Under Xiping Fort, Fan Yongdou raised his head and looked at the somewhat dilapidated fortress, feeling a little better.
At least this place looks like a popular place. From the moment you enter the realm of Qing Dynasty, you feel like you are entering a ghost world.
Fan Yongdou knows this place. There is a very famous person here, his name is Luo Yiguan.
In the first month of the second year of Tianqi, a disagreement between Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen led to the complete collapse of Liaodong.
After several consecutive defeats, Hou Jin soldiers swarmed in, and more than 50,000 troops surrounded Xiping Fort.
Later, the Jin army dispatched all siege equipment, chariots, ladders, iron hooks and other siege equipment to prepare for a large-scale siege.
After careful observation, Nurhaci found that the castle here was very strong and the damage would not be too small if hit hard.
The Eight Banners had few people and could not withstand a war of attrition.
So he ordered his consort Li Yongfang to lead the Ming Dynasty surrender troops that had been collected in recent years to attack the city.
Li Yongfang had seen many generals who had surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, and he didn't think Luo Yiguan was any different.
As a Ming surrender general, he sent a messenger to the city with a white flag, trying to persuade Luo Yiguan to surrender.
The envoy shouted loudly: "We know that General Luo is a good man. Our Great Khan has always admired the general. Please surrender quickly, so as to save the lives of innocent soldiers and civilians in the fortress. The Great Khan is willing to share wealth with the general!"
Luo Yiguan was very angry. He hated the traitors who betrayed the country and surrendered to the enemy. He stood on the tower and cursed Li Yongfang: "Bitch thief! Why did the Ming Dynasty never treat you badly? Why did you surrender to the enemy? Don't you know that I, Luo Yiguan, am a loyal minister?"
He ordered the soldiers to also raise a big flag and shouted: "The traitor Li Yongfang, come down quickly, I will save you from death!"
Li Yongfang was furious and ordered an immediate attack on the city. For a time, the Han surrender troops were climbing the city in front, and the Eight Banners were shooting arrows from behind. Suddenly, arrows rained down.
Xiping Fort is a fortified city with many firearms, including a large number of French cannons and cannons.
Luo Guanyi relied on the power of firearms to defend the city and fired back fiercely with artillery fire.
At this time, Hou Jin did not know much about firearms and lacked experience. Soldiers lined up in dense formation. Densely covered on the flat ground on all sides of the castle.
The piles of wretched soldiers became the best targets for accurate artillery fire. Every time a shell landed, with a deafening roar, a large area of Houjin soldiers fell to the ground, and the queue was beaten into a bloody alley.
Under the ricochet attack of the Franco machine cannon and the spherical lead bullets of the cannon, the thick and dense infantry array was continuously penetrated.
The large shield erected in front of the shield vehicle was made of hardwood, filled with sand and stones, and covered with quilts. Under the extremely close range bombardment of the large-caliber Franco machine cannon, not only did it not play a blocking role, but it was broken into pieces. Wooden thorns flew all over the sky, killing a large number of infantrymen behind.
Luo Guanguan ordered that the artillery should mainly deal with the Eight Banners soldiers hiding behind the shield vehicles, and the three-eyed muskets and bows and arrows should deal with the surrendering troops below the city.
Not long after the war started, the enemy suffered heavy casualties, and there were so many corpses under the city that the trenches were filled!
Nurhaci knew the importance of Xiping Fort. Xiping Fort was the only fortified city on the straight line between Shenyang and Jinzhou, and it was the barrier to the southeast of Shenyang. It must be taken down.
Under his coercion, the Hou Jin soldiers braved artillery fire and fought desperately to attack the city. They were about to break the city three times, but the soldiers and civilians of Xiping Fort resisted desperately, and the Jin soldiers were repulsed three times. The dead bodies of Hou Jin soldiers were almost as high as the city wall outside the east city.
Luo Guan had few troops, only 3,000.
In order to boost morale, he went to the front line in person and commanded from the tower.
During the fierce battle, a stray arrow flew and hit one of Luo Yiguan's eyes. Luo Yiguan pulled it out with his bare hands, but blood surged out for a while, causing him to lose the ability to command.
At the critical moment, the officers and soldiers of the entire army did not fall into panic and collapse. The officers and soldiers still fought independently. Until the gunpowder is used up and the arrowheads are used up.
There was still no news of reinforcements, and Xiping Fort fell into despair.
