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

Chapter 82: The Final Battle on the Snow Mountain Begins

Chapter 83: The Final Battle on the Snow Mountain Begins

Chapter 082 Hamutai fell silent. He looked at the map. The tactic of luring the enemy deep into the mountains was not unfamiliar to these leaders. The problem was that after leading the Jurchens to the snowy mountains, they still had to come out alive.

This is no less difficult than dancing on the edge of a knife; it's a matter of life and death.

Hamutai's eyes flickered, and he opened his mouth, but before he could speak, he did.

Chen Ying laughed and said, "Hamutai Taiji, do you know why I said you were scared just now?"

Hamutai was taken aback.

"Because you have too many things you can't bear to part with now."

Chen Ying said calmly, "You have dozens of newly acquired concubines, three thousand cavalry, and dozens of tribes supporting you as Taiji. You're afraid of death, afraid of losing, afraid of losing everything. That's normal. But the question is, will fear solve anything? You know better than we do what kind of people the Jurchens are. They are fierce and brutal. Even if you surrender to the Jurchens, what fate awaits you?"

Meng Gun said, "Ordinary tribesmen might still have a chance to survive, to live as slaves—"

"No, ordinary people can't survive either. Only young men and women, or young and strong women, can survive. Strong men are a safety risk to the Jurchens. In order to eliminate future troubles, they will kill all your leaders, big and small, leaving only your underage sons and young daughters."

Chen Ying continued, "Think about it, if you don't fight this battle now, what will be left of your wives, daughters, and property once the Jurchens have conquered the land, slaughtered your people, and seized your cattle and sheep?"

Hamutai was jolted awake and instantly realized that his present state was bought with the help of the Jurchen leader. He had long since formed a blood feud with the Jurchens, and now that he was on Chen Ying's side, he was in a bind.

"Lord Chen, please just tell us what you want us to do?"

Chen Ying returned to the map and pointed to the snow-capped mountain area: "Starting now, all of you must retreat to your respective tribes. Take the elderly, women, children, cattle, sheep, and supplies and move them all back to the Yongning Port area. Take all the grain and fodder you can along the way, and burn anything you can't take. Don't leave a single grain of grain or a single blade of grass for the Jurchens. Wherever the Jurchens go, that place will be a wasteland."

Chen Ying not only wanted to create an avalanche to bury 30,000 to 40,000 Jurchen troops, but also wanted to implement a scorched-earth policy. Of course, implementing a scorched-earth policy in Jurchen was very difficult, and this was the best he could do for now.

As for the elderly, weak, sick, disabled, women, children and children of each tribe, they were evacuated to Yongning Port as hostages. As long as any tribal leader surrendered to the Jurchens, their people would be treated as property and divided among the other tribes.

"All the able-bodied men from each tribe will remain and be commanded by their respective leaders. Your only task is to harass, delay, and lure the enemy."

Don't fight head-on; fight and run. Earn credit for each day you delay.

"at last----"

Chen Ying pointed to the area inside the pearl-covered hut and said, "Once you lead the Jurchens to this area, inside the pearl-covered hut, it's a long, narrow valley with steep cliffs on both sides and only two exits, one in the front and one in the back. Lead your men in, then retreat through the path behind the mountain. Your mission will be complete. No matter how many Jurchens enter the valley, leave the rest to me!"

Zhusheli was a tribe of the Changbai Mountain Jurchens. Like the Xibe and Solon tribes, it was one of the larger tribes of the Haixi Jurchens. At its peak, the Zhusheli tribe had tens of thousands of members and three to four thousand cavalry.

However, Zhusheli is now almost a place name. If it weren't for the map that Mao Yuanyi gave to Chen Ying, he wouldn't have known about this place at all.

Chen Ying looked at the leaders and asked, "Can you do it?"

Hamutai gritted his teeth: "Fine! This Taiji will take this gamble!"

Meng Gun also stood up: "The Gualcha tribe is willing to fight alongside you, sir!"

"The Soren tribe also follows you, sir!"

The leaders of the other small tribes also expressed their opinions, and the originally solemn atmosphere in the council hall was gradually replaced by a resolute one.

Looking at these Haixi Jurchen leaders, Chen Ying felt a mix of emotions. Just a few months ago, they were like stray dogs being chased around by the Jurchens. Now, they dared to take the initiative to fight against the Jurchen army.

Every army is a monster fed on victories. During this time, they set traps, ambushed, ambushed, and attacked, and also hunted down a large number of Jurchen heads, gradually building up their confidence in battle.

Chen Ying smiled and said, "Rest assured, everyone. If we win this battle, I will personally petition the court for your merits. In the future, the taxes of all the tribes in the Haixi region will be halved, and weapons and provisions will be supplied with priority. If anyone dies in battle, his family will be supported by me, and his children will be sent to the Shahewei School."

"Thank you, Lord Chen!"

Chen Ying continued, "To do a good job, one must first have the right tools. In this battle, I have prepared some small gadgets for you all, hoping they will be of assistance!"

Chen Ying had canned goods brought out, each can containing five pounds of mutton or pork. There was no beef, as Chen Ying also needed a large quantity of beef.

