Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

But for some reason, Hong Chengchou's command had two fatal negligence.

One is that the Ming army did not carry enough food and grass with them.Among the Ming army, except for the Runing Army who has always maintained a good habit and carried enough grain and grass for the whole army to use for one and a half months, the other Ming troops only carried three days of grain and grass with them, and the supply of grain and grass had to be transported from Bijia Mountain in the rear. .

This negligence is very puzzling, because the Ming army has enough mules, horses and vehicles, and can carry enough food and grass for a month.Moreover, the distance between the Ming army and Ningyuan is only a little over a hundred miles. This distance is not far away. The grain road of fifty miles is also as dangerous as the grain road of more than 100 miles. There is no need to set up a grain station in Bijia Mountain. It is completely superfluous .

Maybe Hong Chengchou wants to shorten the grain road to be sure!There may also be other reasons, but from the perspective of war command, the commander should consider defeat before winning, and Hong Chengchou did not do this at all. Therefore, he is negligent here, and he is already on the head of the Ming army. A sword was hung.

In addition, although the Ming army seems to have become a solid defense system.However, on the north side of the lifeline of Jin, Song, Xing, and Pagoda, there is a Changling mountain range, which is not very steep. It is entirely possible for the cavalry to go around the mountain road and outflank the Songshan to the west, cutting off the supply line of the Ming army.

For this reason, Zhang Dou, the supervising army of Datong, once proposed to divide his troops and station them in Changling to prevent the Qing army from detouring and outflanking.

But Hong Chengchou said arrogantly: "I have been the governor for 12 years, what do you father-in-law know!" He refused to accept Zhang Dou's opinion, and Changling has never been fortified.

All officials in the Ming army could hardly object to Hong Chengchou's insistence on going his own way.Because of the previous victory of the Ming army, the current Hong Chengchou is in full swing, so the current Hong Chengchou has changed from a lack of self-confidence to an inflated self-confidence.

After Wu Shigong also heard about this controversy, he specifically searched for Hadan Battelle.Want to know whether this is the case in Changling through this local population who knows the roads in Liaodong?

But Hardan Bateer's answer was quite vague. He admitted that there are mountain roads that can pass there, but he also explained that Changling is a mountain range.In the mountains, there are two concepts: there are mountain roads that can pass pedestrians and troops can pass, because it is difficult to pass cavalry and vehicles in the army on mountain roads.

After all, Bijia Mountain was an important food station for the Ming army, and there was also a strong fortress built there. Without artillery and siege equipment, there was nothing to do with a strong city wall.Therefore, Wu Shigong also recognized Hong Chengchou's judgment.

In fact, in the final analysis.Hong Chengchou's reputation in the past and his current command performance have indeed brought great confidence to the officials of the Ming army, including Wu Shigong, making everyone's judgment on him somewhat blind.

In particular, Hong Chengchou's slow-advance tactic of chariot formation is the best and most appropriate tactic that the Ming army can choose now, which further reflects Hong Chengchou's command skills.It is also very admirable.Of course, this tactic is also very suitable for the appetite of a tortoise military attache like Wu Shigong.

Anyway, at this time.Even some Ming army officials were a little puzzled and worried.But no one will ever refute it in person, so there is no way to make up for this fatal omission.

After Huang Taiji received the battle report from Jinzhou, he immediately decided to lead an army to help, and planned to take this opportunity to wipe out the main force of the Ming Dynasty in Shanhaiguan area in one fell swoop.He mobilized all the troops and horses to gather in Shengjing. He planned to set off on the [-]th, but because of severe nose bleeding.It dragged on for a few days.

By the fourteenth day, Huang Taiji's nosebleed hadn't fully recovered, so he went out sick.Before leaving, he summoned the nobles and ministers, and said excitedly: "I am just afraid that the enemy will flee in a hurry when they hear that I am going to conquer personally. Chasing a dog and chasing an animal is as easy as picking it up, and it will not be too laborious. The timing of the attack I have set is appropriate, and you will be careful not to violate it, and try your best to recognize it." Then he led three thousand elite riders, and used a white handkerchief to carry the nosebleed along the way. , Day and night rushed to Jinzhou.

"Dig quickly! Whoever dares to stop will be whipped!" Niu Luerzhen Ma Jiayan waved a leather whip wrapped with wire, and then pointed at the white pig digging the trench with the whip, saying: "White pig! These The slave will leave it to you, and you must dig this section before dawn. After the work is done, the Lord will definitely raise the flag for you."

"Don't worry! Master!" The white pig wiped his sweaty brow with his sleeve, and said, "I won't miss my business!"

After being knocked unconscious by Fujia at that time, Niu Luerzhen Ma Jiayan who got the news begged for the white pig.At that time, the white pig was already bruised and dying, so Fujia let the white pig go.She thought that the white pig must die, and she could save a straw mat.

Unexpectedly, the white pig's vitality was very strong, and under Ma Jiayan's care, it came back to life and fully recovered without any sequelae.

And in this way, the white pig became Ma Jiayan's coat.But Ma Jiayan also remembered the life-saving grace of the white pig, and was very kind to the white pig, so he also became a little leader in the coat.

