I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 117 Kill the Holy Mother First in Chaotic Times

Chapter 117 Kill the Holy Mother First in Chaotic Times

Chapter 116 "Chen Boying, I, Ma Shilong, will remember this favor!"

Ma Shilong was well aware that, according to the usual practice of the Ming Dynasty, Sun Chengzong did not have direct jurisdiction over Chen Boying, the commander of the Da Ning region. Moreover, Chen Boying was Wei Zhongxian's man, so he had no obligation to listen to Sun Chengzong's opinions. On the contrary, he would only hinder Sun Chengzong.

However, to Ma Shilong's surprise, Chen Boying not only listened to Sun Chengzong's advice and firmly held back Nurhaci's Jurchen army, but also, based on Ma Shilong's understanding of Chen Boying's strength, Chen Boying must have suffered heavy losses and may have been severely weakened.

Man Gui grinned broadly and laughed, "Lord Chen Boying is truly a good person, someone I can get along with!"

"If you can handle things according to the rules, don't just talk about it!"

Ma Shilong smiled faintly, "You have quite a few generals under your command who are skilled in cavalry warfare. Chen Boying must be lacking cavalry generals. Why don't you send one over? It would be a timely help!"

"What the commander-in-chief means is—"

Man Gui instantly understood that Ma Shilong wanted to befriend Chen Boying. The martial world was not just about fighting and killing, but about human relationships and social interactions, and the same was true in officialdom. Ma Shilong and Chen Boying were not without any connection. At least Chen Boying had asked him for favors before. This time, Ma Shilong made great contributions in conquering Shenyang, so he naturally wanted to share some of the credit and give Chen Boying some benefits!

"This humble general, Mo Xia, is the commander of the Harunut (Mongolian) ————"

"Don't be so stingy. A mere battalion commander with three hundred cavalrymen, is that all you've got? In this battle, you not only captured over ten thousand warhorses, but you also expanded your cavalry battalion. How can you be so shameless—"

2

Ma Shilong smiled faintly, "At the very least, he should be a cavalry captain. I'm planning to send my guerrilla commander Fu Yunxiao over there!"

Ma Shilong was different from Chen Boying. Although he was the General Commander of Liaodong, in charge of all the generals, deputy generals, and brigade commanders in Liaodong, and was the commander of the entire Liaodong Military Region, the problem was that he did not have the ability to raise military funds on his own. The generals under his command were so numerous that he had no way to expand his army.

This time, Ma Shilong rescued more than 30,000 captured Ming civilians and military households from Liaoyang, especially Han generals like Li Tieniu who defected. He must promote and give them important positions. But the problem is, Ma Shilong doesn't have that many openings, so he has to make room for these people.

South of Xianping City, the Ming army camp.

Chen Ying stood on horseback at the front of the formation, with the Shahe New Army and the Daning New Army lined up in neat rows behind him. Firecrackers were everywhere, and banners were fluttering in the wind. Further away, scouts from the Wolf Cavalry were moving back and forth, taking in every move in Xianping City.

"General!"

Zhou Bin rode forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "The main force of the Jurchen army and Nurhaci have quietly withdrawn three days ago. Amin is now the commander defending the city, and the morale of the garrison is low—"

Chen Ying smiled faintly: "This is a good opportunity!"

"A good opportunity?"

Zhou Bin was somewhat puzzled: "Does the commander mean to use this place for troop training?"

"That's right. Our previous training mainly focused on infantry defeating cavalry, and we haven't had time to train infantry to attack cities. Siege warfare has always been a brutal battle, and neither the Shahe New Army nor the Daning New Army has received training in this offensive technique!"

Chen Ying continued, "Liaodong has 25 garrisons, 14 garrison cities, and 127 fortified cities. If we want to recover Liaodong in the future, we will inevitably have to fight sieges. We must make up for their weaknesses."

"This humble official understands!"

Zhou Bin was originally just the Deputy Commander of Zhongtun Guard in Xingzhou. When it was merged into Shahe Guard, he was the Deputy Commander of Shahe Guard. Now he is still the Deputy Commander, but he is no longer the Deputy Commander of the Da Ning Metropolitan Commandery. He is a second-rank official, so his promotion speed is not slow at all. It's like he's on a rocket.

Chen Ying turned and issued the order: "Pass on the commander's order that we continue siege drills today, with each unit attacking for half an hour, then rotating!"

Chen Ying did not issue an order that they did not need to actually fight. It would be better if they could win, but if they could not, they could treat it as training.

As Chen Ying gave the order, the eight divisions and sixteen bureaus of the Shahe New Army and the six divisions and twelve bureaus of the Daning New Army advanced in formation according to their original battle order.

"The commander is going to scare Amin to death!"

Chen Ying slowly said, "What I want is not to scare him to death. What I want is for our soldiers to see blood and grow their courage. An army that has never fought a tough battle will always be a novice. The Jurchens in Xianping City are the best whetstone."

