Chapter 23: Zhu Ying Offers His Advice!

Seventy li from the border of Daning Prefecture!

The location of the Ming military camp.

This place was originally the site of a Jurchen tribe.

Inside the main camp!

The generals had gathered.

All those ranked above Thousand-man Commanders had come to attend the council.

Bu Wan sat in the seat of honor, flanked by Chen Heng and Liu Zhen.

As a civil official, Bu Wan had endured much hardship during the bumpy journey, but for the sake of this impending victory, he had persevered.

"My Lord."

"These are the results of the battle."

"Our army continues to advance north, and the Jurchens continue to retreat. Although we have caught up to many of them and killed many, we have ultimately failed to find the Jurchen stronghold."

"However, according to reports from the scout cavalry, a Jurchen tribe has been discovered thirty li away, and it appears to be heavily garrisoned," Chen Heng reported to Bu Wan.

"In General Chen's opinion, what are the Jurchens' intentions?"

"They fight, yet they do not fight," Bu Wan asked, looking at Chen Heng.

"It is simple."

"The Jurchens are waiting for the Northern Yuan to send reinforcements. Therefore, they are deliberately stalling and retreating to lure our army deep into the northern territories," Chen Heng replied without hesitation.

"Does General Chen mean our army cannot continue to advance further?" Bu Wan frowned.

"Reporting to My Lord."

"The northern frontier is vast. The further we move from the Great Ming, the more difficult the transport of grain and supplies becomes."

"If we continue to push deeper, once the Northern Yuan mobilizes their troops from Liaodong, our army will be in peril."

"Perhaps the Northern Yuan has already mobilized," Chen Heng said with a grave expression.

"Mm."

Bu Wan nodded.

He was the Prefect and concurrently the Commander, but while he understood administrative affairs, he truly did not know much about military maneuvers and command.

However, he had one virtue: he never spoke out of turn on the road, leaving all matters of marching and campaigning entirely to Chen Heng and Liu Zhen.

"Then what should be done this time?"

"Should we continue the pursuit, or hold our position?" Bu Wan asked Chen Heng and Liu Zhen.

"What are the proposals of the various generals?"

Chen Heng smiled and looked toward the assembled generals in the camp.

"This..."

Many generals looked at one another, unsure of what to say.

Given the current results, advancing could yield more victories, but carried the risk of being lured deep into enemy territory; after all, maintaining logistics far from Ming lands would be difficult. Conversely, if they retreated, the achievements of these past days would not be consolidated.

"Reporting to the Commander."

Zhu Ying spoke up.

"Thousand-man Commander Zhu."

"What is your view?"

Seeing it was Zhu Ying, Bu Wan asked with a smile.

There were many Thousand-man Commanders in the army, but Bu Wan had a very deep impression of Zhu Ying.

"If this subordinate's guess is correct..."

"The Northern Yuan has already mobilized, but they will not come directly to reinforce the Jurchens," Zhu Ying stated.

"They won't reinforce the Jurchens?"

"What do you mean, Thousand-man Commander Zhu?" Liu Zhen asked in surprise.

Chen Heng, however, looked contemplative, as if he had realized something.

"The Northern Yuan will certainly attack our Daning Prefecture to cut off our retreat."

"They will only have the Jurchens tie us down. Once our grain and supplies are exhausted and we are attacked from both front and rear, we will inevitably suffer a massive collapse," Zhu Ying said with absolute certainty.

Hearing this, Bu Wan's expression changed.

"Daning Prefecture is still guarded by tens of thousands of troops, and we have Daning City as a stronghold. The Northern Yuan should not be able to break through easily," Chen Heng said.

"General."

"Although the Northern Yuan was driven out of the Central Plains by our Great Ming, their national strength remains formidable. Naha Chutun has stationed hundreds of thousands of troops in Liaodong, and he has always sought to counterattack the Great Ming."

"He will not miss such a golden opportunity now," Zhu Ying said firmly.

"Thousand-man Commander Zhu, if we follow your view, what should our army do?" Bu Wan immediately turned to Zhu Ying.

