Chapter 107 Let’s Escape
In Liaoyang city.

All the surviving Ezhens of all levels knelt in the old hall, and only Ajige, one of the eight banner leaders, came.

In other words, Ajige was the only living flag owner who could come.

"In the early years, when I led troops to attack the various tribes of Jianzhou, my soldiers were almost like this."

Recalling the past, Nurhaci suddenly felt that the world had returned to decades ago.

The Jurchen soldiers at that time were little more than bandits. Whenever there was a big battle, only he and a few other fierce generals such as An Feyanggu and Fei Yingdong would rush forward to fight. Only after the main force of the enemy was killed and dispersed would the soldiers who followed them join the battle.

Even during the Battle of Sarhu, when he personally commanded the battle against Malin, there were bannermen who refused to dismount and fight on foot.

Bravery has never been a characteristic of the Eight Banners soldiers.

Nurhaci was still waiting for his veteran generals to recall the situation back then. After waiting for a long time, he didn't hear any words from his subordinates. Then he remembered that all the veteran generals who could fight were dead.

Either they were killed in battle or died of old age in the past few years.

"Alas! Sanchahe must be defended." The King of the Later Jin Dynasty sighed rarely, "Shi Tingzhu, what is the situation in Haizhou? If there is still a chance, we can take it down while Li Hao is back to rescue Jinzhou."

Because of the inexplicable rout and lack of command, many bannermen stayed on the west bank of the Sancha River for several days, which also allowed the Eight Banners high-ranking officials in Liaoyang City to learn about some of the movements of the Liaoxi Army.

Shi Tingzhu was a Hanized Jurchen whose original surname was Guwaljia. He surrendered to the Later Jin after the Battle of Guangning and was affiliated with the Plain White Banner.

After Gaizhou City was captured by Li Hao in February, Shi Tingzhu, who was on a military expedition, escaped the disaster, but his family members were not so lucky.

"Zhao Lujiao is seriously injured and won't live for a few days. But there are still two or three thousand strong Ming soldiers in the city, as well as some Dongjiang soldiers. They may not have enough food to hold on. I think we should move the East Coast camp to the foot of Haizhou City and surround Zhao Lujiao's troops."

Among the people kneeling in the hall, Shi Tingzhu is the only one with a good brain. The rest are either reckless men or cowards who were frightened by Li Hao.

"Besiege the city? How can we have the manpower to surround the four city gates? Amin has killed all his soldiers in one battle, and there are only a few bannermen and the weak Tainikan left in the camp. We should call them back to defend Liaoyang City as soon as possible."

Ajige clearly expressed his opposition. At the age of 21, he had 70% of Nurhaci's appearance, but he inherited less than 30% of his father's strategy.

The King of Later Jin originally wanted to reprimand his son, but remembering that there was no one else available, he had to change his words and adopted a lecturing tone.

"We still have manpower. If they are all dead, some things will be easier to handle. The two flags of Zhenglan Banner and Xianglan Banner are vacant, let Dergelei and Jirgalang take over. Reduce the forces of the two blue banners and only station troops in the north of Kuandian to prevent the Ming army from attacking the old village from Kuandian. Bring the remaining flagmen, bondservants, and Tainikan to the vicinity of Liaoyang."

Among the Eight Banners, only the two White Banners have lost all the large cities and important villages and fortresses. The remaining six banners only have soldiers and Ezhen at all levels who have suffered heavy losses. The lower-level officials such as Daizi, Cunbashiku, and Tatan Zhangjing are still relatively intact.

Nurhaci thought for a moment, and then gave an order to the two white flag ezhens kneeling on the ground:

"The Fourth Prince is organizing the two red flags in the north to return to Shengjing, so he has no time to take care of the affairs in the south. You guys should go and bring all the remaining men and bondservants of the two white flags to the vicinity of Shengjing City, and let the Fourth Prince take charge of them. The land near Haizhou cannot be cultivated, and there are not so many mouths to feed today."

The eighth son Huang Taiji intended to avoid him, and Nurhaci also understood that most of the fifty Niulu in the two red flags were loyal to the eighth son, but now he was short of manpower, and the eighth son was still capable, so he had to let him continue to manage the rear.

Ajige had his own ideas. "Khan Ama, the servants below are all scared. With the catapults, Li Hao can easily break into the city. Liaoyang City cannot be defended. It is better to take advantage of the fact that the Nikans of the various banners have not fled and take all the civilians back to Fushun and Sarhu. It is much easier to defend the mountains than the city."

The core meaning of his words is just one: just run away!

Most of the Ezhen in each banner were of Jianzhou Jurchen origin, and a small number were of Haixi Jurchen origin. They grew up in the mountains, and it had only been five or six years since they moved to the plains such as Liaoyang and Shengjing.

After five consecutive months of setbacks, those in charge at all levels began to think about withdrawing to the mountainous areas.

This proposal made Nurhaci furious. "I have spent my whole life to build this fortune, and you are just going to throw it all away?"

He looked at his kneeling son and servants, but as soon as his eyes swept over them, the servants all prostrated themselves on the ground and did not even look at the old Khan.

In earlier years, he would have killed a few of the most enthusiastic slaves and then forced his subordinates to implement his ideas.

