Chapter 19: Capturing Emperor Taizong Alive

  Twenty miles east of Shengjing City.

  The frontal assault and pincer movement of the Jianzhou cavalry were successively crushed by the Ming army. Unwilling to accept defeat, Tazhen organized another strong attack, which also ended in failure. In this battle, more than 2,000 Jianzhou cavalrymen who launched successive attacks were killed or wounded, with over 400 dead and more than 1,000 seriously injured lying on the battlefield unable to move. Only less than 200 horses escaped into the wilderness, while the Ming army suffered only over 100 deaths and dozens of injuries.

  "General, we won! We won!"

  Diao Pian's face rushed to Wang Pu's front, excitedly jumping up and down, shouting loudly. This guy had been a bandit and then a general for nearly twenty years, and had never won such a thrilling victory in battle before. It was said that the Jian Nu cavalry was invincible in field battles, but this time they were actually killed by the Ming army without leaving any armor behind.

  Zhen Youcai slipped out from under the horse's belly, his face still with a lingering fear expression. When he saw the Jinluo wounded soldiers wailing on the battlefield around him, his eyes almost bulged out in incredulity. This was truly too incredible! With just six hundred infantrymen, they had actually defeated three thousand Jinluo cavalrymen, and it was a field battle at that! It was simply unbelievable!

  Such a big victory is not even heard of, let alone experienced.

  Wang Pu didn't have the mood or time to be complacent, he was thinking about a very serious problem.

  This time in the breakout war, Zhen Youcai's plan to create a diversion was not bad, but how did Jian Nu see through it? Not only did he see through it, but he also set an ambush outside the east gate, using his plan against him. If Wang Pu hadn't had an extraordinary sense of smell for danger, the one lying on the battlefield and wailing now wouldn't be Jian Nu, but Wang Pu and his more than 900 family guards.

  Who saw through Zhen Youcai's trickery? Who could this person be?

  The Manchu people are indeed brave and good at fighting, but there are few who can read and write, and only a very small number of people are skilled in strategy. Apart from Nurhaci and his son Hong Taiji in the early days, only Dorgon, Dodo and Emperor Kangxi later on were notable exceptions. Among the Han traitors who surrendered to the enemy, there were indeed many talented individuals, such as Fan Wencheng, who was a master of strategy, but he is no longer trusted by the Manchu rulers.

  Wang Pu beckoned to Zhen Youcai with his hand and shouted: "Zhen Youcai, come over here."

  Zhen Youcai hastily ran up to Wang Pu and bowed his head, saying: "General, you're looking for me?"

  Wang Pu said in a low voice: "Zhen Youcai, I ask you, how many people among the Jian slaves are good at strategy?"

  "This... " Zhen Youcai scratched his head and said, "Shouldn't be many, right? The slave leader Huang Taiji is probably the most formidable one."

  "Huang Taiji?" Wang Pu hesitated for a moment, then suddenly shouted out loud, "Huang Taiji! It's indeed Huang Taiji! How could I have forgotten this!"

  Zhen Youcai was startled and asked cautiously: "General, what's wrong with Huang Taiji?"

  Wang Pu quickly collected his smile and said, "The slave leader Huang Taiji is just outside the city of Shengjing, and now there are less than two hundred guards left by his side!"

  "This......" Zhen Youcai said incredulously, "General, how did you know?"

  "Heaven's secret must not be leaked!" Wang Pu suddenly turned his head and shouted, "Scarface!"

  Scarface was leading the family soldiers on the battlefield, searching for and finishing off any remaining Jin slaves. Hearing Wang Pu's call, Scarface hastily ran to his side and asked: "General, are you looking for me?"

  "Leave these wounded slaves alone." Wang Pu said with a murderous tone, "Immediately gather all the brothers and follow me to kill our way back to Shengjing!"

  "Ah?" Scarface exclaimed in surprise, "Kill back to Shengjing?"

  "Yes, let's kill our way back to Shengjing." Wang Pu said viciously, "This time we must capture the Tartar chief Huang Taiji alive."

