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

Chapter 141: Mass Production of Troops! I'm going to mass produce troops!!!
Zhu Youjian was somewhat annoyed by these words; he didn't want to hear such correct but meaningless platitudes. Everyone knew that with Huang Taiji dead, the Jurchens would descend into chaos. Did you really need to tell him that?
He could disregard the opinions of most people, but even his "chief advisor," Zhu Xieyuan, was tempted, which made him hesitate. It must be said, Huang Taiji's backside was truly alluring.

But is this battle really necessary? Can we really win?! Zhu Youjian had deep doubts.

When faced with difficult choices, people tend to compromise, and Zhu Youjian was no exception. So, he sent reinforcements to Shanhaiguan, but more importantly, he wanted to establish contact with Yuan Keli, since Yuan was the frontline commander and had the clearest understanding of the situation in western Liaoning.

However, prioritizing stability led to another problem: sluggish action. The Ming court remained hesitant, while the situation on the front lines was already rapidly changing.

Zhu Youjian finally felt the pressure from the Jurchens. Because the Jurchens surrounded the city without attacking, and the Ming army chose to defend to the death with a scorched-earth policy, the two sides had not yet engaged in a proper battle. Zhu Youjian lacked a direct understanding of the Jurchens' current fighting strength, but he had already felt their speed, which was simply too fast.

The Ming Dynasty was like a slow-moving giant. Faced with an agile assassin, it had immense strength but could not effectively utilize it.

In the Battle of Ningyuan, the Jurchens launched a blitzkrieg against Ningyuan, and the battle lasted only two days; the Battle of Ningjin also lasted only a month. Half a month has passed since the court received news of the Jurchens' advance, and Huang Taiji was already preparing to withdraw, yet the Ming court had not yet devised a proper countermeasure.

In December, the snow in the capital was three feet deep. News from Korea arrived late, but before the Jurchens could even reach Seoul, Yi Jong had already fled again. After his escape, Seoul was thrown into chaos, with the garrison and civilians scrambling to flee for their lives. In just half a day, Seoul fell to the Jurchens.

When Zhu Youjian received the news, he was speechless. It was true that Korea was submissive, but wasn't it too useless? The Ming Dynasty should not have saved Korea in the first place; it would have been much better to have just occupied it!

Now North Korea is completely dependent on external assistance. When the enemy attacks, it has no will to resist and just waits for the Ming Dynasty to come to its rescue. It doesn't even defend its southern half of its territory, instead fleeing directly to a small island in the west!

However, it seems we can't entirely blame Korea. The Ming Dynasty also seems to be in a state of disarray, with the father and son in dire straits. Korea is no longer capable of providing assistance, but the Korean king still needs to be saved. Zhu Youjian decided to invite Yi Jong to visit the Ming Dynasty.

The court discussed the matter back and forth, but couldn't reach a conclusion. Ultimately, it stemmed from a lack of awareness of the impending crisis; the Jurchens hadn't even entered the pass yet. Zhu Youjian decided to wait and see, and not cause any more trouble. Since Yuan Keli hadn't requested aid, it meant the situation in Liaoxi was still stable and didn't require excessive intervention from the court.

The Chahar tribe's desire to submit to the Ming Dynasty was incredibly tempting. After all, the Chahar were the tribe of the Great Khan of the Mongols; their submission would be tantamount to the Mongol Yuan Dynasty submitting to the Ming! Just thinking about it was exciting!

Zhu Youjian ordered that Gengtu Taiji come to the capital for an audience to show his sincerity. With the New Year approaching, having him perform a traditional Mongolian dance at the New Year's Day grand court assembly would be a very promising opportunity.

When Huang Taiji marched diagonally through Shanhaiguan, he did not leave Ningyuan unattended. He led 60,000 cavalry into battle, with 20,000 under his own command, 10,000 besieging Jinzhou, 10,000 sweeping through Liaonan and attacking Lushun, and the remaining 20,000 under the command of Ajige, stationed outside Ningyuan.

