CHAPTER XV

When the two governors, Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue, were urged by Governor Chongzhen to march to Runing Prefecture, Hong Chengchou was also urged to march to Jinzhou. The combat operations of the two armies outside the pass and inside the pass were firmly under the control of the emperor who lived in the Forbidden City, and Hong Chengchou was more passive than Fu Zonglong and others, and he had no choice but to put the army that rescued Jinzhou into battle.

But it is said that at the end of July, in the wilderness outside Ningyuan City and on the continuous hills, the grass and trees have begun to turn yellow. Autumn here is already earlier than in Kannai, and this year's summer drought has affected agriculture, and the countryside is desolate, and the large armies from all over the world have eaten up the grass near the official road, making the autumn color earlier than usual.

One afternoon, at the end of Shen and the beginning of the month, the cool breeze on the seaside is gusting, which is quite the taste of late autumn inside. Although there are only three or four winds, the wind and waves on the sea are very strong. As far as the eye can see, bursts of autumn wind, bursts of waves, with white tips, keep rushing towards the coast, impacting the beach, reefs, and also surging to Juehua Island, slapping the shore of Juehua Island, splashing dazzling silver flowers. At this time, most of the grain ships and fishing boats leaned against the bay on the edge of Juehua Island to avoid the wind and waves, but there were also some large boats, loaded with grain and full of white sails, and continued to sail north. These large ships circled Kyaw Wah Island in a convoy and headed towards Tower Hill and Gaoqiao, some of which were already leaning on the shore of Beacon Hill and were unloading their food.

From the seaside to Ningyuan City, every short distance, there is a place to store military rations, surrounded by earthen villages, arrow towers, pillboxes, there are many Ming troops stationed, flags fluttering in the wind.

Hong Chengchou took a group of generals, staff and soldiers to the sea, and was looking back at Juehua Island and the sea. They had gone to Kyaw Hwa Island in the morning, had just returned by boat, and were going to ride back to the city. Because of the steep wind and waves, I was worried that the grain ship would be lost, so I immediately reviewed. After looking at it for a while, he said with emotion:

"It is not easy for the country to raise military rations, and it is not easy to transport them by sea. Now the wind is quite normal, and the sea is already rough. It is not surprising that grain ships are often sunken in the Bohai Sea. ”

A middle-aged civil official, riding a horse, stood beside him. He was Zhang Ruoqi, the chief military officer and the military department official sent by the imperial court for a short time. After listening to Hong Chengchou's words, he quickly continued:

"That's true. It is precisely because the military rations are not easy to come by that the emperor is anxious to relieve the siege of Jinzhou, so as not to be paid by the laborers. ”

Liu Zizheng, the alternate Taoist title and Xingyuan Praise Painting, immediately listened to Zhang Ruoqi's words and sneered slightly. was about to speak, but when he saw Hong Chengchou winkling, he had to hold back. Hong Chengchou shouted:

"General Wu!"

"Beizhen is here!" A chief military officer, who was only in his early thirties, replied on his horse, and hurried forward.

Hong Chengchou waited for Wu Sangui to come closer, and then said to him with a gentle attitude: "This Juehua Island and outside Ningyuan City are the important places where the national army is concentrated, and the lifeblood of the army is located, so there can be no negligence. The day after tomorrow, the general will go to Songshan, hoping that within tomorrow day, how to strengthen the defense of Ningyuan and Juehua Island will be properly arranged, so as to be prepared. In some places, forts and arrow towers should be repaired, and in other places, troops should be increased. As long as Ningyuan and Juehua Island are impregnable, our army will have no worries and can boldly maneuver with the enemy outside Jinzhou City. ”

"Beizhen must follow the instructions of the adults, and will never dare to be negligent, please rest assured."

Hong Chengchou looked at him and nodded with a smile, and said, "General Yuesuo, if all the town generals do their duties like generals, why worry about the imperial court!" ”

"Adults have won awards, and I dare not be ashamed."

In Hong Chengchou's eyes, Wu Sangui is one of the more important of the eight general soldiers. He understood that Wu Sangui was a native of Guanwai, and many people in his family and relatives were famous military generals outside Guanwai. If he can serve the court loyally, there are many generals who can follow him to serve the court; If he is unwilling to do his best, other generals will naturally slack off. What's more, he is the nephew of Zu Dashou who is trapped in Jinzhou, and the ancestral family not only has a group of important generals in Jinzhou City, but also has a very strong foundation in Ningyuan City. Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou intended to win over him, so he asked:

"How is Lord Ling Zun doing lately? Do you always have books? ”

Wu Sangui immediately bowed and said, "Lord Xie." Recently, the emperor of Hemeng has been gracious, and he has to be able to live in Beijing and travel in the forest. Although it is close to the age of sixtieth, it is still called Jianwang. Yesterday, there was a letter, only saying that it was important to rescue Jinzhou, and the emperor was not relieved about this matter, and when he was in the court, he often asked about the military situation outside the Guan, and he couldn't help but sigh. ”

Hong Chengchou's heart was heavy, but he didn't show his face, and asked with a smile: "What news is there in Jingshishang?" ”

He also mentioned the loss of Luoyang and Xiangyang, as well as the suicide of Yang Wulingsha City, which made the emperor moody for a month or two, and the ministers were afraid when they went to court, but they have gradually improved recently. This situation has long been known to adults, and it is not news. ”

Hong Chengchou nodded and rode back to the city. He had just walked less than two miles, when he suddenly stopped on the side of the road, looked at a beach full of reeds three miles away on the right, pointed at it with a whip, and said to Wu Sangui:

"General Yuesuo, please send someone to burn that reed, don't be careless."

"Yes, my lord, I'll order someone to burn it now."

When Wu Sangui ordered a primary school to take people to burn the reed beach, Hong Chengchou waited on the horse. Zhang Ruoqi, the superintendent, smiled at Hong Chengchou and said:

"The Lord of Taiwan has been in the army for a long time, so he is naturally cautious everywhere, but from the humble point of view, this place is still far from Jinzhou, and there will be no enemy horsemen coming; There was no food near this beach, and even if he did, he would not go to the reed beach. ”

Hong Chengchou said: "We must be careful about the affairs of the war, one is to beware of the meticulous work to come to burn grain, and the other is to beware of any changes in the war. On weekdays, it is still necessary to talk about safety and not forget danger, not to mention that there is no word for safety today. ”

After the smoke of the fire in several places on the reed beach, Hong Chengchou took a group of people into the city. When he was about to enter the city gate, Wu Sangui said to Liu Zizheng:

"Zhengweng, please come to the humble house, are you willing to appreciate the light?"

Liu Zizheng smiled and said: "The master of Taiwan originally ordered the students to go to Guiyuan tonight to pay respects and talk to the general about how to march into Songshan tomorrow. After dinner, how about the students? ”

Wu Sangui said with a smile: "Why wait for the glow after dinner, can't the cold house even entertain vegetables, water and wine?" ”

Zhang Ruoqi had already accepted Wu Sangui's invitation, and immediately turned around and said: "The old man doesn't have to shirk, we all go to General Wu's mansion to disturb, please don't live up to General Wu's elegance and hospitality." Taking this opportunity, you and I have a long talk, worship Mingjiao, fortunately! ”

Liu Zizheng knew that Wu Sangui was a hospitable person, and he could see that he was quite sincere, and at the same time, he also heard that Zhang Ruoqi intended to talk to him about his views on fighting the enemy. He hated this young, impetuous, and overjoyed man. With a complicated feeling, he hesitated for a moment, and then asked one of Hong Chengchou's aides to tell the station that he was going to the Wu Mansion for dinner and could not accompany him in Xingyuan.

Although Wu Sangui's study is relatively spacious, it is the style of a military general: the carved beams and dazzling furnishings make people feel more luxurious and less elegant. There are also pianos and swords in the study, but at a glance they are pretending to be elegant. As decoration, there are also two shelves of nondescript books, some of which are covered with dust and apparently have not been turned over for a long time. There are also a lot of antiques on the shelves, and when I look at them with Liu Zizheng's eyes, I know that most of them are fakes, and some things are very vulgar, and only a few are real. However, there is a crystal mountain, which contains a water urch, which is crystal flowing. Such a crystal mountain, water urchs are naturally generated, and it is not easy to obtain. There are several hoop chairs covered with tiger skins. Several calligraphy and paintings of celebrities are hung on the wall, with paintings of Tang Yin and Wang Mian, and Dong Qichang's characters. At that time, Dong Qichang's words were the most popular, but Liu Zizheng saw it and felt that it didn't seem to be Dong Qichang's authentic handwriting. There is a couplet, which was written by one of Wu Sangui's aides:

Leave a sword shadow in front of the flowers in the deep courtyard

The sound of scattered books under the lamp in the secluded room

Just looking at the couplet, Ma Shaoyu arrived. It was Wu Sangui who specially invited him to dinner.

Ma Shaoyu was originally a chief officer in the Yamen of the Ministry of War, and he and Zhang Ruoqi were in the same office as the Qing Officials Division. Although Zhang Ruoqi is the official in charge and Ma Shaoyu is his subordinate, the two of them have a close relationship and can talk about everything. Since Zhang Ruoqi was appointed to supervise the army, he recommended Ma Shaoyu to also come to the army, in order to discuss things together, and to allow Ma Shaoyu to take the opportunity to make a little military merit and get a shortcut to promotion. Ma Shaoyu didn't know anything about car warfare, but because Zhang Ruoqi sponsored him, he said that he could coach military vehicles, and he got the emperor's permission to come to Guanwai with him to praise military affairs. He doesn't do anything now, he lives in Ningyuan City, and only waits for Jinzhou to break the siege, and he will be awarded a meritorious award for his military exploits.

At that moment, he exchanged a few words with everyone, and the topic turned to the couplet. Zhang Ruoqi praised the stability and elegance of this couplet. Ma Shaoyu echoed and praised more than once. They were all from Jinshi and were Chinese officials in the court, and in the eyes of Wu Sangui and his staff and Qing Ke, they spoke more vigorously. Wu Sangui was happy in his heart and couldn't help laughing. One of the staff members said:

This couplet is just a portrayal of our town. Lord Zhentai is not only good at sword dancing, but also likes to read, so this couplet is very appropriate. ”

Wu Sangui said: "It's a pity that the mounting is not good. The next time someone enters Beijing, they should send it to the framing alley Moyuanzhai Tangjia framing shop to re-mount it. ”

So some people suggested that it was best to send it to the Hu family's mounting shop, saying that although the Tang family mounting shop was an ancestral heirloom, it had a false reputation recently, and the mounting work was actually inferior to the Hu family. Wu Sangui nodded in agreement. At this time, he suddenly found that Liu Zizheng had been smiling without saying a word, as if he did not praise it in his heart. Feeling a little strange, he asked:

"Zheng Weng was originally from the Fang family, please see how this couplet is?"

Liu Zizheng said: "In modern times, calligraphers are mostly influenced by Dong Wenmin's style, and they can't find their own way. Although this gentleman's calligraphy is also derived from the Dong character, he has broken the barriers and sought the law from the Tang people, which is quite Li Beihai's flavor. So in terms of calligraphy alone, it is also considered a good quality. It's a pity that there is a lack of sustenance in the couplet, and there is also a lack of vigor. The military gate is the tiger general outside the gate today, and the country is the dry city. Although this couplet is a step higher than the work of Yinfeng and the Moon, it is a pity that the text is not martial, elegant but not majestic. ”

Wu Sangui was unhappy in his heart, and reluctantly laughed. Whenever he meets a civil official, he must ask to write a screen. Paper and ink have been prepared for Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu today. Now seeing that Liu Zizheng thinks highly of himself, he first asked Liu to write a sub-couplet, intending to put him in the army, so that he would not praise and disparage him at will. Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu urged on the side, the purpose was to see Liu's jokes. Zhang Ruoqi said in his heart:

"An old man from the army, he was just a showman before joining the army, he was respected by the governor, he didn't know how to restrain himself, and he wanted to show his edge everywhere, which was too self-conscious!"

Liu Zizheng could see that everyone wanted to see his jokes, especially Zhang Ruoqi's expression, which made him extremely disgusted. He was confident, and deliberately made Zhang Ruoqi dare not despise him in this small matter. So he shook his head, smiled faintly, and expressed his resignation, saying that he was a young man in the army, did not read much, and did not have a good degree, so he didn't dare to show his ugliness, and he smiled generously. Wu Sangui said: "Please write a copy casually and leave the ink treasure to make the burrow shine, and it will not live up to the good experience of this life." ”

Zhang Ruoqi also said with irony: "The political elder is rich in strategy and strategic, and he is idle in military books, which shows that he has a deep education, why be humble!" ”

Liu Zizheng had no choice but to smile again and said: "Since I can't get it, I have to reluctantly offer ugliness." Then he pondered for a while, and wrote a couplet with a pen, the words were as big as a bowl, and the iron painting was a silver hook, which was strong and powerful, and very chic, without the slightest cheesiness. One of the staff members shook his head and said:

I often think about the stormy sea

I want to repay the king's holy affection

Wu Sangui applauded, and all the staff members also applauded. Zhang Ruoqi was secretly surprised in his heart, and he didn't dare to despise Liu Zizheng's non-science background.

Wu Sangui asked Zhang Ruoqi to write a subcouplet. Zhang Zizhi couldn't think of such a natural, appropriate, stable, and well-meaning couplet for a while, so he had to write a couplet praising the predecessors of the military generals, perfunctory in the past. Ma Shaoyu insisted on not writing, and Wu Sangui was not reluctant.

Wu Sangui asked Liu Zizheng: "What is the edict of the Lord of Taiwan?" ”

"It's about military aircraft."

When everyone heard this, they automatically withdrew.

Zhang Ruoqi asked: "Do I want to quit with Ma Zheng?" ”

Liu Zizheng said: "My lord is the minister of the Qin faction to supervise the army, and the head of Ma praises the military affairs, so naturally there is no reason to avoid it. He turned his eyes to look at Wu Sangui, and then said: "The master of Taiwan ordered the students to say two things to the military gate: first, the military gate must leave a cautious and capable general to protect the grain and grass; The second is to ask the military to advise Mrs. Zuo not to go with the army to save Jinzhou. ”

Wu Sangui said: "My aunt must go, and I can't dissuade it. The day before yesterday, when I said a few more words, she scolded me bitterly, saying that I did not miss the urgent needs of the country or the difficulties of my uncle. ”

When everyone talks about Mrs. Zuo, they all think that she is a great figure among women. Although she does not lead troops to fight, she is skillful in archery and horses, has a bold temperament, and is quite manly. A few years ago, she knew that Zu Dashou was captured in the battle of the Daling River, surrendered to Manchuria, and was released back to Jinzhou by Huang Taiji. Zu Dashou pretended to break through and fled back, promising to dedicate Jinzhou to the Qing Dynasty. Mrs. Zuo resolutely opposed surrender and persuaded Zu Dashou to say: "Since you have returned, the surrender can be stopped." We defend Jinzhou, you yourself apologize to the court, how you were defeated and captured, had to surrender to Jianjiao, earn back your life, and still serve the country loyally. It is a matter of a thousand years of fame, and you must not turn your back on the Lord and surrender to the enemy! Later, Zu Dashou really listened to her words and passed the capture through the emperor. Chongzhen specially forgave his sins and still asked him to be stationed in Jinzhou. Almost everyone in Liaodong knows about this, so everyone talks about Mrs. Zuo with some respect. Zhang Ruoqi and Liu Zizheng have often seen Mrs. Zuo from afar since they arrived in Ningyuan City, although they are over fifty years old, they can drive a strong bow, ride a fierce horse, lead servants and maids every day, go out of the city to practice riding and archery, and also know that she has raised two or three hundred family members at home, becoming a dead soldier, and strong in martial arts.

