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

Chapter 111 Qing Army's Encirclement of Jinzhou City

Four days later, at dusk, the last rays of the setting sun shone on Ningyuan City. Sparse pedestrians hurried through the streets, creating a desolate scene.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats broke the silence of the city.

A fast horse galloped into the city, kicking up dust that lingered for a long time.

The soldiers on horseback had a conspicuous yellow flag stuck in their waistbands. This small yellow flag served as both a pass and a warning sign. Anyone who obstructed them could be executed for delaying military operations, so even bandits avoided it.

The soldier spurred his horse at breakneck speed, his voice hoarse and filled with anxiety: "An urgent message from the Jurchens! They're knocking on the gates!"

Pedestrians on both sides of the street hurriedly dodged, some even dropping their belongings and running home.

Before long, a large number of generals who had received the news quickly arrived at the Liaodong Governor's Mansion. The hall was crowded with generals, including Liaodong Governor Qiu Yangmin, Ningyuan General Wu Sangui, Ningyuan Deputy General Zu Dale, Tashan General Jin Guofeng, Deputy General Yang Zhen, and other generals on the Ningta defense line.

Sun Chengzong took the seat of honor, his face calm, and held up the report: "Gentlemen, General Zu Dashou of Jinzhou has sent an urgent report that this morning the Tartars gathered more than 50,000 troops in Shenyang and are rushing towards Jinzhou."

There have been spies on the Jinzhou front line near Shenyang. A few days ago, Huang Taiji conducted a large-scale military review outside Shenyang to boost morale and issued an order to attack Jinzhou. This had already been detected by the Jinzhou garrison and was quickly relayed to the Liaodong Governor's Office in Ningyuan City.

The reason why Huang Taiji openly gathered his troops was to tell the Ming Dynasty that he was coming to attack Jinzhou, so that the Ming court could organize troops to rescue it and fight a large-scale battle at Songshan in Jinzhou.

"There are 37,000 troops defending Jinzhou now. We need to send reinforcements to Jinzhou," Zu Dale said urgently from the side.

His two elder brothers were still in Jinzhou City when they suddenly heard that the Jurchens were preparing for a large-scale attack on the city, so they naturally became anxious.

"I think we can wait and act according to the imperial decree," Qiu Yangmin said. As the governor of Liaodong, he naturally followed the emperor's orders and couldn't do the usual things that only officials in the field would do.

"The urgent message has already been relayed to the capital. My intention is that the entire Ningta fortress complex should be prepared for battle. As for whether Jinzhou, Songshan, Xingshan, and other places need support, we should observe the situation first," Sun Chengzong said.

The emperor had already given him the general direction: defend Jinzhou for a year, then abandon all the outposts in front of the Ningta defense line, including Jinzhou, and concentrate all troops on the Ningta defense line. Now that the Jurchens have just arrived, their great battle has only just begun, and there is no need for support yet, at least not now.

The other generals exchanged bewildered glances. Nominally, Guanzhong, Ningzhou, and Jinzhou had 130,000 troops, but in reality, only 73,000. Of the 37,000 men in Jinzhou, over 10,000 were nominally in place, meaning only about 25,000 were actually there. The Ningyuan defense line had 20,000 men, Shanhaiguan had 10,000, and the remaining 17,000-18,000 were scattered in various fortified positions. If the imperial court didn't provide support, there would be no more troops available to reinforce them.

Wu Sangui stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Grand Secretary Sun, this humble general believes that we can go out of the Ningta defense line to scout, so as to avoid being surrounded and eaten up by the Tartars."

Wu Sangui and the Guan Ning Army were one entity; Zu Dashou was his uncle, so their fates were intertwined—one prospers, the other suffers. He certainly wouldn't want to...

He hoped to see Jinzhou fall. Although the Tartars were unlikely to kill his uncle, he couldn't gamble on it...

"I heard that Lu Xiang-sheng led 70,000 new troops to Luanzhou a month ago. If the troops are insufficient, can we write to the court to request support?" General Jin Guofeng of Tashan asked.