But now the people's hearts are scattered, and the Ming army has killed all the eight banners. If he kills more people, there will really be no one to do the work. Maybe the slaves who are forced into a corner will bring their people to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Empire needed a huge sum of gold to buy horse bones, and the Eight Banners Ezhen who surrendered first would definitely not be troubled. Instead, they would most likely receive a large amount of silver and grain as rewards.

Ajige raised his head and looked into his father's eyes, and they stared at each other for a long time.

"Khan Ama, it's not that we are going to lose our property, but our servants really don't have the courage to fight Li Hao again. It is right to suppress the Nikans to Laozhai, Jiefan and other places while there are still many flag soldiers. Otherwise, in a month or two, the Nikans of the two red flags will all run south."

The problem of Han people's escape has always troubled the Eight Banners Ezhen, and there were even several waves of escape around the fifth year of the Tianqi reign.

Now that the Ming army was gaining momentum, the Han people such as the Baoyi Aha were having a hard time under the rule of the Eight Banners. In the southern camp, there were even cases of laborers cutting grass fleeing to Haizhou City.

This time, the ruler of the Later Jin Dynasty seriously considered this issue, and after careful consideration, he issued a series of orders:
"Bring all the bondservants who have not been given land and the Nikans in the manors to Fushun Pass, and hand over the land they cultivate to the bannermen. The two yellow banners will be divided into 20 Niulu, which will be in charge of horses, cattle and other livestock. All farm tools such as plows, shovels, flails, etc. will be brought to Jiefan, Sarhu City, and Laozhai."

"Follow the Ming's practice in Ningyuan City, we can directly block the main gate of Liaoyang City with solid earth. Let the Ming army attack this dead city."

"Send a message to Dergelei and Jirgalang, and have them quickly gather to the south of Liaoyang with the two blue flag soldiers. Ajige will lead the main camp to station outside Haizhou City. We don't want you to besiege them, just surround and kill the Ming soldiers who are out grazing their horses. Without fodder, the fighting capacity of the Ming army will be reduced by 70% to 80%. "

Even the Haixi Jurchens within the Later Jin Dynasty had differences with the Jianzhou Jurchens. After the Ming army became strong again, the only ones Nurhaci could rely on were the flagmen of each banner who had been allocated land.

After all, if the Ming Empire reoccupies Liaoyang, Shengjing, Kaiyuan and Tieling, it will surely confiscate the land and distribute it to the Han people for cultivation.

All the Ezhen in the old hall received the order one after another and went out of the hall to do their work.

After the servants left, Nurhaci called Dahai, a civil official who followed him.

"Go back to the old village secretly and tell the Fourteenth Prince that I have given Hetuala to him. He must stay near the old village during this period and must not return to Shengjing, Liaoyang, etc."

Given that the Ming general Li Hao specifically targeted the nobles of the Eight Banners, the ruler of the Later Jin Dynasty had no choice but to let his youngest son stay in a safe area.

Dahai was shocked, knowing that the old Khan was not optimistic about the future situation and he could only save Prince Dorgon.

He came forward first, hugged the old Khan's trouser legs, and the sick monarch and weak minister hugged and cried bitterly. It was not until late in the morning that Dahai was driven on the road.

……

"General Li, the Thirteen Mountain Posthouse is ahead. Oba, the chieftain of the Khorchin tribe, is camping nearby."

Several reconnaissance cavalrymen of Zhang Bangcai's army reported military intelligence to the general of Jinzhou.

The Khorchin tribe led by Oba was advancing with great force, but was blocked by the Daling River and could not get close to Jinzhou city.

This army, mainly composed of Mongolian soldiers, tried to go north along the Daling River, cross Lu Mountain and then go south, but was blocked at the mountain pass by Xu Zoufu, Deng Maolin near Yizhou, and newly recruited Ming soldiers under the command of Wu Xiang. The Mongolian soldiers had no intention of attacking the mountain and retreated, only looting the nearby Liao people.

Generally speaking, only the people on the east side of Dalingh River and near Guangning suffered, while Jinzhou was relatively stable.

Zhang Bangcai's troops were originally stationed at Panshan Post. After learning that the Mongolian soldiers were invading the south, they withdrew to the Jinyou area. Although they did not stop the Mongolian soldiers from robbing the civilians, they at least succeeded in investigating the situation and prevented Li Hao, who led his elite troops back, from being left in the dark.

"Replace the big horse that Zhao Lujiao sent me. Zu Kuan, the Liu brothers, and Shang Kexi each lead a hundred cavalrymen to go around to the north of the Thirteen Mountain Post. There is no need to conceal the marching route and block their way to the north."

After several battles, many of Li Hao's brave generals were injured, and he could only use the newly surrendered Liu brothers to lead the troops, but he kept Liu Xingzuo by his side.

The generals took the order and left. The march of several hundred cavalrymen obviously attracted the attention of the Mongolian scouts.

What the Jinzhou general wanted was to alert the Mongolian soldiers. When the Mongolian soldiers started to move, he rode the strongest warhorse and led the remaining cavalry to charge towards the place where the Mongolian soldiers gathered the most.

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(End of this chapter)