Chapter 18 9. Lure the enemy to capture the king, Shenyang victory

After the great victory in Sarhu, Nurhachi captured Kaiyuan and Tieling one after another in five months, and wiped out Yehe.The Ming court was terrified and took a pessimistic attitude towards the situation in Liaodong.Most officials thought it was out of control, but Xiong Tingbi wrote to himself to guard Shen Liao.At this critical moment, the Ming court finally agreed to Xiong Tingbi's request and let him replace Yang Hao as Liaodong economic strategy.After Xiong Tingbi took over the Liaodong Economic Strategy, he carried out a fairly complete remedy in terms of military deployment and fortification defense, and solved various problems encountered before in a timely manner.After Nurhachi met Xiong Tingbi's opponent, he didn't dare to send troops to attack Shenyang rashly.After destroying Yehe, the Manchu army no longer had the conditions to attack Shenyang, so they could only take a defensive position and wait for an opportunity.

Originally in this situation, the Ming army had an absolute advantage, but at this time the thoroughly corrupt Ming court fundamentally destroyed this favorable situation.Because Emperor Ming believed the eunuch's slander, Xiong Tingbi was suddenly dismissed from office.The Ming court also sent Yuan Yingtai to Shenyang to replace Xiong Tingbi as the Liaodong strategy.Yuan Yingtai was talking about war on paper. Although he spoke clearly and logically, he was not good at actually using troops to fight. The strategy he planned to deal with the enemy had many loopholes.He changed Xiong Tingbi's original military deployment.

During the confrontation with Xiong Tingbi, Nurhachi knew that this person was a ruthless character who was difficult to deal with. In his thinking, the war to attack Shenyang might take a long time, and he was not sure about the outcome.The two cities of Liao and Yang are well-defended, and the idea of ​​attacking Shenyang has always been on his mind.He was patient and broke down the small towns around Shenyang, which relieved his anxiety.The emperor of the Ming court was changed, the internal affairs were chaotic, and Xiong Tingbi was dismissed and transferred away, which finally gave Nurhachi the opportunity to make a large-scale advance to Liaoshen.

Shenyang is one of the important towns of the Ming court in Liaodong. In order to keep this town, the Ming court sent heavy troops to guard it.Knowing that the Manchu army was about to attack, He Shixian, the commander-in-chief of Shenyang, ordered the soldiers to dig trenches outside the city, cut down trees and build fences, and ambush artillery. Firearms were displayed every one meter on the top of the city. . On March 10th, the sixth year of the Mandate of Heaven, Nurhachi personally led the Eight Banners soldiers to march side by side by water and directly took Shenyang City. Nurhachi camped in a mountain depression fifty miles away from Shenyang City. It was just dawn at this time, and the soldiers had traveled for several days, and the troops were exhausted.Nurhachi considered this, so he sent an order: "We are very close to Shenyang City. The soldiers should rest and recover their strength. We will attack the city in the evening." This is just one aspect of what Nurhachi said, and the other On the other hand, he is most scruples.

It was the rainy season after spring, Nurhachi opened the curtain and looked out anxiously for a while, only to see Daishan, Huang Taiji and several generals coming wearing bamboo hats. Nurhachi sighed and said: "If you don't come, my heart feels empty, and all the problems I face are squeezed in my heart. The rain is too untimely, you should take off your bamboo hats and sit down quickly, and discuss our next step. How should we go?" Huang Taiji wiped the raindrops on his cheek and said: "Father, don't be too anxious. Once Xiong Tingbi leaves, the problem will be much easier for us. Now Shenyang's guard is He Shixian. He is a reckless general with no plans. We can avoid his strengths and concentrate on attacking his weaknesses, and the capture of Shenyang is just around the corner."

