Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 448 Carnival Before Destruction
"Fixed-shot reloading, the direction is [-]:[-] noon, the altitude remains the same, [-] rounds of pre-shooting, ready... release!"

"Boom bang bang-"

On the tenth day of March in the 11th year of Tianqi, this is a day worthy of being recorded in history.

On this day, Sun Shoufa and Cao Meng's Shangzhi South Route Army bombarded Jianlu's Shangjing City, Xiong Tingbi bombarded Jianlu Xingjing City's gateway Yidonghe City, Sun Yingyuan bombarded Huifa City, and You Shigong bombarded Mowenhe City.

Generally speaking, except for Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao, who rushed to support Ala Mountain City, the rest of the armies have formally fought against Jianlu.

More than [-] artillery pieces of the Ming army arrived at the front line, and blossomed everywhere in Shangjing City, Yidonghe City, Huifa City, and Mowenhe City.

Similarly, Guo Sangdai received a letter from Feige from Shenyang, and he rushed from Nuergan City to Tuomuhe City with four battalions of soldiers and horses in a hurry.

As the snow had not yet melted, Guo Sangdai planned to send a battalion of soldiers and horses to Tuomuhe City on sleds at the same time as he arrived at Fushan City, followed by himself.

The situation on all sides is changing, and fierce artillery fire is blooming in the border town of Jianlu.

"Boom bang bang-"

Under the city of Shangjing, ten catties of stone bullets made of granite were fired by the artillery, and with the shrill sound of Jiuyouxia, they bombarded the head of the city of Shangjing.

In the city, all the golden troops hid in the turrets and archery towers. In the dim turrets, only a little candlelight provided light.

At a glance, there is a group of Eight Banners soldiers with white beard and hair, the youngest of them seems to be nearly fifty years old.

There was only candlelight in their eyes, but the candlelight seemed a little dim.

The vibration of the stone bombs hitting the city wall caused the entire archery tower to continuously fall into dust, but no one cared about it right now.

After a quarter of an hour, the artillery fire of the Ming army stopped, and everyone enjoyed the rare silence.

At this time, an old Baqi who lost most of his teeth looked up at the door, and then said, "At this time, it's almost the lower reaches of the Heishui River..."

"It should be here..." The others nodded, feeling uncomfortable.

Who wants to stay if they can live?
It's just for their heirs and family members, they can only stay, and this stay, only sticking around.

"There are no camps outside the moat, no traps, no horn walls, no trenches..."

"This old slave is going to stick to it, to buy time for Huang Taiji and the others to break through."

Three miles outside the west city of Shangjing, when Sun Shoufa and Cao Meng analyzed the defense of Shangjing with binoculars, even as enemies, they couldn't help but feel sorry for Nurhachi's defensive attitude.

They didn't know about Nurhachi's situation. If they knew, they probably wouldn't think so.

"Shangjing City is the same as in the information. It is three feet high and three feet wide. There are nearly [-] old and weak guards."

"Do you want me to lead a wave?"

Sun Shoufa discussed with Cao Meng, but Cao Meng grabbed his beard and struggled:

"Your Highness said, we are already the governors of the Shangzhi, and we want to be in the central army, so don't be reckless."

"If you don't go, don't go, why bring out your highness to scare me?" Hearing Cao Meng's words, Sun Shoufa glared at him.

"You bastard..." Cao Meng looked at Sun Shoufa whose eyes were as wide as copper bells, and could only scold this guy in his heart for not knowing what to do.

But when they turned their heads, the two of them didn't bother to expose each other's shortcomings, but both looked at the city with binoculars.

When they were looking at the top of the city, Zhu Youjian was reviewing memorials in the big camp thirty miles behind, his leisurely appearance made Liu Xiaozu and the others a little uncomfortable.

Li Dingguo, on the other hand, was as leisurely as Zhu Youjian, because he knew that Huang Taiji was the one His Royal Highness wanted to kill Jianlu the most.

Liu Xiaozu and the others were just worried that Huang Taiji would succeed in breaking through.

But in other words, if Huang Taiji could really break through successfully, His Royal Highness would have gathered four cavalry guards and charged towards Beishan.

Right now, His Royal Highness is so calm, which shows that he is sure to keep Huang Taiji.

"You all go back to your tents to rest. If you don't go, I'm afraid I will be disturbed to death by your eyes."

Zhu Youjian spoke to Liu Xiaozu and the others without raising his head. Although Liu Xiaozu was Zhu Youjian's uncle, when he heard him speak, he quickly saluted and left the camp with Wei Lian and Liu Bingwen.