Zhang Ruoqi agreed with Mrs. Zuo to go, believing that Aiding Jin would be victorious, and there was no obstacle to going. Liu Zizheng shook his head and disagreed, thinking that the victory or defeat of Aiding Jin was still unclear, and there were many difficulties ahead, so there was no need to let Mrs. Zuo take such a risk. Zhang Ruoqi said:

"The political elder is too worried. This time we used our troops differently than we used to do in the past. Governor Hong has been in the military for a long time, and he is not comparable to ordinary ministers in fighting with troops. The other eight general officers are all experienced in battle and have made outstanding achievements. More than 100,000 horses have already been gearing up for a battle. Solving the siege of Jinzhou does not seem to be as difficult as the political elders think. Once the army has passed Songshan, Jianyu will see that my troops are very strong, and they will retreat. If we do not retreat, we will be attacked from inside and outside, and our army will win. ”

Liu Zizheng smiled coldly and said: "Since the end of Wanli, several times I have used troops, but I thought that I would win at first, and finally ended in failure. Although Jianyu is a new Yidi, please don't despise it in the war. The ancients said: Know yourself and know your opponent, and win all battles; If you don't know yourself or your opponent, you will lose every battle. Today, we need to be cautious about anticipating the enemy, seeking first to be undefeated and then to win. Our army is not invincible, but victory must come from prudence and difficulty. ”

Zhang Ruoqi tried to subdue Liu Zizheng, so he said: "At present, the emperor is urging the war very urgently, and we can only advance, not retreat; You can only win, not lose. As long as the officers and men of our army are united in their hearts and minds and have the courage to kill the enemy, they will inevitably win the battle. How can you not be afraid of the enemy before you are in the face of the enemy? Political elders, our generation eats the king's lu, and when you are in the army, you must understand the emperor's painstaking efforts to urge the war. ”

Liu Zizheng immediately pushed back: "Although the emperor is urging the war, victory or defeat is related to the safety of the country, how can you make a desperate bet!" ”

"Morale is very high at the moment, and there are often small victories."

"Morale is very high, but it is also in vain. Did Master Zhang go to the battalions to take a closer look and talk to the soldiers in person? As for the so-called small victory, it is just a small encounter between the two sides, which kills each other and has nothing to do with the overall situation. A few captives are captured today, and a few more are captured tomorrow, which is not a real war. A real war is a battle between both sides and a decisive victory, which is not yet possible at all. If you only see the occasional small victory, only see how many people are caught and how many people are killed, and do not focus on the fundamentals, it is easy to be fooled. ”

Wu Sangui looked at the two of them, you said a word, I said a word, and they couldn't hold each other, Liu Zizheng had already wanted to say something more powerful a few times, but he just held back for the time being, and if he continued to fight, he would inevitably break up unhappily. He quickly got up with a smile and invited them to the flower hall to take a seat.

At the banquet, Wu Sangui deliberately did not talk about military affairs, but only gossip, so that everyone could eat and drink happily. He called out a few courtesans to come out and drink wine and sing a cappella song, but in the end he could not make the atmosphere of the banquet happy. So he waved away the courtesan, sighed, and said:

"I've lived outside the customs for a long time, and I don't even have a good courtesan. All three of you are from the capital, and these courtesans are naturally not under your eyes. When the war subsided, I also wanted to go to the capital to feast my eyes. ”

The staff below talked about the situation of prostitutes in Beijing. In order to boast that he has traveled extensively, Zhang Ruoqi said that the palace of Emperor Tian likes to set up wine banquets to entertain guests, and there must be courtesans and wine at every banquet. Ma Shaoyu and Tian Huang didn't know each other, but immediately said:

"Emperor Tian is going to Jiangnan again next year, and it is expected that Mei Ji will bring it back. If Lord Wu goes to Beijing in the future, he can go to the imperial palace to feast his eyes. ”

Wu Sangui smiled and said: "I have never known Tian Huangqin in my life, he doesn't invite me, how can I go?" ”

Zhang Ruoqi said: "This, what's so difficult! It's up to me. I can tell Emperor Tian to invite him to a banquet and entertain the general. At that time, the red sleeves are enshrined, the jade fingers are tuned, the singing voice is like a turn, the eyes are affectionate, and the general is afraid of the general...... Hahahaha! ”

Wu Sangui also laughed and raised his glass to toast. The guests and hosts each drank a cup in laughter, only Liu Zizheng raised his glass perfunctorily, forced a smile, and sighed in his heart:

"Alas, the life of a hundred thousand troops is in the hands of this group!"

After Wu Sangui drank a full cup with a smile, he suddenly sighed and said: "What I just said can only be regarded as wishing Mei to quench my thirst, it seems that I have no chance to enter Beijing, let alone a feast for my eyes." ”

Zhang Ruoqi asked: "Why did the general say this?" ”

Wu Sangui said: "Lord Zhang, think about it, the military situation is urgent, and the border is a heavy responsibility. Like us as military generals, it is our duty to fight on the battlefield, how can you be as free as an official and eunuch in the capital! ”

Zhang Ruoqi said: "If this battle is successful, it will not be difficult for the general to enter Beijing. ”

Ma Shaoyu then said: "Maybe the emperor will summon the general." ”

Wu Sangui didn't believe these nice words, but he listened to them and laughed.

At this time, it was suddenly reported that the governor had come to the company, saying that the master of the Taiwan system had asked Master Liu to return early, and there was something important to discuss. Liu Zizheng hurriedly got up and said goodbye. Wu Sangui didn't dare to force him to stay, and sent him out of the second gate. The people at the table were speculating, and someone said:

"There may be urgent documents from the capital, otherwise Lord Hong wouldn't have sent someone to urge him to go back."

Zhang Ruoqi guessed in his heart that it must be Chen Shangshu of the Ministry of War who got his secret book and wrote a letter to urge Hong Chengchou to march into the army quickly. But he didn't say a word about this matter, but said coldly:

"No matter what, if you miss the opportunity, the emperor will never agree."

Everyone had no intention of continuing to drink, so they hastily ate snacks and dispersed. Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu were about to say goodbye, but they were retained by Wu Sangui and invited into the study to continue talking.

While they were talking, Mrs. Zuo sent someone to tell Wu Sangui that she had just met Lord Hong Zhitai. Meng Zhitai agreed that she would lead her family with the army to relieve the siege of Jinzhou. He also said that he had prepared a four-color gift and sent it to Lord Zhang's residence, and handed it over to Lord Zhang's subordinates to receive it, in order to repay his urging the army to rescue Jinzhou. Zhang Ruoqi expressed his gratitude.

Wu Sangui took this opportunity and also gave Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu some gifts and silver. They excused themselves for a while, but they all accepted it. Wu Sangui is very hospitable, especially likes to win over bureaucrats from Beijing, so whenever a Beijing official comes here, he will invite him to eat and drink, and he will give gifts, which has become his habit.

The next morning, Hong Chengchou, together with Zhang Ruoqi, the superintendent of the army, led a large number of civil and military dignitaries and thousands of elite infantry soldiers of the superintendent battalion from Ningyuan. Wu Sangui led a group of civil and military officials out of the city to see them off.

Zhang Ruoqi walked with Ma Shaoyu. Ma Shaoyu didn't believe that he could win the battle, and after setting off, he turned around a bay and saw that there were no outsiders on the left and right, all of them were Zhang Ruoqi's henchmen, so he rode forward, walked side by side with Zhang Ruoqi, and muttered in a low voice:

"I hope you take care of yourself, just in case."

Zhang Ruoqi nodded, understanding in his heart. After coming out of Wu Sangui's mansion last night, they returned to the prison army garrison and had a deep talk. Zhang Ruoqi's mood was relaxed, talking and laughing, and he thought that this time he would be able to win as long as he marched forward bravely. He seemed to be speaking to his own soldiers on behalf of the emperor, and said to Ma Shaoyu that he must win a big victory against the "Eastern Prisoners" in order to enable the imperial court to concentrate on exterminating the "thieves". Ma Shaoyu believes that sooner or later, the emperor and his own army will have to say the word "and," and the purpose of the emperor and his own army is to be able to play the word "and" and seek peace in victory. Zhang agrees with him, but is more likely to take a chance on the victory.

Except for Wu Sangui, the eight chief military officers had already arrived in the area of Gaoqiao and Songshan. Some of Wu Sangui's men and horses also arrived near Gaoqiao, but he himself could not leave until tomorrow in order to deploy the defense of Ningyuan, a military stronghold. It is about 30 miles from Gaoqiao to Songshan, and there are many military camps, leaning on the mountains and the sea, dotted all over the place. The flags cover the field, the swords and guns are like forests, and the drums and horns correspond to each other. Since the Battle of Liaoyang, this was the largest division of the Ming Dynasty. Liu Zizheng looked at this majestic military appearance, but he had heavy worries in his heart. He immediately thought of Chen Xinjia's urging letter that Hong Chengchou received last night, and was deeply worried about Hong Chengchou's constant persecution by the imperial court, and sighed in his heart and said:

"The imperial court has no other tricks, but to get lucky, isn't it to ignore the lives of soldiers and the safety of the country!"

Since coming to Guanwai, Hong Chengchou has been stationed in Jieningyuan, and has already inspected the areas of Tashan, Xingshan, Gaoqiao, and Songshan. Today, it was he who advanced the old camp between Songshan and Xingshan, and inspected it again along the way. What he was most worried about was the place where Takahashi went to the vicinity of Tower Hill to store grain. This is a hilly area, with no dangerous mountains and valleys as a barrier, and it is most vulnerable to the enemy's cavalry sneak attack, and it is also easy to be cut off by the cavalry. He rode all the way to the seashore and instructed the generals of the defenders on how to prepare for a sneak attack. Now, he immediately looked at the Tucheng of Tashan and the Bijia Mountain in the sea to the east, and looked at the grain boats and fishing boats dotted on the sea and in the bay, and waved away the servants, leaving only Qiu Minyang, the governor of Liaodong, Zhang Ruoqi, the superintendent, and Liu Zizheng, the praise painting, by his side, and said in a heavy tone:

"We were ordered to come to the aid of Jin, and there was no turning back, but the morale of the captives was not declining, and there was no intention of retreating, and it seemed that there must be a fierce battle to decide the victory. This place is the lifeblood of the great army, and there can be no negligence. If there is a mistake, the food supply will be cut off, and the whole army will collapse without a fight, so I am very relieved about this place. ”

Qiu Minyang said: "This is the garrison of General Bai Guangen, and there is a guerrilla guard army rations. It seems that there is a need for additional garrisons and a staff general to command. ”

"Okay, tell General Bai to do it today. What does the Overseer think? ”

Zhang Ruoqi was looking at a group of fishing boats in a bay, and turned around and replied, "My lord is extremely worried. Wherever there is a place for food, it must be carefully defended. ”

Hong Chengchou originally planned to arrive near Songshan, and ordered all the troops to dig trenches and build a fortress first every step forward, step by step, and not rush to Jinzhou, but last night he received a secret letter from Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, so that he could not take a steady and steady approach. Now when I think of the tone in that secret letter, my heart is still very unhappy.

That night, he was stationed in Gaoqiao and secretly discussed military affairs with Liu Zizheng and other two or three cronies. In view of the experience of the two defeats in the Battle of Liaoyang and the Battle of Dalinghe, we strongly advocated fighting and defending, and trained men and horses when there was no war, and marched towards Jinzhou step by step. They believed that they would hold on to the enemy for several months, and when the food was exhausted, the Qing troops would inevitably lose their morale, and then the whole division would attack before they could win. Hong Chengchou took out Chen Xinjia's war urging book again, pointed to one of the paragraphs, and ordered a staff member to read it. The aide reads:

Approaching the report of the three associations, the cloud enemy wants to attack again. Goer, on the other hand, was in a difficult situation both internally and externally. Over the past year, Taiwan troops have come to the aid of Jin, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and the siege of Jinjin has not been resolved, and the interior is in trouble. If you go to Liaoxi, Baoshan will return empty, why should the deputy Shengming and Xie Dynasty hope for the Chinese Wu ministers? The lord is worried about the humiliation of the ministers, and the Taiwan is also uneasy at night!

Hong Chengchou smiled bitterly and said: "I am the governor, I have the title of secretary of the military department, and Chen Fangyuan is a peer, and he is a backward in terms of qualifications." In this letter, is it not for nothing that he coerces him in such a tone? ”

A staff member said: "It must be the emperor who is anxious, and this soldier is talking like this." In addition, Zhang Jianjun did not know the feelings of the enemy and himself, as if victory was like a left ticket, which would also make his soldiers anxious to relieve the siege of Jinzhou. ”

Liu Zizheng said: "The imperial court does not know the situation, and it is remotely controlled thousands of miles away, so that the commanders of the army are to blame at every turn, how can they win!" ”

They discussed secretly until late at night, and decided to give the emperor a notebook, detailing the benefits and disadvantages, and proposing a strategy of fighting and defending, and gradually advancing to Jinzhou. At the same time, he wrote a long letter to Chen Xinjia, the content of which was roughly the same. Because Liu Zizheng was well versed in the situation outside the customs and was generous and outspoken, he decided to send him back to Beijing with the transcript and the letter to Chen Xinjia, and asked him to confront Chen Xinjia about his interests.

At dawn the next day, Liu Zizheng came to bid farewell to Hong Chengchou. He knew very well that most of the officers in chief were cowardly in battle, and that they were all of their own minds, so he had a premonition that the future of the army was very bad. He looked at Hong Chengchou with worried eyes and said:

"I know that my lord is in a difficult situation, and he is constrained in everything in the army, and he wants to be heavy. Wangda first occupied the terrain of Changshan, looked down on Jinzhou, and then moved with the camera. As long as the enemy is not given the opportunity to take advantage of it, the enemy will retreat by himself if it is delayed for a while. But I'm afraid that the adults will be forced to fight rashly. ”

Hong Chengchou smiled bitterly and said: "Sir, don't worry, fortunately, the person who supervises the army by my side is not a lieutenant envoy." ”

On the second day after Liu Zizheng set off to return to Beijing, Hong Chengchou received another command urging the troops. Zhang Ruoqi urged the battle more urgently, domineering. Hong Chengchou was afraid of being convicted, so he had to march to the Qing camp.

The men and horses of the Eighth General Army of the Ming Army advanced under the command of Hong Chengchou. At the beginning of August, 50,000 men crossed Songshan and occupied the area between Songshan and Jinzhou. The infantry army set up a wooden city on the hill and set up artillery mounts. Most of the cavalry stationed under the ridge surrounded the three sides of Songshan and set up a camp fence. Between the two mountains, there were seven camps, and a long trench was dug outside.

Hong Chengchou and his governor Qiu Minyang climbed to the top of Songshan Mountain and overlooked the irregular Jinzhou City. The streets and alleys of the houses are vivid. The thirteen-story pagoda built in the Liao Dynasty stands under the blue sky, lined with a wisp of white clouds behind it. In the event of a tailwind, the bell on the tower was faintly heard. A sand river called the Daughter River flows between Songshan and Jinzhou, and it twists and turns. The Qing soldiers who surrounded Jinzhou all set up camp two miles away from the city, and dug triple trenches to prevent the Ming soldiers in the city from breaking through. In addition, the Qing army also had many camps facing Songshan and Dajia Mountain on the left, which were well defended and mostly cavalry.

