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

Chapter 716 Information
Wang Dou took this information to watch, and all the generals also passed it on.

"Wen Daxing, the ambassador of the Intelligence Department of Xuanfu Town, Huangming, would like to present that Jingnanbo and Ningnanbo Guide were defeated. At that time, I received a whistleblower report from Xia Yizhen, an lurking Liuying sergeant: On August 15, the thieves Li Zicheng, Luo Rucai, and He Yilong joined forces with millions of people and surrounded Jingnan and Ningnan at a place 21 miles away from Xiayi in Guide Mansion. The second uncle fought fiercely, the hungry soldiers flooded, and the second town was difficult to support. At noon, the bandits used the Dafolang machine to attack hundreds of gates. At that time, it was only heard that Jing Nan Bo fled to Guide after Ning Nan Bo took over, only a thousand cavalry were left in Cao Town, and more than two thousand horses were left in Wang Town..."

Attached below is Xia Yizhen's more detailed personal sentry report. It can be seen that the handwriting is hasty, and there are still a few traces of blood on it. The Fifth Battalion was patrolling closely. Xia Yizhen accidentally leaked his traces when he went out, and died in a desperate battle. Our company has paid for his family and visited orphans in accordance with the law.

The following is Zheng Wenzhi, another intelligence officer lurking in Guide, relaying the sentry report: "On the evening of August 22, I went to Ma Muji to meet Xia Yizhen as agreed five days ago. When handing over the information, Xia Yizhen looked hurried. He said: "Day. It belongs to his ancestors. Now that the bandits are getting closer and closer to those who fall into the grass, I can't wait any longer, so I have to go back quickly." The sudden bandits followed with more than ten riders, and Xia Yizhen died in battle. Yu was lucky enough to escape, fortunately the information was not lost, may the heroic spirits of the Xia soldiers live forever, and the sun and the moon will always shine on my light."

Zheng Wenzhi filled in the gaps under Xia Yizhen's information: "... On the 23rd, Cao and Wang fled to Guide Mansion. Cao Bianjiao had only 400 cavalry from Yu Zheng's barracks, and Wang Tingchen had 4000 cavalry from Yu Zheng's barracks. There were about [-] new troops who broke through the second town, and the second town went south with more than [-] troops, and there were only less than [-] horsemen left, and the rest were killed or disappeared..."

After this information was sent away, in the following days, Zheng Wenzhi also wrote some whistleblower news in Guide Mansion. First, Cao and Wang were defeated, and the mansion was shaken.

However, on the third day of September, when the rogue battalion passed through Guide Mansion for tens of miles, they did not make any moves towards the city, ignored Cao and Wang in the city, and went directly to Kaifeng Mansion.

It seems that after the defeat, the two earls were rather decadent, and did not take any action against the rogues outside the city.

This information also contains the observation reports of several sentries lurking in Henan, and a sample of the intelligence of the Xuanfu Town Military Observation Group in Kaifeng Prefecture. The reporter was Wen Shiyan, the ambassador and staff officer of the observation group.

"...August [-]th near You, Ning Nanbo Wang's courtiers suddenly sent a messenger to ask for help, saying that his Yutian and Zunhua towns were ambushed on the way to Yongcheng. .Jingnan Bocao turned Jiao, and led the main and new barracks of Yutian Town under his command, and [-] people from the new barracks of Tongzunhua Town, and returned to Xiayi. Thieves and pawns, hungry people rushing, Jingnan uncle is in danger, please ask Kaifeng government for emergency support..."

"The Ministry of Staff saw that the people of Kaifeng City were panicked. Everyone from the governor Ding Qirui, the governor Yang Wenyue, the governor Gao Mingheng, the inspector Su Jing, the commander-in-chief Hu Dawei, Chen Yongfu, Zuo Liangyu, Yang Dezheng, and Fang Guoan was shaken. The citizens of Kaifeng were terrified, and all the doors were closed... During the meeting, Hu Da threatened to save him, but Chen Yongfu remained silent, Zuo Liangyu fell asleep, Yang Dezheng, and Fang Guoan couldn't agree on what to do, Ding Qirui was hesitant, and in the late Xu Dynasty, Ding Dushang asked for his post Discussing the matter, I am impassioned in my job, expressing the interests and interests of the party, and calling for rescue..."

