Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

"Master! How about this one?" Chang Liuqin was wearing a long lake green dress with a goose yellow belt around her waist. She was wearing a rich dress and twirled lightly on the spot like an elf. Diverging in all directions, people are a little out of breath.

The room and the bed were full of various costumes. Wu Shigong sat on the edge of the bed, watching Chang Liuqin's "fashion show" patiently.

"Not bad!" Wu Shigong nodded again with a smile.The cheeks that were sour from laughing were also a little tight.Today's Wu Shigong wanted to make Chang Liuqin happy, so he did not hesitate to accompany her all day.

Chang Liuqin turned and turned, but the speed became slower and slower. "Master!" Chang Liuqin suddenly shouted coquettishly, and then she threw herself into Wu Shigong's arms with tears all over her face.

Chang Liuqin was extremely reluctant to hug Wu Shigong.Because Wu Shigong will go to war tomorrow.During this one-year period, Chang Liuqin had long regarded Wu Shigong as her reliance, so she felt that this time was a farewell.

When Wu Shigong rescued Jinzhou for the first time, because Chang Liuqin didn't say a few words to Wu Shigong, so she didn't have any feelings for Wu Shigong that time.But now the two have been together for such a long time, and they live and fly together, there is no other woman to share favor with, and Wu Shigong's attitude towards his family has always been very kind, so now Chang Liuqin feels quite happy.

And the time of a year is not short, this place has already become Wu Shigong's third home besides Jingcheng and Runing.So this separation made Chang Liuqin feel a sense of fear of not knowing the future.

Because if Wu Shigong fails in the expedition, his life is likely to be in danger, and Chang Liuqin, who has no status, will drift away again, and I don't know what his fate will be.Even if Wu Shigong came back victorious, the best result would be to bring Chang Liuqin home, but what is the situation in Wu Shigong's family?Will he be bullied by a big woman?This also made Chang Liuqin very worried.After all.She is still a little girl who doesn't understand the world.

"Why are you crying?" Wu Shigong didn't know at all, Chang Liuqin's heart was full of troubles, he gently stroked Chang Liuqin's back, and comforted him softly: "It's not dangerous to beat the tartar this time. After many battles, you always know how to protect yourself! Obedient! Obediently wait for me to go home!"

Unexpectedly, after saying this sentence, Chang Liuqin cried even more happily: "Master—!"

……

Today's Liaodong is besieged by the Qing army, and Jinzhou City, defended by Zu Dashou, is the most outpost.Behind it is a series of solid small castles in Songshan, Xingshan, and Tashan, and behind it is Ningyuan, an important town outside the gate.From Jinzhou to Ningyuan, five cities form a line, surrounded by mountains and sea.It is the defense focus of the Ming army on the Liaodong defense line.

The Qing army entered the fortress several times, and it was like entering an uninhabited territory in the Jifu area. However, when entering and leaving the Central Plains, they had to bypass the Shanhaiguan defense line and take the passes of the Great Wall north of Beijing.With Ningjin Zhucheng, Shanhaiguan is as firm as a rock; Shanhaiguan is solid.The Qing army's road to the Central Plains would not be smooth, and the strategic intention of taking Ming and replacing it would not be smoothly realized.

therefore.Huang Taiji's basic strategy for fighting against the Ming Dynasty.On the one hand, it is to continue to send troops into the Central Plains to shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. On the other hand, it is to remove a string of Ming army strongholds in Liaodong, first of all, to remove the four fortresses east of Ningyuan.

By the spring of the 14th year of Chongzhen, the Qing army had completed a solid siege, set up eight camps on each side of Jinzhou, and completed all the siege works.At this time, defending Jinzhou.It was Zu Dashou who had a history of false surrender. He was very resolute in resisting the siege of the Qing army. The defense facilities of Jinzhou City were very good, and the food reserves were relatively substantial.Zu Dashou's tactic is to defend the city to the death.Wait for reinforcements.

At this time, Hong Chengchou couldn't procrastinate any longer. Seeing the determination of the Qing army not to retreat until Jinzhou was trapped, the only countermeasure Hong Chengchou could take was to concentrate his forces on a battle with the Qing army in the area of ​​Jinzhou in order to keep the people outside the customs. various forts.

Although Hong Chengchou's reputation spread far and wide, Hong Chengchou had no idea how sure he was of winning.But when the Qing army approached, they had no choice but to fight the enemy.

So Hong Chengchou first sent a small group of troops to Jinzhou along the coast to harass the enemy to ease the siege of Jinzhou. On the other hand, he personally led all the officers and troops near Shanhaiguan to Ningyuan, ready to attack the Qing army at any time.

But when Hong Chengchou was gathering troops in Ningyuan, the situation of defending the city in Jinzhou became more and more serious.In late March, the Mongolian generals Nuomqi and Wu Bashi stationed in the outer city of Jinzhou secretly contacted Jierhalang, preparing to surrender the city.

Zu Dashou discovered this situation, and was about to hunt and kill two Mongolian generals, but the Mongolian army moved first.Zu Dashou's cronies and Mongolian troops fought a great battle between the inner and outer cities of Jinzhou. The Qing army took the opportunity to climb up the city and forced Zu Dashou's troops into the inner city.The outer city was occupied by the Qing army, and Jinzhou's city defense became even more precarious.

But Zu Dashou still decided to stick to it.In May, he sent someone to sneak out of the siege to report to Hong Chengchou that the grain and grass in the city could last for half a year, and he hoped that the reinforcements would not rush to fight lightly, but would use chariots to advance steadily step by step.

