Chapter 20: Zhao's Teachings

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  On October 31 of the second year of Chongzhen, rumors spread that the Tatars had breached the passes and entered. Some sensitive citizens began to bring their families into the capital to take refuge.

  At the end of the Ming dynasty, when officials encountered something, their first reaction was not to confirm and handle it, but to cover it up. If they couldn't cover it up, they would report it to their superiors. Therefore, even though Zhuozhou is not very far from the capital, the imperial court did not know about the news in advance until the 31st of that month when the news finally reached the imperial court.

  At that time, the Prime Minister Han Zhen, also known as Xiangyun, from Puzhou, felt that the situation was serious and did not dare to delay. He immediately went to see Emperor Chongzhen.

  Chongzhen Emperor was shocked upon hearing this, his first reaction being what Zhong Jie had said: "The enemy will invade by a detour." He then shared his thoughts with Han Yun.

  But the Grand Secretary Han Guang had a different opinion: "Your Majesty, Jian Wokou is far away in Liaodong, and there is General Yuan Chonghuan commanding the troops to guard against him. How can he be far from his lair?"

  "What about you then?"

  "I and my colleagues in the cabinet all think that the Mongolian tribes knocking on the border and plundering in winter are imitating the invasion of the capital by Altan Khan in the 29th year of Jiajing, and they must have their own plans."

  Chongzhen Emperor fell silent, and what Zhong Xue said was just a personal opinion. However, the matter of Altan Khan's invasion was a painful memory for the Ming court, being the second time the capital had been attacked since the Tumu Crisis. If this time the Mongolian tribes were emulating Altan Khan's actions, they would surely attack the capital again. But if it was Jianyu's main force that bypassed the city, then there would be a good opportunity for Ning's iron cavalry to directly attack Shenyang. Exchanging one for the other, Jianyu might not be able to afford the loss.

  Han Yun saw that Emperor Chongzhen was not speaking, so he urged: "Your Majesty, I think we should issue an edict to order the commander of Ji and Liao, Yuan Chonghuan, to lead troops into the pass to intercept the Mongolian Tatars, in order to prevent a repeat of what happened last year."

  Chongzhen Emperor was really in a dilemma, wanting to ask Zhong Xianwei, but Zhong Xianwei had been unconscious for several months, and it was unknown when he would wake up, which was really worrying.

  Han Yun once again began whispering in the ear of Emperor Chongzhen.

  Chongzhen Emperor finally got annoyed and asked: "Are you sure that the enemy who dares to offend us is a Mongolian Tazi?"

  He hesitated at the thought of making a bet, what if he wasn't right? If he spoke wrongly in front of the Emperor, he might end up shouldering all the blame.

  Finally, had to order the Minister of War, Wang Qia, to investigate the actual situation as soon as possible.

  On November 1st, the influx of refugees fleeing the disaster caused the capital city to also rise up. In order to prevent unexpected events, the capital city began martial law.

  In the afternoon, it was finally learned that Jianyu and Mongolian tribes invaded, but the number of people is still unknown. Some say 10,000 or 20,000, while others claim 100,000 or 200,000.

  The Chongzhen Emperor was furious: what's going on here? The number of bandits is so different, the countermeasures to be taken are completely different.

  The Ministry of War, the cabinet drafted a proposal to transfer General Yuan Chonghuan from Jilin and Liaoning provinces into the pass to counterattack the enemy, because among the invading bandits, Jianyu had the strongest combat power. Yuan Chonghuan was familiar with the situation in Liaodong and had been dealing with Jianyu for a long time, so he was more familiar with the situation.

  However, there were also other voices saying that the original Liao Dong Jinglue Sun Chengzong was also familiar with the construction of the enemy, and his qualifications were older than Yuan Chonghuan. The first assistant to the Grand Council, Han Shi, refuted that Sun Chengzong had been at home for a long time, and it was appropriate for the current Jizhou Liao Dushi Yuan Chonghuan to take charge of the defense of the capital at this time. Han Shi's promotion of Yuan Chonghuan was motivated by personal interests, because he was Yuan Chonghuan's "seat teacher". If Yuan Chonghuan himself defeated or annihilated the enemy, not only would he not be punished, but also had the opportunity to receive rewards from the court.

  Chongzhen Emperor thought that if he sent Yuan Chonghuan to attack Shenyang directly, in case the enemy was the Jianyu and Mongolian Tatars, and the main force of Jianyu was waiting for the Gwangning Army in Shenyang, he feared that the Gwangning Army would not be able to return. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh, his previous idea seemed like a wonderful plan, but when it came to implementation, there were many restrictions, and it became empty talk.

