On the night of November 21, the eleventh year of Kangxi reign in the Qing Dynasty, Sihui County.
This small county located on the bank of the Suijiang River and affiliated to Zhaoqing Prefecture has now become a "difficult barracks" for the Qing soldiers. All the houses in the city have been occupied by the swarming Qing troops. Needless to say, the people in the city must have suffered. Those Qing heavenly soldiers who couldn't defeat the Ming army in Guichengdu and Qingqi on the south bank of Suijiang River couldn't bully the people of Sihuicheng?
In the small county town, rape and robbery were everywhere, and desperate cries could be heard everywhere... However, the cries of the common people could not move the Qing Ningnan Jingkou General Ma, who had previously been quite strict in running the army. Jia. Tuhai.
General Tu, who knew a little about water skills, decisively staged a good show of committing suicide by jumping into the river to win sympathy after hearing that Shi Lang was here this morning. Of course, the main responsibility for losing the battle like this lies with Wu Sangui. , but what about secondary responsibilities? The big black pot surnamed Wu is on the back, but what about the little black pot?
So it doesn’t matter whether you will drown if you jump into the river. What matters is the attitude!
He is showing the attitude of the Little Holy Lord Kangxi and his subordinates in Beijing that they have the courage to take responsibility!
However, this river jumping scene can only appease the generals of Sun Yanling, Sun Sike, Ma Xiong, Yan Ziming, and Shi Lang, and at the same time give the little emperor Kangxi a reason to forgive him. The defeated army below does not care about his life or death in the middle hall!
Therefore, Tu Hai could only relax military discipline and let these defeated soldiers harm the people of Guangdong... At least until his remnants of troops withdraw from Guangdong, he would not rectify military discipline.
General Tu, who turned a deaf ear to the cries of the people in Sihui, had put on a clean official uniform at this time, and sat in the lobby of Sihui County Government with a gloomy face, together with Sun Yanling, Sun Sike, Ma Xiong, Yan Ziming, and Shi Lang , and his confidant military advisor Zhou Peigong are discussing countermeasures together!
"Zhongtang, the boats on the Suijiang River have been burned, and the thousands of brothers who were still on the south bank have been captured by the rebels... There are about four to five thousand brothers who have crossed the river."
The person who was reporting the retreat across the river to Tuhai was Shi Lang. After he "acted bravely" to salvage Tuhai, his people swam across the Suijiang River and used the wooden boat abandoned in the north of the river as a ferry. Transporting people back and forth, it was not until the Ming army's pursuers crossed Qingqiyong and reached the bank of Suijiang River that they had to burn the wooden boats and stop the rescue.
"Four to five thousand..." Tu Hai muttered in a low voice, "Including the garrison troops from Qingyuan, Yingde, and Shaozhou, there are less than 10,000 people. Of the army of more than 40,000 people, only In this way, Tuhai has failed the emperor's favor!"
After hearing Tu Hai's words, several high-ranking officials present lowered their heads and became speechless. This battle was indeed a miserable defeat! It is certain that I have failed the emperor's favor, but I wonder how the emperor will be furious?
"Zhongtang," Zhou Peigong said, "our defeat here was caused by Wu Sangui's treason and was not a crime of war! The emperor is a wise master and will definitely not blame us. The plan for now is Stop the offensive of the two traitors Pseudo Ming and Wu Sangui as soon as possible, and don't let them sweep across Jiangnan! Jiangnan is the foundation of the country's tax revenue. Once there is any loss, the court will have no money to pay!"
Tu Hai was startled, then raised his head and looked at Zhou Peigong, "Pei Gong, isn't it? Are we going to retreat to Hunan now?"
Zhou Peigong shook his head, "It's not about retreating to Hunan, but retreating to Jiangxi!"
"Jiangxi?" Tu Hai immediately shook his head, "No, no... Losing Guangdong and Guangxi is already a capital crime. If we give up Hunan again, how will I, Tu Hai, explain to the emperor?"
Zhou Peigong said: "Zhongtang... If you can't defend Hunan and lose Jiangnan, can you explain it to the emperor?"
"Why can't we defend Hunan?" Tu Hai frowned, "Zhu San and his son have not yet captured Guangdong, and Wu Sangui is still in Yunnan and Guizhou... The imperial court still has time to deploy defenses in Hunan!"
