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

Chapter 319 Victorious Advance, Heading to Henan, Catching a Little Deer, and Inviting Uncle Wang to a Feast of Fortune and Prosperity!
On February 12th of the fifth year of Chongzhen's reign, after a day and night of joint suppression, the invading 4,000 slave cavalry were almost completely wiped out. Shuo Tuo committed suicide in desperation. Jirhalang's men were almost all dead before he finally seized the opportunity to escape from the encirclement of Du Wenhuan, the general of Yansui, and his son, Du Hongyu, the deputy general. The main reason was that there were not many troops left in Yulin.

The situation on the other side was different. The two thousand White-Spear Soldiers led by Ma Xianglin, the three thousand cavalry led by Cao Bianjiao, and the twenty thousand garrison troops of Pianguan were all involved in the battle! With a difference of more than ten times the strength, even Nurhaci himself would have to kneel down, let alone a mediocre Shuo Tuo.

Zhu Youjian's choice to fish at Hequ was quite deliberate. The Yellow River has changed its course many times, but no matter how it changes, its overall "几" (ji) shaped structure has remained unchanged for thousands of years. This indicates that the river channel in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River has never changed, which is determined by the plate tectonics structure.

Zhu Youjian's current location is at the upper right bend of the Yellow River's "几" (ji) shaped structure. Here, the Yellow River changes course from east to west and flows south because of the Jin-Shaan Grand Canyon, formed by the Shanxi Plateau and the Shaanxi Plateau. Here, the Yellow River narrows, its channel becomes deep and treacherous, and its current is rapid and turbulent. It is also a famous area prone to ice jams.

However, Zhu Youjian's use of the ice blockage to ambush was merely a convenient tactic, not the primary reason. Regardless of whether he attacked while the enemy was crossing the river, he was not afraid of the few thousand Jurchen cavalry; he simply divided the battlefield to make the fighting easier.

The fact that Zhu Youjian was able to pinpoint the ambush location, a distance of over a hundred miles from Pianguan to Hequ, was due to the unique terrain of the Jin-Shaanxi Grand Canyon. There are only so many ferry crossings on the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River, such as Fugu Ferry, Hequ Ferry, and Longmen Ferry; the choices are limited. If the Jurchens wanted to attack Zhu Youjian in Hequ County, crossing the river at Niangniangtan would clearly be the optimal option.

Niangniangtan is located in the northern part of Hequ County. Legend has it that it was a refuge where Bo Ji fled with the future Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, to escape Empress Lü's pursuit. The terrain here is flat on two sides, the river is wide and the current is relatively slow. There are two small islands in the middle of the river, one called Niangniangtan and the other called Taizitan.

The reason why the Jurchens went to the trouble of crossing the river from Shaanxi to Shanxi was because the Datong Town was far away and the Pianguan territory was nearby.

They relied on surprise attacks and lacked the capability to conquer cities and fortresses; they could only break in through the abandoned gates of northern Shaanxi. Therefore, while the Jurchens seemed to have many options, they actually had none. If they wanted to attack Emperor Chongzhen (Zhu Youjian), they could only follow the path he had laid out for them, and then be lured step by step into an ambush.

After the battle was over, Zhu Youjian emerged from the rear and, like an old farmer, inspected his spoils of war. Looking at the mountain of wild boar hides, he said to Zhu Xieyuan with considerable pride, "It seems that I do have some talent for warfare."

Zhu Xieyuan was speechless upon hearing this, thinking to himself: Only you, the emperor, could mobilize the military garrisons of two provinces to fight at the same time. Who could bear the responsibility of sending all the troops out of Pianguan and risking its fall at any moment? It's not that the emperor is so good at fighting, it's that no one can stop him from personally leading the expedition!
In this battle, the Ming army achieved a great victory, killing 3,300 Jurchens, including the Jurchen Dorobele Shuoto, and capturing 7,800 warhorses, as well as countless suits of armor and weapons. Their own losses were minor: 89 White-Spear Soldiers were killed, 220 Guan-Ning cavalrymen were killed, over 700 Yan-Sui cavalrymen were killed, and over 300 garrison troops from Pianguan were killed.

