Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 229 Divine Power Aids the Bitterness of Being Surrounded (Part 1)

Zhu Jue actually managed to send 500 small merchant ships to sneak in and bring 50,000 chariot soldiers and 2,500 war chariots to the south bank of the Taizi River near Liaoyang City.

This move completely baffled Amin, the Second Prince of Liaoyang.

Amin was skilled in both offense and defense; it could be said that among the four great princes, he was the second-best commander after Huang Taiji.

However, this guy had some ulterior motives, or rather, he was a bit arrogant and didn't submit to Huang Taiji's discipline.

Therefore, Huang Taiji ordered this guy to lead more than 50,000 infantrymen to guard Liaoyang City and stand at the forefront of the fight against the Ming army.

Amin was skilled in both offense and defense, but he was somewhat bewildered when he heard that the Ming army's ships had suddenly brought 50,000 to 60,000 men and several thousand chariots.

He only had about 50,000 to 60,000 men under his command. Why would he send them all out of the city to fight the Ming army?

That is seeking death!
The Ming army's chariots were armored vehicles, and they also had a large number of firearms.

Cavalry would be helpless against armored chariots, and infantry would only be shot if they ran up to armored chariots.

He wasn't a novice who had never been on the battlefield; he certainly wouldn't do something so foolish.

Moreover, Huang Taiji had solemnly instructed him not to risk going out of the city to fight the Ming army, as holding Liaoyang was the most important thing.

Therefore, he simply took advantage of the Ming warships retreating and sent a small boat to take fast cavalry across the river to ask Huang Taiji what to do.

He was unwilling to submit to Huang Taiji's discipline, but he didn't want to think about such a troublesome matter, so he simply let Huang Taiji have a headache.

When Huang Taiji received the news, he was somewhat bewildered.

The fifty to sixty thousand chariot soldiers and several thousand war chariots on the east bank of the Liao River have been there all along, and the spies have been keeping an eye on them for him. Those chariot soldiers and war chariots have never moved. At least when the same number of chariot soldiers and war chariots appeared near Liaoyang City, he had not received any information that they had moved.

What's going on here?

Where did the Ming army in Liaodong get so many chariot soldiers and war chariots?

Are those chariots on the east bank of Liaoyang made of paper?
What does Sun Chuanting mean by this?

He hadn't expected the warships carrying 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers and thousands of chariots to suddenly storm the south bank of the Taizi River.

The question is, will this method work?

It would be almost impossible for 50,000 to 60,000 chariots and thousands of war chariots to capture Liaoyang.

What exactly is Sun Chuanting trying to do?
Is this guy trying to lure him into sending cavalry over to deliver it?

After pondering for a long time, Huang Taiji actually ordered someone to pass on the order, instructing Amin to lead the army to defend Liaoyang City, and to ignore the Ming army outside the city for the time being!

Did he also dislike Amin, just like Zhu Jue did with the princes and royal family, and want to use the Ming army to kill Amin?

That's impossible, of course. If he wanted to kill Amin, he could have just sent Amin with some men to deliver the body. There are over 50,000 infantrymen in Liaoyang City, so he certainly couldn't send so many infantrymen with Amin to deliver the body.

The reason he didn't call in reinforcements was because he also had a trump card up his sleeve!

At this moment, Sun Yingyuan, who had led 50,000 chariot soldiers and 2,500 war chariots to the south bank of the Taizi River, was holding a telescope and standing on the riverbank five or six miles west of Liaoyang City, frowning as he scanned the city walls of Liaoyang.

There were many cannons on the city walls of Liaoyang!

And there are both big and small ones. Judging from the diameter, the small ones weigh at least 100 or 200 pounds, and the big ones are estimated to weigh 500 pounds!
He knew that Liaoyang City was originally equipped with cannons, but during the Wanli era, Liaoyang City was not equipped with many cannons. Each city wall only had a few cannons, totaling only a dozen or so.

Right now, there are dozens of cannons on the western city wall of Liaoyang!
Even if the Jurchens brought all the cannons from Shenyang, they wouldn't have this many.

It is obvious that most of these cannons were cast by the Jurchens themselves!

What to do now?
His Majesty has said that we should try our best to avoid casualties.

