Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 361 The First Battle Is the Final Battle

The eyes that had been staring at him seemed to disappear, as if the nobleman he had killed was the source of the leak of information in the city.

Daming seemed to no longer be aware of what was going on in the city.

But Nurhaci's worries grew more and more serious.

Under this siege situation, he started killing the Haixi leaders who had surrendered to him before. If something happened, it would be even more difficult to guarantee the loyalty of the rest of the people.

"boom!"

The dull sound of artillery fire, louder than before, came again from the northwest.

Nurhaci was not unfamiliar with this sound, as it was the huge cannons mounted on the city walls by the Ming army.

This huge cannon can fire two or three miles away. Even if you rush over on horseback, this distance is still daunting.

Although this huge cannon needs to rest for a long time after each bombardment.

But there are other cannons along the way that can fire for a range of about one mile.

Closer, there were other firearms, a large number of muskets.

Nurhaci felt that he could not wait any longer. Even the huge cannons for the city defense were dismantled and transported here. He could hear the sound, and the generals and soldiers in the city and the three tribes who surrendered could also hear it.

They all understood that the Ming army was testing the artillery. Considering the level of construction of the city walls of Hetuala City, if the Ming army's cannons were accurate enough, the city would be broken very quickly.

Attacking cities was the weakness of the Jin Dynasty, but it was the strength of the Ming Dynasty.

For thousands of years, the Han people's wars always revolved around the attack on castles. They had too much experience in defending and attacking castles, and they had too many powerful weapons.

He returned to the Khan's Palace, and all the leaders who were temporarily detained there by him were called before him.

"I have made up my mind. We will break out in three days!" He said confidently. "The Ming army even dismantled the huge cannons on the Great Wall and transported them here. It can be seen that their rear officers and soldiers have been transferred to encircle Hetuala. As long as we break through one place, the Ming army, which is mostly infantry, will never catch up with us!"

Looking at Hu Erhan and other generals, he once again instructed: "Get ready..."

Before he could finish his words, someone came hurriedly to report.

"Your Majesty, the water in the Suzi River... the water is rising..."

Nurhaci stood up suddenly: "What?"

He was waiting for the snow to melt, but when he heard the news, he finally realized the harm of lacking experience in defending and attacking cities.

Isn’t the Ming Dynasty also waiting for the snow to melt?
A main stream and a tributary converge in the northwest of Hetuala City.

Now the Ming army controlled the upstream and downstream of the main stream and tributaries, and also summoned a large number of Jurchen people who had surrendered from the three tribes and Han people within the border wall.

The snow has begun to melt, and the melted snow in the mountains has formed streams and flowed into the Suzi River.

Yuan Keli, who was determined to destroy the Jianzhou Jurchen capital, had no expectations of a telescope before.

Taking advantage of the flood peaks formed by melting snow, how could Yuan Keli, who had lived in the Northeast for many years, not know about the unique spring floods here?
The flying arrow message was no longer sent, but the dam at the narrow end of the main trunk of the Suzi River, where the two rivers converge, to the south of Houbao was closed.

It is easier to build dams during the dry season.

The Suzi River is not a huge river.

Nurhaci came to the west of the city.

To the west of Hetuala City, a flat land that is nearly ten times the size of Hetuala City was previously considered the outer city of Hetuala. This flat land covers the north, west and south of Hetuala City, and is close to the main trunk and tributaries of the Suzi River.

At the convergence point, the triangular plot of land points like a sharp arrow toward the northwest, towards Fushun Pass in the distance.

Now that arrow has become blunt.

Nurhaci, who was familiar with this place to the core, could see the changes there at a glance from the west gate.

"…They built the wooden wall not to prevent us from breaking out, but to prevent floods…"

Nurhaci understood what Huerhan meant, so he felt heavy-hearted.

“Why is the flood so severe?”

"...I'm afraid that Erdaobao and Babaogou...they first built dams upstream to block the water, and now they suddenly broke the dams and released the water."

The city of Hetuala is indeed located on a hill, but if you go out of the city wall, there is water on three sides, how can you break out?

"Your Majesty, you must first destroy the downstream dam!" Hu Erhan said, "I am willing to lead a thousand warriors to launch a surprise attack tonight..."

"Let's see how fast the river water rises!" Nurhaci said solemnly, "I'll report every quarter of an hour. Go back to the Khan's Palace and make further arrangements!"