The two sides fought fiercely until noon, and the firearms on the walls of Xipingbao finally stopped bombarding. Nurhachi knew that Luo Yiyi had no gunpowder.
He hurriedly ordered the Hou Jin soldiers to quickly push out all the remaining shield vehicles, enter the city regardless of casualties, set up ladders, and climb the city from all directions to attack.
At this time, more than half of the Ming soldiers were injured and lost their ability to fight. They could only watch helplessly as the Hou Jin soldiers surged up like a tide. Xiping reached the final moment.
Luo Guanyi would rather die than surrender, and was determined to die for his country. He faced the capital, bowed, and said angrily: "Your Majesty, all the ammunition and reinforcements are exhausted, the city has been destroyed. The minister's strength is exhausted, I will try my best!"
After saying that, he raised his sword and killed himself.
Dusi Chen Shangren, Wang Chongxin and others followed closely and committed suicide one after another.
None of the three thousand soldiers guarding the city surrendered, and they all died in the final street fighting.
Later, tens of thousands of Jin soldiers attacked the fortified city defended by 3,000 people, killing and wounding 6,000 to 7,000 people. They were both ashamed and angry.
In this small castle, more people died than in the Battle of Saarhu.
The angry Jin soldiers wiped out the people who fled into the city.
Although Fan Yongdou is a businessman, he is different from other businessmen. He has been deeply concerned about major events in the world since he was a child.
He believes that real big businessmen make a fortune by relying on their insights into the general trend of the world.
What happened in Xipingbao made him very sad.
The blood of loyal ministers and martyrs is admired and respected regardless of that era or camp.
However, reason told him that as a pure businessman, he should only have one thing in his heart, and that is money.
Only pure businessmen can achieve the achievements of Shen Wansan and Tao Zhugong. This has also been his ambition since childhood.
In front of the city gate of Xipingbao, several people were waiting. The leader was a young man who was a few years younger than himself.
Fan Yongdou squinted his eyes and looked carefully. Under the light of Xunxun's torch, this young man was tall and mighty. He is fully six feet (186 cm) tall. His appearance is even more impressive.
Fan Yongdou thought for a moment and already understood who this person was.
So he quickly dismounted and walked quickly to the man. He said loudly: "Fan Yongdou, a descendant of the Fan family in Gaoping, Shanxi Province, met his younger brother."
The young man was also sizing up Fan Yongdou, and he saw that Fan Yongdou was of medium height, with delicate features and a strong bookish air. He looked more like a scholar who had read a lot of poetry and books. I was also very happy.
The bitter cold land of Liaodong has always been a cultural desert. For more than 200 years since the Ming Dynasty, the number of Jinshi in Liaodong was the lowest among all districts in the country, with only 72 people. But they are all very outstanding talents. Basically they have achieved high official positions.
Therefore, scholars in Liaodong's eyes have a high status.
"I am a descendant of the Fan family in Gaoping, Fan Chengyin, the 18th grandson of Fan Wenzhenggong in Pizhou, has met my clan brother." Fan Chengyin said with a smile on his face and a friendly hand.
Both the Fan Wencheng family in Northeast China and the Fan Yongdou family in Jiexiu, Shanxi are considered to be descendants of Fan Zhongyan, a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty.
This time when Fan Yongdou came to Liaodong, he contacted the Fan family in Shenyang in advance and said hello before coming.
After all, both families have now separated from their ancestral home and have formed their own systems.
One family settled in Zhangjiakou, and the other settled in Shenyang.
But after all, blood is thicker than water, and clans were valued in ancient times. Fan Yongdou would not fail to take advantage of such a good relationship.
But he didn't expect that the Shenyang branch would attach so much importance to his visit. Let the eldest son and grandson come to greet him in person.
Fan Zhongyan's ancestor was Fan Lubing, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, who lived in Pizhou (near Changwu, Shaanxi).
Fan Zhongyan's great ancestor Fan Sui crossed the Yangtze River south during the reign of Emperor Yizong of the Tang Dynasty and served as the magistrate of Lishui County. During the war in the Central Plains, he settled in Wuxian County (now Suzhou City).
During the Five Dynasties, both his great-grandfather and grandfather served as officials in Wuyue, and his father Fan Yong also served as an official in Wuyue in his early years.
After the founding of the Song Dynasty, Fan Yong followed Qian Chu, King of Wuyue, and surrendered to the Song Dynasty, and served as Secretary of the Wuning Army Jiedu Zhang.
