Chapter 413: Speculation

()ps: *I'll be away during the National Day holiday, and my return date is uncertain. I hope to update more in October, and the owed chapters will be made up before the book is finished. Happy National Day to all readers, and may those traveling have a great time.

Muchang Post, the place that once blocked the Later Jin troops, had now become a Later Jin encampment. As the narrowest point of the Jinzhou Isthmus land route, it was destined to be a contested ground.

Since the Later Jin troops entered Lüshun, three hundred armored soldiers and over three hundred Mongols had been stationed here. From the twenty-second day, an additional five hundred armored soldiers were added, garrisoned near the ruins of Muchang Post to ensure the passage here remained open.

On a hilltop northwest of Muchang Post, Yoto observed the sea. Several sailing ships were anchored there, two of them bird-boats. High on their masts hung lookout buckets, and inside one, a man was observing with a tube-like object.

Yoto knew that object was called a telescope. Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng's former army had them on their red-barbarian cannons; it could bring distant things closer. It was said to have come from the red-barbarians. Yoto had seen them many times in Lüshun this time. The Dengzhou garrison seemed to have quite a few telescopes, often used by people peering from the waist and summit of West Official Mountain.

The military utility of the telescope was obvious, but never having used one, Yoto found it hard to imagine the scene inside the lens. The things of the Dengzhou garrison always carried an air of mystery.

This time, Hong Taiji had drawn two armored soldiers from each niru and given them to him to bring to Muchang Post, ensuring the rear route was safe. That night, when Hong Taiji announced the withdrawal, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Attacking such a strong fortress had exceeded the Later Jin's national strength. Before even breaching the first earthen wall, they had lost over three thousand true Jurchens, more than seven thousand of the forty thousand bondservants, and some wounded who could not survive the journey back to central Liaodong. The losses were heavy and nothing was gained; this winter would be very hard to endure.

"Master, another small boat is heading north." The voice of Bordered Red Banner beise Boorjin rang out. Yoto glanced at the sea; three small boats were rowing northward. He nodded to Boorjin. Soon a squad of armored soldiers rode north, following those three small boats.

Yoto now understood the Dengzhou garrison's method of warfare: maintain contact at all times. Their contact relied on continuous small-scale attacks, which restricted the Later Jin's withdrawal from the earthen wall. If their strength weakened to a certain degree, it would easily be probed and discovered. Yoto reckoned that Hong Taiji's plan to quietly disengage from the earthen wall would not go smoothly. If they simply abandoned the wall, the Dengzhou garrison would immediately judge the Later Jin's intent. Once their cavalry was unleashed, when it came time to retreat, no banner lord would be willing to serve as the rearguard.

"The Bordered White Banner's position was breached?" Chen Xin raised his head in surprise. Liu Po nodded with certainty.

Chen Xin immediately stood up, his eyes fixed on the map on the wall as he asked, "Are there follow-up units that can be committed?"

"Only one company from the Second Regiment. This subordinate was only preparing a small-scale attack and did not mobilize the cavalry or dragoons. The reserves were also insufficiently prepared. I never imagined the Bordered White Banner's position would be breached so easily. This is this subordinate's fault. That company commander also did not anticipate it; they were still very hesitant when they attacked up the earthen wall. From what this subordinate saw at the gate tower, their company commander's banner crossed the earthen wall passage and stayed for about half a quarter of an hour, only withdrawing after the surrounding niru came to reinforce."

Chen Xin waved his hand to interrupt him. "Mobilize the entire First Guards Division to attack the Bordered White Banner's defense line. Have West Official Mountain observe closely. If the Later Jin dispatches reinforcements from the rear, then withdraw. If the Later Jin moves reinforcements from other positions on the earthen wall, then commit the combat engineers and the Second Guards Division to attack the position of the Ujen Cooha in the center."

"Does my lord mean their frontline strength is decreasing?"