The tense situation in Liaodong also made Emperor Chongzhen nervous, but he never knew anything about military affairs and had no idea how to organize this major military operation.

On May 15, Emperor Chongzhen summoned Chen Xinjia, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, in Zhongji Hall, and asked him how to make decisions and how to arrange them.Chen Xinjia has been mobilizing troops and paying for Ningyuan for several months, and he really wants to fight a good battle to dampen the spirit of the Qing army.He reported to Emperor Chongzhen that Hong Chengchou had now gathered in Ningyuan Wu Sangui, the general of Ningyuan, Wang Tingchen, the former general of the Tunwei, Ma Ke, the general of Shanhaiguan, Cao Bianjiao, the general of Yutian, Bai Guangen, the general of Jizhen, and Tang Tong, the general of Miyun. , Yang Guozhu, the general of Xuanfu, Wang Pu, the general of Datong, and Wu Shigong, the general of Runing, have a total of [-] soldiers and horses in nine towns, and the army rations and salaries will soon be shipped.

Chen Xinjia believed that the Ming army gathered such a strong force for a decisive battle with the Qing army in the narrow area between the mountains and the sea in Jinzhou, and could avoid the enemy's cavalry galloping. Command, is expecting a big victory.

For this reason, Chen Xinjia suggested: with Songshan as the center, divide the troops into four groups, all the way out of Tashan and passing through Dashengbao to attack the enemy's northwest; all the way out of Xingshan, bypassing Jinzhou and attacking from the north; The main force directly attacked the enemy's southern flank from Songshan.Encircle the four roads and gather together to wipe out the enemy bandits.

Of course, Chen Xinjia's battle plan is only on paper.His judgments on the balance of forces and the geographical situation were correct, but he did not take into account the key factor of the extremely poor combat effectiveness of the Ming army.The generals are cowardly, the morale of the soldiers is low, the equipment is dilapidated, and the military and government are in disorder. It is already very good for the 15 troops who have finally come together to scare the enemy. dream.

However, Hong Chengchou was on the front line and knew these chronic diseases of his troops very well, so he always opposed the military department's whimsical combat plan.But Emperor Chongzhen was very happy after hearing Chen Xinjia's eloquent talk.Over the years, I have only received reports of defeats, and rarely heard the sound of victories. If I can file against the enemy on the front line of Liaodong, I will not only be able to show the evil spirit of being swept by the Qing soldiers many times in Gyeonggi, but also be able to take advantage of the victory to draw troops. Go to the Central Plains to encircle and suppress the bandits.Wasn't such a prospect exactly what he had dreamed of for years?

So Emperor Chongzhen fully supported Chen Xinjia's plan in principle.But he is not the "junior brother" of the elementary throne, and he will no longer be so impatient and self-righteous, so Emperor Chongzhen hoped that the Ministry of War would still consider the opinions of the commanders in front, and try to make the center and the front line as consistent as possible.

After this meeting, Chen Xinjia discussed with several ministers of the cabinet, Minister of the Ministry of War Wu Tong, and former Minister of the Ministry of War Fu Zonglong, and finally decided to send Zhang Ruoqi, a doctor of the Ministry of War, to the front of the Ningyuan Army as a special commissioner to understand the situation and participate in decision-making.Later, Ma Shaoyu, the former magistrate of Suide County, was sent to the front of the army as the head of the Ministry of War to praise the maintenance of the aircraft.

From the beginning of the summer of this year, the officers and soldiers of several towns of the Ming army drove out of Shanhaiguan successively, assembled in the Songshan area, and conducted several small-scale contacts with the Qing army near Songshan, and even achieved a small victory in the Shimen area.Hong Chengchou was not optimistic about this limited victory, and still insisted on the policy of protracted war. In his report to the court, he said: "For a long time, hold on to Songshan and Xingshan to transfer food and pay, and the city of Jinzhou is quite strong, so it is not easy to be breached. If the enemy's army passes this autumn, not only will the country be unsustainable, but also the supply of food and salaries from North Korea will not be guaranteed. This is a strategy that can be held firmly and then fight again. Now the minister of the Ministry of War is discussing the war. How dare the ministers procrastinate, just because they are afraid of the transportation of food and salaries Difficulties are beyond the reach of the whip. It is a matter of the national system, it is better to wait a little bit, so that the enemy can trap himself, which is more beneficial."

But Zhang Ruoqi, who had already reached the front line outside the customs, was dazzled by several small victories, thinking that he could march quickly and defeat the Qing soldiers in one fell swoop.In his secret report to the Ministry of War and the emperor, he lamented that the opportunity must not be lost, and hoped that the court would immediately order a decisive battle.

As the representative of Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Imperial Court and Ministry of War, Zhang Ruoqi is so urgent for the following reasons:

First of all, of course, Jinzhou City is indeed extremely dangerous;

Secondly, Hong Chengchou's delay was too long, which caused the court's logistical pressure to be unbearable, so it could not be delayed any longer;

The third is that Chen Xinjia wanted to prove that his plan for a decisive battle with the whole army was correct, he wanted to show his attack in front of Emperor Chongzhen, and he wanted to overwhelm Hong Chengchou in the influence of the court's discussion of military strategy;

In the end, of course, Zhang Ruoqi wanted to show that he could play a great role in this battle.

Emperor Chongzhen, who was inclined to fight quickly, could no longer hold his breath at this time. Since the great victory he had longed for for many years was within easy reach, of course he could not delay any longer. (To be continued..)