At the beginning of spring, Shengjing still had a chilly atmosphere. Before they had time to celebrate the great victory in Liaoyang years ago, they were soon overshadowed by the news of Daishan's defeat from Liaoyang.
The news spread like wildfire, not only the senior officials of the Later Jin Dynasty, but also ordinary people and soldiers were discussing this matter.
Many people couldn't believe that this happened. However, Azig and Amin, who came back from the front line, quickly confirmed the accuracy of the news. After returning to Shengjing, although Huang Taiji did not order punishment for them,
, the two of them returned to their mansion and stayed behind closed doors, as if they were trapped.
All the bad news was suppressed, but all the bad news seemed to be confirmed. Almost everyone, from the princes and nobles to the common people and soldiers, were waiting for the court's reaction.
In December, Beile Daishan, the leader of the Zhenghong Banner, was ordered to guard Liaoyang City and was not allowed to return to Shengjing unless ordered to do so.
In January, Azig and Amin were demoted to the rank of Beizi by the imperial court, and several Niulu soldiers and horses were transferred from their respective banners to other banners, including the blue and white flags, causing an uproar.
In early February, the daughter of Beile Abate, the leader of the Zhenglan Banner, died of a sudden illness. Her grandson Li Qiji and others were so sad that they followed her mother away a few days later.
A few days later, the Dashou tribe, the ancestor of the Ming army who had surrendered from the Daling River, was separated from the Han army flags in various places and retreated to serve the people.
Invisible to ordinary people, the Later Jin Dynasty was working hard to eliminate the adverse effects of the defeat of Zhenjiang Fort, and to eliminate various hidden dangers that might lead to such a failure one by one.
At the end of February, several troops belonging to the Eight Banners of Mongolia appeared in Xiguanbao and Liaoyang City respectively, taking over part of the defense of the original garrison.
These pieces of information were collected one by one from the people in the Military Intelligence Department, and then turned into the case files of the Military Intelligence Yamen and sent to Jiang Wan.
Even between Liaoyang and Zhenjiang Fort, there are two large and small cities of Kaizhou and Yaozhou as buffers. However, Jiang Wan still had a feeling every moment when he looked at the information that was constantly being sent to him.
It feels like the storm is coming and the building is full of wind.
The only thing that could give him some relief was that the actions of the Tartars were mostly concentrated in Shengjing, Liaoyang, and the Xiguan line. However, they had not taken any action against Fengcheng, which was captured by Zhenjiang Fort.
Either Huang Taiji felt that Kuandian east of Fengcheng and Xianjing Road in North Korea were not very important, or the military strength of the Hou Jin Dynasty did not support simultaneous operations on the east and west fronts.
Jiang Wan's judgment is more inclined to the latter.
From a strategic point of view, Liaoyang is definitely more important, but since the Tartars occupied Liaoyang for several months, their only action was to send some troops from the Eight Banners of Mongolia to replace some of the troops from Daishan's Zhenghong Banner.
, apart from that, they had no other movement.
In the military sequence of the Later Jin Dynasty, the first place was naturally the so-called "invincible" elite soldiers of the Eight Banners, the second place was the soldiers and horses of the Eight Banners of Mongolia, the third place was the so-called soldiers and horses of the Han army flag, and finally
What we are waiting for are some foreign cannon fodder recruited from North Korea and other places.
The Korean Fire Gun Corps that Zu Dashou was ordered to form at the beginning was a standard cannon fodder army.
However, sending soldiers and horses from the Eight Banners of Mongolia to replace the elite soldiers of the Eight Banners of Manchuria does not seem like a long-term business posture.
Especially from Liaoyang, they plundered a lot of people and materials and transported them back, which made their behavior look more like a predatory occupation, which was very different from the usual style of the post-jin Tartars.
"My subordinates' judgment is that the Tartars are shrinking their strength!" Facing Jiang Wan's inquiry, Gao Xingsheng expressed his opinion on the Tartar movements: "Although we won a great victory last year, we only annihilated more than 10,000 Tartar troops.
, However, these more than 10,000 people include soldiers and horses of the three banners of the Tartars, so I have beaten them thoroughly and hurt them!"
"The soldiers and horses of the Eight Banners of the Later Jin Dynasty, so the fighting strength has become one after another. At this time, the elite soldiers from abroad will be transferred back, or they will fight for power among themselves, or perhaps Huang Taiji will reintegrate the military strength of the Eight Banners of the Later Jin Dynasty, but
No matter how you look at it, the consequences after this should not be a good thing for us or for Jinzhou!"
"Are you ready to go?"
Jiang Wan nodded slightly. He agreed with Gao Sheng's judgment. Driven by cannon fodder, of course he had to save his own Eight Banners elite soldiers, which were not many in number. Huang Taiji was not a man who acted on impulse, and his plans were bigger than what the Ming court thought.
Much larger.
"However, this gives us a gap of time, maybe three months, maybe half a year, maybe it will last until the end of the year!" Gao Xingsheng said: "Our Liaodong Dusi needs time to expand our strength!"
"We are expanding our strength, and the Tartars are also expanding their strength. They will not wait for us!"
Jiang Wan nodded slowly: "How is the news from Jinzhou?"
"Everything is normal at the moment. The Tartars seem to have no intention of marching westward for the time being. But everyone knows that this is only temporary. The Tartars may come back at some time. In addition to Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou lines, the imperial court is also making adjustments to other military towns.
Send troops and horses, store up food..."
Gao Xingsheng said this with a slightly weird look on his face: "After confiscating Fan Yongdou's property, the imperial court suddenly became more energetic, and the military expenditures of the nine sides became much more abundant. This is the most generous expenditure the imperial court has made in recent years!"
"Haha..." Jiang Wan shook his head slightly: "It's a good thing. At least, with the court's actions, all the pressure will not be on our Liaodong Dusi side!"
"How many personnel are currently affiliated with your Military Intelligence Department?"
He pondered for a while and then suddenly asked.
"More than 800 people, including more than 200 from the headquarters, and the rest have been sent outside!" Gao Sheng replied respectfully: "Even with the care of the commander-in-chief, the Military Intelligence Department has become the largest yamen under the military and political yamen.
If the commander-in-chief feels that the Military Intelligence Department is expanding too fast, his subordinates can streamline some personnel!"
"That's not what I'm asking!" Jiang Wan waved her hand: "If I use troops against Kaizhou and use the Western Route Army as a back-up, can your Military Intelligence Department assist the army to capture Kaizhou at any time within one to two days!"
"Commander please give the order!"
Happy Sheng Suran replied that he did not answer whether he could, but directly asked Jiang Wan to give the order. Obviously, he was somewhat sure about this matter.
"Go back to Zhou Xiang and make a plan. Put this matter on the must-do list of your Military Intelligence Department!" Jiang Wan said slowly: "We can't wait until the Tartars take the initiative to attack us. At least, we must be prepared. If he bites us,
With one mouthful, we will remove one of their arms!"