Nurhachi nodded and said, "Your analysis makes sense, but it's just a general idea without details. How can you avoid his strengths and easily attack his weaknesses?" Huang Taiji said: "Father Khan has not yet understood that Shenyang City has both offensive and defensive capabilities. It cannot be aggressively attacked, nor can it be used for siege warfare. The moat of Shenyang City is very wide, and there is no way to cut trees and build bridges. I thought about it for a long time. We must first make great efforts to attack the city." After hearing these words, Nurhachi and others asked almost at the same time: "If we don't fight Shenyang, then what are we doing here?"

Huang Taiji said calmly: "You have misunderstood. I have a way to lure the snake out of the hole, which should be able to solve the predicament we are facing now. Shenyang guard He Shixian is not good at using troops, so I conclude that as long as we send a small number of troops If we provoke outside Shenyang City, He Shixian will definitely not be able to hold back his strength, and will rashly send troops without knowing our reality. Then our army will pretend to be invincible and retreat. With his character, he will definitely chase us, and then we will lay an ambush The troops of the Eight Banners came out together again to encircle and suppress He Shixian."

Nurhachi nodded while listening, urging him to continue. Huang Taiji said: "As the saying goes, the king is captured before the thief is captured. As long as He Shixian dies, the defenders of Shenyang City will be in chaos. Does Father Khan still remember that the Ming army once captured a group of Mongolian soldiers, and there were not a few of them in Shenyang City. We will definitely respond internally, we will lead our troops to fight back to the city, and if we cooperate internally and externally, the city of Shenyang will be broken." At the beginning, Nurhachi and others were confused about the meaning of Huang Taiji's words, but now they all understand, shouting is a clever plan.So everyone made a total calculation and re-made the deficiencies.

There is a peaceful atmosphere in Shenyang City, and the streets and alleys are still full of people coming and going, very lively.The yelling of businessmen, the yelling of diners in restaurants and inns, and even the sound of beggars begging in the corner of the street are all mixed together. This is a very peaceful atmosphere, but they don't know that there is a hidden war It's about to be revealed. He Shixian walked down from the city slowly, feeling very calm in his heart.Judging from the current situation, the Manchu army should not be so stupid as to attack Shenyang City, so let's attack if they attack, and they will be wiped out earlier, and they will feel at ease.He touched the solid city wall, then looked up at the soldiers of the Ming army who were standing firm at their posts, and the distracting thoughts in his mind were blown away by the wind.He thought that the Manchu army would undoubtedly lose in this battle under the command of Jinglue Yuan Yingtai.

On the twelfth, Nurhachi sent dozens of cavalry to provoke and lure the Ming army out of the city to fight. He also ordered Li Yongfang to send a letter to He Shixian, the general of Shenyang, urging him to surrender.When He Shixian read the letter, he was furious, tore the letter to pieces, and hacked Laishi to death. "It's really deceiving, what ability do you have to let me belong to your sect, even a traitor is not an exaggeration..." He muttered and drank several bowls of strong wine, his face turned red immediately.At this time, a soldier suddenly came to report: "General, there are nearly hundreds of soldiers outside the city shouting, swearing and abusing the general."

