Years of fierce fighting and being a native made him familiar with the situation in Liaodong.
Hearing that Hou Jin's troops were only 30,000, he knew that there would definitely be Mongols to help him fight.
"Who leads the army?"
The scout immediately said: "With the yellow Tuanlong flag, Huang Taiji should be here in person."
Everyone present took a deep breath.
When Nurhaci died, everyone in the Ming Dynasty celebrated, but they felt that there was one less powerful enemy. But Huang Taiji proved to the world with his performance time and time again that he was more terrifying than his father.
Hearing that Huang Taiji was personally leading the army, everyone present lost the will to fight.
Zu Zerun immediately persuaded him.
"Dad, let's retreat, we can't defend here."
Zukofa also had the same idea.
"We only need to withdraw to Jinzhou, and the Tatars will be helpless."
The other generals discussed one after another, and without exception, they all wanted to withdraw their troops.
Zu Dashou couldn't help but feel moved after hearing this.
Of course he knew that the imperial court forced him to build Dalinghe City, and he had other motives. In addition, the incident involving Yuan Chonghuan made him disheartened by the imperial court.
But just when he was hesitating, a person next to him shouted: "What do you mean? We join the army and have the emperor's favor. If we abandon the city and lose the land without a battle, don't we know that we will not escape the death penalty?"
Everyone looked and saw that the man who was reprimanding was a majestic man, and it was the deputy general He Kegang who was building the city this time.
He did not intend to retreat, but wanted to hold on.
Liu Tianlu's face was ashen, filled with grief and anger.
"He Zongrong, look at it, can we defend here? Once we are surrounded, the whole army and all the elders in the city will die here."
He Kegang's face was full of righteousness and unmoved.
"This expedition was ordered by His Majesty. How can we live up to His Majesty's high hopes if we haven't returned with full success? If a man dies, he will die, so what is there to fear?"
Zhang Cunren slapped his hand on the city wall and roared: "Which man is afraid of death? But he still fights a battle he knows he will lose, how stupid!"
He Kegang still refused to give in.
"No need to say more, Commander-in-Chief Zu, you can retreat if you want. He only knows that military orders are like mountains, and he vows to live or die with Dalinghe City."
Zu Dashou was on fire in his heart but calm on the outside.
He Kegang said it was easy, but in fact it blocked all his paths.
If he really retreats and He Kegang is killed in Dalinghe City, then the court will definitely punish him severely.
Zu Dashou believed that Chongzhen, Qiu Hejia and Gao Qiqian were all waiting for this legitimate opportunity.
At this moment, looking at the eager eyes of the soldiers and civilians all over the city, Zu Dashou felt so helpless.
"Send a letter to Jinzhou and Shanhaiguan for help."
In an instant, from nowhere, faint cries gradually sounded.
It was the desperate wailing of tens of thousands of people throughout the city, but it was a pity that the emperor in the Forbidden City could not hear it.
………………………………
On the second day of August, Huang Taiji waited for Mongolian reinforcements by the Liaohe River. There were eight troops including Horqin, Alu, Zharut, Bahrain, Aohan, Naiman, Kalaqin and Tumut, with a total of more than 20,000 horses and infantry.
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One detail of this alliance was deeply imprinted on everyone's mind.
The etiquette when the Mongolian beile came to visit was completely different from before.
They first bowed twice from afar, then kowtowed once more when they came to Huang Taiji, and finally hugged Huang Taiji.
As for other small tribes Taiji and Tapunang (those married by descendants of Genghis Khan), they even kneel three times and bow three times.
This means that the Mongolian tribes have completely surrendered to Huang Taiji, and they will consider themselves ministers of the Jin Dynasty in the future.
After Huang Taiji made an alliance with the Mongolian tribes, he divided all the troops into two groups.
Degelei, Yuetuo, and Azige led the way from Yizhou and crossed between Jinzhou and Daling River to cut off the retreat route of the Ming army in Daling River City.
Huang Taiji personally led the main force starting from Tuchang Road, taking Guangning Avenue, and pressed on to the foot of Daling River City.
He issued a strict order that the two armies and horses must meet at the foot of Dalinghe City on August 6th.
On the morning of the sixth day of the lunar month, the two armies of Hou Jin arrived at Dalinghe City at the same time. Not only that, they also captured a Han nationality in the south of the city and brought him to Huang Taiji.
What was caught?
They were clearly the spies that Hou Jin had laid in advance.
This person informed Huang Taiji of all the generals, troops, food and fodder in Dalinghe City.
Huang Taiji accordingly formulated a plan to siege the city and provide reinforcements.
They only besieged Dalinghe City without attacking it, and dug trenches around the city.
Don't think that the army's civil engineering work at that time was very poor.
The trenches dug by the Jin Army outside Dalinghe City were thirty miles long and about three miles away from the city. Therefore, the artillery at the top of the city posed no threat at all and could not affect the progress of trench digging.
