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What to do?

Do you want to surrender to the Don Army?

Suddenly, Suo Hai quickly thought of the people of the city who were buried alive by the Tang army outside Hetuala, and couldn't help but shudder in his heart.

If the Tang army surrendered, it would still be alive, if it didn't surrender, wouldn't his fate be the same as the fate of the soldiers and civilians who were buried alive in Abu Dali Gang?

It's just that who knows, even if he surrenders Li Xiao, will he definitely be able to save his life?

When Suo Hai was still hesitating, the shout of an interpreter on the hillside sounded like thunder: "Dog-inned Tartar general, you are not waiting to descend, hurry up and reply!" “

What Suo Hai never expected was that after the translator's words were shouted, the Qing army next to him, in the face of almost absolute death, had already broken their courage, and no longer had the courage and determination to fight, so they dismounted and knelt down one after another.

Suo Hai closed his eyes in frustration, sighed, and gave the order to agree to surrender.

When he saw that all the Qing troops in the valley road lined up to surrender to him, Li Xiao's face finally showed a smile.

Originally, Li Xiao could have relied on his superior forces to kill all these Qing cavalry, but now he does not plan to do this, but plans to capture all the Qing troops and then escort them back to Shandong.

Because it is now close to the Korean border, it can be reached in a day at most, but there is no need to worry about the Qing army chasing after you.

After entering the DPRK, the issue of food and salaries can be completely solved by levying it from the DPRK.

Therefore, the remaining more than 2,000 elite Qing cavalry can be completely absorbed and digested, and there is no need to worry about what splash they can make.

Soon, Suo Hai, the chief general of the Qing army, was escorted to Li Xiao with a lame leg.

"What's your name?" Li Xiao asked expressionlessly.

"The household department is in charge, and Melle is really suohai." Suo Hai looked embarrassed and didn't dare to look up at him.

Li Xiao smiled slightly, and he said to him in a joking tone: "Suo Hai, I heard that you are now the temporary acting head of the household department, right?" “

Suo Hai was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Master Li, how do you know?" ”

Li Xiao smiled: "Then you don't have to worry about it, this official has his own channels to know the information." However, in view of the fact that you can surrender in time, this official will not kill you, and all the prisoners will go to our Shandong labor camp for rectification. Of course, for you, the head of the household, this official can let you go and allow you to return to the Qing court, considering that your official position is not easy to come by, what do you think? ”

As soon as Suo Hai heard this, he was frightened out of cold sweat, he gritted his teeth and knelt down, and said loudly to Li Xiao: "Lord Li said that he laughed, now the slave is the general of the defeated army, if he goes back, I am afraid that he will be executed in court!" Now that you have decided to take refuge in Lord Li, the slave is loyal, please don't doubt it again! ”

Li Xiao laughed, helped him up, and said in a deep voice: "Okay, Suo Hai, since you are willing to work faithfully under the hands of this father, this father will add to your needs." Okay, you get up, and return to Shandong with me first. ”

Suo Hai stood up and said gratefully: "Lord Li is so broad-minded, what else can I say in the future, I am willing to let the adults drive away, and I will not hesitate to die." ”

Li Xiao nodded, and ordered him to go down, and at the same time arranged for the medical officer to splint his broken leg.

After briefly cleaning the battlefield, Li Xiao walked side by side with Suo Hai, who had a splint on his leg, and returned east together.

This time, Suo Hai suddenly found Babuhai, a member of the Qing court clan who was hiding in the Tang army, and the two looked at each other with complicated eyes, but they didn't say anything.

On the way, Li Xiao suddenly asked Suo Hai: "What is the situation in Liaoxi now, do you know Suo Hai?" ”

Suo Hai scratched his head and said to Li Xiao: "Tang Guogong, the situation in Liaoxi at this time is that the Qing army is about 130,000, and Jinzhou is surrounded by heavy troops, and Jinzhou has become a dead city. Another 3,000 Russian reinforcements joined the battle. It was reported that Russia was willing to form an alliance with the Qing Dynasty in order to avenge the capture of the city of Yakutsk by the Guijun army, first attacking Liaoxi together, and then attacking the Guijun Miaojie Fort at the mouth of the Heilongjiang River. “

Li Xiao sighed, with a solemn expression on his face.

