Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 468 Prologue (Part 1)

If, on the New Continent, the Spanish are plagued by their own troubles and their unusually slow pace of action, causing Xinhua to fall into a dilemma of whether to fight or make peace, then on the Chinese mainland, a grand battle that will determine the ultimate fate of both sides will quickly enter the middle stage.

Tens of thousands of troops continuously converged on the Liaoxi battlefield of the Ming Dynasty, spreading out their formations along the Daling River valley.

The June wind, carrying the dryness and coolness unique to Liaodong, flutters the banners stretching for dozens of miles, the sound of which is as awe-inspiring as war drums.

The rows of swords and spears gleamed coldly in the sunlight, undulating with the movement of the soldiers, like a deathly wheat field.

The sunlight reflected off the armor was so bright it was blinding; from a distance, the armies seemed to be shrouded in a layer of silver flames.

The ice in the moat had thawed, and broken arrows and debris floated on the murky surface—traces left by the scouts of both sides fighting for days.

Corpses, bloated from being submerged in the water, lay stuck in the reeds on the riverbank, while several crows greedily pecked at their rotting faces.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and river water, mixed with the smell of cooking smoke drifting from the distant military camp, creating a brutal picture of war.

The Ming army's "New Barbarian Cannons" were being dragged to the front line by mules and horses, and the muzzles were slowly raised to aim at the enemy formation.

The Qing archers had already nocked their arrows, the arrowheads gleaming silver in the sunlight.

The smoke from both sides' cooking fires rose into the open field and was dispersed by the wind. Flocks of crows circled low in the sky. A bloody battle that would determine the fate of the Ming and Qing dynasties had begun in this desolate world.

On the second day of the sixth month of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, the Qing army carried out a rotation of troops on the front line. Dorgon and Hauge led the two White Banners and the Plain Blue Banner to replace the Plain Red Banner, Bordered Blue Banner and Bordered Red Banner under Jirgalang's command and continued to besiege Jinzhou. At the same time, in accordance with Huang Taiji's requirements, a large number of mobile troops were deployed on the outskirts to block the Ming army from sending supplies into the city.

On June 11, the Ming army stationed at Xingshan marched along the Xiaoling River to reinforce Jinzhou, but was repelled by the Qing army.

On June 14, the Ming army from Songshan also reinforced Jinzhou, but was driven back by the troops led by Deputy Commander Xingne and Commander Aobai dispatched by Dorgon.

Hong Chengchou, the Ming army commander and governor of Jiliao, was stationed in Ningyuan and chose to keep his troops stationed, thus engaging in a standoff with the main Qing army force from afar.

More than a month ago, Zu Dashou, who was stationed in Jinzhou, sent a few scouts to Ningyuan to meet with Hong Chengchou. He said that the city's food supply was still sufficient and there was no need to rush into a major battle with the Qing army. Instead, the wagon camp could provide support from the outside.

Even if the entire army comes to the rescue, it is best to proceed cautiously and slowly, and never allow the Qing army to take advantage of the situation and attack the army's rear, which would lead to something unspeakable.

Hong Chengchou wholeheartedly agreed with this, as it coincided with his own strategy of both fighting and defending.

In fact, as the battle progressed, both the Ming and Qing forces continued to pile up troops in Jinzhou, making the scale of the entire battle larger and larger, which greatly exceeded the expectations of the commanders of both sides.

So, how did this war break out?

The root cause of the fierce confrontation between the two armies was that the slave chieftain Huang Taiji wanted to establish military farms in Yizhou (present-day Yixian County, Liaoning Province).

Of course, the idea of ​​establishing military farms was not something Huang Taiji came up with on a whim, but rather it was proposed by Zhang Cunren, who was then the Right Councilor of the Censorate of the Bordered Blue Banner of the Han Army.

