Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 226 Seizing the Opportunity to Counterattack the Jurchens (Part 1)

At the end of April, Liaodong was still covered in ice and snow, with a biting wind, while the capital was already bathed in spring sunshine and warmth.

Around noon, the sun was high in the sky, making it the warmest and most comfortable time of day.

In the Yuxi Palace, Zhu Jue specially ordered someone to prepare fragrant tea and invited Sun Chuanting to sit down and taste it. Only then did he solemnly say, "Boya, now that the rebels have begun to fight each other, they certainly won't cause us any trouble in the short term. We can consider starting a large-scale counterattack against the Jurchens."

"So, what is the total number of troops you can muster, including the Liaodong Army, the Dongjiang Army, and the Jingying troops, to launch a counterattack against the Jurchens?"

Are the rebels no longer a threat?

That would be great.

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting explained in detail: "Of the 100,000 troops in the Liaodong Army, 10,000 cavalry are currently in the Northwest, 20,000 infantry are guarding the Liaoxi Corridor, and another 20,000 troops are guarding the line from Dalinghe to Jinzhouwei."

The 30,000 troops of the Dongjiang Army are currently stationed along the line from Zhenjiangbao to Jinzhouwei, so the Liaodong Army and the Dongjiang Army only have 20,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry left to be mobilized.

The Beijing garrison's 80,000 chariots, 30,000 cavalry, and 10,000 musketeers are currently stationed along the Xiaohai River. If we launch a major counterattack, we can leave 10,000 musketeers to guard the Xiaohai River defense line.

Based on this calculation, Liaodong currently has 50,000 cavalry, 80,000 chariot soldiers, and 30,000 infantrymen that can be mobilized.

The defense line of Liaodong Town is too long now. It takes 70,000 troops just to defend it, leaving only 160,000 troops available for attack.

This number of troops is far from enough.

The Jurchens have at least 150,000 troops at this time, and Huang Taiji is a very cunning fellow. Without absolute certainty, he would never be able to gather all his troops to fight them.

This guy will likely use the various cities and fortresses to employ the divide-and-conquer tactics that the Jurchens were best at.

To defend against this move, 160,000 against 150,000 is simply not enough; 300,000 against 150,000 would barely be enough.

He planned to transfer another 100,000 troops from the capital, but even with that, the force would only amount to 260,000. It seemed that the remaining 40,000 would have to be recruited from Liaodong.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully and then asked, "Is there any problem with conscripting another 50,000 troops from Liaodong?"

This is not a big problem.

Sun Chuanting nodded slowly and said, "In the past six months, nearly 100,000 soldiers and civilians have fled back from Haichengwei, and most of them are still young and strong. The key is that they do not have land yet, so recruiting 30,000 troops should not be a problem."

Furthermore, Mao Wenlong has also gathered a considerable number of soldiers and civilians, so recruiting 20,000 troops should not be a problem.

The problem is that these newly recruited young men still need to be equipped and trained; they certainly can't be put into combat in less than six months.

The equipment is easy to deal with, but as for training, you don't need to train for long when defending a city.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue decisively said, "Then how about this: you conscript 50,000 troops, and transfer all the veterans from the Liaoxi Corridor and the line from Dalinghe to Jinzhouwei, and also allocate 10,000 to Mao Wenlong's side."

After Mao Wenlong recruited 20,000 men, he also transferred all 30,000 veteran soldiers from the original force to you for command.

Once you have gathered 100,000 infantrymen, I will send you 5,000 armored chariots and 50,000 muskets. This way, you can train all 100,000 veteran soldiers into chariot soldiers, and you can also exchange their cold weapons for 50,000 sets to equip the new recruits.

"I'm giving you a month to prepare. Any questions?"

Uh, you want to send all the veterans to the front lines to fight!

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, I dare to say that even new recruits guarding the city need to undergo training, and a month may not be enough."

This can't be delayed any longer; the freezing period over your area has lasted for as long as six months.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue decisively replied, "It's alright. We will mobilize a large number of small Zhiyuan merchant ships to participate in the battle this time, which can transport at least 50,000 troops at a time."

Furthermore, Liaoyang, which we are targeting, is located in the center of Liaodong, and is roughly within 500 li (approximately 250 kilometers) of other parts of Liaodong, with very few exceeding 500 li.

In other words, no matter where the Jurchens attack in Liaodong, we will receive the news within a day, and it will not take more than two days to send troops to support them. As long as the new recruits can hold the city for two days, the reinforcements will surely arrive.

Furthermore, if we launch a fierce attack on the Liaoyang line, the Jurchens will definitely have to garrison most of their infantry. Their cavalry is not good at siege warfare, so as long as our newly recruited soldiers are not frightened into abandoning the city and fleeing, holding out for two days should not be a problem.”

