On the day that Huang Taiji arrived at Qijiabao, Hong Chengchou used 20,000 cavalry to divide into three roads and attack the Qing army camp in turn. Zu Dashou heard the sound of artillery and shouts of killing in Jinzhou City, and led more than 2,000 infantry to kill the south gate of Jinzhou and flank the Qing army. However, the Qing camp trenches were deep, the bows and arrows were very sharp, and the Ming army was dead and wounded, and they could not advance in hard fighting. Hong Chengchou was worried that the loss of men and horses would be too much, and he would bruise his spirit, so he sounded the gong and withdrew his troops, and Zu Dashou had to retreat into the city. The Qing army did not take the opportunity to counterattack, and held the camp, and only a few rangers spied on the Ming army's camp. Just after the unitary hour, Hong Chengchou was planning a sneak attack on the Qing camp at night, and *** came in to report that tens of thousands of Qing soldiers had cut off the avenue between Songshan and Xingshan, and killed until the seaside. "Presumably Huang Taiji is here, go out and have a look."

Hong Chengchou led *** and Cai Jiuyi to climb to the top of Songshan, but saw the golden top of the palace tent covered with yellow satin, shining in the autumn sun, and there was a nine-long big silk standing high in front of the tent, and from time to time there was "Long live, long live, long live!" The call came, the green umbrella and yellow cover, the iron cavalry guarded, Huang Taiji inspected the battalions under the control of his own soldiers, and everywhere he went, the soldiers cheered. Hong Chengchou secretly praised: "I am afraid that the prosperity of the Eastern Capture Army is only comparable to Genghis Khan's Mongolian iron cavalry!" "Looking back at Jinzhou, there are countless houses and streets in the city. A pagoda stands under the blue sky, with white clouds floating on the top, and it seems that the crisp and melodious tower bell can be faintly heard. The daughter river twists and turns like a belt, like a turn from Songshan and Jinzhou to flow. sighed: "Zu Dashou is really a good general, there is not a single tree in Jinzhou City, it must be difficult to burn firewood, but the Qing soldiers just can't attack it, if you don't break the siege as soon as possible, it's really a shame for him." However, the Qing soldiers set up camp two miles away from the city, dug three trenches outside, surrounded them like iron barrels, and did not know where to take the attack. As he was hesitating, another urgent report came, and thousands of enemy cavalry attacked Beacon Hill on the shore of Tashan Mountain.

"Beacon Hill lost?" Hong Chengchou returned to the camp, looked at the dozen or so soldiers who had fled back from the defeat of Beacon Mountain, he couldn't believe it, and asked: "The Qing army doesn't know how to sneak attack?" ”

"They smuggled up the mountain at night when the tide had not yet receded. Where did the brothers come up with it...... and they were given a fire to the grain and grass. ”

"What do hundreds of thousands of troops eat?" When Hong Chengchou heard the news, he beat his chest and felt remorseful, knowing that the siege of Jinzhou could not be rescued, so he would retreat to Ningyuan first and then make plans, but he must block the news of the robbery of grain and grass, and he ordered: "Keep them in custody and don't be allowed to move around casually." Immediately summoned Zhang Ruoqi, the governor of Liaodong, and Qiu Minyang, the governor of Liaodong, to discuss countermeasures with the eight commanders. Zhang Ruoqi used the excuse that the seaside was in a hurry, and the generals were taken away by the enemy because of the military rations of Bijia Mountain, the avenue between Song and Xing was cut off by the enemy, and Gaoqiao Town was also occupied by the enemy. Hong Chengchou was worried that Zhang Ruoqi would secretly play his labor's salary, and sent someone Pegasus to ask for advice, and an hour later, he got Zhang Ruoqi's reply, saying that the general towns had a proposal to return to Ningyuan to support grain and fight again, which seemed to be permissible, and the adults could consider it. Hong Chengchou saw that the generals were full of gloom, and said with relief: "The army is surrounded and not afraid, our men and horses are similar to the Qing soldiers, and there are red-clothed cannons, and the firearms held by the soldiers are also stronger than the bows and arrows of the Qing army. ”

Cao Bianjiao asked, "Dashuai, how long can the grain and grass last?" ”

"Ten days."

