Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

Chapter 110 The Ming-Qing War Breaks Out

A month or so later, the golden color in the grain fields had disappeared, leaving only the soil tinged with black.

The three major cities of Jinzhou, Songshan, and Xingshan were on high alert, their city gates tightly shut, and soldiers taking turns scaling the walls with hurried steps. Outside the cities, the vast expanse of dark earth was shrouded in silence, save for the occasional screech of a few crows flying overhead.

A few days ago, the scouts who went out to patrol discovered that the number of Jurchen scouts had been increasing recently, which was clearly a sign of an impending major battle.

Before the Battle of Dalinghe and Xiaolinghe, the Qing army had increased its scouts and cavalry, and was caught off guard. The Jurchens surrounded and attacked the reinforcements, and Dalinghe and Xiaolinghe fell. As a result, Sun Chengzong, the Liaodong governor at the time, was impeached and forced to leave Liaodong.

"Brother, the number of Tartar scouts has increased significantly these past few days. It seems they're planning a full-scale attack on Jinzhou." Zu Dabi said, then noticed a cup of tea on Zu Dashou's table, picked it up, and drank it all in one gulp. He then sighed, "Grand Secretary Sun ordered us to defend Jinzhou to the death, requiring us to hold it for a year. I don't know if we can manage it. If we can't hold it for a year and have to withdraw from Jinzhou, will the Emperor execute us?"

From the first year of the Chongzhen reign to the eleventh year, a considerable number of generals were executed for defeat. Even though the emperor only symbolically deducted their salaries and did not impose many punishments during those two years, they were still apprehensive.

"It's hard to say. A few months ago, I heard that Li Zicheng launched a strong attack on Qingyang Prefecture. The Qingyang garrison lost the city, and the general who defended the city was punished by the emperor with a deduction of his salary. This was because Hong Chengchou led most of his troops from Xi'an to Guanzhong and ambushed Li Zicheng's vanguard on the retreat route. Therefore, the general of the Qingyang garrison was punished with a reward for his crimes." Zu Dashou never really trusted the emperor, especially when Yuan Chonghuan was killed. At that time, he led the Guan Ning Army to retreat outside the pass. If it weren't for Sun Chengzong's appeasement and pleas, he would probably be either killed or forced to surrender to the Tartars now.

When Zu Dashou mentioned Shaanxi, Zu Dabi became curious: "I heard that the imperial court and Li Zicheng have been locked in a stalemate in Shaanxi for three years. The emperor has not allowed Hong Chengchou to send troops to suppress the bandits, but only to suppress them, and there is no shortage of food and supplies."

Hong Chengchou led an army of 100,000 men in Shaanxi, confronting Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai. This event caused a great stir in various places. Some people said that Hong Chengchou was raising bandits to enhance his own power, and that the court could not command him. Others said that Hong Chengchou was waiting for the emperor's promise to allow him to stay in Shaanxi after defeating Li Zicheng, and wanted to establish a small court. Some people even said that the court owed Shaanxi too much military pay. Although he said that the army was 100,000 men, there were actually only 40,000 or 50,000 men. He was just using them to intimidate Li Zicheng so that he would not dare to make a real move. Anyway, there were all sorts of rumors.

However, the news circulating within the court was that the emperor had strictly ordered Hong Chengchou, Zheng Chongjian, and Qin Liangyu, along with their subordinate generals, to suppress Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai in northern Shaanxi. Hong Chengchou was stationed in Xi'an as the military headquarters, Qin Liangyu was stationed in Hanzhong to prevent the two bandits from infiltrating Sichuan, and Zheng Chongjian was stationed in Tongguan and along the Yellow River to prevent the two bandits from infiltrating Shanxi.

Most importantly, the Shaanxi army had no shortage of supplies and provisions, with abundant grain and other silver-containing materials.

Speaking of Shaanxi, Zu Dashou sighed, his eyes filled with confusion: "The Guan-Ning-Jin defense line is still issuing silver coins, but grain and cloth are getting more and more expensive. Now Grand Secretary Sun has asked us to defend Jinzhou for a year, and only then have he provided us with fourteen months' worth of provisions. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't even have two months' worth of provisions."

