Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 342 The Jurchens Weep at the Retaliation Against the Northern Barbarians
The Hanzhong army suddenly launched a frenzied purge, catching the eight major imperial merchants completely off guard.

After Pingyao, Xiaoyi, and Jiexiu were taken down, 99% of the relatives and friends of the eight imperial merchants were purged.

Their headquarters, workshops, and fields were almost all looted.

At this point, it seems that all the eight imperial merchants have left is the money they had transferred beforehand; there are hardly any people left.

However, the three major clans of Puzhou did not suffer significant losses.

When the Hanzhong army dealt with the eight imperial merchants, they had already fled with their families. By the time the Hanzhong army arrived in Puzhou, all that was left in the city were their empty old houses.

As for Gao Yingxiang, his more than 800,000 troops had been decimated by the Hanzhong army, with less than half remaining. Moreover, he was still suffering defeat after defeat, retreating from Liaozhou and Fenzhou to Taiyuan Prefecture, then from Taiyuan Prefecture to Fenzhou, and finally from Fenzhou to Pingyang Prefecture. He was in complete rout along the way.

The problem is, the Hanzhong army is still chasing them all the way. They lost Huozhou, Jiangzhou, Jiezhou, and Puzhou, but the Hanzhong army still won't let them go.

Gao Yingxiang had no choice but to flee north along the right bank of the Yellow River until they escaped Pingyang Prefecture and reached the area of ​​the former Baode Prefecture. It seems that the Hanzhong army then let them go.

Actually, it wasn't that the Hanzhong army didn't want to pursue, but the key was that they couldn't. To the northwest of Pingyang Prefecture was the Lüliang Mountains, a region full of dense mountains and ravines. Not to mention transporting grain, even those unfamiliar with the area could easily get lost if they wandered in.

Running out of supplies and being unfamiliar with the terrain are both major taboos in military strategy; continuing the pursuit would definitely lead to problems.

Upon hearing the news, Pan Yunteng had no choice but to temporarily halt his offensive in the west and mobilize his troops to intensify the attack on Taiyuan City.

They did manage to capture Taiyuan, and they also took over the Jin imperial clan in one fell swoop. However, the further north they went, the less they could advance.

This is because the area north of Taiyuan Prefecture is the border town area. The Shanxi border troops might turn a blind eye to the Jurchens and even the rebels Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong's troops, but they fought desperately against the Hanzhong army.

Under these circumstances, the Hanzhong army would simply be unable to advance beyond the Daizhou area.

He intended to storm Datong Prefecture and deal with the imperial family of the Dai princes as well.

The problem is, if they want to break into Datong Prefecture, they must first capture Yanmen Pass.

Historically, Zhou Yuji held off Li Zicheng's hundreds of thousands of troops at Yanmen Pass with only a few thousand men. In the end, Li Zicheng somehow managed to bring in cannons, which allowed him to capture Yanmen Pass.

At this time, the garrison around Yanmen Pass numbered more than a few thousand, and they had nowhere to move real cannons, making it very difficult for them to take Yanmen Pass.

Pan Yunteng had no choice but to detour through Baoding, take a horse-drawn railcar, and personally go to the Northern Pacification Commandery to ask the current emperor for instructions.

It was already mid-June, and the capital was already sweltering, but the Beiping Commandery remained unusually cool.

The city walls of Daningwei City were completed long ago. Even the original Liao Dynasty palace was converted into the governor's mansion, and the main hall where the Liao emperor received civil and military officials was converted into the governor's mansion hall.

However, the main hall of the Governor-General's Mansion of Da Ning was not built as magnificent as the palace hall of the past. The main hall was built like a huge warehouse, with only a few rows of pillars on both sides and a huge long table in the middle, and nothing else.

Of course, this is only temporary, and more items will definitely be added in the future based on demand.

Zhu Juena only needed a temporary place to discuss matters.

Early that morning, around 7 a.m., he summoned Lu Xiangshan, Yuan You, Tian Hongyu, Cui Yingyuan, and others to the main hall to discuss matters.

The group gathered around and looked at the map in the middle. Then he pointed to the line between the Lamulun River and the Xiliao River to the north and asked, "Grandfather Yuan, this track should have been laid by now, right?"

