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

Chapter 156 Destroy their nest and exterminate their species!
In Santunying, the frail and elderly Yang Hao felt he had lived too long. If he had died earlier, none of this trouble would have happened! Back then, he was cursed and gossiped about for simply losing Liaodong. Now, it seemed he was about to lose Jizhou as well; this time, he feared his entire clan would be exterminated.

He understood. He understood everything. It turned out the emperor had known all along. Although he hadn't been released at the last minute when the Jurchen army was at the gates, it wasn't much different. Before he was sent to guard Jizhou, his task was to train troops and hold the position; he wasn't expected to lead troops into battle at all.

Those close to him know his own situation. He can manage with his words and actions, but once he takes charge personally, things become a complete mess.

Now that the Jurchens are advancing on Zunhua, they have sent a detachment to keep an eye on him. Logically, he should immediately send troops to rescue Zunhua, but he suffered such a crushing defeat at Sarhu that he doesn't know if this will be another Jurchen siege and ambush of reinforcements, or if both Santunying and Zunhua are actually Jurchen targets.

If Yang Hao had a fierce general like Liu Ting, he would have gone all out. But now he's partnered with Zhu Guoyan, a man who previously guarded the emperor's tomb and rose through the ranks by seniority, without any notable military achievements. This was the norm in the Ming Dynasty—no one else was available!
The interior had been at peace for a long time, and even large-scale battles along the nine borders were rare. While battles were fought fiercely in Liaodong, they were mostly defeats. It was already fortunate that no one was held responsible; how could anyone expect promotions?! Moreover, the experience of suffering defeats seemed to have little value. Without a long-term channel to accumulate achievements and hone skills, the Ming Dynasty faced a prolonged predicament of having no capable generals.

Zunhua was known as the "First City East of the Capital Region," comparable to Liaoyang. Yang Hao felt that if he lost Zunhua, he might lose his head as well. However, the emperor told him that it was better to lose territory than to squander his troops, so he ultimately decided to listen to the emperor.

Before being completely surrounded, Yang Hao sent a message to the imperial court while simultaneously ordering the local garrisons to defend their cities to the death. Whether to ultimately assemble a large army to fight the Jurchens or to retreat and defend their cities depended on the imperial court's response.

The imperial court?! The imperial court was also in a dilemma. With the fall of Jizhou and the enemy poised to besiege the capital, most officials were thinking of immediately gathering the nation's military forces to rescue the capital region—the capital region, not the capital city itself. A single word makes a world of difference. The capital city was relatively easy to defend, but the capital region was a much larger area. Unless the Ming Dynasty had the strength to defeat the Jurchens in a direct field battle, all talk was futile.

If it were the mighty Ming Dynasty during the Wanli era, perhaps they would have acted just like that. The border generals in command knew the Ming Dynasty was weak, but the civil officials in the court didn't. They only knew that the court had won many battles, its national power was overwhelming, and that the Ming army was nothing but dust wherever it went. This was the mentality of the time, which led to the Ming army being beaten at Sarhu.

Now, because the defeatist emperor is constantly predicting the worst, the ministers are relatively clear-headed. Everyone knows that the chances of winning a decisive battle against the Jurchens are slim, but no one can bear the infamy of abandoning territory. So they go with the flow, hoping that the Ming army seems to be improving and that they might win.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty does have the resources to fight to the death. If it sends the elite troops from the capital, the emperor's personal guards, and recalls the cavalry and wagon corps from various garrisons, as well as the Liaoxi Army, and brings the navy from Dongjiang Town in Shandong ashore for a desperate fight, it might actually win. But the question is, what if it loses? Is it worth it?
Zhu Youjian didn't want to gamble, so he decided to try a different approach. He asked Zhu Xieyuan, "If we send all three major military camps of the capital to relieve Jizhou, can we defeat the Jurchens?!"

Zhu Xieyuan shook his head: "The odds of winning are less than 20%."

He then asked, "If the Jurchens attack the city, what are the chances that we can defend the capital with our current forces?!"

"If Your Majesty appoints me as commander-in-chief and does not hinder me, I am fully confident that I can defend the capital," Zhu Xieyuan said calmly.

Zhu Youjian nodded and said, "I am relieved to hear you say that, so I do not intend to send the Guan Ning Army back to reinforce us."

"Huh?!" Zhu Xieyuan lost control of his expression, but since he had already boasted, he could only politely indicate that the more troops the better.

Although the Jurchens could not directly breach Beijing, without sufficient field troops, they could easily be besieged within the city. If Beijing became an isolated city and government orders could not be issued, it would be extremely dangerous.

With over ten thousand elite troops, tens of thousands of miscellaneous soldiers, and hundreds of thousands of residents, defending the city was more than enough. However, to expel the Jurchens, even more troops would be needed.