It was Li Dingguo, who sat aside, holding some military and government affairs books written by Zhu Youjian to read.

Looking at it, he asked curiously: "When His Highness was in charge of the Chinese army, was he also so leisurely?"

Li Dingguo thought that sitting in the Chinese army would also need to run back and forth on the battlefield, but Zhu Youjian's behavior broke his guess.

Because Zhu Youjian not only does not go to the battlefield, but also hunts nearby, only three hours a day will be used to process memorials.

If you just look at Zhu Youjian's behavior, those who don't know will think that he is the one who is sitting in Dading Palace in Yanshan County to escape the summer heat, not Zhu Youxiao.

"The situation is under control, there is no need to worry."

While dealing with the memorial, Zhu Youjian responded without raising his head, and continued:

"In such a battle situation, it is useless to run around, as long as you grasp the overall situation."

"Look at the sand table, what do you think of the current overall situation?"

Zhu Youjian asked Li Dingguo back. Hearing this, Li Dingguo also got up and circled around the three-foot-three sand coil in the tent, and then weighed and said:

"Cao Bianjiao's general army should have arrived at Ala Mountain City with Baotao and Yingyang guards. The tens of thousands of cavalry from Yulin Guard and Tiance Guard are estimated to be less than [-] miles away from Cao Bianjiao's general army."

"As for Cao Wenzhao's general army, it is estimated that it will take five days to reach Alashan City. In addition, Xiong Jinglue in the south estimates that he will be able to break through Yimihe City in a few days, and then attack Xingjing City."

"South..."

Li Dingguo pressed his face with his index finger, as if he was guessing.

After a while, he continued: "In the south, I estimate that Dudu Sun will take ten days to break through Huifa City, but General You Shigong should be able to break through Mowenhe City within three days and attack Pu'erhe City. .”

Li Dingguo's general analysis is basically fine, neither particularly good nor particularly bad.

However, his assessment of Sun Yingyuan's part is very good, because Huifa City is the most difficult city to attack besides Shangjing and Xingjing. In addition, the place is located in a mountain pass, and the army cannot spread out, so it will be difficult to attack by force. .

"What about Huang Taiji and the old slave..."

Zhu Youjian continued to take the school exam without looking up, while Li Dingguo measured the distance with Zhu Youjian's small pear blossom stick, and then said:

"They set off on the first day of March, but there were many women, children, cattle and sheep among the troops. No matter how fast they marched, they were only fifty or sixty miles away."

"Today is the tenth day of March, and they should have traveled a distance of about [-] to [-] miles."

"In addition, they set off from Yimala City in the north of Shangjing City. Now, calculating the distance, they should have just walked out of the first mountain range in the north and arrived at Jiahe City in the south of Heishui River. It is estimated that they will cross the river tonight and then rest on the north bank for a day. .”

Li Dingguo mentioned a basic marching problem. Since the Jin army is in a state of breaking out against time, and the Jurchen and Mongols are nomadic, fishing and hunting peoples, they adapt to the terrain and climate of Baishan Heishui, so their marching speed cannot be too slow.

In addition, Huang Taiji and Horqin defeated the barbarians, annexed Horqin Oba's soldiers and horses, and gathered Horqin's Mongolian herdsmen, so there is no shortage of horses.

Liu Aita gave Jin Yiwei the detailed number of horses for the Jin Army.

In September of the tenth year of the Apocalypse, the Jin army had more than 12 farming cattle, more than 6000 military horses, [-] rough horses, [-] draft horses, and more than [-] mules and donkeys. .

Calculated, excluding the army and horses, the number of cattle, horses, mules and donkeys of the Jin Army is about 23.

This is not much. After Zhu Youjian defeated Oba in the second Northern Expedition, he only recruited less than half of the Horqin tribe, and obtained more than [-] cattle and horses.

The remaining half was absorbed by Lin Danhan, Bo Yundai, and Huang Taiji respectively.

In addition, if the cows and horses of the Tuman tribe were not unaffordable, the army horses of Jianlu might reach 15, and the number of draft horses and slave horses would be even greater.

With more than 30 people and more than 20 animal power, even if Huang Taiji fled northward at a speed of seventy or eighty miles a day, Zhu Youjian didn't find it strange.

Therefore, after Li Dingguo finished speaking, he immediately put down the ink pen and walked to the sand table, picked up the flag of Huang Taiji's troops that Li Dingguo had planted, and directly checked the flag to the north bank of the Heishui River.