Zu Dashou couldn't figure out whether Sun Chengzong was suppressing their supplies or the court was short of supplies. But apart from disaster relief and the garrison in Shaanxi, the court didn't seem to be engaged in any major battles. Only a few generals, such as Huang Degong and Liu Zeqing, each led 3,000 troops to suppress bandits in Huguang and Jiangxi. The bandits numbered between 700 and 800, and some only had a few dozen. They had no artillery or cavalry, and didn't even have enough swords. It wasn't a big battle at all, and the losses weren't significant.

However, Guan Ningjin's side was facing a shortage of food supplies every year. Zu Dashou felt a vague unease in his heart.

Zu Dabi's eyes darted around, then he leaned close to Zu Dashou's ear and whispered, "Brother, do you think... it might be related to Grand Secretary Sun...?" He gestured towards the north, "I heard that grain prices are ridiculously high over there in the Tartars, could it be... a case of them buying and selling grain?"

Zu Dashou was taken aback, his face darkening. "Don't talk nonsense." He paused, then added, "The imperial court built Guangning City in Guangning Guard, and also built many fortresses in Ningyuan and Tashan. Perhaps all the grain is being consumed in these. At most, Grand Secretary Sun has stockpiled the grain in Ningyuan City. Don't forget, Governor Yuan had 100,000 shi of grain burned by the Tartars..."

'

Zu Dashou did not believe that Sun Chengzong would be in league with the Qing. In his opinion, Sun Chengzong was very stubborn. Although he sometimes had opinions about the court, Zu Dashou did not believe that he was in league with the Qing. If the Tartars attacked, Sun Chengzong would definitely rather die than surrender. Zu Dashou had the ability to judge people.

"Could it be His Majesty..." Zu Dabi muttered again, his voice even softer.

"Alright, stop speculating," Zu Dashou interrupted him. "Keep a close eye on the city walls these next few days, and don't let anything happen to Jinzhou. If we hold out for another two or three months, winter will come, and the Tartars won't have time to attack the city."

"Understood, elder brother. I'll go patrol the city now." Zu Dabi waved his hand and turned to walk out.

Zu Dashou watched Zu Dabi's departing figure, sighed deeply, and muttered to himself, "It's really difficult to find someone to rely on in the court."

The Guan Ning Army is now like an adopted child, with no one in the court who can speak for them. The Shaanxi garrison has Hong Chengchou, the New Army has Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangshan, not to mention the Imperial Guards in the capital, directly under the emperor's command—their equipment and treatment far surpass even the guards who are their core fighting force… The Guan Ning Army relies entirely on the court's initiative; things only improved slightly after Sun Chengzong arrived. Before, when they received their pay, they couldn't even get enough silver coins, and their equipment and personnel remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, outside Shengjing (Shenyang) city, a large number of Jurchen soldiers lined up in front of the battle lines. Their banners blocked out the sun, and the sounds of warhorses neighing and armor clashing mingled together. At a glance, there were about forty to fifty thousand of them.

On the high platform, Huang Taiji raised his wine cup and said in a loud voice, "Warriors, today I am holding this banquet to send you off. When you return in triumph, I will hold another banquet here to celebrate your victory."

"Conquer the Ming!"

"Attack the Ming!" Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted in unison, their voices like a tidal wave, sweeping across the heavens and earth, as if victory were just around the corner.

Huang Taiji's gaze swept across the audience, and he nodded in satisfaction: the morale was good.

Huang Taiji then drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

The generals and soldiers in the front row also drank it all in one gulp.

Huang Taiji slammed his wine glass onto the platform, shattering it instantly, and shouted, "Let's go!"

Dorgon, Ajige, Jirgalang, Hauge, and other generals mounted their horses, tightened the reins, and their warhorses reared up, neighing loudly. They shouted to their soldiers, "Move out!"

Immediately, the large and impressive procession headed towards Jinzhou.

Huang Taiji watched the departing army, remaining motionless for a long time. This was the first time since the founding of the Qing Dynasty that he had prepared to launch a strong attack on the Jinzhou defense line, a battle that concerned the very foundation of the nation. As long as he could defeat the last elite force of the Ming Dynasty outside the Great Wall—the Guan Ning Army—then the day he entered the Great Wall would not be far off.

>