Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 333 "Go and stab the Jurchens in the back"

On November 12nd of the sixth year of Chongzhen (December 27, 1633), the charcoal fire crackled in the General's Mansion in Lushun City. Huang Long, wearing a heavy sable cloak, tapped the report on the table with his fingertips.

The cold wind howled outside the window, swirling fine snowflakes that pattered against the windowpane, making a soft rustling sound.

Li Weiluan, the former assistant commander of Dongjiang Town, stood solemnly below the steps, his deep voice echoing in the empty hall.

"...According to reports from Gaizhou, in early November, the Jurchen Abatai led a part of the Manchu Eight Banners Bordered Red Banner and a part of the Han Army Banner, totaling about two thousand Jurchen soldiers, to garrison Haizhou."

"...Three days ago, news came from Ningyuan that the Jurchen Ajige led tens of thousands of troops to attack Jinzhou, capturing six fortified passes and two small forts, and his army had already reached the walls of Jinzhou."

"...Shen Shikui from Pidao reported that a vanguard of over a thousand Jurchen troops had entered Guifubao (near present-day Donggang City, Dandong) and were constantly investigating the freezing situation on the river, intending to advance eastward into Korea."

"..."

The generals in the hall held their breath, only the occasional crackling of the charcoal fire could be heard.

"What do you think?" Huang Long's gaze swept over the generals in the hall, finally landing on Shang Kexi.

"Reporting to the General." Shang Kexi bowed and replied cautiously, "The Jurchens' actions this time are unpredictable, and I cannot yet determine their main attack direction."

"Hehe..." Huang Long chuckled a few times, waved his hand, and said gently, "Since we can't judge, let's rely on our intuition and tell us which Jurchens are planning to attack? ... Judging from the Jurchens' current posture, they're probably going to cause a big commotion. How should our Dongjiang Town respond?"

"General, looking back on the decades of fighting between our Great Ming and the Jurchens, the Jurchens are particularly adept at taking advantage of the frozen rivers in winter to facilitate the movement of their cavalry, and when our Ming army is unprepared, they suddenly launch military operations." Shang Kexi said in a deep voice: "In the 46th year of Wanli (1618), the Jurchens launched a surprise attack on Fushun Pass in the late winter and early spring, and then began to spy on Shenyang and Liaoyang."

"In December of the first year of the Tianqi reign (1621), the Jurchens took advantage of the frozen Liao River to launch an attack across the river, capturing Guangning, and Wang Huazhen fled in defeat."

"In January of the sixth year of the Tianqi reign (1626), the Jurchens launched an attack on Ningyuan while the river was frozen, but were defeated by the rebel Yuan and returned in defeat."

"In the second year of Chongzhen (1629), the Jurchens once again raised an army of tens of thousands in the winter, bypassed Mongolia, broke into the Great Wall, and ravaged the capital region for several months, causing heavy damage to our Great Ming."

"At this time, it was winter, the Yalu River was gradually freezing, and the Jurchens were preparing for war, making constant moves, clearly preparing to launch an unprecedented military operation. Based on the information gathered from all sides, I believe that the Jurchens should attack... Korea."

"Oh?" Huang Long raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Why not Jinzhou or Ningyuan? After all, at this time, the Jurchen Ajige has already clashed with the Guan Ning Army and captured several fortified passes and small forts, with his forces reaching the outskirts of Jinzhou."

"General, with only Ajige's ten thousand troops, I'm afraid it will be difficult to capture Jinzhou."

"What if Ajige is the vanguard of the Jurchens?" Huang Long asked with a smile. "How do we know that the main force of the Jurchens won't arrive one after another?"

"General, if the Jurchens truly intended to attack Jinzhou, why would they resort to such piecemeal tactics?" Shang Kexi said gravely. "You must understand that after repeated attacks by the Jurchens, the defenses of important cities like Jinzhou and Ningyuan have been strengthened to an unprecedented degree. Last year, Jinzhou City was equipped with more than ten new, more powerful cannons, and the garrison has increased to over 15,000. How could the Jurchens' vanguard of 10,000 troops possibly conquer it?"

"If the Jurchens really launch a full-scale siege of Jinzhou and reinforce their troops in this way, Guan Ning will surely be on guard and will also reinforce their troops in response. If the stalemate continues for a long time, the Jurchens' tens of thousands of troops will only be wasted in the winter wilderness. In the end, it will just be a repetition of the Ningjin Campaign of a few years ago."

"What do you think?" Huang Long remained noncommittal to Shang Kexi's analysis, then turned to look at the other subordinate officers in the hall.

"General, I believe the Jurchens' attack direction is most likely to be along the Jinzhou-Ningyuan line," Li Weiluan said, clasping his hands in a fist. "Of course, the Jurchens might detach a portion of their forces to flank our Dongjiang Town, in order to completely eliminate the military threat on their flank. As for Korea, it's nothing but empty threats."

"General, I also believe that the Jurchens should attack Jinzhou first." Xiang Zuolin, the guerrilla commander of Fuzhou, stepped forward and said with great certainty, "If the Jurchens really want to conquer Korea, why go to such great lengths? They can simply send tens of thousands of elite Eight Banner troops to break through the entire Korean Peninsula and force Korea to sign another humiliating treaty."

“That’s right.” Fan Hualong, the garrison commander of Lushun, echoed, “What kind of logic is it to tell the enemy the time and route of attack in advance when fighting in Korea? The Jurchens must be bluffing this time, actually trying to lure us into dividing our forces!”

“I think my elder brother… uh, General Shang is right.” Jinzhou Garrison Commander Shang Keyi stood up to support Shang Kexi’s speculation. “In the past six months, there has been constant conflict between the Jurchens and Joseon. They have repeatedly threatened to teach Joseon a lesson by force. The tens of thousands of troops they have gathered this time, as well as a large amount of grain and supplies, are mostly stationed in Liaoyang, Pingzhou (now Pingshan District, Benxi City), and other places. Their intention to launch an eastern expedition is very clear.”

