"The people from the old camp are Liu Tichun's last possessions."
The young man muttered, feeling inexplicably sad in his heart.
These gray-haired people are all Liu's elite soldiers brought by Suo Yanlong from Laomukong, and almost half of them are the original Laoshun army.
It can be said that these people are all elite soldiers who crawled out of the dead. They are very capable in combat. Unfortunately, time is not forgiving. The average age now is probably fifty years old. Not to mention that some old soldiers even died during the Chongzhen period. He joined the Peasant Army and is now in his sixties.
Usually, people in their 50s and 60s have basically settled down to live an old life, and it is impossible for them to charge on the battlefield like young people, because their energy and body no longer allow it.
However, these white-haired old soldiers are still fighting on the front line of the Anti-Qing Dynasty like the young people, and are even used as the most important combat force at critical moments. I really don’t know whether it is the sadness of history, the sadness of the times, or the tragedy of the times. The sorrow of this nation.
For no reason, the young man thought of the white-haired veterans of the Tang Army who stood guard in the Western Regions thousands of years ago.
These white-haired veterans in front of us are so similar to the veterans of the Tang Army who stood firm in the Western Regions thousands of years ago!
One is for the final glory of the Tang Dynasty, and the other is for the last integrity of the Han family.
well.
Thinking of this, the young man sighed again. Although he admired these white-haired veterans, he knew that the big thing was over and destiny could not be violated.
At present, there are at most a few months left before the Kuidong Anti-Qing Base is wiped out.
The outcome of this anti-Qing righteous army that had persisted for eighteen years was destined to be heroic and extremely tragic.
If young people remember correctly, Li Laiheng, the last coach of the Loyalty Battalion, should have died for his family and his country.
Li Laiheng's death was characterized by later historians as "the end of the armed resistance to the Qing Dynasty on the mainland under the banner of restoration of the Ming Dynasty."
There is nothing that can be done about this. Let me ask, how can we fight against the Manchu Qing Dynasty who owns the whole of China with a small land!
In the current situation, facing the heavy encirclement and suppression by more than 100,000 Qing troops, how can the Ming army, which has less than 20,000 soldiers left and no foreign aid or supplements, persevere?
The Qing army also killed the Ming army at the expense of human lives!
One Ming army dies, one less!
One Qing army dies, but countless more can be replenished!
Failure is inevitable.
There is no hope of victory.
Therefore, young people are not averse to surrender in their bones.
At least, after hearing that many Ming generals were leading their tribes to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, he did not look down on these people, let alone hate them. Instead, he felt that their choice might be the right one.
In the face of life and death, not everyone has a firm and eternal heart and is not afraid of death!
Choosing life or death is human freedom.
No one can take away this freedom.
Dying for one’s beliefs is certainly worthy of praise, but must one still be criticized for surviving?
Today, in the Three Gorges area of the Yangtze River, there is no dawn for the Ming army, only despair and a bottomless abyss.
Keep fighting, there is only sacrifice.
Of course, the young man himself will not take the initiative to surrender, because he cannot pass the hurdle in his heart.
So, he is waiting.
Waiting for someone to take him to surrender.
There is a difference between active landing and forced landing.
Although the result is the same, it can make people feel better inside.
Perhaps, this is the meaning of the fig leaf.
The young man's name is Wang Wu, but he has no name.
The adopted father's surname.
Wang Wu's adopted father's surname was Wang Deshun, a captain in charge of the Shun Army. He adopted Wang Wu when he accompanied Li Zicheng to besiege Kaifeng.
At that time, Wang Wu was exchanged for food by his father who was so hungry that he was reduced to skin and bones.
This is called "changing children and eating them".
After giving Wang Wu's father a few pieces of cake, Wang Wu, then two years old, became Wang Deshun's fifth adopted son.
Adopting adopted sons is a custom in the peasant army. There were many orphans due to the war. In order to allow these orphans to survive and to leave a legacy for their own families, many peasant army generals like to adopt adopted sons.
For example, the famous King of Jin Li Dingguo was the adopted son of Zhang Xianzhong, the leader of the Great Western Army.
Similarly, the famous Li Laiheng was also the adopted son of Li Zicheng's nephew Li Guo.
Wang Deshun was illiterate and didn't bother to think about it, so he didn't name his adopted sons. He called them Wang Da, Wang Er...
Then, Wang Wu is called Wang Wu.
Wang Deshun has adopted a total of seven adopted sons, and now there are only three left.
In addition to Wang Wu, he also has an older brother, Wang Si, and a younger brother, Wang Liu.
The remaining few either died of illness or were killed by Qing army attacks.
When Wang Deshun himself entered Hunan with Longhu General Gao Yigong in the tenth year of Yongli, he was attacked by the local chieftain and unfortunately died of an arrow. After his death, his followers followed Liu Tichun. Wang Wu, who was 13 years old at the time, entered the children's camp of Liu Tichun's tribe with his two brothers.
When the three brothers grew up, they began to serve in the army. Because they were the children of "martyrs", and Wang Deshun was very close to Liu Tichun during his lifetime, so under the shadow of others, the three brothers were reused by Liu Tichun and held different military positions.
