Back to the end of the Ming Dynasty to engage in infrastructure construction

Chapter 168 Mantou Sacrifice, Endless

Soldiers who died in battle must return to their hometowns.

Looking at several urns in a row, Zhao Cheng felt a little heavy.

Revolution is not a dinner party, it must involve bloodshed.

He had been mentally prepared for a long time, but he looked at the names on the ashes urn.

Before setting off, they were all young lads, youthful and full of vigor.

Now, the soul is returned to the loess...

The point is, what are their sacrifices for?
Was their sacrifice worth it?
People always like to say that one will succeed and ten thousand will die.

It sounds passionate and surging, and the famous general who has achieved great success is admired by all generations.

Some people even worshiped it for a time, casting the crown with the blood of hundreds of millions of people.

In fact, behind this is often suppressed and annihilated human nature.

Every columbarium here represents the brokenness of a family.

They died in battle, not for a "hero";

One should not fight to the death for a "god";
Not to mention fighting to death for an "Lafayette" and an "Emperor".

"They are heroes! Not me. They are gods! Not me."

Zhao Cheng pondered.

It was these soldiers who died in battle, but it was Zhao Cheng who was revered as a god...

Zhao Cheng felt that on his halo as a "god", every ray of glory was laced with blood.

The aura of this god is so heavy.

He must lead this country, this nation, to truly become prosperous and truly to the top of the world.

Let their descendants no longer suffer from wars and injustice.

Whether you are rich or poor, as long as you earn it through your own efforts, the world is beautiful.

Zhao Cheng stood at attention and gave a military salute to several urns with a serious expression.

After choosing a location in Guihua City, Zhao Cheng built a monument to the fallen soldiers.

Place several urns here, guarded by soldiers, and present flowers and incense on time.

In the future, whether these ashes will continue to be placed here, or brought back to Qiangdi, their hometown... will be decided by their relatives.

Next, the whole army devoted itself to the construction of the Guihua City position.

Zhao Cheng exchanged several excavators.

When these behemoths start rumbling, the shock brought to the people of this era is simply unimaginable.

The Eight Banners army gradually gathered.

Huang Taiji watched the bustling scene in Guihua City from afar, with a serious expression on his face.

A few days ago, he had just attacked Guihua City with his troops.

This is Lin Dan Khan's lair.

He was even ready for a decisive battle with Lin Dan Khan.

But what was thought to be a fierce battle ended in Lin Danhan's rout.

In order to disintegrate the will of the Mongols, Huang Taiji ordered Guihua City to be burned.

Unexpectedly, not long after, he led the army to come here again.

The enemy has become the Ming army that he despises even more.

It's just that this Ming army seems to be a little different. They defeated Zhenglan Qi and Zhengbai Qi one after another...

One must know that the Zhenglan Banner is not weak in fighting power among the Eight Banners, and the Zhengbai Banner ranks second only to the Zhenghuang Banner he personally commanded.

"Khan, our army has arrived, why didn't we order to attack? Although Ming Manzi gave us some food and grass, but the 10,000+ army is here, people eat horses and chews every day, we can't hold on for a long time!"

Zheng Hongqi, the leader of the flag, spoke in a somewhat annoyed tone.

This time the Eight Banners chased and killed Lin Danhan, but did not achieve the expected results.

Although the Mongols occupied a large area of ​​grassland, Lin Dan Khan got the news in advance and ran away.

As long as Lin Danhan and his main force are still there, they may fight back at any time, regardless of how much land they occupy.

The key is that they failed to beat Lin Danhan and did not get supplies, and the Eight Banners almost ran out of food.

The materials for the peace talks obtained from Ming Manzi will be distributed by Huang Taiji.

Huang Taiji naturally favored those flags who were close to him.

The two white flags of the three Dorgon brothers are next.

Dai Shan is the owner of the old Zhenghong Banner, and has always been feared by Huang Taiji.

The supplies they received from Zhenghongqi were not much, and it was okay to go back directly after fighting Lin Danhan, it was barely enough.

But another strong army emerged.

The Eight Banners army was led by the nose.

Daishan was trapped by food and grass every day, and his hair turned gray.

"The grassland is our territory. The pressure on our food and grass is so high. What's the matter with this Ming army? They are obviously traveling lightly, so why are they able to bring out a large number of iron hedgehogs and large wooden cows and horses at critical moments? All kinds of Zhuge artifacts... don't even worry about food and grass?"

Huang Taiji frowned, with a puzzled tone.

When the army is marching, food and grass are the most important.

