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

Chapter 116 Battle of Tongzhou

Less than half an hour after Zhu Jian issued the decree, the entire capital was bustling with activity.

The city gates were closed one after another, and the Imperial Guards began clearing pedestrians from the streets, ordering them to return home.

Shop assistants and owners on both sides of the road were quickly putting up boards, afraid that something might go wrong if they were too slow.

"Sigh, we just had a couple of good days, and now there's war again." A worker muttered under his breath as he was applying the board.

"Don't talk nonsense, hurry up and serve!" the shopkeeper scolded from the side. These days, you can get into trouble if you say the wrong thing.

The shopkeeper had just finished serving his food and gone inside when he heard a large number of cavalrymen entering the city outside.

The sound of horses' hooves pounding the wooden planks made them creak.

"Quickly, by His Majesty's decree, the entire army prepares for battle!" General Sun Yingyuan of the Divine Valor Guard reined in his horse and stopped it by the roadside, directing the cavalry to assemble in the direction of the eastern city.

"His Majesty has arrived!" A delicate voice broke the procession's advance.

Sun Yingyuan quickly dismounted and knelt down, saying, "This humble general, Sun Yingyuan, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"Rise," Zhu Jian said, stopping his horse.

The waiter pointed to the gap between the wooden planks, then turned and exclaimed, "The...the Emperor..."

77

The shopkeeper rushed forward and tightly covered the shop assistant's mouth, his heart filled with terror: "Are you out of your mind?"

'

This scene was playing out repeatedly in the shops along both sides of the street:

Before long, Zhu Jian, surrounded by a large number of cavalry, arrived at the east city wall. Looking into the distance, he saw thousands of cavalrymen lined up neatly under the east gate, ready to go out of the city at any time to engage in battle and launch a charge against the Jurchens.

"Bang!" A cannon shot rang out from the direction of Tongzhou.

"Your Majesty, the garrison in Tongzhou has begun adjusting the muzzle of its cannons," Sun Yingyuan said, pointing in the direction of Tongzhou.

Zhu Jian nodded slightly, leaned against the wall, and looked eastward.

Meanwhile, inside Tongzhou City, a large number of soldiers had already climbed the city walls, and the cannons had been adjusted to the correct angles.

Military and political minister Sun Chuanting inspected the cannons one by one, with Sun Kewang and Liu Wenxiu following closely behind.

Sun Kewang and Liu Wenxiu were surrendered generals from the peasant army. Now they are both battalion commanders and have been training new recruits under Sun Chuanting. They have long been eager for a battle. Now, Li Dingguo, Gao Jie, Liu Guoneng and others who came from the peasant army with them are already generals, whose status and position are far superior to theirs, which makes them very envious.

"Lord Sun, now that the Tartars are getting close, why don't I take some soldiers out of the city and launch a counterattack?" Liu Wenxiu suggested.

Sun Chuanting stopped and shook his head: "The capital is right behind us. Don't leave the city when the Tartars attack."

Sun Chuanting couldn't afford to gamble now, so he could only defend the city. After thinking for a moment, he thought, "If the Tartars retreat towards Jizhou Town, we can pursue them."

Sun Kewang and Liu Wenxiu exchanged a glance, then clasped their hands in a fist salute: "We will obey the military order."

As evening approached, before the setting sun had even dipped below the horizon, large numbers of Jurchen cavalry began to appear in the sight of the Tongzhou garrison. These Jurchens did not launch a full-scale attack on the city, but instead swept through many villages in the wilderness, replenishing most of their supplies.

Dodo Lema gazed at the setting sun in the distance, then turned and said, "We only have one day to attack Tongzhou tomorrow. If we cannot capture the city in one day, we will retreat north early the day after tomorrow and cross the border from the direction of Miyun."

Huang Taiji dispatched Dodo to the border this time to plunder and put pressure on the Ming court, not to attack the city. If too much time was spent before Tongzhou, it would be easy to be surrounded. Therefore, he wanted to use mobile forces to shake up the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line, so as to create an opportunity for Dorgon, Ajige, Jirgalang, Hauge and other front-line troops in Songshan, Jinzhou.

