Episode 57 A defensive position is also a cage

On the morning of the 29th, .

The representative of the Qing side is Yonggui, and the three deputies he brought. The chief representative of the Ming side is Xiang Xiaoqiang, because he has shown high talent and talent in the Nanyang negotiations and German negotiations. Especially in the Nanyang negotiations, although it is relatively easy to negotiate when the side has the advantage, the kind of "blackmail genius" that Xiang Xiaoqiang showed, and finally talk back about the results that no one dared to imagine, really made the entire Ming diplomats ashamed.

Because the Ming side is the "home field", Xiang Xiaoqiang has more negotiating deputies. First of all, Song Ruhai, an old diplomat, is also an old partner in the negotiations with Xiaoqiang Nanyang and Germany, and they have worked together for a long time and have tacit understanding. There are also fourteen Gege, although she is not engaged in diplomacy, but she is engaged in intelligence, and she knows more about the situation in Beiqing than everyone else, and she is Yonggui's old boss, what kind of trick Yonggui plays, she can see it at a glance. Then, there were several officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Dongchang. Together, these people formed the negotiating group of the Ming side.

Yonggui firmly remembered the central spirit of Guangwu, first of all: strive to stop the Ming army in Shanxi. In the negotiations on the morning of the first day, Yonggui did not talk about other issues, that is, he firmly nailed the Shanxi issue, and he must agree that Nanming would agree to stop the advance at the same time.

This article is definitely unacceptable to the Ming side. Yonggui grinds hard bubbles, or begs bitterly, Ming Fang ignores them.

So, in the afternoon, Yonggui threw out the first cake:

If the Ming army withdrew from Shanxi, the Qing would return with the Hanzhong Basin, the Qinling Mountains, and the whole of northern Shaanxi.

Before he could ask Xiao Qiang any further questions, Yonggui gestured to the side, and another Beiqing official beside him immediately took out a large map and spread it out on the table.

"A few adults, please look," Yonggui smiled and pointed earnestly on the map, "as long as your army can withdraw from Shanxi, this piece, and this piece, this piece, will all belong to you." …… Hehe, hehe, several adults are also experts, I don't need to say it can be seen, in terms of area, these two pieces are much larger than the Shanxi part that your army has occupied, and they are strategic places!

"Hehe, please look to your lordship, now you have control of southern Shaanxi, but basically the entire Qinling Mountains, as well as the Hanzhong Basin in the south of the Qinling Mountains, are still under the control of our army. This area separates southern Shaanxi from Sichuan. If you want to connect southern Shaanxi and Sichuan, then you can't control Qinling and Hanzhong. However, this area is full of lofty mountains and mountains, easy to defend and difficult to attack, if your army attacked, it may suffer heavy casualties, not to mention, and it will take a long time......

"Now, as long as your army withdraws from this small piece of southern Shanxi, the entire Qinling Mountains, the Hanzhong Basin, and northern Shaanxi will all belong to you. From Sichuan to northern Shaanxi, you are connected. Hehe, there is a natural barrier of the Mu Us Desert in the north of the Ming Dynasty, the Qinling Mountains in the south, and the Yellow River in the east. In this way, our Ming and Qing dynasties can also guard their own natural dangers, live in harmony forever, and end the previous relationship of mutual distrust and hostility to each other. Hehe, Lord Xiang, Gege, and a few other adults, what do you think? ”

Several people from the Ming side smiled at each other, and then Song Ruhai smiled:

"That's all?"

"Oh...... Hehe, yes. ”

Song Ruhai tapped his finger on the east side:

"What about the East? What about the East? ”

"East?" Yonggui smiled, "Oh, what our emperor means, the two sides will redraw the boundary according to the current line of control, oh, it's almost the Huai River line......"

A few people from Ming Fang looked at each other again and smiled.

Xiang Xiaoqiang pulled down his face, leaned back in the chair, and said lightly:

"Lord Yong, isn't it, you are obviously the defeated side seeking peace, but you have made such conditions to coax children, probably not sincere, right?"

Yonggui was surprised:

"Lord Xiang, where does this begin? How is it that we are not sincere? Now the area of land we are willing to exchange is at least three times the part of Shanxi that you have already occupied, how can it be called insincerity? ”

"What you're saying now is equivalent to ...... me to Xiaoqiang's wife" Xiang Xiaoqiang said while bowing his head and lighting a cigarette, "...... Xu married me to Xiang Xiaoqiang, and asked me to accept your favor to Xiaoqiang, saying that you are really sincere......"

Before he finished speaking, Ming Fang burst into laughter.

Xiang Xiaoqiang took the first puff of green smoke, and then said:

"Lord Yong, you say with your conscience that this is not the case."

