The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 4 Preparing for War
A high platform was built outside the Shajianzi Chariot Camp. General Liu led his generals on the platform, and the military supervisor, dressed in a civilian robe, stood beside him.

More than thirty Jiannu spies with pigtails were brought up.

Everyone was covered in wounds, and some had horse manure stuffed in their mouths, groaning.

The servants forced the spies to their knees. One of them, a fierce man in white armor, had his kneecap shattered, but his expression was ferocious. He was held down by two servants, but he still held his head high and cursed everyone in Manchu.

"what did he say?"

Kang Yingqian had never come into contact with the Jianzhou Jurchen tribe and felt quite curious about the barbarians in this foreign land.

"Returning to the military supervisor, the Tartar dogs are scolding us, saying that we will die like General Du, with no intact body."

After the servant finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

At this time, there was a crowd of people. More than 220 generals and officers above the rank of captain of the Eastern Army all looked up in this direction.

The general had just paid the military salaries, and the morale of the entire battalion was high. The officers had increased their confidence in the war, and the haze of the past had been swept away.

General Liu and Yang Jinglue have always been at odds. This time, the Eastern Army gathered in Kuandian. Due to Yang Jinglue's interference, the court allocated the least food, fodder and military equipment to the Eastern Army among the four armies.

What's even more tragic is that Liu Jing also had to bear the cost of food and fodder for the Korean soldiers.

All the way from Kuandian, the Eastern Army suffered from hunger and cold, and was short of food and fodder. Liu Jing had to speed up their advance frequently. This was also an important reason why they were ambushed and annihilated due to their reckless advance.

After Liu Zhaosun's repeated persuasion, Liu Jing spared no expense and gave the soldiers an extra five days' worth of food and wages.

Although it was just a drop in the bucket, it played a huge role in boosting military morale.

The more than 200 generals and officers standing under the high platform were all Liu Jing's old subordinates who had followed him for many years.

These veterans were present in the pacification of Bozhou, the defense of Annan, and the expulsion of Japanese pirates.

These people are extremely reliable in terms of both combat capability and loyalty.

Liu Jing looked at these old subordinates, and from the resolute expressions on their faces, he seemed to see the scenes of their invincibility on the battlefield in previous years.

"You are all my confidants. To be honest, I have received accurate information. The day before yesterday, the Nu chieftain defeated the troops of Dusong and Malin in succession at Jiefan and Shangya. The Nu chieftain's second prince, Amin, is leading the main force of the Bordered Blue Banner towards Kuandian and is expected to reach Hunjiang tomorrow. The Nu thieves intend to annihilate my Eastern Route Army at Hunjiang!"

After Liu Jing finished speaking, he looked up at the audience below. The faces of the generals changed drastically. The fighting power of the slave bandits was far beyond their expectations.

When the Eastern Army set out from Kuandian, like the other three Ming armies, everyone set out with the mentality of a self-guided tour, thinking that they could wipe out the territory within "ten days".

I didn’t expect that the Jiannu had already destroyed Du Song!
Immediately, someone started cursing Liao Zhen, cursing Li Chengliang and Li Rubai. Liao Zhen watched the slave bandits grow stronger, but did not report it to the court!
In reality, Liaodong officials sent reports to the capital annually, urging the court to be vigilant against the Jianzhou Jurchens. However, the Wanli Emperor had long lost interest in sparring with his ministers, resorting to the "Retaining the Emperor" strategy to counter the loss of imperial power. This, coupled with the perfunctory approach of several cabinet officials, ultimately fostered the poisonous Nurhaci in Liaodong.

After Liu Jing calmed down a bit, he continued:
"Are you afraid of this old slave (Nurhaci)?"

All the generals showed disdain on their faces.

At least during the Wanli period, the battle-hardened generals of the Ming army were able to remain confident when facing the Jurchen tribes on the battlefield.

"That's good! I've interrogated them clearly. The enemy fought a bloody battle with Dusong and Malin, and suffered heavy casualties. They are already at the end of their strength! Amin's entire army came here to seek death. If we kill him, we will make a concerted effort to capture Hetuala. The Jiannu have been operating for many years and must have abundant supplies. By then..."

Liu Zhaosun chuckled, his adoptive father was quite good at fooling people.

For a general, courage comes first.

Only by giving these generals the confidence to defeat the Jiannu can the battle of their lives be fought.

