Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 139 The Courage of the Second-Generation Slave Chieftain: Huang Taiji Uses Himself as Bait

In early November of the first year of the Chongzhen reign (1644), martial law was lifted in the capital region, confirming that the Jurchens' main attack direction was Jinzhou. Zhu Youjian's worst fears did not materialize.

Reports came from Liaoxi: Jurchen chieftain Huang Taiji personally led tens of thousands of cavalry to besiege Jinzhou City. The 1,500 defenders of Dalinghe City, northeast of Jinzhou, abandoned the city and retreated to Jinzhou upon seeing the overwhelming strength of the enemy. Dalinghe City was then occupied by the Jurchens.

However, by this time, Dalinghe City had already been burned down, leaving only ruins. There were many suggestions from the court to rebuild Dalinghe City, but Zhu Youjian rejected them all.

General Zu Dashou of Jinzhou held the city to the death, besieging it without attacking. Everyone knew that Huang Taiji wanted to play the game of besieging a point and attacking reinforcements, but whether or not to send reinforcements to Jinzhou was a difficult decision for the court.

Zhu Youjian was startled, thinking, "Oh no! We haven't recalled Zu Dashou yet. What if he surrenders to Huang Taiji?!"

Zhu Xieyuan remained calm and told the emperor that even if there was an emergency, it wasn't time yet. This year, the nine border regions had received their pay. If Zu Dashou sold less grain, theoretically, Jinzhou now had 200,000 shi of grain, enough to feed the Jinzhou garrison for a year. Jinzhou was a high-walled city with deep moats and had cannons, so it was not afraid of Huang Taiji at all.

However, Huang Taiji wasn't stupid. He knew he couldn't take Jinzhou, yet he still attacked. He must have had his own reasons. If he wasn't after Jinzhou, where else would Huang Taiji have attacked?
A few days later, new news arrived: after Huang Taiji besieged Jinzhou, Yuan Keli remained stationed in Ningyuan, unmoved. Man Gui, the general of Ningyuan, was eager to repay the emperor's favor and wanted to show off, so he led his cavalry to fight Huang Taiji, but was suppressed.

Huang Taiji was not surprised that the Ming army could not come to Jinzhou's aid. He ordered Amin to continue besieging Jinzhou and ordered Dorgon to lead the Bordered White Banner south to launch a fierce attack on Lushun. The southern city of Lushun was in dire straits!
Lushun North City had already been captured and burned by Mangultai in the fifth year of the Tianqi reign. Lushun South City was defended by only one thousand soldiers. The Dongjiang naval force, which was originally docked here, had to leave the shore in time to avoid the ships being seized, but a lot of port supplies were looted.

Mao Wenlong was really unlucky. Even though he had already sent his navy away in advance, it was still almost destroyed.

Lushun belonged to Dongjiang Town and was in a very strategic location. Supply ships going to Pi Island needed to stop in Lushun temporarily. After losing Lushun, Mao Wenlong would truly be an orphan.

Yuan Keli dispatched the Dengzhou and Laizhou naval forces to rescue the enemy, using naval guns to clear a path and cover the retreat of the Lushun garrison. However, Lushun fell again.

What kind of nonsense is this?! The upright officials in the court are furious and are impeaching Yuan Keli one after another. They clearly know that Lushun Port is so important, yet they let it go so easily?! Zhu Youjian remains silent and continues to observe the changing situation.

In late November, Seoul was in dire straits. King Injo of Joseon sent an envoy by sea, tearfully pleading with the Ming Dynasty to send troops to its aid. At the same time, in the west, Khan Juntu Taiji of the Chahar tribe fought against the combined forces of the Manchus and Mongols, but was routed at the first encounter. He was pursued to the outskirts of Xuanfu, where he raised a white flag and surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, begging to submit.

The affairs of Korea were no longer under Yuan Keli's jurisdiction. In fact, Dongjiang Town was not under his jurisdiction either. After all, the Liaodong Military Commissioner should theoretically be in charge of Liaodong Town. Although Liaodong was now in the hands of the Jurchens, Liaodong Town was just an empty shell, with official positions but no garrison.

Huang Taiji was quite formidable. The court initially thought he had gone to attack Jinzhou because he was drunk and had lost his mind, but they didn't expect him to be so capable, striking at the heart of the Ming Dynasty at every turn.

The original strategy of three parties containing and blocking Liaodong was broken in an instant. Although there had been signs of this before, it was still incomplete and left some room for maneuver. But now the court has to face this problem head-on.

The court deliberates: Should we rescue Korea? And if so, how?!

