Huang Taiji was very satisfied when he saw that the Ming army's camp was riddled with holes by artillery.
Although these solid bullets could not completely destroy the Ming army's camp, they did great damage to their morale.
As long as it was played from time to time at night, the Ming army would not be able to rest at all.
Of course, at this time, he still wanted to see the Ming army break through the encirclement.
Although there were only a few trenches in front of the main camp of the Ming Dynasty, and there were some obstacles such as blocking horses, the Eight Banners would still have to pay some casualties if they wanted to attack.
Now I only have this few troops, so I have to fight a little less.
It would be best if the Ming army could break out of the encirclement on their own, or take the initiative to attack the artillery positions.
At this time, Fan Wencai said: "Qi Sibeile, He Heli has taken people out of the city. He should be going to North Korea to convey the Great Khan's decree to Daishan."
At this time, Huang Taiji snorted coldly, with a hint of murderous intention in his eyes, and then said: "Father Khan has simplified things. If Abahai is with Daishan, we will definitely have no chance."
"But if it is discovered that his mother-in-law Abahai has disappeared, do you think Azige can still obediently hand over the yellow flag to Daishan?"
"Thanks to Mr. Fan's reminder, we were able to get rid of Abahai in advance, otherwise we would really have no chance now."
Fan Wencai said: "I always believe that Si Baile is the most suitable successor to the throne of Khan. I think the Great Khan must also think so."
"The reason why he passed the throne to Big Baylor is not because he does not recognize the ability of Four Baylor, but more out of consideration for Dajin as a whole, otherwise he would not have handed the yellow flag into your hands!"
He could understand his father Khan's good intentions, and he secretly swore that he would become the real Great Khan of Dajin and bring the two red flags under his command.
The current situation in Daikin is still not optimistic. One of the "Five Founding Ministers" responsible for guarding Kuandian Fort in the south was also killed in the battle, and half of the three thousand yellow flags were lost.
However, Fei Yingdong's nephew Ao Bai, who was only thirteen years old, killed the Ming general and defended Kuandian Fort.
This shows that Daikin has a successor, so it naturally needs to be vigorously promoted.
Huang Taiji directly promoted Ao Bai to the title of Xianghuang Banner Meile Ezhen, and put Ao Bai in charge of the defense of Kuandian Fort.
Mardun Village in the north is not optimistic.
The Ming army intensified its artillery attacks. At present, several parts of the city wall of Maldun Village have been destroyed by the Ming army, and half of the 9,000 men and horses guarding the gate have been killed or injured, which is very critical.
However, he was not prepared to send troops to reinforce Maldun Village.
Now Huang Taiji was almost certain that Li Xianzhong had the intention of raising the bandits' self-respect. Although he shouted loudly, he attacked Maldun Village for more than three months.
Huang Taiji had personally seen the power of the Ming army's explosive shells, and Maldun Village was far less strong and dangerous than Gule Village.
If Li Xianzhong really wanted to win there, I'm afraid Du Du wouldn't be able to hold on for even three days.
Thinking of this, he suddenly became enlightened. It was obvious that the Ming army under the city had ruined Li Xianzhong's plan to support the bandits. Li Xianzhong might not only not come to rescue them, but he might even hope to eat them himself.
Huang Taiji said: "Mr. Fan, do you think it is possible for us to succeed if we severely damage the Ming army again this time and then take the opportunity to ask for surrender from the Ming Dynasty?"
Fan Wencai understood what Huang Taiji meant. Houjin's attack on Ming Dynasty was instigated by Great Khan Nurhaci.
Now that the Great Khan has passed away, can we take this opportunity to seek peace with the Ming Dynasty?
He shook his head and said: "If it's just a delaying tactic, I might as well give it a try. But I'm afraid I won't accept it."
"Even if they can accept it, it is estimated that the conditions offered by Sibeile will be difficult for you to accept. I am afraid that the Great Khan will go to the throne, accept the canonization of the Ming Dynasty, and then surrender to the Ming Dynasty again. There will also be requests for us to evacuate Kuandian and North Korea. .”
If it was just to go to the throne, become a minister, or even pay tribute, Huang Taiji didn't think it mattered.
It's not just "pretending to be a grandson" for the time being. Nurhachi has been pretending to be a grandson for so many years before, and he doesn't care to continue to "pretend to be a grandson" with the Ming Dynasty.
