Strategic contraction was a strategy that Zhu Youxiao once adopted.
Abandoning Guangning and defending Ningyuan, shortening the supply lines, equipping with new weapons, practicing new tactics, and training soldiers and generals were all aimed at shrinking the defense.
To put it bluntly, based on the equipment and combat capabilities of the Ming army at the time, confronting the Jiannu in Guangning would be extremely costly and difficult.
Therefore, it is definitely a wise move to temporarily disengage, accumulate strength, and improve combat effectiveness.
The Jiannu's contraction was due to another reason. The main reason was that the Jiannu's small number of troops could no longer take care of the vast occupied areas when facing the Ming army, whose combat effectiveness was constantly increasing.
Dividing the troops into four groups to defend has proven incapable of defeating the Ming army locally. Spreading out the five fingers to cover too many objects, but none of them are covered tightly, and there is also the risk of having the fingers cut off. Contracting and clenching the fists should be the correct choice.
Being right is right, but it doesn't mean it can reverse the situation. In other words, if you can hold on, who would give up and retreat?
Therefore, the Jiannu's retreat was out of helplessness. They chose the lesser of two evils and just didn't want to continue to be consumed by the Ming army, so they were trying their best to hold on.
Historically, the Jiannu army retreated and remained quiet for several years when Sun Yat-sen was in charge of Liaodong, Yuan Shikai launched continuous naval offensives, and the Ming army in Liaoxi held on to Ningyuan.
However, similar contraction actions resulted in completely different situations. This was clearly seen by Zhu Youxiao and many civil and military officials.
Without the rich loot from the great victory in Guangning, and having suffered setbacks in repeated attacks, the Jiannu army had consumed its limited remaining food and fodder, and lost the fertile three guards in southern Liaoning. How did they survive?
Many people even believed that there was no need for major military action, and that as long as the siege and blockade continued, the Later Jin would not last more than a year or two.
Zhu Youxiao also agreed with this and predicted that famine would break out in the Later Jin Dynasty, but he was not prepared to wait passively.
The Liaodong War took up too much of his energy and consumed too much of the Ming Dynasty's supplies and money. The sooner it ended, the more beneficial it would be for the Ming Dynasty to revitalize and reform and overcome the great disaster.
However, the emperor was anxious but cautious in his actions, which led his ministers to misunderstand him. For example, Yuan Shikai proposed to seize the opportunity to advance and wanted to move his command from Dengzhou to Lushun.
There is no problem in taking advantage of the victory and advancing. Gaizhou, which was abandoned by the Jiannu, must be occupied, or rather, taken over.
However, Zhu Youxiao still thought it was too hasty to continue advancing. The Jiannu had already accumulated troops, and the Ming army in southern Liaoning alone, plus the troops in Dengzhen, did not have an advantage in terms of manpower.
Therefore, Zhu Youxiao planned the winter and spring offensive for the next year. The three directions of Liaoxi, Liaonan, and Liaodong launched the offensive simultaneously, advancing steadily and continuing to reduce the space for the Jiannu to operate.
Moreover, according to intelligence, as well as estimates from the Ministry of War and the Academy of Martial Arts, the Jiannu's material reserves could only sustain them for six months at most. The three-party attack coincided with the Jiannu's difficult time, when they were short of resources.
With external forces and internal factors, even if the three parties launch an attack, they will not be able to solve the problem of Jiannu once and for all, and it will greatly consume their strength.
The various units of the Ming army continued to launch attacks. It happened to be summer, a period when the Jiannu were not used to fighting. After a year, they were somewhat confident of defeating the Jiannu.
We will pacify Liaoning next year!
Zhu Youxiao walked to the sand table, his eyes fixed on the coastal area of Gaizhou, and he narrowed his eyes slightly. If Gaizhou were occupied, western Liaoning and southern Liaoning would tend to be connected, and the strategic situation would be extremely favorable.
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The Ming Empire was vast. The capital, at the foot of the emperor, was rich in resources and people. Furthermore, the cleanliness and sanitation campaign initiated by Zhu Youxiao was a refreshing sight.
For people from remote areas, arriving in the capital was like a countryman entering the city. Not only was the sight overwhelming, but they also felt a sense of inferiority. Then, a sense of awe for the Ming Empire welled up within them.
This refers to none other than the Liu Xingzuo brothers who were summoned to the capital. Although they knew the vastness of the Ming Empire and its large population, seeing is believing.
The towering and magnificent city walls, the wide streets, and the crowds of people coming and going brought them a shock that they could never have imagined before.
After arriving in the capital, Liu Xingzuo first reported to the Ministry of War, where he was personally received by Teacher Sun. After some consolation and encouragement, he inquired about the situation of the Later Jin Dynasty, gave him official documents, and promoted him to the position of general.
Sun Chengzong strongly supported the emperor's desire to widely publicize Liu Xingzuo's rebellion and return to the Ming. Yuan Keli also submitted a memorial stating, "We used many Chinese rebel generals to defend the Four Guards, but Liu Aita's surrender prompted us to bring two of them with us. In a short period of time, we exterminated almost all the Chinese rebel generals. As a result, we abandoned the Jin and recovered many cities, and restored 400 li of lost territory to our territory."
To put it bluntly, Liu Xingzuo's rebellion dealt a heavy psychological blow to Nurhaci. He already had little trust in Han officials and generals, and this blow drove him even further into madness.
Those Han officials and generals who surrendered to the Later Jin were either killed or deposed, almost cutting off the Later Jin's strength. Without the Ming army taking action, the Later Jin's strength was reduced to another level.
The more courtesy and importance you show to Liu Xingzuo, the more you slap the old slave in the face, the more it angers him, and the more it weakens his own strength.
At the same time, Liu Xingzuo's ability to be reused and treated with courtesy also set an example for other Han officials and generals. It is also conceivable that more rebellions will occur in the future.
But while they agreed, Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli remained cautious about using Liu Xingzuo. They could offer him high positions and generous salaries, and rewards him with gold, silver, and treasures, but they still needed to observe whether he could continue to lead troops in battle.
Zhu Youxiao did not object to this, but his observation was based on Liu Xingzuo's military talent rather than his loyalty.
After the audience with the emperor, Zhu Youxiao will send the Liu brothers to a military school, and then to the Beijing Camp Flying Cavalry for practical training, so that they can lead the troops to fight in the winter and spring offensive next year.
The bad habit of soldiers leading generals has been fundamentally changed due to the establishment of martial arts. Not to mention Liu Xingzuo, even generals such as Zhang Pan, Kong Youde, and even Mao Wenlong did not have the conditions to lead troops in rebellion.
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