War is a continuation of politics, and in terms of form, it is an iron-blooded contest between military personnel, but in fact it is a part of political exchanges. If peace and kinship, tribute, or even land cession and indemnity can solve the crisis of the regime, the ruler will also use it. The Ming Dynasty, which did the best in history, has always pursued discord and non-tribute, the Son of Heaven guards the country, and the king dies. On the contrary, in the Qing Dynasty, countless princesses married in the early stage, and nearly 3,000 unequal treaties in the later period, just to maintain the selfish interests of the Jurchen clan, making modern China poor and weak. Although all treaties were abolished after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Qing Dynasty still had to pay for the decay of the Qing Dynasty in terms of national construction, which is why national rejuvenation was not proposed until the 21st century.

Zuo Zhan and the two pointed out the country, commented on the past and the present, and put forward a bold idea on a whim, saying:

"Fighting a war is a means of the imperial court, it is to serve the interests of the country and the nation, and the confrontation between the Central Plains Dynasty and the northern nomads in the past dynasties is a political contest, but Huo Quai's style of fighting is pure military destruction."

When the two of them heard this, they felt very profound, as if they had touched something more substantial than war, and Qi Changguo echoed with feeling:

"The saint is wise, the minister's father fought against the Japanese in Jiangsu and Zhejiang in his early years, and once lamented that although the Ming Dynasty was strong, it was difficult to concentrate all the forces into one point. The pirates can find the weakest spot to attack, and plundering a random city is enough to support them in the battle. On the other hand, our war was passively confronted, and it was strategically defensive, and although it consumed a lot of money and sacrificed the lives of many soldiers, it could not completely eliminate the Japanese invaders. ”

Hearing this, Zuo Zhan trembled in his heart, and lamented the strategic vision of the elites of this era, and the Chinese nation has never lacked talent, so he continued after slightly embellishing some modern military theories that he understood:

This is due to the fact that strategic decision-makers do not grasp the matching relationship between resources and strategic goals in a specific space and time, and use geographical resistance to achieve the contradictory transformation between strategy and goals.

To put it simply, our war with the Mongols, the Japanese and the Jurchens is asymmetrical, and they can achieve the goal of feeding the war by plundering, and we are forced to achieve the strategy of ending the war by consuming national strength. This asymmetrical war leads to our undefeated defeat and the enemy's victory without victory.

Take this Jianguo Rebellion as an example, Nurhachi can harvest countless gains every time he plunders, and under the temptation of material, the Eight Banners follow him without even mobilizing, not so much that they are natural warriors but that they are natural robbers. On the other hand, our defenders, while making peace with Jianyu, pursued military salaries from the imperial court, and raised thieves to fatten themselves to become the beneficiaries of the war, which is why Li Rubai and others would let the troops in the pass be annihilated one by one but did not support them. It was precisely because I saw through this that I sent Sun Chengzong to seize his military power and reorganize the Liaodong Iron Cavalry. ”

When the two heard this, they understood why the little emperor was not in a hurry to execute Li Rubai, but instead asked him to return to Liaodong to collect the old department, and finally sent him to North Korea. Obtain the command of the Liaodong Iron Cavalry through bloodless soldiers, and then form a new army to solve the drawbacks of raising thieves and fattening themselves. Zuo Zhan can pour out his heartfelt words is to hope that they will not repeat the mistakes of the past, and in the future, after making military achievements, they will posthumously crown Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, so that the heroes will last forever.

The imperial drive to the court and the opposition was a wail, after the change of the civil fort, there were few emperors out of the customs, and the court hung two monarchs one after another, if the little emperor had any mistakes in the Ming Dynasty, it would be dangerous. Zuo Zhan didn't know what was at stake, but he understood that this was a battle of national fortune, and it was about the fate of hundreds of millions of Chinese sons and daughters, and even if he died, he would not hesitate. However, in order to ensure the safety of his entourage, he decided to take Mang Gurtai and many Jurchen prisoners, and with these human shields, Huang Taiji would not dare to act rashly.

In order to boost the morale of the Ming army and break the will of the Jurchens to resist, after arriving in Shenyang, he specially arranged for the generals to go to the Tiger Ben camp to watch a game of cat and mouse.

