nucmednet Chapter 717 Recapture of Southern Liaoning
Chapter 717 Recapture of Southern Liaoning
The smoke of battle rose over Jinzhouwei.
"Boom boom boom," the sound of cannons continued incessantly. The garrison town, less than two miles from the coast, became the best target for the Qionghai Navy fleet. The overwhelming barrage of cannonballs made the defenders in the town feel as if the end of the world had come.
Although few died directly from the artillery fire, this unprecedentedly intense bombardment completely shattered the defenders' will to resist. Once the Marines landed under artillery cover and launched their attack, the range of their rifled guns shattered the defenders' last shred of resolve to hold the city. The battle lasted less than half an hour; with the city gates blown open by the Marines using explosive charges—a tactic they had employed before—Jinzhouwei fell.
After Li Fei entered the city, Boerhu asked, "Master, should we abandon the garrison at Jinzhouwei?"
"Of course, the established plan will not be changed."
Borchu said with some regret, "It was easy to capture it the first time, but if it falls into the hands of the Tartars again, they will learn from their mistake and it won't be so easy for them to attack next time."
“Boerhu, don’t focus on the immediate petty gains. Look further ahead and understand the general’s intentions,” Li Fei said. “The general sent us to harass Liaonan instead of sending the main force to capture the strongholds one by one. This is because he doesn’t want to waste all his energy here. He just wants to contain the Tartars and then free up his forces to deal with the Ming emperor and the bandits in the Central Plains. If you insist on capturing these strongholds one by one and stationing troops there, you will be going against the general’s thinking.”
Borhu said with shame, "I am dull-witted and have not thought long enough."
Li Fei reassured him, "You are a talented general, a master of warfare. How can you say you are dull-witted? Just do your job well. The Qionghai Army is much fairer than the imperial army. They won't neglect you just because you were brought here by me. Work hard, and you will surely have a bright future."
He paused, then said, "However, what you said makes sense. Now that Jinzhouwei has been captured, we can't just hand it back to the Tartars intact. We should do something. Here's what we'll do: you take some men and throw a few Tartar corpses into the wells in the city to pollute the water source, and then burn down the granaries. This place is a bit far from the Tartars' stronghold, Shengjing, so supplies are inconvenient. And Liaonan is practically deserted, so there's nowhere to plunder. Without water and food, even if the Tartars send reinforcements again, they'll have a hard time establishing a foothold for a while."
Borhu clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "Master is wise. I will send someone to do it right away."
After easily capturing Jinzhouwei, the fleet continued north, rounding Changxing Island, abandoning Fuzhouwei far from the coast, and heading straight for Gaizhou. Gaizhouwei's defenses were no better than those of Lushunkou and Jinzhou, and it too was easily taken by the firepower of naval cannons and rifled guns.
Li Fei and his marines performed exceptionally well. Under the cover of the fleet's firepower, they successively captured important strongholds such as Lushun, Jinzhouwei, and Gaizhouwei within half a month. Only Fuzhou remained on the Liaodong Peninsula, barely clinging to life. The efforts of Nurhaci and Huang Taiji over two generations were almost wiped out overnight. In order to eliminate the hidden dangers on the flanks and rear, Nurhaci and his son Huang Taiji attacked Jinzhou and Lushun five times in succession. It took them through the reigns of Tianqi and Chongzhen, with countless deaths and injuries, to finally occupy all these places.
The news spread like wildfire, triggering a chain reaction: Shengjing was furious, and it was said that even the usually composed Huang Taiji overturned the table; the capital of the Ming Dynasty experienced a stark contrast of joy and sorrow. The people cheered, rejoicing that another army had emerged that could rival or even surpass Qi Jiguang's army, repeatedly defeating the supposedly invincible Jianzhou Tartars. However, the civil and military officials, from Emperor Chongzhen down, lamented that no matter how capable this army was, it was not under their control and was a double-edged sword that could turn against them at any time. Whether it would bring fortune or disaster, no one could guarantee.
Capital City, Jinluan Palace.
What was supposed to be a routine morning court session became tense due to news from Liaonan. Logically, everyone should have been happy: Qionghai Town had single-handedly achieved a resounding success in attacking Liaonan, nearly eradicating the Tartar strongholds. From Gaizhou to Lushun, the flags changed hands overnight, and the Southern Circuit of Liaodong Commandery returned to the Ming Dynasty. Although this operation was carried out without orders from the Ministry of War, granting Liu Ye autonomy in military actions against the Jurchens when he was appointed Grand General, there were no official problems. Such a victory as the "recovery of Liaonan" was a source of pride for the court and the emperor.
However, the scene of the Qionghai Army launching a military coup and brazenly besieging the capital was still vivid in everyone's mind. The court and the emperor were slapped in the face. This achievement became a hot potato that no one was willing or dared to touch.
Emperor Chongzhen rubbed his temples wearily and asked, "My esteemed ministers, what are your thoughts on the attack on Liaonan by Qionghai Town?"
The civil and military officials looked at each other, each seemingly having something to say, but no one was willing to speak first and analyze this thorny topic.
Finally, it was Yang Sichang, the newly appointed Minister of War, who broke the silence. He stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that, judging from Liu Ye's actions, although we cannot determine the exact purpose of this attack on Liaonan, it is certainly not for the sake of the court or the Ming Dynasty. Rather, he harbors malicious intentions, and Your Majesty must be wary of him."
Grand Secretary Wen Tiren stepped forward to refute his statement: "Your Majesty, Wen Ruo's words are rather sensational. Regardless of Liu Ye's intentions, the fact that he has recovered the garrisons and post towns in southern Liaodong is a foregone conclusion. This is beneficial to the court and has no drawbacks. So how can there be any talk of him harboring evil intentions?"
Originally, the civil and military officials each had their own opinions and were preparing their statements, waiting for the higher-ups to set the tone before stepping forward to express their views and make an appearance before the emperor, proving they weren't incompetent mediocre officials. However, when two heavyweight figures clearly articulated completely opposite arguments, those who were about to step forward changed their expressions and quietly withdrew their feet—it was a joke! One was a favored minister, deeply trusted by the emperor, and the other was the Grand Secretary, second only to the emperor. Their views were diametrically opposed; agreeing with either would offend the other, which would be tantamount to taking sides. Neither of them could be offended! It was safer to wait and see.
Emperor Chongzhen thought about it and it seemed that both arguments made sense. So he asked Yang Sichang, "Changqing's words also make sense. No matter what Liu Ye's purpose was, the garrisons and post stations of the southern route of Liaodong Commandery have been in the hands of the Tartars for a long time. Now that they have been recovered by the navy, isn't that a good thing?" He had something else he didn't say: The court was busy with military affairs on all sides and had no energy to take care of Liaonan. At the same time, it was also unable to repel the Tartars who occupied Jinzhou, Lushun and other places. Now that these places have been recovered through Liu Ye's hands, isn't that a good thing? Of course, he couldn't say this in public. To say it would be to admit that he was useless. What the million soldiers of the Ming Dynasty couldn't do, Qionghai Town could do with just a small detachment.