But if he wants to withdraw from Kuandian and North Korea, this will undoubtedly destroy his foundation, which he cannot accept.
Now many dangerous points in the north of Hetuala and Wuji Pass in the south are all in the hands of the Ming army. In fact, they are already under the front of the Ming army.
He even wants to use North Korea as his foundation. Giving up these places is simply suicidal.
At present, his main task is how to wrest the throne from Daishan, and everything else can be put aside.
So he asked Azig and others to prepare for an assault on the Ming army camp.
After He Heli saw that the Ming army outside the city was surrounded, he immediately led his people out of the city and headed for North Korea.
As one of the "Five Founding Ministers" of Jianzhou, He Heli has always been Nurhachi's think tank.
However, since Fan Wencai, a Han official, was reused, his status has dropped a lot.
In addition, he has been responsible for staying at the rear and has rarely gone out with the army in recent years, so it is difficult to make suggestions in front of the army.
He has never had a good impression of Fan Wencai.
The so-called authorities are confused, but bystanders know clearly.
He Heli had long discovered that Fan Wencai and Huang Taiji were singing and colluding in front of the Khan.
So I don't even have a good impression of Sibeile Huang Taiji.
Moreover, his Dong'e tribe is also affiliated with Zhenghongqi. Previously, Huang Taiji controlled all the family members of the two red flags who stayed in Hetuala, which angered He Heli even more.
So when the Great Khan was dying, he used the excuse of maintaining the unity of Jianzhou to persuade Nurhachi to pass the throne of Khan to Dabeile Daishan.
Although Kuandian Fort was not captured by the Ming army, the other forts were under the control of the Ming army. In fact, he could no longer cross the Yalu River from the Kuandian area.
They had to cross the Changbai Mountains and enter North Korea from the Tumen River on the other side.
After entering Hamgyong Province in North Korea, He Heli and others were really shocked.
Although North Korea is only a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, it is still a country with a population of 11 million, and the population density should be very high.
Before Daishan entered North Korea, the population of Hamgyong and Pyongan provinces alone should have exceeded 2.6 million.
However, there were few pedestrians on the road as they walked, and the villages on both sides of the road were very deserted. Many fertile fields were covered with grass, and the smoke from villagers' cooking was rarely seen.
Originally, He Heli hoped that this place could become Daijin's rear area, providing a steady stream of food and troops for the army.
Unexpectedly, in just over a year, North Korea has become so dilapidated.
It seems that Dabeile Daishan is really not good at management!
At this time, Shishan had received the news that He Heli had arrived in North Korea, so when they entered Ping'an Road from Hamjing Road, Yue Tuo led the way to greet them.
He Heli learned from Yue Tuo that there were only more than 600,000 Koreans left in the two Koreas under their control.
The population actually dropped by 2 million in more than a year?
Of course, the actual number of people who died in war or famine may only be 200,000 to 300,000. Daishan captured 300,000 in Jianzhou at one time.
Then they turned more than 100,000 Jurchen Koreans into Jurchens, plus several other large numbers of Koreans who fled to North Korea.
It would be good to have 600,000 North Koreans left.
As food from North Korea continued to be shipped to Jianzhou, Daishan himself had no food.
Now he only has 200,000 shi of food in hand, so he can save enough to feed his 20,000-strong army for eight or nine months.
With nearly 100,000 family members of the two red flags coming to North Korea, the number of nominal "Jianzhou Jurchens" in North Korea has reached 250,000.
At present, the total population of Hamgyong Province and Pyongan Province is around 850,000, and there are a large number of "Jianju Jurchens" living in important towns such as Pyongyang, Uiju, and Hamhung, which strengthens Jiangju's actual control over these two roads. force.
Soon they arrived at Pyongyang City.
In 427 AD, after Goguryeo moved its capital to Pyongyang, it built a strong city here.
Although neither the subsequent Goryeo Dynasty nor the Joseon Dynasty made Pyongyang the capital, it has always been its accompanying capital.
As one of the "Three Capitals" of North Korea, the city wall of Pyongyang, Xijing, is divided into the outer city, the middle city, and the inner city.
The total length of the city wall in Pyongyang's outer city reaches an astonishing 17 kilometers, with various watchtowers, trenches, and sheep and horse walls.
Although the city is only over 4 meters high, seeing such a large-scale city still made He Heli feel excited!
Compared with Hetuala, this place is more suitable as the capital of Dajin.