To the south of Houbao, Yuan Keli stood on the north bank of the Suzi River, looking at the river dam that was still being raised.

"We must guard against night attacks today." He instructed Mao Wenlong, "The river water is rising, they can no longer sit still. Please ask Marquis Zhangyong and Marquis Zhenyuan to step up vigilance to the east and south. After dawn tomorrow, you will lead 2,000 elite soldiers from the central army and 2,000 elite soldiers from Marquis Zhangyong, and divide the troops into two groups to cross the river and approach their Xianyou Palace."

"I will obey your command!" Mao Wenlong was looking forward to it.

"Let's go there again."

With the telescope in hand, Yuan Keli has found an excellent battlefield.

After walking more than five miles, Yuan Keli arrived at the hilltop that was almost opposite the north gate of Hetuala City.

This hill is less than two miles away from the north city gate.

The original bridge across the Suzi River is still there. The Jianzhou Jurchens did not destroy the bridge, and the Ming Dynasty did not destroy it either.

The Jianzhou Jurchens hoped that the Ming army would cross the bridge to attack, so that the bridge would become the territory of the Ming army. Not many people could pass through at one time, and if they wanted to cross the bridge and occupy the outside of the city, they would have to pay a huge price.

The Ming army did not destroy it either. Unfortunately, the Jianzhou Jurchens did not lose their fresh troops in vain and went out of the city to harass the Ming army and build a wooden wall.

But Yuan Keli is now looking towards the southeast.

There is a small lake to the south of the Suzi River and to the east of Hetuala City. On the north bank of the lake, there is a Xianyou Palace.

This Xianyou Palace is a Taoist temple. Whenever there was a war or a major event, Nurhaci would lead his important officials to come here to burn incense and pray for blessings.

Of course, they are not going there for this function, but because once the Ming army captures the Xianyou Palace, the Jianzhou Jurchens will have almost no chance of escaping from the mountains to the east.

Because there are two ravines to the southeast of Xianyou Palace, if you keep walking eastward, you can cross a mountain and reach the east side of Babao Valley.

Although the road is not easy, it is still a feasible option.

In addition, the largest army is on the north bank of the Suzi River, and the more courageous Liu Jing is on the east. The south is actually suitable for a breakout, which Yuan Keli also knows. If Nurhaci wants to break out from the south, he can send another elite force to bypass the mountain ravine on the south side of the lake, and then attack the Ming army from west to east along another mountain ravine after crossing the mountain. This way, the chances of breaking out will naturally be much greater.

Now the Ming army is preparing to flood the west, north and south of Hetuala City on the one hand, and on the other hand, if they can still control Xianyou Palace and the lake, then the Jianzhou Jurchens in Hetuala City will really be unable to escape.

Therefore, Nurhaci had to ensure that Xianyou Palace was not lost.

Whether he wanted to hold on or break out, he had to respond to the pressure from the Ming army.

Yuan Keli only hoped that he could leave the city and personally lead the army to repel the Ming army's attack.

Because if he came to the battlefield southeast of the bridge and west of Xianyou Palace, the distance between him and the Mingwei cannon would be... just over a mile, and it would be bombarding the low place from a high place!

Even if he did not leave the city and only sent his generals to fight, he himself had to appear on the north city wall to supervise and command the battle.

He had to see the battlefield.

So, although the distance is a little farther, it is still possible to hit the target.

As time passed, the water level of the Suzi River slowly rose.

It may not seem so rapid at first glance, but it will not stop. If you look at it over a longer period of time, such as dusk compared to morning, you can see a clear change.

The situation is not urgent. If the water level continues to rise at this rate, it will take at least four or five days for the Suzi River to overflow the riverbank and flood the low-lying areas.

Everything was done to make Nurhaci aware of this change and feel the urgency.

After many days of siege without attacking, the Ming Dynasty finally decided to take action.

After confirming that the river water level was acceptable, Nurhaci did not arrange a night attack that day.

Now, every bit of combat power is a guarantee for a real breakthrough.

After nightfall, Huerhan led about 3,000 elite soldiers out of the south gate.

After going out, he really took advantage of the night to hide in the ravine in the southeast.

Then he returned to the city of Hetuala and strictly ordered the reconnaissance officers and soldiers in the east and south to keep the Ming army spies outside the ridge line.

