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

Chapter 573 Intelligence
Zhu Shenzhui’s purpose was very clear, which was to seize Jining first and control the Qierhaizi area.

As long as he captured this place, Zhu Shenzui would be able to respond quickly no matter where Dorgon attacked from.

Dorgon thought the same thing. Just when Zhu Shenzui led his troops eastward and the army was about to arrive at Zhuozi, Wang Hai's vanguard sent back news that the scouts they sent out encountered Dorgon's scouts near the Jining area. A small-scale battle broke out after the two sides encountered each other, but the battle did not last long. It was just a tentative fight and there were no casualties.

However, the contact between the scouts of both sides proved one thing, that is, Zhu Shencui's goal was correct. Dorgon and Zhu Shencui thought alike and planned to seize Jining first, and then use Jining as a forward base to continue westward to Guihua.

"Send a message to Wang Hai, have the scouts continue their exploration. We must find out the location of Dorgon's main force!"

"Yes!"

"By the way, is there any news from Chahar?" Zhu Shenzhui continued to ask.

"No news yet..." Li You shook his head.

Frowning, Zhu Shenzhui concentrated and thought: "Continue to find a way to contact them. We must get the situation of Dorgon's army at all costs!"

Li You responded quickly, and seeing Zhu Shenzhu waving at him, he went downstairs to make arrangements.

After Li You left, Zhu Shenzhui looked intently at the map in his hand. This map was explored and drawn by him through his trading company in various parts of Mongolia over the years. It can be said that it is much more accurate and detailed than other maps.

He picked up the charcoal pencil and drew a circle on the map at the location of Jining. After thinking for a while, he marked the location where the enemy scouts were found. Then Zhu Shenzhui looked in the north and south directions and fell into deep thought for a while.

Judging from the current situation, Dorgon also intends to seize Jining first, which is similar to Zhu Shenzhu's original expectation. However, it is still unknown where Dorgon's main force is. Although Jining is important, it is not certain whether Jining is Dorgon's main target.

Although Dorgon was young, he had been through many battles and had extremely rich combat experience. In particular, his ability to command cavalry was second to none under Huang Taiji. Otherwise, Huang Taiji would not have sent Dorgon to solve the Tumed problem.

Fighting on the grassland is different from fighting in the Central Plains. The grassland is endless and everywhere can be a battlefield. The cavalry marches very fast and traveling a hundred miles a day is no joke. What's more, Dorgon brought the elite Eight Banners with him this time.

If Dorgon's main force was marching towards Jining, Zhu Shenzui would not be worried. What he was worried about was that Dorgon's main force was not in the direction of Jining, but somewhere on the left or right wings.

If this is the case, then Zhu Shenzui's cavalry will only encounter the coalition forces of Chahar, not Dorgon's elite Eight Banners, which would create a huge uncertainty.

Despise the enemy strategically and value the enemy tactically.

This is a summary of the essence of China's wars over thousands of years, and it is also Zhu Shenzhui's current state. Although he has confidence in this war, he dare not underestimate Dorgon. This opponent, who has never fought against him, has a good reputation. Zhu Shenzhui dare not underestimate him. Once he makes a mistake in using his troops, he will suffer huge losses, and this loss is something Zhu Shenzhui cannot afford.

He ordered Wang Hai to continue to march towards Jining and sent scouts farther to find out the location of Dorgon's main force. If he didn't figure this out, Zhu Shenzhui would never feel at ease, but he also knew that it would be difficult to investigate with scouts alone, because both sides of the grassland battle would send a large number of scouts, and now the scouts of both sides have already fought each other, and now the other side also knows his marching goal, and will naturally react in the same way as he wants.

Therefore, Zhu Shencui was more looking forward to the accurate information transmitted back from Chahar. As mentioned earlier, Zhu Shencui had sent many spies to the various tribes of Chahar many years ago. These spies included Mongolians and Ming people. They went to Chahar as ordinary herdsmen or other identities, and then lurked in the various tribes of Chahar. Their main task was only one, which was to pay close attention to the actions of the various tribes of Chahar and pass on the news.

The Mongols among these people are not counted for now. The Ming people are exactly the same as the Mongols in terms of life and behavior. They are indistinguishable. Moreover, they have the same identity, that is, "Jinyiwei". That's right! It is Jinyiwei.

As the most powerful secret service agency in the Ming Dynasty, the Jinyiwei has always been the sharp weapon in the hands of the emperor to monitor the world. But since Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, Emperor Chongzhen suppressed the eunuchs for his own reasons, and was also deceived by the civil service group to suppress the Jinyiwei. Therefore, the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty is no longer what it used to be. Not only the Jinyiwei, but even the Dongchang is not worthy of its name, and its status, power and treatment have plummeted.

Especially after Emperor Chongzhen abolished the post stations across the country, many Jinyiwei personnel who were not on the payroll became unemployed at once. Even the Jinyiwei offices in various places lost their former glory and became just a decoration.

But a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Even though the Jinyiwei is in such a low point now, its actual strength is still considerable, it's just not taken seriously.