Oh, so they're also deploying a large number of small Zhiyuan merchant ships to participate in the battle. That's alright then.

The areas they have now recovered, apart from the Liao River basin, are mostly along the coast, making it incredibly convenient to transport troops by steamship.

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. After I return, I will immediately gather troops and arrange for the rotation and training."

With the troops and supplies secured, the next issue is provisions.

There's no need to worry about fodder. There aren't many cultivated fields in the Liao River basin right now, and there are many mountains there. As soon as spring arrives, tens of thousands of warhorses will have more grass than they can eat.

The key issue is food security.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "How much grain do you have left?"

We still have quite a bit of food left.

Sun Chuanting explained in detail: "Your Majesty, the yield of the one million mu of sweet potatoes and one million mu of potatoes we planted last year was quite high, reaching more than 3,000 jin per mu, which is equivalent to about 20 shi per mu. Two million mu would be about 40 million shi."

The soldiers and civilians of Liaodong all thought that sweet potatoes and potatoes were tastier than rice and noodles. They were delicious in all kinds of ways, whether stir-fried, boiled, or braised. They ate mostly sweet potatoes and potatoes during the winter.

In addition, we have more than 20 million mu of fertile land, including our original land and newly recovered land. Last year's harvest of grain was more than 40 million shi. The more than 2 million soldiers and civilians in Liaodong Town, plus more than 200,000 soldiers, ate nearly 10 million shi of sweet potatoes and potatoes this winter. The grain consumed was only about 5 million shi.

In addition to the provisions for the more than 200,000 soldiers, the total amount was more than one million shi (a unit of dry measure) but less than two million shi.

At this moment, we still have approximately 30 million shi of sweet potatoes and potatoes, and over 30 million shi of grain. This should be enough to feed the soldiers and civilians of Liaodong for a year. I have also already received sufficient provisions and pay for the soldiers.”

There's still so much grain left in Liaodong Town.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "How is grain distributed over there? Is it shared by the military and civilians?"

That’s not the case.

Sun Chuanting then explained in detail: "Your Majesty, according to the old rules, newly reclaimed farmland is divided in half, with half going to the garrison households and the other half to the military rations."

The land we recovered was originally to be counted as newly reclaimed military farmland. If we count it that way, the military grain we stored would be at least 20 million shi (a unit of dry measure), enough to feed more than 200,000 troops there for ten years.

However, I did not strictly follow the rules when collecting grain. I left most of the grain to the garrison troops and farmers. I only collected about five million shi of military rations, which was just enough for the rations and pay of more than 200,000 soldiers for a year. The rest was left to the garrison troops and farmers.

Nowadays, Liaodong is not short of food. The garrison troops and farmers there even want to raise pigs because the Jurchens forced them to raise pigs. They still have a lot of piglets left behind, and the soldiers don't gain much weight because they only eat vegetables and not meat.

Your humble servant is still pondering whether or not to have them go to the area from Gaizhouwei to Fuzhouwei and even from Fuzhouwei to Zhenjiangbao in early May to cultivate the coastal mountainous land for planting sweet potatoes and potatoes.

The area is mostly mountainous. If we cultivate it with all our might, it wouldn't be a problem to reclaim tens of millions of acres of mountainous land. At that time, Liaodong Town will have a large surplus of grain to raise pigs, and the soldiers will be able to have some meat to eat.

However, such land reclamation might attract the attention of the Jurchens, who could then use the forests to cause destruction or seize the sweet potatoes and potatoes when they are almost ripe. In that case, we would suffer a greater loss than gain.

Well, well done.

Liaodong is a border town, and unity is the most important thing. There is enough grain for the soldiers there to eat and pay. If we forcibly take it according to the rules, it will be counterproductive.

As for reclaiming mountain land, there's no rush.

Zhu Jue nodded slowly and said, "I was thinking of mobilizing ships to transport a batch of grain to you first, but it seems that it is not necessary now."

The four hundred new medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships being built at the shipyard in Liangfu will be completed in June. Look at what the soldiers and civilians in Liaodong are lacking. They have grown millions of shi of military grain for us, so we should give them something in return.

"Alright, let's say it's two million taels. Whatever they want, have someone find out. I'll have them procure it within the next two months, and once the medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ship is built in June, we'll send it over to them all at once."

His Majesty is truly adept at winning people's hearts; now, the Liaodong garrison is even more united with the people.

Sun Chuanting nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I will order someone to ask him about it when I get back."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then said solemnly, "Don't even think about reclaiming the mountain land this year. We'll organize our forces and launch a full-scale attack. Even if we don't take back the entire Liaodong region, we'll at least try to see if we can take down this tough nut of Liaoyang City."

(End of this chapter)