Chapter 472: Fighting on Two Fronts

Sun Chuanting's plan was excellent, feasible in execution, and the final outcome would be highly favorable—so now the only question was whether there was the nerve to see it through.

The plan was submitted to Zhu Youxiao, and the decision naturally rested with him.

In truth, Zhu Youxiao didn't deliberate much at all—he simply chose to do it.

As the Emperor of the Great Ming, Zhu Youxiao knew full well the depth of the dynasty's foundations. If Liaodong could be won this time, the benefits to the Great Ming would be too numerous to count.

Victory in this campaign would not only reverse the momentum between the Great Ming and the Jianzhou barbarians, but also intimidate the Mongols.

Moreover, in the court, it would elevate the prestige of Zhu Youxiao as Emperor—after all, with the Emperor in Liaodong, it could be counted as personally leading the campaign in Liaodong and winning, which would also enhance the deterrent power of the Imperial Guard.

If this was won, the benefits really were many.

But what if it was lost?

As the saying goes, consider defeat before considering victory. According to Sun Chuanting's reasoning, once the two-front operation unfolded, Hong Taiji wouldn't have any attention to spare for the Tieling and Qinghe line.

This wasn't some stratagem, nor a test of whether Hong Taiji had courage. Because compared to the three Jianzhou garrisons, the Tieling and Qinghe line simply wasn't as important.

Although the Tieling and Qinghe line was also important, the degree of importance was different.

If Tieling and Qinghe were lost, the Jianzhou barbarians would hurt badly, but they could endure it; but if the three Jianzhou garrisons were lost, then things would be dire—their homeland would be gone, and their current homeland was also vulnerable to being taken out at any moment.

Under such circumstances, Hong Taiji had no choice—only one option: concentrate his forces to crush Sun Chuanting's contingent, then seize the opportunity to attack Liaoyang, or attack Shenyang.

And in Sun Chuanting's planning, without mobilizing the Liaodong forces, Liaoyang had enough men to defend it. As for Shenyang, it was the same.

Moreover, if Sun Chuanting were defeated, Xiong Tingbi could still fall back. In the end, the only losses would be Sun Chuanting's contingent—the worst outcome was total annihilation, the second worst was defeat and retreat; the best outcome was naturally victory.

So Sun Chuanting laid out the plan in great detail, but he didn't say whether this should be done—he only presented his own thoughts.

Clearly, although Sun Chuanting was young, he was experienced in officialdom. He knew he had neither the means nor the standing to make decisions on the Emperor's behalf.

All he could do was put forward his recommendation. The final outcome still required Zhu Youxiao to decide.

In fact, Zhu Youxiao would not disappoint Sun Chuanting—even Sun Chuanting himself thought so.

Glancing at Wei Chao standing beside him, Zhu Youxiao said, "You've been in Liaodong this long, and you're familiar with all the officials large and small here. This time, you'll go deliver the imperial edict."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Chao hastily agreed.

"Tell Sun Chuanting that I approve of what he proposed. The remaining five thousand men at Shanhai Pass are also transferred to his command. Additionally, the five thousand men under Lu Xiangsheng are to be recalled and transferred to Sun Chuanting. All fifteen thousand troops go to Sun Chuanting."

The original strategy of dividing forces had been formulated by Zhu Youxiao himself, and the purpose was simple. On one hand, to coordinate with Xiong Tingbi; on the other, to coordinate with Wang Zaijin, and if the opportunity arose, to seize Daning.

In Sun Chuanting's current plan, Daning was no longer important. As long as Tieling and Qinghe were taken, or one of the three Jianzhou garrisons, then the situation would immediately change—there would be no need to keep troops stationed in Guangning.

As for helping the Mongols—there was no way, they couldn't be helped. They could only rely on themselves; if they could win, they'd win, and if they couldn't, that was their bad luck.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Chao quickly said, "This servant will set out immediately."

In Zhu Youxiao's very nature, there was never a shortage of nerve to take action.

Although he was cautious, thought a great deal, and considered everything carefully, when a real opportunity presented itself, he would absolutely not hesitate.

With Zhu Youxiao's imperial edict, everyone at Shanhai Pass sprang into motion.

The five thousand Imperial Guards originally stationed here immediately began a forced march toward Shenyang. For these Imperial Guards, forced marches were simply a routine training exercise.

Their equipment was excellent—the cannons and rockets were all on carts, so their marching speed was unaffected. They had the wonder of leggings, making their marching speed extremely fast.

As for Lu Xiangsheng's contingent in Guangning, upon receiving the order, they didn't pause for a moment and headed straight for Shenyang city.

War clouds gathered thick over all of Liaodong; everyone was in tense preparation.

Within Shenyang city.

After the news came back, a smile appeared on Sun Chuanting's face.

Just as he'd guessed—His Majesty would definitely support him! This time he had to do an excellent job and absolutely not disappoint His Majesty!

And when Xiong Tingbi received the news, his expression wasn't nearly as pleasant.

First, worry; second, a touch of jealousy.

All along, Xiong Tingbi had considered himself the Emperor's confidant, deeply favored by His Majesty. But compared to Sun Chuanting, he truly still fell somewhat short. The Emperor's treatment of these Imperial Guards was truly beyond words.

