July 9, the twenty-seventh year of Emperor Chongzhen.
Zhu Gubi led the loyalist army out of Pei County, marching toward Yutai County in Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong. Yutai County had originally been under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou, but in the seventh year of the Hongwu Emperor, it was transferred to Jining Prefecture. In the eighteenth year of Hongwu, Jining Prefecture was demoted to a department, and Yanzhou was elevated to a prefecture; from that point on, Yutai County fell under the administration of Yanzhou Prefecture.
Unlike the various regions of Southern Zhili that had surrendered at the first sight of the wind, the various prefectures and counties of Shandong kept their gates shut tight, showing no intention of yielding. Zhu Gubi had no choice but to halt his northward advance and begin contemplating a siege. Siege warfare was not only costly in terms of manpower, resources, and finances, but it also eroded the morale of a large army. Zhu Gubi had to minimize casualties at all costs.
Chapter 1263