How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 257 Jinzhou, Tashan, Huludao. So familiar! (Seeking monthly votes at the end of the month!)

In May of the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, the sun in Liaodong had already become scorching.

The sun scorched the earth, turning the endless wheat fields outside Jinzhou City a golden yellow.

The heavy ears of wheat are ready to be harvested.

The sweat palace in Shenyang was quite cool.

Huang Taiji stood with his hands behind his back in front of the huge map of Liaodong, staring at it motionless for a long time.

Daišan, Amin, Mangultai, Dorgon, Dodo, and several Han officials including Fan Wencheng and Ning Wanwo all stood below with their hands at their sides, and no one dared to utter a sound.

The air seemed to freeze.

After a long while, Huang Taiji turned around, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally settling on the place highlighted in vermilion on the map—Jinzhou.

"My lords," he began, "I see the Ming Dynasty's Liaoxi defense line, layer upon layer, like a hedgehog. But beneath this hedgehog's quills lies a fatal weakness. Tell me, where is it?"

No one responded to him.

Huang Taiji's finger suddenly jabbed at the words "Jinzhou".

"This is it! Jinzhou!"

He surveyed the crowd with a sharp gaze.

"Jinzhou is situated at the eastern end of the Liaoxi Corridor, exposed on three sides, making it easy to attack but difficult to defend. Zu Dashou has been developing it for several years, but his territory is only so big and lacks depth. Once I surround it with a large army, he will be like a turtle in a jar!"

He paused, then emphasized his words.

"The most fatal flaw is that it is near the sea but not actually on the coast! Its food and supplies depend entirely on that hundred-mile-long land route from Hulutao to Jinzhou. Our Eight Banners cavalry can cut off its supply lines in a day or two!"

Daishan stroked his beard and nodded thoughtfully. Dorgon's eyes lit up.

"Therefore, the siege of Jinzhou is not for the purpose of taking it immediately." Huang Taiji's voice deepened, "but for the purpose of intercepting reinforcements! If that brat Chongzhen comes to the rescue, he will have to bring his elite troops out of the pass to fight in the open, which suits my purposes perfectly! If he does not come to the rescue, we will have to watch as Zu Dashou either dies in battle or surrenders! The Jinzhou and Xiaolinghe that he has worked so hard to build will then belong to our Great Jin!"

He spoke faster and faster, his finger tracing patterns on the map. "Then we can use Jinzhou as a base to besiege Ningyuan! Steadily and surely, we'll approach Shanhaiguan step by step! With each step we take forward, the chances of that brat Chongzhen paying tribute and sue for peace increase!"

He looked at Dorgon and Dodo.

"Dorgon and Ajige! I hereby order you two to lead 10,000 elite cavalry from the Plain White and Bordered White Banners, along with 5,000 Mongol vassal troops, as the vanguard. Set off immediately and march straight for Jinzhou!"

"Yes, sir!" Dorgon slapped his forehead crisply, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement.

"Once we get there, first seize all the wheat fields around the city! Don't leave Zu Dashou a single grain! Then clear out the surrounding fortresses and completely surround Jinzhou for me!"

"Your subject understands!"

Huang Taiji then looked at Fan Wencheng: "Tell Suksaha to lead 20,000 Korean Green Standard Army soldiers to escort siege equipment and quickly transport the seized grain to Uiju and Gwangnyeong for storage. I intend to wage a protracted siege!"

Finally, he swept his gaze over everyone and said decisively.

"The objectives of this battle are twofold. First, to annihilate the main force of the Ming army at Yuye! To break the backbone of that brat Chongzhen! Second, to capture Jinzhou!"

……

A few days later, on the walls of Jinzhou.