The siege of Jinzhou City this time, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was the mobilization of the Eight Banners, Niu Luerzhen, Ma Jiayan and Bai Zhu were all transferred to the troops besieging Jinzhou.And Ma Jiayan distributed horses, armor and weapons to White Pig, treated him completely as a bannerman, and asked him to be responsible for all his own coats, making White Pig a small leader of the coat.

When Huang Taiji rushed to Jinzhou, Huang Taiji, who was familiar with the geographical situation in the Ningjin area, went around to Hong Chengchou's back along the Changling Mountains. On the [-]th, he camped at Qijiabao on the west side of Songshan Mountain.

The next day, Huang Taiji ordered the soldiers to dig three trenches eight feet deep and more than ten feet wide behind the Ming army, encircled Hong Chengchou's 15 troops, and cut off the Ming army's food and grass supply line.At the same time, he also sent his younger brother Azige, the king of Wuying County, to lead an army to attack Bijia Mountain and seized twelve piles of grain gathered there by the Ming army.

Huang Taiji's powerful military actions caused the Ming army, which had a little morale, to be overwhelmed. The soldiers were panicked, and their will to fight immediately dropped to freezing point.Hong Chengchou didn't seem to have expected that the Qing army's reinforcements would come so fast, and they would go around behind him as soon as they came, so he had to concentrate on dealing with the enemies behind him first, hoping to re-open the transportation line and regain the army rations.

On the 21st, the Ming army launched an attack on Huang Taiji's camp. Although they were superior in strength, they failed to win. Some generals saw Huang Gai of Huang Taiji in the Qing army and knew that it was Huang Taiji who came to the army. They retreated before the confrontation down.

"You son of a bitch, seeing Huang Taiji's Huang Gai's legs was so frightened that you didn't even dare to go up to urinate, what face do you have to talk about me?"

"So what about you? You've hit the edge of the ditch, and you can't even send someone to fill it. It's not for you to fill it. The knife in your hand is eating grass? Cutting off a few heads can force the soldiers to come forward Well, it’s okay to fill them with their corpses! What a pig’s head.”

"Stop talking, both of you. What's going on at Bijia Mountain? Raising sheep there can also block the Tartars for a while. How could they be shot down by the Tartars?"

"Grass! Let alone Bijia Mountain, the tartars can't even detect the movement of digging trenches. What's going on on the side of Changling?..."

……

On the evening of the 21st, Hong Chengchou's Chinese army tent was full of noise. Ming army commanders from all walks of life accused each other. At the end of the quarrel, there was some anger among the people, and they even used words to show Hong Chengchou's incompetence.After being blocked by the Qing army and cutting off the grain road, Hong Chengchou's tall image collapsed, and at this time the Ming army fell into chaos.

Wu Shigong hid in the corner of the big tent and looked at it secretly. He found that Hong Chengchou's face was getting greener and greener.At the end, Hong Chengchou finally couldn't hold back and patted the big case. The loud noise finally made the big tent temporarily quiet again.

"What are you arguing about? What are you arguing about?" Seeing the veins popping out on Hong Chengchou's forehead and neck, his face was also rosy.Hong Chengchou took a deep breath, tried his best to suppress his anger, and said in a low tone: "Everyone swears to serve the court, now is the time. Although the food is exhausted and you are surrounded, you should tell the officials and soldiers that you will die if you defend, and you will die if you don't fight. Survival may be possible in battle. I am determined to put all my eggs in one basket, and hope that you will do your best to defeat the enemy tomorrow."

Hong Chengchou's words finally restored the normal atmosphere in the big tent, and the Ming army finally started an emergency military meeting.First of all, of course, discuss the next step of the combat direction.Because the food in the army can last at most three days, almost all the generals advocated withdrawing to Ningyuan first, and then making long-term plans.

Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu also agreed with this opinion.In fact, even if they decide to withdraw their troops, they must first break through the Qing army's front on the west side, so there will always be a big battle.So Hong Chengchou finally decided to devote his entire army to a decisive battle the next day.

But this decisive battle will be desperate, and will determine the order in which the Ming army retreats.Undoubtedly, the vanguard and rear troops were the most dangerous, so when it came to this point, there was silence in the big tent, and no one wanted to be that early bird.

Wu Shigong also remained silent, but he saw Hong Chengchou staring at him from the corner of his eyes, he couldn't help but sighed in his heart, and first broke the silence: "Master Supervisor! If you are a late general, be a pioneer!"

As soon as he said this, Hong Chengchou's face immediately softened, and the frozen atmosphere in the big tent also eased a lot.This most troublesome problem has finally been solved.

"Okay, good! This governor has always been loyal and courageous, and he will surely succeed. This governor can't treat you badly, come here, just ask if you have any requests." Hong Chengchou smiled.

"No one else, just give more mules and horses, and more sacks." Wu Shigong said.To pass through the ditch, it must be filled first, and using mules and horses to carry sacks full of earth and rocks can greatly increase the speed, so Wu Shigong put forward such a request.

"Yes!" (To be continued...)