Ming politicians

On the 22nd of the first lunar month, Su Tiancheng set off from Ningyuan, accompanied by Zu Dashou and Deng Hui.

He will first go to Jinzhou to have a look.

The importance of Jinzhou is self-evident. It has been a fortress in history. Jinzhou is an important town in Liaodong. , defending Jinzhou is equivalent to choking Houjin's neck. Houjin wants to enter the customs with a large army, and breaking through Guan Ningjin's defense line is the best choice.

A few years ago, Huang Taiji or Azige led a large army to detour from Mongolia, enter the pass through the Xifeng Pass, and plunder the territory of Daming.This sounds a little strange. According to the logical thinking of modern people, the Guan Ning Jin defense line cannot be defeated, just go around it. The real Guan Ning Jin defense line is several important towns from Jinzhou to Shanhaiguan for more than [-] miles. Fortresses and strongholds along the way, the Ming army did not dare to fight against the Houjin Eight Banners in the field. The Eight Banners could swagger around Jinzhou and Ningyuan, attack Shanhaiguan, take the opportunity to enter and plunder, and even break the Ming capital.

This is a very naive idea. Even if Nurhachi and Huang Taiji had great confidence, they would not dare to ignore hundreds of thousands of troops. There are 50 soldiers, 20 in Ningyuan, and 13 in Jinzhou, which is also real. These soldiers include those in forts and strongholds. That is to say, Houjin attacked Shanhaiguan desperately. The 13 army is eyeing, and it's not that it may not be possible to capture Shanhaiguan in ten and a half months, but the [-] army behind it may make Hou Jin unable to sleep. [

It sounds good to enter the customs through Mongolia, but the journey is far away, and it is extremely difficult to supply through grasslands and deserts. The army entered the customs from Shanxi.It can only be done occasionally, the purpose is to rob, and if you rob money and people, you will run away.

It's a pity, according to Su Tiancheng's knowledge, the 33 troops stationed at the Guan Ning Jin line of defense are not very effective.

It is said that he will face Houjin for a long time.There are often fights and fights. The frontier troops on the Guan Ningjin defense line should be very good, but unfortunately the actual situation is not like this. This is also because of the drag on two aspects. The first is the military salary.The imperial court did not have so much money, and it was difficult to support an army of 33. Relying on the military settlements, the sergeants could not support themselves at all. Therefore, the situation of mutiny existed all the time, and the position of the Guan Ningjin line of defense was too important.The imperial court has always been fooling around by demolishing the east wall to make up for the west wall. Even if the situation has improved over the years, it is still difficult to maintain the expenses of the 33 army, not to mention the amount reported by Shanhaiguan is 50.

The second is that the Houjin cavalry is too powerful. The frontier army of the Ming Dynasty focuses on defending the city, and rarely engages in field battles with the Houjin Eight Banners.They are good at field battles, which also prompted the Ming border troops to stay inside the city and would not easily go out to fight. After a long time, the frontier troops got used to sticking to the city.

Moreover, the frontier army is still quietly changing, becoming an army of a certain family, and the most prominent one is the frontier army in Shanhaiguan.It has always been under the control of Wu Xiang and Wu Sangui, and gradually it has the taste of a private army. If it weren't for the rapid rise of the Jiangning battalion, this phenomenon might have become a little serious.Fortunately, Su Tiancheng led the Jiangning Battalion into the Guan Ningjin defense line.No matter if it was Zu Dashou or Wu Sangui, they would not dare to seek death, they must be determined to obey the command.

The 33rd army, sticking to the Guan Ning Jin line of defense, has become an impenetrable line of defense for Houjin. Unfortunately, this line of defense is too rigid. After so many years, they know how to stick to it. Even if the capital is in danger, they dare not take it easy To mobilize the army, I was afraid that the defense line would be empty, and it would be broken by Houjin, so several times, Houjin brought into the pass from Datong and plundered the land of Gyeonggi. .

At the same time, the 33rd army, unable to protect the surrounding people, knew that they were hiding in cities, forts, and strongholds. Su Tiancheng couldn't help but wonder why so many troops were needed and what effect they had.

His inspection this time is to start from this aspect, abolish the frontier army on a large scale, and retain the elite troops. In fact, if there are more than 15 elite troops in the Guanning Jin defense line, the three places will be well connected to ensure that Houjin will not even dare to look at it. this place.In other words, there are 33 Jiangning battalion soldiers stationed here, 10 frontier troops, and a maximum of [-] people.

As the governor of Ji Liao, Su Tiancheng has a very troublesome problem, that is, how to support so many troops, he does not have that much ability, and the imperial court can't afford to support them either. Therefore, it is necessary to abolish the frontier troops on a large scale and strengthen the army Combat effectiveness is the primary task.

Liaodong is so desolate, and so much land is allocated to the laid-off sergeants, so they can be resettled on the spot. There are still ways, but the layoffs will touch the interests of the officers.

On the 23rd of the first lunar month, Su Tiancheng arrived in Jinzhou.

