Chapter 471: Divergence and Opportunity

Seeing that Xiong Tingbi was willing to talk with him, Sun Chuanting straightened up and put on an attentive expression. This was his sign of respect for Xiong Tingbi.

Xiong Tingbi glanced at Sun Chuanting, and the expression on his face improved considerably.

"The main place we'll be harassing this time is actually here." As he spoke, Xiong Tingbi pointed to a spot and said, "That is, the Tieling-Qinghe line. As long as we take this, we can cut off the Jianzhou barbarians' route west. They have always placed great importance on this area, and since our operation this time is mainly to coordinate with His Majesty's moves, this place is crucial."

Xiong Tingbi looked at Sun Chuanting and asked, "What do you think, Lord Sun?"

Sun Chuanting did not speak. Only after a moment of silence did he say, "Lord Xiong, what if they take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on us? What if they ignore Tieling and Qinghe and drive straight for Shenyang? What do we do then?"

Sun Chuanting had no worries about Xiong Tingbi's plan itself, after all, the entire affair was meant to coordinate with the Emperor's scheme.

Xiong Tingbi's strategy for dispatching troops had no problems, but there was another issue here — what if Hong Taiji ignored Tieling and Qinghe and drove straight for Shenyang?

One had to know that Hong Taiji and his men were currently situated at Hetu Ala, which in later ages would be Fushun — it was not far from Shenyang to begin with, so a direct strike was entirely possible; and the Tieling-Qinghe line lay at the northwest corner of Shenyang.

Upon hearing this, the expression on Xiong Tingbi's face also turned grave, for what Sun Chuanting said was not impossible.

If Hong Taiji ignored the Tieling-Qinghe line and drove straight for Shenyang, it would indeed be troublesome. This time his own side was conducting a feint — they would not actually attack Tieling or Qinghe — so they could only turn back to reinforce.

The Jianzhou barbarian army would then ambush them en route, and it would be a bitter battle; the situation would turn very bad. And if they did not turn back to reinforce, were they simply to abandon Shenyang city?

Xiong Tingbi certainly could not dispatch too few troops this time — if the numbers were too small, they would have no chance of victory in the open field.

If the two sides clashed, Xiong Tingbi would very likely be defeated before reinforcements could arrive — something he absolutely could not accept. And the troops he had trained could not simply be abandoned there either, so Xiong Tingbi hesitated.

If enough men were left to guard Shenyang, the feint would fail, and very likely the force sent out to lure the enemy would truly become bait and be devoured.

But if enough troops were sent out to attack, then Shenyang city would inevitably be left with weak defenses. At that point, Hong Taiji would be given an opening to exploit.

Whether Hong Taiji came to attack Shenyang city or forced Xiong Tingbi to turn back in reinforcement, he would have room to maneuver. In the end, Xiong Tingbi would still have to fight a battle against Hong Taiji out in the field — and that battle would not be an easy one.

In fact, the situation now was such that this approach would push Hong Taiji to a point where he had no choice but to fight with everything he had.

If Hong Taiji stubbornly held the Tieling-Qinghe line, he could only sit by and watch the Khorchin and Inner Khalkha ally with the Great Ming — a loss Hong Taiji could hardly accept.

If the three sides truly formed an alliance, with the Great Ming attacking Hetu Ala from the Shenyang line while the Khorchin and Inner Khalkha attacked the Tieling-Qinghe line from the north, Hong Taiji would be unable to attend to one without losing the other. So this battle, Hong Taiji could not retreat from.

Raising his head to look at Sun Chuanting, Xiong Tingbi asked, "Then do you have any good suggestions, Lord Sun?"

There was nothing condescending in this question, nor any displeasure — it was merely an ordinary inquiry.

At this moment, Xiong Tingbi no longer dared to underestimate Sun Chuanting. This young man had seen the flaws in his planning at a single glance.

Although Xiong Tingbi had confidence in Shenyang's defenses, believing that even if Hong Taiji came to attack, he could not take Shenyang city in a short time — perhaps when Old Xiong turned back to reinforce, he could even catch the enemy in a pincer from both sides.

But Xiong Tingbi also knew that Hong Taiji would absolutely never give him that chance. Even if Hong Taiji wanted to stop him from reinforcing, he would not station his men beneath the walls of Shenyang waiting for him.

Moreover, Xiong Tingbi could not take that risk. Whether his forces were annihilated or Shenyang city fell, neither outcome was acceptable. This was merely a feint to lure the enemy — not worth taking such a risk.

Sun Chuanting glanced at Xiong Tingbi and said, "Why not split the troops into two routes?"

The moment these words came out, the expressions on everyone's faces turned rather unpleasant.

