Chapter 473: The Great Decisive Battle

This arrangement was also Hong Taiji's last resort, a solution born of utter helplessness.

Hong Taiji truly didn't have enough men and couldn't spare any more. Otherwise, he really would have wanted to strike on two fronts at once and finish off the Great Ming outright.

In fact, if the Mongols had rebelled, Hong Taiji could have brought those dim-witted Mongols along with him, and then he would have had enough manpower.

But as things stood now, he couldn't count on the Mongols at all. It would already be a good thing if those Mongols didn't come and hit Hong Taiji themselves.

The reason Hong Taiji had sent men to the Tieling-Qinghe line was precisely to guard against the Mongols—who knew whether they might sneak in and strike from behind?

The Great Ming's alliance with the Mongol tribes certainly wasn't just so the Mongol tribes could sit on the sidelines and watch.

Hong Taiji didn't want to lose the Tieling-Qinghe line, so he could only send men to defend it and find a way to hold the cities. Otherwise, there would be trouble.

If Hong Taiji won on the eastern front but the western front was taken by the Ming army, retaking it would be difficult. So the western front couldn't be lost, and the eastern front had to be won as well.

And Hong Taiji knew his own situation well now. The reason he needed to connect with the Mongols was simply that he didn't have enough Jurchen manpower. After all, with a foundation of less than eighty thousand men, pulling out fifty thousand troops was no small matter.

In fact, the Jianzhou barbarians' strength was only so-so right now. In the original course of history, it wasn't until they took the Mongols, absorbed the Inner Khalkha, established the Mongol Eight Banners, and then set up the Han Army Eight Banners that their strength truly swelled.

Now, relying on the Jianzhou barbarians themselves, even though they had eight banners, that was only a little over forty thousand men. Under such circumstances, Hong Taiji couldn't possibly pull out too many troops.

The thirty thousand on the eastern front already made up six banners; there truly wasn't any more to give. And the western front still needed two banners. That was the reality of the situation, so this was the only way to arrange things.

Daišan looked at Hong Taiji, nodded calmly, and said, "Then we'll do as the Great Khan says."

And so the Jianzhou barbarians also began to mobilize actively.

Countless troops began to gather, and the pre-battle atmosphere was instantly stirred up.

Everyone knew that the time for the decisive battle had come again!

A decisive battle of life and death!

Nurhaci had just died. Although there was discord between superiors and subordinates and many contradictions remained, no one dared to make trouble at a time like this.

Both sides' forces marched to the battlefield, and war was on the verge of breaking out.

Meanwhile, on the grasslands on the other side.

The Inner Khalkha and Khorchin had also received word that the Great Ming had split its forces into two routes—one heading straight for the Qinghe and Tieling line, and the other attacking the Jianzhou Three Guards.

The Mongol tribes wanted to get a piece of the action, but they lacked the strength to do so.

Oba Taiji looked at Joriktu before him, his face somewhat worried as he said directly, "We don't know how the Ming army's campaign will turn out. We can't place all our hopes on them. If they lose, we'll be in trouble."

This was also what Joriktu was worried about. After all, they all knew the Ming army's fighting ability. For so many years, the Ming army had rarely won any battles against the Jianzhou barbarians.

If Nurhaci hadn't died, frankly, these Mongol tribes wouldn't have dared to cooperate with the Ming army. After all, he was a man of fearsome reputation—compared to him, the Ming army fell far short.

But now that Nurhaci was dead, the grassland tribes had turned things around.

Joriktu looked at Oba Taiji and said in a tone that was both reassuring and admonishing, "This is an opportunity. If we miss it, who knows when the next one will come. If the Ming army is defeated, Hong Taiji will definitely turn around and deal with us. When that happens, it won't be as simple as forming an alliance."

Back in those days, the grassland tribes had been at their most humiliated—their own leaders had been captured by others, forcing them to bow their heads. Now they had a chance to turn things around. Although the risk was great, they had to go for it. So Joriktu's stance was very firm.

In fact, this also had to do with the ambition Nurhaci had displayed.

That man had always wanted to absorb Khorchin. At first he talked about alliance—attacking the Ming together. But later he began threatening Khorchin, demanding that everyone join him in attacking Ligdan Khan.

If they all listened to Nurhaci, what difference would that make from being annexed and absorbed by him?

These grassland people didn't even submit to Ligdan Khan, so why would they submit to Nurhaci?

In the original history, Joriktu had indeed fallen out with Hong Taiji, only he hadn't been able to defeat Hong Taiji. Ligdan Khan had watched coldly from the sidelines.

After the five tribes of the Inner Khalkha were destroyed, those who fled to Ligdan Khan were killed outright, and their leaders were absorbed. That was also why Ligdan Khan had lost the people's support.

Now everyone looked down on Ligdan Khan, so no one counted on him. They would rather trust Nurhaci and the Great Ming than believe in Ligdan Khan.

Joriktu was full of confidence this time. He looked at Oba Taiji and said with considerable ambition, "Never mind everything else—let's swallow up the Doyan Three Guards first. The Great Ming is busy fighting Hong Taiji over there; they can't even take care of themselves, so there's no way they can come after us."

"Whether the Great Ming can win or not, let's grab the benefits first. As long as we swallow up the Doyan Three Guards, our strength will grow. Then, once we join forces, we won't have to fear Hong Taiji anymore."

