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

Chapter 97 Commander-in-Chief of the Capital Garrison, with the Seal of General Who Conquers the Barbarians

Sun Chuanting set off from Yansui and headed northeast along the Great Wall, traveling a hundred li a day, and arrived at Pianguan on the tenth day.

At this point, he could travel along the inner Great Wall all the way to Yanmen Pass, and then exit the pass. If he did so, he could quickly reach his hometown. Alternatively, he could exit through a side pass and go directly to the occupied area to fight the enemy. Or, he could travel along the outer Great Wall to Datong Town.

Upon questioning the garrison commander of Pianguan, Sun Chuanting learned that Pianguan had never seen any trace of the Northern Barbarians, Datong had been relieved, and the cavalry sent to support Datong Town had returned empty-handed.

Just a few days ago, the Northern barbarians were still at Yanmen Pass, but now they have retreated. They have either returned north or gone to Xuanfu, intending to attack Juyong Pass and thus threaten the capital.

Originally, the garrison commander of Pianguan did not intend to supply Sun Chuanting. However, Du Hongyu secretly approached the general of Pianguan and said, "Our governor has two daughters who have been sent to the palace and are both favored concubines of His Majesty. Now, I hear that they are pregnant with the emperor's child. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?!"

The general of Pianguan was sweating profusely. He quickly delivered food supplies and escorted the three thousand cavalrymen from Yansui out of the pass.

After Sun Chuanting and his men left the pass, they traveled eastward along the Inner Great Wall. Although they still did not encounter the Northern barbarians, they gathered several thousand defeated soldiers and refugees along the way.

His troops passed through Wuning and Yanmen, eventually returning to their hometown, Zhenwuwei in Daizhou. Fortunately, the ancient city of Daizhou was well-fortified and, despite the fierce attack from the northern barbarians, did not fall.

The walls of Daizhou were stained with blood, and the arrival of Sun Chuanting and his men startled the soldiers guarding the city. After confirming their identities, Sun Chuanting was able to lead three thousand cavalrymen to set up camp under the walls of Daizhou. Even as cavalrymen, they needed to rest after marching more than a thousand miles.

Sun Chuanting was very famous in Zhenwuwei. He came from a military family, passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, and now he had become a high-ranking official, the governor. Everyone in Zhenwuwei was proud of him.

His return was warmly welcomed by his hometown people. Sun Chuanting returned home, met with his wife, and saw that his family was safe and sound. Only then did he finally feel relieved after the long journey.

Sun Chuanting took the refugees he brought into Daizhou City and settled them there. The prefect of Daizhou reluctantly accepted the refugees and couldn't help but complain: "Sun Boya, if it weren't for you, would I have taken in these refugees! You know that Daizhou has never been rich, where would we get the money and grain to relieve the disaster victims?!"

Sun Chuanting agreed repeatedly, saying, "They are all from our hometown of Shanxi. How can we sit idly by and watch them suffer? Besides, there is no need to keep them for long. While feeding them, we can have them work on repairing the city. After the northern barbarians are driven out and their hometowns are at peace, we can send them back to their original places."

Two days later, Sun Chuanting took his two sons with him and smuggled several hundred able-bodied men from Zhenwuwei before continuing north.

Less than an hour after leaving Daizhou City, a scout rushed in to report: "Sir, we have spotted elite Northern barbarian cavalry ahead, numbering no less than ten thousand!!!"

Xuanfu Town is only 300 li away from Beijing. With the help of express messengers, military intelligence could be exchanged in a day and night.

Although Ligdan Khan was politically and strategically inept, he did have some merit in military affairs. After all, he won the internal power struggle, and if it weren't for the Jurchens' interference, he might have been able to unify the grasslands. His unusual campaign of leading a large army to Xuanfu did indeed put considerable pressure on the Ming court.

Because of the proximity, Zhu Youjian did not select a new governor-general for Xuanda, but directly put Zhu Xieyuan in charge of the Ministry of War to deploy troops. As for the specific battle command, it was left to the generals on the battlefield. Micromanagement was absolutely unacceptable.