"...On August 21st, Hu Dawei, Chen Yongfu, and Jiang Mingwu joined forces with 23 cavalrymen to go to Guide, and then rushed back on the [-]rd. Chen Yongfu was Si in the morning, and Hu Dawei and Jiang Mingwu were Shen in the afternoon. They all said Jingnan Uncle was defeated, thieves gathered millions of people, and the three towns dared not enter..."

In the intelligence, Wen Shiyan said some self-judgment observations, which attracted Wang Dou's attention, and it was also the focus of the Intelligence Department's analysis.

"The bandits have excellent tactics and make good use of ambushes. Cao and Wang underestimated the enemy and rushed forward. It is a pity that they were defeated. Our military needs to take this as a warning. If you don't know the information, you must not enter..."

"There are many bandits and horse troops, and the combination of infantry and cavalry makes it difficult for officers and soldiers to break through. If you want to wipe out the bandits, you must first kill the bandits..."

"The thieves attach great importance to firearms. Every time they go to the city, they must first collect cannons. The artillery fire is fierce, and the officers and soldiers of the Central Plains are at a disadvantage. According to the collection of information from all parties, the defeat of Cao and Wang was also defeated by the gunfire of the intruders. , my red cannon can defeat it, I need a lot of cannons..."

"In the battle in the Central Plains, the logistics of the officers and soldiers were difficult to support, and the thieves turned against the guests. This time, Cao and Wang, in order to reduce the burden and lightly ride to benefit the battle, put the Flang machine and the tiger squatting gun in Kaifeng City. I insisted on carrying one month's food with me in Jingbian , I would rather walk slowly, the principle of keeping the artillery close to the body..."

"Cao and Wang were defeated, Kaifeng's army and people were in panic, and the bandits were arrogance. The situation in the Central Plains may change, and the Chief of Staff needs to formulate a strategy to deal with it!"

"I also heard that Cao and Wang were defeated and fled back to the German Mansion, and all the generals under their command were lost. Are they dead, captured, or surrendered? If a general surrendered a thief, who would it be? In addition to the intelligence department, we will investigate again, and according to each person's temperament, The staff department needs to correspond to the layout one by one!"

Wen Shiyan's information has been sent to the beginning of September, and it is confirmed that the thieves are pushing towards Kaifeng Mansion, but the rest of the follow-up is gone, and it must have not been sent yet.

At this time, the army was in chaos, bandits and refugees were running around, it was quite difficult to send information, and the Daming post station was disused, so it was difficult to mobilize a lot of power. In this era of long distances and no telegraphs and telephones, it was really difficult for someone to receive the latest information quickly.

The intelligence department also collected the reaction from the capital. At this time, the news came that the Han Dynasty led the Xuanwu army to capture Guihua City. The great victory outside the Great Wall, the capital was invigorated, and the people were happy.

No one could have imagined that the new army of the Second Town, which had fought bloody battles with slaves in Liaodong, would be wiped out. It was an uproar.

According to the little eunuch who made friends with an intelligence officer in Beijing, the Lord Long Live cried bitterly in the palace that day, shouting: "The ancestors are here..."

In the intelligence report, the Intelligence Department also extracted some contents of the imperial decree urgently ordered by the Emperor Chongzhen to intensify the defense of Kaifeng Mansion, fragments of texts written by the Ministry of War, and finally the summary and analysis of the department. Many viewpoints coincided with what Wen Shiyan said. Said that the follow-up will continue to be delivered after the intelligence of all parties is collected.