"The fall of Fushun and Dongzhou was due to the Jiannu spies. Du Song, advancing alone, had his camp burned down by Jiannu spies at Hunhe River. Ma Lin's gunpowder in the left camp was ignited, and they both suffered disastrous defeats. The Jiannu's tricks may have fooled them, but they couldn't fool me! Fortunately, Liu Zhaosun reminded us, and we have now captured all the Jiannu spies!"

After Liu Jing finished speaking, he turned around and gave Liu Zhaosun a wink.

Liu Zhaosun was holding a goose-feather knife, looking murderous.

"Xiao Shisan found the person, let him deal with it!"

Liu Jing did this to give Liu Zhaosun an opportunity, a chance to establish his authority in public.

During this half day, Liu Zhaosun shot and killed the Jiannu scouts, captured the slave spies, and also established connections with the civil officials and military supervisors.

In just half a day, Xiao Shisan transformed from a reckless man who only knew how to fight in battle to a brave and strategic general, and was highly regarded by his adoptive father.

The other adopted sons in the army would naturally have some opinions about Liu Zhaosun.

The army advocates the use of force. Killing slaves, thieves and spies and using their heads as sacrifices can establish Liu Zhaosun's prestige.

Of course, if these heads are not enough, the man named Gwanghaegun who is on his way and is determined to betray the Ming army will also become a tool to establish his authority!
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Liu Zhaosun held the goose-feather knife, and his hands were shaking slightly.

Shooting at a long distance and beheading at close range are two completely different concepts, and the visual impact and sensory stimulation they give people are completely different.

"Kill these Tartars quickly! The Korean soldiers will be here soon!"

Liu Jing urged them on, and everyone looked over here, but their expressions were different.

A burly, gray-haired captain standing next to him laughed coldly:

"Thirteen, you fell off your horse yesterday and you're fainting again today. You'd better go back to Kuandian and find a woman to marry. Don't embarrass yourself here, hahahaha!"

The speaker was Liu Tianxing, Liu Jing's adopted son. He was the fourth child, five or six years older than Liu Zhaosun. His temples were already gray, likely from his constant toil. He had followed Liu Jing since childhood and possessed a formidable martial arts background, but he possessed a cruel nature, often committing murders to gain credit for his crimes.

Liu Tianxing is one of the strongest adopted sons, but because of his sinister nature, he is usually disliked by Liu Jing.

Seeing Liu Zhaosun so proud at this time, he was quite jealous. In anger, he would find an opportunity to mock him.

Liu Zhaosun turned around and glanced at Liu Tianxing, feeling disgusted.

If he had been bullied by his brother on ordinary days, he would have just swallowed his anger. But now that he has traveled through time and space and has the support of his adoptive father, he naturally will not compromise or give in.

Liu Zhaosun gritted his teeth, picked up his goose-feather knife, and slashed at a Jiannu spy in front of him, shouting:
"Fourth brother, you are so brave and good at fighting. Why didn't you go out with me to scout? The elite Jiannu army, Bayala, is near the camp. If you go out now, you might be able to chop off a Tartar head and bring him back!"

These words were clearly mocking Liu Tianxing's cowardice and fear of the Jiannu.

Everyone laughed, Liu Tianxing's face turned pale and blue, Kang Yingqian came out to smooth things over:

"You two are General Liu's trusted confidants. The Jiannu aren't far away, so we should prioritize the overall situation and avoid damaging the relationship. The Korean army is coming, and Jiang Hongli can't stay. Are you ready?!"

Seeing the military inspector speak, Liu Zhaosun said nothing more, wiped the blood off the blade, and continued to kill the spies.

After slashing three people in a row, the blade actually broke and a gap appeared.

The scene of the Sarhu battlefield with mountains of corpses and seas of blood appeared before my eyes.

Liu Zhaosun gradually abandoned the moral constraints of a time traveler, entered a violent state, and regained his nature as a fierce general.

The generals looked at him differently.

"That's enough! The rest will be killed when the slaves come to attack!"

Liu Jing looked his adopted son up and down. Liu Zhaosun had killed three people in a row. His chain mail was stained with blood, and there was also some blood on his face. He put away his goose-feather knife, raised his head and glared at his surroundings.

Having achieved the effect of establishing his authority, he let Liu Zhaosun rest on the side while he began to deploy his troops.

