"What's the situation on the Ming army's side?"
In a small Korean town, Hauge, pale-faced, grabbed a scout who had just returned to the city.
Have they withdrawn their troops?
Upon hearing Hauge's question, the scout gave a bitter smile to his heart.
"At a time like this, what wonderful things is the Khan still thinking about?"
"If the Ming army had been afraid of our Eight Banners before the Battle of Imjin River, they might have retreated on their own initiative."
"But after the great battle, the situation in Goryeo reversed, so how could they possibly withdraw their troops?"
But this scout, of course, could not reveal his true thoughts.
Over the past period, Hauge has outwardly maintained a facade of composure, but inwardly he has been living in constant fear.
Anyone who slightly violated his taboos would be killed on the spot.
The scout would naturally not do anything reckless.
He deliberately downplayed the important points.
"Your Majesty, it seems that the Ming army has recently mobilized the people of Goryeo and summoned them to the military camp. It appears that their food and logistics are in trouble."
Haug nodded hastily, as if grasping at a straw.
"Yes, yes! That must be it!"
"When the Ming army crossed the sea to launch a long expedition, they could only collect food and supplies from Goryeo."
"Now that they're recruiting so many Koreans, their logistics are bound to run into problems."
"It seems that it won't be long before they collapse without a fight!"
After trying to comfort himself, Haug started to lose his composure again.
He summoned the few remaining Ejen (a type of official) beside him.
"It seems the Ming army is about to run out of food. If I, the Great Khan, regroup my troops and seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack, is it possible to achieve a great victory?"
As soon as Hauge said this, all the Ezhens widened their eyes and stared at Hauge intently.
They all felt that their Khan had probably gone mad.
Whether the Ming army was short of food or not, let's put that aside for now.
Since Hauge's defeat and retreat to North Korea, the Jurchen troops in various places have not dared to go out of the city to plunder, and can only hide in their respective cities.
The Jurchens were truly short of food.
At this point, actively gathering troops to engage the Ming army in a decisive battle would be a one-off deal.
If Yuan Chonghuan had been any smarter, he would have avoided fighting the Jurchens.
Before long, the Jurchens themselves will collapse due to lack of food.
What's the point of fighting then?!
Immediately, E Zhen stood up, forcing himself to do so.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
"The Ming army is no longer what it used to be. It would be too risky for us to attack them rashly."
"Moreover, in recent days, the Ming army has used land as bait to recruit tens of thousands of new Goryeo soldiers."
"Although the Koreans are not very strong fighters, there are so many Koreans that it will take a lot of effort to kill them."
"Great Khan, in my opinion, we should gather our troops and retreat to Liaodong."
This man spoke very logically and was considered a rare talent among the Jurchens, possessing both literary and military skills.
But as expected, Haug flew into a rage when he said that.
"How dare you! Why are you trying to demoralize my troops?"
"Are you going to bring up the Battle of Imjin River again?"
Nae was startled: "Great Khan, I didn't mention the Imjin River at all."
Hauge sneered, "You may not say it, but you're definitely thinking it!"
"Otherwise, why would you oppose sending troops?"
"Men, drag him out and chop him up!"
Ejen hurriedly retreated, and the other Jurchen guards did not dare to step forward for a moment.
Haug's expression darkened.
"What? Are you planning a rebellion?"
Upon hearing this, the guards gritted their teeth and rushed over.
They pulled that person out.
Not long after, a scream came from outside, and Haug nodded with satisfaction.
"Hmph, those who disrupt morale like this deserve to die!"
He observed the expressions of the other Ezhen people and, seeing the fear on their faces, burst into laughter again.
"Good! You shall immediately convey my order, that all troops from all places shall assemble here."
"Then we'll go and have a decisive battle with the Ming army!"
After Hauge left, everyone gathered together.
"The Khan has gone completely mad!"
"If he hadn't fled back in Linjin, but had stayed on the south bank to fight to the death, would we be in this situation today?"
"The Ming army has the upper hand now. If we take the initiative to attack, wouldn't that be suicide?"
"No, we need to think of another way."
"What other options are there?" one person sighed.
"How could the chieftains of our two Yellow Banners not listen to the Aisin Gioro clan?"
"Don't talk about rebellion. Even if we had that thought, the people below wouldn't listen to us."
However, someone suddenly spoke up, saying in a very low voice:
"That's not necessarily true."
"We're not rebelling, we're just setting things right."
"What do you mean by 'correcting wrongs'?" Everyone turned around and looked at the person who had spoken.
"Tengge, is that a word you can say?"
Tengge chuckled coldly a few times.
"Such an elegant word, I really couldn't have thought of it, it came from Shengjing."
The others were secretly delighted.
"Oh? Any news from Shengjing?"
"Did Mangultai defeat the Ming army in Guangning, and did the Daishan Banner Chief send reinforcements to us?"
Upon hearing these words, Tengge sneered again.
"Hehe, it seems you've been spending too much time with Hauge and your minds have become clouded."
"The Ming army is not so easily defeated."
"Have you not heard the saying that the Ming army is invincible when its pay is not full and when its pay is full?"
Actually, a little over a year ago, the Jurchens were still numbering less than 10,000, but if they numbered 10,000, they would be invincible.
But in just one year, the story has completely changed.
Tengge continued, "I'm not afraid to tell you that Mangultai has already surrendered."
"At this time, the Ming army had assembled 200,000 troops and was about to cross the Liao River to besiege Shengjing."
"Let's not even think about reinforcements!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's heart skipped a beat.
"How is that possible? I've been to Guangning City before; it's one of the best fortified cities!"
"Yes, yes, Mangultai is also the old Khan's son. He has always been brave and good at fighting. How could he surrender the city in just a few days?"
They naturally didn't believe it.
But Tengge shook his head again.
"If Hauge could be defeated at the Imjin River, what's so surprising about Mangultai surrendering the city?"
"To be honest, this news was sent back to Korea a few days ago, but Hauge has been keeping it firmly under wraps and refusing to let us know!"
Seeing that his story sounded plausible, the crowd eventually believed him.
Several people collapsed and sat down on the ground.
What should we do?
"We're completely finished here, and I'm afraid Liaodong won't be able to hold out for much longer either."
"Is it really true that our Later Jin dynasty will not be able to get through this year?"
Some people even started crying.
Tengge raised an eyebrow as he spoke: "Why are you crying!"
"Let me tell you, our Later Jin dynasty is not finished yet!"
Everyone else immediately looked over.
What do you mean by that?
Tengge smiled confidently and said, "For the past year or so, our Later Jin has been suffering defeats at the hands of the Ming Dynasty."
"The problem was that the Khan was chosen incorrectly!"
"Neither your Huang Taiji nor his son Hauge are reliable Khans, which is why our Later Jin is declining."
"As long as we get a better Khan, then our Later Jin dynasty will still have a chance to survive!"
Hearing this, even the most foolish person would understand.
"Tengge, you are the Ejen of our Plain Yellow Banner, how come you've become an outsider's advocate?"
"Whose money did you take to persuade us to rebel against Hauge?"
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