  The Chongzhen Emperor abandoned his previous idea, based on the opinions of all ministers now, and finally decided to appoint Yuan Chonghuan as the commander-in-chief of the defense of the capital, while ordering Sun Chengzong to enter the court.

  On the morning of November 2, Zhao led four thousand Ningxia Iron Cavalrymen and rushed for three days and nights, covering a distance of 340 miles to arrive at a place ten miles away from San Tunying. Not seeing any enemy scouts, he ordered his troops to take a short rest and sent out night patrols to reconnoiter the enemy situation.

  The soldiers took advantage of this opportunity to dismount and rest, eat dry rations, and feed their horses.

  After about half a watch, the morale of the soldiers had basically calmed down. In a group of soldiers in the northeast corner of the team, there was a sergeant named Zhu Yuanzhong, who was brave and good at fighting in his hometown. He was sentenced to be sent to the Liaodong military household for accidentally injuring a local tyrant while fighting for justice, despite being in the right. Later, he was promoted to sergeant after accumulating merits.

  At this time, Zhu Yuanzhong had nothing to do with his usual bold and courageous personality, his face was covered in sweat.

  He couldn't help it and went to the captain to explain, originally he had diarrhea and wanted to go to the bathroom. This is something that everyone has to deal with urgently, there's no way around it, so the captain told him to hurry up and come back quickly.

  Just as the hillside was about to disappear, a scout reported back to Zhao Rate that there were no Tartars found in the three Tun camps, and the flags of the Ming army were still in the three Tun camps.

  Zhao Jiucheng put down his mind and fortunately did not occupy the city. Since so, enter the city to rest. Then, reassemble the troops to speed up to San Tunying.

  Zhu Yuanzhong heard the gathering sound at a convenient time, but unfortunately his stomach didn't get along with him, and he couldn't stand up after diarrhea. He could only comfort himself that once he was done, he would hurry to catch up with the main force.

  But Zhao Rate's army rushed to Santunying and indeed the city was flying with Ming military flags. Putting down his mind, he went forward and asked to enter the city for rest.

  Zhu Guoyan, the general of Zhujiazhen in Santunying, heard the sound of horseshoes like thunder and stood on the city wall to observe the enemy situation.

  Waiting for the discovery of the "Zhao" character's large flag flying high, observing its military situation, knowing that Ping Liao General Zhao had arrived, also put down a worried heart.

  Naturally, the two adults began their conversation.

  Zhao Zilong said: "Our army has been marching day and night, both men and horses are exhausted, open the gate and enter the city to rest."

  Zhu Guoyan was helpless: "The enemy's momentum is too strong, the city gate has been blocked, and it is impossible to enter."

  Speechless, Zhao Zilong fell silent for a moment, then shouted: "I have come and gone without seeing any enemy tracks. How can I know where they are headed?"

  "About two hours before the general arrived, the Tatars withdrew from Santunying to Zunhua. I thought the Tatars saw that they couldn't take down Santunying, so they went to attack Zunhua instead."

  "How many of the retreating Tartars were there?"

  Zhu Guoyan's estimate was also inaccurate, as the Tartars had not allowed him to see their full appearance. He made an estimate and said to Zhao Shuai: "There are about 4,000 or 5,000 of them. I think one unit is attacking Zunhua, so the Tartars have gone to reinforce this place."

  Zhao thought to himself, in that case, Zhuozhou is in danger. The enemy has just left this place, and if we pursue them hastily, we might be able to attack them off guard. He then ordered the army to turn around and rush to the rescue of Zhuozhou.

  After receiving Fan Yongdou's notification, Huang Taiji began to prepare for battle. Upon receiving the scout's report that the Shanhai Pass reinforcement army was approaching, he burst out laughing and immediately issued orders to mobilize the entire army to set up an ambush at the designated location, and ordered all troops in the three camps to disguise themselves as reinforcements heading towards Zhuozhou, luring the Ming army to follow.

  It wasn't until then that the various Beiles realized that Huang Taiji had made arrangements long ago. Daishan, the eldest Beile, and Manggultai, the third Beile, were filled with regret. This guy Huang Taiji was so sinister, deliberately concealing key plans and leading them to jump into the pit he dug for them. They cursed him, drawing circles around his name, wishing him a terrible death.

  Contrary to Huang Taiji's expectations, the Ming army that came to reinforce had only 4,000 to 5,000 men and did not see Yuan Chonghuan's banner. It turned out that the scouts discovered countless cavalry at dawn, and when the cavalry ran away, it was a continuous long snake array. The first one who looked early in the morning wasn't very clear, and the second one received the military order to report back as soon as they found the trail of the Ming reinforcement army. So, seeing that countless cavalry came, they thought all the reinforcements from Shanhai Pass had arrived, and immediately reported back.