"You misjudged their speed. They may have reached the north bank of the Blackwater River yesterday, and they are probably preparing to go northward along the valley plain on the edge of the North Mountain."

"How could it be?" Li Dingguo couldn't believe it: "It is said in the military book that the march of infantry is only fifty miles a day."

"Nothing is impossible. Most people who only read books to fight are mediocre." Zhu Youjian knew in his heart that this matter was very possible.

In history, Li Zicheng led the old battalion and a group of Ming troops who surrendered, and they were able to march at a speed of [-] miles a day, which was still within the enemy's territory.

Later, Shanhaiguan suffered a disastrous defeat, and Li Zicheng simply led the army to retreat at a speed of 150 miles a day.

Of course, it is impossible for the Jin army to have as many mules and horses as Li Zicheng, but this also means that the speed of the Jin army cannot be too slow.

Li Dingguo said fifty miles a day, that is the average quality of the army, the speed of the march in the enemy's situation.

But right now, nearly [-] Beishou Eight Banners under Huang Taiji's command are all horse infantry, and there are [-] Mongolian cavalry acting as rangers for them.

Before discovering the stone castle of the Ming army, they would only speed up their retreat, and it was impossible to stay for a day to rest.

Seventy miles a day, this speed may be able to come out.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian measured the speed of Cao Bianjiao and Cao Wenzhao's uncle and nephew with a cloth ruler, and then put away the cloth ruler.

"Huang Taiji estimates that he will meet our army's stone forts in six days. If he can break through all the stone forts on a mountain road in succession, then he will be able to successfully break through."

Zhu Youjian said lightly, and then continued:

"It's just that six days is enough for Cao Bianjiao to surround him with Baotao, Yingyang, Yulin, and Tiance."

"Even if Huang Taiji succeeds in breaking through the encirclement, it will not matter. The two guards led by Cao Wenzhao and the fourth battalion led by Guo Sangdai can stop him at the edge of Beishan."

"In addition... the stone fort guarded by Shence Guards is not easy to break through..."

Speaking of Shen Cewei, Zhu Youjian narrowed his eyes with a hint of a smile.

Li Dingguo observed this scene, and knew that this was the expression that His Royal Highness would only show when he was happy.

He didn't understand why, so he quickly asked: "Your Highness, I was very curious before, why the Shence Guard has 600 people, but only [-] troops are stationed in [-] stone forts, instead of [-], [-] troops?" ?”

"Isn't it good to have several times more people stationed?" Li Dingguo was full of doubts, but Zhu Youjian didn't answer directly, but just walked over and patted him on the back:

"Sometimes, 100 people is better than 1000, 1."

After that, he walked back to his seat, sat down and continued to deal with the memorial.

"100 people is more effective than 1000 people... 1 people?" Li Dingguo frowned puzzled, unable to figure out why.

One enemy against one hundred is basically a record that can only be achieved by the elite against the mob, but right now Huang Taiji's army led by Beishou is all elite...

Li Dingguo couldn't figure it out, but he saw that his highness looked confident, so he stopped thinking about it.

In his opinion, as long as His Highness is not in a hurry, he is not in a hurry.

With this in mind, Li Dingguo also sat down again, but instead of reading the so-called military books, he flipped through some books on civil engineering and politics...

Just as Zhu Youjian and Li Dingguo were chatting, a long queue was dragging in a valley on the north bank of the Heishui River.

This is the team of the Jin Army Beishou. Compared with a few days ago, the number of people in the team appeared to be smaller after reaching the north bank of the Heishui River, and the people in the team became more numb.

Everyone hurried on with their heads down, and suddenly a woman and child knelt on the ground, grabbing their cotton padded clothes on their chest like crazy.

"Hot...hot...too hot! Why is it so hot!"

The woman and child frantically grabbed their clothes, yelled anxiously, and then took off their clothes in Beishan, which was more than ten degrees below zero.

But before she finished taking off her clothes, an arrow shot suddenly, piercing her back and chest, causing her to fall headlong into the thick snow.

After she fell down, her body twitched a few times uncontrollably, and then she remained motionless.

After a while, when the people around went up to check, her body was already cold.

"If you get this strange disease, you can only die..."

A Jurchen woman who came up to pick up her clothes shook her head and explained to the scared children next to her that with their knowledge, this phenomenon could not be explained, so everyone called this strange disease "the curse of Beishan".