Yuan You nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, the track was laid a couple of days ago, and they are currently laying the track to the west in the former Kaipingwei area."

Once the tracks are laid, we can begin building the city and citadel.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then solemnly said, "Jiandou, we are going to start building the garrison city along the Lamulun River and the Xiliao River."

The distance between Lamulun and the Xiliao River is approximately 700 li. If a garrison town is built every 50 li or so, that would be 14 garrisons. The section along the Xiliao River is less than 100 li, so building one garrison town would be enough. In total, that would make 15 garrisons.

Originally, the Beiping Regional Military Commission had five guards in Xingzhou, five guards in Yingzhou, and five guards in Huizhou, but they were all moved to the capital region. We will move these fifteen guards back and equip each of them with five thousand-household units and five thousand six hundred men.

We must work with all our might to build this row of acropolises and strive to complete them within two months. That is to say, we must try to finish building all the acropolises along this line by mid-August.

Next is the heartland of the Northern Pacification Commandery, which originally contained three large cities: Quanningwei, Kaipingwei, and Kaiping Zuotunwei, as well as three local prefectures: Gaozhou, Songzhou, and Huanzhou.

Now is the time for us to launch a counterattack beyond the Great Wall. It is impossible to relocate ordinary people here. We can forget about setting up local prefectures and cities. However, we can retain the place names and set up Gaozhou Guard, Songzhou Guard, and Huanzhou Guard, and build cities for them.

Furthermore, the original Kaiping Garrison and Kaiping Zuotun Garrison have already been relocated inland, so there is no need for us to build the garrison city in its original location.

My idea is to build four large cities—Quanningwei, Gaozhouwei, Songzhouwei, and Huanzhouwei—in the heart of the Beiping Commandery south of the Lamulun River and the Xiliao River, lined up in a row, each with 50,000 chariots and soldiers, to facilitate support for the five guards of Xingzhou, Yingzhou, and Huizhou.

We will build the Kaiping Guard and the four garrisons (left, right, front, and back) to the west of the Beiping Regional Military Commission. The Kaiping Guard city will be built on the former site of Baochang Prefecture. The Kaiping Left Garrison will be built outside Dushikou in Xuanfu Town. The Kaiping Right Garrison will be built outside Zhangjiakou in Xuanfu Town. The Kaiping Front Garrison will be built in the northwest corner to block the valley leading from the Tatar Chahar tribe to the Beiping Regional Military Commission. The Kaiping Back Garrison will be built in the southwest corner to block the valley leading from the Tatar Tumed tribe to the Beiping Regional Military Commission.

We also stationed 100,000 chariots and soldiers in the five guards of Kaiping as a support force to prevent the northern barbarians from launching a counterattack.

In addition, there is the area of ​​Daningwei. We also need to build all four garrisons of Daningwei: the left garrison of Daningwei will be built outside Xifengkou in Jizhou Town, the right garrison of Daningwei will be built outside Gubeikou in Jizhou Town, the front garrison of Daningwei will be built in the Daling River Valley, and the rear garrison of Daningwei will be built in the Luan River Valley.

We also need to station 100,000 troops in the five guards of Daming to protect the north of the capital. In addition, the cavalry of the capital garrison will be stationed in Damingwei City to provide support from all sides. What do you think?

You've thought of everything so thoroughly.

What can I say?

Lu Xiang-sheng nodded slowly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. In this way, the defense system of the Northern Pacification Command is established."

If you think it's okay, then build it that way.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "We will do our best to complete the construction of the fifteen garrison cities on the south bank of the Lamulun River and the Xiliao River by mid-August. Then we will mobilize all the infantry and artisans to work hard to build the remaining five large cities and ten garrison cities, and strive to complete them before the ice freezes this year. Is there any problem?"

How do you say this?

Lu Xiang-sheng thought for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, there are indeed quite a few cities and fortresses. Although we have enough manpower, we don't have enough horse-drawn railcars."

Especially the Five Garrisons of Kaiping, which need to be built north of Xuanfu Town, are far too far from Daning Garrison, the capital, and Liaodong. We don't even know how many horse-drawn railcars it would take to haul the building materials there.”