After careful observation for a while, Hong Chengchou couldn't see what the weakness of the Qing camp was. was thinking, suddenly saw a group of cavalry about two or three hundred, holding a female general, came out from behind the mountain, galloped straight to the vicinity of the Qing camp, looked for a moment, and when the Qing army was ready to rush out, it quickly galloped away. After spying on three enemy camps, Fang Chi returned to Wu Sangui's camp. Qiu Minyang sighed unconsciously:

Mrs. Zuo was eager to rescue Jinzhou, and did not hesitate to go to inspect the enemy's soldiers. This morning, when I went to the camp in Wuzhen, she said to me that Jinzhou Qiaosu was cut off and it was difficult to defend for a long time, so she asked me to plead with my lordship, take advantage of my morale, and quickly attack the enemy base, and attack inside and outside, so as to save the soldiers and civilians in the dangerous city. I wonder when the adults decided to join the army? ”

Hong Chengchou said: "There is not a single tree in Jinzhou City, which shows that the firewood has been burned out, and I am afraid that the furniture, doors and windows are almost burned." To rescue the siege of Jinzhou, you and I are of the same heart. I just looked at the enemy base, and I couldn't see where to start. In any case, tomorrow we will send troops to test the enemy's reality. ”

The next morning, the Ming army dispatched 3,000 cavalry, divided into three groups, and rushed straight to clear the barracks and reconnoiter the reality. The horse's hooves shook the ground, shouting to kill and shake the sky. The battalions and horses that were stationed in the Songshan area shouted and beat drums to cheer. When the cavalry rushed to the Qing camp, the doors of the three camps of the Qing camp suddenly opened, and three cavalry galloped out to meet the battle, and the number was twice that of the Ming army. After a short kill, the Ming cavalry retreated and entered the infantry battalion. The Qing soldiers were very aggressive, and they pursued them, intending to storm the infantry battalions of the Ming army. The Ming army deliberately let the Qing army in, and the artillery fired in unison, and the arrows rained down. The Qing army suffered heavy casualties and hurried back.

Immediately the Qing army brigade came again, mostly cavalry, with a total of more than 10,000 people, attacking from the west of Songshan to the east to fight for the high ridge of Songshan. The Ming soldiers resisted bravely, so that the Qing army could not advance. The Ming army's counterattack was also difficult to handle. At this time, Zu Dashou, who was besieged in Jinzhou City, took the opportunity to send troops out of the city to flank the Qing soldiers, but when he encountered a wide and deep trench dug by the Qing soldiers, he could not go over, and many people were hit by artillery fire and crossbow arrows outside the trench, and the dead and wounded were all over the ground. After a long battle, it was difficult for the Jinzhou Ming army and the Songshan Ming army to meet. Zu Dashou had to sound the gong to collect the troops and return to the city. The two armies of the Ming and Qing dynasties, which fought fiercely northwest of Songshan, suffered equal casualties and each withdrew its troops.

After this engagement, Hong Chengchou knew that the Qing army was firmly defended, and it was difficult to win for a while, and the hope of meeting with Zu Dashou outside Jinzhou City was difficult to realize. He knew that the general soldiers had been watching each other and were unwilling to move forward, and if the morale of the Ming army, which was not strong in the first place, was frustrated, the morale of the battalions would inevitably be shaken. From the mouths of several captives, he learned that the legend in the Qing camp was that King Lao Han was about to set off from Shenyang, and he personally led the Manchurian and Mongolian armies to come. He expected a fierce battle in the coming days. When the enemy waits for the reinforcements of King Lao Han to arrive, he will definitely go all out and fight a decisive battle; And I am afraid that few of the generals under his command are willing to die for the country. Thinking of this, he no longer hoped for a fluke victory, but only wanted to avoid the kind of defeat in the Battle of Liaoyang from happening again.

That night, he twice sent his cronies to Wu Sangui's camp to persuade Mrs. Zuo to return to Ningyuan quickly. Because he was worried that once the decisive battle was unfavorable and Mrs. Zuo was killed or captured by the Qing soldiers, Zu Dashou did not care about it, and would sacrifice Jinzhou to the enemy to surrender.

On the morning of the next day, Hong Chengchou convened a meeting of the generals in the old camp southwest of Songshan, and exhorted the generals to serve the country with loyalty, asking everyone to dig trenches and hold on, wait for the decisive battle, and make serious plans for how to protect the military rations on the seaside, especially to Wang Pu for protecting the military rations on Bijia Mountain, and Tang Tong for guarding the high bridge, and so that Bai Guangen's entire battalion was stationed at the western foot of Songshan to prepare for a decisive battle. When sending out the generals, he stopped Wu Sangui and asked:

"General Yuesuo, has Aunt Ling already left for Ningyuan?"

Wu Sangui replied: "My aunt has followed the advice of the lord and led the servants to get up this morning, thinking that I have crossed the high bridge at this time. ”

"Failed to relieve the siege of Jinzhou in one drum, so that Ling's aunt returned suddenly, and Ben Yuan felt guilty!"

"The situation is so difficult at the moment, and I can't blame the adults. Yesterday, when the enemy came to attack in a big way, my aunt and uncle led the family to be mixed with the soldiers, and personally shot a few enemies, which can be regarded as a force to save Jinzhou. She said that although she didn't see Jinzhou break the siege, it was not a false trip. It's just that when she left this morning, she reined in her horse and looked at Jinzhou City for a while, and couldn't help but sigh and shed tears, saying that she was afraid that she would not be able to meet her uncle again in this life. ”

Hong Chengchou said: "The decisive battle between the two armies will be within a few days. If the emperor of Shangdu is Weiling, and the soldiers work hard, the battle will be successful, and the siege of Jinzhou will be solved. ”

As soon as Wu Sangui left, Zhang Ruoqi sent a flying horse to deliver a letter, suggesting that he should attack the Qing camp with all his strength before the drinking rod arrived. Hong Chengchou read the book and said in his heart: "The old man has been in the line for a long time, and he has been supervising for many years. You manic scholar, what do you know! But instead of showing a look of disgust on his face, he smiled and asked:

"Zhang Jianjun is still on the beach?"

"Yes, my lord, he's inspecting the shipping rations."

Hong Chengchou smiled and said, "You go back to Lord Prison Army, I understand the meaning of this book." ”

He hoped that when the decisive battle came, the battalions would hold on for a few days, first dampen the enemy's spirit, and then counterattack, so he personally went to the important places, inspected the camps, and encouraged the soldiers.

CHAPTER XVI

The commander of the Qing army's siege of Jinzhou was Dorgon, the king of Dororui County. He is the half-brother of Huang Taiji. Nurhachi had sixteen sons, and Dorgon was fourteen. He is 29 years old this year, he is alert and decisive, dares to do things, is good at using soldiers, and is deeply loved by Huang Taiji. In the second year of Tiancong (1628 AD), Huang Taiji conquered the Dorot tribe of the Chahar Mongols, and Dolgon was seventeen years old and made great contributions in the war, showing his extraordinary talent of both wisdom and courage. Huang Taiji gave him a complimentary title of Murgen Daiqing, and even the title was called Murgen Daiqing Belle. Later, he was promoted to the rank of king, and people called him King of Morgen. Among the many princes, county kings, Baylor, and Beizi of the Aixinjue Luo clan, none of them have such a good name. Last year, during the siege of Jinzhou, he failed to do what Huang Taiji wanted, and was demoted to the rank of county king a few months ago. His deputy was Huang Taiji's eldest son, Prince Su Haoge, who was also demoted to the rank of county king at the same time.

Dolgon began to lead troops in war at the age of seventeen, and at the age of twenty he was in charge of the affairs of the state officials, but in the future, he still mainly led troops to fight. In August of the 11th year of Chongzhen, he led the Qing soldiers to enter the Great Wall from the wall and Qingshankou, went deep into Jifu, defeated the Ming army at the Artemisia Bridge in Julu, killed Lu Xiangsheng, and then transferred to Shandong, broke Jinan, and captured the Ming Dynasty's Zongde King. In the spring of the twelfth year, he led the plundered Manchurian soldiers through the vicinity of Tianjin and exited the Great Wall from Qingshankou. This invasion of the Ming Dynasty broke dozens of prefectures, prefectures, and counties in the Ming Dynasty, and captured four or five hundred thousand Han men and women.

From last year, he was ordered to fight the Ming army in the areas of Jinzhou, Songshan, and Xingshan, and besiege Jinzhou. Since the beginning of this year, the siege of Jinzhou has become tighter, and at the same time, it is necessary to prepare to resist the arrival of reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty led by Hong Chengchou. The troops under the command of him and Hauge were mainly Manchurians, including Mongols, Han Chinese, and a few Koreans, about less than 30,000 or 40,000, although they were relatively strong, but they were far inferior in numbers to the reinforcements of the Ming Dynasty. He has never directly fought with Hong Chengchou, but he only knows that Hong Chengchou has served as the governor of the Ming Dynasty for many years, has more war experience, and is also very prestigious. He also knew that Hong Chengchou was deeply trusted by the emperor of the Southern Dynasty, and now he has a strong army and sufficient grain and grass, all of which were incomparable to Lu Xiangsheng back then.

Recently, he has been watching the movement of the Ming reinforcements, and knows that the Ming army is assembling in the area of Songshan, which has been basically completed. In the past few days, it has been rumored that Hong Chengchou has come to Songshan from Ningyuan, and is determined to fight a decisive battle with the Qing army to relieve the siege of Jinzhou. He felt that he could not be underestimated. In order to find out the reality of the Ming army, he sent small cavalry and infantry to carry out tentative attacks on the Ming army near Songshan several times, but the result was mutual killing, and the Qing army did not take any advantage.

On this day, he called Hauge to the tent, retired the idlers, and discussed the war against the Ming army.

Hauge was two years younger than Dolgon. Although he was the eldest son of Huang Taiji, the Manchurian system was not like the Han people, "establishing heirs to succession, and no heirs to establish long-term succession", and it was completely uncertain who would inherit the throne in the future, so Hauge did not have the status of crown prince in front of Dorgon, but could only speak as a nephew and deputy. Although he harbored jealousy and resentment towards Dolgon, he was always very respectful on the surface, and listened to Dolgon in everything. Both of them love to smoke dry tobacco, and both have a very delicate and precious dry tobacco pouch, which they usually carry around their waists. They were smoking and talking, and the felt tent was filled with light gray smoke and a strong smell of tobacco.

They talked about the small-scale contacts between the two armies over the past few days, and talked about the future operational strategy, and discussed for a long time. Although they all have rich combat experience and have never taken the Ming army seriously, this time the situation is very different, so they are a little uncertain about how this battle should be fought.

"In the past few days, there have been several battles, and only a few hundred men have been sent from both sides, and yesterday there were only one or two thousand," said Dolgon. It can be seen that the morale of the Yugoslav army is higher than in the past, as if it is seriously fighting. The generals of the Southern Dynasties, when they encountered our army in the past, sometimes collapsed as soon as they received the battle, and sometimes fled without waiting for the battle, and always avoided the battle. This time it's different, it seems that you can also fight against it. Hauge, do you say so? ”

Hauge said: "What Uncle Wang said is that I personally participated in the battle yesterday, and I also feel that this time the Ming army is indeed not comparable to the past. ”

"What do you think Hong Chengchou will do next?"

"I don't quite see it yet. Uncle, what do you see? ”

Dolgon said, "In my opinion, Hong Chengchou has two ways to play, but I'm not sure which one he uses. One way to do this is to take advantage of the favorable terrain near Matsuyama first, which they have already done. Now from Songshan to Dajia Mountain, it has been covered with people and horses of the Ming Dynasty. If, after occupying the favorable terrain, the Ming army did not advance to Jinzhou for the time being, but only opened up the seaside grain transportation road, and received grain from the sea to Zu Dashou, who was trapped in Jinzhou, then the defense of Jinzhou would be extremely strong, and the position in the Songshan area would also be quickly consolidated. At that time, we were at a disadvantage from the enemy. I'm worried that Hong Chengchou will use this style of play. He does not immediately storm us, but only a deep ditch and a high fortress, holding on to us for a long time, dragging it on until winter, and ...... against us It's very disadvantageous. ”

At this point, Dorgon looked at Haug for a moment, and saw that Haug was only listening attentively, without interjecting, and he continued:

"It's been a year since the siege of Jinzhou, and the morale of our army is not as good as before. If it drags on any longer, morale will be even lower. Now that there is a drought in Korea, I heard that the king of North Korea, Yi Liang, has been complaining about his grievances and begging for a reduction or exemption of the grain levy. This area of Liaodong is also a long-term drought, so naturally it will not supply the army with grain and grass, such as in winter, North Korea's grain can not be helped, and there is no grain and grass in Liaodong, how can it fight against the Ming army? I am worried that Hong Chengchou is an experienced person in warfare, and seeing that the Ming army has repeatedly rashly advanced and lost battles in the past, he will take this step steadily. ”

Haoge asked: "Uncle Wang just said that Hong Chengchou may have two ways to play, and how to play the other way?" ”

Dolgon said: "Another way to play is that Hong Chengchou relied on a large number of men and horses, relied on the geographical advantages of Songshan, and attacked us with all his might, and ordered his ancestor Dashou to come out from Jinzhou to respond. ”

"I think Hong Chengchou is playing like this."

"How can you be sure?"

"He now has a lot of soldiers and enough food, of course, he can't wait to relieve the siege of Jinzhou and rescue Zu Dashou with all his might. I heard that the Southern Dynasty Qin sent a superintendent surnamed Zhang to come with the army, and he was in a hurry to urge the battle. ”

Dolgon shook his head and said, "I'm worried that Hong Chengchou has a lot of experience and is a very stable person. ”

"No, uncle. No matter how careful and steady Hong Chengchou was, he couldn't resist the repeated pressure of the emperor of the Southern Dynasty. He was afraid that he would not be able to afford to bear the crime, so he had to attack me, and he would never use a steady and steady approach. You wait and see, he will rush at our positions, in the delusion that the battle will be successful. ”

Dorgon laughed, "There's some truth to what you say. If Hong Chengchou plays like this, I won't be afraid. ”

Hauge shook his head lightly and said, "He's beating like this, I'm worried too!" He is indeed more numerous now, different from the past. Uncle Wang Ye is worried that he is fighting steadily, but I am worried that he is now desperately attacking, and Zu Dashou came out of Jinzhou again and attacked our army on both sides. ”

Dolgon knocked the brass tobacco pouch pot twice on the ground, knocked away the ashes, and said, "You only see that they are numerous, and this time their morale is higher than before, but you have forgotten that our camps are very strong, and there are deep trenches dug in front of each camp. If we hold on, it will not be easy for him to attack and join the ancestor Dashou. As long as we hold on for a few days, and Lord Han sends another group of men and horses to help, we will inevitably win a big victory, and Hong Chengchou will not be able to bear it. ”

Haoge thought for a moment, nodded with a smile, and said, "What Uncle Wang Ye said is reasonable. Since he will attack with all his might, I think he can only hold on to it now, and send people back to Shengjing as soon as possible, asking Prince Han to hurry up for reinforcements. ”

"It's the best idea. If we have 120,000 horses to come to reinforce us, we can completely defeat Hong Chengchou. ”

After the discussion was decided, they immediately sent an envoy to Shengjing to ask for help.

A few days later, Sheng Jing's reinforcements arrived outside Jinzhou, but only a few thousand people. Lao Han Wang Huang Taiji sent a scholar named Esehei to convey the message to them, saying:

"If the enemy comes to invade, you two princes should not fight with the enemy, just see the right time to drive them away. If the Ming army doesn't come to invade, you must not move lightly. Hold your ground, and do not go into battle casually. ”

At this time, Dolgon understood that Huang Taiji was waiting for the opportunity to wipe out Hong Chengchou near Songshan in a battle. At the same time, he also understood that Huang Taiji was going to come to deal with Hong Chengchou in person, so he only sent him a few thousand reinforcements, and repeatedly told him to "hold on". This couldn't help but secretly disappoint him.

