Chapter 1753: Nobles! Flee Toward the Enemy!

When Wei Zaode heard Zhu Youjian's words, his heart trembled with fear. The reason he had dared to come out of the Shunyi fortress was not out of any great loyalty to the Great Ming, but because from the walls of Shunyi he had witnessed the Later Jin army cross the Ji Canal, and had also learned that Ming night-patrol cavalry had swept the area west of the Ji Canal.

Moreover, the 1,000 Tongzhou pikemen and archers Wei Zaode led out of Shunyi county town to search west of the Jizhou Canal — the act looked loyal and righteous, but in truth it carried little risk.

But following Zhu Youjian to Tangzhi Mountain to fight a decisive battle against Hong Taiji was a different matter. Hong Taiji had fifty or sixty thousand troops under his command, and all of them were ferocious slave-bandits!

If the Tongzhou and Shunyi militia left their fortresses, how could they possibly hold off so many slave-bandits?

The loyalty of the trembling Wei Zaode had been proven by history, and Zhu Youjian had no doubt of it, so he did not bother asking his opinion. At worst, he would die a martyr! Wei Zaode was so loyal that he would surely be willing to die for the Great Ming!

After casting two approving glances at Wei Zaode, Zhu Youjian borrowed the dim light of a lantern inside the ruined temple and wrote out an imperial rescript on a blank memorial form with a brush. After affixing the seal, Zhu Youjian tossed the rescript to Wei Zaode, then ordered Hei Wentao to escort him out of the ruined temple and send him off at once to Shunyi to mobilize troops.

Speed is the soul of war!

And speed in war does not only mean marching as fast as possible — it includes all other military actions as well: mobilization, the assembly of forces, the commitment of troops to battle, the deployment of troops on the field. In short, every action must be carried out as quickly as possible.

To strike the slow with the swift — that is the highest stratagem.

And the cavalry Zhu Youjian had at hand was certainly swift. The main cavalry force led by Hei Yunlong and Zhao Shuaijiao would arrive very soon, and then Zhu Youjian would have around 20,000 elite cavalry!

But the more than 60,000 infantry led by Yuan Chonghuan, Zhang Fengyi, Hong Chengchou, He Kegang, and the others could not move so fast. If Zhu Youjian waited for all his forces to reach Shunyi before advancing on Tangzhi Mountain, Hong Taiji would gain at least a day and a half to two days.

One must not underestimate that day and a half to two days. With that much time, Hong Taiji could not only build fortifications and lay ambushes at Tangzhi Mountain, but could also break through the Modaoyu pass — the Modaoyu section of the Great Wall was under the jurisdiction of the West Route of Ji Garrison, commanded by a Vice Regional Commander, and as for the state of its defenses, Zhu Youjian held little hope. If the garrison could hold for a single day without fleeing, they would have earned their pittance of military pay from the court.

And once the Later Jin army broke through the Modaoyu border wall, they could move all the livestock, people, goods, grain, and so on that they had plundered in the battle at the pass to beyond the wall.

Though not much — not enough to cover the cost Hong Taiji had invested in launching this war — it would be enough to pay the Later Jin army's way home. It could even provide a little wheat to the Kharchin Mongol tribes beyond the Ji Garrison border wall.

One must not underestimate the "travel expenses" for going home and the life-saving wheat for the Kharchin Mongols. If there were no "travel expenses" and no way to supplement the Kharchin Mongols' rations, Hong Taiji would treat the Kharchin Mongols themselves as the source of his "travel expenses"! He would not only seize the last rations of the Kharchin Mongol tribes, but would also carry off the Kharchin Mongol people, taking them away from the Yan Mountains so they would not fall into Ming hands.

And once the Kharchin Mongol tribes left the Yan Mountains, it would not be so easy for them to return!

Because Zhu Youjian would very soon establish Yanshan Garrison and Liaoxi Garrison in the Yan Mountains (this Liaoxi Garrison would not be set up in the Liaoxi Corridor, but in the Liaoxi mountain region), and would also organize the Kharchin Mongols who submitted to him into the Duoyan Myriarchy Ordo.

With Yanshan Garrison, Liaoxi Garrison, and the Duoyan Myriarchy Ordo, Zhu Youjian could win true defensive depth for the weak Ji Garrison Great Wall line — in his previous life, Zhu Youjian had defended the Liaoxi Corridor strictly and laid down a defensive depth hundreds of li thick for Shanhai Pass, but in doing so he had lost the possibility of establishing depth beyond the Ji Garrison Great Wall, and so the Later Jin army had broken through the passes many times. A profound lesson!

