Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao in the Ming Dynasty, learned that the Xuanfu army had reached the foot of Jinzhou City, and joined forces with the Liaodong soldiers and horses led by Dashou, the ancestor of the city, to successfully break the siege of Jinzhou City by slave thieves.
He was in an extremely excited mood, and the Ministry of War in the imperial court was pressing hard. The emperor was also very concerned about this, and even stayed with him, including his trusted eunuch Wang Chengen. His intention was extremely obvious.
Now, the troops have finally reached Jinzhou City. Even if the slave bandits cannot be completely repelled for a while, Zhang Cheng has already opened the gate from Songshan to Jinzhou City, and grain, grass, fuelwood and other materials from outside can be continuously sent into the city.
Even if the slave thieves continue to besiege Jinzhou on the west, north, and east sides, as long as the Ming army can hold on to this life channel in the south and prevent the slave thieves from encircling Jinzhou City, Jinzhou City will no longer be in danger of being breached.
Moreover, the defenders in Jinzhou City could echo with the army outside the city, forming a mutual horn. In this way, the Ming army could force them to retreat as long as they stuck to the existing defense line without attacking the slave thieves.
But there was also a hint of unhappiness in Hong Chengchou's heart. The reason why he had left Zhang Cheng's Xuanfu troops and horses in Huangtuling without thinking of using them was because he was afraid that if the Xuanfu troops came out, they would take away Wu Sangui's achievements. .
Now it seems that everything is as he feared before. The Xuanfu army has overshadowed the Ningyuan army as soon as it comes out. Now that it is the first to solve Jinwei, Zhang Cheng is probably in the hands of Zhang Cheng.
Since the first merit cannot be obtained, then at least one major merit must be won for Wu Sangui. Even if Wu Sangui can hold on to a minor merit in this battle to aid Liao, although he ranks second to Zhang Cheng, he still ranks first in Jiliao Town.
Therefore, after he bid farewell to Wang Chengen, the eunuch of the inner court, he commissioned all matters on the south bank of the Xiaoling River to Qiu Minyang, the governor of Liaodong. Accompanied by his aides Li Song and Xie Sixin, he hurriedly crossed the river with hundreds of elite cavalry guards to look for Zhang Cheng.
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The Chinese army of Zhang Cheng, the chief military officer of Xuanfu Town and General Zhenshuo, was located in the Tucheng where the Kong Youdewu Zhenchaoha Artillery Battalion was originally stationed.
Today, the defense here is extremely tight. The three gates in the west, north, south and south of Tucheng are guarded by two lines of defense with horse guns and chariots. There is also a team of cannon soldiers stationed on the city gate.
Zhang Cheng's left wing of the Chinese Army, Dengfeng Camp, Tiger Guard Camp, Jia Ding Team, and the right side of the chariots were all stationed in Tucheng, because it was almost the midway point from Jinzhou to Xiaoling River, whether it was to respond to the Jinzhou City Guards , it is very convenient to travel to and from the north bank of Xiaoling River for rescue.
Moreover, there is also an earthen city built by the Qing soldiers as a foundation. After simple repairs, it will become a strong fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is suitable to be used as a material transfer station for the Jin army. Zhang Cheng then used his center. The military is here.
Secret sentries were posted far to the east and west of Tucheng, and there were many small groups of cavalry roaming around. Even if the Qing soldiers were dissatisfied with today's defeat and wanted to sneak attack at night to recapture this Tucheng, it would be difficult to succeed. .
At this moment, fires were burning everywhere inside and outside Tucheng. They, along with the string lights hanging high on the three city gates, and the lanterns hanging on high flagpoles inside Tucheng, illuminated Tucheng very brightly. .
There are also teams of night watch sergeants led by the camp governor. The torches they hold high are the only movable fire dragons in the Tucheng.
A little to the north in the middle of Tucheng is where Zhang Cheng's Chinese army's tent is located. This was originally Kong Youde's tent. The reason why it was chosen here was mainly to make it easier to command the battle to the north.
Because you can climb to the north gate of the city not far from here, you can see the three trench walls that surround Jinzhou clearly. If Zu Dashou in the city wants to break out, this place is convenient for directing artillery bombardment and dispatching. Soldiers and horses surrounded him.
After all, the original purpose here was just to prevent the Liao soldiers in Jinzhou City from breaking out. Even if many cannons were deployed, they were just to bombard Jinzhou City and threaten Zu Dashou.
Who would have thought that the real enemy would come from the south? Just as the old saying goes: "The enemy always comes from unexpected places."
Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, was sitting at the top of the Chinese army's tent, but beside him there was a deck chair, and Zu Dashou, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong forward, was lying on his back.
This was a special courtesy given to him by Hong Chengchou. Of course, there were some reasons for his physical injury, but in fact, it was done intentionally by Hong Chengchou, which was good for Hong Chengchou in three ways.
First of all, he can use this to highlight his regard for Zu Dashou and further win over the leader of the local warlord in Liaodong. This is also a manifestation of Hong Chengchou's human sophistication. If he doesn't even understand this, how can he be worthy of the position of governor of the border?