It is not only eaten by people, but also chewed by horses.

This Ming army, one man and three horses, how much logistical pressure is there?

Theoretically speaking, if this team of more than 1000 people went to fight against them outside the customs, the logistics team alone would probably have to reach [-] people.

Even the transshipment of various materials within the Ming Dynasty will definitely alarm Gyeonggi, and the whole country will be dispatched...

But this Ming army seems too easy, right?

"Khan, you don't need to worry too much. I have already interrogated the warriors who participated in the battle. I think this Ming army has some magical methods. They can release deadly poison, breathe fire, and summon tomorrow at night. Very weird.

Before we attack, we can find the shaman to do it and break their sorcery.Then, the army came out together, pressing their stomachs up.At this time, we can no longer care about gains and losses.Otherwise, if we are entangled by a thousand-man Ming army, our Eight Banners warriors will lose their morale.

Coupled with the worry of logistics shortages, it will be a great disadvantage to us! "

Dorgon suggested.

"Ah."

Huang Taiji nodded.

"Dorgon is an old-fashioned opinion. It is said that Zhao Shoubei was inherited by Prime Minister Zhuge. Zhuge Liang has always been good at all kinds of evil arts. He can observe astronomy and geography. During the Battle of Chibi, he can open an altar to borrow wind It is not a lie that this Ming army knows sorcery."

Things that the ancients could not understand were often attributed to ghosts and gods.

These weapons used by Zhao Cheng are beyond the times, and it is completely incomprehensible to Huang Taiji and others.

Especially those anti-tank repelling horses, which are so big and numerous, appear suddenly, and disappear suddenly...

I really can't understand it!

Apart from ghosts and gods, there is no way to explain it.

So, the shaman was invited over.

The old shaman wears red and green.

The Jurchens believe in shamanism, and the status of shaman is very high.

However, in recent years, the Great Khan Nurhachi and the new Khan Wang Taiji led the Jianzhou Jurchen to win successive battles. The tribe became stronger and stronger, and the Khan's status and reputation became higher and higher.

The shaman hopes that the tribe will be strong, but he does not want his prestige to be diluted.

This time is a good opportunity.

The Great Khan suffered a defeat and needed him to deal with these Ming troops.

The shaman played tricks, trembling all over, and performed a big dance.

Then, his body trembled for a while, and he said with a bit of shock on his face:

"There are ghosts! The Ming army is invincible by borrowing the power of ghosts and gods."

Huang Taiji's expression darkened when he heard this.

Looking at the terrified expressions of the generals around him, this was not the result he wanted.

Then, I heard the shaman continue:
"However, it can be deciphered. I have already discussed with the ghosts and gods. You can sacrifice 21, [-] human heads, and let them make way for the time being."

"Using human heads for sacrifice?" Huang Taiji frowned slightly.

"Correct!"

The shaman nodded.

"The Great Khan should be familiar with "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", right? In the autumn of the third year of Jianxing in the Shu Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang took a heart-to-heart battle.

When the army reached Lushui, suddenly it was cloudy, the wind was strong, and the waves were so violent that the army could not cross the river.

Zhuge Liang was proficient in astronomy, but this sudden change puzzled him too.He hurriedly asked Meng Huo who came to see him off and knew the geography and climate of this area very well.

Meng Huo said: "There have been wars here for several years, and many soldiers died here. These ghosts who died in foreign lands often come out to make trouble. Anyone who wants to cross the water here must sacrifice 49 human heads." '

Zhuge Liang thought that using human heads for this sacrifice would be too expensive.

He thought hard, and finally came up with a brilliant way to replace the human head with another item.

He ordered the soldiers to kill cattle and sheep, chop the beef and mutton into meat paste, mix it into meat fillings, spread flour on the outside, and make it into the shape of a human head, and steam it in a cage.This kind of sacrifice is called "mantou".

Zhuge Liang took the steamed buns made of meat and flour to Lushui, worshiped them, and threw them into Lushui one by one.Immediately after the sacrifice, the clouds cleared and the fog cleared in Lushui, the wind was calm and the sea was calm, and the army crossed smoothly.

Since then, people often use steamed buns as offerings for various sacrifices.Until now, Han people have to use steamed buns to sacrifice every New Year.

In fact, this is meant to replace the use of human heads for sacrifice.The use of human heads for sacrifices is originally the favorite of ghosts and gods. "

"Then can we use steamed buns instead of human heads?" Huang Taiji asked.

With the rise of Jurchen, Huang Taiji also wanted to take off this barbaric coat.

