On the second floor of the official hall in the south of Hongwadian Village, west of Shanhaiguan, Zhang Qianhu asked again: "I have never seen this Mr. Liu, but I heard from the Superintendent that the current situation in Liaodong is very difficult for war and defense. I really want to talk to him. This Mr. Liu is planning and planning.
Does Mr. Liu know what kind of person this Mr. Liu is? "
Li Song withdrew his gaze and said slowly: "I have only met him once. I heard that this man fought against Jiannu for more than 20 years outside the Pass, and almost the entire army was wiped out in the battle of Liaoyang in the year of Apocalypse. .
Although he broke out of the siege of Jiannu, he still stayed in the Liaodong Army, always wanting to make a difference. Unexpectedly, after several years, the situation still showed no improvement, so he returned to the pass angrily.
From then on, he became discouraged about the military affairs in Liaodong. Every time he talked about Liao affairs with people in the capital, he couldn't help but burst into tears. He also wrote to the court many times, stating the strategy to save Liao, but the court did not adopt it.
He was unable to do anything about it, and later lived in seclusion at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha in Xishan Mountain, where he explained the art of war. Before leaving Beijing, our Lord Superintendent happened to go to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha and met Mr. Liu. He heard his name early on weekdays, and after talking to him, Quite enamored.
After that, he was invited to the palace in the capital for in-depth talks several times. The Commander-in-Chief repeatedly invited Mr. Liu to come to the army to praise military affairs, but Mr. Liu declined them all on the grounds that he would annotate military books.
Because the commander was about to send troops to relieve the siege of Jinzhou, he wrote a sincere letter and sent it to Mr. Liu, inviting him to come to Shanhaiguan to discuss the future strategy of fighting against the slaves.
Only then did Master Liu agree to come. He had left Beijing a few days ago and arrived in Yongping the day before yesterday. Hearing that our supervisor remembered to leave Shanhaiguan, he hurried here day and night. "
Zhang Qianhu suddenly realized: "Oh. No wonder the Supervisor attaches so much importance to it and sent Master Li to greet him personally. I really want to see what kind of person this Master Liu is right away!"
While he was talking, there was a rapid sound of horse hooves outside the reception hall. Li Song hurriedly looked out the window and said to Zhang Zhongping of Qianhu: "Go and have a look. Have the guests arrived?"
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After Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, moved from Yongping to Shanhaiguan, he established the governor's headquarters in Ninghai City, which is outside Shanhaiguan City and close to the sea.
Ninghai City is located next to the east end of the Jizhen Great Wall. It faces the sea on one side and closely relies on the Great Wall on the other. It is an important military fortress in the Shanhaiguan defense system.
Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, disliked the crowds in Shanhaiguan City, so he located his governor's headquarters in Ninghai City. However, the size of Ninghai City was limited and could not accommodate many officers and soldiers, so they had to build many buildings outside the city. Military tent.
Hong Chengchou's Supervisor Battalion had 2,000 cavalrymen, most of whom were stationed in Ninghai City. There were nearly 2,000 infantrymen stationed outside the city, and some infantrymen were stationed in the south wing city closer to Shanhaiguan.
However, Hong Chengchou himself did not live in his governor's residence, but in Chenghai Tower.
Chenghai Tower, also known as Zhisheng Tower, is nearly five feet high, more than five feet wide, and four feet deep. The building is divided into two floors, with brick and wood structure, resting hills, double eaves and tile roof. There is a "male lapel" on the upper floor. The plaque "Ten Thousand Miles" was inscribed by Sun Chengzong, a great scholar.
There is only more than half a mile between Chenghai Tower and Ninghai City. There is also a stone city wall that leads directly to the sea. This section is called "Old Dragon Head" and is the starting point of the east side of the Great Wall in Ji Town.
In the past two months, Hong Chengchou had been writing books by himself, getting up at dawn every day and going to bed at midnight, but he was buried with worries and anguish in his heart.
