Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"boom!"

Huang Taiji slammed the table angrily and said to the person who came to report the news:

"You mean when we conquered Incheon, the Korean monarch and his ministers were accepting the title from the Ming Dynasty?"

The messenger confirmed this and repeated:
"The King of Joseon accepted the title of Prince In from Ming Dynasty, and now the news is spreading everywhere."

"Many Koreans said that Ming would definitely save Korea, just like it did during the Imjin War."

Huang Taiji was furious when he heard the Koreans compare their invasion to the Imjin War. He glanced at the Jin officials in the tent and said angrily:
"We were the ones who conquered Seoul, but Korea accepted the title from the Ming Dynasty?"

"What on earth are their rulers and ministers thinking? Are they imagining that the Ming Dynasty will send troops to rescue them?"

The Ming army won victory after victory in Liaodong, forcing the Ming army to not dare to go out and could only hide in the city.

Huang Taiji really didn’t understand what was going on in the minds of the Korean monarchs and ministers. They actually fantasized that the Ming Dynasty would come to rescue them.

The Jin Dynasty's high-ranking officials were also extremely angry. Degelei said:

"Great Khan, let's continue the fight and completely occupy Korea."

Manggurtai also said:
"North Korea really deserves to be attacked until they are completely convinced."

The sounds of fighting and killing could be heard continuously in the tent.

This made Huang Taiji slowly calm down, and he asked the messenger:

“Will Yeongjong Island freeze over in winter?”

"Can we let people and horses step over it?"

The messenger said:

"Yongjong Island occasionally freezes over in winter, but the ice is not thick enough."

"The ice on the island is not necessarily connected to the land."

This was the conclusion Dorgon came to after repeated questioning.

The weather on Yongzong Island is much warmer than Liaodong. It only freezes for a period of time when the weather is extremely cold. The ice is not thick and will not freeze the sea completely. Unlike Juehua Island, the ice is thick enough to run horses.

This shattered Huang Taiji's hope of marching his horse to Yeongjong Island, and he knew that he could not do anything to the Korean monarch and his ministers for the time being.

He also felt that if there were signs of ice forming on the sea, the Korean monarch and his ministers might directly hide in the Ming Dynasty.

After all, the current King of Korea is Prince Ren, who was canonized by the Ming Dynasty. No place in the Ming Dynasty would refuse his arrival. Saving a prince is a merit for any local official.

This made Huang Taiji even more angry, because everything he was doing now was completely to benefit the Ming Dynasty.

The harder he beat Korea, the more Korea leaned towards Ming. Even the Koreans were the same, believing that Ming would definitely save them.

This even made him vaguely guess that the Ming Dynasty deliberately asked him to come to Korea to force Korea to submit.

His leading a large army to Korea was a deliberate arrangement made by the Ming Dynasty.

Huang Taiji, who had always been proud of his talents and regarded the Ming emperor and his ministers as good-for-nothings, was very unwilling to accept this. He absolutely did not want to admit that he was being fooled by the Ming emperor and his ministers.

Looking at the people shouting and killing in the tent, Huang Taiji did not accept their opinions because he knew that these people had ulterior motives.

Especially since Manggurtai just echoed Degelei, he suspected that the two brothers, who were born of the same mother, were colluding. Maybe they were just like Amin, plotting to establish independence in Korea.

Huang Taiji, who was extremely vigilant about this, certainly did not want to see this. He said to Ying'erdai:

"Take my letter and go meet the Korean king and his ministers."

"And tell them that there is a letter for Ming Dynasty, and ask them to pass it on."

He intended to drive a wedge between Korea and the Ming Dynasty through this move. How could the Ming Dynasty not suspect that Korea and the Jin Dynasty were colluding after receiving the letter forwarded by the King of Korea?
In that way, both sides would trust each other and he would have a chance.

As for attacking other North Korean cities, there is no rush now.

He also hoped that North Korean generals would come to help. As long as he defended Seoul, he could take advantage of his rest and then surround and attack the reinforcements, thus wiping out North Korea's capable field troops.

But what frustrates him is that under the command of Hong Chengchou, the Minister to Korea, the Prime Minister of Korea, the Marshal of all the Korean provinces, and the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Ming Dynasty Allied Forces, none of the Korean troops came to help.

