Many years later, when imperial historical researchers try to explain the great war to the public, they will not dwell on how many enemies the Kaiyuan Army killed, how many cities they captured, and how much wealth they gained. These academic historians will tell the story of the Battle of Western Liaoning from a more profound perspective and give this battle a noble historical significance.
In an annals of early imperial conquests, the author described it this way:
"(The Battle of Western Liaoning) was the first time that Taizu's strategy of converting Xia to barbarians was successfully used in the barbarian areas (referring to the areas ruled by the pseudo-Ming Dynasty in the 17th century). This war was like a morning star before dawn, bringing light to the dark land of the barbarians. Since then, the Empire has gone from victory to victory..."
If you feel that the description in the yearbook is boring, readers should follow the footsteps of Ping Liaohou and return to the battlefield in western Liaoning in the third year of Taichang to experience for yourself the prosperous years of the early rise of the empire...
The first month of the third year of Taichang.
Kaiyuan, Jurchen, Korean, and Mongolian troops arrived in Fushun one after another. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians threatened Liao Shen with the overwhelming power of Mount Tai.
On the road, there was an endless stream of soldiers, horses and food trucks, and tribal mountain people from remote areas continued to join the team.
By the twelfth day of the first lunar month, with 30,000 Guards as the core, a huge team of about 300,000 people had gathered under Fushun City.
The number of 300,000 was double the number of Jurchen-Mongolian coalition forces when Nurhaci attacked Shenyang.
At this point in history, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the boy who slayed the dragon transformed into a dragon. Kaiyuan completely replaced Hou Jin or Manchu Qing and became a powerful force threatening the Ming Dynasty - at least, that's how it seemed on the surface.
In order to strictly enforce military discipline, during the march, the representatives of the soldiers and the training officers continued to give lectures to the soldiers and repeatedly emphasized military discipline. For these elites who have fought in hundreds of battles, such preaching is redundant, but for those strong men of all ethnic groups who are participating in the war for the first time, before the war breaks out, it is necessary for them to have a deep understanding of Kaiyuan Military Law and understand who Liu Zhaosun is. .
According to Kaiyuan's military law, foreigners and Han civilians who participated in the war with the army who violated military law, whether looting property or harassing the place, would be beheaded immediately upon discovery. At the same time, those who captured and killed sentry horses in western Liaoning and achieved military merit were rewarded and given money on the spot.
During the first month of the year, on the official road from Kaiyuan to Fushun, every day, the Zhenfu soldiers were busy executing executions, beheading those strong men who violated military discipline. The fire soldiers picked heads one by one on long poles and ran to the endless The outstanding young men were displayed in the middle of the team.
Using both grace and power, and killing decisively, this is Liu Zhaosun's only way to manage the army.
When more than 900 heads fell to the ground, the people who joined the army in the war had a deeper and more intuitive understanding of Kaiyuan's military laws.
Especially those strong men from the foreign tribes who participated in the war for the first time. After witnessing what they saw and hearing from tribesmen who had participated in the bloody battle of Hunhe River about how Ping Liao Hou beheaded three thousand Mongolian foreign troops, they all stopped entering the city early to burn, kill, and loot. attempt.
The military discipline of the army was lifted.
After rectifying military discipline, before leaving Fushun and marching into western Liaoning, Liu Zhaosun decided to solve his worries first, which was the two cities of Liao and Shen not far from Fushun.
After the Battle of Hunhe, Wang Huazhen, the Liaodong administrator, stationed in Liaoshen, and Liaoshen was nominally within the sphere of influence of the imperial court.
This is certainly not the case.
Liaodong believes in the law of the jungle.
After the Kaiyuan forces withdrew from Shenyang, Liao Zhen immediately took over.
Mao Wenlong's position as general was replaced by Zu Dale. About three thousand troops of the Zu's army were stationed in Shenyang. Zu Dashou's ambitions were of course not limited to Liaoxi. He had long wanted to occupy the city of Shenyang.
Unfortunately, neither the imperial court nor Liao Town could completely control Liao Shen.
