"The Ming army is not quite right this time, and if it drags on like this, we can't afford it."

On the second day of the fourth month of the first year of the Apocalypse, ten miles away from the east city of Shenyang City, Nurhachi rode his horse to a low slope and looked at Shenyang City, with thousands of thoughts in his heart.

Due to the stubborn battle between Zhu Youzhen and Liao Shen, Nurhachi barely achieved any of the benefits he wanted to achieve.

Although the four stone forts such as Zhangyi Station were captured, 70,000 stone grain were obtained, but this could not be compared with the consumption of Houjin at all.

"Drive!"

At this time, the hooves of the horses and the sound of horses sounded, and it was Dai Shan who came with dozens of cavalrymen with red flags.

When he came, he said to Nurhachi:

"Khan Ama and the Ming army still don't go out of the city, not only Shenyang, but also other places."

"It's been almost half a month, and we have consumed 30,000 stone of grain, 1,000 stone beans, and more than 900 sheep."

"Otherwise, give the order to attack the city!"

Dai Shan and Huang Taiji, although they are generals, are also the two big housekeepers of Houjin.

At present, Huang Taiji is leading ten Niu Lu with the white flag to patrol the Taizi River to prevent Liaoyang City reinforcements from going north, so only Dai Shan is in the tent to deal with these logistics matters.

No one knows better than Dai Shan the fragility of Houjin at the moment, and the cultivated land in the mountains and fields of Jianzhou, Haixi and other places is only more than 1.2 million mu, and with the addition of Tieling, Kaiyuan, Laoyaguan, Fushun, and Puhe, it can barely reach 3 million mu of cultivated land.

At present, the population of Houjin is only 310,000, and there are more than 300,000 Han people in Kaiyuan, Tieling and other places.

Of the more than 600,000 people, 100,000 are soldiers, which means that only 500,000 people cultivate more than 3 million mu of arable land.

Liaodong and Jianzhou and other places are not as good as Beizhili and Guannei, and after a year of cultivation, there can be about one stone of grain production at most.

In other words, Houjin's grain output was only more than 3 million stones, half of which needed to be handed over in order to barely be able to afford 100,000 soldiers.

But this is only the soldiers, and there are a large number of cattle, sheep and horses to feed.

Therefore, the current Houjin is actually eating the old book left by Nurhachi when he was dormant.

From the forty-sixth year of Wanli to the present, three and a half years have passed, and the stored grain accumulated every year has long been eaten.

In addition to the 100,000 stone grain left in Hetuala, the last more than 300,000 stone grain was also brought out by Nurhachi.

Therefore, this battle is actually a big gamble, a battle to bet on the fortunes of the country.

If you win the bet and enter Shenyang City, you can get the grain and official grain that are often closed in Shenyang City, as well as millions of acres of fertile land south of the Pu River and north of Shenshui.

With these, the good land and the Houjin can last for at least two years.

This is the status quo of Houjin, every battle is a gamble, but if you lose a bet, it will shake the country's foundation.

Therefore, although Dai Shan knew his Khan Ama thoughts, he really couldn't bear to watch Hou Jin gamble like this.

Not only him, but also Huang Taiji thought so.

More than 500,000 people raise 100,000 semi-full-time soldiers, which is really too difficult, if it is placed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, when the average temperature is higher than that of later generations, it is fine, but the current Liaodong is simply unable to achieve five cultivation and one farming war.

"Daishan, don't hesitate too much!"

Suddenly, Nurhachi looked at Shenyang City and said, "Look at your feet." ”

"The grain cultivated by the Han people, as long as it is time for the autumn harvest, we can collect the grain."

Nurhachi's words made Daishan's eyes light up.

Millions of acres of arable land around Shenyang and in Shibao have been cultivated early, and as long as they wait for another three months, the grain can be harvested, and it will be easy to make up for the shortfall of Houjin at that time.

But a new problem also arises, harvesting this grain, which is difficult for them to do alone.

"Daishan, pass on my Khan order, and all the Eight Banners of Tieling, Kaiyuan, and Fushun will come to Shenyang to gather!"

"Recruit another 60,000 Han soldiers' auxiliaries and let them go south with the army."

