Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 267
Just when Huang Taiji in Shengjing dispatched troops and horses to go south, Hong Chengchou, who was far away in Jinzhou, received an urgent order from the Ministry of War for six hundred miles. He immediately ordered all the Yongwei battalion stationed in Yizhou City to withdraw. The captured Han Baoyi also withdrew to Songshan after cleaning up all the supplies in the city.

The guards inside and outside the Liaodong governor's office in Jinzhou are heavily guarded, and heavily armed soldiers can be seen everywhere.

In the second hall, Hong Chengchou, Zu Dashou, Fang Yizao, Zhang Dou, Mao Yuanyi, Shen Shiyu and others were discussing the relevant documents sent by the Ministry of War.

Hong Chengchou, who was on the throne, said with a blank face: "This time the imperial court has made a plan for the upcoming war. You can give us any suggestions. If it helps the matter, I will share it with you afterwards and use it accordingly." If there is no other strategy, then implement it according to the strategy set by the Ministry of War!"

Although the war plan of the Ministry of War does have merits in Hong Chengchou's view, he still feels a little uncomfortable if he wants to make a big splash in Liaoxi.

He knew that the formulation of this strategy must have been proposed and led by Yang Sichang, and even this was Yang Wenruo's own words. While winning the first victory in the war, he also seized the opportunity to join the cabinet.

The current elders are all over [-] years old, and they are not satisfactory in terms of ability or official voice.It is said that the emperor once said that he wanted the court to push for more cabinet ministers, but because both the left and right censors of the Inspectorate were in charge of the resettlement of the victims in the local area, and thus lacked the most important votes, it had to be temporarily shelved.

The intention of the emperor's proposal is very obvious. It is to prepare the new generation he likes to enter the cabinet. After a year or so to get familiar with the process of handling various affairs, the old cabinet elders will definitely retire to make way for the younger generation.

There is an unwritten rule in the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty. The ranking of cabinet ministers is based on the order of entry into the cabinet, not by the pilot test or ability or original position.In this case, whoever enters the cabinet first will be the most likely to take on the position of chief assistant, and the others can only honestly line up behind.But if everyone is of the same age, unless various accidents happen to the cabinet ministers in the front row, it is impossible to become the chief assistant even if they have served in the cabinet for twenty years.The most annoying thing is that Yang Sichang has just passed his fifties and is only a few years older than himself. If he enters the cabinet first, he will never even think about being the chief assistant in his life.

Hong Chengchou thought secretly that there are not many ministers who can fall into the eyes of the emperor.I must be among them, and Lu Jiandou, Sun Baigu, and Chen Yuxuan are all top choices in terms of qualifications and abilities, and joining the cabinet should be inevitable.The two Xiantai of the Procuratorate are a little older, and besides, they have done a good job in their duties. The emperor may increase their titles, but they will not let them join the cabinet.As for other people who cannot be compared with the above-mentioned people at all, it is impossible to join the cabinet.

If there is no Yang Wenruo, the post of chief assistant in the future is likely to be his own.

"Don't Mr. Hong realize that the strategy of the Ministry of War is too conservative? Right now, the officers and soldiers are about to achieve unprecedented victories, and it is time to take advantage of the victory. Why should they abandon the ground and return without any reason to dampen the spirit of the officers and soldiers? It is mentioned that the main force of Jianlu is not there, and if an army is sent to invade, the number of troops will be no more than [-], and it is not the elite of Jianlu; the current army has [-] elite soldiers from the Yongwei Battalion, a few cannons, and Shaofu's horses There are tens of thousands, and another [-] from the Beijing camp are on their way to the outside of the pass. Calculated in this way, the number of officers and troops has reached as many as [-]. Since it is a multiple of the enemy, why not set up a majestic battle between Yizhou and Jinzhou Invading enemies, or even encircling and annihilating them?"

Fang Yizao's words broke the silence on the court, and brought Hong Chengchou back from his wild thoughts to reality.

The letter from the Ministry of War did not fully reveal Yang Sichang's final plan, but only made a strategy for the current war. Only Hong Chengchou knew the truth, and even Zu Dashou was kept in the dark.

"Although Zhongcheng's words are reasonable, Zu feels that the court's strategy is very feasible. Although the official army has won a great victory this time, it was defeated by dozens of times. The combat power of Jianlu cannot be underestimated. There are so many officers and soldiers fighting with them in the wilderness, the outcome is still at the rate of five or five, even if they win, it will be a tragic victory. If the main force returns, our army will be weak if we want to attack Shengjing again!"

Zu Dashou, who had been seldom speaking, suddenly spoke up to refute Fang Yizao.

Knowing that the imperial court was going to transfer the Beijing battalion to the front line of Jinzhou, Zu Dashou understood Zhu Youjian's intention: gather all the officers and troops capable of fighting in the pass in Jinzhou, and drive directly to Shengjing when the time is right.

