Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 140 Surprise Attack to Recapture Lost Territory (Part 2)

The Jurchens have already reached Huanghua Town in Tianshou Mountain, yet the young emperor remains unmoved!
That place is less than a hundred miles from the capital, and the entire route is a mountain road leading to the imperial tombs for worship, so there are no passes to guard.

The little emperor isn't in a hurry at all!
The officials outside the court were dumbfounded.

At this moment, Huang Taiji vaguely understood that the young emperor of the Ming Dynasty probably guessed that Yanqing Prefecture was a trap.

His advance into Huanghua Town was not only intended to frighten the young Ming emperor into mobilizing a large army to protect the imperial tombs, but also to test the young emperor's intentions.

If the young emperor of the Ming Dynasty remains unmoved and does not mobilize a large army to guard the imperial tombs, then it proves that the young emperor has most likely guessed that Yanqing Prefecture is a trap.

Now he was in a bit of a bind.

He went to great lengths, expending countless manpower, resources, and provisions to set a trap in Yanqing Prefecture, hoping to wipe out all the Ming troops that could be mobilized in the capital region, as well as Jizhou and Liaodong, thus clearing the way for future attacks on Liaodong and the capital region.

As a result, the young emperor of the Ming Dynasty not only did not send a single soldier to Yanqing Prefecture to provide reinforcements, but instead imposed a scorched-earth policy on him, ordering the soldiers and civilians of Yanqing Prefecture to take their grain and wealth and hide in the Xuanfu Three Guards!

He really tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead.

Having gained nothing, are we just going to run back in such a dejected state?
He was almost itching to smash down an imperial tomb to give the young Ming emperor a good slap in the face.

The problem is that each imperial tomb has at least two or three thousand guards, and these guards all bring their families. In other words, there are probably at least tens of thousands of people in each imperial tomb. Moreover, the mountain roads leading to the imperial tombs are completely blocked by huge rocks and thick logs, with countless layers of obstruction inside and out.

If he were to actually launch an attack, who knows how many men and soldiers he would lose.

Another point is that even if he conquered an imperial tomb, he couldn't dig it open in a short time.

If it can't be dug open, then even more rice will be eroded.

Even if it's dug up, it might not be enough to compensate for the losses suffered by the other men and women.

He was completely at a loss.

Zhu Juena was also thinking about how to break the deadlock.

Huang Taiji was too cautious. He pretended that there were no troops available in the capital, but Huang Taiji just wouldn't fall for it.

Alternatively, Huang Taiji might have intended to eliminate the main forces of Jizhou Town and Liaodong Town in Yanqing Prefecture, and he wouldn't give up until he achieved his goal.

How to do it?

These past few days, after reviewing the memorials, he hasn't been making any more rounds of inspections; he's been staying in the main hall of the Yuxi Palace, studying the map.

Lu Xiang-sheng would come over around 9 AM every day to ponder together.

Around 9 a.m. that day, the emperor and his minister were once again staring at the map and pondering it.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully for a long time before solemnly saying, "Jian Dou, it's time to make a move in Liaodong."

Does this mean Huang Taiji should lead his army away immediately?
Lu Xiang-sheng pondered, "Yes, dragging this out isn't a solution. Huang Taiji will consume a lot of grain, and we also need to consider the rice and wheat harvest in Changping Prefecture and even Yanqing Prefecture. A scorched-earth policy can prevent Huang Taiji from seizing ready-made grain, but if the rice and wheat in the fields are left unattended, the yield will decrease or even fail."

I don't just want Huang Taiji to get out of here.

Zhu Jue pointed to the map and said, "My idea is to have Boya lead the army to push the defensive line to the west bank of the Liao River. Of course, Mao Wenlong can also launch a feint attack to coordinate with it."

what?
So reckless!

Lu Xiang-sheng thought for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, the defense line at Shuangtaizi River on Boya's side is not yet fully completed. It would be too dangerous to advance to the west bank of the Liao River at this time."

If Huang Taiji were to disregard casualties and launch a full-scale attack across the river, Boya's small force, without the support of fortified cities, would likely be unable to withstand the onslaught. Once the west bank of the Liao River falls, it could potentially lead to the collapse of the Shuangtaizi River line as well.

This is called taking someone by surprise.

You yourself believe that Sun Chuanting wouldn't be able to advance to the west bank of the Liao River before the Shuangtaizi River defense line is completed, so Huang Taiji certainly wouldn't have imagined it either. Zhu Jue shook his head slightly, then asked, "You think that if Boya advances to the west bank of the Liao River at this time, it might cause the Shuangtaizi River defense line to collapse, right?"

