weaving

Chapter 760 Qing Emperor Huang Taiji

On the second day after Xuanzhen guerrilla Kuang Yongzhong and Du Si Tang Xiancheng led two battalions of infantry to garrison Mamatou Mountain and Xiaoling River mouth in the southeast of Songshan Fort, Zhang Ruoqi, the commander-in-chief, also asked Hong Chengchou to go to the seaside with Ma Shaoyu and others. to protect food shipments.

Hong Chengchou readily agreed, although he couldn't get rid of his urge to fight, but at least he was out of sight and out of mind, and he also allocated two hundred elite horsemen to Zhang Ruoqi as his bodyguard.

When he saw Zhang Ruoqi off, he held Zhang Ruoqi's hand and said: "Jiangjun Zhang, I heard that the captive chieftain is coming, and the reinforcements have already arrived at the city of Jinzhou. Since our army has arrived here, now we can only encourage Go forward bravely, never take a step back.

Once retreating a little, the army's morale will be shaken, and the captive soldiers will take the opportunity to attack fiercely, and we will be in danger. We have received the emperor's kindness, and we are more concerned about the safety of the country. I would rather die in the battlefield than die in the west city.

Now the decisive battle of the army is imminent, and the food road is even more important, especially important. I hope you will work hard! "

Zhang Ruoqi was full of confidence at the moment, and his mind was full of images of returning to court after making contributions. Although the two sides had attacked each other after half a month, the Ming army basically attacked more, while the Qing army mostly took the defensive.

In this way, he had an illusion that it seemed that the Tartars were at the end of their battles, and it was only a matter of time to drive back the Tartar army and break the siege of Jinzhou.

Therefore, he no longer blindly urges the war, but continues to encourage Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao: "What the governor said is very true. The place where the grain is stored is indeed the place where the entire army lives and dies. I must take care of it carefully in my job. Never let a little slip up.

The besieged Jinzhou Tartars, after the previous battle, lost all vigor, defended more and attacked less, the governor should lead the generals to march forward bravely, break the siege of Jinzhou in one fell swoop, report the king's favor, and comfort the sacred heart! "

The two chatted for a while, Zhang Ruoqi bid farewell to Hong Chengchou, Qiu Minyang and other officials, and headed southeast to the mouth of Xiaoling River surrounded by guards.

…………

After bidding farewell to Commander-in-Chief Zhang Ruoqi, Hong Chengchou convened a meeting of the generals in the big tent of the Supervising Biao Camp southwest of Songshan, and encouraged them to pay close attention to the movements of the Qing army, dig trenches and wait for the decisive battle.

After the previous war, the Qing army shrank its troops and concentrated on defense, and the garrison of the Ming army's generals also adjusted.

For example, Li Fuming, the general soldier of Shanxi, stationed at Xiaolinghekou and Mamatou Mountain to guard the grain road; Stationed in Maojiagou.

However, the Niangniang Temple was too close to the artillery formations on the Shimen Mountain of the Tartars, and was frequently harassed by the Tartars, and it was quite unfavorable to fight against them.

The soldiers and horses of Chen Jiugao, the former commander of the Shenji Battalion, and Liu Zhaoji, the commander of Liaodong, were still stationed in the northwest of Songshan City, connecting with Hong Chengchou's Superintendent Battalion.

Ningyuan General Soldier Wu Sangui, Qiantun General Soldier Wang Tingchen, and Dongxie General Soldier Cao Bianjiao and other three general soldiers camped in the north of Songshan City. Shimen Exit Mountain Road.

Zhang Cheng, the deputy general of Xuanzhen Town, and Wang Pu, the general of Datong, led their troops and camped in the east of Songshan City. The important task is not to let the Tartar thieves go down along the Xiaoling River to harass the grain stores.

The [-] to [-] troops of the Ming army were deployed in the surrounding mountains and plains outside Songshan City. The army was huge and magnificent. In addition, after the previous war, they also had many achievements in daily small-scale battles with the Qing army, and their morale was high. when.

Although reinforcements from the Qing army on the opposite side have obviously arrived in recent days, but even if they use the power of the whole country, how many soldiers and horses can they have?

If there were really 10,000+ Tatars and captives riding to the city of Jinzhou, what would the Qing Dynasty rely on to support it?

Could it be that they are allowed to eat grass like mules, cattle and sheep?

It was in this situation and state of mind that the officials and generals of the Ming Dynasty were very relaxed and did not show too much worry about the war here.

…………

After the military discussion, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, stopped Wu Sangui alone and asked him to speak in the military tent.

Only Hong Chengchou asked him: "General Changbo, has Aunt Ling left for Ningyuan?"

It turned out that on the night of the end of the previous war, Hong Chengchou sent his cronies and staff to Wu Sangui's camp twice to persuade Mrs. Zuo to leave and return to Ningyuan as soon as possible, waiting for the news of Jinzhou's relief.

Because he was worried that if the decisive battle between the Songjin front line and the Tartars was unfavorable, Mrs. Zuo died before the battle, or was captured by the Qing soldiers. Go out of Jinzhou City and surrender.