News from Xuanfu could reach the capital unimpeded. The court learned that Xuanfu cavalry, tasked with supporting Datong, encountered elite Northern barbarian cavalry before even arriving. A fierce battle ensued, with both sides gaining the upper hand. Fearing encirclement, the Xuanfu cavalry had to retreat. On February 25th, 5,000 Northern barbarian cavalry arrived at the walls of Xuanhua Prefecture, inciting the populace to attack the city. General Hou Shilu led his troops out to meet the attack, rescuing over 1,000 civilians but losing 500 soldiers. However, many more civilians perished under the arrows and gunfire of both sides. The walls of Xuanhua were piled high with corpses, and rivers of blood flowed like rivers, transforming the city into a living hell.

On March 3, Ligdan Khan led his army to join forces with the vanguard of the Northern Barbarians, gathered all the tribesmen who had been plundered from various places in Xuanfu, and assembled an army of 40,000 to surround Xuanhua City.

However, Xuanhua City was in a much better situation than Datong: firstly, it was closer to the capital and received more attention; secondly, the Governor-General of Xuanhua and Datong, Wang Xiangqian, had been stationed in Xuanfu for a long time and devoted himself to its management, so Xuanhua City was not in danger of falling for the time being.

However, the jurisdiction of Xuanfu Town was very large. After Xuanhua City was besieged, the Northern Barbarians planned to repeat their actions in Datong, besieging the main city and then plundering the surrounding area.

If the incident in Datong was due to the suddenness of the event and the court's slow response, then if Ligdan Khan were to cause such havoc in Xuanfu, the court's prestige would be completely ruined!

Jiao Yuanqing, the governor of Xuanfu Town, impeached Hou Shilu, the general of Xuanfu, for being afraid to fight and refusing to participate in battle.

At this time, Ligdan Khan once again sent envoys to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty, stating that if the Ming Dynasty agreed to his conditions, he would immediately withdraw his troops.

Whether to fight or make peace sparked another debate in the court. The emperor had to make a decision on this matter; if he wavered, those below him would be unable to get things done.

Sun Chuanting reported his whereabouts: Yu Zigao's 3,000-strong light chariot battalion from Jizhou had arrived in Xuanhua City, and the Jizhou cavalry had also provided 1,000 support cavalry.

Zhu Youjian asked Zhu Xieyuan, "Given the current situation in Xuanfu, is it possible to wage a decisive battle against Ligdan Khan?"

Zhu Xieyuan, having learned of the emperor's thoughts, spent a day deducing the outcome with Wang Xiangqian, Qin Liangyu, and others before finally telling Zhu Youjian the answer: it was possible to fight!
"Then fight!"

Duke Zhang Weixian of England once again requested permission to fight, but Zhu Youjian was undecided and asked Zhu Xieyuan for his opinion.

Zhu Xieyuan said, “Since ancient times, a strong army is not formed through training, but through battle. The current state of the Beijing Garrison is just right to be sent to the battlefield for actual combat training. However, the Duke of Yingguo is not familiar with battle formations and can serve as a deputy general, but is not suitable as the commander-in-chief. I think that the Marquis of Zhongzhen should be appointed as the commander-in-chief and lead the troops into battle.”

Zhu Youjian suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, fearing that he might have lost Qin Liangyu. After all, these were not her direct troops, the White-Spear Soldiers. What if he had tricked her to death?
He knew that being stingy and afraid of everything was wrong, but he was so afraid of being poor that he really couldn't bear to spend the money.

However, Qin Liangyu was delighted at the prospect of war and strongly urged Zhu Youjian to send her into battle. What was the Left Censor-in-Chief position? She was extremely uncomfortable in it and had long wanted to find an excuse to escape! She had spent most of her life fighting, and life away from the military was far from comfortable.

Zhu Youjian finally granted her request, bestowing upon Qin Liangyu the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Beijing Garrison, granting her the seal of General Who Conquers the Barbarians, and ordering her to lead 10,000 elite troops from the three major battalions out of Juyong Pass to support Xuanfu and attack the Chahar tribe.

Bi Ziyan was desperate and wanted to fight to the death. He was a proponent of peace because he calculated the economics: fighting would be a loss, while negotiating peace would save money. You Jianze understood that this battle was unavoidable, and it wasn't a matter of money.

(End of this chapter)