In fact, there is a report from the Liaodong Security Division, and he already knows something about the alliance between Russia and the Qing Dynasty, but Li Xiao did not expect that in order to avenge the capture of Yakutsk by the Tang army, Russia would first help the Qing army to conquer Liaoxi, so as to gain the trust of the Qing court.

It can be seen that the current Russian Empire has hated itself to the fullest.

However, even so, Li Xiao's Temple Street Fort was well prepared, and he was not afraid of the Qing and Russian coalition forces attacking together. If they dared to come, Li Xiao believed that with the strength of his own defenders, it would be enough to knock out their dog's teeth.

Li Xiao sneered: "If they want to attack our army's Temple Street Fort, my father is afraid of them, and they don't have such a good mouth." By the way, what is the situation of the Ming army in Liaoxi now, do you know? ”

Suo Hai hurriedly replied: "Your Excellency, I know a little about the situation in western Liaoning. All the Ming armies have gathered in western Liaoning, under the command of Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, the Ming army of seven towns has a total of 130,000 people, in the north of Songshan, west of Rufeng Mountain, seven battalions are arranged at intervals, arching and guarding each other, surrounded by Changhao, thinking that it has been based on the trend for a long time. And Huang Taiji is planning how to induce the Ming army to attack in front of them, so as to wipe them all out. ”

Hearing the news, Li Xiao's heart ached inexplicably.

It's a pity that I tried so hard to change the status quo, and the Liaoxi War between the Ming and Qing dynasties remained roughly the same.

And this key battle between the Ming and Qing dynasties, Li Xiao, as a traverser, of course knows how tragic and tragic the ending is.

In Li Xiao's view, the Songjin War of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, in the final analysis, was completely a dead end in which the Ming Dynasty was bound to lose!

The reason why it is said that this Songjin War is a helpless war, a passive war, and a bureaucratic war with the characteristics of the late Ming Dynasty is because the Ningjin defense line boasted by the Ming Dynasty is itself a kind of dead-end arrangement; Because if the enemy once besieged Jinzhou, the Ming Dynasty would be in a dilemma.

The reason why it is said to be a dilemma is that if the Ming Kingdom does not rescue Jinzhou, then Jinzhou will be trapped and die; If the Ming Kingdom went to rescue Jinzhou, it would mean that the main force would be sent 400 miles outside the pass to engage in a strategic decisive battle with the enemy.

This was a rather clumsy decision, which was equivalent to the Ming Dynasty being led away by the nose by the Manchus.

And if the Ming Dynasty wants to fight a decisive battle with the Manchu Qing Dynasty, where can it not be carried out, and when it cannot be carried out, this is a problem that needs to be treated carefully, and it is necessary to choose such a completely passive time and place to carry it out, which shows that the Ming Dynasty monarchs and ministers, from top to bottom, are a group of short-sighted people who can only think by inertia, and there is no careful and efficient planning at all.

Now, in the Ming Dynasty, the power of the Liukou was blazing, and all kinds of wars were turned upside down, and the Ming Dynasty did not try its best to come to the border pass and suppress the Liukou with all its might, but instead sent the main military force to 400 miles outside the Guan, to start a battle with the enemy with more wins and fewer defeats, and the strategic decision of the Ming Dynasty was called mentally retarded in Li Xiao's view.

And appointing Hong Chengchou, who was going all out to suppress the Liukou, as the governor of Jiliao to rescue Jinzhou was completely an inertial bureaucratic behavior.

Because, this is equivalent to loosening the ties of the Liukou, and it is also quite a blood draw for the dying Ming Dynasty.

If the Ming Dynasty could go 400 miles outside the customs to relieve the siege of Jinzhou, then within the Great Wall, how could the Manchu Qing Dynasty come and go?

But Hong Chengchou just didn't say anything about it. In fact, it is not only Hong Chengchou who is like this, all the officials of the Ming Dynasty have this attitude. In the face of the Manchu army entering the Great Wall, the Ming Dynasty was a virtue; They were too lazy to fight the Manchu army, they were too lazy to think about how to defeat the Manchu army; It is enough to protect the city of Beijing, anyway, the enemy will naturally withdraw his troops if he has grabbed enough.