  "Take the slave leader Taizong alive?" Scarface shouted loudly, "Alright, great! I'll go gather our brothers now."

  ■■■

  Outside Shengjing City, Jian Nu's large camp.

  The imperial palace has become a sea of fire, the entire Shengjing City has also been reduced to ruins, and six of the eight city gates have been blasted down, so Huang Taiji only stayed in the city for half an hour before leaving the city and returning to the large camp.

  Just before dawn, news finally arrived at the main camp, but it was bad news rather than good tidings.

  Emperor Taizong had just lain down for a short while when he was startled awake by the sound of urgent footsteps. Just as he sat up with the support of his attendants, Taizhen, covered in blood from head to toe, stumbled into the imperial tent and fell to the ground, wailing loudly: "Your Majesty, I'm useless, I'm useless..."

  "What's going on?" Huang Taiji sternly and calmly shouted, "Get up and speak."

  The tower was too afraid to get up, and with his head knocked on the ground, he cried: "Your Majesty, it's all over! The two thousand Manggu cavalrymen led by Abilong to ambush the Ming army are all gone, and Abilong is also dead... Waaaahhhh..."

  "What?" Huang Taiji could hardly believe his ears, and he asked in a low voice, "All... all is lost?"

  "It's all over."

  "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

  Hong Taiji suddenly let out a loud roar, and even Manchu Zhuli, who had just entered, was startled.

  "Your Majesty, this is all true. The Ming army's firearms are too powerful. We haven't even reached the front lines of the Ming army yet, and we've already suffered heavy casualties."

  "The firearms of the Ming army are fierce? How fierce can they be, how fierce?! Ah!" Huang Taiji gasped violently, cursing loudly as he caught his breath, "Didn't you learn a lesson from fighting the Ming army before? Even the Hongyi cannons on top of Ningyuan City couldn't do anything to us, what can these less than a thousand Ming firearms do?"

  "Your Majesty." Just as Huang Taiji was in a rage, a guard suddenly rushed into the tent and said anxiously, "It's not good, Your Majesty."

  "What's going on?" Huang Taiji, who had already developed a mind to kill, shouted loudly, "What happened?"

  "Tomorrow, Ming army..." The guard pointed outside the tent, his voice trembling, "A large contingent of Ming troops is approaching."

  "What did you say? Ming army!?"

  The emperor's face changed greatly, and he listened carefully with his ear to one side. Sure enough, he heard the sound of horseshoes like a tide.

  "Quick!" Ta Zhan, covered in blood, leapt up from the ground and shouted loudly, "Quickly protect the Emperor and break through the encirclement!"

  Two guards rushed into the tent, lifted up Huang Taiji and left. Huang Taiji's body was stout, those two strong guards were also having a hard time running with him as he weighed over 300 catties. The guards had just escorted Huang Taiji out of the camp when Wang Pu led his men to attack.

  If it weren't for Huang Taiji's burden, the 200,000 slaves would have easily shaken off the Ming army's harassment. If the Ming army dared to pursue them, they might even have been able to severely damage the Ming army in a pursuit battle and then turn around and defeat them.

  Unfortunately, Huang Taiji was the slave owner of Jian Nu, and Jian Nu would protect him with his life. The existence of Huang Taiji not only severely hindered Jian Nu's speed but also made Jian Nu hesitant to use all his strength. They could only guard around Huang Taiji's carriage, and when the Ming army's firearms and arrows came over, Jian Nu couldn't dodge and had to block them with their bodies!

  This should have been a brutal encounter battle, but it eventually turned into a one-sided massacre.

  Under the Ming army's fierce and unscrupulous attack, the two hundred Jianzhou guards were quickly killed or wounded. However, the Ming army also suffered heavy casualties, with at least over fifty soldiers dying under the Jianzhou's arrows and swords, and another hundred or so soldiers being severely injured and losing their ability to fight. Nevertheless, the Ming army's casualties were well worth it, as they really captured Huang Taiji alive.

