Why did the 130,000 Ming army allow the Qing army to dig trenches under their noses without doing anything?
This is an eternal mystery.
Even though Zuo Mengeng had a massive amount of information in his hands, he still couldn't get a glimpse of the truth.
In short, the trench was dug, the Qing army's encirclement was formed, and the outcome of the war was no longer in suspense.
Regarding the Songjin War, there is always a misunderstanding in later generations.
It is believed that the Ming army lost the battle due to its absolutely superior strength. There must be some problem with the internal command.
But in fact, the military strength of the Ming and Qing sides in this battle was actually almost the same.
Although the Ming army numbered 130,000, the Qing army included troops from the Eight Banners, Mongolia and Korea, with a total of more than 120,000.
This battle is a veritable battle for the fate of the country.
It was not until the next day that the Ming army realized that it was surrounded and the food route was cut off.
Panic news came one after another. After the food route was cut off, the military information brought back by the scouts kept everyone silent.
"Qi Bingxian, Zhongcheng and all the generals, we saw with our own eyes that Donglu's dragon flag appeared on Rufeng Mountain."
It was quiet in Hong Chengchou's handsome tent, and you could hear falling leaves.
Fear filled everyone's hearts.
The news of Huang Taiji's personal arrival completely destroyed the Ming army's will to fight.
Over the years, Huang Taiji's reputation has become a nightmare for the Ming army. No one can remain confident when facing Huang Taiji.
run!
At this moment, the same thought came to everyone in the Ming army at the same time.
Hong Chengchou sat in the middle, looking at everyone's expressions and couldn't help but be disappointed.
What he saw was a famous military general with great martial arts skills?
They were all clearly a group of walking zombies.
No matter how many people there are, can we still win this battle?
"Our army is short of food and cannot afford to delay. The generals should lead their troops to fight and defeat the enemy. Life and death depend on this one move. Back then, the overlord of Western Chu destroyed the cauldron and boat and destroyed Zhanghan. We were at the right time and we must not forget it."
None of the generals responded.
Everyone's eyes flickered, and they didn't know what they were thinking, but they certainly couldn't work together and fight to the death.
At this time, the supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, who had always advocated a quick victory, finally realized that he was afraid.
"My lord Bingxian, the current situation is very unfavorable to our army. If we fight hastily, we may risk the entire army being annihilated. In my opinion, it is better for us to retreat to Ningyuan for the time being, reorganize the army, and then make plans."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the generals agreed.
Hong Chengchou only felt that his forehead was congested and his breathing was short of breath. I wish my vision had gone dark and I might have fainted.
Ignore this mess anymore.
At the beginning, he urged him to advance slowly, but the court did not listen at all, and only urged him to fight quickly.
Now I finally know that I am afraid, but is it still too late?
People's hearts have been dispersed. Even if he wanted to fight decisively, Hong Chengchou knew that there was no hope at all.
A total of 130,000 troops are about to be destroyed here.
This is the last essence of Ming Dynasty!
Once these soldiers and horses are lost, Ming Dynasty will really be unable to recover.
Hong Chengchou was in low spirits and tired, so he could only obey the public opinion.
"The words of allegiance sworn to death in the past are still ringing in my ears. Today is a good opportunity. Although we have run out of food and are surrounded, please tell all the soldiers. Defending means death, fighting means death. If we fight hard, there may be something more. There is an opportunity to survive in death. I have no good plan in mind, and I hope you will do your best tomorrow."
Even what his coach said was so depressing, and the entire Ming army had even less fighting spirit.
After some discussion, everyone decided to divide all the soldiers and horses into two groups early the next morning to break out of the encirclement. As for how far it can escape, no one is sure.
The actions of the Ming army were completely seen by the Qing army.
After receiving the report from the scouts, Huang Taiji was as if he were watching fire.
"The Ming army has no fighting spirit. Either tonight or tomorrow, they will definitely break out. All generals must brace themselves and guard against death. Anyone who lets the Ming army escape will be killed without mercy."
The Qing army was in solemn silence, and everyone understood that the moment of decisive battle had arrived.
Either meritorious service or punishment.
The generals of the Qing army knew very well how to choose.
As night fell, all the Qing troops braced themselves and prepared various responses.
It was agreed that they would break out of the encirclement together early the next morning, but for an army that had lost its fighting spirit, military discipline had become useless.
The Eighth Route Army General Soldiers were originally not affiliated with each other, and there was no trust between them at all. In such a life-and-death situation, of course, everyone must fly away when disaster strikes.
Wang Pu stood at the door of the handsome tent, looking intently at the darkening night outside. With a ferocious face, he finally made up his mind.
"Command the generals to quickly pack up and set off immediately."
The lieutenant was startled.
"Chief Rong, Commander-in-Chief is talking about early morning..."
Wang Pu raised his hand and slapped him.
"Asshole! Do you think other people will be so kind? If we wait until tomorrow morning, we will be dead."
The lieutenant suddenly realized what he was doing and hurried to deliver the order.
Among the eight generals, Wang Pu became the first to disobey military orders and flee for his life.
But it's not his fault.
In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Lu Xiangsheng died in the Battle of Julu.
As a result, there were turbulent rumors inside and outside the court, saying that it was his escape from the battle that killed Lu Xiangsheng and made him a target.
But he clearly went out to Daomaguan on Lu Xiangsheng's order and didn't have time to rush back.
Wang Pu was hard-pressed to defend himself, and he was innocently burdened with infamy. While I felt aggrieved, I also saw clearly this Ming Dynasty.
The stigma is already there anyway, so what else do you need to care about?
As long as you can escape with your life, nothing else matters.
Wang Pu did not inform Hong Chengchou, Qiu Minyang and others, but quietly left the camp with his troops alone.
He had approximately 10,000 people under his command. Although he tried hard to suppress the movement, it was impossible not to alert others.
Wu Sangui, who was next to Wang Pu, quickly noticed something unusual.
He rushed out of the tent and looked in Wang Pu's direction. What he saw was pitch black, with not even a spark in the entire camp.
Although Wu Sangui was young, he was also a veteran on the battlefield and immediately understood what was happening.
"Damn Wang Pu, how many people are going to be killed!"
His soldiers felt cold all over and asked quickly: "Commander, do you want to inform the military commander?"
Wu Sangui gritted his teeth and quickly made his choice.
"Tell everyone, I don't want any useless things and leave immediately."
Well, Wu Sangui also made a shameful desertion.
In order to survive, he also sold others.
As for the uncle in Jinzhou City...
In the future, every time during Qingming Festival, I will just burn some more paper money for him.
Wang Pu and Wu Sangui's escapes quickly triggered a domino effect.
Everyone in the Ming army was in panic, and no one wanted to be left last.
The soldiers and horses from all walks of life completely lost their organization and command, and fled one after another.
This time, the Qing army was caught off guard. Faced with the unorganized behavior, they were immediately in a hurry and didn't know what to do!
(End of chapter)
