as long as Sir Yuan can win the battle in Liaodong, Huang Taiji and the main forces of the Eight Banners will surely collapse without a fight, and the danger to the capital will be resolved. Even if His Majesty blames Sir Yuan at that time, it will be worth it. What's more, His Majesty has always trusted Sir Yuan. As long as Sir Yuan can pacify Liaodong and pay some price, I think His Majesty will eventually understand and will not blame you!"

"What if?" Yuan Chonghuan asked, "What if we don't save the capital, but fail to destroy the Jiannu and the capital is besieged by the Jiannu, what will your majesty think? What will the civil and military officials think? How will the people of the world view me, Yuan Chonghuan? Can you guarantee that you will win if you don't save the capital and march eastward to Shenyang? If that happens, how can I, Yuan Chonghuan, explain to your majesty, the Ming Dynasty, and the world?"

"Chu Yang, things in the world are not as easy as you think, especially the current situation is not just a military matter, one move will affect the whole body. As the commander-in-chief of Ji Liao, I can't do whatever I want and just focus on the battle situation in front of me!"

Yuan Chonghuan's words were full of helplessness. In fact, how could he not know that Sun Yuanhua's suggestion was right? But just as he said, he was only the governor of Ji and Liao, not the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He did not dare to take this risk. Once something went wrong, the Ming Dynasty would be finished, and he, Yuan Chonghuan, would inevitably be despised by the world.

Since coming to Liaodong to lead the army, Yuan Chonghuan has almost reached the pinnacle of his life, from the initial military supervisor to the military governor, then from the military governor to the governor, the general and now the commander-in-chief of Ji and Liao.

The more he has, the more concerns he has. Taking all aspects into consideration, he no longer has the adventurous spirit he had when he first came to Liaodong. What's more, Emperor Chongzhen has given him such an imperial edict. If he disobeys the order and insists on attacking Liaodong regardless of the comfort of the capital, let alone whether he can achieve his goal, even if he really wins, he, Yuan Chonghuan, will not end up well.

(End of this chapter)