"Yes! Sweat! Hearing Nurhachi's words, Daishan hurriedly turned his head and motioned for his Gushan Ezhen to go and give orders.

Gushan Ezhen also bowed slightly, and then left the low slope with a dozen horses.

After everyone left, Dai Shan continued to speak:

"Khan Ama, do you want to use the armor and iron pot of those Ming soldiers who died in battle at Zhangyi Station to exchange cattle and sheep with the barbarian Engdel?"

"This year, the grassland grass is growing well, and if we are willing to change, we should be able to exchange for tens of thousands of cattle and sheep."

"Yes, you can ask the Shuo of Tieling to take the people of Yijiala to Engdel's side to exchange some cattle and sheep." Nurhachi nodded, but Daishan hesitated:

"Will there be too few Yijiala, I heard that the current little emperor of the country has removed and replaced the soldiers and horses of Beizhili and Jizhen, and guarded them with the soldiers and horses of the imperial horse supervisor."

"If they were going to send troops, they would ......"

"Dai Shan, don't look too highly at the Ming army, most of the elite of Jizhen have been killed by us, in such a short time, the generals of the nine sides can't be famous, and the rest of the people don't dare to get out." Nurhachi expressed dislike of Daishan's cautious approach.

In his opinion, the impact of the defeat in the Battle of Salhu was still fermenting within the Ming Dynasty, and Ganshan, Xuanda, and Jizhen Liaodong were all hit hard, otherwise they would not have transferred the Sichuan soldiers and Zhejiang soldiers to the north.

Jizhen couldn't come up with any decent soldiers and horses, and it was impossible for him to dare to attack Shuo Zhen.

What's more, Engdel has 20,000 troops and seven or eight thousand men, and once Shuo is attacked, it is impossible for Engdel to ignore it.

"Command!" Seeing that his Khan Ama was so tough, Dai Shan could only ask someone to inform his third son Shuo to take Yijiala's soldiers and horses to the Engdal tribe in exchange for enough cattle and sheep for the army.

Compared with the logistical embarrassment of Houjin, Shenyang City can be said to have abundant grain and grass.

Even if more than 20,000 hungry people poured in, under the mountains of more than 600,000 stone of grain piled up in Changping and Guancang, Shenyang's logistical pressure was not much greater.

Qin Bangping and the others patrol the city every day, and then check whether there are any spies in the city who are Houjin, and then strengthen the city defenses and beware of spies attacking granaries and wells.

All this is the natural suppression of the defenders of the city against the besieging side, and it is most appropriate to describe it with the words "leisurely and waiting".

The battle of Liaoshen has not attracted the attention of the world so far, because the troops of both sides are far less than the battle of Salhu.

It's just that under the calm, the only thing that is not beautiful is that the Donglin Party and the officials are clamoring to gather heavy troops and teach Nurhachi a lesson.

However, their ideas became Zhu Youzhen's help in disguise.

The Seventh Guards and 20,000 auxiliaries arrived in Tianjin one after another, and trained in Tianjin together with the Dagu battalion.

The armor stomach of the Ministry of Industry and the armor factory was sent to Tianjin one after another, and for a time it became a place where many officials paid attention.

It's just that as the commander who is about to aid Liao, although Sun Yingyuan is particularly serious when he trains his troops every day, in fact, when he returns to the big tent in the military camp every day, he repeatedly observes the map of Liaodong and studies it carefully.

He has a clear understanding of his own ability, he has not led troops to fight, and he is far inferior to Man Gui's control of the battlefield.

It can even be said that he is not even as good as Zhu Youzhen, even if Zhu Youzhen has only learned the art of war for more than half a year, Zhu Youzhen has a general understanding of the terrain of Liaodong.

But what about Sun Yingyuan? The Imperial Horse Supervisor has not fought for many years, and although he is very strict in governing the army, he has no experience in leading soldiers and horses out of the field battle, let alone commanding tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.

Therefore, he is very weak at the moment, and it is even more difficult to sleep at night.

"Alas......"

In the military tent, Sun Yingyuan sighed, but at this time, the curtain of his military tent was opened.

"I'm not saying don't ......"

"What? Can't even come in? ”

A familiar voice sounded, Sun Yingyuan looked up, and sure enough, he saw Zhu Youzhen looking at him with a smile on his face.