Not enough horse-drawn railcars?
Zhu Jue asked, somewhat puzzled, "Isn't the Beijing Tank Factory already producing horse-drawn railcars at full capacity? They could easily produce 10,000 a month."

They've been producing for over six months now, and they should have more than 60,000 horse-drawn railcars. Each railcar can easily carry 1,000 bricks per trip, so 60,000 railcars can carry more than 60 million bricks per trip.

Moreover, we can use small Zhiyuan merchant ships to help transport the bricks. The bricks from Liaodong can be transported to the south bank of the Xiliao River first, and then transported by horse-drawn railcars to the fifteen garrison cities along the Xiliao River and the Lamulun River.

In this way, the bricks for the fifteen citadels can be transported by a maximum of more than 10,000 horse-drawn railcars. Wouldn't the remaining 40,000 horse-drawn railcars be enough to supply the bricks for the five major cities and ten citadels?
Furthermore, by mid-August, the fortified cities along the Lamulun River and the Xiliao River would be completed, and those ten thousand-plus horse-drawn carts could come and help haul bricks. Wouldn't that be enough?

Uh, how do I put this?

Lu Xiang-sheng cautiously reminded him, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, you need horses to pull the cart. The Beiping Commandery can barely muster 50,000 horses to pull the cart. No matter how many horse-drawn railcars you build, you won't have enough horses."

Besides, building a city requires more than just bricks. We also need to haul cement, steel, and even timber. More than 10,000 horse-drawn carts from the Xiliao River and the Lamulun River would probably not be enough. We would need at least 20,000 carts.

This left the other five major cities and ten citadels with only over 20,000 horse-drawn railcars to haul bricks, cement, steel, and timber—far from enough.

Oh, we don't have enough horses to pull the cart. How can we solve this problem?
In fact, the chariot soldiers of the Beijing garrison also had horses to pull their chariots.

However, with 400,000 chariot soldiers, there are only 20,000 horses to pull the chariots. Moreover, all the chariots have now been moved to the south bank of the Lamulun River and the Xiliao River to defend against the Jurchen cavalry. If the horses to pull the chariots are not available, and the Jurchen cavalry happens to be crossing the river in a place where there are no chariots, then it is very likely that the Jurchen cavalry will take the opportunity to break in.

At this moment, it was unlikely that the Jurchen cavalry would come to their deaths, but who could have imagined that Huang Taiji would risk trying it?

He doesn't seem to be ready to take that risk.

So, where did the horses that pull the cart come from?

Are you suggesting we use the warhorses of the Beijing garrison to pull the cart?

This is a bit risky. At this point, the Northern Pacification Command is practically an empty shell with no defensive capabilities whatsoever. They can't afford to be without any rapid support personnel.

Where did the horses pulling the cart come from?
Zhu Jue stared at the map for a while, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Jian Dou, the Kharachin and Tumed tribes should have quite a few horses, right?"

Of course they have horses.

Question: What do you mean by that?

Lu Xiang-sheng was taken aback for a moment before nodding repeatedly and saying, "Yes, Your Majesty, the Chahar and Tumed tribes are the two largest tribes of the Tatars, and they must have a lot of horses. The Doyan Three Guards should have the fewest horses among the Northern Barbarians, far less than the Chahar and Tumed tribes, and even less than the Khorchin and Ordos tribes."

The Chahar and Tumed tribes have more horses than the Doyan Three Guards, right?
Even if the Jurchens had taken a lot of horses from them, the number of horses capable of pulling carts should still be far more than 50,000.

Zhu Jue nodded slowly, then asked, "Jian Dou, what do you think about us robbing horses from the Chahar and Tumed tribes?"

Ah!
Should we go and steal the horses from the Northern barbarians?
How do you say this?

Lu Xiang-sheng thought about it carefully before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, this might damage our reputation."

Does this mean that the Ming Dynasty cannot rob the Northern Barbarians, and can only allow the Northern Barbarians to rob the Ming Dynasty?

Why do you care so much about your reputation? Can reputation put food on the table?

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "Then instead of saying we're going to steal their horses, let's say we're going to attack them. That should be fine, right?"

Uh, does this mean they're using the pretext of a campaign to steal someone else's horses?