"There will never be ten days of bread and grass."

"Three days left."

Cao Bianjiao was angry and said: "Now that the matter is over, why deceive me again!" ”

Hong Chengchou's face was hot, and he said abruptly: "The matter of grain and grass is related to the morale of the army and is extremely important. There was only one day's food left in the army, so I asked everyone to work together to make a big plan. Don't leak it! ”

Wang Tingchen said: "Just now, our army was blocked many times, and when I saw the Qing army burning grain and grass, the army's morale was already a little unstable. ”

Hong Chengchou nodded and said: "The food is all surrounded, the situation is critical, and it cannot be delayed any longer." The Art of War: Death and Resurrection. I should tell the soldiers, there is no need to hide it, war is death, and not fighting is death. If you break the kettle and fight to the death, you may be able to escape death. ”

Liaodong General Soldier Zu Dashou is Wu Sangui's maternal uncle, he sighed: "Jinzhou has been besieged for many days, originally held on to help, if the army retreats to Ningyuan, the soldiers and civilians in the city are bound to despair, Jinzhou is afraid that it will be difficult to protect." ”

Hong Chengchou suddenly felt guilty, and prevaricated: "The siege of Jinzhou must be solved in the end, first go back to Ningyuan to get grain and grass, and then try to cheer up." ”

Wu Sangui sneered: "Retreating to Ningyuan, it is in Huang Taiji's expectation that the Qing army will definitely lay heavy troops in the south, waiting for our army to throw itself into the net!" ”

Hong Chengchou hesitated: "In the general's opinion, how to advance and retreat?" ”

"In the foolish opinion of the last general, he can attack the Qing army in the south, pretend to kill back to Ningyuan, and then wave his army to the north to join the defenders of Jinzhou."

When everyone heard this, they shook their heads, and Wang Pu shouted: "General Wu, how can you save the old lady and let us also accompany our lives!" ”

"Ignorant puppeteer!" Wu Sangui was furious and wanted to step forward to fight Wang Pu, but was stopped by Hong Chengchou and stood aside, indignant. Hong Chengchou said to the generals: "General Wu may not have any selfish intentions, he means to use the city of Jinzhou to hold on, such as Yuan Chonghuan relied on a lonely city in Ningyuan to defeat Nurhachi and Huang Taiji in a row. But this method is a bit of a fluke, and you can't learn from him. Jinzhou has been besieged for nearly a year, and there will be no surplus of grain and grass, how can it support 130,000 horses? It was extremely difficult to eat and live, and the harsh winter outside the customs was not comparable to that of Jiangnan, and the army slept on the streets, with nowhere to heat up, and did not need to attack the city with Qing troops, and had already died of cold. Donglu also has Hongyi cannons, which is not the same as the battle of Ningyuan that year, and it is difficult to hold on. Breaking through to the north, the Qing army will definitely follow behind, and the lone army will go deep, if it cannot meet with the defenders of Jinzhou, and be divided and surrounded by the Qing army, the consequences will be unimaginable. ”

Wu Sangui was secretly discouraged and silent. Qiu Minyang sighed and said, "It's not a way to defend Songshan to the death. The east side of Songshan Fort is surrounded by mountains, which is not as strong as Ningyuan, and now the Qing soldiers also have Hongyi cannons, if they attack the city according to the mountain, the city will be full of powder. The crowd listened with horror and whispered from time to time.

