A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 466 Ningyuan Controversy

Thinking of this, Wang Dou laughed and said, "General Wu is a young hero, his future is boundless."
He drank three glasses with Wu Sangui boldly, but he always felt that Wu Sangui was slightly jealous of him.
Perhaps because he came from a wealthy family and has countless contacts, but his achievements are not as good as his own, jealousy arose in his heart.
However, this kind of psychology is extremely subtle, and idlers can't feel it.
After Wu Sangui, all the generals in Liaodong rushed forward and toasted Wang Dou one after another, making the elegant table noisy.
Wang Dou never refused anyone who came, and everyone called him Zhongyong Bohao and mighty.
For these Liaodong generals, Wang Dou also collected intelligence. After each of them went to Donglu to observe military training in Chongzhen 13 years, they set up comfort officers in the army one after another, and the rest remained unchanged.
Because Liaodong is different from other towns, the military households in each fort are tenants under the name of each general. Needless to say, they are loyal to the general. This is also the reason why the Liao army was more powerful when defending the land.Of course, they are outstanding in combat power, but they only listen to the leader, which is also the reason why the Liaodong generals and warlords were formed.
Afterwards, various commanders came to toast Wang Dou one after another, such as Bai Guang'en, the commander of Ji Town, Ma Ke, the commander of Shanhaiguan, Tang Tong, the commander of Miyun and others.On the surface, everyone admired Wang Dou very much, and it was not enough to show their respect without a toast.
Wang Dou has always understood the psychology of warriors, and dealt with them one by one. In his feeling, Ma Ke is slick, Bai Guangen is arrogant, and Tang Tong is a bit of a white-faced scholar.
He can speak well, and his eloquence is comparable to that of Chen Jiugao, the general of Liugou, and Fu Yingchong, the deputy general of the former battalion of Shenji Battalion.However, according to my own information, this person has no courage to argue, he is very timid, but he has a lot of tricks.
In a big banquet, many people got drunk and no one was courteous.
Nothing happened today, everyone went to rest after the banquet, but before leaving, Wang Dou always felt that Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao, was depressed and anxious.
Sure enough, the next day, Hong Chengchou couldn't wait and called all the generals and officials to discuss matters.
……
On July 14th, the [-]th year of Chongzhen, at the hour of the hour, in the Governor's Hall.
The generals and officials sat in rows. As the governor of Jiliao, Hong Chengchou, in name, was under the control of the reinforcements and the Liaodong army.
On the lower left, the first one sits the supervisor Wang Chengen, and the second one sits the supervisor Zhang Ruoqi.Later, Qiu Minyang, the governor of Liaodong, was seated, Zhang Dou, Yao Gong, Wang Zhizhen, Cai Maode were in the military preparations, Yuan Guodong, Zhu Tingxie, and Zhang Weimin, Yan Jixian, etc. were also acquainted.
On the lower right, Wang Dou, as a loyal uncle, sits first.
Then Yang Guozhu, the general of Xuanfu Town, Bai Guangen, the general of Jizhen, Liu Zhaoji, the general of Liaodong, Li Fuming, the general of Shanxi, Wang Pu, the general of Datong, Zuo Guangxian, the general of aid and suppression, Ma Ke, the general of Shanhaiguan, and Cao Bianjiao, the general of Dongxie , Wang Tingchen, the former commander-in-chief of Tunwei, Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief of Miyun, Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan, and others sat according to their shift status.
Today, the military generals who can enter the governor's office to discuss affairs are at least at the rank of commander in chief. Only Fu Yingchong, the deputy general of Shenji Battalion Qianbattalion, has a special status and sits at the end.
Looking at the Zhongyong Bo Wangdou who is in the top position, it is not known how much the commanders are thinking.