Because in Liaodong, splitting forces was something with precedent — in the Battle of Sarhu, the troops were split into five routes with great fanfare, but what was the result?

They were picked off one by one and suffered a disastrous defeat. So in Liaodong, no one looked favorably upon splitting forces.

Moreover, everyone knew the state of Liaodong's troops — though numerous, there were none who could truly fight a hard battle. Under such circumstances, splitting into two routes was absolutely not a good strategy.

Xiong Tingbi glanced at Sun Chuanting, a look of doubt on his face.

He did not know whether Sun Chuanting had said this deliberately or because he truly believed it. After all, judging from his conduct just now, he did not seem like such a foolish man.

And Xiong Tingbi also trusted the Emperor. The current Emperor was a good ruler who knew how to judge people and assign them properly — evident from the fact that he had employed Xiong Tingbi himself. Such an Emperor should not employ a fool, so Sun Chuanting ought not to be that kind of person.

Could it be that he was simply a newborn calf unafraid of tigers? Was that really the case?

Xiong Tingbi looked at Sun Chuanting and asked directly, "Then may I ask how Lord Sun would split the troops?"

Sun Chuanting rose to his feet, walked to the front of the map, and reached out to point at a location, saying, "Split into two routes — one route strikes out to the Qinghe-Tieling line, and the other route goes here."

Hearing Sun Chuanting's words, everyone looked toward the position he indicated.

The next second, the faces of all present changed.

Of course they knew where that position was — they were all very familiar with Liaodong.

Going north from Liaoyang, the position Sun Chuanting indicated was Dongning Guard. If one looked at it on a map of later ages, this was Benxi and its urban area.

Of course, what shocked everyone was not this, but that beside Dongning Guard was Jianzhou Guard.

Jianzhou Guard was in fact the old lair of the Jianzhou barbarians. Because they worried that the position was too far forward and vulnerable to attack by the Great Ming, Nurhaci had moved his political center to Hetu Ala over the years. Hetu Ala was located in what later ages would call Xinbin County, Fushun, and the original location of the Three Jianzhou Guards had become the front line against the Ming.

No one had expected Sun Chuanting to want to attack Jianzhou Guard.

But following Sun Chuanting's words, everyone did come to realize this matter.

The location of Dongning Guard was indeed a deadly spot. If it were taken, the Ming army could advance all the way north and directly attack Hetu Ala. So Hong Taiji absolutely could not permit any loss here.

Everyone knew Hong Taiji's troop strength — he absolutely could not support fighting on two fronts; he could only concentrate his superior forces to defeat one side first.

If the Great Ming attacked Dongning Guard from Jianzhou Guard, then Hong Taiji would have no choice but to come to Jianzhou Guard's rescue, and could not possibly spare attention for the Tieling-Qinghe line.

Sun Chuanting swept his gaze around the room and said, "The art of war says: attack where the enemy must rescue. This is the place the Jianzhou barbarians must rescue. As long as we send troops out from the Liaoyang line to attack Dongning Guard and the Three Jianzhou Guards, Hong Taiji cannot possibly refuse to come to the rescue. Jianzhou Guard is their most vital spot."

"And the forces at the Tieling-Qinghe line can then take the opportunity to strike straight across — whether to recover territory or to feint, there will be no problem. So on this point, I believe splitting into two routes is the most suitable. One route attacks Tieling and Qinghe, while the other route attacks Jianzhou Guard."

"But with too few men, you won't be able to take it down either." Xiong Tingbi said with some hesitation, "Moreover, this place has no great walled cities. Fighting the Jianzhou barbarians out in the open is probably not a good approach."

At this moment, Xiong Tingbi gained an even deeper understanding of His Majesty's meaning.

Why defend? Why continue to defend even after Nurhaci had been destroyed?

Because the Great Ming was truly stretched thin in Liaodong — there were simply no elite troops or formidable generals. In a one-on-one fight they could not win; in a one-against-two fight they would likely suffer a minor defeat; in a one-against-three fight they might manage a draw.

Just like himself right now — leading seventy thousand men to attack the Tieling-Qinghe line, yet still worrying that the enemy might force a decisive battle. This feeling was truly stifling.

Xiong Tingbi glanced at Sun Chuanting and said, "If we split into two routes, very likely neither side will take anything in the end. Hong Taiji might well ignore the Tieling-Qinghe line and directly annihilate you at this position."

Xiong Tingbi pointed at the location of Dongning Guard and said, "Then take the momentum to attack Liaoyang. At that point, Liaoyang's defenses would be insufficient, and Shenyang would be unable to send reinforcements — very likely Liaoyang would be lost. Then this entire region would all be lost."

"There's no need to send out Liaoyang's troops." Sun Chuanting looked directly at Xiong Tingbi and said, "We'll go."