Wu Sangui replied with a respectful expression; "My aunt has followed the governor's advice, and this morning Bin led the servants and family Ding to get up. I think it's time to cross Gaoqiao by now."

Hong Chengchou sighed, and said, "I couldn't break the siege of Jinzhou with a single drum, and made my aunt return to Ningyuan sadly. I really feel guilty!"

Wu Sangui hurriedly comforted him and said: "The situation is so difficult now, the imperial court is very urgent, and the Tatars are holding on to the stronghold and trenches, the battle of Songjin cannot be resolved in a day, so I can't blame you.

The last time Dongshimen fought against the slaves, my aunt also led her family among the soldiers and personally shot and killed several slaves.

She said that even though she couldn't see Jinzhou's rescue, it didn't count as Xusongjin's visit to the front line.

It's just that when she left for Ningyuan this morning, she reined in her horse and stopped on a high hill, looked back at Jinzhou City for a while, couldn't help but sighed, and actually shed tears, saying that she was afraid that she would never be able to live with her uncle again in this life met. "

On Hong Chengchou's elegant face, two eyes flashed a gleam, and he said: "The Tartars have been increasing their troops day by day, and it is even rumored that the captive chief Hong Tai has arrived at the front of the two armies, and I am afraid that the moment of decisive battle will be within a few days. .

If the emperor of the Netherlands, the king of Weiling, and the soldiers of Lai Lai fight hard, and win the first battle, the siege of Jinzhou will be lifted. "

Here, just after Wu Sangui retreated, Zhang Ruoqi, the commander in chief, sent a letter from the flying cavalry from the mouth of Xiaoling River.

Zhang Ruoqi suggested that Hong Tai, the captive chieftain, should gather all the forces to attack the Qing army camp in the south of Jinzhou City before he arrived, in order to lift the siege of Jinzhou and repay the mighty kindness of the emperor.

After Hong Chengchou read Zhang Ruoqi's letter, he said angrily in his heart: "I have been in the industry for a long time, and have supervised teachers for many years. You are a manic scholar, what do you know? How dare you point me out!"

However, his face was still as elegant as ever, and he didn't show a trace of disgust. Instead, he smiled and asked the person who came, "Zhang Jianjun has arrived at the grain storage place in Hekou?"

"Yes, Governor. Zhang Jianjun and Ma Canjun are inspecting the marine rations, commanding the soldiers to guard them strictly."

Hong Chengchou smiled, and said again: "Go back to the Hekou Grain Station and report to Supervisor Zhang. I have fully understood the meaning of his letter."

Hong Chengchou no longer hopes to repel the Tartars in the First World War and relieve the siege of Jinzhou, but hopes that when the decisive battle comes, the battalions will be able to hold on to the stronghold for a few days, so as to dampen the enthusiasm of the captives first.

When the Tartars have exhausted their three drums, they will launch a massive counterattack. This may drive the Tartars back. As long as they seize the Tartars' defense line in the south of Jinzhou City and line up with Zu Dashou, they will not be afraid of the ferocity of the barbarians. , until the captives retreated.

So Hong Chengchou got up and went to various important places in person, inspecting the defense lines of camps, trenches, and encouraging the soldiers to kill slaves bravely.

…………

Today, at dawn, Hong Chengchou sent nearly [-] cavalry from the Dubiao Battalion, Wu Sangui Division, Cao Bianjiao Division, and Wang Tingchen Division. With the cooperation of infantry artillery, they were divided into three groups to attack the Qing soldiers' east and west Shimen and Shimenshan camps.

Zu Dashou heard the sound of guns and shouts of killing outside in Jinzhou City, and led more than 2000 infantry to fight out from the south gate of Jinzhou, and cooperated with Hong Chengchou to attack the Qing army.

But the Qing army's camp was strong, the trenches were deep, and the artillery fire was relatively fierce. The Ming army fought hard, and the Qing army's cavalry dared to go out to fight. They fought hard for half a day and were unable to advance.

Hong Chengchou was afraid that the loss of the troops under his command would affect the morale of the army, so he had to withdraw his troops and return to the camp.

Zu Dashou saw that the shouts of the Qing army in the south had weakened, and knew that Hong Chengchou had withdrawn his troops and retreated, so he hurried back to the city with the wounded soldiers.

The Qing army did not take the opportunity to counterattack, but sent sporadic small groups of rangers to spy repeatedly on the places where the Ming army camped.

Battles like this are repeated almost every other day on the Songjin front, but today is a little different from the past. The Qing army no longer just defends, but dares to send cavalry out of the village to fight.

From this, Hong Chengchou judged that in the past half month, the Qing army not only added reinforcements to supplement its strength, but even the captive chieftain Hong Tai had reached the front line of Songjin, and a trace of worry appeared on his always elegant face.

…………

In the early hours of August 14, [-]th year of Chongzhen, Qing Emperor Huang Taiji finally crossed the Xiaoling River and came to the front line of Songjin.

Prince Heshuorui Dorgon, Prince Heshuosu Hauge and other kings and generals on the front line of Jinzhou, as well as King Azig of Duoluowuying County who led the troops to the front line, were already waiting by the Xiaoling River.

