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

Chapter 489 Sun Chengzong's Plan
When something happened in the capital, Sun Chengzong knew that the court would probably use him. As expected, within a few days, the court's envoy arrived and brought the emperor's edict.

After receiving the imperial edict, Sun Chengzong set out on the same day and rushed to the capital to meet Emperor Chongzhen. When Emperor Chongzhen asked about his health, Sun Chengzong directly gave an answer that he was still strong despite his old age, in order to reassure the emperor.

Sure enough, Emperor Chongzhen was very happy to hear this, and immediately announced that he would let Sun Chengzong be the chief general to command all the troops to fight this battle.

Sun Chengzong did not refuse the entrustment from Emperor Chongzhen. He directly inquired about the current situation of each army, the movements of the Jiannu, etc. Emperor Chongzhen immediately ordered the Jinyiwei outside to come and told Sun Chengzong all the current intelligence. Sun Chengzong listened quietly without interrupting, and after listening, he fell into deep thought.

"Teacher Sun..."

After waiting for a while and seeing that Sun Chengzong still didn't speak, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but ask.

"Your Majesty! Since Your Majesty has asked me to lead the army, I will naturally not refuse. However, Your Majesty, I have some things to say that I am not sure whether I should say them or not."

Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said, "Teacher Sun, just speak frankly. You are an old minister and my teacher. You don't have to be polite to me. Even if you say something too much, I will never blame you."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Sun Chengzong thanked Emperor Chongzhen with a bow, and then said: "Your Majesty, the current situation is difficult and easy. Although the Jiannu broke through the pass and swept across the capital, they actually did not consider it a threat. I think it is not difficult to repel the Jiannu and protect the capital. The difficult part is how to make arrangements based on the current situation. Since the Jiannu are here, we must make sure they have no way back. If we can use this war to inflict heavy damage on the Jiannu, or even annihilate their main force, then not only can we avenge today's shame, but it will also be of great benefit to the Liaodong war."

"Oh! Teacher Sun, please tell us quickly what your plan is!" Emperor Chongzhen was overjoyed when he heard it, and hurriedly asked Sun Chengzong what good idea he had.

Sun Chengzong did not beat around the bush and directly told Emperor Chongzhen that with the defense and population of the capital, even without the troops outside the city, the Jiannu would not be able to break through the walls of the capital. You have to know that the capital has been moved here for 200 years. During these 200 years, the capital has been rebuilt many times, the walls are high and thick, there are also cannons and other firearms on the top of the city, and there are also elite Beijing camps in the city.

In addition, although the Jiannu were ferocious, they were all cavalry and had no siege equipment. Cavalry could not grow wings, let alone cross the city walls and rush into the city, so it was simply wishful thinking for the Jiannu to break through the capital, and he could guarantee this with his life.

Since the capital city cannot be lost, the effect of garrisoning around the capital city is actually not great. Now the Xuan army, including the troops from other places rushing to the capital city, are all coming to the capital city, which is actually unnecessary.

Because except for the Guanning Army which had cavalry and the Xuanda Army which had some cavalry, the rest of the Ming army was infantry, and facing the invading Jiannu cavalry, infantry and cavalry were at a disadvantage. Moreover, so many troops were crowded into the capital, which caused the shortage of troops in other places in the capital, causing the Jiannu Eight Banners to burn, kill and loot without restraint.

In view of these reasons and taking into account the current specific situation, Sun Chengzong said that the best way is to divide the troops.

Sun Chengzong proposed a plan to immediately send an elite force to Zunhua and Jizhou to eliminate the Jiannu Eight Banners' detachment there and block the Jiannu's retreat. At the same time, send another force to Tongzhou to set up a defense line to reduce and prevent the Jiannu's movement from the capital to Tongzhou. In addition to sending a force to assist the Beijing Camp in defending the capital, the other troops to support the king were concentrated in a selected place, and then with the cooperation of the prefectures and cities, they continued to reduce the Jiannu's range of activities and drove them from the vicinity of the capital to the northeast.

As long as the Jiannu passed Tongzhou, the Tongzhou defenders would simply close the gate of Tongzhou. At the same time, the troops in Jizhou and Zunhua would also set up defenses. Then the situation would change immediately, and the Ming army would turn from disadvantage to advantage. All the troops would be ready to fight back. The Jiannu would have nowhere to go and no way to retreat, and their morale would inevitably be scattered. At that time, the Ming army would not need to take the initiative to attack. As long as they garrisoned a few key positions to continuously consume the Jiannu and prevent them from escaping, it would not take long for the Jiannu to be unable to hold on.

Sun Chengzong told Emperor Chongzhen that the Eight Banners of the Jiannu were different from the Ming army. The Jiannu never brought any logistical equipment to war, and their supplies were all plundered. Their war purpose was to fight to support the war. As long as he followed his ideas, making the Jiannu unable to move on their own, and closing the door to the Mongolian grasslands, the Jiannu would not be able to hold out for long under the oppression of the Ming army. It would take at most half a month, and at most one or two months, and the Jiannu would inevitably collapse.

By that time, if the Jiannu did not sit still and wait for death, they would surely attack the Jizhou-Zunhua line desperately, and fight their way back, while the Ming army would be ready to kill the enemy. Even if they could not completely annihilate the Jiannu, they could still make them suffer a great loss. If this battle was fought well, Liaodong would be stable for at least ten years. If they were lucky enough to kill Huang Taiji directly, it would not be impossible to recover Liaodong.

Sun Chengzong was undoubtedly one of the people in the Ming Dynasty who knew the Jiannu best, and he was also a powerful man who had served as the commander-in-chief of Ji and Liao.