Secondly, Hong Chengchou intended to use this to elevate the status of the Liaodong generals. After all, Zhang Cheng and the Xuanfu Army contributed too much to the Liaodong Battle, and Hong Chengchou was also afraid that they would be arrogant and difficult to control.
The last point is naturally to give Wu Sangui, his beloved general Ningyuan, some preparations. At this moment, Zu Dashou's contribution to guarding the brocade is highlighted first, and Zhang Cheng's contribution to breaking up the brocade is slightly suppressed, and then Wu Sangui can be brought out. .
This is a conspiracy, and Zhang Cheng can do nothing about it!
What's more, Zhang Cheng still had a little admiration for Zu Dashou, a complex figure. Although Zu Dashou had surrendered to the enemy once before, no matter how others viewed it, Zhang Cheng was very dissatisfied with it.
People, only living has meaning!
Zhang Cheng's point of view is based on this. In his opinion, "Death to repay the country is easy, and surrender to restore the country is difficult." Throughout the ages, how many people have chosen to die when their country is in ruins, in order to prove their patriotism. Heart.
Such people are certainly worthy of our admiration, but in his heart Zhang Cheng admires those wise and courageous people who can survive in desperate situations and retain their useful bodies to fulfill their lifelong ambitions.
Although Zu Dashou may not be a man of great wisdom and bravery, his remaining useful body ensures that the Liaodong ancestral army is still a whole, a whole loyal to the Ming Dynasty, guarding Jinzhou for the Ming Dynasty and guarding the land of Liaodong for ten years.
If he had truly surrendered to slavery at the beginning, even if he did not earn Jinzhou and Ningyuan for the slave thieves, as the leader of the Liaodong ancestral army, it is conceivable what kind of damage he would have caused to the Liaodong region of the Ming Dynasty.
For this alone, his achievements cannot be denied!
Of course, if history really repeats itself as it was, he would become a sinner of history by surrendering to slavery for the second time after being defeated in the Battle of Songjin.
Even if a person does something to "know the current affairs" in order to save his family, he will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history forever.
But now he is still the Ming Dynasty's "imperial envoy manager to Liaodong, the seal of the forward general for the expedition to Liao, the chief military officer, the governor of the Zuo Army of the Zuo Army Governor's Mansion, and the young master of Zu Dashou".
Jinzhou City has been besieged by slave thieves for nearly two years, and now the military flag of the Ming Dynasty is still planted on the city head. This clearly shows the achievements of Zu Dashou, which will be shining in the annals of history if nothing unexpected happens.
Of course, we are where we are today thanks to Zhang Cheng alone!
If he hadn't accidentally come to this parallel world and changed the direction of history step by step with his own efforts, I'm afraid the Qing army would still besieging Jinzhou City at this moment.
Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, was also trapped in Songshan and could no longer do anything. He was captured after the Songshan city was destroyed, and then he threw himself into slavery and worked for the tiger. The same was true for Zu Dashou.
The two of them were able to escape from the history of being despised by thousands of people, and even gained the possibility of being admired by thousands of people. The reason behind all this was just because there was one more person in the world.
However, I am afraid that only Zhang Cheng knows the reason for all this, and he cannot tell outsiders. After all, people in this era still cannot understand what Zhang Cheng said.
Those historical events that never happened have time to happen, and to everyone except Zhang Cheng, they are nothing more than a fairy tale from heaven!
What's more, Zhang Cheng also has some hidden selfish motives, that is, to establish a relationship with Zu Dashou and establish a friendship as a bond, so that they can communicate with each other from east to west in the future. Once the court takes action, there will be a strong and powerful person. foreign aid.
Now Zhang Cheng is a very ambitious man, and his ambitions have not yet been fully realized. To achieve his ideals, he needs a place under his complete control that can provide him with a steady stream of troops, food, grass, and money. silver.
As Zu Dashou could become the largest warlord leader in Liaodong, he naturally had many things worth learning and imitating. Furthermore, having Zu Dashou in Liaodong could play a certain role in containing the slave thieves.
This alone is extremely beneficial to Zhang Cheng, both for the country and for himself!
Therefore, even if Zhang Cheng is now at the bottom, he has no complaints. On his right is Datong Commander Wang Pu, and opposite them are Ningyuan Commander Wu Sangui, and Shenji Camp Front Camp Commander Chen Jiugao.
The ASEAN General Soldier Cao Bianjiao was injured by slave thieves when he charged before the battle. Although the injury was not very serious, it was not conducive to running long distances, so he happened to stay at the middle route army camp.
Wang Tingchen on the west route did not come to participate in the military meeting because the journey was too long and he had to go back from Nuerhe River and then cross Xiaoling River.
Think about the time when the troops aiding the Liao Dynasty gathered in Ningyuan City, dozens of civil servants and generals gathered together, and nearly 200,000 troops aiding the Liao Dynasty camped for dozens of miles. What a glorious scale it was.