As early as when the post stations were abolished, Zhu Shenzhui had people gather the post station personnel in Shanxi, including those near Xuanda in Zhili. Nearly half of these personnel were from the Jinyiwei. They were facing unemployment. If someone was willing to accept them, they would naturally be willing to change their jobs. Anyway, these people were all non-staff members of the Jinyiwei. Without the support of the court, let alone other things, even eating and surviving became a problem. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhui did not do this in his personal name. He operated it through Zhou Anmin. Zhou Anmin's status in the Jinyiwei is not low now. He is in charge of the Jinyiwei of the entire Shanxi. He is a local powerful faction within the Jinyiwei. His appearance also dispelled the concerns of many people.

After gathering these people, Zhu Shenzhui changed the post station into a carriage inn or a transit station for trade to maintain normal operation. In addition, he selected many members of the Jinyiwei and assigned them to various places to continue their old business.

Apart from the Ming Dynasty, Mongolia, especially Chahar, was the most important area, so a lot of Jinyiwei who were originally Mongolian and Ming people were sent there. Most of these people successfully hid and continued to provide various intelligence to Zhu Shenzhui.

Now that the war is imminent, intelligence is the most important thing. Key intelligence can even affect the outcome of the war.

Zhu Shenzhui was always unsure if he didn't know where Dorgon's main force was. But he hadn't received any intelligence from Chahar yet, which made him very anxious. However, facing such a situation, Zhu Shenzhui could only continue to march towards Jining. Extra hesitation was not conducive to the war. As the commander, Zhu Shenzhui understood this very well. No matter whether Dorgon was heading towards Jining or was somewhere else, the important strategic point of Jining must be taken first.

Zhu Shenzhui's concerns were also Wang Hai's concerns. As a disciple trained by Zhu Shenzhui, Wang Hai knew Zhu Shenzhui's thoughts too well. After receiving the report that the scouts had encountered the enemy's scouts, Wang Hai hurriedly reported the situation to Zhu Shenzhui, while on the other hand, he was also looking for the whereabouts of Dorgon's main force and sent a large number of scouts to investigate.

But when Wang Hai sent out a large number of scouts, the opponent also made the same reaction. As the scouts of both sides continued to encounter each other, small-scale battles became more frequent. Faced with such a situation, it was no longer practical to completely understand the other side's situation, because the fighting between the scouts of both sides had almost blocked the possibility of the other side continuing to explore. However, one thing was certain, both sides' target was Jining, and judging from the size of the army, both were not small. Although the location of each main force was not known, the war was imminent.

Two days later, Wang Hai's vanguard arrived in Jining and occupied an area of ​​ten miles around Jining. At this time, Dorgon's troops also arrived in the Jining area and occupied the area from Qierhaizi in the south to the north.

The two sides formed a standoff, the calm Jining army gathered, and the atmosphere was solemn.

Riding on a horse, Wang Hai looked ahead. In the distance were the Chahar tribes. The two sides were very close. Although the war had not yet started, small-scale battles occurred from time to time, and each side was making tests before the war.

"Is this Dorgon here or not?" Wang Hai frowned and put down the telescope. After the two armies met, he kept sending small groups of troops to try and find out where Dorgon was, but to no avail.

Now the opponent is a vanguard like us, and we don’t know whether the subsequent central army and main force will arrive later.

Zhu Shenzhui's army was less than a hundred miles away from him, and it would take at most one day to arrive. The opponent was probably in a similar situation. The next battle was imminent, but the main force of the opponent was still unknown. Wang Hai felt a little uneasy.

Just as he was thinking, dozens of enemy cavalry came out from the distant direction, and the direction they were coming from was exactly his position.

Without any hesitation, Wang Hai told his men to go, turned his horse and headed back to his own side. As the commander of an army, Wang Hai was not a reckless man who only knew how to rely on his bravery. He went to the front line to investigate personally, not to show off his prowess, so he would not put himself in danger.

A quarter of an hour later, Wang Hai returned to his camp. At this time, a subordinate came to report that a team of scouts had fought with the enemy scouts and captured one of the enemy scouts. However, the prisoner claimed to have important military intelligence to report.

Wang Hai was not too happy. Small-scale battles had occurred from time to time in recent days, and both sides had casualties. There were scouts captured on both sides, including on the other side, but the military intelligence reports of the scouts were often just ordinary information. After all, it was impossible for the scouts at the front to know the movements of the main force. Moreover, when sending out the scouts, Wang Hai had already made arrangements so that if these scouts could not stand the fight, they could reveal the military intelligence information of the front to the other side. This information was basically transparent, and it would not be of much use if the other side knew it.

The same is true for the enemy side, so up to now neither side has fully understood the details and the information obtained is also limited.

However, since the enemy scout was captured and claimed to have military intelligence reports, Wang Hai still wanted to meet him. He immediately asked someone to bring the enemy scout. After a while, a scout tied up with ropes was brought into Wang Hai's tent. After entering the tent, the man first looked at Wang Hai and then spoke a few words.

When these words came out, Wang Hai was stunned and his face changed slightly.

"You guys go down first."

"General!"

"It's okay. Go down and guard outside the tent. No one is allowed to approach!" Wang Hai gave the order in an unquestionable tone. The guards beside him could only agree. After leaving the tent, only Wang Hai and the captured enemy scout were left inside.

(End of this chapter)