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

Chapter 264 Night Raid on the Plain Yellow Banner Camp 1.0
Fifteen li west of the Daling River lies Dalinghe Fortress, where numerous flat-bottomed sand barges ply the river. It is currently the beginning of the hottest period of summer, and several torrential rains in the preceding days have caused the Daling River to swell, allowing boats to sail directly into Yizhou and reach the vicinity of Guangning City.

In other words, these few days were a good time to launch a surprise attack on Guangning City, to teach Huang Taiji a lesson and let him experience what it's like to be caught off guard. However, an unexpected piece of intelligence interrupted this plan.

At this time, the newly repaired Dalinghe Fortress was home to a constellation of brilliant generals, including Man Gui, Zhao Shuaijiao, the two Caos, Ma Shilong, and Zu Kuan, all of whom were top-tier cavalry generals.

"Is the news credible? Could it be a scam?!" Zu Kuan said uneasily, rubbing his trouser leg.

"Whether it's true or not, we certainly can't believe that person's one-sided story. We'll send out scouts and make sure there are no ambushes before we make our move. This is a rare opportunity; if we miss it, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives."

"Do we really have to launch a night raid?!" Ma Shilong asked, his face full of conflict.

"In this weather, you can't wear armor during the day, and even at night, the Jurchens probably wouldn't sleep in armor. I don't believe you can't understand such a simple logic!"

"Sigh, the risk is too great!"

Compared to the Ming army, the Jurchens were the real experts at night raids, and they were facing Huang Taiji's elite guards, using their most proficient cavalry tactics.

"War is never without risk. If you're afraid, then don't go. Let someone else lead the troops. These Jurchens aren't superhuman. We've killed them before, so what's there to be afraid of? Even if we can't kill Huang Taiji, wouldn't it be great to kill a thousand or eight hundred of their cavalry?!" Man Gui said in a booming voice.

"Alright, since I was the one who ordered you to come for this night raid, if it fails, I will bear all the blame. You can say that I forced you to go. If you gain merit, I will not compete with you!" said the old general Zhao Shuaijiao solemnly.

The others were somewhat amused and exasperated upon hearing this. It wasn't that they were afraid of taking responsibility; the old general had underestimated them, hadn't he? This was about taking responsibility for the lives of their men!
On the eighth day of the seventh month of the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, the calendar said it was an auspicious day, suitable for funerals. In the evening, the elite cavalry of Guan Ning and the Shenshu Camp of the Beijing Garrison began to cross the river by boat.

After a full day of scorching sun, the earth had absorbed a peak amount of heat. The warhorses' manes were soaked through, and the cavalrymen dared not take out their armor.

The problem with this armor isn't whether it's breathable or not. It's that if it's exposed to the sun, it gets so hot that you could fry an egg in it within fifteen minutes. People wearing it can easily get burned. Even the most elite and tenacious army couldn't withstand it.

The muddy land that was just a few days ago has been dried up by the scorching sun. Everywhere you can see tortoise-shell-like clods of earth that crunch underfoot. The water of the Daling River is still murky, but the sun shines obliquely on the river surface, making it sparkle and shimmer.

Despite the torturous weather, scouts in groups of ten have been sent out round after round. Their mission is heavy: if any scouts discover anything unusual, the raid must be canceled.

According to information provided by Ajige's men, Huang Taiji had lodged at Xipingbao that night, his purpose being to proceed to Guangning City. The Jurchen Khan's betrayal of his own people shocked Zhao Shuaijiao and his men, but it was clear that the Ming Dynasty had no shortage of traitors within its ranks. Ajige revealed that Huang Taiji already knew in advance of their planned attack on Guangning, which was being defended by the Ming general Li Yongfang, a traitor. Fearing Li Yongfang would surrender the city, Huang Taiji planned to personally oversee the defense of Guangning.

The ethnic conflicts within the Later Jin dynasty have now become so severe that they are impossible to resolve. Huang Taiji had previously tried to ease the tensions between the three ethnic groups, but after his defeat, he could no longer suppress the persecution of Han people by his subordinates.

The Jurchens suffered a defeat within the Great Wall, and upon returning home, they vented their anger on the Han Chinese. Now, there are no free Han Chinese left in Liaodong. In reality, the Later Jin dynasty under these circumstances had no future; it was merely a corpse that hadn't yet stiffened.

Li Yongfang surrendered Fushun, and in theory there was no turning back; the Ming court would never accept him again. But one can never be too careful.

Fearing another leak, Zhao Shuaijiao did not report the operation up the chain of command, nor did time allow him to do so. The opportunity was fleeting, lasting only one night. By the time the court made a decision and the military order was relayed back, half a month would have passed, and the opportunity would be completely wasted.

He didn't even have time to inform Yuan Keli. The message was sent, but by the time Liaonan found out, they had probably already finished their work.

Among the generals in Liaoxi, Zhao Lüjiao was the most intelligent. The others were all fierce, but not very bright, and would be outmaneuvered by Huang Taiji. Yuan Keli was stationed in southern Liaoxi, busy with "military expansion" and organizing the Koreans to fight guerrilla warfare against the Jurchens. He couldn't attend to Liaoxi, so he appointed Zhao Lüjiao as the commander of the Guan Ning Army.

After Zu Dashou was tricked back to the capital, Cao Wenzhao became the new Commander-in-Chief of Jinzhou. To ensure a smooth transition of power, Zu Kuan, a member of the Zu family, was appointed as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Jinzhou. Considering the pressure in Liaodong, although Zhu Youjian did not send a large army to support them, he still dispatched several thousand elite troops.

Now the development directions of the Ming Dynasty and the Jurchens have reversed: the Ming Dynasty is busy streamlining its army and pursuing an elite and professional army; Huang Taiji, on the other hand, is busy building up its army. Both sides think that the other's army is better and more appealing!

He dragged Jurchen children in their teens to the battlefield, forcing veterans to train them, and also created a large number of slave soldiers, modeled after the Tibetan system. These slave soldiers had no human rights whatsoever; only those who performed great merit could be raised to the banner and treated as human beings. Lacking sufficient resources for positive incentives, he resorted to terrifying negative incentives.

Ma Shilong and his men's anxiety was justified: Xipingbao was 120 li away from Dalinghe City, and they needed to travel for at least three hours to reach it. Then they would have less than two hours to rest before they had to engage in battle. If they were ambushed in the middle, it would truly be a one-way trip.

However, according to Ajige's intelligence, Huang Taiji only brought 3,000 cavalrymen from the Plain Yellow Banner this time. Xiping Fort, which was stationed there, was abandoned by the Jurchens because it was located by the sea and along the Sancha River. Now it is just a ruin.

The Ming cavalry that launched this surprise attack numbered only three thousand, but it included seventeen officers of the fifth rank or above, each with their own elite personal guards. Each officer was equipped with three horses, wore triple armor, carried a strong bow and a long spear, and could fight on horseback for several hours without exhaustion.

Almost everyone here has the ability to fight the Jurchens one-on-one and kill them. Some of them fought against the Jurchens in Liaodong for a long time and participated in the fierce Battle of Beijing, and survived.

This was a high-stakes gamble: if they won, they would kill Huang Taiji and achieve unparalleled merit, and one of them would be granted the title of Duke; if they lost, the Ming army would suffer heavy losses, and they would all be traitors to the Ming Dynasty!
(End of this chapter)