Counterattack, or negotiate surrender?
Zhu Youjian suddenly found himself in an awkward position.
The senior officials gathered beneath Anding Gate split into two factions almost instantly.
Officials in the capital had world class skill when it came to reading the wind. One eunuch speaks and everyone supports him. Two eunuchs speak and the court conveniently divides into two halves, each side backing one of them.
Simple.
"I support a counterattack!"
"I support negotiation!"
"I damn well despise you muscle brains who only know how to fight."
"And I damn well despise spineless cowards like you."
"Your Majesty, Lord Lu is correct."
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Gao is the one who is right."
"Your Majesty…"
At this moment, Li Dao Xuan was sharing perception through the embroidered image of Dao Xuan Tianzun on Hu Dawei's chest, watching the ridiculous scene with cold amusement.
If you said these officials were stupid, that would not be entirely fair. Their ability to read the political wind was first rate. Their brains spun faster than windmills.
But if you said they were intelligent, well... when they acted stupid, they could redefine the very meaning of the word.
Pitiful and ridiculous. Ridiculous and tragic.
Hu Dawei lowered his head and whispered quietly.
"Tianzun, these useless officials... once we take the capital in the future, we will drive them all out, right?"
Li Dao Xuan replied softly.
"Yes. Not one of them will remain."
Hu Dawei asked again.
"What should we do in this situation?"
Li Dao Xuan chuckled quietly.
"Nothing at all. Let them argue."
"Given Zhu Youjian's temperament, he will eventually allow Lu Xiangsheng and Gao Qiqian to each command a force. One will counterattack. The other will defend."
Hu Dawei blinked.
"Wouldn't that split the army? That would cut our combat power in half."
Li Dao Xuan smiled.
"Exactly. But it does not matter."
"The half under Gao Qiqian is useless anyway. We might as well not count them."
"As long as Lu Xiangsheng receives the imperial order to counterattack, you can advance naturally. Bring the militia and push toward Liaodong from the front."
"At the same time Mongolia and Pi Island will attack from the other directions. Three sides closing in."
Hu Dawei nodded immediately.
"I obey the divine decree."
Then he muttered again.
"Tianzun… honestly, we could launch a mutiny right now and remove Zhu Youjian from the throne. We could easily install another obedient emperor. Why go through all this trouble?"
The embroidered Tianzun smiled.
"The Qing has not yet been defeated."
"If we create internal chaos now, the soldiers still stationed in Liaodong might begin to waver."
"And when soldiers start wavering, the most likely outcome is defection to the Qing."
"Right now those men are still good people. There is no need to test human nature and push them into becoming traitors."
"It is better to destroy the Qing first."
"After that, dealing with Zhu Youjian will be easy."
Hu Dawei finally understood and sighed with admiration.
"Tianzun is truly benevolent."
While they spoke quietly here, the massive argument among the officials had also finally reached its end.
Two grand eunuchs arguing would never produce a result anyway. The outcome was always fifty fifty.
In the end Zhu Youjian slammed the decision down.
"Enough arguing."
"You all make valid points."
"Lu Xiangsheng will lead the army to counterattack."
"Gao Qiqian, you will take command of the Guanning Army and focus on defense. At the same time send envoys to contact the Jianzhou forces and see whether they are willing to accept pacification."
The ministers immediately stopped arguing.
They bowed together.
"Your Majesty is wise."
Lu Xiangsheng stood there feeling both frustrated and speechless.
Fine.
So be it.
---
Early the next morning Lu Xiangsheng led his army out of the capital.
The famous general Wang Pu, who had once "defeated" the Jianzhou forces, remained behind to guard the Imperial Estates and protect Zhu Youjian.
Lu Xiangsheng himself marched northeast with two commanders.
Yang Guozhu, Commander of Xuanfu.
Hu Dawei, Commander of Shanxi.
He turned back to inspect the troops.
Yang Guozhu had brought three thousand soldiers.
Hu Dawei had also brought three thousand.
Together with Lu Xiangsheng's own three thousand Tianxiong Army troops, the total force amounted to nine thousand men.
Nine thousand.
For a counterattack?
Lu Xiangsheng sighed heavily the moment they left the city.
"Forget it. A true counterattack is impossible with these numbers."
"We should focus on defense."
"Yang Guozhu, take the vanguard and ride ahead to Shunyi. Scout the Jianzhou cavalry and determine their current situation."
He sent Yang Guozhu as the vanguard instead of Hu Dawei for a simple reason.
Yang Guozhu commanded the frontier troops of Xuanfu. In Lu Xiangsheng's mind, frontier soldiers were naturally tougher fighters.
Hu Dawei's Shanxi troops, on the other hand, were likely weaker. Better to keep them close to the Tianxiong Army so they could at least support the formation instead of dying uselessly.
Yang Guozhu accepted the order and rode off.
Now only Hu Dawei remained beside Lu Xiangsheng.
At that moment Hu Dawei leaned closer and grinned.
"Lord Lu, I have a strategic idea."
Lu Xiangsheng raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Let's hear it."
Hu Dawei said,
"This Jianzhou invasion route is extremely unusual."
Lu Xiangsheng frowned.
"Why do you say that?"
Hu Dawei explained.
"The Guanning defenses are still in Ming hands. In previous invasions the Jianzhou forces entered through the Mongolian grasslands."
"But now the Mongols are no longer obeying them. In fact they are harassing Jianzhou in the north."
"So this time the Jianzhou army definitely did not use the Mongolian route."
Lu Xiangsheng nodded.
"That makes sense. Then how did they enter?"
Hu Dawei answered.
"Jinzhou."
"The Jianzhou army must have passed through Jinzhou, then ridden along the southern edge of the Mongolian grasslands before rushing into Northern Zhili."
"In other words, their route is like a narrow corridor."
"If we defeat the Jianzhou army in front of us while simultaneously cutting off that corridor…"
"Then the raiding cavalry that entered the pass will have no way back."
Lu Xiangsheng thought carefully for a moment.
Then his eyes lit up.
"Excellent!"
"This could be a perfect opportunity to annihilate the Jianzhou vanguard."
"Defeating them in open battle might not be too difficult. After all, this is only their advance force."
"But cutting off the corridor behind them…"
"That means striking at Jinzhou."
Hu Dawei nodded.
"Exactly."
"I suggest leaving Yang Guozhu to hold Shunyi. Wang Pu remains in Shuntian Prefecture and can reinforce at any time. Gao Qiqian's capital army will also defend the capital."
"With those three forces the capital will be safe."
"Meanwhile the two of us sail by sea. We ask the coastal commander Cao Wenzhao to receive us. Once aboard ships we strike directly toward Jinzhou."
"Take the city as quickly as possible and the corridor will collapse."
"When that happens, Dorgon may find it easy to enter the pass…"
"But returning will be another matter entirely."
Lu Xiangsheng inhaled sharply.
"This plan is extremely bold."
"The man currently guarding Jinzhou is not someone easy to deal with."
Indeed.
At this time the commander stationed in Jinzhou was a very famous general.
One of the three great figures of Liaodong.
Zu Dashou.
Back then Zu Dashou had killed He Kegang and surrendered to the Qing.
But not long afterward he found an excuse to escape back to Jinzhou, slammed the city gates shut, and betrayed the Qing again.
Hong Taiji wrote letters ordering him to cooperate with Qing attacks against the Ming.
Zu Dashou ignored them.
Zhu Youjian summoned him to return to Ming command.
Zu Dashou ignored that too.
He simply hid inside Jinzhou and refused to listen to anyone.
Not the Ming.
Not the Qing.
Whoever you were, he did not care.