Although the Qi family army was finally wiped out in the battle of Guhuling.
But for Hou Jin, the current situation has not been fully opened, and Kuandian Fort is still in the hands of the Ming army.
Although this attack on Kuandian severely damaged the Ming army and killed 25,000 people, the casualties were not small. The Eight Banners lost 4,000 people, and the Han army's casualties exceeded 10,000. .
Although the white-pole soldiers have good combat power, for Nurhachi, the only way to attack is by force.
Although the Ming army in Kuandian Fort did not have much food, their food consumption was reduced by half after the Qi army left.
If it passes the siege, it may be difficult to break through in a short time.
As the saying goes, there are long nights and many dreams. If reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty appear again, then the current favorable situation will no longer exist.
Soon thousands of Han troops packed with clothes and mounted ladders rushed towards Kuandian Fort.
The attack a few days ago also resulted in the loss of hundreds of white-pole soldiers. Currently, there are still 2,500 people in the fort.
Fortunately, Qi Jin left 800 muskets when he left, so the white-gun soldiers were able to counterattack the Tatar archers on the turret, otherwise they would have been completely suppressed by their bows and arrows.
The city defense of Kuandian Fort is still quite strong. The city wall more than 8 meters high, the surrounding turrets, and a large number of stones and rolling wood caused huge casualties to the Han army who attacked the city.
In just half an hour, the city was full of corpses of Han soldiers. Coupled with the fierce fighting power of the white pole soldiers, these Han soldiers were driven down by Ma Xianglin almost as soon as they climbed onto the city wall.
The biggest threat to the white-pole soldiers at present is the rain of arrows thrown up from the city by Tatar archers.
Although Kuandian Fort is also equipped with some tiger squatting guns, the Baigan soldiers are still relatively unfamiliar with these firearms. Although there are several gunners from the Qi Army left to guide them, the firing efficiency is not high and it is difficult to attack the Tatars. produce suppression.
Mang Gurtai said: "These Han troops are not good. They can't attack at all. According to this strategy, even if all the remaining 20,000 Han troops are lost, they still can't take Kuandian Fort."
Of course Nurhaci was well aware of the combat effectiveness of the Han army, but now the Eight Banners operations have increasingly relied on the Han army as cannon fodder.
There was no way they had suffered too much in the battle at Nanguan. With the number of Eight Banners becoming fewer and fewer, he really didn't dare to fight hard.
If Bai Bai Ya La is used as the vanguard, Kuandian may be able to be conquered in half a day, but if thousands more main forces of the Eight Banners are lost, Jianzhou really cannot bear this loss!
The scarcity of people was Jianzhou's flaw. According to intelligence, just over two months after the Kaiyuan War, Li Xianzhong restored his military strength, which was even much higher than before the war.
Daming's recovery ability is not comparable to Jianzhou.
However, if they did not take the initiative and plunder, Jianzhou would not be self-sufficient.
This is why the weak Jurchens have been constantly provoking the behemoth Ming Dynasty for two hundred years.
Although their provocations would always lead to bloody revenge from the Ming Dynasty, their ancestors still did this thing repeatedly.
Because without plundering the food and population of the Ming Dynasty, it is impossible to maintain the survival of the Jurchen tribe by relying solely on their own farming and horse trading, let alone development.
Seeing Nurhachi with a deep frown, Fan Wencai knew that his opportunity had come.
Two days ago, he received another letter from his brother Fan Wencheng, in which Fan Wencheng gave him some guidance.
Now Fan Wencai is Huang Taiji's staff. With Huang Taiji's strong recommendation, he finally got the appreciation of the old slave and can now participate in the decision-making of establishing the state.
He said: "Is the Great Khan worried because the Han army's losses are too high and it is difficult to get effective replacements?"
Nurhachi was indeed worried about this matter. Although the Han army could serve as cannon fodder to reduce the casualties of the Eight Banners in Manchuria, he was unable to penetrate into the hinterland of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty and could not replenish the number of these coats.
Although there are still some coaters in Jianzhou who can be recruited into the Han army, the autumn harvest is approaching. These coaters are the main labor force in Jianzhou. Mining, farming and the construction of various equipment all depend on them.
If conscription continues, Jianzhou's economy will collapse, and the old and weak left behind within the clan will not be able to complete these tasks.
Nurhaci said: "I am indeed worried about this matter. Could Mr. Fan help me share my worries?"
Fan Wencai said: "The Great Khan organized the Han army into combat troops and cooperated with the Eight Banners to fight, which indeed greatly reduced the casualties of our Jianzhou Eight Banners. The slave suggested that we can go a step further and directly organize these Han armies into Han Army Niulu, and at the same time Jianzhou Niulu will belong to each banner owner together, so the number of soldiers of our Eight Banners will be greatly expanded at once."
"And after becoming Niulu of the Han Army, these Han soldiers will definitely serve me Daijin even more wholeheartedly!"
Fan Wencai's suggestion was quickly recognized by Daishan and others. In this way, the number of subordinates of each banner leader will be greatly increased. These Han army soldiers will definitely work harder and their combat power will naturally be stronger than now. Some.
Nurhachi said: "Although Mr. Fan's suggestion is good, it still does not solve the problem of the Han army's recruitment of troops?"
Fan Wencai said: "To get more Bao Yi to join the Han army, it is actually nothing more than having someone come to do mining and farming on their behalf!"
"It's not just people from the Ming Dynasty who can do these jobs. Koreans can also do these jobs."
Fan Wencai's words made everyone's eyes brighten. This is indeed a way.