Jin Guofeng had died in this battle, and now that the war had just begun, he sensed something different. This time, the defeat at the Battle of Sarhu might be repeated. If he increased his troops to defend the newly built Ningta defense line and support Jinzhou, he might be able to avoid it. But without reinforcements, Jinzhou would fall sooner or later. Everyone understands that prolonged defense inevitably leads to defeat.

Sun Chengzong looked around and cleared his throat: "There's no need to be so anxious. The Tartars are probably using Jinzhou as a pretext to lure reinforcements and then annihilate our elite troops in a large-scale field battle."

The plan to besiege Jinzhou and intercept reinforcements had been discussed by Zhu Jian before Sun Chengzong even arrived in Guanning Jinzhou. Therefore, Sun Chengzong was instructed to use Jinzhou, Songshan, Xingshan, and other places to draw away the Jurchen forces, with a minimum of 100,000 troops. Although Sun Chengzong did not understand what the emperor meant, since the emperor knew that the Jurchens were planning to besiege Jinzhou and intercept reinforcements, he must have a backup plan. As for what kind of backup plan it was, we would find out in time.

His task now is to stabilize the Guanningjin defense line.

"What if the Tartars launch a full-scale attack on Jinzhou?" Zu Dale squeezed to the front and asked, cupping his hands in greeting.

Sun Chengzong said in a deep voice, "If the Tartars launch a strong attack on Jinzhou, and the Ningyuan garrison goes to its rescue, I believe Zu Dashou will be able to wait for the rescue."

Sun Chengzong disagrees with sending reinforcements to Jinzhou because he fears the Jurchens might make a feint in Jinzhou and then directly attack Ningyuan. If they occupy Ningyuan, Jinzhou will fall without a fight. Nurhaci did this before, but he failed, suffered heavy casualties, burned 100,000 shi of grain, and then retreated.

"It will be very difficult for 50,000 men to take Jinzhou, which is defended by 37,000 troops!" said Yang Zhen, the deputy commander who never spoke.

Yang Zhen specifically mentioned the number of people. He knew that the Guan Ning Army was receiving salaries without working, but he didn't know exactly how many were missing in Jinzhou. He was just a peripheral figure in the Guan Ning Army, not a core member. It was only when Sun Chengzong took over Liaodong that he was promoted from the position of Assistant General to the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief, which meant he entered the core military circle of Liaodong.

"Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming brought quite a few cannons with them," Zu Dale reminded him from the side.

Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming launched the Wuqiao Mutiny in the fourth year of Chongzhen's reign. After fighting for eighteen months, they were defeated and surrendered to the Jurchens by heading north from Dengzhou and Laizhou.

Huang Taiji even went ten miles outside the city to greet him, which had a very significant impact.

"Jinzhou has more cannons than they brought with them," Yang Zhen reminded them again.

The atmosphere in the governor's mansion was tense as the two men exchanged their views.

Just as the situation was escalating, Sun Chengzong slowly rose and announced: "All troops, prepare to await orders!"

Although Sun Chengzong did not send troops for the time being, it did not mean that he was unprepared. If the situation deteriorated rapidly, he planned to personally lead troops to rescue Jinzhou. At the same time, he wrote to Lu Xiangsheng in Luanzhou to ask for help and asked him to lead troops to take over the Ningta defense line. This was the worst option and the only thing he could do.

After Sun Chengzong gave the order, all the generals clasped their hands in a fist salute and said in unison, "Understood!"

Two days later, the weather had turned slightly cool, and the night's dew had already dampened the withered grass.

Dorgon and Ajige led more than 20,000 elite troops from the Plain White Banner and Bordered White Banner to the outskirts of Jinzhou.

Dorgon, mounted on his horse, wearing white cloth armor, pointed at Jinzhou City with a riding whip in his hand and said, "Ajige, you and I will follow the Emperor's decree and first set up defenses around Jinzhou City. Then you will lead troops to probe and attack the city."

Ajige nodded: "Jinzhou is not easy to attack, otherwise it wouldn't have existed for so many years. I'll go and try it first, and if the casualties are too great, I'll retreat."

"Go."