Verse 3: Desperate situation

Yuan Chonghuan sat up, and the three of them stood on the spot with Zu and Yang, and the herald saw this, snorting, not knowing whether to continue.

Yuan Chonghuan put down his twisted hand and said, "Go on." ”

"Wow. The guards of Jinzhou, Youtun and Dalinghe have been ordered to evacuate their garrisons, and the guards of Songshan, Xingshan and Tashan have been withdrawn. The morale of the troops along the road was sluggish, the people's grievances were boiling, many dead people blocked the road, and the cries shook the wilderness. ”

Yuan Chonghuan's eyes showed a look of surprise and asked, "The defenders of the three cities are all brave people, how can they retreat without a fight?"

"Because...... Because Jing Luo held the sword of the imperial gift and the jade belt of the python, he claimed...... Calling and calling it His Majesty's will, and those who violate it...... Kill, kill without mercy!!"

Everyone was stunned.

Long. The wind blew a corner of the couplet on the wall and made a crackling sound. Only then did the people in the hall come back to their senses, "How can this be?" Zu Dashou muttered to himself blankly. Yang Ling was so angry that he couldn't wait to rush to Gao Di, and asked with his mind: "Why is this?" Only Yuan Chonghuan was extremely calm, he took a step forward and said: "Please also inform Gao Jingluo, just say that Yuan Chonghuan will not obey the order, Yuan is Ning Qiandao, and he will live and die with Ning Qian, even if he is alone, he will also guard the lonely city, fight to the death with thieves, and swear not to enter the customs!"

The herald was greatly moved, hugged his fists and said, "Subordinates receive orders!"

"General Zu, pass on all the soldiers and civilians to swear to defend this city. Yuan Chonghuan said loudly.

Zu Dashou asked: "Lord Yuan, the periphery is destroyed, but how can Ningyuan Lonely City hold on?"

Yuan Chonghuan didn't speak, since ancient times, there has never been a lonely city without foreign aid, Suiyang, Xiangyang, all of them. What Yuan Chonghuan can do is nothing more than to follow Zhang Xun and Li Tingzhi, the city is broken, and there is death!

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the herald reported: "Later Jin Khan Nurhachi led hundreds of thousands of troops to the north of Liaohe, and I don't know what to do." ”

On the sixth day of the first month, the herald reported: "Liaodong reported to the imperial court through a slightly higher number: 'Houjin slave thieves covet the grain of Youtun and cross the river around the fifteenth day of the first month. ’”

On the ninth day of the first lunar month, the herald reported: "Nurhachi's army went out of the Shifang Fort and went to Quang Ninh to besiege it. ”

On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, the herald reported: "The enemy chief Nurhachi led the kings and ministers, and led a large army of hundreds of thousands of troops to prepare to cross the river and come in the direction of Ningyuan. ”

On the fifteenth day of the first month, Shangyuan Festival, in Ningyuan City.

"On New Year's Eve last year, the flower market was lit up like daylight. The willow tops on the moon, people about after dusk.

On New Year's Eve this year, the flowers and lights are still the same. I didn't see last year's people, and my tears wet the sleeves of my spring shirt. ”

This is Ouyang Xiu's "Shengchazi Yuan Xi" written by Ouyang Xiu in the Song Dynasty, describing a lingering and poignant love that took place during the Shangyuan Festival.

Yang Ling walked slowly in Ningyuan City, and he couldn't see the lights in the city, only the stars in the sky.

"I don't know if Cai Ling and Xu Liang have seen Marquis Wuqing, and whether His Majesty will send troops to reinforce Ning Yuan?"

"Tomorrow, Lord Yuan will swear an oath, Ningyuan City is only 20,000 defenders, can we hold it?"

"The Houjin Eight Banners Army has always been brave and good at fighting, far superior to my Ming soldiers, no matter whether it is fighting soldiers or fighting generals, our side is not superior. ”

"I don't know where the Shen family is now? Is it in Nanjing? Shen Feiyun cracked Yan Song's treacherous plot in one fell swoop, it can be said that she is complacent, she, she must be happy for her brother. ”

"I don't know if she'll miss me, or if I'll ever see her again. ”

"Alas, the city is broken, and there is only death. I have a blood vendetta and I haven't avenged it yet, am I really going to die here?"

"If I really can't hold it, with my ability, it won't be difficult to keep Lord Yuan and withdraw to the capital together. ”

His thoughts fluctuated and he went up to the castle tower alone.

These **** helped Yuan Chonghuan to train the soldiers, and the guards were very polite to him, and they all bowed down and nodded at him.