Every time he thought about the military affairs in Liaodong, he sighed with emotion. Especially when he heard that the emperor was going to send Zhang Ruoqi, a doctor from the Ministry of War, to his side as a supervisor, it made him even more worried.
The imperial court had sent several messages, ordering him to quickly lead troops to relieve the siege of Jinzhou. However, Hong Chengchou had gathered a large army at the beginning and was unable to go immediately. He needed to make proper arrangements before he could go to the Songshan front line.
Later, it was announced that the main force of Zhang Cheng's command and the Shenji Battalion of the capital had not yet arrived. It was not appropriate to march to Songshan to fight Jiannu at this time. We still had to wait for the army to be assembled before we could make the trip.
However, the Ministry of War pressed him even more urgently, and Emperor Chongzhen also repeatedly issued decrees ordering him to advance the troops quickly, and not to delay for too long, which would cause the troops to be exhausted and embarrassed to fight.
In the early morning of that day, he first ordered Qianhu Zhang Zhongping to escort Li Song, his confidant, to the red tile shop to greet Liu Zizheng. After breakfast, he called Chen Zhongcai, his deputy general of the Chinese army, and said to him: "These two copies The title book has just been saluted and will be sent out immediately together with the message."
On the table beside him were the title book written to Emperor Chongzhen and the military information message submitted to the Ministry of War. In addition to his plans for the future war in Liaodong, the report also stated that he had decided not to wait for Zhang Cheng and the Shenji Battalion. .
On May 10, he would lead Wu Sangui, Yang Guozhu and other eight soldiers and horses out of the customs first, and quickly go to Ningyuan Guards to gather in an effort to break the siege of Jinzhou.
Chen Zhongcai, the deputy general of the Chinese army, picked up the two official documents and saw that they had been sealed with lacquer, with the word "Ji Mi" written on them, and the gates of the governor's office were sealed. He also took the family letter that Hong Chengchou had written, and then Just quit and go.
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??Hong Chengchou sat alone in the room, feeling heavy with his thoughts. He folded his hands behind his back and read the poems on the wall upstairs.
Among the many poems inscribed by celebrities on the wall, his favorite was "Man Jiang Hong", which was signed "The Army Remains in Life", and he couldn't help but recite it in a low voice:
"Looking north to the Liao River, I stare for a long time, and my heart is about to break.
The battlefield is quiet, but I can hear the sad chirps of wild geese.
In the past thirty years, the conquests have come and gone.
I asked who can offer sacrifices to the souls of the martyrs in the wilderness who have not yet returned?
Enclosing borders is like child's play.
In the court, disputes raged.
Sighing that Jin Ou is incomplete and has no plan for allegiance.
After the most painful episode, the hero shed tears of sadness.
Reciting poems and writing generous poems to join the army, you are done with it! "
Every time he recited this poem, he had the same feeling, especially when he thought about the story about Xiong Tingbi's Liaodong economic strategy during the Tianqi period, which was reported to the Nine Sides. , Success or failure only occurs in one thought!
Regrettably, since he was stationed at Jie Chenghai Building, he has also asked several well-informed staff and guests, as well as local gentry, but no one knows who this "Reminder of the Army" is. ??
He read the official documents for a while, and felt irritable again, so he came to the window and leaned on the railing, looking into the sea. The waves came one after another, and it was like the waves behind pushed the waves ahead, all rushing towards Chenghai Tower, hitting the rocks and lapping at each other. Touch the foundation of the building.
His eyes couldn't help but look at Jiang Nu's tomb isolated among the rocks in the distance, and the white sails that went around Jiang Nu's tomb and headed east. Those were the fleets transporting military supplies to Liaodong. They were full of white sails and headed toward the northeast. Drive away.
Hong Chengchou gradually withdrew his gaze and saw several gunboats on alert not far from Chenghai Tower, rising and falling with the waves on the sea.
At this time, a staff member came in and said hurriedly: "Supervisor, an angel has arrived!"