"Your Highness! The last crime is about to be capitalized, and he actually ......" Sun Yingyuan subconsciously knelt on the ground, clenching his fists, but Zhu Youzhen stepped forward and helped him up.

"Eh, don't be particular about etiquette." Zhu Youzhen helped him up, then looked at the map on the table, and then turned his head to look at him with a smile and said:

"Yes, it seems that I have been studying the situation in Liaodong during this time, so since I have studied it, I should know the reason why I sent you to Zhenjiang, right?"

Zhu Youzhen's question was asked, and Sun Yingyuan also showed a trace of helplessness on his face and said:

"The last general looked at the map of Liaodong for a few days, and only then did he come up with His Highness's intention to send the last general to Zhenjiang."

"The intention is to let the last general lead his troops to Kuandian Fort, and then follow the Kuandian Fort trail and go north to attack Hetuara and cut off Nurhachi's back road."

"And what do you think?" Zhu Youzhen sat down on the only chair in the military tent unceremoniously, while Sun Yingyuan lowered his head and replied:

"The last general looked at the map of Liaodong and also asked the merchants of Zhenjiang, but they replied that the Kuandian trail was less than ten zhang wide and less than three zhang narrow, and there were high mountains and dense forests on both sides, which were very easy to be ambushed."

Sun Yingyuan's words were almost open to Zhu Youzhen, and he said, "The plan to lead tens of thousands of troops to attack Hetuala from Kuandian is useless."

However, after listening to his words, Zhu Youzhen smiled and said:

"You all know that it is difficult to lead tens of thousands of troops to attack Hetuala, so do you say that you know alone? Does the old slave know? ”

"This is also the point that the last general is puzzled, in the eyes of the last general, it is impossible for His Royal Highness not to know these things, but why ......" Sun Yingyuan swallowed.

"Why did you give such a military order, undoubtedly let tens of thousands of troops go to die, right?"

"The last general will not dare!" Hearing Zhu Youzhen's words, Sun Yingyuan knelt on the ground, knocked his head on the ground, and did not dare to look up at Zhu Youzhen.

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However, Zhu Youzhen smiled and said, "I didn't say that you must attack Hetuala. ”

"Think about it again, think about the big picture, what else can you do with leading the troops in the past."

"What can the last general do?" Sun Yingyuan raised his head in confusion, looked up at Zhu Youzhen, and couldn't think clearly for a while.

Seeing this, Zhu Youzhen did not urge him, but looked at him with a smile and said, "Stand up and think." ”

When Sun Yingyuan heard this, he could only stand up slowly, then stood in place, thought about it, and looked at the map again, but still didn't figure it out.

"Still haven't figured it out?" Zhu Youzhen smiled, did not urge, but got up and said:

"When I come to Tianjin this time, I may arrange the Shui Wu and the military camp of the three guards of the future navy before leaving, and come to me again when you figure it out."

After that, Zhu Youzhen walked out of the military tent, and Sun Yingyuan also bowed and said: "Congratulations to His Royal Highness......"

"No need to send it." Zhu Youzhen walked out of the military tent, leaving Sun Yingyuan alone to look at the map of Liaodong, but he couldn't figure it out.

At this time, Zhu Youzhen turned over and got on his horse, preparing to go to see the Seven Guards first.

Lu Wenzhao accompanied him this time, so he also turned on his horse, and then asked:

"Your Highness's military order this time, don't talk about General Sun, I'm afraid no one in the world can figure it out."

"It's not that exaggerated, I guess a lot of people have already thought of my idea." Zhu Youzhen rode a horse, and the corners of his mouth sketched a smile.

Saying that, Zhu Youzhen also led people to ride slowly and came to the school field of the military camp.

Since the name of Tianjin is taken from the meaning of the ferry through which the Son of Heaven passed, as a military location, the Ming Dynasty began to build a city and defend the area of Xiaozhigu in the southwest of the mouth of the Sancha River.

Although the civil officials tried their best to prevent shipping, Tianjin was still very lively, and the original acropolis of the guard station had been crowded with tens of thousands of people, so Sun Yingyuan responded to Zhu Youzhen's words, and directly led troops to Dagukou to expand the former Tianjin Navy Barracks.

