Before Hong Chengchou and others came out, the atmosphere in the hall was somewhat stiff.
The Xuanda 1st Department and the Liaodong 1st Department were all talking quietly to each other. Although they had some communication with each other, they didn't get along with each other deep down.
Zuo Guangxian also came from Xingshan to attend the military meeting. He was an old man who followed Hong Chengchou. He was a general of the Qin army and was considered a direct subordinate of Hong Chengchou.
He is similar to Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and others. They are all incompatible with the circle of old Liaodong military leaders. Although they are unwilling to offend him, they are not close friends.
In addition, Zuo Guangxian only hugged Hong Chengchou's lap, and he didn't like to pay attention to so many external affairs. There were many circles where he couldn't help but fit in.
Although there was a hint of worry in his eyes, when Hong Chengchou came out, he was still so gentle and elegant, with an aura that made people feel like spring breeze.
Unlike Central Supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, although he is also very elegant, he seems a bit impetuous. He is far less deep than Hong Chengchou, making it difficult for people to see what he is thinking in his heart.
Qiu Minyang, the governor of Liaodong, is much calmer than Zhang Ruoqi. After all, he has been a local official for a long time and has experienced ups and downs. He is not comparable to Zhang Ruoqi, an inexperienced Beijing official.
The first group of civil servants on the left, including Zhang Dou of the Military Preparation Department, Yao Gong, the deputy envoy to the inspection, Yuan Guodong, the general judge, Yan Jixian, the commander, and Zheng Ganmin, the supervisor and discipline officer, etc., have different performances, but they are always better than Zhang Sincerely, the military attache here is more refined.
Only after Hong Chengchou and others appeared, there was a little noise, then everyone took their seats and there was no more noise.
In addition, the Supervisory Road Wang Zhizhen was supervising the transportation of grain at Xingshan and Tashan. The grain road Zhu Tingxie was originally assisting the Superintendent Zhang Ruoqi in guarding and distributing military rations at the mouth of the Xiaoling River, so he was unable to attend the meeting.
After seeing the ceremony, Ji Liao Governor Hong Chengchou's face relaxed slightly, and he became more polite and kind. He joked a few words with the officials and generals.
He bluntly said that because the officials were working hard and the generals were brave in front of the battle, the Holy Spirit was very pleased and specially allocated 20,000 taels of silver from the internal fund to encourage the meritorious soldiers.
Next, there were some gentle words of comfort and words of encouragement, and he said that he would record the achievements of all officers and generals in detail and write to the court after the war, so that meritorious officers, generals and soldiers would not be rewarded.
Everyone in the hall burst into laughter. Since the previous war, the Tatars had reduced their forces and abandoned many mountain positions one after another. In these days, they have been on the defensive more often and avoided fighting.
As a result, all the generals of the Ming Dynasty's reinforcements began to underestimate the enemy, and for a while, their morale was greatly reduced.
Zhang Ruoqi, the commander-in-chief of the army, was the one who smiled the happiest. This time he came to Liaodong to supervise the army, and he gained not only military and political achievements, but also money and other things.
When checking the military merits a few days ago, he privately received a lot of benefits from each general, especially Li Fuming, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province, who he regarded as the biggest fat sheep.
Now he has asked himself to go to Xiaolinghekou to supervise the transportation of food and pay for the army. He is in charge of the important task of distributing food and fodder to the front. In order to get more food and grass, many generals have come to his side to do activities. Overtly and covertly, he has collected gold, silver and silk. I don’t know how much I collected.
When he first arrived in Liaodong, Zhang Ruoqi adhered to the wishes of Chen Xinjia, Minister of War, and blindly urged the war, but now there were some subtle changes in his heart.
He felt that there was no need to rush to determine the outcome of the Songjin War in Liaodong. In fact, it was best to maintain the current state. He urged Governor Hong Chengchou and the generals to fight every day. Every time he had military exploits, he could Share some profit.
Moreover, the task of supervising and transporting food and supplies was so lucrative that he wished he could fight this battle for three to five years, since he was not eating his own food anyway.
As for the matter entrusted by his soldier Chen Xinjia, he has long forgotten it. However, as cunning as he is, how can he reveal his own thoughts to the surface, so he still insists on fighting on the surface, but it is far from what it was at the beginning. fierce.
His approach was supported by Ma Shaoyu, who came to counsel on military affairs. He believed that the solution to the Liao affair was not military, but whether the peace talks could succeed.
Ma Shaoyu was very sober on this point. He clearly believed that if he wanted to completely solve the Liao affair, it would be difficult for Ming Dynasty to do so due to its current military insufficiency.
The current plan is to use force to promote peace.
If the peace negotiation is to be successful, it must be backed by a certain amount of force and serve as the basis for the peace negotiation.
But the use of force does not necessarily defeat, cripple, or cripple the Qing army. If the Qing army can really be defeated steadily, then peace talks are useless!
Therefore, the war he envisioned in Songjin was to maintain the status quo. The Tatar thieves had been beaten painfully last time, which was enough as the basis for peace talks.
