Many Jurchens became suspicious and wanted to leave the city to pursue them.
But before they could even mount their horses, they remembered Jirhalang's instructions.
"Our general has said that we are not to go out easily."
“That’s true. Even if there’s no ambush outside, if we chase after them, we’ll only kill a few hundred Ming soldiers, which isn’t much of a great achievement.”
"But if there really is an ambush, we will not only suffer a great loss, but we will also be considered to have disobeyed orders, which is a capital offense!"
Having thought of this, no one mentioned the pursuit outside the city anymore.
The next morning, Jirhalang had already woken up.
But he was determined to appear completely unperturbed, so he waited in the room for several hours.
He waited until noon before slowly walking out of the room.
Jirhalang casually asked:
"How are the Ming troops outside the city? Have any of those hidden Ming soldiers suddenly attacked?"
The guard outside the door quickly said:
"Reporting to the general, the Ming troops outside the city withdrew south last night."
"As for those Ming soldiers who are hiding... we haven't seen them."
Upon hearing this, Jirhalang's heart skipped a beat.
"How is this possible?"
"The Ming army must have hidden it too well, that's why you didn't find it!"
Even so, sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.
He thought to himself, "Wait a minute, did I fall for a trick yesterday?"
"Could it be that there are no Ming troops outside the city at all?"
"But that's impossible. If there was no ambush, why did the Ming general dare to challenge us directly at the city gates last night? Was he courting death?"
This wasn't Jirhalang's first time fighting against the Ming army, but he had never encountered such a reckless Ming military officer.
"No, there must be an ambush outside the city... no, there absolutely must be an ambush!"
He steeled himself, knowing that admitting his mistake now would be the real disaster.
"Someone, give the Khan a message that the Ming army is extremely cunning and has very good stealth skills. They can appear out of thin air around our army right under the noses of our scouts."
"Furthermore, it has the ability to make tens of thousands of people disappear and reappear without a sound."
"Tell him to be very careful!"
A few days later, Hauge received military intelligence from Jirhalang, and his brows furrowed deeply.
Hauge was Huang Taiji's eldest son, and at the time he was seventeen or eighteen years old, and he was quite good-looking.
He's much more handsome than his father and grandfather.
Hauge looked at the military intelligence report and asked hesitantly, "Is the Ming army really that powerful?"
"They actually had the ability to sneak past my Manchu scouts, secretly surround Kaesong, and then retreat overnight?"
The two Yellow Banner captains beside him naturally didn't quite believe this claim.
But they were also well aware that Jirhalang was on Hauge's side.
The situation at the rear was not good at this time. If we were to nitpick and hold Jirhalang responsible, it would be very disadvantageous for Hauge.
Then they said in unison:
"Great Khan, since the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne, the Ming army has changed almost every month."
"Not long ago, he even gave the big boss a..."
"In short, something is definitely wrong with the Ming army right now."
"You must not let your guard down!"
“That’s right, Jirhalang’s response was flawless.”
Hauge was initially somewhat skeptical of Zirhalang's claims.
But when he heard that the people around him agreed with this statement, he actually believed it.
"These Ming soldiers... are incredibly powerful!"
A look of panic crossed his face.
"In that case, shouldn't we hurry back to Liaodong?"
Upon hearing this, everyone sighed in their hearts.
"The Great Khan is still too young and cannot compare to the Old Khan."
"If we retreat now, and the Ming army takes advantage of the situation to pursue us, it will be no laughing matter!"
Immediately, someone spoke up to refute this.
"Your Majesty, there's no need for that."
"Although the Ming army was powerful, they were, after all, far across the ocean, coming to support Goryeo."
"I don't believe they would fight us to the bitter end for the sake of the Koreans."
"You only need to have all the troops retreat back to the city, so that the Ming army has no opportunity to take advantage of the situation."
"Then there's no need to worry too much."
Haug was completely disoriented.
Upon hearing this, he quickly nodded and said, "That's well said, go and give the order immediately!"
With Hauge's order, the Jurchen troops, though filled with doubt, obediently retreated back into the city.
They dared not plunder outside the city again.
Meanwhile, Yuan Chonghuan, along with the King of Goryeo, retreated southwards.
When he received the letter sent by Zhang Xianzhong, he was equally incredulous.
"Heh, Zhang Xianzhong only has a few hundred soldiers under his command."
"Even if he had a stroke of luck and managed to defend Hanjing, how could he possibly have gone north to Kaicheng and then retreated so easily?"
"This must be fake news; there's no need to believe it at all!"
But the person who delivered the letter raised his hand and swore, "Lord Yuan, I witnessed this with my own eyes, and there is not a single lie."
Yuan Chonghuan was now somewhat undecided.
The man before him was someone Zhang Xianzhong had specifically left in Hanjing to protect Zhang Xianzhong at a crucial moment, so that Zhang Xianzhong could escape by boat.
Since this person says so, the credibility of this matter is greatly enhanced.
However, Yuan Chonghuan, being rational, still felt that there was a problem with this.
“Zhang Xianzhong had only a few hundred men under his command. Even if he was prepared to ambush them, he could have killed the Jurchen vanguard general.”
"But how could he dare to fight his way all the way to Kaesong?"
"Has he gone mad?"
The messenger hesitated for a moment before whispering:
"According to Lord Zhang, he seemed to be confident, which is why he wasn't afraid."
Yuan Chonghuan's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Where does his confidence come from?"
The man made a reminiscing expression, and after a long while, he said:
"Lord Zhang said... that he only needs to adopt a few sons to defeat the Jurchens."
"Hmph, utter nonsense!" Yuan Chonghuan's face darkened again upon hearing this.
"You actually believe such nonsense?"
"Forget it, regardless of whether Zhang Xianzhong actually made such a great contribution, it seems that the Jurchens aren't that powerful."
"And they didn't set up any ambushes for me..."
After pondering for a long time, Yuan Chonghuan actually changed his mind again.
"Someone, convey my order: we shall return to Hanjing."
When the news spread, the Ming army was speechless.
"What's wrong with our Lord Yuan? Isn't this just changing his orders every morning and evening?"
"Stop making baseless accusations. Three days have passed since Lord Yuan ordered us to retreat south until today."
But no matter what, they all harbored some dissatisfaction.
These men were originally canal workers, and although they had undergone several months of training, they had not developed the habit of obeying orders.
So when they headed north again, they were all unusually lax.
Yuan Chonghuan saw this and, though somewhat anxious, was helpless.
However, the Jurchen spies hidden in various places were greatly alarmed when they saw this.
"Huh? The Ming army has reinforced its troops in Hanjing again?"
"How many Ming soldiers are there exactly?!"
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