On the fourth day of the Songshan Blockade, the Ming army position.

Raging flames rose into the air, and thick smoke billowed in mid-air, which was the corpse of the Ming army burning the Houjin soldiers. In the past few days, both sides have suffered countless casualties, leaving countless corpses in front of Songshan Fort, witnessing this tragic and vicious battle.

At this time, those Ming army auxiliaries were piling up the corpses left by the Houjin soldiers, sprinkling tung oil and flammable materials, and lighting a fire. There are more than 5,000 corpses of Houjin soldiers, all of which are piled up in front of the third line of defense, at least half a person high, and when the weather is hot, even the gusts of wind are accompanied by a gust of smell.

The Ming army auxiliaries carried out Sun Yueling's orders. Those Ming soldiers who died in battle had long been dragged by the auxiliary soldiers to the back mountain to dig a pit and bury them collectively, and the corpses left by Houjin obviously did not get this treatment, and could only be burned clean by a fire.

In the simple barracks of Songshan Fort, Sun Yueling was convening a military meeting with the generals above the garrison level of the capital division to discuss the next action.

Although this battle was not bad, the expressions of the generals in front of him were still a little depressed, Sun Yueling knew in his heart that this battle could be said to be a big evil battle, killing 1,000 enemies and injuring 800 themselves, and the Jinzhou Guanning Army could be said to be a great loss of vitality, so they naturally couldn't be happy.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little dull, Sun Yueling coughed lightly, and first said: "Generals, although this battle is tragic, the enemy has also paid a heavy price, and we have blocked Songshan, and more importantly, they have run out of food, so I still say the same thing, whether to fight or retreat, you all have an idea, but it doesn't matter!" ”

After he finished saying this, he looked around at the generals, but found that no one looked at him, and either hung his head silently, or turned his face to the other side, as if he had not heard this sentence.

The atmosphere suddenly became even more embarrassing, obviously these generals all learned about his attitude yesterday from Zhao Shujiao, so they still couldn't let go of their hearts and felt sorry for him.

In desperation, Sun Yueling had no choice but to name Zhao and teach Zhao Shu: "Chief Zhao Bing, tell me, is it a battle or a retreat?" ”

Zhao Shujiao was a little unhappy in his heart, and secretly thought to Lord Jinglu, didn't you say that you would give us a clear answer today last night, why do you still want to ask, obviously he still wants to continue to fight with Houjin, but it is inconvenient for him to directly brush Sun Yueling's face at this time, so he had to say: "Lord Hui, the last general is still the same as yesterday, and it is better to retreat earlier." ”

"Boom", Zhao Shujiao took the lead in saying this, and the pot immediately exploded in the barracks, and many generals turned their heads and ears, agreeing with his words.

Guerrilla Lu Bing took a few steps forward, arched his hand at Sun Yueling, and said: "Lord Jingluo, what General Zhao said is right, the last general agrees very much." It's not that I'm afraid of war, but if I continue to fight like this, I'm afraid that the old brothers who came out of Guangning Town with me will all be left here, and we have to leave a little blood for the Jinzhou Guanning Army! ”

As soon as his words fell, many generals nodded in agreement.

Sun Yueling sighed in his heart, Lu Bing was telling the truth, and if he continued to fight like this, it would be difficult for him to guarantee that this team would not be completely wiped out by Houjin, if he fought with Houjin, then the Jinzhou Guanning army would exist in name only, and in the future, he could only rely on the armies of Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan, but that was the place where Liaozuo's generals were gathered, could you listen to his dispatch of this strategy?

Sun Yueling looked at Lu Bing and said, "General Lu, I know that your younger brother and Brother Pao Ze were both killed in this vicious battle, they are all loyal and brave people of my Ming Dynasty, and they are models in the army!" Don't worry, I will definitely go to the court and ask for credit for them! ”

"Thank you, sir!" Lu Bing's expression was solemn and he retreated.

Sun Yueling's tone became heavy, and he said seriously: "Generals, I, Sun Yueling, understand what you mean and understand your difficulties. But don't forget, the main force of Huang Taiji is now stopped by us in Songshan, and they have also run out of food. It's difficult for us, but it's actually more difficult for them, and now it's just a matter of which side has more perseverance and which side can hold on longer. Whoever can hold on will win. After a pause, he sighed, "This is a great opportunity, more than ten years of national mourning, exciting only for the present day, don't you want to avenge the family and brothers who died at the hands of the Tartars, don't you want to drive out the Tartars and restore the land?" ”

The generals thought that he was going to change his mind, but he still had this set of rhetoric, and they couldn't help but show a depressed look.

Sun Yueling said to Deng Ju: "Deng Ju, what do you think of what I said?" ”

Deng Ju showed a look of embarrassment on his face, and Ai Ai said: "My lord, you know me, of course I am willing to kill the Tartars with you, otherwise I will not come to Liaozuo." However, with our current strength, we really can't fight the Tartars, and of course we are not afraid of death, but we can't ...... You can't just waste your life like this! ”

"That's it." The generals hurriedly chimed in.

Sun Yueling's brows furrowed even deeper, and it was difficult to disobey the will of the people, he really didn't know how to explain the powerful relationship to these generals. If you look at the current situation, giving Houjin such a heavy blow, the withdrawal of troops at this time is already worthy of the court and the emperor, and it is impossible to force everyone to throw their lives here; But he is a person from later generations, Hou Jin finally replaced the Ming Dynasty like a sharp knife in his chest, if he can't pull out this henchman, he will not be able to sleep, for the rise of Hou Jin, he feels more deeply than everyone present.