After untiing her clothes, the woman put the clothes on her child, even though the child kept shaking his head to resist.

After finally getting dressed and feeling the warmth, although the child felt a little sick, he still didn't take off his clothes.

Such a scene has happened countless times. No one in the passing team stopped, they just walked forward numbly.

In the middle of the team, all the nobles of the Kingdom of Jin also looked tired, only Huang Taiji and the others were more determined.

"Great Khan, we should be able to reach the southern foot of Tuluting Mountain tonight. There are several depressions where the army can rest and reorganize."

Amin, who was familiar with Beishan, came on horseback. While saluting Huang Taiji, he reported the road conditions ahead.

Hearing that they could rest immediately, all the nobles of the Kingdom of Jin breathed a sigh of relief, but kept vigilant about their surroundings.

Under the high pressure brought by Zhu Youjian, the Jurchens in the Kingdom of Jin basically had no time to enjoy, and naturally there was no problem of corruption.

Most of them started their careers with Nurhachi, and they have suffered all kinds of hardships.

Right now they feel tired, just thinking about their situation like a lost dog.

Once upon a time, they were also the ones who wiped out the Ming Dynasty's field army, but now, they don't even have the courage to fight the Ming army, and just like the Beilu, they only know how to run away.

They used to look down on Lin Danhan, but now they have become Lin Danhan.

With this gap, the people walked twenty miles and started to set up camp at Shen Shizheng (15:[-]).

When they were camping, Daishan came to Huang Taiji's side on horseback, only calmness remained in his eyes, and he no longer had the jealousy of the past.

"The further north we go, the colder it gets. Today we set off at Si time and rest at Shen time. We only walked for three hours, less than sixty miles."

"Going further north, I'm afraid I can only walk fifty miles a day."

"At this speed, we will definitely not be able to escape the encirclement of the Ming army within 30 days."

Daishan stated his own predicament, but in such a situation, Huang Taiji had no choice but to bite the bullet and say:
"Go on, it will be warmer by the end of the month, and you can go farther."

Huang Taiji was helpless, after all, after crossing the Heishui River, the temperature in Hebei was much colder than that in Henan.

If they didn't set up camp at Shenshi and complete the gathering at Youshi, many people would freeze to death after dark.

The Jin army didn't have so much cotton, so they could only wear furs, which were limited in keeping warm, and they could only freeze to death if they forced their way.

Compared with them, neither Guo Sangdai nor the Ming army had this concern.

"That's the only way..." Daishan nodded, and then left the place.

Not long after he left, Jierharang and Amin also rode to Huang Taiji's side.

"Khan, more than 500 people froze to death today..."

Jierharang spoke first, but what he brought was not good news, which made Huang Taiji tighten his grip on the reins.

"Counting it all together, more than 4000 women and children have died in the past ten days, and the complaints from the people below are getting bigger and bigger." Amin said while looking at Huang Taiji's face:
"Going on like this, it is estimated that tens of thousands of people will die before they get out of Beishan."

Facing Amin's estimate, Huang Taiji said calmly:
"Tell them that the Ming army launched the Liting to sweep the caves, and the Jurchens will not leave a single one behind!"

"If anyone wants to stay and have his head cut off by the Ming army as a military merit, I will not stop him."

The calmer Huang Taiji was, the more at ease Jierharang and Amin felt. Seeing his appearance, Amin nodded in response, then turned his horse and left.

On the contrary, Jierharang, after watching Amin walk away, he opened his mouth and said:
"That guy Mangurtai is a little restless. He wants to break out from the west with two blue flags."

When a power rises, everyone will be friendly, but once the power starts to decline, intrigues and people who make trouble will appear.

Mang Gurtai didn't have Daishan's brains, he just felt that Huang Taiji had robbed him of his position, and Huang Taiji's current retreat route was not in line with his wishes.

From Mangurtai's point of view, they should go straight west and attack and kill Taining Mansion while the Ming army was besieging Shangjing and Xingjing.

As long as he can rush to the mountain road where Zhu Youjian attacked Horqin by surprise, then Dajin can directly cross the Harawen Mountains and reach the Mobei Grassland.

It's a pity that Manggurtai didn't know the situation of the mountain road in Taining Mansion, and Huang Taiji was the only high-ranking member of the Jin Kingdom who had seen that mountain road.

He knew very well that it was impossible for a person like Zhu Youjian to ignore that mountain pass.

The terrain of the mountain pass only needs to build a pass in the open space of the mountain pass, which is enough to block all soldiers and horses who want to walk this mountain pass.

