How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 259 Chongzhen's Vacuum City Strategy

On the third day of the sixth month of the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, at night.

The walls of Jinzhou were eerily dark.

Even the torches that the night patrol soldiers usually lit were all out of order.

Only the pale moonlight shone coldly on the battlements, reflecting a deathly stillness.

Inside the General's Mansion, a few lights were on.

Zu Dashou sat on a tiger-skin chair, clutching a secret letter in his hand. The edges of the letter were crumpled from his grip.

His fleshy face shifted between light and shadow in the flickering candlelight.

The letter was delivered personally by Fang Huazheng, a special envoy of Emperor Chongzhen. It bore the emperor's jade seal, and the characters were written in Chongzhen's own handwriting. The letter contained only ten characters:
"Immediately abandon Jinzhou and retreat into the valley."

The valley refers to the mountain gully in the upper reaches of the Xiaoling River.

This is the Emperor's imperial edict!
The emperor refused to let anyone else bear the responsibility for abandoning Jinzhou; he would take it upon himself!
Of course, one must be strict. This is an imperial edict, bypassing the cabinet and without going through the "ministerial discussion" or "court discussion." Zu Dashou can refuse to carry it out.

However, the consequences of refusing to comply can be very serious.
Inside the room, his trusted retainers and several nephews and nieces held their breath and dared not utter a sound.

Zu Dashou's knuckles turned white from clenching his fists.

Abandon Jinzhou?

In this city, there are the grain, fodder and equipment he has painstakingly accumulated over the years, the barracks and fortifications he has managed for many years, and the foundation of his ancestral family's foothold in western Liaoning!
Just like that, you threw everything away?
He seemed to see himself leading his brothers to reinforce the city walls brick by brick and transport grain and equipment into the city by cartload over the years.

My heart feels like it's being cut by a knife; it hurts terribly.

But he wasn't confused.

He understood what the Emperor hadn't explicitly said in his letter.

Jinzhou is probably beyond our control.

It's not that we can't defend this city wall, it's that we can't defend that vital supply route.

With the Jurchen army pressing on the border, the grain route from Jinzhou to Hulutao has been cut off, but the passage to the Xiaoling River Valley remains intact. However, the road from the Xiaoling River Valley to Ningyuan is difficult to traverse, and transporting grain from there is costly.

Furthermore, with only the Zu family's two thousand garrison troops and several thousand tenant farmers in the Xiaoling River Valley, can they hold out?
That's a bit risky!

If the Xiaoling River Valley is gone, Jinzhou will be a completely isolated city.

Going out of the city to fight would be suicide. If we were trapped in the city and ran out of food, and Chongzhen didn't send troops to rescue us, we would still be doomed.

Now that Emperor Chongzhen has given an order for Zu Dashou to escape, if he insists on holding out, there will definitely be no reinforcements coming. What will he do then?
"There won't be any reinforcements, there won't be any reinforcements at that time," he muttered to himself, his eyes gradually hardening.

He stood up abruptly, his voice hoarse, yet carrying an undeniable resolve:
"Send the order!"

"All battalions, prepare immediately! Men must be gagged, horses must have their hooves wrapped, and cart axles must be oiled! At exactly 1:00 AM, retreat in order from the west gate!"

"Families and residents in the city should all evacuate. After leaving the city, cross the Xiaoling River first, and then retreat along the riverbank into the valley."

"Take away as much grain and fodder as possible. Smash all the heavy stuff that can't be carried! Pour kerosene over the granaries and government buildings, and await final orders!"

"Zu Kefa! You take our most elite guards and cover my retreat! Set up an ambush on the other side of the Xiaoling River pontoon bridge. When you see the pursuers crossing the bridge, beat them to death!"

"Execute military orders! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

Once the order was given, Jinzhou City, like a silent behemoth, began to stir quietly.

There was no noise, only suppressed breathing, the soft clanging of metal, and the muffled thud of wheels rolling over the cobblestones.

Even the elderly and children, the civilians and their families who evacuated Jinzhou were all in an orderly manner. Of course, the civilians who could live in Jinzhou were not ordinary civilians. They were either military dependents or tenants and servants of military families such as the Zu and Wu families. They were already used to cooperating with the Zu family army.

Zu Dashou put on his cloak and was the last to leave his general's mansion.

He glanced back at the dark city, his facial muscles twitched, and he suddenly waved his hand:

"go!"

As dawn approached, the last batch of Ming troops withdrew from the west gate.

Zu Kefa led his rear guards to set fire to the city's warehouses and government offices, and then disappeared into the deepest darkness before dawn.

Zu Dashou had already crossed the Xiaoling River and was riding his horse. Looking back, he saw flames already rising in Jinzhou City.

He steeled his resolve and spurred his horse into the mountain path leading to the Xiaoling River Valley.

The sky began to brighten slightly.

The wheat fields between the Daling River and the Xiaoling River are golden.

Dorgon, mounted on his horse, watched as the bondservant aqqas bent over, hastily harvesting wheat. The sounds of whips, shouts, and sickles cutting wheat mingled together.

He wondered how long this new wheat would last as military rations.

Suddenly, a faint commotion came from the west.

He frowned and listened intently.

Several Goshha rode up, their voices trembling: "Master! Master! Jinzhou... Jinzhou is on fire!"

Dorgon's heart skipped a beat, and he reined in his horse and turned to look.

