Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 308 Playing to Strengths and Avoiding Weaknesses: Tai Chi Retreat (Part 2)
While Huang Taiji was leading his cavalry back and forth, Zhu Juena was also considering how to completely resolve the problem of the Jurchens.

The current situation in Liaodong is quite favorable for the Ming Dynasty. Sun Chuanting has already led his army to recover all the territory south of the Hun River, and the soldiers and civilians of Liaodong have already crossed the Hun River to build cities.

With this city strategically positioned between Shenyang and Fushun Pass, the crops on the north bank of the Hun River would be impossible to grow, and the Jurchens would have to be constantly on guard against a surprise attack.

It's only a matter of time before they recover Liaodong. Once the 1,000-jin cannons are manufactured, they can easily reclaim the entire Liaodong region.

The key is the Jurchen cavalry; he still needs to find a way to annihilate them.

If we cannot annihilate the Jurchen cavalry and allow these guys to roam freely across the northern grasslands and launch surprise attacks, then not only will Liaodong need to deploy a large number of troops, but all the important border towns of the Ming Dynasty will also need to deploy a large number of troops.

Otherwise, the Jurchens could simply follow the example of the former northern barbarians, coming and going like the wind, raiding and plundering everywhere. Not only would they have to send a large number of troops to guard the borders, but the borders of the Ming Dynasty would also be in turmoil.

Huang Taiji is far more powerful than those so-called Khans of the Northern Barbarians. Moreover, he has the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou as his inside agents. If he were to lead his cavalry to run rampant across the northern grasslands, the northern part of the Ming Dynasty would definitely be in endless chaos.

This is the greatest threat to the Jurchens.

Therefore, the Jurchen cavalry must be annihilated.

So, how exactly did we annihilate the Jurchen cavalry?
Around 9 a.m. that day, after finishing processing the memorials, he did not go out to inspect the area. Instead, he stood in the main hall of the Yuxi Palace, staring at the huge map on the table, frowning in deep thought.

A moment later, Lu Xiang-sheng strode in, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then beckoned and said, "Jian Dou, come and see. I'm considering how to annihilate the Jurchen cavalry."

You want to annihilate the Jurchen cavalry?

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng quickly and carefully approached the map to examine it closely.

Zhu Jue pointed directly at the map and said, "Jian Dou, look, Boya has now led his army across the Hun River. This year, he will build a city here that can accommodate at least 100,000 troops."

The current situation in Liaodong is extremely favorable to us. After the city is built, Boya will send chariots to clear the north bank of the Hun River and rescue all the Liaodong soldiers and civilians enslaved by the Jurchens.

As a result, the Jurchens could no longer cultivate the land on the north bank of the Hun River, and the entire Liaodong region was only under their control on the north bank of the Liao River. They were essentially unable to cultivate the land and harvest grain in Liaodong.

Since they couldn't farm and harvest grain, they had to buy it from the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou. Given the distance, transporting the food for hundreds of thousands or even millions of people was a huge problem.

It can be said that the Jurchens are almost at their wits' end, and it is only a matter of time before we recover Liaodong. The key is that the Jurchen cavalry still poses a great threat to us.

Bo Ya reported that the Jurchen cavalry numbered as many as 70,000 to 80,000. If such a large number of cavalry were allowed to roam freely across the grasslands north of the Ming Dynasty, the devastation they would cause would certainly surpass that of the Northern Barbarians of the past.

Therefore, we must find a way to annihilate the Jurchen cavalry; otherwise, the northern border of the Ming Dynasty will never be peaceful.

Oh, so the war to recapture Liaodong has progressed to this point.

Sun Chuanting was truly formidable; without making a sound or losing many men, he had nearly driven the Jurchens to their wits' end.

If they were to recover the entire Liaodong region without annihilating the Jurchen cavalry, it would pose a significant hidden danger.

The northern barbarians have been a scourge for nearly two hundred years. Since the Tumu Crisis, the northern border of the Ming Dynasty has been invaded by the northern barbarians countless times. It can be said that the reason why the Ming Dynasty has never prospered is because it has been dragged down by the scourge of the northern barbarians.

If the Jurchen cavalry were to replace the Northern barbarians, the harm they would cause would certainly be even greater.

The problem is, these cavalrymen are moving too fast; it's difficult to encircle and annihilate them.

Lu Xiang-sheng studied the map with a solemn expression for a while, thought carefully, and then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the only way to annihilate the Jurchen cavalry is to ambush them on their inevitable route."

Our chariots still have a crushing advantage against cavalry. The key is that the chariots can't keep up with the cavalry's speed. Therefore, we must set up an ambush beforehand, prepare an encirclement, and let the Jurchens walk right into it. Only in this way can we annihilate them in one fell swoop.

Yes, that makes a lot of sense.