In this life, Zhu Youjian had absorbed that profound lesson from his previous life and was determined to abandon the 400-li "sea defense line" in the Liaoxi Corridor and hold only the single pass of Shanhai Pass. At the same time, he would use the troops and military funds thus saved to establish new garrisons beyond the Ji Garrison Great Wall, so that they could protect the Ji Garrison border wall.

And the key to establishing the Yanshan and Liaoxi Garrisons lay in the allegiance and survival of the 36 Kharchin Mongol tribes.

Therefore Zhu Youjian could not let Hong Taiji withdraw at his leisure, nor could he wait for the more than 60,000 infantry to arrive. He had to engage the Later Jin army in the Tangzhi Mountain area!

This was also why he had mobilized the Tongzhou and Shunyi militia to join the battle — he needed these militia to haul the side-carts and anchor the line for the cavalry. Ming cavalry, after all, were not steppe cavalry; they were still accustomed to fighting in coordination with infantry. Only when infantry formed a solid field position to provide shelter and support could the cavalry feel secure.

After issuing orders to Gao Hongtu and Lu Zhenfei, Zhu Youjian did not wait for their replies. Once the main cavalry force led by Hei Yunlong and Zhao Shuaijiao arrived, he began fording the Ji Canal.

Just as in the previous battle at the Yu River outside Datong, Zhu Youjian again rode at the very front, leading more than 3,000 cavalry across the river first. Then, without waiting for the entire main force to finish crossing, he began pursuing the Later Jin army as it withdrew toward Tangzhi Mountain.

The distance from the Shunyi section of the Ji Canal to Tangzhi Mountain was not far — a mere twenty-some li, which for cavalry was almost the blink of an eye.

And although the main body of the Later Jin army led by Hong Taiji was also cavalry, they were marching with large quantities of plundered

livestock, people, goods, and grain, so their speed was not fast. Though they had set out more than half a night earlier than the cavalry led by Zhu Youjian, they arrived at Tangzhi Mountain almost at the same time.

Hong Taiji did not even have time to deploy his great army before Zhu Youjian's cavalry was already upon his rear!

Hearing wave after wave of gunfire coming from behind, a shadow settled over Hong Taiji's heart. The lightning speed of the Ming cavalry had somewhat exceeded his expectations.

And lightning speed often meant elite troops!

"Father Khan," Hooge, who had been riding beside Hong Taiji the whole time, now edged closer. "The southern army has come very fast this time! Can the Great Beile—"

Hong Taiji snorted and said in a low voice, "Hooge, what are you saying? Do you not trust the Great Beile? He has 2,000 cavalry of the Plain Red Banner and 3,000 Mongol cavalry under Seleng — there will be no problem! Let us hurry and form our battle line!"

"Zhe!"

Hong Taiji had fifty or sixty thousand troops at hand, more than half of them Mongol auxiliaries with no discipline to speak of. There were also vast quantities of supplies and captured people. If he did not arrange things properly, everything would fall into utter chaos.

So when he discovered that Zhu Youjian's cavalry was pressing hard on his heels, he immediately sent the Great Beile Daishan with 5,000 men to cover the main force. The gunfire just now had been Daishan's Mongol cavalry, sent out to keep watch in the rear, being shot at by the Ming black guns!

Watching the cavalry that had fired their black guns scatter and gallop back, Zhu Chunchen — already fully armored and mounted on a tall, powerful horse — could not help but begin to weep. Because he was about to go to his death!

He and several other "life-owing" nobles were to lead a thousand or so trembling household retainers in a suicidal charge against the ferocious Mongols.

The young emperor's frenzied roar still echoed in his ears: "When you hear the suona sound, charge! Go forward without flinching, fear no arrowheads, fear no spears — seek life only through death!

We shall lead 1,000 lancers as the second line, advancing like a wall behind you. If any of you dares to turn and flee, you will surely die on the spears of the Imperial Guard cavalry. Even if by luck you survive, We shall have you executed on the spot!"

This was driving nobles like Zhu Chunchen to their deaths!

Knowing he was doomed, Zhu Chunchen was about to burst into loud wailing when the piercing suona sounded, followed immediately by the urgent thunder of hooves!

Zhu Chunchen looked back. Forty or fifty paces behind, the Imperial Guard cavalry, drawn up in a line, had already begun to advance — every man with lance in hand, coming straight at his back!

He had to charge... no, he had to flee! Flee toward the enemy!

Because the little emperor and the Imperial Guard cavalry behind him were more ferocious than the enemy!

With that thought, Zhu Chunchen let out a miserable shriek: "His Majesty is coming! Run! Run for your lives!"

Then he raised his whip and lashed his fine horse hard.

(End of Chapter)