Hong Chengchou got up and said: "What Qiu Futai said is true, Songshan City cannot be relied on. In the long run, there is only one way back to Ningyuan, which can not only have no worries, but also make plans for a comeback, and will not disappoint the emperor's grace. He glanced at the generals and said in a solemn voice: "Serving the court is at this time." The army is running out of food, is besieged, and the situation is critical, so you should tell your officials and fight hard to kill the enemy. Today, the two armies fought all day, and the Qing army was tired. Taking advantage of this opportunity, it is just right to break through the camp tonight, and you can also avoid being blocked by the bows and arrows of the Qing army. The marshal personally held the drum, supervised and led the whole army, broke the cauldron and sunk the boat, all in a battle! What do you think? ”

The people knew that there was no better way, so they agreed to do it. Hong Chengchou ordered Wang Pu and Tang Tong to be the first team, Bai Guangen and Wang Tingchen to be the second team, Ma Ke and Yang Guozhu to be the third team, and Cao Bianjiao and Wu Sangui to be the fourth team. At dawn, they rushed to kill together, fought and left, and retreated to Ningyuan.

At the third watch, the night was dark and silent. After the generals resigned, Hong Chengchou left Qiu Minyang and a few staff members to continue to discuss how to deal with the situation in the event of a change. Hong Chengchou was shocked, jumped up, and asked outside the curtain, "What's wrong?" Check it out! ”

Cai Jiuyi was about to fly out, and the deputy general of the Chinese army hurriedly entered the account, and said with a panicked expression: "Big, handsome, no, it's not good, get on the horse and go!" ”

Hong Chengchou tried his best to calm down and asked sharply, "What's the matter?" Say it! ”

Wang Pu was greedy for life and afraid of death, so when he returned to the camp, he led the men and horses of his headquarters to flee to the southwest. Now the battalions are terrified and collapsed, and the standard battalions are also fluctuating. The situation is extremely critical, please hurry up and get on the horse, just in case. ”

"Damn it! Damn it! Hong Chengchou paused and said: "Quickly pass the order, all battalions and horses stick to the camp, do not panic, and those below the general army who dare to abandon the village and flee will be killed!" ”

"Obey!" Turning around and leaving, Cao Bianjiao rode over with a group of personal soldiers, flew down in front of the tent and dismounted, and hurriedly said: "The Qing soldiers will definitely take the opportunity to attack, please move out of the camp immediately!" ”

When Hong Chengchou saw Cao Bianjiao, he felt a lot more relieved and asked, "How many battalions have you not been impulsive?" ”

Cao Bianjiao replied: "The three camps of the humble post and Wang Tingchen and Bai Guangen have not moved. The rest of the towns are in chaos and the situation is unclear. ”

"How is Wu Sangui's first battalion?"

"The men in the camp shouted and neighed, and it was very noisy."

Hong Chengchou was very anxious, and *** ran back to report: "Yang Guozhu's soldiers and horses impulsed Wu Ying, and Wu Zongzhen was surrounded by the left and right generals on his horse, and he also fled to the southwest. ”

"The general trend is gone!" Hong Chengchou was indignant, and his heart was sad, Wu Sangui's battalion was all elite, and he hurt the vitality of the army as soon as he fled. was hesitating and remorseful, and the Qing military camp sounded the sound of war drums and horns, blowing together. Cao Bianjiao urged: "Please move the camp quickly!" ”

Hong Chengchou shook his head and said: "If I move one step further, the soldiers will be even more panicked, crowding and trampling on each other, and they will be defeated without the need to attack with clear troops." Then he said: "There is no battle today, Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu fled first, affecting the whole army, which is beyond my expectations." General Cao, you have been with me for many years, if it is unfavorable, you should die for the feudal territory, and you must not escape with your life! ”

"Your Excellency, rest assured, you will never disappoint the court!"

Hong Chengchou's face was heavy, and he ordered: "Order the soldiers of each battalion to strictly guard the barracks, clear the troops to attack, and they are not allowed to go out of the village to fight, but only to shoot with firearms and crossbows." Lose the camp, listen to the general soldiers above, and behead the general soldiers below! Then he stroked Cao Bianjiao's arm and said, "The Qing soldiers are near, go back to the camp quickly!" ”