"Abandon the offensive against the Jurchens. Leave a detachment to contain them, fighting while retreating. The main army should head east to attack Liaodong, which is controlled by Naha Chutun," Zhu Ying said without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, all the generals in the tent looked at Zhu Ying in astonishment; clearly, they had not expected such a strategy to be proposed.

"Thousand-man Commander Zhu."

"You just said Naha Chutun commands hundreds of thousands of troops. How can our Daning border troops deal with them?"

"Indeed."

"With our current force of less than twenty thousand, is attacking Naha Chutun not like a moth flying into a flame? Is it not seeking death?"

"I believe the strategy proposed by Thousand-man Commander Zhu is inappropriate."

"Since the Emperor has already issued an edict to mobilize the grand army to annihilate Naha Chutun, our army can completely withdraw from this Jurchen territory to defend Daning Prefecture. Even if Naha Chutun sends troops to attack, our army can defend."

"Correct."

"This subordinate believes retreating is the best course of action."

"I second that."

"At this moment, retreating to Daning is the safest way to avoid being attacked from both sides and to prevent the fall of Daning."

...

The many generals spoke up one after another, most of them disagreeing with Zhu Ying's dangerous plan, arguing instead that retreating to Daning Prefecture was the prudent course.

Seeing the generals in such a state, Bu Wan did not decide immediately. Instead, he looked at Chen Heng and Liu Zhen: "What are the thoughts of you two generals?"

"This subordinate actually feels that Thousand-man Commander Zhu's proposal is worth a try."

"The Yuan court will certainly mobilize to attack our Daning. Once Daning is lost, our attack on Liaodong could instead slow the Yuan offensive, tie them down, and draw their attention, thereby buying more time for the Great Ming's main army to arrive," Chen Heng said with a smile.

"I think the same."

"The current situation does not allow for further northward advances."

"It would be better to follow Thousand-man Commander Zhu's plan and act contrary to expectations to catch the Yuan court off guard. This way, our army will not interfere with the imperial grand strategy of destroying the Yuan, but will instead hold them back," Liu Zhen also said loudly.

Hearing this, Bu Wan nodded.

Since both of his subordinate Vice Commanders were in agreement, he naturally had nothing more to say.

"In that case."

"How much manpower should be left behind to contain the Jurchens while fighting and retreating?" Bu Wan asked directly.

"Reporting to My Lord."

"The northern frontier is vast and unfavorable for infantry. We only need to leave some cavalry to stall them. Once the Jurchen army launches a large-scale invasion, we must immediately retreat to Daning. If the Jurchens do not come, our army can linger around their tribes; we only need sufficient dry rations."

"Of course, the fundamental goal is still to contain the Jurchens so they cannot move south or provide aid to the Northern Yuan," Zhu Ying added immediately.

"Which general is willing to take on this great responsibility of containing the Jurchens?" Bu Wan immediately looked toward the generals in the tent.

However, regarding this task, the many generals looked at one another, and no one stepped forward.

Using a few thousand soldiers to deal with the Jurchen population of over a million—even if their population was a mere fraction of the Great Ming's, they were a nation of soldiers. Once they launched a massive assault, a few thousand troops would be nothing more than meat to be easily chewed up.

"Is no one willing to take this post?"

"Whoever completes this task and holds back the Jurchens will achieve a great feat," Bu Wan spoke again.

But compared to the danger, this "feat" seemed somewhat not worth it.

At that moment!

Zhu Ying immediately stepped forward and shouted, "This subordinate is willing to take this responsibility and hold back the Jurchens!"

"A newborn calf is not afraid of tigers!"

Watching Zhu Ying accept the task, many generals in the tent thought to themselves, some even with a hint of mockery.

This duty sounded simple enough—just retreat once the Jurchens mobilized—but in reality, once caught by Jurchen cavalry, or even if Northern Yuan cavalry arrived to reinforce them, being pinned down would most likely result in total annihilation.

...

PS: Um, asking for votes, asking for everything.

(End of Chapter)