"The Jurchens attacked our capital because they believed we had to defend it. This means our Great Ming is being led by the nose, and all our plans are rendered useless. Shouldn't we retaliate in kind?!" Zhu Youjian said in a deep voice. "Your Majesty wants to attack Shenyang?!" Zhu Xieyuan frowned. In his view, this was completely ineffective. Shenyang had been developed by the Jurchens for many years; the city walls had been raised and widened. How could it be conquered without tens of thousands of troops? Even if it were conquered, it didn't seem to cause the Jurchens much loss. All the Jurchens' important figures were on campaign; they didn't have an emperor they were obligated to return to defend.

The story of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" cannot be directly applied. Zhu Xieyuan remained silent, only thinking that the emperor was a bit naive. He was pondering what words to use to subtly persuade the emperor to abandon this idea when he heard the emperor say, "No, we will not attack the city, we will just burn the wasteland."

"Burning the wasteland? What does Your Majesty mean by this?!" Zhu Xieyuan was puzzled. Burning the wasteland was actually a traditional activity of the Ming army that had lasted for more than two hundred years. Every autumn and winter, elite teams would be sent deep into the grasslands to burn the wasteland. This behavior was persistent and very effective. However, it was too effective, resulting in large areas of desert outside the nine borders, where yellow sand would fill the sky when the wind blew.

The forests outside the pass were burned, leaving the enemy nowhere to hide. They could see everything from the city walls, but the blowing sand filled the walls again. It seemed that the defenses of the Nine Garrisons had not been strengthened. The Nine Garrisons were still leaky everywhere.

However, the emperor's current interpretation of burning the land certainly doesn't mean that. The Jurchens were a hunting and fishing people, not pastoralists. Burning the land wouldn't cause them much harm; they might even thank the Ming army for helping with the work, happily cultivating the land after the burning. And accompanying the burning was the digging of pits... could it be?!
On the seventh day of the first lunar month of the year Ji Si, at Shanhaiguan, a place heavily fortified with troops, it was extremely taboo to enter the pass without imperial decree. The general guarding the border also needed to pay close attention to the issues within his jurisdiction.

Yuan Keli was the Liaodong Military Commissioner, and he could act first and report later in Liaodong. The emperor also allowed him to concurrently govern Dengzhou Town. His power in Liaoxi, Denglai, Dongjiang and other places was almost unlimited, but it was no longer effective in the capital region.

However, he still did his best to make the best preparations. Yuan Keli had noticed something was wrong earlier, so he transferred most of the cavalry outside the pass back to Shanhaiguan. Now there are 15,000 cavalrymen in Shanhaiguan, including Liaodong cavalry, surrendered Yi cavalry, and Dongjiang garrison cavalry. They are just waiting for the emperor's order to enter the pass and rush to the aid.

The south gate of Shanhaiguan slowly opened, and Cao Huachun, the emperor's highest-ranking messenger and a eunuch in a red python robe, led his three hundred Imperial Horse Cavalrymen into the city.

Why are they bringing troops?! Yuan Keli felt a chill run down his spine. He noticed that the eunuch wasn't carrying a sword at his waist, but rather a waist knife. The old man subconsciously reached out and touched his own imperial sword. It was still there, which reassured him considerably.

"General Zu, you look so pale. Are you ill?" Yuan Keli asked with concern.

"I...I...I'm fine, thank you for your concern, General," Zu Dashou said, sweat beading on his forehead. Behind him, a group of underlings from Jinzhou City looked at him with strange eyes.

Their strange behavior startled Cao Huachun. What did these people mean? Did they want to rebel?!
Cao Huachun was a courageous eunuch. The more dangerous the situation, the more excited he became. He ordered his attendants to open the brocade box and take out the imperial edict. Although the edict was actually dictated by the emperor and written down by him before he set off, he held it as if it were a sacred object, and his expression became extremely serious and devout.

The others were also drawn to the small roll of yellow silk. It was an imperial edict! Many people had never seen one in their entire lives. It was said that if someone received an imperial edict, they would have to display it in their ancestral hall at home and make a great impression on others!

"By imperial decree, all generals kneel and listen!" Cao Huachun announced loudly.

"Your Majesty, Yuan Keli, Mao Wenlong, Zu Dashou, Zhao Shuaijiao, Man Gui, He Kegang, Cao Wenzhao, Liu Qingze, Wu Xiang... receive the imperial decree!" A large group of officials from Liaoxi knelt down. It must be said that Liaoxi is indeed teeming with talent these days. There is no one to use in the interior, so they can only rely on old men and women. But anyone you randomly grab outside the Great Wall is a famous general.

The emperor was sent to heaven to carry the order, and the edict said:
The Jurchens are wicked; they attacked our borders, killed our soldiers, and slaughtered our people. If we do not avenge this, we will not be worthy of being human.

I hereby order you to send troops to Liaodong to relieve the suffering of the people and punish the guilty! Destroy their lair and exterminate their kind! Anyone who has shaved their head and kept a queue, regardless of the reason or age, shall be beheaded!
(End of this chapter)