He advised Huang Taiji: "To directly attack Yanjing, we must first attack Jinzhou and Ningyuan. If we want to take Jinzhou and Ningyuan without sending troops, we should first garrison Guangning, threatening the gateways of Jinzhou and Ningyuan, forcing the Ming army to abandon their farming and making it difficult for them to survive, while also ensuring sufficient food supplies for our Great Qing. The Ming army will have no foothold and will inevitably abandon Jinzhou and retreat to Ningyuan; this cycle will continue, and they will retreat to Ningyuan again. When we reach Shanhaiguan, the key areas of western Liaoning will all belong to our Great Qing!"

Zhang Cunren was originally the deputy general of Ningyuan. In the fourth year of Chongzhen (1631), he worked with Zu Dashou, the general of Liaodong, to build Daling City and garrisoned there.

After being besieged by the Later Jin Eight Banners, they were defeated and forced to surrender to the Later Jin along with Zu Dashou.

However, Zu Dashou's surrender was a ruse; he seized an opportunity to turn around and run back to Jinzhou. After surrendering, he wholeheartedly began to serve the Later Jin.

After joining Huang Taiji's ranks, this fellow worked very hard. In the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), Huang Taiji became emperor and then adopted the political structure of the Ming Dynasty, establishing the Censorate, which was above the Six Ministries. He was then appointed as the Censorate's chief administrator.

In February of the twelfth year of the Chongzhen reign (1639), the Qing army launched a major attack, intending to eliminate several strong fortresses such as Songshan, Tashan and Lianshan, which formed the outer defenses of Jinzhou, in order to create favorable conditions for the subsequent siege of Jinzhou.

However, despite a month-long fierce attack, the Qing army not only failed to destroy any fortresses, but also suffered heavy losses under the Ming army's sharp artillery fire.

Especially at Songshan, the Ming army, with more than ten "new barbarian cannons", severely damaged the Qing army attacking the city, causing more than 1,500 casualties among the Han Eight Banners troops under Ma Guangyuan and Shi Tingzhu. This was the Songshan Victory (without the many cannons brought by Kong Youde, the Qing army's losses would have been even more severe than in the original historical timeline).

The Qing army suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of these fortified strongholds, incurring significant losses and psychological trauma from the Ming army's fierce artillery fire. Faced with the Ming army's formidable defenses and cannons, the generals of the Eight Banners all agreed that it was best not to engage them first!
However, how to break through the Ming army's Liaoxi defense line became one of the biggest problems troubling Huang Taiji.

Therefore, Zhang Cunren, who wanted to make a good impression on his master, submitted a memorial to Huang Taiji and suggested that the troops be stationed in Guangning (now Beizhen City, Liaoning Province) to cultivate land, and then use Guangning as a logistical base to carry out a long-term siege of Jinzhou.

Although a protracted siege war of attrition was not Huang Taiji's preferred method of attacking cities, he preferred quick victories, ideally annihilating the main force of the Ming army on a large scale in open battle.

However, since Hong Chengchou took office as the Governor-General of Jiliao, he has strictly ordered the Ming troops in Liaodong not to engage in reckless battles with the Qing army. Instead, they should rely on strong fortifications and take advantage of the Ming army's superior firearms to continuously deplete the Qing army's strength.

Under these circumstances, Huang Taiji could not find many loopholes in the Ming army's defenses, and if he wanted to remove Jinzhou, he could only choose the clumsy method of besieging the city.

Although it was clumsy, slow, and extremely costly to the Qing Dynasty, as long as it was effective, it was enough for Huang Taiji.

Therefore, in March of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen (1640), Huang Taiji sent Jirhalang out of Shenyang to cultivate land near Jinzhou.

However, he did not adopt Zhang Cunren's suggestion to garrison and cultivate land in Guangning. Instead, he set his sights on Yizhou, where the terrain was flatter, it had been a place where the Ming army had cultivated land, and it had a certain agricultural foundation. Moreover, it was closer to Jinzhou, and the transportation of grain and supplies would be slightly easier.

As soon as the Qing army made a move, the Ming army immediately responded.