When he met Sun Chuanting, Xiong Tingbi gave him a look and said expressionlessly, "Lord Sun, I still don't support your plan—I think it's too risky. But since His Majesty has already decided, we as your subjects naturally must give it our all."

"This time, I hope you won't disappoint me." Xiong Tingbi paused for a moment before continuing, "And rest assured, I'll immediately lead my men straight for Tieling and Qinghe, striving to take them."

Sun Chuanting nodded and said, "Rest assured, Lord Xiong—I will absolutely not disappoint you, nor will I disappoint His Majesty."

With that, their brief exchange was concluded; everything else would have to be settled on the battlefield.

Only after the results came out would the two have new exchanges.

And so, the two parted ways.

For Xiong Tingbi, the mission wasn't particularly heavy. Attacking Tieling and Qinghe presented no great difficulty—as long as the Jianzhou barbarians' reinforcements didn't come, the Great Ming's army would certainly have no problem taking Tieling and Qinghe.

Moreover, he had so many cannons—taking the cities was certainly without suspense. But Xiong Tingbi also had to race against time, because he was uneasy at heart.

If Sun Chuanting collapsed at first contact on the eastern front and was routed by Hong Taiji, Hong Taiji would very likely race toward the Tieling and Qinghe line to try to crush Xiong Tingbi—and then things would get troublesome.

So Xiong Tingbi had to speed up, striving to take the western front before the eastern front's fighting concluded.

The news quickly reached Hetu Ala city.

When Hong Taiji saw the report from the front lines, his expression turned very ugly.

Glancing at Daišan standing beside him, Hong Taiji said, "Elder Brother, it seems the news is confirmed?"

"Indeed, it's confirmed." Daišan nodded and said, "The men we sent can no longer contact the Khorchin and Inner Khalkha people—they've betrayed us. Our men still haven't returned."

Hong Taiji's face was extremely grim. Gritting his teeth, he said coldly, "This pack of shameless traitors!"

Though fury burned in his heart, Hong Taiji was helpless.

They've betrayed you—what can you do? March over and attack them?

Right now, you probably can't afford to worry about that.

"What movements are the Ming army making?" Hong Taiji looked at Daišan and asked with a dark face.

Hong Taiji had already made up his mind—this time, deal with the Ming army first, just like the Battle of Sarhu.

The Inner Khalkha and Khorchin were utterly inconsequential; as long as he annihilated the Ming army like at the Battle of Sarhu, these Mongol tribes would surrender to him again.

The Jurchen's enemy will always be only the Great Ming! Destroy them and everything else becomes easy!

Daišan looked at Hong Taiji and said: "The Ming army hasn't hidden its intentions at all. They've split into two routes and are coming at us with great fanfare. One route is led by Xiong Tingbi, who has mobilized over seventy thousand men, claiming to have a hundred thousand elite troops, driving straight toward the Tieling and Qinghe line. It's clear they intend to attack the Tieling and Qinghe line and take those two places back."

Hong Taiji's expression turned extremely ugly in an instant—he naturally understood what the Tieling and Qinghe line meant.

If Tieling and Qinghe fell, that meant his route to attack the Khorchin and Inner Khalkha would be blocked. At that point, he would be trapped here. Back then, his father had expended tremendous effort to break through the Great Ming's blockade.

"What about the other route?" Hong Taiji looked at Daišan and asked again.

"The commander of the other route is named Sun Chuanting, and he's come from the capital. This army is the Great Ming Emperor's personal force—reportedly a newly trained and reorganized army that enjoys great favor with the Great Ming Emperor. They set out from Shenyang city and are heading straight for Dongning Guard." Daišan said in a low voice.

Hong Taiji's expression grew even uglier; he felt unwell all over.

The Great Ming coming to attack the Three Jianzhou Guards with such overwhelming force made it plain they weren't afraid of him learning of their movements and had no intention of playing at surprise attacks.

Now Hong Taiji understood why the Great Ming was doing this. This kind of battlefield posture was, frankly, a naked open scheme.

Raising his head to look at Daišan, Hong Taiji asked directly: "Elder Brother, can we split our forces for battle?"

Daišan shook his head and said: "Xiong Tingbi's side has over seventy thousand men. If we don't concentrate our forces, it will be very hard to defeat him. Sending out twenty or thirty thousand men won't accomplish much."

Although the Ming army's capabilities weren't much to speak of, Xiong Tingbi's abilities were decent. Over this long period, Daišan and Xiong Tingbi had traded blows back and forth, and he knew Xiong Tingbi was quite capable.

If he sent out twenty or thirty thousand men, it would be hard to destroy Xiong Tingbi in one stroke—they could only get tangled up with him, and it would be easy for Xiong Tingbi to exploit any opening.

"On the eastern line, the Great Ming has sent fifteen thousand men." Daišan said directly: "The Great Ming has made it clear they want us to fight a decisive battle on the eastern front, and we have no choice. If we split off too few troops and something goes wrong on the eastern line, there will be trouble."

Hong Taiji pondered for a moment, then said: "Use thirty thousand men on the eastern line to devour those fifteen thousand and destroy the Great Ming Emperor's personal army. On the western line, send reinforcements to Tieling and Qinghe and have them hold the line for now."

"Once we've finished off the Ming army on the eastern front, we'll turn back around and deal with Xiong Tingbi."