Hong Chengchou saw that everyone was taking their positions one by one, especially the warriors, whose manners were a little rough, he coughed lightly, stroked his beard and smiled and said, "The situation in the Liaodong battle has affected the minds of the Holy Majesty and the princes of the court and the public. , there are more than 20 people in Liaodong. There are also Shenji Battalion Shenwei General Cannon coming, Shenhuo Flying Crow and other sharp weapons, which will greatly defeat the captives!"
There was a bang in the hall, and everyone was talking about it, especially the generals in Liaodong, who had suffered enough from the Qing people's red barbarian cannons. At this time, they also have a large number of red barbarian cannons. How could they not like it?
Although the Shenwei General Pao of the Shenji Battalion moved slowly, the Pao Battalion set off early, but arrived in Ningyuan early.After these cannons arrived, Ning Yuan and everyone regarded them as treasures, and the gunners were raised with better food and drink.After Fu Yingchong arrived in Ningyuan, these cannons returned to his command and control.
Moreover, not long ago, the Ministry of War distributed [-] of the [-] high-quality bird guns purchased from Donglu to the various armies in Liaodong.Now tens of thousands of reinforcements have gathered, and the odds of winning against the Jinzhou Qing soldiers have been greatly enhanced.
Most of the equipment above came from the front camp of the Shenji Camp. Everyone paid so much attention to it, which made Fu Ying feel complacent, but on the surface, he seemed calm and calm.
"My division now has Uncle Zhongyong's sharp artillery battalion..."
Hong Chengchou continued to praise, seeing the joy of the crowd, he said: "But..."
He sighed: "Since the rebels settled in Yizhou and encircled Jinzhou, the governor led all the people to rescue. Lai Sheng gave a blessing, and the officers and soldiers defended with all their strength. They captured and killed many thieves. However, the slaves and thieves are powerful, and the siege of Jinzhou will last for a long time." Release. Now the Song and Xing castles are more urgently reported, the rebellious slaves rushed to attack, pushed the Hongyi cannon carts, and beat them fiercely with cannons, the Song and Xing castles are in danger!"
Wang Dou suddenly realized that this was probably the reason why Hong Chengchou was worried yesterday.
Zhang Dou, the soldier of the army, said worriedly: "The bandits are very anxious to attack Songjin suddenly. Obviously they want to force our division to dispatch troops as soon as possible, and they have ulterior motives."
Yao Gong said: "The captives are rushing to attack, the situation in Jinzhou cannot be delayed, and the reinforcements must go as soon as possible."
Bing Wang Zhizhen disagreed: "The thief slave must have a plan for this move, we need to plan carefully, so as not to fall into the thief's tricks."
Cai Maode said: "The report from Tang said that there are more and more slaves in Songjin. Are they increasing their troops?"
Everyone was stunned, if this is the case, then the future battles will be difficult to fight.
Wang Dou's eyes were even colder. He knew that in the Battle of Songjin in history, the army gathered by the Qing Dynasty finally reached 24.
In fact, after many times of plundering and plundering, they captured the population. In the era of Huang Taiji, their Dingkou reached its peak.The strange thing is that when entering the customs, the number of Dingkou in the Eight Banners has decreased a lot. Historians estimate that the reduction may be caused by wars, epidemics and other aspects.
Of course, most of the Qing people who came to Songjin were unarmored bannermen from various banners, coated slaves and so on. Their combat power was not as good as that of the regular army, but they still created a great reputation.
He opened his mouth and said, "How much is the total number of the Songjin slave army now?"
All the generals here are listening carefully, Hong Chengchou just shook his head: "The sentinels roughly estimate that the number has exceeded [-]. It is difficult to investigate the actual number."
Wang Dou shook his head in his heart: "In terms of intelligence, the Ming army did not do enough."
Zhang Ruoqi, the supervising army, paid close attention to Hong Chengchou's expression. At this time, he coughed lightly, turned everyone's attention to himself, and said, "Master Wang has all arrived, and Jinzhou is now in danger. My reinforcements need to go to Songjin as soon as possible. If Jinzhou If it is captured by slaves, then everything will be over."