This bureaucratic behavior of the Ming Dynasty was very effective; The Manchu Qing Dynasty went deep into the Great Wall several times, but they were all dealt with by this strategy, relying on this kind of rotten and incompetent army to the extreme, counting on them to relieve the siege of Jinzhou four hundred miles outside the pass, isn't that counting on the sow to go up the tree?

Hong Chengchou is such a shrewd person, he also knows that leading this seemingly huge, but weak army, low morale, to rescue Jinzhou, that is basically a sure defeat, the only possibility of victory can only be unless the Manchus themselves decide to withdraw the army.

Therefore, Hong Chengchou led the army to rescue Jinzhou; 130,000 troops from eight towns were gathered, but they stopped in Ningyuan City and stopped moving forward. The name is beautiful: steady and steady. Actually? This is the same as Yuan Chonghuan's strategy in the past, all in all, leading the main force to fight, it is more auspicious and less auspicious, and it is safe to stay in the city. It's just that under the persecution of the imperial court, Hong Chengchou couldn't resist the pressure, so he moved the army out to the north of Songshan and west of Rufeng Mountain, with seven battalions at intervals, guarding each other, and surrounding Changhao.

Yuan Chonghuan did not lead the main force to rescue Jinzhou in Ningyuan that time, but the enemy himself withdrew his troops on his own initiative twenty-four days later. So there is a very famous victory in history, Ningjin victory.

It's just that in real history, Hong Chengchou really didn't have a good life than Yuan Chonghuan, because he stayed in Ningyuan for half a year, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty still surrounded Jinzhou City and did not withdraw its troops, and the Qing court had made up its mind to gnaw off this hard bone, so Hong Chengchou naturally could only bite the bullet and go to rescue Jinzhou under the continuous urging of the imperial court.

Li Xiao can imagine that if Hong Chengchou led the army to Ningyuan, after a month or two of standing still, the Manchu Qing Dynasty withdrew its troops, then Hong Chengchou would definitely send a good news back to Beijing, and the Ming Dynasty would boast that it would be even more boastful than the previous Ningjin victory. Because, in the past, the Ming Dynasty army only supported 24 days; Now the Ming Dynasty has supported it for a month or two, and it has also beaten the Manchus away. Such a credit is, of course, worthy of being recorded in history.

What makes Hong Chengchou both sad and helpless is that Huang Taiji is now determined to capture Liaoxi, so he has been stationing his army under the city of Jinzhou, saying that he is dead and alive, but he will not withdraw the army.

Later generations of Ming history researchers always like to explain that the government blindly commanded Hong Chengchou, which led to the failure of the Battle of Songjin. Li Xiao believes that this cannot withstand scrutiny at all, and the so-called Hong Chengchou and the Manchu Qing have a chance to win if they fight steadily is more pure wishful thinking.

Let's take a look at the real history, the actual situation of the Ming and Qing dynasties during the Songjin War.

At that time, the Manchu Qing conquered the Mongol tribes in the west and Korea in the east, and they had no worries about the future, and they could attack the Ming with all their might.

And what about the Ming Dynasty? Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong are no longer the "Wuxia Ameng" of the past, and they have now begun to attack the military towns and main military forces of the Ming Dynasty. And successfully captured Luoyang, Xiangyang, and defeated the main military force of the Ming Dynasty. It can be seen that the Qing Dynasty could unite as one to attack the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty was suffering from internal and external troubles, which had reached a point where it was difficult to maintain.

Based on this alone, the main military forces of the Ming and Qing dynasties were consumed outside the Guan; Who will have the last laugh?