The orders he gave to these people were to defend the city or ambush. It seemed that he did not regard Seoul as the capital of Korea and there was no need to take it back.

This made Huang Taiji's plan of besieging the city and attacking its reinforcements fail, and he also received news that the soldiers stationed in the rear of the city were frequently attacked.

Whenever an Eight Banners soldier was alone, a bullet would come flying at him from nowhere. It could be a precise shot from a sniper, or a random bullet fired by a North Korean soldier.

If there were more Eight Banner soldiers gathered, they might see the shells flying from the sky. Some of these shells exploded before reaching the target, while others were duds and turned into solid bullets. The Eight Banner soldiers were not killed or injured in this way, but there were always unlucky ones who were killed by explosions or crushing.

This made the Eight Banners soldiers always have to be careful when they went out, and even when they went out to plunder, they dared not take small-scale actions.

At least one Niulu is needed to ensure safety——

Huang Taiji already knew that Liu Xingzuo was leading a Jurchen Niulu and fighting everywhere in the rear.

Once the number of soldiers in action is less than one Niulu, Liu Xingzuo may find an opportunity to annihilate them.

This made him even more angry, and his hatred for Liu Xingzuo increased beyond words.

All these factors caused the favorable situation after they captured Seoul to deteriorate rapidly.

Stimulated by the success of various ambushes, the Koreans rose up to resist, and many volunteer generals were rewarded and became officers of the Ming Dynasty.

Some talented but unsuccessful Koreans began to stand out. With the weapons supported by the Ming Dynasty, their fighting power became stronger and stronger.

Cui Nanyi was particularly prominent among them. He did not stay away from the battlefield just because he became a count. Instead, he personally led the sniper brigade to snipe the Jianlu in the rear.

After he stopped forcing himself to kill important targets, he personally shot and killed 31 Jianlu, breaking records almost every day and becoming the "sniper god" worshipped by North Korean soldiers.

Huang Taiji had heard of his reputation and sent Abatai to lead his six Niulu to search for Liu Xingzuo and Cui Nanyi's troops.

On the other hand, Ying'erdai, who went to meet the Korean king and his ministers, was once again refused an audience.

Shi Fenglai, who was still on Yongzong Island, was well aware of the emperor's attitude. He had only one opinion about the Jianlu and was determined not to negotiate with them.

Therefore, he used the example of Yuan Chonghuan and other peacemakers being punished to warn the Korean monarch and his ministers not to have any private contact with the Jianlu.

Now the only people in Korea who have the power to interact with the Jianlu are Hong Chengchou, Lu Shanji and Mao Yunlong, who jointly hold the Shangfang Sword, and Mao Wenlong, Xiang Junqing and Liu Xingzuo, who have the responsibility of instigating rebellion.

Shi Fenglai arranged for Lu Shanji to get the letter, so that Ying'erdai returned empty-handed once again.

Huang Taiji was completely helpless in the face of the Korean monarch and his ministers who just lay down and allowed themselves to be beaten but refused to give in despite the support of the Ming Dynasty.

He felt that there was a real possibility that he would be like the Japanese pirates of the past and be driven out by the enemy even if he conquered the entire Korea.

The mountainous terrain of North Korea also makes this place very suitable for ambushes, and their Eight Banners cavalry cannot display their abilities at all.

This made Huang Taiji feel more and more that it seemed wrong for him to attack Korea. He should not have attacked Dalinghhe Fort before, but instead sent troops to watch and then went around the grassland to attack northern Zhili.

Even if the Ming army knew that he was going to break through the pass by taking a detour through the grassland, there would always be a chance to find a gap in the thousands of miles long Great Wall.

As long as they fought desperately to break through the Great Wall, the plains of northern Zhili would allow the Eight Banners cavalry to roam freely. The Ming soldiers, who could only defend the city and ambush, would be unable to do anything to them.

Unfortunately, it's too late now. He has led his army to North Korea and is stuck in this mess.

(North Korea is mountainous, with cold and wet winters, and the plain roads near the sea can easily turn into muddy flats) (End of this chapter)