Wang Si, who was two years older than Wang Wu, took up the guerrilla position. Wang Liu, who was one year younger than Wang Wu, served as flag bearer in Liu Tichun's personal camp. Wang Wu himself was assigned to serve as commander-in-chief under Tian Shouyi, the commander-in-chief of the seals. .
According to the official system of the Ming Dynasty, the seventh rank belongs to the grassroots officers of the army.
In the past, Shunjun was the commander-in-chief.
This was definitely a good starting point for Wang Wu, who was only 16 years old at the time.
In the following years, Wang Wu continued to fight with Tian Shouyi, and in a few years he was promoted to General Qian.
In the battle with the Qing army last autumn, Wang Wu and his men successfully surrounded a Qing army and gained a lot. They also personally killed a deputy general of the Qing army's green camp, so he was promoted by Tian Shouyi, the commander-in-chief of the imperial seal. As the leader of the personal barracks, he was also given an official letter from the Longbian Jingzhou generals issued by the Yongli court in the past.
The 22-year-old Wang Wu was not only the captain of the personal soldiers of Tian Shouyi, but also the Jingzhou General of the Ming Dynasty.
But everyone knows that this Jingzhou general is a fool, because Emperor Yongli even asked Wu Sangui to strangle him to death.
The emperor is gone, this general is nothing, who will admit it?
In fact, it is the position of captain of the personal soldiers.
As we all know, a general's personal barracks are the most elite of an army. Those who can serve as captains of personal soldiers must also be the general's confidants, and their status in an army is very important.
Wang Wu can be the captain of Tian Shouyi's personal soldiers, which shows that Tian has great trust in him.
And Tian Shouyi was not from the Laoshun Army. He was originally an officer of the Jingzhou Guard in the Ming Dynasty. Liu Tichun, who led people to defect in the seventh year of Yongli, was precisely because Tian was not from the Laoshun Army. Wang Wu always suspected that he would surrender to the Qing Dynasty. military.
If this is the case, Wang Wu will not object.
Tian Shouyi expressed to Wang Wu half a month ago that the situation was collapsing and that he wanted to make plans for his brothers.
At that time, Wang Wu was still the original Wang Wu, so after hearing this, he only said that only the commander-in-chief was the one to follow.
Today's Wang Wu is replaced by another soul, but this soul also agrees with the idea of making plans early.
This battle really can't be fought.
Looking at it now, Tian Shouyi may be afraid of Suo Yanlong, so he has not dared to make up his mind.
Wang Wu knew about Liu Tichun, the Duke of Wan, who was as famous as Duke Li Laiheng, but he knew nothing about Suo Yanlong, the chief soldier who led the troops a few days ago. He only knew that this person was Liu Tichun's confidant. general.
Not long ago, he commanded the Ming army to counterattack the Qing army in Chenjiapo. Unfortunately, the Ming army failed to win that battle, which resulted in the Qing army subsequently capturing Tianchi Village, the Ming army's important town. This caused many Liu generals to lose confidence in resisting and surrender to the Qing. The already tense situation worsened instantly.
This time Liu Tichun sent Suo Yanlong to bring the old battalion soldiers to take over the defense of Wujiayuanzi. In addition to wanting to increase the defensive capabilities of the western front to block the Qing army, he might not be wary of Tian Shouyi's rebellion.
If Suo Yanlong is also a hero like Liu Tichun and Li Laiheng who would rather die than surrender, I am afraid there will be a civil strife in Wujiayuanzi, but I don't know whether Suo Yanlong or Tian Shouyi struck first.
If Tian Shou Yizhen decided to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and get rid of Suo Yanlong, as the captain of Tian's personal soldiers, Wang Wu would definitely lead someone to take action.
Thinking of this, Wang Wu couldn't help but frown slightly.
Although he wants to settle down with Tian Shouyi, it does not mean that he wants to help Tian Shouyi get rid of Suo Yanlong.
After all, he still admires and respects heroes who would rather die than surrender.
Therefore, he absolutely did not want his hands to be stained with the blood of anti-Qing martyrs.
But what if Tian Shou forces him?
Not following Tian Shouyi means that he will die for his country just like Li Laiheng and others!
But he didn't want to die here.
Wang Wu, whose forehead was locked, looked really worried. He hesitated several times but couldn't make up his mind. After a while, he decided to take it one step at a time.
When I came out, I was woken up by peeing.
After taking a long pee, he was about to go back to the house and continue sleeping when the guards shouted and scolded not far away, and then he saw a figure moving at the camp gate.
Today, the old camp soldiers brought by Suo Yanlong are on duty at various places in the camp.
Soon, the officer on night duty was seen running toward the residence of the general Suo Yanlong with three men covered in snow.
Seeing a few people walking in a hurry, it seemed like something big was going on. Wang Wu was suddenly confused as to what was going on, but he was not familiar with the old battalion officer who was on duty at night, so it was inconvenient to stop and ask.
Standing in the wind and snow, watching from a distance until several figures disappeared into the darkness, Fang shook his head and returned to the house.
It was so cold outside that he couldn't bear it.
