Ning Yuan, the superintendent is in charge.

After several great victories between Song and Xing, Wu Sangui and Cao Bianjiao withdrew to Ningyuan to rest. At this time, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, was summoning Wu Sangui alone.

"The last will meet the overseer." After Wu Sangui, who was wearing civilian clothes, saw Hong Chengchou, he immediately knelt on his knees and kowtowed, and bowed to worship.

Hong Chengchou helped him and said, "Uncle, please get up." Sit down and talk. ”

Wu Sangui got up and arched his hand: "Don't dare to be humble." What teachings the superintendent has, Sangui must keep in mind. ”

Hong Chengchou smiled and said, "There is no need to be like this, I am also an old friend of the senior supervisor, how will I treat my eldest uncle in the past two years?" ”

"The grace of the superintendent's promotion will never be forgotten." Wu Sangui bowed to the end and said loudly.

Hong Chengchou waved his hand and said, "Okay, we don't have to be so polite, you and I are not necessarily comfortable." Let's sit down and have a good talk. ”

Wu Sangui saw that Hong Chengchou said sincerely, so he sat on half of his butt on the chair where he started, leaned sideways, and made a gesture of deference.

Hong Chengchou said with a smile: "This time I called the chief uncle, I want to hear the chief uncle talk about the situation of several great victories of pine and apricot." ”

Wu Sangui hugged his fists and said: "My department and Cao Zongbing, Liu~"

Hong Chengchou raised his hand, interrupted Wu Sangui's report, and said, "Uncle Chief, what I want to hear is the truth, not a report sent to the capital. ”

Wu Sangui glanced at Hong Chengchou, then quickly lowered his head, touched the scar on the bridge of his nose, and did not speak immediately. He didn't know what Hong Chengchou meant, their report had already been reported, and now he came to verify the authenticity of the credit, even if he found out something, he couldn't catch up. Isn't he afraid of being charged with false verification and lying about his military exploits?

"Uncle don't worry," Hong Chengchou explained: "The paperwork has been reported, I just want to know the truth." This is our private chatter, not a check of your merits. ”

Wu Sangui is still very hesitant, this is not his business alone, it is also related to the governor Qiu Minyang, and the eunuch of the prison army, who is also his father-in-law Gao Qiqian. Although Hong Chengchou has a good relationship with Gao Qiqian, he can't offend him for this reason, he really has to rely on the mountain to get up and dive. He was able to achieve the position of chief military officer at a young age, thanks to the support of his stepfather, Gao Qiqian.

Hong Chengchou saw that Wu Sangui did not speak. So he said: "Then let's drink tea first, the senior supervisor will be here in a while." ”

Wu Sangui didn't dare to drink tea, he was thinking about how to say it. Today's events are very unusual, and we need to deal with them well.

After a while, Gao Qidive really came. Hong Chengchou got up and saluted Gao Qi.

Wu Sangui waited for Hong Chengchou to finish his courtesy, and then immediately knelt down, kowtowed, and said, "I have seen the prison army. ”

Gao Qiqian smiled and said, "You little monkey, don't be polite, get up." It's all my own family, and I'm here for these nothing. ”

Wu Sangui got up at this time and arched his hand and said, "The child visits his father-in-law." ”

Gao Qiqian waved his hand, and he was not polite, so he sat on Hong Chengchou's left hand and asked, "Ninth Elder, what is the matter?" ”

Hong Chengchou also sat down and said, "It's not a big deal, I just want to know about the situation of the great victories of Song and Xing." The internal supervisor also knew that His Majesty was very concerned about the affairs of Liaodong, and when I was appointed to be in charge of the affairs of Liaodong, it was natural that I should know the affairs of Liaodong by heart. Of course, this has nothing to do with asking for merit for the soldiers, and the internal supervisors should understand. ”

Gao Qiqian nodded and smiled: "Well, you should know it in your heart." After that, he instructed Wu Sangui: "Sangui, say whatever you have to say, don't hide it." Let's talk to our own families, and we don't have to hide it. ”

Wu Sangui hugged his fists and said, "The child obeys." After that, I told about the several battles between the pine and the apricot. Of course, it was not a great victory as in the war report, but the original appearance of the war was basically restored. However, it still emphasized his bravery, as well as the good fighting under his command, and of course, the merits of several other commanders. Although there is still some moisture, ninety percent of the moisture has been squeezed out, which is already very honest for a general.

Hong Chengchou nodded and said, "Okay, I know." You go back and rest first. ”

Wu Sangui got up and hugged his fists and said, "I have retired from my humble position." After that, he nodded to Gao Qiqian and retreated.

After Wu Sangui left, Gao Qiqian asked, "Ninth Elder, what do you want to do?" It's not easy for children, and it's okay to give some credit. ”

Hong Chengchou smiled bitterly: "Originally, I thought that the Eastern Army and the Western Army would work together to have the strength to fight with the Qing Army." But looking at it today, it's still a bit self-deceptive. ”

Gao Qiqian took a sip of tea, and then said slowly: "I have been a prisoner here since the second year of Chongzhen, and I don't know how many I have seen fighting with Dongyu." Which of those Qing officials in the capital knows how powerful Dongyu is? Dongyu's heavy arrows can penetrate armor twenty paces away. Everyone has war horses, coming and going like the wind, and we are fighting in the field outside the city, and the formation can't last for half a day. There are also heavy armored cavalry in the east, with heavy armor for men and horses, and swords and guns can't be helped. In recent years, the artillery of the Qing army has become more and more powerful, and the method of 'relying on the fortified city and using the cannon' to fight a dumb war has no advantage. ”

Hong Chengchou sighed: "Alas, the field battle outside the city cannot be won, how can the crisis in Jinzhou be solved?" The Qing soldiers besieged Jinzhou but did not attack, just let us go to the rescue. Jinzhou is very important to Liaodong and even to Jingshi, we still have to save it, it's difficult! ”

"Humph!" Gao Qiqian snorted coldly and said, "At the beginning, Yang Gebu and I both said that we would pay the money first and go all out to deal with the thieves. But those crows in the court were noisy, and even governors like Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting strongly opposed it. The result? The Tianxiong army, which was invincible against the upper class thieves, was not annihilated by the Eastern Captives? defeated Gao Yingxiang's Qin soldiers, and they also made no achievements against Shangdongyu. The affairs of the court are all ruined by those clear streams. ”

Hong Chengchou said: "Since Your Majesty has entrusted me with a heavy responsibility, then I can only do my best to repay Your Majesty's grace." ”

Gao Qi dived up and said, "Forget it, make as much force as you can." The affairs of Liaodong are not easy to handle. If the Ninth Elder has nothing else to do, then I'll go back first. ”

Hong Chengchou also stood up and arched his hand: "It's nothing, I'll send it to the inner prison." ”

After sending Gao Qiqian out of the main hall, Hong Chengchou looked at the direction of the capital, and could only turn into a helpless sigh. He had seen Cao Bianjiao before, and he compared the rhetoric of Cao Bianjiao and Wu Sangui to the conclusion that without a two- to four-fold superiority in troops, it would be difficult for the Ming army to make achievements in field battles.

In other words, they wanted to coerce Jinzhou and repel the Qing troops besieging Jinzhou, which they could not do without an army of 100,000 to 150,000. However, with so many troops, food and salary are a big problem, and if you want to forge ahead, how easy is it to talk about it?