But in the second half of the night, he was woken up before dawn.

"What did you say?"

"We can't stop them, General!" the messenger said anxiously, "They are not spies, and it is hard to see clearly at night, but there are thousands of them. They have crossed the mountain from Babaogou and are now heading straight for Xianyou Palace via the East Ditch of Huangcheng Lake."

"Keep exploring and report back! How many miles are left?"

Huerhan knew that the ravine was only five miles long, and he might have already walked half of it now?
Even if the army is marching, since it is a surprise attack, the speed will be very fast and will not follow the normal rule that the daily marching distance cannot be too long.

When Huerhan arrived at the Khan's Palace in the northwest corner of the city, he heard news from the north city gate.

"To the north of Xianyou Palace, the Ming army is preparing to build a floating bridge to cross the river. They have built many long ladders with stakes to the north bank!"

"Your Majesty!" Hu Erhan said hurriedly, "The rising water is a deception. It looked like it would be inconvenient to cross the river and attack the city, but in fact it was the opposite."

Didn’t Nurhaci know this?
"You go to the North Gate first!" Nurhaci looked at Huerhan, "There are definitely more than two routes. How can it be so easy to cross the river on a floating bridge with the Eight Banners? Maybe the main force is coming across the bridge, and we must guard the North Gate tightly, making it difficult to support Xianyou Palace. We can't relax in the west and south either!"

He also understood the principle of being as still as a mountain and as aggressive as fire. Since the Ming army had taken action, they would not let the Jin army just deal with it calmly.

Nurhaci needed time. In order to truly break through the southern defense line, his elite troops needed to be quietly transferred and hidden in the mountains in the southeast over two nights. Only in this way could they become a fresh force and make the breakout a success.

In order to make some abandoned people willing to continue to hold down the Ming army in the north for him, he also needed to continue to make them feel that they would prepare to break out from the north and then bypass Sarhu via the Suzi River.

As the sky brightened, Liu Jing was in high spirits in the valley called Donggou of Huangcheng Lake by the Jurchens.

To the north of Xianyou Palace, Mao Wenlong on the north bank of Suzi River was even more excited.

"Let's make some noise first! Artillery battalion, fire at the south bank. Make sure they don't dare to get close. Then force them to build a pontoon bridge!" It's impossible to get so many boats to build a pontoon bridge in such a hurry, but there are ways.

The Suzi River is not very deep, generally only about half a meter to a little over ten feet.

Although the water level is rising at the moment, it is not yet the peak of the spring flood.

The floating bridges prepared before were all bench-shaped ladders. They were called bench-shaped because they had a few more piles. After being pressed on the river surface, the ten-foot-long piles could be inserted into the riverbed. With the help of ropes and boulders, it would be much more stable.

The Suzi River flows through here, and there is a sandbar on the north bank that protrudes into the center of the river. The width of the water surface is less than twenty feet.

Now that the Ming army has gathered here, the thing they have the most is manpower.

Mao Wenlong gave an order and the action began.

The original Tiger Crouching Cannon and the smaller Mingwei Cannon began to bombard directly from the north bank.

Some can reach a distance of hundreds of feet, and some can reach even further, up to a few miles.

In short, force the Jurchen defenders on the south bank to retreat first.

Their arrows were not enough to cover this distance and posed too much of a threat to the Ming army that was preparing to build a pontoon bridge to cross the river.

To their west, Yuan Keli, Qiao Yiqi and the previously selected artillery squad were all on the mountain.

As a very important strategic high point, after the Ming army controlled the north bank of the Suzi River, they built arrow towers and artillery towers here.

Now, after a whole night of hard work, the two Mingwei cannons have been carried up the mountain and set up here.

The telescope is still used by Qiao Yiqi for observation.

For this purpose, Yuan Keli had asked the military craftsman to build a wooden frame. The round groove of the wooden frame was wrapped with soft leather, and the telescope was placed on it, so that Qiao Yiqi didn't have to hold it in his hands all the time to avoid shaking.

"Specially monitor Nurhaci's whereabouts and the generals who have followed him in battle for many years."

Yuan Keli gave Qiao Yiqi an order and immediately sent an order: "The cannons in the east are firing. Pass my order to the central army to gather and launch a feint attack. There is no need to actually cross the river."

