After Chongzhen had stayed in Chengde for eight or nine days, Zhuo Erbi and the leaders of the nearby tribes gathered in the camp of Rehe to serve their monarch.

Compared to more than a year ago, these tribal leaders were obviously much more respectful and enthusiastic in front of the emperor. The children of those tribes who were taken away by the emperor more than a year ago have now become the best channel to connect the feelings between the two sides.

Many young people who came with the clan leaders couldn't help but be envious after looking at these companions wearing gorgeous military uniforms and beautiful boots, and many young people with active minds seized every opportunity to show their martial arts in front of the emperor, hoping to be summoned by the emperor into the personal guards and wear those gorgeous military uniforms and beautiful boots.

Those tribal leaders who came to Jin to meet the emperor once again received a large number of rewards from the emperor, but they became closer to the Ming psychologically. After a few days of busyness, Zhu Youzhen finally found a free time and decided to give himself a half-day vacation, go to the lake to hunt wild ducks, and enjoy the fun of vacation.

Zhu Youzhen, who had changed into a light hunting suit, tilted his head to look at Hai Lanzhu who was standing by the wooden house and said, "Are you really sure you won't go hunting with us?" ”

Hai Lanzhu, who was dressed in a full costume, looked at Cui Yuzhi, who was dressed in men's clothes next to Chongzhen, and couldn't help but smile and replied: "No, I'm still preparing meals at home, and wait for Your Majesty to come back and have lunch with Zhuo Erbi and them, Your Majesty can't forget the time." ”

After Zhu You tightened the shotgun belt on his shoulder, he nodded at Hai Lanzhu and said, "Okay, then you just wait for me to bring the wild ducks back to add food..."

With more than a dozen pairs of hunting dogs offered by Vladivostok, Zhu Youzhen and Cui Yuzhi took forty or fifty guards to hunt at the lake in the north. Although the shotguns used by Chongzhen and the guards were made by the best craftsmen, the accuracy of the smoothbore gun was too fantastical.

If it weren't for the fact that there were more than a dozen archers with good archery skills among the guards, it is estimated that the wild ducks they shot would not be enough to eat for themselves. However, although Chongzhen did not have much harvest in hunting, it was indeed a pleasing thing to visit on such a summer morning in the cool wild lake.

Cui Yuzhi, who was still having fun, finally left the lake reluctantly under the urging of Zhu Youzhen, but she still pestered on the road that she would continue to come to Chengde for the summer next time, and build a few houses for herself by the lake.

Looking at Cui Yuzhi, who was about to hang on his arm, Zhu Youzhen finally smiled and nodded and said: "Okay, okay, when the railway from Guannei to Chengde is completed, we will build a big manor by this lake, and come here for a vacation every summer, okay..."

However, the easy time always passed quickly, not long after returning to the Rehe camp, Zhu Youzhen, who had not changed out of his hunting clothes, received a bad news, and Huang Taiji, the Great Khan of the Later Jin, was dominated by 5,000 men and horses in the four banners of Zhenghuang, Zhenglan, Zhenghong, and Zhengbai, with 2,000 Han troops and 3,000 Mongolian soldiers, and recruited nearly 40,000 Mongolian tribal servants who surrendered to Houjin.

After this army captured Chahanhot, it could not only threaten Chengde and Jizhou in the south, but also directly pounce on Zhangjiakou in the southwest. Therefore, the military and political officials stationed in Chengde, such as Zhou Wei and Zu Kuan, immediately came to the camp in Rehe and asked the emperor to temporarily retreat to Guannei, so as to prevent the Houjin army from attacking Chengde and surrounding the emperor here.

After listening to the report of Wednesday Wei and others, Zhu Youzhen did not seem to be so flustered. The distance from Chengde to Chahanhot is more than 400 miles, and there are only a few passages that are easy to walk, and there are not many passages that can supply more than 50,000 people to Chengde in the south.

At the meeting, Zhu Youzhen demanded that the tribes grazing near Chahanhot first retreat to the area south of Lingyuan-Longcheng to prevent the Later Jin army from plundering the cattle and sheep of these tribes as supplies for the attack on Chengde. At the same time, all tribes in the region should provide a certain number of troops to arrive in Chengde to assist the Ming in resisting the invasion of the Later Jin army. The Self-Defense Army under the command of Zhuo Erbi and the night troops sent by Chengde cooperated with the surveillance, and inspected the vicinity of Khanhot and the passage to the south, to understand the movements and scale of the Later Jin army, so as to understand the purpose of the Later Jin army's dispatch.

After the military meeting ended, Zhu Youzhen dispatched more than 500 personal guards to escort Hai Lanzhu, Cui Yuzhi, and some accompanying ministers from Miyun and Huairou back to Beijing. And he himself ignored everyone's opposition and continued to stay in the Rehe camp to observe the movements of the Houjin army.

After Zhangjiakou and Zunhua received the warning from the Chengde side, the local governor's mansion began to operate nervously, and Zhao Shujiao not only began to send a large number of supplies to the Chengde area, but also ordered the Fifth Cavalry Division stationed in the Santun camp to move to Chengde to protect Chongzhen's safety.

Because of Chongzhen's composure and calmness, the local Mongol leaders who were nervous after hearing that the Houjin army had captured Chahanhot were finally relieved. In the course of more than a year, the Mongol tribes in this area had begun to get accustomed to grazing and living under the arrangement of the Ming people. Therefore, after hearing the emperor's order, the Mongol tribes near Chahanhot quickly packed their bags and headed south.