"This is not a good sign. The Jianzhou bandits have tunnels behind the earthen wall, and their units frequently rotate defenses, coming and going unpredictably. Only by increasing the intensity of our attacks will the feedback be accurate. The Second Battalion on West Official Mountain is to commit some forces to the northern slope to pin down the Later Jin's right-wing troops. The naval battalion is to build a pontoon bridge on the Lüshun River. Detach one division from the Second Battalion to assemble on the western slope of West Official Mountain and observe the troop movements in the Jianzhou bandits' main camp. The eastern slope is to ensure the road at the foot of West Official Mountain remains clear. Have the cavalry and dragoons assemble on the left flank. The Third Battalion on Mount Huangjin is to conduct two company-level attacks today to pin down the Jianzhou bandits' left wing. Tonight, commit half of the detachment teams to attack. Contact must be maintained at all times. Their earthen wall defense line is several li from their main camp; it won't be so easy for them to withdraw quietly."

"This subordinate will arrange it immediately. Additionally, this subordinate plans to dispatch extra special service teams to scout Muchang Post, Nanguan, and other areas."

"Bite down on them. Hong Taiji has already shown intent to retreat. A retreating army is weak. Once we begin the pursuit, we must chase them to Jinzhou. The Jianzhou army has no will to fight. No banner lord will be willing to stay in Jinzhou. Ensure Jinzhou is not dismantled by them."

After noon on the twenty-second day of the eighth month, the Dengzhou garrison launched intermittent attacks across the entire front and began building a pontoon bridge on the west side of West Official Mountain. Horns blared in unison from the Later Jin main camp. Large numbers of cavalry rushed to the battlefield, and about five hundred men of the Plain Yellow Banner arrived on the west bank of the Fuzhou River to block the Ming army from crossing.

Hong Taiji's great banner arrived at the foot of the northern mountain. His mood was deeply despondent. Today's situation showed that the Dengzhou garrison, through continuous probing, had already detected changes in the earthen wall's troop strength. The Ming army on West Official Mountain could easily observe the number of troops dispatched from the main camp and thus judge the number of men on the earthen wall. Therefore, he could only abandon the method of quiet withdrawal and instead use large-scale cavalry to cover the retreat of the men from the earthen wall. Although both were retreats, with this method, the defensive forces on the earthen wall would certainly suffer considerable losses when disengaging from the Ming army's attacks, incomparable to the step-by-step covert withdrawal he had planned.

"Great Khan, if Dorgon had not withdrawn the White Armor Soldiers without authorization, how could the Dengzhou garrison have breached the earthen wall? Dorgon disregarded the strategy the Great Khan previously imparted and completely ignored the safety of the entire army. He should be punished at the Deliberative Council."

Sonin, standing nearby, was full of indignation. Retreating before the enemy was easily detected and would invite pursuit. Moreover, the bondservants in each banner were very unstable; every retreat required strict oversight by armored soldiers. Such a long front line simply could not ensure safety; they could only gradually reduce numbers during rotation. Hong Taiji had ordered each banner to retreat in steps, with the White Armor Soldiers placed at the very rear to cover, ensuring the earthen wall's security. Today, a batch of bondservants had retreated with ox-carts and horse-carts. These bondservants were able-bodied laborers among the Han people, a resource the Later Jin was unwilling to abandon. Hong Taiji had hoped to let these less mobile elements withdraw first.

Last night, Dorgon had withdrawn the White Armor Soldiers without authorization, allowing a feeble Dengzhou garrison attack to break through the earthen wall. Although they were later driven out, the Dengzhou garrison's subsequent actions had clearly intensified their probing, firmly pinning down the earthen wall's defensive forces.

Hong Taiji nodded slightly. Dorgon had to be punished. Dodo had also actually withdrawn his White Armor Soldiers, but the number of armored soldiers he left behind was sufficient, whereas Dorgon's defense line appeared very weak due to the severe losses at Fuzhou.

Since the beginning of the year, his opinion of Dorgon had sharply declined. The command at the Battle of Fuzhou showed no brilliance, and now, facing a strong enemy, he was timid and hesitant. None of this was the performance of an outstanding general.