Hearing this, Oba Taiji thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Oba Taiji understood even more clearly that no one could be relied upon. Hong Taiji couldn't be relied on, and the Great Ming couldn't be relied on either—either side might turn hostile at any moment.

Oba Taiji's earlier worries had already vanished, and he said with full confidence, "My troops are already assembled. Bring your men over too. This time, let's learn from the Great Ming—advance on both the eastern and western lines simultaneously."

"Whoever takes a place keeps it, so we don't end up in conflict at the end." Oba Taiji looked at Joriktu and said directly, "What do you think?"

"No problem." Joriktu nodded with a smile and said, "Each relies on their own ability."

The two had thus simply reached an agreement, and both sides began to mobilize their forces.

The great army swept down from north to south, charging straight into the territory of the Doyan Three Guards.

Their wars were much simpler by comparison. Fight a battle first—if you won, you plundered the other tribe; if they surrendered, you absorbed them, killed the leaders, and took in all the tribesmen, women, and children. None of this was a big deal at all.

As for those who didn't surrender, it was the cart-wheel execution—any male taller than a cart wheel was killed.

This kind of thing was all too common on the grasslands; they had long been used to it, so their progress was very fast.

On the Great Ming's side, Xiong Tingbi led his forces straight for the western line, marching at a very rapid pace.

They had to race against time to take the Tieling and Qinghe line as quickly as possible, lest their retreat be cut off.

If possible, Xiong Tingbi also wanted to support Sun Chuanting.

Sun Chuanting's side, on the other hand, wasn't in such a hurry along the way.

When the troops were gathering, they had used forced marches—the speed had been incredibly fast.

But once the assembly was truly complete and the troops left Shenyang city, heading for Dongning Guard, the pace immediately slowed down.

Along the way they stopped and started, looking nothing like an army going to war—they weren't even moving faster than people hurrying to a market fair.

At the front of the column, Sun Chuanting rode on horseback.

Flanking him were Lu Xiangsheng and Cao Wenzhao—the two most capable fighters in the army.

Besides them, there was also the strategist Liu Xian.

The several of them were in a relaxed mood, chatting and laughing all the way.

After the forces had originally been split, everyone hadn't been this happy. Now that they were together again and about to earn merit, their spirits naturally rose.

"Commander, are you sure Hong Taiji will really come? If he doesn't, then this play we're putting on will have been for nothing." Cao Wenzhao looked at Sun Chuanting and asked with a somewhat hesitant tone.

Cao Wenzhao wasn't questioning Sun Chuanting—he was genuinely anxious.

This great battle in Liaodong was an opportunity for men like them, military officers.

Last time Xiong Tingbi and his men won, how many people got promoted and ennobled?

How could men like them not care about that?

They had drilled for so long, taken so much money, been given such fine equipment—and still they were looked down upon. Ever since they arrived in Liaodong, that bunch from Liaodong had done nothing but make snide remarks.

Cao Wenzhao had long held a fire in his heart—he had to show those country bumpkins how real soldiers fought.

How dare they look down on the Son of Heaven's own troops?

If they went back without even fighting a single battle, having just marched around for show, that would be even more shameful.

Sun Chuanting glanced at Cao Wenzhao and said with a smile, "Getting anxious, are we?"

"Put your heart at ease. If Hong Taiji doesn't come to us, we'll force-march straight to Dongning Guard. Scouts have already been sent out fifty li ahead—rest assured."

"Then if we do meet him, let me take the lead." Cao Wenzhao patted his chest and said.

Hearing this, Lu Xiangsheng cut in directly: "Why should you take the lead? So that's what all your beating around the bush was about? Let me tell you—absolutely not. The vanguard mission is mine!"

Wu Xiang on the side said, "Both of you step back. It's always the two of you going at it—you're so strong, and he's so strong. I don't know which of you is stronger, but you both say you're stronger than me. Since you're both so formidable, why not let me take the lead this time, and you two cover me from behind?"

"Have you no shame at all, Old Wu?" Cao Wenzhao glared and said, "You never concede in ordinary times, and now to fight for the vanguard you'd say something like this? You truly have no bottom line!"

Watching the few of them argue, Sun Chuanting said nothing, just watching with a smile.

Ever since the Southwest War, he had hoped to have an army like this under his command. Now he finally had one—and it far exceeded his expectations. His heart was stirred with excitement.

These men were young calves who didn't fear tigers—and was he, Sun Chuanting, any different?

Everyone spread tales of how fearsome the Jianzhou barbarians' army was, but Sun Chuanting had never put the Jianzhou barbarians in his eyes. This time, he would teach them a proper lesson.

It was even better that these men were squabbling like this—young calves who don't fear tigers, morale running high. Let's use the chaos of wild punches to beat the old master.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing." Liu Xian on the side said, "In my view, they won't give you any vanguard battle, and they won't play at probing either—they'll just charge straight over and destroy us."

"For so many years, the Great Ming has never won a field battle, and those Jianzhou barbarians are still riding high on pride. Besides, we only have fifteen thousand men—how could we possibly be taken seriously?"

"Destroying us and then turning around to hit Xiong Tingbi—that's the real key. In the Jianzhou barbarians' eyes, we're just pampered soldiers, not worth a glance."

"Hmph!" Lu Xiangsheng gave a cold snort and said, "One of these days we'll knock their teeth out! Want to bite us? Dream on!"