Zu Dashou gripped the battlements, his brow furrowed deeply. His gaze swept back and forth between the north and south. To the south lay the lower reaches of the Xiaoling River and the grain route leading to Hulutao Port. Scattered along the riverbank were seven or eight pitifully flimsy triangular forts, protecting the more than one hundred li (approximately 50 kilometers) of grain route from Jinzhou to Hulutao. To the north was the upper reaches of the Xiaoling River valley, with Beiputuo Mountain City perched at the mountain pass, a crucial choke point for entering the mountains. Beyond the pass lay the Xiaoling River valley—a territory Zu Dashou had seized from the Kharachin Mongols last year during his defeat at the entrance and Mao Wenlong's rampage in Liaodong. Now, Zu Dashou had turned it into a "retreat route," and the valley floor along both banks of the Xiaoling River was planted with wheat, which was almost ripe.

Wu Xiang held a crookedly drawn map, pointing at it with his finger: "Brother, these triangular forts downstream can't be defended. The river is seventy or eighty miles long, and these seven or eight forts are the only defenses. Each fort can hold a hundred or two hundred people at most. They can handle small groups of Jurchens normally, but I don't think they can hold out when a large Jurchen army comes."

Zu Dashou's adopted son, Zu Kefa, was young and impatient: "Father, we can't leave the downstream area unattended! If we don't, the grain route to Hulutao will be gone, and our Jinzhou will become a dead city!"

"What do you know!" Wu Xiang, Zu Dashou's brother-in-law, spoke sharply. "Winter is just around the corner! Once the river freezes over, let alone these seven or eight triangular forts, even if we doubled the number, we wouldn't be able to hold them! The Jurchen cavalry can easily cross the hundred-mile stretch of ice, and they can even bypass it by crossing the ice on the sea! At that point, everyone in the forts will be a sitting duck!"

Zu Dashou's brother, Zu Dale, who had remained silent until now, sighed, "Upstream... the area around Beiputuo Mountain City, though a bit remote, has treacherous terrain. If things really come to a head, we can still lead the brothers into the mountains, providing a safe haven. As long as we have troops, there's always a chance. If we lose our retreat, we'll be trapped like turtles in a jar, with nowhere to run." Everyone looked at Zu Dashou. How could he not know the importance of the downstream supply route? It was crucial to whether Jinzhou could be held for long. But he also knew that with his limited troops, scattered along the hundred-mile river and among those scattered fortresses, it was like sprinkling sesame seeds—they would eventually be devoured one by one by the Jurchens. If the downstream fortresses were lost, the supply route would still be cut off, and the troops would be wasted.

The Xiaoling River Valley and Beiputuo Mountain City, which he had painstakingly developed, were his retreat routes to preserve his strength. Although it would be tough to retreat into the Xiaoling River Valley and the surrounding mountains, it would allow him to preserve his power.

If we preserve our strength, why worry about not having a chance?
"If we lose land but save people, we can save both..." Zu Dashou muttered to himself. He steeled his resolve, raised his head, and his eyes hardened. "Send the order! Abandon all the triangular forts along the lower reaches of the Xiaoling River! All garrison troops must retreat to the main city of Jinzhou! Concentrate all forces to defend Jinzhou and Beiputuo Mountain City upstream! We must secure our retreat route no matter what!"

This order effectively cut off the supply route to Hulutao Port. However, it also meant that the main force and the crucial mountain retreat route were saved.

The order was given, and the troops in Jinzhou began to mobilize in a tense atmosphere. The news of abandoning the downstream fortresses brought an oppressive tension to the city walls. Zu Dashou stood at the highest point of the city tower, gazing at the distant fortresses about to be abandoned, his face as taut as iron. He knew this decision would make this winter exceptionally difficult, but it was the only way to survive in this desperate situation.

A few days later, the anticipated attack arrived. The Later Jin army easily captured the empty triangular fortresses downstream and then began frantically looting the wheat in the fields. Zu Dashou stood on the city wall, watching helplessly as his supply lines were cut off and his hard work was ruined. He felt both helpless and heartbroken. Right now, his only thought was that the city of Beiputuo Mountain upstream and the retreat route into the mountains must not go wrong.