"This Yang Shaoxia is a good friend of Inspector Yuan, Lord Yuan loves soldiers like a son, but he is a good official!" "Yes, Lord Yuan swears to defend Ningyuan City, just to protect the people behind us, we just don't want to fight for our lives, but also to defend the city!" "I heard that Lord Yuan has been thinking about the strategy of defending the city in the past few days, and his hair has turned a lot gray. ”

……

Yang Ling listened to the whispered discussions of the soldiers, and sighed in his heart: "Brother Xu, you are right. ”

Those who touch people with sincerity will also respond with sincerity.

He looked at the starry night, as if he remembered the father he had admired since childhood. Yes. Isn't he in heaven staring at him? It cannot be denied that he hated him, hated his big heart, hated his uprightness, hated his refusal to compromise and seek perfection, he hated, he hated him so much. Because of these things, he has been forever separated from his current heaven and man, how can he not hate?

And now, another similar person has appeared, the same broad-minded, the same for the country and the people, the same upright, the same unwilling to compromise, perhaps, only such a person can be regarded as a real hero, right?

Hero. That's right, the word hero.

"Qingyu Case?Yuan Xi", Xin Qiji:

"The east wind blooms thousands of trees at night, and blows down, and the stars are like rain. BMW carved cars are full of fragrance. The sound of the phoenix flute moves, the light of the jade pot turns, and the fish and dragon dance all night.

The moth snow willow is golden, and the smile is full of dark fragrance. The crowd looked for him thousands of times, and suddenly looked back, but the man was there, and the lights were dim. ”

Suddenly looking back, his fists and palms intersected, he didn't hesitate, because since he had made up his mind, he didn't have to care about success or failure. It was a day earlier than the day of the oath.

Next. The military drill school field, the clothes and armor are distinct, and the battle flag is facing the wind, as if singing a war song.

Yuan Chonghuan was dressed in military uniform and stood on the stage. On the left, the chief soldier Man Gui, the staff general Zu Dashou, and the garrison He Kegang, and on the right, Jin Qiliang and Yang Ling, were sentenced. He pressed the sword in his left hand and said loudly: "The sky is cold and the house is poor, you all gather here, Yuan has a sense of guilt, please listen to Yuan's words." The brutality of the Later Jin Dynasty has been around for a long time, since the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, the Jurchen people rose in the north and slaughtered countless Han people. At the beginning of the establishment of our dynasty, there was Mongolia first, and then there was Houjin, and then they killed our Ming people, which is really the public enemy of our generation!"

Zu Dashou beside him said loudly: "What Lord Yuan said is right! Zu fought against the Tartars, and he once saw them kill my good people, holding spears and carrying babies to show off their might, and insulting my Chinese women, which is simply inferior to pigs and dogs!"

All the sergeants also shouted: "Yes! We are inseparable from the Houjin Tartars!"

Yuan Chonghuan said: "All the soldiers have this determination, Yuan Mou thanked the people of the city first!" After speaking, he bowed deeply, and the army hurriedly returned the salute.

He looked at these iron-clad soldiers, looked at their weather-covered faces, and looked over one after another. Finally, after he finished reading the first row and the second row, he kept watching and watching, until he saw every expression in his eyes, and then said: "We Ning Yuan Dao is the first barrier for the Houjin Tartars to march, and it is also the first barrier!

"Now I am facing a strong enemy in front of Ningyuan, there are no reinforcements in the back, Mongolia on the west flank is not strong, Korea on the east flank is helpless, and there is only one lonely city outside the Liaoxi Pass. For today's plan, the only way to do this is to make use of the strengths and avoid the weaknesses, and rely on the strong city to hold on. There is a saying in the art of war: 'Keeping is right, fighting is strange, and money is sideways.' The real is not false, and the gradual is not sudden. "We must learn the lessons of the loss of Fushun, Qinghe, Kaiyuan, Tieling, Shenyang, Liaoyang, Xiping, and Guangning, and never go out of the city to fight with the Tartars. When the army heard these words, their blood surged up, and they received their orders with a bang.

Immediately, Yuan Chonghuan dispatched troops and sent the general army to guard the east of Ningyuan City, the deputy general Zuo Fu to guard the west, the staff generals Zu Dashou and He Kegang to guard the south, the deputy general Zhu Mei to guard the north, and the general Mangui to supervise the whole city, and the generals to draw and defend each other. Yuan Chonghuan personally sat in the drum tower in the city and commanded the overall situation. However, this is a rigid rule, not a winning strategy.