When the generals and soldiers of the Qing army heard that His Majesty the Emperor had arrived in person, their courage suddenly increased. From the Xiaoling River to the southern camp of Jinzhou City, there was cheering everywhere.

Here, only Dorgon and Hauge were uneasy. After all, the previous battle had caused a lot of casualties. I don't know how Huang Taiji will deal with them. Although they were walking in the center of the team, they couldn't stay calm.

Dorgon accompanied Huang Taiji, and said cautiously: "Now that the holy chariot has arrived, the ministers and others are more courageous, so we can only leap forward bravely and remove the obstacles to the Central Plains for the Great Cleansing.

Relying on the majesty of the emperor Zhutian, the ministers are not afraid of a decisive battle with the reinforcements of the Southern Dynasty.But the situation in the army had to be made clear to the emperor.At present, the governor of the Southern Dynasty, Hong Chengchou, has come to aid many people. Since the previous war, the ministers and others have been attacked repeatedly, and the soldiers have suffered many injuries every day.

Knowing that the emperor was about to visit Jinzhou in person, the ministers and others just guarded the camp every day, and did not go out to fight the southern army in order to show weakness to the enemy. "

Huang Taiji walked forward with gentle steps. After the epistaxis healed, he felt that his body seemed to be full of vitality. Under the canopy umbrella, he said lightly: "Today, I will order the warriors to go out to fight for a while, but don't chase the enemy. Far."

"Whoo!"

With the tall yellow dragon canopy and big umbrella, the Qing emperor Huang Taiji walked forward slowly, followed by the kings, Baylor, and generals, and the soldiers in the distance around him saw the simple guard of honor and the front cavalry in front of him, and they all knew it was the emperor. When His Majesty arrived, everyone cheered and shouted "Long live! Long live! Long live..." in Manchurian from far and near.

…………

Under the big umbrella of the Huanglong canopy, stood an extremely fat man from the Qing Dynasty. This man was the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji. wait.

Huang Taiji did not rest in the camp of the Qing army in the south of Jinzhou City, but went to Huangtuling, Shimen Mountain and other places to inspect. Now he has just arrived at Shimen Mountain from Huangtuling.

Shimen Mountain is not an independent mountain range. It is actually just a mountain on the Songshan Mountains. It is connected to Rufeng Mountain. Many people even think that Shimen Mountain is the east mountain of Rufeng Mountain.

At this time, Huang Taiji was looking at Songshan Fort not far to the south of the mountain, and he didn't know what he was thinking about.

Beside the canopy umbrella, there are full of Qing kings, dukes and nobles, the kings Baylor, the flag masters, Gushan Ezhen, the foreign vassal Mongolia Baylor, the son of the Joseon Dynasty and so on.

It was noon at this time, and under the scorching sun, everyone was sweating profusely, but they didn't dare to move a little. They followed their little foolish kings and looked towards the direction of Songshan City on the top of the mountain.

And along the ridge of Shimen Mountain, there are full of elite soldiers from Baya La Camp and Gebush Ying Camp of Qing Dynasty, and the dense banners are fluttering in the wind, making a sound of hunting.

After concentrating for a long time, Huang Taiji suddenly asked coldly: "How many troops does Hong Chengchou have?"

The owner of the Zhengbai Banner, Prince He Shuorui, Dorgon hurried out of the crowd, knelt down beside Huang Taiji, and replied: "Come back, the Southern Army has nearly 15 people in Songshan."

Huang Taiji's face remained unmoved, and he asked again: "How many soldiers and horses does the Ming army have in the direction of Xingshan, Gaoqiao, and Tashan?"

Dorgon knelt and replied: "Going up, on the line of Song, Xing, Gao, and Pagoda, the southern army has many piers and outposts, which are specially in charge of observation, and there are not many defense troops. According to investigations, there are more than [-] southern troops in the direction of Xingshan. There are more than [-] bridges and [-] Tashan Mountains."

Huang Taiji raised a delicate telescope again, looked around Songshan, and asked lightly: "Where is the Ming army's food storage, what's the situation?"

"Returning to the above, the southern army mostly transported grain by sea. According to the investigation of the spies, most of the grain was stored on Bijia Mountain behind the Tim Bridge between Xingta. There were more than ten thousand southern troops stationed there. In addition, there were many grains in Xingshan. Serves Matsuyama.

In addition, the south of Jinzhou where the Xiaoling River flows into the sea is also the place where the Southern Army transported grain by sea. There is a battalion of the Ming Army stationed on Mamatou Mountain, and my spies are not allowed to go close and take a closer look. "

After hearing Dorgon's words, Huang Taiji was expressionless. He slowly retracted the binoculars and said in a cold tone: "Ming Jin, tell the soldiers not to pursue."

Then, he handed the telescope to Geshha beside him, and said to the kings Baylor: "Go back to the camp. How to defeat the Ming army still needs to be discussed in detail!"

When he said this, a cold light flashed in his eyes.

Amidst the sound of drums, Huang Taiji, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, began to drive along the gentle ridges to the imperial camp of the Qing army at the foot of Shimen Mountain.

(End of this chapter)