The generals were awed.

Whether it was the Shahe New Army or the Daning New Army, artillery was always the main force when training for siege warfare. The Daning New Army did not have its own artillery at the moment, so they naturally needed to use the artillery of the Shahe New Army for cover. For a time, the sound of cannons roared and the smoke filled the air under Xianping City.

Seeing the shells being used up so quickly, Zhou Bin felt a pang of heartache: "General, these shells—"

"Artillerymen need to be technically skilled. To fire accurately and quickly, the only way is through training; there are no shortcuts!"

Chen Ying laughed and said, "Now that someone's paying, we don't have to worry about the shells being expensive!"

Even now, the financial backers of the Donglin Party didn't expect that the Jurchens would be so weak. Nurhaci even boasted that he was the most powerful man in Liaodong, but he still couldn't beat Chen Boying, the foreman.

The problem was that the Donglin Party was afraid. After all, Chen Boying was a member of the eunuch faction. If Chen Boying were to wipe out the Jurchens in one fell swoop, the eunuch faction would become even more arrogant. They had deployments in various camps of the Liaodong Army, but they did not expect that the Tianqi Emperor would actually set up the Da Ning Commandery.

More importantly, they couldn't believe that Chen Boying, the commander of the Da Ning Commandery, was so capable. He had only a group of craftsmen, yet he had completely overwhelmed the Jurchens. They couldn't let the Jurchens be wiped out now; they had invested too much in them and hadn't recouped their investment yet. They also had no connection with Chen Boying, so they could only pay him to let them go.

With 1.5 million shi of grain and 1.2 million taels of silver, Chen Ying is not short of money now. Let alone giving him five guards with more than 300,000 military households, even if he were given ten guards, he would be able to support them.

Inside Xianping City, Amin was like an ant on a hot pan.

For three days, the Ming army outside the city has been attacking the city relentlessly, with cannon fire never ceasing. None of the scouts he sent out have returned. The food in the city is running out, the soldiers' morale is low, and even those on guard duty are dozing off.

"Your Highness,"

A Niru Ejen said in a trembling voice, "The Ming army has at least twenty or thirty thousand men, plus those reckless wolf cavalry. We only have less than three thousand men left. If we hold out any longer—"

"Shut up!"

Amin slapped him across the face: "If you dare to undermine morale again, I'll skin you alive!"

The Niru'ezhen covered his face and dared not say another word.

Amin walked to the top of the city wall, gazing at the large Chen-character flag fluttering in the wind outside the city, her eyes filled with resentment.

He hated Nurhaci. Of the eight banner leaders, all of them were either his sons or his grandsons, except for him, who was his nephew. Yet, at this critical juncture, Nurhaci had him stay here to cover the rear, which was essentially abandoning him.

He hated Chen Boying, this suddenly appearing Ming general who ruined everything for him. He hated Jirgalang even more, his younger brother. If it weren't for Jirgalang's meddling, Nurhaci wouldn't have given him the hardest and most tiring task, while he himself ran away with the main force.

"Your Highness—"

One of his confidants whispered, "How about we retreat? Break through tonight, head north, and take a long detour—"

Amin gritted her teeth and finally nodded: "Pass down the order: at midnight tonight, the entire army will break out. Burn all the grain and supplies that cannot be taken. Also—leave no Han slaves in the city alive. Kill them all, so they won't lead the Ming army."

"twitter!"

As night fell, flames soared into the sky within Xianping City.

Screams, cries, and curses mingled together as Jurchen soldiers stormed into the slave quarters like mad dogs, killing anyone they saw. Blades flashed, heads rolled off; in the firelight, blood stained the snow red.

A middle-aged scholar in a tattered Confucian robe desperately protected his wife and children. A slave soldier in armor with a blue banner looked at the scholar's wife. Although she was old and faded, she still had more delicate skin than the women of the Haixi Jurchen tribe. His eyes gleamed with lust.

"Get in line, I'm going first!"

The scholar's father, leaning on his cane, stood at the front, blocking the way.

"Damn Jurchens, you will all die a horrible death!"

"Pfft—"

As the blade flashed, the scholar's elderly father fell into a pool of blood. The scholar's eyes were bloodshot, and he curled up in a ball, clutching his head. He didn't have the courage to rush forward and fight back.

The child was incredibly brave, like a kitten, baring his teeth, but a gun was thrust into his chest, sending him flying. His wife finally realized something, and five or six ferocious Jurchen soldiers pounced on him.

The scholar closed his eyes, pretending not to see, but the problem was that his wife's screams kept coming. He didn't know how much time had passed before the screams stopped. When he opened his eyes, he saw his old father's headless corpse, his child nailed to the wall with a spear, and his wife naked, her life hanging in the balance.

"Walk!"

The Jurchen soldier kicked him and said, "You got off easy!"