This house made of earth and stone was the "welfare package" for Wang Wu, a staff general and captain of the personal soldiers. Although it was not much better than the thatched house where ordinary soldiers lived, at least it was not cold in the house and there was a charcoal fire.
It's just that Wang Wu is not the only one living in this house, there are two other people.
He is Wang Wu's personal soldier.
One is named Zhu San, who is mute.
One is called Wan Si, a one-eyed dragon.
Zhu San was originally able to speak, but during a battle a Qing soldier's spear poked him in the cheek. After the blow, his tongue seemed to be unable to function, and he could speak abaababa. Over time, he was called mute.
Wan Si's left eye was hit by an arrow from the Qing soldiers, and the entire eyeball was gouged out, similar to Li Zicheng's.
Wang Wu also had injuries on his body, and there was an inch-long scar on his back. It was an injury he suffered last year while fighting for his life with the deputy general of the Green Battalion of the Qing Army.
Zhu San and Wan Si had been sitting until Wang Wu came in before they lay down again.
Wang Wu slept on the same bed, and Zhu San and Wan Si crowded on the same bed.
What is burned in the charcoal stove is not coal, but charcoal made by Zhu San, which has a non-choking taste.
Seeing that the charcoal in the furnace was almost burning, Wang Wu dragged out a bamboo basket from under the bed, picked up a few large pieces from it and threw it into the furnace. After that, he did not go to bed, but sat down on the small stool by the stove. While warming themselves by the fire, I was thinking about who came to Wujiayuanzi in the snow late at night and what they came to report.
Zhu San and Wan Si on the bed were also half asleep and half awake. From time to time they raised their heads and glanced at the captain beside the charcoal stove.
Wang Wuchao waved his hands to the two of them, indicating that nothing was wrong and allowed them to continue sleeping.
Suddenly feeling a little hungry, Wang Wu found a large piece of sweet potato from the pile in the corner and roasted it on the charcoal. When it was almost done, he was about to peel it off and eat it when someone outside whispered: " Captain, General Tian asked me to summon you to the lobby to discuss matters."
He is Tian Shouyi's personal soldier.
Hearing this, Wang Wu ignored the sweet potato and quickly put on his cotton coat, took his saber and went to the lobby with the soldiers outside.
Zhu San and Wan Si also put on their clothes immediately, each holding a knife and following Wang Wu.
The "lobby" is not the lobby where the yamen tried cases, but the meeting place where Wujiayuanzi garrisoned the Ming army. It may have been the ancestral hall of the local people with the surname Wu.
After rushing to the lobby despite the heavy snow, Wang Wu saw many people coming inside, including officers from the old battalion brought by Suo Yanlong, officers under Tian Shouyi, and General Hu Jungui, deputy generals Wang Zhili, Zhao De'an and others. exist.
After taking a closer look, he saw that they were all important generals under the command of each general.
Two lanterns were hung on the beams above the lobby. Due to the strong wind, the lanterns were blown up and down on the beams.
Tian Shouyi was talking in a low voice with Suo Yanlong. When he saw Wang Wu coming over, he nodded slightly and asked him to stand aside. Then he said to the officers who were confused as to why the military meeting was called late at night: "I just received the news. Lao Mukong's side problem occurs."
"What happened?!"
All the officers were shocked, because Lao Mukong was Liu Shuai's station!
Wang Wu was also shocked. Laomukong was Liu Tichun's last important stronghold, and could even be said to be Liu Tichun's home base. Once something happened there, it would mean that the head of Liu's command would be taken away. In this way, the Ming army on Wujiayuanzi's side would really be leaderless, or it would be over. collapsed, or surrendered one after another.
There is no other suspense.
Tian Shouyi did not keep everyone waiting, and directly said that the commander-in-chief Tian Heng and Wan He secretly colluded with the Qing army to cause chaos in Laomukong.
When he heard that Tian Heng and Wan He were making trouble, the deputy general Yu Guohua was angry and angry. He hurriedly said to the general Suo Yanlong: "Please give the order to Suo Zhen. The last general will take people to rescue Liu Shuai and bring Tian Heng and Wan He to the rescue." This little bitch cut him into pieces!"
Upon seeing this, the other officers also roared angrily that they would lead troops to Laomukong to quell the chaos. All the Ming army generals in the hall were angry, and those with family members in Laomukong were so anxious that cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.
Wang Wu didn't say anything, even though his sworn brother Wang Liu was in Laomukong.
He just looked at Tian Shouyi calmly, because he found that there seemed to be something wrong in the eyes of General Tian when the generals were roaring to quell the chaos.
I couldn't help but wonder if it was the news of the rebellion in Lao Mukong that prompted Tian Shouyi to make up his mind to surrender?
At this time, I saw the iron-tower-like Suo Zhensuo Yanlong suddenly raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. Then he slowly glanced at the anxious officers and said in a deep voice:
"Liu Shuai's side is probably in distress, and it's too late to save him now. Now that things have happened, the commander-in-chief of Tongtian in this town has discussed it again and again, and for the sake of the future of our brothers, we have decided to send people to clear the camp at dawn to pay tribute."
