Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 100 Tai Chi Too Hasty, Don't Rush (Part 2)
Around noon, the sun is at its highest point.

The sound of hooves thundered in the valley east of Jizhou City, and it never stopped.

The Jurchen cavalry, like dragons, roamed through the winding valleys, heading straight for the east gate of Jizhou City.

The sheer number of cavalrymen surging out of the valley was truly terrifying.

However, on the gate tower of the east gate of Jizhou City, Zhu Jue, Lu Xiangshan, Sun Yingyuan and others showed no sign of panic.

Zhu Jue was even a little puzzled as to why Huang Taiji was doing this pointless work.

Jizhou City has more than 50,000 troops at this moment, so who are these 40,000 or 50,000 cavalrymen trying to scare?

He stared at the Jurchen cavalry swarming out with unbridled abandon for a long time, then suddenly realized and exclaimed, "Jian Dou, the Jurchens probably don't know that more than 50,000 troops have already been gathered in Jizhou City."

Yes.

If there were only the original 5,000-plus troops in Jizhou City, it would be normal for tens of thousands of Jurchen cavalry to come and scare people.

There are more men in Jizhou City than Jurchen cavalry. Who can they scare?

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng slowly nodded and said, "It seems that our information blockade is quite effective. The east gate of Jizhou City has been sealed off for a long time. No one can enter or leave without our scouts."

The Jurchens probably hadn't received news of reinforcements arriving in Jizhou or even Santunying. Seeing only about five thousand troops garrisoned in Zunhua, they likely assumed the garrison numbers in Jizhou and Santunying were the same.

This is something we can make good use of.

Zhu Jue pondered, "The saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.' The Jurchens don't know how many troops are in Jizhou City. We can take advantage of this and make them suffer a great loss."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng thought for a moment and then couldn't contain his excitement, saying, "Your Majesty is wise. We can launch a surprise attack when they are not prepared. If we seize the opportunity, we can use our chariots to defeat these tens of thousands of Jurchen cavalry."

Do you want to rush up and fight the Jurchens to the death again?

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then said solemnly, "Let's see how things go first. There are so many Jurchen cavalry, there's simply not enough space in front of the city wall for them to set up camp. They've come all this way, they can't possibly turn back now. Let's see how they set up camp."

The Jurchen cavalry numbered forty to fifty thousand. The flat area in front of the city wall was only five or six li long and three li wide. Moreover, camping was not allowed within one li of the city wall. Such a narrow area could not possibly accommodate so many cavalry.

So, how exactly did the Jurchens set up camp?
Before long, the Jurchens began to set up camp.

These guys actually brought their warhorses up the mountain and set up camp right on the hillside!

In fact, the Jurchens were not originally from a nomadic tribe; to be precise, they were originally from a fishing and hunting tribe in the area between the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River.

This mountain and river landscape is even better for them than flat land, and they like to camp in this kind of terrain!

Zhu Jue originally thought that the narrow flat area outside the East Gate was not enough for people to set up camp.

As it turned out, they didn't even set up camp on this flat land.

These guys came out of the valley to show off for a bit, and then they retreated in an orderly manner to the hillside facing the east gate of Jizhou City, and even back into the valley, where they began to set up camp.

Zhu Jue carefully examined the area and then asked, "Jian Dou, what do you think about using fire? The snow and ice have all melted, and it's a dry season. There's plenty of dry grass on the mountain, so if we fire a rocket, it'll probably ignite in no time."

Uh, fire attack?

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng said with some helplessness, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, but I cannot see their situation clearly."

Oh, I forgot that the telescope you're holding only has a range of two or three miles. Now the Jurchens have retreated more than three miles away, so you can't see them at all.

Zhu Jue handed over the large binoculars he was holding.

Lu Xiang-sheng raised his large telescope and scanned the area. He then frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty, this fire attack may not be very effective, because the Jurchens are all on the mountain. They are in a superior position and their arrows can travel farther than ours."

"If we send cavalry, they'll probably be riddled with bullets before they even have a chance to fire their rockets. If we send charioteers pushing their chariots, they'll be too slow, giving them enough time to gather their forces and deal with us." As they were discussing this, smoke began to rise from the city's chimneys, and the aroma of food soon filled the air.