Dorgon was such a man that he had great ambitions, far from being comparable to the average general. First of all, he hoped to conquer neighboring countries for the Qing State from his hands, expand its territory, and restore the prosperity of the Great Jin Dynasty. Such ambitions were already there when he was very young, when he was only twenty-two years old, Huang Taiji once asked him: Now our country wants to send troops to conquer Korea, and wants to conquer the Ming Kingdom, and wants to pacify Chahar, which of these three major things do you think should be done first? Without hesitation, Dorgon replied:

"King Han, I think we should conquer the Ming Kingdom first. Sooner or later, we will have to enter the Guannai, and we will restore the country of the Dajin Dynasty, which is a fundamental plan. ”

Huang Taiji smiled and asked, "How can you conquer the Ming Kingdom?" ”

He replied confidently: "We should put our troops and horses in order, enter the Great Wall when the crops are ripe, besiege Beijing, and completely break through the cities, fortresses, and places where troops are stationed around Beijing." If we continue to besiege him for a long time, and wait for his strength to get exhausted, we can get Beijing. Once you get Beijing, you can go south to the Yellow River. ”

Although Huang Taiji did not adopt his opinion at that time, he appreciated his grand plan to restore the prosperity of the Jin Dynasty. Huang Taiji once asked his Han ministers, who knew Manchu, that is, some scholars, to translate the "Four Books" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" into Manchu. After the Manchu "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was printed, he specially gave Dolgon a copy first, asking Dolgon to read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" carefully and learn the art of war, which also showed his special importance to Dolgon. Two years passed from then on, and because of Dorgon's military exploits, he was promoted to the title of Cymbelle of the Murgen Dynasty, and later to Prince of Mergen. Because at this time, the system and culture of the Han people had been widely studied and adopted by the Manchus, so Dolgon's title was written in Chinese and he became Prince Rui. In this year, Huang Taiji asked Dolgon to invade Korea with his troops, occupied Ganghwa Island in Korea, captured the princess and prince who had fled on the island, and forced the Korean king Yi Liang to surrender. When the class master returned, Huang Taiji ordered Dolgon to restrain the rear army and return to Shengjing with the sons of the Korean king's son Lee and several ministers who were hostages. In this campaign, Dolgon made great achievements for the Qing kingdom at the age of twenty-five.

He had invaded the Ming Dynasty many times, and was well aware of the political and military corruption of the Ming Dynasty, and also knew that although Hong Chengchou was currently strong, his morale could not last, so he thought that as long as he gave him another 20,000 elite soldiers, he would be able to defeat Hong Chengchou's army of aiding Jin. If he had single-handedly commanded his men and horses to win this great victory, he would have established immortal feats for the country. Therefore, thinking that Huang Taiji was going to personally lead the army to come, he couldn't help but feel disappointed and unhappy. Despite this, he still pretended not to understand King Han's intentions on the surface, and called Hauge to the tent to discuss how to ask King Han to increase his troops again.

Although Hauge did not want Dolgon to make a great contribution alone, he also did not want his father, Huang Taiji, to come and direct the war himself. He hoped that he would be able to command the war with Dorgon, defeat the 130,000 reinforcements of the Ming Dynasty, establish a great achievement, and restore the title of prince. Both of them were wary of each other and did not say their true words, but they agreed that as long as there were reinforcements, it would not be difficult to defeat the Ming army. Reinforcements don't need much, just add another 20,000 horses. After some discussion, they sent an envoy to Shengjing, asking King Han to send Prince Heshuo Zheng Jierharang to lead half of Shengjing's men to help. Zilharang's father was Nurhachi's brother, and he was a brother to Huang Taiji and Dolgon. Dolgon believed that if Zilharan was to be sent, he would still be his lieutenant and would not take away his position as commander. That's why he made this suggestion.

Dorgon had been busy for most of the day and was feeling sleepy. From early in the morning, he went to various places to inspect the barracks, and successively reported to the leaders and stewards of the troops and stewards in the vicinity of Songshan and Jinzhou, such as Beile, Beizi, and Gushan, as well as the important Niu Lu Zhangjing who came with the army, and instructed them in person on the appropriate combat opportunities. He instructed Goshha not to come to him unless there was something urgent or important. Ever since he understood that Lao Han Wang Huang Taiji might personally come to command the battle, an extremely secret trouble suddenly appeared in his heart. He wanted to lie down and sleep for a while, but because of the annoyance that he could not reveal to anyone, his sleepiness ran away, and he sat alone in the tent, smoking his cigarette pouch slowly.

He was loyal to Huang Taiji, but at the same time very afraid. Huang Taiji's punishment of him last year, he was happy and sincere on the surface, but in fact he was aggrieved in his heart. At that time, because many people surrounded Jinzhou, the Qing troops could not attack, and the Ming soldiers were unable to attack, which became a situation of stalemate and delay. After he consulted with the kings and the Belles, he made the decision, moved back to camp thirty miles away from the city, and ordered each banner to send a general to lead it, and each Niu Lu selected five armor soldiers to return to Shengjing to visit the house and prepare clothes and armor. Huang Taiji was furious, and sent Zier Harang to lead the troops on his behalf, and sent a harsh rebuke to him, asking: "I originally ordered you to approach Jinzhou step by step from a distance and besiege Jinzhou to the death. Now, on the contrary, you are camping far away from the city, and the enemy will definitely bring more grain and grass into the city, when will you be able to get Jinzhou? Dorgon asked the messenger to speak on his behalf: "The grass is bare in the place where he was stationed. It was the minister's proposal to move the camp backwards, and there was grass to graze horses, and the sin was really a minister. Please punish the old king! Huang Taiji sent someone to preach: "I love you more than all my children, and the reward is very generous." Now that you have disobeyed your commandment, how do you think I should cure you? "Dorgon himself said he was guilty of a crime worthy of death. Huang Taiji demoted him and Haoge to the rank of county king, fined him 10,000 taels of silver, and took away his two ox Lu people. This incident scared Dorgon when he looked back on it today. He couldn't help but wonder: Is there someone who will say bad things about him around Lao Han, so Lao Han wants to command the battle in person? ……

A Yehe tribe in his forties, who had served him for many years, came in, knelt down on one leg and asked, "Lord Wang, it's time to eat, will you serve it now?" ”

Dorgon asked, "Is there any sweet wine that the North Koreans paid tribute to?" ”

Bao Yi Luotuo said: "Lord, have you forgotten? Today is the death day of the eldest concubine. It's been fifteen years, but on this day, you always refuse to drink. ”

Dolgon's heart moved, and he said: "The army has been busy these days, if you don't mention it, I really forgot." Don't take the bar, Roto! ”

Seeing Dolgon's gloomy face, Luo Tuo then persuaded: "The prince was only fourteen years old at that time, and he has made a lot of contributions to our Qing Dynasty in the past fifteen years. Dafujin must be very happy in heaven, and her martyrdom is in vain. Lord, these years have passed so fast! ”

"Roto," said Dorgon, "you are not old, and you are becoming as verbose as an old man!" ”

After Roto withdrew, Dorgon knocked away the ashes and waited for the food to come. For more than ten years, he was busy fighting for the Qing Dynasty in the south and the north; second, the court revolved around Huang Taiji, the eloquent ruler, who was intrigued; The third is that he himself has a Fujin and three side Fujin when he is less than twenty years old, and he rarely misses his mother anymore, and only avoids drinking on her death day. Today, when Roto mentions it, the past of fifteen years ago comes to mind sharply. It was the eleventh year of the Mandate of Heaven, and he was fourteen years old. Taizu Nurhachi attacked Ningyuan and suffered heavy losses of men and horses, and fell ill halfway when he returned to Shengjing, and died on the Hunhe boat. Before he died, he summoned the eldest concubine Nara Abahai and ordered the concubine to be martyred. After returning to Shengjing, the concubine was reluctant to die. But Huang Taiji has already ascended the throne of King Han, urging her to commit suicide as soon as possible. She delayed for a day or two, and was forced to commit suicide. Before committing suicide, she wore her best clothes and the most expensive jewelry, and people rarely saw her dressed like that. She wanted to see her three sons: Azig, Dorgon, and Dordor. Huang Taiji agreed to her request, ordered the three of them to go to see their mother, and told them to persuade her mother to commit suicide as soon as possible. When they came to their mother, they did not dare to speak according to the will of King Han, but their hearts were full of pain. In particular, Dorgon and Dodor were the youngest and most beloved by their mothers. She took Dorgon in one hand and Dordo in the other, and wept bitterly. They wept too, but they persuaded their mothers to kill themselves. In their thoughts, it is a matter of course to be buried according to King Han's last order and not to disobey. But they did love their mother, and they took pity on their mother, and they couldn't bear to let her kill herself. So from then on, Dolgon did not dare to reveal his thoughts about his mother in front of others, for fear of reaching the ears of Huang Taiji, but in the first two or three years, he cried many times in secret, and often dreamed of his mother at night.

The meal was served. In order to rush to the area of Gaoqiao to inspect the Ming army camp, Dolgon no longer thought about this tragic past, and hurried to eat. But somehow, he thought that Huang Taiji's health has not been good recently, and he may die in a few years. He wondered in his heart: which concubine would he want to be buried? Who will he want to succeed him as King Han? He will never allow Hauge and the other sons to ascend to the throne. Nowadays, the most favored are Concubine Guan Ju Gong and Concubine Zhuang of Yongfu Palace. Concubine Chen gave birth to a son who died at the age of two. Concubine Zhuang gave birth to a son, named Fulin, who is five years old this year, and is the most loved by King Han, and may let this child inherit the throne when King Han is dying. …… He didn't think much of it, he just felt that it was too slim. But he didn't want Hauge to take the throne; If Hauge were to ascend to the throne, he would be in a very dangerous position.

Suddenly, the shadow of Concubine Zhuang appeared in front of his eyes, and a smile appeared from the corner of his eyes. He thought that she was indeed born beautiful, and looked very dignified, but there was infinite affection in her eyes. He thought of Haoge's Fujin again, she was also very beautiful, her demeanor was not as noble as Concubine Zhuang, but her eyebrows and eyes were like Concubine Zhuang......

While he was thinking nonsense, an attendant officer came in and said to him:

"Lord Wang, King Han sent three officials to preach!"

Since late July, Huang Taiji has focused his attention on the Jinzhou battlefield, and his original plan to go hunting in Yehe has had to be canceled. He received secret reports from the besieging Jinzhou army almost every day, and he knew exactly how the Ming army under the command of Hong Chengchou was concentrated near Songshan and how strong the troops were. However, he was not in a hurry to send reinforcements to the Jinzhou battlefield, nor did he declare his combat strategy to Dolgon and others. In the city of Shenyang, which is calm on the surface, in fact, tension is increasing day by day. Envoys with his secret decrees (mostly oral) set out from Shengjing at night or dawn to the Manchuria and Mongol tribes to mobilize men.

The Manchu relatives and nobles he appointed to command the troops were all vigorous young people, who had been tempered in war life since they were young, and when they were not fighting, they practiced mounted archery and commanded war with the help of large-scale hunting. These young nobles who led the Eight Banners, from the prince and the prince of the county to Beile and Beizi, no one dared to hide the truth from him on major matters. Sometimes, if there is a small concealment, and someone often reports it to him afterwards, he will punish him severely. He has always had a clear distinction between rewards and punishments, which is convincing. He admired Dolgon's ability to command his troops, and a few months ago demoted Dolgon to the rank of county king, only to temporarily punish him for his ineffective siege of Jinzhou, intending to restore Dolgon's title of prince after a military victory in the near future. He attached great importance to this battle, hoping that it could be won according to his ideas and clear the way for the next step in advancing south of the Great Wall. If Hong Chengchou can be captured alive, it will make him even more satisfied.

Recently, due to the large-scale rescue of Jinzhou by the Ming army, it caused a great shock in the city of Shenyang. There are many rumors among the people that the Southern Dynasty is strong in terms of how strong the troops are, how well the food and salaries are prepared, and how Hong Chengchou is a minister with experience and strategy, and how he can win the trust of the emperor of the Southern Dynasty and the love of all the generals. Among the courtiers, there were also many Manchu and Han officials who feared that if Hong Chengchou lifted the siege of Jinzhou, there would be no peace in the west of the Liao River from now on. Huang Taiji was very clear about the worries and various rumors of Shengjing's subjects. Once, when he was in court, he said to his courtiers:

"What I'm worried about is not that Hong Chengchou led 130,000 horses to save Jinzhou with all his might, but that he would not drive all the men and horses. If he drives all the men and horses, we can succeed in the first battle, so that the Southern Dynasty will no longer have the strength to send troops outside the Shanhai Pass, and even the customs will be empty from now on! ”

This confident language was by no means intended to cheer up the ministers, but it did say what he really thought. This spirit of Huang Taiji was formed in the long war and victory. Since the age of thirty-six, he has inherited the throne and has been expanding his territory and building great causes, one victory after another. His father, Nurhachi, rose up with thirteen pairs of armor, and with a bloody battle, he turned a small tribe in Manchuria into the ruling nation of the Liao River valley, and created a small kingdom with a strong army. Huang Taiji carried forward Nurhachi's outstanding characteristics, and was more mature in terms of political and military talents. He constantly recruited and reused Han Chinese to assist him in the work of building the country, and actively absorbed the highly developed Han feudal culture for his use. He inherited the various far-sighted measures that Nurhachi had begun and worked hard to develop production. During his reign, the nomadic tribe to which he belonged had settled in the Liao River valley and turned it into an agricultural economy, while also developing various handicrafts necessary for war and life, including the handicraft industry of making cannons. Of course, in the development of agriculture and handicrafts, it was necessary to rely heavily on captives, captives, surrenders, and Han people who originally lived in the Liao River valley to contribute production knowledge, experience, and labor, and to emancipate some domestic slaves into agricultural productivity. From Nurhachi's later years, after 16 years of Huang Taiji's rule, but only 30 years, Manchu society evolved from slavery to feudalism at a very rapid pace, which is a rare progress in history. Militarily, he conquered and unified the various scattered tribes of the Mongols. Many ethnic minority tribes living in the northeast of China to the north of Heilongjiang have become a new Jurchen nation, also known as the Manchurian nation, under the unification of the Later Jin State and later the Great Qing State. He also sent troops to invade Korea, forcing Korea to break away from its close relationship with the Ming Dynasty and become a vassal of the Qing state, providing the Qing state with food and other supplies, and sometimes forced to pay for manpower. This was aggression and oppression for Korea, but for the Qing state, it strengthened his position in the war of expansion. At that time, the success of the Qing State was just as Huang Taiji himself boasted: "From the northeast coast to the northwest coast, during which the country of dogs and deer, and the land of black foxes and sables, there was no farming, fishing and hunting for a living, and the Erlut tribe, and even the source of the difficult river, and the countries from far and wide were subjugated." In this way, he was a rising enemy and a great danger to the Ming Dynasty; For the ethnic minorities in Northeast China, with the Manchus as the main body, they are an outstanding figure in promoting social development; an aggressor for North Korea; It has made an indelible contribution to the overall development of great China. Now he is just fifty years old, although he has gained weight, and he has begun to have dark diseases, sometimes chest tightness, dizziness, but from the outside, he is very energetic, his face is full of red light, and his eyes are bright. Because he is approaching the peak of his life's career, he shows confidence and ambition in both actions and conversations.

When he got the gallop of Dolgon and Hauge, and knew that Hong Chengchou had personally led all eight general officers to the Songshan area, crossed the Dajia Mountain, occupied Songshan, and was advancing towards Jinzhou, he thought that the time had come, and if he did not go in person, Dolgon and the others might suffer. So he decided to set off on August 11 with 30,000 horses newly gathered in Shengjing, and galloped to the Songshan area by night.

A small accident happened, that is, he suddenly suffered from a nosebleed, which was very much. Although the concubines and princes and ministers prayed to the gods and made wishes for him, the shamans also danced the gods and recited mantras every day, and he himself took several herbs, but the bleeding continued. Originally, August 11 was chosen as an auspicious day for the expedition, but he could not leave, so he had to postpone it for three days. On the 14th it still did not work, and it was postponed to the 15th. Due to the urgent military situation at the front, he could not postpone it any longer, so he had to lead his troops to set off. At this time, Huang Taiji took the kings, Baylor, and ministers who accompanied the expedition out of Shengjing's Fujin Gate, walked into the hall, and bowed three times and kowtowed nine times in the sound of conch and horns, and then led an army of 30,000 to set off and march to Jinzhou.

