From ancient times to the present, whenever the Central Plains is engaged in expeditions, they usually choose to go through spring and summer. Because the climate is the most pleasant in these two seasons. After a winter preparation, whether it is soldiers, weapons and supplies, they are arranged properly, so that there is no worries. In such a snowy winter, the people of the Central Plains are generally mainly defense-oriented, but the nomadic peoples outside the Frontier like to invade the Central Plains at this time. This is because they have to graz and hunt in other seasons. Only in the winter when everything is bleak, will they invade the Central Plains because of life.

But everything always has its own special side. This time, Tang Feng did the opposite and chose this cold winter to launch a counterattack against the Jin people. This was completely beyond the expectations of the Jin people, and it was not until the Ming army rushed to the city of Haizhou that someone hurriedly reported this to the Jin court in Shengjing.[]

In addition to trying to make such a decision, Tang Feng had another consideration, which was the hindering effect of heavy snow on the Jin people. Most of the Jin people were cavalry. Although the Ming army now had the nemesis of cavalry such as artillery, he still did not dare to take it lightly. On the thick snow, no matter how powerful the horse was, it would not be able to exert 100% of its ability. In this way, the Jin army would inevitably be greatly reduced in combat power. As for the Ming army itself, although there would be certain obstacles, they, mainly infantry, would not weaken much of their combat power.

It is precisely because of these two considerations that Tang Feng brazenly decided to conquer the Jin Kingdom in this cold winter.

His plan can be said to be very successful. It is precisely because of the weather that the Jin people did not know the attack of the Ming army through formal channels until they attacked Haizhou. It is also because of the wind and snow that the people who rushed to Shengjing to report the news could not go away and rushed to the road. As a result, the Jin people only learned about this after the Ming army captured Haizhou.

Haizhou is one of the three important places closest to the Liaodong region of the Jin Dynasty, and the other two are Yingkou and Gaizhou. In fact, these three cities were originally the territory of the Ming army, and there were also military officers and soldiers in the local area. However, after the Battle of Sarhu, these cities gradually fell into the hands of the Jin people, and now they have become their gateway.

It is precisely because of its geographical importance that the city still retains its original appearance and looks very tall. However, it cannot resist the attack of the Ming army just by relying on the strong city, because there are less than 3,000 defenders in the city, and they are facing more than 100,000 Ming athletes. In this raid on Liaodong, the Jin Dynasty lost a lot of people, which forced them to transfer some of the people in these cities to guard the more important places behind, which gave the Ming army a chance.

After seeing the lack of military strength of the defenders in the city, Tang Feng immediately asked the soldiers of the three armies to attack the city from all directions without using artillery. Although the Ming army did not use the sharpest weapons, the huge advantage in military strength still gave them great confidence. They were very good at siege battles, and soon Haizhou could not be defended.

During this period, the Jin army also wanted to use cavalry to attack, preferably to kill the Ming army's central army, thereby delaying the enemy's attack. However, Tang Feng and the others were prepared for it. In addition, the thick snow on the ground was very unfavorable for the horses to run. The three thousand Jin cavalry who suddenly broke out of the city not only failed this time, but even their retreat was cut off. After facing such a situation, the three thousand people had to put down their weapons and surrender.

The issue of the fall of these surrendered soldiers became a key point after Tang Feng led his troops to Haizhou. Some people suggested killing them to avenge their brothers who died in the past, while others believed that killing could not solve the problem, which would force the Jin people to become more fierce in future battles, and the cost would be too high.

For a moment, Tang Feng became a little embarrassed. Although he was a man with modern thinking and knew that he could not abuse or kill prisoners, but now it was in ancient times, and it was impossible to reconcile between two hostile countries, and killing them was also a necessary means to weaken the enemy. But another statement also makes sense. If everyone in the Jin people fought to the death in the future because of this attack, the subsequent battle would be a little difficult to fight, and it would only be less than worth the loss.

Unable to make a decision for the time being, Tang Feng had to imprison the people and then discuss with these generals. But the result was the same, and most of the generals who advocated killing all the prisoners were Liaodong. They had a deep hatred with the Jin people and did not want to see the enemy still survive if they fell into their hands. In this regard, Tang Feng could not ignore the wishes of his subordinates.

Before making a decision, Tang Feng went to see the situation of the captured Jin army privately. After this look, he discovered something he had ignored, that is, most of the captured Jin soldiers were Han people. This was what he heard when he came outside the prison cell where they were imprisoned and listened to the prisoners inside asking for mercy to the guards.

"...Brother, we are actually Han people. We are only the fall of the city we live in, and we become Jin people. We are also forced to help Jin people in order to survive and make a living. We also ask you to tell the adults above to tell them."

Tang Feng could hear this. Actually, it was true that there were so many talents in the Jurchens. Over the years, they fought against the Ming Dynasty. Although they won more than they lost, they would always suffer losses. Especially in the past two years, they have suffered consecutive defeats. How could they still have sufficient troops? Only by conscripting and using the people under the rule of Han people can they have nearly 100,000 troops every time they use troops.