That's what I think too.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then pointed to the map and explained in detail: "I have also considered setting up an ambush, and I have already had Boya send people to investigate thoroughly. Every time the Jurchen cavalry went to support the three major clans and eight imperial merchants in Puzhou, they went north of Shenyang, to the area around the former Shifang Temple Fort and Dingzibo Fort. The Liao River is only about twenty zhang wide in this section, so it would be very convenient to build a pontoon bridge to cross the river."

It can be said that this area is the only way for the Jurchen cavalry to pass through. If we set up an ambush in this area, we will most likely be able to trap the Jurchen cavalry in an ambush.

The problem now is that the area around Shifangsi Fort and Dingzibo Fort is flat and cannot hide troops or Wuhan Iron and Steel tanks. The nearest mountainous area is southwest of Tieling, in the former Zhenxi Fort area.

We need to set up an ambush, but we can't just block the north side; we also need to block the south side. The nearest mountains to the south are still southwest of Shenyang, in the area of ​​the former Changyongbao.

Zhenxibao is fifty or sixty li away from Shifangsibao and Dingzibobao. It would take at least half an hour for chariot soldiers to get there, while cavalry could gallop at least a hundred li in half an hour. We definitely can't stop them.

Changyong Fort is over a hundred li away from Shifangsi Fort and Dingzibo Fort, so it goes without saying that by the time the chariots and troops hidden around Changyong Fort arrive, the Jurchen cavalry will probably already be inside Shenyang.

This is indeed a problem. If you want to ambush someone, you can't let them discover you. But Shenyang is almost entirely flat with very few mountains, so it's really too difficult to avoid being discovered.

What should I do?

Lu Xiang-sheng stared at the map, frowned, and pondered for a while. Then he cautiously said, "Your Majesty, since it is difficult for us to guarantee that the Jurchens will not discover our chariots, can we simply put them out in the open?"
If we want to recover the entire Liaodong region, we must take Shenyang. At this time, there are hundreds of cannons on the city walls of Shenyang, so we have no choice but to besiege it.

"Since we're besieging them anyway, positioning our chariots outside Shenyang shouldn't arouse Huang Taiji's suspicion. The key is how to arrange this ambush formation to completely encircle the Jurchen cavalry."

Yes, since they're going to besiege Shenyang anyway, they might as well put their chariots and troops out in the open. Do you think Huang Taiji would be too scared to come back?

That's impossible. Even if they didn't besiege Shenyang, Huang Taiji would still lead his cavalry back, let alone besiege Shenyang.

In other words, it was definitely not a problem for them to have their chariots and troops positioned outside Shenyang. Even if Huang Taiji saw them, he certainly wouldn't think it was an ambush.

The key now is how to set up an ambush north of Shenyang to surround the Jurchen cavalry.

Zhu Jue nodded slowly, then stared at the map closely.

He bent down and stared at the map for a while, then decisively said, "Then we will pretend to besiege Shenyang, but in reality we will set up an ambush to annihilate the Jurchen cavalry."

Shenyang is bordered by the Hun River to the south and the Liao River to the north, with the two rivers converging to the southwest. If we send enough small Zhiyuan merchant ships to block the waterways, the Jurchen cavalry will be unable to build pontoon bridges to cross the rivers.

Moreover, there is only a narrow strip of land of about a hundred miles between the Hun River and the Liao River. Under these circumstances, we only need to gather our chariot troops and push from the east. The Jurchen cavalry will either be forced to flee into Shenyang or into the corner where the Hun River and the Liao River meet in the southwest.

Now we can assemble 400,000 chariot soldiers and 20,000 chariots. If the 20,000 chariots are lined up in a row, they will stretch for more than 60 li. If each chariot is spaced about 1 zhang apart, they will stretch for more than 100 li.

We can arrange our chariots with a ten-foot interval between them, and then have cavalry behind them to block them. We can then push them directly from east to west, forcing the Jurchen cavalry into Shenyang or into the corner where the Hun River and the Liao River meet.

If the Jurchen cavalry manage to enter Shenyang, we only need to gather our chariots and surround the city. They will surely run out of food and supplies and have to surrender if they don't want to starve.

If Huang Taiji leads his Jurchen cavalry into the confluence of the Hun and Liao rivers, we can simply push in and annihilate them.

Well, this kind of fighting requires an extraordinary amount of troops.

However, as long as enough troops are mobilized to encircle and suppress them, once the Jurchen cavalry crosses the Liao River and reaches the outskirts of Shenyang, they will be finished.

With so many troops pushing from one direction, the Jurchen cavalry would definitely not be able to break through the blockade.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise; this plan is excellent."

If you also think this method will work, that's good.

However, this tactic is definitely not going to work this year, because the city on the north bank of the Hun River is not yet completed, and it will take time for them to gather their troops and ships.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then decisively said, "Then let's do it next year. Next year we will mobilize troops and ships, and then have the Hanzhong Army lead the Jurchen cavalry to Shanxi to provide support. We will then gather troops east of Shenyang to prepare for an encirclement and annihilation."

Would Huang Taiji wait for them to encircle and annihilate him?

(End of this chapter)