After Sun Yingyuan's expansion, the Dagukou military camp is enough to accommodate 80,000 people, comparable to the Yanshan camp.

The battalion is divided into seven school fields, and the soldiers and horses of the Seven Guards are currently training in these school fields.

In this regard, Zhu Youzhen rode by the gate of the school field, only glanced at it slightly, and after making sure that the method of training had not changed, he nodded and left.

Such a move made Lu Wenzhao very puzzled: "Won't Your Highness go in and take a look?" ”

"There's no need, this time I'm here mainly to determine the water of the water army." Zhu Youzhen said, and then led people out of the barracks and walked towards the beach.

In the past 400 years, the terrain has changed a lot, and there are no floating islands in Dagu that have spread out in later generations, and you can only see the shallows rising in the sea when you go to the sea.

To the north, in the Jiajing period, in order to defend against the Japanese invaders, began to build a fortress, but the soldiers and horses have been removed by Sun Yingyuan and merged into the Seven Guards, and now the defense and artillery there are taken over by the Dagu battalion.

Zhu Youzhen rode his horse along the coastline towards the Dagu Pass in the north, followed by Lu Wenzhao and more than 30 Jinyi guards.

When they arrived at Dagukou, someone immediately stopped them.

"Stop, this is ......" A new pawn just wanted to say something, but was slapped on the back of the head by the old pawn, and then the old pawn stepped forward and laughed:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know what ...... this is."

He looked at Zhu Youzhen, and Lu Wenzhao also said:

"This is His Royal Highness the Fifth Dynasty, who came to inspect Dagukou."

"Your Highness Chitose! Mark, and notify the generals to come. Hearing this, the old man immediately returned the salute, and then spread his feet and ran into the camp.

Zhu Youzhen has been looking left and right, observing the surroundings of the Dagukou Fort, whether there is any possibility of expansion.

After confirming that it could be expanded, he nodded with satisfaction, and at this time, a group of Ming soldiers wearing cloth armor and hoods trotted out of the Dagukou camp.

"Chen Yong, the general of the Dagu camp, see His Royal Highness, His Royal Highness is a thousand years old!"

"His Highness Chitose!"

"Get up, I'll go in and see the Dagu camp, maybe the three guards of the navy will build a water Wu near the Dagu camp in the future." Zhu Youzhen motioned for them to get up, and then rode into the Dagu camp.

After entering, he was greeted by a school field and the soldiers of the Dagu Battalion who were training on the school field.

Zhu Youjian saw that they were still wearing armor for training, so he said to Chen Yong, the general next to him: "You are also a person from the old camp, this weather makes them wear armor for training, do you think they will suffer from heat stroke?" ”

"This ......" Chen Yong was puzzled: "Your Highness, don't you know, the food of the Shangzhi Battalion Army and the Guards is the same, and they were trained in mandarin duck jackets before, but they were fat and fat for a month." ”

"There is no way for the last general to make this decision."

"Then take them for a run on Long Beach, and you can't heat people up." Zhu Youzhen frowned and ordered, but Chen Yong could only nod when he heard this.

Seeing that Chen Yong should respond, Zhu Youzhen boarded the Dagukou Fort.

Because the Ming army reinforced the forts into four places, there were six general cannons of 3,000 catties in each place.

Zhu You inspected the rusty cannon on the fort, and it was not difficult to see that it had been polished some time ago, so he couldn't help but be angry.

"If a pirate invades from here, I'm afraid these cannons will explode in three shots at most."

Thinking of this, Zhu Youzhen said to Lu Wenzhao:

"Ask the artillery craftsmen of the artillery factory to do it, use the previous general's cannon clay mold, cast 32 3,000-pound cannons, and send them to the Dagu camp."

After that, Zhu Youzhen looked at Chen Yong again and said:

"I will ask the people from the artillery factory to send 30,000 catties of gunpowder and 30,000 stone bullets, and you yourself are usually idle and have nothing to polish the stone bullets."

"Next time I come, if you don't finish the gunpowder and stone bullets, you will go back to the Yanshan camp and start from the big head again!"

"The last general commands!" Chen Yong subconsciously stood up straight, and Zhu Youzhen saw him like this, so he asked:

"Look at you like this, you're still practicing?"

