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

Chapter 114 The Jurchens Invade the Pass Again

Three days later, Huang Taiji in Shengjing (Shenyang) received two letters, one from his eldest son Hauge and the other from his cousin Jirhalang.

Huang Taiji carefully examined the folded document twice, afraid of missing anything. The situation at the Guan Ning Jin front had exceeded his expectations.

Although he had anticipated the Ming army's scorched-earth policy and knew about the construction of the Ningta defense line, he did not expect that the Ming army at the Ningta defense line would simply stand by and watch Jinzhou and Songshan besieged, showing no intention of providing any assistance.

As Huang Taiji pondered, he slowly rose and paced back and forth in the hall. According to past experience, the Ming court would now know that Jinzhou was besieged, and the Ming emperor should have dispatched a large army to the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line. In particular, there were still 100,000 troops stationed in Shaanxi, which would definitely be drawn from them. However, by the time the Ming court's elite troops from the nine border regions arrived, it would be next year.

After much deliberation, Huang Taiji decided to send another 5,000 soldiers to Commander Hauge, ordering him to besiege Songshan and Xingshan simultaneously, to see if the Ming army could remain patient.

Just then, Fan Wencheng, who had been summoned by Huang Taiji, hurriedly entered the hall: "This servant Fan Wencheng pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"Minister Fan, the Ming court has now abandoned Jinzhou, Songshan, and Xingshan, and is holding out in Ningyuan." After saying this, Huang Taiji handed the folded documents of Hauge and Jirhalang to Fan Wencheng.

Fan Wencheng was taken aback. He clearly did not believe that the Ming army would do such a thing. Could the young Emperor Chongzhen really withstand the condemnation of losing ancestral territory? He felt that obviously not. He knew all too well what the Ming court was like. Face was always more important than interests, and the court was rife with factionalism and infighting.

Huang Taiji grabbed the folding book, held it in his hand, and put his hands behind his back.

"Your Majesty, I believe the Ming army is short of supplies and it is winter, so they thought the Qing warriors would not attack the city, which is why the Ningyuan garrison has not made any move," Fan Wencheng said.

Huang Taiji nodded slightly after listening. Fan Wencheng's words made some sense. Natural disasters were happening all over the Ming Dynasty. The food and supplies for the 100,000 troops in Shaanxi and the food and supplies for the troops stationed in the capital were astronomical figures.

The flickering firelight inside the hall cast long shadows of the two men.

After a long silence, Huang Taiji slowly spoke, "I am preparing to dispatch over ten thousand light cavalry again to bypass the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line and enter the pass through Qingshan Pass. What does Minister Fan think?"

Huang Taiji wanted to use the method of felling large trees to damage the morale of the Ming court, and also to plunder some supplies. It would be even better if he could seize the supplies that the Ming court was sending to Guanning and Jinzhou. Even if he could only seize a small amount, it would be good if he could get the Ming emperor to urge the Ningyuan garrison to relieve the siege of Jinzhou.

"Your Majesty's plan is excellent. This time, when we enter the pass, the Ming court will definitely think that Jinzhou is besieged, thus making it impossible to restrain the Qing Dynasty," Fan Wencheng echoed.

A few days later, Huang Taiji prepared a large amount of grain and fodder and handed it over to Dodo, appointing him as the Grand General of the Expedition, leading Dudu and the main force of the Plain Red Banner and Bordered Red Banner to set off.

It is now December, and snowflakes are falling in Liaodong. According to normal combat schedule, troops should not be dispatched, but the emperor has already issued an edict, so Dodo has no choice but to set off to enter the border.

The horse's hoofprint left a black mark on the white snowflakes.

More than 10,000 cavalry and more than 20,000 warhorses set off from Yizhou out of Liaodong and sped along the Daling River from the left flank of the Mongol Kharachin towards Qingshankou.

After a few days, Dodo ordered his soldiers to rest for three days at their camp in Kharachin, in preparation for raiding the border.

In the Jurchen's temporary camp, Dodo, Dudu, and a group of generals from the two Red Banners were warming themselves by a fire and tearing apart mutton.