Lu Xiang-sheng nodded solemnly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, the reason why Huang Taiji has not attacked the Shuangtaizi River defense line, but instead came to Yanqing Prefecture, is probably because he wants Boya to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly."

Although the Shuangtaizi River defense line is not yet fully completed, the fortresses and beacon towers must have been finished, and the city should have a certain level of defense. Huang Taiji must be having a headache just looking at it.

If Boya underestimates the enemy and advances recklessly, leading his army to the west bank of the Liao River, Huang Taiji could pounce on them, simultaneously building several pontoon bridges and even using rafts and sheepskin rafts to carry people across the river in a fierce charge. Boya might truly be unable to withstand the onslaught.”

If only Huang Taiji could think that way.

The emperor wants to play the same game as Emperor Chongzhen in history, mobilizing troops to run around everywhere.

Zhu Jue smiled slightly and said, "Jian Dou, have you forgotten that we still have more than 100,000 troops? We can easily transfer 80,000 chariot troops to Liaodong and set them up on the west bank of the Liao River. What do you think Huang Taiji would think if he saw that?"

If Huang Taiji saw this, he would probably be so angry he'd vomit blood.

This guy started raiding Xifengkou at the beginning of the year, then went back to drive away Mao Wenlong, then came to launch a surprise attack on Dushikou, set up an ambush in Yanqing Prefecture, and then went to the Daliao River line. He's been traveling back and forth for tens of thousands of miles, and hasn't gotten a single thing. No wonder he's so angry he could vomit blood.

No, if 80,000 chariots and troops were stationed on the west bank of the Liao River, why would Huang Taiji go there?

Lu Xiang-sheng thought for a moment, then slowly nodded and said, "If Huang Taiji knew that we had transferred 80,000 chariot troops to the west bank of the Liao River, he probably wouldn't go to the west bank of the Liao River at all. He would probably run back to his lair to deal with Mao Wenlong, just like last time."

That's not okay.

Huang Taiji must make this trip for nothing.

Zhu Jue stared at the map and pondered, "Then this time we won't let Mao Wenlong move first. We can let Bo Ya lead the existing troops to rush to the west bank of the Liao River in one fell swoop."

Huang Taiji received the news and rushed back. We immediately dispatched 30,000 infantrymen to assist in the defense of Zunhua, Jizhou and Santunying, and then sent Ying Yuanxian with 10,000 chariot soldiers to Liaodong.

In this situation, even if Huang Taiji received the news halfway, he wouldn't turn back. Immediately afterwards, we would send another 20,000 chariots from the capital to Liaodong. By the time all 30,000 chariots had reached the west bank of the Liao River, Huang Taiji should have arrived with his cavalry.

At that time, Huang Taiji would probably have hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to send the infantry to fight a tough battle with Boya and take down the newly built Liaohe River defense line and the unfinished Shuangtaizi River defense line in one fell swoop.

Then we can send 50,000 chariot soldiers over. Chariot soldiers are pulled by warhorses and are twice as fast as infantry. Before Huang Taiji's infantry arrive, our 50,000 chariot soldiers should have reached the west bank of the Liao River.

Seeing so many chariots and soldiers, Huang Taiji could only sigh in despair as he gazed at the river.

Play like this?
You really want to make Huang Taiji vomit blood?!
Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng slowly nodded and said, "In that case, Huang Taiji will most likely fall for the trap and make this trip for nothing. However, our military strength will almost entirely be exposed."
After all, once Huang Taiji leaves, we will have to strengthen our defenses along the line from Yanqing Prefecture to Dushikou and even along the line from Juyongguan to Gubeikou. That would require at least 50,000 troops to be mobilized.

That leaves us with only 20,000 infantrymen to hide, and whether we hide them or not doesn't seem to make much difference.

You can't keep thinking about using the underhanded tactic of hiding your forces.

Zhu Jue slowly shook his head and said, "When it comes to building up your forces, you can't do it once or twice. The same goes for hiding your strength. It might have a miraculous effect the first time, but it might not be effective the second time, and the third time, it's probably useless."

The reason Huang Taiji didn't rush to Changping Prefecture this time is most likely because he suffered a setback in Jizhou last time. He's cautious; he probably guessed we were hiding a certain amount of troops, so he's not taking the bait.

Makes sense.

Lu Xiang-sheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. We really can't keep using this tactic. We should also reorganize the defenses north of the capital. If Huang Taiji keeps invading, the people in the capital region will never have peace."

Yes, Not Bad.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Yes, we can't let Huang Taiji threaten the capital region anymore. We need a stable environment to develop. Go and reorganize the defense line north of the capital. Use all 100,000 infantrymen of the Beijing Garrison. Don't hold back."

Lu Xiang-sheng quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant obeys the decree."

(End of this chapter)