Yonggui's face was ugly, and he said:

"Lord Xiang, what does this have to do with Mrs. Zun. Mrs. Zun, that is your lord, you have already married home, and Yu Qing and Fa are already your people. Now these pieces of land are still in my hands. If your army 'comes to the door to rob relatives', then the bullets in the hands of our Qing army are not vegetarian. ”

Song Ruhai took the few documents handed to him by Fourteen Gege, put on reading glasses, looked down and said:

"Lord Yong, let's talk about Qinling first. Now there are two fourth-rate garrison divisions of your army on the Qinling Mountains, and the main forces are stationed in Wuguan Road and Dasanguan Road respectively, that is, on the east and west sides. Of course, there are some in other places, and they are all outposts. All their logistical supplies had to be transported from Hanzhong in the south to the mountains. Let's talk about Hanzhong again. Now with the occupation of southern Shaanxi by our army, not to mention the Qinling Mountains, even the Hanzhong Basin has become a 'small enclave' in the area controlled by our army.

"Now, the Qing army garrison in Hanzhong has only two garrison divisions. After we entered southern Shaanxi, they came to us on their own initiative to negotiate surrender. It is estimated that there will be results in three days, and our army will enter the Hanzhong Plain from Guangyuan. So, the north is the Guanzhong Plain, the south is the Hanzhong Plain, both ends are pinched, how long can those Qing soldiers on the Qinling Mountains in the middle hold out? At most, in a week, they will also surrender on their own initiative, as Hanzhong did. Then, without your permission, our southern Shaanxi and Sichuan can also be connected.

"Let's talk about northern Shaanxi. There are no natural obstacles between northern Shaanxi and southern Shaanxi, yes, the Loess Plateau is full of ravines, and the terrain is not as suitable for motorized corps as southern Shaanxi. But there are always at least roads, and there are few Qing troops in northern Shaanxi now, and your army is now going to rob Shanxi, and it is impossible to cross the Yellow River west and come to rob northern Shaanxi with us. If we are interested in entering northern Shaanxi, we can march slowly. If we are not interested in entering northern Shaanxi for the time being, we can also put it there, and no one will come to rob it.

"Hehe, Lord Yong, you said that we 'came to the door to rob relatives', the metaphor is a little worse. What does it mean to 'rob'? At the very least, one side has to have the strength to 'defend', and then the other side needs to 'grab'. Now we've basically eaten these pieces of land. Not only do you not have the strength to defend it, but we don't even need to rob it. If these places are not the 'lady' they say to adults, they are at least 'fiancées'. You don't see where our army goes, the people welcome it, and your army is competing to surrender, it is originally a mutual affection, you only need to go to the city hall to do a notarization, why do you need to 'rob relatives'? ”

Yonggui originally didn't expect to use these pieces of land in exchange for the Ming army's withdrawal from Shanxi. He was still smiling, thinking about it for a moment, and then laughed again:

"What Lord Song said is certainly reasonable...... Still, it takes time, doesn't it? Even if it is exactly like what the adults said, the defenders of Hanzhong surrendered a week later, it will take a week, right? Hanzhong surrendered, and Qinling is not? Even if Qinling is as smooth as Hanzhong, then it will take at least half a month to get this whole piece in hand, right? In the past half a month, the first batch of supplies for your army may have been transported directly from Sichuan along the Dasanguan Highway into Guanzhong!

"Hehe, directly entering the pass from the Sichuan Basin is at least much closer than the current supply line of your army - from the Jianghan Plain to the Xiangfan Plain, Nanyang, and then to the West Henan Plain, and then from Zhengzhou to Luoyang in the west, and Hangu Pass and Tongguan in the west, right?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled:

"It's a little farther, but it's a railroad, my Yong-sama!"

Yonggui didn't refute, just said:

"As long as your army can stop in Shanxi now, we can immediately order the defenders of Qinling and Hanzhong to surrender, saving you half a month's time. …… This half a month's time in exchange for your army to stop in Shanxi immediately is not too much, right? ”

Yonggui's voice settled, and several people on the Ming side's side exchanged glances with each other, which meant that Beiqing finally came up with some dry goods.

A few people on the Ming side's side discussed a few words, and then smiled at Xiaoqiang:

"Adjourn the meeting for the time being, we really haven't thought of this proposal of Lord Yong, Lord Yong can take a rest first, and we will take this proposal to the headquarters for discussion."

Yonggui suddenly felt joy in his heart, but he still stood up quietly and said worriedly:

"Well, please don't delay too long. I'll wait for your results. ”

……

After the adjournment, Yonggui went back to rest, Xiang Xiaoqiang took the negotiation team to a conference room, and first said:

"What do you think?"