Judging from the rout of Dusong and Malin's troops, the camp needed further reinforcement. At least it had to be able to withstand two consecutive rounds of attack by the Later Jin soldiers, providing an opportunity for their own cavalry to counterattack.

The commander-in-chief's soldiers from each battalion piled up the side carriages and baggage carts outside Shajianzi Hill, and when the Korean army came in, they used the cart camp to block the entrance and exit roads.

The auxiliary troops pushed the anti-lu cannons and Portuguese cannons to the top of Shajianzi Hill.

The artillery fixed the artillery in a suitable position, which was sufficient to cover the surrounding river bank waters. This was the core position of the Shajianzi camp.

In Liu Zhaosun's view, as long as the front-line musketeers, sword and shield soldiers, and spearmen did not collapse, the artillerymen entrenched on the mountain would be able to fire calmly and inflict a heavy blow to the Later Jin army that was trying to form a formation to attack.

Two hundred steps outside the artillery position, the Ming army's musketeers will be deployed.

The 3,000 musketeers under Liu Jing's command, together with the 5,000 musketeers from North Korea, totaling 8,000 people, will provide the most important long-range output for the Shajianzi position.

In view of the poor quality of the Ming army's firearms, at the strong suggestion of Liu Zhaosun, 1,500 archers were drawn from the heavy infantry and incorporated into the musketeers. Among these archers, there were many elite veterans whose shooting skills were not inferior to those of the Jianzhou Jurchens.

The 5,000 Zhejiang soldiers led by Kang Yingqian assisted the musketeers in the attack and were deployed behind the musketeers. After waiting for the musketeers and archers to attack from a distance, they took advantage of the chaos in the Jiannu formation and rushed out from the gaps left by the musketeers, using their 17-foot-long spears to kill the remaining soldiers.

The remaining 8,000 infantrymen came from Huguang, Guizhou and other places.

Each of them was equipped with a long sword, long axe, club, waist knife and other weapons, responsible for covering the flanks of the spearmen. They were fully armored and armed, and it was difficult to kill them with one arrow unless the Jiannu shot them directly in the face.

Liu Jing's elite cavalry, about 1,500 men, maneuvered around the Shajianzi camp to prevent flank attacks from the Jiannu cavalry.

Liu Jing assigned his generals to guard the various camps. Several of his adopted sons assisted the Zhejiang troops in the charge. Military Supervisor Kang Yingqian led a team of personal soldiers to oversee the musketeers. Qiao Yiqi, who had not attended the meeting, was in charge of supervising the elite cavalry. It was said that this young master, Qiao, was a legitimate military scholar with exceptional skills, having previously slain a bandit in Jiangnan without a scratch.

General Liu personally guarded the hill.

This place was the farthest from the Later Jin army, but it wasn't because Liu Jing was afraid of death. Ever since hearing that Du Song had been shot dead by a single arrow by a bandit in Jiefan, the experienced general had become more cautious. He suspected this was a common tactic used by the Jiannu, concentrating their heavy arrows to kill enemy generals.

Although Liu Jing was brave, he was not as reckless as Du Song and would never leave himself on the front line as a target.

Liu Jing finally emphasized that the Thirteenth Young Liu Zhaosun should follow Qiao Yiqi and gain some experience.

Liu Zhaosun knew it very well and knew that his adoptive father was considering this for him. After all, it would be easier for cavalry to escape after being defeated.

Liu Tianxing and several of his adopted sons also noticed Liu Jing's intentions. Liu Tianxing looked unhappy, but military orders were like mountains, so he could not refute them and had to obey them.

After receiving the order, the generals dispersed and rushed to their respective camps.

The auxiliary troops prepared rope stakes and chevaux de frise, cut down trees, and reinforced the outer fortifications.

The fire soldiers carried their fire poles, gong pots, iron pots, water bags, and buckets, and ran like ants between the Hunjiang River and the camp, starting to make fire and cook in the camp.

At dusk, the sound of chaotic cymbals, gongs and trumpets came from the valley south of Shajianzi.

Then, a horseman named Ye Bushou came running from the south. His horse trotted over the muddy ground and galloped up the hill. Ye Bushou dismounted and knelt at the gate of Liu Jing's camp:

"Zhenjiang guerrillas report: Commander Jiang Hongli has arrived with all 13,000 Korean troops! We await the general's dispatch!"

(End of this chapter)