The three battalions of Wang Pu, Yang Guozhu, and Wu Sangui abandoned the village, and the Ming army camp became a vanguard camp, without any shelter, and the Qing soldiers rushed to the trench outside the camp without any hindrance. Seeing the brilliant lights in the village, Dolgon was silent, thinking that it was an empty camp, and was afraid of being ambushed, but thinking that the Great Khan Emperor Taiji had already gone to the army to supervise the battle, and wanted to establish meritorious deeds in front of the Great Khan, he did not dare to return to the army easily, so he urgently ordered the large group of men and horses to stop outside the trench, and only sent 500 infantry to climb through the trench. As soon as the infantry crossed the trench, the war drums in the Ming camp suddenly sounded, the sound of killing was everywhere, the artillery fire was like meteors, and the bows and crossbows were like a torrential rain, and they were fired in one volley. The Qing soldiers could not retreat and fell one after another. Seeing that many of the soldiers were injured, Dolgon was worried that he would be punished by the Great Khan when he returned, so he ignored the strict guard of the Ming army, waved the command flag, and urged the infantry to attack in three ways. After the rain of arrows, the cavalry shouted and charged, and in an instant, thousands of horses galloped, trampling the sand and dust, the Ming army could not resist, Hong Chengchou and Qiu Minyang ran to the edge of the village together, and personally supervised the battle. The soldiers on the left and right kept being hit by arrows and fell to the ground, *** reached out to pull him to avoid the arrow, Hong Chengchou shouted: "Let go!" Ran to the cannon, brandished Shang Fang's sword, and shouted: "Hurry up and set fire to the cannon!" Cai Jiuyi dodged in front of him and flicked the arrows. Seeing that he was calm and unflustered, everyone gradually calmed down, and the gunners fired several cannons at the gathering place of the Qing soldiers, the smoke of gunpowder was filled, the sound of artillery was earth-shattering, and the Qing soldiers were killed and wounded a large number of them, and they retreated. At this time, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen each sent archers and gunners to assist the battalion, and Dolgon had no choice but to withdraw his troops.

Everyone cheered together to repel the Qing soldiers, and a guerrilla Pegasus reported that the two battalions of Ma Ke and Tang Tong had also retreated to the southwest. Hong Chengchou was speechless for a long time, his face was pale, and he ordered the remaining three battalions to retreat to Songshan Fort in a hoarse voice. The three battalions of Biaoying and Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and Bai Guangen retreated to Songshan Fort, the sky was bright, and the Ming army did not have time to have breakfast, so they set up ten camps, rushed to build fortresses and forts, dug deep trenches, and inspected less than 40,000 men and horses, and sent rangers to spy on the enemy's situation. At noon, several rangers came back one after another, the five battalions of men and horses who retreated last night were intercepted by Duoduo in Gaoqiao and Sangar Zhaibao, Huang Taiji personally led the army to run for a long distance, chased and killed all the way, casualties of nearly half, and the remaining 30,000 or 40,000 horses have retreated to camp outside Xingshanzhai. The Qing soldiers and iron cavalry captured Mamatou Mountain, cutting off the coast from Songshan, and the sea route was blocked. Hong Chengchou had no intention of probing Zhang Ruoqi's life and death, and was anxious to lead the army back to Ningyuan. I remembered that a few months ago, when I went out of the customs, I commanded eight general soldiers and 130,000 horses, mighty and mighty, the light of the armor reflected the sun and the moon, and the murderous spirit rushed to the sky, how mighty! Now he was defeated and fled, retreated to the lonely city, and sighed secretly, but he didn't dare to reveal his true feelings.

Huang Taiji and Duoduo defeated the Ming army in Xingshan, and immediately returned to Masong Mountain, besieging a city that was impassable. Hong Chengchou saw that the soldiers were pressing, so he had to retreat into the city, defend carefully, the Qing army could not overcome it repeatedly, Huang Taiji was very impatient in his heart, and it had been more than a year since he sent troops, and the four cities of Jinzhou, Songshan, Xingshan, and Tashan had not been conquered. He asked Fan Wencheng anxiously: "I have led my troops to besiege the city for several months, Songshan City is still difficult to capture, and our army has been fighting for more than a year, so we can't delay it for too long, can Fan Zhangjing have a good plan?" ”

Fan Wencheng replied: "The minister knows that His Majesty has long had the intention of surrendering Hong Chengchou, and now that Songshan City is under siege, it is overwhelming, so he can besiege and slow down the attack, write more letters of persuasion, know the benefits, shoot into the city, be shocked, look at his ambition, and then make plans." Huang Taiji ordered to follow the plan, and the sergeant shot the letter of persuasion into the city. Not long after, an arrow was also shot in the city, the soldier reported to Huang Taiji, Huang Taiji took a look, a broken arrow was tied to a letter, written on more than a dozen big characters "The city can be broken, the head can be broken, but the Ming Dynasty can not be lowered!" Hong's face is grassy, the pen is thick and the ink is heavy, hearty, and the words are still dry.