This tiger army is formed by Li Banghua, all of them are strong in the Beijing camp and the four guard battalions, the martial arts are all from the Shaolin Dharma monks under the guidance, the riding is trained by the generals of Duoyan Sanwei, and the shooting is guided by Western instructors, not only the melee combat is fierce, the swordsmanship is extraordinary, and the riding and shooting are also proficient.

In terms of equipment, it is equipped with a full set of new armor, a broad-bodied short sword, a stainless steel dagger, a cowhide shield, an iron-tired crossbow, a cashmere quilt and three days' rations, a total weight of more than 40 catties, and can immediately enter a fierce battle after traveling a hundred miles in a row. In addition, flintlock muskets were uniformly armed, a new type of firearm that had already been put into use in Europe, and was purchased from the Dutch at great expense in the Left War.

In terms of establishment, refer to the Iron Eagle Ruishi of the Qin State, ten people are a squad, commanded by the squad leader and the deputy squad leader, and each brings five people when fighting, and they are each other's horns. Three squads form a platoon, three platoons form a company, three companies form a battalion, and three battalions form a regiment. In accordance with the principle of the three-three system, coordinate and respond, and carry out infantry combat, cavalry warfare, and the transformation of various formations.

Due to the strict selection and allocation and the heavy expenditure on training, the number of people was less than 2,700, and the scale of three regiments could only be temporarily formed, which were commanded by Qi Changguo, Qi Xingguo, and Yu Dingbian respectively. The Yulin Army was commanded by Li Xingbang, a native of Yulin, and his son Li Dingguo had been taken to the palace to raise him.

The original intention of forming the Tiger Ben Army was to use it as a surprise army, and it was deployed in the four guard battalions in concealment, and all actions were directly commanded by Zuo Zhan, becoming a sharp blade of the Ming Dynasty.

After watching the drill of the Tiger Army, Zuo Zhan and Xiong Tingbi and others sat on the viewing platform drinking tea and chatting, ordered someone to escort Mang Gurtai over, and asked provocatively:

"What does the general think of my army?"

Although Mang Gurtai is strong, his brain is also a little shrewd, and he replied sarcastically:

"The military discipline is strict, the advance and retreat are the same, and at first glance it is the emperor's personal guard. It's a pity that the number of people is too small, and there is no frontal containment of the main force, so it can't play the effect of surprise troops. ”

Zuo Zhan understood that he was satirizing the previous situation when the main force of the Ming army was defeated, and seeing that he was still so arrogant after being captured, he deliberately ridiculed:

"What the general said is true, these warriors are all elites selected from all over the world, bow and horse riding and archery are no problem, and they are also proficient in the art of war, which is much more esoteric than the stall novels like "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Mang Gurtai was bent on death, and said unruly:

"As far as this general knows, every general of the Ming army is familiar with the art of war, but there is a civil fort first, and then there is Sarhu, which is just a paper talk."

Everyone was furious when they heard this, and they got up and were about to give him an old punch, but Zuo Zhan said without hurry:

"The general thinks very highly of himself, and in the end, he still became my prisoner. However, I have heard that you Jurchens have been skilled in bows and horses since childhood, and are natural warriors, and the general has the title of the first Jurchen Baturu. ”

Mang Gurtai spat at the ground, and said with a disdainful expression:

"Sun Chengzong led an army of 70,000 to besiege our 20,000 horses and horses, and only sent a small force to attack and harass, but the main force tried its best to avoid the battle, and waited until our food, grass and weapons were exhausted before launching an attack, which is a woman's way of playing. If you want to fight with real swords and guns, you will have the courage to be undeserved. ”

Zuo Zhan thought to himself that this reckless man's brain was kicked by a donkey, if it weren't for the test of the new army's tactical play, not to mention that you would have died hundreds of times, even Dai Shan and Yue Tuo would also go to report to Lord Yama, and deliberately said in a discord:

"The red flag of Yue Tuo in the Battle of Yizhou was also the meat of my mouth, but thinking of his filial piety, he deliberately let go of their father and son. I have written a letter to him saying that if they surrender voluntarily, I will ensure the safety of their families. As for the general, if you slaughter the Mongol captives in the middle of the battle, even if I don't kill you, Lin Dan Khan will break you into thousands of pieces. ”

Mang Gurtai originally wondered how Dai Shan could retreat, but now he finally understood that this was a conspiracy between the inside and the outside, but he couldn't figure out why the second brother wanted to defect to the Ming Dynasty. In fact, Zuo Zhan is just a punishment, after Chu Ying's death, Dai Shan is the eldest son, and Yue Tuo, a son who can fight well, should become the heir to the Khan throne, but Nurhachi dotes on Concubine Zhezhe and establishes Huang Taiji as the prince, which is unbearable! Zuo Zhan was keenly aware of the disagreement between them, which made Mang Gurtai suspicious.