"It is a wise move not to fight with the Tartars, but after the golden strong bow, it can shoot directly at our army, but our army is powerless to counterattack, how is this good? The bow and knife are gold, and among the five elements, fire is gold...... Yes, firearms, firearms have a longer range than bows and crossbows!" Yang Ling figured this out, walked to Yuan Chonghuan's side, and said softly: "Lord Yuan, Houjin established the country with bows and horses, but I have firearms in China, why don't you use them?"

Yuan Chonghuan suddenly realized, and said repeatedly: "Not bad, not bad, I almost forgot." It's just that although there are red-coated cannons in my Ningyuan City, the fort is outside the fortress, and at the same time, the cannon body is heavy, and the movement is limited, so it is difficult to exert its power. ”

"Why don't you transport these cannons to the towers, or to erect them, or to make them into artillery carriages?"

Yuan Chonghuan twisted his beard and said: "Well, it makes sense. My subordinates Sun Yuanhua and Peng Qigu have been personally trained by Portuguese gunners, so they can be used by the two of them to train their soldiers, so that this firearm is the strongest weapon we can use to garrison this city!"

That night, Yuan Chonghuan ordered the soldiers and civilians of the city to clear the walls, burn all the houses outside the city, accumulate houses, transfer the merchants and civilians of the city into the city, and transfer grain and materials to be hidden on Juehua Island. At the same time, he also asked fellow acquaintances Cheng Weiao to lead door-to-door inspections to strictly prevent spies. Jin Qiliang was sentenced to the four corners of the city, and assigned people to provide food and drink for the soldiers defending the city. He also sent Pei Guozhen, the guard officer, to lead the merchants and people in the city to transport arrows and stones and deliver ammunition. Yuan Chonghuan won the hearts of the people of Jiliao, and when the masses knew their life and death, they were even more integrated with the military and the people, and there was no resentment. The officers and soldiers went up and down, and they defended the city with one heart.

The next day, Yuan Chonghuan sent Zu Dashou to transport eleven artillery into the city, and passed on the former tun guard general Zhao Shujiao and Shanhaiguan guard Yang Lin, but all those who fled to Qiantun and Shanhaiguan in Ningyuan were beheaded to enforce military discipline. The staff thought that this move was overstepping his authority, and Yuan Chonghuan did not comply.

A few more days passed, and in a blink of an eye it was the twenty-second day of the first lunar month.

In Ningyuan City Tower, Yuan Chonghuan was talking with Yang Ling. They sat opposite each other, with several guests sitting on their sides, as well as Han Ming, the Korean envoy who was detained in Ningyuan City. Everyone stared at the game of chess in front of them, and the situation seemed to have been stalemate for a long time.

I saw that the middle part was entangled in white and black, reluctant to separate, and the minds of both sides were clear and clear, just wanting to break through the opponent. White does not forgive, black does not follow, tossing and turning on the opposite side, attacking and defending on all sides. It's like a dragon and a tiger are fighting each other, the dragon surrounds the tiger and occupies a good situation, but the tiger brakes with static, dormant in it, although passive, but as long as the dragon has a movement, it can immediately pounce on its throat and strangle it.

Han Ying took the lead in sighing: "Lord Yuan and Yang Shaoxia have the same chess strength, and I want to come to this game as a draw." ”

Yuan Chonghuan smiled, but did not answer. Yang Ling was also just twisting the white child, and he was also noncommittal. The investigation came to report that there were signs of the army moving forward in the distance, and the staff were all shocked: "It's coming so fast!" Yuan Chonghuan only said to Yang Ling: "What does the young man think?" Yang Ling smiled and said: "The adults have hills and valleys in their chests, and it is the time to show their ambitions." As he spoke, he was gone.

Yuan Chonghuan bowed slightly, and ordered: "All the armies listen to the order, and wait for it if there is no one in the city!" After speaking, Heizi responded. On the chessboard of the two, there were two chess robberies, which were serial robberies. Serial robbery is a relatively rare phenomenon in Go. If the two calamities are launched at the same time, and neither side can give up, then this chess will go on endlessly, and there will never be a winner or a loser. Once this happens, regardless of whether the two sides are better or worse, it will end in a draw. This is commonly known as serial robbery.

Of course, there are not only two calamities in a serial calamity, but also a three-calamity chain or even four calamities. Therefore, those who are committed to the game of Go must seek to solve the serial calamity, win in defeat or annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop.

Yang Ling sighed and said in a low voice, "After all, we have come to this point." Yuan Chonghuan twisted his beard, and in addition to his solemn expression, there was a relief that was not easy to detect.