It was lunchtime, and Zhu Jue, having been busy all day, was starting to feel hungry.

After thinking for a moment, he simply said, "Let's cook a meal too. Have someone bring up a table, and we'll eat here. We don't need to cook any staple food; we can just get some from the soldiers."

Upon hearing this, Wang Chengen immediately ordered someone to make arrangements.

Soon, a large square table used by ordinary families for meals was brought out.

Immediately afterwards, porridge, steamed buns, pickled vegetables, tofu, fish soup, smoked fish and other dishes were served one after another.

These were all prepared by the soldiers for their own consumption.

They also brought a lot of delicacies from the mountains and the sea, which they could easily cook up with a few stir-fries.

Before long, the table was filled with food.

Zhu Jue, traveling incognito, didn't stand on ceremony. He was really hungry and his stomach was growling. He invited Lu Xiang-sheng, Sun Ying-yuan, Wang Cheng-en, and others to sit down and started eating.

And you know what? When a person is hungry, food tastes really good. He slurped down a bowl of porridge and two steamed buns with vegetables before stopping to rest.

At this time, the Jurchens seemed to have started cooking as well, and the smoke rising from the hillside could be seen without binoculars.

He stared at the wisps of smoke and thought for a moment, then asked, "The Jurchens have also come from afar, and they have to clear weeds and set up tents on the hillside. They must be very tired."

That's for sure.

Lu Xiang-sheng nodded repeatedly and said, "It's easier for them to set up tents on flat ground, but it's really tiring to set up tents on this overgrown hillside. It would be good if they could finish setting up all the tents this afternoon."

At this point, they've probably only cleared some weeds, cut some branches, and set up a stove, planning to eat first before setting up camp.

very good!

Zhu Jue pondered, "They've been exhausted all day, but our chariot soldiers have been resting for two or three days. If we let them get a good rest this afternoon, they'll definitely be full of energy early tomorrow morning."

Jian Dou, what do you think about us just pushing straight in tomorrow?
This afternoon we'll have the cavalry guard the city and the chariot soldiers rest. Tomorrow morning we'll have the chariot soldiers cook at dawn and set up their formation outside the city at dawn, and then we'll push the chariots through the city.

If the Jurchens gather their troops to block the entrance to the valley or even confront the chariots, we will have the chariots stop a hundred paces away and aim their muskets at them.

If they don't gather their forces at the foot of the mountain and instead try to use the slope to ambush the chariots, we'll have our charioteers push their chariots down to the foot of the mountain and launch fire arrows. Then we'll see what they do.”

Force it?

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng thought for a moment and then solemnly said, "Your Majesty, we can actually think of some ways to make the Jurchens even more exhausted."

For example, around midnight tonight, we will quietly lower the drawbridge and send 10,000 cavalry out of the city stealthily. Then we will light torches, charge for two miles, retreat, lower the drawbridge, and close the city gates.

"Tomorrow morning around 1 AM, we'll send our cavalry out again to cause a ruckus, then retreat, lower the drawbridge, and close the city gates. That way, the Jurchens won't even be able to sleep soundly."

Do you want to make the Jurchens even more exhausted?
Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked, "Wouldn't our cavalry be exhausted too?"

Lu Xiang-sheng explained in detail: "Your Majesty, the Jurchens cannot possibly attack the city today. They haven't even built siege weapons yet, and they can't even cross the moat. It's enough for us to leave 5,000 cavalrymen to guard the city walls. The other cavalrymen can take turns patrolling and resting. By midnight tonight, the cavalrymen will all be in good spirits."

Well, that makes sense.

The Jurchens originally thought that there were only a little over 5,000 troops in Jizhou City. They didn't even have any intention of attacking the city yet, and they hadn't even built any siege equipment. This proved that they didn't want to lose their precious cavalry to attack the city. They thought that leaving 5,000 cavalry to guard this side of the city wall was enough.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue slowly nodded and said, "Alright, go and make arrangements so that the soldiers can have a good rest after they finish eating."

(End of this chapter)