The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 604 The Fall of the Jurchens

The concept of dragon veins has existed in every dynasty.

As for what the dragon vein is, that has always been a secret.

In short, some places cannot be touched; if they are, the whole thing will be over.

Furthermore, the theory of the Five Elements' cyclical succession has been circulating since the Qin and Han dynasties.

Each dynasty had a corresponding elemental attribute.

The Ming Dynasty prospered because of the element of fire, therefore, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were easily soluble in water.

According to the theory of the Five Elements, if the elements are mutually generating, the next dynasty will be Earth; if they are mutually restraining, the next dynasty will be Water.

Soil and water combined make mud.

Emperor Wanli used fire-powered weapons to dig through the silt along the Asuri River, and Nurhaci in Yongle Mountain couldn't stand it!

Of course, rumors shouldn't be taken at face value; it might just be a coincidence.

Nurhaci really couldn't take it anymore at this point.

The white-clad soldiers seemed tireless, relentlessly chasing after them.

They were being chased so relentlessly that they had no choice but to keep running and running.

If it's just for a day or two, it might not be a big deal.

The problem is, they've been chasing them for over a month!

Over the past month or so, they have reduced their manpower by more than half.

There was no other way; those who couldn't run could only lie there and wait to be captured.

Nurhaci's forces were dwindling, and he even felt his own strength rapidly diminishing.

He could barely run anymore!

What should we do in this situation?

If someone else can't run anymore, he will naturally give up without hesitation.

If he can't run anymore, can he just abandon himself?

That is of course impossible.

Early that morning, around 7 a.m., he got up from the makeshift tree shed, looking exhausted, and summoned his trusted generals.

Everyone looked exhausted and just wanted to collapse on the ground and rest.

Seeing this, Nurhaci simply told his generals to sit cross-legged on the ground, and then solemnly said, "We can't run anymore. We only have a little over 10,000 men left."

If we keep running like this, within a month, all our men will probably be gone, and then we'll really have no chance left."

Running like this could kill you.

They saw many people running and then suddenly collapsing to the ground, some even falling directly off the mountain.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

They were all too tired to run, and they didn't want to run anymore.

Running like this is just torture for them; they might as well fight to the death.

Seeing this, Nurhaci pointed directly to the highest mountain next to him and said, "That mountain has cliffs on the north side and is also very steep on the south side. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Moreover, there is a stream on the south slope, so we don't need to worry about the water source."

We'll set up our defenses on that southern hillside and fight the Ming army to the death. If we can defeat the nearby Ming forces, we can escape alive.

This is called putting yourself in a desperate situation to survive.

Now, the only option left is to burn our bridges and fight to the death.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded silently.

Upon seeing this, Nurhaci immediately ordered, "Shurhaci, take five thousand men to the mountainside to set up defenses, prepare plenty of boulders and logs, and dig more trenches for the Tibetans."

The others took the remaining men to hunt. We'll ignore the Ming army today; as long as they don't come to fight us, we'll hunt all day. Tomorrow we'll all go up the mountain and hold our ground.

Upon hearing this, the generals responded with a resounding roar and then dispersed to attend to their respective tasks.

Around noon, a dense cluster of red dots appeared precisely on time in the mountains and forests more than ten miles to the south.

They would usually start running away again around this time.

They used to fantasize that the Ming army wouldn't catch up, but the Ming army appeared precisely ten miles to the south of them every day, forcing them to get up and keep running.

This time, however, they didn't run. Everyone acted as if they hadn't even seen the Ming army chasing after them, busy with their own affairs.

At this moment, on a hilltop to the south, Qin Liangyu was scanning the Jurchens with binoculars.

She scanned the area carefully, then put down her binoculars and speculated, "They didn't pack their things and run away. Are they not planning to escape?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Qiancheng took the binoculars and scanned them carefully. He then slowly nodded and said, "They're so scattered, and there's no sign of them gathering together. I guess they're not planning to run away."