It seems His Majesty is determined to seize the horses of the Chahar and Tumed tribes.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng slowly nodded and said, "Your Majesty's plan is excellent. If we go to attack the Chahar and Tumed tribes, no one will gossip."

Then let's start the robbery.

Zhu Jue stared at the map and pondered, "The three guards of Duoyan have less than 10,000 able-bodied men and warhorses left. I suppose the Chahar and Tumed tribes are not much better off. They probably only have about 20,000 able-bodied men and warhorses left at most."

Right now, we have 30,000 cavalrymen in the capital garrison. It shouldn't be a problem to just send them to quell the rebellion.

However, to prevent them from joining forces to fight against the Beijing cavalry, it would be best if we transferred another 10,000 cavalry from Liaodong.”

That makes it even safer.

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

You think it's okay, right? Then hurry up and grab it!

However, this choice of commander needs to be carefully considered.

This is no small matter; one wrong move and countless cavalrymen could be lost.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked, "Ying Yuan, you've been in Xuanda for so long, you should know something about the Chahar and Tumed tribes there, right?"

I wouldn't dare to exaggerate this.

Upon hearing this, Cui Yingyuan slowly nodded and said, "This humble general has sent out scouts to investigate. I have some understanding of the tribes that are close to Xuanfu Town and Datong Town, but I don't know much about the tribes that are far from Xuanfu Town and Datong Town."

That'll do.

The key is that you are still the most mature and prudent.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Cao Bianjiao seems to be quite a fighter, right?"

That kid is amazing.

Cui Yingyuan nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, General Cao is exceptionally brave. Amin is also considered one of the more famous generals among the Jurchens. He couldn't last more than a few rounds against him. I think there is no one among the Northern Barbarians who can match him."

Then I'll assign you an exceptionally brave one.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue decisively said, "Then let Cao Bianjiao lead 10,000 Liaodong cavalry to help. You will be the commander-in-chief, and Cao Bianjiao will be the deputy commander-in-chief. Go and seize it for me."

Cui Yingyuan quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This humble general obeys the order."

Upon receiving the imperial edict, Cao Bianjiao immediately led 10,000 Liaodong cavalrymen to board ships stealthily and arrive at Yizhouwei. Then, he spurred his horses and galloped straight towards Daningwei.

The 30,000 cavalrymen of the capital garrison in Da Ningwei had already assembled long ago.

That afternoon, around dusk, as the sun was setting, the Liaodong cavalry finally arrived at the cavalry camp south of Daningwei.

Zhu Jue summoned Lu Xiang-sheng, Cui Ying-yuan, and Cao Bian-jiao to his command tent and carefully instructed them on the map: "Bian-jiao, you follow Ying-yuan through Gubeikou to Xuanfu Town to attack the Chahar and Tumed tribes."

Uh, to attack the Chahar and Tumed tribes?
I thought they were here to help with defense.

Upon hearing this, Cao Bianjiao was taken aback for a moment before quickly bowing and saying, "This humble general obeys the order."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then carefully instructed, "Yingyuan, our goal this time is to seize horses, horses that can pull carts. We don't want cattle or sheep, old horses or foals. Let them raise them for now."

Remember, don't linger in battle, and don't loot other things. Just grab any horses you can use to pull your carts and run; that won't slow you down.

Upon hearing this, Cui Yingyuan bowed without hesitation and said, "This subordinate understands."

The next morning, 40,000 cavalrymen set off from Daningwei and headed straight for Gubeikou in the south.

They were traveling through areas controlled by the Ming Dynasty, so the Chahar and Tumed tribes were naturally unaware that they were about to be "punished".

Furthermore, with the eight major imperial merchants almost completely wiped out by Pan Yunteng, it was unlikely that the Jurchens would have received the news before they launched their campaign.

If Huang Taiji knew that the young emperor of the Ming Dynasty had actually ordered people to seize horses from the Chahar and Tumed tribes, he would probably be heartbroken.

Right now, the Beijing garrison troops, Liaodong garrison troops and cavalry, and Sichuan army's White Spear troops are all stirring up trouble in the Horqin grasslands and the former territory of the Jianzhou Three Guards. He simply cannot send cavalry to provide support.

(End of this chapter)