Chapter 9: Blood War (Part 1)

  Later Jin launched a fierce attack in the morning, but did not gain any advantage, and suffered heavy casualties. However, Yuan Chonghuan knew that Nurhaci was a formidable opponent who would not be defeated so easily. The defenders had initially held the upper hand in the siege warfare, but after the morning battle, both sides had suffered almost equal casualties. The Later Jin army's elite iron armor infantry had been deployed for the attack, and their combat strength was exceptionally powerful. If they were to engage in a field battle, Yuan Chonghuan's own army would not be able to withstand them.

  Yuan Chonghuan's calm and composed demeanor gave the Ming soldiers, who had originally felt inferior to the Later Jin army, a boost of confidence. Under his correct command, the defending troops' morale soared, and they repeatedly repelled the Later Jin's fierce attacks until Nurhaci temporarily halted the siege. Only then did the generals on Ningyuan City walls, including Yuan Chonghuan, slightly breathe a sigh of relief, quickly regrouping to redeploy their defenses, treat the wounded soldiers, and formulate corresponding defensive strategies.

  What's been giving Yuan Chonghuan a headache is that the military strength in his hands is really too small, and there isn't much food in the city either. At most, it can only last for half a month. Looking at Nurhaci's momentum today, this time he must be determined to win, how could he miss such a good opportunity? Fortunately, Yuan Chonghuan had made some preparations, otherwise Ningyuan City would have fallen into enemy hands long ago.

  "General, we sent a letter to Shanhai Pass to ask General Jinglue to send reinforcements, it should have arrived long ago, why haven't the reinforcements arrived yet?" Mangui was a Mongolian, straightforward and simple-minded, he asked whatever came to his mind.

  Zu Dashou coldly laughed and said: "Man Zongbing, if you're waiting for that Gao Jinglue to come to us, I'm afraid we'll have all turned into a pile of white bones by then!"

  "Zu Canjiang, what are you talking about? Ningyuan city is also a city of the imperial court. If he doesn't send troops to rescue us and the imperial court blames him in the future, how many heads will he have?" Man Gui said with an unpleasant tone, although the two often quarreled, their relationship was actually the best among all of Yuan Chonghuan's generals.

  Zu Dashou snorted at Man Gui's words and retorted, "That high-ranking scoundrel Gao Di can't wait for our great general to die. Besides, the current court doesn't listen to what our emperor says, as long as someone is willing to take the blame for him, what can you do to him?"

  Although Man Gui was rough and brave, he wasn't a fool. With Ningyuan city surrounded by hundreds of thousands of soldiers, he had been holding back his anger and wanted to vent it out, but after being reprimanded by Zu Dashou, he fell silent.

  Zhao Rate's anxious heart was racing as he sat in the commander's chair, eyes closed in thought. He said to Yuan Chonghuan: "Commander, what should we do now? With Nurhachi's current attack intensity, our small force may not last five days."

  Yuan Chonghuan slowly opened his eyes, looked at the various generals below and said: "What I am worried about is the tens of thousands of dan of grain on Juehua Island. If Nurhaci gets it, we will be in trouble."

  "General, you're worrying too much. There are thousands of elite soldiers on the island and at sea. The Later Jin doesn't have a navy, what can they do to us?" said Zu Dashou.

  Yuan Chonghuan's eyes widened as he stared at Zu Dashou and said, "You're brave but lack strategy. Don't you realize what season it is now? The entire coastal area is frozen, so there's no need for a naval force. Nurhaci can occupy Juehua Island anytime!"

  Zu Dashou retreated with a humiliated expression, looking around awkwardly and finding no one laughing at him, before finally lifting his head.

  Report...

  A messenger ran in a hurry and knelt down before the commander's desk, saying: "Report to the general, the enemy has started attacking the city again!"

  "Go, to the city wall!" Yuan Chonghuan stood up, turned around, grabbed his helmet and rushed out. Behind him, Zu Dashou, Man Gui and others followed one after another, hurrying to the city wall.

  Fu Zonglong hastily came to meet him and said, "General, Nurhaci has changed his tactics. He is desperately sending people everywhere to dig at the foundations of our city walls, trying to make them collapse!"

  Yuan Chonghuan and the generals behind him all took a deep breath, this Nurhaci not only had many clever strategies, but also came prepared. In such a short time, he thought of a way to attack the city. Under the protection of shields, they looked down at the city wall, and it turned out that Nurhaci used iron-plated carts to transport soldiers to the bottom of the city wall. Under the protection of the iron-plated carts, they desperately dug at the foot of the city wall. This iron-plated turtle was not affected by bows, arrows, or firearms, and the red cannons were even more useless - using them would be suicidal. Yuan Chonghuan lived up to his reputation, thinking of a countermeasure in an instant. He immediately ordered that large and hard stones be gathered from within Ningyuan City and thrown down at them, to see whether the iron plating or the stones were harder.

  A barrage of stones came down, and indeed killed many Eight Banners soldiers. The Later Jin's offensive slowed down a lot, but it did not stop their attempt. Instead, more iron-plated carts were pushed to the bottom of the city wall.

  The people who were watching from a distance of over ten miles, including Zhu Yinglong, did not understand at first what Nurhaci was doing. Wasn't this just sending his own men to their deaths? Later, they came to realize Nurhaci's intentions. He was using the flexible application of digging tunnels to attack the city. At this time of year, the temperature was very low, and the mud was frozen like stone. Digging tunnels to attack the city would be extremely foolish, not to mention surrounding it without attacking. As long as they dug a few dozen holes in the city wall, even the sturdiest walls could not escape collapse. The Great Wall of China collapsed due to an ant hole. Nurhaci's strategy was indeed extraordinary. However, the defender, Yuan Chonghuan, was no weakling either. He immediately thought of the enemy's intentions and used stones to smash the digging enemies to death, indirectly reinforcing the city walls as well. In this way, if Nurhaci wanted to achieve his goals, he would need to clear away the giant rocks at the bottom of the city. However, the prerequisite was that there were enough stones in Ningyuan City; otherwise, even if Nurhaci kept changing locations, the defenders on the walls of Ningyuan City could only sigh in dismay.

  "Your Highness, can General Yuan hold onto Ningyuan City?" Lu Haotian asked after observing for a long time, turning his head to ask Zhu Yinglong.

  Zhu Yinglong was taken aback, and his strong confidence in Yuan Chonghuan suddenly developed a crack. Without saying anything else, this war had been delayed for nearly twenty days, and history had changed. Since there had been changes, Zhu Yinglong's heart had produced doubts about whether Yuan Chonghuan could hold onto Ningyuan City and achieve the first Liaodong victory. If Yuan Chonghuan couldn't hold onto Liaoyang, how could that mediocre Gao Di hold onto Shanhai Pass? The Ming dynasty would be in danger! Zhu Yinglong's series of thoughts churned in his mind, and for a moment, he forgot to answer Lu Haotian's question.

  "Lina believes that Uncle Yuan will definitely defend Ningyuan City and even defeat Nurhaci!" Xiong Hu's words, although a bit blindly confident, shocked Zhu Yinglong out of his confusion. He thought to himself, how could this be? As someone who knows the outcome of history, why doesn't he trust the hero revered by later generations in this time and space?

  Zhu Yinglong understood this point and smiled confidently: "I, the king, believe just like Liniang that General Yuan will definitely defeat Nurhaci!"

  Xiong Tingbi did not speak, but in his heart he also had full confidence in Yuan Chonghuan. If it were not for the weakness of manpower, he would have liked to go to Ningyuan City and fight side by side with Yuan Chonghuan.