In the original history, the so-called brilliant and ambitious Dorgon had a mediocre battle record before entering the pass. His performance when raiding Shandong was passable, but when facing the main force led by Hong Chengchou, his true colors were revealed. He received major punishments for cowardice in battle at least twice. Once was for his ineffective siege of Jinzhou, where he was repeatedly repelled by the Ming army and continuously requested Hong Taiji to withdraw. The most serious was in the seventh year of Chongde, during the siege of Jinzhou, when facing an attack by Ming army retainers, Dorgon, Dodo, and Haoge fled in disarray, taking the White Armor Soldiers and escaping into the trenches, while other armored soldiers, led by Asangxi, fought back bravely and repelled the Ming army. These three uncles and nephews not only shielded their own guard troops and claimed the credit for themselves, but also falsely accused Asangxi of retreating. Jirgalang, who was then Minister of Justice, also covered for the three of them, and despite knowing the truth, still arrested and imprisoned Asangxi.

This matter was only discovered by Hong Taiji a year later. Enraged by these pig-like teammates, Hong Taiji punished over seventy officials above the rank of jalan ejen, including fifteen gūsa ejen alone. The officials involved included three banner lords, gūsa ejen, guard commanders, the Minister of Justice, and various ministers. It was a major political earthquake in the Later Jin court, and it left Dorgon utterly disgraced.

This was Dorgon's level of ability. Dodo, who presided over the ten-day massacre in Yangzhou, was even more unremarkable. Yet later, both could be called famous generals of their era, dragging down the average standard of ancient famous generals considerably. These two brothers were somewhat stronger in intrigue, but in warfare, they were far inferior to their elder brother Ajige, and even among the Eight Banner lords, they ranked near the bottom.

Hong Taiji asked Sonin, "What is the situation with the Dongjiang army and the Fuzhou area?"

"The day before yesterday, the Dongjiang army attacked Huanggu Island Fort again, with a total force of around three thousand, including Mao Chenglu from Guanglu Island and Shen Shikui's troops from Pi Island, who crossed the Yalu River and raided villages and forts along the way. A new group of Dengzhou soldiers has appeared near Fuzhou. They are attacking grain transport teams everywhere. Just yesterday alone, over thirty ox-carts and donkey-carts were burned, twelve surplus men were killed, and over fifty aha were taken."

"Where did they come from?"

"They likely landed by boat between Jinzhou and Fuzhou. According to those who escaped, these men use slightly shorter firelocks, each also carries a blade and a short gun, some carry bows, and they seem not to be wearing armor."

Hong Taiji frowned and said, "Not wearing armor means it's for ease of escape. The terrain between Jinzhou and Fuzhou is mountainous and undulating; catching them won't be easy. Do not spread this news. The withdrawal must be expedited."

At that moment, horn signals sounded from West Official Mountain. The Dengzhou troops on the western slope withdrew back to the summit and reinforced the northern slope, merging with the troops that had been there all along, pinning down the Later Jin's right wing. The Later Jin troops by the Lüshun River could only remain there, because the naval force was still building the pontoon bridge. If these Later Jin troops wanted to return to the battlefield, they would need to detour to the crossing point at their camp area. This was the advantage of interior lines in defense.

Gao Hongzhong, who was accompanying nearby, watched and felt only that the Dengzhou garrison was deploying methodically and the Dengzhou soldiers fought bravely. But the Later Jin were also brave. The greatest difference was that sense of orderly precision, which filled Gao Hongzhong's heart with deep worry.

After thinking for a moment, he said to Hong Taiji, "Great Khan, if we are to employ that stratagem of sowing discord, then Jinzhou must still be defended. We cannot withdraw all the way back to Fuzhou. Otherwise, before the Ming Emperor even punishes Chen Xin, he will have already recovered Jinzhou, rendering this stratagem useless."

Hong Taiji shook his head and said, "This matter is already underway; its success depends on heaven. When we decided on the stratagem of sowing discord, now that we must withdraw, if we encounter pursuit, the morale of the various armies will be unstable. I will not gamble with the lives of my warriors on a single throw. When we reach Jinzhou, we will decide based on the battle situation."

Having failed to have his first plan accepted, Gao Hongzhong immediately continued, "This slave has another method. From Chen Xin's actions in Dengzhou, it can be seen that he has the heart of an ambitious overlord. His past promotions have also relied on military merit. To the Ming court, as long as our Great Jin exists, Dengzhou becomes increasingly important. Now that our withdrawal has been discovered by him, the Great Khan could send someone to explain the pros and cons to him. Making some exchanges would not be out of the question. Presumably, Chen Xin is an intelligent man. If this can secure the safe return of the main army, it would be worth it."

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