There are still people cutting down trees on that steep mountain; they're probably preparing for a final battle with us over there.

Qin Liangyu took the binoculars again and scanned them carefully. Then she nodded slightly and said, "Hmm, judging from the shape of the mountain, they probably intend to hold out on the south slope. The north side is probably a cliff."

Cliffs and precipices are nothing to them; they can climb cliffs that are 300 feet high.

The mountain that the Jurchens were preparing to fight was only a little over two hundred feet high; they could definitely climb it without any problem.

The problem is that they don't have enough manpower.

Because they had to capture hundreds of Jurchens who couldn't run away every day for the past few days, they also had to leave people behind to guard them, waiting for the cavalry to come and take them over.

They now have about eight thousand people under their command.

Ma Qiancheng frowned and pondered for a while, then asked, "They are all preparing for a decisive battle. Should we call in the two groups of people on the side to surround and attack them?"

The Jurchens probably still have tens of thousands more, and those who managed to get here are likely no fewer than our own troops. If our mere eight thousand men were to split into two groups and attack from both sides, we would likely be defeated piecemeal.

This is a problem.

They certainly couldn't just attack from the bottom of the mountain; that would result in heavy casualties, and they might not even be able to take it.

If the army is split into two groups, each group will only have about four thousand men. A single group facing tens of thousands of Jurchens could easily be defeated one by one.

Qin Liangyu thought about it carefully, and then decisively said: "Send an order that all forces stop tomorrow morning and not continue to advance."

"If the Jurchens don't flee by tomorrow, then order 5,000 elite troops from each of the left and right flanks to detour about five miles north of that mountain. We'll then launch a pincer attack early the day after tomorrow."

Nurhaci truly did not expect that the Ming army could climb up a cliff that was two or three hundred feet high.

He assumed that the Ming army would mobilize several nearby forces to launch a frontal assault.

As a result, the Ming army chasing them advanced about five miles the next day and then stopped there. Moreover, there was no sign of the nearby Ming army coming to assemble.

What is going on here?
On the morning of the third day, around dawn, just as a sliver of light appeared on the horizon, the Ming army that had been chasing him surged directly toward the south side of the hillside where they were!

Around 7 a.m., these guys were only about a hundred paces away from the defensive line they had set up.

At this point, there was still no sign of Ming troops gathering to reinforce either side.

what on earth is this kind of happenings?
Nurhaci was a little confused.

This Ming army clearly has fewer than 10,000 men.

They didn't have as many men as the enemy, and they were attacking uphill along the steep slope. Weren't they just courting death?
Do you think this Ming army dares to fight like this just because they have firearms?
Muskets are useless in this kind of terrain.

As long as they don't peek out from behind big trees or into ravines, the muskets can't hit them.

If the Ming army wanted to attack, their only option was to charge in and engage in close combat.

If they were to unleash a barrage of rolling stones and logs, could the Ming army withstand it?
Perhaps, this Ming army wanted to besiege them.

After all, they had only been hunting for a day or two, and the prey couldn't possibly survive that long.

If this Ming army simply stays at the foot of the mountain and doesn't move, they won't be able to bear the hunger for more than a few days.

What will we do then?

As Nurhaci was lost in thought, a series of crackling sounds of muskets suddenly came from the mountaintop behind him.

Immediately afterwards, a scream rang out.

The Ming army actually climbed up the cliffs on the north side!

This mountain is incredibly steep; they couldn't even climb to the summit from the south, yet the Ming army managed to climb up the cliffs from the north!
When Nurhaci saw the dense red dots on the mountaintop, his face filled with despair.

It's over now.

Qin Liangyu and Ma Qiancheng saw red dots appearing on the mountaintop, but they remained motionless.

They waited at the foot of the mountain, watching the red dots slowly emerge from the mountaintop, forcing the Jurchens to run down the slope. Only then did they give the order, and the musketeers unleashed a burst of fire.

Nurhaci was riddled with bullets!
The Jurchens finally perished at this point.

(End of this chapter)