In addition to the Manchu and Mongol kings, Baylor and Manchu and Han ministers, doctors, and shamans, there were also the sons of the king of Joseon, the Grand Duke, and the proton (proton - Qing Taizong led his army to invade Korea in December of the 10th year of Tiancong, and forced the Korean king Yi Ju to surrender in the first month of the following year, so that Li Ju's three sons, namely Shizi Li, Fenglin Dajun Li Hao, Linping Dajun Li Jun, and the sons of several ministers lived in Shenyang for a long time as hostages (Fenglin Dajun and Linping Dajun can rotate back to China). The son sent to Shenyang by the Korean ministers was called Proton. As well as a group of their courtiers and servants. Every time a large-scale hunt was held, Huang Taiji always ordered the prince of Joseon to accompany him. This time he went to a decisive battle with the Ming army, and he also took them with him, so that Li, who would inherit the throne of Joseon in the future, and his servants and his servants could see his martial arts with their own eyes.

His favorite concubine of the Guanju Palace, Borzigit, was allowed to ride him out of Beijing on horseback, accompanied him on a day's journey, and stayed in a place on the west bank of the Liao River at night to take care of him and take the medicine. The next day, Concubine Chen sent him on his horse and walked a long way, before he turned his horse's head with tears in her eyes and returned to Shenyang surrounded by maidservants and guards.

Huang Taiji's nosebleed hasn't completely stopped, but it's not as fierce as it was a few days ago. When it flowed, he caught it with a plate on his horse and continued his march. In this way, it flowed intermittently for three more days before he was completely cured. His spirits began to pick up and he was in a good mood. In order to hurry, I camped late at night. That night, the kings, bailes, and ministers went to the royal tent as usual to greet him, worship the gods, watch the shaman dance the gods and recite mantras, and then sit down to discuss the affairs of the military state, mainly the siege of the Ming army. Huang Taiji smiled:

"I am afraid that when the enemy hears that I have come in person, they will quietly flee from the Jinzhou and Songshan areas. But if the enemy does not flee with the favor of Heaven, I will cause you to break this enemy as you let go of the hounds chasing the fleeing beasts. Winning is easy, and it doesn't make you suffer. You all know the methods of attack that I have decided, but don't go against it, don't make mistakes, and remember it! ”

The king of Dorovuying, Azig, and Dorobele Dodor, who accompanied him on the expedition, sang to him together:

"Please let King Han go slowly, and let the ministers and others rush to Songshan first."

Huang Taiji shook his head and said: "The march and the battle are in order to defeat the enemy, and the faster the better." If I have wings to fly, I have to fly, why do you want me to walk slowly! ”

I walked for a few days. On the evening of August 19, Huang Taiji arrived at Wolong Mountain near Songshan. He planned to rest in Wolong Mountain for half the night, and then continue to advance, insert himself behind the Ming army, and place his imperial camp at Gaoqiao, not far north of Tashan. In this way, the retreat of the 100,000 Ming army was cut off. It's a bold move. After deciding on his decision, he sent the Inner Court Scholar Ganglin and the Scholar Luo Shuo to Dolgon and Hauge to convey his message: "I am about to arrive. I can order the soldiers I sent before, such as Gushan Ezhen Bai Yin Tu and Doro Eyu Ying Erdai, as well as the soldiers led by Prince Korqin Tushetu and Chahar Zonomu Wei Chasang, to camp at Gaoqiao first. When I arrive, I can surround Matsuyama and Xingshan together. So Ganglin and the others rode out.

When the kings, bailes, ministers, and soldiers besieging Jinzhou heard that King Lao Han was coming, their courage suddenly increased, and they cheered everywhere. However, Dolgon and Hauge were very uneasy about King Han's garrison of Gaoqiao, so they asked Ganglin to return to Qijiabao the next day to show King Han their opinions, saying:

"Now that the holy car has arrived, the courage of the ministers has doubled, and the only way to do this is to leap forward and make great contributions to the country. Relying on the emperor's heavenly might, the ministers are never afraid of the enemy. However, the situation in the army had to be made clear to the emperor. At present, there are many new people and horses in the Ming Dynasty, and the ministers have besieged Jinzhou for several months, and after repeated attacks, the soldiers have also suffered a lot of injuries. Now the emperor said that he would first camp in Gaoqiao, and the envoys and others did not dare to rest assured. If the enemy soldiers press us tightly, and the troops of Jinzhou and Songshan attack inside and outside, and fight to the death together, in case our army loses, it will be difficult to deal with it. It's better for the emperor to stay between Songshan and Xingshan for the time being, and don't stop at Gaoqiao, so that it will be safe. As long as King Han Wan'an, the ministers will have greater courage to fight. ”

Huang Taiji heard this and felt that their words made sense, so he decided to station his imperial camp between Songshan and Xingshan. Then he sent Ganglin and others to tell Dolgon and Hauge:

"If I camp between Songshan and Xingshan, the enemy will surely flee soon, and I am afraid that I will not capture and behead so much. Since you persuaded me not to stay in Takahashi, I had no choice but to do so. ”

After that, he continued to lead the army and marched between Songshan and Xingshan. The kings, bailes, and soldiers along the road saw the simple guard of honor and the cavalry in front of him, and knew that it was King Han passing by, and everyone rejoiced, and shouted "Long live" in Manchurian from near and far.

In the early morning of August 20, Hong Chengchou did not know that Huang Taiji had arrived. He continued to command the Ming army to storm northward, attempting to join forces with the defenders of Jinzhou. The coastal area in the southeast and southeast of Songshan across Mamatou Mountain and the mouth of the Xiaoling River is a place to receive military rations, and the day before yesterday he had added 3,000 guards to Mamatou Mountain and Binhai. Yesterday, Zhang Ruoqi invited Ma Shaoyu and others to be stationed on the beach to protect the grain transportation. Hong Chengchou readily agreed, and allocated an additional 200 elite soldiers as his guards. When sending him away, Hong Chengchou took his hand and instructed:

"Zhang Jianjun, I heard that the chieftain is coming, and reinforcements have also arrived one after another. Now that our army has arrived here, it can only march forward courageously, not take a step back. If we retreat slightly, the morale of the army will be shaken, and the enemy will take the opportunity to storm it, and it will be difficult for us to protect it. My generation was known by the emperor, and because of the safety of the country's frontier, I would rather die on the battlefield than in Xishi. The decisive battle of the army is imminent, and the grain road is extremely important. ”

At dawn today, Hong Chengchou divided into three lanes with 20,000 infantry cavalry and attacked the Qing barracks. Zu Dashou heard the sound of artillery and shouts of killing in Jinzhou City, and immediately led more than 2,000 infantry from the south gate of Jinzhou to attack the Qing army. However, the trenches of the Qing camp were deep, the artillery fire was fierce, and the Ming army was dead and wounded, and they could not advance after hard fighting. Hong Chengchou was afraid that there would be too many losses of men and horses, so he had to sound the gong and withdraw his troops. Zu Dashou also hurriedly returned to the city with the wounded soldiers. The Qing army did not take the opportunity to counterattack, and only sent zero rangers to spy on the place where the Ming army was encamped. Just after the afternoon unitary, Hong Chengchou was planning how to harass the Qing camp at night, and suddenly received an urgent report, saying that tens of thousands of Qing soldiers had cut off the road between Songshan and Xingshan and killed all the way to the sea, and the imperial camp of King Lao Han was also stationed on a small hillside between Songshan and Xing. When there was no meal, another urgent report came, saying that thousands of enemy cavalry had attacked and occupied Gaoqiao, so that the defenders of Xingshan were encircled, and Tashan was also in a critical situation. About a watch, Hong Chengchou received the third urgent report: the Qing troops surrounded Tashan, attacked and occupied Bijia Mountain on the shore of Tashan, took away all the military rations piled up on Bijia Mountain, and sent troops to garrison it. This series of bad news made Hong Chengchou almost despair. However, he tried to maintain his composure and immediately deployed his forces to prevent the Qing troops from besieging Songshan from the east, west, and south. At the same time, he summoned Zhang Ruoqi, the superintendent of the army, and eight chief officers to his tent for an emergency meeting to study countermeasures. Zhang Ruoqi excused himself from being tight at the beach. Because the military rations of Bijia Mountain were taken away by the enemy, the avenue between Song and Xing was cut off by the enemy, and Gaoqiao Town was also occupied by the enemy, most of them advocated killing a bloody road and returning to Ningyuan to get food. Hong Chengchou sent Pegasus to consult the prison army, and immediately got Zhang Ruoqi's reply, to the effect that:

"Our soldiers have won consecutive victories, and it is not difficult to win again today. However, the food of Songshan was less than three days, and the enemy was not only trapped in Jin, but also trapped in Songshan. The marshals have the idea of returning to Ningyuan to support food and fight again, which seems to be allowable, and I hope that the adults will consider it. ”

After receiving this letter, Hong Chengchou continued to discuss with the commander-in-chief and the deputy general. The generals had two opinions: they advocated a decisive battle with the Qing soldiers tonight and returned to Ningyuan; Or advocate a truce tonight and a big battle tomorrow. In the end, Hong Chengchou stood up, glanced at the Shang Fang sword wrapped in yellow satin on his back on the Chinese army, and then looked at everyone, and said in a serious voice:

"In the past, all the monarchs were loyal to the court, and today is the time. At present, our army is surrounded by all food, and we should clearly inform the officials and soldiers, and there is no need to hide it, so that everyone can know that defending is also death, and if you do not fight, you will die, and there is only one way to fight hard. If you can fight to the death, you can also get away with it and defeat the enemy. Unscrupulous is determined to personally hold the drum tomorrow, supervise and lead the whole army to kill the enemy, make a desperate bet, and report to the monarchy. I hope you will do your best together! ”

The time of the breakthrough was decided at dawn, so that after dawn, it would be easier for the commander-in-chief and generals at all levels to control their troops, and it would also be easy for them to obey the command of the battalion and fight and leave. Decisions were made at the meeting on the route of the march, the order of the troops, and how to obey the command of the Governor. Hong Chengchou personally instructed the generals: We must obey and not disobey.

After the generals resigned, Hong Chengchou immediately sent people to ride to pick up Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu and return to Xingyuan quickly, so as to break through under the protection of the army. He also continued to discuss with Qiu Minyang, governor of Liaodong, and several important aides, estimating the various difficulties he might encounter and devised some ways to deal with them. While they were deliberating, they suddenly heard people outside the camp shouting and neighing, and there was chaos. Hong Chengchou was shocked, jumped up, and hurriedly asked:

"What's the matter? What's the matter? ……”

In a matter of moments, the confusion spread to several places, and even his standard camp began to fluctuate, and the voices of people were noisy, but not yet as chaotic as elsewhere. Chen Zhongcai, the deputy general of the Chinese army, suddenly panicked and said anxiously:

"Please hurry up and get on the horse, the situation is not good!"

Hong Chengchou asked sharply, "Why are you so alarmed?" Say it! ”

Chen Zhongcai said: "Wang Pu, the general soldier of Datong, was greedy for life and death, and as soon as he returned to his camp, he led his men and horses to flee to the southwest. When the chief soldier Yang Guozhu saw Datong's men and horses fleeing, he also led his own men and horses to flee with him. Now the battalions were terrified and were in disarray. The situation is extremely critical, please hurry up and get on the horse, just in case. ”

Hong Chengchou stomped his feet and said, "Kill!" Damn it! Go quickly and give a stern order, that every battalion shall not be disturbed, but that every battalion shall be calm and guard its strongholds. All the officers and men of the Governor's Battalion are ready to meet the enemy and fight to the death with the Governor. Those below the general army who dare to abandon the village and flee will be killed! ”

"Yes, obey!" Chen Zhongcai turned around and left.

Cao Bianjiao, the chief soldier of Liaodong, rode a group of personal soldiers to gallop, dismounted in front of Hong Chengchou's tent, hurriedly bowed his hand, and said loudly:

"Please move to camp immediately! The enemy will surely come and attack the camp. Please go quickly, adults! ”

Hong Chengchou asked: "How many battalions are left behind and have not escaped?" ”

Cao Bianjiao replied: "The whole camp of the town has not moved. The first battalion of the royal courtiers did not move. The 1st Battalion of White Town did not move. The rest of the towns have either fled, some are in chaos, and the situation is not entirely clear. ”

"How is the first battalion of Wu Zhen?"

"The people in the camp in Wuzhen shouted that the horses were neighing, and there was already a big chaos."

A general ran to the front of the tent, and then reported: "Lord Yutai: Yang Guozhu's deserters impulsed Wu Ying, Wu Zhen couldn't suppress the bullets, and was surrounded by the left and right generals on horseback, and also fled to the southwest. ”

Suddenly, from the enemy camp came the sound of war drums, horns, and conchs. Then, there was the galloping sound of thousands of troops and horses, shouting and killing. Everyone heard: part of the enemy was chasing the deserters; A part of the enemy is rushing towards the Matsuyama camp. Cao Bianjiao urged Hong Chengchou and said:

"Please move the camp quickly and resist the enemy from the town."

Hong shook his head and said, "The enemy is close at the moment, so you shouldn't move a step." If you move one step, the soldiers will panic, crowd and trample on each other, and there will be no fortress to defend, and the whole army will collapse. He instructed the few Chinese soldiers standing behind him: "Go quickly and tell the soldiers of the battalions who have not fled, strictly guard the barracks, and prepare to meet the enemy." If the enemy comes near, he is only allowed to shoot them with firearms and crossbows, and he is not allowed to go out of the village to fight. The enemy retreated, and did not pursue him. If there is a loss of the camp, the general soldier will listen to the staff, and the general soldier will be beheaded! ”

He turned to Cao Bianjiao again and said, "General Cao, you have fought with me for many years and have made great contributions to the imperial court. Today, before the enemy was engaged, Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu fled first, affecting the whole army, which was beyond my expectations. With a crippled army, we must have the heart of death and deal with the captives to protect the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers. If it is unfavorable, you and I should die for the emperor's territory, spill blood in one place, and never escape! ”

"Please rest assured. Bianjiao can only be a decapitated general, one will not escape, and the other will not fall! ”

"The enemy is near, hurry back to the camp!"

That night, the Qing soldiers heard the people in the Ming army camp shouting and neighing, and they knew that something had happened, but they didn't expect that some of the men and horses had already begun to escape. Dolgon was surprised, and then received a report that a part of the Ming army had indeed fled to the southwest, and that there were not just one, but two, and there were men and horses following behind. Due to the unknown moonlight, there is no way to know how many people there are. He judged that Hong Chengchou would follow these two groups of men and horses to break through, and there must be many more people who were broken. He consulted with Hao Ge slightly, so that Hao Ge led a small number of cavalry to chase and intercept the Ming army that had fled, and he personally led 20,000 infantry cavalry to attack Hong Chengchou's camp, hoping to take advantage of the chaos when Hong Chengchou began to leave the village to defeat the main force of the Ming army in one fell swoop.

Because Wang Pu, Yang Guozhu, Wu Sangui and others had already abandoned the village and fled, and Hong Chengchou's governor's camp was exposed to the enemy, so the Qing soldiers came to the front of the trench outside Hong Chengchou's village without hindrance. Seeing that the lights in the village were still bright, silent, and there was no appearance of being ready to escape, Dolgon felt very strange and did not dare to attack rashly, so he only sent six or seven hundred infantry to try to cross the trench, and ordered the cavalry to line up outside the trench to prevent the Ming army from going out of the village to fight.

Hundreds of infantry had just climbed through the trench when war drums suddenly sounded in the wall, shouts of killing, and artillery fire and crossbows fired in a volley. The Qing soldiers could not retreat and fell one after another. Some of those who managed to retreat into the trench were burned by gunpowder packs thrown from the fort next to the trench. Dolgon saw that Hong Chengchou's camp was very heavily guarded, and wanted to retreat, but he was unwilling to retreat immediately, so he continued to wave his infantry to attack in three ways, trying to capture one or two fortresses and open the entrance to Dazhai. Thousands of cavalry immediately shot arrows outside the trench to cover the attack.

In an instant, the situation of the Ming army became very critical. Hong Chengchou and Qiu Minyang rushed to the edge of the village together and personally supervised the battle. Their soldiers and servants to their left and right were constantly being shot and falling to the ground.

There was a pro-general Lahong Chengchou who avoided the arrow. He ignored it and calmly ordered the artillery to be fired at the Qing soldiers.