Speaking of this, everyone in the hall is also worried, they are here to join the aid.If Jinzhou and other cities were captured by the Qing soldiers, then this huge support operation would become a joke. Not only did everyone have no achievements, but they had done it, and many people joined in for a while.
Hong Chengchou shook his head: "Now the layout of the army of the slaves has not been clarified, and the parties are unknown, how can we rush the army?"
Zhang Dou, Wang Zhizhen, and Cai Maode of the Bing Bei Dao are all in agreement, thinking that the soldiers are fierce and dangerous, and they should not act hastily, so as not to fall into the thieves' tricks, and all parties must investigate clearly.
The audience was arguing endlessly, Zhang Ruoqi frowned, he stood up abruptly, and shouted sharply: "The front is afraid of wolves and the back is afraid of tigers, and you are afraid of war! I dare to ask you, if you don't march for a long time, and Jinzhou falls, why do you want to do it?" Confess to the Holy Majesty? To my soldier, Mr. Chen? If the princes cannot decide, then I will submit a letter to the imperial court, and the Majesty will make a decision!"
As soon as he drank, the hall immediately became dignified, and the previous friendly and relaxed atmosphere disappeared.
Hong Chengchou's eyes turned cold, Zhang Ruoqi, a mere doctor in the military department, actually yelled at his own team members, it is really rude!What grade is he, and what grade is he?
However, Hong Chengchou thought about it, and found that Zhang Ruoqi, as the court supervisor, represented the meaning of Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Ministry of War, and maybe even the meaning of the emperor. He said this just now. Could it be that the emperor and all the ministers have reached an agreement?If you sing against the imperial court...
While his mind was moving slightly, he didn't speak for a while, as if he was oppressed by Zhang Ruoqi, a small supervising army, in his position as a supervisor.Everyone in the hall was stunned and had different thoughts, only Wang Chengen strictly abided by the principle of non-interference strategy, and sat quietly with his eyes closed.
Hong Chengchou looked at Liaodong Governor Qiu Minyang, Qiu Minyang nodded slightly, and Hong Chengchou looked at Wang Dou again.
Not to mention that Wang Dou was a loyal and brave man with a noble status, but it was Wang Dou's majestic appearance back then, especially when he forced the Qing army to retreat in Tongzhou, which left a deep impression on Hong Chengchou, so Wang Dou's opinion is very important to him.
Hong Chengchou said softly, "What do you think, Uncle Zhongyong?"
All eyes in the hall were focused on Wang Dou for a while. It was always a Ming tradition for civil servants to plan strategies.
However, the strategic aspect is the weakness of the generals of the Ming Dynasty. They can fight on the battlefield, let them give advice and offer strategies, and draw up a few strategies.
Wang Dou pondered, judging from the current situation, the Qing people increased their troops earlier than in history, and the butterfly effect of himself was getting bigger and bigger.It is indeed necessary to march, lest Jinzhou be captured in advance, and the reinforcement of the army becomes empty talk.
He said: "Duke Hong, everyone, Dou thinks that the eastern captives have an obvious plan, and they want to force our division to march in order to achieve their ulterior purpose on the way. Their plan is nothing more than setting up an ambush to help our division while it is in a hurry. Then So what? As long as our division is cautious, keeps pace at every step, and sends out more sentries, the possibility of ambush is very small. They come with many soldiers, just in time for a battle, and they come with few soldiers, just in time to plan, which will demoralize their troops!"
Wang Pu and Fu Yingchong applauded first, Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Tingchen followed suit, and veterans such as Liu Zhaoji, Li Fuming, and Zuo Guangxian all nodded, thinking it was feasible.This is also a dispute between the two sides, the best of both worlds.
Zhang Ruoqi laughed: "That's right, Uncle Zhongyong's words are very close to my heart, my teacher must not rush forward, nor should I be afraid to advance, but the team will march immediately, that's for sure."
He bowed to Hong Chengchou: "Just now I got a little anxious in my job, but I also have a public heart. I hope Master Hong will not mind."