Soon he read out the Great Khan's will in front of the generals under the two red flags.
Everyone seemed very excited when they heard that Daishan had succeeded him as the Great Khan!
However, He Heli did not see the figure of Concubine Abahai in the crowd. He asked: "Dare I ask Da Beile, where is Concubine Abahai?"
Daishan reluctantly said that he had never sent anyone to rob Concubine Abahai.
Daishan quickly recalled the situation at that time. When Huang Taiji led Zhenghuang Qi to chase him, he did not mention the incident of Concubine Abahai at all. He only said that Cui Shixing had escaped and the Khan wanted to return to Hetuala for questioning.
At that time, Shi Shan had just escaped from the tiger's mouth, so it was naturally impossible for him to go back and throw himself into a trap.
Later, when his red flag was withdrawn to North Korea, it fought with the true yellow flag.
Then Huang Taiji sent troops to blockade Kuandian, so news from North Korea could not reach Hetuala.
During their several negotiations, Huang Taiji sent envoys to Pyongyang.
He Heli said: "So the concubine Abahai, Dorgon, Duduo and Cui Shixing, the doctor who treated the Khan at that time, have all disappeared?"
Although there is no evidence pointing to Sibeile Huang Taiji, it is obvious that his shadow is behind these things. It is very likely that Huang Taiji is the mastermind behind these things.
But now that the concubine is not in North Korea, there will be big problems in the succession of the Khanate that he and the Great Khan worked out.
Originally, the Great Khan weakened Zhenghuang Banner and gave it to Huang Taiji, the fourth beile, in order to give him the ability to protect himself.
At that time, Shishan was not in Hetuala, so the flag was first managed by Azig.
After Daishan succeeds to the throne, he will formally take over the Xianghuang Banner. In this way, with the three-banner troops and horses in his hands, it will be easy for Daishan to stabilize the situation.
But now that the concubine is not in Pyongyang, it is hard to say whether Azig will hand over the yellow flag to Daishan.
At this time, Shi Shan, Azige and Huang Taiji all had men under two banners, and their strength was about the same.
This adds a lot of variables.
Daishan asked about the situation of Jianzhou again. He had heard before that the Ming army almost occupied Kuandian and came to the city of Hetuala.
He Heli told Dai Shanhou the latest battle situation, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But now the situation in Hetuala is not optimistic. Almost all the natural fortresses on the north and south sides are in the hands of the Ming army. They face the front of the Ming army and may be attacked at any time.
Once Li Xianzhong's Kaiyuan Army joins in, even if they cannot attack Hetuala for the time being, they can still tightly surround Hetuala.
In addition, the former Haixi Jurchen Hada tribe's hometown was basically occupied by the Ming army, while the original territories of Huifa, Ula, and Su Wan were annexed by Ye He.
Hetuala has changed from the original hinterland to the front line, and is still semi-surrounded by the Ming army and Ye He.
Even if the Ming army could not capture the city for a while, it would only take a few months for the city to run out of food.
It is no longer suitable to be the capital of Dajin.
After weighing the situation, Daishan said: "This Khan wants to use Korea as the foundation to revive our country, Dajin."
"You can order Azig to withdraw the blue and yellow flags to North Korea first; Sibeile Huang Taiji will lead the yellow and white flags to stick to Hetuala and Kuandian, and then wait for an opportunity to retreat into North Korea."
From a strategic point of view, Hetuala is indeed no longer suitable as a capital city, but I am afraid Huang Taiji will not agree to abandon this strong city.
So Daishan first asked Azig to withdraw to North Korea. As long as Azig moved, Huang Taiji would naturally not be able to stay.
I have to say that this trick is very clever in turning passive into active.
In this way, there is no need to worry about being plotted by Huang Taiji, and it can also contain Huang Taiji's nose.
Soon He Heli helped Daishan complete the details of this plan.
In order to prevent the Ming army from discovering it, Daishan decided to let Yue Tuo lead 10,000 men with red flags to cross the Yalu River at night.
Although the navy of the "Ming Army Garrisoned in Korea" completely controlled the coast of North Korea, they did not sail into the Yalu River, but only left two patrol boats at the mouth of the sea.
Although Liu Ping's tribe occupied the other five forts, most of its forces are now used to besiege Kuandian Fort, so there is no extra force to patrol the riverside.
The nearest Sudianbao to the Yalu River is more than ten miles away.