Huang Taiji's face was heavy, and he said to Fan Wencheng abruptly: "Hong Chengchou broke his arrow and Mingzhi, and he didn't seem to have any intention of surrendering. ”

The two of them had nothing to do, wandering around the tent, and one dismounted in front of the tent, and said, "Is Your Majesty still worried about the siege?" ”

Huang Taiji looked up and saw that it was his nephew Li Yongfang, and asked, "How do you know that I want to attack the city?" ”

Li Yongfang said: "In Songshan City, there is an old friend Xia Chengde, who is the guard general of Songshan Fort, and is currently the deputy general, with two or three thousand men under him. The minister wants to promise a high-ranking official to lure him to sacrifice the city, and the inside should be combined with the outside, so why worry that the city will not be broken? He was originally a Fushun guerrilla, returned to obedience in the third year of the Mandate of Heaven, married the eldest daughter of Nurhachi's seventh son Abatai, and lived in Shengjing for more than 20 years, but there are still many old people in the Ming army.

Huang Taiji said with a smile: "If Songshan City can be broken, the hearts of the people of Jinzhou will inevitably be in turmoil, and the soldiers will not have the fighting spirit and will not attack." You said to Xia Chengde, if you can dedicate the city, I will reward him for the post of chief soldier. ”

Li Yongfang asked: "It's just how to blend into the city, the minister has not been able to think of a way?" ”

"It's not difficult to enter the city, but how dare you do it?" Fan Wencheng smiled.

Li Yongfang patted his chest and said, "We are not afraid of entering the city, we are afraid of not being able to enter the city." If you can enter the city, you will see great success. ”

"It's not difficult, it's not difficult!" Fan Wencheng said unhurriedly: "As long as Your Majesty gives an order, the city gate will naturally open." ”

Huang Taiji was puzzled: "What kind of order, how could the Ming army listen to me?" ”

"Songshan grain and grass have been exhausted, the Ming army will not sit still, it is necessary to wait for the opportunity to break through, but it is only afraid of the encirclement on all sides, there is no gap to drill, so it has to be closed. Your Majesty can order our army to pretend to fight, open the net, make it think that the reinforcements have arrived, open the city to respond, and then ambush it, and the Ming army will be defeated and return to the city. Li Eyu changed his clothes, took the opportunity to blend in with the defeated soldiers, and entered the city with him. Can the forehead have this guts? ”

"If you can succeed, you will get half of the gentleman!" Li Yongfang was extremely impressed and gave gifts again and again.

At the fourth watch, Hong Chengchou heard the news that the Qing army in the west of the city was killing behind the scenes, and the siege had been loosened, so he gathered Qiu Minyang and the three general soldiers to discuss. Cao Bianjiao asked Kaicheng to kill, Hong Chengchou hesitated and stopped: "All the people have been defeated, and they are still too busy to take care of themselves, who will come to the rescue?" I'm afraid that the Qing army lured me out of the city, and I must not fall for the plan to divert the tiger from the mountain, or it is important to stick to the city. ”

Cao Bianjiao insisted on asking: "The grain and grass in the city have been exhausted, and it is a dead end to be trapped, and there may be a glimmer of life when you break through the city." The last general is willing to take the people of the headquarters to try it and ask for the marshal's permission. ”

Hong Chengchou had no other plan, and he was afraid of death to stop him, Cao Bianjiao was resentful, and he became chaotic, and sighed: "If the general encounters an ambush here, turn back immediately, and don't fall in love with war." ”

Cao Bianjiao was ordered to go out of the city, not far away, and sure enough, he encountered an ambush, and the Ming army saw that the Qing soldiers had already prepared, and hurriedly returned to the city. Li Yongfang blended into the Ming army and entered the city with him.