Just then, a group of fast horses galloped up to Dorgon from afar, dismounted, and knelt on one knee: "General, the two thousand ambushers of Jizhou Town have engaged in battle with the garrison of Jizhou Town, but have been defeated and are now retreating towards Tongzhou."

"understood."

"It seems that the Ming generals in Jizhou Town are not incompetent; they even know to scout before leaving the city to ensure the safety of the army."

"Shoto said."

Dodo nodded: "The entire army will set up camp and rest. We will attack the city tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir!" the generals beside him replied in unison.

Standing on the city wall, Sun Chuanting frowned slightly as he looked at the Qing army encamped in the distance.

He felt that this force of over ten thousand Tartars was far too arrogant, showing no regard for the Ming army and daring to set up camp directly outside the city. This was because they had accurately predicted the Ming army's lack of mobility.

Although Sun Chuanting thought this way, there was nothing he could do. The Ming army was indeed lacking in mobility. Even if Lu Xiangshan's army was called back to reinforce in advance, it would be too late. Each of the Tartars had two warhorses and could travel extremely fast. They could cover at least 180 li in a day. The Ming army, on the other hand, was mainly composed of infantry and could only travel no more than 80 li. They simply could not catch up with them or surround them.

Seeing this, Sun Kewang, who was standing next to Sun Chuanting, had a wicked idea: "Lord Sun, why don't I lead three thousand soldiers to raid the Tartar camp tonight?"

Sun Kewang felt he had a 50% chance of success in raiding the main camp, and even if he failed, he would likely retreat.

"I think it's feasible!" Liu Wenxiu agreed.

These two men fight like bandits, fighting if they can win and running away if they can't. But that won't work now. They are the imperial army, and there are only two options: win or lose. They can't run away.

"No, let the soldiers rest tonight so they can defend the city tomorrow!" Sun Chuanting refused.

It's wishful thinking for more than 10,000 cavalry to try to capture 15,000 Ming soldiers defending the city. As long as they have food supplies, they could take a month to capture it. But it's a different story once they leave the city. If the Tartars have a trap, it would be good if half of the 3,000 soldiers who leave the city survive. There is no need to take such a risky move now.

Moreover, with the capital city behind them, they cannot afford to take any risks.

Upon hearing this, Sun Kewang and Liu Wenxiu pursed their lips and clasped their hands in a fist salute: "As you command."

Their commander disagreed, and they had no choice but to follow military orders.

The next morning, just as the sun rose above the horizon, the sound of drums rang out from the Jurchen camp.

Tartar soldiers stood behind them on horseback. Battering rams and ladders had been built the night before, and cannons were in place.

"Warriors, if we conquer this city today, you can take whatever money and grain you want!" Dodo shouted, giving his final pep talk.

"Attack! Attack!" the Jurchen soldiers cheered.

Once the city is captured, they will obtain huge spoils of war. Tongzhou is not like other poor county towns; there must be a lot of money and grain in the city, which is very attractive to these Tartar soldiers.

"Attack the city!" With a command from Dodo, the first batch of over a thousand Jurchen soldiers rushed towards Tongzhou City.

The cannons also fired at the city walls, attempting to suppress the Ming army's artillery fire.

A dozen men pushed battering rams toward the east gate of Tongzhou. The Ming soldiers guarding the city wall lit their muskets as the Jurchen soldiers approached, making a series of cracking sounds.

After only a short time of fighting, dozens of Ming soldiers on the city wall were killed, and the Jurchens also suffered dozens of casualties, but the Jurchen offensive continued...

The cannons, which were firing fiercely to suppress the city walls, also began to adjust their muzzles and bombard the area near the east gate of Tongzhou.

Under the bombardment of cannons, cracks have appeared in the rammed earth city wall near the east gate of Tongzhou, which is covered with blue bricks.

>