The Ming army fired three shots in a row at the enemy's dense area, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the air. The Qing soldiers were killed and wounded, and Dolgon quickly ordered a retreat.

At this time, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen each sent 500 archers and artillerymen to support the battalion. The camp has turned around and the situation appears to be stable. Hong Chengchou brushed the dust off the sleeves of his robe, looked at the generals and said:

"Several times the Qing troops entered the customs, it seems that there is no city that can hold on to the place they go. In fact, if you think about it carefully, all the cities that are willing to hold on, the Qing soldiers always avoid them. All he could break were the cities that refused to hold on. The local defenders feared the enemy like tigers, and the city was easily lost. In this battle just now, if we are afraid and panic, we will be unimaginable. ”

The generals said: "If you rely on your lordship's command, the soldiers can use their lives." ”

At this time, someone stepped forward to report that Ma Ke and Tang Tong also fled behind Wu Sangui and others when the battle was tense. Hong Chengchou listened and didn't say anything, only ordered everyone to prepare to retreat to Songshan Fort. Someone stood close to him, and in the darkness of the night he could see that his face was pale, and his brow was intertwined with anger and melancholy.

At dawn, there were a few routs and fled people and horses ran back, saying that after the five general soldiers fled last night, there was an ambush interception by Huang Taiji in front, and then Dorgon's troops pursued and killed, at first the Ming army could still support, and then the more they fled, the more panicked, the more panicked they became, and they almost became their own escapes. When they saw a place with lights, they avoided it, thinking that a place without lights was a way to live, but in fact, where there was no light, there were ambushes from the clear side. In the face of ambush soldiers, as long as there is a shout, the Ming army will be frightened and have no resistance. After escaping in the middle of the night, many people were killed and captured, but several commanders finally rushed out with some of their men and horses. They failed to break through the Qing siege, so they ran back.

Hong Chengchou immediately ordered the governor Biaoying and most of the men and horses of the three general soldiers of Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, and Bai Guangen to retreat to the outside of Songshan Fort, set up more than a dozen camps, built forts and forts, and dug trenches outside. In the original garrison, a part of Cao Bianjiao's men and horses were left to defend the camp, and Songshan Fort was the horn of each other. Several people and horses who escaped back were contained in their own camps by Cao Bianjiao and others. The men and horses who retreated to Songshan Fort, together with those who were originally stationed at Songshan and those who remained on Beacon Mountain, totaled about 30,000 or 40,000 people.

On this day, Hong Chengchou sent many rangers and released a lot of fine work to reconnoiter the enemy's situation. In the afternoon, the rangers and fine workers came back one after another, knowing that although Wu Sangui and others had suffered great losses, there were still tens of thousands of people, and they had all retreated to camp outside Xingshanzhai. The Qing soldiers surrounded them and did not dare to attack violently. On the contrary, some of the men and horses who were scattered ran to the beach and were searched and killed everywhere by the Qing soldiers, and the casualties were very heavy. The situation on the seaside is also very chaotic, and a cavalry has been inserted by the Qing soldiers to capture Mamatou Mountain, cutting off the coast from Songshan.

Hong Chengchou was anxious to know if Zhang Ruoqi was safe, but people said "I don't know", only that many people died on the beach. Hong Chengchou was very worried. He thought, now that so many people have run away and the losses are so heavy, if Zhang Ruoqi of the Qin faction is good again, how can he explain to the emperor? But it was already like this, and I had to let it go. Now the only way is to quickly find a way to let the army no longer suffer losses and return to Ningyuan safely.

That night, he ordered the garrison near Matsuyama to have a full meal. After the first watch, he sent Cao Bianjiao and Bai Guangen to lead more than 20,000 horses and horses to attack the Qing army camp between Songshan and Xingshan, that is, the imperial camp of Huang Taiji. He thought that after the Qing soldiers won the victory, they were pursuing and searching for the fleeing Ming troops, and there would not be many people in the imperial camp. If they suddenly attacked Huang Taiji's camp, those Ming troops who fled near Xingshan heard the shouts of killing in the Qing army's imperial camp, and they would definitely come back and attack from both sides. As long as the two forces of Songshan and Xingshan are united, they can defeat the Qing soldiers. He personally sent Bai Guangen and Cao Bianjiao off, pinning many hopes on this battle.

Soon after, he only heard the sound of killing on the side of the Qing camp, and the fire burst out, and he sent another group of men and horses to reinforce it. But in the middle of the night, Bai Guangen and Cao Bianjiao led their troops back to Songshan Fort. It turned out that as soon as Huang Taiji arrived at the pine and apricot to set up the imperial camp, he built the forts and trenches around the imperial camp very strongly, and placed the elite soldiers around the imperial camp, some in the bright and some in the dark, and was invincible first. Therefore, Cao Bianjiao and Bai Guangen went to rob the camp, but they suffered a lot of losses, and they had to retreat in the middle of the night. The most hateful thing is that Wu Sangui and the other five chief military officers, when they heard the sudden sound of killing, not only did they not lead their divisions to join hands with Cao Bianjiao and others, but fled in panic and ran straight to Gaoqiao, where they were intercepted and killed by the Qing soldiers in Gaoqiao's area, and scattered in all directions. Wu Sangui and other chief officers rushed out with only a few personal and few cavalry and fled to Ningyuan.

After Hong Chengchou got these battle reports, he knew that it was impossible to open up the road of Xingshan. There are still quite a few people and horses gathered around Matsuyama, and if they all stay here, the food will soon be eaten up; If they all go, Songshan Fort will inevitably be lost; Songshan Fort was lost, and Jinzhou was also finished. In the middle of the night, he summoned all the important military generals, including the general army, deputy generals, staff generals, and civil officials above the rank of Taoist, into his tent and said:

"On the orders of the emperor, I led eight general officers, nearly 100,000 people, known as 130,000, to rescue Jinzhou, and I didn't mean to have today's defeat! Now, if we all stay here, we will soon run out of food; If they all go, Matsuyama will inevitably be lost. I think about it, tonight by taking advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, I can break through immediately, but I can't go all. As the governor and minister, I was ordered to rescue Jinzhou, and before I could complete my work, I should defend the lonely city of Songshan and wait for the emperor's order. If no reinforcements come, they should die for the closure of the territory. Among your generals, General Soldier Wang stayed with me, and the rest of the men and horses were led by General Soldier Bai and General Soldier Cao, and the fourth guard broke out. After arriving in Ningyuan, he reorganized his men and horses, waited for the emperor to send reinforcements again, rescued Songshan and Xingshan, and entered to relieve the siege of Jinzhou. ”

As soon as everyone heard that Hong Chengchou was going to stay, they expressed their opposition. They all said: "Adults are concerned about the safety of the country, and they must not stay here." I'd rather we stay, but ask your Excellency to break through tonight. ”

Hong Chengchou already knew in his heart that if he broke through by himself, even if he could save tens of thousands of troops, he would inevitably be killed by Chongzhen. It is better to die here than to die under the law of the land. But this thought, he did not want to say, only said:

"I came to save Jinzhou with 100,000 people, and I returned after losing my teacher, what face did I have to see the Son of Heaven again? I'm determined to stay here! All of you work hard to return to the Son of Heaven, reorganize the people, and come to save Jinzhou. If I am here, I can make Matsuyama hold out for a few months, and I will definitely wait for you to come again, and I will be able to fight from inside and outside. As long as the monarchs come again, there is still hope for the siege of Jinzhou. ”

Everyone saw that he had a firm idea, and it was difficult to persuade him again. Only Cao Bianjiao stood up and said:

"My lord! I think it's better to let General Bai go back alone, and I will stay with General Wang and guard Songshan with the adults. ”

"No need, just have a chief officer stay here with me."

"My lord, no. The matter of war is difficult to say. If only one general stays here, in case of defeat, or casualties, everything will be over. If I stay with Wang Zongbing and the two of you, even if one of them is killed or wounded, there is still one person who can command the battle. Please give it your go! I have followed the adults for many years, and today Matsuyama is trapped and will never leave the adults! ”

Before Hong Chengchou could reply, Qiu Minyang stood up again and said: "I am also a feudal official, and I will follow the emperor's order to save Jinzhou." Today's situation is like this, and the people are willing to follow the adults to guard Matsuyama and never leave Matsuyama. ”

There are also many civil servants and staff members who are also pleading, willing to follow Hong Chengchou to defend Songshan. Hong Chengchou was very moved, thought for a moment, and said:

"The situation is so urgent that we can't argue about it. It is necessary to surprise the enemy, and the people who should go must set off. Now, please ask General Bai to lead two-thirds of the Matsuyama men and horses to break out of the siege and preserve this little strength for the country. Leaving one-third, led by General Wang and General Cao, followed me to defend Songshan and wait for the imperial reinforcements to come again. He also agreed that Qiu Minyang and a small number of civilian officials and staff members would also stay together, and let other civilian officials and staff members break through with Bai Guangen.

After making this decision, according to the distribution of the enemy during the day, he instructed Bai Guangen not to go to the place where there were many enemies after leaving Songshan, but to take a road called the King's Monument to the west and bypass the high bridge from a distance. He repeatedly instructed Bai Guangen not to mess up when retreating; With tens of thousands of troops, as long as they are not chaotic, the enemy will not dare to attack rashly; Even if you attack, it will be difficult to succeed.

Together with several officers such as the general corps, adjutant generals, and staff generals, he summed up the number of troops that remained. Knowing that there were originally two or three thousand garrisons in Songshan Fort, led by the deputy general Xia Chengde, and there was also a general military officer, who was Zu Dashou's cousin, named Zu Dale, there were no more people and horses, only a few hundred personal soldiers with him. Hong Chengchou calculated the grain and men and horses of Songshan as a whole, and decided to let Bai Guangen take more men and horses, leaving only 10,000 people to defend Songshan, including Xia Chengde's men and horses.

During the fourth watch, Hong Chengchou personally sent Bai Guangen off, and repeatedly told him to avoid fighting with the enemy on the road, not to scatter the men and horses, and after returning to Ningyuan, the men and horses of other chief military officers still let them go back to return to the team, leaving their own men and horses, waiting for the order of the imperial court.

After Bai Guangen set off with his men and horses, Hong Chengchou sent a small number of cavalry to follow behind to see if they could break through safely, until he learned that they had indeed successfully broken through, and he was relieved. Immediately, he negotiated with Qiu Minyang, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and others for a while, and decided to let Qiu Minyang take a small number of standard battalion men and horses and some civilian personnel to be stationed in Songshan Fort, and he himself led the rest of the men and horses to stay outside the city, and set up camps in some important places to prepare to resist the Qing army. Now that the hope of relieving the siege of Jinzhou has come to naught, all he expects is that the imperial court can reorganize its men and horses to come to the rescue, but this expectation is also very slim in his own opinion. He sighed in his heart and said:

"How can the imperial court re-recruit a large army? Where will we get the most wages? Alas, Wangmei quenches her thirst! ”

After Zhang Ruoqi came to the beach three or four days ago, he did not immediately inquire about the protection of grain transportation. The first thing he did was to find a large fishing boat with Ma Shaoyu, give the fishermen some food and silver, and send a few cronies and slaves to garrison the boat in case of emergency. As early as when he had arrogantly urged Hong Chengchou to attack, he had secretly agreed with Ma Shaoyu to find a way to retreat from the sea. The night before, when he learned that the military rations in Beacon Mountain had been seized and the Ming army was preparing to retreat to Ningyuan, he was even more convinced that this fishing boat was his life-saving boat. Yesterday, when the fighting began to tense and the Qing troops captured the Triangle Mountain north of Beacon Mountain, instead of sending troops to resist, he quickly boarded the ship with Ma Shaoyu and some of his cronies and retinue and waited for the anchor to be lifted.

The troops that had fled to the sea and the troops that had been protecting grain shipments on the coast were defeated on the beach under the onslaught of the Qing troops. The 200 guards sent by Hong Chengchou to Zhang Ruoqi also stood on the beach more than ten zhang away from the fishing boat, guarding the fishing boat. When the Qing army made the final assault, the Ming army continued to retreat towards the water's edge. Because it was at the time of low tide, the fishing boat lifted anchor and retreated into the sea with the low tide, but did not hold up the sails. Boats, still lingering at sea. And the soldiers, whether they were defeated or protected by Zhang Ruoqi, also retreated step by step into the water. But the more they retreated, the water became bigger, the sand became softer, and the more difficult it became.

The Qing soldiers rode on horses and shot arrows straight at the retreating Ming army. The Ming army also fired back with arrows. In the second half of the night, the tide rose, and it rose very quickly, and with the strength of the wind, it gradually spread to the thighs of the people, and then quickly to the waist, and continued to rise, and the wind and waves rose. The Qing soldiers took advantage of this time to shoot arrows violently. At first, the Ming army still fired back, but then the people were unstable, the bow was soaked with water, the bowstring was soft and loose, and the arrows could not be shot, and even if they were shot, they could not shoot far. The arrows of the Qing soldiers came like flying locusts, and many of them had already been hit by the arrows and were floating on the surface of the sea, some drowning, some calling for help. Some of the generals were still supervising the formation, preparing to rush to the shore, but it was no longer possible. Although in peacetime, there were many discordant things between these generals and soldiers, especially some generals embezzled soldiers' salaries, but at this time, all this was forgotten, and everyone was thinking about how to escape together and how not to be killed by the Qing soldiers. There were also some generals who usually had some affection for the soldiers, and then the soldiers stood in front of them in rows, trying to use their bodies to block the arrows fired by the Qing soldiers and protect their commanders. Many soldiers fell in front of the generals, one by one, and were swept away by the water, and finally the generals were killed by arrows and floated to the surface of the sea.

Zhang Ruoqi did not order several sails on the ship to be fully propped up until the tide finally rose, and sailed away against the wind. Some soldiers and generals knew a little about water, and when they saw Zhang Ruoqi's fishing boat passing by, they called for help and swam over, but Zhang Ruoqi ignored it completely. Some people were pushed to the side of the boat by the waves, and they quickly climbed the side of the boat with their hands, calling for help while climbing up. The relatives on the ship all looked at Zhang Ruoqi. Zhang Ruoqi ordered the heads and hands of those people to be cut off with a sword. Suddenly, many fingers fell on the ship, and some hands fell. The ship made a way through the wandering corpses and the living, and headed straight southeast.

Zhang Ruoqi sat in the cabin, thinking that since the military rations in Beacon Mountain had been taken, there was likely to be a Qing army ship there, and it would have to be bypassed. Sure enough, at dawn, he saw the flag of the Qing army planted on Beacon Hill in the distance, and there were also ships parked there. So he ordered the fishing boats to continue eastward, deep into the sea, far around Bijia Mountain, and then turn to the direction of Ningyuan. He was also prepared that if Ningyuan and Juehua Island were also occupied by the Qing army, he would drift across the Bohai Sea and go ashore in Dengzhou, Shandong. On the one hand, he looked at the vast sea, and on the other hand, he had already prepared a draft, and as soon as he arrived on the shore, whether it was in Ningyuan or Dengzhou, he immediately sent a recital to the emperor, and completely put the responsibility for this failure on Hong Chengchou, and bitterly blamed Hong Chengchou for not listening to his advice, failing to attack the Qing army with all his strength before the arrival of Huang Taiji, and losing the fighter plane, so that he was defeated.

At this time, the tide continued to rise on the seashore where the battle had taken place at night, and some dead bodies had begun to rush to the shore due to the wind. Later, when the tide receded again, there were dead bodies almost everywhere on the beach and on the beach. In addition, there were many dead bodies that receded with the tide, and from a distance, they looked like some wild ducks floating on the water, one here, one there, floating with the tide in the sun.

The Qing soldiers had retreated from the seashore, and there was silence on the beach, except for the occasional white crane and seagull, circling for a while, unable to bear to fall, and let out a desolate cry, and flew away into the distance.

