Huang Taiji's three consecutive questions left the other princes dumbfounded.

"Your Majesty, didn't we already know that Li Ruolian was the young Emperor Chongzhen, a newly selected military scholar?"

Why are you still asking that?

Huang Tai covered his head in exasperation, feeling that his brothers were really unreliable.

He sighed, "Although that's what the intelligence says, I still feel like there's something wrong with it!"

After Huang Taiji finished speaking, he walked outside the tent with his hands behind his back, looked at the sky, and showed a worried expression.

"Li Ruolian is so mature and prudent, she must think Ning Jin is as stable as Mount Tai."

"And since his marching speed is so slow, the number of troops under his command must be quite large!"

Although Huang Taiji was a Jurchen, he was extremely skilled at leading troops in battle.

Having led troops in battle for many years, he knew that the more soldiers there were, the slower the army would move.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian's order caused Huang Taiji to misjudge the situation.

"Although the Ming army is not strong, if there are too many of them, they will be difficult to deal with."

"If I rashly lead my troops to attack, and am held back by Li Ruolian, while the Ming army from Ningjin cuts off my rear, things will not go well!"

"If I suffer a defeat, my brothers will definitely take the opportunity to make trouble..."

After hesitating for a while, Huang Taiji made up his mind.

"Order the troops to withdraw!"

The moment the order was given, all the Jurchen high command were instantly astonished.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

"That's right, this time our military expedition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"With one Ming emperor after another encountering misfortune, the people of the Ming court were filled with anxiety."

"If we can secure a great victory outside the Great Wall, we might be able to replicate the glory of our father Khan's conquest of Liaodong in one fell swoop!"

Huang Taiji also knew that what these princes said was true.

These were the factors that led him to launch an attack on the Ming Dynasty.

But by this time he already wanted to withdraw his troops, and the excuse was readily available.

Huang Taiji shook his head and said, "I heard that a strange man named Gao appeared in the Ming Dynasty. He presented the young emperor with a bottle of divine medicine."

"That miraculous medicine was almost a cure-all, and now the young emperor of the Ming Dynasty has recovered his health."

"So even if we defeat the Ming army, it's unlikely that we can further expand our victory!"

However, the other princes did not believe it at all.

"Those Han people just love seeking immortality and Taoist arts. Where in this world can you find any miraculous medicine?"

"Great Khan, would you really believe these rumors?"

Huang Taiji knew that if someone else had said these words, most of these princes would have believed them.

Their current opposition is mainly to create trouble for themselves.

So he scoffed, "Why wouldn't I believe you?"

"If you still respect me, the Great Khan, then obey my order and retreat immediately!"

Since Huang Taiji had put it this way, the other princes had no choice but to obey.

They exchanged a glance, still unable to completely break ties with Huang Taiji.

We had no choice but to bow to each other.

"We are ready to obey orders!"

Huang Taiji smiled.

"That's good!"

"Let's rest tonight and withdraw our troops tomorrow!"

However, on that very night, Yuan Chonghuan was extremely anxious.

"Where is Li Ruolian? What did he say?"

It turned out that he had sent several more batches of messengers throughout the day, urging Li Ruolian to advance quickly.

The envoys exchanged glances and sighed:

"Commander, Li Ruolian still refuses to advance."

"But this time, he did say..."

"What did he say?" Yuan Chonghuan pressed.

The envoys hesitated for a moment before speaking:

“You have sent people over one after another, and although Li Ruolian remains unmoved, some of the other generals in his camp are becoming impatient.”

"They followed us to find Li Ruolian and urged him to advance quickly."

"Li Ruolian is still relatively inexperienced, and with so many people persuading him, he could only explain his reasons for doing so."

Yuan Chonghuan frowned.

"What else could it be? It's just that he's afraid of dying!"

But the messengers shook their heads.

“Of course Li Ruolian wouldn’t say that.”

"His account is that before His Majesty ordered him to go on the expedition, he specifically sought out a man surnamed Gao to ask for his advice."

"It was that man surnamed Gao who advised the emperor to slow down his advance."

In fact, Zhu Youjian's order did not mention Qingyun at all.

It was Wang Chengen who took it upon himself to believe that Li Ruolian had a bright future and would surely become Zhu Youjian's confidant.

Therefore, they would know about Gao Qingyun's existence sooner or later.

So telling him this in advance is a way of doing him a favor.

In Li Ruolian's view, he naturally could not speak ill of the emperor.

So they simply pinned all the blame on Gao Qingyun.

"All the responsibility lies with that guy surnamed Gao!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chonghuan's expression changed slightly.

"Oh? That person's surname is Gao?"

"Could he be Master Gao, who recently presented His Majesty with the miraculous medicine and cured His Majesty's illness?"

He nodded slightly as he said this.

“If that’s the case, then it makes sense that His Majesty trusts this man surnamed Gao so much.”

"After all, no one deserves greater merit than saving their lord, but..."

Yuan Chonghuan sighed.

"But how can we allow a quack doctor to interfere in matters of national importance?"

Upon hearing this, the envoys exchanged glances before cautiously speaking:

"That's what all the generals under Li Ruolian said at the time."

"And some people even cursed him, saying that Master Gao was a monster who would bring disaster to the country and its people sooner or later."

Yuan Chonghuan remained noncommittal and offered no comment.

He simply sighed and said, "Alas, it seems our Great Ming Dynasty is truly in danger this time!"

They discussed it all night, and by then it was already dawn.

Yuan Chonghuan arrived at the door and was about to send someone out again to ask Li Ruolian to stop worrying about Master Gao's instructions and to quickly bring the troops over.

Then a soldier came running over with a happy expression on his face.

"Commander, this is great news!"

Yuan Chonghuan was taken aback.

"What good news? Could it be that Li Ruolian has finally changed her mind?"

"That's wonderful!"

Logically speaking, Yuan Chonghuan's status and position were far superior to Li Ruolian's, so he shouldn't have been valued so much.

But now that he's counting on Li Ruolian's reinforcements, he doesn't care about these things anymore.

"Open the door quickly and invite General Li in! I want to treat him well!"

"Someone, kill the chickens I brought from my hometown..."

However, before Yuan Chonghuan could continue speaking, the soldier quickly interrupted him.

"Commander-in-Chief, it's not that General Li has arrived, but that the Jurchens have retreated!"

Yuan Chonghuan was stunned on the spot.

"What? You're not kidding me, are you?!"

The soldier hurriedly shook his head.

"How could I possibly joke with you! This news is absolutely true!"

“Many scouts in the north have sent back the same intelligence.”

"It is said that the Jurchens retreated overnight last night and have already crossed the Daling River."

Yuan Chonghuan was both surprised and puzzled.

Why did the Jurchens retreat?

"Could it be that something has gone wrong in their country?"