At this time, western Liaoning became a sandwich: Amin besieged Jinzhou, Huang Taiji and Ajige besieged Ningyuan, and Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan sandwiched Huang Taiji, with each side intertwined with the other.

Inside Ningyuan City, Man Gui sat on the city tower, eating sweet potato cakes and mutton stew, his face full of sullen frustration. The hateful old man Yuan Keli wasn't beside him at the moment, but that scoundrel had run off after his disgusting outburst, leaving behind orders before he left: "Defend Ningyuan to the death! Lock the city walls tightly! No battles are allowed, and no one is permitted to enter or leave! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

At this moment, Ningyuan City fell silent. Everyone believed that Yuan Keli was in Ningyuan, even the imperial court thought so. However, at this time, a massive fleet was traversing the icy sea—the joint naval forces of Dengzhou and Dongjiang garrisons. This expedition consisted of thirty Fujian-style ships, fifty Haicang-style ships, one hundred Cangshan-style ships, thirty Hu-style ships, thirty Sha-style ships, thirty Cao-style ships, and twelve large bird-shaped ships, with a total force of twelve thousand men!

Undeterred by the bitter cold, Yuan Keli stood on the deck of his flagship, the Great Bird Ship. The swirling snow and wind ruffled his gray hair, yet the old man appeared remarkably energetic. He had not informed the court of his upcoming campaign.

Although the emperor told him to make the decision first and report later, this was still extremely dangerous. He had no choice but to trust the emperor, just as the emperor trusted him.

This surprise attack had to be conducted discreetly. If it were discussed in the court, not only would it be difficult to proceed, but even if it were, how much time would it delay? The news would also easily leak to the Jurchens, making the battle much more difficult and costly, resulting in more harm than good.

It's laughable that Huang Taiji was trying to lure him out, but Yuan Keli didn't do what Huang Taiji wanted.

Jinzhou has 12,000 infantry and cavalry, Ningyuan has 20,000, Shanhaiguan has 15,000, plus some other small cities, totaling a total of 60,000 men, with less than 20,000 cavalry. Was he crazy to go and fight Huang Taiji's 60,000 cavalry? Such a force is more than enough to defend the city. It should be Huang Taiji who is worried.

After taking control of Liaodong, Yuan Keli spent less time in Guan Jinning and more time in Dengzhou. Guan Jinning's funds were limited; they could either be distributed as usual, leaving him no room for maneuver, or they could be embezzled, which would cause unrest in the army and be counterproductive.

Deng Lai has a special fund of two million, which is enough for him to do whatever he wants. He hasn't been idle all year, just chatting with Mao Wenlong every day.

The Dengzhou and Laizhou naval fleets are being built at breakneck speed, and their strength is rapidly recovering. Don't assume that the Ming Dynasty is slow in everything it does; as long as the money is there, anything is negotiable. Yuan Chonghuan built Ningyuan City, which is eight li long and three zhang high. It took him eighteen months to build it from scratch, with half of the construction halted due to weather.

At this time, in western Liaoning, Shanhaiguan was peaceful. The atmosphere had changed from tense at the beginning to the soldiers guarding the city yawning and looking at the Jurchen camp in the distance. After letting his horses graze in front of Shanhaiguan for half a month, Huang Taiji finally broke camp and returned north.

They returned along the coastline, skimming past Ningyuan City. A few cannon shots were fired symbolically from the city walls, but due to the distance, there were no results.

Shanhaiguan is very close to the capital. Two days later, Zhu Youjian learned of Huang Taiji's retreat. While he was relieved, he also felt a little regretful and had a sense of loss.

At the same time, a sense of urgency rose in his heart. This time, Huang Taiji had made it seem as if the Jinning defense line was empty, and had directly broken into the city of Shanhaiguan. What if he took a detour next year? What forces inside the pass could stop him?

"I want to mass produce units! I want to mass produce units!!!"

(End of this chapter)