And if the war continues, once the Battle of Songjin is defeated, the Ming Dynasty and Liaodong's military will collapse. Let alone any peace talks, it may be difficult to even survive the country.
However, it is a pity that his idea, which is very reasonable at this stage, has no support either within the court or in Liaodong.
Perhaps this is the tragedy of Ming Dynasty!
The correct ones are often difficult to be recognized, and even if they are recognized, it is difficult to actually implement them; while the wrong ones are easy to pass, and even quickly and completely implemented.
Then there are some seemingly correct decisions, but when they are executed, they turn into disasters. There are some things that I really don’t even dare to write about in books or make up stories like this!
It seems that the saying is really right: reality is often more fantasy and exciting than stories!
Through the relationship between Chen Jiugao and Zhang Ruoqi, Zhang Cheng and Ma Shaoyu also had some contact. Although they were not close to each other, they were at least familiar with each other.
Zhang Cheng didn't know much about Ma Shaoyu's past. Even if he lived two lives, how could he care about the lives of every big and small person?
However, judging from several contacts, Ma Shaoyu still has some talents and his insights are also very unique. However, the current Lila gang in the Ming Dynasty is too serious. If he fights alone based on his personal talent, he will only lose his head. flow and was knocked out.
Now Ma Shaoyu is openly a member of Chen Xinjia's army, and Zhang Cheng can also be regarded as a member of Chen Xinjia's lineage. Naturally, he wants to be on good terms with him, but whether they are close to each other or not remains to be observed.
Ma Shaoyu is not like Yu Shangyou and others. They have no foundation in the court, let alone strong backers. Therefore, once Zhang Cheng extends an olive branch to them and can give them hope, he can accept him for his own use, and they will provide mutual aid from then on. .
But Ma Shaoyu was indeed different. Now that he was on the line with his own soldier Chen Xinjia, how could he dare to have in-depth contact with him rashly? What would he do if he knew what he had done but provoked him in front of Chen Xinjia.
Although there is no in-depth contact, Zhang Cheng's feelings towards Ma Shaoyu are not bad, and are even slightly better than Zhang Ruoqi's, but now he has begun to restrain himself and is not eager to expand his wings.
Therefore, although Ma Shaoyu took him into consideration, he did not extend an olive branch to him. He just formed a good relationship for the time being!
Today, in addition to accompanying Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, to welcome the imperial decree, the officials and generals also have to discuss the next military battle against the slaves.
As the saying goes, it is better to arrive at a better time than to arrive at a better time. When the generals came to discuss military aircraft, they received a warning from the Ministry of War.
Emperor Chongzhen was also very cunning. His imperial edicts were full of words of comfort and praise. The main purpose was to inspire the Liaodong Army generals to fight bravely, but he did not mention a word about urging the war.
However, the fact that the imperial edict did not mention the urging of war does not mean that His Majesty the Emperor is no longer anxious. After all, money and food are increasingly scarce. With the current national strength of the Ming Dynasty, it is difficult to maintain the trend of using troops on both sides for a long time.
Therefore, to suppress the rogues internally and to defend the Tartars externally, one of them must be ended first. As for which one should be ended first, rationally speaking, it can only be the Tartars. Only peace talks and losses are acceptable.
As long as the Liaodong side calms down, all the hundreds of thousands of troops who dare to fight will be sent back to the interior, and it will not be difficult to eliminate the rogue bandits.
However, the Huanghuang princes who were talking on paper in the court resolutely and openly opposed the peace negotiation with the Tartars, so there was only one war against the Tartars, gambling on the future of the Ming Dynasty.
Restore the country in one battle, or destroy the country in one battle!
It is obvious to all how much the Emperor Chongzhen, who was mean and ungrateful and anxious about everything, cherished his reputation.
He himself did not directly urge war, but he made Chen Xinjia talk about urging war in the Ministry of War's propaganda. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was entirely the order of Emperor Chongzhen, and how could a man like Hong Chengchou not see it.
Today's military meeting was originally to discuss the next step of military action against the slaves, but after the governor Hong Chengchou stated the content of the imperial edict, the style of the meeting changed. The words of comfort and encouragement instantly turned into the words of the Ministry of War urging war.
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall was filled with the smell of depression and gunpowder. Wang Pu sat next to Zhang Cheng. He was the first to speak: "Director Hong, Director Zhang, my soldiers have been fighting for days, and now we are exhausted. However, the defense line of the Tartar camp was not touched at all. If this continues, the soldiers may become resentful.
The subordinates suggested that the troops should be suspended for a few days to allow the soldiers to rest and recuperate. Only in this way can we have a good fight! "
As soon as he said this, the generals of the towns on the right started talking with each other. Each battalion attacked for days, but the Tatars guarded the camp. Not only did they not see any results, but even the military morale that was aroused in the first battle was Morale was almost destroyed.