Fourteen Gege first said:

"We should delay, drag it out for half an afternoon, and at the same time let the troops in Shanxi step up their advance. When we renegotiate, whether we accept the conditions or not, we will not lose. ”

When she said one sentence, she immediately won the approval of most of the negotiating team.

But Song Ruhai didn't speak. Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that he had a different opinion, so he turned to him and asked:

"What does Hai Gong think? …… It doesn't matter, it's all your own people here, so you don't have to hold back at this time. ”

Song Ruhai said with a smile:

"Since this is the case, the old decay will speak bluntly. The old man has a slightly different view from Her Royal Highness the Princess. The old man thinks we should not delay too long. If the Northern Halal has the sincerity to take advantage in exchange for our cessation, we might as well reply as soon as possible, just to take advantage of this 'cessation' in exchange for more benefits." Northern Shaanxi, Qinling and Hanzhong are already meat in our mouths, and we can't let people use them as bargaining chips. We can make a fair demand: if we are to stop our army in Shanxi, your Qing army will stop building defensive positions in the east. During the negotiations, everyone should stop. ”

Song Ruhai's words immediately won everyone's unanimous approval. Even Fourteen Gege laughed and agreed.

When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard this, he nodded, made up his mind, and asked someone to bring in a phone and call the Purple Mountain Fortress on the mountain.

……

The high-level of the command department was waiting for the conditions of the Qing side to be sent, and at this time, hearing Xiang Xiaoqiang's story, Zhang Zhaoxian pondered for a while and asked:

"Yes, it stands to reason that the condition proposed by the Qing side cannot be said to be unfair. But here's the problem...... Do you think the additional conditions that Lord Song said are appropriate? ”

"Is it appropriate?" Xiang Xiaoqiang was stunned, "Is that the one who made the Central Plains Corps of the Qing Army stop building defensive positions?" Ming Gong means ......"

Zhang Zhaoxian asked rhetorically:

"Yes, what was the purpose of our original decision to implement a long-term stationary front in the east and let the Central Plains Corps of the Qing Army build positions without disturbing them?"

"Ahh Xiang Xiaoqiang suddenly understood, and said, "By the way, it is to let the defensive position bind the Central Plains Corps!" The stronger and more sophisticated the positions built by the Central Plains Corps, the more reluctant they are to leave their garrisons easily, and the less they will pose a threat to the western battlefield......"

张照先 says:

"Yes, stand out, in the first stage of the Jianghuai Campaign, the Qing army suffered the losses of our armored corps, and now they regard the movement war as if they were sent to death, and they are not willing to fight against our army without the protection of a fixed trench position. This is also the reason why our army was able to fight smoothly on the left side of the Central Plains Corps. If they are willing to give up the trenches and dare to come out and fight with us in the field, then our army's back may be greatly threatened when it attacks western Henan and enters the pass. Now our army's supply line to Guanzhong is supported by the railway from Zhengzhou to Nanyang. If the Central Plains Corps suddenly pounced westward at this time, the consequences would be unimaginable. Our Army Group on the Left is now very weak. ”

"I understand," said Xiang Xiaoqiang, "what Ming Gong means, now not only can we not let the Qing army stop digging trenches, but let them dig well, the better their positions are built, the safer our supply line to Guanzhong will be, and the safer our left road will be." ”

Zhang Zhaoxian smiled:

"That's what it means."

The more Xiang Xiaoqiang thought about it, the more reasonable it became, and he said:

"Ming Gong, the student understands, now let's not talk nonsense, since the Qing side is willing to use Qinling and Hanzhong to surrender in exchange for our army to stop in Shanxi, then we can agree first, no matter what, first hold Qinling and Hanzhong in our hands. As for Shanxi, we can stop the army first, and when we get the Qinling Mountains and Hanzhong, whether to continue to march or negotiate on the spot, isn't it all ours? ”

"Hehe, that's what it means."

"That's right," Xiang Xiaoqiang said with a smile, "As long as we take Qinling and Hanzhong immediately, we will also take the other two highway supply routes to Guanzhong in addition to western Henan—Wuguan Road and Dasanguan Road." In that case, even if western Henan became a battlefield again, and the railway line from Zhengzhou to Nanyang was cut off, the Guanzhong army would not immediately lose supplies. ”

"Hehe," Zhang Zhao was stunned for a moment, and then smiled, "The young man has a very high understanding." ”

To be honest, Zhang Zhaoxian didn't think of the latter one he said to Xiaoqiang.

Although Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't know, he was already very proud:

"Haha, Ming Gong has won the award."