In the end, Wen Daxing wrote: "The battle situation in the Central Plains is as above. I salute the general and the tens of thousands of soldiers who conquered the fortress. The sun and the moon will never set, and they will always shine on my light."

After watching it several times, Wang Dou finally sighed, and the faces of all the generals were not good-looking.

Li Guangheng, the head of the cavalry battalion, said sadly: "In the 13th year of Chongzhen, the last general followed the general to beat up the bandits. After the Battle of Luoyang, the bandits were defeated even more. If they didn't die, they would be injured. I didn't expect that now the bandits are raging again. , the two marshals were besieged and defeated miserably, what happened to Daming?"

Han Chao said: "The reason for the defeat is clearly stated in the information. Jingnanbo and Ningnanbo went deep alone, with no supply of food and grass. In addition, there were many bandits and horsemen, and artillery was used, so there was this defeat!"

Zhong Tiaoyang also agreed: "Although the new army under the command of the two generals is outstanding in combat power, the cavalry they have is only a little higher than that of the bandit cavalry. I heard that there are tens of thousands of bandit cavalry. When Cao Shuai broke through, the bandit cavalry rode tightly In the end, they were surrounded by hungry people, fought hard and lost!"

Gao Shiyin murmured: "I just don't understand why the thieves are always suppressed endlessly, the thieves are defeated again and again, and they come back again and again. How can his millions of soldiers come so easily?" ?”

Wen Fangliang had a deep expression on his face: "The general once said that the people follow the thieves because of hunger and cold, and the soldiers follow the thieves because of lack of pay. The thieves are repeated, and the court has no food. The hungry people are well settled, so the hungry people are willing to be incited by them when the robbers rise again. If Li Chuang's incident was placed in the early or middle period of the Kingdom, he only needs to be defeated once, and he would have died without a place to bury him. At that time, our Shun Township Army Defeat the intruders, if there is food in hand, Henan will be settled early."

Qin Yi, who praised the painting, said lightly at the side: "The most important thing to suppress thieves is civil affairs, and military affairs are only a supplement. If you have no food in hand, you can't draw the bottom of the salary for the thieves, and the officers and soldiers are just exhausted! Uncle Jing Nan, Uncle Ning Nan The defeat was unexpected and reasonable!"

Li Guangheng yelled fiercely: "Could it be that Li Chuang is allowed to be rampant?"

He clasped his fists to Wang Dou and said: "General, the last general is willing to lead the cavalry battalion straight to Henan, and beat the bandits hard!"

"absurd!"

Han Chao and Wen Fangliang shouted in unison, then sighed and shut up again.

Gao Shiyin looked at Li Guangheng: "Old Li, it seems that you'd better take care of the war. In the future, don't meddle in military affairs. It will kill people!"

He yelled at Li Guangheng: "Although I am a rough man, I also know the importance of food, grass and luggage. You think that leading the cavalry battalion is refreshing, but you don't know how many things the brothers behind you have done silently...Your battalion is full of war horses. How much grain, rice, and beans do you need to eat a day? When you go to Henan, how will the logistics supply keep up? Count on the local government? Even the generals dare not expect..."

He yelled: "Also, the intruder is used to running. When you arrive in Henan, he doesn't fight you, but runs all the way, thousands of miles. Don't you want to chase thousands of miles? You also need food and grass in the rear." How many miles to transport?...The logistics are difficult to support, there is no food and grass, let my Jingbian army brothers drink the northwest wind! They are also human beings, not made of iron, they have to eat and drink water, you put it bluntly, and put my soldiers in danger Why do you care?"

Xie Yike interjected: "That's right. When the officers and soldiers chased and suppressed Zhang Xianzhong, this guy ran from Huguang to Sichuan, and then came back. If the general hadn't set up an ambush in Xiangyang to destroy the bandits, I still don't know In the year of the monkey, there are still Luo Rucai, Li Dingguo, Sun Kewang and other culprits left."