On the western horizon, in the direction of Jinzhou City, a ball of fire appeared, with a faint black column of smoke rising, which looked very conspicuous in the dim light of dawn.

What's going on? Ajige rode over as well, squinting as he looked: "Fire? Did those Nikan people in the city accidentally set fire?"

Dorgon remained silent, staring at the fireworks, his expression gradually darkening.

He lashed the horse's rump with his whip: "Back to camp! Quickly!"

Surrounded by a large contingent of guards, he swept towards Jinzhou City like a whirlwind.

The closer you get to the city, the clearer the smoke and fire become. The fire has already started in the center of the city.

The city gate tower was intact, but the city gate... was actually ajar!

The white-armored soldier sent out to scout returned scrambling back, his face ashen: "Your Highness! The city...the city is empty! The granaries and armories are on fire!"

Dorgon shoved him aside, spurred his horse to the city walls, and squeezed through the crack in the gate.

The long street was deserted, with only a few stray dogs darting past with their tails between their legs.

The fire was raging over the granary, and the acrid smell made people cough. Smoke was also billowing from the armory, and many smashed sword and gun racks were thrown outside.

The area around the well was covered with freshly turned, damp soil.

Ajige followed him in, looked around, and grinned: "Hey! Zu Dashou, that grandson, ran away? We got a city for free!"

Dorgon kicked at some burnt-out equipment on the ground; the ashes were still smoking.

He walked to a well that was half-filled and peered inside.

"Run?" He sneered. "Look at this well that's been filled in, this fire that's burned down. It's not running, it's retreating!"

He suddenly looked up, his gaze sweeping across the empty street before finally settling on the vast, desolate mountains to the west.

"Give the order!" he said fiercely, "All the disguises, send out! Head west, head south, and bite Zu Dashou's tail!"

"Send another fast horse! Back to Shenyang to report...say that Jinzhou has been captured, but Zu Dashou's main force...has vanished!"

He leaned against the still-new brickwork of the city wall, gazing at the undulating mountains in the distance, a chill creeping into his heart.

Chongzhen, you little brat... what kind of act are you putting on?
Such a magnificent city, with countless sums of money invested, and you just want to give it up like that?

In Shenyang, within the Khan's Palace, a joyous atmosphere prevailed.

Huang Taiji had just heard the "good news" from the front lines, saying that Dorgon had captured Jinzhou.

Several princes and ministers were offering compliments.

"Great Khan, your blessings are boundless! With the fall of Jinzhou, the gateway to the Liaoxi Corridor has been wide open!"

"Congratulations, Great Khan! The Ming army is terrified and has fled without a fight!"

Huang Taiji wore a smile, but a sense of unease lingered in his heart. Fleeing without a fight? That was Zu Dashou's style, but would the young Emperor Chongzhen allow it? Would Zu Dashou dare abandon the city and flee without the young emperor's approval?

The current young emperor of the Ming Dynasty is not someone to be trifled with!
At this moment, the second messenger arrived, bringing Dorgon's detailed report in his own handwriting.

Huang Taiji took the letter, and as he read it, the smile on his face gradually froze and finally disappeared completely.

He slammed the letter onto the table; the sound wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the entire hall.

"Empty?" He asked himself, as if addressing everyone. "A ghost town? Food and military supplies—take what you can, burn what you can't? The civilians all evacuated, not a single one left."

He stood up and strode quickly to the huge map of Liaodong.

Dai Shan, Fan Wencheng, and the others looked at each other, not daring to utter a sound.

Huang Taiji's finger first touched Jinzhou, then suddenly swiped towards Hulutao Port in the southwest, then towards the Xiaolinghe mountain area behind Jinzhou, and finally stopped in the area of ​​southern Liaoning.

His eyes were as sharp as knives.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear the crackling of the burning candles.

Suddenly, Huang Taiji turned around sharply, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"Good! What a brilliant move by Chongzhen! What a grand scheme!" His voice betrayed neither anger nor admiration. "I thought he would mobilize the entire nation's army to rescue Jinzhou, which would give me the perfect opportunity to wait in ambush and break his spine in open battle!"

"But what he did! He simply dumped the empty city of Jinzhou on me like a burden!"

He jabbed his finger heavily on the map: "Look where he retreated to! He's disappeared into the Xiaoling River Valley in the mountains. He's pulled back his fist, cleared the way, and taken the high ground! There's also a gourd-shaped harbor over here."

"He also has Mao Wenlong and Huang Degong in Liaonan! This is to coordinate with him from the east and west, so that I cannot look after myself from both ends!"

He took a deep breath and slowly sat down.

"How much silver did the Ming Dynasty spend in Jinzhou? He just said he didn't want it anymore. This decisiveness... I underestimated him before."

Fan Wencheng pondered for a moment, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise. It seems that Chongzhen's ambitions are not small. How should our army... respond?"

Huang Taiji remained silent for a long time before speaking. His voice regained its calmness, but carried a heavy pressure:
"A false report of victory, a real formidable enemy—this is Chongzhen's empty city ploy!"

"Issue the imperial decree: Order Dorgon to be cautious in occupying Jinzhou, and not to underestimate the enemy or advance rashly."

"Summon all princes, nobles, and ministers of state to discuss matters immediately!"

"We need to change our approach to this battle."

The festive atmosphere that had once filled the hall had vanished. In its place was a sense of impending doom and impending storm.

(End of this chapter)