"Zhongtang!" Zhou Peigong shook his head and said, "It is only a matter of time before the pseudo-Ming Dynasty sweeps through Guangdong, and it is also a matter of time before Wu Sangui leaves Yunnan and Guizhou... Moreover, the sweeping of Guangdong and Guangxi and the army's departure from Yunnan and Guizhou will not delay the two families for much time. As many as three Months, at least one month, they will march to Hunan together. If the general wants to defend Hunan, he will be attacked in the belly. He has to resist Wu Sangui on one side and Zhu Heji on the other. Zhongtang, can we beat him? We If you can't even defeat Zhu Heji, how can you fight Zhu Heji and Wu Sangui at the same time?"
Tu Hai asked in an inaudible voice: "Then if you give up Hunan... you can defeat them?"
Zhou Peigong sneered and said: "After giving up Hunan, we don't have to deal with both of them at the same time!"
Tu Hai was stunned and looked at Zhou Peigong, "Pei Gong, what do you mean..."
Zhou Peigong sneered and said: "Zhongtang, isn't this obvious? One mountain can't accommodate two tigers, let alone two evil dragons?
As long as Wu Sangui does something, the three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan will be his, and Guangxi may also take half of it. Three parts of the world can be obtained in a blink of an eye... Will he be willing to be the Zhu family's lackey? Moreover, he once killed Emperor Yongli of the Zhu family! "
Tu Hai frowned and nodded slightly.
Zhou Peigong added: "Although the Zhu family and his son can fight, they only have one piece of land in Guangfu, and they are still a grassroots business... The foundation is not stable! If they want to fully grasp this treasure land of Guangdong, they must hold it firmly. , three months is at least three months. Judging from what their father and son did after taking Guangfu, it is very likely that they will first fully understand Guangdong and then use troops abroad. "
Tu Hai nodded again and said: "A steady attack is the key to success. Guangdong has ten prefectures and one state, with a population of millions, and it is a prosperous place with rivers and seas. If it were all, it would be difficult to wipe out!"
Zhou Peigong said: "What you say is absolutely true! But if we don't guard Hunan for them, by the time they pacify Guangdong and Guangxi, Hunan will probably have the surname Wu! By then, Zhu San and his son will be locked up in Guangdong... ..And we only need to block Wu Sangui's family. We can even use a little strategy to let Wu Sangui and Zhu San and his son fight among themselves!"
Tuhai frowned, squinted his eyes, and seemed to be hesitant. Zhou Peigong slowly glanced at Sun Yanling, Sun Sike, Ma Xiong, Yan Ziming, Shi Lang and others with meaningful eyes.
This meaning couldn't be more clear... It will be easier if everyone takes the blame together!
"Zhongtang, Zhou Peigong's analysis is correct!" Sun Yanling was the first to speak, "If we don't release Hunan, we will be attacked by the two families named Zhu and Wu. With the few people we have, The whole army will be wiped out in less than a month! Not only will Hunan be unable to defend it, but Jiangxi and even Jiangnan will be lost!"
Deputy General Sun Sike also reacted and echoed: "Zhongtang, the current situation is similar to the situation after Prince Jingjinzhuang was killed by Li Dingguo. Didn't the Puppet Ming suffer the loss of two tigers in one mountain? The situation now is also the same. Almost like that, Zhu San and his son are Li Dingguo, and Wu Sangui is equivalent to Sun Kewang. If we take a step back temporarily, the Wu and Zhu families will have a dispute, and then the court will be able to reap the benefits."
The three admirals, Ma Xiong, Yan Ziming and Shi Lang, also quickly nodded in agreement.
Ma Xiong said: "Yes, that's the truth! What is this called? The plan of two tigers competing for food!"
Yan Ziming also said: "Zhongtang, why don't we jointly report to the emperor, state our interests and harm, and ask the emperor to allow us to retreat to Jiangxi!"
Shi Langze said: "Zhongtang, I feel that not only will Wu Sangui and Zhu San and his son fight sooner or later, but the Yanping Palace and Zhu San and his son may not always be in harmony. If we push too hard, Zhu and Zheng The two families will stick together to keep warm. If we can take a step back, maybe the two families will fight. After all, if Zhu San and his son want to conquer Guangdong Province, they have to capture Qiu Hui and Chen Shangchuan. They are both from the Yanping Palace. people."
Seeing that several of his subordinates were sympathizing with him and the Qing Dynasty, Tu Hai finally breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and said: "Without further delay, we will submit the booklet and title book to the emperor right away... After finishing the submission, Just withdraw, abandon Sihui and Qingyuan, and evacuate to Shaozhou Prefecture first."