Although the strategic plan proposed by Sun Chengzong had some risks, it was highly feasible, and once successful, the benefits to the Ming Dynasty were self-evident. In fact, Sun Chengzong's plan was not his first choice. In fact, after understanding the entire war situation, Sun Chengzong's first thought was to let the Liaodong troops go straight to Huanglong, taking advantage of the great opportunity when the main force of the Eight Banners was in the capital, and directly attack Huang Taiji's hometown.

This is the same as Sun Yuanhua's original idea, besieging Wei to save Zhao, attacking it is unnecessary, which is the best strategy in military tactics. In addition, the Dongjiang Town in Pi Island can also be dispatched at the same time, one on the east and one on the west. In the absence of the main force defense, the Jiannu's remaining troops in Liaodong will not be a match for the Ming army. As long as Liaodong is captured, Huang Taiji will lose his home base, and the Eight Banners will only be destroyed no matter how strong they are.

Unfortunately, although this strategy is good, it is no longer feasible now because since Yuan Chonghuan brought the main force of the Guanning Army to support the capital, this strategy can no longer be implemented.

Since the main force of the Guanning Army has left Liaodong, the strength of the Ming Army in Liaodong is the same as the Eight Banners Army that stayed behind. If Liaodong sends troops at this time, on the one hand, it cannot send out elite troops, and on the other hand, it will be difficult to defeat the Eight Banners stationed there. In addition, after the death of Mao Wenlong, the Dongjiang Town is now in chaos and the people are not united, let alone any coordinated operations.

As a second choice, Sun Chengzong came up with the current strategic plan, intending to use the capital to play a big game, implement the tactic of closing the door and beating the dog, and solve the Jiannu problem in one fell swoop.

After hearing what Sun Chengzong said, Emperor Chongzhen opened his mouth for a long time. He originally thought that Sun Chengzong was going to say that the various units should be deployed to defend, but he did not expect that this teacher Sun, at such an old age, would dare to take such a risk and even plan a battle that would decide the fate of both sides.

"Teacher Sun... Teacher Sun, if we transfer the troops from the capital, what should we do if the Jiannu army breaks through the capital?" Emperor Chongzhen asked hurriedly.

"Your Majesty! The capital city can never be conquered. Even if all the troops outside are transferred away, the Jiannu cannot take the capital city. This old minister can guarantee this with his life!" Sun Chengzong said firmly.

It's a joke. How could the capital be so easy to break? When Nurhaci, the old thief, attacked Ningyuan, he tried his best but failed to take down a small city like Ningyuan, let alone a big city like the capital. The defense of the capital is not comparable to Ningyuan. Yuan Chonghuan can defend Ningyuan, can he not defend the capital? Not to mention that there is the Beijing Camp in the capital. Even if the Beijing Camp is rotten and can't fight anymore, tens of thousands of people can climb the city wall and throw stones down, right? Unless Huang Taiji can summon heavenly soldiers and generals, the capital is impregnable.

"If we follow Mr. Sun's plan, which unit should we send to Jizhou and Zunhua?" Emperor Chongzhen asked again.

Sun Chengzong said without thinking: "I think it is most appropriate to send the Guanning Army. First of all, Jizhou and Zunhua are under the jurisdiction of the Ji-Liao Superintendent. The Guanning Army is more familiar with the terrain than other troops, and can also better mobilize the local defense line."

"In addition, the Guanning Army is currently the most elite and capable of fighting among all my troops. If I were Huang Taiji, once I learned that my Ming army was heading to Jizhou and Zunhua, I would immediately realize that something was wrong. In order to cut off the tail and survive, I am absolutely sure that Huang Taiji will abandon the capital and turn his army back, escaping to Mongolia from Jizhou to Zunhua before my troops are ready."

"Even if our army has set up a defense line in advance, Huang Taiji has no other choice. If he wants to escape unscathed, he can only attack the line from Jizhou to Zunhua, break through the gap and escape. Therefore, other armies going there are not going to work. Only the Guanning Army has the combat power to fight the Jiannu head-on. If other troops are sent there, let alone whether they can take Zunhua, once Huang Taiji returns, our army will collapse at the first touch. In this way, even if we can protect the capital, we cannot achieve the effect of annihilating the enemy."

Emperor Chongzhen had to admit that Sun Chengzong's words made some sense, but the problem was that he was really worried about letting the Guanning Army go. Although he had just received news that Zu Dashou decided to return to the capital after receiving Yuan Chonghuan's letter, the problem was that the previous actions of Zu Dashou and the Guanning Army made Emperor Chongzhen very distrustful of them, not to mention entrusting such an important task to the Guanning Army.

What if the Guanning Army did something weird again? Especially since Zunhua was very close to Shanhaiguan, what if the Guanning Army did not follow orders when they arrived in Zunhua and just went to Shanhaiguan? How to deal with this?

Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head like a rattle to express his opposition, and asked Sun Chengzong whether it was feasible to send Man Gui's Xuanda Army instead of the Guanning Army. However, Sun Chengzong told Emperor Chongzhen that although the Xuanda Army was also a frontier army, its combat effectiveness was not as good as that of the Guanning Army, and its number was not as large as that of the Guanning Army. Moreover, it lacked the unique Guanning Iron Cavalry, and had no advantage in fighting against the Eight Banners.

This force must be the most elite and the most capable, because not only must it eliminate the Eight Banners Army stationed in Zunhua, but it must also plug this gap, especially in the subsequent war, it must also withstand Huang Taiji's crazy counterattack. If these cannot be done, then the plan cannot be completed at all. And now among all the Ming troops, only the Guanning Army is qualified.

(End of this chapter)