"..." Huang Long paced back and forth in the hall, his mind racing with thoughts, pondering repeatedly.

Over the past two years, Dongjiang Town has been engaged in a protracted and bloody struggle with the Jurchens on the Liaodong Peninsula, with repeated battles for control of many strategic locations.

The fortresses and strongholds located further north, such as Fuzhou, Gaizhou, Yingzhou, and Xiuyanbao, changed hands several times, but Dongjiang Town would send troops to seize them whenever the opportunity arose.

If the Jurchens gather a large army to attack, Dongjiang Town will take the initiative to abandon its defenses and retreat to the main core fortresses such as Lushun, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou. With the help of strong fortifications and naval support, it will be able to maintain a long-term standoff with the Jurchens.

In short, Huanglong refused to engage in any grand battles with Dongjiang Town, such as encircling a point to ambush reinforcements or luring the enemy deep into his territory. Seeing the unfavorable situation, he immediately retreated to several fortified coastal cities. This underhanded tactic truly disgusted the Jurchens.

The numerous military strongholds on the Liaodong Peninsula were impossible to breach if too few troops were sent. Dongjiang Town, with its sharp cannons, inflicted heavy casualties on the Eight Banners soldiers attacking the city, yet failed to inflict any damage.

However, if too many troops are sent, Dongjiang Town will simply abandon the village and flee to the more fortified cities and fortresses to the south. These are slippery and difficult to annihilate as a large number of Dongjiang Town's troops as they did in the previous Battle of Jinzhou.

In this way, through constant tug-of-war between the two sides, Dongjiang Town unknowingly gained a foothold in the coastal area and extended its influence all the way to the northern tip of the peninsula.

Even worse, when the Jurchens were not paying attention, Dongjiang Town would occasionally sneak over to the vicinity of Haizhou to plunder the Han slaves and Eight Banner bondservants who were cultivating the land.

What troubled the Jurchens was that Dongjiang Town had assembled a pure musket force of several hundred men, equipped with a large number of Xinzhou muskets, which caused the Eight Banners soldiers to suffer heavy losses.

This elite musketeer unit, though hesitant to engage the Eight Banners in open battle, could inflict heavy casualties on the Jurchen soldiers when defending the city, thanks to the combined might of several powerful new cannons.

Over the past two years, the Jurchen army has besieged Lushun several times, but each time they have failed due to heavy casualties and the inability to breach the city through siege.

However, through repeated battles with the Jurchens, Dongjiang Town gradually built up a bit of confidence and no longer fled at the mere sight of the Jurchens as it had in the past.

As long as the Jurchens cannot besiege the coastal fortresses, we can continuously bleed them dry, preventing them from focusing on attacking Ningjin.

However, in winter, the coastal areas freeze over, making it difficult for the navy to resupply, which often allows the Jurchens to take advantage of the situation. This has always been a time of high alert for Dongjiang Town.

In the past few months, the Jurchens have been making constant moves, gathering troops from all directions, causing great tension throughout Dongjiang Town.

Many generals suggested that, in the face of the Jurchen's overwhelming military threat, they should abandon the fortresses of Yingzhou, Gaizhou, and Xiuyan as they had done in the past, and withdraw their forces to the southern tip of the peninsula, relying on the favorable city defenses to continuously wear down the Jurchen.

However, Huang Long hesitated and couldn't make up his mind.

In August, taking advantage of the great victory at Xiuyan, in which he beheaded 120 enemies, he was appointed Left Commander-in-Chief amidst the general silence of the Liaodong garrisons, awarded 600 taels of silver, and granted the privilege of having one of his sons appointed as a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In the blink of an eye, without any fighting, they abandoned all the fortresses they had captured, which was quite a slap in the face for the imperial court.

"General Shu, what does your Commander Zhong think of the Jurchens' actions?" Huang Long turned his gaze to a military officer dressed in a style quite different from that of the Ming Dynasty.

"General Huang, before coming to Lushun, our Commander Zhong said that all military operations of our troops are to be coordinated by your army, and we should not be ostentatious or presumptuous." Shu Wendong bowed slightly to Huang Long and said in a deep voice, "Commander Zhong judged that the Jurchens' repeated actions were a prelude to attacking the Ming Dynasty."

"Moreover, the Jurchens' expedition to Korea this time was also aimed at completely conquering Korea. Their military force was even more massive, with the Manchu Eight Banners, Han troops, and Mongols all mobilized, probably numbering 100,000."

"In this way, the Jurchens have come out in full force, leaving their rear vulnerable. If your army is willing to raid the Jurchens' rear, Xinhua can provide full assistance to help build up the Jurchen army's strength."

"Are you from Xinzhou so certain that the Jurchens are about to attack the Ming Dynasty?" Fan Hualong asked in astonishment.

"This is a judgment made by our Commander Zhong based on information from various sources. If Dongjiang Town does not believe it, they can deal with it themselves," Shu Wendong replied calmly.

Huang Long turned back to his command post, scanned the generals in the hall, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"Pass the order..."

“The forts of Lushun, Jinzhou, and Fuzhou can begin military mobilization, organize equipment, and stockpile provisions.”

"Shang Kexi, supervise the naval warships to patrol the Liaohai Sea, especially the Yalu River area."

"If the Jurchens truly attack Korea, my Dongjiang Town will stab them in the back to uphold the prestige of our Great Ming!"

"Your subordinate obeys!" The generals in the hall responded in unison.

Outside, the wind and snow intensified, and icicles under the eaves gleamed like swords.
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(End of this chapter)