……

When the urgent message from Jinzhou arrived at the Forbidden City, Emperor Chongzhen was in Yonghe Palace reviewing the accounts of the Imperial Estates and Official Banks with Liu Yueying. Outside the palace, Beijing was bustling with its own unique energy – the shouts of laborers on the construction sites in western Beijing, the sounds of carriages and horses on Zhengyangmen Street, and the noise in front of newly opened banks and shops. Various fine goods, transported by sea through Tianjin Port, made the market in this premier city of the Ming Dynasty incredibly prosperous.

The flowing money in the ledger brought a smile to Liu Yueying's face. But this outward prosperity could not conceal the bloodshed that emanated from Shaanxi, Henan, and Liaodong.

Fang Huazheng carried the letter box and walked in with light and hurried steps.

"Your Majesty, an urgent report from Jinzhou. It's from Zu Dashou."

Emperor Chongzhen put down the account book and took the box. The sealing wax was icy cold to the touch. He opened it and took out the memorials.

As he looked at it, his brows furrowed more and more, and the fingers holding the memorial turned slightly white.

"The chieftain Huang Taiji personally led the main force of the Eight Banners, along with Mongol and Korean auxiliary troops, numbering 200,000... All the fortresses outside the city fell, the fortresses downstream of the Xiaoling River were lost, and the grain route to Hulutao was cut off... Jinzhou, an isolated city, was in grave danger..."

He put down the memorial without speaking. He rose and walked to the huge map of the Ming Dynasty. On the map, large areas of Shaanxi and Henan were marked with "drought," "locusts," and "floods," but at this moment, his gaze was fixed on the two characters "Jinzhou."

"Summon the cabinet, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Revenue to the warm pavilion of the Qianqing Palace for an audience."

The atmosphere inside the warm room was heavy.

Emperor Chongzhen had Zu Dashou's memorial passed around among his ministers. The paper rustled softly.

After watching it, an argument broke out below.

"Your Majesty! Jinzhou is the gateway to Liaoxi, and it must not be lost! We should immediately send the imperial elite troops and the Jizhou garrison to its rescue!" Sun Chengzong was so excited that his hair and beard stood on end.

The old man is now confident! The Imperial Guard has 50,000 combat-ready troops, the Jizhou Garrison has 40,000 combat soldiers, and Changping has 10,000 elite troops. Adding these together, that's 100,000 elite soldiers who can be deployed to the field!

Grandpa Sun has never fought such a rich battle!
"Absolutely not!" Minister of War Wang Zaijin immediately retorted, "The enemy's forces are so overwhelming, how can we wage war recklessly? The imperial court only has 100,000 troops available for battle, and we must use them with caution!"

In Wang Zaijin's view, Emperor Chongzhen had only this much wealth, which he had accumulated through various means, including taking in several "financing-type concubines," so he absolutely had to use it with extreme caution. If he lost, the current state of revival would be completely destroyed.

He then said with great distress, "Jinzhou City has cost a fortune, with an annual military expenditure of 760,000 taels of silver, yet it is being forcibly defended in an indefensible location! It has weaknesses everywhere! If we don't send reinforcements now, Zu's army will surely perish. But if we do send reinforcements, it will play right into their hands."

Sun Chengzong said solemnly, "If we don't save them, and something really happens to Jinzhou, Liaoxi will collapse, and Shanhaiguan will be directly facing the enemy's advance. Who can bear the responsibility for that?!"

The two had a heated argument.

Emperor Chongzhen sat upright on his throne, watching coldly.

He knew all along that Jinzhou was a huge weakness for the Ming Dynasty; it was neither safe to defend it nor to lose it. Fortunately, he had studied four hundred years of history and had a new understanding of the "Battle of Jinzhou".

Jinzhou, Huludao, Tashan... They look so familiar!

Thinking of this, he spoke calmly: "The Liao matter is of great importance, and I need to consider it carefully. Court adjourned."

The two old ministers were taken aback. Looking at Chongzhen's calm face, they had no choice but to swallow their words and bow and retreat.

Emperor Chongzhen said to Xu Yingyuan, "Summon Lu Xiangshan and Sun Zushou to the capital."

(End of this chapter)