Hong Chengchou smiled and said: "Mr. Zhang praised the painting strategy. It is the blessing of the governor and the blessing of the master Wang. How can the governor care about it? Mr. Zhang, please take a seat."
The two were in harmony again, as if the conflict just now did not exist.
Afterwards, when it comes to the departure of the army, according to the current situation, the main danger of Wang Shi's march is the Song and Xing areas past Tashan City.According to Hong Chengchou's arrangement, the Xingshan area has more dangerous hills and mountains, and it is possible to camp on foot and chariots. Songshan has a flat road, which is conducive to cavalry travel.
Hong Chengchou has been in Liaodong for a long time, and he understands the local situation. Everyone has no objection to this arrangement, but...
Both Wang Pu and Fu Yingchong couldn't help but look at Wang Dou. As early as when they were in the capital, they were paled by Wang Dou's description of the future after the grain road was cut off. Their big mouths made Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen feel ashamed. I am not worried about this.
At this moment, seeing that Hong Chengchou didn't talk about the future, such as how to arrange the garrison at Xingshan and other places, Wang Dou also sat silent, Wang Pu coughed, and finally couldn't help mentioning this: " In the end, I will ask Governor Hong about something, there is no better way to plan poison than to cut off food, if the bandits copy the back, how can the army ensure the safety of food and medicine?"
Hong Chengchou's expression was gentle, and he didn't seem to mind Wang Pu's interruption, but before he could ask and answer, a strange voice sounded: "Wang Zongbing means that the army will be divided after it arrives at Xingshan Mountain?"
Wang Pu saw that it was Ma Ke, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan. He smiled, but his tone was unbearable: "There are more and more bandits. If we force them to camp with chariots and gather the whole army, we can also take care of the defense. The soldiers were divided and were defeated by the thieves one by one, the responsibility should be taken by Wang Zongbing?"
Wang Pu was annoyed in his heart, Ma Ke, when he was drinking with him yesterday, he called him a brother, and his face changed in a blink of an eye, villain!
Wang Pu also had a smile on his face. He took off his helmet, flicked the non-existent dust on it, and flicked the few strands of hair that fell in front of his head, put on the helmet slowly, and said: "Ma It’s inappropriate for the chief soldier to say this, and his job is to consider the safety of the army, so how can I, Wang Pu, be charged with trumped-up charges? There is no Qin Hui here!”
Ma Ke stood up abruptly, and said solemnly, "Wang Pu, are you calling me Qin Hui?"
Wang Pu relied on his friendship with Wang Dou and others, and he was not afraid. He squinted at Ma Ke: "I didn't say that, it's hard to tell if someone has a ghost in his heart."
Ma Ke was furious, at this time Fu Yingchong said: "Hey, everyone calm down, Mr. Wang is also thinking about the big guy, without food and grass, everyone has to eat the northwest wind."
The generals in the hall also tried to persuade Tang Tonggeng, the commander of Miyun, to round up the field. Finally, Ma Ke sat down angrily, but he still looked fiercely at Wang Pu.
The civil servants turned a blind eye to the strife between warriors. In fact, they were also happy to see it. Zhang Ruoqi, the supervisor, said at this time: "Just now General Wang Pu pointed out the way of food and grass. I don't know if Hong Du has relevant arrangements. ?”
Hong Chengchou twisted his beard and smiled: "Naturally, according to the governor's proposal, Qian Youlu, the general of the right battalion of the forward department, Dou Chenglie, the general of the general patrol and meritorious service, Zheng Yilin, the deputy general of Xingshan Road, and the deputy generals of the Songxing defense battalion, such as Xia Chengde, Chi Fenggao, Tong Hanbang, Wang Jiaji, and Yu Yingxuan, under the supervision of Liaodong Commander Liu Zhaoji, stationed in the forts of Xingshan, will surely protect the rear and prevent the slave bandits from attacking from the wilderness in the northwest of Xingshan."