"Back to His Highness, not only the last general, but all the guards and battalion soldiers take a quarter of an hour every day to train the right steps, especially to the left and right." Chen Yong's words surprised Zhu Youzhen.

He thought that the generals of this era would be very resistant to this kind of face-saving thing, but he didn't expect them to like it quite much.

"Since you like it, then practice, Yanshan Camp is also ......" Zhu Youzhen looked at Lu Wenzhao, and Lu Wenzhao also asked someone to write down this matter.

While they were writing down the matter, Zhu Youzhen walked to the south side of the fort, looked at the shallows further south, and then said to Lu Wenzhao:

"That place is good, let people go and measure it, whether it is enough to be used as a dock and a barracks for the three guards of the navy."

"Yes" Lu Wenzhao responded, and then called someone to go and measure.

About two quarters of an hour later, the person who measured came back and said to Zhu Youzhen:

"Your Highness, from the place you pointed to the south, the horses are about fifteen hundred paces, and they are all very smooth, and Mintian is three miles from the beach."

"Big enough, let's be there." Hearing Jinyiwei's words, Zhu Youzhen determined the location of the three guards of the navy.

After Lu Wenzhao heard it, he also asked someone to write down the place, and then prepared to build it according to the drawings of the three guards of the navy designed by Zhu Youzhen.

"Allocate 10,000 taels of silver, build the dock first, and the sailors don't have to worry for the time being."

"Isn't 10,000 taels too much, Your Highness?" Hearing Zhu Youzhen say that a water camp and a military camp cost 10,000 taels of silver, Lu Wenzhao wanted to speak again and again.

At the current price of materials, it would not cost 10,000 taels to build a stone water and barracks......

"This place is bigger than the drawings, almost." Zhu Youzhen said, turned around and was about to get off the fort, and at this time, more than ten horsemen rode into Dagukou.

Zhu Youzhen looked at it, and it turned out that Sun Yingyuan was here.

"Looks like he's figured it out." Zhu Youzhen turned his head to look at Lu Wenzhao, and then said:

"You just follow me, and the others disperse."

"Yes!" Lu Wenzhao didn't understand the meaning of Zhu Youzhen's words very well, but he still asked the people to disperse, and even Chen Yong and the others left, leaving only Lu Wenzhao and Zhu Youzhen standing on the fort.

"Your Highness! The last general is here to bother! ”

Sun Yingyuan trotted towards the fort while making a gesture.

After he got on the fort, Zhu Youzhen smiled and said, "Figured it out?" ”

"I understand a little, but not all of it." Sun Yingyuan smiled a little shyly.

"Tell me what you understand." Zhu Youzhen was very curious, how much did Sun Yingyuan understand.

"Yes!" Sun Yingyuan returned the salute, and then said solemnly:

"Your Highness should want to take advantage of this opportunity to consolidate my Ming Dynasty's position in Zhenjiang, Phoenix, and Kuandian Fort, and deter North Korea by the way."

"As for the attack on Hetuala, it is actually a training of troops, and when consolidating Kuandian, Phoenix, and Zhenjiang, it is just enough to train troops in Tuntian, and make a posture that a large army wants to go north."

Sun Yingyuan drew inferences from one case and said part of Zhu Youzhen's thoughts.

Zhenjiang Fort, this is a slightly flat place in the eastern part of the Liaodong Peninsula of the Ming Dynasty, from the Yalu River to Jinzhou are hills and plains.

If you work hard in Zhenjiang, then you can leave a good environment and make full preparations for Qi Jin's division of troops to garrison in the future.

In order to receive this treasure land, it is necessary to defend Kuandian and Phoenix, and there are many Jurchens living in Phoenix and Kuandian, so it needs to be consolidated.

As for the second point of deterrence against North Korea, it is to let North Korea see that the Ming Dynasty still has the ability to deploy tens of thousands of troops on the Yalu River.

Since the Battle of Sarhu, the Joseon king Yi Hui pursued a diplomacy of "not betraying the Ming and not being angry with the Jin", which was a challenge to the authority of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youzhen wants to enhance the prestige of the imperial brother, and the army that bears the brunt of the attack has been done, so he must start to publicize the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty to the outside world.

Li Hui's foreign policy was a humiliation to many Korean princes and ministers who had received the grace of the Ming Dynasty to help restore the country.