In the hazy night, small boats quietly rowed across the river, like a group of quiet ghosts.
The ship was filled with soldiers wearing red armor, their equipment and weapons shining coldly in the moonlight.
The sound of the paddle gently broke the tranquility of the river, but it only made the whole action more mysterious and strange.
Yue Tuo and He Heli stood on the bow of the boat. When the boat quietly docked, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. No Ming army sentries appeared here.
Soon soldiers with red flags began to gather on the shore.
Then they set off towards their goal, Sudian Fort.
On the hillside not far away, a spy from the Intelligence Department said: "The Tatars have sent out troops. It seems that there are many people. We have to pass the news to Uncle Ning Yuan as soon as possible!"
Soon a loud arrow pierced the sky, its sound sharp and harsh, as if it had torn a hole in the silent night.
The deep mark and the exploding fireworks were clearly visible even ten miles away.
Soon the person at the next intelligence point said: "A red firework with a sounding arrow, and 10,000 taels of red-flag Tatars have crossed the Yalu River. Release the sounding arrow quickly!"
This is the fastest way for the Intelligence Department to transmit information, much faster than the 800-mile express.
Just an hour later, the news of Daishan crossing the river was conveyed to Maldun Village.
Li Sanshun said: "Sure enough, Uncle Ning Yuan was right. Daishan and Huang Taiji will definitely join forces at this time."
Li Xianzhong said: "It's almost dawn, it's time for us to take action!"
Soon dozens of Hongyi cannons were bombarding the walls of Maldun Village indiscriminately.
The Tatars were awakened from their sleep. After all, the already crumbling city wall failed to withstand the Ming army's artillery, and a full six to seven feet hole collapsed.
Du Dugang commanded the men and horses with white flags to stand ready behind the collapsed city wall, but found that another section of the city wall not far away had been blown down by the Ming army.
"Bang, bang, bang"
Soon the Ming army's Lumi gun was aimed at the gap in the city wall and fired a volley.
Then more than two thousand Imperial Army soldiers wearing blue armor acted as the vanguard of the breakthrough.
Du Du originally had 9,000 men in his hands, but after three months of shelling by the Ming army and the firing of Lumi guns, he currently only had 4,000 men at full strength.
He finally relied on his numerical advantage to hold these Imperial Alliance troops at the gap.
However, it was discovered that the Ming army's Liaodong cavalry had entered the city through another collapsed gap.
These heavy cavalry in iron armor are like ghost knights coming out of hell, destroying everything that blocks their progress.
About half an hour later, Li Sanshun came to Li Xianzhong with Du Du's head in his hand and said: "I am reporting to Ning Yuanbo that in this battle, more than 2,000 Tatars below Ezhen Dudu in Xiangbai Banner Gushan were killed, and there were another 1,200 people. If captured, they are willing to join the Imperial Alliance Army.”
"There are probably hundreds of Tatar cavalry who took advantage of the chaos to escape back to Hetuala."
It was a great achievement to kill Dudu in formation and capture Mardun Village.
Li Xianzhong quickly sent people to report the victory to Yan Mingtai, governor of Jiliao, and the Ministry of War.
As the sky grew brighter, the Jianzhou Eight Banners soldiers outside Hetuala City also began to launch a final charge against the Ming army.
After being attacked by Tatar artillery for a day and a night, the Ming army was already exhausted.
Under repeated attacks by the Tatars, all the trenches outside the camp had been lost. Looking around, there were countless corpses of Ming soldiers lying in disorder in front of the camp, as well as a small number of corpses of Eight Banners soldiers wearing blue and white armor.
At this time, two generals, Liu Qu, the commander-in-chief of Guangning, and Zhu Wanliang, the commander-in-chief of Hupiyi, had died in the battle.
Only Guangning's deputy general Luo Yiguan, who was seriously injured, still led nearly 3,000 Ming troops to hold on to the front of the camp.
Azig laughed and said at this time: "I only need one charge and I can capture the Ming army's camp in an instant!"
But at this time, some retreating cavalry ran over, and an Eight Banners soldier said: "The master is in trouble, the Ming army has killed Du Du, and now they have captured Mardun Village and are heading here."
Soon after, a large number of cavalry appeared in the mountain road to the north. In despair, Wang Huazhen shouted: "The Liaodong cavalry is the Liaodong cavalry of Uncle Ning Yuan!"
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(End of chapter)