The defense of Jinzhou was already under the full responsibility of Zuo Fu Yushi and Jiangning Battalion commander Sun Chuanting. Of course, the officers of the frontier army did not dare to say anything. They already knew the prestige of Jiangning Battalion.

Sun Chuanting welcomed Su Tiancheng with all the officers stationed in Jinzhou.

Looking at the many officers, Su Tiancheng was sullen.Did not speak.

Sun Chuanting knew where the problem was. There were too many officers. The number of officers in the Jiangning battalion had always been strictly controlled, and no increase was allowed. Moreover, the officers were all outstanding, whether it was the commander of the guard or the hundreds of households below. , are all charging forward, and there will never be those who retreat behind.

After entering the mansion, Sun Chuanting spoke with some reluctance.

"My lord, I have been stationed in Jinzhou for more than four months. Many of the situations are caused by Nai. There are 4 soldiers in the Jiangning battalion stationed in Jinzhou. There are 4 frontier troops stationed in Jinzhou. In addition to the 5 guards in Jinzhou, there are still 3 people distributed in castles and strongholds. There is absolutely no need for so many troops to be stationed in Jinzhou City. The matter involving the frontier army is also very embarrassing to the lower officials."

"Tell me how to solve this problem, tell the truth."

"The lower officials must be telling the truth. The best way is to abolish, leaving a maximum of 3 people, and all the rest will be abolished. Fortresses and strongholds must also be guarded, but it does not need to be the focus. Jinzhou's defense line must be moved forward. It is best to focus on the Daling River area, if the Daling River City can be captured, the frontier troops can be abolished on a large scale.” [

Su Tiancheng has already walked to the side of the map.

Sun Chuanting pointed to the map and continued speaking.

"Look, my lord, Daling River City is like a source. As long as we guard this place, Jinzhou, Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan are all safe. Thinking about invading our generation of Jinzhou and Ningyuan, no matter where they attack from, it is difficult to avoid the garrison of Dalinghe. , can be divided into two, to wipe out the post-gold tartars who entered the Guanning Jin defense line, and block the reinforcements of the post-gold tartars."

Su Tiancheng nodded. It seemed that Sun Chuanting had carefully observed the terrain around Jinzhou in the past few months.

"Yes, Dalinghe City is indeed very important. As long as Dalinghe City is controlled, the castles and strongholds within the Guan Ningjin line of defense can be abolished in large numbers. These castles and strongholds are difficult to play a real role. The sergeants inside did not dare to come out to fight, and watched the Tartars looting. It is impossible to garrison a large number of troops in each castle and stronghold, in fact, they are scattered. "

"My lord, I also think the same way. For the Guan Ningjin line of defense, it is enough to focus on four lines of defense. The first line of defense is Dalinghe City, the second line of defense is Jinzhou City, and the third line of defense is Ningyuan City. The fourth line of defense is Shanhaiguan, and the deployment of troops for each line of defense is also different, Dalinghe City is the focus, followed by Jinzhou, Ningyuan next, and finally Shanhaiguan.”

Su Tiancheng smiled.

"Master Sun, your understanding is very good. As long as Dalinghe City is well guarded and the protection of Jinzhou and Ningyuan is strengthened, the later Jin Tartars may not be able to reach Shanhaiguan, and the entire army will be wiped out. Therefore, Daling River City is very important."

"My lord means that we are going to attack Dalinghe City and take this place back."

"That's for sure. How can we allow other people to snore and sleep by the side of the couch? The Houjin Tartars have occupied Dalinghe City, like a needle, stuck in our hinterland. Who can bear it? The confrontation with the Houjin Tartars, It’s not something that will happen for a while, we must build Liaodong well and live here stably, so that we can look for opportunities to fight the final battle with Houjin.”

"My lord, I am willing to lead the soldiers to recover Dalinghe City."

"What's the rush? It's the first month of the month. I've thought about it. Take Dalinghe City around June. It will take half a year to completely restore Dalinghe City. If the later Jin Tartars dare to attack, let them experience it." Take a taste of bloodbath."

Hong Chengchou's eyes lit up and he rubbed his hands.

"My lord, I am willing to be the vanguard, and I will definitely take down Dalinghe City."

"There are more people who are more anxious than you. The four-year battle of the Daling River in Chongzhen left a scar in many people's hearts that will never go away. I'm afraid there will be plenty of people who will invite the battle, but we We must be sober. The importance of Dalinghe City is also paramount to Hou Jin. They will do everything possible to defend it. Therefore, we must make all preparations and foresee all In the current situation, there is nothing we can do about it, only after taking Dalinghe City, can we implement many things, including the abolition of the frontier troops."

"Xiaguan understands, my lord, Xiaguan still has the same request. When attacking Dalinghe City, Xiaguan is willing to be the vanguard."

Su Tiancheng looked at Sun Chuanting and shook his head naively. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point to vote, monthly pass, your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile phone users, please go to read.)