Now all the generals here, including Yuan Chonghuan and Zu Dashou in Ningyuan, who would have thought that the Ming Dynasty would eventually be replaced by the Later Jin, and from then on, the Chinese style and bones will not be there, and the minions and lackeys will be everywhere?

Therefore, despite the heavy casualties and the unavoidable will, he still wanted to try his best to persuade everyone to stay and solve the problem of Houjin's henchmen in one fell swoop - to exchange the lives of a town soldier for the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, who can understand this original intention at this time?

"Your Excellency!" A loud shout interrupted his contemplation, and he saw a general striding up and said in a loud voice, "Didn't you tell me earlier that you only need to defend Songshan for three days, and now that the three-day period has arrived, why is your lord still unwilling to withdraw his troops?" Also, why didn't Ning Yuanbing come to the rescue? Could it be that the adults are deceiving us? ”

"Cao Wenshao, how did you talk to Jing Liu?" Zhao Shujiao saw that it was Cao Wenshao, the capital secretary, and hurriedly scolded him.

Unexpectedly, Cao Wenshao snorted and continued: "Could it be that I said something wrong, didn't Lord Jingluo say this to us at the beginning? ”

Sun Yueling raised his hand to stop Zhao Shujiao, and said to Cao Wenshao: "General Cao, this scripture has not deceived you. Long before the war, I sent people to Ningyuan to ask Lord Yuan to send troops, I believe that they will come soon, and as long as we and Ning Yuanbing attack on both sides, Houjin will be defeated! ”

"What if they don't come? Shall we wait here to die? Cao Wenshao didn't let a word, looked directly at Sun Yueling and said, "My lord, it is common sense for a soldier to shroud in horse leather, I, Cao Wenshao, am not afraid of death, but I don't want to die like this." This battle can't be fought anymore, so why do you want me to fight with the Tartars? Besides, even if Zu Dashou and Wu Xiang come, what can they do, I, Cao, am the first to not believe that they can win the Houjin soldiers, and then they will only watch from the wall and watch our entire army annihilated! ”

Cao Wenshao's words aroused the approval of all the generals present, and the barracks became noisy again.

Sun Yueling raised his voice and forced Cao Wenshao to say, "If it's Man Gui who comes, do you think he doesn't dare to fight with Houjin?" ”

"Man Gui?" Cao Wenshao was stunned, and then said, "General Man naturally has a kind of battle with the Tartars, but with only his soldiers in one town, he can also play a role in diversion, and he can't defeat the enemy at all, you must know that the Tartars still have 40,000 soldiers here, and the Mangui Department is probably less than 20,000, so in this case, fighting with Houjin Field will not take advantage of it at all." After a pause, he added, "Unless Zu Da Shou is willing to cooperate with him, then he can completely eliminate the Tartars." ”

Sun Yueling was silent, and he couldn't refute what Cao Wenshao said. As long as Yuan Chonghuan doesn't move, Man Gui alone really can't give Houjin a devastating blow, at most, like them, they are fighting to lose themselves to consume part of Houjin's strength.

And at this moment, Qi Liao has not come back so far, and I don't know if he has persuaded Yuan Chonghuan, if Yuan Chonghuan is willing to send troops, it is okay to say, if Yuan Chonghuan himself is unwilling to send troops and prevents Man Gui from coming, then they will be completely cold, and only retreat is the best choice.

"Your Excellency!" A shout from Zhao Shujiao pulled him back to reality, "The last general thinks that General Cao is reasonable, unless the soldiers and horses of Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan can completely eliminate the Tartars, and this is under the premise that all our soldiers cooperate sincerely, otherwise we alone will not be able to stop the Tartars from breaking through." And ......" Zhao Shujiao seems a little difficult to say.

"But it doesn't hurt to say it!" Sun Yueling spat out this sentence heavily.

Zhao Shujiao looked back at the soldiers present, and said word by word: "The last general thinks that even if Ning Yuan's soldiers are willing to send troops to kill the enemy, they will definitely wait for us and Man Gui to fight before acting, and then they can win the credit of annihilating the main force of Houjin in one fell swoop......

Zhao Shujiao didn't say anything about this, but how could Sun Yueling not understand what he meant, Zhao Shujiao Ken said these words to him, and he had undoubtedly put the chips on him, the head of Donglin. Zhao Shujiao was obviously exhorting him, even if he could annihilate the Tartars, he would still be robbed of the credit by Yuan Chonghuan in the end - at that time, Zhao Shujiao and Man Gui had no soldiers in their hands, and in the future, Yuan Chonghuan would have the final say in Liaodong, and he Sun Yueling would have to look at Yuan Chonghuan's face when he mobilized every soldier in the future.

This is a heartfelt word, Sun Yueling sighed in his heart, although it is his duty to be loyal to the country, but who does not want to hold the military power and rely on the ministers, this is also understandable.

Even when Sun Yueling hesitated, suddenly a soldier outside the barracks came to report loudly, saying: "Lord Yu, Lord Jinyiwei has commanded Tongzhi Qi to return!" ”

Sun Yueling was overjoyed when he heard this, and shouted, "Yes, let him in!" ”

"Whoa!" As soon as the tent was lifted, the burly Qi Liao strode in, arched his hand at Sun Yueling, and said: "My lord, my subordinates have fulfilled their mission and have asked the Shanhaiguan General Soldier Man Gui to send troops to help. At this moment, General Man is thirty miles behind Chen Bingtarzi, just waiting for the order of the adult! ”

"Good!" Sun Yueling slapped his palm on the table, ignored the opposition of the generals and said loudly: "Since this is the case, then we will defend for a few more days, fight with the enemy, and see whose life is long!" ”