Du Wenhuan, having let the Jurchen general Jirhalang escape, crossed the river to apologize. Zhu Youjian did not blame them, but instead held a banquet on the spot to entertain the generals, and immediately calculated their military merits and distributed rewards. He was now extremely wealthy from the confiscation of his property, and his biggest worry was that carrying large amounts of gold and silver was slowing down his army's march.

Zhu Youjian (Emperor Zhu Youjian) lavishly distributed money, personally handing it out to his soldiers, and was very happy to spend it. His soldiers were also pleased with their easy victories and the generous rewards bestowed upon them by their leader.

Zhu Youjian instructed Du Wenhuan to stay longer so he could give him a thorough explanation of the current situation in northern Shaanxi and their Yansui garrison. Because of the large-scale withdrawal from northern Shaanxi, the region was now largely unknown to the court. Zhu Youjian wanted to know if the years of neglect had fostered any corrupt elements in northern Shaanxi. With the ambush at Hequ over, the emperor should, in principle, have returned east along the Inner Great Wall or inspected the borders of Datong, Xuanhua, and Jizhou along the Outer Great Wall before heading home.

But Zhu Youjian stayed in Pianguan for half a day, then turned back south, seemingly determined to escape south! Zhu Xieyuan clung to Zhu Youjian's leg, trying to stop him. Zhu Youjian said he missed his Uncle Fu and wanted to go to Henan to see how Uncle Fu was doing!
The army passed through Hequ County again, which had by then been turned into a vast expanse of water. More than 100 hectares of farmland in the south were flooded, and the wheat seedlings, soaked in the icy water, died and rotted. The county town was also flooded, with water reaching two feet deep. Because the people had been evacuated in advance, there were no casualties, but the grief of the people of Hequ was still overwhelming.

Magistrate Zhang Tiande inspired the people, leading them to clear the silt and rebuild their homes. Zhu Youjian told him he should either quit his post or promote him to Right Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shanxi.

The county magistrate is a seventh-rank official, and although the provincial governor is now subject to the governor-general, he is still a second-rank official! Zhang Tiande has endured so much hardship, and he can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. But he is still just a mortal and it is difficult for him to remain calm.

After the battle was over, Zhu Youjian also fulfilled his promise to blow up the ice dam. To ensure everything went smoothly, Zhu Youjian used more than 5,000 jin of gunpowder, which he had originally refused to lend to Zhang Tiande for only 200 jin.

Seeing Zhang Tiande's hesitation, Zhu Youjian decided to stay in Hequ County for two days to let him think it over. Zhu Youjian didn't stay specifically to wait for Zhang Tiande; he didn't have that kind of influence.

The main purpose of those left behind was to "collect corpses," including the bodies of Jurchens and livestock. To prevent the people from being unwilling to eat, Zhu Youjian ordered that the Jurchen and livestock corpses be placed together, dug into a pit, sprinkled with quicklime, and buried deeply. He also forced the people to drink boiled water and forbade them from drinking raw water, in order to prevent the spread of plague after the disaster.

Zhu Youjian announced the news of Zhang Tiande's transfer to the people of Hequ County in front of them. On the first day, the people of Hequ County staged a scene of kneeling and begging Zhang Tiande to stay; on the second day, someone must have persuaded the people, because the entire county lined the streets to bid farewell to their magistrate. Zhang Tiande waved goodbye with tears in his eyes, a scene that even made Zhu Youjian a little jealous.

While Zhu Youjian was idly passing through Hequ County, he learned some gossip about Zhang Tiande, such as that he was originally from Jiangxi, but was sent to Shanxi as an official. Unable to return home, he had to bring his wife and daughter with him. As a result, his wife endured two years with him, but could not bear it any longer and divorced him. His daughter also died of illness. Why do good people always get no good reward?

Zhu Xieyuan then displayed his talent for direct remonstrance, saying to Zhu Youjian: "Zhang Tiande is an honest and good official, but he may not be a capable minister. Such a person should be kept out of the limelight and serve as a role model for all officials, rather than being given an important position. Doing so is irresponsible to the court and to Zhang Tiande himself. His promotion from county magistrate to provincial governor by eleven ranks is beyond what can be described as wanton and reckless."

(End of this chapter)