Upon hearing the report, Hong Chengchou ordered General Zu Dashou of Liaodong, General Wu Sangui of the Militia, and General Liu Zhaoji of the Sub-Militia to each lead their troops to set up a tight defense along the Jinzhou-Songshan line to block the attack. At the same time, he ordered General Ma Ke of Shanhaiguan to lead 10,000 troops out of the pass to provide support.

In order to ensure the smooth progress of the Yizhou land reclamation, the Qing army assembled several thousand elite Eight Banner troops and advanced to the area between Jijiatai and Baiyun Mountain, more than ten miles outside Jinzhou City, to prevent the Ming army from rushing out of Jinzhou and attacking the bondservants and Han slaves in the rear.

The Ming army responded in kind, frequently sending troops to intercept and attack the Qing army. The two sides engaged in fierce and frequent battles around Baiyun Mountain, Song Mountain, Xing Mountain and other places outside Jinzhou City.

The Qing army was well prepared for a protracted war when it launched its attack. The Manchu, Han and Mongol Eight Banners troops were rotated every three months to allow the troops to rest and recuperate, thus enabling them to wear down the Ming army in the long run.

From May of the thirteenth year of the Chongzhen reign (1640) to June of the fourteenth year of the Chongzhen reign (1641), the Ming and Qing sides fought each other, with constant attacks and defenses, but neither side gained an overwhelming advantage on the battlefield.

If this stalemate continues, the Qing army will be the first to give out.

Despite the fact that two years ago, the Qing army dispatched tens of thousands of troops to invade the interior, ravaging dozens of prefectures and counties in the capital region, Hebei, and northern Shandong, and looting a large amount of supplies and people.

However, among the looted supplies, only a few thousand shi of grain and beans were brought back due to the inconvenience of transportation and the frequent interceptions by the Ming army. This did not fundamentally improve the food supply for the Qing army.

In addition, the frequent raids on Korea by Dongjiang Town and Xinhua, the uprising of the "rebel" Gwanghaegun, and the separatist rule of Kong Youde's tribe in Hamgyeong Province caused chaos in the internal situation of Korea, resulting in large-scale abandonment of agriculture in Korea and very little grain that should have been transported to the areas controlled by the Manchus.

Even when pressured by the Qing dynasty, the grain supplies that Korea painstakingly gathered could hardly bypass the land and sea blockades of Donggang Town, leaving the Qing army with virtually no food supply.

This resulted in a persistent food shortage for the Qing army. Although the Eight Banners held large amounts of gold and silver, they could not buy much grain.

The meager amount of grain smuggled by those Shanxi merchants was a drop in the ocean for the Qing Dynasty, which had hundreds of thousands of people.

Back then, when the Qing dynasty conquered Korea, they ordered the Crown Prince of Korea to go to Shengjing as a hostage, accompanied by more than a hundred ministers and attendants.

However, Huang Taiji sent someone to inform Korea that Shengjing could only provide food for 100 people, and Korea would have to bear the cost of any additional people, which drew complaints from the Koreans.

This year, due to the fierce fighting with the Ming army, there was a severe shortage of supplies and soaring prices within the Qing Dynasty. Huang Taiji could not even guarantee the food supply for the group of 100 Korean hostages.

He then sent word to the Koreans that the Qing Ministry of Revenue was truly unable to provide funds and grain, but could give the Korean hostages a piece of land for them to cultivate themselves.
The North Koreans were furious. Even if they came as hostages, they couldn't be treated like this!
Your Qing Dynasty is so uncivilized!

This shows that our Great Qing Dynasty was truly in dire straits, disregarding even the most basic diplomatic decorum, and forcing a Korean hostage group of only a hundred people to become self-reliant, cultivating land and feeding themselves.

Any surplus grains and beans must be used to ensure the needs of the front lines are met as much as possible.

In order to alleviate the difficulties in supplying materials, Huang Taiji repeatedly ordered the Eight Banners troops fighting on the front lines to not only strictly block and prevent the supply of grain and provisions to Jinzhou, but also to try every means to seize the Ming army's logistical supplies, in order to sustain the war through war and reduce their own consumption.

Even so, the Qing army felt immense pressure.
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(End of this chapter)