Thinking of this, Tang Feng felt very glad. If he didn't come here to check it out, he might have ordered all these prisoners to be executed, and then he would have killed many compatriots with his own hands. Although some so-called historians in later generations always emphasized the Manchus and Mongolians, and for this reason, even heroes like Yue Fei are no longer called national heroes, the fact is that the two sides are now in a real enemy relationship, and you cannot ask the ancients for the eyes of later generations. Therefore, Tang Feng had no ideological burden to kill these people.

At this moment, Tang Feng had a solution and stopped going in to see the prisoners. He turned around and returned to his central tent. Then he called some generals and ordered: "The brothers who were guarding the prisoners carefully asked, see how many of these prisoners were the original people of my Ming Dynasty, and separate them. As for those who were the Jin Kingdom themselves, they would be executed according to your wishes, so that they could save some food."

"Yes! Let's do it now!" These generals were all guarding Liaodong. When they heard that Tang Feng wanted to kill the Jin people, they were naturally overjoyed and became much more diligent in doing things. In just half a day, the surrendered soldiers who were originally Han people were identified from them. These were all easily seen, with as many as a thousand people, and the others were all authentic Jin people.

Tang Feng did not change his mind anymore, and immediately ordered all of these people to be taken out of the city and then dug a big hole to bury them all. This was a great deterrent to the Han people surrendered to the army. They had never seen such a situation. Even after the Jin people captured the Ming army, there were few people who killed people so decisively. In this way, these people no longer dared to have a second thought. Not only did they cut the pig tail behind them, but in addition to some of them being sent back to Liaodong, the rest also joined the Ming army's camp.

After a little rest, Tang Feng divided his troops into two groups and attacked Gaizhou and Yingkou respectively. This time, he not only came to vent his anger, but he came for the entire Jin Dynasty. Before the war, he also let out a wind and told the entire Jin Dynasty that if anyone dared to stop the Ming army, he would kill all the Jin Dynasty people, and only the Han people would be spared. This could not only have the effect of intimidation, but also provoke the relationship between the two forces in the Jin Dynasty. In this case, the Han people must have some ideas, and the Jin people would begin to no longer believe them as before, and the Ming army's opportunity would come.

Just when the two Ming troops were sent to Gaizhou and Yingkou, the Jin people finally responded.

Not long ago, Haoge returned in a defeated army, which caused a major shock to the Jin Kingdom. You should know that before this time, the Jin Kingdom was still reserved. The Ming Dynasty is different from before. It is not as easy as before. However, with the participation of the Mongols and the consent of Huang Taiji, the whole country's troops were used this time. It turned out that he was hoping to get some benefits. Unexpectedly, stealing chickens would not lose a lot of rice, but instead lost a lot of people. In this way, Huang Taiji's prestige as the Khan of the Jin Kingdom swept the floor again, which made him very unhappy.

But at this moment, the Ming army suddenly came over, which made the Jin people very frightened, because they heard that the Ming army used 200,000 to 300,000 troops this time, which was far beyond the Jin Dynasty's own troops. Fortunately, at this dangerous moment, the nobles who always liked to be unable to get along with Huang Taiji in the country also knew that the overall situation should be put first, but they were still cooperative. Therefore, the Jin Dynasty quickly formed an army of 70,000 people, and Huang Taiji personally led his troops to face the enemy west.

The Jin people did not get confused by the Ming army's active attack, because they firmly believed that with their own combat power, they would only be more powerful than the Ming army in the wilderness. Moreover, this is their Jin people's territory. Even when facing the Ming army with more than twice their troops, they were confident of fighting with them.

Huang Taiji also knew that success or failure would be the battle, so even though he was still a little uncomfortable, he personally put on his clothes. Because Dorgon almost brought troops to rebellion and his son Haoge's failure as a lesson, he did not dare to hand over the troops from the whole country to the hands of others.

However, as Tang Feng imagined, when the cavalry of the Jin Kingdom began to rush to rescue, the thick and soft snow became their biggest obstacle. Even though those war horses were the best horses and the cavalry were all experienced in many battles, it was too difficult for them to gallop under such road conditions. Many war horses were driven too hard that the horse's hooves were stuck in the snow nest and broke, which forced the Jin army to slow down their pace of progress.

But the Ming army would not wait for them because of the late arrival of the Jin army. After Tang Feng gave the order, they launched a fierce attack on Gaizhou and Yingkou. Because of the lessons from Haizhou, the defenders of Gaizhou and Yingkou made completely different response methods.

