Upon hearing this, Yuan Chonghuan couldn't help but snort coldly.
“Last time, when we were in dire straits, the Beijing garrison arrived at a leisurely pace.”
"Although the Jurchens eventually withdrew their troops, which shows that this commander-in-chief was just having a false alarm, are the actions of the Beijing garrison really without problems?"
"This commander-in-chief is ordered by the imperial court to defend Ningyuan! As for the situation of the Beijing garrison, that is none of our business!"
The general nodded in agreement after hearing this.
At the same time, he secretly thought to himself, "Even if the Beijing garrison suffers a major defeat, it doesn't matter."
"As long as Ningyuan is not lost and Shanhaiguan is not in trouble, the overall situation will not be ruined."
"Wouldn't it be even better if the imperial court relied on our Ningyuan garrison even more from then on?"
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on his lips, and he cupped his hands in greeting to Yuan Chonghuan:
"The commander-in-chief is wise!"
"This subordinate will go down and issue an order that all the fortress garrison troops stay at their posts and are absolutely not allowed to leave the city without authorization."
Yuan Chonghuan nodded and said:
"That's exactly right!"
"Only I can do this job of pacifying the Jurchens and recovering Liaodong, and only I have the ability to accomplish it!"
"If it were anyone else, it would only make the situation completely worse!"
His tone was full of confidence:
"His Majesty will surely know this after this battle."
"I'll take this opportunity to present my strategy for pacifying Liaodong over the past five years!"
Just as the two were talking, several miles outside the city...
Huang Taiji, mounted on his horse, looked at Ningyuan City with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
"What a fortified city!"
"However, as long as I can capture the Ming Dynasty's cannons in this battle, then no matter how fortified Ningyuan is, it will surely be taken!"
Upon hearing this, Fan Wencheng, standing behind Huang Taiji, frowned slightly.
He said in a low voice, "Great Khan, the Ming Dynasty has always liked to bluff."
"Even if the Ming army's new cannons are indeed more powerful than the old ones, it may not necessarily help you, Great Khan, to conquer Ningyuan."
"In my opinion, after this great victory, you should continue to attack the Mongol tribes, especially the Khorchin."
"Once the Mongols have all submitted to you, you can march your army across the Mongolian grasslands, bypass Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan, and then directly attack the capital of the Ming Dynasty."
These plans were all things that Fan Wencheng had already discussed with Huang Taiji.
Upon hearing this, Huang Taiji immediately nodded in agreement.
"You are absolutely right!"
"Conquering Mongolia first is indeed the original plan, and it is also more advantageous. However, I will not be satisfied without trying to attack Ningyuan."
After all, Nurhaci's death was inextricably linked to the defeat at Ningyuan.
If Huang Taiji can take Ningyuan, then his position as Khan will be secure.
Daishan and the other princes could only submit to him and dared not say anything more.
After a moment's hesitation, Huang Taiji said to Fan Wencheng:
"It's too early to think about these things now. Let's focus on winning the battle at hand first."
"Where is the Ming Dynasty's capital garrison now?"
Seeing that Huang Taiji hadn't completely ruled out the possibility, Fan Wencheng smiled inwardly.
"Although the Great Khan is not a Han Chinese, his demeanor is truly extraordinary. If things continue like this, the Later Jin will enter the pass sooner or later."
"By then, I, Fan Wencheng, will be a founding hero of the nation. Wouldn't that bring glory to my ancestors?"
Thinking of this, he became even more humble and earnest in his report:
"According to the scouts' reports, the Beijing garrison has already crossed the Shanhaiguan Pass again."
"Because it was only early spring, the roads were rugged and difficult to travel, and their army had a lot of artillery, so they couldn't go fast."
"We've only gone twenty miles from Shanhaiguan."
"Moreover, the Ming army seems to have reverted to its old ways. Although it was supposed to be going out of the pass to rescue Ningyuan, a large group of laborers and merchants followed behind the army."
"I don't know if they're here to do business or to fight."
Huang Taiji burst into laughter upon hearing this.
"The Beijing Garrison is corrupt and decadent, and its soldiers are mostly pampered. It's not surprising that they bring merchant caravans with them."
However, he still maintained a sliver of vigilance.
"Have you sent anyone to investigate that caravan? Could they be other Ming soldiers in disguise?"
Fan Wencheng quickly replied, "The Great Khan is indeed wise; you even considered this point."
“This servant did indeed send people to investigate. The entire caravan spoke with a Sichuan accent, and the caravan leader was a woman.”
Huang Taiji nodded.
"In that case, I am relieved."
"This Shu region seems to be extremely weak and culturally deficient in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty. How could it possibly produce a strong army?"
"As for the leader being a woman... haha, the Ming Dynasty really has no one left."
Even when engaging in trade with the army, women had to be sent to take the lead!
"It seems that our Later Jin is destined to win this battle!"
After saying that, he had no more doubts.
"Someone, convey my orders: have Daishan and several other princes stay here to monitor the Ningyuan garrison, while simultaneously feigning an attack."
"As for myself, I will lead my troops westward at full speed to launch a surprise attack on the capital's garrison!"
At Huang Taiji's command, the Jurchen army immediately sprang into action.
However, Li Ruolian was completely unaware of this within the Beijing garrison.
He is worried about other things.
"Alas, the cavalry of my Great Ming Dynasty has truly declined."
When Li Ruolian led troops out of the pass last time, he was a novice and had not paid attention to many things.
This time he was much more mature and immediately realized that the Ming army had too many problems.
"Without enough cavalry to go out and scout, we won't know the enemy's movements."
"As the art of war says, knowing yourself but not your enemy will only result in one win and one loss, with a win rate of less than 50%."
"This time we are marching along the main road, and our army is backed up by White-Clad Soldiers disguised as merchants."
"The Jurchens knew nothing about this, which wasn't a big problem."
"If we were to continue heading northeast and fight the Jurchens in the open, then we would be in big trouble."
"It seems that after this great battle, I should also petition His Majesty to allow the court to purchase more warhorses or send the Guan Ning cavalry out of the pass to assist in the battle."
Li Ruolian held the memorial in her hand and began to carefully take notes.
The officer sitting in front of him couldn't help but sneer when he saw this.
But they quickly lowered their heads and looked down, so as not to let Li Ruolian see through their act.
After a moment, someone said:
"General Li, someone reported today that the Jurchens have besieged Ningyuan. Should we speed up our advance?"
After thinking for a while, Li Ruolian nodded.
"You are right, our army should indeed speed up its pace."
Li Ruolian was unaware that Ningyuan was indeed a fortified city.
Even if the Jurchens hadn't made up their minds to attack this time, they would have been courting death.
Historically, Yuan Chonghuan was executed by slow slicing just two years later because the Jurchens attacked the capital.
However, Ningyuan remained steadfast and held out until the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, when Li Zicheng's forces reached the vicinity of the capital, and Zhu Youjian (Emperor Chongzhen) hoped that the elite troops from beyond the Great Wall would come to the aid of the capital.
Only then did the Ming Dynasty finally give up on Ningyuan.
"Our army still needs to speed up, lest something unexpected happen in Ningyuan," Li Ruolian made the final decision.
Soon, the news reached Qin Liangyu's ears.
Several deputy generals of the White-Spear Army gathered together. Although they were called deputy generals, they were actually Qin Liangyu's private soldiers.
They asked Qin Liangyu, "General, isn't General Li's order a bit rash?"
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