  When his throat was cut open and the bright steel blade reached his neck, Huang Taiji appeared calm and composed, doing his best to maintain the dignity of a monarch.

  Emperor Taizong gazed out, and all around him were the murderous aura of the Ming army generals. This was a branch of the Ming army that made Emperor Taizong feel unfamiliar, completely different from all the Ming armies he had encountered before! In the eyes of this Ming army, there was no confusion, no panic, no retreat, nor fear; their eyes only had scorching killing intent, a group of fierce beasts!

  Hong Taiji soon saw Wang Pu, the Ming general he had been dreaming of capturing alive. Unfortunately, he failed to capture him and was instead captured by him.

  Hong Taiji suddenly realized who the Ming general standing in front of him was and his breathing quickened, asking: "Are you Zhu?"

  Unlike Nurhaci, Hong Taiji received a good education from an early age and was well-versed in Chinese classics, able to speak fluent Chinese.

  Wang Pu smiled faintly and replied: "The Commander-in-Chief of Datong Town, Great Ming Empire, Wang Pu."

  "General Datong?" Huang Taiji frowned and asked, "Wang Pu, I really can't understand. Since you've already escaped, why did you bring troops to kill your way back? Aren't you afraid of missing the opportunity to retreat and letting me gather a large army to annihilate you?"

  "I'm afraid, of course I am." Wang Pu said calmly, "But in order to capture you alive, it's worth taking any risk."

  The Emperor Taizong asked: "How did you know I was in Shengjing?"

  Wang Pu burst out laughing and said: "You really want to know?"

  The emperor nodded.

  "It's simple, because of your woman, Hailanzhu!" Wang Pu said, "When I was in Datong, I often heard people say that the slave emperor Taizong had a charming and favored concubine named Hailanzhu. Now that Hailanzhu is critically ill, you must be anxious to hurry back to see her for the last time. Moreover, this time our army's breakout can be said to have been carefully planned, but in the end, we almost fell into an ambush. Among the Jurchen people, besides you, Taizong, who else could have such strategic thinking?"

  "Empress Chongzhen?" The Emperor's face showed a look of urgency, asking, "Where is she? Is she all right?"

  Wang Pu sighed and said, "I don't want to deceive you either. Hailan Zhu's situation is very bad. When we first caught her, she was already on her last breath. Now, after riding horseback with the army for half a night, it's likely that she has no more breath left."

  "Call her Imperial Consort, don't call her by her name!"

  Wang Pu called Hai Lan Zhu's name twice, which made Huang Taiji very displeased. Hai Lan Zhu was his favorite concubine, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, how could a small general like Da Tong dare to call her by her name?

  "What's the big idea?" Wang Pu sneered, "Huang Taiji, you'd better get it straight, now you're not some Jian Nu's slave leader, now you're a captive in this general's hands!"

  The emperor's face turned iron-green with rage and he panted: "I want to see Empress Chun."

  "It's not urgent." Wang Pu said calmly, "From this pass to the inner city is still far away, as long as Hailan Pearl doesn't die, there will be plenty of opportunities for you two to meet."

  "Return to the Pass?" Huang Taiji burst out laughing, "You still think of returning to the Pass? Haha, the Eight Thousand Iron Riders of the Plain White Banner have rushed from the Songshan front line overnight to Shengjing. They must have already crossed the Liao River and are at most one or two hundred miles away from Shengjing. Wang Pu, even if you grew wings now, you wouldn't be able to fly back to the Pass."

  "White Banners? Eight Thousand Iron Cavalry? Sounds terrifying." Wang Pu smiled and said, "However, even your Taizong couldn't keep this general behind, let alone others. This general just needs to use a little trick to send them thousands of miles away."

  "Is that so?" Huang Taiji said coldly, "I will be waiting with bated breath."

  "You will know by tonight." Wang Pu said, suddenly shouting, "The whole army rests in place, and sets off after half a time. Scarface, you take people to collect the bodies of the fallen soldiers, cremate them on the spot, and take away the ashes. Xiao Qi, go find a tall horse, Huang Taiji is handed over to you, be sure to watch carefully."