Although the high-level leaders in Jianzhou looked down on the Ming Dynasty's army and its fighting power, they were very yearning for the culture of the Han people.

He didn't want to be pointed at his nose and scolded when he met a Han Chinese:
You are a barbarian!

"Of course not."

Shaman said immediately.

"If it's a daily sacrifice, maybe it's okay. But now it's marching and fighting.

On the opposite side of the Ming army, there is an expert who has received the inheritance of Zhuge Wuhou.The ghosts and gods on the opposite side were originally invited by the descendants of Zhuge Wuhou.

If we want to make the other party stop, we must show sincerity. It would be too lacking in sincerity to use steamed buns instead. "

"That's good! Bring some Ming prisoners and behead them as a sacrifice." Huang Taiji said.

"No."

Shaman said.

"Just looking for a few prisoners of war is still not sincere enough. It is best to find some clansmen to sacrifice."

The shaman just wants to show his majesty.

If one word from him could decide the life or death of a person, who would dare not be afraid of him afterwards?

In the future, their shaman status and status can become transcendent.

"That's easy to say. Just bring a few prisoners of war and raise the flag for them... There is no need to say any more, this is the bottom line."

Huang Taiji's tone was decisive.

He is not stupid enough to really pull more than 20 tribesmen to behead and sacrifice.

The shaman knew that Huang Taiji would not back down any longer, and if he persisted, it might be very bad for him.

I can only nod with regret:

"That's fine. I just hope that the ghosts and gods don't get angry, just accept it."

Next, 21 prisoners of war were brought over.

These prisoners of war were said to be captives, but in fact, most of them were young and strong they snatched during the march.

When they heard that they were going to be released and their flag raised, the prisoners knelt down excitedly and knelt down repeatedly.

However, they were tied up and taken away immediately, and beheaded on the spot.

Poor these 21 people, just now they were even looking forward to how to fight for the master after raising the flag, and they were beheaded in the blink of an eye.

The Eight Banners army assembled.

Huang Taiji issued orders one after another, and all parties prepared to attack.

Before the formation of the three armies, a grand sacrificial ceremony began.

The shamans are dressed in colorful clothes, dance to the gods, and sacrifice to the gods with human heads.

In Guihua City, Zhao Cheng and several generals saw this scene clearly with binoculars.

"Is this... dancing to the Great God?"

Zhao Cheng had a strange expression on his face.

It reminded him of the invulnerable Boxers.

However, Zhao Cheng did not become careless because of this, on the contrary, he immediately raised his vigilance.

Engaging in feudal superstition is absolutely useful in this era.

It is foreseeable that after this set of master dances, Jiannu's morale will definitely be high when he attacks again.

If it is on flat ground, it will be surrounded by tens of thousands of Jurchen troops, plus the Mongolian flag and the Han army flag.

More than 1000 people like Zhao Cheng will definitely kneel down.

Now, with a complete position and unlimited logistics, Zhao Cheng is not afraid.

The bullets were distributed, the artillery was placed neatly in front of the position, and the soldiers entered the trenches one after another...

For an army with cold weapons, this is an impenetrable position.

Huang Taiji waited patiently for the completion of the sacrificial ceremony, watching the blood of the clansmen one by one, as if they had really been blessed by the gods and were invulnerable.

However, there was no smile on his face.

In front of the opposite position, iron hedgehogs lay across the grassland, like an iron forest.

I really don't know why the Ming army suddenly became so rich and could make so many iron hedgehogs.

That's all, the key is that they can be transported at will, and placed in front of the position in the shortest time at any time...

It was just too much of a headache.

With these iron hedgehogs, cavalry charges became impossible.

Even if the infantry charges, the speed will be greatly hindered. If you need to go around in the "forest" of iron hedgehogs, you will become the target of the Ming army.

This battle will inevitably be extremely difficult.

But this battle must be won.

"One effort, then decline, and three exhaustion. In this battle, at all costs, we must win the Ming army's position!"

Huang Taiji drew out his long saber with a firm expression on his face.

The shaman priest has used all the tricks. If this battle cannot be won, the morale of the Eight Banners army may completely collapse, and there will be no possibility of winning in the future.

Huang Taiji made up his mind that no matter how difficult this battle was, he would win it.

"Take Guihua City! If you can't win, there will never be a truce!"

Huang Taiji pointed his sword forward.

The attack begins.

The Han army flag was driven and charged forward.

I have to admit that after surrendering to the Jurchen, these soldiers who originally belonged to the Ming army seemed to have been completely reborn.

(End of this chapter)