As far as the current situation is concerned, it is indeed easier to rob North Korea than to invade the Ming Dynasty.
Although these Koreans are not as hard-working as the Ming people, they are easier to manage and more suitable as slaves.
Dai Shan said: "Mr. Fan's method is a way out, but we paid such a high price this time to severely damage the Ming Kingdom. If we don't take the opportunity to invade the Ming Kingdom and plunder, wouldn't we be giving them an advantage in vain?"
Daishan's words also expressed the doubts in everyone's mind. If you want to plunder North Korea, you can't just go and fight it. Why should you spare such a large circle and inflict heavy damage on the Ming Dynasty first?
Fan Wencai had naturally prepared a set of words for this.
He said with a smile: "I'll be honest, my slave, but with the current situation, even if our army can attack the Liaodong border wall again and capture the Qinghe Road of the Ming Dynasty, we won't be able to plunder too many people and food!"
"What's more, the Crow Falcon Pass is still in the hands of the Ming army. Yan Mingtai, the governor of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, has personally been stationed at Crow Falcon Pass. There are also Li Xianzhong's Liaodong cavalry waiting for the opportunity. I'm afraid our army has little chance of winning if we attack again at this time?"
They had just swept Qinghe Road in the Ming Dynasty a few months ago, and now there were not many fertile fields and people there.
With the current strength of Jianzhou's troops, it is no longer realistic to capture Shenyang and Liaoyang, so they hope to attack the Liaodong border wall and plunder them.
Although Fan Wencai's words don't sound good, it is indeed a fact.
He added: "Of course it is also very important to capture Kuandian. If we control this place, the Ming Dynasty will not be able to support North Korea. Now we just take advantage of the heavy damage to the Ming Dynasty to go south and plunder North Korea."
At this time, Nurhaci fell into deep hesitation. His previous diplomatic strategy had always been to try to establish good relations with Mongolia and North Korea, and to concentrate on eating Ye He and dealing with Ming Dynasty.
Since Li Xianzhong's intervention prevented him from annexing Ye He, Horqin's three left-wing alliances even turned to Li Xianzhong. If he attacked North Korea again at this time, he would really be surrounded by enemies on all sides.
But if we don't attack North Korea and continue to fight against the Ming Dynasty based on Jianzhou's current situation, I'm afraid Jianzhou will fall first.
Before the Ming army launched a large-scale attack, he had 60,000 Jianzhou Eight Banners under his command, but now only half of them remained. If they were not organized into the Han Army Niulu, there would be no need to maintain the campaign.
It was the lesser of two evils, and now he had no choice but to go all out.
Nurhaci said: "Mr. Fan, what you said is true. After all, the Ming Dynasty has big trees and deep roots. The so-called 'hundred-footed insect is dead but not stiff'. It will take some time for me, Dajin, to completely defeat the Ming Dynasty."
"North Korea is the first vassal of the Ming Dynasty, with a population of tens of millions and rich products. If we can invade North Korea, our coatings will be inexhaustible."
"In this way, each banner will have more Han troops. In time, I, Daijin, will be able to completely defeat the Ming Dynasty."
After Nurhaci finished speaking, Daishan, Mang Gurtai and others beside him were gearing up and looking eager to try.
Soon everyone was shouting in unison: "The Great Khan is famous, I, the Great King, will definitely conquer North Korea and make the Ming Dynasty fearful!"
Then he glanced at Fan Wencai and said: "Mr. Fan is far-sighted and a resourceful person who is rare for me. He is like the 'crouching dragon and phoenix chick' beside this Khan. He is awarded the title of third-class deputy general and plans military aircraft." Give him a mansion in the city of Hetuala, clothing for 30 people, and one thousand taels of silver as a token of his gratitude!"
This made Fan Wencai extremely happy. "Acquire literary and martial arts and sell them to the emperor's family." He finally got through it.
He quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowed and thanked me, and said, "Thank you to the Great Khan for the reward. I will serve you to the best of my ability until you die!"
Fan Wencai was recommended by himself. The Great Khan now re-appoints Mr. Fan, which will be a great help to him in the future. Huang Taiji quickly said: "According to the intelligence, North Korea is currently very dissatisfied with King Li Hui's previous move of exchanging food for prisoners. The current turmoil in the DPRK is a good time for us to send troops to attack the DPRK."
"I suggest that we march under the slogan 'Go to North Korea to quell the chaos at the invitation of King Li Hui of North Korea'. This can confuse North Korean soldiers and civilians; secondly, it can intensify their internal conflicts and cause internal strife in North Korea. We can get twice the result with half the effort by marching." .”
Mang Gurtai asked for battle again, saying: "Great Khan, I only need five thousand soldiers and horses to defeat North Korea in one fell swoop and take back the food and clothing I need to establish a state. I also ask for permission from the Great Khan!"
Although the combat effectiveness of the North Korean army is low, the Eight Routes of North Korea stretch thousands of miles after all. Although Mang Gurtai is brave, he is not calm enough. I am really worried about sending him to Nurhachi.
Then he said: "Let Da Beile act on behalf of Shan. Three Beile Mang Gurtai will lead the two red banners and the nine thousand Manchurian Eight Banners of Zhenglan Banner, plus ten thousand Han troops to conquer North Korea today!"
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The word count was not reached in the morning, so I will add another chapter in the evening. Thank you everyone for your subscription support.
I'm going to catch up on my sleep now. Tomorrow's chapter will still be distributed at 6,000 as normal, but it will be changed to daytime!
(End of chapter)
