Later generations commented and discussed a lot about the Battle of Songjin, which determined the fate of the Ming Dynasty.
And there are many different opinions.
Regarding the defeat of the Ming army, some thought it was caused by the king's self-will, some thought it was caused by the central government's eagerness for quick success, some thought it was caused by the commander's ignorance and incompetence, and some thought it was caused by the generals' greed for life and fear of death.
In short, the fundamental purpose of the endless emergence of various opinions is that many unwilling people hope to find an explanation through these reasons...
The Ming army could actually win the Battle of Songjin!
And how does Xia Jun judge this ongoing war?
"The Ming army is destined to lose, and there is no possibility of victory."
Zuo Yong's words represent the views of all Xia Jun senior officials.
Yes, the Ming army has no hope of winning at all.
From this battle alone, why did the Ming army have no hope of winning?
The reason why the king is self-willed is very small, and it is understandable that the central government is eager for quick success and quick gain. The commander-in-chief also had practical difficulties, and the generals had nowhere to exert their strength.
In the final analysis, the most fundamental reason why the Ming army was defeated was.
The combat effectiveness is too different.
This is also a problem that the Ming army has been facing but has never solved since Xiong Tingbi took charge of Liaodong.
Without combat effectiveness, how can we fight?
What about victory?
Although the strength of the Ming army was several times that of the Qing army, fighting was not based on numbers.
Although something like combat effectiveness cannot be seen or touched, it actually exists.
Especially the Qing army in this time and space, although they suffered repeated defeats in battles with the Xia army. However, under the hammering of Xia Jun, the combat effectiveness became even stronger.
It can be said that no matter how the Ming Dynasty planned and operated this war, there was no hope of winning.
Chongzhen and the cabinet who were far away in the capital might not be able to see clearly, but Hong Chengchou and the generals who were near the front line were all clear.
When Hong Chengchou arrived in Ningyuan in March, he reported to the Central Committee.
[The enemy is ahead, and the battle is very dangerous. If you want to rush to relieve Jinzhou, the military situation is really difficult to calm down. The dead soldiers had just been buried, and the injured soldiers had not yet recovered. Within half a month, please order another decisive battle to alleviate Jinzhou's urgent situation. 】
The implication behind the words is that if reinforcements are sent to Jinzhou, it will be disastrous. The best way is to stabilize the current front and wait for the situation to change.
Hong Chengchou was not ignorant of the importance of Jinzhou, but he understood better that if he rushed out to rescue Jinzhou with the troops and horses he had patched together, the entire army would inevitably be annihilated.
Without sending troops, Jinzhou cannot be defended, and the situation in Liaodong completely collapses;
If troops are sent out, not only will Jinzhou be unable to hold it, but the entire north of Shanhaiguan will also fall, making the situation even more dangerous.
To put it bluntly, from Hong Chengchou's perspective, we can only choose the lesser of two evils.
If they stay in Ningyuan and waste time, they might be able to find a rare fighter opportunity and reverse the situation.
As for whether Zu Dashou in Jinzhou City is dead or alive, it is no longer important to him as the commander-in-chief.
Frankly speaking, Hong Chengchou's idea is definitely the best solution at the moment.
If the Ming Dynasty adopted his opinion, although the battle of Songjin would be lost, at least it would retain its vitality. It can also establish a certain strategic buffer around Shanhaiguan to maintain the current situation.
But unfortunately, it was impossible for Mingting to adopt his opinion.
Chongzhen and Chen Xinjia, Minister of War, successively sent orders, strictly ordering Hong Chengchou to march immediately and relieve Jinzhou.
This order was equivalent to sending the last family fortune of the Ming Dynasty into a pit of fire.
So are Chongzhen and Chen Xinjia mainly responsible for Songjin's defeat?
In fact, they are also very helpless.
The situation in the world is not separate from each other, but affects each other, and affects the whole body.
When later generations discussed the Battle of Songjin, they only focused on the battlefield, and at most included the factors of the court.
But few people thought that the rapidly flowing battlefield in the Central Plains at this time was the main reason that forced the Ming Dynasty to carry out military adventures.
After Zhang Xianzhong broke into Sichuan last year, the relationship between Yang Sichang and various officials dropped to a freezing point. All civil servants and generals lost trust and respect for him, which also caused the entire encirclement and suppression campaign to become a mess.
Zhang Xianzhong invaded Sichuan this time and did not encounter much resistance.
Shao Jiechun, the governor of Sichuan, was busy fighting with Yang Sichang, and all kinds of military arrangements were full of loopholes. Being killed by Zhang Xianzhong from left to right, it was like entering a deserted place.
Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong and other generals even cheated, waiting to see Yang Sichang's jokes.
Yang Sichang was so anxious that he had no choice but to reuse the surrendered peasant army rebel generals.
As a result, Zhang Xianzhong was defeated as fiercely as a tiger in Huangling City, Kaixian County. The troops turned around and not only rushed out of Sichuan, but also went straight to Yang Sichang's base camp, Xiangyang.
At this time, all the Ming troops in Sichuan were hundreds of miles away, and there was no time to stop them.
On the fourth day of February, Zhang Xianzhong captured Xiangyang and executed the king of Xiang, Zhu Yiming.
Failure to suppress thieves resulted in the loss of the vassal king. Under these two major sins, Yang Sichang completely collapsed.
At this time, his temples were gray, his energy was exhausted, and he no longer had the will or ability to control the situation.
On the way back to Xiangyang, Yang Sichang received even more bad news.
Li Zicheng conquered Luoyang, threw King Fu Zhu Changxun into the oil pan, and distributed King Fu's meat to the soldiers and common people to eat.
Li Zicheng opened the treasury in Luoyang and distributed grain, gold and silver. The people who had been waiting for food joined the peasant army one after another, and the situation in Henan plummeted.
Under his own rule, two important vassal kings were killed in succession, and Yang Sichang knew that he had no way out.
Completely desperate, he stopped eating. By the time he reached Shashi, Jingzhou, he was bedridden and his life came to an end.
The killings of King Fu and King Xiang and the death of Yang Sichang gave Chongzhen an unparalleled impact.
Until this moment, Chongzhen finally lost all his energy and spirit, and truly felt the crisis of national subjugation.
What was rare was that he did not hold Yang Sichang accountable too much, but instead issued a decree to "discuss merits."
It cannot be seen from this that Chongzhen did not know what he had done for a long time.
However, his nature of greed for merit and blame made him push one capable minister after another into a pit of fire, and he gradually lost the loyalty of both the government and the public.
The situation in the Central Plains is extremely dangerous, and the Ming Dynasty may collapse at any time.
This was the reason why the Central Committee had to urge Hong Chengchou to advance.
All we can say is that the situation dictates that there is nothing we can do.
After receiving the strict orders from Chongzhen and Chen Xinjia, Hong Chengchou was filled with sadness.
He turned his head and looked in the direction of the capital, and suddenly let out a loud roar.
"Da Ming!"
Beside him, more than 100,000 innocent lives embarked on a road of no return with the most timid mood.
It was clear that the troops and horses were overwhelming and continuous, and they should have been majestic and majestic. But the only thing Hong Chengchou could see was the thick aura of death.
He suddenly thought of what he had read carefully when he was just enlightened to study.
"The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Xiaomin"
"Fighting with fear is like facing an abyss or walking on thin ice."
(End of chapter)
