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

Chapter 115 Circumventing Jizhou, Martial Law Declared in the Capital

"I believe that the number of Jurchens entering the pass this time will not be too large. We will defend Jizhou City to the death. If Jizhou City falls and the Jurchens march on the capital, think about your heads and your families!" Wu Aheng's tone was sharp and threatening.

From the first year of the Chongzhen reign to the tenth year, every time the Jurchens invaded the border and besieged the capital, many generals and officials lost their heads. Only in the eleventh year of the Chongzhen reign, three years ago, were the Jurchens repelled without anyone being punished, and many soldiers were even rewarded after the war.

The only difference is that last time the imperial court was prepared, which allowed them to catch the Jurchens' two armies off guard. But this time, the Jurchens caught them off guard.

"We will obey your orders!" The generals in the mansion clasped their hands and said in unison.

The sun had just risen, bringing a touch of warmth to the earth.

Just then, the guards on the north city wall spotted the Qing army rushing from the direction of the Great Wall.

Tens of thousands of warhorses galloped wildly, kicking up billowing smoke, which made the defenders of Jizhou gasp.

Since the eleventh year of the Chongzhen reign, Jizhou Town has always had 12,000 garrison troops. The city walls were not completely repaired, and the military equipment was not updated. Only the food and pay were guaranteed, which improved their combat effectiveness to some extent.

Governor-General Wu Aheng of Jiliao pressed his palms against the cold battlements, his eyes fixed on the approaching Qing troops in the distance, and shouted, "Cannons, prepare!"

Upon hearing this, the flag signalman nearby quickly changed the flags and issued orders to the troops in the distance.

"Bang!" A cannon fired first, adjusting the firing range.

The huge shell landed on the ground, splashing up a cloud of dirt, and rolled forward a distance before coming to a stop.

When the Jurchens reached the city walls, they dismounted, dragged cannons from their wagons, and began bombarding the walls.

Both sides opened fire with their cannons, and the sound of cannons filled the air.

The Jurchens used local materials to build siege ladders, and the first wave of a thousand-man echelon rushed towards Jizhou City under the cover of cannons.

The defending soldiers fired their three-eyed muskets at the city below, while the Jurchen soldiers below also fired back at the city. In a short time, both sides suffered heavy losses.

"Minister Wu, this Qing army's firepower is too fierce, and our casualties are too heavy," a lieutenant general said, running up to Wu Aheng, panting heavily.

"No matter how heavy the casualties, we must hold on!" Wu Aheng said through gritted teeth.

He couldn't retreat, nor dared he. If the Jurchens had a large army behind them and occupied Jizhou Town, it would cut off the supply line of the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line. He dared not gamble.

Wu Aheng was unaware that Lu Xiang-sheng had led 70,000 new troops to Luanzhou to guard the rear of Shanhaiguan and the Leting supply wharf.

The grain supplies for Guan Ning Jin are now transported north from the south via the Grand Canal. The grain ships will transfer from Tianjin to the Wei River, then go out to sea to resupply at Leting, and then travel along the coastline all the way to the dock in Guangning City before stopping. They are not transported from the capital to the Guan Ning Jin defense line at all.

Dorgon and Dudu, who were directing the Qing army's attack on the city from a distance outside the city, frowned slightly as they watched the exceptionally fierce battle.

"General, there are about 10,000 people in Jizhou City. It will be difficult to attack them if they don't leave the city," Sony said from the side.

In his view, given the situation, they should consider retreating or bypassing Jizhou, rather than launching a full-scale attack.

Dodo thought for a moment and nodded slightly. Originally, he planned to retreat beyond the Great Wall if he couldn't conquer it, but now he didn't want to leave. If he retreated now, he would be punished by the emperor, especially since Dorgon had already retreated once before.

"Du Du, I will leave you two thousand men to ambush the Jizhou army that comes out of the city to rescue the capital."

"Shuo Tuo, Sony, we will bypass Jizhou and head towards Beijing along the Li River."

"Yes, sir!"