In the firelight, his wife finally struggled to her feet. She forcefully pulled the spear from her son's body, and cradling his corpse, she murmured like a madwoman, "Why—why—"

The wife, carrying her son's corpse, slowly walked into the fire. Her hair began to burn, and her skin began to burn as well. She seemed oblivious to it all. At that moment, she finally realized that she had married the wrong person. She had married a coward. When Shenyang was captured, countless people began to flee. Her husband, Yu Chengxiang, believed that no matter who ruled the country, they would not be able to do without gentry like them and would have to make good use of scholars like them.

Thus, after the fall of Liaoyang, Yu Chengxiang was indeed given a prominent position, used like a beast of burden. His entire family of thirteen died one after another in just over three years, tortured to death in various ways. First, his eldest daughter died, then his second daughter, followed by his sister-in-law, and finally his mother-in-law—

Just as a great fire broke out in Xianping City, the Ming army camp, ten miles away, quickly discovered the anomaly.

"General—"

When Chen Yingde got up, it was already a quarter of an hour later. He dressed and ran to the watchtower. He stood on the watchtower, looking at the towering flames in the city, his face ashen.

"General, Amin is trying to escape—"

"All troops, prepare to attack immediately!"

Zhou Bin said with a wry smile, "Master, it's too late. Xianping City was originally where the main force of the Jurchen army was stationed. They cut down a lot of trees, and now the south gate is on fire, with flames reaching tens of feet high. The brothers can't rush in either."

"Bomb it with artillery shells, bomb it with grenades, blast the fire away!"

Chen Ying gritted his teeth and said, "Order the entire army to attack!"

"yes!"

As the bugle sounded, the Ming army surged toward Xianping City like a tidal wave.

There weren't many slaves left on the city walls. The Jurchens had fled all the way, and the number of slaves that followed them was actually not that many. More importantly, these slaves were not slaves in the true sense, but rather bondservants of the Eight Banners Jurchens. As a group that benefited from the system, these bondservants were even more ruthless to the people of the Ming Dynasty than the Jurchens. They were simply the worst of the worst.

Amin had already led the main force to break out from the north gate. The Ming army encountered almost no resistance, and they simply blew up the firewood piled up at the city gate and on the streets before successfully rushing into the city.

Chen Ying rode his horse into the city, and the road was littered with corpses, some of them Jurchens and others of slaves. Their blood had congealed on the snow, forming dark red ice crystals.

"General—"

Qin Siming rode forward and whispered, "At least four hundred corpses have been found. But—there are still two alive."

Chen Ying nodded, dismounted, and strode towards the north city.

It was a house burned to ruins. A middle-aged scholar with a bruised and swollen face knelt in the middle of the pile of corpses, holding two charred bodies, one large and one small, motionless.

Two soldiers stood to the side, not daring to approach.

Chen Ying walked over, squatted down, and asked softly, "What's your name?"

Yu Chengxiang slowly raised his head, stared at Chen Ying, and suddenly roared hoarsely, "Why are you so late?"

Chen Ying was taken aback.

He put down the charred corpse from his arms, struggled to his feet, and staggered towards Chen Ying. Pointing at Chen Ying, he hysterically roared, "The court spends so much money to support you soldiers, what use are you? The Jurchens killed my father, my father is dead, my wife is dead! My son is dead too! Why didn't you come sooner? You soldiers, all you know is to steal credit!"

"You're drawing salaries without working! You cower in the rear during battles, only coming to collect the corpses after the Jurchens have fled. Do you deserve the salaries paid by the court? Do you deserve the fate of us common people?"

He became increasingly agitated, almost lunging at Chen Ying. "I'm the one who wants to impeach you! I'm going to take this to the capital! I'll show the Emperor how you good-for-nothings fight a war! You—"

That's enough.

Chen Ying drew two revolvers from his waist and slowly raised the muzzles.

Yu Chengxiang was stunned, and the soldiers around him were also stunned.

Chen Ying's voice suddenly turned cold: "Anyone has the right to impeach me, but you alone have no right to impeach me, no right to criticize me—"

Yu Chengxiang collapsed to the ground, trembling all over: "You—you can't kill me—I have a degree, I'm a scholar of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Bang!"

Gunshots rang out, and a bloody hole appeared in Yu Chengxiang's arm. His eyes widened, and he covered his arm in disbelief. Chen Ying then pulled the trigger, and all twelve bullets from the two revolvers entered Yu Chengxiang's body. He twitched a few times and then stopped moving.

"My lord, you shouldn't have done it yourself. If word gets out, those censors in the court—"

Chen Ying turned to the assembled soldiers and said, "This man is a Jurchen spy, attempting to assassinate me—"

"Your humble servant understands!"

Since the Shuangchengwei began fighting the Jurchens, Chen Ying had already discovered that the Jurchens did not have any slaves accompanying them in this battle. The slaves in Xianping were mostly noble bondservants responsible for managing important affairs, and their numbers were extremely small.

"Send word to clean up the battlefield and collect the corpses. These people will be treated as Han soldiers' heads!"

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