Chongzhen Daming: Starting from Coal Mountain

Chapter 518 Faith and Mission

Chongzhen was more concerned about the casualties of the new army.

Chongzhen asked: "The casualties of the new army should not be small, right?"

"Yes." Xu Yingwei replied solemnly, "In the First Battle of Seoul, the [-] new troops led by King Ding suffered more than [-] casualties, of which more than [-] were killed, and more than [-] died of serious injuries."

"Seventy percent." Chongzhen sighed, "The casualties exceed seventy percent."

"Seventy percent?!" Zheng Zhilong's face showed inexplicable shock.

Even more surprised than when I heard that the [-] New Army had wiped out the [-] Guard Army.

Is everything the Holy Spirit said true?Is the new army's ability to withstand death really more than [-]% or even [-]%?Such an army is really our Daming army?

"Zheng Qing, are you surprised?"

"Returning to the Holy One, I can't believe it."

"But it's true." Xu Yingwei said solemnly.

"Among the [-] new troops, there are more than [-] scholars of King Qin."

"Among the scholars of King Qin, there are three members from the Supervision Section for Shizhong."

"So, no one dares to lie about military achievements, and no one will lie about military achievements."

"Of course, I know it's true." Zheng Zhilong quickly explained.

"It's not that I don't believe it, I mean, it's shocking."

"Zheng Qing, this is actually not surprising." Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "Because this new army is fundamentally different from any army in history. This is an army with faith and an army with a military spirit."

"Faith? Army soul?" Zheng Zhilong heard these two words for the first time.

Xu Yingwei was also brought back to the suffering march of the Scholars camp by these two words of Chongzhen.

Looking back now, those few months were really hard, but spiritually they were really fulfilling.

It was that march that forged the firm belief of more than 6000 Qin Wang Shizi in the Shizi Battalion.

After a long while, Zheng Zhilong asked again: "Dare to ask the Holy One, what is faith and what is military spirit?"

"Youzhen." Chongzhen turned his gaze to Xu Yingwei and said, "You come to answer this question from Duke Min."

"Leadership." Xu Yingwei responded respectfully, then turned to Zheng Zhilong and said, "The belief of the new army is the belief of the scholar camp. It is fighting for parents, wives and children, fighting for the clothes of the Han family, and even fighting for the Huaxia Ancestral Temple. , The soul of the new army is the soldiers, and the soldiers who lead the army are the spiritual pillars of the soldiers of the new army.”

"If the sons of King Qin never retreat, the soldiers of the new army will never retreat."

"King Qin's sons move forward bravely, even though the soldiers of the new army will move forward courageously."

After a pause, Xu Yingwei said word by word again: "If Prince Qin's son fights to the last man, then the new army will also fight to the last man. Even if his body is broken, he will have no regrets."

Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong suddenly understood.

"Your Majesty, I have insulted the Holy Order." Zheng Zhilong suddenly knelt down.

"Zheng Qing, what's wrong with you?" Chongzhen didn't step forward to help this time.

"I did not instill faith in the students of the Naval Academy." Zheng Zhilong said sincerely, "So, the future Daming Navy will not be able to become an army with faith and military spirit like the new army."

"Zheng Qing, it's good for you to know your mistakes." Chongzhen said happily, "Then do you know what to do now?"

"I know." Zheng Zhilong said, "When I return to Nanjing, I will invite the scholars of King Qin from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to give lectures at the Naval Academy. I will also follow the example of the Scholars Camp and organize the students of the Naval Academy to go on a march of suffering."

"It can't just be a simple march of misery." Chongzhen pointed out, "During the march, we should spare time to help the people along the way, help sweep the ground, help chop firewood, help carry water, and even help grow crops. Let the students They have tasted all the hardships, know that the life of the people is not easy, and know how difficult the people's livelihood is."

"From now on, this kind of suffering march and support will become a tradition for all students of the Naval Academy, the Imperial College, and the Medical College. It will be done twice a year, and each march will last for one month."

Nine months of study time plus two months of social practice each year, and one month of annual leave.

"We want the students of Guozijian, Naval Academy, and medical school to deeply understand that the people are the most important, the community is second, and the emperor is the least important. The mission of the students should not be to be blindly loyal to the emperor, nor should it be Simply protecting the country, their mission should be to let everyone in the Chinese nation live a life without worrying about food and clothing."

"The book of rites says that the way of the great way is the same. The world is the public. Select the virtuous and capable, preach trust and repair harmony. Therefore, people should not only kiss their relatives, not only sons and sons, so that old people will die, strong people will be useful, and young people will be good. The widows, the widows, the widows, the lonely, the disabled, and the sick all have something to support; men have a share, and women have a return. If the evil is abandoned on the ground, there is no need to hide it in oneself; Stealing and messing with thieves but not committing crimes, so outside houses are not closed, this is called Datong.”

"The highest mission of the students should be to strive for the great harmony of the world."

After saying this, Chongzhen said again: "It's not about protecting the world of one family and one family name."

Hearing this, Xu Yingwei looked at Chongzhen with undisguised admiration in his eyes.

That's right, Xu Yingwei admired Chongzhen, because Chongzhen didn't talk about it, he did it. What Chongzhen pursued was never the Zhu family's supremacy, but the great harmony of the world!
Just for a letter, the Holy Majesty can even give a lighter sentence to those who plot to usurp the dynasty.

Although he conspired to usurp the court and did not offend his family, there has been only one person throughout the ages.

