Low morale and unrest were caused by defeat and heavy casualties.

Since the cause is obvious, the solution is also obvious. Where you fell, you must get up. Where you failed, you must recover.

Huang Taiji's thinking was simple, and while it was correct, the reality did not allow it. At least in the short term, it was an impossible approach to take.

This does not mean that Nurhaci became depressed and stopped striving for progress because of his failure. He wanted revenge and a great victory more than anyone else.

But war cannot be decided or started immediately.

The failure of the Battle of Ningyuan was the outcome, but the consequences were by no means as simple as heavy casualties.

After the defeat at Guangning, the Later Jin hadn't been able to plunder much. They held out for a year, but returned empty-handed after launching another offensive, having also used up their limited stock of food and fodder.

The Later Jin army followed this principle in their warfare: "Before the troops move, the food and fodder must go first."

As for using war to support war, it has become an impossible fantasy since the Ming army implemented strategic contraction and relocated all the Liao people who abandoned their land.

Huang Taiji pondered for a while, his brow furrowed into a knot, and he sighed heavily, "It will take at least one or two months to rest and recuperate. Will we be able to launch an attack when the spring warms and the ice melts? I'm afraid we'll be exhausted from running around, busy dealing with the harassment and attacks of the Ming army."

Huang Taiji was not wrong about this. The Ming army's combat effectiveness was steadily improving, and with the advantage of the navy, without the frozen coast, it was foreseeable that the intensity of the harassment would be even greater than last year.

What worried Huang Taiji more was not the several failures, which were only tactical defeats. It was the strategic decline that he felt most powerless to deal with and believed was the most fatal to the Later Jin.

According to the development strategy of the Later Jin Dynasty, it was to advance westward and gradually drive the Ming army out of Liaodong.

The initial stage can be said to be very smooth, with successive victories. Fushun, Anshan, and Liaoshen were all captured, pushing the Ming army west of the Liaohe River.

But starting from the defeat in Guangning last year, the strategic adjustment of the Ming army gradually put the Later Jin into trouble.

With Xiong Tingbi in charge of western Liaoning, Ningyuan and Juehua became impregnable nails, blocking the westward advance of the Later Jin with their unbreakable defense.

Along the vast coastal areas of southern Liaoning and Liaodong, Yuan Keli implemented a cautious and forward-moving maritime defense, making it difficult for the Later Jin to cope.

The establishment of Dongjiang Town planted a thorn in the back of the Later Jin Dynasty that made it uneasy to sleep and eat.

Huang Taiji had to admit that the Later Jin was like a trapped beast. But the cage was still shrinking, making him feel the shackles were getting tighter and tighter.

Zhu Youxiao scoffed at all the talk of great talent and farsightedness. Whether it was the old slave or Huang Taiji, they were just lucky. More importantly, the emperor and his ministers in the late Ming Dynasty were too bad.

As long as Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli were reused, the Later Jin could be destroyed in no time. Of course, Zhu Youxiao's intervention made this process faster and more powerful.

Luo Xiujin never said it, but she thought she was very smart. Of course, Huang Taiji was also quite conceited and smart.

But in the face of absolute strength, all wisdom and strategy were useless. Faced with their current disadvantage and increasingly difficult situation, the two were at a loss as to what to do.

I believe the old slave felt the same way. He hit his head and got a big bump in Ningyuan, which shattered his fantasy of going west to break out of the cage.

"I will go to pay a visit to my father Khan." Huang Taiji felt that he still had to try. Even if it was just a show of force against the Ming army in Dongjiang or Luda, it could restore some morale and detect the flaws of the Ming army.

Luo Xiujin quickly reminded him, "Don't be hasty with Beile's words. The Khan is in such a state of mind right now..."

Huang Taiji waved his hand and strode out before speaking, "I know this and will not make my father Khan angry."

……………………

The difficulties faced by the Later Jin were even more serious than Huang Taiji had imagined.

In particular, the five Inner Khalkha tribes, who were under pressure from Ligdan Khan to "pacify the country" and "reform religion", suffered another disastrous defeat, which prevented most of the Mongolian tribes from submitting in history.

At this time, not only in Inner Khalkha, but also in the Chahar tribe directly managed by Ligdan Khan, the secret envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty felt the improvement in their treatment.

Although Guangning was victorious, the Ming army immediately abandoned a large area of ​​territory and retreated strategically to Ningyuan, which caused dissatisfaction among the Chahar tribe and panic and contempt among the Inner Khalkha tribe.

Because Guangning was the place where the Chahar tribe and the Ming Dynasty agreed to receive rewards and conduct border trade, the Ming army's abandonment and retreat had a great impact on the Chahar tribe.

Although the Ming court designated Xifengkou as the location for border trade, Lin Danhan felt that if his power moved westward, trade would have to pass through the territory of the Karashen tribe. Although he was the nominal Great Khan of Mongolia, he still felt it was inconvenient.

Therefore, when the envoy sent by the Ming court with silver went to Chahanhot, Lin Danhan claimed to be ill and did not meet him. He also used the excuse that none of his subordinates understood Chinese characters and threw aside the imperial edict brought by the Ming envoy.

At the same time, Lin Danhan instructed his uncle Naomao Da to tell the Ming envoy that "I want to raise an army to kill the slaves, but the power lies in Han, and I am afraid it will be difficult for him to do it on his own" in order to raise the price.

In addition, Lin Danhan also expressed his willingness to recapture Guangning for the Ming court and offered a price of 400,000 taels.

What a psychopath!

At that time, Zhu Youxiao rolled his eyes after receiving the reward. With Lin Danhan's intelligence, it was no wonder that he played a good hand of cards badly and was deserted by his friends and relatives and died in Qinghai.

Can't you see such an obvious strategic contraction? Guangning was voluntarily abandoned, isn't it? Now it's an empty city. Why are you pretending to be so big and trying to take it back for us?

Although Zhu Youxiao patiently sent another envoy and tactfully rejected Ligdan Khan's suggestion, he had already shifted more diplomatic efforts to the five Inner Khalkha tribes.

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