On the shore, there are still galloping horses from time to time to take a look. They were sent by Hong Chengchou to inquire about Zhang Ruoqi's situation. They didn't know that Zhang Ruoqi had escaped safely on a fishing boat, and suspected that he might have been unfortunately captured, or maybe he died to protect the grain and grass.

CHAPTER XVII

After dusk on August 22, the moon had not yet come out, and it was dark around Songshan Fort, except for the lights in the Ming army's camp. The cannonade stopped. The shouts of killing are gone. Occasionally, a few warhorses neighed monotonously in the distance. Everything seemed silent, as if the war had passed.

Since Hong Chengchou sent Bai Guangen away, he has been busy deploying the defense of Songshan Fort, and intends to hold on for a long time. He was still calm on the surface and spoke softly, but inside he was very depressed and felt that the future was uncertain. It was in this state of mind that he suddenly got a piece of news that made his eyes light up, and he immediately gave birth to a lot of hope. It turned out that when it was almost dusk, someone reported to him that the fourth prince had just moved to the vicinity of Songshan Fort, and that he was only four or five miles away from the city. His royal camp was in the middle, and two battalions of men and horses were set up on each side, one battalion was inlaid with yellow flags, and the other battalion was a positive yellow flag. They have just set up camp and have not had time to dig trenches and build fortifications.

Now it's getting darker. Hong Chengchou thought that if he could immediately send people to clear the camp and rob the village, if he could succeed and capture or kill the captive chieftain alive, the entire battle situation would be greatly improved. So he immediately sent people to find Qiu Minyang, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Tingchen to discuss the robbery of the camp. Everyone thinks that since the loss of the division, after the failure of the first robbery camp, Lao Han never expected that the Ming army would rob the camp with the current remnants. If you send troops quickly now, you are likely to succeed if you take advantage of their unpreparedness. This is a surprising move, but you must be bold and careful, and be prepared to rob the camp and not be able to return with the whole division. At that moment, the royal courtiers asked to send him, and Cao Bianjiao also asked to go.

Hong Chengchou thought about it for a while, and decided to let Wang Tingchen stay in Songshan Fort, and send Cao Bianjiao, who had been fighting with him for many years and had rich experience, to rob the camp. However, at present, there are too few men and horses in Songshan Fort, and when they retreated from Songshan and Dajiashan that day, they left thousands of men and horses and more than a dozen red-coated cannons in several camps, so as to use Songshan Fort as horns to resist the Qing soldiers. Now, if these two forces are not brought back, the strength of the raiding camp is too thin; If it is transferred back, the red-coated artillery will not have time to be withdrawn for a while.

Hong Chengchou discussed with everyone a little more, and decided to immediately withdraw the men and horses of Dajiashan and go to the camp as soon as possible to win the victory, and throw away the red-coated cannon before it had time to evacuate.

After the people and horses of Dajiashan withdrew, Cao Bianjiao let everyone have a full meal and set off immediately. He himself led the elite troops in the center, one general with men and horses on the left, one staff general with men and horses on the right, and another guerrilla led a group of men and horses behind, ready to respond. Cao Bianjiao ordered everyone not to raise fire, not to make noise, and quietly and quickly rushed towards the enemy camp under the starlight of the autumn night.

The Qing barracks are resting, and the middle imperial camp is still dancing for victory. Cao Bianjiao ordered the two generals to lead their men and horses to rob the two camps of the Yellow Banner and the Yellow Banner, and he himself led the elite soldiers to rush straight to the imperial camp. When the Qing soldiers found out, they shouted, "The Ming army robbed the village!" Cao Bianjiao had already waved his big knife and rushed into the enemy camp amid shouts of killing. The Ming army killed people when they saw them, and shot them with arrows if they were a little farther away. The Qing soldiers were panicked for a while, and the chaos was extreme, some carried out unorganized resistance, some shouted and ran, and some desperately ran to the outside of Lao Han's imperial tent to "protect".

Huang Taiji was watching the dancing god in the imperial tent, and when he heard that the Ming army had robbed the village, he hurriedly commanded his imperial guards, guarded the front of the imperial tent, and resisted desperately. However, Cao Bianjiao's men and horses were extremely violent, and Huang Taiji's guards were killed and wounded one after another. Some Qing generals on the left and right saw that the imperial tent was violently impacted and hurried to the rescue, but they were all defeated by Cao Bianjiao's men. Seeing that the imperial tent could no longer be held, Huang Taiji had to be protected by the guards, and fought and retreated, waiting for the camps on both sides to come to the rescue. However, at this time, the camp inlaid with yellow flags and positive yellow flags was also being charged and killed by the two generals of the Ming army, especially the nearest Zhenghuang flag, which was attacked extremely violently and fell into chaos, unable to divide troops to rescue the imperial camp.

The guards around Huang Taiji suffered more and more casualties, and the situation became more and more critical, and sometimes the Ming soldiers rushed in front of him, forcing him to swing his sword and slash and kill the sudden Ming soldiers. Just as he could not resist it, he suddenly saw a big man, riding on a horse, shouting and rushing towards him. He knew that this was the chief general of the Ming army, and immediately ordered the guards on the left and right to shoot arrows at this big man together.

This big man is none other than Cao Bianjiao, who has been wounded and is bleeding. He suddenly found Huang Taiji, his eyes lit up, and he scolded: "Don't want to escape!" And he rushed forward in spite of everything, trying to capture or kill the enemy chieftain. When he rushed to a distance of only three or four zhang from Huang Taiji, he was shot in the right shoulder by an arrow and fell off his horse.

The Ming army hurriedly rescued Cao Bianjiao, stopped the impact, and quickly retreated outward, only hearing a short and urgent command in the darkness: "Out of the water!" Get out of the water! At this time, Cao Bianjiao was bleeding too much due to two injuries and was already unconscious. The Ming army rushed out of the imperial camp of Huang Taiji, and the two armies that attacked the yellow flag and the positive yellow flag also came one after another, converged together, and retreated towards Songshan Fort.

Huang Taiji had an accident and was panicked, and he didn't know how many Ming troops there were, so he didn't dare to send troops to pursue. He ordered the imperial camp to be rectified overnight, and at the same time mobilized men and horses to be stationed in front of the imperial camp to strengthen the guard, in case the Ming army came to rob the camp again.

After Cao Bianjiao was carried back to Songshan, he slowly woke up after first aid. His injuries were severe, but his life didn't matter. After this robbery, Hong Chengchou no longer has any illusions of changing the situation. He ordered Cao Bianjiao to be sent to Songshan Fort for good medical treatment. A few days later, in order to avoid losses, he moved most of his men and horses to the city, and some of them stayed in the fortress outside the city, preparing to be besieged by the Qing army from now on, desperately holding on, waiting for reinforcements from the imperial court.

After a night of rectification, Huang Taiji's imperial camp set up another barracks, dug two trenches in front of the barracks, arranged a lot of firearms, and built simple earthen walls and fortresses for the imperial camp. Because the losses of the Qing soldiers last night were not very large, and the Ming army was the general Cao Bianjiao was seriously wounded, so the next day Huang Taiji concluded that Hong Chengchou would no longer do anything in Songshan, he continued to send cavalry to Xingshan around, everywhere to search for the escaped Ming army, and continued to send people to ambush in the area of Tashan and Gaoqiao, ready to intercept the Ming army at any time. For the enemy in Songshan, he did not attack for the time being, but only sent a large army to surround and monitor it on all sides, and dug deep and wide trenches on important roads, so that the Ming army could no longer attack the Qing army. At the same time, the Ming army's empty village in Dajiashan and the red-coated cannons that were not transported away also fell into the hands of the Qing soldiers.

Huang Taiji was very proud, and hunted between Song, Xing and Gaoqiao for several days, while searching for the fleeing Ming army, and obtained many armor, weapons and horses abandoned by the Ming army in the mountains. By the 29th, the campaign was essentially over.

Huang Taiji ordered the scholars of the Inner Academy to draft a successful edict for him, and then ordered the scholars Luo Shuo and the pen post stone map to be announced in Shengjing. The edict was written in Manchu and transcribed into Mongolian and Chinese. In the original draft, it was written that the Ming army suffered heavy losses, with more than 10,000 dead and wounded, and 100,000 defeated; The Qing soldiers were killed and wounded two or three thousand; It also describes the number of horses, mules, camels, armor, cannons, and weapons they acquired. Huang Taiji was very dissatisfied after reading it, so he personally rewrote the edict in Manchu, and asked the scholars to re-transcribe it in Manchu, Mongolian, and Chinese. After his revision, it became that all the 130,000 horses of the Ming army were defeated, killing more than 50,000 people, leaving only more than 10,000 people to retreat to Songshan Fort, and the Qing soldiers only accidentally injured eight people in one night. Because he wanted to show off his martial prowess, he exaggerated the results as much as possible, regardless of whether such exaggeration was reasonable or not. In this way, the edict was sent to Shengjing, informing the entire Qing Dynasty, including Mongolia. He also ordered another copy of the edict to be transcribed in Chinese and sent to the king of Joseon. At the same time as the edict was issued, he ordered people to erect a sacred pole in the southeast corner in front of the imperial tent, and he personally led the kings, Beile, Beizi and Manchurian ministers to worship the divine pole to the heavens, thanking the emperor for blessing him with great victory.

After a few more days, he moved his imperial camp to a hill north of Matsuyama Fort, a few miles from which he could overlook the city's movements. He ordered to fire artillery at Matsuyama Fort every day, and Matsuyama fired at him in the same way. He wanted to attack Songshan, but he was afraid that it would be difficult to succeed for a while, because Songshan Fort was very well guarded, and there were several battalions of Ming troops outside the city. He finally gave up the idea of attacking the city immediately, and prepared to besiege Hong Chengchou for a long time.

His mood was always abnormal. On the one hand, because the victory came so quickly and too big, he suddenly felt that his ambition to enter the Guannai, occupy Beijing, and restore the cause of Jin Taizong was about to be realized, so he was excited. On the other hand, perhaps it was Cao Bianjiao's robbery that caused him too much panic, and after many days, he still felt terrible in retrospect. The combination of these two feelings made his mind agitated, and he often had strange dreams at night.

One night, he dreamed that he was commanding the army in formation, and suddenly a sitting eagle flew down from the sky, flew down to the ground, and kept coming in front of him, and he did not even shoot two arrows. A general next to him handed him another arrow, and he shot it. He was about to order someone to take the dead eagle to see what was going on, when he looked down, and suddenly he saw a green snake passing by the horse's hoof, and running very fast, so he hurried his horse to chase it, but could not catch up. When I looked closely, I realized that the snake still had many legs, so it ran so fast. He was in a hurry, when he suddenly saw a stork flying down from the sky and pecked at the snake's head with a sharp mouth, and the snake moved slowly. The stork continued to peck at the snake again and again, but the snake did not move. He thought it was strange, because he thought that it was probably a bird that ate snakes, so the snake was afraid to resist when he saw it. was thinking wildly, and suddenly woke up.

The next day, he summoned Fan Wencheng, Xifu, and Ganglin, the scholars of the Inner Court, into the imperial tent, told them his dream, and then asked:

"Look, is this a good omen or a bad omen?"

Everyone said that this was a good omen and a good omen.

Huang Taiji asked, "Where is Ji?" He looked at Fan Wencheng and asked: "You have to live a good life to realize my dream, don't deliberately say good things to me!" ”

Among the Han scholars, Fan Wencheng was the most trusted, and many of the most important military plans were secretly consulted with him and listened to his advice. Fan is a native of Shenyang, a descendant of Fan Zhongyan of the Song Dynasty, and according to legend, his ancestors served as military officials when they were in the Ming Dynasty. He is alert, calm and resolute, he likes to read when he is young, and loves the so-called "Wang Ba Da Xu". When Qing Taizu occupied Fushun in the third year of the Mandate of Heaven, Fan Wencheng was twenty-two years old and was a talent from Shenyang County. When Nurhachi saw that he was burly, good-looking, and knowledgeable in conversation, and knew that he was a minister of the Ming Dynasty, he left him behind and said to Zhubele: "He is the descendant of a famous minister, and you should treat him well!" Fan Wencheng clearly saw that the Ming Dynasty was politically corrupt and the military was weak, and Nurhachi would inevitably encroach on Liaodong and Mongolia and rejuvenate the country, so he did not have a national concept like the ordinary Han scholars at that time, but considered how he could protect his family and establish a rich and famous reputation. He was wise and loyal, galloping the frontier for the Aixin Jueluo family, strategizing, and working harder and more useful than some Manchurian nobles. After Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne, he trusted him extremely and obeyed his words. Every time he discussed political affairs, Huang Taiji always asked the ministers: "Does Fan Zhangjing know?" If he felt that the results of the deliberations of the kings, princes, and ministers did not satisfy him or that he could not make up his mind, he asked, "Why don't you consult with Fan Zhangjing?" If everyone said that Fan Zhangjing also had the same opinion, he nodded in agreement. Important documents in the name of the Qing emperor, such as edicts to the Korean and Mongolian states, were given to Fan Wencheng Shicao. At first, Huang Taiji also read the manuscript, but later stopped reading the manuscript and said to Fan: "You must not be wrong." Now Huang Taiji is very worried that his dream is unlucky, so he hopes that Fan Wencheng, who is knowledgeable and loyal, will truthfully realize his dream.

Fan Wencheng couldn't answer at first glance, but he rolled his eyes and thought for a moment, and replied with confidence: "Ah, Your Majesty has indeed done a very good job in this dream. The eagle is the head of the bird of prey, which obviously refers to the commander of the Ming army. His Majesty's two arrows missed and the third arrow was shot, which shows that although Hong Chengchou was lucky not to die in this battle and was trapped in Songshan, he would definitely be unable to escape the net in the future, and he was either killed by our army or captured by our army. ”

Huang Taiji was happy to hear this, and said, "I'd rather he be caught than die." Suddenly remembering that the dream was only half fulfilled, he asked again, "But what does that green snake mean?" ”

"That green snake refers to the Ming army that fled in a hurry, although it ran fast, but because His Majesty had already laid an ambush on the main road, it was still intercepted and annihilated in one fell swoop. That stork is His Majesty's ambush. ”

Huang Taiji asked again: "But why does the snake have feet?" ”

Xifu hurriedly explained: "The Ming army was frightened and fled without their lives, and they all wanted to give birth to a few more feet to come out!" ”

The crowd laughed. Huang Taiji was even more happy, and immediately ordered the shaman to jump to the gods, thanking the emperor for this auspicious dream.

That same night, he had another dream, in which his father, Nurhachi, ordered four people to hold the jade seal to him, and he caught it with both hands. The jade seal was very heavy, and as soon as he caught it, he woke up.

So he called the university scholars Fan Wencheng, Xifu, Ganglin and others into the imperial tent and asked them to realize their dreams. They all said that the dream could not be more clear. The jade seal is the treasure of the Son of Heaven, and the emperor gave the jade seal to the emperor, and the emperor will inevitably enter the customs in the future, and the establishment of the Qing Dynasty will undoubtedly unify the country.

Huang Taiji became more and more happy. For two days in a row, he continued to reward one and another, and even the commander-in-chief and some military generals from Korea also received special rewards from him. However, he never expected that just when he was extremely happy, on the 12th of September, two Manchurian officials came from Shengjing, one named Man Duli and the other named Mu Chengge, and told him that Concubine Guan Ju Gong was ill and that the illness was not light. When Huang Taiji heard this, he was very anxious, and immediately summoned the kings, Beile, Beizi, Gong, Gushan Ezhen and others to come and tell them that Concubine Chen was sick and he himself would immediately return to Shengjing to visit. Immediately, some people were arranged to continue to besiege Jinzhou under the leadership of Doro Anping Beledudu, Doro Rao Yu Belle Abatai, Gushan Ezhen Tan Tai, etc., and some people besieged Songshan under the leadership of Doro Belle Duoduo, Doro County King Adali, Dorobelle Luo Luohong, etc., and some people were stationed in Xingshan, Gaoqiao and other places. As soon as the arrangement was completed, he asked everyone to retreat and sit alone in the imperial tent, thinking about Concubine Chen's condition, and felt infinitely worried. That night, he tossed and turned and didn't sleep well all night.