After two days, nearly three watches at night, Li Yongfang took a person to go down the city with a rope, returned to the imperial tent of Huang Taiji, and reported that Xia Chengde was willing to surrender, and when he took turns guarding the city tomorrow night, he would open and close the city, but he was afraid that he would not be able to win the trust, so he asked his son Xia Shu to come with him, thinking that he was a hostage. The emperor was overjoyed, set up a banquet to entertain the two of them, and gathered early tomorrow morning to deploy to seize the city.

At night the next day, Huang Taiji personally led the heavy troops to the west city, Xia Chengde was already waiting in the city, saw that the Qing soldiers arrived, ordered his subordinates to open the city gate, the Qing soldiers poured in, and occupied the west gate in an instant. Hong Chengchou was eating, and several defeated soldiers in Xicheng came to report that the deputy general Xia Chengde had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and the Qing army had entered the city. Hong Chengchou hurriedly ordered Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen to lead troops to resist, and he went on his horse to supervise the battle, but before he left the gate, the sergeant came to report again: "General Wang fought hard and was captured with all his strength. Hong Chengchou was surprised, Qiu Min stumbled over, saw Hong Chengchou and cried: "The city gate is occupied by the Qing soldiers, Songshan Fort is afraid that it will not be able to be saved, Cao Bianjiao was besieged by the Qing army to save me, how is it good?" ”

Hong Chengchou saw that the general trend had gone, and said to Qiu Minyang: "Brother Changbai, you and I are in Confucianism, a scribe, without the power to restrain the chicken, facing the army of Qing soldiers and tigers and wolves, it is difficult to resist, and there is only one death to serve the country." The two of them turned back to the Shuaifu together, Hong Chengchou put on the incense case, faced the south, knelt on the ground and cried, weeping, and said sadly: "Your Majesty, the minister has a heavy trust, so that the loss of the army is broken, and the military prestige is humiliated, and the only death is repaid, and the minister can no longer serve His Majesty." The emperor's grace is vast, and the ministers hate themselves and are stupid, and they can't repay the situation. Now the minister is under siege, and it is not a pity to die, but it is a pity that the great rivers and mountains of my Ming Dynasty have fallen into the hands of foreign races, and it is difficult to thank the world even if the minister dies. Then he kowtowed again and again.

Qiu Minyang also burst into tears, wept heartbroken, and dissuaded: "It's all caused by the bewitchment of the villains around the emperor, and the blame is not on the big handsome." The country is in an eventful autumn, and the world's great hope is tied to the handsome, if the handsome man takes righteousness by suicide, who will assist the emperor to clarify the world and sweep away the border troubles! The handsome man still has to think of the common people in the world, endure humiliation, and try to recover. ”

Hong Chengchou sighed and said helplessly: "It's difficult to get out now, it's not easy to recover!" I, Hong, was born as a native of the Ming Dynasty and died as a ghost of the Ming Dynasty, serving the country loyally, and just dying. I wanted to work together with you to hold the city, and as soon as the reinforcements arrived, there might be a time to see the light of day again, but I am afraid that the current situation will not be possible. ”

Qiu Minyang also said: "Since being besieged, I have only been waiting to die. The dignified minister of the Ming Dynasty has no reason to steal his life. The lowly will meet with the governor in the underground, and be the soul of the Ming Dynasty! ”

"My generation has read the books of sages since childhood, and it is within my duty to promise the country with my body and become a benevolent person." Hong Chengchou's expression was awe-inspiring.

The two of them finished crying, untied the big belt in their waists, hung it on the beam, and just climbed over the footstool, ***, Cai Jiuyi broke in, waved a knife to cut the belt, and urged: "We will protect the adults out of the city!" ”

Hong Chengchou shrugged his eyebrows and shouted: "Leave me alone, if you can escape, you don't want to die with me." ”