The trench was one foot deep and one foot wide. A wall was built outside the ditch, and the wall was also one foot high. There were crenels on it, which could facilitate the Jin army's muskets, bows and arrows to shoot.
On the inside of the wall, a trench was dug, five feet wide and seven feet five inches deep, covered with straw and soil, which acted as a trap.
The camp of the Later Jin Army completely surrounded Dalinghe City, and there were also trenches outside the camp.
If you look down from the air from an airplane at this time, you can see that Daling River City is like an insect, and the trenches are like spider webs.
The insect is trapped in the middle of the spider web, and no matter how hard it struggles, it is impossible to break free.
It was not until the next day that the generals in Dalinghe City realized that Hou Jin changed his tactics.
Seeing the trench extending endlessly on the ground, Zu Dashou's mood fell to the bottom. In desperation, he had no choice but to send a force to harass, hoping to slow down the digging speed of the Jin army.
The Hou Jin army was well prepared, and with a sharp counterattack, they captured Wang Yanzuo, the capital official who led his troops out of the city to fight.
In the days that followed, the two sides cycled back and forth between digging trenches - testing - digging trenches. As the trenches took shape, the Ming army in the city could no longer break through even if they wanted to.
Their only hope is reinforcements.
On the fourth day of August, Sun Chengzong, Qiu Hejia and Gao Qiqian, who were in Shanhaiguan, received a letter asking for help from Zu Dashou.
"The Donglu are coming fiercely, Daling River City has not yet been built, and the ancestors are short of food and fodder, so reinforcements must be sent as soon as possible. For the current plan, all the troops from Shanhaiguan should be mobilized to help. Then I will go to your Majesty and ask the imperial court to send reinforcements."
Sun Chengzong was very depressed.
He asked to resign, but Chongzhen beat him back, and the reason was that he vomited blood.
You see, Xu Ge asked to resign at an old age. I couldn't bear it, so I had to agree. Teacher can't take this moment and make me focus on one thing and lose another, right?
Yes, Chongzhen used Huang Ping's strategy and successfully repelled Sun Chengzong's intention to give up his career.
When his resignation failed, Sun Chengzong did not lie down and continued to perform his duties faithfully. After receiving Zu Dashou's request for help, he prepared to send troops.
It's a pity that today's Ming Dynasty has no shortage of hindrances. The one who plays the best is still sitting opposite him.
"Don't be anxious, Mr. Ge. The Daling River is hundreds of miles away from here. The situation is unclear. If we send troops hastily, there may be unforeseen disasters. I would like to send out scouts first to conduct proper detection. We will wait until everything is clear before sending out troops.
For the sake of propriety.”
Under the mature words and deeds, it is obvious that he is suspicious of Zu Dashou.
Sun Chengzong was furious and said with emotion: "Military and state affairs are extremely urgent. If we delay them for just one day, they will be over. Qiu Zhongcheng must investigate."
Qiu Hejia no longer hid it.
"In the second year of his life, Zu Dashou began to harbor complaints, and thereafter he ignored the emperor's orders and the imperial court. Can Mr. Ge dare to guarantee that he is loyal and has no other intentions?"
Sun Chengzong was dumbfounded.
He really didn't dare to guarantee it.
From this incident we can see the disadvantages of using civilian officials as commanders.
In such an urgent situation, if the coach is a soldier, he will naturally ignore everything and make arrangements first.
But after all, Sun Chengzong was also a civil servant, and he would also weigh the pros and cons.
He was asked to use his wealth, life, and posthumous reputation as a guarantee for Zu Dashou, and he retreated.
The success embarrassed Sun Chengzong, and Qiu Hejia was so proud that he simply stepped aside and took over.
"In that case, Mr. Wu, let's send scouts to Daling River first. Once we have accurate information, it will be easier for us to deal with it."
Wu Xiang stood aside and witnessed the confrontation between the big shots, and all he felt in his heart was endless sadness.
Zu Dashou was his relative. He was really anxious when he learned that Zu Dashou was trapped in Daling River.
However, he is a military commander and a newbie, so he is not qualified to do anything.
The only solution for now is to get the actual information back as soon as possible.
After receiving the order, Wu Xiang immediately sent out more than ten teams of scouts and rushed to the Daling River day and night.
At the same time, he also had his own little plan and seized the opportunity to speak.
"My lords, if the siege of the city by the Donglu is true, the Shanhaiguan troops alone may not be able to do it. My lords, please make plans in advance and save up your troops and supplies, so that you can be foolproof."
The three Liaodong chief officials present all looked ugly, but no one responded.
Wu Xiang felt a puddle of bitterness nestling in his heart. He was speechless and finally had to retreat silently.
Looking towards the cloudy northeast again, I couldn't help but make slow calculations in my mind. No matter what, I couldn't be put in danger in this accident.
As for Zu Dashou who is trapped in Daling River City...