But now in this military tent, there is only one governor and five generals. For example, Yang Guozhu has been killed in front of the battle, and Bai Guangen, Ma Ke, Tang Tong, etc. are also missing.
Everyone felt a little silent in their hearts. This situation somewhat diluted some of the joy of Jie Jinwei's success, but living people can't worry too much about the dead. After all, they still have to think more about the living.
In the military tent, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, was the first to speak: "Since our division aided Liao, we have fought fierce battles with slaves for several months. Now we can finally break the Jin siege. It is all thanks to our ancestors' strong defense and the bravery of all the troops in front." .”
Hong Chengchou was indeed not a simple man. As soon as he opened his mouth, he immediately affirmed Zu Dashou's contribution to the defense of the city, and shared the contribution of breaking up the siege equally among all the generals.
Zhang Cheng did not express his position on this. He still sat there calmly, even though it was his Xuanfu army who took the lead in attacking Tucheng and worked with Zu Dashou to drive away the slave thieves.
But this was indeed not the result of the troops and horses in his Xuanfu town, but the result of the joint efforts of the ten generals who aided the Liao Dynasty. In fact, from the beginning, he never thought of taking the credit for solving Jinwei.
However, although Zhang Cheng does not want to fight for credit, he still wants to fight for his generals. After all, they need these military achievements to improve their status and military positions, and Zhang Cheng also needs their help in stabilizing the Xuanfu area in the future. .
The reason why he did not argue at this time was because he firmly believed that he had contributed to the advance of Jinzhou Nanguan. Even if Hong Chengchou wanted to flood, it would be difficult to do so.
Sure enough, Zu Dashou, who was lying on his back next to Hong Chengchou, continued: "If it weren't for Zhang Cheng's Xuanfu soldiers and horses, who suddenly stabbed the Tatars in the butt, I'm afraid they still wouldn't be able to break through the high walls of the slave trenches."
Zu Dashou was the first to speak out and affirm the achievements of the Xuanfu Army, which naturally won the favor of the generals of the Xuanfu Army. However, he lost all the goodwill he had just gained when he called Zhang Cheng by his name.
Because the Chinese army's tent is very spacious, and there are not many generals participating in the military meeting today, and the generals of each battalion in the two towns of Xuanda and Da are heroes who fought bravely to liberate Jinwei, they are also allowed to participate in the army. During the discussion, they all stood behind Zhang Cheng and Wang Pu.
Nowadays, generals in the Xuanfu such as Zhang Guangda, Li Jiyu, He Zhenxiong, Huang Baozhong, Tan Zhenlin, Gou Changsheng, Yu Jin, etc. only know his name but have no respect for Zu Dashou.
At first, because he affirmed the contribution of the Xuanfu Army, he felt grateful in his heart, but then he heard him address his general by name, and everyone couldn't help but look at each other angrily, except because Zhang Cheng was present. Contradictory words.
Even the veteran general Guo Yingxian couldn't help but frowned even though he knew Zu Dashou's prestige in the Liaodong Army and his status in the Ming Dynasty military circles.
However, Zhang Cheng did not care about this at all. He immediately continued: "This is all because General Chang Bo, General Xiao Cao and others attracted the main force of slave thieves. Our Xuanfu army got this good opportunity. It is really a fluke." That’s all.”
Hong Chengchou had always been worried that Zhang Cheng would take the sole responsibility for solving Jinwei. When he heard him speak like this, his worries were relieved, and he looked at Zhang Cheng with a hint of appreciation.
He smiled and said: "General Zhongchen is worthy of being praised by the emperor as a model for the entire army. He is not only brave in front of the battle, but also has a strategic mind. He can look at the big picture and take charge of the overall situation. Such a great talent will definitely be a pillar of the country in the future." .”
After Hong Chengchou praised Zhang Cheng, he turned the topic to business. He only heard him say: "Our division has been fighting for two days. Although we have driven back the slaves and opened the passage to Jinzhou, the army of slaves and thieves is still here." In the west of the city, its main force is still there, and the danger has not been eliminated."
When he said this, he turned to look at Zu Dashou beside him and asked: "Commander Zu has been fighting slaves and bandits for many years, what do you think of this?"
Although Zu Dashou seemed to be in good spirits, he seemed to be seriously injured. He straightened his posture slightly and then said: "Since the governor led his troops to Songshan, the slaves and thieves have been fighting one after another. At this moment, the army is already exhausted. , so that we can take advantage of it and seize this place.
As the governor said, the main force of the slave bandits is still there, and their military power has not diminished. It seems that they will attack our division with all their strength at any time in an attempt to besiege our Jinzhou city again. "
After he paused to take a breath, he continued: "However, looking at the military situation today, it seems that it is not as good as before. According to my judgment, there is no need to attack the slave bandits again. We only need to shrink our troops and hold on in Jinnan. Can.
In this way, the slave thieves may retreat and leave when they see that there is no chance of encircling the brocade! "