Afterwards, the Jurchens left behind hundreds of corpses, sounded the retreat, and fled westward along the outskirts of Jizhou City.

Wu Aheng saw the Jurchens retreating and hadn't even had time to catch his breath when he saw them heading west. He was startled and thought, "This is bad. It looks like the Jurchens are going to bypass Jizhou."

"They're heading to the capital," said the adjutant beside him, pointing to the Jurchen troops heading west.

"Pass on my order: assemble the troops and march out of the city to intercept them!"

"Minister Wu, beware of a trap! It's possible the Jurchens are trying to lure us out of the city!" the military advisor hurriedly said.

It was wishful thinking for these 10,000-plus men to capture the capital, but whether the emperor would execute them for poor performance when they reached the city walls was anyone's guess.

"If this Jurchen army reaches the gates of the capital, do you know what crime that would constitute?" Wu Aheng asked.

"If they lure us out of the city, the consequences of our defeat will be the same!" the adjutant said.

Upon hearing this, Wu Aheng was caught in a dilemma. He felt it was a dead end. If he tried to stop them, there might be a trap, or he might die if he failed to stop them, or he might die if he didn't.

Thinking of this, Wu Aheng looked at the garrison carrying the fallen soldiers down from the city walls and sighed, "Send out some scouts to find out the situation first."

These were all light cavalry, each with two warhorses, and their speed was extremely fast. Even if they went out of the city to intercept them, if these Jurchens did not turn back, they would not be able to catch up. If there was an ambush, and they were charged and divided by the cavalry, they would die even more miserably.

After much deliberation, Wu Aheng decided that, to be on the safe side, it was better for him to die alone than to take these more than ten thousand people with him.

"Yes, Your subordinate will arrange scouts immediately." The adjutant hurriedly ran down the city wall and arranged for scouts to go out and scout. If there was no ambush, even if they couldn't catch up, they could still go out of the city to rush to the capital for reinforcements.

This would also serve to demonstrate to the imperial court that the garrison of Jizhou was not cowardly, but truly had no other choice.

The following morning, an urgent memorial was sent swiftly to the capital, the sound of horses' hooves kicking up dust on the main streets.

Wang Chengen, carrying the urgent report, rushed into the Wuying Hall.

His voice was urgent: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, an urgent report from Jizhou!"

Regular military reports do not use the word "urgent"; it is only used in urgent situations.

Zhu Jian picked up the report and read it quickly, then closed the urgent report.

His brow furrowed slightly: "Issue an imperial decree: close the gates of the capital and declare martial law in the capital!"

"Tang Tong, the general of Miyun Town, was transferred to lead 5,000 soldiers to Shunyi, Sun Chuanting led Lieutenant General Sun Kewang, and Liu Wenxiu led 15,000 new troops to Tongzhou."

"Sun Yingyuan, the commander-in-chief of the Divine Valiant Guard of the Western Hills Camp, and Hu Dawei, the commander-in-chief of the Divine Valiant Guard, are hereby transferred to the capital with their respective troops!"

"This servant obeys the decree!"

Zhu Jian patted the urgent report lightly in his palm and paced back and forth in the hall.

Thinking to himself: These Jurchens enter the pass in winter, taking an unconventional route. Wu Aheng reported that the Jurchen population was only over ten thousand.

After thinking for a long time, I think the most likely scenario is that the Jurchens didn't gain any advantage from the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line, so they sent an army of over 10,000 to raid the border and disrupt the capital region and the Guan-Ning-Jin defense system.

Zhu Jian has no choice but to defend. Although the Imperial Guards have the strength to fight the Jurchen soldiers in the field, they do not want to expose themselves yet and can only use them to guard the capital.

If Lu Xiangshan hadn't led 70,000 troops to Luanzhou to protect the rear of Shanhaiguan, and if Shanxi hadn't been holding back 50,000 troops, he would have already annihilated that army.

But there's no time to make any more transfers now.

Zhu Jian glanced at the urgent report again and muttered to himself, "Ten thousand cavalry, more than twenty thousand warhorses, the Jurchens are truly wealthy..."

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