Most of the people in Gaizhou were defending the city. After learning about the tragic incident in Haizhou, they suddenly became united in the enemy and defended the city to the death. No matter how the Ming army called it, they would not leave the city. On the snow, the combat power of the cavalry was greatly reduced, and the strength was only a few thousand, so they could only defend one road. However, this was not a problem for the Ming army soldiers, and they still besieged the city from all sides. After a few days of strong attack, the Ming army was the best at attacking and defense. The Jin people were not good at defense, so the city fell soon.

The Ming army had already received the order of Tang Feng, and this time it was done. Since the Jin army in Gaizhou City dared to resist desperately, they didn't need to be too merciless. After taking down the city, they started killing and killed the Jin people who survived in the city. This time, the effect was more obvious than the previous Haizhou surrender incident. Not only did they kill these people, but their heads were also hung on the top of the city. The four walls were covered with heads with pig tails behind their heads, which was very spectacular.

The situation in Yingkou on the other side was exactly the opposite. The Han soldiers occupied the majority there. After learning the news that Tang Feng spread, these people gathered together to decide to rebel. Under the rule of the Jin people, the Han people's status has always been low, especially in the army. These Han troops, whose strength is far inferior to the Jin people, often went to die as cannon fodder, which made the relationship between the Han people and the Jin people in the army has never been very good.

Now, since the people of their own tribe attacked, they naturally tended to help their own people kill the Jin people. Moreover, there were news coming here, claiming that as long as the city was opened and surrendered, there would be rewards. So on the night when the Ming army appeared at Yingkou City, the Han army, with a number of 2,000 people, launched a sudden attack on the remaining thousand Jin troops in the city.

In order to kill his companions well and to show his determination, the Han people cut off the pig tails that were dragged behind their heads before the uprising. They used to be worried that they had to learn from the Jin people's costume, but this time it was finally time for liberation.

Although the Jin people in the city were also prepared, they could not withstand the internal and external enemies at the same time. When their morale was in chaos, they were no match for the Han army that had already been red-eyed. There was no need to be taken to the Ming army that had been brought into the city, and all the Jin soldiers who had been bullying the Han army were arrested and killed.

In this regard, before the Jin army arrived, the Ming army had already seized three cities in a row and had killed nearly 10,000 enemies. This greatly increased the morale of the Ming army. It turned out that the official troops of the various guards who were still worried about going deep into the enemy territory finally had the confidence to compete with the Jin people.

The iron should be hot, and while the morale is high now and the Jin people have not arrived yet, Tang Feng immediately ordered to continue moving forward. This time, their target was Anshan and Liaoyang areas. As long as even these two cities were taken down, half of the Jin Kingdom's country would be completely destroyed. At that time, even psychologically, the Jin people would feel retreating.

However, God did not continue to favor the Ming army at this time. In this cold winter, a strong wind blew. The strong wind blew with snowflakes as big as goose feathers blocked the Ming army's advance. Although most of them were infantry, such supplies, especially artillery, still dragged them down. In the end, they had to stop for the time being and wait for the weather to improve before marching.

However, the Jin army on the other side did not stop to go west because of this. On the one hand, it was because the wind was blowing from the northeast, and they did not move forward like the Ming army. More importantly, after knowing that the three cities fell, Huang Taiji was furious and ordered the three armies to arrive in Liaoyang within two days, otherwise military law would be carried out.

At this time, it showed that the Jin army was extraordinary. Although in such harsh weather, even though every step of the war horse would sink into the snow, their speed still did not decrease significantly. Two days later, they finally arrived at Liaoyang City in time, and the Ming army was still halfway through the march.

Seeing the original capital in sight, Huang Taiji breathed a sigh of relief. At least the situation was not in an irreversible situation. Although he lost several cities this time, the cities were actually nothing for the Jin people who lived by nomads. As long as the most important cities were not lost, they could still fight back the invading Ming army. The same scene happened a few years ago. Didn’t they successfully defeat the enemy?

However, Huang Taiji was very angry at the murder that the Ming army had committed in his own country this time. It was an elite army of nearly 10,000 Jin, who died at the hands of the other party. He must avenge this revenge. But he obviously forgot how many Ming soldiers and civilians died at the hands of their Jin people over the years.

Unwilling to be beaten passively, Huang Taiji continued to bring his troops forward after giving the army a day's rest. This time he wanted to completely defeat the invading Ming army on the land of the Jin Kingdom with the combat method that the Jin army was best at. Seventy thousand elite troops of the Jin Kingdom rushed straight to the west, and everyone was looking forward to the moment of war.

After receiving a secret report and knowing that the Jin people had arrived in Liaoyang, the Ming army completely slowed down. Tang Feng and the generals who were familiar with the Jin people's combat style could all think that the Jin army would definitely not defend in the city, but would turn passively into active attacks on themselves.

In this case, why not keep your energy and fight against the upcoming enemy in your best condition? So the Ming army began to prepare in a planned manner. The muskets and artillery used to deal with the Jin cavalry were also taken out of the oil paper that was wrapped tightly, and even such heavy wind and snow were not damaged.
Chapter completed!