Seeing that he was in a state of confusion, Zuo Zhan said with the method of agitation:

"The general is conceited that he has the courage of ten thousand people, and my tiger warrior is standing outside, you can go down and choose three people to compete at will, and you can choose as many archers as you like, and if you can win against them, I will pardon you and your family for the death penalty."

Hearing that Zuo Zhan finished speaking, Yu Dingbian held high the command flag, and the tiger athlete struck the shield with a broad-bodied short sword when he saw this, making a neat rhythmic sound. Everyone present was shocked by this scene, and what was even more surprised was that the little emperor dared to let the first Jurchen warrior choose three opponents at random and choose the content of the competition at will, what a confidence this was, and they all held their breath to see this epic battle.

Mang Gurtai was like an angry bull, he knew that this was not only an insult to him by the Ming Emperor, but also a contempt for the entire Jurchen clan, so he carefully selected the weapons and horses that were handy, and then walked into the Huben military camp to select three opponents.

Experienced in a hundred battles, he naturally knew that these soldiers were the elite of one in a million, and the equipment was also luxurious, if he set up a position in the field, his cavalry would not even have a chance to get close. If you want to fight alone, it is different, he is the first Baturu of the Jurchens, and he has enough capital to support his honor and pride.

However, the reality is cruel, whether it is mounted archery, melee combat, or wrestling, Mang Gurtai is defeated cleanly, and he kneels on the ground in despair and waits for the judgment of fate. This result shocked Xiong Tingbi and the others and the Jurchen captives, they couldn't figure out why, and they forgot to applaud for a while.

In fact, the reason is very simple, first of all, these tiger athletes are carefully selected from 200 million Chinese sons and daughters, many of them are already knights in the rivers and lakes, not to mention martial arts and courage, actual combat experience and skills are also top-notch, coupled with scientific training and advanced technology and equipment, not to mention combat effectiveness. Secondly, Zuo Zhan had already made a deal with Mang Gurtai in advance, and if he won, his whole family will die, and if he loses, his family can live.

When everyone reacted and cheered, Zuo Zhan slowly got up and waved their hands to signal them to be quiet, and said loudly to Mang Gurtai, who was kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy:

"The general doesn't have to mind, victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, and the husband has to be able to bend and stretch. A few years ago, my tiger ben was sent to Nanyang to hunt down and kill the Hongmaoyi people, and now that the southern Xinjiang is stable, the 400,000 troops will be transferred to Liaodong one after another, and the remaining days of Huang Taiji can be counted on his fingers. ”

Zuo Zhan deliberately exaggerated the size of the Tiger Army, and those Jurchen prisoners had long been convinced, thinking that it was no wonder that the Ming army in Liaodong was vulnerable, and it turned out that the main force of the Ming army was fighting in the south. Now the main force of 400,000 is moving north, plus the 200,000 defenders of Liaodong, one person can drown Huang Taiji with his spit.

Zuo Zhan took the opportunity to release some of the old and weak, and Zu Dashou personally sent them to the front of the Huang Taiji camp, Huang Taiji wanted to shoot them all as spies, but the soldiers understood who would send the old and weak to be spies, and they went out of the camp to reunite with their relatives. This result was disastrous for Huang Taiji, and the captives not only told the soldiers that the Ming Dynasty had treated them well, but also spread the news of Mang Gurtai everywhere. I heard that the little emperor of the Ming Dynasty personally led 400,000 main forces to the north, and the already low morale was even more depressed.

In October, the Hunhe River had not yet entered the ice age, and the dragon ships of the left war soon sailed to the outside of Fushun City, and continued to advance eastward after joining Sun Chengzong and others, and camped in the west of Salhu, only more than 50 miles away from Huang Taiji. It was night Zuozhan sent an envoy to Huang Taiji's Chinese army tent to deliver a letter of persuasion, which roughly means that she is a beautiful woman, but she should be a thief. I treat your family members well, just to give you a chance, seeing that the soldiers on both sides can't bear to suffer in winter, and I am willing to fight alone with you in front of the two armies for them.