It is impossible for Huang Taiji to choose this path. Once he chooses, it will be Zhu Youjian's turn to be happy.

Instead of chasing and intercepting the tens of thousands of horse infantry and rangers riding in Beishan and Huangtaiji, Zhu Youjian hoped that Huangtaiji would go to the plains.

Artillery, cavalry, horse infantry, these arms, the Ming army is several times that of the Jin army.

If Huang Taiji dares to go west to break through, then Zhu Youjian can prepare to set off firecrackers.

"Take care of him. If he wants to lead his slaves to break through, ignore him."

"If he wants to break out with soldiers and horses with two blue flags, tie him up immediately."

Huang Taiji ordered to Jierharang with a sullen face, that at this critical moment, he would not allow anyone to hold him back.

"Yes!" Jierhalang agreed, then turned his horse's head and left the hill.

Huang Taiji watched from the hill that the camp in the col was built, and then he led people down the hill and settled in the camp.

10,000+ tents were set up. At this time, only a fire is needed to set up a company camp. But the fact is that Huang Taiji released Tang Qi for a hundred miles, which also means that the surrounding hundred miles are all safe areas.

He returned to his tent and saw a familiar figure.

"Hai Lanzhu, you don't need to do these things, just leave it to the servants below."

Entering the big tent, Huang Taiji saw Hai Lanzhu, the elder sister of his concubine Bumbutai (Xiaozhuang), with her back facing Huang Taiji, and she was arranging some things on the desk for Huang Taiji.

Hearing Huang Taiji's voice, Hai Lanzhu turned around. She was not very outstanding, at least compared to Qi Wang and Six Concubines, she was very ordinary.

However, she has a kind of heroism and freedom, which makes people feel a desire to conquer at the first sight of her.

Seeing Huang Taiji, Hai Lanzhu saluted:
"Kulegentu (brother-in-law) took us in, I just did what I could."

Hai Lanzhu's words also explained why she appeared here.

Although Zhu Youjian destroyed Horqin during the second Northern Expedition, Hai Lanzhu defected to the Kingdom of Jin with his father and brother, so he was taken in.

Facing a woman like Hai Lanzhu, Huang Taiji always has a desire to conquer her, but because there are too many state affairs and his own prestige is not enough to control Hai Lanzhu and Bumbutai at the same time, so he has never made a move.

Thinking about it now, if he can't break through, then he may never have the chance to taste the taste of Hailanzhu in his whole life.

Thinking of this, Huang Taiji stepped forward and grabbed Hai Lanzhu's shoulders, but Hai Lanzhu didn't find it strange, she had her own thoughts.

Since their younger sister has not had any children after marrying Huang Taiji, the whole family is very anxious.

Naturally, they would not suspect that it was Huang Taiji's problem, because Huang Taiji had many children. Although only one son and one daughter survived, it proved that there was no problem with him.

Therefore, they all suspected that it was Bumbutai's problem, so for the sake of the whole family, Hai Lanzhu had to sacrifice herself.

But she didn't expect Huang Taiji to be so tolerant, and she actually endured it for four full years.

Although the situation of the Jin Kingdom is slim right now, Hai Lanzhu has nothing to do.

If she doesn't give it to Huang Taiji, who else can she give it to?To the Ming army?
Don't think about it, the Ming army has already ordered Liting to sweep the caves, and their family has an in-law relationship with Huang Taiji, so naturally they cannot survive.

So besides Huang Taiji, she has no second person to give.

Hai Lanzhu looked up at Huang Taiji, and Huang Taiji simply picked her up and walked to the bed.

He didn't know if he could break through successfully, if he could, he would treat Hai Lanzhu well, if not, then he got Hai Lanzhu too, without any regrets...

As time ticked by, the wind and snow outside became more and more severe, but the interior of the camp was peaceful.

It seemed that everyone had already fallen into a deep sleep, even the soldiers in front who were unwilling to rest also lay down at this time.

Tired, really, really tired.

Inside the camp, the soldiers of the Eight Banners fell asleep together, with smiles on their faces.

In the dream, Dajin was still so powerful, the Ming dogs in the south kept begging for mercy under their butcher knives, and they, the Eight Banners warriors, captured Liaodong, captured Shanhaiguan, captured the Central Plains, and set the world...

　The marching map and situation map are placed in the easter egg chapter. If the easter egg chapter is killed, then put it in the comment area

　　
　
(End of this chapter)