"If you ask me, we should go straight to Beijing from Qingshankou and scare the young Ming emperor," Shuo Tuo said, then burst into laughter.

These words drew laughter from the others.

Shuo Tuo was Yue Tuo's younger brother and the son of Dai Shan, the banner chief of the Plain Red Banner. He held an unusual position in the two banners. When Dorgon entered the pass last time, his elder brother Yue Tuo led the two banners, while Shuo Tuo was left in Shengjing and did not participate in the entry.

Dodo took a sip of wine and a bite of mutton: "Aren't you afraid of being surrounded and killed by the Ming army?"

Before Dodo set off, Dorgon had warned him to be careful of the Ming army. Three years ago, the Ming army had set up a large encirclement in several counties of Shuntian Prefecture. Now that three years had passed, the strength of the Ming army would definitely increase. So if things went badly, he should retreat and not linger in battle.

"The Ming army can make dumplings? They are suffering from natural disasters everywhere, and the entire area north of the Huai River is experiencing crop failures. Where would they get so much food? If they were resorting to cannibalism, the Ming court wouldn't be short of food." After saying this, Shuo Tuo laughed loudly again.

"General, if you say that my success three years ago was purely due to the Ming court's good luck in discovering our military route in advance, it was a lucky accident. But today is different. Our more than 10,000 cavalrymen only assembled and set off in the last few days. Even if they knew, it would be too late to send the message back to Beijing." Du Du said his opinion from the side, regarding the Ming army's last battle as a matter of luck.

"It depends on the situation. If we can capture Jizhou, we can then bring our troops to the gates of Beijing," Dodo said, looking at everyone.

He was the Grand General of this Southern Expedition, and he had the final say on the military operation plan. However, the army was composed of the Plain Red Banner and the Bordered Red Banner, so the opinions of some generals from the two banners were also taken into consideration.

Du Du and Shuo Tuo nodded, and Shuo Tuo said, "The General is right. If there are tens of thousands of troops stationed in Jizhou, we will not go in."

Sony, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up: "I heard a few days ago that there are 140,000 troops near the Ming capital. We should be careful."

Sony had previously traveled to the capital with his uncle, Xifu, to negotiate peace with the Ming emperor, and they had met. Sony always felt that the Ming emperor was strange and unfathomable. On his return to Liaodong, he discussed this matter with his uncle, Xifu, who also couldn't see through him. Therefore, Sony always attached great importance to the Ming emperor.

"Those Han Chinese love to boast. Before, Sarhu claimed to have 470,000 troops, but what happened? Only half of them. In my opinion, the 140,000 troops in the capital are only about 70,000, and they are all infantry," Shuo Tuo said, spreading his hands and looking at Sony.

"Sony is right, we need to be careful. Whether he has 70,000 or 140,000, we can break into Beijing this time, but we will not stay long!" Dodo said in a deep voice.

He wasn't stupid. Even if it was 70,000, it was still seven times their size. If they got entangled with the Ming army, they would definitely suffer heavy losses. He wasn't about to risk that.

A few days later, in the northern winter, it got light later than usual, and many people were still asleep when they were suddenly awakened by several cannon shots.

At this moment, Wu Aheng, the Governor-General of Jiliao, who was already fully dressed and preparing to inspect the city's defenses, was startled by the sudden sound of cannon fire. His expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed urgently, "Not good!"

After saying this, he ran to the governor's mansion, ordered the drums to be beaten and the gongs to be sounded: "Pass on my order, everyone go up to the city wall and defend the city."

In an instant, the anxious sound of drums and the piercing sound of gongs filled the city of Jizhou.

Many mid-level officers, including lieutenant generals and captains, arrived at the governor's mansion to await orders.

"Minister Wu! The beacon fire at the Great Wall has just been lit!" a lieutenant general reported.

"I didn't expect the Jurchens to invade the Great Wall in winter," another adjutant chimed in. Clearly, the Jurchens' winter invasion was beyond his expectations...