Chapter 54 In the third quarter, Nurhachi took advantage of the false attack

Nurhachi was really happy when he heard that the Liaodong front line in the Ming Dynasty had changed its coach and that it had automatically withdrawn the defenses in Jinzhou and Youtun.In the first month of the sixth year of Tianqi (AD 1626), Nurhachi personally led an army of 130,000 people, crossed the Liaohe River westward, and went straight to Ningyuan.Although there were only more than 10,000 defenders in Ningyuan City, Yuan Chonghuan was not intimidated by the enemy's superior force.He, general Man Gui, deputy Zuo Fu, Zhu Mei, and general Zu Dashou gathered all the soldiers in the city and swore to defend the city to the death.Yuan Chonghuan adopted the strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing the wilderness, asking the residents outside the city to carry defensive equipment, all moving into the city, and then setting fire to all the houses outside the city, so that there was no shelter for the enemy to use when they came.Yuan Chonghuan pricked blood into a book to boost morale, and bowed down to them to express his determination to resist the enemy.The soldiers were greatly moved, and they all expressed their willingness to live and die with Ningyuan City.Yuan Chonghuan also sent an urgent official document to the guards of Qiantun and Shanhaiguan, asking them to behead all the officers and soldiers who fled there, to punish those fearful ghosts who fled in battle.Yuan Chonghuan took this series of decisive measures, and the soldiers and civilians in the whole city were determined to keep their posts, stand ready to fight the enemy bravely.

On the 24th, under the command of Nurhachi, the Houjin Army launched a fierce siege battle against Ningyuan City.Yuan Chonghuan personally commanded the Ming army, stretched his bow to shoot arrows, fired various firearms, and severely hit the Houjin army.When the battle was fierce, arrows and cannon stones from the city were shot out like raindrops, and many Jin soldiers were killed and injured.Nurhachi personally supervised the battle and attempted to break into the city.The tenacious Houjin soldiers, with shields on their heads, arrow stone firearms, and siege equipment, the front team fell, and the rear team followed. No one dared to retreat.Although the Ming army was all brave, the artillery and firearms in the city were limited after all, and it was impossible to count on Gaodi to send troops to help.In this situation, Yuan Chonghuan believed that the Ming army was conducive to quick victory.He ordered the gunners to aim at the densely packed places of the Houjin army and fire bombardments.At the sound of the cannon, fireworks rose into the sky, and the Hou Jin army's flesh and blood flew across, and fell down one by one.At this time, the sky was getting dark, and amidst the smoke, the attack of the Hou Jin army was temporarily repelled.