Yang Hao still really wanted to save Korea, but the question was how. Should he send Mao Wenlong to save it? Mao Wenlong himself was in grave danger. It was obvious that after the Jurchens finished off Korea, Mao Wenlong would be next, or they would take him down along the way.

The ice at sea is not solid enough yet. Once the nearshore ice forms and the islands are connected to the mainland, the Jurchens will be able to land on the islands to fight.

Yang Sichang, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, loudly proclaimed: "Your Majesty! Korea has been a vassal state of our Great Ming Dynasty for generations, and now it has been invaded by the Jurchens. Its capital is in grave danger, and it has sent envoys who are pleading for help with tears in their eyes. If we sit idly by and do not come to its aid, how can we establish our authority among all nations?!"
The Jurchens harbor wolfish ambitions; conquering Korea would bolster their power, and Korea must be saved! Mao Wenlong's navy is adept at naval warfare; they can be ordered to immediately launch a raid on the Jurchen rear, cut off their supply lines, and force them to retreat!

"Minister Yang, the Dongjiang naval force has now withdrawn to Dengzhou and Laizhou," Yang Hao said with some helplessness.

"Then let the Dengzhou and Laizhou naval forces transport troops to provide relief!" Yang Sichang continued.

"Although Dongjiangbo is brave, his troops are mostly displaced people and a motley crew. They can barely protect themselves, so how can they spare troops to save Korea? If we force them to send troops, we may lose both Pi Island and Korea, which would be a huge mistake."

"We can secretly order Mao Wenlong to make a show of force, feigning an attack on the Jurchens' rear, so that they dare not launch a full-scale attack on Korea. Once they return, the siege of Korea will be lifted on its own. This is a strategy of 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao,' and there is no need for them to actually fight a deadly battle with the Jurchens," Yang Sichang said confidently.

Yang Hao, too lazy to pay him any more attention, bowed to the emperor with a helpless expression and said, "Your Majesty, the Jurchens are powerful and Korea is weak. Even if we send troops, I'm afraid it will be difficult to reverse the decline."

In the past, aiding Korea required the entire nation's strength and cost a fortune, resulting in a Pyrrhic victory. Our national strength is not yet what it was then. If we become bogged down in Korea again, Liaodong will be in grave danger! It would be better to temporarily abandon Korea and wait until our national strength recovers and our army is strong before devising further plans.”

"Nonsense! If Korea surrenders, the Jurchens will gain Korea's grain and troops, becoming like a tiger with wings! If we abandon Korea today, we will lose Liaoxi tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, the capital will be in danger. This is talk of national ruin! Your Majesty, Yang Hao is old and useless, and cowardly as a mouse. It would be better to dismiss him!" Yang Sichang shouted.

Zhu Youjian was speechless. Good heavens, these two are really at odds. If he wasn't worried that Yang Sichang's ambitions were too great and his abilities too small, he would have sent the guy to the front line.

It seems that Liaodong has truly collapsed. Zhu Youjian felt helpless. Although he had mentally prepared himself, it was still very difficult to remain calm when he saw his and his allies' territories being continuously flattened by the Jurchens.

Even so, it was only because Zhu Youjian promoted a large number of veteran officials, making the court relatively older and more stable. If the original staff had been in place, the disputes would probably have been even more intense.

It's not impossible to avoid losing territory, but then we should disregard casualties, pay with our lives, and fight the Jurchens with real swords and spears.

Zhu Youjian wasn't particularly concerned about whether the Joseon Dynasty would perish. What he cared about was whether Mao Wenlong could survive. However, Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Town system was integrated with the Joseon Dynasty and had to rely on its existence for supplies. Otherwise, he simply couldn't hold on by relying on the imperial court alone.

They wanted to rescue Korea, Jinzhou, and Lushun. Some people were urging the court to assemble a large army to fight. Although the emperor said he wanted to defend, it was clear that the defenses were crumbling everywhere. Prolonged defense would inevitably lead to defeat, and these people's ideas were not without merit.

Just as the court was still arguing about whether or not to save Korea, a military report delivered by express courier arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Zhao Shuaijiao, the general of Shanhaiguan, urgently reports: Huang Taiji has personally led 20,000 cavalrymen to bypass Liaoxi Pass, passing Ningyuan and Jinzhou, and has now arrived at Shanhaiguan!
With a whoosh, Zhu Youjian suddenly stood up from the dragon throne. Zhu Xieyuan, the Minister of War, plucked out several hairs from his beard, and Yang Hao's mouth gaped open for a long time.

Zhu Xieyuan, rarely losing his composure, exclaimed in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty! This is a godsend!!!"

(End of this chapter)