The Liao people were fierce and good at fighting, and they had their own weapons after the bloody battle of Hunhe River.
Although Zu Dale was ferocious, he was helpless in the face of these unruly people who dared to kill even Jiannu. He never dared to confront them head-on. After all, the soldiers of the Later Jin Dynasty who were even more powerful than Liao Zhen were defeated by the Liao people. , he didn’t want to repeat Ding Bi’s fate.
Kaiyuan Intelligence Bureau and trading companies have many layouts in Shenyang, and many shops have Kaiyuan craftsmen and even white soldiers from the special service team.
Compared with the ancestral home in western Liaoning, the Han people and foreigners in Shenyang City were not disgusted with Ping Liaohou. Many people even volunteered to act as spies and spies, constantly passing information back to Kaiyuan through Fushun.
If nothing else goes wrong, the Kaiyuan Army's capture of Liaoshen will be smoother than the post-Jin Army's capture of Liaoshen in history.
Despite this, Liu Zhaosun still made complete preparations. He planned to conquer Wang Huazhen first with courtesy and then with troops. He planned to use Wang Jinglue's pacesetter battalion as an internal response to stab Liao Town in the back, imitate Nurhaci's approach, fire artillery at Liao Town at the critical moment, and peacefully occupy this big city.
Naturally, Kang Yingqian is needed to act as a lobbyist.
After the Battle of Western Liaoning broke out, Liu Zhaosun sent people to recall Kang Yingqian, Yuan Chonghuan, and Ma Shiying, and at the same time restored Deng Changxiong to the position of commander of the Second Army.
He told several of his confidants to unite sincerely and win this battle in western Liaoning that determines the fate of history.
As for Song Yingxing, his third brother Song Yingsheng colluded with Dongchang and massacred Kaiyuan soldiers and civilians, committing heinous crimes. If nothing unexpected happens, Song Yingsheng is now fleeing to Shandong with the help of Zu Dashou, preparing to instigate the Sixth Guards Army to rebel, capture and kill Jin Yuji, and surrender to the imperial court. Liu Zhaosun knew that Song Yingxing was implicated by his brothers and that he was not guilty. However, in order to prevent him from being beaten to death by the people, he transferred him from Qinghe to Kuandian and imprisoned him secretly to preserve the name of this noble son from a poor family.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, the night before the army set off, Kang Yingqian was ordered to sneak into Shenyang and persuade Wang Huazhen, the Liaodong administrator, to return to Ping Liaohou as soon as possible.
Wang Huazhen was overly enthusiastic about Kang Yingqian's door-to-door lobbying. As a Liaodong manager, he received Kang Xunjian, who was far from his own rank. The standard of the banquet was much higher than that received during the last bloody battle in Hunhe.
Kang Jianjun was flattered.
Before Lao Kang could give away his ancestral Vajra Powder, Wang Jinglue left his seat, made a big salute, and expressed his willingness to submit to Kaiyuan and be a pawn of Marquis Ping Liao.
Kang Yingqian quickly helped Liaodong Economic Strategy.
The two friends looked at each other and smiled, with a tacit understanding in their hearts.
That night, the two of them stopped talking about military affairs, and only talked about their love, and incidentally mentioned the brothel business in various parts of Liaodong.
Everyone has seen the changes in Kaiyuan in the past two years. Everyone in Liaodong knows that Kaiyuan's power has far exceeded the Houjin under Nurhaci.
And what about the Ming Dynasty that Liao Town relies on?
There is a shortage of food and wages in the nine borders, civil unrest occurs everywhere, and party disputes between North Korea and China continue.
Zu Dashou shouted at the top of his lungs, and only a few thousand guest soldiers were summoned. They are now stationed at Shanhaiguan and do not dare to go out for reinforcements.
To be fair, even if we go back 20 years, the elite soldiers and fierce generals from the three major campaigns of Wanli who came out to aid the Liao Dynasty would not be able to match the Kaiyuan Army.
Of course Wang Huazhen knew this very well, and he also knew that soon, Liaodong, Liaoxi, and Liaoshen, where he was now, would all belong to Liu Zhaosun.