On the Houjin side, after capturing Chahanhot, Huang Taiji only ordered people to clean up the grazing tribes on the edge of Chahanhot, and planned to continue northward and attack Guihua City along the northern edge of the Hunshandak Sandy Land.

Mang Gurtai and some Baylors had a strong opinion on this, and at the meeting to decide the course of action of the army, Mang Gurtai was the first to raise his opinion against the route of Huang Taiji's march. He said to Huang Taiji: "Our army advanced along the old site of the Yuan Shangdu, directly attacked Zhangjiakou, and then marched west along the Great Wall, which is the shortest marching route.

The outside of the Great Wall was densely populated, and the troops could be replenished with rations and other supplies on the way, which also increased the enthusiasm of the soldiers to fight. Why walk along the northern edge of the Hunshandak Sands? Not only is it sparsely populated, but it's also difficult to replenish supplies..."

Huang Taiji looked at a Jurchen nobleman and said very seriously: "I know that you agree with Sanbeiler's opinion, that is, you want to plunder the people on this route to make up for the shortfall of this expedition.

But have you ever thought that the scale of our troops this time seems to be huge, but what can really be trusted is only 10,000 Houjin soldiers and horses, and those Mongolian tribes who obeyed our country's orders to send troops are just afraid of the strength of our country and the whereabouts of Lin Dan Khan, so they sent troops to show their respect.

Although the route mentioned by Sanbeile was densely populated, it was a territory under the jurisdiction of the Ming Kingdom. Do any of you have a guarantee that we won't encounter an army from the Ming people to intercept us along this route? If the Chahar tribe hastily selected a candidate to succeed the Mongol Great Khan while the Ming intercepted us, then what is the point of our expedition?

As long as the Chahar Ministry is united with the Ming Kingdom, it will be difficult for us to eat this alliance in one bite. As long as the Chahar tribe is integrated internally, it will be difficult for us to dominate the Mongol tribes in the steppe. Therefore, taking advantage of the fact that Lin Dan Khan's whereabouts are unknown, to dismantle the rule of the Chahar tribe on the steppe in one fell swoop is the purpose of our expedition.

In addition, the most elite troops of our Eight Banners are still in the hands of Dolgon, and the soldiers of the Eight Banners that we bring out now can certainly have the upper hand over the old border army of the Ming Army, but compared with the so-called field army established by the Ming people, it is said that the combat power is not far behind. Once our army and the Ming army reach a stalemate on the battlefield, can you guarantee that the men and horses sent by the Mongol tribes will be able to fight with us to the death instead of fleeing? ”

Huang Taiji's analysis finally convinced the beylers and the beylers who had gone out on the expedition, and after 10 days of repairs in Chahanhot, the main force of the Houjin army turned north on June 22 and marched along the northern edge of the Hunshandak Sands.

On June 29, Chongzhen, who was stationed in Chengde, finally got the whereabouts of the Houjin army that had captured Chahanhot. Combined with the news from the Mongolian tribes in the Houjin army, and the changes in the naturalization city because of the disappearance of Lin Dan Khan, Zhu Youzhen, Zhou Wei and others finally determined that the target of the Houjin army was the Chahar department in the naturalization city.

Obviously, after sending elite troops to attack Lin Dan Khan's army in Mobei, the Later Jin also planned to wipe out the Chahar tribe from the steppe, so as to establish the absolute ruling power of the Later Jin among the Mongol tribes.

After understanding the intention of Houjin's expedition, Zhu Youzhen immediately made up his mind to intervene in this war. Even if Lin Dan Khan is really gone, the Chahar Department cannot be wiped out by the Houjin, otherwise it will be difficult for the Ming Dynasty to call on the Mongolian tribes to rebel against the Houjin.

Wednesday Wei and other officers quickly provided Chongzhen with a speed of marching for reference, and the Houjin army made a detour from the north to Naturalization, a distance of at least a thousand kilometers. Since this route is sparsely populated, there is plenty of time for horses and sheep to forage for food during the march. As a result, the daily march can be carried out at a speed of roughly 25-30 km, and it generally takes at least 40 days to reach the vicinity of naturalization.

According to the terrain around the Naturalization City, the best route to march is the hilly area north of Jining Haizi, from which the Daqingshan Mountains just bypass, and the passage to the Naturalization City can be described as a flat river. This is also why Lin Dan Khan has always objected, the reason why the Ming Dynasty extended the railway of Fengzhen to Jining Haizi, and controlled Jining Haizi, which is equivalent to blocking the passage to the east of Guihua City.

It is more than 400 kilometers from Chengde to Jining Haizi, and more than 120 kilometers from Jining Haizi to Guihua City, but only more than 60 kilometers from Jining Haizi to Fengzhen.

After Zhu Youzhen realized this, he decided to block the Houjin army near Jining Haizi, even if it was a field battle. He immediately issued an order to Yuan Chonghuan, requiring him to build a one-way railway from Jining Haizi to Fengzhen on the 10th, and a two-way railway between the two places within 20 days.

The supplies of Zhangjiakou and Datong were concentrated along the railway to Jining Haizi, and a conscription order was issued to the Mongolian self-defense forces from Daqingshan to Zhangjiakou, and the Sixth Field Army stationed in Datong and Fengzhen, the 7th Cavalry Division of Zhangjiakou, and the 8th and 9th Cavalry Divisions of Fengzhen were transferred to the Fengzhen-Jining Haizi line to prepare for the attack on the Houjin army.

Chongzhen himself also left Chengde on June 30 and went to Fengzhen with the First Cavalry Division and the First Guards Division, while on Wednesday Wei took the officers and troops of Chengde and Jizhou to the north, preparing to recapture Chahanhot.