Mao Wenlong crossed the river to the north of Xianyou Palace and northeast of Hetuala City, and the rest of the central army prepared to attack to the north of the bridge north of the north city. To the west, there was also a large central army preparing to cross the river just like Mao Wenlong. All the pressure was put on the north of Hetuala City.

The Jianzhou Jurchens would certainly not relax their vigilance towards the south and west, but their scouts would eventually confirm that the Ming troops in these two directions were still several miles away and showed no signs of crossing the river at all.

Yuan Keli only needs to wait for an opportunity, until Nurhaci appears within the range and preferably has as many loyal and brave generals as possible gathered around him.

"Check carefully and make sure it is the shrapnel that was shipped from the military industrial park to Liaodong."

"Commander-in-chief, it can't be wrong!" The selected artillery member said excitedly, "We are just waiting for General Qiao's order."

"The calculation must be accurate and fast!" Yuan Keli said to another person.

There was a desk in front of the man, with an abacus and papers on it.

"Don't worry, Governor!"

After practicing for several days, I now have some experience in roughly calculating direction, distance, and height.

No one knew where Nurhaci would appear, so Qiao Yiqi would report to them after observation, asking them to make careful calculations so that the experts in the artillery team could adjust the direction and angle of the muzzle and try to achieve success with one shot.

Of course, there are two cannons here, so if one shot doesn’t work, we can try again.

But it can only be repeated twice at most, and then it needs to be reloaded.

Nurhaci was not a fool. When he saw the shells coming straight towards him, he would immediately move and retreat to a safe enough place.

So at most there are two chances of hitting.

It’s a huge responsibility, with so many people creating opportunities for them.

In the city of Hetuala, after hearing the news from various sources, Nurhaci felt a little relieved, but at the same time felt lost and strange.

The sad thing is that if the south also crosses the river to attack, then if we kill more of them now, it would be easier to break through later.

What's strange is that this siege without attack, could it be that Yuan Keli wanted to take credit for the victory and give the benefit to the central army led by him?

That Liu Jing had made outstanding military achievements, and Yuan Keli could not suppress him. So the other armies could only suppress them and encircle them, preventing the Eight Banners Army of the Great Jin from escaping to the south and west?
But no matter what, Nurhaci could not accept the Ming army crossing the river and suppressing them all within the walls of Hetuala City.

Otherwise, how would he go from the north of the city via the west and then turn south?

So he stood up and said, "Go to Beiguan!"

Of course he had to go there in person to command the battle. He must defeat the Ming army today and not let them cross the river easily.

In this way, we can transfer another batch of elite troops tonight and officially break out the day after tomorrow.

Nurhaci, who was already fifty years old, was still able to walk briskly and ride the horse very steadily.

The sound of artillery fire from the northeast was incessant, and the closer we got, the louder the sound became.

When he arrived at the North Gate, someone reminded him, "Your Majesty, we have heard the sound of their cannons before. We must be prepared for the worst. Your Majesty, how about changing your armor?"

"What to change? I just want the soldiers to know that I am supervising the battle!"

Nurhaci shook his head bravely: "As long as their huge cannons don't cross the river, my destiny is over. How can there be any chance of that happening?"

When he arrived at the battlefront, what he had to do was to boost morale. At this moment, the elite Jin troops were defending and the Ming troops were attacking fiercely. It was a good opportunity to defeat them, kill and wound the enemy troops and boost morale.

This first real battle to defend the city was crucial. How could Nurhaci show fear?
It's not up to him how to think.

On a familiar battlefield, an expert with excellent eyesight can indeed spot certain generals' flags from two or three miles away, and identify the enemy's core figures through some features, but more often it depends on people on the front line who are only a few hundred steps away to detect and confirm.

Now, the south bank of the Suzi River was indeed filled with Jurchen defenders. Only the approximately 2,000 people who had been discovered in the east were resting beside the hill east of Xianyou Palace. After all, they had trekked five miles at night and had to rest and eat before launching an attack.

Therefore, Nurhaci did not think that his current situation was very dangerous.

"Send a message to the guards of Xianyou Palace to defeat the enemy while they are tired first." This was the first order Nurhaci issued after climbing the northern wall. "Don't wait for the Ming army in the north to cross the river. Attack from both sides!"