"Yizhou is located between Jinzhou and Quang Ninh、、、、、 in March, the prince of Geshuo Jierharang led the army to repair the city of Yizhou, stationed in Tuntian、、、 April, just a month later, tens of thousands of soldiers "built the city and built rooms, all have been completed, Yizhou east and west forty miles of fields, all have been reclaimed. "The First Record of Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty" Volume 51"

It can be seen from this that the Manchu Qing Dynasty's siege of Jinzhou had no reason to withdraw its troops at all, but it had the strength to continue to consume, and the grain and grass of a city, no matter how sufficient, was still limited under a long-term siege. What's more, Jinzhou only has more than a month's worth of grain and grass, and the situation is even worse.

If Hong Chengchou did not take the initiative to rescue Jinzhou, he could only avoid this main military force of the Ming Dynasty from being defeated by the enemy; But it will never lift the siege of Jinzhou. At most, this can only ensure that after Jinzhou is captured, Hong Chengchou has the opportunity to withdraw with all his troops.

The question is, if it is only for this kind of military purpose, wouldn't it be safer for Hong Chengchou not to lead the army out of the customs?

Therefore, Li Xiao believes that the defeat of Songjin in the Ming Dynasty was not a defeat due to an accidental reason, but an ending that could be described as a certain defeat.

From top to bottom, the Ming Dynasty was short-sighted and incompetent, inertial thinking, and perfunctory military affairs with a bureaucratic attitude, which was the fundamental reason for the failure.

Originally, with the internal situation of the Ming Dynasty and the gap between the Ming Dynasty army and the Manchu army, the siege of Jinzhou was incomprehensible. But this kind of fact, in the Ming Dynasty, no one dared to talk about it! Because, to admit this fact, it is necessary to bear the responsibility of giving up the so-called strategic point of 400 miles without a fight. Who dares to bear this kind of responsibility?!

Even the emperor himself was afraid to take on such a responsibility.

In Li Xiao's view, the Ming Dynasty had only one chance to relieve the siege of Jinzhou.

That is, the main military force of the Ming Dynasty, assembled as soon as possible, and approached Jinzhou by surprise, and hit it hard in one fell swoop when the Manchu army was not ready. But leading the kind of army of the Ming Dynasty, how could Hong Chengchou dare to gamble his life like this?

The so-called steady and steady approach of the Ming Dynasty was actually nothing more than a dish for the enemy in the end. Because when they finally couldn't hold it back and put the main military force into the main battlefield, the Manchu army had already been arranged. Fighting in this state is purely a duel between the main military forces of the two sides; In this process, neither side has any tricks.

And the army of the Ming Dynasty fought a wild war with the Manchus, which was simply a complete tragedy.

Before the war really began, six of the eight towns of the Ming Dynasty led the army to flee collectively, and the remaining two towns retreated with Hong Chengchou to the nearby city to defend the lonely city. Most of the fleeing Six Towns troops were killed by the Manchus; And the armies of the two towns trapped in the lonely city were trapped and died.

Sun Wenliang and Li Zhiting's "Emperor Chongde" wrote that under the great panic, Wang Pu, the timid general of Datong, fled first in the dark, and the generals also rushed to flee with each other.

Volume 57 of the Records of Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty records that in just a few days, the Qing army annihilated 53,700 Ming soldiers and 83 people, obtained 7,440 horses, and went to the sea to die in large numbers.

At the slightest defeat, they immediately fled en masse, completely ignoring the authority of the manager; If you lose the slightest, you will immediately run away en masse, regardless of the consequences of doing so; With this kind of army, can it go as far as 400 miles outside the pass to fight against a strong enemy?

Hong Chengchou led the army to rescue Jinzhou, which was itself a bureaucratic act. In the face of the siege of Jinzhou, the Ming Dynasty was unable to solve it at all, but the Ming Dynasty had to take some superficial measures. On the one hand, he rescued Jinzhou, but on the other hand, he stationed troops outside the customs and did not go to Jinzhou. It's just a product of this background. If the Manchu Qing Dynasty did not withdraw its troops after attacking Jinzhou in two or three days, twenty or thirty days, then the Ming Dynasty could immediately start the propaganda machine to create another great victory in Ningjin, but the Manchus did not withdraw their troops, so this plan of the Ming Dynasty fell through.

And the most tragic thing is the slaughtered Ming soldiers and countless Han people in Liaoxi.

Thinking of this, Li Xiao sighed