After these words came out, the room fell into dead silence.

One had to know that Sun Chuanting had only five thousand men. Attacking Dongning Guard with five thousand men would very likely end in being surrounded and annihilated.

Xiong Tingbi also understood Sun Chuanting's thinking — this fellow simply did not want to work together with him.

"No." Xiong Tingbi directly shook his head and said, "This way of fighting is far too dangerous. I won't allow you to do this. If there's even the slightest mistake, all of you will be wiped out."

Sun Chuanting glanced at Xiong Tingbi and said, "This is an opportunity."

"If what I've said can be accomplished, even if I can't take Dongning Guard and the three Jianzhou Guards, you can still take the opportunity to recover Tieling and Qinghe. I am one force, and I can count as the force that lures the enemy. Trading five thousand men for Tieling and Qinghe — is that not a fair bargain?"

Everyone present could do the math — this was absolutely a fair bargain.

But Xiong Tingbi could not agree. This was far too dangerous. His Majesty had sent the Imperial Guard Corps over, and if all five thousand men were thrown away here, how could Old Xiong answer to His Majesty when that time came?

And that was not how wars were fought — sacrificing five thousand men for nothing?

Though more people would die in a defeat, one still could not send five thousand men to their deaths. Who among them was not born of father and mother?

Xiong Tingbi shook his head directly, his attitude resolute as he said, "No, this absolutely will not do."

"Then let us petition His Majesty." Sun Chuanting looked at Xiong Tingbi and said, "Neither of us has the authority to decide this matter."

Upon hearing these words, Xiong Tingbi's expression turned very ugly.

Sun Chuanting was challenging Old Xiong's authority. But he also knew there was nothing he could do about the man. The other belonged to the Imperial Guard Command Office, and he had no power to control or deploy them.

The atmosphere in the room immediately grew heavy. Everyone was waiting for Xiong Tingbi to make his decision.

"Then we shall petition His Majesty." After saying these words, Xiong Tingbi turned and walked straight out.

He no longer wished to speak with Sun Chuanting. There was no point in continuing to talk with this man — the two sides held different opinions.

Sun Chuanting watched Xiong Tingbi leave and gave a helpless, bitter smile.

He knew that he had offended Xiong Tingbi by this. But on this matter, Sun Chuanting did not intend to back down.

First, Sun Chuanting did not think the Jianzhou barbarians were so terrifying. He had confidence in his own men and believed they could win.

Second, in Sun Chuanting's view, this was the best approach. With both sides advancing in separate columns, even if his own side suffered some losses, taking Tieling and Qinghe would still be excellent. If things went smoothly and he could attack the Jianzhou barbarians along this line, then he could recover Dongning and the three Jianzhou Guards.

Under such circumstances, the entire situation in Liaodong could be reversed.

First, at Liaoyang, with a fortress ahead of them to serve as a shield, a new city could be built there. If troops were dispatched again, this position could directly threaten Hetu Ala, and the right flank of Shenyang could also be secured. This was a very cost-effective bargain.

Most importantly, Sun Chuanting had confidence — he did not believe he would lose to the Jianzhou barbarians. He had great certainty that he could win this battle.

But this matter indeed had to be petitioned to His Majesty; one could not act recklessly.

Xiong Tingbi believed the Emperor would never agree, because this was precisely reckless action.

News from both sides was quickly sent to Shanhai Pass and delivered into Zhu Youxiao's hands at the first opportunity.

Clearly, the opinions of the two generals at the front had diverged. Aside from Zhu Youxiao, no one could resolve this matter.

Looking at the reports from both sides, Zhu Youxiao stood before the map and began to study it.

To be honest, Sun Chuanting's plan was very attractive. If they could strike through from Jianning Guard, that would truly be a perfect situation — the Great Ming would have won back a round in Liaodong.

Currently, the Jianzhou barbarians' disposition was to link Tieling, Hetu Ala, and the three Jianzhou Guards into one line — that is, linking the later-era Tieling, Fushun, and Benxi into one line — forming an encirclement posture against Shenyang and Liaoyang, making the situation very unfavorable for the Great Ming.

If they could take Tieling and the three Jianzhou Guards, then the Great Ming would achieve a counter-encirclement, and the offensive posture would instantly reverse.

If they could hold Tieling and Qinghe in their hands, the Great Ming would also have a base for advancing westward, allowing them to strike at the Khorchin and Inner Khalkha, presenting an effective check against them.

If one day in the future the two sides turned hostile, the Great Ming could dispatch troops from the Tieling and Qinghe line. And when the Khorchin and Inner Khalkha attacked the Great Ming, they would not target the Guangning line either.

The plan Sun Chuanting had proposed was a very tempting opportunity for the Great Ming.

(Daily plea for rewards!!!)