There are dozens of cannons on this side of the city wall. How can they avoid casualties? Sun Yingyuan carefully scanned the area and quickly wrote an urgent report. He ordered Lü Zhi, who was waiting at the temporary dock to help relay the message, to quickly lead the fleet back to Liaohe City and deliver the urgent report to Sun Chuanting.

Lu Zhi came specifically to help. He had led the fleet in the battle to capture Haichengwei last time, and this time he was only responsible for delivering messages, so he was naturally very familiar with the task.

The small merchant ship Zhiyuan traveled downstream at an incredible speed, and a little over an hour later, he sent the urgent report to Liaohe City.

Sun Chuanting frowned upon receiving the urgent report.

Did the Jurchens become able to forge cannons themselves?
And the largest cannon weighs 500 jin!

Those cannons were no joke. The thin iron plates covering the Wuhan Iron and Steel tanks couldn't withstand them at all. One shot would probably blast the Wuhan Iron and Steel tanks to smithereens.

In other words, even if they pushed Wuhan Iron and Steel tanks to attack the city, they could not avoid casualties.
How can this be good?

Should we retreat now?
By now, the second batch of 50,000 chariots and 2,500 war chariots that set off from Liaohe City are probably already on their way to the east of Liaoyang City. They will blockade the entire Taizi River area. Retreating now would be futile.

To be honest, he was a little unwilling.

Liaoyang City was almost becoming an isolated city, and he was truly unwilling to retreat.

After thinking for a moment, he actually followed Lü Zhi's chariot straight to the south bank of the Taizi River.

As the sun set and the last rays of its rays were about to fade, he finally arrived at the temporary dock on the south bank of the Taizi River.

By this time, the south bank of the Taizi River was already covered with steel fortresses made up of Wuhan Iron and Steel tanks, with one every two or three miles, and the telescope could not see the end of them.

After landing, he immediately ordered his men to bring him warhorses, and then rode around the steel fortresses to the last fortress, which was five or six miles west of Liaoyang City.

At this moment, Sun Yingyuan was standing on the chariot, scanning the direction of Liaoyang City with his binoculars.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the majestic city walls of Liaoyang could no longer be seen with the naked eye.

Upon seeing this, Sun Chuanting quickly climbed the ladder onto the chariot. Before Sun Yingyuan could even salute, he waved his hand, then took the binoculars, raised them, and scanned towards Liaoyang City.

At this moment, there are indeed many dark cannon muzzles on the western city wall of Liaoyang. Judging from the rough appearance of the muzzles, they should have been cast by the Jurchens themselves. If they were cast by them, the muzzles would have been smooth as a mirror.

In other words, the Jurchens did not steal their cannons through traitors at all.

This is the most troublesome part.

The Jurchens could cast cannons themselves, so they could cast as many as they wanted.

He scanned the area carefully, then asked, "Is there any movement from the Jurchen garrison in the city?"

Sun Yingyuan slowly shook his head and said, "The Jurchen garrison in the city has not made any moves. About an hour and a half ago, a fast boat of about two hundred liang suddenly rushed out of the Beisha River, as if it had sent a message, and then rushed back into the Beisha River."

The Beisha River is a tributary of the Taizi River, located directly north of Liaoyang City. The river is only about ten zhang wide, and even a 400-liang warship might run aground if it went in. Only a 200-liang fast boat could go deep into the river, so they couldn't catch up with it.

Sun Chuanting nodded solemnly and then asked, "What about the Jurchens in the Shenyang direction on the north bank? Have they made any moves?"

It seems that Huang Taiji simply doesn't care about Liaoyang City!
Sun Yingyuan shook his head slightly and said, "No, not even scouts have appeared on the north bank."

Was Huang Taiji so certain that they wouldn't dare attack the city, or what?
There are dozens of cannons on the west wall alone, and there are probably hundreds of cannons around the entire city of Liaoyang. If they were to launch a direct attack, even if they managed to take it, they would suffer heavy casualties.

His Majesty instructed them to minimize casualties.

How to do it?

Sun Chuanting raised the binoculars again and scanned the area carefully. He then returned the binoculars to Sun Yingyuan and said solemnly, "Our first three batches of 150,000 troops will still be transported as planned. We will first blockade the south bank of the Taizi River. You keep an eye on things here. I'm going to the capital to discuss this with His Majesty."

(End of this chapter)