Almost at the same time, Qiao Yiqi suddenly said, "I saw Nurhaci!"

The wind was still cold at the end of February. Nurhaci climbed up the city wall and suddenly felt a little cold, but he just shouted: "Beat the drums and blow the horns! Tell the soldiers that the Khan of Heaven is with them!"

"Only on the city wall?" Yuan Keli gritted his teeth after confirming, "To ensure it is not lost, pass on my order, cross the bridge!"

He had to put enough pressure on Nurhaci, making him, like every time before, as close to the battlefield as possible, even if he was not charging at the front line.

Being outside the city is not the same as staying inside.

So the necessary price must be paid.

On a narrow stone bridge, the swordsmen were in front, the chariots were also covered with leather armor, and some people were holding rattan armor, advancing steadily to the south.

On the south side of the bridge, the Jurchen defenders drew their bows and drew arrows, quietly waiting for them to enter a more lethal range.

Directly north of Hetuala City, the remaining cannons on the north bank of the Suzi River also began to roar, compressing the defensive range of the defenders on the south bank.

"Let them cross the bridge! Either move the cannons onto the bridge to block the road behind, or you can only defend the bridgehead and let more people come over!"

Nurhaci stared toward the north and gave orders in a cold voice.

After the Ming army crossed the bridge, could their cannons continue to bombard their own scattered positions on the north bank?

If they wanted to use the cannon's range advantage to force the Jurchen defenders to continue retreating and make more space for their offensive forces, they would need to use cannons to cross the bridge.

Fighting and advancing, how many cannons and how many Ming troops can finally come?
Nurhaci was very patient, and he even hoped to seize as many Ming firearms as possible this time.

Although the elite soldiers of the Eight Banners of the Great Jin Dynasty were not good at defending cities, he built his capital here, which naturally made it easy to defend and difficult to attack!
The artillery fire on the north bank stopped first, and the Ming army on the bridge quickened its pace.

The Jurchen defenders still held their arrows and retreated three hundred steps outside the south end of the bridge, surrounding the open space on the south bank of the bridge like a crescent moon.

"Your Majesty, the Liaodong Cavalry!"

People with good eyesight had already seen the movement on the north bank and alerted Nurhaci.

"Li Chengliang's Liaodong cavalry!" Nurhaci gritted his teeth, "Good! Sure enough, the cavalry crossed the bridge first to open up the situation in the north of the city. Pass on my order, don't let them go to the west of the city and Xianyou Palace from here!"

The war has begun, but he still doesn't need to leave the city first.

At the critical moment of life and death, he believed in the combat effectiveness of the elite soldiers of the Eight Banners.

At least in this first battle, it shouldn't be difficult to keep the Ming army on the other side of the river by relying on the geographical advantage!

Then, a loud "boom" came from the north.

After a while, there was another loud noise.

Nurhaci's eyes were red with anger as he saw two explosions among the defenders four hundred steps in front of him.

Just as they were still holding back their attacks, waiting for the Ming army to enter the killing range of the rain of arrows.

"It's that giant cannon! It's on Dragon Claw Mountain!"

The mountain ridges on the north bank facing Hetuala City really look like a dragon claw from a distance, and the most prominent one looks like a sharp thorn.

Only that kind of huge cannon could cross such a long distance and continue to compress their defensive space.

"Don't be afraid! There are very few cannons, and it takes a long time to fire a round. Reorganize the formation!"

On Yuan Keli's side, it was he who gave the order to fire first.

"Shoot three more rounds!" He looked towards the south dimly, "Let them think that the farthest we can reach from here is only those places. Create a line that Nurhaci thinks is safe, and make their morale unstable so that they have to rely on the chieftain to come out of the city to supervise the battle!"

"Yes!"

The Jurchen defenders finally fired their rain of arrows, and Mao Wenlong's side also began to cross the river. The Ming army's sword and shield formation that crossed the bridge first guarded the bridgehead, and then the cavalry crossed the bridge, preparing to attack the Jurchen defenders outside the city.

The opportunity to make great achievements had been suppressed for so long, and now the Ming army was like a tiger out of the cage.

Although a strong attack would still result in more casualties among the generals and soldiers, Yuan Keli had to force Nurhaci out of the city to stabilize the defense line.

Although it is the first battle, it can also be the final battle!
(End of this chapter)