  While Shanhai Pass was informed that Fan Yongdou's side had come to support the Ming army, only Zhao Rate Jiao's department arrived later, and it was already too late to inform Huang Taiji.

  Emperor Taizong was somewhat hesitant, whether to continue waiting and see if there were any more reinforcements coming up, after all, setting up this large ambush wasn't easy; or should he attack now, but what if the main force of Shanhai Pass followed up afterwards, wouldn't that expose this ambush?

  Zhao Rate's army was chasing after the enemy, but suddenly he felt something was off. His long-term battlefield instincts kicked in. He stopped his running horse and began to scan his surroundings.

  The terrain here is a long, narrow valley, although it's relatively wide, but also a good place for an ambush. With four thousand cavalry rushing over, the noise was so great, yet there were no startled wild animals running around, nor any birds in the trees on the high grounds of the valley.

  Although it was said that the Tartars had passed by earlier, it has been several hours since then, and it shouldn't be this quiet.

  It was indeed abnormal! Zhao Rate's conclusion was that the troops should take a defensive rest on the spot, and at the same time send out Ye Bu Shou to investigate the situation on both sides of the valley.

  Zhao reported the situation of Jiao immediately to Huang Taiji.

  Obviously going to be discovered, Huang Taiji had no choice but to launch an ambush and attack the Ming army.

  When the enemy appeared all over the mountain, forming a surrounded formation, with ambushes in front and back, left and right, the Ming army was suddenly frightened, and the horses felt the overwhelming killing intent, becoming restless.

  Zhao Rate's teaching at a glance, and he knew there was no way out. The enemy situation was estimated to be so absurd, with tens of thousands of Tartars, more than 70 or 80 thousand! He only had 4,000 cavalrymen, even if one could take on ten, they couldn't win, let alone the actual numbers.

  Without hesitation or panic, the commander turned his horse's head and looked at his subordinates, only to find that not only the soldiers but also the generals had fearful and panicked expressions; of course, there were also numb and fearless ones. But without exception, they all looked at him.

  Zhao Rate Jiao was very aware of their thoughts and feelings at this moment, he had also experienced it many years ago, but chose the wrong path. This time, Ben Shuai came to lead the way. So, he straightened his chest, faced his subordinates, took a deep breath, and shouted: "Soldiers!"

  The guards surrounding him saw that the commander was about to speak, so several of them with loud voices repeated the commander's words and spread them far and wide.

  "Gentlemen, in the past when Japan's commander saw the enemy's strong momentum, he was afraid and fled. The imperial court should have punished him according to the law and beheaded him, but fortunately, he was able to redeem himself by making contributions later. Every time I think about it, I feel regretful and hateful. As a man of great character standing between heaven and earth, one should repay the kindness of the emperor above and protect his parents, wife, and children below. The Tartars have killed our compatriots in Liaodong, leaving their white bones exposed in the wilderness, with no rooster crowing for thousands of miles. Now they are foolishly thinking of poisoning those within the passes. This commander has decided not to agree, can you agree?"

  Zhao's troops were mostly from Liaodong, and almost everyone had a history of suffering at the hands of the Tartars. When they heard what their commander said, they thought back to those times, and slowly but surely, bloodshot eyes appeared one by one, two by two, three by three, until more and more people responded: "We refuse!" Finally, it formed a unified and loud voice: "Refuse!"

  Zhao Ratejiao was very satisfied that his subordinates still had bloodlust. Standing on horseback, he raised his hand forward and then pressed down, and after the noise subsided, Zhao Ratejiao shouted in a firm and fearless voice: "All generals, are you men? Follow this commander to kill the enemy, with life for life, blood debt repaid with blood!"

  "A life for a life, blood debt repaid! A life for a life, blood debt repaid!..." The voices changed from disorderly to uniform, the soldiers opened their throats and roared out the long-suppressed anger in their hearts. At this moment, there was no panic, no fear, only a raging fire of revenge!

  Zhao looked around slowly, gazing at the young faces before him, and silently thought to himself: They are all fine Han men!

  "Farewell, comrades! May we meet again in the next life!" After saying this, Zhao Zilong grasped his fist and bowed, then turned his horse's head and began to slowly walk away.

  This time, the personal guard did not relay the message verbatim, but instead shouted out in his own voice: "Brothers, we'll meet again in the next life!" Then he turned his horse's head and followed after him. Everyone looked around at their surroundings, saying nothing, using their eyes to bid farewell to their comrades, as they controlled their horses and followed after them.

  Zhao Rate Jiao, I think he can be considered one of the heroes at the end of the Ming Dynasty!