Everyone pondered, Wang Dou shook his head, there are too few soldiers, these battalions are mostly one to two thousand people, although there are many generals, the total number of sergeants is less than 2000, not strong enough, they are all local guards, some battalion soldiers.In history, Hong Chengchou also arranged this way, but under the mad attack led by Huang Taiji, he didn't hold on for half an hour, and the connection between Songshan, Xingshan and other places was immediately cut off.
Zhang Ruoqi also saw this, frowned, and said, "How many generals will be recruited?"
That day when Wang Dou had a conversation with the emperor, he was also listening in, his memory was still fresh, and he felt that there were too few troops protecting the rear.
Although he urged the army to advance, he was also concerned about the issue of food roads in the rear.What my soldier Chen Xinjia meant was to let himself cooperate well with Uncle Zhongyong.Wang Dou cared about the back road, and hoped to leave behind heavy troops to guard him. Of course he had to pay attention to this. After all, he wanted to win, but he didn't even want to lose!
Hong Chengchou was displeased, he had been in the position of supervisor for a long time, and he was very confident in his strategy. He led troops to rescue several times, but most of them were safe, which strengthened his confidence.In his opinion, the arrangement in Xingshan and other places is enough, and Zhang Ruoqi is still questioning himself in front of everyone?
But on the face Hong Chengchou was as gentle as before, and patiently explained: "The brocade defense is quite firm and not easy to shake. Today, slaves and thieves are more powerful. We should gather troops in one place, defend and fight at the same time, and then we can complete our defense. Xingshan's guards are full Well, pines and apricots are not far from each other, if the captives take advantage of the gap and enter, it will be easy to return to the army to rescue them. If you divide your troops everywhere, don't you hear about the changes in Saarhu?"
Zhang Ruoqi was dumbfounded for a moment, he didn't know much about military affairs, and even less about the terrain and warfare in Liaodong, so how could he say anything better than Hong Chengchou?His goal of promoting the army has been achieved, and Hong Chengchou has indeed arranged a large number of defenders in Xingshan and other places, but...he couldn't help but glance at Wang Dou.
At this moment, Zhang Dou, the military commander, hesitated and said, "Minister, do you want to arrange more guards in Xingshan and other places? I think that the troops inside and outside Xingshan Castle are still a little weak."
Hong Chengchou's voice suddenly became stern, and he shouted at him: "My 12-year-old supervisor, do you know if the troops are weak? You are a scholar, what do you know? You want to teach me?"
Although he didn't dare to get angry with Zhang Ruoqi, the internal fire was vented on the subordinate officials at once. He has great prestige in Liaodong, and he is usually gentle with others. At this time, his sudden temper suddenly shocked Zhang Dou. , he stammered: "The governor calms down... under my duty, under my duty..."
Hong Chengchou continued to yell at him: "You talk empty words, but you don't know anything about practice. What use does the governor want you to do? Get out!"
Zhang Dou was frightened out of his wits, and quickly got up and knelt on the ground. He kowtowed repeatedly and groaned loudly. Blood was dripping from his forehead, which made people horrified.
Everyone in the hall was frightened all of a sudden, even Wang Pu and others were silent and dared not speak.
Zhang Ruoqi's face was ugly, Hong Chengchou was trying to make an example of others, openly to Zhang Dou, but secretly to himself, he called Zhang Dou a scholar, why didn't he scold himself?
Wang Dou coughed and said, "Duke Hong, Zhang Bingxian also made an unintentional mistake, so don't be too demanding."
Hong Chengchou snorted, and said to Zhang Dou, "Uncle Zhongyong begged for mercy, and he spared you. Be careful what you say."
Zhang Dou got up and said again and again: "Yes, I will remember it."
He wiped his forehead, and his hands were covered with blood. Seeing him like this, all the officials in the hall felt sad.
Only Wang Chengen continued to sit upright, as if he didn't see the scene in front of him.

(End of this chapter)