These canned goods can be eaten directly, or heated. Each extra-large can, weighing five pounds, is like a small pot.

Next came quicklime heating packs, kerosene lighters, gloves, and other equipment. Chen Ying didn't sell these items; he gave them away for free.

Chen Ying is now a wealthy man. He made a deal with the Liaodong army using the heads of the Jurchens, exchanging more than 1,700 warhorses for 380 genuine Jurchen heads, averaging more than four warhorses per head.

In the Ming Dynasty, a warhorse was worth at least twenty or thirty taels of silver. No normal army would take such a horse, as it would be a losing proposition. For example, the imperial court would only reward a Jurchen leader with fifty taels of silver. However, the Liaodong Army, or rather the entire army of the late Ming Dynasty, was an exception.

In their view, while 1,700 warhorses were certainly valuable, 380 heads could promote them by one rank, or even allow them to rise to prominence through military merit. No matter how you looked at it, taking heads was more worthwhile.

Besides, these warhorses were provided by the imperial court, not purchased with their own money. There's nothing to regret about giving them away; they can just ask the court for them again after they get promoted.

In addition to more than 1,700 warhorses, Chen Ying also traded 683 heads for 100,000 shi of grain. Of course, this grain was military rations, but it was also the imperial court's grain, so they could still get promoted and make a fortune.

Chen Ying wasn't exactly aiding and abetting evil, because the generals who could trade warhorses and grain must have connections. If they had connections, wouldn't they be promoted? By doing this, they were essentially indirectly giving gifts to Wei Zhongxian. They didn't believe that Chen Ying had the ability to obtain nearly a thousand genuine Jurchen leaders.

In their view, Chen Ying was just a front man. It must have been Wei Zhongxian who tricked a certain Jurchen tribe and took them down by surprise. Many of the heads on the heads did not show fear or ferocity, but surprise, which meant that they were killed by a sneak attack.

Now Chen Ying had warhorses, food, and the resources to fight the Jurchens. Almost simultaneously, the Dengzhou Navy and even the Pinghai Camp were mobilized. The Dengzhou Navy's transport capacity was almost at full capacity. They were either transporting people from Dalu Island to Yongning Port or transporting supplies from Tianjin Port to Yongning Port.

Large quantities of artillery, explosives, and various equipment were transported to Yongning Port by ship. Before the inner city of Yongning City was even fully built, it was discovered that the small city was no longer sufficient.

There was no other way but to directly pour reinforced concrete to build the outer city wall, expanding the entire city more than six times, even larger than Dalu Island. With more military households and craftsmen arriving in Yongning, the speed of both shipbuilding and city construction greatly increased. More importantly, as Chen Ying withdrew from Dalu Island, Mao Wenlong was not in a hurry, but the Koreans were.

Originally, they organized the Korean people to mine, which could earn them a lot of money. Although iron ore and coal were not worth much, they could exchange them with Daegu Island for other goods, such as four-wheeled carriages, fine silk, porcelain, and various furniture in the style of the Ming Dynasty. These items were hard currency in Korea and were extremely profitable.

When the Koreans arrived at Dalu Island, they inquired about Chen Daniu's intentions. After receiving a clear reply from Chen Daniu, the Koreans were still not at ease. They even sped up the shipment, hoping to make a fortune before Chen Daniu left.

With Chen Ying's complete decision, the various Haixi Jurchen tribes that had joined the Shuangchengwei Mutual Trade Alliance began a large-scale retreat. They arrived at Shuangchengwei first, with cattle and sheep being driven south, and horse-drawn carts carrying the elderly, women, and children slowly moving towards Yongning Port along the newly built post road.

The original Xibe tribe's encampment was now empty, with only traces of tents that had been erected, extinguished campfires, and leftover bones. Meanwhile, Hamutai led three thousand strong men and disappeared into the vast forest.

Three days later, the Jurchen vanguard arrived at the Xibe tribe. Daishan rode his horse and looked at the empty camp, his face ashen.

Where are they?

"Your Highness, they've all fled, leaving not a single grain of food behind."

Dai Shan gritted his teeth: "Chase them! Chase them eastward! I refuse to believe they can run to the heavens!"

Among the Eight Banners of the Jurchens, many were trace experts. They were skilled at observing and analyzing traces, and could immediately determine from the migration traces that the elderly, weak, women and children had gone south, while the young and strong had gone north.

Upon hearing the report, Dai Shan frowned slightly, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Sure enough, there was a small river near the camp where the Jurchen army was stationed. At night, many of them drank water directly from the river. In the middle of the night, the patrolling soldiers discovered that hundreds or thousands of animal carcasses of various kinds were floating down from upstream. These animal carcasses were already rotten and smelly, and many were covered with maggots.

"Huff—"

The patrolling Jurchens vomited instantly. Realizing something was wrong, they quickly reported to Daishan. Daishan came to the riverbank, his face turning ashen with anger, and he also drank the river water.

"Huff—"

The entire Right Wing Camp of the four banners of the Jurchens was vomiting uncontrollably. Meanwhile, thirty miles upstream on a small river, Hamutai was squatting behind a rock, muttering, "Grandpa will teach you a lesson—"

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