When Zheng Zhilong heard this, there was also an inexplicable look in his eyes. He didn't expect, really didn't expect that the Holy One really didn't just talk about it, he really agreed with Mencius that the people are more important than the emperor.

Today, Zheng Zhilong also has a first-class respect for Chongzhen from the bottom of his heart.

At that moment Zheng Zhilong straightened his clothes and said solemnly: "My lord, I would like to be taught."

After sending Zheng Zhilong away, Chongzhen called Xu Yingwei, Zheng Sen and dozens of scholars together to discuss the upcoming Liaodong War, which is equivalent to a pre-war preparation meeting.

Facing the map, Chongzhen said: "I have already told you about why I gave up defending the city and chose to fight Jiannu in the field, so there is no need to discuss it today."

After a short pause, he said again: "Today we only discuss the choice of the battlefield."

A scholar said in surprise: "Do you still have to choose a battlefield? Don't you want to fight outside Shengjing City?"

Xu Yingwei said: "The initiative of the Liaodong War is in our hands. Naturally, we must choose the most favorable battlefield. We will fight against Jiannu outside Shengjing City. Once we lose, we can quickly retreat into the city. This is an advantage, but there are also disadvantages. On the one hand, it is easy to be trapped to death in Shengjing City by Jiannu, unable to break through."

"Brother Youzhen is right." Zheng Sen nodded and agreed, "Shengjing is too far away from Gaizhou."

Another scholar questioned: "But if I give up Shengjing and return to Gaizhouwei, will Jiannu give up fighting with me? After all, after our army captured Gaizhouwei at the beginning of the year, Jiannu didn't make much noise."

"Then don't go back to Gaizhou." Xu Yingwei said, "Choose another battlefield."

After saying this, Xu Yingwei pointed to the map and said, "I think Haizhou is an excellent battlefield."

Zheng Sen said: "The Haizhou Guard is really good. Once the field battle is lost, not only can you retreat to the Haizhou Guard City and stand firm, but you can also get support from Gaizhou, and the logistics supply is also guaranteed."

"That's it." Xu Yingwei nodded and said, "If you defend Shengjing, it's easy to be cut off by Jiannu. If this happens, the consequences will be disastrous. Although Haizhou Guard is also in the same danger, the risk is much smaller."

The reason is very simple, the difficulty of reinforcements fighting from Gaizhou to Haizhou and from Gaizhou to Shengjing is completely different.

Because the distance from Gaizhou to Haizhou is only 150 miles, and the distance from Gaizhou to Shengjing is more than 400 miles. It will take time and effort for reinforcements to fight all the way. Once Jiannu also calls in reinforcements, the situation may change in advance A strategic decisive battle is what Chongzhen does not want to see, he does not want to have a decisive battle with Jiannu at this time.

At this stage, Chongzhen only wanted to fight big with small things and consume Jiannu.

Gu Yanwu said: "Your Majesty, I suggest that the battlefield be chosen on the Dongsheng Fort line of Dongchang Fort between Haizhou and Hunhe River."

"Dongchang Fort, Dongsheng Fort line?" Chongzhen's eyes fell on the map, and he asked thoughtfully, "What's the reason?"

Gu Yanwu said: "Because there is an ancient Great Wall along the Hun River and the east bank of the Liao River from Dongshengbao to the north, it is not conducive to the Jiannu army to cross the river quickly, so Jiannu will definitely not choose to cross the river north of Dongshengbao."

"The section of the Liaohe River south of Dongchangbao, because the water surface is too wide, the ice layer in the center of the river is not thick, and it may not be able to withstand the weight of thousands of catties of Hongyi cannons, so Jiannu's heavy artillery can only be used from Dongchangbao to Dongsheng. Fort across the Hun River to the east, if our army deploys along the line from Dongchang Fort to Dongsheng Fort, we don’t have to worry about being attacked by Jiannu.”

Zheng Sen immediately questioned: "Although the Liao River is wide and the ice is thin, there is no problem at all for the passage of people and horses. Why does Brother Ning assert that our army will not be attacked by Jiannu?"

Gu Yanwu said: "As long as Jiannu's Hongyi cannons can't cross the river, and they only ride across the river on foot, even if they turn around and attack sideways, why should they be afraid? The hollow phalanx is enough to repel them."

The Battle of Guting Town gave the Ming army great confidence.

Of course, this confidence is based on the premise that Jianu has no cannons.

Once Jiannu used cannons, the hollow phalanx of infantry alone would be absolutely irresistible.

At this time, Chongzhen suddenly smiled and said: "Don't worry about the Hongyi Cannon. Even if Dorgon brought the Hongyi Cannon, he might not be able to reach Liaodong in a short time, because the roads in Liaoxi are bad, and now It’s the winter rain season again, and there will be at least ten days and a half months of heavy rain in western Liaoning, making the road even more difficult.”

"In this case, there is nothing to worry about." Gu Yanwu said.

"If Jiannu didn't carry the Hongyi cannon, it wouldn't make any difference where he fought in the field."

But Xu Yingwei suddenly said: "But the line from Dongchang Fort to Dongsheng Fort is the only way for Jiannu to reinforce Shenyang. Our army arrayed on this line is equivalent to holding Jiannu's seven inches, and Jiannu can't detour. Or avoid fighting."

"Yes, you can also blast the ice." Lu Xiangtong, who had participated in the battle of Huai'an Mansion, said suddenly.

"Dig holes in the ice and bury gunpowder in advance, and then blow up the ice when Jiannu crosses the river."

(End of this chapter)