Zu Dashou did not object at all to the Ministry of War's strategy of using Jinzhou as bait to lure the enemy to attack, but welcomed it from the bottom of his heart.Because this means that the Jinzhou army only needs to hide in the city and defend. No matter how tragic the battle outside the city is, it has nothing to do with Jinzhou, and the strength of the Jinzhou army will not suffer any loss.

He wished that Jiannu and the officers and soldiers would fight to the death.If the two sides suffer heavy losses, the officers and soldiers in Jinzhou City will come out to pick up a big bargain, which will not only strengthen their own strength but also sit back and watch the officers and troops consume. Will the court have to rely on his ancestors as usual in the future?

As for the fact that the imperial court is preparing to mobilize a large army to directly attack Shengjing, Zu Dashou is not optimistic.

How could Jiannu be so easy to deal with?The emperor and the bigwigs of the imperial court underestimated the Eight Banners soldiers too much.

Although the Yongwei Battalion demonstrated the sharpness of their firearms and the bravery of their soldiers during the battle of capturing Yizhou, it is hard to predict the outcome without the Jinzhou cavalry to cover the two wings and the number of slaves was too small.

If there are tens of thousands of Eight Banners soldiers, it will be difficult to make any cheap money, whether it is the Yongwei Battalion or the Beijing Battalion.

In the future, if the officers and soldiers push all the way north, on the vast and flat plains, the Mongolian cavalry will not be vegetarian.People will not confront you head-on, as long as they fight with you endlessly and cut off your food supply, the morale of the army will fluctuate after a long time, and as long as one Ming army collapses, it will infect the entire army like a plague. The consequences are too terrible up.

The military discipline displayed by the Yongwei Battalion is indeed very strict, but not all the Ming troops mobilized from other roads are like this. Zu Dashou still knows the virtues of many of his colleagues, Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong The reputation of et al. is not very good.

The Ministry of War's plan is very sound.Jiannu still doesn't know that the elite Ming army in Guannei has arrived, and subconsciously still thinks that the previous battle was fought by the Jinzhou government army, and his mentality will be extremely relaxed.Although the Ming army captured Yizhou but did not defend the city, it will increase the misjudgment of the slaves, thinking that the Ming army's active attack must have been launched for some reason, and they are obedient after taking advantage of it. Run back to Jinzhou City and hide.

Taking advantage of Jiannu's carelessness, and relying on the geographical advantages of Songshan, the officers and soldiers are likely to severely injure the Eight Banners soldiers who came to retaliate.

While Zu Dashou expressed his admiration for the strategy of the Ministry of War, he also secretly slandered: Since there are capable people like Hong Chengchou and Yang Sichang, why didn't they reuse them earlier?But now that such powerful characters are on the stage, it may be very difficult for Mrs. Hong and his group to succeed.

"Do you have anything else to say about Zhisheng? How is the morale of the brave guard camp? Although the previous battle was won, there were gains and losses; Zhisheng seldom participated in the battle, so it is inevitable that there will be mistakes. This is also a common thing, but after the war It is necessary to order the soldiers who go into battle to count down what they have experienced and thought in order to prevent the same mistakes!"

Hong Chengchou spoke softly to Mao Yuanyi.

Hong Chengchou, who had been in the battle for a long time, of course saw that Mao Yuanyi's command in Yizhou was inappropriate, and he also understood this.Although Mao Yuanyi's military ambition is indeed a military masterpiece, the general's on-the-spot response is more important, which requires more participation in the battle to be improved.

"Reporting to the supervisor, after the war, I have called many soldiers to sum up the gains and losses in the battle, and I found it very beneficial afterwards; it is easy to talk about the war on paper, but it is difficult to deal with it. Fortunately, our army has a huge advantage in this battle. If the number is equal, our army is afraid that the loss will be even greater. Seriously, a lowly position will also become the Zhao Kuo of Ming Dynasty! Please be at ease, the commander, the whole army of the Yongwei Battalion is in high spirits, and the morale has not been destroyed by this small setback. In the next battle, the Yongwei Battalion should realize their shame and be brave. Don't let Jiannu show off his power!"

Mao Yuanyi got up and cupped his hands.

After experiencing the Battle of Yizhou, the damage to the Yongwei Battalion made Mao Yuanyi's arrogance disappear.Only then did he, who used to be proud of his talents, understand that the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and a small decision-making error by the commander may cause the whole game to be lost. Keen observation and quick and correct decision-making are necessary conditions to become an excellent general.

"Very good! That being the case, the official announced: The Ning Jin cavalry team sent scouts to investigate the surrounding area. Jinzhou will be closed from now on. The 2 Jinzhou army will concentrate on defending the city. The city will be commanded by Zu Shaofu; the Yongwei battalion will move. Camp in Songshan, find a favorable location to set up camp, and wait for the Beijing camp to come. Jiannu will arrive in Jinzhou within fifteen days, and then I will sit in Songshan and give orders on how to fight according to its deployment!"

(End of this chapter)