This is a general trend that is unstoppable.
Wang Huazhen has taken tens of thousands of taels of silver from Kaiyuan in recent years.
Of course, the money is not free.
Although Wang Huazhen was a Jinshi, like most civil servants of this era, he had no loyalty at all. If he had any loyalty, it was loyalty to money.
When he went to Liaodong, he was shunned by others, and when he came to Shenyang, he was determined to die.
Since you are not dead, you must live well for the rest of your life.
While I still have some friendship with Kang Yingqian, I will go over there now and give advice to Marquis Ping Liao. When I ride the dragon into the pass, I may still have a place in the court.
~~~~
On the 16th day of the first lunar month, late at night, after paying a heavy price, Liao Zhenye Bushou finally detected the movements of the Kaiyuan Army.
That night, Ye Bushou reported to Zu Dalue that countless Kaiyuan soldiers came from the direction of Fushun.
"Commander! Their flags are like a moving forest, and their weapons and armor are so densely packed that you can't see the end of them at a glance. Their number should be around 200,000."
Ye Bushou finally added that there seemed to be Horqin Uliangha Mongols and Jurchens from Jianzhou Haixi among this army.
"Go away! There are so many people in Liu Zhaosun! Why didn't you say one million!"
Zu Dale, who smelled of alcohol, couldn't help but became furious after hearing Ye Bu's complaint.
According to the previous predictions made by the three brothers, Liu Zhaosun could dispatch up to 20,000 soldiers to fight south. Twenty thousand was Kaiyuan's limit, and two hundred thousand was too much.
Of course, with Zu Dalue’s knowledge, it is probably difficult to understand the meaning of the vast ocean of People’s War.
However, Zu Dale still showed the level expected of a Liaodong general. He immediately got angry, brandished his riding crop, and slapped Ye Buzuan, telling him to roll down and continue his investigation.
"Get lost! If you can't find out, I'll chop you up!"
After saying that, he raised the wine bottle and poured some wine.
Ye Bushuang strictly followed Commander Zu's orders and got out. Since then, he has not been seen again.
In the early morning of the 17th day of the first lunar month, the vanguard of the Kaiyuan Army arrived in Shenyang and set up the Mucheng Camp on the north bank of the Hun River.
The auxiliary soldiers and prisoners of war quickly set up a pontoon bridge, and groups of horse soldiers crossed the Hun River to conduct reconnaissance around Shenyang.
Although Zu Dale was brave, he was thousands of miles away from Liu Zhaosun. He simply did not have the courage to resist the enemy on the north bank.
Like most Ming army generals, they often choose to stand firm when faced with strong enemies.
When the Kaiyuan Army began to cross the river, the defenses around Shenyang had just been completed.
However, the details of these fortifications and the deployment of troops were handed over to Marquis Pingliao by the Department of Industry and Commerce and the Department of Intelligence long before the Kaiyuan Army was dispatched.
On the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, the Shenyang War broke out.
Deng Changxiong, commander of the Second Guards Army, commanded three thousand Jianzhou prisoners to push shield carts close to the city wall.
There was a heavy rain of arrows and the roar of artillery.
Seeing that Liao Town was heavily defended, Deng Changxiong ordered the follow-up troops not to attack by force for the time being.
He first sent dozens of Mongolian cavalry to approach and then reconnoiter the Liao Town position.
Zu Dalue sent his servants to attack and quickly repelled the Mongols, beheading eight levels.
This small victory gave Zu Dale a great illusion, thinking that the Kaiyuan Army was nothing more than this.
In addition, some time ago, when Liu Zhaosun did not come, the Liaozhen cavalry had several victories under Fushun City, and captured hundreds of Mongolian heads.
Zu Dale, who had fought countless battles for the rest of his life, decided that this was an opportunity, an opportunity to completely eliminate the Kaiyuan Army.
So, Zu Dale, who was addicted to alcohol, drank heavily, took his wine gourd, and led all his servants, more than a thousand people, to attack.
He planned to kill Liu Zhaosun and give his brother Zu Dashou a surprise in Shanhaiguan.
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