Early in the morning of the thirteenth, he set off for Shengjing. He walked for four days and came to a place to stay. At the first watch of the night, another messenger from Shengjing came and reported that Concubine Chen was critically ill. Huang Taiji had no intention of sleeping again, and immediately ordered to set off. On the one hand, he hurried to Shengjing in a hurry, and on the other hand, he sent scholars Xifu, Ganglin, Meler Zhangjing, Leng Seng Ji, Qixinlang Soni and others to rush back to Shengjing to greet him, and as soon as there was news, he immediately reported back. When it was nearly five watches, Xifu and others returned from Shengjing, saying that Concubine Chen was dead. When Huang Taiji heard the bad news, he rolled off his horse and fell to the ground crying. The kings and Baylor, who were with him, hurried forward to persuade him. Huang Taiji cried for a while, and with the support of the left and right, he rode on his horse and ran towards Shengjing.

When he arrived in Shengjing, he entered the Guanju Palace, and when he saw the body of Concubine Chen, he cried loudly again, almost fainting from crying. The kings, princes, and ministers all advised him to mourn, saying: "Your Majesty is very important in matters of state, so please cherish the Holy Sacrament." After crying for a long time, he slowly reluctantly stopped crying and prepared for the burial. After a few more days, Concubine Chen had already been buried. He went to the grave and wept and laid three glasses of wine.

Since then, he has been depressed, often thinking about the benefits of Concubine Chen's life. The thought of such a gentle and considerate concubine, and such a beautiful woman, who had only lived to be thirty-three years old, and then died, this loss was simply irreparable to him. Although he had just won a great victory in the battle against the Ming Dynasty not long ago, it was not enough to dispel the sorrow in his heart. At the same time, he felt that his body was not as good as before, and his heart sometimes ached.

The kings, dukes, and ministers were very worried when they saw Huang Taiji so depressed, and they jointly signed a Manchu memora, to the effect that:

Your Majesty is the respect of all vehicles, China and foreign countries rely on it, and the ministers return to it. Today, Your Majesty is too grieved, and no minister, big or small, can be at ease. In the humble opinion of the ministers, the emperor is blessed by heaven, determines the world, raises Zhaomin, and the emperor has a great relationship. Today, the power is coming, and the achievements are repeated; The overcoming of Songshan and Jinzhou only refers to the affairs of Gu Ji. This is the prosperity of the country, and the corruption of the Ming country. The emperor should look up to the will of heaven and protect the holy bow; There is no cause for affection, cherish self-love. ……

This is an archived Chinese translation, in crepe and somewhat abridged. Huang Taiji was reading the Manchu text at that time, which was much more verbose and simple than this, so it was easier to move his heart. He read the recital several times, and although he felt that it made sense, the pain in his heart still could not be eliminated for a while. So he decided to go out hunting to relieve his boredom. Who knew that after leaving Shenyang City, he inadvertently passed by the tomb of Concubine Chen, touched his heartstrings, and cried for a while, and the cry reached the outside of the cemetery. After crying, he drank the wine, and then led the hunting team to continue on. Since Concubine Chen's death, her voice has always lingered in his heart and cannot be forgotten, until when he died a year later, the grief of "mourning" was still with him.

Liu Zizheng took a letter from Hong Chengchou to the emperor and a secret letter to Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and after leaving the Songshan camp, he slept in the open along the way, which was very hard. When he arrived at Shanhaiguan, he fell ill from fatigue and a cold. Although the illness is not serious, after all, he is an elderly person, and he is depressed, so he has been pestering for a few days and taking a few doses of decoction before the fever is completely reduced. He was about to rush to Beijing when he suddenly heard a rumor that the army leading by Governor Hong to aid Jin had suffered a defeat at Songshan and suffered heavy losses. This rumor shocked and worried him, and he could not stop to wait for the news. For three or four days in a row, there were new rumors every day, full of news of defeat. It was not until the fifth day that Tangma, who was sent out by the Shanhaiguan guards, returned from Ningyuan and confirmed that the news of the defeat was true. In addition to the rumors about Hong Chengchou's whereabouts, the situation of the rout of the army is also generally clear. Liu Zizheng decided not to go to Beijing, and only sent people to send Hong Chengchou's recital to the emperor and a letter to Chen Xinjia to the capital, and he himself wrote a letter to a friend who was an official in the court, bitterly bitter that Zhang Ruoqi, the commander of Chen's army, was manic and joyful, and blindly promoted the war, resulting in this defeat.

He thought that since the army of Jin had been defeated, there was no need for him to rush back to Beijing. In order to find out the whereabouts of Hong Chengchou's life and death, he continued to stay in Shanhaiguan. The guards of Shanhaiguan and the generals of the governor's stay at Shanhaiguan all respected him very much. He still lives in Chenghai Building and is generously treated. The guards of Shanhaiguan and the generals who stayed behind hurriedly told him every day when they got the news of the Songjin War, and every news pierced his heart, increased his indignation and sadness, and also increased his anxiety and despair about state affairs. During the day, he sometimes waited for news in Chenghai Tower, or leaned on the railing, staring at the sea in contemplation, long shhh Sometimes he went to the tower of Shanhaiguan to look north. Sometimes when I go out of the customs, I immediately stay on Huanxi Ridge and stay for a long time. Sometimes he went to the ancient temple in the city and gossiped with the monks, and he talked for a long time. But every night, he still annotates "The Art of War" under the lamp, hoping to finish this work that has been condensed for many years as soon as possible.

Another ten days passed, and many things became clearer. He knew that Hong Chengchou was not dead, and he refused to break out, retreated to Songshan Fort to wait for reinforcements, and was besieged by Qing soldiers on all sides. Six of the eight general soldiers broke through and returned, and only Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen remained by Hong's side. He praised Hong's stubborn defense of Songshan in his heart, and said: "This is the way for the minister to deal with change in danger." Buried the bones of the loess everywhere, why bother to trap yourself in the national law and die in the West Market! Later, he heard that a Tangma had arrived from Ningyuan, and hurried to Beijing, and heard that it was Wu Sangui, the general soldier of Ningyuan, who delivered the Tang newspaper to the Yamen of the Ministry of War, with two urgent letters from Wu Sangui and Zhang Ruoqi. He didn't think much about Wu Sangui's recital, but he thought more about Zhang Ruoqi's recital, and said angrily:

"The emperor believes in such a person, so he is unclear, like sitting in a drum!"

For several days, the clouds were low, and the frost and wind were terrible. Liu Zizheng was in pain in his heart, and ordered his servants to buy simple sacrifices for him, and prepared to go to the city of Weiyuan Fort on Huanxi Ridge to the north to sacrifice the soldiers who died in the Song and Jin areas. Li Song, who was in charge of the affairs of the governor's stay, was the civil official who came to the red tile shop to greet him in the spring, and Hong Chengchou's close aides, knew that Liu Zizheng had the intention of sacrificing the fallen soldiers from afar, which was in line with his wishes, so he discussed with Liu Zizheng, changed it to a public sacrifice, and handed it over to the secretary of the Xingyuan Detention Office to prepare immediately. Liu Zizheng originally thought that he would privately look at the northern memorial, but he had a heart, and left Shanhaiguan to go elsewhere after staying for a day or two. In the high place in the city of Weiyuan Fort, the sacrificial tent was temporarily erected, the elegiac couplet and the mourning banner were hung, the spirit card was arranged, the white banner was erected, and two groups of drummers who played mourning music were prepared. In addition to the sacrifices such as three livestock liquor and other sacrifices prepared in the left-behind office, Liu Zizheng also prepared a sacrifice himself, and the Yamen of Shanhaiguan Town, the Yamen of Yuguan County, and other large and small civil and military yamen in Shanhaiguan all sent sacrifices. It was agreed that Li Song would officiate and Liu Zizheng would read the sacrifice. Liu Zizheng hurried to write the memorial text overnight, and handed the manuscript to Li Song and two or three more talented colleagues to read, and they all appreciated it, but Li Song pointed to some words in the memorial text and said:

"Elder Zheng, are these words inconsistent?"

Liu Zizheng said: "Mr. Zhenzhong, tens of thousands of lives were lost in vain, who is to blame?" Don't you even dare to say these grievances and complaints, how can you comfort the dead in the ground? I don't think there's a need to delete it. After reading the sacrificial text, it will be incinerated, and if there is a little boldness, only let the deceased know, and it will not be passed on to the world, what is so terrible? ”

Li Zhenzhong knew that Liu Zizheng's temper was very stubborn, and secondly, he himself was deeply indignant at the rout of the aid army, and his left-behind post was about to end, and his future was bleak, so he no longer persuaded Liu Zizheng to delete and change the sacrificial text, but just smiled bitterly and said:

"Ask the political elders to decide for themselves. Nowadays, there are many improper measures of the imperial court, which really makes people with lofty ideals choke! ”

At the time of the memorial service, there were two or three hundred civil and military officials and local gentry from all yamen, and the rest of the entourage and soldiers were very numerous, all standing outside the sacrificial tent. When the sacrificial text was read in a painful place, the civil and military officials and gentry present at the meeting bowed their heads together and wept silently. After reading it, the memorial text is immediately burned. When he returned to the customs, some civil officials and local gentry asked for this touching memorial text to be copied and recited, and Liu Zizheng replied that the sacrificial text had been incinerated, and no other manuscript had been left. Everyone knows that he is telling the truth, and we understand his distress in burning the manuscript, but no one does not regret it.

The gentry in the Acropolis of Shanhai have known about Liu Zizheng recently, and they have admired him a lot. But because he doesn't like to travel except for interacting with the enlightened monks, he just looks up to the style and has no chance to meet him. After this sacrifice at Weiyuan Fort, everyone got the opportunity to meet him. Although everyone did not talk to him much, they all saw that he was a generous and righteous old man.

Three days later, one morning, three gentry including She Yiyuan, a local gentleman, walked to Chenghai Tower to visit the old man. As they were walking, suddenly someone not far in front of them recited in a mournful whisper:

Zhao Kuo is arrogant and arrogant,

Changping died overnight.

Emperor Song generously bestowed Tuxi,

Lingzhou is thousands of miles and bloody.

The scattered corpses of sorrow,

The cold waves of the moon are silent and silent.

Hate the vertical and horizontal of the Hu Ride,

The day is miserable......

The voice stopped suddenly, as if he couldn't remember the following words for a moment. She Yiyuan and the others were cut off by a short wall, thinking that the person walking on the other side of the wall must be Liu Zizheng's memorial manuscript burned by reminiscence. After passing the short wall, the two roads intersected, and She Yiyuan and the others saw Li Zanhua, who was originally the Yamen of Shanhaiguan Town, walking here, followed by a servant. Everyone is familiar with Li Zanhua, and they know that Li Zanhua has a good memory, likes to read miscellaneous books, and admires Liu Zizheng. After giving each other a salute, She Yiyuan asked with a smile:

"Didn't Master Li recite the sacrificial text of Master Liu?"

Li Zanhua said: "Yes, it's a pity that I can't remember everything." I have been thinking about it for two days in order to recall this text. Just now, the yamen had nothing to do, so I hid out of the city and walked around in this quiet place to see if I could have all my memories. No, it's not when I was a teenager, and my memory is not as good as before, and most of them can't remember. It's a pity that such a good article is touching and heartfelt, and it can't be passed on! Where are you going? ”

She Yiyuan said: "My brother wants to go to Chenghai Tower to visit the elder, one wants to see the original manuscript of the sacrifice, and the other wants to hear him talk about why the army to aid Jin has been defeated so quickly, and whether there is still a glimmer of hope for the situation outside the border in the future." ”

Li Zanhua said: "Ah, I am also planning to visit the political elder for advice. He said that the manuscript had been burned, and I didn't believe it. Since the three of you are visiting, how about I go with you? ”

She Yiyuan and the other three people said together: "Very good, very good." ”

They walked to Ninghai City together, and first met Li Zhenzhong, who was in charge of left-behind affairs. Li Zhenzhong was an acquaintance with them, and when he saw the famous thorn, he quickly invited them into the living room and sat down. When Li Zhenzhong knew their intentions, he said with emotion:

"It's really not a coincidence, the princes are one step late! Zheng Lao because of the rout of the Jin army, many years of dream of recovering Liaozuo has been completely shattered, yesterday morning first sent his servant away, last night at the monk Wu shaved his hair, changed the robe into a robe, came to us to say goodbye and dispose of some things. We were shocked at first sight, but there was no way to turn it back. Everyone left him in Chenghai Building for another night, preparing to treat Su Xi for him today. When the political elders talked about state affairs, they sang generously and sadly, and the old people were full of tears. Early this morning, I said goodbye without saying goodbye, and I don't know where I went. It's a pity you're late! ”

Everyone was very surprised and speechless for a while. Li Zhenzhong went on to say:

"In recent days, the political elder has often said that since he can't serve the imperial court today, he doesn't want to be a minister of the country."

Everyone understood that he was discouraged by state affairs, but they did not expect that he would resolutely escape into the empty door and drift away.

She Yiyuan said: "There are many kinds of monks in the world. As the saying goes, there are hungry monks who are sent to the temple as monks at a young age because their families are poor and unable to make a living, and there are sick monks who are sent to the temple as monks because of their childhood illness, and there are also angry monks, sad monks, love monks, runaway monks, etc., for different reasons. There are not many people who really have the root of wisdom, who are fully enlightened, and who want to be an arhat. The political elder is probably an angry monk. May I ask Master Li, it is rumored that Zheng Lao has a draft of "Sun Tzu's New Note", if it can be passed on to the world, it will be beneficial to the military. Where is this manuscript now? ”

Li Zhenzhong shook his head and said, "It's a pity! Pity! This draft has been secretly torn up by the political elder and thrown into the sea! ”

"Into the sea?! …… Why don't the elders dissuade it? ”

"I don't know when he was thrown into the sea. Someone picked up half of the page from the beach this morning, apparently drifting back to shore by chance at high tide. My brother has ordered the servant to dry this half-page manuscript and treasure it. In addition, it is quite cherished that after the old man left this morning, his colleagues saw him fill in the new "He Bridegroom" on the Chenghai Tower, and the sword he had worn on his waist for many years hung next to the inscription column. ”

As soon as She Yiyuan and the others heard that Liu Zizheng left a poem on the pillar when he was leaving, they had to go to see it with their own eyes and transcribe it. Li Zhenzhong took them down to the beach, crossed the pontoon bridge, and climbed the tall building. They pointed by Li Zhenzhong, and sure enough, they saw a poem "He Bridegroom" inscribed on a pillar, and the ink was very new. She Yiyuan took a step forward and hurriedly read:

Hailou burst into tears.

Sigh three times the Northern Expedition,

Anticlimactic.

Let's ask when the closure of Xinjiang will be restored,

I'm afraid it's over now!

Thinking about the past is like a tide.

Tens of thousands of children have become new ghosts,

Break the heavens and rivers and wash the shame of Shenzhou.

RONG Muce,

Remorse remains.

There was a remote sacrifice on the remnant autumn ridge.

The fog is sinking and the wind is blowing,

Who would do that?

The twin cities outside the fortress are still defended,

Looking at the end of the world.

If you want to save Suiyang, there is no plan.

On the rise and fall of the previous dynasty,

The saddest weak Song and Jin Shi.

Eternal hatred,

"Huang Li" ear!

When She Yiyuan read it, everyone read it with him, read it several times, pondering the meaning of each sentence, and everyone secretly guessed the six words "Rong curtain strategy, regret left". Li Zhenzhong understood what these six words meant, but he refused to say it. Everyone was discussing, suddenly there was a strong wind, the sky and the earth were steep, and the sea was turbulent, impacting the foundation of Chenghai Tower. Everyone stopped talking, ran out of the house, grabbed the railing, looked at the vast sea with rolling white waves, and felt that this Chenghai Building, which was built on the reef and based on boulders, kept shaking in the wind and waves.