Moreover, it is possible that Li Hui is secretly doing business with Houjin, so it is Zhu Youzhen's job to oust Li Hui from the throne.

Historically, Li Hui was ousted from the throne by his nephew Li Liang, the king of Ayayang, in the third year of the Apocalypse, but Li Liang was not a good person, and on the surface he said that he wanted to help the Ming Dynasty fight against Jianyu, but he still did not dare to stimulate Houjin.

Therefore, what Zhu Youzhen has to do is to make North Korea obedient, and even send troops to North Korea to let North Korea cut off the trade of Houjin.

Therefore, these two are actually what Zhu Youzhen wants to do, and threatening Nurhachi is just an incidental thing.

The exact strength of Hetuara has not yet been figured out, but it will not exceed ten thousand.

In this way, as long as the Seventh Guard Army and 20,000 auxiliary soldiers put on a posture of going north from Kuandian and Phoenix City, even if Nurhachi knew that the Changbai Mountain branch did not have the road for tens of thousands of troops to march together, he still had to transfer his troops back to defend Hetuala.

Zhu Youzhen decided that he would not dare to gamble, because he had nothing to lose if he lost the bet, but Nurhachi lost the bet, and the base camp he had been operating for decades was about to be ended!

Even if the Seven Guards did not attack the city after arriving at Hetuala, as long as they destroyed the blacksmith shop outside the city, it would be a pain that Nurhachi could not bear.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youzhen said to Sun Yingyuan:

"You've guessed most of it, but there's more to me than that."

Speaking of this, Zhu Youzhen continued to Sun Yingyuan:

"What I want you to do, there is another one, that is, to set up forts in various mountain roads, and then train the 20,000 auxiliaries in Zhenjiang, and finally hand over the 20,000 auxiliaries to Qi Yuanfu and Qin Minping, Qi Yuangong!"

Zhu Youzhen explained everything, and Sun Yingyuan understood that His Royal Highness was about to gradually begin to replace Liaodong Town, which was dominated by Liaodong people and Yulin people.

20,000 auxiliaries are regular soldiers if they are well trained, and all that is lacking is armor.

When the time comes, Man Gui will hand over 9,000 new soldiers of Yongping Mansion to Qin Bangping, and then the number of soldiers in Liaodong will reach 140,000.

Among them, the guest army occupies 40,000, and although the Liaodong army claims to have 100,000, only 30,000 or 40,000 can fight.

At that time, the Liaodong Army that can fight will be in Liaoxi, and those that cannot be fought will be on the Liaodong Peninsula.

Then it is simple for His Royal Highness to move Liaodong, across Shenyang and Liaoyang, even if the soldiers and horses in Liaoxi notice it, it will be too late to take refuge in Nurhachi.

Of course, they can also go directly north, hit the Great Wall, go to Liaoze, and go straight to Tieling through Inner Khalkha to take refuge in Nurhachi.

But Sun Yingyuan knew that the next step for his highness was to destroy Engdel's Bayo Department in Inner Khalkha.

Once Engdel's Bayo Department was destroyed, the soldiers and horses in Liaozhen in western Liaoning would really have no way to go to heaven.

Moreover, even if you don't mention the Bayo Ministry, among the generals of Liaodong, it is still a question of whether they have the courage to run hundreds of miles to build prisoners.

Thinking of all this, Sun Yingyuan immediately said to Zhu Youzhen: "Your Highness's words, the last general will remember it in his heart!" ”

"This should be long live, for His Royal Highness, go to the soup and fire, and never give up!"

"Okay, you can just know it......" Looking at Sun Yingyuan's appearance, Zhu Youzhen raised his hand to help him up, and then said to Lu Wenzhao:

"The affairs of Shui Wu and the military camp have also been settled, let's prepare for the return trip......

"Yes!" When Lu Wenzhao heard this, he went down to prepare to set off, and after Zhu Youzhen encouraged Sun Yingyuan, he took Sun Yingyuan to train his troops well and wait for departure.

Sun Yingyuan retreated, and in the end, only Zhu Youzhen was left on the fort.

He looked out at the sea and seemed to see Liaodong through the sea.

If the problem of Liaodong is solved, the problem of Daming will be solved by a quarter......