He Shixian was furious immediately, overturned the table, and shouted: "I am a dignified general guarding Shenyang, how can I be insulted like this! It seems that today I have to show their prestige." He raised his knife towards the edge of the city rush to. A partial general stopped him and said: "General, you should calm down and think about it before making any plans. This should be the enemy's trick to lure the enemy. Once the general falls for it, Shenyang will be at stake!" He Shixian was in a fit of anger, and his reckless temper burst out for a moment, cursing: "The Ming Dynasty is because of more people like you who shrink your head and tail when encountering trivial things, and it will fall into this situation. If you want to restore it, you have to rely on force." and courage." As he spoke, he waved the long knife in his hand. Bianjiang was momentarily frightened by He Shixian's aura, and he was relieved until He Shixian walked away, saying: "Shenyang is doomed." When He Shixian rushed to the top of the city, the Manjun army below the city was still yelling, and the more and more curses became more and more ugly, until the cursing became dry, and He Shixian heard that he was about to collapse, so he stopped. He Shixian spit towards the city and scolded: "You soldiers are really oversatisfied. You don't want to see how capable you are, but you came here and insulted me wantonly. Did you ask me to do so! I'm going to seal you up today! You want to curse at the Palace of the King of Hell." After speaking, he opened the city gate and led more than a thousand Ming troops to charge towards the Manchu army. After a few rounds of fighting between the Manchu army and the Ming army, they pretended to be defeated.At this time, He Shixian fought more and more courageously with the strength of wine, and shouted while chasing: "You can't run very far, and those who are sensible will be captured without fighting. This general will leave you a whole body!" At this time, they were already far away from Shenyang City. The road was narrow and full of potholes. Some of the trees on both sides of the road stretched their branches and leaves onto the road, and their speed also slowed down.He Shixian was delighted, thinking that if he went any further, he would reach the side of the mountain. There was no way to go, and the Manchu army would definitely be blocked by him. At this time, a trumpet sounded suddenly, shaking the ground, and the horse was frightened.He Shixian suddenly felt bad, and suddenly woke up from the drunkenness. The sound of the horn just now was the usual communication technique of the Manchu army. At this time, the Manchu army might have ambushed all around. As soon as I thought of this, there were shouts from all over the mountains and plains, followed by waving flags and countless heads of Manchu soldiers. He Shixian turned pale with fright, and hurriedly ordered to withdraw his troops back to the city.How could Nurhachi give him this opportunity, the back road was already blocked by a large number of Manchu troops.After all, He Shixian was a fierce general. Seeing that he couldn't get out, he took off his helmet and led the soldiers to fight wildly. At that time, the Manchu army suffered many casualties, and the Ming army was almost wiped out.He Shixian killed a few people and was turning his horse's head. He was outnumbered and had no guards around him, so he died with several arrows in his body. Nurhachi took the opportunity to lead most of the troops of the Eight Banners to rush to Shenyang City. He ordered the soldiers to wrap their bodies in blankets, push the four-wheeled carts in front, followed by Jingqi, and tried their best to attack the east gate.The defenders of the city were terrified when they saw a large number of Manchu troops attacking.The artillery fire of the Ming army was unleashed, and the city was engulfed in flames, and the Manchu army suffered heavy casualties. At this time, everyone in the city had learned that He Shixian had died in battle, and the morale of the army began to slacken.Just as Huang Taiji expected, the Mongols who had been surrendered by the Ming army rebelled in the city, took the lead and rushed out of the city gate, cut off the bridge cables of the moat, and lowered the suspension bridge.The Manchu army swarmed in, and all the Ming troops were killed.Nurhachi finally captured Shenyang City in one fell swoop. In the fundamental sense of the Shenyang victory, Nurhachi grasped a point. After understanding the temper of Shenyang city guard He Shixian, he planned a strategy to lure the enemy to capture the king.Enraged by the Manchu army, He Shixian went out of the city to fight with a sense of recklessness, but was defeated miserably in the end.It can be said that He Shixian's failure did not surprise anyone. The moment he decided to leave the city to fight, the failure was already doomed. The battle in Liaodong had been a confrontation for more than a year before Nurhachi attacked Shenyang.For more than a year, Nurhachi's opponent was the talented general Xiong Tingbi.When he was doing the Liaodong Economic Strategy, Nurhachi failed to take advantage of it.But Nurhachi was not in a hurry to attack the city. He just fought some small battles around Shenyang to support the war, accumulate strength, wait for the opportunity, and attack decisively once the time is right.Of course, this was not a kind of blind waiting. Xiong Tingbi was dismissed and replaced by Yuan Yingtai. The weakness of the Ming army was exposed, and Nurhachi seized this opportunity.Since then, the collapse of the Ming army in Liaodong has been revealed.