Ningwujun, the name of Fangzhen in the Tang Dynasty. It was established in the late Tang Dynasty and governed the southeast of Huailai County, Hebei Province.
Fan Wencheng's branch should have gone from Hebei to Liaodong.
His great-grandfather Fan Rui served as Minister of War during the Jiajing Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty. His grandfather, Fan Chen, was the commander of the Shenyang Guard. His father is Fan Nan.
Fan Wencheng was born in the 25th year of Wanli (1597). His ancestral home is Shenyang and he comes from a family of officials.
Fan Wencheng's great-grandfather once served as Minister of War in the Ming Dynasty. Because he was upright in officialdom, Fan Rui was dismissed from office for speaking out against the treacherous minister Yan Song. Everyone pushed him against him. As a result, he was ostracized by villains, which led to the entire family being exiled to the Northeast. .
Therefore, Fan Wencheng has been considered a Northeasterner since he was born.
Judging from his family's experience, his feelings for Ming Dynasty will not be very good.
Grandpa was upright throughout his life, loyal to the emperor and loving the people, but his end was not good. As the saying goes, it is as straight as a string and dead on the edge of the road, and as curved as a hook, it is like a prince.
Several generations of his family have suffered a lot in the Northeast, and his generation was completely ruined and lived in poverty. These personal experiences had a certain influence on many of his ideas.
Fan Yongdou was originally from Jiexiu, Shanxi. Born in Zhangjiakou in the late Ming Dynasty.
As early as the early Ming Dynasty, the Fan family was doing business in Zhangjiakou and Mongolia. After seven generations, Fan Yongdou became a wealthy Han businessman in the Zhangjiakou area trading with Manchuria and Mongolia. People at that time said that "Jia lived in the border town and worked with integrity."
The Fan family of Zhangyuan Village in Jiexiu County was originally from Shaanxi and later moved to Zhangyuan Village in Jiexiu County.
It can be seen that both Fan families believe that their ancestral home is Pizhou, Shaanxi. They claim that they are all descendants of Fan Zhongyan, which should be very possible.
According to the "Zhang Yuan Fan Family Genealogy": "The ancestor Zhi Ganggong moved from Shaanxi to Shanxi during the Chenghua period of the former Ming Dynasty. He lived in Jiexiu City and later moved to Zhang Yuan Village."
From the time when Fan Ming passed down his Zhi Gang to the sixth generation, he took his eldest son Yong Kui to do business outside the Great Wall and earned a lot of money.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the third son Fan Yongdou (also named Xiaoshan) inherited his father and brother's business and became one of the eight merchants who controlled the trade in Zhangjiakou area. He mainly conducted horse trading with the Outer Mongolians and the Jurchens of Liaodong.
The Fan family is very powerful, and they say they can only be rich for three generations.
Fan Zhongyan's family has been prosperous for 800 years! There will be 80 top picks and 400 Jinshi. In the past dynasties, as many people as crucian carp crossed the river, they became officials. Simply appalling.
Among his descendants, Fan Yongdou has achieved great success in the business world, but it is really nothing.
Fan Wencheng was the most powerful person in the chaotic times of the late Ming Dynasty. In terms of personal ability, Hong Chengchou and his like are far behind.
His ruthless vision, accurate judgment of people, and ability to predict events, and his insight into world affairs and human feelings may only be matched by Jia Xu of the Three Kingdoms.
This person is also versatile in both civil and military affairs. He often goes into battle and serves as a general or a prime minister. Zhang Liang is talented in strategizing.
He was proficient in power and tactics, and knew the way to advance and retreat as an official. He was favored by the four emperors of Nurhaci, Huang Taiji, Shunzhi, and Kangxi, and he was also a confidant of the inner dynasty who participated in the secret planning.
He experienced countless civil strife, strife, conspiracies, coups, wars, and power transfers in his life. Not only did he choose the right side to win every time, saving himself and his family, but he also had intensive marriages with four generations of the royal family. The relationship was intricate and intricate, and the prosperity and wealth reached its peak.
Personally speaking, he is undoubtedly successful.
It's a pity that such an outstanding talent was not reused by the Ming Dynasty. If Chongzhen could reuse him, it's hard to say how history would be written.
"Brother Xiao Shan, the journey has been tiring. I have prepared a banquet to wash my hands. Please come with me into the city."
"Okay, okay, excuse me."
The group entered Xiping Fort through the dilapidated city gate.