Gao Shiyin continued to shout: "Also, Daming is not from our family, we are not an emergency team, we are always running from east to west, from east to west, does this army need to take a break? Brothers just finished fighting the Eastern Tartars and Northern Tartars. I ran to fight the rogues, I’ve done it before... and then where do I go after the rogues? It’s a monkey game, going around and around, endlessly. Besides, when you say go to Henan, do you go to ask for a transfer order, or just go like this? No transfer order is tantamount to treason, even if you don’t care about your reputation, no one dares to care about it, but it’s sneaky, it’s like thieves, we are soldiers, not thieves!”

"enough!"

Han Chao shouted loudly: "Stop arguing!"

Wen Fangliang saw that Wang Dou's face was quite painful, and said softly: "Stop talking."

Gao Shiyin apologized to Li Guangheng: "I'm sorry, Lao Li, I feel uncomfortable, and I spoke a little hastily."

Li Guangheng snorted, but did not speak.

Wang Pu's expression changed from side to side. In order to avoid suspicion, he took the initiative not to read the core information of the Jingbian army just now, but when the audience said this, of course he knew about Cao and Wang, and he was just happy.

He thought: "Fighting thieves is thankless. I'd better stay in Datong and live in peace...Of course, if I follow the Jingbian army, it doesn't matter if I follow anyone."

……

Following the war situation in the Central Plains, the intelligence department still had several other pieces of intelligence. Du Du led the Manchurian and Mongolian troops to the west of Liaoning. Castles were destroyed everywhere, wars were everywhere, and Du Du grabbed a lot of money. After Jierhalang joined, Wu Sangui was even more anxious.

General Zhong Xiancai of the White Tiger Army also proved this point. When Du Dudong went east, he was responsible for guarding Xuanzhen and did not move. After running for hundreds of miles, a side attack came, and Jierhalang lost hundreds of riders, and the rest rushed forward with their heads in their hands, not daring to turn back.

Zhong Xiancai didn't follow him any more, he just sent out some night guards to send back a series of information.

After seeing the battle in western Liaoning, Gao Shiyin said, "Has Wu Sangui turned into a wax spearhead like silver?"

Wang Pu also sneered, he had always disliked Wu Sangui, and that fellow had a superiority feeling in his bones, which was stronger than him. Think about last year in Liaodong... what the hell!
But Wang Dou was thinking deeply, after all, warlords are easy to change, Wu Sangui, turned bad.

The drunken man's intention in this move is not in the wine, but in the Liao pay.

Only when Liaodong was in danger, could the imperial court not abolish the Liao pay, and even invest more. Facing the dispute over the Liao pay from the imperial court over the past year, Wu Sangui made a move, but this move was too insidious, and he ignored the fire and fire of the army and the people.

Wang Dou remembered that in history, Wu Sangui was a passionate young man before the Battle of Songshan. After the Ming army was defeated in Songshan and Zu Dashou was captured, Wu Sangui guarded Ningyuan alone and was in charge of the entire Liaodong affairs. From then on, he had to bear the burden of the entire Liaodong Group interests, may slowly transform into warlords.

Now that Wu Sangui controls Liaodong earlier, and bears the interests of Liao town generals such as the Wu family and the ancestor family, this change may have occurred earlier.

Warlords...disaster for the country!
There is also a piece of Liaodong news that caught Wang Dou's attention. Not long after the Jingbian army left the fortress, Dorgon ordered Duoduo and Abatai to command [-] troops to attack North Korea.

It is true that a stone stirs up thousands of waves, the wings of a butterfly flutter, and all parties are changing. Wang Dou looks up at the sky, just thinking.

All the troops set off and passed a mountain peak, the clouds were heavy, dangerous, and the wind was strong. Looking at the majestic mountain scenery, Gao Shiyin suddenly expressed emotion: "Ah, Daqingshan, Daqingshan, how many children of Han and Hu have you witnessed? Joys and sorrows!"

Wang Dou, who was meditating, almost fell off his horse.

(End of this chapter)