The sergeants in each battalion began to have complaints. Being physically and mentally exhausted, they were no longer as active and brave as they were at the beginning, and most of them did perfunctory things.
It is said that after Chen Jiugao spoke to Wang Pu, he bumped him lightly with his elbow and gave him a thumbs up secretly. Many generals looked at him approvingly.
Wang Pu, like Chen Jiugao, is a pushy person. One thing he is better than Chen Jiugao is that he cares about his own image, but he is more comfortable and proud than the praise of the generals.
There was a hint of happiness on his face, and he turned to look at Zhang Cheng sitting next to him with pride in his eyes. He saw Zhang Cheng with a serious face, sitting firmly in the first seat among the generals, looking like a general.
At this moment, Zhang Cheng was already the chief military officer of Xuanfu Town, commanding more than 30,000 strong reinforcements. He naturally took over the position that Yang Guozhu once occupied. His subordinate was Chen Jiugao of Shenji Camp, and his subordinate was Wang Pu of Datong.
This was not without criticism. Even if the generals in Jizhen and Liaozhen did not express their opinions clearly, rumors and rumors reached Zhang Cheng's ears from time to time, and their words were full of envy, jealousy and hatred.
Zhang Cheng didn't care at all about this. He was afraid of what people said. Others might be afraid, but what could he do here? He had never been one to show off the power of words.
As the commander-in-chief of an army, the first priority is to have strong soldiers and horses.
Zhang Cheng's position as the number one military commander is actually not for his own sake, nor for the limelight.
He was sitting entirely for the tens of thousands of soldiers who aided the Liao Dynasty in Xuanfu Town, and for Yang Guozhu, the former commander-in-chief of Xuanfu who died in front of the battle!
Since Zhang Cheng has taken over the military position of chief military officer of Xuanfu Town, he represents the entire Xuanfu Town, not just himself. Even if he wants to give up the seat of the top military commander, who here would dare to sit on it?
Whoever sits on it is the enemy of Xuanfu Town, because this seat belongs to the chief military officer of Xuanfu Town. Yang Guozhu came to sit on it before, and now Zhang Cheng will sit on it.
Just like Zhang Cheng always educates his generals to "never give up, never give up", to have the spirit of "going up the mountain to fight tigers", and to "have the courage to be the first and to use your life in front of the army" in everything.
At this moment, if he gave up this seat, how would he face the 30,000 soldiers under his command, and how would he face General Yang Guozhu, the former chief military officer of Xuanfu Town who had helped him.
Even if he is only the temporary acting commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, he has not yet been awarded the title of "General Zhenshuo".
But, so what?
Zhang Cheng is no longer the little commander-in-chief he was when he was King Qin. He is not strong enough and can only be manipulated by others. Anyone can despise him and anyone can come up and pinch him.
Now he is the commander-in-chief of Fifang, with dozens of direct officers and generals under his command and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, which is enough to dominate Fifang. Among the people here today, only Governor Hong Chengchou of Jiliao and General Commander Zhang Ruoqi still have some influence on him.
But Zhang Cheng treated the two of them out of respect, and to give some face to the Ming court behind them. After all, although he was firmly on one side with his current strength, he still couldn't compete with the Ming Dynasty, which had the reputation of justice in the world. The imperial court contended.
Zhang Cheng had his own views on the war in the past half month. He followed the Tatar strategy of besieging Jinzhou and rotated the soldiers who went out to fight every day. Today, two battalions went to fight, and tomorrow the other two battalions went to fight. .
In this way, although there were some casualties, the soldiers of each battalion also grew up in daily battles. For example, the Dengfeng battalion led by Li Jiyu went to war for the first time since the camp was established in Yongning and trained as an army.
Fortunately, in the previous battle, Zhang Cheng was not arranged to attack in the first wave. Otherwise, the soldiers of the battalions under his command would have suffered heavy casualties.
Although the armor, guns and artillery are excellent, and there are chariots for cover, they still lack combat experience. Apart from bandits, they have only fought against rogue bandits. But how can the fighting power of Tartar bandits be matched by rogue bandits?
The main reason why they were able to defeat the Tartars in one battle in the previous war was that their troops were well-organized and their chariots and cannons were sharp. Moreover, the Tartars had been fighting for half a day, and the veterans of the division were exhausted before they were easily defeated by Zhang Cheng's Xuanbei Army. .
After half a month of battles, the soldiers in his battalions, who were not used to it at the beginning, have become strong soldiers in every battle. They made full use of the characteristics of blunderbuss and cannons that are both light and capable of shooting long distances, and fought with the Tartar thieves. Played mobile position warfare.
Especially in recent days, it has been difficult to see casualties. Moreover, most of the Tatar thieves cannot survive after being hit by cannons and artillery. However, if they are injured by their bows and arrows, they can basically be treated as long as they are not in front of them.
Even the cannons and artillery of the Tatar Han army and the Korean army might be able to barely gain the upper hand against the soldiers and horses of Damingbie Town, but they were obviously far behind against the soldiers under Zhang Cheng's command.
